The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide in Gaza. The highly anticipated ruling of the World Court got underway shortly before we went on air. This is Joan Donaghue, president of the International Court of Justice.

Judge Joan Donoghue: “The court considers that the plausible rights in question in this proceeding — namely, the right of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in Article III of the Genocide Convention and the right of South Africa to seek Israel’s compliance with the latter’s obligation under the convention — are of such a nature that prejudice to them is capable of causing irreparable harm.”

The ICJ started by ruling it has jurisdiction over the case brought by South Africa, and dismissed Israel’s bid to throw it out. The court, however, did not order a ceasefire.

The interim verdict is a major blow to Israel and the U.S., which have undermined the case despite overwhelming evidence presented by South Africa. The court will not rule today on whether Israel has committed genocide; that verdict could take years. We’ll have more on this historic ruling after headlines.

Israel’s unrelenting assault on Gaza continues, as the death toll topped 26,000, with at least another 65,000 injured. Over 11,000 of those killed are children. Khan Younis, once designated as a so-called safe zone, remains under intense attack, with Israeli shelling and snipers reportedly targeting the Nasser and al-Amal hospitals. Hundreds of families have fled the area in recent days after Israeli forces surrounded the southern city. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who struggled to speak after becoming emotional, appealed for an immediate ceasefire.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “Seventy percent of the dead are children and women. That alone is enough for a ceasefire, because the bulk of the casualty, you know where it is. So, I think it has — this thing has to be taken seriously. And going forward, by the way, the number of deaths will increase not only due to injuries, but chronically ill people, for instance.”

CIA Director William Burns will reportedly travel to France this weekend for a fourth round of talks aimed at reaching a halt in the fighting and a release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. The talks involve officials from the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Egypt. This comes as tensions are mounting between Israel and Qatar after leaked audio surfaced of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu calling Qatar “problematic” as he met with family members of hostages. Doha slammed the remarks as “obstructing and undermining the mediation process.”

Two more U.S. cities on Thursday passed resolutions for a ceasefire in Gaza. Minneapolis’s resolution, approved in a 9-3 vote, also called for an end to U.S. military funding for Israel. Meanwhile, Somerville became the first Massachusetts city to pass a ceasefire resolution, after months of constituent organizing. Cambridge, which is home to Harvard, is expected to pass their own ceasefire resolution on Monday.

The United States and Iraq will start talks on phasing out the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq. The U.S. has around 2,500 troops in Iraq who initially returned to the country in 2014 to combat Islamic State fighters. U.S. bases have since come under attack by Iran-affiliated groups, which have increased in light of the U.S. backing of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

In Alabama, prison officials ended the life of 58-year-old Kenneth Smith via nitrogen gas asphyxiation in the nation’s first-of-its-kind execution. In his final statement, Smith said, “Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards. I’m leaving with love, peace and light.” The case has garnered international condemnation. Kenneth Smith’s spiritual adviser Jeff Hood witnessed the execution and rebuked Alabama’s attorney general, who had predicted Smith would lose consciousness within seconds and die within minutes. This is Jeff Hood.

Jeff Hood: “What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life. We saw minutes of someone heaving back and forth. We saw spit. We saw all sorts of stuff from his mouth develop on the mask. We saw this mask tied to the gurney and him ripping his head forward over and over and over again. And we also saw correction officials in the room who were visibly surprised at how bad this thing went.”

A federal judge sentenced former Trump adviser Peter Navarro to four months in prison Thursday for contempt of Congress, after he defied a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. Judge Amit Mehta told Navarro that citing “executive privilege” is not a “magical incantation” or “get-out-of-jail-free card.”

In other Trump news, closing arguments are being delivered today in his second defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. This trial will determine whether Trump owes Carroll more damages on top of the $5 million a jury awarded her last year after finding Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s and later defamed her. The former president briefly took the stand yesterday but was shut down after refusing to stick to yes-or-no answers as ordered by the judge.

A new study has found tens of thousands of pregnancies have resulted from rape in states where abortion was banned following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Over the past 18 months, researchers estimate there were nearly 65,000 pregnancies from sexual assaults, with most, if not all, survivors, including girls, forced to carry them to term. Texas topped the list with 45% of the rape-related pregnancies.

In Michigan, a first-of-its-kind manslaughter trial is underway for Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter. Ethan Crumbley was just 15 years old when he opened fire on the school in 2021, killing four students and injuring six other people. His father, James Crumbley, is being tried separately later this year. This is prosecutor Marc Keast delivering his opening statement.

Marc Keast: “The evidence will prove that by the time this gun was bought, the school shooter was in a downward spiral that had begun months before. The evidence will also show you that Jennifer Crumbley was aware of that. Despite her knowledge of his deteriorating mental crisis, despite her knowledge of his growing social isolation, despite the fact that it is illegal for a 15-year-old to walk into a gun store and walk out with a handgun by himself, this gun was gifted.”

France’s top court ruled that large parts of a new, highly contested immigration bill were unconstitutional. The court threw out nearly half of the 80 measures in the legislation, including restrictions on access to welfare benefits for noncitizens and the denial of citizenship for children born in France. Immigrant rights activists and their allies took to the streets to welcome the move and vowed to keep fighting.

Mariama Sidibe: “We are asking to be equal with others. We are simple. And it’s simple, what we’re asking for. We want residency. We want to live with dignity in this country. The French are leaving here. They’re going to our countries. We want freedom. That’s it. Freedom, equality, fraternity.”

In Australia, thousands of people rallied in Indigenous-led protests on so-called Australia Day, marking the arrival of European colonizers in 1788. January 26 has been dubbed “Invasion Day” by Aboriginal communities and allies, who are pushing to do away with the national holiday. This is Aboriginal elder Adrian Burragubba.

Adrian Burragubba: “We’re here to tell people that Australia Day doesn’t mean anything to us. It’s the day of Aboriginal sovereignty. That day when they came here, we have to keep telling people, that we were operating under our law, and we still operate under our laws. And the law is in the land.”

Here in New York, a memorial service for national security adviser and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was met with protests Thursday. Activists chanted “Burn, Henry, Burn,” as they remembered the 4 million people Kissinger’s actions have killed across the globe.

Rosa: “We mourn the millions he killed. We mourn those in Cambodia, in Vietnam, in Laos, in Bangladesh, in East Timor, in Chile, in Argentina, in Cyprus, in Iraq, in Palestine and in Angola. As we mourn the dead, we also honor those who fight to live. The litany of resistance groups that have stood up to Kissinger’s imperialism outlive Henry Kissinger.”

Activists held up signs that said “Henry Kissinger, war criminal.”