First Thing: Houthi missile fired at US warship shot down as Red Sea tensions rise

US Central Command says missile from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen was launched towards USS Laboon before being shot down by fighter jets. Plus, is booing at the theatre actually a good thing?

Good morning.

US fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen at one of its warships in the Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday night.

The missile was fired towards the USS Laboon, which was operating in the southern Red Sea, US Central Command said in a statement, in what appears to be the first such attempt on a US destroyer. No injuries or damage were reported, Central Command said.

The incident follows warnings from Houthis and their allies of possible further military action in the aftermath of Friday’s US-UK bombing of rebel-held areas in Yemen. Initial briefings from the US suggested that about a quarter of the Houthis’ missile and drone attack capability had been destroyed in that attack.

A Houthi supporter said on Sunday that the group’s attacks on merchant ships travelling the busy waterway south of the Suez Canal would continue “because they are at war with Israel”.

What else is happening in the Middle East? The White House has said “it’s the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their offensive against Hamas. The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war on Sunday.

Nikki Haley rides Iowa momentum, but likely for second place

One day before the Iowa caucuses, Nikki Haley addressed an energized crowd at a barbecue restaurant in Ames, just a few miles from Iowa State University. Despite the freezing temperatures, the room was filled to capacity with campaign volunteers, journalists and a few undecided caucus-goers.

“This is truly cold,” Haley said. “But we’re going to keep on going anywhere and everywhere. We’re going to go all the way until the last hour because we know what situation we’re in.”

Haley’s situation has improved in recent days, as the former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the UN has gained momentum in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. After trailing the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, for months, the latest Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll showed Haley in second place in Iowa, winning the support of 20% of likely Republican caucus-goers compared with DeSantis’s 16%.

Does Haley have a good chance of being nominated? Not while Trump is still in the running. The poll underscored the profound challenges that Haley – and any other Republican not named Donald Trump – faces in the quest for the nomination. Trump easily beat all of his opponents in the Iowa poll, capturing the support of 48% of likely caucus-goers.

PR giant Edelman worked with Koch network, despite climate pledges

Edelman, the world’s largest public relations company, was among the Charles Koch Foundation’s highest-paid vendors in 2022, a 990 tax disclosure form shows, alarming climate advocates.

The PR giant has made numerous climate declarations over the past decade, including making a pledge to eschew projects promoting climate denial. Partnering with a part of the Koch network, which has long worked to sow climate doubt, calls those pledges into question, said Duncan Meisel, the executive director of Clean Creatives, a non-profit pushing creative agencies to cut ties with fossil fuel polluters.

“A relationship with the Koch network … puts them totally out of step with their stated climate commitments,” said Meisel.

Edelman made its first-ever formal declaration to eschew work on campaigns that deny global warming nearly a decade ago, in 2014.

“Edelman fully recognizes the reality of, and science behind, climate change,” the company’s position on climate change read. “To be clear, we do not accept client assignments that aim to deny climate change.”

What has Edelman said? An Edelman spokesperson said the company’s contract with the foundation ended one year ago. But that was “well after” Edelman published climate statements that should have ruled out such a contract, said Meisel, who shared the 2022 tax document with the Guardian.

In other news …

Houses have caught fire in the fishing town of Grindavík in south-west Iceland after a volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month. Two fissures formed near the town on Sunday after an increase in seismic activity that prompted authorities to evacuate the community the day before.

Nauru has switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China less than 48 hours after Taiwan’s presidential election. The government of the tiny island country in Micronesia, north-east of Australia, said it had decided to recognise the People’s Republic of China.

A Texas congressman said three people, including two children, who were seeking asylum drowned while trying to reach the US near the border city of Eagle Pass, where the Biden administration says Texas has begun denying access to border patrol agents.

An Iowa high school principal who was wounded in a school shooting has died, the state’s governor said. Dan Marburger was injured during a mass shooting at Perry high school on 4 January. One person, an 11-year-old student, was killed, and six others injured.

Don’t miss this: ‘You don’t feel alive’ – Ukraine veterans struggling with the trauma of war

Serhii Dovbysh was defending his home in Chernihiv when something inside him snapped. The Russians were a few kilometres away. Enemy planes bombed the city. Shells landed among its gold-domed cathedrals. And young soldiers under his command were dying in battle. Dovbysh, a major in Ukraine’s armed forces and a deputy commander, felt responsible.

“Everything broke in my head and soul. And my body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive,” he said. He estimated that about 10% of the men in his battalion were killed during fighting, and another third wounded. “You eat with people. For months you share a room with them. It’s like a big family. When they die you feel a wound in your heart.”

Last Thing: ‘Things were being thrown at us!’ Is booing at the theatre actually a good thing?

It is one of the most electrifying and unsettling sounds in theatre. Should we be encouraging crowds to do it more? Experts tell us about booing’s origins – and actors remember being on the receiving end of audience outrage.

From ancient Greece onwards, a powerful exchange between performer and spectator has been a cornerstone of the theatre experience. Pamela Jikiemi, head of film, TV and audio at Rada, notes that when plays were the main form of entertainment, they were often so long that social interaction became inevitable: “Audiences were encouraged to respond.”

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