Prepared for the Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Editorial Note: The DHS Daily Briefing is a collection of news articles related to Department’s mission. The inclusion of particular stories is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse the political viewpoints or affiliations included in news coverage.

ABC News [1/13/2026 6:30 PM, Staff, 30493K] reports the U.S. experienced negative net migration in 2025 for the first time in at least half a century as a result of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, according to a report released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution. Although the administration has undertaken aggressive removal efforts, the negative number is mostly due to a significant drop in entries into the U.S., the report said. "We estimate net flows of -295,000 to -10,000 for the year," the Brookings study stated. "Though a high degree of policy uncertainty remains, continued negative net migration for 2026 is also likely.” The report attributed the shift to combination of the large drop in entries and an increase in enforcement activity leading to removals and voluntary departures. The Trump administration’s suspension of many humanitarian programs -- including most refugee programs with the exception of those involving white South Africans -- and a decline in temporary visas also contributed to the negative net migration, the report said. The report’s authors estimate there were between 310,000 and 315,000 removals in 2025, a figure lower than what the administration has claimed. Department of Homeland Security officials claim that, so far, more than 600,000 people have been removed during the crackdown. "At 310,000 to 315,000, the 2025 removals are not much higher than the 2024 removals of around 285,000," the report states. Unlike in 2024, most removals in 2025 were initiated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection from the country’s interior, the report said, as opposed to being initiated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- despite the actions of some ICE officers dominating many news headlines. The Washington Post [1/13/2026 10:43 AM, Lauren Kaori Gurley and Javier Zarracina, 24149K] reports that the Brookings estimates differ from another set of estimates released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week that show net migration was positive in 2025, with about 400,000 more people entering than exiting the country. The CBO figures assume that fewer immigrants were deported and that fewer voluntarily left the country in 2025 than the Brookings model. Meanwhile, the Trump administration and some think tanks, including the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates immigration restrictions, have said that migration was far more negative than the Brookings economists estimate, by relying on a higher level of departures and deportations

USA Today [1/13/2026 5:47 PM, Joey Garrison, 67103K] reports President Donald Trump said he plans to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities and states that have them, seeking to punish jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Trump announced the step in a Jan. 13 speech to the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan, saying that his administration won’t make "any payments to sanctuary cities or states having cities" starting on Feb. 1, "because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens." The move comes as Trump defends his administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement amid protests that mobilized after a woman was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent last week in Minneapolis. The Justice Department has designated 11 states, as well as the District of Columbia, "sanctuary jurisdictions": California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Ten of the 11 states have Democratic governors. Eighteen cities are considered "sanctuary jurisdictions" by the Justice Department, including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, Denver, and Portland, Oregon. Four county governments have the status. Bloomberg [1/13/2026 4:57 PM, Catherine Lucey, 18207K] reports that Trump, delivering an economic address in Detroit, said his administration had also given “90-day notices” to states like California who would bill the federal government to defray costs associated with caring for new migrants. Trump has sought to seize on cases in Minnesota where Somali immigrants are accused of defrauding federal social safety net programs to justify his immigration crackdown and a reduction in federal funding. The president pitched his deportation effort as a panacea that could help reduce prices and shrink the federal deficit, saying fraud perpetrated by immigrants was “bleeding American taxpayers absolutely dry.” Trump told attendees he would also seek to “revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant from Somalia or anywhere else who is convicted of defrauding our citizens.” NewsMax [1/13/2026 7:24 PM, Michael Katz, 4109K] reports that the Department of Justice has designated 11 states and the District of Columbia, three counties and 18 cities as sanctuary jurisdictions based on policies that impede enforcement of federal immigration statutes and regulations. Trump has intensified immigration enforcement since returning to office last year, deploying agents from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to several states and cities, many run by Democrats.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [1/13/2026 4:07 PM, Emma Bussey, 40621K]
Daily Caller [1/13/2026 4:51 PM, Jason Hopkins, 835K]
Univision [1/13/2026 3:59 PM, Staff, 5004K]
Telemundo [1/13/2026 11:53 PM, Staff, 2218K]

Reuters [1/13/2026 9:14 PM, David Shepardson, 36480K] reports the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to dismiss its appeal of a lower court order blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from forcing 20 Democratic-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement to receive billions of dollars in transportation grant funding. In July, a U.S. judge in Rhode Island ruled, opens new tab the U.S. Department of Transportation lacked authority to require the states to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to obtain transportation funding and that the condition violated the U.S. Constitution. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the legal challenge that also included the District of Columbia said the "Trump Administration attempted to use vital transportation dollars as a bargaining chip for its political agenda." He noted California gets billions of dollars annually in federal transportation funding. Bonta added he was "pleased that the Trump Administration has accepted defeat and agreed to drop its appeal of this decision. California is not playing games when it comes to vital transportation dollars that support our public infrastructure, and we will continue taking the president to court each time he weaponizes federal funding to bully our communities."

FOX News [1/13/2026 3:01 PM, Staff, 40621K] Video: HERE reports Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin addresses why DHS wants to ‘flood the zone’ with federal agents as anti-ICE agitators take to the streets of Minneapolis on ‘America Reports.’

Daily Wire [1/13/2026 10:56 AM, Ben Shapiro, 2494K] reports the anger is palpable in places like Minneapolis. People don’t believe they’re breaking the law even when they’re breaking the law. But if you get in the way of ICE officials who are attempting to pursue a federal operation, you are violating federal law, and you will get yourself into hot water. The fatal shooting of Renee Good last week, as ICE officers and residents faced off on a residential street here, has brought new attention to these activities. … Federal court rulings say citizens can observe and record police activity in public areas as part of their First Amendment rights, and many of the observers are doing nothing more than that. They say that they believe authorities are less likely to use force if someone is recording and that they are providing a public service by letting their communities know when federal immigration officers are nearby. But as officers and agents employ aggressive tactics, some activists have blown whistles to warn community members of approaching law enforcement, tried to follow immigration enforcement vehicles or used their own cars to block the roadways — entering murkier legal territory. Some legal experts said such behavior could in theory justify obstruction-of-justice charges, but they added that any such prosecution would be unusual. I interviewed Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for Homeland Security, who noted that the department’s "top priority are these gang members who are murderers, rapists, child pedophiles.”

FOX News [1/14/2026 2:53 AM, Landon Mion, 40621K] reports acting ICE Director Todd Lyons argued on Tuesday that federal immigration agents are facing "constant impediments" and "constant attacks" after video showed a suspected illegal migrant in San Antonio ramming cars in an attempt to flee. The video shows the migrant in a car ramming into vehicles that were blocking them in from the front and the back, as the individual attempted to evade arrest. During an appearance on Fox News’ "Hannity," Lyons was asked if rhetoric from Democrats criticizing ICE can be tied to incidents like these. "When we hear elected officials calling upon individuals to impede or obstruct ICE law enforcement operations nationwide, you’re going to see incidents like this," Lyons responded. "You saw the officers and agents attempting to apprehend a criminally illegal alien, and there they are using their car as a weapon.” Lyons said one of the agents went to a hospital with neck injuries after their vehicle was struck in the incident. "Every day, this is what the men and women of ICE are facing," he claimed. "It’s constant impediments, constant attacks like this. And it’s not safe for my folks, it’s not safe for the public. It really needs to stop.” He also purported that "criminal gangs" are organizing groups to impede or obstruct immigration enforcement operations. "It’s a constitutional right to go out there and protest. But when you have organized criminal gangs, which these are, that are organizing these groups to, again, impede or obstruct law enforcement operations … that’s a criminal act. I will tell you that Homeland Security investigations, my folks, the FBI, we’re investigating these and people can be held accountable because you can’t organize groups to go out and impede law enforcement. It’s a criminal act, and we have to act swiftly to prevent this from spreading," he said. Lyons was also asked about recent comments from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who vowed to prosecute any ICE agent who commits unlawful acts during operations in the city while stressing that his threat does not apply to "honest, decent, moral" agents. "The men and women of ICE, the men and women of HSI, they’re not committing any crimes," Lyons argued. "So he doesn’t have to worry about arresting any of my folks because what we’re doing is we’re enforcing the law. We are out there every day making this nation and his city safe again. So he shouldn’t worry about the men and women of ICE. What he should worry about is the sanctuary policies that have these criminal aliens go back to his neighborhoods and commit heinous crimes like fentanyl trafficking, human trafficking, rape of a child. He should focus on those and let law enforcement do law enforcement work." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [1/13/2026 10:31 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K] reports that, Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander overseeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minneapolis, warned Tuesday on Newsmax that people he called "agitators" trying to disrupt ICE arrests are escalating the risk of serious injury or death not only for themselves but for federal agents, saying "someone is going to get hurt" if confrontations continue. On "Finnerty," Bovino argued that federal officers are increasingly being targeted during enforcement actions and that "agitators" are interfering with ICE operations. "That always concerns us," Bovino said when asked about the possibility of an agent being killed, citing what he described as a recent incident in which an ICE agent was nearly run over in Minneapolis. Bovino said violence is being "directed towards federal agents, including ICE and Border Patrol," and said agitators are "actively coming out trying to stop operations.” He said the risk extends beyond law enforcement, warning that if tensions persist, "someone is going to get hurt," adding that "we are going to come home at the end of the shift.” Bovino also tied the confrontations to political rhetoric, saying people "fall victim" to the language of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Gov. Tim Walz, and said warnings about what he called dangerous rhetoric have been echoed by President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The remarks came as federal authorities expanded their immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities. Department of Homeland Security officials told CBS News on Tuesday that there were now 800 Customs and Border Protection agents in the Minneapolis area, in addition to 2,000 ICE and other federal agents already in the state, describing it as the "largest DHS operation in history.” Protests have flared repeatedly since the fatal shooting of Renee Good during an ICE operation in Minneapolis. On Tuesday, the Department of Justice said it did not see grounds to open a criminal civil rights investigation into Good’s killing, even as an FBI inquiry continues, according to The Associated Press. Roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned, and several supervisors in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section in Washington gave notice of their departures amid turmoil tied to the case.

NewsNation [1/13/2026 10:34 PM, Justin Walker, 8017K] reports the identities of thousands of federal employees working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol have been leaked, according to online reports, According to a report from The Independent, the leak includes the identities of about 4,500 federal employees working with ICE, including 2,000 agents. They were shared with the website The ICE List, which calls itself a “journalistic project” meant to share information to “hold ICE members legally accountable.” The site, which accepts user-generated data, includes photos and descriptions, and is indexed by state. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who is included on the site, told The Independent that the leak “would constitute 4,500 felonies.” Dominick Skinner launched The ICE List, which is hosted in the Netherlands and cannot be taken down by the U.S. government, according to the report. Skinner told The Daily Beast that he believes the shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7 was “the last straw for many people.” “It is a sign that people aren’t happy within the U.S. government, clearly,” Skinner said.

Daily Signal [1/13/2026 3:00 PM, S. A. McCarthy, 549K] reports over the course of 2025, President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda sparked fierce backlash, including mass protests and even riots. This year is following suit, with demonstrations targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis now spreading across the nation in the wake of a fatal incident. Democrats and pro-immigration activists have seized on the death of Renee Good after the 37-year-old was shot and killed after striking ICE agent Jonathan Ross with her car after she was confronted for obstructing federal immigration raids. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, faulted the president’s "escalation" for the events surrounding Good’s death. "Leaving aside whatever happened in those critical seconds when Jonathan Ross shot her and killed her, the surge and escalation in the tactics directed by the president are directly responsible for the upheaval and interruption of education and the death of Renee Good," Ellison said in an interview Friday. "The escalation, the unwarranted—I believe unconstitutional—escalation, illegal escalation, is why these tragic events are unfolding. Absent this escalation, I believe Renee Good is taking her 6-year-old to school again.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, suggested that ICE is using "unconstitutional" tactics in enforcing federal immigration law. "You can’t come into a city and discriminate solely on the basis of ‘Are you Latino or are you Somali?’ And then randomly pick people up off the street after that," he charged in a Sunday interview. "You can’t just detain somebody because they look like they are Somali or they look like they are Latino. To be very clear, for the whole country. That is what is happening right now.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called the ICE operations "inhumane and illegal," characterizing the Department of Homeland Security as "the most lawless Department of Homeland Security in the history of the country.” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat who has clashed with the Trump administration over his state’s "sanctuary" policies sheltering illegal immigrants, averred that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "needs to resign," along with Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, who Pritzker smeared as "a pathological liar.”

Axios [1/13/2026 4:43 PM, Andrew Solender, 12972K] reports over 50 House Democrats have signed on to co-sponsor articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Axios has learned. That is roughly a quarter of the House Democratic caucus — a far cry from the party’s out-of-hand dismissal of every other impeachment effort that has cropped up thus far during Trump’s second term. Reps. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Al Green (D-Texas) and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) were all derided by colleagues for their efforts to impeach Trump or his Cabinet officials and garnered little support. But this push by Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), a member of Democratic leadership, is riding a tsunami of anti-Noem sentiment within the caucus sparked by the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis last week. A total of 53 House Democrats signed on to the bill by the Tuesday afternoon co-sponsorship deadline, according from a list obtained by Axios. Several of the co-sponsors represent battleground districts, including Reps. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) and Dave Min (D-Calif.).

Washington Examiner [1/13/2026 3:34 PM, David Sivak, 1394K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has tentatively agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in February but is at a crossroads with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the panel chairman, over the length of her testimony. "She’s willing to come, but she wanted to limit it to one five-minute round, and we won’t stand for that," Grassley told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday, referring to the amount of time each committee member gets to question Noem. "We’re willing to listen on the number of rounds, but not something at five minutes," Grassley added, noting that Attorney General Pam Bondi sat for 10 minutes of questioning per senator in an October 2025 hearing. Noem’s testimony is of particular interest to Democrats on the Judiciary Committee after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis last week, but she has also irked Republicans for not appearing once last year before the panel, despite two separate requests from Grassley.

NPR [1/13/2026 1:51 PM, Ximena Bustillo and Anusha Mathur, 28013K] reports the Trump administration is ratcheting up the pressure on immigration courts and judges as it moves toward further constricting the due process available for immigrants. Court employees and judges at the San Francisco Immigration Court received a short email last week letting them know that their court at 100 Montgomery Street will be shutting its doors by the end of the year. All personnel will be transferred to the Concord Immigration Court, about 30 miles away, according to the email sent by Teresa Riley, the chief immigration judge, and obtained by NPR. Courtrooms at the Department of Homeland Security’s San Francisco detention facility located a 630 Sansome St. will remain. But the closure of the main courthouse is expected to add to the workload on immigration judges as they already face pressure to move through their caseloads faster and to streamline deportations. "At first it was a message that you better fall in line or you’re going to get fired," said Jeremiah Johnson, a former immigration judge who worked in San Francisco’s court until his termination last year. Now, "it’s a message that your court is going to be closed." San Francisco’s immigration court has been among those particularly hit by the Trump administration’s push to fire judges. According to a count kept by NPR, 12 judges and a court supervisor received termination notices last year. Several others retired or left, leaving the court with just four immigration judges and one supervisor to hear cases as of the beginning of this year — down from 21 at the start of 2025. The closure of the court came as a surprise to many current and former employees at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which is part of the Department of Justice. The employees spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. EOIR spokesperson Kathryn Mattingly says the move to Concord "would be more cost-effective." The judges who remain in the court this year now face some 120,935 immigration cases, according to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse data as of September. Those cases will be transferred to the court in Concord over the course of the next year, or be heard remotely, Mattingly said. The Concord court opened in early 2024 specifically to help ease the pressure on the San Francisco court, which was one of the busiest immigration courts in the country, hearing cases from migrants in Portland through California’s Central Valley. Concord’s court itself has also shed judges and other employees, and already has a growing backlog of immigration cases. EOIR is planning to bring on new classes of immigration judges at least every quarter to make up for those who were fired or left. But it’s unclear whether they would fully make up for the shortfalls. The Trump administration has also moved forward with temporary judge positions. The Pentagon in September authorized up to 600 military lawyers from the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, or JAGs, to serve as temporary immigration judges. One class of 25 was already onboarded and a second was expected to begin their training as soon as this week, NPR has learned from two sources not permitted to speak publicly.

CNN [1/13/2026 5:00 AM, Aaron Blake, 18595K] reports President Donald Trump’s efforts to leverage the Justice Department for political purposes and to exact retribution against his perceived foes haven’t suffered from a series of setbacks. We’ve seen little in the way of major cases against left-leaning political people and groups that Trump has suggested could or should be targeted. And as prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James struggle to get back off the ground after Trump’s handpicked prosecutor was disqualified, there’s a real risk of the whole thing backfiring. But Trump and his administration don’t appear deterred. In fact, as the last few days have shown, they appear to be ratcheting things up. The last week has featured two remarkable new fronts in Trump’s ongoing assault on Justice Department independence.

The New York Times [1/13/2026 6:15 PM, Ernesto Londoño, 135475K] reports that six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned on Tuesday over the Justice Department’s push to investigate the widow of a woman killed by an ICE agent and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter, according to people with knowledge of their decision. Joseph H. Thompson, who was second in command at the U.S. attorney’s office and oversaw a sprawling fraud investigation that has roiled Minnesota’s political landscape, was among those who quit on Tuesday, according to three people with knowledge of the decision. Mr. Thompson’s resignation came after senior Justice Department officials pressed for a criminal investigation into the actions of the widow of Renee Nicole Good, the Minneapolis woman killed by an ICE agent on Wednesday. Mr. Thompson, 47, a career prosecutor, objected to that approach, as well as to the Justice Department’s refusal to include state officials in investigating whether the shooting itself was lawful, the people familiar with his decision said. The Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, said in an interview that Mr. Thompson’s resignation dealt a major blow to efforts to root out rampant theft from state agencies. The fraud cases, which involve schemes to cheat safety net programs, were the chief reason the Trump administration cited for its immigration crackdown in the state. The vast majority of defendants charged in the cases are American citizens of Somali origin. Shortly after Wednesday’s fatal shooting, Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, referred to Ms. Good as a “domestic terrorist.” Becca Good said in a statement last week that she and her wife had “stopped to support our neighbors” when they got into a tense confrontation with ICE agents that led to the shooting. “We had whistles,” Becca Good wrote. “They had guns.” CBS News [1/13/2026 4:58 PM, Sarah N. Lynch and Scott MacFarlane, 39474K] reports several career prosecutors in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced their resignations this week shortly after they learned there would be no civil rights probe into the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal immigration agent, according to six sources briefed on the matter. At least six prosecutors, most of whom are supervisors in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, will be leaving their jobs. Their decision to resign was announced in a meeting to staff on Monday, the sources told CBS News. The announcement came after CBS News reported on Friday that career prosecutors in the section had offered to drop all of their work to help investigate the Minneapolis shooting, but they were told there would be no criminal civil rights investigation. The Washington Times [1/13/2026 11:11 AM, Matt Delaney, 852K] reports that those who quit include the unit’s chief and some immediate subordinates, according to MS NOW, which first reported the departures. NBC News [1/13/2026 6:11 PM, Julia Ainsley, Daniella Silva, Ryan J. Reilly and Michael Kosnar, 34509K] reports that the attorneys had felt pressure from Justice Department leadership, both in Minneapolis and in Washington, to investigate any ties to activist groups by Good and her widow, said a law enforcement official with knowledge of their decisions. The official said the prosecutors were also concerned about a decision to cut out state and local authorities from the federal investigation. The FBI is investigating. But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Tuesday there was "currently no basis" for an investigation by the criminal section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. ICE’s Office of Public Responsibility is conducting its own internal investigation, Blanche said, as is protocol for the agency after every officer-involved shooting. Any investigation runs parallel to the FBI’s investigation into the shooting, a Justice Department official said.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [1/13/2026 7:04 PM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE

Axios [1/13/2026 1:49 PM, Nick Halter, 12972K] reports that Joe Thompson, the assistant U.S. Attorney who has overseen the investigation into massive fraud schemes in Minnesota, is one of six federal prosecutors resigning from the office, according to multiple media reports. Why it matters: The New York Times and Minnesota Pubic Radio, using unnamed sources, reported that Thompson quit because of how the DOJ is handling the investigation into the ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week. The Times said Thompson objected to the department pressing for an investigation into Good’s widow — who was near the vehicle Good was driving at the time of the shooting — as well as its decision to push state officials out of the investigation. Veteran assistant U.S. Attorneys Melinda Williams, Harry Jacobs, and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez also resigned, per MPR. What they’re saying: The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment. The Minnesota Star Tribune obtained an email from Thompson saying "It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the United States and this office," but he didn’t give a reason for the resignation.

AP [1/13/2026 6:19 PM, Alanna Durkin Richer, Eric Tucker, 31753K] reports the Justice Department does not believe there is currently any basis to open a criminal civil rights investigation into the killing of a woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, a top department official said Tuesday. The decision to keep the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division out of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good marks a sharp departure from past administrations, which have moved quickly to probe shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights offenses. While an FBI probe is ongoing, lawyers in the Civil Rights Division were informed last week that they would not play a role in the investigation at this time, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal department deliberations. And on Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that "there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation." Federal officials have said that the officer acted in self-defense and that the driver of the Honda was engaging in "an act of domestic terrorism" when she pulled forward toward him. The quick pronouncement by administration officials before any meaningful investigation could be completed has raised concerns about the federal government’s determination to conduct a thorough review of the chain of events precipitating the shooting. Minnesota officials have also raised alarm after federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing evidence and declared that Minnesota has no jurisdiction to investigate the killing. Also this week, roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned and several supervisors in the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division in Washington gave notice of their departures amid turmoil over the federal probe, according to people familiar with the matter.

CNN [1/13/2026 8:25 PM, Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky, 18595K] reports the Pentagon is working to surge dozens of military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist in federal prosecutions amid an immigration enforcement crackdown there, according to two officials familiar with the matter and a written request that has circulated inside the Defense Department. The emailed request, reviewed by CNN, says that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has directed the military services to identify 40 judge advocate general officers, from which 25 will be selected to serve as special assistant United States attorneys in Minneapolis. "Ideally have significant experience in criminal prosecution, civil litigation, administrative law, immigration law, general litigation, or other related fields," the request says. Around 1,000 additional US Customs and Border Protection agents are expected to deploy to Minneapolis soon, as tensions between federal and local law enforcement have flared after the fatal, ICE-involved shooting last week of mother of three Renee Nicole Good sparked protests nationwide. One of the officials and another person familiar with the JAG Corps told CNN that 25 JAGs is a huge number to send to one city. But it’s increasingly being done in cities the Trump administration is targeting with increased federal crackdowns on crime and immigration. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment. Last August, the Pentagon planned to detail 20 JAGs to Washington, DC, in what DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said was aimed at "fighting and reducing crime in the district." And just last week, the Pentagon detailed 20 JAGs to Memphis "to support" a White House directive to "restore order" to the city, the US attorney for the western district of Tennessee said in a statement. The Pentagon in September also authorized up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges around the country, in phases of 150 at a time as needed, CNN has reported. One of the officials said the increased detailing of JAGs to the Justice Department is taking valuable resources away from the Defense Department. "We don’t have enough attorneys to fill regular jobs in the JAG Corps because so many are exiting," this person said. "This continued demand for SAUSAs is bleeding legal resources from the military.”

(B) ABC 11 Eyewitness News 10AM [1/13/2026 10:11 AM, Staff] reports that the State of Minnesota and Twin Cities are suing the Trump administration over the widespread immigration crackdown that it happening there. The lawsuit filed on Monday argues that Operation Metro Surge is a federal invasion that violates the 10th Amendment by unlawfully commanding state resources and interfering with the state’s authority to govern and disregarding state law and city ordinances. They are seeking a court order to halt the crackdown. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says the lawsuit is baseless and that they will fight it in court.

FOX News [1/13/2026 12:20 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says the city is suing the Trump administration over what he calls ‘unconstitutional’ ICE tactics tied to the immigration enforcement surge. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/13/2026 11:39 AM, Staff, 10085K] reports that White House border czar Tom Homan joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to respond to Minnesota officials accusing ICE of constitutional violations and to defend stepped-up enforcement against criminal illegal aliens. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CNN [1/14/2026 2:23 AM, Hanna Park, Elise Hammond, 606K] reports a hearing is expected Wednesday in the lawsuit filed by the state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities challenging the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation there, which the lawsuit calls "a federal invasion.” The hearing follows the resignation of at least half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota amid pressure from the Trump administration on how to conduct an investigation into the deadly shooting of a woman by an ICE agent last week, a source said. The killing of Renee Good, a US citizen and mother of three, sparked days of protests in Minneapolis as the Trump administration said it was deploying around 1,000 additional Customs and Border Protection personnel to the region. The Wednesday court hearing involves the Minnesota lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, which is seeking a court order halting immigration enforcement operations. The lawsuit claims Operation Metro Surge is not a legitimate law enforcement action and says the Twin Cities are being targeted because of sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with the federal government during immigration enforcement efforts. In response to the lawsuit, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the Constitution was on the administration’s side and the surge of federal officers was needed because politicians in Illinois and Minnesota were not protecting their citizens. The senior career prosecutors who stepped down reportedly objected to pressure from the White House to shift the investigation into Good’s shooting away from the agent’s use of force and toward Good, her widow, and others connected to immigration protests. Joseph Thompson, who frequently handled investigations with political implications including one into social services fraud. Read more about who some of the other prosecutors were here. No civil rights investigation: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department does not believe there is evidence to back a criminal civil rights investigation into the actions of the ICE agent who shot Good. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara criticized the move. An FBI investigation of the shooting is ongoing, though local authorities have been blocked from joining the probe. More federal agents: US Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino said "hundreds and hundreds" of additional federal agents are being deployed to Minneapolis. The agents started deploying Friday and continued over the weekend, according to two federal law enforcement sources.

NewsMax [1/13/2026 3:30 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K] reports a federal judge in Minneapolis is expected to rule as early as Thursday evening or Friday morning in a lawsuit challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity tied to "Operation Metro Surge," a large-scale immigration enforcement effort in the Twin Cities metro area. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, along with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, seeking limits on the operation, arguing federal agents violated constitutional protections during enforcement actions. The case intensified following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, an incident that prompted protests and condemnation from local Democratic leaders. At a hearing Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Politico reported that Judge Kate Menendez questioned whether ICE agents may lawfully stop vehicles that are following them while obeying traffic laws, and whether officers can draw firearms on motorists absent evidence of a crime. The judge appeared skeptical of efforts to impose a statewide injunction or to provisionally certify a class at this stage of the case. Instead, she signaled that any potential ruling could be limited to "Operation Metro Surge" or to the seven counties that make up the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The next procedural question before the court is whether plaintiffs and the Department of Justice must provide video evidence from specific arrests before a ruling on a preliminary injunction is issued.

FOX News [1/13/2026 1:08 PM, Marc Tamasco, 40621K] reports that CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said state legal challenges against President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns lack legal standing and amount to "political diatribes masquerading as lawsuits." The state of Minnesota, along with the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, filed lawsuits against the Trump administration over what they described as a "federal invasion" by ICE and other federal deportation forces. On Tuesday’s episode of "CNN News Central," anchor Kate Bolduan asked Honig whether the lawsuits filed against the Trump administration, particularly in Minnesota, were strong. "No, I don’t, Kate," Honig replied. "I’ve read both the Minnesota and Illinois lawsuits. They’re really political diatribes masquerading as lawsuits." Similar to Minnesota, the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago also filed lawsuits over Trump’s immigration crackdown. Both lawsuits came Monday, following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent last week. Honig continued, explaining that the lawsuits seek to "kick ICE out of those states and cities and bar the agency from conducting federal law enforcement in Illinois and Minnesota." "That’s the top thing both states ask to do, and they cite zero precedent for that. There is zero precedent for that," he said. "There is no way a judge can say, ‘You, federal law enforcement agency, you are not allowed to execute federal law in a certain state or city.’" Minnesota’s lawsuit names Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, top officials with DHS, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — including Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino — along with the federal agencies themselves. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CNN [1/14/2026 4:00 AM, Danya Gainor, 18595K] reports over the last several months, Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Paul have seen a dramatic escalation in federal immigration enforcement along their chilly streets, with agents arresting thousands – including some US citizens – in neighborhoods, shopping centers, schools and at protests. The surge is the result of the Trump administration’s commitment to cracking down on immigration, concentrated in Democratic-led cities, and follows weeks of growing tensions between the federal government and local Midwestern officials who have long implored for an end to the operations. Illinois and Minnesota, joined by their city counterparts, are now separately pursuing legal action against the administration, filing lawsuits Monday in federal courts over immigration enforcement they call unlawful and unconstitutional. A status conference for Minnesota’s complaint is set for Wednesday morning before US District Judge Katherine M. Menendez. A hearing has not yet been scheduled in Illinois. But the road ahead for both suits appears dim, with their likelihood for success small, one expert says.

Univision Chicago WGBO [1/13/2026 3:23 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports the city of Chicago joined Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Monday, January 12, in filing a federal lawsuit against the United States government following Operations Midway Blitz and At Large, which were deployed starting in September 2015. Chicago and Illinois allege illegal actions, abusive tactics, and repeated violations of civil rights committed by agents of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and accuses the Trump administration of overseeing a “militarized” immigration enforcement campaign in Chicago that “has endangered families, weakened public safety efforts and generated chaos and fear in various communities in the city.” The legal document states that federal agents allegedly questioned residents about their immigration status without any basis, made civil arrests without warrants or probable cause, and used tear gas and other chemical agents without prior warning against people who did not resist. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges actions in or near sensitive locations, such as schools and shelters, as well as illegal entry onto private and government property.

NewsMax [1/13/2026 9:49 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4109K] reports President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minnesota and said local Democrats are supporting "anarchists and professional agitators" to deflect attention from massive government fraud allegations within the state. In a Truth Social post, Trump argued ICE officers are trying to remove dangerous criminals from communities, blaming what he called former President Joe Biden’s "HORRIBLE Open Border’s Policy" for allowing violent offenders to enter the country illegally. "Do the people of Minnesota really want to live in a community in which there are thousands of already convicted murderers, drug dealers and addicts, rapists, violent released and escaped prisoners, dangerous people from foreign mental institutions and insane asylums, and other deadly criminals too dangerous to even mention," Trump wrote. "All the patriots of ICE want to do is remove them from your neighborhood and send them back to the prisons and mental institutions from where they came.” Trump said crime drops when ICE ramps up enforcement, citing Chicago as an example. "Every place we go, crime comes down," he wrote, adding that "Thousands of Criminals were removed!". The president also aimed criticism at Minnesota Democrats, saying unrest in the Twin Cities is being exploited for political cover. "Minnesota Democrats love the unrest that anarchists and professional agitators are causing because it gets the spotlight off of the 19 Billion Dollars that was stolen by really bad and deranged people," Trump wrote. "FEAR NOT ... THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!". The Department of Homeland Security has defended its actions and said it is deploying more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota. DHS has also said it has made more than 2,000 arrests since December, calling the surge its largest enforcement operation ever. Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin pushed back on state and local leaders, saying Trump’s administration is enforcing the law and prioritizing public safety. "President Trump’s job is to protect the American people and enforce the law," she said.

FOX News [1/13/2026 9:55 AM, Anders Hagstrom, 40621K] reports that President Donald Trump vowed a day of "reckoning and retribution" in Minnesota as the Department of Homeland Security sent hundreds more federal agents to the state this week. Trump issued the warning on social media Tuesday, accusing Democrats of capitalizing on the unrest to shift focus away from Minnesota’s ongoing fraud scandal. DHS Sec. Kristi Noem announced on Sunday that the administration is sending hundreds more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Minneapolis this week. "Do the people of Minnesota really want to live in a community in which there are thousands of already convicted murderers, drug dealers and addicts, rapists, violent released and escaped prisoners, dangerous people from foreign mental institutions and insane asylums, and other deadly criminals too dangerous to even mention?" Trump wrote on X. "All the patriots of ICE want to do is remove them from your neighborhood and send them back to the prisons and mental institutions from where they came, most in foreign Countries who illegally entered the USA though [sic] Sleepy Joe Biden’s HORRIBLE Open Border’s Policy. Every place we go, crime comes down. In Chicago, despite a weak and incompetent Governor and Mayor fighting us all the way, a big improvement was made. Thousands of Criminals were removed!" he continued.

FOX News [1/13/2026 6:54 AM, Alec Schemmel, 40621K] reports the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is demanding Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey honor federal immigration detainers for the more than 1,300 criminal illegal aliens within the state’s custody, after hundreds were allegedly let back on the streets. Both Walz and Frey "refuse" to cooperate with federal immigration officials, according to DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who accused the pair of releasing nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto Minneapolis’ streets. "We are calling on Walz and Frey to stop this dangerous policy and commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 1,360 criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota’s custody," McLaughlin said. "It is common sense. Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans.”

The Hill [1/13/2026 11:40 AM, Ryan Mancini, 12595K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting Director Joe Lyons on Monday downplayed Minnesota’s lawsuit to block the statewide surge of federal immigration enforcement officers, dismissing its allegations as “just very sad.” “So there’s a lot that I don’t think they understand about what ICE is doing,” Lyons said on Fox News. “And the allegations are just really sad.” The lawsuit states that the 10th Amendment gives Minnesota and its communities “inviolable sovereign authority to protect the health and wellbeing of all those who reside, work, or visit within their borders.” It accuses the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of “an unlawful attempt to commandeer state and local law enforcement to assist federal agents in carrying out federal immigration laws.” Lyons pushed back on this, saying that ICE never asked “any government agency in Minnesota to do immigration law for us.” “So I don’t see how that’s overreach,” Lyons continued. “You know, what we’re doing is we’re doing our lawful law enforcement mission that Congress has on the books. Obviously now it’s pending litigation. I’m not going to go too much in it, but there were a lot of allegations there. There’s a lot to unpack.” The state’s lawsuit argues that the Trump administration is infringing on its 10th Amendment rights and violating federal law by retaliating against cities and the state in violation of the First Amendment. The rift between state and local officials in Minnesota and ICE intensified an ICE officer operating in Minneapolis shot and killed Good after the Trump administration alleged that she attempted to run over an ICE officer with her SUV in an act of “domestic terrorism,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

New York Post [1/13/2026 7:26 AM, Richard Pollina and Emily Crane, 42219K] reports the ICE agent who fatally shot protester Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis is unlikely to face criminal charges — as the Justice Department is not expected to open a civil rights probe into the deadly ordeal, according to a report. Federal investigators assigned to probe last week’s fatal encounter are looking increasingly less likely to charge the agent, Jonathan Ross, after he opened fire on the 37-year-old, the New York Times reported, citing sources familiar with the investigation. The decision could change, however, as the investigation unfolds, the sources said. FBI investigators, who have taken over the case from local authorities, said their review of the fatal shooting includes analyzing Ross’ conduct and key physical evidence — including the handgun involved. Meanwhile, the DOJ’s civil rights division has so far declined to look at whether Ross, a President Trump-supporting war veteran, potentially violated the protester’s civil rights when he fired three shots at her. The Trump administration, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, quickly branded Good a "domestic terrorist" — arguing that the ICE agent only fired the fatal shots in self-defense after the alleged agitator struck him with her vehicle. As part of the investigation, the feds are said to be zeroing in on Good’s links to anti-ICE activist groups protesting the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The Justice Department plans to examine the actions of numerous activists who took part in apparent neighborhood watch activities in the lead-up to Good’s death. It comes as massive protests continue in Minneapolis and throughout the country in the wake of Good’s death.

Daily Wire [1/13/2026 1:33 PM, Tim Pearce, 2494K] reports White House border czar Tom Homan said Tuesday that the immigration officer involved in the shooting death of anti-ICE activist Renee Good is in hiding. Homan said that Jonathan Ross is in hiding because of an excessive amount of threats made against him and his family since Good’s death last week. The border czar said that Ross would wait for the investigation to end before he comes out of hiding, and then potentially file lawsuits for defamation. "I think he’s going to, you know, wait for this investigation to play itself out and wait for them to come out with actual facts, what happened," Homan said during an appearance on "Will Cain Country." "Then, I think you may see him take action because I know for a fact, you know, now he has to be in hiding.” Host Will Cain asked Homan directly if Ross was in hiding now. "Yes, for the safety of him and his family," Homan responded. "I mean, there are wanted posters with his picture, his license plate number, you know, and the death threats against him and his family.” People were seen at Ross’ home late last week packing boxes, a neighbor of Ross told NBC News. Some of Ross’ neighbors have spoken about leaving the area for a few days while the uproar around Good’s death rages. Last week, Ross shot and killed Good, a 37-year-old activist who blocked and antagonized immigration officials working in Minneapolis. Good blocked a street with her car and held immigration officials up for several minutes. After immigration agents requested she exit her vehicle, she backed up and pulled forward in the direction of Ross. After her car bumped him, Ross fatally shot her. The shooting has become a flashpoint of criticism over President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Democratic politicians such as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have demonized federal immigration enforcement as part of their criticisms of Trump’s agenda. Walz warned of a brewing "civil war" in the aftermath of the shooting. Last year, he compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Nazi gestapo. Protests against ICE have featured violent language and threats against ICE and top Trump officials. At a recent protest in Manhattan, activists chanted slogans such as "Save a life, kill an ICE," and "Kristi Noem will hang.”

Breitbart [1/13/2026 9:40 AM, Amy Furr, 2416K] reports a GoFundMe for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis has raised over $600,000. The fundraiser for ICE agent Jonathan Ross was created by a man named Clyde Emmons who said on the page, "I feel that the officer that was 1000 percent justified in the shooting deserves to have a go fund me," noting all the money will go to help Ross, TMZ reported Monday. In an update on Sunday, Emmons said, "The creator of the givesendgo fund has direct contact with Johnathan! so I am in contact with him gave him my number and he said he would pass it onto John himself so I can finally add him as the beneficiary so he can get these funds he deserves." GoFundMe is reportedly reviewing fundraisers connected to the shooting "to ensure they are compliant with our Terms of Service," a spokesperson told Newsweek: The spokesperson said GoFundMe’s terms "prohibit fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with a violent crime. Any campaigns that violate this policy will be removed." Ross has not been charged with crime.

FOX News [1/13/2026 9:51 PM, Greg Wehner, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports the Department of Justice (DOJ) will not pursue a criminal civil rights investigation into the killing of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, a top department official said Tuesday. The move marks a departure from past administrations, which have typically moved quickly to open Justice Department civil rights reviews of fatal encounters involving law enforcement, even when criminal charges were considered unlikely. Lawyers with the Civil Rights Division were told last week they would not be part of the investigation at this time, two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press. In line with those reports, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News Digital Tuesday, "There is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.” CNN first reported Blanche’s statement, which did not provide details on how the DOJ reached its conclusion that no investigation was warranted. Federal officials have said that when Good pulled forward in her vehicle toward the ICE officer, he acted in self-defense and described the driver’s actions as "an act of domestic terrorism.” Still, the DOJ’s decision to keep the Civil Rights Division out of the investigation before it is complete has raised concerns about the Trump administration’s determination to conduct a full review of the events leading to the shooting. Minnesota officials have claimed federal authorities blocked state investigators from accessing evidence in the case and asserted that the state lacks jurisdiction to independently investigate the killing, according to the AP. "As with any officer-involved shooting, each law enforcement agency has an internal investigation protocol, including DHS," a DOJ official told Fox News Digital. "As such, ICE OPR has its own investigation underway. This runs parallel to any FBI investigation.” The decision has been followed by a wave of departures among federal prosecutors involved in the case. Roughly half a dozen prosecutors in the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office have resigned in recent days, along with several supervisors in the criminal section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. Among those who resigned was First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson, who had been overseeing major fraud prosecutions in Minnesota, according to two people familiar with the matter. The situation drew sharp criticism from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. "These prosecutors are heroes, and the people pushing to prosecute Renee’s widow are monsters," Frey wrote Tuesday in a post on X. "In their pursuit of cruelty, the administration also just set back the work of fighting fraud by pushing out the prosecutors who were working on those cases." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/13/2026 6:03 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40621K] reports less than a week after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot while allegedly blocking an ICE operation in Minneapolis, another woman was seen on video blocking a Minnesota road with her vehicle as anti-ICE agitators gathered in support. Video showed federal agents on Tuesday breaking the passenger side window of the car while attempting to stop the female driver, who appeared to be wedging agents between her vehicle and another car blocking the road. The woman, who has not yet been identified, was pulled from the car as she clung onto the driver’s side door. Minutes later, agitators wearing black hoodies and gas masks were seen banging against the federal agents’ cars, as tear gas, pepper balls and pepper spray were deployed in an attempt to get control of the unruly crowd. Footage showed multiple people being detained in the snow as others recorded the interactions on their phones. Meanwhile, another crowd of about 70 to 80 protesters gathered Tuesday at Minneapolis’ Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, where they were seen blocking and throwing rocks at federal agents’ cars. One agitator near the building was caught on video opening up the back of a federal vehicle as it drove away, and another was arrested after allegedly throwing water bottles and kicking agents’ vehicles. Marcos Charles, ICE ERO acting executive associate director, told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on Tuesday that 60 agitators have been charged with impeding or assaulting immigration agents in Minnesota within the last five days. Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have blamed the Trump administration for the unrest following Good’s death, filing a lawsuit to block the ongoing federal immigration enforcement surge. DHS officials pushed back, accusing Minnesota leaders of undermining public safety and obstructing federal law enforcement.

FOX News [1/13/2026 7:56 AM, Staff, 40621K] Video: HERE reports retired Yuma Sector Border Patrol Chief Chris Clem and prosecutor Wendy Patrick discuss Minneapolis tensions, a confrontation involving Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino and a new video tied to the Renee Good case.

Reuters [1/13/2026 6:11 AM, Julia Harte, 36480K] reports video of a U.S. immigration agent fatally shooting a Minneapolis mother in her car on Wednesday has divided the nation, becoming a political Rorschach test that elicits different verdicts depending on who views it. President Donald Trump and his administration have defended the agent and branded 37-year-old Renee Good a domestic terrorist. Local leaders and protesters across the country have condemned the shooting, saying the fact that Good turned her wheels away from the officer as she drove past him proved her peaceful intentions. Since the shooting last Wednesday, Reuters has spoken to six Americans who voted for Trump in 2024 - part of a group of 20 whom Reuters has interviewed monthly since February - to better understand how they assess an incident caught on video, that has been viewed by millions. Each of these half-dozen voters, who vary in their assessments of Trump’s immigration policy and overall performance, came away from the video with the same conclusion: The agent feared for his life and his decision to shoot Good was justifiable. Their verdict mirrors that of the Trump administration. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters hours after the incident that Good had refused agents’ orders to move and then “proceeded to weaponize her vehicle.” Trump said on social media that the woman "ran over the ICE Officer." Many Americans disagree. Tens of thousands of people marched through Minneapolis this weekend to decry the killing and the city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, called the Trump administration’s assessment "bullshit." Frey said the video showed an "agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed."

Bloomberg [1/14/2026 4:30 AM, Anya Bidwell and Patrick Jaicomo, 803K] reports the world watched as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. Floyd’s family, while it could never be made whole, obtained some accountability. The family sued under the federal civil rights statute Section 1983, which allows constitutional claims to be brought against those acting under color of state law, and secured a landmark $27 million pre-trial settlement. Chauvin was prosecuted and convicted for Floyd’s murder. These two avenues to accountability—a civil suit and criminal prosecution—were available because Floyd’s killer was a local officer. By contrast, the ICE officer who shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week stands in the shadow of federal protection. Federal officials enjoy near-complete immunity from conventional lawsuits: Bivens remedies—which once allowed Americans to sue federal officers directly, the way Section 1983 does when it comes to state and local officers—have largely been eroded. Courts now reject new Bivens actions—especially so in an immigration context. The Federal Tort Claims Act, or FTCA, offers a waiver of sovereign immunity only in narrow circumstances, but it excludes "discretionary function" cases, which the Department of Homeland Security has invoked. The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause immunity generally protects federal agents from state-law-based prosecutions. The result? Families like Good’s are stranded without legal avenues for suit. This is starkly different from the Minnesota police officers in Floyd’s case.

The Hill [1/13/2026 11:49 AM, Sarah Davis, 12595K] reports a weekend of protests in Minnesota displayed continued tensions over the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) massive immigration crackdown in the state. Protesters and federal officers clashed during a demonstration outside of the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on Monday evening. After a person threw fireworks at the officers, the federal authorities deployed tear gas and shot pepper bullets at the crowd. Demonstrators were protesting the shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed in her vehicle by an ICE officer last Wednesday during an immigration operation in Minneapolis. DHS has defended the officer as acting in self-defense, while local officials and congressional Democrats argue that Good posed no threat. The shooting has prompted many protests and vigils across the state. While Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) said that demonstrations have been mostly peaceful in his city, several protesters have been arrested for destruction of property or causing harm to officers or others. A man who spoke to NewsNation on Monday said he spent six hours inside the Whipple Building after being detained during a protest in St. Cloud, Minn. He said he was released with “pending charges.” “Literally everybody who was in my cell — and we’re talking like 8 people — everybody was a U.S. citizen,” he told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network. “There was not a single person who was an immigrant out of 8 people.” Additionally, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) announced a joint lawsuit on Monday with the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul against DHS’s deployment of thousands of immigration agents into the state. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) accused federal agents of “arresting, threatening, and using force against innocent bystanders” in a Monday post on the social platform X. “They have carried out enforcement actions in schools, at hospitals, and in one horrific instance shot and killed someone,” he posted. In response to the lawsuit, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the federal officer’s presence in the state and blamed local officials for impeding their operations. “President Trump’s job is to protect the American people and enforce the law — no matter who your mayor, governor, or state attorney general is,” McLaughlin posted on X. “That’s what the Trump administration is doing; we have the Constitution on our side on this, and we look forward to proving that in court.” DHS said that it has arrested more than 2,000 people since early December.

Breitbart [1/14/2026 1:14 AM, Pam Key, 2416K] reports that, Tuesday on MS NOW’s "All In," Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was "roaming the streets, harassing and terrorizing" the people of her district. Host Chris Hayes said, "Congresswoman, first, let me just ask about how your district is doing and what you have been hearing from the people you represent in that district over the last several days?". Omar said, "The district really is on edge. People are angry. People are frustrated. They’re confused. They don’t understand why this chaos, is is necessary. And they certainly, do not want this level of militarized ICE and border agents just roaming the streets, harassing and terrorizing their neighbors.” Hayes said, "How much do you feel like this animus towards you, towards Somali Americans? Is is driving this entire now deadly spectacle?". Omar said, "I do think that he has, you know, a target on the backs of of Somalis. Unfortunately, when they came into Minneapolis, they didn’t, they didn’t find what they thought that they would find. What they found was a community, that is probably 99%, legally in this country, many of them who are citizens. Nearly 60% of them born in the United States. And so because they can’t fulfill this promise that they made, that they were going to round up Somalis, they’re basically now just harassing everyone else in, in, in that anger of not being able to do what they wanted to do.”

FOX News [1/13/2026 7:52 AM, Alec Schemmel, 40621K] reports Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is facing backlash from critics for encouraging violence after two separate shootings involving federal immigration agents in Portland and Minneapolis last week. Critics have pointed to comments Omar made in a cable television interview accusing ICE of murder and other things she said this weekend while protesting in Minneapolis. Along with two other House members, she was seen on video visiting a Minneapolis detention facility over the weekend, flanked by a hoard of protesters and ICE hecklers. Another video from the weekend showed Omar riding in the back of a pickup truck leading protesters through Minneapolis streets and telling folks that "we are going to make sure that these people pay for what they have done to us.” Omar’s recent rhetoric, such as from this past weekend, has led her conservative critics to cry foul, arguing she is "inciting violence." The complaints come amid what people have lamented – particularly after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death – is an uptick in political assassinations and assassination attempts the country has seen recently. "Ilhan Omar is now on the ground with left-wing protestors in Minneapolis," conservative influencer and housing policy advisor at America First Policy Institute Benny Johnson noted over the weekend as Omar marched with folks. "And you guessed it, she’s encouraging violence against ICE.” "We are going to show all of them the door out. And we are going to make sure that these people pay for what they have done to us!" Omar can be heard saying to loud cheers while leading marchers from the truck. "We are committed to this resistance!". Conservative activist and media personality David Harris accused Omar of inciting violence toward federal officials, describing the congresswoman’s rhetoric as lies. "LYING through her teeth!" Harris said of Omar’s remarks. In response to Omar’s "disappearing" claim, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin called the accusation a "lie" meant to "demonize" federal immigration officials. Meanwhile, other critics of Omar have pointed to a CNN interview she gave with Jake Tapper following the Minneapolis shooting last week, where she accused ICE officials of "murder.”

Daily Caller [1/13/2026 4:49 PM, Adam Pack, 835K] reports Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and nearly 100 of her House colleagues are vowing to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent on Jan. 7. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — which includes ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) — expires on Jan. 30. The group of Democrats, members of the left-wing Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), is pledging to vote against all future funding for immigration enforcement, citing a laundry list of alleged abuses by the agency. Democratic lawmakers did not provide details about how the federal government should handle criminal illegal immigrants if ICE is defunded, when pressed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

CNN [1/13/2026 7:02 PM, Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz, 18595K] reports the Trump administration’s efforts to investigate Renee Good and others around her, and not the ICE officer who shot her in Minneapolis, is wreaking havoc on the US attorney’s office in Minnesota, which is leading the probe. At least half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned amid growing tensions between state and federal officials since the shooting on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The Trump administration quickly declared that the agent, Jonathan Ross, acted appropriately and alleged that responsibility for the fatal shooting lay with Good and those around her. "There is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement to CNN Tuesday in the clearest indication so far that federal investigators aren’t examining the conduct of the ICE officer, while at the same time blocking local authorities from using their jurisdiction to investigate the shooting. Among the Minnesota prosecutors who resigned is Joseph Thompson, the second-in-charge at the US attorney’s office, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Harry Jacobs, a senior prosecutor who together with Thompson lead the Justice Department’s yearslong effort to tackle social services fraud in Minnesota, also resigned. Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis initially struck an agreement with local prosecutors and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to jointly investigate the shooting, a routine arrangement that typically follows federal officer-involved shooting incidents. Minnesota authorities said they were later informed by the FBI that the US attorney’s office had ordered federal agents to conduct the investigation alone, without the involvement of local authorities. That decision came from Washington, the source said. At the same time, lawyers in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division were told that they would not be assisting in the probe into the shooting, another person familiar with the matter told CNN.

FOX News [1/13/2026 4:13 PM, Peter Pinedo, 40621K] reports Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are flipping the script on sanctuary politicians and local leaders who have accused the agency of unleashing chaos on communities, saying it is the critics’ rhetoric that is creating dangerous conditions. Vance wrote on X Tuesday that "an extremely important point" is that "you’re only seeing chaotic ICE raids in blue sanctuary cities where local officials are fighting against federal law enforcement." ICE went further, writing on X that "everything stems from local leadership and their cooperation or noncooperation with ICE." On Tuesday, however, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the federal government is surging agents to Minneapolis and other sanctuary cities "because Minnesota law enforcement won’t let us in their jails. … That includes murderers, kidnappers and child pedophiles. That means DHS has to find them and apprehend them in the streets WITHOUT the help of local law enforcement." She said that, due to sanctuary policies, local law enforcement "can’t answer calls for backup when our law enforcement are attacked, assaulted and obstructed."

USA Today [1/13/2026 9:25 AM, Brendan Morrow, 67103K] reports Jimmy Kimmel is sharing his support for those taking to the streets to protest following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good. In his latest monologue on Jan. 12, the late-night host slammed President Donald Trump’s "ongoing war against Minneapolis" and praised the "patriotic Americans" who protested Immigration and Customs Enforcement after Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minnesota amid an immigration enforcement operation there. Kimmel expressed support for the protesters who are exercising their First Amendment rights "while we still have First Amendment rights" and criticized Trump for his response to the shooting. "His response to the intense outrage following the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent is to send in even more ICE agents, because when you’re trying to put out a grease fire, what do you do? You throw more grease on it, right?" Kimmel said. The Department of Homeland Security has said the ICE agent acted in self-defense and accused Good of weaponizing her car against the officer in an act of "domestic terrorism." Local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, have pushed back against those trying to "spin this as an action of self-defense," citing video of the shooting that appeared to show Good’s vehicle turning away from the ICE officer. In his monologue last week, Kimmel said that from the video, it "looked to me like a woman got scared, tried to drive away, and they shot her.” In his Jan. 12 monologue, Kimmel criticized Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for doubling down on accusing Good of domestic terrorism. "This is what they want us to believe," the comedian said. "They need to paint anyone who protests as violent and dangerous, even a mom in a Honda.”

FOX News [1/13/2026 9:17 AM, Marc Tamasco, 40621K] reports that following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent last week, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel suggested that President Donald Trump send ICE out of Minneapolis and into Iran to aid in the ongoing protests against the Islamic Republic. During Monday’s episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," the late-night host tore into "Trump’s ongoing war against Minneapolis" after the president sent more ICE agents into the city following last week’s shooting. "Ironically, while the White House is trying to squash the protests here, the ‘Lie-attolah’ is said to be mulling over a military strike on Iran to support the protesters there. From atop his golden toilet, [Trump] posted, ‘Iran is looking at freedom, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help,’" he told the audience. "I have an idea. Send all those guys from ICE out of Minneapolis to Iran. They can help." Good, 37, was fatally shot on Wednesday during an ICE operation in south Minneapolis. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), agents were attempting to make arrests when Good tried to use her vehicle as a weapon against officers, prompting a federal agent to fire in self-defense. Earlier in the segment, Kimmel mocked Trump for his response to the unrest taking place in Minneapolis following Good’s death, questioning why he would send more federal agents to the city as anti-ICE protests continue to rage. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [1/13/2026 4:48 PM, Sahil Kapur, Kyle Stewart and Melanie Zanona, 34509K] reports Democrats are wrestling with whether to use a key Jan. 30 deadline to demand constraints on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed an American woman in Minneapolis. Progressives in the House and Senate are calling on their party to hold firm in opposition to a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security unless it comes with conditions — such as requiring agents to wear identification, limiting Customs and Border Protection agents to the border and requiring judicial warrants to arrest suspects in immigration cases. The Congressional Progressive Caucus announced Tuesday that its members have formally voted to oppose any bill to fund DHS "unless there are meaningful and significant reforms to immigration enforcement practices." The blowback from Democrats to the Minnesota ICE shooting, which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the White House have defended, may pose a problem for Republicans in Congress who will need at least some Democratic votes to fund the government — including DHS — before Jan. 31 or risk a shutdown. Democratic opposition has already frozen a DHS measure that was slated to be added to an appropriations package getting a Senate vote this week. Congress may have to fall back on a stopgap bill to prevent a funding lapse for DHS. If House Republicans pass a continuing resolution on their own, which would keep DHS running on autopilot, Senate Democrats would again have to choose between accepting it and forcing a partial shutdown.

New York Times [1/13/2026 8:46 PM, Mitch Smith, 135475K] reports Jacob Frey, only days into his third term as mayor of Minneapolis, stepped to a microphone last week hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good on the south side of town. Federal officials were defending the shooting. The mayor was having none of it. Mr. Frey, a Democrat, called the federal government’s self-defense claim “bullshit.” He told ICE to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis.” And he asked residents to stay peaceful, lest the Trump administration send in the military. His comments made national headlines, winning him praise from unlikely corners of his city while angering top officials in Washington. A senior federal law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, cited the mayor’s fiery remarks as the reason state agents had been removed from the shooting investigation. On social media, the Trump administration said that Mr. Frey was a “scumbag” who “should be ashamed of himself.” And in a statement, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, described the mayor as “a disgrace” who had “rushed to publicly lie and incite more violence against law enforcement.”

FOX News [1/13/2026 9:16 PM, Nora Moriarty, 40621K] reports Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey insisted protests across the city have remained "peaceful" following the fatal shooting of Renee Good during an exclusive interview with "Fox & Friends". "We have had, perhaps tens of thousands of people peacefully protesting in the street," Frey said in an interview that will air Wednesday on "Fox & Friends." "And at the same time, yeah, they are going to stand up for their neighbors.” The mayor addressed the fallout from the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Good was shot and killed during an interaction with an I.C.E. officer last Wednesday. Since then, protests have erupted in Minneapolis and across the nation. Local officials such as Frey have slammed the officer’s actions. Meanwhile, federal officials, including members of the Trump administration, have stood solidly behind I.C.E., and said the agent acted in self-defense and labeled Good’s actions leading up to the shooting as "an act of domestic terrorism." Several Democrats have rejected the self-defense claim. Mayor Frey said he does not support abolishing I.C.E., despite Minnesota filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its surge in immigration enforcement operations. "I do not support abolishing ICE," Frey said. "However, I absolutely oppose the way that this administration is conducting themselves with us.” Frey noted that while Minneapolis has experienced I.C.E. operations before, the current influx of federal agents is excessive, particularly when compared to the city’s relatively small police force. "Right now, there are about 3,000 federal ICE agents in our city between ICE and border control," Frey explained. "You know how many police officers that we have? 600.” "The kind of duress that our city is experiencing because of this is, is magnified," he added. The mayor accused ICE of "unconstitutional conduct" and placed blame on the Trump administration for what he has described as aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. "ICE is not new, our separation ordinance in the city is not new," Frey said. "ICE has been around for decades, so has our separation ordinance. What is new? What is new is the way that the Trump administration is presently conducting themselves.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [1/13/2026 4:08 PM, Thomas Fuller and Jazmine Ulloa, 135475K] reports the video shows a young employee in a reflective vest being hauled away by federal agents from the entrance of a Target store in a Minneapolis suburb. “I’m a U.S. citizen!” the worker shouted as the armed agents shoved him into an S.U.V. on Monday, after he had directed expletives at one. “U.S. citizen! U.S. citizen!” In and around Minneapolis in recent days — in quiet residential neighborhoods and busy shopping districts, at gas station and big box store parking lots — similar chaotic scenes are unfolding, an escalation of tensions between residents and federal agents as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration crackdown in Minnesota after the killing of Renee Good by an immigration officer last week. “It feels like our community is under siege by our own federal government,” said State Representative Michael Howard, a Democrat whose district includes Richfield, where the Target employee and another colleague were seized on Monday. Mr. Howard said both workers were U.S. citizens and were later released. The Department of Homeland Security said the Target worker seen in the video was arrested in connection with “assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.” It was unclear on Tuesday if the employee was charged. Homeland security officials have made roughly 2,400 immigration-related arrests in Minnesota since Nov. 29, said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the department. Some of those immigrants have been convicted of sex crimes, armed robbery, drug crimes and other offenses, federal officials said. But it was not clear how many of the people immigration agents had arrested had criminal records. The number of arrests does not include protesters.

NBC News [1/13/2026 5:43 PM, Shaquille Brewster, Natasha Korecki and Nicole Acevedo, 34509K] reports from high school students to elected officials, residents in Minnesota are pushing back against the growing deployment of federal immigration officers in their neighborhoods, leading to days of confrontations and protests. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that she planned to send more agents to Minnesota this week to quell protesters and continue to enforce immigration policies. President Donald Trump defended the Minnesota operation Tuesday, saying, "We have taken out killers, rapists and drug dealers, people from mental institutions that came in illegally." ICE has posted on social media about the arrests of people accused of sex crimes and who they allege are in the country illegally. The highly charged confrontations between protesters and immigration enforcement have been captured in various clips on social media, including posts showing agents asking people at an electric vehicle charging station if they are citizens and another in which protesters curse and scream as an agent appears to kneel on a man’s neck as officers arrest him.

NBC News [1/14/2026 1:17 AM, Staff, 34509K] reports protesters pepper sprayed as ICE shooting tensions grow. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [1/14/2026 12:38 AM, Staff, 31753K] reports federal officers dropped tear gas and sprayed eye irritant Tuesday night during confrontations with demonstrators in Minneapolis. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [1/13/2026 5:25 PM, Mark Vancleave and Tim Sullivan, 14862K]
Federal officers dropped tear gas and sprayed eye irritant at activists Tuesday during another day of confrontations in Minneapolis while students miles away walked out of a suburban school to protest the Trump administration’s bold immigration sweeps. Meanwhile, the fallout from the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent reached the local U.S. Attorney’s Office: At least five prosecutors have resigned amid controversy over how the U.S. Justice Department is handling the investigation, according to people familiar with the matter. The government’s immigration crackdown is soon headed to a federal court where Minnesota and two mayors are asking a judge to immediately suspend the operation. A judge set a status conference for Wednesday. Gas clouds filled a Minneapolis street near where Renee Good was fatally shot in the head last week. A man scrubbed his eyes with snow and screamed for help while agents in an unmarked Jeep sprayed an orange irritant and drove away. It’s common for people to boo, taunt and blow orange whistles when they spot heavily armed agents passing through in unmarked vehicles or walking the streets, all part of a grassroots effort to warn the neighborhood and remind the government that they’re watching. Brita Anderson, who lives nearby and came to support neighborhood friends, said she was “incensed” to see agents in tactical gear and gas masks, and wondered about their purpose. “It felt like the only reason they’d come here is to harass people,” Anderson said. In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, students protesting the immigration enforcement operation walked out of school, as students in other communities have done this week. The departures in the U.S. Attorney’s Office include First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling prosecution of public fraud schemes in the state, according to people who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. With the Department of Homeland Security pledging to send more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota, the state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued President Donald Trump’s administration Monday to halt or limit the surge. The lawsuit says Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections by focusing on a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.

FOX News [1/13/2026 12:58 PM, Michael Dorgan Fox, 40621K] Video: HERE reports federal agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets after agitators hurled fireworks at them outside a federal building in Minneapolis on Monday amid continued resistance to immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities. The tense incident unfolded outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which houses roughly a dozen federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The confrontation began after demonstrators threw snowballs at federal vehicles, authorities said. Agents then issued warnings before deploying crowd-control chemicals at a group of roughly 80 to 90 protesters. Many demonstrators fled as agents fired rubber bullets and released tear gas. One protester then threw a firework over a fence while fleeing and it exploded shortly afterward. Other protesters were also seen launching fireworks toward agents, with the munitions lighting up the night sky. Officers and agents maintained a perimeter around the building late Monday, and it was unclear whether any arrests had been made. The unrest came as Minnesota, joined by the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to halt or limit a surge of federal immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Signal [1/13/2026 7:00 AM, Tyler O’Neil, 549K] reports Renee Nicole Good, the activist shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis last week after the vehicle she was operating made contact with the agent, appears to have been following aggressive tactics promoted by the leftist-funded organizing group Defend the 612. Good, 37, had joined ICE Watch, a loose network of activists tracking and aiming to disrupt ICE activities, after discovering the network through her son’s charter school, the New York Post reported. "MN ICE Watch," an Instagram page, shared screenshots from a "de-arrest" primer, which gives agitators advice on how to prevent law enforcement officers from taking someone into custody. The primer also appears on a list of "MN Community Response Resources" published by Defend the 612, a group that organizes "ICE Watch" activities. The resources page also recommends a tactic of "following ICE vehicles while honking and blowing on whistles when they are sighted," aiming to create "traffic jams and slowdowns.” While the ICE Watch groups appear to be loosely organized, some of the Left’s dark money nonprofits appear to have bankrolled a nonprofit that has organized a fundraiser for Defend the 612. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, described Good as an agitator and claimed that new evidence shows her "STALKING and IMPEDING a law enforcement operation over the course of the morning" of her death. "This footage corroborates what DHS has stated all along—that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement," McLaughlin told The Daily Signal. "The officer was in fear of his own life, the lives of his fellow officers and acted in self-defense. The American people can watch this video with their own eyes and ears and judge for themselves." McLaughlin added that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi "Noem has been clear: Any rioter who obstructs, impedes, or assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." Defend the 612 appears to take contributions under another name, Cooperation Cannon River. The website Give Butter allows users to contribute to Defend the 612 in a fundraising campaign "organized by Cooperation Cannon River," a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the employer identification number 82-0852275. Various left-wing nonprofits have contributed to Cooperation Cannon River.

Los Angeles Times [1/13/2026 7:01 AM, Ruben Vives and Itzel Luna, 14862K] reports a young protester narrowly avoided being killed but was left permanently blind after a Department of Homeland Security agent fired a nonlethal round at close range during a Santa Ana protest last week, according to family of the victim. Jeri Rees said her 21-year-old nephew underwent six hours of surgery and that doctors found shards of plastic, glass and metal embedded in his eyes and around his face, including a metal piece lodged 7 millimeters from a carotid artery. "That could have cost him his life," Rees said. "But now, for the next six weeks, he can’t sneeze or cough because it could do a lot of damage.” She said doctors did not want to remove the shrapnel near the artery out of fear that it could kill him. She said her nephew, who is transitioning and goes by the pronoun he, also suffered a fractured skull around his eyes and nose and that doctors said he had permanently lost the vision in his left eye. She said the Homeland Security agent was a few feet from her nephew when he fired the weapon. Several videos of Friday’s incident were shared on social media. One video shows demonstrators, who were protesting the fatal shooting in Minnesota of Renee Good, throwing orange safety cones at the agents, who were standing guard outside the Santa Ana federal building. The video cuts to three agents approaching the group before one agent tries to take a young person into custody, prompting at least three demonstrators to try to intervene. The person taken into custody was identified by friends as Skye Jones. In the video, at least one agent appears to fire nonlethal rounds at the crowd, hitting one woman in the leg before aiming and striking a protester in the face. The video shows that person dropping to the ground after being shot, holding their face as the crowd retreats. The same agent then drags the protester by the hood of their jacket; they appear to be choking, grasping at the jacket binding their neck as blood pours from their left eye. Friday’s violent clash occurred just two days after a federal immigration agent fatally shot Good, a Minnesota mother of three. The slaying sparked public outcry, nationwide protests and scrutiny of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said the agent was acting in self-defense. An earlier protest started at 3 p.m. and was organized by the social justice organization Dare to Struggle, said member Connor Atwood. Some members reconvened just before 6:30 p.m. for a demonstration outside the federal building put together by another organization, he said. Homeland Security agents stepped out of the building various times throughout the night, firing nonlethal rounds toward protesters, Atwood said. Some protesters then began burning an American flag. At some point after 8:30 p.m., Jones, a leader of Dare to Struggle’s Orange County chapter, was arrested, Atwood said. The other protester was then hit in the eye. "It wasn’t just completely out of nowhere, but it was very sudden," Atwood said, adding that agents "had come out of the building several times before that, but they had not tried to arrest anyone or grab anyone.” In an email response to The Times, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary with the Department of Homeland Security, said a "mob of 60 rioters threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at law enforcement officers outside of the federal building.” "Two officers were injured. Two violent rioters were arrested and were charged with assault on federal officers and disorderly conduct," she wrote. "This was a highly coordinated campaign of violence where rioters wielded shields.” McLaughlin did not respond to questions about protocols agents must follow when using less-lethal devices.

Los Angeles Times [1/13/2026 6:23 PM, Itzel Luna, 14862K] reports a young protester gripped at the collar of his shirt, a desperate attempt to keep his airway clear as a Department of Homeland Security agent dragged him into a federal building in Santa Ana Friday, according to a statement he released to a social justice organization. The protester, a 21-year-old who asked to only be identified as K, had been hit by a nonlethal round fired by an agent only feet away. K pleaded with agents to call an ambulance, he said in the statement. Instead, the agents taunted him, "laughing at the fact that I would never get to see out of my left eye again," he said. K remained in the hospital as of Tuesday afternoon, as they await a police report that can identify what type of metal was in the rounds used. His doctors are concerned about neurotoxins from the bullet, he said. K is now completely blind in his left eye, his tear duct was destroyed and the "flaps of my eye are barely holding on," he said. Doctors found pieces of plastic and glass in his skull as well as metal in his stomach lining, and "pulled a piece of plastic the size of a nickel from my eye," he said. A piece of metal is lodged only millimeters from his carotid artery, which could have killed him. Doctors were unable to remove some of the shrapnel from his skull and he "will have to live with metal pieces there for the rest of my life," he said. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary with the Department of Homeland Security, previously told The Times that a "mob of 60 rioters threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at law enforcement officers outside of the federal building." On Tuesday afternoon, the department said in a statement: "This is absurd. DHS law enforcement took this rioter to the hospital for a cut and he was released that night. ... Make no mistake: Rioting and assaulting law enforcement is not only dangerous but a crime." A spokesperson for the Santa Ana Police Department said the only violence they were aware of that night were demonstrators tossing orange cones at the agents.

AP [1/13/2026 11:20 PM, Amy Taxin, 30493K] reports a demonstrator was hit in the face with a projectile fired by a federal officer at close range during a Southern California protest, leaving him bloodied and with serious injuries, according to video and accounts from fellow protesters and family on Tuesday. The Friday gathering outside the federal immigration building in the city of Santa Ana was in response to the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a federal agent, which has kicked off a wave of protests around the country. Hundreds of people had marched in the streets in Santa Ana until a smaller group was left outside the federal building by evening, shouting expletives through megaphones about Immigration and Customs Enforcement, video showed. At one point, they burned what appeared to be an American flag on the steps of the building while shouting “Justice for Renee Good.” The demonstrators came up onto the plaza, where a handful of agents stood in riot gear and held crowd-control gear. At one point, officials forcefully move a demonstrator back down onto the steps, and the group continues to chant as the agents appear to urge them to move back. Later, an orange cone can be seen rolling up onto the plaza, and officers begin firing munitions as they walk toward the crowd. It is not clear if the cones were thrown and by whom. The injured demonstrator, identified as 21-year-old Kaden Rummler by his aunt, is seen on video shouting through a megaphone along with others outside the building, where several officers are stationed in riot gear. The officers approached the crowd then grabbed another demonstrator by the arm, identified in a federal criminal complaint as Katelyn Skye Seitz, pulling them onto the steps. In response, Rummler and a few other demonstrators step forward shouting. One of the officers fires a crowd-control weapon, striking Rummler from several feet away. Rummler grabs his face and falls to the ground. An officer grabs Rummler by the shirt and drags him backward across the ground, the video shows. His face is bloody and other demonstrators shout “leave him alone.” Officers take Rummler into the federal building, and later video appears to show him face down on the ground being handcuffed. Video of the incident was taken by OC Hawk, which films breaking news in Orange County. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, called the group violent rioters and said that two officers were injured. Two protesters were arrested and charged with assault on a federal officer and disorderly conduct, she said. She did not respond to questions about the nature of the officers’ injuries or the injury of the protester. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security didn’t answer questions about what type of projectiles were fired, but another protester said Tuesday they were pepper balls. Rummler was blinded in his left eye, according to his aunt, Jeri Rees. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [1/13/2026 7:08 PM, Katie Shepherd and Katie Mettler, 24149K] reports the Maryland General Assembly convenes Wednesday to kick off its 90-day legislative session, where lawmakers will grapple with significant fallout from federal policies set by the Trump administration. The state is facing a difficult economic reality after the administration cut nearly 25,000 federal jobs based in Maryland since last January. The cost of energy, housing and consumer goods have continued to rise, creating an affordability crisis for many residents. And the state, governed by a Democratic supermajority that holds both chambers of the State House and the governor’s mansion, is frequently at odds with the politics and policies of the White House. Democratic leaders say they plan to move swiftly on an agenda that opposes many of President Donald Trump’s policies on the economy, immigration, health care and other issues. They also say they are committed to growth and affordability. “I think if we do the three things that we’ve laid out, making life more affordable for Marylanders, making Maryland more competitive for economic growth, and really doing everything we can do to protect our people from what we’re seeing from Donald Trump and JD Vance, I would consider this session a success,” Gov. Wes Moore (D) told The Washington Post on Monday. Here is what to watch for this session.

The Washington Examiner [1/13/2026 3:06 PM, Rachel Schilke, 1394K] reports House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said Monday that he is not sure if his Democratic colleagues will push to rescind funding for ICE in the wake of the shooting. Instead, he said, "Both of my colleagues felt it would not be good to attach it this week." Democrats eye response to ICE shooting in appropriations. Some Democrats in both chambers have called on Democratic appropriators to use the process to place restrictions on the agency, as many are outraged at the way the Trump administration has been exercising its immigration and deportation policies. With a funding deadline of Jan. 30 approaching, eyes are on whether Democrats will use the Minnesota shooting as a pathway into another government shutdown — much like how healthcare was used to try to force Republicans to come to the table on extending Obamacare COVID-19-era subsidies. The Hill [1/13/2026 6:00 AM, Mike Lillis, 12595K] reports the fatal shooting of an unarmed woman in Minneapolis by a federal law enforcement officer is threatening to blow up fragile negotiations over government spending that will be coming to a head later this month, creating challenges for leaders in both parties. House lawmakers have already approved six of the 12 funding bills for fiscal 2026, and bipartisan appropriators were on track to reach a delicate agreement on the remaining bills, which were expected to move as two larger packages over the next two weeks. But last week’s killing of 37-year-old Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis has infuriated Democrats in both chambers, some of whom are now threatening to withhold their support for funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to demand reforms to the agency. “There are a lot of Democrats who want to see safeguards put on what ICE is doing,” said one House Democrat, who requested anonymity to discuss the party’s evolving strategy. Chatter increased around using the DHS funding bill as a cudgel after Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), an appropriator, called for a series of constraints aimed at taking on the department. “It’s hard to imagine how Democrats are going to vote for a DHS bill that funds this level of illegality and violence without constraints,” Murphy told Axios last week. “There’s got to be some reasonable constraints.” “I think it is reasonable for Democrats speaking on behalf of the majority of the American public who don’t approve of what ICE is doing to say, ‘If you want to fund the Department of Homeland Security, I want to fund a Department of Homeland Security that is operating in a safe and legal manner,’” Murphy added Sunday in an appearance on “Meet the Press.”

FedScoop [1/13/2026 4:30 AM, Staff, 56K] reports the Department of Homeland Security is launching a new office focused on unmanned aircraft systems that will oversee strategic investments in drone and counter-drone technologies. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in the Monday press release: “We are entering a new era to defend our air superiority to protect our borders and the interior of the United States. This will help us continue to secure the border and cripple the cartels, protect our infrastructure, and keep Americans safe as they attend festivities and events during a historic year of America’s 250th birthday and FIFA 2026.” The creation of the dedicated office builds on preceding efforts to beef up drone and counter-drone technologies. In December, FEMA awarded $250 million in grants for counter-drone capabilities to the 11 states hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 matches and Washington, D.C. DHS also expanded authorization the same month to allow state and local law enforcement to combat drone threats, according to the announcement. The department is also fielding proposals from industry partners for a $1.5 billion contract that will facilitate the procurement of these technologies for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The new Program Executive Office has “already begun its work,” according to DHS. The drone-focused entity is finalizing a $115 million investment in counter technologies that will support the two upcoming celebrations. The funding and focus come amid heightened risks regarding threat actors’ use of unmanned aircraft systems. DHS said Monday that the agency has conducted 1,500-plus missions to address illicit drone activities since 2018. Unauthorized drones have impeded sporting events, disrupted public gatherings and sparked concern among residents. Calls on Congress to put money into the Technology Modernization Fund may have been answered — albeit at much lower levels than what the General Services Administration-run funding vehicle for agency IT projects has been accustomed to. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Reported similarly:
Telemundo [1/13/2026 7:51 AM, Staff, 2218K]

The Washington Examiner [1/13/2026 6:21 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1394K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that it is impossible for the United States to retrieve 137 Venezuelan men who were deported by the Trump administration in March, warning that any attempt to do so would jeopardize fragile negotiations following the collapse of the Nicolas Maduro regime. In a sworn legal declaration submitted to federal court late Monday evening, Rubio said the men, who were removed from the U.S. in March under the Alien Enemies Act and later transferred from El Salvador back to Venezuela in a July prisoner swap, are now beyond the practical and diplomatic reach of the U.S. government. The secretary said the situation has only grown more complex after U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3 and transported them to Manhattan to face federal drug-trafficking charges, triggering a rapid and unstable transition of power in Caracas. Rubio described relations with Venezuela as being in a "delicate" state of flux and warned that raising the fate of the deported men in early talks with the country’s new leadership could undermine broader U.S. objectives. "Any effort to inject the fate of the 137 men into nascent negotiations with Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodriguez, would risk material damage to U.S. foreign policy interests," Rubio wrote. "The United States remains involved to see changes in Venezuela that are beneficial to the United States and that it also expects will be beneficial for the people of Venezuela, who have suffered tremendously," he said. "These efforts entail ongoing, intensive, and extraordinarily delicate engagement with elements within the regime of Maduro’s successor, so-called Acting President Delcy Rodriguez." The filing underscores the administration’s position that immigration enforcement and foreign policy decisions cannot be disentangled from national security concerns and that all of those are solely under the federal government’s purview. CNN [1/13/2026 9:32 AM, Kaanita Iyer, 18595K] reports that "Given the passage of time, the U.S. government does not know—nor does it have any way of knowing—the whereabouts of class members, including whether anyone has departed Venezuela or whether the (Nicolás Maduro) regime subsequently took anyone back into custody," Rubio said in a court filing Monday responding to a federal judge’s December ruling requiring the US to find ways to give the migrants due process. The secretary of state’s comments underscore the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration, which has escalated in recent months with federal agents sent to several cities for immigration enforcement. Monday’s filing also comes after President Donald Trump has said the US will "run" Venezuela following the capture of Maduro earlier this month. Considering those developments, Rubio argued that the matter of setting up hearings for those who were deported – whether that be by bringing them back to the US or through virtual hearings from Venezuela – "would risk material damage to U.S. foreign policy interests in Venezuela.”

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/13/2026 11:07 AM, Salvador Rizzo, 24149K]
Bloomberg [1/13/2026 10:29 AM, Zoe Tillman and Robert Burnson, 18207K]

NewsMax [1/13/2026 9:24 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a federal judge the Trump administration cannot carry out a court-ordered remedy for more than 100 Venezuelans removed under the Alien Enemies Act. Rubio argued the U.S. government cannot locate the men after they were sent from an El Salvador prison back to Venezuela and warned that renewed hearings could damage sensitive U.S. dealings with Venezuela’s new leadership. Rubio’s declaration, filed Monday night, is the administration’s sharpest response yet to a December order by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of the District of Columbia that required the government to facilitate a meaningful chance for the migrants to challenge their removal and the basis for labeling them gang members.

Washington Post [1/13/2026 11:56 AM, Staff, 24149K] reports Republican leaders in Virginia, who will hand over the reins of state power to Democrats on Saturday after losing November’s off-year elections, are ending their four years in office on a nasty note. With an assist from the Justice Department, they have mounted a last-minute effort to snatch the promise of a college education from thousands of immigrants living illegally in the commonwealth. In 2020, Virginia’s legislature passed a law to allow all residents to pay in-state tuition at state schools, regardless of their legal status. The kids only need to show that they attended a high school in the state and that a parent or guardian paid taxes there for at least two years. Doing so could cut their tuition bill by more than half. At the University of Virginia’s College of Arts and Sciences, for example, out-of-state rates are more than $55,000 annually, compared to about $16,000 for in-state students. The purpose of these discounts was to help draw immigrants out of the shadows and onto a career path that could lead to sponsorship by employers — and perhaps, eventually, citizenship. An estimated 13,000 illegal immigrants in Virginia are currently capitalizing on these discounts. Most of them are considered “dreamers,” meaning they were brought to the United States when they were young and lost their legal status through no fault of their own. Virginia is among more than 20 states that adopted such policies, starting with Texas in 2001. The Trump administration, however, opposes such laws, so it’s been teaming up with friendly state attorneys general to overturn them in federal court. On Dec. 29, the Justice Department sued Virginia, claiming that in-state tuition rates for “illegal aliens” are discriminatory toward U.S. citizens who live outside Virginia. A day later, outgoing Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) eagerly agreed, entering into a consent decree with the federal government that would end the policy. Now, they are hoping a federal judge will sign off before Attorney General-elect Jay Jones (D) is inaugurated on Saturday in Richmond. The Justice Department successfully used this same tactic last year in Texas and Oklahoma, eliminating tuition benefits for thousands of students without a single vote from state lawmakers who had codified those programs into law. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who was ineligible to seek reelection and will be replaced by Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D), praised President Donald Trump’s administration for “taking on this issue across the country and putting Americans first!”

Wall Street Journal [1/13/2026 5:12 PM, Peter Huntsman, 646K] reports data center moratoriums are the new fracking bans. Environmental nonprofits are deploying the same playbook against data centers that they have used against oil, gas, nuclear and chemical companies over the past decade, and many business leaders are again tempted to stay silent. But America is at a crucial moment that demands bipartisan realism on energy and electricity, the lifeblood of economic prosperity and global power. As artificial intelligence accelerates, abundance, cost and reliability must take precedence. Anything less will weaken national security, stifle growth and fuel inflation. After the 2015 Paris Accords, the environmental movement initiated its attack on the carbon molecules underpinning electricity, fuel and pharmaceuticals. “Net zero,” “decarbonization” and “energy transition” became organizing principles for governments, profit centers for consultants, and buzzwords for corporate pledges rooted in financial engineering over reality. Trillions in taxpayer dollars have since been squandered on “Green New Deal” schemes in the U.S. and Europe. We were told that eliminating carbon emissions was a moral necessity to deter an “existential” threat to humanity. Yet zero-emission nuclear plants were shut down before replacements were ready. Coal generation was dismantled faster than it could be replaced with reliable alternatives. Gas pipelines were blocked even as hydraulic fracturing unleashed energy abundance and affordability and strengthened America’s global position. In the past decade, the U.S. has removed more than 100 gigawatts of reliable coal and nuclear generation. Europe deindustrialized with even greater zeal, producing higher costs, poorer citizens and populist backlash. Looking back, too many CEOs failed to challenge energy policies they knew were unworkable. Some supported them outright, either because they misunderstood physics or because political pressure made dissent risky. Climate activists were handed the reins as targets replaced trade-offs and aspirations replaced economic sense. The arsonists are donning the firefighter helmets again. Trying to stop data center construction while expecting continued economic growth is no different from trying to stop oil, gas and nuclear production while expecting reliable, affordable electricity.

NewsMax [1/13/2026 5:52 AM, Daniel McCarthy, 4109K] reports Americans who remember how an incident in Minneapolis six years ago plunged the whole country into a summer of rioting — then years of elevated criminal violence — should think carefully about where the protests over the death of Renee Good are leading. Like the killing of George Floyd, Good’s tragedy is being exploited for a political purpose, with the radical activists who then called for defunding the police now demanding an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement — not only the agency, ICE, but the enforcement of the nation’s democratically enacted immigration laws. It’s the protesters’ veto, an assertion by activists of a right to cancel laws they don’t like. And it’s already cost lives, including Renee Good’s. She was shot and killed by an ICE officer when she drove her car toward him. Why was she having any interaction with ICE at all? She wasn’t a bystander-she and her wife were activists trying to prevent ICE from doing its job. "We had whistles, they had guns," Good’s widow said in a statement that reveals more than she intended. According to ICE spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, the Goods were "stalking" ICE. Leftist organizations train activists like the Goods to harass and interfere with law enforcement in a variety of ways, including by using vehicles to block their movements. This "activism" is not only in support of illegal activity, it creates dangerous situations for law-enforcement officers, bystanders and the activists themselves, as Renee Good sadly discovered.

USA Today [1/13/2026 6:04 AM, Jason Houser, 67103K] reports Immigration enforcement in the United States has drifted away from its core purpose. What began as a public safety function – focused on serious threats and guided by professional judgment – has become something far more volatile: politicized, disconnected from local realities and increasingly dangerous for everyone involved. The recent tragedy in Minnesota should force a reckoning. Not because it is unique, but because it is the inevitable outcome of where we are – and where we are headed – if we refuse to change course. I’ve spent two decades inside the national security and homeland security system. I’ve worked alongside agents who take their oath seriously and understand the weight of the authority they carry. We also all know how fragile public trust is, and how quickly it can be shattered when enforcement loses its grounding in common sense and accountability. What we are witnessing now is not enforcement designed to protect Americans. It is enforcement untethered from public safety, driven by optics, speed, daily arrest quotas and political pressure rather than judgment. And that makes everyone less safe. ICE’s tactics are dangerous for public safety – and law enforcement. First, this approach is dangerous for law enforcement officers themselves. When federal agents are pushed into fast-moving, high-visibility operations without clear prioritization or coordination with local partners, risk skyrockets, and officers are placed in volatile encounters with little margin for error. Split-second decisions carry life-or-death consequences – for both civilians and for agents. Second, this model undermines public safety instead of advancing it. Public safety is not measured by arrest numbers or viral footage. It is measured by whether communities are safer tomorrow than they were yesterday. When immigration enforcement prioritizes volume over threat, resources are diverted away from the work that actually protects people – investigating violent crime, dismantling trafficking networks and disrupting transnational criminal organizations. Every hour spent arresting noncriminal students, workers, parents, older people and decade-long leaders in our communities – people chosen for visibility, not threat – is an hour stolen from real public safety work. That tradeoff is rarely acknowledged, but it is real. And it compounds quickly. Investigations stall. Intelligence dries up. The system grows weaker even as it looks tougher.

Wall Street Journal [1/13/2026 5:13 PM, George J. Terwilliger III, 646K] reports the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul filed a lawsuit Monday against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials, arguing that the surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into the state is unconstitutional. Minneapolis had already sued to prevent the administration from cutting off federal aid on account of its “sanctuary city” policy. Last week, after an ICE agent shot and killed a civilian who was driving her car in his direction, Mayor Jacob Frey demanded that ICE “get the f— out” of Minneapolis. Whatever the politics of all this, the legal merits are strongly on the administration’s side. The notion that a city makes itself a “sanctuary” by welcoming, embracing and protecting illegal aliens who are violent criminals does violence to the English language and to innocent residents trying to live and work there in peace. Mr. Frey, along with state and local officials and community “activists” in other “sanctuary” cities like Chicago and Portland, Ore., accuse the Trump administration of abandoning the rule of law, while they themselves flout the law by encouraging civilians to interfere with federal law-enforcement operations and ordering the local police to stand down. In reality, the deportation initiative is comfortably within the rule of law. ICE agents’ presence in Minneapolis is undoubtedly lawful and consistent with the constitutional division of power between states and the federal government. Congress has enacted “necessary and proper” laws (under the Constitution’s Article I, Section 8) that govern when and under what circumstances aliens may enter or remain in the U.S. The ICE agents’ purpose in Minneapolis is to exercise that lawful authority as they carry out the constitutional mandate (in Article II, Section 3) that the president “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Neither the Constitution nor any statute provides cities and states any authority over immigration matters, rendering sanctuary-city policies legally feckless. They exist only because some officials are willing to exploit the presence of illegal aliens for political gain.

Washington Examiner [1/13/2026 2:22 PM, Zachary Faria, 1394K] reports that Minnesota Democrats are trying to establish their state as an open borders sanctuary where the federal government cannot enforce federal law and deport some of the most despicable criminals who are illegally in the country, all because a woman was shot when she tried to run over an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Minnesota, joined by Illinois, filed a lawsuit labeling immigration enforcement as "assault" and seeking to restrict the federal government’s ability to enforce federal immigration law in their states. This is because ICE has carried out large deportation operations in Minneapolis, where left-wing politicians have whipped up activist mobs to interfere in ICE operations. One such activist, Renee Good, got herself shot after blocking ICE vehicles, refusing to adhere to lawful demands to step out of her vehicle, and striking an ICE officer with her car. This means that Minnesota is going to court (along with Illinois) to argue that the federal government should be unable to enforce immigration law. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says the federal operations are too forceful, amounting to a "federal invasion." That is, of course, only because Minnesota is actively defying federal law by serving as a sanctuary state, protecting illegal immigrants from deportation, and because Ellison and his Democratic colleagues are encouraging their activist base to interfere, escalating tensions with ICE and resulting in the federal government having to impose crowd control measures.

Daily Caller [1/13/2026 10:37 AM, Geoffrey Ingersoll, 835K] reports here we are again, State of the Day, where I strip the euphemism and misdirection off the day’s news and give it to you straight, no ice, no mixer. When is whitey going to realize she’s just a tool? A profoundly broken tool, no less. And what happens to broken tools? They get tossed. For all the bellyaching the left does about it, the deepest, most profound hatred that exists in the country is located in the very belly of their own political project. It’s self-loathing for sure. That manifests itself in some ugly ways. We tear down our own history. We do land acknowledgments. We castrate our own children and invite foreign interlopers through a doorway of racial guilt to rape, pillage and plunder our country. It’s also racial hatred. Again, for as much as they incessantly whine about "systemic racism," they mainstream it into any institution they can capture. It makes me wonder sometimes: At what point will whitey wise up? White people, particularly and specifically women, consistently volunteer for public displays of racial flagellation.

Wall Street journal [1/13/2026 12:05 PM, William A. Galston, 646K] reports in a sign of the stark conflict between Europe and the U.S., Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Danish leaders on Wednesday to discuss the fate of Greenland. President Trump has made his intentions clear. “We are going to do something on Greenland,” he said. “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t . . ., we will do it the hard way.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.” The prime minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, rejects the Trump administration’s advances. “Our country is not for sale,” Mr. Nielsen insists, speaking for the autonomous Danish territory. Denmark’s leaders, including Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, similarly pushed back. Europe is often divided, but not on this issue. The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the U.K. issued a joint statement saying that Greenland’s future should be determined by “Denmark and Greenland, and them only.” If Danes and Greenlanders have their way, Mr. Trump won’t get his. Eighty-five percent of Greenlanders don’t want to be part of the U.S., and 78% of Danes oppose selling the island to the U.S. Americans agree. In a late August YouGov poll, only 24% backed a proposal to buy Greenland, and far fewer—only 7%, and 13% of Republicans—said they would support a takeover of the island by force. Despite Mr. Trump’s vigorous advocacy in recent weeks, public sentiment hasn’t changed much since last summer. A YouGov survey this month found only 28% of respondents support purchasing Greenland, and a mere 8% approve of a military takeover. More than half of Republicans oppose a military seizure of the territory. Republican congressional leaders haven’t rushed to the president’s defense. House Speaker Mike Johnson said last week that Congress was “certainly not” considering a military annexation of Greenland. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he didn’t “see military action being an option.”

NewsMax [1/13/2026 7:13 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K] reports opposition to federal immigration enforcement is intensifying as nearly 100 House Democrats say they will refuse to support funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. The Independent Journal Review reported that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said she and other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus will vote against future funding for immigration enforcement after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent earlier this month. "We cannot and we should not continue to fund agencies that operate with impunity, that escalate violence and that undermine the very freedoms this country claims to uphold," Omar told reporters. "ICE has no place in terrorizing Minneapolis or any American community.” Omar added that lawmakers would act collectively to oppose what she described as a pattern of violence by the administration. "Together, we will stand united to ensure we put a check on the pattern of violence and lawlessness from this administration," she said. Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., echoed that stance and used sharper language to describe federal agents. "We need to prosecute the criminals in masks and to cut and claw back ICE’s funding," Ramirez told reporters. She also called for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and Customs and Border Protection, is set to expire Jan. 30. When asked how criminal illegal immigrants would be handled without ICE funding, House Democrats did not outline a replacement enforcement framework.

Axios [1/13/2026 4:03 PM, Julianna Bragg, 12972K] reports Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is demanding information on how many of the roughly 1,500 pardoned for Jan. 6-related offenses have since been hired by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Raskin’s request — sent Tuesday to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — comes amid mounting scrutiny of ICE tactics. Raskin said in Tuesday’s letter that DHS appears to be "courting" pardoned Jan. 6 participants, using what he described as white nationalist "dog whistles" in its recruiting for ICE agents, which "appear aimed at stirring members of extremist militias," including the Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers. "The American people deserve to know how many of these violent insurrectionists have been given guns and badges by this Administration," he said. Raskin noted that, unlike any other law enforcement agency or branches of the armed services, ICE agents are unique in wearing masks and removing names from their uniforms to conceal their identities. "Who is hiding behind these masks? How many of them were among the violent rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6th and were convicted of their offenses?" Raskin said in the letter. He also requested all personal records (including pay and bonus information), documents, memos, and internal communications related to those Jan. 6 arrestees who were charged or investigated — as well as documents tied to the decision to allow federal law enforcement officers to wear face coverings while on duty.

FOX News [1/13/2026 1:28 PM, Andrew Mark Miller, 40621K] reports that as Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to face demonizing rhetoric from Democratic lawmakers and attacks on officers, the agency released a list of some of the "worst of the worst" criminal illegal aliens they arrested just yesterday. Monday’s arrests include Denis Pop-Cuz, a 20-year-old Guatemalan national convicted of possessing obscene material with a minor and child pornography in Stafford, Virginia. Josue Roa-Bahena, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico convicted for aggravated assault of a family member in Harris County, Texas, was also arrested as a result of ICE efforts. Two foreign nationals convicted of burglary in New York and California, Shawn Lewis and Carlos Alberto Alvarez Cuevas, were arrested by ICE as well. Lastly, ICE arrested El Salvadoran national Sergio Salvador Salazar Sorto, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador who was convicted of false imprisonment and battery in Los Angeles, California. "Despite a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against our law enforcement and an 8,000% increase in death threats, our officers continue to put their lives on the line to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens," Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. "Yesterday’s arrests included a monster who was filming children being raped. Thanks to ICE law enforcement, this sadistic criminal is out of American neighborhoods. We are thankful for our law enforcement officers for all they do to make America safe again. We will not let violence stop us or slow us down from removing criminal illegal aliens from our communities."

NBC News [1/13/2026 7:33 PM, Angela Yang, 34509K] reports Joe Rogan compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement to "the Gestapo" in the latest episode of his popular podcast Tuesday, openly breaking with President Donald Trump on his administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. Rogan, one of the biggest podcasters in the world, had endorsed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election just days after holding a three-hour interview with him on "The Joe Rogan Experience." The show, which has consistently retained its No. 1 spot on the Spotify podcast charts, has more than 20.6 million subscribers on YouTube. But on Tuesday, Rogan, who has been increasingly critical of Trump’s mass deportation agenda in recent months, expressed concern over ICE’s activities in an episode featuring Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. He said that "most people" believe law enforcement should arrest criminals, but that many of the same people also believe ICE is "operating illegally.” "I can also see the point of view of the people that say, ‘Yeah, but you don’t want militarized people in the streets just roaming around snatching people up, many of which turn out to actually be U.S. citizens that just don’t have their papers on them,’" Rogan said. "Are we really going to be the Gestapo? ‘Where’s your papers?’ Is that what we’ve come to?". Viral videos of ICE agents behaving aggressively while detaining people on streets, in public spaces and at immigration hearings have flooded social media over the past year, stoking outrage and fear in cities across the country. Reports of agents arresting legal residents and U.S. citizens, as well as of alleged abuse at detention centers, have further eroded public trust and tolerance as protests break out in areas with ICE activity. Rogan also criticized last week’s fatal shooting of a woman, Renee Nicole Good, by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have alleged that Good was trying to run the agent over with her car, with Noem calling it "an act of domestic terrorism." Those claims, however, were thrown into question by videos and eyewitnesses. Rogan said it was "very ugly to watch someone shoot a U.S. citizen, especially a woman, in the face.” "It just looked horrific to me," Rogan said. "I mean, when people are saying it’s justifiable because the car hit him, it seemed like she was kind of turning the car away.” The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [1/13/2026 7:58 PM, Mark Swanson, 4109K]
USA Today [1/13/2026 8:27 PM, Fernando Cervantes Jr, 67103K]

NewsMax [1/13/2026 1:02 PM, Zoe Papadakis, 4109K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security pushed back against criticism from singer Billie Eilish, defending Immigration and Customs Enforcement after she reshared posts condemning the agency following a fatal shooting in Minneapolis last week. Eilish amplified a series of Instagram Stories calling for criminal charges against the ICE officer involved and accusing the agency of systemic abuse. In a statement to Billboard, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Eilish’s posts did not reflect what is shown in video footage released by the department. "Clearly, Billie Eilish has not seen the newly released footage, which corroborates what DHS has stated all along — that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement," McLaughlin said. Eilish did not issue an original statement about the shooting. Instead, she reposted content from other users criticizing ICE. One post labeled the agency a "federally funded and supported terrorist group" that is "tearing apart families, terrorizing citizens, and now murdering innocent people" under the Trump administration. Other posts called for the abolition of ICE and urged followers to pressure members of Congress to arrest and charge the officer involved. McLaughlin said DHS stands by the actions of the officer, Jonathan Ross, who fired the fatal shot.

USA Today [1/14/2026 1:11 AM, Ralphie Aversa, 67103K] reports Matt Damon, who stars in the new Netflix movie "The Rip," wore a pin protesting the recent fatal ICE shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Keith Porter to the movie’s premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Good was fatally shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Porter was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve in Southern California. Pins that read "BE GOOD" and "ICE OUT" were created by a grassroots coalition that included the American Civil Liberties Union. The pins were worn by a handful of celebrities at the Golden Globe Awards. Damon, who walked the premiere’s red carpet alongside "The Rip" costar Ben Affleck, wore the "BE GOOD" pin. "I think like millions of people around the country, we’re really concerned with what’s going on," Damon, 55, told USA TODAY. "And I think it’s about raising awareness about what’s happening in our cities and on our streets and hopefully will promote a larger discussion about this.”

Axios [1/13/2026 1:40 PM, Mike Deehan, 12972K] reports that Boston City Hall is privately getting ready for a potential spike in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. Why it matters: Even without a confirmed federal operation, the city is "planning for the unthinkable," according to Mayor Michelle Wu. Escalating tensions and violence in other cities are deepening anxieties within immigrant communities and worsening the friction between sanctuary communities and federal authorities. The latest: Wu confirmed on WBUR this week that she is discussing enforcement scenarios with Boston Police leadership. Her goal is to establish clear protocols to ensure local police resources are not co-opted into federal immigration efforts. Wu maintains that Boston police will not leak information to ICE, a stance she views as crucial to maintaining community trust. The big picture: Boston isn’t alone in bracing for federal action. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has stated plans for a larger presence in Boston, promising more agents following disputes over sanctuary policies. Past initiatives mobilized large-scale enforcement across Massachusetts. Zoom in: Unverified but persistent reports from residents and activists note a delivery of SUVs to the Burlington ICE Field Office last week. Advocates interpret the arrival of three car carriers hauling SUVs as a sign that the local ICE branch is staffing up.

The New York Post [1/13/2026 6:47 PM, Craig McCarthy, Haley Brown and David Propper, 42219K] reports US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a City Council staffer after President Trump ended a Biden-era legal protection program for Venezuelans, records reviewed by The Post show. Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, 53, was labeled an "illegal alien" with a criminal history by federal authorities after he was taken into custody on Long Island Monday — but city officials have maintained he has done nothing wrong and had permission to be in the US. The data analyst, who was hired in January 2025, was arrested for third-degree assault causing physical injury in Queens in March 2023 – but that charge was later wiped clean from his record, sources familiar with the matter said. It’s unclear why the charge was expunged – but he passed a background check when he applied for the city government gig last year, according to sources and an email reviewed by The Post. City officials have argued Rubio Bohorquez had permission to be in the US until October 2026, but was detained anyway during the routine appointment at a US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Bethpage. But internal ICE records indicate that Rubio Bohorquez had his Temporary Protected Status and work authorization terminated on Nov. 20, 2025, a person with knowledge of the case told New York Times. Rubio Bohorquez first reached the US in 2017 on a tourist visa – and later was granted TPS that allowed for work authorization, according to sources and documents reviewed by The Post. He applied for an extension on Jan. 17, 2025 — before the Trump administration ended the 2023 program for migrants from the South American nation the following month, the documents show. The Supreme Court determined in October that Trump could strip the deportation protections from 300,000 Venezuelans in the US. The Department of Homeland Security’s website shows Rubio Bohorquez was allowed to stay in the US until Oct. 2, 2026, since he applied before the protections were revoked. Sources said he had work authorization when he applied for the City Council gig in January 2025, though it was revoked months later, according to the Times. DHS did not return a request for comment for more information about Rubio Bohorquez’s TPS status Tuesday. The department said in a statement Monday he arrived on a tourist visa in 2017 and was supposed to leave the country later that year. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin cited the Venezuelan national’s past arrest for assault, labeling him a "criminal illegal alien.” CBS New York [1/13/2026 6:15 PM, Allen Devlin, 39474K] reports members of the New York City Council are calling for a city staffer to be released from federal custody after he was detained by immigration officials on Monday. The employee from Venezuela was detained during a routine immigration appointment in Nassau County. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the man has a criminal history, including an arrest for assault, and no work authorization. McLaughlin said the data analyst overstayed a tourist visa from 2017 and has no legal right to be in the U.S. On Tuesday, multiple council members joined other city leaders and protesters in support of the employee.

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AP [1/13/2026 3:11 PM, Michael R. Sisak, 31753K]
Univision [1/13/2026 8:44 AM, Staff, 5004K]

FOX News [1/13/2026 6:46 AM, Anders Hagstrom, 40621K] reports the Department of Homeland Security detained a New York City Council employee during an immigration appointment on Monday, leading to outrage from Mayor Zohran Mamdani. DHS says the migrant, 53-year-old Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, overstayed on a 2017 tourist visa. They also say he was arrested in an assault case. Mamdani and other city leaders demanded the man’s release on Monday. "I am outraged to hear a New York City Council employee was detained in Nassau County by federal immigration officials at a routine immigration appointment," Mamdani wrote in a statement on X. "This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values. I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation.” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin dismissed complaints, however, saying the department was fully justified in taking Bohorquez into custody. "He had no legal right to be in the United States," McLaughlin said. "Under Secretary Noem, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States. If you come to our country illegally and break our law, we will find you, and we will arrest you.” NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin held a press conference demanding the employee’s release on Monday. She claimed that the employee had been cleared to remain in the U.S. until October 2026. "DHS confirmed that this employee had gone in for a routine court appointment and was nevertheless detained. They provided no other basis for his detainment," Menin said during a press briefing on Monday. "On the contrary, he was a city council employee who is doing everything right. He went to the court when he was asked.”\ The Federal Newswire [1/13/2026 11:56 PM, F. E. Simons] reports “A criminal illegal alien with no authorization to work in the U.S. being employed by the New York City Council is shocking. This takes sanctuary city to a whole new level,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “This criminal illegal alien has no authority to be in the U.S. and has a previous arrest for assault. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, the United States is no longer a safe haven for criminals.” The agency noted that this incident is not isolated. In another case, Radule Bojovic, an undocumented immigrant from Montenegro, was found working as a sworn police officer with the Hanover Park Police Department in Illinois after overstaying his B2 tourist visa beyond March 31, 2015. Additionally, ICE Des Moines apprehended Ian Andre Roberts, an undocumented immigrant from Guyana who served as Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools while under a final order of removal and without work authorization. At his arrest, Roberts possessed a loaded handgun, cash, and a hunting knife; he also faced prior weapon possession charges from February 2020. These cases highlight ongoing enforcement actions against individuals who remain or work in the United States without legal status.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [1/13/2026 11:20 AM, Brian Freeman, 4109K]
Blaze [1/13/2026 5:05 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1442K]
Washington Examiner [1/13/2026 11:28 AM, Ross O’Keefe, 1394K]

FOX News [1/13/2026 1:05 PM, Taylor Penley, 40621K] Video: HERE reports that Trump border czar Tom Homan said Tuesday he has had no communication with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing the newly inaugurated democratic socialist of refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. "He’s made it clear he’s not going to work with ICE," Homan told "America’s Newsroom." "When Mayor Adams was here… we had an agreement that he would allow us back into Rikers Island to arrest those public safety threats in the safety and security of a jail, but the city council shut it down." Homan went on to cite a meeting last year between President Donald Trump and Mamdani, saying it remains unclear whether the mayor will change course and help bring alleged threats to society to justice. "We’ll see down the road if he’s going to help arrest public safety threats," he said. "We’re not asking any NYPD to be immigration officers. We’re asking their cops to work with our cops to remove national security threats and public safety threats in New York City.” Secretary Kristi Noem offered similar remarks last week, telling reporters that talks involving Mamdani and the Department of Homeland Security are reportedly not going well. "We’re hoping the mayor will work with us to get these criminal elements, and especially gang members and terrorist organizations, out of New York City," Noem said during a news conference. "I know he and the president had a productive conversation. Our communication at the Department of Homeland Security has not been productive with the mayor’s office or with the NYPD, but we want to continue those conversations so we can work together on success." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [1/13/2026 7:11 PM, Tim Craig, 24149K] reports Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday endorsed legislation that would allow New York residents to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in state court for civil rights violations, an escalation of efforts by Democratic-led states to rein in the agency following a woman’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis last week. During her annual State of the State address in Albany, Hochul (D) said “protecting New Yorkers” was her top priority and that now includes “standing up to ICE agents who abuse their power.” “Power does not justify abuse,” Hochul said. “And if someone’s constitutional rights are violated here in the state of New York, I say they deserve their day in court.” Hochul’s support for related proposals in the legislature comes as Democratic governors and lawmakers from around the country are seeking ways to try to blunt what they consider overly aggressive federal immigration tactics under President Donald Trump. The work underway in states such as Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey includes efforts to ban ICE officers from wearing masks and bills that would bar them from later securing employment in state or local police departments. If approved, Hochul’s push to open up ICE agents to civil liability would almost certainly be challenged by the Trump administration. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said Hochul was trying to “smear law enforcement who are simply enforcing the rule of law and putting their lives on the line to remove violent criminals from New York.” “DHS law enforcement officers follow the law and the U.S. Constitution,” McLaughlin continued, saying federal agents were being attacked, harassed and threatened as they try to carry out their duties.

CBS New York [1/13/2026 7:53 PM, Tony Aiello, 39474K] Video: HERE reports opposition is building in the Orange County town of Chester, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly planning to buy a warehouse to use as a detention center. Washington Post reported it’s part of an ICE plan to detain up to 80,000 people in warehouses. The newspaper identified the Chester site as one of 16 smaller centers each designed to hold 1,500 people. ICE has not confirmed to members of the news media or local leaders what its plans are for the former auto parts warehouse on Elizabeth Drive, which used to employ 100 workers. Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, a Republican, said he learned about the possible detention center when ICE filed a required environmental notice, stating intent to rehab the site and create an outdoor space for recreation. "I run this county. Nobody’s called me about this," Neuhaus said. Peaceful protests were held Monday night at a Chester village board meeting, but little in the way of confirmed information was given out. ICE has not formally outlined plans or answered media requests for comment.

FOX News [1/13/2026 3:18 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan previously convicted of trying to kill his teenage sister for being a "bad Muslim girl" was arrested, authorities said. Waheed Allah Mohammad, 39, was taken into custody on Jan. 1 in Rochester, New York, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Monday. Mohammad was convicted of first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervision. In 2008, Mohammad stabbed his sister several times during an argument where he called her a "bad Muslim girl." He said she disgraced his family by dressing immodestly and frequenting nightclubs. He lawfully entered the United States on May 24, 2004. However, his attempted murder conviction violated the terms of his legal status, ICE said. In April 2009, ICE entered Mohammad into removal proceedings. In 2012, an immigration judge ordered that he be deported. He will remain in federal custody pending his deportation.

FOX News [1/13/2026 4:54 PM, Charles Creitz, 40621K] reports Pennsylvania lawmakers warned Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal and District Attorney Larry Krasner they’re playing with statutory fire if they’re thinking of prosecuting ICE officers – and that Harrisburg won’t put up with it. Last week, Krasner warned that "any ICE agent [that] is going to come to Philly to commit crimes" should "get the ‘eff’ out of here," saying he would charge, arrest and prosecute such agents. He argued that President Donald Trump could not step in with a pardon because any cases would be brought at the state level. Bilal called ICE officers "fake, wannabe law enforcement" and warned, "You don’t want this smoke, ‘cause we will bring it to you," after an ICE agent shot and killed a Minneapolis woman, Renee Nicole Good, during a federal immigration operation in the city. The top lawmaker on the state Senate committee that oversees interactions between local, state and federal governments told Fox News Digital that Krasner and Bilal "cannot interfere" with federal immigration actions – and that his panel would "engage" if push came to shove.

FOX News [1/13/2026 10:34 AM, Emma Colton Fox, 40621K] reports police groups, MAGA supporters and the Department of Homeland Security mocked left-wing Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on social media for his warning to the National Guard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid President Donald Trump’s immigration and fraud crackdowns. "To ICE and the National Guard: if you commit crimes in Philadelphia, we will charge you and hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law," Krasner posted to X Saturday, accompanied by a black and white photo of himself wearing sunglasses and the caption "FAFO." "FAFO" is internet slang meaning "f--- around and find out." It increasingly has entered the MAGA political lexicon, been embraced by Trump, and been used in administration-linked messaging and by prominent Republican allies as a blunt warning to political opponents and foreign adversaries. Krasner has served as Philadelphia’s district attorney since 2018, frequently coming under fire from conservatives for reduced reliance on cash bail, shifts in charging for some low-level crimes, and an aggressive posture on police accountability. Republicans have repeatedly pointed to his office’s bail and prosecution policies as drivers of public-safety concerns, staging high-profile hearings and pushing an impeachment effort that ultimately collapsed in court. Conservatives, police groups and leaders and administration social media accounts lambasted Krasner over the message. Krasner’s post came amid a heightened federal law enforcement presence in Minnesota, as a sweeping Minneapolis fraud investigation unfolded and a woman was fatally shot during the increased deployment. "This embarrassment of a DA regularly gives the velvet glove treatment to murders, robbers, and rapists…what a joke," Fraternal Order of Police National Vice President Joe Gamaldi posted to X, slamming Krasner. "Unlike criminals in Philadelphia who get their charges dropped by the DA," the National Police Association responded. The Department of Homeland Security responded with at least two memes brushing off Krasner’s comment, including a gif of a person dressed up as a founding father with the caption, "Oh no! Anyways.”

Telemundo Washington DC [1/13/2026 11:56 AM, Dominique Moody and Yoni Azenon, 61K] reports days before the Maryland General Assembly resumes its sessions, a delegate introduced a measure to ban Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and agents from filing police positions within the state government if they joined ICE after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The piece of legislation is entitled ICE Breaker Act of 2026. “Wherever I go in my district, people ask, ‘What are we going to do with ICE?’” said Delegate Adrian Boafo of District 23. “The state has limitations, but do you know what I can do? Make sure those ICE officers never have a job here in the state of Maryland. If you want to work in any other industry in Maryland, go ahead.” Boafo claims he created the legislation before an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 7. “What we say in Maryland is that any ICE officer, any sworn-in officer who has witnessed the heinous violence that has occurred over the past year and said, ‘I want to join that job,’ we don’t want them to work at any time as police or law enforcement,” Boafo said. Boafo explained that this legislation would prevent anyone who has decided to join ICE after January 20, 2025, the date of Trump’s return to the White House, from holding police charges within the Maryland state government. The bill would not prohibit ICE officers and agents from working in other areas of state government.

AP [1/13/2026 3:15 PM, Mike Schneider, 31753K] reports that one of the three court challenges to an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades has ended after the immigrant detainee who filed the lawsuit agreed to be removed from the United States and will be out of the country soon, his attorneys said. The detainee at the facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" asked that his case in federal court in Fort Myers, Florida, be dismissed on Monday. "Petitioner is no longer detained at Alligator Alcatraz, he has formally agreed to be removed, and he will soon have left the United States," his attorneys wrote in a court motion. One of his attorneys, Spencer Amdur of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, said by phone on Tuesday that the detainee, only referred to as M.A. in court documents, would be returning to Chile. The lawsuit claimed that immigration was a federal issue, and Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state had no authority to operate the facility under federal law. Detainees who entered the facility disappeared from the normal detainee tracking system and had difficulty accessing legal help, the lawsuit said. Florida has led other states in constructing facilities to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Besides the Everglades facility, which received its first detainees in July, Florida has opened an immigration detention center in northeast Florida and is looking at opening a third facility in the Florida Panhandle.

Kansas City Star [1/13/2026 7:58 PM, Matthew Kelly] reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly plans to renovate industrial warehouse space in Kansas City to incarcerate thousands of immigrants arrested by federal authorities. A Washington Post report identified Kansas City as one of seven sites where DHS is seeking to establish large-scale detention centers, each of which would house between 5,000 and 10,000 people caught up in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown. In a stinging letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Kansas City’s longtime Democratic congressman Emanuel Cleaver condemned the warehouse proposal as dehumanizing and unwelcome. “Since day one, this administration has fractured communities with ICE raids and severed families with hundreds of thousands of deportations, sweeping up legal residents and American citizens in the process,” Cleaver wrote in the letter, which was also addressed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Tom Lyons.

New York Post [1/13/2026 1:53 PM, Ariel Zilber, 42219K] reports that Target has come under pressure from protesters and pols in its home state of Minnesota after ICE agents detained two employees of the big box retailer who were US citizens. Federal immigration agents detained the workers inside a Richfield, Minn., store on Jan. 8 after a confrontation that began in the parking lot and spilled into the vestibule, according to local officials and witness accounts. One of the employees shouted, "I’m literally a US citizen!" as agents escorted him toward a vehicle, The Wall Street Journal noted. The duo, Jonathan Aguilar Garcia and Christian Miranda Romano, were doing drive-up duty when they were stopped by agents led by a senior US Border Patrol commander, officials said. Minnesota state Rep. Michael Howard said the agents entered the store without a warrant and physically detained the workers, while family members and witnesses alleged the incident amounted to racial profiling. The Department of Homeland Security later said on social media that one individual had been arrested for "assaulting a federal law enforcement offers [sic]," which the defendants’ families and local officials denied. Both employees were eventually released. One was reportedly dropped off injured and crying at a nearby Walmart parking lot while the other was briefly taken to a detention center before being let go. The Post has sought comment from Target, DHS, ICE and US Customs and Border Protection. Garcia and Romano were not immediately available for comment.

Federal Newswire [1/13/26 11:56 PPM, T. J. Graves] reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the results of Operation Metro Surge, which targeted individuals described as the "worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" in Minnesota. The operation resulted in the arrest of several people with prior convictions for crimes such as rape, armed robbery, and drug trafficking. According to DHS, these arrests were made despite a lack of cooperation from local officials in sanctuary jurisdictions and opposition from groups critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since 2017, Governor Tim Walz has not cooperated with ICE requests and has released nearly 470 individuals identified by federal authorities as criminal illegal aliens back into Minnesota communities. DHS called on both Governor Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to comply with ICE detainers for more than 1,360 individuals currently held in state custody. “Governor Walz and Mayor Frey REFUSE to cooperate with ICE law enforcement and will not let us into their jails. They have released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens including violent criminals back onto the streets of Minnesota. They have made it abundantly clear they are prioritizing politics over public safety. Minnesota’s sanctuary politicians have chosen to side with criminal illegal aliens and ignored their American victims,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Just yesterday our law enforcement arrested rapists, armed robbers, and drug traffickers. We are doing what Governor Walz and Mayor Frey REFUSED to do—make Minnesota safe again.”

Washington Times [1/13/2026 10:06 AM, Stephen Dinan, 852K] reports the Department of Homeland Security challenged Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to start cooperating with ICE to turn over illegal immigrants with criminal records from his prisons and jails, saying he’s released hundreds of them back onto the streets over the last year. DHS said nearly 470 were released since President Trump took office. And the department said Minnesota is holding more than 1,360 others right now who are subject to a deportation “detainer” from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “It is common sense. Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans,” said Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at DHS. The call to cooperate comes as tensions between the feds and the state have boiled over as ICE officers scour the city searching for deportation targets. Mr. Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have been vehement in demanding ICE retreat. But Homeland Security officials say they have to send ICE into communities to get people because they can’t count on the state or the city to turn over criminal migrants being released from their custody. At issue are detainers, which are the requests ICE makes to gain custody.

Chicago Tribune [1/13/2026 2:55 PM, Ingrid Harbo, 4829K] reports federal immigration agents have been reported across greater Minnesota as heightened enforcement activities continue in the Twin Cities. Minnesotans across the state are reporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in their communities, from Rochester to Detroit Lakes. In the last month, the Department of Homeland Security has dispatched thousands of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to Minnesota for immigration enforcement in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Tensions in the Twin Cities and state have soared after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year old Renee Good in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Amid widespread protests after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said "hundreds" more officers would be sent to Minnesota, Reuters reported. ICE activity appears to have fanned out across the state, with increasing reports of agents in smaller Minnesota cities.

Chicago Tribune [1/13/2026 11:18 AM, Mara Gottfried, 4829K] reports a St. Paul resident says federal officers knocked on her door and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood last week. And on Sunday, in St. Paul’s Frogtown, video showed federal agents leaving a front yard of a home. A post on Reddit titled it as Border Patrol Chief "Greg Bovino has officially kicked off door to door raids." ICE and Border Patrol spokespeople did not respond to a request for information Monday about whether are they going door to door. Vice President JD Vance noted on Fox News on Wednesday: "I think we’re going to see those deportation numbers ramp up as we get more and more people online working for ICE, going door-to-door and making sure that if you’re an illegal alien, you’ve got to get out of this country and if you want to come back, apply for the proper channels." On Wednesday, an immigration officer fatally shot Renee Good, 37, in her vehicle in Minneapolis, which has drawn continued protests. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement. More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, according to Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

AP [1/13/2026 6:36 PM, Sarah Raza, 4722K] reports two Minneapolis residents who have been monitoring immigration officers’ actions during the Trump administration’s latest crackdown say they were detained without charge for several hours in distressing conditions, denied phone calls, and pressured to rat out protest organizers and people living in the country illegally. The accusations leveled by Brandon Sigüenza and Patty O’Keefe suggest that the Department of Homeland Security is employing similar tactics in Minneapolis and St. Paul as it did during the crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and New Orleans. Federal officers are again using roving patrols, warrantless arrests and aggressive tactics such as spraying chemical irritants, breaking car windows and recording protesters, including Renee Good and her vehicle in the moments before an ICE officer fatally shot her. According to organizers and an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, immigration officers have also been surveilling activists who have been observing their activities in the Twin Cities, violating their First Amendment rights. And Sigüenza, who like his friend O’Keefe is a U.S. citizen, said an immigration officer who questioned him Sunday even offered him money or legal protection if he gave up the names of organizers or neighbors who are in the country illegally. “At one point, the officer said in vague terms that it looks like I’m in trouble, and he could possibly help me out,” Sigüenza said, noting he refused the offer. DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs and Enforcement and the Border Patrol, didn’t immediately respond to a Tuesday request for comment.

New York Post [1/13/2026 9:23 AM, Patrick Reilly, 42219K] reports anti-ICE agitators in Minneapolis blasted fireworks at law enforcement overnight Monday during aggressive protests against the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good, wild video shows. Officers were seen pinning the violent demonstrators to the ground and whisking them away in handcuffs outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building after the fireballs launched at them exploded during another tense standoff in the besieged city. Video shows officers throwing canisters of tear gas in response, before moving in to make arrests outside the barricaded building, which serves as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regional headquarters. Demonstrators hurled insults and expletives at the officers as they hauled people away, the chaotic clip shows. Similar scenes have played out around the Twin Cities over the past week as people have taken to the streets demanding federal immigration officials leave the state. On Sunday, video showed officers arrest a man inside a home in Minneapolis after pepper-spraying protesters who confronted the federal agents on the street. The protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in an attempt to disrupt the operation. More than 2,000 arrests have been made in Minnesota since law enforcement launched a major immigration operation in the beginning of December, according to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. Some 2,000 immigration agents have been deployed to the North Star State, with another 1,000 on the way.

Axios [1/13/2026 7:36 PM, Russell Contreras, 12972K] reports the Oglala Sioux Tribe, one of the largest Indigenous tribal nations in the U.S., is accusing ICE of illegally holding four tribal members picked up during Minneapolis raids. ICE agents can arrest U.S. citizens in some cases, but agents can’t place U.S. citizens in immigration detention, including Indigenous tribal members, after their citizenship is verified. Oglala Sioux Tribe president Frank Star Comes Out wrote in a memo Tuesday to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that ICE recently detained the tribal members and demanded their release. Star Comes Out said the men were homeless and living under a bridge near the Little Earth housing complex in the East Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis. According to Star Comes Out, when the tribe demanded information about the detained tribal members, federal officials told the tribe it would release information only if the tribe entered into an agreement with ICE. The tribe declined, saying such an agreement would violate its treaties with the U.S. government. "We will not enter an agreement that would authorize, or make it easier for, ICE or Homeland Security to come onto our tribal homeland to arrest or detain our tribal members," he wrote. The Oglala Sioux Tribe’s memorandum makes clear that "tribal citizens are not aliens" and are "categorically outside immigration jurisdiction." ICE and DHS did not immediately respond to Axios for comment. Some Native American tribes say ICE immigration agents have been targeting tribal members since President Trump stepped up his immigration crackdown. It comes as a growing number of U.S. citizens — many of them Latinos — have reported getting detained by ICE agents in what critics say are instances of racial profiling and overzealous policing. "This is a treaty violation. Treaties are not optional. Sovereignty is not conditional. Our citizens are not negotiable," Star Comes Out said in a statement. "The irony is not lost on us." "Lakota citizens who are reported to be held at Fort Snelling — a site forever tied to the Dakota 38+2 — underscores why treaty obligations and federal accountability matter today, not just in history." Fort Snelling is directly connected to the largest mass execution in U.S. history involving the Dakota (Sioux) people. It is a key site of incarceration, suffering and exile tied to the Dakota Wars that led to the executions. The tribe banned then-Gov. Kristi Noem (R) from the Pine Ridge Reservation on Friday, following comments she made about the state’s efforts at the southern border and a "cartel presence" on the state’s reservations.

Breitbart [1/13/2026 1:15 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2416K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is urging Minnesota’s Democrat Gov. Tim Walz to release to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the nearly 1,500 dangerous criminal illegal migrants the state has in its custody. DHS has been engaged in a campaign to deport the worst of the worst criminal illegals since the second Trump administration launched last year, but many Democrat-dominated states are refusing to honor immigration detainers and are either keeping criminal illegals in state custody, or releasing these violent criminals back out onto America’s streets. Minnesota officials, for instance, have more than 1,360 criminal illegals in state custody they refuse to hand over to ICE and immigration authorities. Since President Trump took office last year, governor and failed Democrat vice presidential nominee Tim Walz has refused to cooperate with ICE and has released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets of Minnesota, putting every citizen in danger. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: Governor Walz and Mayor Frey [D-Minneapolis] REFUSE to cooperate with ICE law enforcement and have released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets of Minneapolis. We are calling on Walz and Frey to stop this dangerous policy and commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 1,360 criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota’s custody. It is common sense. Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans. DHS added half a dozen examples of the worst of the worst Gov. Walz just released into the population instead of honoring ICE detainers.

Federalist [1/13/2026 11:55 AM, M. D. Kittle, 785K] reports calling all rational Americans: Here are the thieves, child rapists, and murderers the left’s latest false martyr was fighting for. Renee Good, the 37-year-old radical fatally shot last week by the Immigration & Customs Enforcement agent she appears to have struck with her SUV, was part of a leftist resistance movement that tried to stop ICE from arresting criminal illegal immigrants like Hernan Cortes-Balencia. The Mexican foreign national, who had a final order of removal dating back more than nine years, has been convicted of sexual assault against a child, sexual assault-carnal abuse and four DUI’s, according to DHS. And then there’s Sriudorn Phaivan, a criminal illegal alien from Laos. Phaivan, outstayed his welcome by nearly eight years. He’s a felon with a long rap sheet, including strongarm sodomy of a boy, strongarm sodomy of a girl, another aggravated sex offense, nine counts of larceny, four counts of fraud, vehicle theft, and two counts of drug possession. These are the people Good and her loudmouth lesbian partner — who screamed "Drive, baby! Drive!" just before the activist hit the gas and lost her life — were attempting to impede ICE from arresting. And Renee Good, accused of "domestic terrorism," is now suddenly a hero to the thousands taking to the streets and calling for federal law enforcement officers to get the "f – – – out" of their cities. Lawlessness and disorder. That’s what these leftists are standing up for.

NPR [1/13/2026 4:34 PM, Jason DeRose, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports as federal immigration enforcement actions intensify across the Twin Cities, communities of faith are at the forefront of resistance, organizing public witness, mutual aid and political action rooted in long-standing religious commitments. Faith leaders say their resolve to counter the ICE crackdown has increased since the killing of Renee Macklin Good by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis last week. Beyond symbolic action like erecting signs, congregants are also offering practical support. Some volunteers are following ICE agents into neighborhoods, blowing whistles and honking horns to alert people to the federal presence. Others are driving immigrants to work to help them avoid public transportation, where enforcement actions have occurred.

FOX News [1/13/2026 9:54 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports acting ICE Director Todd Lyons discusses new video showing an illegal immigrant allegedly trying to ram ICE agents with a car in San Antonio, Texas on ‘Hannity.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [1/13/2026 12:09 PM, J.D. Miles, 39474K] reports a North Texas college student says she lost her job and received online threats after posting a now-viral video revealing ICE agents were staying at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, where she worked, drawing both backlash and praise online. Gia, who doesn’t want to reveal her last name, is a 20-year-old nursing student who decided last week to post a video saying that ICE agents were staying at the hotel, where she worked as a valet. "Earlier that morning or the night before, I believe I had seen the young lady Renee Nicole Good, whose life was taken by an ICE agent, and that really hurt me deeply," Gia said, referring to the woman who was fatally shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7 during a federal operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Gia’s TikTok video, which now has over 2.5 million views, led to praise from those opposed to increased immigration enforcement but also criticism from others who accused her of doxing the agents staying at the hotel and putting them at risk. She said that wasn’t her intention. "My intention with the video was to warn families within the community to take shelter if they needed to," she told CBS News Texas. Gia said her employer fired her after she refused to remove the video. In a statement, Hilton Anatole said: "Towne Park is aware of the situation at the Hilton Anatole. The associate violated our business conduct policy and is no longer employed by our company." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Wire [1/13/2026 8:18 AM, Cameron Arcand, 2494K] reports a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who allegedly took part in a violent strangling death that led to an individual being stuffed into a suitcase and buried in a "remote" part of New Mexico was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on January 8, Fox 21 News Colorado reported. Yorvis Michel Carrascal Campo, an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member, is one of 11 people indicted by the Justice Department in December in the case, as the victim was allegedly kidnapped by the group that later tried to hide the evidence of the crime in June 2024, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Carrascal Campo is one of seven individuals facing charges for "conspiracy to conduct racketeering activity, murder in aid of racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy," according to a DOJ press release prior to the arrest. DHS said he crossed the southern border into the United States illegally in October 2023 during the Biden-era border crisis, and he had a final order to exit the country in June 2024, just days before the murder occurred. "Carrascal Campo’s crimes shock the conscience and are yet another example of the failed border policies of Joe Biden that RELEASED TdA gang members into American communities," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement first shared with The Daily Wire.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [1/13/2026 4:28 PM, John Binder, 2416K]

Daily Caller [1/13/2026 7:52 PM, Mariane Angela, 835K] reports civil rights attorneys frame the New Year’s Eve death of Keith Porter Jr., 43, as yet another example of federal overreach and racial injustice, but law enforcement sources and video evidence paint a different picture. An off-duty U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot Porter on New Year’s Eve. Los Angeles civil rights lawyer Ben Crump said Porter’s life was "stolen" by an ICE agent and pledged to "stand with Keith Porter Jr.’s family until there is justice, transparency, and answers.” Another lawyer representing the family, Lee Merritt, made the same claims as Crump. "Authorities allege Keith fired celebratory gunshots into the air as midnight approached. An off-duty ICE agent who lived in the building confronted him and shot him. The agent’s name has not been released, and LAPD has not interviewed him, citing federal protocols," Merritt wrote. "Multiple agencies are investigating, while the DA says charging decisions could take years. Keith’s family is demanding transparency, evidence, and an independent investigation. Justice delayed is justice denied.” The Department of Homeland Security said the off-duty ICE agent heard gunfire near his Northridge apartment and went outside to investigate. Officials added that the agent encountered Porter armed with a rifle, ordered him to drop the weapon, and returned fire after Porter allegedly fired multiple shots, leaving the agent uninjured. (RELATED: DHS Fact Checks Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Claim ICE Is ‘Disappearing’ US Citizens). At a press conference, authorities said the agent believed the gunfire was moving closer to his residence and said Porter aimed the rifle at him during the confrontation. Other reporting said the agent described the shooting as self-defense, while Porter’s family and community advocates dispute that account and demand accountability and transparency. The DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Los Angeles Times [1/13/2026 10:12 PM, Karen Garcia, 14862K] reports that, after escalating incidents of violence involving federal agents taking part in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, officials are looking to create "ICE-free" zones in L.A. County. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to bar immigration enforcement officers from county-owned spaces. Lindsay Horvath, the District 3 supervisor, announced the motion to establish county property as "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-free" zones, prohibiting agents from staging, processing or operating in those areas. "Los Angeles County will not allow its property to be used as a staging ground for violence caused by the Trump administration," Horvath said at the Tuesday Board of Supervisors meeting. The motion instructs county counsel to draft an ordinance for board consideration within 30 days. The Times reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment but did not receive a response by publication. Since June 6, when immigration enforcement officials descended on the region — raiding four businesses including a fast-fashion warehouse in downtown Los Angeles and detaining dozens — to the first month of 2026, Horvath said, "federal immigration enforcement has too often escalated into extreme violence.” "Our federal government is freely, without cause, murdering its own citizens in broad daylight," she said, "in front of witnesses and cameras.” The action comes after multiple incidents of violence in California as well as last week’s fatal shooting in Minnesota of 37-year-old Renee Good by a federal immigration agent, which spurred an outcry across the country. Good, a mother of three, has been portrayed by government officials as a domestic terrorist who tried to run down an agent with her vehicle. State and local officials in Minneapolis have rejected those claims. On Friday in Southern California, a 21-year-old protester underwent six hours of surgery after a Department of Homeland Security agent fired a nonlethal round at close range at him during a protest. The protester is shown in video, his face covered in blood, being dragged by the neck by an agent. He suffered a fractured skull around his eyes and nose and permanently lost the vision in his left eye, according to family. An off-duty ICE agent fatally shot Keith Porter Jr. at a Northridge apartment complex on New Year’s Eve. The officer suspected that Porter was an "active shooter," according to Homeland Security. Porter was firing an assault-style rifle in what family members said was an act of celebration on New Year’s Eve. "I think it’s really important for our communities to understand what we’re saying is, you don’t have the right to come in and harass people without a federal warrant," said Hilda Solis, District 1 supervisor and co-author with Horvath of the motion. "If [federal agents] use our property to stage, then you need to show us documentation, a federal warrant, to back that up.”

Reported similarly:
Telemundo52 [1/13/2026 3:32 PM, Zoe Navarro and Alexander Zapata, 76K]

Los Angeles Times [1/13/2026 10:47 PM, Dakota Smith, 14862K] reports that, a week after a Minnesota woman was fatally shot by a federal immigration officer, California legislators moved forward a bill that would make it easier for people to sue federal agents if they believe their constitutional rights were violated. A Senate committee passed Senate Bill 747 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which would provide Californians with a stronger ability to take legal action against federal law enforcement agents over excessive use of force, unlawful home searches, interfering with a right to protest and other violations. California law already allows such suits against state and local law enforcement officials. Successful civil suits against federal officers over constitutional rights are less common. Wiener, appearing before Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, said his bill has taken on new urgency in the wake of the death of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota, the 37-year-old mother of three who was shot while driving on a snowy Minneapolis street. Good was shot by an agent in self-defense, said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who alleged that Good tried to use her car as a weapon to run over the immigration officer. Good’s death outraged Democratic leaders across the country, who accuse federal officers of flouting laws in their efforts to deport thousands of undocumented immigrants. In New York, legislators are proposing legislation similar to the one proposed by Wiener that would allow state-level civil actions against federal officers. George Retes Jr., a U.S. citizen and Army veteran who was kept in federal custody for three days in July, described his ordeal at Tuesday’s committee hearing, and how immigration officers swarmed him during a raid in Camarillo. Retes, a contracted security guard at the farm that was raided, said he was brought to Port Hueneme Naval Base. Officials swabbed his cheek to obtain DNA, and then moved him to Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. He was not allowed to make a phone call or see an attorney, he said. "I did not resist, I did not impede or assault any agent," Retes said."What happened to me that day was not a misunderstanding. It was a violation of the Constitution by the very people sworn to uphold it.” He also accused Department of Homeland security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin of spreading false information about him to justify his detention. DHS said in a statement last year that Retes impeded their operation, which he denies. Retes has filed a tort claim against the U.S. government, a process that is rarely successful, said his attorney, Anya Bidwell. Lawsuits can also be brought through the Bivens doctrine, which refers to the 1971 Supreme Court ruling Bivens vs. Six Unknown Federal Agents that established that federal officials can be sued for monetary damages for constitutional violations. But in recent decades, the Supreme Court has repeatedly restricted the ability to sue under Bivens.

Telemundo [1/13/2026 11:45 PM, Shelby Bremer, 57K] reports the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an ordinance that would further limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The proposal, known as the Civil Liberties Compliance and Accountability Rules Ordinance (or CLEAR), would strengthen the county’s current policy of not cooperating with federal immigration authorities, barring agents from accessing non-public areas of county property unless they have a warrant. It would also require periodic reporting of any cooperation with federal authorities. The ordinance was first proposed in the fall, around the same time that the city of San Diego passed a similar policy. The three Democratic members of the Board voted to advance the measure to a second reading, scheduled for January 28. Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson voted against it, and Republican Supervisor Jim Desmond was not present. While the measure itself was not new, after an ICE officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis last week, law enforcement was a priority during the meeting and at a student-organized protest outside. “We can’t undo what happened in Minnesota,” said board president Terra Lawson-Remer. “But we can decide what kind of local government we will be here in San Diego.” “I naively believed that if you were a U.S. citizen, we would be safe,” said one supporter during a public commentary, reflecting on the Minneapolis shooting. “Now, no one is safe.”

Yahoo! News [1/13/2026 4:23 PM, Will Conybeare, 49624K] reports crowds gathered Tuesday morning to grill the Los Angeles Police Commission on the fatal immigration enforcement officer-involved shooting of a man in the San Fernando Valley that occurred on New Year’s Eve – one that federal officials say was warranted and family members and activists claim was unjust. The shooting occurred in the 17000 block of Roscoe Boulevard in Northridge around 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, the Los Angeles Police Department said. A department spokesperson told KTLA at the time that the report which came into dispatch was that a man was firing rifle rounds into the air. When officers arrived at the apartment complex where the call came from, they discovered a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Preliminary information from early on in the investigation indicated that the person involved in the shooting was an off-duty federal agent. First reports pointed towards him being an officer with the Department of Homeland Security, but it was later confirmed by federal officials that he was an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent. "On December 31st, an off-duty ICE officer bravely responded to an active shooter situation at his apartment complex," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "In order to protect his life and that of others, he was forced to defensively use his weapon and exchange gunfire with the shooter. Fortunately, our brave officer was not injured while protecting his community." The man who was shot and killed was later identified as 43-year-old Keith Porter Jr.

FOX News [1/13/2026 4:00 PM, Joshua Q. Nelson, 40621K] reports Los Angeles students are staying home in fear of deportation, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) superintendent said on Monday. LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said students are not showing up to class in the second semester of the 2025-2026 school year due to concerns over immigration enforcement. The district reportedly reassured parents that the schools are safe zones from immigration enforcement because federal officials are not allowed to enter the grounds without a signed judicial warrant. School district employees are receiving training to know their rights and how to deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

FOX News [1/13/2026 9:00 PM, Joshua Q. Nelson, 40621K] reports the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement efforts have turned some classrooms into battlegrounds as schools work to prevent federal immigration officials from operating on school grounds. California’s Oceanside Unified School District is beefing up security and providing scripts for staff to "keep ICE out of schools," according to a report from The San Diego Union-Tribune. Front-office staff in the district are provided with scripts in the event Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrive, the report said. Oceanside Unified serves a large Latino student population, and "about one in eight students is learning English," according to the Tribune. The Trump administration rescinded a longstanding policy that prevented ICE officers from conducting arrests of undocumented individuals at schools, houses of worship, hospitals or other so-called "sensitive locations.” Oceanside Unified School District has reportedly been working more closely with community organizations in "more preventative and proactive work.” Staff members also received training on how to respond if immigration officers arrive on campus and how to record any such encounters, the Union-Tribune reported. Jordy Sparks, the district’s executive director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Student Support, said that they have "a script that basically front office staff can walk through.” Districts across the state are expected to update state guidance by March 1 to ensure students are shielded from immigration enforcement. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced last month that "approximately 133,000 undocumented children attend California’s public K-12 schools, and many more have parents or relatives who do not have legal status.” "I know many California teachers and administrators are wondering how best to protect their students amid the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate, callous mass deportation campaign," Bonta said. For instance, ICE agents are not permitted to enter non-public areas without a valid judicial warrant, subpoena or court order. Per the 59-page state document, "Schoolbuses or other vehicles to transport pupils to school are by their nature non-public, and agents or employees of agencies conducting immigration enforcement should not be permitted to access the inside of such vehicles without a valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena or court order.” The school district has also increased security measures. "Visitors must be buzzed in by staff in order to enter past the front office. Front-office signs have been updated, and signs have gone up to identify areas restricted to students and staff. Sparks said there’s training for all schools and all staff around areas like awareness building and education code. But there’s also an optional training led by the district’s immigration response team, which he’s on, that delves further into what staff can do as community members," the Union-Tribune reported.

Politico [1/13/2026 10:39 AM, Eric Bazail-Eimil, 2100K] reports the Trump administration will revoke temporary protected status for thousands of Somali nationals in the United States in the face of White House claims that the diaspora community in Minnesota participated in widespread fraud, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday. Noem told Fox News that Somalis with temporary protected status would be required to leave the country by March 17. She argued that conditions in Somalia have improved and added that “allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interest. We are putting Americans first.” In a separate social media post, the Department of Homeland Security wrote: “Our message is clear. Go back to your own country, or we’ll send you back ourselves.” The move would affect thousands of Somalis in the United States, though not the majority of the U.S. Somali community, many of which are already permanent residents or U.S. citizens. Yet the announcement comes as the federal government ramps up its immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, the state with the largest Somali population in the United States. The Trump administration has already sent more than 2,000 immigration enforcement officers into Minneapolis and federal officials are threatening to send in more federal agents to the city. Reuters [1/13/2026 4:03 PM, Ted Hesson and Costas Pitas, 36480K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she would end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis, arguing that conditions in Somalia had improved even as fighting continues between Somali armed forces and al-Shabaab militants. With the termination, the status will be set to expire on March 17 although a legal challenge is likely. "Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status," Noem said in a statement. "Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first.” Trump has been critical of Somali immigrants in recent months, calling them "garbage" and focusing on fraud allegations in Minnesota that have included some Somalis. The Republican president said in November that he was ending TPS for Somalis in Minnesota, which is home to an estimated 76,000 Somali immigrants, according to U.S. Census data. The Trump administration surged more than 2,000 federal immigration agents to Minnesota amid allegations that Somali immigrants were running fraudulent daycares, turning the Democratic-led city into the latest focus of Trump’s crackdown. Tensions boiled over last week in Minneapolis when a federal immigration officer fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, sparking protests. Speaking in Detroit on Tuesday, Trump said his administration would revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrants from Somalia or elsewhere who were convicted of defrauding U.S. citizens. The The Hill [1/13/2026 10:33 AM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12595K] reports that according to the National Immigration Forum, 705 Somalis are covered by TPS. “Temporary means temporary. Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status. Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “We are putting Americans first.”

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Reuters [1/13/2026 5:40 PM, Nate Raymond, 36480K] reports a U.S. federal judge on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to resolve a "bureaucratic mess" by issuing a student visa to a college student who was deported to Honduras after being arrested at Boston’s airport while trying to visit her family for Thanksgiving. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns during a hearing in Boston raised that prospect as a "practical solution" to how to resolve a lawsuit by Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 19-year-old student at Babson College who was sent to Honduras in violation of a court order. Lopez Belloza, who was brought to the U.S. from Honduras by her parents when she was 8, was arrested on November 20 based on a removal order she says she did not know existed. Her lawyer filed a lawsuit challenging her detention the next day. A federal judge in Massachusetts issued an order on November 21 barring Lopez Belloza from being deported or transferred out of Massachusetts for 72 hours. But by that time, Lopez Belloza had already been flown to Texas, potentially stripping Stearns’ court of jurisdiction. She was flown to Honduras on November 22. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter acknowledged the court’s order was violated, a development he blamed on a "mistake" by an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement who thought the order no longer applied and failed to properly flag it.

Reuters [1/13/2026 5:31 PM, Bo Erickson and Ismail Shakil, 36480K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration is going to revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant from Somalia or any other country who is convicted of defrauding "our citizens." "We’re also going to revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant from Somalia or anywhere else who is convicted of defrauding our citizens," Trump said in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club.

FOX News [1/13/2026 6:00 AM, Ashley J., 40621K] reports that it was once popular for international music stars and actors to stay in the U.S. for their jobs and careers. Today, the notion is attracting a new type of "talent." OnlyFans stars, TikTok influencers and popular content creators are applying for O-1 visas to work in this country. The visas are intended for an individual who possesses "extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements," according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A U.S. employer, U.S. agent or foreign employer through a U.S. agent needs to file on the person’s behalf, along with required evidence, the USCIS also says. Pennsylvania-based immigration attorney Raymond Lahoud told Fox News Digital, "O-1B visas have been dominated by influencers and content creators." He added, "We see applicants who appear on various platforms with millions of followers and earning millions of dollars." "If a potential non-immigrant who is the world’s most famous OnlyFans star meets the O-1B requirements, who am I to judge? We’re getting that visa," he added. He said the rise in the number of creators seeking visas is somewhat of a recent phenomenon.

Univision [1/13/2026 4:09 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports Andrés Navarro was arrested on December 17 by ICE agents when he went to one of the monthly appointments with USCIS that he was used to since he requested asylum in the United States in 2023. Andrés has been at the ICE Detention Center in Stewart, Georgia since that day. The 21-year-old has no family in the United States, and his girlfriend’s family is fighting to allow him to continue his immigration process while free. Andrés entered the United States on November 9, 2023. “Through the CBP One app,” Lisbeth said. His preliminary asylum hearing was scheduled for June of this year. However, following his arrest, the date was changed.

ABC News [1/13/2026 6:18 PM, Deena Zaru, 30493K] reports the Minneapolis delegation of the Minnesota House of Representatives released a statement Tuesday decrying the Trump administration’s announcement that it would end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in March. The delegation called the move "a significant departure from decades of bipartisan humanitarian policy." "TPS exists because conditions in designated countries meet clear statutory standards related to conflict and instability. Ending these protections does not change the realities on the ground abroad, but it does create fear, disrupt families, and destabilize communities here at home," they said. “As the Minneapolis Delegation, we stand with Somali Minnesotans and with all communities impacted by the termination of TPS. We oppose immigration policies that separate families, undermine community stability, and erode public trust," they added.

USA Today [1/13/2026 3:51 PM, Nathan Diller, 67103K] reports on the last morning of their cruise, Jose "Joey" Martinez and Tamara "Tammy" Verhas got an unexpected wake-up call. Verhas began filming as Customs and Border Protection officers handcuffed Martinez, who said he is a U.S. citizen and Coast Guard veteran. "A female agent came in (and) jumped on top of me in the bed to try and snatch my phone, which she did eventually snatch," Verhas recalled. "And then they disappeared with Joey and my phone for 90 minutes." He was placed in a holding cell at the Miami port, according to the couple. Only upon his release did authorities explain that they were actually looking for another person with Martinez’s name, the pair said. The couple said they received no apology from CBP or communication from Carnival following the incident. Officers also forced the couple to delete the footage from Verhas’ phone before agreeing to return it, she added.

Axios [1/13/2026 6:37 PM, Kathryn Varn, 12972K] reports a U.S. Customs and Border Protection recruitment event at a St. Petersburg hotel drew protesters and a heavy law enforcement presence Tuesday. Demonstrators are expected to gather outside the Hilton Carillon Park again Wednesday as the hiring effort continues into its second and final day. The protests build on a weekend of rallies and vigils in Tampa Bay and nationwide following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent’s fatal shooting of Renee Good last week in Minneapolis. The local outrage at ICE also extends to Tampa Bay law enforcement departments that partner with the federal agency under a program known as 287(g), organizers told Axios. By about 11:15am Tuesday, several dozen protesters had gathered on the sidewalk by the Hilton parking lot, blaring music and holding signs with messages like "Melt ICE" and "ICE murdered her. "People need to know St. Pete isn’t going to let this happen," demonstrator Michelle Lisan told Axios. Across Lake Carillon Drive, a small group of counter-protesters hoisted posters with photos of four people killed by undocumented immigrants, including Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray. While signs and chants were aimed at ICE, Customs and Border Protection is a separate arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

(B) NBC News Daily [1/13/2026 1:23 PM, Staff] reports that in Portland, Oregon, federal prosecutors have filed charges against one of two people shot by Border Patrol agents last week. The 33-year-old suspect faces charges including aggravated assault of a federal officer after investigators say he rammed his truck into a car used by the Border Patrol agents. He was shot in the arm and his passenger was shot in the chest. The Department of Homeland Security says both people entered the US illegally from Venezuela and have gang ties.

FOX News [1/13/2026 7:36 PM, Stepheny Price, 40621K] reports an illegal immigrant and suspected Venezuelan gang member shot by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers during a Jan. 8 confrontation in Portland had been linked to an earlier shooting months before. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital deputies responded to reports of a shooting in July 2025 at an apartment complex in unincorporated Washington County. No one was injured, and the suspects fled before deputies arrived. A neighbor who witnessed that incident described it as shocking for a normally peaceful area. Justin Pitones told KGW8 he was home at the time and heard breaking glass before seeing sheriff’s deputies moving through his yard with weapons drawn. "It was broad daylight. That was kind of the weird part," Pitones said. "This is a quiet neighborhood." He said officers later described the incident to him as "a deal gone bad," adding that neighbors never expected it would escalate into a federal shooting months later. Detectives later identified Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, who is now charged in the CBP case, as a person of interest in the July shooting. Because the investigation spanned multiple jurisdictions and potentially included federal violations, the case was referred to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where it remains active. Authorities declined further comment, directing additional questions to federal investigators. Portland police also declined to comment beyond statements made during recent news conferences. The July shooting adds new context to the Jan. 8 confrontation, when CBP officers attempted to stop Zambrano-Contreras and her husband, Luis Nino-Moncada, in Portland. Federal prosecutors say Nino-Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras, described as having ties to the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, were inside a Toyota Tacoma when Border Patrol agents moved to conduct a targeted traffic stop. Prosecutors allege Nino-Moncada, who entered the United States illegally in 2022 and was subject to a final order of removal, refused to exit the vehicle and instead reversed with force into a Border Patrol vehicle, causing significant damage and repeatedly striking it in forward and reverse motions. Fearing for their safety, a Border Patrol agent opened fire, striking both suspects, prosecutors allege. During questioning, Moncada allegedly admitted he intentionally rammed the CBP vehicle in an attempt to flee. Both suspects were treated for gunshot wounds and later charged with federal offenses. The Justice Department said there was no body-worn camera video from the six Border Patrol agents involved, and efforts to locate video of the confrontation through surveillance cameras or social media were unsuccessful. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

San Diego Union Tribune [1/13/2026 12:46 PM, Alexandra Mendoza, 1538K] reports one person was injured and two people were arrested after a vehicle pursuit involving U.S. Border Patrol agents ended with a collision in Chula Vista on Sunday, officials said. Federal agents responding to a suspected human smuggling incident one mile west of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry encountered a vehicle they suspected was connected to the incident. The driver refused to yield when the agents attempted to stop the vehicle, prompting the pursuit, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said on Tuesday. The pursuit ended in Chula Vista when the vehicle being chased crashed into another vehicle. Chula Vista police said officers responded to a report of a collision on First Avenue south of E Street around 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Sgt. Anthony Molina said the vehicle agents were chasing exited Interstate 805 and headed south on First Avenue before crashing into the side of an uninvolved vehicle. He said the vehicle being pursued also struck two parked, unoccupied vehicles in the same block as the initial collision before stopping.

AP [1/14/2026 12:21 AM, Gabriela Aoun Angueira, 30493K] reports nearly 1,000 households displaced by catastrophic wildfires in Maui are anxiously awaiting word on whether federal assistance helping them stay housed will be left to expire, forcing them to find new housing or pay more for it in one of the tightest and most expensive rental environments in the country. For two and a half years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been key to assisting those residents. But FEMA — facing a broader Trump administration effort to diminish the agency’s role and shift more responsibility to states — is set to choose in the coming weeks whether to end the funding. Advocates say evicting renters and taking away financial assistance will undermine progress toward bringing residents back to Lahaina, the West Maui town that was largely razed by a massive fire on Aug. 8, 2023, and could lead to a new wave of homelessness and more departures from the island. "All of them entering into our already impacted rental market in February scares me a lot," said Nicole Huguenin, executive director and co-founder of the mutual aid organization Maui Rapid Response. The fires in Lahaina and Kula, in Maui’s upcountry region, destroyed 2,200 structures and killed 102 people. Then-President Joe Biden declared a major disaster, unlocking FEMA assistance to help 12,000 displaced people, 89% of whom were renters at the time of the fires. His administration eventually extended the 18-month program until February 2026. But with few homes rebuilt and rental inventory nearing zero, the state requested another extension last May with a decision due before the end of January. The uncertainty comes against the backdrop of greater upheaval surrounding FEMA’s future role in disaster recovery. President Donald Trump has frequently floated the idea of eliminating the agency, saying he wants states to take on more responsibility handling disasters. While it’s not clear whether that change in approach will influence the decision on the housing assistance, it is weighing on residents. "It falls into the hands of the current administration and I’m not sure if they’re fond of the amount of money we’ve had to use," said Kukui Keahi, a Lahaina fire survivor who rents an apartment through FEMA after living in her car and couch-surfing after the fire. If the program expires, all housing-related financial assistance to fire survivors would cease and any units being leased directly through FEMA must be vacated, according to an agency notice. Maui County spokesperson Laksmi Abraham said the county was "working with the state and FEMA toward an extension and is optimistic that an extension will be granted." FEMA declined to comment.

NewsNation [1/13/2026 7:30 PM, Kevin Bohn, 8017K] reports the Secret Service has placed an agent, who served on Vice President JD Vance’s protective detail, on administrative leave and suspended his clearance after he was captured in an undercover video talking about sensitive parts of his job. In the video, he is seen and heard talking to a woman he had met for a date, discussing serving in the VP’s security detail, including the movement of Vance to and from his Naval Observatory home, and showing his badge after she asked. “The U.S. Secret Service has no tolerance for any behavior that could potentially compromise the safety, privacy or trust of our protectees. This incident is under investigation, and the employee involved has been placed on administrative leave with his clearance suspended and access to agency facilities and systems revoked,” Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn said in a statement to NewsNation. The video, which was confirmed as authentic, was spearheaded by conservative activist James O’Keefe, whose staff have recorded newsmakers and journalists undercover talking about controversial issues or their employers in controversial messages. “The U.S. Secret Service has also issued an order for all personnel to retake the agency’s required anti-espionage training in order to ensure employees are aware of the threats posed by individuals aiming to exploit agency employees for information about our protective operations,” Quinn said. The Secret Service is not confirming the name of the suspended agent because of privacy requirements. FOX News [1/13/2026 5:22 PM, Jasmine Baehr, Patrick Ward, 40621K] reports that the USSS is investigating and said the employee’s security clearance has been suspended and access to agency facilities and systems revoked as the incident is investigated, opening the door to broader concerns about operational security and an agency-wide retraining order. In a post on X by O’Keefe, undercover footage allegedly shows a USSS agent he claims as being assigned to Vance’s protective detail, sharing sensitive information with someone he believed to be a romantic interest. According to O’Keefe, the agent discussed protective formations, shift schedules, travel movements and advance security procedures, and allegedly sent images while aboard Air Force Two. O’Keefe goes on to write that the agent involved was "recorded on hidden camera providing an undercover journalist with sensitive security information" and allegedly discussed "protective formations, shift schedules, travel plans, & real-time locations." The agent also allegedly shared information "sometimes days in advance" and acknowledged signing paperwork prohibiting disclosure of that kind of privileged information. O’Keefe alleges the agent is a "holdover from the Biden administration" and that he holds anti-ICE and anti-Trump administration personal views.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [1/13/2026 11:15 PM, Max Rego, 12595K]

AP [1/13/2026 3:45 PM, Julie Carr Smyth] reports a federal judge ruled Tuesday that a suspect in the vandalism of Vice President JD Vance’s home in Ohio must remain behind bars while awaiting trial. The decision by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman means that William D. DeFoor, 26, of Cincinnati, will remain in the Hamilton County jail for now. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for Jan. 20 in the federal district court in Cincinnati. DeFoor faces federal charges of damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against property in a restricted area and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers. The first two charges are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Shortly after midnight on Jan. 5, Secret Service officers assigned to Vance’s home in Cincinnati’s upscale East Walnut Hills neighborhood saw someone run along the front fence and breach the property line. The person later identified as DeFoor was armed with a hammer and tried to break out the window of an unmarked Secret Service vehicle on the way up to the driveway before breaking windows in the front of the home and damaging a security system. DeFoor’s defense attorney, Paul Laufman, has said this is “purely a mental health issue” and not motivated by politics.

The Hill [1/13/2026 10:00 AM, Staff, 12595K] reports Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials testified Tuesday morning before a House Transportation Committee panel on the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) law enforcement efforts. The hearing comes amid the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and after Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was ousted earlier this month. The U.S. government has also seized at least five oil tankers tied to the South American country, as President Trump insists the U.S. will run Venezuela and its oil infrastructure for some time. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Homeland Preparedness News [1/13/2026 7:40 AM, Melina Druga] reports the U.S. Coast Guard recently announced its 2025 highlights. “The men and women of the Coast Guard delivered extraordinary results for our nation in 2025,” Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, acting commandant, said. “From securing the border and interdicting illegal drugs to facilitating maritime commerce and responding rapidly to crises, their success is driving the momentum we carry into 2026. Through Force Design 2028, we are building a more agile, capable, and responsive fighting force to protect the American people and advance national security.” Highlights include: The service had the best recruiting performance since 1991, adding 15,000 members. The Coast Guard played a critical role in facilitating the safe and secure flow of commerce. Force Design 2028 launched. Coast Guard Cutters Healy, Waesche and Storis intercepted and challenged five Chinese research vessels operating in the Arctic over the U.S. extended continental shelf. The Coast Guard conducted a series of high-profile boardings of oil tankers suspected of violating U.S. sanctions and maritime regulations. The Coast Guard patrolled more than 100,000 miles of U.S. border and interdicted, deterred and/or transported more than 11,000 illegal aliens. Vessels operating in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean seized more than 511,000 pounds of narcotics, valued at more than $3.8 billion, and disrupted transnational criminal organizations. The Coast Guard was involved in thousands of search and rescue cases, saving 5,220 lives, assisting 19,437 people, and saving or assisting more than $1.02 billion in property.

FOX News [1/13/2026 5:29 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports the Trump administration has filed court warrants in an effort to seize more ships linked to Venezuela’s oil trade, according to media reports. So far, five vessels have been seized by the U.S. military and Coast Guard in recent weeks in international waters. The seizures were part of the administration’s pressure campaign to force former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of power, which happened Jan. 3, when he was arrested by U.S. forces. After Maduro’s capture, President Donald Trump said the United States would control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely. Through federal courts, the U.S. government has filed multiple civil forfeiture actions to force the seizure and confiscation of oil cargo and ships that have been involved in the trade, the sources told Reuters. It was not clear how many seizure warrants the U.S. is seeking.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [1/13/2026 4:18 PM, Jonathan Saul, 36480K]

USA Today [1/13/2026 6:12 PM, Nathan Diller, 67103K] reports Royal Caribbean International ships won’t visit the cruise line’s private destination in Haiti through at least the end of the year. The cruise line last visited Labadee in the first quarter of 2025, after pausing stops there the year before. Gang violence escalated in Haiti in 2024, and the country has been under a state of emergency since March of that year. A U.S. State Department travel advisory lists it as Level 4, denoting a "do not travel" warning, its highest rating. The U.S. Coast Guard also "has concerns about security in the ports of Haiti," the State Department said. "Until those are addressed, the Coast Guard advises mariners and passengers traveling through the ports of Haiti to exercise caution."

Politico [1/13/2026 4:54 PM, John Sakellariadis, 2100K] reports President Donald Trump has renominated Sean Plankey to be the next director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — a move that largely puts to rest any speculation that the White House is exploring other candidates for the post. In a bare bones press release Tuesday afternoon, the White House included Plankey’s name in a list of more than 60 presidential nominees it is sending to the Senate for confirmation. CISA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Plankey’s nomination. The announcement is an unambiguous vote of confidence for Plankey, a former senior National Security Council and Energy Department official in Trump’s first term. It also comes at a volatile moment for CISA, which experienced major cuts over the past year. The cyber defense agency has been operating since Trump’s return to office without a full-time chief, and its current acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, is facing rising scrutiny from Democrats in Congress following POLITICO’s reporting on a failed polygraph exam. It’s unclear if the Senate GOP is ready to unite around Plankey, who is a senior adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for the Coast Guard. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) scotched Plankey’s confirmation in 2025, reportedly due to a Coast Guard ship-building contract. And on Friday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) pledged to block all DHS nominees until Noem commits to appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Scott did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his hold, and a spokesperson for Tillis reiterated the senator’s demand for Noem’s hearing. The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it was confident Plankey could get confirmed this time around.

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CyberScoop [1/13/2026 7:20 PM, Tim Starks, 122K]

CyberScoop [1/13/2026 5:20 PM, Matt Kapko, 122K] reports Microsoft’s first security update of 2026 addressed 112 vulnerabilities affecting its products and underlying systems, including one actively exploited zero-day in Desktop Window Manager. The company’s latest Patch Tuesday update marks the second consecutive month with no critical vulnerabilities disclosed. The batch of patches also contains more than 110 CVEs for the second January in a row. The zero-day vulnerability — CVE-2026-20805 — is an information disclosure defect with a CVSS rating of 5.5 that can be exploited by an unauthorized attacker to expose sensitive information. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency added the defect to its known exploited vulnerabilities catalog Tuesday. Information disclosure vulnerabilities are sporadically exploited in the wild, but not often, according to Dustin Childs, head of threat awareness at Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative. “This shows how memory leaks can be as important as code execution bugs since they make the remote code executions reliable,” he wrote in a blog post. Jack Bicer, director of vulnerability research at Action1, concurred, added that the memory exposed by exploitation of CVE-2026-20805 can undermine defenses and bolster additional exploits. “This vulnerability increases the risk of successful multi-stage attacks,” Bicer said in an email. “Leaked memory details can be combined with other vulnerabilities to achieve privilege escalation or data theft, potentially leading to broader system compromise, regulatory exposure and loss of trust.”

FOX News [1/13/2026 11:43 AM, Kurt Knutsson, 40621K] reports that at first glance, the job posts look completely harmless. They promise fast money, flexible hours and paid training. No experience required. Payment comes in crypto. But these are not tutoring gigs or customer service roles. They are recruiting ads for ransomware operations. And many of the people responding are middle and high school students. Some posts openly say they prefer inexperienced workers. Others quietly prioritize young women. All of them promise big payouts for "successful calls." What they leave out is the risk. Federal charges. Prison time. Permanent records. This underground ecosystem goes by a familiar name. Insiders often refer to it as "The Com," short for "The Community.” The Com is not a single organized gang. It functions as a loose network of groups that regularly change names and members. Well-known offshoots tied to this ecosystem include Scattered Spider, Lapsus$, ShinyHunters and related splinter crews. Some groups focus on data theft. Others specialize in phishing or extortion. Collaboration happens when it benefits the operation. Teenagers often take on the riskiest roles within these schemes. Phone calls, access testing and social engineering scripts typically fall to younger participants. More experienced criminals remain in the background, limiting their exposure.

New York Post [1/13/2026 8:30 AM, Josh Christenson, 42219K] reports the State Department and Treasury Department jointly announced Tuesday that the US is designating chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood based in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon as foreign terror groups. Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, the leader of the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, will be listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to address Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs," Rubio said in a statement. "The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.” The Treasury Department is also designating the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood as SDGTs for aiding and abetting Hamas. Treasury officials say that the chapter based in Egypt, where the Brotherhood was founded in 1928, has been coordinating and funding the Palestinian terror group for years — as well as taking money from Hamas to assist agitation meant to "destabilize" the Cairo government. In Jordan, Muslim Brotherhood members also "materially assisted Hamas" and had "been involved in terrorism cases," the officials added, despite the group having been "dissolved" by a judicial verdict in 2020 and outlawed by Amman this past April 23. "Despite their peaceful public façade, both the Egyptian and Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood branches have conspired to support Hamas’s terrorism and undermine the sovereignty of their own national governments," said John K. Hurley, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. The designations follow President Trump’s November executive order "to eliminate the capabilities and operations of Muslim Brotherhood chapters designated as foreign terrorist organizations … deprive those chapters of resources, and thereby end any threat such chapters pose to United States nationals or the national security of the United States.”

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Daily Wire [1/13/2026 5:05 AM, Kassy Akiva, 2494K]
Washington Examiner [1/13/2026 12:53 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K]

AP [1/13/2026 9:19 AM, Staff, 31753K] reports security camera video released Monday by Beth Israel Congregation showed a masked and hooded man using a gas can to pour liquid on the floor and a couch in the building’s lobby. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [1/13/2026 4:36 PM, Doug Myers, 39474K] reports an arson suspect faces new terrorism charges after Fort Worth police linked a series of threatening social media videos to a string of car fires south of downtown. Police say the investigation expanded after threatening videos began circulating online, including one showing a masked man vowing mass violence. Detectives believe the video originated overseas from an extremist hate group. Investigators say five vehicles were set ablaze between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. Authorities believe 17-year-old Evan Banda recorded footage of North Texas schools and sent it overseas to the extremist group, which posted the threatening videos. Banda was arrested last week and charged with arson, terrorism, and possession of child pornography. As officers monitored related posts, they found additional threatening messages and footage of Crowley Middle School. The Fort Worth Police Department’s Arson Unit determined the threats were connected to five arson‑related videos recorded on the city’s south side. The investigation remains ongoing.

Blaze [1/13/2026 6:10 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1442K] reports the man who was arrested for ramming protesters against the Islamic regime in Los Angeles was given a $0 bail and was released on his own recognizance. Iranian dissidents have organized one of the largest political demonstrations against the ruling regime and have been met with brutal state violence in response. Hundreds have been killed in the clashes, with some estimates reaching over 1,000 dead. Supporters of the dissidents have protested in cities across the globe, but one group in Westwood was violently attacked by a man driving a U-Haul truck. Video showed protesters attacking the man as police dragged him away from the scene. He was later identified as 48-year-old Calor Madanescht. Only minor injuries were reported from the incident. The truck had signs on it indicating that Madanescht was opposed to the demonstration. One side read, "No Shah," which refers to the ruling leader before the Islamic regime overthrew the Western-backed Shah. However, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is trying to determine whether he intentionally rammed the protesters or was reacting to being boxed in by the protest. He was only charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless driving. "Officers stopped the truck and directed the driver to turn around," reads a statement from the Los Angeles Police Dept. on Monday. "The demonstrators tore the signs off the truck and attacked the driver, who then drove toward a group of LAPD officers.” Investigators said nothing significant was found inside the truck after it was impounded and searched.

AP [1/13/2026 11:39 AM, Staff, 13945K] reports Mexican authorities said Tuesday they had arrested six alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang in Mexico City for crimes related to drug trafficking, extortion and human trafficking. The announcement came a day after President Claudia Sheinbaum and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of their governments’ ongoing collaboration against drug cartels. The Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization last year, and alleged it had ties with Venezuela’s now-deposed President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. government has also targeted some boats in the Caribbean that it alleges were carrying drugs for the gang. Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch announced the arrests on social media but did not provide nationalities. The arrests of one woman and five men were carried out after surveillance on several buildings in the capital. Drugs, a gun and a notebook recording extortion in the city were seized.

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Telemundo [1/13/2026 6:26 PM, Staff, 57K]

Reuters [1/13/2026 9:28 AM, Staff, 36480K] reports the United States has delivered critical military supplies to Nigeria to bolster the West African nation’s operations, the U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Tuesday. The delivery came after the U.S. carried out a strike targeting Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria last month. AFRICOM said in a post on X that the delivery in the Nigerian capital Abuja "supports Nigeria’s ongoing operations and emphasises our shared security partnership". AFRICOM did not specify what kinds of equipment it had delivered to Nigeria, which has been battling Islamist insurgents in the northeast for the past 15 years as well as criminal kidnapping gangs, mostly in the northwest. Last month, AFRICOM said the U.S. military had carried out an airstrike in Sokoto state in coordination with Nigerian authorities and had killed multiple Islamic State militants.

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Bloomberg [1/13/2026 1:18 PM, Monique Vanek, 18207K]

FOX News [1/13/2026 8:56 PM, Emma Bussey, 40621K] reports the U.S. stepped up airstrikes in Somalia in January, targeting al-Shabab and the local affiliate of the Islamic State group, ISIS, according to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). In a Jan. 12 release, AFRICOM said U.S. forces, working with the Somali federal government, carried out airstrikes against al-Shabab militants. AFRICOM said the operation was part of ongoing efforts to "degrade the group’s ability to threaten the U.S. homeland, U.S. forces and Americans overseas.” Airstrikes against ISIS—Somalia were also reported on Jan. 11 and Jan. 9 in northern Somalia, including the Golis Mountains region of Puntland, southeast of Bosaso. Additional airstrikes targeting al-Shabab were reported on Jan. 8, including one in the vicinity of Buur Heybo, about 154 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu. The command said between the evening of Jan. 3–4, strikes were also conducted "in coordination with Somali authorities.” AFRICOM said in a release the strikes were part of a broader campaign conducted with Somali partners. No casualty figures were released. The latest spate of operations comes amid a broader intensification of U.S. airstrikes in Somalia. According to information released by AFRICOM, between Feb. 1, when the Trump administration conducted its first strike in Somalia in 2025, and June 10, the U.S. carried out 38 airstrikes against al-Shabab and the Islamic State in Somalia. AFRICOM has said additional strikes have been conducted since June 10. Independent monitoring organizations have reported a rise in strikes since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2024, according to a report by the Combating Terrorism Center. The report cited an April 2025 statement by AFRICOM commander Gen. Michael E. Langley before the Senate Armed Services Committee, in which he referenced the potential threat posed by jihadi groups in Africa to the U.S. homeland. "We are acutely aware that if ISIS and al Qaeda groups continue their expansion, they will pose a direct threat to the U.S. homeland," Langley said. "Given this environment, US AFRICOM will work collaboratively with the intelligence community and inter-agency partners to keep the risk to U.S. national security interests low," Langley said in a statement. Al-Shabab, an al Qaeda affiliate, has waged war on Somalia’s government since 2007 and continues to control territory in south-central Somalia. ISIS-Somalia is a smaller faction concentrated largely in Puntland’s mountainous northeast, where it is also said to compete with al-Shabab for influence. According to the U.S.-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Somalia’s conflict with armed groups was the third-deadliest in Africa through 2024, killing an estimated 7,289 people.

CBS News [1/13/2026 7:08 PM, Olivia Gazis, 39474K] Video: HERE reports the U.S. government quietly acquired a device in late 2024 that officials believe may be connected to the debilitating condition known as "Havana Syndrome," which more than 1,500 American officials have reported experiencing since 2016, according to multiple sources briefed on the matter who spoke with CBS News. The device was purchased clandestinely in the final weeks of the Biden administration by the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division, using Pentagon funding that exceeded eight figures, according to two people familiar with the matter. The device is portable, backpack-sized, and contains components of Russian origin, the two people said. Three of the people said the Pentagon has been testing the device, which emits pulsed, radio-frequency energy, for more than a year, but did not offer details on the nature of the tests. They said the department’s investigators believe it may be capable of reproducing the effects described by victims of "Havana Syndrome," a term derived from the cases first reported by U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers in Havana, Cuba, in 2016. U.S. officials briefed some of their findings to congressional oversight committees last year. Victims have reported a spectrum of neurological symptoms, including severe headaches and head pressure, vertigo, nausea, and ringing or popping sensations in the ears. Many have described hearing an intensely high-pitched, painful sound that appeared to subside when they moved to another location. For some, the effects were so severe that they were ultimately forced to leave their jobs. Reports of cases have emerged from every populated continent, spanning dozens of countries, and involving diplomats, intelligence officers, and military personnel.

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CNN [1/13/2026 5:00 AM, Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand, Priscilla Alvarez, Jim Sciutto, and Zachary Cohen, 18595K]
NewsMax [1/13/2026 9:18 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4109K] r

FOX Business [1/13/2026 12:30 AM, Landon Mion, 10085K] reports Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced on Monday a plan aimed at making the U.S. a global leader in artificial intelligence, drones and space technology, arguing that a risk-averse culture has slowed innovation and prevented the Pentagon from providing the best resources to its service members. Hegseth was speaking alongside SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the company’s facility in Brownsville, Texas, where he unveiled a strategy to advance the Pentagon’s technology. "Today is about how we supercharge innovation at the War Department for the era ahead," Hegseth said in his remarks. "Innovation is happening at a pace we can’t even foresee, and we need the entire enterprise, our enterprise, to embrace the urgency required for this moment. Since the end of the Cold War, the defense industrial base in our country has consolidated. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for new creators of technical innovations to win business in our department." "The result is a risk-averse culture that prevents us from providing our warfighters with the best resources that America has to offer," he continued. "That ends today. Simply put, the United States must win the strategic competition for 21st century technological supremacy, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, quantum hypersonics and long range drones. If you talk to Elon Musk long enough, he will tell you how important hypersonics and long-range drones are. And he’s 100% correct. Space capabilities, directed energy and biotechnology are the new areas of global competition.” Hegseth announced an "AI acceleration strategy" that he said will extend the U.S. lead in military AI established during President Donald Trump’s first administration.

New York Times [1/13/2026 8:25 PM, Greg Jaffe, 135475K] reports Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan says she has learned that federal prosecutors are investigating her after she took part in a video urging military service members to resist illegal orders. Ms. Slotkin, a Democrat, said in an interview on Monday that she found out about the inquiry from the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a longtime ally of President Trump’s. In an email sent to the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms, Ms. Pirro’s office requested an interview with the senator or her private counsel. A spokesman for Ms. Pirro’s office declined to confirm or deny any investigation, and it is unclear exactly what officials have identified as a possible crime related to the video. Ms. Slotkin organized the video, which Mr. Trump and other administration officials have described as “seditious,” along with five other Democratic lawmakers who are also military veterans. Its message that military officers are obligated to ignore illegal orders is a fundamental principle of military law. The investigation by Ms. Pirro’s office is the latest escalation in a campaign by Mr. Trump and his allies to exact retribution on those he views as enemies seeking to undermine his administration or his authority as commander in chief.

FOX News [1/13/2026 1:00 PM, Morgan Phillips, 40621K] reports that Russia and China are expanding their presence in the Arctic for strategic — not scientific — reasons, according to a senior U.S. commander. "It’s not for peaceful reasons," said Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the supreme allied commander Europe, at a conference in Sweden Sunday. "They’re not studying the seals and the polar bears," he went on. "They’re out there doing bathymetric surveys and trying to figure out how they can counter NATO capabilities on and under the sea. So that’s something that could grow very quickly, and we need to be mindful of it and ready for it." A bathymetric survey refers to the mapping of the ocean floor, using sonar and other sensors to measure underwater depth and terrain. The surveys can support submarine navigation, identifying underwater chokepoints, and map routes for undersea cables or sensors. He said Russia and China increasingly are conducting joint patrols north of Alaska and near Canada, but he does not see an immediate threat, "partly because Russia is so preoccupied with Ukraine." President Donald Trump has insisted the U.S. must take control of Greenland for national security reasons, citing its strategic location between North America and Europe and its proximity to emerging Arctic shipping routes and military transit corridors. Grynkewich added that Russia, China and North Korea are increasingly coordinating to oppose the West. In Ukraine, China funds the war effort, Iran supplies weapons and North Korea offers manpower.

New York Post [1/14/2026 2:19 AM, Richard Pollina, 42219K] reports a China-born US Navy sailor who sold sensitive ship information to the Chinese government under the encouragement of his mother was ordered to 16 years in prison on Monday. Jinchao Wei, 25, was blasted as a "traitor" as he was ordered to spend 200 months behind bars by a federal judge in San Diego for selling national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the People’s Republic of China for $12,000, the Justice Department announced. "This active-duty US Navy sailor betrayed his country and compromised the national security of the United States," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Investigators found that Wei was recruited by the Chinese foreign intelligence officer, whom Wei referred to as "Big Brother Andy," through social media while he was applying for US citizenship in February 2022. Evidence showed that Wei suspected early on that the man — who initially portrayed himself as a naval enthusiast working for the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation — was a Chinese military intelligence officer. Wei told a friend that an "extremely suspicious" individual offered him $500 a day to "walk the pier" to "see which ships are docked" and recognized "this is quite obviously f–king espionage.” After being offered cash, Wei fed the officer photos and videos of the Essex, ship locations, and weapons details through a different encrypted messaging application between March 2022 and August 2023. Wei raked in more than $12,000 across 18 months for spying for the officer, including a major score in which he sold a Chinese intelligence officer at least 30 technical and operational manuals on US Navy systems. The payments the 25-year-old turncoat received from China amounted to about 20% of his annual Navy salary. Prosecutors also found that Wei’s mother knew about her son’s espionage and pushed him to keep working with Chinese intelligence, believing it could secure him a future job in the Chinese government. The intelligence officer told him that he and the Chinese government were willing to fly him and his mother, who lives in Wisconsin and has not been identified, to China for an in-person meeting. Investigators also found Wei searched online for flights to China before his arrest. It’s unclear if his mother will face any charges.

Reuters [1/13/2026 3:09 PM, Staff, 36480K] reports Cubans are bracing for impact after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to cut off a lifeline of Venezuelan oil from reaching Cuba, setting up a siege scenario for an island already reeling from crippling blackouts and shortages. Venezuela, once the island’s top supplier, has not sent crude or fuel to Cuba for about a month, according to shipping data and internal documents from state company PDVSA, with cargoes falling off due to a U.S. blockade even before the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in early January. The last cargo for refining on the island was sent from PDVSA’s Jose port in mid-December onboard a tanker that sailed with its transponder off, carrying some 600,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude. In 2025, Venezuela was Cuba’s largest oil supplier with 26,500 barrels per day (bpd), or roughly one third of the island’s daily needs, followed by Mexico with some 5,000 bpd, the data and documents showed. "I just don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel for Cuba to survive the next few months facing zero deliveries of oil from Venezuela," said Jorge Pinon, an energy researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. "The situation is going to be catastrophic." Trump has made no secret of his expectation that the recent U.S. intervention in Venezuela could push Cuba over the edge, but in recent days he has doubled down on the communist-run island, pushing the neighboring nation on Sunday to strike a deal "before it is too late." The question of how long Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and the country’s communist-run government can hold out in the face of vastly reduced oil imports is now top of mind for the island’s struggling residents, who already face daunting hurdles to find food, medicine and fuel.

FOX News [1/13/2026 10:55 PM, Michael Sinkewicz, 40621K] reports the interim government in Venezuela has released at least four U.S. citizens who were imprisoned under President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, Fox News confirmed. The release marks the first known release of Americans in the South American country since the U.S. military completed an operation to capture authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is now facing federal drug trafficking charges in New York. "We welcome the release of detained Americans in Venezuela," a State Department official said Tuesday. "This is an important step in the right direction by the interim authorities.” The release of American citizens was first reported by Bloomberg. President Donald Trump said Saturday that Venezuela had begun releasing political prisoners. "Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Thank you! I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done.” Venezuela’s interim government has reported that 116 prisoners have been released, although only about 70 have been verified by the non-governmental organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, according to Bloomberg. National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said prisoner releases would continue, according to the outlet. The U.S. government issued a new security alert Saturday urging Americans in Venezuela to leave the country immediately, citing security concerns and limited ability to provide emergency assistance, the U.S. Embassy in Caracas said. "U.S. citizens in Venezuela should leave the country immediately," the embassy said in the alert. The warning pointed to reports of armed groups operating on Venezuelan roads. Following the military operation, Trump suggested that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela for an extended period. "We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/13/2026 9:37 PM, Annie Correal, Anatoly Kurmanaev, and Edward Wong, 135475K]

AP [1/14/2026 12:15 AM, Stephen Groves, 30493K] reports Senate Republicans are facing intense pressure from President Donald Trump to vote down a war powers resolution Wednesday that is aimed at limiting the president’s ability to carry out further military action against Venezuela. Five GOP senators joined with Democrats to advance the resolution last week, but Trump has lashed out at the defectors as he tries to head off passage of the bill. Democrats are forcing the vote after U.S. troops captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid earlier this month. "Here we have one of the most successful attacks ever and they find a way to be against it. It’s pretty amazing. And it’s a shame," Trump said at a speech in Michigan Tuesday. He also hurled insults at several of the Republicans who advanced the legislation, calling Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky a "stone cold loser" and Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine "disasters.” Trump’s latest comments followed earlier phone calls with the senators, which they described as terse. The fury being directed their way from the president underscored how the war powers vote has taken on new political significance as Trump expands his foreign policy ambitions in the Western Hemisphere. The legislation, even if passed by the Senate, has virtually no chance of becoming law because it would eventually need to be signed by Trump himself. But it represented both a test of GOP loyalty to the president and a marker for how much leeway the Republican-controlled Senate is willing to give Trump to use the military abroad. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who helped advance the war powers resolution last week, has indicated he may change his position. Hawley said that Trump’s message during a phone call last week was that the legislation "really ties my hands." The senator said he had a follow-up phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that was "really positive.” Hawley said that Rubio told him Monday "point blank, we’re not going to do ground troops." The senator said he also received assurances that the Trump administration will follow constitutional requirements if it becomes necessary to deploy troops again to the South American country. "I’m in listening-and-receive mode at this time," said Hawley, adding, "I don’t know how we’re going to proceed next on the floor.”

FOX Business [1/13/2026 10:29 AM, Michael Dorgan, 10085K] reports President Donald Trump’s Venezuela policy showed signs of taking effect this week as the country reopened oil wells closed under a U.S. embargo and restarted crude exports, according to Reuters. Two supertankers departed Venezuelan waters late Monday carrying about 1.8 million barrels of crude each, moves that may mark the first shipments under a proposed 50-million-barrel supply deal between Caracas and Washington, according to the report. The vessels were heading north toward the Caribbean on Tuesday, LSEG ship-tracking data showed, per the outlet, where oil traders, producers and refiners lease storage tanks before onward shipment. The developments come after weeks in which oil exports had largely ground to a halt, following intensified U.S. pressure that sharply reduced shipments and left millions of barrels stranded in storage.

Reuters [1/13/2026 11:49 AM, Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk, 36480K] reports Marco Rubio’s sweeping influence in Trump’s second administration — juggling posts from secretary of state to national security advisor — has sparked a wave of AI-generated memes, including a recent one portraying him in military garb as Venezuela’s ruler. The online joke is particularly resonant for Rubio, a son of Cuban immigrants who long has trained his ire on the Communist-run nation’s most important regional ally, Venezuela, and its longtime leader, Nicolas Maduro, who was seized by U.S. forces on January 3 on allegations of drug trafficking. The military success was a personal triumph for Rubio. But it could be a mixed political blessing for a man who ran for president in 2016 and is widely regarded as a leading contender in 2028. He is now charged with steering Venezuela from potential chaos in the vacuum created by Maduro’s capture toward the democratic future he once envisioned as a junior senator, tightly binding his political fortunes to those of the country itself. Rubio mounted an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2016, losing a bruising primary to Donald Trump, and in 2028 could find himself competing with Vice President JD Vance for the Republican nomination. Vance favors restraint in foreign policy, a contrast to Rubio’s hawkish record, which has drawn criticism from some in Trump’s MAGA movement who view him as a neoconservative who advocates for more U.S. intervention abroad. "The administration is going to be dealing with Venezuela for months and probably years to come, and this could well be a millstone around Marco Rubio’s neck, politically and otherwise," said Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. Rubio has backed Trump’s decision to allow Rodriguez to remain in power, and has led the administration’s contacts with the new leader. But he has longstanding ties to Venezuelan opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, and has spoken of his hopes of democracy for Venezuelans. On Wednesday, he outlined a three-phase plan where the U.S. would ensure stability in Venezuela, oversee a recovery in which U.S. companies would help rebuild the country’s energy sector and members of the opposition would be released from jail or allowed to return from exile, before finally moving to a transition.

Wall Street Journal [1/13/2026 9:39 PM, Alexander Ward, Dustin Volz, and Vera Bergengruen, 646K] reports a Justice Department memo asserted that the support of the Venezuelan opposition led by Maria Corina Machado for U.S. action to oust Nicolás Maduro helped President Trump’s legal case to overthrow him, people familiar with the matter said. The Dec. 23, 2025, opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel also stated U.S. or international law didn’t constrain Trump from ordering the Jan. 3 military operation, citing numerous instances of presidents authorizing missions without congressional approval or United Nations Security Council resolutions. That and other arguments appeared in a redacted version of the memo that the Justice Department publicly released Tuesday afternoon. But behind some thick black lines was another justification, the people said: The opposition’s lobbying “could be construed” as a request by Venezuela’s legitimate government to depose a usurper in Caracas. That section appears redacted on the last paragraph of Page 6 of the 22-page memo, according to one of the people who read an unredacted version. One of the unredacted footnotes cites Machado’s comments stating that escalating U.S. pressure was the “only way” to free Venezuela. The Justice Department memo is striking given that it partly relies on Machado’s legitimacy as a legal justification, even as the Trump administration has thrown its support behind Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, and continues to work with her as the acting leader of the country. Trump has praised the regime loyalist, saying she has been “very good,” while declaring that Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her activism for democracy in Venezuela, “doesn’t have the support or the respect” to lead the country.

Reuters [1/13/2026 3:42 PM, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Stine Jacobsen and Soren Jeppesen, 36480K] reports residents in Greenland’s snow-covered capital, Nuuk, expressed support for remaining part of Denmark and called for a pause in independence discussions ahead of high-level talks in Washington on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his interest in the Arctic island. Greenlandic and Danish foreign ministers will meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday after renewed threats of taking control over Greenland, an autonomous territory Denmark. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterated Greenland’s commitment to Denmark, dismissing the prospect of becoming a U.S. territory. "We face a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the U.S. and Denmark here and now, then we choose Denmark," Nielsen told reporters in Copenhagen on Tuesday, standing alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. "We stand united in the Kingdom of Denmark." Greenland’s political landscape appears to be shifting, with leaders and residents focusing on long-term independence rather than immediate autonomy. "In the current circumstances, I think it would be wise for Greenland to commit to Denmark for a very, very long time and remain under the NATO security umbrella," said Finn Meinel, a Nuuk-based lawyer. Some Greenlanders are worried about potential U.S. intervention. Charlotte Heilmann, a pensioner in Nuuk, shared her reservations: "I can’t imagine living as an American. We are part of Denmark, and NATO, so I don’t understand why he keeps saying he wants to take our country." Casper Frank Moller, a tour operator, noted how U.S. threats have brought Greenlanders closer together. "Last year, some people were still focused on fast independence. But after what has happened, there’s more unity among us because we have to stand against this possible annexation. Hopefully, tomorrow’s meeting will lead to a diplomatic solution."

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [1/13/2026 9:00 AM, Staff, 4109K]

NewsMax [1/13/2026 12:38 PM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 4109K] reports that House Speaker Mike Johnson told Newsmax on Tuesday that he does not think "anybody is considering" a military takeover of Greenland, two days after President Donald Trump told reporters that the United States will take over Greenland "one way or the other." "It has not been in any briefing I’ve been in, and I go to all of them," Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told Newsmax’s Kilmeny Duchardt. "This is a media narrative that has been created… the Article I branch is clear. "There is no declaration of war pending for Greenland. It’s not a thing." Johnson added: "I don’t anticipate any boots on the ground anywhere anytime soon." Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday, the Danish foreign minister said, amid Trump’s push to take control of the Arctic island for what he calls national security reasons. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt had requested a meeting with Rubio after ⁠Trump recently stepped up threats to take over Greenland, an autonomous territory under the Kingdom of Denmark. "U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance also wanted to participate in the meeting, and he will host the meeting, which will therefore be held at the White House," Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen on Tuesday. Johnson acknowledged there has been interest in Greenland since the era of President Harry S. Truman.

FOX News [1/13/2026 8:47 AM, Greg Norman-Diamond, 40621K] reports the U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran is telling American citizens who are still in the country to leave immediately. The warning Tuesday comes as more than 2,000 people have been killed in the ongoing anti-government demonstrations, according to an activist group. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said 1,847 of the dead were protesters and 135 were members of Iran’s security forces, The Associated Press reported. Other reports have the death toll higher. "Leave Iran now. Have a plan for departing Iran that does not rely on U.S. government help," the U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran said on its website, suggesting land crossings into Armenia or Turkey if it is "safe to do so.” "If you cannot leave, find a secure location within your residence or another safe building. Have a supply of food, water, medications, and other essential items," it added. "Protests across Iran are escalating and may turn violent, resulting in arrests and injuries. Increased security measures, road closures, public transportation disruptions, and internet blockages are ongoing," the embassy also said. "The Government of Iran has restricted access to mobile, landline, and national internet networks. Airlines continue to limit or cancel flights to and from Iran, with several suspending service until Friday, January 16.” The protests began late last month with shopkeepers and bazaar merchants demonstrating against accelerating inflation and the collapse of the rial, which lost about half its value against the dollar last year. Inflation topped 40% in December. The unrest soon spread to universities and provincial cities, with young men clashing with security forces. "U.S.-Iranian dual nationals must exit Iran on Iranian passports. The Iranian government does not recognize dual nationality and will treat U.S.-Iranian dual nationals solely as Iranian citizens," according to the embassy. "U.S. nationals are at significant risk of questioning, arrest, and detention in Iran. Showing a U.S. passport or demonstrating connections to the United States can be reason enough for Iranian authorities to detain someone.”

The Hill [1/13/2026 11:16 AM, Laura Kelly, 12595K] reports the death toll amid growing protests in Iran is believed to be in the thousands, with an Iranian official putting the figure at 2,000 but human rights groups estimating those numbers could be far higher. An unnamed Iranian official speaking to Reuters said that 2,000 people, including security personnel, have been killed in protests in Iran, now in their third week. Iranian officials have called the protesters “terrorists” and accused them of rioting. President Trump has threatened military action against the regime if it cracks down on protests, warning on Sunday the government was “starting” to cross his red line. Iran International, a London-based, Persian-language news channel, wrote in an editorial on Tuesday that it believes 12,000 people have been killed. They called it the largest killing in Iran’s contemporary history, taking place over two nights between Jan. 8 and 9. “Based on available data and cross-checking information obtained from reliable sources, including the Supreme National Security Council and the presidential office, the initial estimate by the Islamic Republic’s security institutions is that at least 12,000 people were killed in this nationwide killing,” the outlet wrote in an editorial. Demonstrations began in late December over economic hardship but have grown into wide-spread anger against the regime of the Islamic Republic. Trump is meeting Tuesday with his top cabinet officials to go over options to respond.

FOX News [1/13/2026 10:56 AM, Staff, 40621K] reports Fox News’ Trey Yingst reports the latest on the escalation in Iran as the Trump administration weighs intervention. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [1/13/2026 1:40 PM, Tucker Reals, Elizabeth Palmer, Ramy Inocencio, and Joanne Stocker, 39474K] reports information trickling out of Iran on Tuesday suggests that a crackdown by authorities to end more than two weeks of widespread anti-government protests has likely been far more deadly than activists outside the country have reported. With phone lines opening back up for calls from inside the Islamic Republic, two sources, including one inside Iran, told CBS News on Tuesday that at least 12,000, and possibly as many as 20,000 people have been killed. Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in Parliament on Tuesday that the U.K. government believed there "may have been 2,000 people killed, there have been more. My fear is that the number may prove to be significantly higher." The truth has been incredibly difficult to piece together due to Iran’s hardline rulers cutting off internet access and phone service in the country for the last five days. While a complete internet shutdown in Iran remained in place for a fifth day, some Iranians were able to make phone calls out of the country on Tuesday, though it was still not possible to call into Iran from outside. A source inside Iran who was able to call out told CBS News on Tuesday that activist groups working to compile a full death toll from the protests, based on reports from medical officials across the country, believed the toll was at least 12,000, and possibly as high as 20,000. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [1/14/2026 3:15 AM, Jon Gambrell, 31753K] reports the head of Iran’s judiciary signaled Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump. The comments from Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei come as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,571, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Trump repeatedly has warned that the United States may take military action over the killing of peaceful protesters, just months after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war launched by Israel against the Islamic Republic in June. Meanwhile Wednesday, Iran prepared for the mass funeral of 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations as people remained fearful in the streets. Plainclothes security forces still milled around some neighborhoods, though anti-riot police and members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force appeared to have been sent back to their barracks. "We are very frightened because of these sounds (of gunfire) and protests," said one mother of two children shopping for fruits and vegetables Wednesday, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. "We have heard many are killed and many are injured. Now peace has been restored but schools are closed and I’m scared to send my children to school again.” Ahmadreza Tavakoli, 36, told The Associated Press he witnessed one demonstration in Tehran and was shocked by the use of firearms by authorities. "People were out to express themselves and protest, but quickly it turned into a war zone," Tavakoli said. "The people do not have guns. Only the security forces have guns.” Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television online. "If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly," he said. "If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.” His comments stand as a direct challenge to Trump, who warned Iran about executions an interview with CBS aired Tuesday. "We will take very strong action," Trump said. "If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.” "We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [1/14/2026 4:07 AM, Staff, 2416K]

CBS News [1/13/2026 9:50 AM, Holly Williams, 39474K] reports President Trump’s national security team will meet on Tuesday to discuss the massive and deadly protests in Iran and how the U.S. may respond. U.S. officials told CBS News that Mr. Trump has been briefed on an array of options, including military strikes and cyber operations. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [1/13/2026 9:33 PM, Aamer Madhani, 31753K] reports President Donald Trump was consulting with his national security team Tuesday about next steps with Iran as he looked to get a better understanding of the number of Iranian citizens who have been killed and arrested in more than two weeks of unrest throughout the country. Trump said he believes that the killing is “significant” and that his administration would “act accordingly.” He added that he believed the Iranian government was “badly misbehaving.” But the president said he has yet to receive a confirmed number of Iranians killed in the protests that began late last month, saying he has heard “five different sets of numbers” about the death toll. Since the protests began Dec. 28, 16,700 people have been arrested and more than 2,500 have been killed, the vast majority protesters, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. The organization relies on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities. “The message is they’ve got to show humanity,” Trump said of the Iranian government. “They’ve got a big problem. And I hope they’re not going to be killing people.” The comments came after Trump earlier in the day announced he was cutting off the prospect of talks with Iranian officials amid a protest crackdown, telling Iranian citizens “help is on its way.” Trump did not offer any details about what the help would entail, but his remarks come just two days after the Republican president said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic. But Trump appeared to make an abrupt shift about his willingness to engage with the Iranian government. “Iranian Patriots, keep protesting and take over your institutions if you can,” Trump said in speech Tuesday at an auto factory in Michigan. “Save the names of the killers and abusers that are abusing you. You are being very badly abused.”

NewsMax [1/13/2026 12:06 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’s canceled talks with Iranian officials amid a protest crackdown, telling Iranian citizens "help is on its way.” Trump did not offer any details about what the help would entail, but it comes after the Republican president earlier this week said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic that has killed more than 2,000, according to human rights monitors. But Trump with his latest message on social media appeared to make an abrupt shift about his willingness to engage with the Iranian government. "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!" Trump wrote in a morning post on Truth Social. "Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” The president has repeatedly threatened Tehran with military action if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against antigovernment protesters. The number of dead, as reported by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, dwarfs that in any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. These demonstrations, which began little over two weeks ago in anger over Iran’s ailing economy, soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Images obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press from demonstrations in Tehran show graffiti and chants calling for Khamenei’s death — something that could carry a death sentence. Trump on Sunday told reporters he believed Iran is "starting to cross" that line and has left him and his national security team weighing "very strong options" even as he said the Iranians had made outreach efforts to the U.S. But on Monday, the president’s team offered guarded hope that diplomatic solution could be found. "What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [1/13/2026 11:39 AM, Timothy Nerozzi, 1394K]

Washington Examiner [1/13/2026 7:32 AM, Jamie McIntyre, 1394K] reports TRUMP’S NEXT MOVE: TARIFFS, CYBER ATTACK, BOMBS?: “What President Trump will do next, only he knows,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News yesterday. “He has always expressed that diplomacy is the first option, always has been, always will be. However, he is unafraid to use the lethal force and might of the United States military if and when he deems that necessary.” Trump is expected to huddle with top advisers today — including Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — to review a “suite of options” ranging from diplomacy to military strikes against regime targets. Trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday night that he was “looking at some very strong options.” CBS News reports that the military options include conventional targets such as Iran’s missile sites, which were already severely damaged in the Israel strikes last year, but defense officials also told CBS that cyber and psychological operations could also be employed, either by themselves or in conjunction with kinetic strikes. "I think that this is a really difficult decision to make, because it is hard to conduct military strikes in a way that is going to deal with this very dispersed IRGC and Basij forces throughout the country, said Beth Sanner, former deputy director of national intelligence, who is now an analyst on CNN. "So, he’s going to have to figure out if he wants to do a military strike, does he strike a headquarters of IRGC, a Basij headquarters?". Sanner argued that with the death toll of Iranian protesters now over 600, with some estimates from human rights groups as high as 1,500, diplomacy would only legitimize the Iranian regime. "I think this whole idea of negotiations, I hope it’s not serious. I hope he’s actually just playing for time, in terms of moving our forces in, and figuring out covert and potentially military options."

New York Times [1/13/2026 9:35 AM, Lynsey Chutel, 135475K] reports President Trump said on Monday that countries that do business with Iran would be subjected to a 25 percent tariff if they trade with the United States, as he weighs options on how to respond to a crackdown on protests in the country. Mr. Trump said that the restrictions would be applied “immediately,” but neither he nor the White House disclosed how they would go into effect or under what authority. The president made his announcement hours before senior American officials were scheduled to brief him on possible actions that could be taken against the Iranian government. The options could include launching military strikes or a cyberattack, according to a U.S. official. Iranians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to demonstrate against the country’s economic woes, after years of American and European sanctions and financial mismanagement. But the protests have evolved into a widespread movement against the country’s authoritarian clerical leaders. Tariffs on some of Iran’s remaining trading partners would add to the strains on an already faltering economy pummeled by longstanding restrictions that have made it hard for the country to participate in global commerce for years. “Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media, adding that the decision was “final and conclusive.” The Trump administration, however, has not issued an official statement, detail on which countries would be affected or how the tariffs would be enacted. It was also unclear what Mr. Trump meant by “doing business.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. Trump has also used his Truth Social platform to highlight the mass demonstrations in Iran, reposting a video last week alongside an unverified claim that over a million protesters had driven Iranian security forces away in the city of Mashhad. China is Iran’s largest trading partner, with exports totaling $22 billion in 2022, according to the World Bank. China buys 90 percent of Iran’s oil worth roughly $2 billion a month, which represents at least 5 percent of Iran’s entire economic output. Mr. Trump’s threat spurred an angry reaction from Beijing. “China firmly opposes any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for Chinese Embassy in Washington, wrote on social media. He added that China would “take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.” The Iranian government has not responded to Mr. Trump’s announcement. But after the president’s threats to use military force or other measures against the government, Tehran said that it was willing to negotiate but that it was prepared for conflict if the United States intervened.

Wall Street Journal [1/13/2026 1:50 PM, Benoit Faucon, 646K] reports with the government shutting down the internet and throttling phone services, Iranians are leaning heavily on Elon Musk’s Starlink service to share videos of growing protests and the regime’s escalating crackdown with the world. But Iran has intensified efforts to jam the service, which is banned in the country, and users are being hunted. Over the weekend, authorities began searching for and confiscating Starlink dishes in western Tehran, said Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at Miaan Group, a U.S. nonprofit opposed to internet censorship. “It’s electronic warfare,” Rashidi said. He said disruptions are worst in parts of Tehran where protests are taking place and in the evening, when the demonstrators gather. The death toll in the unrest has surpassed 2,000, according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran. Another rights group, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, circulated video footage Sunday showing a large number of bodies at a morgue in south Tehran. Trump was scheduled to be briefed Tuesday on his options. One under discussion is to send in more Starlink terminals. Trump said he would ask Musk about the possibility. “We may get the internet going if that’s possible,” Trump told the reporters. The battle over information—while secondary to the confrontations taking place nightly in dozens of cities across Iran—has potentially serious consequences. President Trump has threatened to intervene in response to a crackdown by the regime. Video from the streets is one of the few ways of getting information out about the scale of the protests and the actions of Iranian authorities.

NBC News [1/14/2026 2:35 AM, Karen Freifeld, David Shepardson and Alexandra Alper, 34509K] reports the Trump administration on Tuesday gave a formal green light to China-bound sales of Nvidia’s second most powerful AI chip, putting in place a rule that is likely to kickstart shipments of the H200 despite deep concerns among China hawks in Washington. According to the regulations, the chips will be reviewed by a third-party testing lab to confirm their technical AI capabilities before they can be shipped to China, which cannot receive more than 50% of the total amount of chips sold to American customers. Nvidia will need to certify that there are enough H200s in the U.S., while Chinese customers must demonstrate "sufficient security procedures" and cannot use the chips for military purposes. Those conditions had not been established previously. In a statement, Nvidia said the move by President Donald Trump "strikes a thoughtful balance that is great for America" and will help the company compete in the global chip market. "The administration’s critics are unintentionally promoting the interests of foreign competitors on U.S. entity lists — America should always want its industry to compete for vetted and approved commercial business, supporting real jobs for real Americans," Nvidia said. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump announced last month that he would allow the chip sales in exchange for a 25% fee for the U.S. government. The decision drew fire from China hawks across the U.S. political spectrum over concerns the chips would supercharge Beijing’s military and erode the U.S. advantage in artificial intelligence. Jay Goldberg, an equities analyst with Seaport Research, said the caps on exports appeared to be a compromise that put some restrictions on Nvidia’s China sales but might be difficult to enforce. "As we have seen, (Chinese) companies have found ways to get access to those chips, and the U.S. government appears highly transactional in their approach to chip exports," Goldberg said. "Put another way, this looks like a Band-Aid, a temporary attempt to cover the huge gap among the U.S. government’s export policy makers.”

Reuters [1/14/2026 4:43 AM, Staff, 36480K] reports Chinese authorities have told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by roughly a dozen firms from the U.S. and Israel due to national security concerns, two people briefed on the matter said. Broadcom-owned VMware, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet re among the U.S. firms whose cybersecurity software has been banned, while Check Point Software Technologies is among the Israeli companies, they said. Reuters was not able to establish how many Chinese companies received the notice, which the sources said was issued in recent days. Chinese authorities expressed concern that the software could collect and transmit confidential information abroad, said the sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation. China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication. The four companies also did not reply to Reuters queries. As the U.S. and China battle for tech supremacy amid heightened trade and diplomatic tensions, Beijing has been keen to replace Western-made technology with domestic alternatives. While its efforts to build up its semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors have dominated headlines, it has also sought to replace Western computer equipment and word processing software. Chinese analysts have also said that Beijing has become increasingly concerned that Western equipment could be hacked by foreign powers.

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