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cover art for Connolly's presidency begins and a dispute over the meaning of 'fast food'

Early Edition

Connolly's presidency begins and a dispute over the meaning of 'fast food'

Today on Early Edition:


President-elect Catherine Connolly will be inaugurated this afternoon. Follow our live blog on irishtimes.com.


Caroline O'Doherty has the latest from the Cop 30 climate summit in Brazil.


A well-known burger restaurant is going to court to argue that it is not 'fast food'.


And meet the patients fighting for small but meaningful improvements to our health care system.



As we head into the New Year, The Irish Times wants to hear listener feedback on our two news podcasts; In The News and our more recently released sister podcast Early Edition.


This survey is open to anyone who has listened to either In The News or Early Edition- whether you listen regularly, occasionally, or have listened in the past.


This survey should take around 3-5 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous.

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    As we head into the New Year, The Irish Times wants to hear listener feedback on our two news podcasts; In The News and our more recently released sister podcast Early Edition.This survey is open to anyone who has listened to either In The News or Early Edition- whether you listen regularly, occasionally, or have listened in the past.This survey should take around 3-5 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous. Thank you! The number of Irish people being deported from the US amid Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown has surged, writes Martin Wall.An Irish citizen, who went back to his native Russia to visit family last August, has been in custody ever since and risks being sent to a forced labour camp, writes Órla Ryan.The Dublin rioters: Conor Gallagher on who are they and what 82 prosecutions have told us about those involved on the night of November 23rd 2023.John Fitzgerald, the professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute, has spoken of the time he unexpectedly ended up at a cabinet subcommittee in 1983 much to the surprise of his father, the then Taoiseach Garrett Fitzgerald. And somehow John manages to link this amusing anecdote to the controversial Mercosur deal.And Rachel O’Dwyer has written a deeply touching article today where she takes issue with the film Hamnet being described disparagingly as “grief porn.”Presented by Aideen Finnegan.
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    Just one single data centre in west Dublin consumes energy equivalent to 200,000 homes, according to an internal government document seen by The Irish Times. Jack Horgan-Jones reports that’s ten times the electricity consumption of a nearby pharmaceutical plant.The number of US citizens seeking International Protection in Ireland has quadrupled in the past year. Although the numbers are small, the amount of Americans immigrating to Ireland on visas has spiked by almost 100%. Katie Mellett reports that figure equates to 9,600.The €750,000 cost of constructing 14 steps and a ramp at a south Dublin park was half a million more than the local authority which developed the project had initially estimated, the National Transport Authority has told Martin Wall.2026 could be the year you take back control of your devices instead of your devices controlling you, writes Ciara O’Brien. She has these tips to help declutter your digital life, secure your privacy and free up some mental bandwidth.And the hit ice hockey show Heated Rivalry, featuring a same sex romance, is getting the Patrick Freyne treatment. In a bid to appreciate more “sports”, he says he’s learning about ice hockey from the HBO series. Or as Patrick calls it, Canadian snow hurling.
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    It’s the first day back in the Dáil for TDs after their Christmas break. Political editor Pat Leahy takes a look at the issues expected to command the most attention in this Dáil term.The unsavoury confluence of Grok’s “nudification” function, and the shooting dead of Renée Good in Minneapolis last week have ushered in our new media dystopia, argues Hugh Linehan in his column today.Scientists hope the intermittent fasting trend could, in the future, play a part in reducing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.And Greenlanders are sporting red baseball caps akin to the iconic MAGA hats worn by fans of US president Donald Trump. Except in the capital, Nuuk, the acronym stands for Make America Go Away.Presented by Aideen Finnegan.
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    A selection of today's stories from The Irish Times.An especially vulnerable women, and survivor of the Donnybrook Magdalene Laundry, who’s facing eviction at the age of 70 speaks to the Irish Times.The scheme to compensate survivors of mother and baby homes says its received 7,000 applications for redress.  The government promises tighter regulations on e-scooters.A group of Irish students head to Bavaria on exchange.Read more at IrishTimes.com
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    On today’s Early Edition:The US seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker en route from Venezuela in the North Atlantic yesterday.Minister for Higher Education James Lawless on how the shortage of skilled labour will impact housing - and why he believes ministers should leave social media platform X. New figures released by MyHome.ie show signs that house price inflation stabilised towards the end of last year.And how Belfast’s TV and film industries are booming.
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