Trump News for Wednesday, January 14, 2026

We Found More Than 40 Cases Of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds And Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing

Nicole Foy and McKenzie Funk, Techdirt

This story was originally published by ProPublica. Republished under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. The original version has even more horrifying photographs and videos of agents engaging in this kind of behavior. Immigration agents have put civilians’ lives at r…

Greenland and Denmark say Trump set on ‘conquering’ territory after meeting

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Danish Foreign Minister Rasmussen says meeting with Trump administration 'didn't manage to change' US position.

Trump says he has been told killing of protesters in Iran ‘has stopped’

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Trump has threatened to attack Iran, prompting Tehran to warn of retaliation amid growing fears of conflict.

There's no such thing as 'free lunch' for Big Tech's electric bill

Ellen Thomas, Business Insider

Energy regulators and advocates are cautiously optimistic about Microsoft's promise to "pay its own way" for the power needed to serve its AI footprint.

Why is the US Fed chair criminal probe causing global alarm?

Al Jazeera English

Trump administration's move against Jerome Powell fuels fears the Fed's independence is being undermined.

Tech Workers Are Condemning ICE Even as Their CEOs Stay Quiet

Lauren Goode, Wired

The killing of George Floyd in 2020 prompted a wave of statements from tech companies and CEOs. Today, pushback against ICE is largely coming from employees, not executives.

Journalist Passes ICE Background Check Despite Weed in Her System, Antifa Support

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Journalist Laura Jedeed should be considered a domestic terrorist, according to the Donald Trump administration's warped metric ... but she tells "TMZ Live," she was hired by ICE anyway! This is a wild story ... Laura was curious about how diligent…

The latest on Trump’s weaponization of the DOJ, briefly explained

Cameron Peters, Vox

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is going a…

Welcome to the January issue of The Highlight

Vox Staff, Vox

America’s political binary — left and right, Democrat and Republican — can feel inescapable. But historically, it’s a relatively new development, and academically, some political scientists argue it’s nonsense: What we think of as immutable political realitie…

Greenland talks at the White House fail to resolve differences with Trump

BBC News

Danish Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said a "fundamental disagreement" remains on a US takeover of Greenland.

Microsoft promised consumers won't foot the bill for its data centers. Our interactive map shows where its facilities are located.

Hannah Beckler, Business Insider

Business Insider found where 44 of Microsoft's data centers are located as of 2024. It promised this week consumers won't be on the hook for them.

Trump administration to suspend immigrant visa processing for 75 countries

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

US State Department says freeze will affect citizens of Somalia, Haiti, Iran and Eritrea, among other countries.

ICE Is Going On A Surveillance Shopping Spree

Cooper Quintin, Techdirt

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a new budget under the current administration, and they are going on a surveillance tech shopping spree. Standing at $28.7 billion dollars for the year 2025 (nearly triple their 2024 budget) and at least anot…

The Minnesotans trying to stop ICE

Danielle Hewitt, Noel King, Vox

When Renee Good was shot by an ICE officer last week in Minnesota, it brought attention to the robust effort to combat US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Twin Cities. Residents of Minneapolis and the surrounding areas are joining decentralized netw…

Trump announces Iran is no longer killing anti-government protesters

Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, USA Today

Trump announced that Iran is stopping the killing of anti-government protesters after he threatened to intervene.

US to suspend visa processing for 75 countries starting next week

Mariam Khan, ABC News

The State Department is freezing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries in an effort to clamp down on applicants it deems likely to become a public charge.

Trump’s Most Dangerous Obsession

Tom Nichols, The Atlantic

His irrational fixation with Greenland could lead to global conflict.

Apple Picking Google Gemini to Power Siri Was About Buying Time

Imad Khan, CNET

Gemini was the most logical choice for Apple Intelligence, at least until Apple can make its own AI model.

Kitchen countertop workers are dying. Some lawmakers want to ban their lawsuits

Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR

Some safety experts want California to stop the cutting of quartz countertops saying it can't be done safely. Lawmakers, meanwhile, contemplate a ban on workers' lawsuits against quartz manufacturers.

At Least 31 ICE Vehicles In Minneapolis-St. Paul 'Lack The Necessary Emergency Lights And Sirens' Required By Law

staff@jalopnik.com (Collin Woodard), Jalopnik

ICE is currently operating outside of even Homeland Security's own regulations.

WATCH: Oversight Committee will 'hold both Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress'

ABC News

House Oversight Chair James Comer said the panel plans to move forward with contempt of Congress proceedings against the Clintons after they defied subpoenas for depositions in the Epstein probe.

Bari Weiss Is Sad That People Aren’t Enjoying Her Clumsy Destruction Of CBS News

Karl Bode, Techdirt

If you missed it, Trump-allied billionaire Larry Ellison and his nepobaby son David hired an unqualified troll named Bari Weiss to “run” CBS News. And by “run” CBS news, I mean destroying what little journalism was left at the media giant and creating an alte…

RFK Jr. Didn’t Hold Back When Talking About Trump’s "Unhinged" Eating Habits

Matt Stopera, Buzzfeed

"He's just pumping himself full of poison all day long."View Entire Post ›

The Trump administration can’t stop winking at white nationalists

Eric Levitz, Vox

Progressives have long argued that Donald Trump’s immigration agenda is a fundamentally fascistic enterprise. In their telling, the president’s goal is not merely to enforce America’s borders but to purify its blood — and unleash state violence against anyone…

GoFundMe Campaign for Autoworker Who Got the Middle Finger From Trump Hits $340,000

Matt Novak, Gizmodo.com

The autoworker called the president a "pedophile protector," a reference to his suppression of the Epstein files.

DHS Says ICE Agent Who Killed Renee Good Suffered Internal Bleeding

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Jonathan Ross -- the ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good while she was behind the wheel of her car in Minneapolis last week -- reportedly suffered internal bleeding from their confrontation ... according to Trump administration officials. Two…

Americans urged to leave Iran as US withdraws personnel from Qatar base

Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY, USA Today

The U.S. military is reportedly withdrawing personnel from its largest air base in Qatar as Iran and the Trump administration trade threats.

Greenlanders worry over Trump’s threats as they welcome back the sun

Al Jazeera English

Many in Greenland say they're unsure what this new year will bring as US President Donald Trump threatens to take over.

Trump threatens funding for states over sanctuary cities as clashes intensify in Minneapolis

By Jonathan Allen and Joseph Ax, Yahoo Entertainment

By Jonathan Allen and Joseph Ax Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S.

FBI searches home of Washington Post reporter in classified documents probe

BBC News

Attorney General Bondi accused the journalist of reporting classified information allegedly leaked by a federal contractor, who she said has been arrested.

Why two Canadian provinces are in a spat over Crown Royal whiskey

BBC News

The UK-owned, Canadian-made whiskey is testing a united "Team Canada" approach in the face of US tariffs.

Donald Trump Is Waging War Against Human Conscience. “The lust for mud...

Jason Kottke, kottke.org

Donald Trump Is Waging War Against Human Conscience. “The lust for mud has taken up many guises in our history and has been

Prosecutors Flee DOJ After Being Told To Investigate The Murdered Woman, Not The Murderer

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

Last week, we wrote about how ICE agent Jonathan Ross murdered Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old poet and mother, on a Minneapolis street in broad daylight. We wrote about how the Trump administration immediately began lying about it despite multiple video ang…

US freezes visas for 75 nations

News Desk, Mathrubhumi.com

US State Department to halt visa processing for 75 countries citing `public charge` risks.

Trump Flipped Off An Autoworker, And The Guy's Reaction Is Now Everywhere

Yahoo Entertainment

Trump envoy announces launch of ‘phase two’ of plan to end Gaza war

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Steve Witkoff says Donald Trump’s Gaza plan is “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance.”

His Cartoons Were Beloved. He Created a Gen X Icon. But His Controversies Tarnished It All.

Nitish Pahwa, Slate Magazine

While generations of fans may have loved “Dilbert,” its creator devolved into something unrecognizable as he embraced the MAGA age.

Putin’s Explosive Message to Trump

Andrew Ryvkin, The Atlantic

The Oreshnik missile that struck Lviv carried a political payload.

Terrific Trump powers past Ding at Masters

Steve Sutcliffe, BBC News

World number one Judd Trump moves into the quarter-finals of the Masters with a dominant 6-2 win over Ding Junhui at Alexandra Palace.

WATCH: Clashes with federal agents escalate in Minneapolis

ABC News

Tensions continue in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent.

White House defends Trump over middle-finger gesture at heckler

BBC News

The incident occurred while Trump toured a Ford factory in Michigan; the heckler says he has "no regrets".

NASA Commits to Plan to Build a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon by 2030

Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American

The U.S. space agency and the Department of Energy will work together to build a fission reactor on the lunar surface in the next four years

How Doubt Became a Weapon in Iran

Mahsa Alimardani, The Atlantic

AI manipulation, and the very suspicion of it, serves those who have the most to hide.

The Climate Question That Economists Cannot Answer

Noah Kaufman, The Atlantic

Models can predict catastrophic or modest damages from climate change, but not which of these futures is coming.

How the Definition of ‘Doxxing’ Is Being Twisted Into a Weapon of Anonymity

Matt Novak, Gizmodo.com

From a journalist's tweet about Venezuela to the identity of the ICE agent who shot Renee Good, the debate over doxxing seems to be everywhere.

Trump’s EPA is setting the value of human health to $0

Umair Irfan, Vox

The Environmental Protection Agency is taking a major step toward changing its math to favor polluters over people: It’s going to stop tallying up the dollar value of lives saved and hospital visits avoided by air pollution regulations.  Instead, the agency w…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says Donald Trump Has the Most Unhinged Eating Habits

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have put steak near the top of the food chain ... but even he knows President Donald Trump eats like a stoner on death row. The Health and Human Services Secretary opened up about his boss's outrageous diet during an…

Kim Gordon Announces New Album Play Me

Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork

Rodarte founders Kate and Laura Mulleavy directed the video for lead single “Not Today”

Citi CFO says a credit card cap would have a 'deleterious' impact on the economy

Alice Tecotzky,Reed Alexander, Business Insider

Citi's CFO said the bank "would" and "could" not support the proposed cap.

Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants

Brian Mann, NPR

The Trump administration sent hundreds of letters Tuesday terminating federal grants supporting mental health and drug addiction services.

LIVE: Trump says control of Greenland ‘vital’ before White House meeting

Joseph Stepansky, Al Jazeera English

Trump's comments come as Danish, Greenland diplomats meet with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco.

WATCH: Is your dog eavesdropping on you?

ABC News

New research suggests man's best friend is also listening in on conversations in an effort to learn from you.

WATCH: Japanese, South Korean leaders in K-pop drum jam

ABC News

Two world leaders had an unusual way of winding down after a summit meeting, and it got loud.

DHS Wants To Harvest Biometric Data From Anyone Helping A Foreigner Stay In This Country Legally

Tim Cushing, Techdirt

We’ve always known the ultimate goal was to subject everyone to biometric collections, whether it’s at border crossings or international airports. At some point, the tech will move inland and become an annoying part of traveling from Point A to B because nati…

The Download: next-gen nuclear, and the data center backlash

Charlotte Jee, MIT Technology Review

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How next-generation nuclear reactors break out of the 20th-century blueprint   The popularity of commercial nuclear react…

Trump’s neo-con turn on Iran

Belén Fernández, Al Jazeera English

As talk of nuclear threats gives way to promises of 'help', the Bush-era logic of regime change re-emerges.

What are Trump’s military options for an attack on Iran?

Sarah Shamim, Al Jazeera English

Trump told Iranian protesters that 'help is on its way' in a Truth Social post.

Losing American data

Nathan Yau, Flowingdata.com

For Bloomberg, Molly Smith reports on the state of government data: But Trump has made it clear that some data collection simply didn’t align with White House “priorities” that no longer include “w…

Ray tracing has silently become mandatory, but modern GPUs didn't get the memo

Tanveer Singh, XDA Developers

Always-on ray tracing needs more powerful GPUs, not software gimmicks

How AI Companies Got Caught Up in US Military Efforts

Nick Srnicek, Wired

Two years ago, companies like Meta and OpenAI were united against military use of their tools. Now all of that has changed.

The risks of AI in schools outweigh the benefits, report says

Cory Turner, NPR

A new report warns that AI poses a serious threat to children's cognitive development and emotional well-being.

UK Officials could face US entry ban over Twitter policy

Alex Jones, Parliamentnews.co.uk

US warns UK officials could face travel bans if X is blocked amid Grok AI deepfake row, raising tensions over tech regulation and free speech.

Schumer tells the AP Democrats are preparing for Trump to disrupt and dispute the midterms: Q&A

THOMAS BEAUMONT, Yahoo Entertainment

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he expects Republican President Donald Trump to try to interfere with the midterm elections, and he says raids by...

When They're Not Applying Banned Chokeholds, ICE Agents Are Apparently Stealing and Selling Citizens' Phones

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

ICE agents seemingly believe they can get away with anything, even stealing and selling the phone of a 16-year-old citizen.

WATCH: South Carolina police officer injured in fiery ambush

ABC News

Surveillance video captured the moment a suspect opened fire at a police vehicle, sending sparks flying. The suspect was later found dead in his vehicle.

WATCH: When US presidents become Picasso

ABC News

ABC News' Danny New looks back at the U.S. presidents who've taken to the canvas as painters.

Trump's sweeping proposals for credit cards and student debt could be a big deal for other lenders

Ayelet Sheffey, Business Insider

With Trump's proposed cap on credit card interest rates and new caps on student loans, more Americans might turn to alternative lenders.

How business leaders are responding to Trump's plan to cap credit card interest rates, from JPMorgan to SoFi

Katherine Li, Business Insider

While major banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Citi, warned that a 10% credit card cap would reduce access to credit, some CEOs applaud the plan.

US talks pose 'conundrum' for Greenland, Denmark: Analysts

David Brennan, ABC News

U.S. officials are expected to meet with Danish and Greenlandic counterparts in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

How the feud between Trump and Minnesota is impacting the probe into the ICE shooting

Juliana Kim, NPR

The FBI is solely leading the inquiry into the killing of Renee Macklin Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross without help from Minnesota authorities. Legal experts explain why the move is unusual and why joint investigations are the norm.

The long-term health impacts from the LA wildfires are just becoming clear

Alejandra Borunda, NPR

The fires affected millions of people in the region. It could take years to understand the health consequences, but ongoing research is helping to prepare people to weather the next fires more safely.

Iran protests: 2,500 killed, activists say, as Trump says US will 'act accordingly'

David Brennan, ABC News

More than 2,500 people have died during nationwide protests in Iran over the past 17 days, activists said Wednesday.

Trump says ‘help is on the way’ for Iran protesters

Al Jazeera English

US President Donald Trump has said “help is on the way” for anti-government protesters in Iran.

MAGA Star Cornered in Court on Trump’s Golf Cheating

William Vaillancourt, Daily Beast

Sen. Lindsey Graham added more credibility to the claims that Donald Trump cheats at golf, according to secret testimony he gave in the Georgia election...

K-pop drum duet between Japan and South Korea's leaders caps off summit talks

BBC News

Leaders of the two East Asian nations played drums to hits from BTS and KPop Demon Hunters.

Russian oil firm says it will keep its Venezuela assets after US military operation

Huileng Tan, Business Insider

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented publicly on the US operation in Venezuela but Moscow and Caracas maintain a strategic partnership.

Vance to meet Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington on Wednesday

The Associated Press, NPR

U.S. Vice President JD Vance will meet Denmark's foreign minister and his Greenlandic counterpart in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the Arctic island, at the center of a geopolitical storm.

Analysis: Why Greenland and Europe might have to compromise with Trump

Rory Challands, Al Jazeera English

Europe might offer a minerals deal and greater US security presence on Greenland. Will that be enough to satiate Trump?

Only Trump can stop Putin, Polish president tells BBC

BBC News

Europe should do everything it can to help the US president in his efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Karol Nawrocki said.

Trump vows 'very strong action' if Iran executes protesters

BBC News

Relatives of an arrested protester tell BBC Persian he is due to be executed on Wednesday, as the death toll from demonstrations reportedly exceeds 2,400.

Read Jerome Powell's letter to senators following his testimony about renovations to the Fed building

Allie Kelly,Katherine Li, Business Insider

The Fed Chair sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee in July that extensively responded to their inquiries on the Fed building renovation.

Trump Tries To Disappear Impeachment References At Smithsonian

Timothy Geigner, Techdirt

Donald Trump is the only president in American history to have been impeached twice. That is a simple fact of history. I can imagine it’s a fact that Donald Trump doesn’t like very much. He might even be embarrassed over it. But it’s a fact that remains no ma…

US Supreme Court appears likely to uphold restrictions on transgender athletes

BBC News

Lawyers for trans athletes told the conservative-leaning court they were not asking for an “unfair biological advantage”.

Japan will not comment on BOJ's absence in joint Powell statement

Reuters, Yahoo Entertainment

TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Japan declined on Wednesday to comment on the Bank of Japan's absence from a statement by other central banks supporting U.S.

US senators introduce bill to stop Trump seizing Greenland

John Power, Al Jazeera English

The bipartisan bill would bar funding for any move to occupy or annex the territory of a NATO member state.

2025 Wasn’t the Hottest Year on Record. Earth Is Still Barreling to the Climate Brink

Andrea Thompson, Scientific American

Global warming surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the past three years, meaning Earth is currently on track to breach the Paris climate agreement by the end of the decade

Iran protests LIVE: Tehran says Trump encouraging political destabilisation

Lyndal Rowlands, Erin Hale, Al Jazeera English

Iran says US seeking to 'manufacture a pretext for military intervention' as President Trump warns of 'strong action'.

Venezuela live updates: Multiple detained Americans released, State Department says

David Brennan, Meredith Deliso, ABC News

A State Department team traveled to Venezuela to help with the release, according to a senior State Department official.

What public policy, health experts want consumers to know about ultra-processed foods

Kelly McCarthy, ABC News

Public health experts agree that a clear definition of ultra-processed foods is needed to shape policy decisions for our food system.

Unsung US civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin dies, aged 86

Adam Hancock, Al Jazeera English

Colvin's arrest for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus helped ignite the modern civil rights movement.

MAGA Thinks Maduro Will Prove Trump Won in 2020

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Atlantic

The capture of the Venezuelan leader has revived a debunked conspiracy theory.

WATCH: Puppy training for avalanche rescues rides the slopes on ski patroller's shoulders

ABC News

David Muir shares the adorable moment caught on tape of a 5-month-old puppy, who's training to become a certified avalanche rescue dog, skiing down the slopes on the shoulders of a ski patroller.

WATCH: 'Dilbert' cartoonist Scott Adams dies at 68

ABC News

Scott Adams, the cartoonist whose "Dilbert" comic strip satirizing white-collar office life appeared in newspapers around the world at its peak, has died at age 68.

Canada's Mark Carney faces delicate balancing act in China visit

BBC News

The PM is seeking to deepen trade and repair ties with China after years of tense relations - without compromising national security or provoking the US.