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.

The Wall Street Journal [1/7/2026 10:38 PM, Victoria Albert, Alyssa Lukpat, and Joseph Pisani, 646K] reports a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a woman during an operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday, leaving federal and city officials sparring over what caused the deadly encounter. The Department of Homeland Security said that the woman attempted to run over law-enforcement officers and that an agent fired in self-defense. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he had seen a video of the incident and in fiery remarks disputed the department’s version of events as “bull—t,” telling ICE to get out of the city. “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying,” he said during a news conference Wednesday. He said the woman who died was 37 years old. When asked if the woman was using her vehicle as a weapon, as DHS alleged, he said “that does not appear to be the case at all.” The woman was identified by a family member as Renee Nicole Good. The Minneapolis City Council released a joint statement that said Good was out “caring for her neighbors” when the shooting occurred. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the woman blocked ICE officers with her car as they were pushing their vehicle that got stuck in the snow. Noem said the woman had been “stalking and impeding their work.” “An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively shot to protect himself and the people around him,” Noem said. The officer was taken to a hospital and has since been released, she said. President Trump said he had seen video of the incident and “it was being studied in its entirety.” But radical agitators were to blame for such events, he said. CBS News [1/7/2026 3:52 AM, Faris Tanyos, Jordan Freiman, 39474K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Trump described the shooting as self-defense, but the mayor and governor disputed that, citing videos from the scene. The city of Minneapolis said police responded to a call reporting a shooting at about 9:30 a.m. local time to a south Minneapolis neighborhood and found that a woman in a vehicle had been shot in the head. Minneapolis firefighters rushed the woman to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she died, the city said. The woman who was killed was identified to CBS News by a U.S. official as 37-year-old Renee Good. She was a U.S. citizen, federal sources confirmed to CBS News. City leaders said Good was a legal observer of federal actions in the city and wasn’t a target for an ICE-related arrest. Old Dominion University President Dr. Brian Hemphill said in a statement that Good graduated from the school in December 2020 with an English degree. Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, said in a statement that the shooting occurred while ICE officers were conducting "targeted operations.” McLaughlin described the woman who was killed as one of several "violent rioters" who were "blocking" ICE officers. According to McLaughlin, the woman "weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.” An ICE officer, "fearing for his life," then "fired defensive shots," McLaughlin said. In a news conference following the shooting, Noem described the driver’s actions as an "act of domestic terrorism.” Noem alleged the ICE officers had gotten stuck in snow and "were attempting to push out their vehicle" when "a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle.” In a post on Truth Social, also claiming that the shooting was self-defense, Mr. Trump alleged that the woman "viciously ran over the ICE Officer" before being shot. However, a video clip from a local newscast that Mr. Trump attached to the post showed no sign that an officer had been run over. The name of the officer has not been released. Two federal sources told CBS News the agent who discharged his weapon was an immigration agent with an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations team. Noem said the officer was taken to the hospital after the shooting and has since been released. "The very same officer who was attacked today had previously been dragged by an anti-ICE rioter who had rammed him with a car and drug him with a car back in June," Noem said. "He sustained injuries at that time as well." [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The AP [1/7/2026 10:28 PM, Staff, 31753K] reports that videos taken by bystanders and posted to social media show an officer approaching an SUV stopped in the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him. It is not clear from the videos if the vehicle makes contact with the officer. The SUV then speeds into two cars parked on a curb nearby before crashing to a stop. Witnesses can be heard shouting out in shock. Renee Nicole Macklin Good died of gunshot wounds to the head. The ICE officer has not been publicly identified. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described him only as an experienced officer and said he had been injured in June after being dragged by the vehicle of an anti-ICE protester. She said the officer was hit by the vehicle during Wednesday’s shooting and taken to the hospital. He has since been discharged. "Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he’s been taught to do in that situation, and took actions to defend himself and defend his fellow law enforcement officers," Noem said. NPR [1/7/2026 6:21 PM, Juliana Kim, 28013K] reports that the incident has further inflamed tensions between the Trump administration and Minneapolis, which has been the target of a large-scale immigration crackdown. Local officials said they expect protests to follow and urged residents to remain peaceful. At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he was prepared to mobilize the state National Guard if necessary. Upon reviewing a video of the incident, President Trump said he also believes the shooting was an act of self-defense. But local leaders have raised concerns about the Trump administration’s account of the shooting. The shooting is being investigated by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. They will investigate the use of deadly force.

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FOX News [1/7/2026 3:12 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40621K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said a woman who was fatally shot Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis was "using a vehicle to try to kill an officer and his colleagues," noting all elected officials should denounce violent acts against law enforcement. During a news conference at the Texas southern border, Noem said ICE agents were conducting enforcement action in Minneapolis Wednesday morning when their vehicle got stuck in the snow. As they were attempting to push the vehicle, she said a woman "attacked them and those surrounding them" and "attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle." "It was an act of domestic terrorism," Noem said. "An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot to protect himself and the people around him." The woman, who has not yet been publicly identified, was pronounced dead. Though additional details about the incident have not yet been released, Noem said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working with the Department of Justice to prosecute those accused of attacks on law enforcement.

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The Hill [1/7/2026 3:28 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12595K] r

NewsMax [1/7/2026 9:01 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday that an ICE officer was hit by a vehicle before the officer fatally shot the driver during an immigration-related operation in Minneapolis. Federal officials defended the shooting as self-defense but Democrat city leaders rejected the administration’s account. "She hit him. He went to the hospital. A doctor did treat him. He has been released, but he’s going to spend some time with his family," Noem told reporters, according to Washington Post. Noem also called the incident an "act of domestic terrorism" and said the vehicle was a "deadly weapon," ABC News reported. "Deadly force is perfectly lawful when a threat is faced by a weapon," she said in a press briefing, according to ABC. The Department of Homeland Security’s public account, amplified by DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, said an ICE officer "fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots." President Donald Trump said he thought the officer acted in self-defense and posted on Truth Social: "The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense." Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey disputed the self-defense narrative after reviewing video, saying, "This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying ... getting killed," adding that his message to ICE was to "get the [expletive] out" of Minneapolis. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, issued a "warning order" to prepare the Minnesota National Guard, while urging "peaceful resistance." The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is working with the FBI, and state officials said the inquiry remains in early stages. Noem said the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions would not be deterred by the shooting. The Hill [1/7/2026 7:26 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12595K] reports that video taken by one witness shows the driver’s car surrounded by three officers, with one telling the woman to “get out of the f—ing car,” while one masked officer repeatedly pulls on the door handle. The officer who ultimately fired the shots approaches the car from the front and begins to draw his weapon as the car turns its wheels — beginning to drive away from the officers. Three shots ring out, beginning as the officer is in front of the car and continuing as it passes to his side. With the driver incapacitated, the car careens to the side of the road, crashing into a parked car. Noem said the officer involved in the shooting had previously been dragged by a car during an operation earlier in the summer. “It’s clearly established law that a vehicle driven by a person and used to harm someone, is a deadly weapon. Deadly force is perfectly lawful when a threat is faced by a weapon. So I do believe that this officer used his training in this situation,” she said. “ICE agents repeatedly ordered her to get out of the car and to stop obstructing law enforcement, but she refused to obey their commands. She then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle and she attempted to run a law enforcement officer over.” However, that characterization was disputed by others who reviewed the footage. “Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly, that is bulls—,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) said earlier Wednesday. “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.” “I’ve seen the video,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) wrote on the social platform X. “Don’t believe this propaganda machine.” At the top of her remarks, Noem asked for prayers for the officer, as well as the woman he killed, identified by The Minnesota Star Tribune as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. “Any loss of life is a tragedy, and I think all of us can agree that in this situation, it was preventable,” she said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [1/7/2026 7:54 PM, Staff, 31753K] reports “Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he’s been taught to do in that situation,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a news conference in Minneapolis Wednesday evening. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [1/7/2026 6:52 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spoke Wednesday about the deadly ICE shooting of a woman in Minneapolis. CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe reports. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [1/7/2026 8:21 PM, Julia Ainsley, 34509K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed the woman who was fatally shot in Minneapolis "weaponized her vehicle" during a press conference where Noem gave her account of the moments before the shooting. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Bloomberg [1/7/2026 11:47 PM, Staff, 18207K] reports Noem Addresses ICE Shooting, Trump New Housing Plan, More. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

New York Post [1/7/2026 7:58 PM, Victor Nava, 42219K] reports the 37-year-old woman fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Wednesday had been "stalking and impeding" federal law enforcement all day, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent who she allegedly tried to ram with her car during a chaotic protest in a Minneapolis neighborhood – just one mile away from where George Floyd was choked to death by a police officer in 2020. Noem, during a Wednesday evening press conference, said that Good had been "stalking and impeding" on the agency’s "lawful operations" in the hours leading up to her death. The DHS chief said a car rolled up on an ICE vehicle that was stuck in the snow alongside "a mob of agitators that were harassing them all day" and attempted to block the agents. ICE officers approached the woman in the rogue vehicle, later identified as Good, and ordered her to move. Noem alleged that Good opted to "weaponize her vehicle" in an "attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents.” She slammed Good’s alleged attack as "an act of domestic terrorism" – just one of three she said took place in Minneapolis on Wednesday. It’s unclear where or when the other "vehicle rammings" happened. Noem and President Trump said that the agent who shot Good was injured during the attack. Here’s the latest on the Minneapolis ICE agent shooting. He was treated for unspecified injuries at a hospital and later discharged, said Noem. "The fact of the matter is, he’s an experienced officer. He’s been in situations like this before. And he certainly has been out there and followed his training today," Noem said at the press conference. The DHS honcho also said the same officer was previously "dragged by an anti-ICE rioter" in a similar ramming attack in June. More than "100 of these vehicle rammings" against federal officers have been reported over the last few weeks, Noem claimed. "It’s clear that it’s being coordinated. People are being trained and told how to use their vehicles to impede law enforcement operations, and then to run over anybody who gets in their way, while they go out there and try to disrupt peace and public safety. Americans deserve better," Noem said. Noem said she asked the Justice Department to prosecute cases involving anti-ICE ramming attacks as acts of domestic terrorism.

Daily Caller [1/7/2026 8:12 PM, Mariane Angela, 835K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the officer targeted in Wednesday’s attack already survived a previous assault in June, when an anti-ICE rioter rammed him with a vehicle and dragged him. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday, prompting angry responses from Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. During a press conference, Noem said that a wave of vehicle attacks against federal officers has reached an intolerable level, saying the administration will not allow the violence to continue. "Over 100 of these vehicle rammings happen in just recent weeks, and this must stop. ICE alone is facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats against all of them," Noem said. "In fact, the very same officer who was attacked today had previously been dragged by an anti-ICE rioter who had rammed him with a car and drug him back in June. He sustained injuries at that time as well. And let me remind you why we’re all here in this city today and why we’ve been here.” Noem on Wednesday also called on the Department of Justice to treat those who use vehicles to attack law enforcement officers as domestic terrorists. "People need to stop using their vehicles as weapons. This domestic act of terrorism to use your vehicle to try to kill law enforcement officers is going to stop," Noem told reporters. "And I’m asking the Department of Justice to prosecute it as domestic terrorism because it’s clear that it’s being coordinated.” Noem said coordinated groups are teaching individuals to weaponize vehicles against police during enforcement actions. "People are being trained and told how to use their vehicles to impede law enforcement operations and then to run over anybody who gets in their way while they go out there and try to disrupt peace and public safety. And Americans deserve better," Noem added. Federal immigration agents expanded their presence across the Minneapolis region after authorities uncovered what they describe as a massive Minnesota welfare-abuse scheme worth at least $9 billion. President Donald Trump said he would revoke Temporary Protected Status for Somalis tied to the allegations. During a mid-December enforcement action, demonstrators surrounded officers, triggering a tense confrontation in which ICE personnel deployed paint-marking rounds to hold the line until deputies from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office stepped in.

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Bloomberg [1/7/2026 4:09 PM, Hadriana Lowenkron, 18207K] reports President Donald Trump said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer appeared to be acting in self defense in a shooting that killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Trump described video of the incident as a “horrible thing to watch” and alleged “the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.” Bystander recordings of the incident show an officer approaching an SUV and demanding the driver open the door. After the officer grabs the handle, the vehicle begins to pull forward. Another ICE officer standing in front of the truck responds by pulling his weapon and firing at the vehicle. It was not clear from the videos if the vehicle came into contact with the officer, who Trump said had been hospitalized. Trump’s comments echoed earlier remarks from Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, who said the officer involved in the shooting acted in self-defense. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rejected DHS’s claim of self-defense as a “garbage narrative.” The Washington Times [1/7/2026 4:02 PM, Jeff Mordock, 852K] reports President Trump said that the woman fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during operations in Minneapolis “violently, willfully and viciously” ran over the agent. The president said a witness to the incident, a woman screaming at ICE officers, was a “professional agitator.” USA Today [1/7/2026 6:20 PM, Joey Garrison, 67103K] reports that Trump, in his first public statement on the shooting, said he viewed a clip of the Jan. 7 incident, which shows an ICE agent confronting a woman in a vehicle blocking a street. As the woman drives off, another ICE agent approaching the vehicle from its front fires three shots into the driver’s side window. The Department of Homeland Security did not release the nature of the agent’s injuries but in a statement said, "The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries." Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne identified the woman shot as Renee Nicole Good, as did multiple news outlets, including the Minnesota Star Tribune, which cited her mother. DHS said the agent "fired defensive shots" after the woman allegedly attempted to ram officials with her vehicle. "It was an act of domestic terrorism," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, accusing the deceased woman of attempting to "run them over." But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, disputed those claims, saying videos show the woman driving away from federal agents, not toward them. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he’s drafted a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard for possible mobilization following the fatal shooting. Walz slammed Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, for already drawing a conclusion about the shooting before an investigation takes place.

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Washington Post [1/7/2026 9:37 PM, Emily Davies, 24149K] reports President Donald Trump said the 37-year-old woman killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” the agent, who Trump said appeared to shoot her in self-defense. The president made the claim within hours of the shooting Wednesday, before investigators had completed their work. “The situation is being studied, in its entirety, but the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis,” he said in a social media post. “They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE.” Trump’s analysis was based on video of the fatal shooting, he said on Truth Social, where he shared distant footage of the incident that shows the woman’s car moving toward the ICE agent who shot her. Clips circulating online do not show the minutes leading up to the encounter, establish the woman’s intent or offer evidence of a coordinated operation. His response underscored how quickly he moves to frame violent encounters through images and video, often ahead of official findings. Like millions of Americans, the president relied on piecemeal footage from witnesses in southern Minneapolis — a phenomenon that has become the basis of how fatal police encounters are understood and contested in real time. Unlike other viewers, however, Trump is the nation’s most powerful political actor and oversees the agency involved. His administration has also aggressively expanded immigration enforcement, placing ICE agents in cities like Minneapolis and potentially giving his comments added weight as investigators review the encounter. Democratic state and local officials, citing similar video, instead saw brazen ICE agents committing an act of violence they had long feared was inevitable in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. “We have been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous operations are a threat to public safety, that someone was going to get hurt,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “Just yesterday, I said exactly that.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the agent was “recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed” and called for ICE to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis.” Videos that surfaced immediately after the shooting show the woman’s vehicle, a burgundy Honda Pilot SUV, stopped in the middle of the road across travel lanes with the driver’s-side window rolled down. They do not show the events leading up to that moment, including any prior interaction between the woman and ICE agents. Two ICE agents pulled up, exited their vehicle and approached the SUV. The vehicle then began to reverse, and one of the agents reached out and held on to the door handle, the videos show. As the SUV moved out of reverse and drove forward, a third ICE agent, positioned closer to the front of the car, quickly drew his service weapon and fired three times. That third agent appears, in the video, to have been in front of the vehicle when it began advancing and to have been beside it by the time of the last shots.

Axios [1/7/2026 5:45 PM, Andrew Solender, 12972K] reports Republicans on Capitol Hill rushed to the defense of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers Wednesday following the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis that left Democrats outraged. Republicans are largely leaning on the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the incident, while Democrats are pointing to a video they say disproves ICE’s claims of self-defense. Among the Republicans defending ICE after the shooting are several members of leadership, including Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and House Republican conference chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.). "Our brave ICE agents put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities from dangerous criminals. May God bless and protect them in their efforts," Emmer said in a statement. An ICE officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman who drove her vehicle close to federal agents Wednesday morning, Axios’ Nick Halter and Kyle Stokes reported. DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: "An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots." In a video viewed by Axios — filmed a short distance from the scene — someone yells, "Hey!" and gunshots are audible as a dark-colored SUV attempts to drive past a gathering of ICE agents and vehicles. "This is what happens when Democrats continue to DEMONIZE LAW ENFORCEMENT," McClain said in a post on X responding to McLaughlin’s statement. "Praying for all our brave ICE agents who are working to keep us safe."

Federalist [1/7/2026 6:45 PM, Breccan F. Thies, 785K] reports a woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, apparently attempted to ram her car into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and was promptly shot and killed by an agent seeking to neutralize the threat. By all appearances, the ICE agent was fully justified in doing so. The media and other Democrats are trying to paint this as a brazen attack on an innocent person, but attempts to use deadly force in an attempt to maim or kill law enforcement officers cannot be tolerated in a civil society. “Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. “An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.” Cars are often used by terrorists to cause as much mayhem and kill as many people as possible. The attack comes after a 1,300 percent jump in attacks against ICE officers and an 8,000 percent surge in death threats, according to McLaughlin, almost certainly driven by demonization from Democrats and the media. Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., was quick to blame ICE for being attacked by the driver, saying that it is a “patriotic duty” to protest ICE for lawfully conducting immigration enforcement. Democrat Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey did the same, saying, “I am aware of a shooting involving an ICE agent at 34th Street & Portland. The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city. We’re demanding ICE to leave the city immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities.” Regardless of the left-wing psy-op now at play, the justification for shooting the driver is quite clear, because cars being used in this manner should be perceived as deadly weapons. The idea is not novel — in fact, it’s obvious. And with the amount of videos showing disruptive protests, violent attacks on ICE officers, people throwing rocks at them, and largely getting away with it, this kind of escalation was inevitable. For that, some blame can be placed at the feet of the Trump administration, which has not seemed to do much to track down and punish domestic terrorists interfering with immigration enforcement. If they put as much effort into protecting law enforcement operations in Minneapolis as they did in Venezuela, or if they used federal law enforcement with the same vigor as the Biden administration in tracking down Jan. 6 protesters, perhaps a deterrent effect could have been achieved.

New York Times [1/8/2026 2:45 AM, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, 153395K] reports President Trump wanted to run the tape. Just hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Mr. Trump told a group of New York Times reporters that the woman was at fault because she had tried to “run over” the officer. We were in the Oval Office for an interview with the president, and the unfolding situation in Minneapolis was high on our list of questions. As soon as we started asking him about the incident, he said: “I want to see nobody get shot. I want to see nobody screaming and trying to run over policemen either.” When we pressed Mr. Trump on his conclusion that the victim, Renee Nicole Good, tried to run over the agent, he asked an aide to pull up the video on a laptop in an effort to prove his point. “That was a vicious situation that took place,” Mr. Trump said, apparently referring to what federal officials have said was an effort by Ms. Good to run down an ICE agent. The exchange was a glimpse into Mr. Trump’s reflexive defense of what has become a sometimes violent federal crackdown on immigration, which in this case claimed the life of an American citizen who was protesting ICE’s presence in Minneapolis. Speaking at a news conference in Minneapolis, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said that the woman was “stalking” officers, and that the agent who killed her “used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues.” But details were in dispute. State and local officials described federal accounts of the shooting with terms like “propaganda” and “garbage.”

AP [1/8/2026 2:00 AM, Tim Sullivan and Giovanna Dell’Orto, 31753K] reports Minneapolis was on edge Thursday following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer taking part in the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown, with the governor calling for people to remain calm and schools canceling classes and activities as a safety precaution. State and local officials demanded ICE leave the state after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good was shot in the head. But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said agents are not going anywhere. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed more than 2,000 officers to the area in what it says is its largest immigration enforcement operation ever. Noem said more than 1,500 people have been arrested. Macklin Good’s killing Wednesday morning in a residential neighborhood south of downtown was recorded on video by witnesses, and by the evening hundreds of people came out for a vigil to mourn her and urge the public to resist immigration enforcement. Some then chanted as they marched through the city, but there was no violence. Noem called the incident an "act of domestic terrorism" against ICE officers, saying the driver "attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him." President Donald Trump made similar accusations on social media and defended ICE’s work.

ABC News [1/7/2026 5:52 PM, Jack Date, Luke Barr, and Meredith Deliso, 30493K] Video: HERE reports Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he has issued an order to prepare the state’s National Guard while urging peaceful protest after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a woman in her car during operations in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Walz and the Minneapolis mayor are disputing the government’s claims surrounding what led up to the shooting, which killed a 37-year-old woman who has been identified by city council members as Renee Nicole Good, a resident of the city. According to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, the woman was allegedly "attempting to run over our law enforcement officers" when an ICE officer fatally shot her Wednesday morning. The governor said he has issued a "warning order" to prepare the Minnesota National Guard, saying there are soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed "if necessary," while urging "peaceful resistance." A Minnesota National Guard spokesperson said following the briefing that it is "conducting necessary preparations to assist state authorities in protecting property and ensuring public safety if so ordered," and that there has not been an official request for support yet. Based on video and photos from the scene in Minneapolis following the shooting, law enforcement deployed crowd control measures, including tear gas and pepper spray on some protesters. As a large law enforcement presence gathered, some protesters could be seen throwing snowballs at officers. President Donald Trump said the officer acted in "self defense." DHS also said the officer fired "defensive shots." The Minneapolis mayor, however, at an impassioned news conference, said that he saw video of the incident and claimed the agent’s actions were not self-defense. Minneapolis police said preliminary information indicates that she was in her car and blocking the road. The woman had gunshot wounds to the head and was transported to an area hospital, where she died, according to city officials. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed the incident was an "act of domestic terrorism." Walz said during Wednesday’s briefing that he has reached out to Noem and is awaiting a response. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is working in conjunction with the FBI to investigate the shooting, according to Commissioner Bob Jacobson.

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Washington Examiner [1/7/2026 5:15 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K]

Blaze [1/7/2026 6:20 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1442K] reports Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accused the federal government of being at war with his state after the fatal shooting during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation. Tensions with the Trump administration escalated sharply Wednesday when an ICE agent shot a woman who appeared to be interrupting their operation with her vehicle. Video shows her swerving into an agent, who fired at her and killed her. Walz blamed the Trump administration for the shooting by claiming the increased immigration enforcement actions were unnecessary. "I said this yesterday, we’ve never been at war with our federal government," the governor said during a media briefing. He went on to suggest that he would order the Minnesota National Guard to oppose the federal government. "We do not need any further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: You’ve done enough. There’s nothing more important than Minnesotans’ safety," he said. "I’ve issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary. I remind you, a warning order is a heads-up for folks," he added. "These National Guard troops are our National Guard troops," he emphasized. "They’re teachers in your community, they’re business owners, they’re construction professionals. They are Minnesotans. Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight. We will not take the bait.” Homeland Security Assistant Sec. Tricia McLaughlin had previously blamed Democratic rhetoric for the shooting. "This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement," she said. "These men and women who are simply enforcing the law on the books are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”

NewsMax [1/7/2026 5:00 PM, Solange Reyner, 4109K] reports Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz criticized the Trump administration Wednesday after a fatal shooting involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, calling it the "predictable consequence" of what he described as reckless federal operations designed to provoke fear and conflict. A woman who was shot and killed during an ICE operation Wednesday "weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism," said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, in a post on X. Federal authorities have not released the woman’s name. Speaking publicly, Walz focused his remarks on the family of the woman killed, saying they learned of the shooting "on national television," and expressing anger over what he described as months of escalating federal tactics. "We’ve been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to public safety," Walz said. "Yesterday, I said exactly that, that someone was going to get hurt. Today, that recklessness cost someone their life.” Walz accused the administration of governing "by reality TV," prioritizing headlines over safety. He said he tried to reach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and was awaiting a response, adding that Minnesota does not need further federal involvement. "You’ve done enough," Walz said, addressing Noem and President Donald Trump directly. The governor emphasized that state authorities are handling the investigation. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the inquiry, and the state has activated its Emergency Operations Center.

The Hill [1/7/2026 3:15 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12595K] reports Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Wednesday urged the public not to "believe this propaganda machine" after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) justified an immigration officer fatally shooting a woman in Minneapolis during a traffic stop in a local neighborhood. Shortly after the midday incident, DHS shared a statement alleging the woman "weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism. Bystander video shows the driver was pulling away from the scene, as law enforcement officers tried to stop her and approached her vehicle when she was shot.

Reuters [1/7/2026 7:05 PM, Staff, 36480K] Video: HERE reports Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Wednesday (January 7) said he was angry after a U.S. immigration agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in her car in Minneapolis, amid an immigration enforcement surge, according to local and federal officials.

Reuters [1/7/2026 7:05 PM, Staff, 36480K] Video: HERE reports A U.S. immigration agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in her car in Minneapolis on Wednesday (January 7) amid an immigration enforcement surge, according to local and federal officials. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said an officer acted defensively during the situation, a claim adamantly rejected by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

Blaze [1/7/2026 3:10 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1442K] reports the far-left mayor of Minneapolis forcefully demanded that federal immigration agents leave his city after a fatal shooting of a woman who obstructed an operation and drove her vehicle into an agent. He identified the deceased protester as a 37-year-old woman, and the DHS said she was a U.S. citizen. Frey put the blame for the shooting on ICE, but Homeland Security Assistant Sec. Tricia McLaughlin contradicted that version of events. "ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism," she wrote in a statement. Frey addressed the statement from the DHS and called that version "bulls**t." The Daily Caller [1/7/2026 2:55 PM, Harold Hutchison, 835K] reports "We’ve dreaded this moment since the early stages of this ICE presence in Minneapolis," Frey raged during a press conference. "Not only is this a concern that we had internally, we’ve been talking about it.” "They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust," Frey continued. "They are ripping families apart, they are sowing chaos on our streets and in this case, quite literally killing people. So, they are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video for myself, I want to tell everybody directly: that is bullshit. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.” Multiple law enforcement agencies converged on the scene after the shots were fired, Fox 9 News, a Minneapolis TV station, reported. Frey delivered a demand to ICE during the press conference. "ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism," Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin posted on X. "An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers. The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.” "I have a message for ICE, to ICE: Get the fuck out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in the city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite," Frey claimed. "People are being hurt. Families are being ripped apart. Long-term Minneapolis residents that have contributed so greatly to our city, to our culture, to our economy, are being terrorized, and now somebody is dead.”

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/7/2026 4:59 PM, Mitch Smith and Christina Morales, 135475K]
New York Post [1/7/2026 6:42 PM, Alex Oliveira and Steven Vago, 42219K]
Federalist [1/7/2026 3:44 PM, Brianna Lyman, 785K]

Axios [1/8/2026 5:00 AM, Kyle Stokes, Nick Halter, 12972K] reports the fatal shooting by ICE yesterday threatens to further inflame tensions between Minnesota officials and residents and the federal agents carrying out an unprecedented surge in immigration enforcement in the state. An ICE officer shot through the window of a vehicle that drove close to federal agents in South Minneapolis yesterday, killing 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. Video of the incident — filmed by witnesses from multiple angles — quickly spread on social media, fueling thousands to join marches and demonstrations through Minneapolis and other cities across the country. With thousands of federal agents on the ground in the Twin Cities — and millions of Americans enraged by what they think they saw — the region risks becoming a hub of civil unrest again. Following the shooting, a fiery Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey demanded that ICE "get the f**k out of Minneapolis." A chorus of top Democrats echoed the sentiment, warning agents’ presence had become inflammatory. Meanwhile, President Trump called the incident "horrible," saying the agent fired in self-defense, and he blamed "the Radical Left" for "targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters the woman was attempting to carry out "an act of domestic terrorism" against the agents. Gov. Tim Walz told reporters that protesters were "patriotic" — but also warned them against a violent response that would hand the Trump administration justification to send in federal troops. Walz told reporters earlier this week he feared agents’ presence might create, rather than relieve, public safety problems. "I don’t want to be right about this," the governor said after the shooting. "I hope we’re at the McCarthy moment: Do you have no decency? We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever." Meanwhile, top Republicans rallied behind the agents. "Shame on the elected officials who endanger these agents by spewing lies and hateful rhetoric," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer wrote on X. The shooting took place before 10am in a chaotic sequence on Portland Avenue, according to police, federal officials and witnesses. One eyewitness told MPR News that ICE officers on the scene gave mixed orders to the motorist. One told her to drive off; another demanded she get out of the car. Good, the woman who was killed, was not the target of ICE enforcement, Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara told reporters. Other witnesses and activists called her an "ICE observer." In a statement, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin called Good a "violent rioter" who "weaponized her vehicle … in an attempt to kill the agents," and that the agent fired "defensive shots." "That is bullshit," Mayor Jacob Frey said of DHS’ statement, saying video of the killing showed "an agent recklessly using power." "Any professional law enforcement agency" would find it "very concerning whenever there’s shooting into a vehicle of someone who is not armed," added O’Hara. The FBI and Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension — which routinely reviews shootings that involve law enforcement officers — are now investigating jointly

NewsMax [1/7/2026 9:29 PM, Michael Katz, 4109K] reports that, after bluntly telling Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to "get the f*ck out of Minneapolis," Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday night that they should leave the city following the fatal shooting of a motorist who allegedly tried to run over federal agents. Frey’s comments on CNN came after a news conference earlier in the day addressing the shooting of Renee Good, 37, during an ICE operation that involved the deployment of about 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis. "To ICE, get the f*ck out of Minneapolis," Frey, a Democrat, said during the news conference. "We do not want you here. "Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite." Appearing later on CNN, Frey struck a more measured tone while still urging residents to oppose the federal presence through peaceful means. "My message to our community is that this is our moment, to stand up and do the right thing," he said. "You’ve got this federal government that is going to show up with hate. We’re going to show up with love. "You got this federal administration that is going to come in to try to sow anger and chaos. We’re going to show up with peace," Frey said. "We’re going to do this right. We’re going to be our best versions of ourselves. "This federal government wants to have an excuse to militarize Minneapolis and bring additional occupation to our city. We won’t let them," he said. "We’re going to do the right thing. We’re going to be filled with hope." "We’re going to get justice, and we’re going to make sure that we’re doing right — not just by Minneapolis, but we’re going to be an example for other cities throughout the country to follow," Frey said. He acknowledged that emotions were running high following the incident but warned residents not to escalate tensions in a way that could lead to a larger federal deployment. "People are angry. I get it," Frey said. "If you can’t tell, I’m angry. But let’s not take the bait. "They want residents of Minneapolis. They want me to make some sort of mistake in their mind that would authorize — at least in their mind — a deployment of a whole lot more troops." "We know how devastating that would be to our community. We know how dangerous that would be to safety in our city." Frey said they should stare down the hate. "And we all recognize — for those of us that care deeply about our immigrant community, and I do — having deployment of additional troops is not the right route at this moment or any moment here. And so what we are going to do is meet that hate with a whole lot of love," Frey said. "We’re going to do the right thing in Minneapolis. We’re going to, of course, speak out; of course, express First Amendment rights. "We’re going to do that peacefully. And I have a really good feeling that we are united in fine fashion to get this done correctly."

The Hill [1/7/2026 9:04 PM, Ryan Mancini, 12595K] reports Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) on Wednesday said that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s remarks that a woman was killed following a “domestic terrorism” incident are “positively ridiculous.” “I saw the same videos that you saw, and the notion that this is domestic terrorism on the form of the victim? Yeah, is positively ridiculous,” Frey told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “I mean, the way that ICE is behaving is reckless, not just in this incident but numerous others.” Frey said that “you don’t need a legal degree to know” that the woman attempting a three-point turn in her car “does not authorize the use of force.” “That being said, again, the narrative ICE is spinning immediately after this was that this was purely self-defense, and that the act by the victim was some sort of domestic terrorism — that, I’ll say it again, is bulls—,” Frey said. “That is bulls—. The way they’ve been conducting themselves is also bulls—. And we all need to be very clear-eyed about what’s happening.” “Because, by the way, this is not just about Minneapolis,” he continued. “This is about the endurance of our republic. The things that are taking place are not just illegal. They are unconstitutional.” Frey told Cooper that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate Wednesday’s shooting to determine what happened.

NewsMax [1/7/2026 12:55 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot and killed a motorist acted recklessly and rebutted federal officials claims that the officer had acted in self-defense. During a news conference hours after the ICE officer shot the woman, whose name hasn’t been released, an angry Frey blasted the federal immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. "They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust," Frey said. "They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets and in this case quite literally killing people." "They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is bull----," the mayor said. A federal agent shot and killed the motorist Wednesday morning when she allegedly tried to run over law enforcement officers during an immigration crackdown in the city, authorities said. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot the woman in her vehicle in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, calling it an act of "domestic terrorism." "An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers," the DHS statement read. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries, DHS said in the statement.

NBC News [1/7/2026 7:42 PM, Staff, 34509K] Video: HERE reports Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey spoke with NBC News’ Tom Llamas about the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration agent. Frey also responded to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s comments justifying the agent’s actions.

NewsMax [1/7/2026 5:51 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K] reports a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis turned deadly Wednesday, setting off an immediate political firestorm as Democrat officials accused the Trump administration of reckless enforcement while federal authorities described a violent confrontation during an active operation. An ICE officer shot and killed a woman during the incident, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The shooting comes as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement nationwide, placing renewed focus on public safety, federal authority, and resistance to ICE operations in Democrat-led cities. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office was monitoring early reports as details continued to emerge. "My office is monitoring reports of an ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis today. Reports are still coming in, but [it] has been reported that a woman was killed. My heart goes out to her and her family. And anyone hurt or killed in this act of violence," Ellison wrote Wednesday on X. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the situation was caused by "violent rioters.” However, Ellison blamed the Trump administration’s enforcement posture for the confrontation. "While there’s a lot we don’t know at this time, let me be clear about one thing: Donald Trump’s decision to send thousands of armed ICE agents to Minnesota is causing serious harm and spreading terror throughout our communities. His reckless decision to escalate the aggression and number of immigration agents is a causal factor," Ellison said.

The Hill [1/7/2026 6:17 PM, Sarah Davis, 12595K] reports Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) called for "full transparency" Wednesday after a woman was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. The senator is reportedly considering a run for Minnesota governor after Gov. Tim Walz (D) announced he would not seek reelection. "This tragedy is the result of the administration sending federal agents onto our streets against the wishes of local law enforcement, including our respected Police Chief Brian O’Hara," Klobuchar posted on the social platform X. "We need full transparency and an investigation of what happened, and I am deeply concerned that statements made by DHS do not appear to reflect video evidence and on-the-ground accounts.” Walz (D) and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) have disputed the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) account of the shooting. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X that the ICE officer fired "defensive shots" at the woman killed after she attempted to "run over" officers with her vehicle. President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday that the officer involved in the shooting "seems to" have acted "in self defense.” Walz and Frey pushed back on the notion that this was an act of self-defense in separate press conferences on Wednesday and accused ICE of endangering Minnesotans. Klobuchar echoed these sentiments in her Wednesday post. "While our immigration enforcement should be focused on apprehending and prosecuting violent criminals to make our communities safer, these ICE actions are doing the opposite and making our state less safe," she wrote.

Politico [1/7/2026 7:31 PM, Jacob Wendler, 2100K] reports Minnesota state and local leaders condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deployment in the state, after federal officials said an officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis when a group of people gathered to protest an immigration-related operation Wednesday. The deadly shooting comes as the Trump administration has surged the presence of federal law enforcement officials in Minnesota in recent weeks, deploying over 2,000 ICE agents in response to allegations of government program fraud involving some Somali Americans. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference that he had issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard for a possible deployment. He urged Minnesotans to protest peacefully while directly blaming the Trump administration for not coordinating with local officials regarding immigration enforcement. “What we’re seeing are the consequences of governance designed to create fear, headlines and conflict. It’s governing by reality TV, and today, that recklessness cost someone their life,” he said. An ICE agent fired several shots at the woman’s vehicle after it apparently blocked a roadway on Portland Avenue, after which the vehicle crashed on the side of the road, according to local and federal officials. After the shooting, Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey said immigration agents were “causing chaos in our city.” In a Wednesday afternoon press conference, he accused ICE of “recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying” and urged agents to leave the city. “They are already trying to spin this as an action of self defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly that is bullshit,” Frey said. In a social media post, President Donald Trump called the video of the incident “a horrible thing to watch” and accused “the Radical Left” of targeting law enforcement officers. “The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense,” Trump wrote. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that “an ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots” after the woman tried “to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”

Axios [1/7/2026 8:34 PM, Stephen Neukam Andrew Solender Hans Nichols, 12972K] reports rank-and-file Democrats are starting to make serious noise about using the threat of a government shutdown to force substantive changes at ICE. Their anger, after an ICE officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman Wednesday in Minneapolis, sets them on a collision course with party leaders. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said earlier this week that a shutdown was not on the table. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), asked if the appropriations process should be used to constrain ICE, told Axios: "We’re focused right now on … advancing the Affordable Care Act tax credits." But progressive lawmakers see the end-of-January funding cliff as a leverage point to exploit, as they fume about the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi Noem. "Democrats cannot vote for a DHS budget that doesn’t restrain the growing lawlessness of this agency," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on X following the shooting. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said: "We can’t just keep authorizing money for these illegal killers. That’s what they are, this rogue force." "Statements and letters are not enough, and the appropriations process and the CR expiring Jan. 31 is our opportunity," said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Getting both sides to agree on funding for a department as divisive as DHS was always going to prove challenging. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told Axios today: "I’m having a hard time seeing how we’re gonna come to agreement on it." "We need to arrest that ICE agent for a excessive use of power," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Axios. "And we should be opposing the hundreds of billions of dollars going to a lawless agency." Among the Republicans defending ICE after the shooting are several members of leadership, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and House Republican conference chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.). "Our brave ICE agents put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities from dangerous criminals. May God bless and protect them in their efforts," Emmer said in a statement. DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: "An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots."

New York Post [1/7/2026 5:57 PM, Alex Oliveira, 42219K] reports the woman gunned down by an ICE agent in Minneapolis has been identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who described herself as a mother, a wife and a poet. Good was identified by her mom hours after she was killed when she allegedly tried to ram ICE agents on a street in the city, the Star Tribune reported. Video appeared to show her Honda Pilot making contact with an ICE agent as he opened fire. President Trump and other officials have said Good’s killing was justified. Good was among several people who allegedly blocked the street with their vehicles to prevent the agents from moving, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Agents got out of their blocked truck and ordered the woman to move her SUV, at which point she sped toward one of the officers, pushing him with her vehicle. As he spun toward the driver’s seat window, he fired three shots into the car, footage from numerous angles shows. She was shot at least once in the head, and later pronounced dead at the hospital. The Department of Homeland Security called her a domestic terrorist who attempted to kill federal agents. Local leaders did not hide their outrage over the killing as the footage began to spread.

Reported similarly:
Axios [1/7/2026 6:05 PM, Torey Van Oot and Kyle Stokes, 12972K]
CBS News [1/7/2026 6:33 PM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE
CNN [1/8/2026 3:53 AM, Amanda Musa, 18595K] r
NewsMax [1/7/2026 5:45 PM, Mark Swanson, 4109K]

The AP [1/8/2026 12:24 AM, Michael Biesecker and Jim Mustian, 31753K] reports the woman shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday was Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to Minnesota. She was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado and appears to never have been charged with anything involving law enforcement beyond a traffic ticket. In social media accounts, Macklin Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” She said she was currently “experiencing Minneapolis,” displaying a pride flag emoji on her Instagram account. A profile picture posted to Pinterest shows her smiling and holding a young child against her cheek, along with posts about tattoos, hairstyles and home decorating. Her ex-husband, who asked not to be named out of concern for the safety of their children, said Macklin Good had just dropped off her 6-year-old son at school Wednesday and was driving home with her current partner when they encountered a group of ICE agents on a snowy street in Minneapolis, where they had moved last year from Kansas City, Missouri. NBC News [1/7/2026 11:12 PM, Tim Stelloh, 34509K] reports the woman fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday was identified by the Minnesota Star Tribune as Renee Nicole Good. The newspaper spoke to a woman who identified herself as Good’s mother. The woman, Donna Ganger, called Good "one of the kindest people I’ve ever known." "She was extremely compassionate," Ganger told the Tribune. "She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being." The Minneapolis City Council described Good, 37, in a joint statement as a resident who was out "caring for her neighbors" when she was killed. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said she was shot after people began blocking officers during an immigration-related operation in the city. At a news conference Wednesday night, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the woman ignored commands to get out of the car she was driving and tried to run over an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in an "attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents." That officer was the one who shot the woman, Noem said. The officer was struck by the vehicle and treated at a hospital before being released, Noem said. She declined to answer a question about whether the officer opened fire before or after allegedly having been struck by the vehicle. "I know you keep asking that, but that doesn’t mean that the FBI is going to give you an answer today. There will be an investigation; we want to make sure that it’s factual," Noem said in reply to a reporter’s question.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/8/2026 1:36 AM, Kelly Kasulis Cho and Annie Gowen, 24149K]

Breitbart [1/7/2026 8:45 PM, Awr Hawkins, 2416K] reports Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) rejected the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) stance on the Minneapolis ICE shooting, claiming the incident would not have been "domestic terrorism" even if the agent had been run over. Breitbart News reported that an ICE agent fatally shot a woman who was allegedly driving her vehicle at him on Wednesday morning in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Homeland Security described the driver’s actions as "an act of domestic terrorism," claiming the driver was "attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.” Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller also labeled the incident "Domestic terrorism.” Rep. Goldman responded directly to Miller with an X post in which he wrote, "Even if the officer were run over, it’s not domestic terrorism.” Later in his response to Miller, Goldman wrote, "You are inciting untrained thugs to murder Americans.” Breitbart News noted that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) held a Wednesday afternoon presser in which he intimated that protesting ICE is "a patriotic duty at this point in time.”

Federalist [1/7/2026 4:08 PM, Shawn Fleetwood, 785K] reports it didn’t take long, but America’s propaganda media have (unsurprisingly) already begun to whitewash the anti-ICE violence at the heart of a shooting involving U.S. immigration officials. On Wednesday, a U.S. immigration official reportedly fired upon and killed a woman who was allegedly antagonizing agents during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The most pertinent detail about this story, however, is that video of the incident appears to show the suspect in question attempting to run down an agent with her vehicle. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin provided further information about the incident, writing on X, "Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism.” "This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement. These men and women who are simply enforcing the law on the books are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats," McLaughlin wrote. Having spent the past year vilifying the Trump administration’s deportations and immigration enforcement operations, it came as no surprise when legacy media leapt into action to obscure the car-ramming in its immediate coverage of the incident. "Minneapolis driver shot and killed by ICE officer during immigration-related operation, DHS says," one NBC News headline reads. Meanwhile, the hoax-peddling New York Times was more than happy to lead with the views of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has all but invited attacks on immigration officials in his past anti-ICE rhetoric. Following the incident, the outlet’s "live updates" page ran with the headline, "Minneapolis Mayor Disputes Federal Account of Fatal ICE Shooting." It has since been updated to "Minnesota Officials Dispute Federal Account of Fatal ICE Shooting" above an excerpt highlighting comments from disgraced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who called the DHS’ account of the incident "propaganda.”

CBS Chicago [1/7/2026 6:27 PM, Sara Tenenbaum, Dave Savini, 39474K] reports the fatal shooting of a woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday recalls shootings by federal immigration agents in Chicago during the height of Operation Midway Blitz in the fall. Minneapolis police said federal agents and local protesters clashed starting around 9:30 a.m. near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. Witnesses told CBS News Minnesota they saw a Honda Pilot blocked by multiple federal agents, and an agent trying to open the driver’s side door, where a woman was seated in the driver’s seat. The woman put her car into reverse, then into drive, and then three shots were fired, witnesses said. When the woman was pulled from the Pilot, paramedics could be seen giving her CPR. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the woman died, and claimed the agent fired out of "fear for his life" as she allegedly tried to ram him, and that it was an incident of "domestic terrorism." The woman was identified as 37-year-old Renee Good. The incident may sound familiar to people in the Chicago area, as it recalls two shootings last fall at the height of Operation Midway Blitz.

New York Times [1/7/2026 5:27 PM, Chris Hippensteel, Albert Sun and Jill Cowan, 135475K] reports an ICE agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, the latest in a series of shootings by federal agents carrying out immigration enforcement operations in American cities. In the last four months alone, immigration officers have fired on at least nine people in five states and Washington, D.C. All of the individuals targeted in those shootings were, like the woman killed on Wednesday, fired on while in their vehicles. In each case, officials have claimed that the agents fired in self-defense, fearing they would be struck by the vehicle. At least one other person died as a result of those shootings.

AP [1/7/2026 5:50 PM, Russ Bynum] reports the fatal shooting Wednesday of a woman by an immigration officer in Minneapolis was at least the fifth death to result from the aggressive U.S. immigration crackdown the Trump administration launched last year. The Department of Homeland Security said the officer fired in self-defense as the woman tried to run down officers with her vehicle. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said video of the incident showed it was reckless and unnecessary. It occurred as the federal agency escalates immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota by deploying an anticipated 2,000 agents and officers. Last September, Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot and killed another person outside Chicago. Two people have died after being struck by vehicles while fleeing immigration authorities. And a California farmworker fell from a greenhouse and broke his neck during an ICE raid last July. No officers or agents have been charged in the deaths.

NPR [1/8/2026 4:42 AM, Martin Kaste, 28013K] reports the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE officer set off a firestorm of criticism Wednesday and ignited a debate over the legality of law enforcement officers firing on a moving vehicle. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

AP [1/7/2026 9:17 PM, Claudia Lauer, 31753K] reports the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday has thrust a long-running and deeply contested question back into the national spotlight: When is a law enforcement officer justified in using lethal force against someone in a moving vehicle? The killing, captured on cellphone video, has exposed sharp divisions between federal authorities who quickly defended the agent’s actions and local leaders who called the shooting unjustified. It has also renewed scrutiny of use-of-force rules that many police departments adopted decades ago to reduce the risk to bystanders or drivers losing control after being shot. At the center of the debate are policies that for years have limited when officers may fire at vehicles, generally barring gunfire at fleeing cars unless the driver poses an imminent threat of deadly force beyond the vehicle itself. Those restrictions, embraced by many police departments and reflected in federal guidance, were intended to curb what experts long warned was among the most dangerous and unpredictable uses of lethal force. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described Wednesday’s episode as an "act of domestic terrorism" and said the agent acted in self defense and to protect fellow officers.

Federalist [1/7/2026 1:58 PM, Brianna Lyman, 785K] reports a woman is deceased after allegedly trying to ram her car into ICE agents in Minneapolis, leading an ICE agent to fire "defensive shots.” The incident unfolded Wednesday morning when, according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, "ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations." McLaughlin stated that "rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism.” An ICE officer "fearing for his life … fired defensive shots.” Video footage of the incident posted on X appears to show officers instructing the woman to exit her vehicle. The woman accelerates and appears to nearly hit an agent who was positioned in front of her vehicle. The individual "was hit and is deceased," according to McLaughlin. ICE officers were reportedly "hurt" but "expected to make full recoveries.” McLaughlin also said that there has been a 1,300 percent "increase in assaults" on ICE agents. The DHS reported in November that since Jan. 20, there had been 99 car ramming attacks against federal law enforcement. As McLaughlin said, Wednesday’s attack against federal law enforcement is "the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement.”

New York Times [1/7/2026 11:22 PM, Kurt Streeter, 153395K] reports the basic sequence of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday is not in dispute: A Honda Pilot reversed, then moved forward; an ICE agent was close to the vehicle; the agent fired shots. A 37-year-old woman was killed. But that sequence has been interpreted in radically different ways. Was the officer struck by the vehicle, as President Trump insists, or did the car pass by or around him? Was he positioned in front of the vehicle or to the side? Did he have a genuine, reasonable fear for his life in that moment, or did he create the very danger he then used lethal force to escape? Video from the scene appears to show the officer walking in the aftermath. Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, confirmed that the woman was not the target of any law enforcement investigation and that “the vehicle began to drive off” before shots were fired. None of that stopped political leaders from delivering their verdicts within hours — verdicts that share nothing in common. What followed was a familiar ritual. From Ferguson to Jan. 6 to the death of George Floyd on a street not far from this one, the pattern holds. The facts are not established, but the first words from political leaders are conclusive and set the frame — and with it, the battle lines. Mr. Trump, posting on Truth Social, described a violent assault on a federal officer. A woman heard screaming at agents in the bystander video was, he wrote, “obviously, a professional agitator.” The driver, he continued, was “very disorderly, obstructing and resisting,” and had “violently, willfully, and viciously” run over the ICE officer, who “seems to have shot her in self-defense.” The agent, according to the president, was lucky to be alive. The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, appearing at a news conference in Texas, supplied the official framing. “It was an act of domestic terrorism,” she said. The woman had “attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle.” The officer “acted quickly and defensively shot to protect himself and the people around him.” In Minnesota, the state’s two most prominent Democrats watched the same footage and arrived at the opposite conclusion.

New York Post [1/7/2026 3:27 PM, Chris Nesi, 42219K] reports a new video angle of the deadly shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis appears to show the driver of the SUV strike the officer with her car before he opened fire through the open window. The wide-angled footage, which appears to have been filmed from a second-story window or rooftop directly across the street from the shooting, shows the deadly use of force from a different perspective as the local officials slammed the agency as "reckless.” The driver of the Honda Pilot, identified only as a 37-year-old woman, crashed her vehicle into a white car parked about 100 feet away after the shots rang out. Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the driver had "weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them," calling it "an act of domestic terrorism.”

New York Post [1/7/2026 8:22 PM, Alex Oliveira, 42219K] reports a blood-covered woman who identified herself as the wife of Renee Nicole Good hysterically blamed herself for her partner’s killing at the hands of ICE agents, gut-wrenching footage shows. The woman was filmed distraught and sobbing just steps from Good’s wrecked car in Minneapolis Wednesday morning, as a neighbor who heard the commotion asked her what happened. "I made her come down here, it’s my fault," the woman said through sobs. "They just shot my wife.” "They shot her in the head. I have a 6-year-old in school," she appeared to say. Good was shot dead while behind the wheel in an encounter with ICE agents. An agent who was clipped by her car drew a handgun and fired three shots at close range, killing Good and causing her vehicle to speed out of control and crash down the block. The Department of Homeland Security called the 37-year-old mother a "domestic terrorist," and accused her of trying to kill the federal agent, while arguing the officer acted in justified self defense. She had also allegedly been part of a group of protestors that had been "stalking and impeding" ICE agents throughout the day, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday morning, adding that Good "weaponized" her car. The woman who stated she was Good’s wife was seen in numerous other clips from before and after the deadly incident. Here’s the latest on the Minneapolis ICE agent shooting. Just before the gunshots rang out, she was seen closely following federal agents and filming them. She was also standing near the car when the shots rang out, and didn’t seem to notice that anything had happened until it sped away and wrecked. She sprinted after the car soon after, while other photos from the scene showed her trying to help Good as she lay bleeding out in the driver’s seat. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [1/8/2026 4:51 AM, Julie Bosman, Mitch Smith, and Dan Simmons, 153395K] reports state and local officials demanded an end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota after a federal officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Details remained in dispute, with President Trump saying on social media that the agents had acted in self-defense, while state and local officials described federal accounts of the shooting with terms like “propaganda” and “garbage.” Federal officials defended the use of force, saying the woman had “weaponized her vehicle” before being shot. At a news conference, Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, said the woman was “stalking” officers, and that the agent who killed her “used his training to save his life and those of his colleagues.” Mayor Jacob Frey called the accounts of federal officials “bullshit,” describing the shooting instead as “an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.” Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota posted on social media, “Don’t believe this propaganda machine.” Connor Janeksela, 30, who lives on the street where the shooting took place, described what he saw: “One of the ICE agents tried to rip her door open, and another one got in front of the vehicle and then shouted, ‘Stop!’ before firing three times within a second of saying, ‘Stop.’” In his own news conference, the governor said the shooting was predictable. “We have been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety,” Mr. Walz said, adding that it cost a person her life on Wednesday.

NPR [1/7/2026 6:16 PM, Mary Louise Kelly, Daniel Ofman and Jeanette Woods, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks with Brian O’Hara, the police chief in Minneapolis, about the shooting in which an ICE agent killed a 37-year-old woman.

CBS News [1/7/2026 8:41 PM, Aliza Chasan, 39474K] reports Tom Homan, President Trump’s former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director and current border czar, said he hasn’t seen any clear examples of excessive force displayed by ICE agents and officers. His comment comes on the day an ICE officer fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis. In the months since Mr. Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants began, video has circulated of a mother being tackled by an ICE agent, while tear gas was used in a Chicago residential neighborhood and car windows have been smashed to grab drivers. There have also been videos showing federal agents use chokeholds on protesters. "I have not seen ICE act out outside of policy," Homan said in an interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil. "If they are acting outside of policy, I’m not aware of it. There’ll be an investigation. They’ll be held accountable.” After being shown video of Wednesday’s shooting in Minneapolis, Homan said he wouldn’t comment on it, citing the active investigation. "I’m not going to make a judgment call on one video when there’s a hundred videos out there, I wasn’t on the scene. I’m not an officer that may have body cam video," he said. "It would be unprofessional to comment on what I think happened in that situation. Let the investigation play out and hold people accountable based on the investigation.” Homan said that when he hears an allegation, he follows up and makes sure everything is investigated, though he acknowledged that he’s not aware of every ICE arrest. Dokoupil pressed Homan, saying most Americans, having seen videos of ICE in action, would question Homan’s claims. But Homan said he has faith in ICE agents to do the right thing. "And if they don’t, they’ll be held accountable," he said. In a statement released Wednesday night, he said, "The incident in Minneapolis today is yet another tragic example of the results of the hateful rhetoric and violent attacks against the men and women of ICE and BP. These brave men and women are forced to conduct law enforcement operations in heightened threat environments every day. Like all Americans, our officers have a right to self defense.” Under federal guidelines, use of force is authorized "only when no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative appears to exist," according to Department of Homeland Security policies. Mr. Trump in November told 60 Minutes that ICE raids "haven’t gone far enough." He said he was OK with the tactics because "you have to get the people out," describing many of them as murderers and criminals, even though many of the people who have been arrested by ICE and deported don’t have a criminal record. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [1/7/2026 6:40 PM, Staff, 34509K] reports Noem said the ICE agent involved in today’s shooting was "hit by the vehicle" the victim was driving. "She hit him. He went to the hospital. A doctor did treat him. He has been released, but he’s going to spend some time with his family," Noem said. She said the officer, whom officials have not yet identified, had been attacked before while on the job. "In fact, the very same officer who was attacked today had previously been dragged by an anti-ICE rioter who had rammed him with a car and dragged him back in June. He sustained injuries at that time, as well," she said.

Federalist [1/7/2026 6:57 PM, Brianna Lyman, 785K] reports a woman is dead after accelerating her vehicle into an ICE agent during an encounter in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The ICE agent fired what the Department of Homeland Security described as a defensive shot, with video footage appearing to show the woman’s vehicle making contact with that agent. Seconds before, law enforcement seemingly ordered her to exit her vehicle. ABC News contributor Robert Boyce pointed out that "this could be a justified shooting if that officer was brushed aside or feared for his life. … The body-worn camera is really going to tell the tale, because it also has audio," Boyce said. "But from what I’ve seen so far, an officer was brushed aside by the vehicle.” Despite the obvious risk to the officer — and the questions about whether the officer was justified in using deadly force — Democrats recklessly rushed to declare the shooting a "murder" and "heinous killing," accusing the ICE agent of wrongdoing. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey responded to the shooting by saying, "What [ICE is] doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust; they’re ripping families apart, and they’re sowing chaos on our streets, and in this case, quite literally killing people.” Gov. Tim Walz said, "We’ve never been at war with our federal government." New York City communist Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed that "ICE murdered a woman." Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar called the shooting "state violence.”

FOX News [1/7/2026 6:30 PM, Staff, 40621K] Video: HERE reports a window was broken at the Minneapolis Courthouse by anti-ICE protesters hours after a woman was fatally shot by an agent.

The Hill [1/7/2026 6:42 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, Mike Lillis and Sarah Davis, 12595K] reports a woman was shot and killed Wednesday by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, inflaming an already fierce debate over President Trump’s deportation agenda. Dueling, partisan narratives quickly emerged, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) calling the woman a domestic terrorist and arguing the entire episode was a terrorist attack. That prompted a furious response from Minnesota leaders, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), who said the accusation was “bulls‑‑‑” and that the woman’s death was the result of “an agent recklessly using power.” Frey also told U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to “get the f‑‑‑ out of our city.” President Trump later Wednesday afternoon blamed the incident on “the radical left,” arguing the officer had acted in self-defense, describing the shooting victim as a “professional agitator” who “viciously ran over” an ICE officer. Democrats in Minnesota and in Congress saw a very different incident, saying the shooting victim — identified by The Minnesota Star Tribune as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good — posed no threat to the officers and was killed in cold blood. “There’s no evidence that has been presented to justify the shooting of an unarmed woman in Minneapolis,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told NewsNation. “We’ve got to make sure that the rogue ICE agent who pulled the trigger resulting in the death of an American citizen is criminally investigated to the full extent of the law.” “Instead of protecting our communities, they are unleashing violence — terrorizing neighborhoods and now killing a civilian,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who represents much of Minneapolis. “This is not law enforcement. It is state violence.” The DHS’s use of force guidelines say officers are “prohibited from discharging firearms at the operator of a moving vehicle” and are not even supposed to use “warning shots” to disable cars.

Newsweek [1/8/2026 3:10 AM, Giulia Carbonaro, 52220K] reports Vice President JD Vance has thrown his support behind U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after an officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday. "I want every ICE officer to know that their president, vice president, and the entire administration stands behind them," Vance wrote in a post on X on Wednesday evening. "To the radicals assaulting them, doxxing them, and threatening them: congratulations, we’re going to work even harder to enforce the law," he added.

New York Post [1/7/2026 4:35 PM, Chris Nesi, 43962K] reports Homeland Security’s mass-scale operation in Minneapolis netted more than 300 illegal migrant criminals in just two days earlier this week — as thousands of immigration authorities descended on the Twin Cities for an unprecedented multi-agency crackdown on rampant fraud. In response to an unprecedented human services fraud scandal, DHS has deployed over 2,000 agents in Minneapolis in the largest surge the region has seen since President Trump took office last year. “Since just after Thanksgiving, ICE has arrested over 1,300 in Minneapolis alone, and there are about 300 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents on the ground looking into the fraud. We had over 150 arrests today and 174 yesterday,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Post. McLaughlin said soon Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) would be joining the effort to root out the fraudsters and send criminal migrants packing. “I think Americans are seeing this and their blood is boiling. They want accountability, they want to know what happened to their tax dollars,” she said. “They want to know if people are breaking our laws and in our country illegally. They want justice, and they want to get them out of the country,” she said. “It’s going to be a prolonged operation but we’re working rapidly. We want this to be as efficient as possible, and that’s why you’re seeing the numbers of men and women on the ground.” In a flurry of investigation activity in September, DHS determined nearly half of all immigrants in Minneapolis-St. Paul were found to have committed some form of immigration fraud. “Officers encountered blatant marriage fraud, visa overstay, people claiming to work as businesses that can’t be found, forged documents, abuse of the H1B visa system, abuse of the F1 visa, and many other discrepancies,” US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Joseph B. Edlow told reporters after announcing the bombshell revelation.

FOX News [1/7/2026 7:18 AM, Staff, 40621K] reports ICE Director Todd Lyons joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the federal crackdown tied to Minnesota’s widening fraud scandal, arrests of criminal illegal immigrants and backlash over a hotel refusing to host ICE agents. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/7/2026 7:40 AM, Staff, 40621K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins ICE agents in Minnesota for what officials are calling the agency’s largest-ever enforcement operation, as authorities say more than 1,000 arrests have been made in the past week. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [1/7/2026 12:40 PM, Chris Nesi, 42219K] reports that Homeland Security’s mass-scale operation in Minneapolis has netted over 300 criminal migrants in the last two days as thousands of immigration authorities descend on the Twin Cities for an unprecedented multi-agency crackdown on rampant fraud. Amid an unprecedented human services fraud scandal, DHS has deployed over 2,000 agents in Minneapolis, including HSI, ICE, and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the "largest footprint" federal immigration authorities have had in the region since President Trump’s inauguration. "Since just after Thanksgiving, ICE has arrested over 1,300 in Minneapolis alone, and there are about 300 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents on the ground looking into the fraud. We had over 150 arrests today and 174 yesterday," DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Post. McLaughlin said soon Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) would be joining the effort to root out the fraudsters and send criminal migrants packing. "I think Americans are seeing this and their blood is boiling. They want accountability, they want to know what happened to their tax dollars," she said. "They want to know if people are breaking our laws and in our country illegally. They want justice, and they want to get them out of the country," she said. "It’s going to be a prolonged operation but we’re working rapidly. We want this to be as efficient as possible, and that’s why you’re seeing the numbers of men and women on the ground."

FOX News [1/7/2026 12:56 PM, Preston Mizell, 40621K] reports that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is deploying personnel on site in Minnesota to reexamine the legal refugee population, which includes Somalis, and search for cases, potentially leading to deportations. Operation Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening (PARRIS) was launched in mid-December to reexamine Minnesota’s roughly 5,600 refugees from countries of concern listed in President Donald Trump’s travel ban proclamations. "Minnesota is ground zero for the war on fraud. USCIS’ show of force in Minnesota demonstrates that USCIS will not stand idly by as the US immigration system is weaponized by those seeking to defraud the American people," USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser told Fox News Digital. "American citizens first, always." On Wednesday, ICE said that agents were targeted by rioters in "an act of domestic violence" and that "an ICE officer, fearing for his life… fired defensive shots" that ultimately killed the perpetrator. "This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement, who are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats," a spokesperson from DHS said.

Breitbart [1/7/2026 10:44 AM, Warner Todd Huston, 2416K] reports Trump officials have hit the ground running after some 2,000 immigration and fraud investigators surged into Minneapolis to crack down on illegal migrants and Somali fraudsters. It was reported on Monday morning that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were sending 2,000 officials into Minnesota, and already by Tuesday the evidence of their work was flooding social media and the news. Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that the administration is ramping up its efforts to root out the fraud in Minnesota. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also spoke to the influx of law enforcement: One of the first announcements came as DHS noted that Tomas Espin Tapia, a dangerous Ecuadorian national, had been taken into custody in Minneapolis. By Tuesday evening, the news of the work by ICE and DHS flowed across the media landscape. According to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, the Department of Justice is also set to send more of its resources and prosecutors to Minnesota to begin looking into the massive Somali fraud of welfare programs there.

CBS News [1/7/2026 1:12 PM, Anthony Bettin, 39474K] Video: HERE reports a Minneapolis day care featured in a right-wing YouTuber’s video about alleged fraud in Minnesota is now closed, according to state records. Quality Learning Center closed on Tuesday, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ licensing records. WCCO is investigating the reason for the closure, which is not yet publicly known. The center’s last licensing review, in June, found several operational violations but noted no evidence of fraud. In a video posted late last month, Nick Shirley visited nearly a dozen day care centers in Minnesota, alleging they were receiving public funds but not actually providing any service. Quality Learning Center was among those targeted. When Shirley visited, the center’s sign had a typo that was subsequently corrected. CBS News conducted its own analysis of several of the day centers Shirley mentioned; all but two had active licenses, according to state records, and all active locations had been visited by state regulators within the last six months. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families visited nine of the day cares from the video, finding children present at eight of them. The ninth had not yet opened for the day when inspectors visited. Quality Learning Center received $1.9 million from Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program in fiscal year 2025, according to the department. DCYF said it was made aware on Dec. 19 that the center intended to voluntarily close, but during a visit 10 days later, it learned it had chosen to remain open. The Trump administration deployed about 2,000 Department of Homeland Security agents to the Twin Cities earlier this week, with the stated goal of cracking down on fraud and undocumented immigration. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem joined the operation, which Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called a "ridiculous surge" and a "show" for the cameras that has not been coordinated with the state.

FOX News [1/7/2026 10:24 AM, Charles Creitz, 40621K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined several critics in slamming Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after he jabbed ICE for conducting comprehensive immigration enforcement in Minnesota, with some pointing out the governor’s misspellings in a missive. The back-and-forth comes as Noem’s agency focuses on Minnesota for both standard immigration enforcement as well as the deployment of HSI officers to probe the legitimacy of alleged daycares tied to the Somali community that received millions in state funds. Walz tweeted video of dozens of federal agents detaining at least one man in what the governor said was a Minnetonka, Minnesota, library complex: calling the scene "ridiculous" and misspelling at least one word. "Nobody is fooled into thinking this bafoonery (sic) is a reasonable use of taxpayer dollars. It should not take 50 ICE agents to arrest one guy in a library," Walz said. Noem responded incredulously that Walz would be concerned with conserving public expenditures given the rampant fraud under his watch. "Really, you’re worried about taxpayer dollars?" Noem said. "There’s been $9 billion stolen from the taxpayers in Minnesota since you became governor. You won’t let us in Minnesota’s jails and there is rampant assault against our law enforcement thanks to vilification from politicians like you," she added. "So, yes, there’s strength in law enforcement numbers to remove these violent criminals from the communities you refuse to protect.” Noem personally took part in some of ICE’s arrests of criminal illegal immigrants, including a man wanted for murder, according to FOX’s Minneapolis-St. Paul affiliate. Walz’s jab at Noem erupted on social media, with conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong asking if the governor learned to spell at a Somali daycare. Several other commenters made similar critiques.

FOX News [1/7/2026 9:39 AM, Ashley Oliver, 40621K] reports Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department will send additional federal prosecutors to Minnesota amid an expanding fraud investigation tied to Somali-run nonprofit operations. "The Department of Justice is dispatching a team of prosecutors to Minnesota to reinforce our U.S. Attorney’s Office and put the perpetrators of this widespread fraud behind bars," Bondi told Fox News on Wednesday. Bondi vowed "severe consequences in Minnesota" and said the department stands "ready to deploy to any other state where similar fraud schemes are robbing American taxpayers.” A DOJ official told Fox News the department is already planning a similar surge of prosecutorial resources in other states. Bondi’s remarks, first reported by the New York Post, come as the department continues a welfare fraud investigation that broke open under former Attorney General Merrick Garland. In 2022, Garland announced the first wave of indictments in what he said was a $250 million scheme perpetrated by a Minnesota-based nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, which was found to have exploited taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs. Garland described it at the time as the "largest pandemic relief fraud to date.” The DOJ under Bondi has continued to investigate and prosecute those involved with Feeding Our Future and tangential schemes involving alleged juror bribery and healthcare fraud. Bondi recently said the scale of the fraud is greater than previously known and that more criminal charges are coming, likely with the help of the additional prosecutors now set to work in the DOJ’s Minnesota office.

FOX News [1/7/2026 9:40 AM, Andrew Mark Miller, 40621K] reports a major state audit in Minnesota conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor found widespread failures and internal control problems in the Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant program, reaffirming concerns about massive fraud issues. The report, released on Monday, found that between July 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2024, DHS dished out more than $425 million in grants to 830 organizations, the majority being nongovernmental, and did not show proper oversight in watching over those taxpayer funds, which in many cases were meant to help those with addiction and mental health issues. The audit found missing progress reports and discovered BHA could not show it had completed all required monitoring visits and had no documentation at all for some of them. Additionally, auditors discovered what appeared to be backdated or newly created documentation that did not exist before the audit, suggesting an effort to retroactively manufacture paperwork to show compliance. In one instance, the report found that a grant manager approved over $600,000 in payments and later left the government agency to work for the grantee. "The OLA report shows a complete breakdown in how DHS’s Behavioral Health Administration manages hundreds of millions in taxpayer-funded grants," Republican State Sen. Mark Koran said in a press release. "BHA failed to verify that grantees were providing the services they were paid for, failed to put basic financial controls in place, and then created documentation after the fact to mislead auditors. "Minnesotans deserve integrity from state agencies. Fabricating evidence after an audit begins is unacceptable. It obstructs the OLA’s work and prevents DHS from correcting its failures. The finding that a DHS manager approved a large grant and later became a paid consultant for that same grantee is a blatant conflict of interest. This kind of misconduct erodes public trust and undermines the effectiveness of grant programs.” The audit also found that when employees were surveyed, 73% of them said they did not receive the necessary training to properly administer manage grants, with one employee saying, "Executive leadership has repetitively shown staff that they won’t take the staff’s concerns or questions seriously until something serious happens or it makes the news.” Minnesota’s government agencies are already under heavy scrutiny amid a fraud scandal that prosecutors say could total as much as $9 billion and has already forced Gov. Tim Walz to drop his re-election bid. "Today’s shocking report by the Legislative Auditor shows a culture of pervasive fraud, negligence, and deception," Republican House Speaker DeMuth said about the report.

New York Times [1/7/2026 7:26 PM, Billy Witz, 135475K] reports Mike DeWine finally had enough. The social media storm of misinformation stirred by a child care fraud scandal in Minnesota that implicated dozens of Somali immigrants was spreading, and now another Somali community, in Columbus, the capital of Ohio, was being targeted. So after a statement by his office last week did little to tamp down the false claims, Mr. DeWine, the state’s governor, summoned reporters to a news conference this week to scold people who had posted videos fueling speculation of suspicious activity at child care centers in Ohio, which has a sizable Somali population. President Trump has called Somalis “garbage,” and immigrants from the East African country have been vilified by administration officials, which appears to have encouraged social media campaigns like the ones Mr. DeWine was trying to counter. “We need to look at this as not a Somali problem, we need to look at this as a fraud problem,” said Mr. DeWine, whose exasperation recalled his effort to rebut fictitious claims that Mr. Trump amplified during the 2024 presidential campaign that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were eating their neighbors’ cats and dogs. At the news conference on Monday, Mr. DeWine, 79, a Republican in his last year in office, marshaled a litany of facts to try to refute the baseless rumors being pushed by some far-right members of his own party. He noted that the state subsidizes day care for more than 100,000 children and that there are nearly 5,200 child care centers in Ohio. State officials conducted more than 10,000 unannounced checks on child care centers last year, he continued. A phone line for child care fraud yielded 124 tips for investigators last year, he went on. The state closed 38 child care facilities last year for failing to comply with state laws, he said. But facts can seem like little match for the right-wing, social media-fueled narrative that a vast fraud scheme in Minnesota child care centers, which has led to the indictments of dozens of people of Somali heritage, was part of a nationwide scandal.

ABC News [1/7/2026 1:46 PM, Luis Martinez, 30493K] reports the U.S. seized the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker -- formerly known as the Bella-1 -- which has been linked to Venezuela and was transiting the North Atlantic, according to three sources familiar with the operation. And it also seized another tanker, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The operation for the Marinera was being carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard and other military assets, according to one source. Russian military vessels were in the area as the situation unfolded. In a post on X, U.S. European Command confirmed the seizure of the tanker in the North Atlantic. "In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding of two ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ships -- one in the North Atlantic Sea and one in international waters near the Caribbean," Noem said in a post on X. "Both vessels -- the Motor Tanker Bella 1 and the Motor [Tanker] Sophia -- were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.” The U.S. Coast Guard has been tracking the Marinera tanker for the last two weeks after attempting to seize it on Dec. 20 when the empty ship was in the Caribbean and apparently headed to Venezuela. On Dec. 31 the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping listed the ship -- with the new name of Marinera -- as a Russian vessel. The ship’s crew also painted a Russian flag on the ship’s side. NewsMax [1/7/2026 11:15 AM, Staff, 4109K] reports U.S. European Command announced the seizure of the merchant vessel Bella 1 for "violations of U.S. sanctions" in a social media post. The U.S. had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a U.S. blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela. Then, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem revealed that U.S. forces also took control of the tanker Sophia in the Caribbean. Noem said in a social media post both ships were "either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.” Noem said that both ships are part of a large "ghost fleet" of sanctioned vessels that carry oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela in defiance of Western sanctions, mostly to customers in Asia. The two seizures come just days after U.S. military forces conducted a surprise nighttime raid on Venezuela’s capital of Caracas and captured then-President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, whom President Donald Trump’s administration has accused of partnering with drug traffickers. Since that raid, officials in Trump’s Republican administration have said that they intend to continue to seize sanctioned vessels connected to the country. "We are enforcing American laws with regards to oil sanctions," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC on Sunday. "We go to court. We get a warrant. We seize those boats with oil. And that will continue.” The U.S. military seized the Bella 1 and subsequently handed over control of it to law enforcement officials, said a U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. The U.S. Coast Guard attempted to board it in the Caribbean in December as it headed for Venezuela. The ship refused boarding and headed across the Atlantic. U.S. European Command confirmed that the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro tracked the ship ahead of its seizure "pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court" in a social media post. During this time, the Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, shipping databases show. The U.S. official also confirmed that the ship’s crew had painted a Russian flag on the side of the hull. Bloomberg [1/7/2026 10:49 AM Ellen Milligan, Alex Wickham, and Weilun Soon, 18207K] reports that the first ship, the M/V Bella 1, was seized in the Atlantic south of Iceland after a chase that began weeks ago when the vessel evaded capture near Venezuela and registered under a Russian flag in a bid to protect itself. The Pentagon then announced the seizure of the M/T Sophia, another sanctioned vessel that officials said had been conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea. “The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X. The US European Command said the Bella 1 was seized for sanctions violations “pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court” after being tracked by a US Coast Guard vessel. The capture of the two ships risks inflaming tensions with Russia. The Bella 1, sanctioned in 2024, had switched to a Russian flag — its crew even painted the Russian tricolor on its hull — and changed its name to the Marinera. Russia had sent a submarine and other naval assets to provide an escort for the vessel and asked the US to stop pursuing the vessel, the Wall Street Journal reported. NPR [1/7/2026 12:59 PM, Bill Chappell and Greg Myre, 28013K] reports that in a post on X, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stated, "In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding of two ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ships.” The Bella-1 and the Sophia "were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it," Noem said.

Wall Street Journal [1/7/2026 4:58 PM, Shelby Holliday, Costas Paris, Lara Seligman, 646K] reports the U.S. accelerated its campaign against a shadow fleet of tankers that ship Venezuelan oil, with the military forcibly boarding a ship being escorted by the Russian navy and seizing another tanker near the Caribbean Sea. The confiscation of the two tankers extended an extraordinary string of actions on the high seas by U.S. Defense Department and Coast Guard personnel, which are targeting vessels around Venezuela that the administration says are engaging in deceptive practices and carrying illicit oil shipments. Four vessels are now in U.S. custody, and the quasi-embargo in the Caribbean has crippled Venezuelan oil exports. The Justice Department is monitoring several more tankers for similar enforcement action, Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X. The seizures mark another escalation in President Trump’s pledge to take control of the Venezuelan oil industry, coming in the days after the U.S. deposed the country’s leader Nicolás Maduro and said Venezuela would give the U.S. 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil—as much as 15% of the country’s output. One broker estimated the value at between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion. Early on Wednesday, a special-operations force boarded a ship called the Marinera, a tanker formerly known as the Bella 1. The Coast Guard had been pursuing the vessel for two weeks on an odyssey that began near Venezuela and ended south of Iceland, U.S. officials said. Over that time, the ship—which wasn’t carrying any oil—changed its name and claimed Russian protection. Adding to the stakes: A Russian navy ship and submarine began escorting the ship, the officials said. The submarine had been communicating with the tanker over the past three days, some of the officials said, and video from the Marinera was broadcast on RT, a Russian-state backed news channel. The U.K. helped support the U.S. operation, British Defense Secretary John Healey said, adding: “This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fueling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.” Meanwhile, in the Atlantic near the Caribbean, U.S. forces seized a tanker Wednesday, the Sophia, according to U.S. authorities. The tanker was trying to evade the U.S. blockade, according to a person familiar with the matter. In a social-media post, U.S. Southern Command said that the vessel was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities, and that the U.S. Coast Guard was escorting the ship to the U.S. In footage posted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday, armed U.S. forces can be seen boarding and searching the ship during a predawn raid. “The world’s criminals are on notice. You can run, but you can’t hide,” said Noem announcing the seizures on X. She added that the Coast Guard, which has law-enforcement authority on the high seas, conducted the boardings in coordination with the U.S. departments of Defense, Justice and State.

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ABC News [1/7/2026 11:11 AM, Staff, 30493K] reports the U.S. seized the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker, which has been linked to Venezuela and was transiting the North Atlantic, sources said. It also seized another tanker, according to Noem. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [1/7/2026 11:38 AM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4109K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday that criminals around the world "are on notice" after U.S. Coast Guard tactical teams carried out predawn boarding operations on "two ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ships.” "Both vessels — the Motor Tanker Bella I and the Motor Tanker Sophia — were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it," Noem wrote in a post on X, adding that one was seized "in the North Atlantic Sea and one in international waters near the Caribbean.” The operations, which took place within hours of each other, were the result of "President [Donald] Trump’s bold and visionary leadership," Noem said. Coast Guard teams worked in close coordination with counterparts across the federal government, including the Justice and State departments, to apprehend the tankers in the back-to-back seizures. "You can run, but you can’t hide," Noem wrote. "We will never relent in our mission to protect the American people and disrupt the funding of narco terrorism wherever we find it, period.” According to Noem, one of the tankers — the Bella I — had been trying to evade U.S. authorities for weeks. She said the vessel even changed its flag and painted a new name on the hull while being pursued, "in a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice.” The crew of the USCGC Munro tracked the ship across open waters and through harsh weather conditions, Noem said, keeping constant watch until the boarding could be executed. "The heroic crew ... pursued this vessel across the high seas and through treacherous storms," Noem wrote, praising their "determination and patriotism.” "These brave men and women deserve our nation’s thanks for their selfless devotion to duty," she said in the post.

New York Times [1/8/2026 12:00 AM, Paul Sonne and Michael Schwirtz, 153395K] reports the shadow fleet is stepping out of the shadows. As the U.S. military chased a dilapidated oil tanker away from Venezuela and across the Atlantic Ocean in recent days, the fugitive ship changed its identity. Previously known as the Bella 1, the vessel rebranded as the Marinera. It no longer claimed to come from Guyana. Its new flag, painted hastily on the hull by the crew in the middle of the chase, was the Russian tricolor. The ship’s harried assumption of a Russian identity was probably intended to deter the United States from pursuing the vessel and to raise the specter of a Russian response to any seizure, according to maritime experts. The U.S. military proceeded anyway and intercepted the ship on Wednesday in the waters between Iceland and Scotland. Russia so far has not mounted a significant response. Still, the ship’s embrace of the Russian flag is part of a broader trend in which so-called shadow tanker vessels have sought the imprimatur of Russian protection as Western nations have stepped up enforcement against the illicit oil trade around the globe. Five tankers that have operated recently in Venezuelan waters, including the Marinera, have switched their flags to Russia in recent days, according to a Times analysis. All of the vessels have been subjected to U.S. sanctions for shipping either Iranian or Russian oil.

New York Times [1/7/2026 6:11 PM, Nicholas Nehamas, et al., 135475K] reports the United States on Wednesday seized an oil tanker in the North Atlantic that had evaded its effort to crack down on Venezuela’s energy exports, U.S. officials said, capping a pursuit that had lasted more than two weeks and raised tensions with Russia. Around the same time, U.S. forces boarded another oil tanker in international waters near the Caribbean, a sign that President Trump planned to continue to enforce a partial blockade on Venezuelan oil as he pressured the country’s new leader. The first tanker, formerly known as the Bella 1 and recently re-registered with Russia as the Marinera, had eluded the U.S. Coast Guard after being stopped in the Caribbean on its way to pick up oil in Venezuela. Its crew began flying a Russian flag in a last-ditch effort to avoid seizure while Russia dispatched at least one naval vessel to meet and escort the ship. Russia made a formal diplomatic request last week asking the United States to stop its pursuit. But there were no Russian vessels in the area when the Coast Guard boarded the ship on Wednesday morning, averting the possibility of an armed standoff between the two countries, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the operation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The crew of the tanker did not resist the boarding attempt, one of the U.S. officials said. The vessel was not carrying oil when it was boarded. Still, the military dispatched a large force to assist the Coast Guard, including a Navy P-8 submarine-hunting aircraft and AC-130 gunships. Several U.S. military aircraft left bases in Britain on Wednesday morning heading toward the tanker, according to flight-tracking sites. The ship had been sailing northeast in the Atlantic in Iceland’s exclusive economic zone and near that of Britain, according to ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said in a statement on Wednesday that the Marinera had made “a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice.” She commended the Coast Guard for pursuing it “across the high seas and through treacherous storms.” At a news briefing on Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that members of the Marinera crew — which had sailed the vessel away from the Coast Guard’s first boarding attempt last month — could face legal action. “They will be brought to the United States for such prosecution, if necessary,” Ms. Leavitt said.

Breitbart [1/7/2026 11:48 AM, Staff, 2416K] reports Russia dispatched naval vessels to protect an oil tanker being chased across the Atlantic by the U.S. military for evading American sanctions and transporting Iranian oil. U.S. officials said Russia sent two naval ships and a submarine to escort the Russian-flagged Marinera, which is currently in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Britain, heading northeast. The United States has deployed at least 10 special-ops military aircraft and transporter aircraft thought to be carrying helicopters to RAF bases in the United Kingdom in recent days, possibly in preparation for an interdiction. The U.S. Coast Guard attempted to execute a warrant to seize the tanker in the Caribbean in December, when it was believed to be headed to Venezuela in contravention of a partial U.S. blockade, with U.S. officials saying Tuesday that U.S. forces now planned to board it. The BBC said it had verified footage from the bridge of the Marinera showing a U.S. Coast Guard Legend-class vessel off at some distance. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring the situation with “concern” and complained about what it said was unwarranted attention from the United States and its NATO allies. “At present, our vessel is sailing in the international waters of the North Atlantic under the state flag of the Russian Federation and in full compliance with the norms of international maritime law. For reasons unclear to us, the Russian ship is being given increased and clearly disproportionate attention by the U.S. and NATO military, despite its peaceful status,” said the ministry.

Reuters [1/7/2026 11:28 AM, Lucy Papachristou and Mark Trevelyan, 36480K] reports Russia said on Wednesday that the U.S. seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic was a violation of maritime law, and a senior lawmaker described it as "outright piracy". Russia’s Transport Ministry said contact with the vessel, the Marinera, had been lost after U.S. naval forces boarded it near Iceland as part of efforts to block oil exports from Venezuela. "In accordance with the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states," the ministry said in a statement. Russia is demanding that the United States ensure humane and decent treatment of the Russian crew members and their swift return home, state news agency TASS quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying. The Marinera, originally known as the Bella-1, had previously slipped through a U.S. maritime blockade of sanctioned tankers in the Caribbean. The blockade was part of a U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela that culminated when President Donald Trump sent in U.S. special forces on January 3 to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking charges, which he has denied. "After a ‘law enforcement operation’ that killed several dozen people in Venezuela, the U.S. has engaged in outright piracy on the high seas," Andrei Klishas, a lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, posted on Telegram. Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Wednesday’s operation was carried out by the Coast Guard and U.S. military. They said Russian military vessels, including a submarine, were in the general vicinity. There were no indications of any confrontation between U.S. and Russian military forces.

FOX News [1/7/2026 9:44 PM, Emma Bussey Fox, 40621K] Video: Here reports the seizure of a Russian-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic has highlighted "worry" among NATO and Nordic-Baltic governments over dark fleet vessels and the type of crews onboard, according to a maritime intelligence analyst. U.S. military and Coast Guard personnel boarded the Marinera between Iceland and the U.K. Wednesday as it operated under deceptive shipping practices, including flying a false flag and violating sanctions. According to Reuters, Russian authorities demanded the humane treatment and repatriation of the crew members. Windward maritime intelligence analyst Michelle Wiese Bockmann claimed the Marinera’s ownership had just been transferred to Burevestmarin LLC, a Russian company. "We do not know the status of these sailors and seafarers, who are Russian nationals," Wiese Bockmann told Fox News Digital. "That lack of clarity is common with dark fleet tankers. "The Marinera did have its ownership transferred to a newly formed Russian company, with the registered owner, ship manager and commercial manager being Burevestmarin LLC.”

AP [1/7/2026 5:02 PM, Konstantin Toropin, 14862K] reports the U.S. has seized two sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela in back-to-back actions in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean, officials said Wednesday. U.S. European Command announced the seizure of the merchant vessel Bella 1 for "violations of U.S. sanctions" in a social media post. The U.S. had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a U.S. blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela. Then, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem revealed that U.S. forces also took control of the tanker Sophia in the Caribbean in a social media post. Noem said both ships were "either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.” The U.S. military seized the Bella 1 and handed over control of it to law enforcement officials, said a U.S. official, who spoke to the Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. The ship was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. The U.S. Coast Guard attempted to board it in the Caribbean in December as it headed for Venezuela. The ship refused boarding and headed across the Atlantic. During this time, the Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, shipping databases show. The U.S. official also confirmed that the ship’s crew had painted a Russian flag on the side of the hull. Earlier Wednesday, open-source maritime tracking sites showed its position as between Scotland and Iceland, traveling north. The U.S. official also confirmed the ship was in the North Atlantic. U.S. military planes have flown over the vessel, and on Tuesday a Royal Air Force surveillance plane was shown on flight-tracking sites flying over the same area.

New York Post [1/7/2026 6:51 PM, Staff, 42219K] reports Kudos to President Donald Trump for clamping down on the "ghost fleet" tankers that flagrantly dodge sanctions on rogue nations like Venezuela and Iran. On Wednesday, the US military and Coast Guard took control of two tankers that had tried to run the blockade of Venezuela — including one ship, Bella 1, that tried to evade capture by changing its name to the "Marinera" in mid-chase, re-registering as a Russian ship and painting a Russian flag on its hull. A gambit Moscow was rushing in forces to back up, as Vladimir Putin again showed his true colors. The Biden team sanctioned Bella 1 in 2024 for carrying black-market Iranian oil; Trump is simply enforcing the law here — taking action to support the liberal international order. Dovish pols the world around love to impose sanctions as an alternative to military force against rogue regimes; they seem oh-so-civilized. But they’re meaningless without enforcement, which still requires force. It’s like the liberal "solution" of ever-stricter gun regulation — rendered useless if they won’t lock up people caught breaking the law. Trump is showing the world what real sanctions entail, ones that aren’t empty finger-wagging. But he should note Moscow’s behavior: Putin didn’t just let Bella 1 slip into a Russian disguise; he reportedly dispatched a submarine and other naval assets to chaperone the ship back to Russian waters.

FOX News [1/7/2026 7:14 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports U.S. Coast Guard vessels track sanctioned crude oil carrier Bella 1 before it was seized by the the United States in the North Atlantic early Wednesday.

OutKick [1/7/2026 10:56 AM, David Hookstead] reports the United States crushed a pair of oil tankers Wednesday morning, and the footage is glorious. President Donald Trump and the U.S. military have made stopping sanctioned ships and oil a top priority. Choking out our enemies of resources is simply a smart strategic play. The U.S. previously seized a pair of tankers tied to Venezuela prior to the downfall of now-deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro. Now, we’ve bagged and tagged two more. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Wednesday morning that a pair of tankers in the "ghost fleet" were taken in "back-to-back" raids. The ghost fleet is a fleet of ships used by Russia, Venezuela and Iran to get around sanctions. "One of these tankers, Motor Tanker Bella I, has been trying to evade the Coast Guard for weeks, even changing its flag and painting a new name on the hull while being pursued, in a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice. The heroic crew of the USCGC Munro pursued this vessel across the high seas and through treacherous storms— keeping diligent watch, and protecting our country with the determination and patriotism that make Americans proud. These brave men and women deserve our nation’s thanks for their selfless devotion to duty," Noem tweeted, in part.

NewsMax [1/7/2026 11:17 AM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 4109K] reports that the U.S. should "control the dollars that Venezuela gets from selling oil," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told Newsmax on Wednesday as the U.S. Coast Guard was moving to board a Venezuelan oil tanker that had been reflagged as a Russian vessel. Cassidy said on "National Report" that the United States’ efforts against Venezuela are about preventing revenue from flowing to "crooks associated" with former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and instead directing oil money toward democratic and institutional reforms. If Maduro-aligned figures can profit from tanker sales, Cassidy noted, "they can continue to have a parallel government in Venezuela." Cassidy acknowledged there is risk involved in boarding operations but framed the broader objective as limiting the ability of U.S. adversaries to use Venezuelan resources. Venezuela will ultimately cooperate because the administration intends to control the movement of oil exports, he said. "Now they’re going to try and sneak that oil out," added Cassidy. "And the president’s [Donald Trump’s] been pretty adamant … we’re going to control where that oil goes.” Cassidy said the issue has become a national security concern because "China, Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah are in Venezuela collaborating against us" with the activities funded through oil sales. Cassidy also said he has been told Iran is manufacturing drones in Venezuela that have a range that could reach the U.S. Gulf Coast.

NewsMax [1/7/2026 12:00 PM, Brian Freeman, 4109K] reports that the Trump administration’s back-to-back Coast Guard operations targeting Venezuelan-linked "ghost fleet" tankers send a warning to criminal networks and hostile regimes that the United States will no longer tolerate narco-terrorism or illicit oil trafficking, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Wednesday. Hagerty, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, appeared on "National Report" shortly after leaving a classified emergency briefing and praised the coordinated maritime seizures announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Hagerty called the moves a decisive break from what he described as years of empty rhetoric under previous administrations. "The world is on notice that we are not going to tolerate this anymore," Hagerty said. "President Trump has delivered not with words, but with actions. This isn’t a presidency that’s doing press releases. "What you saw in previous administrations is a lot of talk but not a lot of action. President Trump has stepped up and taken decisive action here to take out one of the greatest narco-terrorists.” Hagerty pointed to the Coast Guard’s pre-dawn boarding of two tanker ships — one in the North Atlantic and another in international waters near the Caribbean — as evidence of a zero-tolerance strategy aimed at cutting off funding streams tied to narco-terrorism and corruption. Noem said the vessels were either last docked in Venezuela or en route there, and warned criminal actors that U.S. enforcement efforts will not relent. "The world’s criminals are on notice," Noem said in a statement. "You can run, but you can’t hide."

USA Today [1/7/2026 1:16 PM, Bart Jansen, 67103K] reports that up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil will begin arriving in the United States "very soon" after the capture of Nicolas Maduro, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. U.S. officials have already begun marketing the sanctioned oil to the rest of the world, Leavitt said. Revenue from the sales will be deposited in U.S.-controlled accounts and disbursed to both countries indefinitely, she said. "That’s not only good for the United States, but it’s also going to revive the prosperity, the safety and security of both the United States and Venezuela as well," Leavitt told reporters Jan. 7. Oil companies, banks will help sell Venezuelan oil: Leavitt. Details about how the oil will be handled are still being hashed out. But Leavitt’s comments helped illuminate how Venezuelan oil will be handled days after the U.S. military seized Maduro and brought him to New York to face charges of narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking. Energy Secretary Chris Wright was meeting in Miami on Jan. 7 with oil executives aiming to restore the industry in Venezuela. Another meeting is scheduled Jan. 9 at the White House. "There is a lot of private-sector engagement that is happening right now," Leavitt said. Leavitt declined to say how long U.S. control of the oil would last. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others are developing the long-term plans.

Breitbart [1/7/2026 5:31 AM, Christian K. Caruzo, 2416K] reports Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told Fox News’ Jesse Waters on Tuesday the Florida Attorney General’s office is "looking very seriously" at bringing state charges against deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. "I’ll also say that I know they indicted him in the Southern District of New York. We also have the right as a state to bring pertinent charges in state court, and we’re working on that," Gov. deSantis said. "Our attorney general is leading that effort. And you may see charges filed in a place like Miami or Doral, which we’re entitled to do," he continued. Gov. deSantis said that he has seen the celebrations of Maduro’s downfall that have taken place in Doral and Miami, and explained that "this has been a long time coming." "Both Hugo Chávez and Maduro, they tanked the country of Venezuela, massive oil reserves, gold reserves, affluent country, and basically the Marxist takeover destroyed it and destroyed their society so that people were left to eat trash," he said. "Millions and millions of people fled out of Venezuela. So this is being greeted very positively," he continued.

Washington Post [1/7/2026 1:20 PM, Staff, 24149K] reports that the Trump administration has had lots to say about pressuring Venezuela’s government, but it has been mostly silent on an urgent issue: freeing wrongfully detained prisoners, especially Americans. In the lead-up to the extradition operation, the Venezuelan government wrongfully detained several U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The United States certainly has plenty of leverage to press Caracas to free the handful of Americans that remain in its custody — such as 28-year-old James Luckey-Lange, who was taken after entering the country in December. No doubt, the administration will exercise that leverage, just as it did in negotiating the release of 10 Americans from the country earlier this year as part of a broader prisoner swap. The pressure cannot end there. The socialist regime has a long, well-documented record of jailing critics and subjecting them to harsh conditions, including physical and psychological torture. Human rights groups estimate that between 800 and 900 people are currently imprisoned for political reasons, often charged with crimes such as terrorism or conspiring to overthrow the government simply for criticizing the government. Many have never been convicted, yet they remain behind bars for months on end. The regime will not suddenly change on its own. In fact, the government has cracked down on dissent since Maduro’s capture, directing authorities to search for and arrest “any person involved in the promotion of or support for the armed attack by the U.S.” More than a dozen journalists, including from foreign outlets, have been detained and interrogated.

FOX News [1/7/2026 8:34 PM, Michael Sinkewicz, 40621K] reports President Donald Trump on Wednesday said arrangements are being made for representatives of the United States and Colombia to meet at the White House. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Colombian President Gustavo Petro "called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements" between the two countries, adding the two leaders are expected to meet in the near future. "It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had," Trump wrote. "I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.” Trump said arrangements were also being coordinated between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Colombia’s foreign minister, adding the meeting will take place at the White House. The announcement came after Trump issued a warning to the Colombian president following a U.S. military operation over the weekend that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife. "Colombia’s very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday. When asked by a reporter to clarify his remarks, Trump claimed Petro has "cocaine mills and cocaine factories.” When Trump was asked if the U.S. would carry out an operation in Colombia, he responded, "It sounds good to me.” On Monday, Petro responded to Trump’s comments, saying he would "take up arms" against the U.S. if it attacks his country. "Although I have not been a military man, I know about war and clandestinity," Petro wrote in a post on X, translated to English from Spanish. "I swore not to touch a weapon again since the 1989 Peace Pact, but for the Homeland I will take up arms again that I do not want.” Petro also dismissed Trump’s claims that he is linked to drug trafficking. "I am not illegitimate, nor am I a narco," he wrote. "I only have as assets my family home that I still pay for with my salary. My bank statements have been published. No one could say that I have spent more than my salary. I am not greedy." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [1/7/2026 5:16 AM, Staff, 2416K] reports the Justice Department has sued Arizona and Connecticut for refusing to hand over their full voter registration lists, making them the 22nd and 23rd states to be targeted by the Trump administration in its litigious campaign over voter data ahead of the midterm elections. The lawsuits were filed Tuesday, with Attorney General Pam Bondi arguing she is charged by Congress to ensure that states have proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs. She also threatened that she has the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to demand the statewide voter registration lists. "Accurate voter rolls are the foundation of election integrity, and any state that fails to meet this basic obligation of transparency can expect to see us in court," she said in a statement. The Justice Department has sent demands for the voter registration rolls to at least 40 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. All states except North Dakota require citizens to register with election officials, with the information forming voter registration rolls. The demands for these rolls, which include private and sensitive information, have raised concerns among both voting-rights groups, who say the Trump administration may try to undermine elections, and immigration advocates worried the rolls could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security.

FOX News [1/7/2026 10:38 AM, Max Bacall, 40621K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned California Gov. Gavin Newsom that federal investigators are headed west after uncovering what she described as massive fraud in Minnesota public programs. "We’re going to come to you, Governor Newsom, and we’re going to arrest every single individual that has ties to this kind of stealing of taxpayer dollars, and we will hold them accountable," Noem said on "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Tuesday. "We’ll bring them to justice.” Noem’s warning came one day after President Donald Trump called California "more corrupt than any place," including Minnesota. Newsom responded Monday, saying he welcomes "partnering" with the president on the issue. "If he has some unique insight and information, I look forward to partnering with him. Can’t stand fraud, can’t stand waste and abuse," he told MS NOW. Recent Homeland Security operations in Minnesota revealed widespread fraud tied to public assistance programs and saw "hundreds and hundreds" of arrests. Noem said she thinks the scandal is "just the tip of the iceberg.” "It is leading us to networks all over the country and overseas, and we’re gonna follow every single one of them.” The fraud, which Noem called "unprecedented," involved criminals allegedly siphoning money meant for Medicaid and developmental services to fund "luxury homes and vacations.” She accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of ignoring warnings from state employees who raised concerns about fraudulent businesses and nonprofits collecting government funds, and said Democrats attempted to cover it up.

Chicago Tribune [1/7/2026 11:48 AM, Charles Selle, 4829K] reports we now know how much it cost to round up some 4,500 undocumented immigrants in Chicagoland last year. The figure is government excess at its greatest. According to a Chicago Tribune report, the administration of President Donald Trump spent more than $59 million, some of it on federal agents as they traversed Lake County seeking “the worst of the worst” among those here without legal documentation. That’s a lot of federal funding that could have been spent in numerous other ways to make the lives of all Americans better. Especially considering that an estimated 60% of those snatched by Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawmen were peaceful and hard-working family folks. They were not bloodthirsty fugitives. The psychological cost over the years for families affected by the surge will surely be even higher. That $59 million pricetag was charged to what is expected to be a blossoming and record federal debt of $38 trillion in 2026. The president has no appetite for raising taxes, instead preferring a menu of “free” money and tax breaks to buy votes in November’s mid-term elections, where control of Congress will be up for grabs. Adding to the blooming debt was the action last weekend to bring Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro to justice for alleged narco-terrorism. Still to be revealed is the cost of operating a fleet of Black Hawk helicopters, along with keeping Navy cruisers and aircraft carriers on station for months off the South American nation. Right after beginning his second four-year term, Trump sought to slash the federal budget and shrink the size of government through DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency), the special commission headed by Elon Musk, the richest man on the globe. We’ve since found that no real money was saved while thousands of federal employees were furloughed. Then they were mostly rehired. After that, the entire federal system was interrupted as the government was shut down for 43 days, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 2, a record amount of time. Yet, the administration during “Operation Midway Blitz” raids in the region beginning last fall had no qualms about dishing out that $59 million to purge the region of the 4,500 undocumented. That’s senseless spending and a poor return on investment, something one-time businessman Trump should realize.

Washington Post [1/7/2026 6:41 PM, Staff, 24149K] reports Wednesday’s daring boarding of the sanctioned oil tanker Marinera off the coast of Iceland by U.S. Special Forces brings to four the number of ships seized by the Trump administration as part of its enforcement of an oil embargo against Venezuela. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the seizure was part of “stabilization” efforts for Venezuela. Look closer, and a different valence emerges to this story: The whole episode has Cold War overtones, with a hint of Tom Clancy. Taken as part of broader trends, the successful operation suggests Trump has markedly cooled toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. This tanker, previously known as the Bella 1, was registered in Panama. It left Iran in late November and sailed to Venezuela. Days after its crew repelled a U.S. Coast Guard attempt to board, the Kremlin hastily allowed it to reflag itself as a Russian vessel, waiving all normal procedures for doing so. The Bella 1 then changed its name to the Marinera and set sail toward Russia. Once it was officially registered as Russian, the Coast Guard suspended attempts to board. But the Trump administration kept tracking it. This week, U.S. officials said Moscow had deployed a submarine and other naval assets to meet the Marinera and escort it. The Kremlin reportedly asked the U.S. to back off and said it was monitoring the situation "with concern." To their credit, the Trump administration ignored Moscow and took the ship anyway. This isn’t the first time Trump has flipped Putin the bird in the past week. "I’m not thrilled with Putin. He’s killing too many people," Trump icily said during his news conference after Saturday’s snatch-and-grab operation against Nicolás Maduro. His lack of enthusiasm has something to do with Putin lying to him directly. Shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Mar-a-Lago, Putin told Trump that Ukraine had launched a drone attack on one of his homes. "I was very angry about it," Trump said. A week later, the president publicly walked that back, a rare acknowledgment he was wrong. "I don’t believe that strike happened," Trump said, "now that we’ve been able to check.”

Washington Post [1/7/2026 6:33 PM, Staff, 24149K] reports the shooting of a 37-year-old woman by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis is a tragedy, no matter what narrative emerges as more information becomes available. It’s important to ascertain all the facts about the deadly encounter and not rush to judgement. Yet videos of the scene, and an already overheated political environment, risk more violence. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said the driver, identified as U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good, attempted to “run over” law enforcement officers in an act of “domestic terrorism” that required an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer to fire three shots. Trump posted on social media that the driver “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.” Yet, while additional information can always emerge, so far social media clips do not show a situation that would justify using deadly force. Disregarding instructions from police is unacceptable, and any violence against law enforcement ought to be prosecuted, but it’s unclear if the woman intended to hit anyone with her vehicle. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said the National Guard is ready to deploy if riots break out, something he was too slow to do after George Floyd’s murder in 2020. But he pleaded with protesters to remain peaceful. “They want a show,” he said. “We can’t give it to them.” Walz is right that Trump could use unrest to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy U.S. troops to Minnesota. (A recent defeat at the Supreme Court otherwise limited his authority to commandeer the National Guard.) The president posted on social media: “We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!” Americans have the right to voice their frustration, but they should remember that violence undermines their message and distracts from potential accountability for the shooting. The uglier protests get, the easier it will be for the Trump administration to distract from scrutiny of the shooting.

New York Post [1/7/2026 6:11 PM, Staff, 42219K] reports remarkably, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is right: Wednesday’s deadly shooting in Minneapolis was "so preventable, so unnecessary" — that "protester" didn’t need to be blocking ICE agents in the first place, let along gunning her SUV at them. The left bears full blame for this bloodshed. Her car hit the agent before he shot her; he wound up hospitalized. Attack someone with a deadly weapon — that’s attempted vehicular homicide even if it wasn’t intentional. The officers did not know her motives. So this is what happens. Especially when you target a federal officer who’s simply doing his job. Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin was entirely right to call this "an act of domestic terrorism.” Yet Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rushed to blame Team Trump for attempting to enforce the law? Yes, it was aggressive for the feds to deploy some 2,000 immigration agents in Minneapolis this week — but far more aggressive for protesters to try to block them.

The Washington Post [1/7/2026 7:12 PM, Andrea Sachs, 24149K] reports Avelo Airlines will stop flying deportation charters for the Department of Homeland Security, ending its service for Immigration and Customs Enforcement after less than a year. Since publicizing its new business arrangement in April, the low-fare carrier faced protests, boycotts and backlash from travelers, flight attendant unions, local politicians and immigration activists. The Houston-based airline said in a statement it will focus on commercial air. It will close its base at Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona on Jan. 27. The ICE transports “provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs,” spokeswoman Courtney Goff said in an email. Goff did not say exactly when the company will cease ICE flights because CSI Aviation, the government contractor that manages them, will determine the timeline. “We do not control the schedules,” Goff said. Homeland Security did not reply to questions about Avelo’s exit from deportation operations or how the agency will fill the flights left by the carrier, which operated three Boeing 737-800s and provided a full cadre of staff. Last April, the carrier announced that it had signed a long-term contract with CSI Aviation. On May 12, it started transporting detained immigrants from Mesa, the strategic center of ICE Air Operations, about 20 miles east of Phoenix. At the time, Avelo CEO Andrew Levy said the company entered into the agreement for financial reasons. According to public records, ICE awarded CSI Aviation a contract in March that is now valued at more than $560 million. “We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic,” Levy said in a statement last year. “After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 Crewmembers employed for years to come.” Critics of the arrangement celebrated Avelo’s decision to cease deportation flights. Andrew Willis Garcés, a senior strategist with Siembra NC, a grassroots advocacy organization, called the decision “a victory for the thousands of people who have been protesting the airline for most of the last year, and all of their bases all over the country.” He said the Coalition to Stop Avelo has drawn about 100 organizations and thousands of demonstrators who showed up at dozens of airports with handmade signs and enlarged photos of immigrants. The groups also spearheaded boycotts and pressed legislators to stand up to Avelo. Last summer, Justin Elicker, the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, Avelo’s largest hub, barred city employees from using taxpayer dollars to book flights on the airline. In New York, state Sen. Patricia Fahy (D) sponsored the State Airport Facilities Enforcing Accountability in Immigration Removals (SAFE AIR) Act, which prohibits public entities from contracting with airlines that transport people detained by ICE without “being afforded due process rights.” The bill also bans certain tax exemptions on fuel sold to airlines that engage in such practices. Axios [1/7/2026 4:58 PM, Jason Lalljee, 12972K] reports advocacy groups across the country have decried the relatively young budget airline’s relationship with ICE. Avelo has been carrying out scheduled, full-aircraft flights for ICE, but some deportations can still occur on commercial flights. There have been reports that ICE uses false call signs and blocked tail numbers to disguise deportation flights from publicly-available trackers, making the exact number difficult to quantify, the AP reported last year. Over 80% of deportation flights are operated by Avelo, GlobalX, and Eastern Air Express, per the AP. Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security confirmed whether Avelo is the only commercial airline carrying out deportations. Bloomberg [1/7/2026 5:38 PM, Maya Averbuch and Siddharth Philip, 18207K] reports Avelo’s streamlining also includes the removal of six older Boeing Co. 737-700 planes and the closure of two bases in North Carolina. The North Carolina closures are unrelated to the decision to end work with DHS, according to the company. Avelo will focus operations around four current bases and open another in McKinney, Texas, to serve the Dallas area later in 2026, the airline said. Activists opposed to the company’s deportation flights sought to drive down Avelo’s ticket sales, including through protests at its Connecticut hub. Last year, Avelo conducted approximately 17% of flights for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement through Nov. 30, according to a tracker published by nonprofit Human Rights First. The flights are organized through aircraft broker CSI Aviation Inc. ICE carried out nearly 2,000 deportation flights from Jan. 20 to Nov. 30, the nonprofit tracker indicated. Avelo’s routes went to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [1/7/2026 4:41 PM, Doyinsola Oladipo, 36480K]
USA Today [1/7/2026 3:29 PM, Zach Wichter, 67103K]

Daily Wire [1/7/2026 8:06 AM, Leif Le Mahieu, 2494K] reports the latest batch of illegal aliens arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) includes a man convicted of sexually assaulting a child and another convicted of human trafficking, the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire. The "worst of the worst" arrests on Tuesday come as ICE enters 2026 with a 120% increase in manpower and looks to increase arrests and deportation numbers. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire that the increase in manpower meant that ICE was ready "to arrest even more criminal illegal aliens and get them OUT of our country.” "Another day, another round of pedophiles, violent thugs, and human traffickers removed from American communities," McLaughlin said. "Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is targeting removing the WORST OF THE WORST criminal illegal aliens terrorizing American families. Hiram Urgell-Pardo, an illegal alien from Mexico convicted of sexual assault of a child in Starr County, Texas. Randolfo Agusto Diaz-Cabrera, an illegal alien from the Dominican Republic convicted of course of second-degree sexual conduct against a child in Kings County, New York. Brett Archer, an illegal alien from Barbados convicted of assault in Brooklyn, New York. David Llama-Lopez, an illegal alien from Cuba convicted of human trafficking in Miami, Florida. Jimena Vaglio-Navarrete, an illegal alien from Costa Rica convicted of second-degree burglary in Iredell County, North Carolina. "The good news is that thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill that President Trump signed, we have an additional 12,000 ICE officers and agents on the ground across the country," McLaughlin said. "That’s a 120% increase in our workforce. And that’s in just about four months.”

Daily Caller [1/7/2026 12:03 PM, Adam Pack, 835K] reports Maine is set to become a de-facto sanctuary state for illegal immigrants in the final year of Democratic Governor Janet Mills’ term. Mills, a two-term governor vying to defeat Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins during November’s midterm elections, declined to veto a bill limiting local law enforcement’s collaboration with federal immigration authorities in December. Republicans and law enforcement groups argued the sanctuary state proposal will keep dangerous criminals on the street by shielding illegal immigrants from federal immigration enforcement. "Limiting cooperation between Maine law enforcement and federal authorities – a longstanding tradition due to Maine’s extensive foreign border – shows a reckless disregard for public safety and will put Maine’s public at risk," Maine state House Republicans said in a statement. "By restricting law enforcement access to individuals already in custody, this law shields criminals and weakens efforts to prevent crime." The bill passed the Democratic-controlled state legislature in June with no Republican support. Mills did not weigh in at the time, despite law enforcement groups speaking out against the measure. She chose not to sign or veto the measure, effectively allowing the legislation to become law when the state legislature reconvened Wednesday. "We cannot turn a blind eye to ICE’s [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] unacceptable actions, and so I have chosen to allow LD 1971 to become law," Mills wrote. ICE director Todd Lyons blasted Mills’ decision that would effectively tie the hands of local law enforcement to assist federal authorities. The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to crack down on jurisdictions that limit assistance with immigration enforcement.

Washington Post [1/7/2026 8:51 PM, Joe Heim, 24149K] reports the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday released a Maryland woman who was held for 25 days despite evidence that her lawyers say proves she was born in the United States and is a citizen. Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales, 22, walked out of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center Wednesday afternoon in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she was met by members of her legal team, according to one of her lawyers, Victoria Slatton. “We were afraid that it wasn’t really going to happen, and then when we saw her, it was very surreal and we were really, really happy,” Slatton said in an interview. “There was a lot of tearing up.” Slatton said the case against Diaz Morales has not yet been dismissed by the government and she could still face deportation proceedings. But Slatton is confident her client’s claim to citizenship has been established. “She is a U.S. citizen. She was born here. I think that we’ve presented more than enough evidence, but we will continue to fight it until every single court accepts and acknowledges it,” she said. Though she was relieved to see her client freed, Slatton said that the lengthy detention was unwarranted and unnecessary, and that evidence establishing Diaz Morales is a citizen was provided to the government within days of her arrest. “I am extremely happy that she was released today, and I hope that she is never taken into custody again,” Slatton said. “But I also want it known that she was in custody for 25 days, and it should not take as much evidence as we submitted or as much of a fight as we had for a U.S. citizen to be released from custody.” The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its decision to release Diaz Morales on Wednesday. Diaz Morales was arrested by ICE agents in Baltimore on Dec. 14 while she was leaving a Taco Bell with her younger sister. Her sister said Diaz Morales told the agents she was a U.S. citizen. DHS, using a different last name for Diaz Morales, said after her arrest that she was in the U.S. illegally. “Dulce Consuelo Madrigal Diaz is NOT a U.S. citizen — she is an illegal alien from Mexico,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement emailed to Washington Post in December. “She did NOT provide a valid U.S. birth certificate or any evidence in support of her claim that she is a U.S. citizen. On Dec. 14, ICE arrested this illegal alien in Baltimore. On Oct. 20, 2023, when CBP encountered her near Lukeville, Arizona, Madrigal-Diaz claimed she was a citizen of Mexico and was born on Oct. 18, 2003.” Four days after her arrest, a Maryland District Court judge barred the government from deporting Diaz Morales while the court considered a petition from her lawyers challenging the detention. According to her lawyers, Diaz Morales moved from the U.S. to Mexico with her family in 2009 or 2010 and returned in 2023 to escape cartel violence. They said she was stopped by immigration officers when she reentered the U.S. In January, she received a removal order from the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

Daily Caller [1/7/2026 11:07 AM, Jason Hopkins, 835K] reports a longtime sanctuary sheriff allegedly threatened a lawmaker over pro-immigration enforcement legislation and made employees drive to strip clubs. Democratic Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden is under investigation for corruption and other alleged impropriety, state officials confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. The accusations threaten the political career of the North Carolina sheriff, who has long opposed working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since entering office in late 2018. McFadden is facing calls to be removed from office on the grounds of "willful misconduct or maladministration in office," "corruption," "extortion" and other alleged unlawful activity, according to a letter Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather submitted to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). "The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has received a request from the Mecklenburg County District Attorney to investigate allegations contained in a petition for the removal of Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden," the SBI told the DCNF. "The request has been assigned to the SBI’s Professional Standards unit for investigation," the statement continued. Among the accusations against McFadden are a claim by State Rep. Carla Cunningham, a moderate Democrat who represents the Charlotte area, who says the sheriff called her and threatened her not to vote to override the governor’s veto of House Bill 318, which would require sheriffs in the state to keep illegal migrants wanted by ICE detained for up to 48 hours. The sheriff allegedly called Cunningham last year and said that individuals in her district would "come after" her if she voted in favor of the override and said, "I don’t want to see you get hurt, you live in my county," according to a sworn affidavit obtained by local media. The Democratic lawmaker believes the statements were "a threat by McFadden to either physically harm her, or to withdraw or refuse her any protection from members of the public who would physically harm her.”

Washington Times [1/7/2026 10:19 AM, Stephen Dinan, 852K] reports the General Services Administration barred a Hampton Inn in Minnesota from the government’s travel and lodging programs this week after the hotel refused to let ICE personnel make reservations. GSA said the hotel, in Lakeville, is no longer listed as an option for federal civilian or U.S. military employees traveling on government business. The hotel canceled reservations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel last week, saying in a message that it was “not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property.” GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said that was a “clear violation” of the federal government’s lodging program, which lists only hotels that offer rooms at or below the government’s per diem rate and agree to honor reservations from any federal agency. “The property has been removed from the programs and booking tools effective immediately. GSA unequivocally supports our federal law enforcement partners,” Mr. Forst said. Hampton Inn is part of the Hilton hotel family, but the Lakeville location is an independently operated franchise. The property issued a statement on Monday apologizing and saying it would rectify the situation. Hilton Hotels, though, said it was terminating the franchise from its system.

New York Post [1/7/2026 4:35 PM, Chris Nesi, 42219K] reports Homeland Security’s mass-scale operation in Minneapolis netted more than 300 illegal migrant criminals in just two days earlier this week — as thousands of immigration authorities descended on the Twin Cities for an unprecedented multi-agency crackdown on rampant fraud. In response to an unprecedented human services fraud scandal, DHS has deployed over 2,000 agents in Minneapolis in the largest surge the region has seen since President Trump took office last year. “Since just after Thanksgiving, ICE has arrested over 1,300 in Minneapolis alone, and there are about 300 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents on the ground looking into the fraud. We had over 150 arrests today and 174 yesterday,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Post. McLaughlin said soon Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) would be joining the effort to root out the fraudsters and send criminal migrants packing. “I think Americans are seeing this and their blood is boiling. They want accountability, they want to know what happened to their tax dollars,” she said.

CBS News [1/7/2026 10:38 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports Robert Cerna, the acting director of the ICE field office in Dallas, Texas, spoke with "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil Wednesday on the tension surrounding immigration enforcement action in cities across the U.S. Their conversation came hours after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis. Cerna said he couldn’t comment on the investigation but called it "a tragic event." Dokoupil noted the tension and turmoil surrounding ICE action across the U.S. and asked: "Are you concerned that the mission of ICE may not be able to be carried out in a way that is both effective and safe for everyone involved?". Cerna said "that’s a concern every day that we face," but added that he’s not concerned that the mission can’t be accomplished because "we are committed to this public safety mission." Cerna said ICE officers are wearing masks for their protection and for the protection of their families, citing doxing and harassment. Dokoupil asked Cerna what he’d say to the public about videos that appear to show ICE using excessive force, including using pepper balls and dragging protesters. Cerna said there’s often "more to what is on that video," including whatever happened beforehand and commands given by ICE officers.

Univision Austin [1/7/2026 1:30 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports family members and immigrant rights advocates denounced the disappearance of Genesis Ester Gutierrez Castellanos, a 5-year-old girl, who was separated from her mother during an ICE arrest in Austin. The minor, who is a U.S. citizen, was accompanying her mother when they were arrested by Austin Police on Monday morning, January 5, in the Oak Hill area. According to the girl’s family, both were turned over to ICE by the Austin Police and they have not been able to locate them since. Genesis does not appear in ICE or CPS databases, nor in immigration detention centers in Central Texas. The family asked authorities to immediately confirm the girl’s location so they could begin custody arrangements while her mother remains in immigration custody. According to authorities, both may have been transferred to San Antonio, but this has not been officially confirmed by any agency.

CBS San Francisco [1/8/2026 3:14 AM, Andrea Nakano, 39474K] reports in San Francisco, hundreds of people gathered for a protest and march to speak out against ICE, with many expressing anger and outrage about the fatal shooting in Minneapolis. People chanted, with signs in hand, just outside the federal building Wednesday night. Coming together with others was healing for Angela, after seeing the video of an ICE officer fatally shooting a woman in Minneapolis. "Heartache, and I can almost cry right now because it is heartbreaking," Angela said. "Here in America, since the Trump administration has come into office, time and time again we have seen the most outrageous things, and on one level this is not surprising, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.” Angela, like many others here have been at similar protests to speak out against the Trump administration. "We need to rise above and not act in a violent way," she said. "So, we are here gathering in a peaceful way to make sure we can say we are in solidarity of our immigrant families and our Americans who are being subjected to the violence of this administration.”

Washington Times [1/7/2026 11:34 AM, Staff, 852K] reports that the Trump administration has nearly tripled the number of countries whose passport holders must post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply for U.S. visas, expanding the list from 13 to 38 nations predominantly in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Some key facts: The State Department added 25 more countries to the visa bond requirement list on Tuesday, bringing the total to 38 countries. The bond requirement for the newly added countries takes effect on Jan. 21. Most affected countries are located in Africa, with additional nations in Latin America and Asia. Visa bonds can range from $5,000 to $15,000, making the visa application process unaffordable for many applicants. The bond amount is refunded if the visa application is denied or when the visa holder demonstrates compliance with visa terms. The new additions include Nigeria, Venezuela, Cuba, Bangladesh, Nepal, Angola and 19 other nations. U.S. officials defend the bonds as effective measures to prevent citizens of targeted countries from overstaying their visas.

Univision [1/7/2026 3:37 PM, Patricia Clarembaux, 5004K] reports starting January 21, 2026, Venezuelans and Cubans applying for a B1/B2 visa (tourist or business) must pay a bond set by the consular officer at the time of the interview and it can be $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, the State Department reported. The State Department states in the announcement that paying the visa application fee does not guarantee that the applicant will receive one. They specify that if the visa is denied, the money will not be refunded. With this 12-month pilot program, the Trump administration claims it seeks to curb the migration of citizens from countries with "high rates of illegal stay."

Bloomberg [1/7/2026 2:00 PM, Andrew Kreighbaum, 91K] reports that a Trump administration proposal to mandate that travelers from visa waiver countries turn over social media history and other sensitive information will jeopardize US competitiveness with China, a key Democrat is warning. The Department of Homeland Security proposed last month that visitors from more than 40 visa-free countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan, be required to provide five years of social media history. DHS could also ask for data including telephone number and email addresses, family members’ names and place of residence, and biometrics like fingerprints and DNA when feasible. Such invasive screening of visitors from friendly countries will discourage tourists, students, and innovators from travel to the US, said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) in a Jan. 6 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. "While we absolutely must keep our nation secure from threats, deterring global talent from contributing to America is itself a threat," wrote Krishnamoorthi, ranking member on the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Social media disclosure has been optional since 2016 for travelers from 42 countries that use the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. The proposed screening requirements are part of a slate of new measures ratcheting up scrutiny of both temporary visitors and foreign workers like H-1B visa holders. The US tourism industry last year was projected to see the first drop in foreign travelers in five years.

AP [1/7/2026 9:17 PM, Dave Skretta, 31753K] reports Alisa Efimova stepped off the ice and slipped into a jacket, an American flag patch on her left sleeve impossible to miss, after a brilliant performance with pairs partner Misha Mitrofanov at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday night. Efimova hopes to be representing the stars and stripes at the Milan Cortina Olympics next month. But time is running out. One of the Olympic requirements is that competitors are citizens of the nations they represent. And while the 28-year-old Mitrofanov was born in the U.S., the 26-year-old Efimova was born in Finland — she didn’t come to the States on a full-time basis until 2023, when they became partners — leaving her in bureaucratic limbo while the American government decides her fate. Efimova and Mitrofanov were married in February 2024. She had a green card approved in July of that year and has been seeking a waiver of the required three-year waiting period for citizenship. The finalized U.S. squad for the Winter Games will be announced on Sunday. “We’re hoping maybe a last-minute miracle might happen,” Mitrofanov said.

Reuters [1/7/2026 1:22 PM, Ted Hesson and Humeyra Pamuk, 36480K] reports that U.S. and South African officials reached an agreement during a closed-door meeting in late December to allow the U.S. to continue its controversial effort to bring white South Africans to the U.S. as refugees, an internal meeting summary reviewed by Reuters showed. The meeting came after President Donald Trump’s signature refugee program was disrupted weeks earlier when South African authorities in an extraordinary move raided a U.S. refugee processing site in Johannesburg, arresting contractors and sparking backlash from Washington. At the December 23 meeting, the top U.S. diplomat in South Africa, charge d’affaires Marc Dillard, received assurances from Pretoria that South Africa would not interfere with Trump’s program, according to the meeting summary, which was signed by Dillard and sent to various U.S. agencies. "We may not agree with the classification of certain South Africans as facing possible genocide, but their right to move to a destination of their choice is guaranteed and the government of South Africa won’t interfere," the summary quoted Thabo Thage, one of the South African officials in the meeting, as saying. At the same time, South African officials did not fully commit to investigating how a U.S. refugee officer’s passport image leaked before being posted online and offered only a "tepid" response to Washington’s push to get to the bottom of what happened, according to the meeting summary, which has not been previously reported.

Daily Caller [1/7/2026 10:20 AM, Harold Hutchison, 835K] reports United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested a couple at the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday, saying they were trying to smuggle parrots into the United States. Andres Garcia Mendoza and his wife, Jennifer Garcia, allegedly told a CBP agent that they had nothing to declare, but the agent sent them for a secondary inspection, according to Border Report. Upon further inspection, CBP officers found three red-lored parrots, also known as the red-lored Amazon, after noticing pillows and blankets behind Mrs. Garcia’s legs in the white GMC pickup they drove. Upon questioning the couple gave differing stories, until Mrs. Garcia admitted they planned to sell the birds and had brought parrots, which can fetch up to $3,000 apiece, into the United States on previous trips. The Garcias were charged with wildlife smuggling and made an initial appearance in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Tuesday, where a $50,000 bond was set and a public defender was appointed. If convicted, the Garcias could face up to 20 years in federal prison. The red-lored parrot is native to a swath of Latin America stretching from Mexico to Ecuador, according to BirdsofTheWorld.org, where it lives in woodlands. The parrot is known for bonding with humans and for being talented at talking with the ability to reach the age of 60, according to TheSprucePets.com. President Donald Trump made securing the southern border a priority in his second term after campaigning on the issue during the 2024 election, signing multiple executive orders when he took office on Jan. 20, 2025, to address the situation. The Trump administration touted in a Dec. 15 release that no illegal immigrants had been released into the United States for seven straight months, while the Biden administration released hundreds of thousands, according to figures released by CBP.

NewsNation [1/7/2026 3:24 PM, Jordan Perkins and Jeff Arnold , 8017K] Video: HERE reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spoke at the southern border Wednesday to announce border buoy barriers on the Rio Grande River. Customs and Border Patrol will deploy 500 miles of buoy barriers, each one about four to five feet in diameter and 32 feet long, Noem said. “A nation without borders is not a nation at all. The previous administration did not appreciate this fact. The federal government is making sure the barrier is safe and more secure,” Noem said. Noem said DHS was working closely with the state of Texas to install the barriers. In 2023, the state implemented a 1,000-foot barrier as part of Operation Lone Star, which the Biden administration challenged in court. “These barriers will make it harder for illegal aliens, drug smugglers and human traffickers to cross the river,” Noem said. “Securing our waterways not only protects Americans. It saves the lives of illegal aliens by deterring them from daring to attempt to cross through this treacherous water.” Noem touted a 95% reduction in daily illegal apprehensions at the border Wednesday, laying blame on the Biden administration for a “wide open border barrier.”

Reported similarly:
Telemundo52 [1/7/2026 2:07 PM, Staff, 76K]

Washington Examiner [1/7/2026 10:42 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1394K] reports the Trump administration on Tuesday began laying a wall of buoys in the Rio Grande, which serves as the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. The Washington Examiner was the only news outlet on the ground in Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday morning as contractors laid the first of 538 miles-worth of massive, floating cylinders down the center of the river. The endeavor is one no other administration has attempted and represents a bold effort to prevent all illegal attempts by foreigners to pass through the dangerous waters of the river into the U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks said the White House is dramatically changing how federal law enforcement approaches border security by preventing, rather than allowing, migrants to enter illegally. "This is a huge game changer," Banks said in an interview as construction crews lowered the first three buoys into the river. "We want to take away that initial entry point, right? You can’t come here and make false asylum claims if you can’t get here. And so our intent is to stop anything from crossing this border illegally.” The Trump administration completed more than 450 miles of border wall projects on land during President Donald Trump’s first term in office. However, much of the wall that was erected, particularly in flood-prone southeast Texas, was placed hundreds of feet to more than a mile north of the border because land near the river was unsuitable for the wall. By law, Border Patrol agents must apprehend, detain, and either release into the country or tee up for removal any person who illegally crosses the border. The buoys will prevent those illegal entries in the first place. Once fully installed, the buoys could have long-term effects by reducing the number of people entering federal custody, being detained, appearing in immigration court, and being involved in deportation proceedings. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), who represents Eagle Pass, said the existing and additional buoys are a way to prevent illegal crossings and, in turn, drownings. Although nearly all House and Senate Republicans voted to fund the buoys in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer, no Democrats supported the funding. The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee said taxpayer money should be appropriated for other items. "Obviously, the money for this vanity project would be better spent reducing healthcare premiums for Americans," Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said in a statement.

FOX News [1/7/2026 1:20 PM, Stephen Sorace, 40621K] reports that the city of San Diego sued the federal government to stop the construction of razor wire fencing on city-owned land near the U.S.-Mexico border, accusing federal agencies of trespassing and causing environmental damage. The city filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for Southern California on Monday. The complaint named Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth among the defendants. The city accused the federal government of acting without legal authority when they entered city property in Marron Valley and began installing razor wire fencing. "The City of San Diego will not allow federal agencies to disregard the law and damage City property," said City Attorney Heather Ferbert in a news release. She said the lawsuit aims to protect sensitive habitats and ensure environmental commitments are upheld. According to the lawsuit, federal personnel including U.S. Marines accessed the land without the city’s consent, and damaged environmentally sensitive areas protected under long-standing conservation agreements. San Diego argues the fencing has blocked the city’s ability to manage and assess its own property and could jeopardize compliance with environmental obligations. The lawsuit also accuses the federal government of trespassing and beginning construction without proper authority or environmental review, and unconstitutionally taking the land in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

NewsMax [1/7/2026 6:45 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports the Transportation Security Administration flagged nearly $700 million in cash found in passengers’ luggage departing the Minneapolis airport over the past two years. Homeland Security officials said the outflow is linked to Somali immigrants and money couriers. DHS officials are conducting a fraud investigation in Minneapolis, according to Secretary Kristi Noem, but it’s unclear whether the outflow is part of the probe. The action comes after years of investigation that began with the $300 million scheme at the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, for which 57 defendants in Minnesota have been convicted. Prosecutors said the organization was at the center of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud scam, when defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program intended to provide food for children. TSA agents routinely flagged the outflow of cash during former President Joe Biden’s tenure, but no investigation was launched. The practice started around 2016, according to federal and state law enforcement officials. One official said nothing could be done because the couriers carrying the money all seemed to have their paperwork in order.

USA Today [1/7/2026 12:55 PM, Zach Wichter, 67103K] reports the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport in Oregon is no longer staffed by Transportation Security Administration officers as commercial flights at the facility have ended. The change was first reported by the Salem Reporter, which noted that Avelo Airlines, the last commercial carrier to serve the airport, ended flights there in July. That leaves only cargo carriers operating from Salem now. "We were informed Dec. 30 that the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport is no longer considered federalized, and TSA regulation of the airport has been suspended," Jason Roberts, Salem’s public information officer, told USA TODAY in a statement. "Now that SLE is not federalized, TSA security regulations no longer apply, and SLE will operate as a General Aviation airport. Our current airport users and tenants likely will not see any impact from the change.” According to Roberts, the TSA’s equipment will remain on site at the airport until the agency decides to relocate it. TSA officers assigned to Salem will have the opportunity to transfer to another airport. Roberts warned that, if the equipment is removed, it could slow down the airport’s efforts to eventually restart commercial flights. "If the equipment is removed and later needs to be returned, replacement equipment could take several months to acquire and install," his statement said.

New York Times [1/7/2026 3:22 AM, Scott Dance, 153395K] reports Federal Emergency Management Agency supervisors are advising their staff to prepare for the elimination of 1,000 jobs this month as part of changes that Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is overseeing at the agency, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions. The dismissals would apply to contractual FEMA staff whose assignments, which typically last for two or four years, expire this month. The workers, known as FEMA’s Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees, or CORE, help facilitate disaster recovery and emergency preparedness in communities across the country and have historically made up nearly 40 percent of the agency’s work force. Three FEMA employees, including senior officials and supervisors, all of whom requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the news media, confirmed the dismissals. Daniel Llargues, a FEMA spokesman, said in an email that the CORE employees are “term-limited positions that are designed to fluctuate based on disaster activity, operational need, and available funding.” The dismissals are elevating fears among FEMA staff that more job cuts are on the way this year. A FEMA planning document obtained by The New York Times detailed potential cuts of more than 11,500 people from a work force of about 23,000. The existence of the document was first reported by The Washington Post. Mr. Llargues called the document “a routine, pre-decisional work force planning exercise.” He said there was no “percentage-based work force reduction plan.”

FOX News [1/7/2026 3:59 PM, Ryan Morik, 40621K] reports Kai Trump is trying to enjoy her last few months of high school before heading off to play golf at the University of Miami. Part of being an 18-year-old senior in high school, of course, is going on some dates, which, admittedly, can be "really awkward" because of the Secret Service. During an appearance on Logan Paul’s podcast, Trump gave an inside look at what her dating life looks like under the watchful eyes of her security team.

National Defense Magazine [1/7/261:50 PM, Stew Magnuson] reports a Canadian engineering firm will provide the designs for the U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet of six new icebreakers under an agreement between the United States, Finland and Canada, the company announced Jan. 7. The announcement comes on the heals of the service on Dec. 29 awarding of two contracts under the trilateral Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or ICE, Pact agreement to build up to six Arctic Security Cutter icebreakers. Contracts were awarded to Rauma Marine Constructions Oy of Rauma, Finland, and Bollinger Shipyards Lockport, L.L.C. of Lockport, Louisiana. Rauma will build two of the vessels in Finland. Seaspan Shipyards signed agreements with Bollinger and Rauma to provide its proven Multi-Purpose Icebreaker design and associated supply chain packages to enable “rapid construction and delivery of up to six vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic Security Cutter,” the shipyard said in a statement. The company has designed 21 icebreakers, mostly for the Canadian Coast Guard. “Revitalizing the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking capabilities is crucial for our security and prosperity, and today’s announcement is an important step in that direction,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a Dec. 29 press release announcing the contracts. "These awards represent decisive action to guarantee American security in the Arctic,” said Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard. “The Arctic Security Cutters will deliver the essential capability to uphold U.S. sovereignty against adversaries’ aggressive economic and military actions in the Arctic. These cutters will ensure the Coast Guard’s ability to control, secure and defend our northern border and maritime approaches — without question."

FOX News [1/7/2026 12:01 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports a Coast Guard MH-60 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Elizabeth City rescued two people and their pets after a disabled sailboat triggered an emergency beacon near Cape Hatteras. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [1/7/2026 8:29 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports ⁠China has hacked emails used by congressional staff on powerful committees in the House of Representatives as part of a massive cyberespionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon, the Financial Times reported ⁠on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify ​the report. The White House had no immediate comment. China accessed email systems used by some staffers on the House China Committee ⁠as well as aides on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Intelligence Committee, and Armed Services Committee, the report said. Salt Typhoon ⁠has emerged as one of ⁠the top concerns of American cybersecurity. U.S. officials allege that the hacking group is doing more than just gathering intelligence; it is prepositioning itself to paralyze U.S. critical infrastructure in ⁠case of a conflict with China. Beijing has repeatedly denied being behind the intrusions.

NBC News [1/7/2026 6:52 AM, Staff, 34509K] reports police arrest armed man trying to enter a middle school. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/7/2026 7:45 AM, Greg Norman Fox, 40621K] reports the trial of a former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer accused of not doing more to save lives in the 2022 shooting that left 21 dead was halted after a key witness reportedly changed her testimony. Adrian Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment following the attack at Robb Elementary. He could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison if he’s convicted, prosecutors said. Former teacher Stephanie Hale testified on Tuesday that she saw the shooter on the south side of the campus, the same area where Gonzales was located, according to Texas Public Radio. However, defense attorneys objected, arguing her testimony was different compared to statements Hale made to a Texas Ranger during a 2022 investigation when she placed the shooter closer to Gonzales than previously indicated, the outlet added. The jury in the trial was then dismissed until Thursday as attorneys are preparing arguments on motions related to Hale’s testimony, the report said. The judge in the case is expected to hear those arguments on Wednesday, and the defense has raised the possibility of a mistrial, Texas Public Radio also reported.

Reuters [1/7/2026 3:57 PM, Brad Brooks, 36480K] reports a Texas judge on Wednesday denied a motion for a mistrial in the case of a police officer accused of endangering children with a failed response to the 2022 shooting at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 students and two teachers. Judge Sid Harle ruled against the mistrial request made by defense lawyers for Adrian Gonzales. The lawyers sought a mistrial the day after testimony began with a witness offering details not previously shared with the defense. Defense lawyers said this violated laws that the prosecution share evidence with the defense. Harle said inclusion of the testimony appeared to have been inadvertent, and that the trial would resume with the jury on Thursday morning. Gonzales, 52, a former Uvalde school district police officer, was charged in 2024 with 29 child endangerment counts stemming from how he responded during one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. According to his indictment, he failed to confront the shooter at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Gonzales pleaded not guilty. His defense attorneys, in their opening statement on Tuesday, argued that he did the best he could in a chaotic scene in which it was difficult to confront a gunman he could not see or otherwise locate. The defense request for a mistrial came after Stephanie Hale, who was a third grade teacher at the school, testified on Tuesday that she saw the gunman on the south side of the school. Hale had never told investigators or a grand jury that she had seen the gunman, but said in court that she had shared that information with prosecutors. The defense said they never received those details from the prosecutors. The defense said the information was critical to their trial strategy. They are arguing that Gonzales never saw the gunman and could not confront him, because Gonzales was on the south side of the school, while they argue the gunman remained on the west side of the school before he entered the building - out of Gonzales’ eyesight. Hale’s surprise testimony contradicted that. Judge Harle said to remedy the situation, he would allow the defense to play for the jury the entirety of Hale’s interview with investigators just a few days after the shooting, in which she never mentioned seeing the gunman, who was later shot and killed by responding officers.

Axios [1/8/2026 12:02 AM, Kim Bojórquez, 12972K] reports a shooting outside a Salt Lake City church on Wednesday has killed two people and injured at least six others, police in Utah’s capital said. Three of those injured in the shooting at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in the city’s west side are in critical condition, authorities said. The shooting at 660 North Redwood Rd. occurred during a memorial service, the Church said on X. "The suspects are still outstanding, but our officers have obtained solid leads and are working to locate those involved," Salt Lake City Police Department said in a statement posted to its social media accounts. The eight adults who were wounded were shot outside, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said. Redd said the shooting did not appear to be a "targeted attack" against Latter-day Saints.

Reuters [1/7/2026 8:08 PM, Staff, 19051K] reports the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it is exempting imports of some new models of foreign-made drones and critical components from a sweeping import ban adopted in December. The telecommunications regulator acted on a Pentagon recommendation to exempt some components and drones from the restrictions through the end of 2026. The list of imported drones allowed for import includes models from Parrot, Teledyne FLIR, Neros Technologies, Wingtra, Auterion, ModalAI, Zepher Flight Labs and AeroVironment and imports will be allowed until the end of 2026. The FCC also said it was approving a list of imported critical components for drones produced by companies including Nvidia, ModalAI, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and ARK Electronics. Last month, the FCC said it was adding all foreign-made drones and critical components to the "Covered List". That means DJI, Autel and other foreign drone companies will not be able to obtain the necessary FCC approval to sell new models of drones or critical components in the United States as they pose unacceptable risks to U.S. national security. The FCC designation issued last month does not prohibit import, sale or use of any existing drone models the agency previously authorized, and does not impact any previously purchased drones and consumers can continue to use any drones they previously purchased legally. The FCC also said U.S. government agencies purchasing new drones are not covered by the restrictions. Drones on the covered list purchased outside the United States cannot be operated in the country. A number of groups had raised concerns about the breadth of the FCC order. The American Soybean Association said last month that "sudden restrictions on their use without available domestically manufactured alternatives risk adding new financial and operational burdens for farmers already facing tight margins and market uncertainty." The 14 Republicans on the Senate Armed Service Committee led by Senator Roger Wicker said in a joint statement that Trump was "right to ban the import of drones and components from those adversaries to protect American industry" and added it gives time "to transition to American-made drones and allows us to continue working closely with allies and partners to rebuild free-market supply chains for small drone parts.”

New York Post [1/7/2026 6:00 AM, Josh Christenson, 42219K] reports Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn on the latest episode of “Pod Force One” exposed the “irregular warfare” waged by Hamas and Hezbollah as well as Chinese spies inside the US — a threat that he said has been growing “for well over a decade.” Flynn, who was pardoned by President Trump almost six years ago after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI, told The Post’s Miranda Devine that former President Joe Biden’s decision “to open up the borders” forced a drastic shift in the foreign-born population, allowing terrorists and agents of espionage in. “It changes the nature of the country,” said Flynn, who previously served as President Trump’s national security adviser in his first term. “It changes the fabric of our culture.” “It’s principally this Chinese influence, this loose alliance with the Islamist, the radical Islamist crowd,” the former intelligence official continued. “I mean, Hezbollah and Hamas are not just over in the Middle East. They’re right here inside of the United States of America — in a big way, in a huge way.” “People don’t know that, and they’ve been here for well over a decade — and they build into the fabric,” Flynn added. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Axios [1/8/2026 5:00 AM, Zachary Basu, 12972K] reports President Trump is moving to eject America’s adversaries from the Western Hemisphere, seizing on the momentum of an extraordinary show of force in Venezuela. With allies and adversaries still reeling from the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, Trump is seeking to cement a new world order through strict enforcement of his "Donroe Doctrine." MAGA’s modern take on the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine casts the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence that will not tolerate encroachment by rival great powers. If they weren’t already, adversaries like Russia, China and Iran — and even NATO ally Denmark, as it relates to control of Greenland — are now officially on notice. The Coast Guard’s seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic on Wednesday offered an early glimpse of what enforcing the Donroe Doctrine looks like in practice. The Trump administration alleges that the vessel was violating U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil. Moscow denounced the seizure as "outright piracy." Russian naval assets, including a submarine, were operating nearby during the interdiction — making it one of the most direct U.S. confrontations with Russian forces in years. The seizure underscores how Trump’s Venezuela intervention has struck at a hub of foreign influence built by U.S. adversaries. A senior Chinese envoy met with Maduro in Caracas the night before the U.S. raid, highlighting how closely Beijing had aligned itself with Venezuela’s fallen strongman. The Trump administration is now pressing Venezuela’s interim government to expel intelligence officers from Russia, China, Iran and Cuba, aiming to dismantle the foreign security networks that helped prop up Maduro’s rule. Beijing and Moscow have both objected to the Maduro raid and subsequent U.S. moves to assert control in Caracas, but haven’t yet taken any overt actions in response. Critics of Trump’s approach argue that normalizing spheres of influence reshapes the rules for everyone. If the U.S. asserts carte blanche in its own neighborhood, it may lose the credibility to oppose Chinese moves around Taiwan and the South China Sea — or Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and NATO’s eastern flank. The Donroe Doctrine doesn’t necessarily stop at adversaries, as the unfolding crisis over Greenland shows. Dangling the threat of military force, Trump and his team are openly discussing what a "purchase" or transfer of control would look like — an idea that has deeply unsettled Denmark and NATO. The White House says Trump views Greenland as critical terrain in the great-power competition, citing growing Chinese investment interest and Russia’s expanding footprint across the Arctic. In trying to lock down America’s neighborhood, Trump is intensifying a great-power contest that won’t stay confined to the Western Hemisphere.

AP [1/7/2026 12:18 PM, Jennifer McDermott, 30493K] reports that offshore wind developers and states are suing the Trump administration over its order to suspend work for at least 90 days on five large-scale projects under construction off the East Coast. The Norwegian company Equinor and the Danish energy company Orsted are the latest to challenge the suspension order, with the limited liability companies for their projects filing civil suits late Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Connecticut and Rhode Island filed their own request at that federal court on Monday seeking a preliminary injunction. The administration announced Dec. 22 it was suspending leases for five offshore wind projects because of national security concerns. Its announcement did not reveal specifics about those concerns. President Donald Trump has been hostile to renewable energy technologies that produce electricity cleanly, particularly offshore wind, and has instead prioritized oil, coal and natural gas that emit carbon pollution when burned. Interior Department spokesperson Matt Middleton said Wednesday that Trump has directed the agency to manage public lands and waters for multiple uses, energy development, conservation and national defense. Middleton said the pause on large-scale offshore wind construction is a "decisive step to protect America’s security, prevent conflicts with military readiness and maritime operations and ensure responsible stewardship of our oceans." "We will not sacrifice national security or economic stability for projects that make no sense for America’s future," Middleton said in a statement.

NewsMax [1/7/2026 8:44 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports the top U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday he would meet leaders of Denmark next week but signaled no retreat from President Donald Trump’s aim to take over Greenland, and alarmed allies including France and Germany were working on a plan on how to respond. A U.S. military seizure of the mineral-rich Arctic island from a longtime ally, Denmark, would send shock waves through the NATO alliance and deepen the divide between Trump and European leaders. In Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would meet Danish leaders next ‍week and that Trump retained the option to address his objective by military means. Still, "as a diplomat, which is what I am now, and what we work on, we always prefer to settle it ‍in different ways — that included in Venezuela," Rubio told reporters when asked if the U.S. was willing to potentially endanger NATO with a forcible takeover of Greenland. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a potential U.S. purchase of Greenland was being actively discussed by Trump and his national security team. "All options are always on the table for President Trump ... the president’s first ⁠option always has been diplomacy," Leavitt told a regular news briefing. Earlier in the day, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the subject would be raised at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland later in the day. "We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners," he said on France Inter radio. A German government source said separately that Germany was "closely working together ​with other European countries and Denmark on the next steps regarding Greenland." Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior European official said Denmark must lead efforts to coordinate a response, but "the Danes have yet to communicate to their European allies what kind of concrete support they wish to receive." Greenland is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical site for the U.S. ballistic missile defense system for decades. Its mineral wealth also aligns with Washington’s ambition to reduce reliance on China.

Reuters [1/7/2026 7:05 PM, Staff, 36480K] reports the potential U.S. purchase of Greenland is being actively discussed by President Donald Trump and his national security team, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [1/7/2026 6:32 PM, Staff, 30493K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers during a classified briefing on Capitol Hill earlier this week that the U.S. is seeking to purchase Greenland, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News. Rubio told reporters after a briefing Wednesday that buying the territory has always been President Donald Trump’s intent all along. "Well, that’s always been the president’s intent from the very beginning. He said it very early on. I mean, this is not new. He talked about it in his first term, and he’s not the first U.S. president that has examined or looked at how could we acquire Greenland? There’s an interest there," Rubio told reporters. The secretary of state did not answer questions about the use of military force to acquire the territory, which has been floated as an option by the White House. "If the president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president retains the option to address it through military means," Rubio said. "As a diplomat, which is what I am now and what we work on, we always prefer to settle it in different ways.” Greenland is a self-sovereign territory of Denmark with its own elected government, with Denmark’s parliament handling international matters. Trump and his advisors have been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including use of the military. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down Wednesday during a press briefing at the White House that the Trump administration will not rule out using military force, acknowledging that while diplomacy is always the first option, "the president keeps his options open.” "All options are always on the table for President Trump as he examines what’s in the best interests of the United States," explained Leavitt when asked why the White House wouldn’t rule out the use of force. "But I will just say that the President’s first option always has been diplomacy.” She then rejected the notion that the president wasn’t willing to collaborate with the Danes. "Well, who said diplomacy isn’t taking place behind the scenes? I mean, the president is interested in diplomacy. His national security team is as well. And of course, he’s always willing to pick up the phone for everybody and hear out their concerns," Leavitt said. "But the president is the president of United States of America, and he’s always going to be very clear about what he views as being in our nation’s best interest," she said.

The Hill [1/7/2026 10:45 AM, Julia Manchester, 12595K] reports President Trump touted US support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Wednesday amid concerns from member countries over his administration’s ambitions to acquire Greenland. "We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us. The only Nation that China and Russia fear and respect is the DJT REBUILT U.S.A.," Trump said in a TruthSocial post. In the same post, the president noted his efforts to get other member countries to pay 5 percent of their GDP, referring to the countries as his "friends." Trump also said that without him as president, Russia would have taken all of Ukraine. The post comes as the administration is openly floating acquiring Greenland. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the White House was not ruling out using the U.S. military to acquire the Danish territory. "President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region," Leavitt said. "The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal," she said. On Tuesday, the leaders of France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark issued a joint statement, noting that Greenland "belongs to its people.” "It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland," the leaders urged.

NewsMax [1/7/2026 9:57 PM, Sam Barron, 4109K] reports Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday said President Donald Trump supports additional sanctions on Russia. Graham, who met with Trump on Wednesday, said the Senate could vote next week on legislation that would impose new sanctions on Russia, as attempts continue to end the war with Ukraine. "After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator [Richard] Blumenthal, D-Conn., and many others," Graham said in a statement. The bill currently boasts more than 80 co-sponsors in the Senate. A White House official confirmed to Politico that Trump supports the sanctions. Last October, Graham expressed optimism that a vote on Russian sanctions would come soon, but the bill stalled in the Senate when Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., held off putting the bill up for a vote as the White House expressed hope Russian President Vladimir Putin would agree to end the war. Under the current proposal, any country that continues to import oil, gas or uranium from Russia would face punitive tariffs of 500%. However, the bill has been modified to include a presidential waiver in cases of national security, though that waiver would not be absolute. "Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent," Graham said. A companion bill in the House has similarly earned support from more than 100 members.

Bloomberg [1/7/2026 8:27 AM, Brian Platt, 18207K] reports Prime Minister Mark Carney will make an official visit to China next week as his government tries to rebuild relations with the Asian superpower and reduce Canada’s economic reliance on the US. Carney is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit and will have discussions on trade, energy, agriculture and international security, his office said Wednesday. It will be the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade, after a diplomatic row was sparked by Canada’s 2018 arrest of Huawei Technologies Co. executive Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition warrant. Shortly after, China detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and held them until a deal to release Meng was reached with US prosecutors in 2021. More recently, Canada and China have slapped tariffs on each other’s exports. In 2024, Canada hiked import taxes on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum, in part to align its trade policies with the US. China retaliated by hitting Canadian agricultural products with new duties, including on canola, a key crop that’s also known as rapeseed. Carney took further measures to curb steel shipments from China and other nations last year after the White House put a 50% tax on foreign steel. The tit-for-tat tariffs with China have caused internal tensions in Canada, with some political leaders in the western prairie provinces accusing the federal government of sacrificing canola exports to protect the auto and steel industries based in the industrial belt of Ontario.

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