Trump News for Monday, January 26, 2026

The FBI Raided A Reporter’s Home, Ignoring Laws Designed To Prevent Exactly That

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

If you want to understand how little the current administration cares about the First Amendment, look no further than a pre-dawn FBI raid on a journalist’s home—conducted in apparent violation of a federal law specifically designed to prevent exactly this kin…

Scott Galloway Explains How YOU Can Stop Government Overreach Using the Power of Your Purse

OC, Openculture.com

Above, Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher explain how everyday Americans can push back against government overreach—by focusing on the economic decisions they make each day. “Trump does not respond to outrage. He responds to markets,” says Galloway. Ergo, it’s t…

Trump’s plan to extort Minnesota, 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: Minnesota’s secretary of state said over the weekend t…

Apple CEO Tim Cook Visited White House for 'Melania' Documentary Screening

Juli Clover, MacRumors

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited President Donald Trump at the White House over the weekend to attend the premier of "Melania," a documentary that's set to be released in the near future. According to The Hollywood Reporter, several tech CEOs attended the sc…

Anthropic CEO Worries Humanity May Not be ‘Mature’ Enough for Advanced AI

AJ Dellinger, Gizmodo.com

When has that ever stopped us?

WATCH: Anti-ICE protesters march through snowy Chicago

ABC News

Anti-ICE protesters took to the snowy streets of Chicago on Sunday, one day after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

TikTok’s New US Owners Are Off to a Very Rocky Start

Bruce Gil, Gizmodo.com

Thousands of American TikTok users have reported having issues with the app this past weekend.

How Democrats — and even a few Republicans — in Congress are moving to rein in ICE

Miles Bryan, Noel King, Vox

Federal agents’ killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday has strengthened Senate Democrats’ resolve to force changes to Trump’s immigration forces — even at the risk of shutting down the government.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released a st…

President Trump Praises Amazon’s ‘MELANIA’ Movie As a ‘Must Watch’

Tim Chan, Rolling Stone

With Amazon as distributors, MELANIA is expected to stream on Prime Video. For now, you can buy tickets online to watch the documentary in theaters.

Dean Cain Blames Alex Pretti, Says He Resisted While Armed Before Minnesota Shooting

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Dean Cain is swooping in to defend the federal immigration agents who killed Alex Pretti ... like Superman coming to rescue Lois Lane. The 'Lois & Clark' star joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday, and we asked him about Saturday's fatal interaction…

Trump Admin. Having a Hard Time Selling Narrative Around Latest ICE Killing

Nikkimccannramirez, Rolling Stone

Republican lawmakers pushed back on Trump administration and DHS claims justifying the killing of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti by ICE.

Refusing to Use Twitter

Korny Sietsma, Korny.info

I’ve completely stopped using Twitter (now called X) and I wanted to post something explaining why. I stopped posting or reading the feeds quite a while ago, but despite most people I know agreeing it’s a terrible place, friends persist in sharing X posts an…

Nicki Minaj Will Stump for Trump Again at Treasury Department Event

Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone

Nicki Minaj will appear alongside Donald Trump at a Treasury Department summit this week tied to the launch of a new kind of savings account for kids.

Canadian PM Carney unveils multibillion-dollar push to lower food costs

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Carney has been under pressure from the opposition to lower prices of food and other essentials for lower income people.

Josh Shapiro sees light in his constituents, even in dark times

Sarah Handel, NPR

NPR's Scott Detrow talks with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania about his memoir, Where We Keep the Light, immigration raids and the upcoming elections in 2026 and 2028.

So what if Alex Pretti had a gun?

Zack Beauchamp, Vox

Increasingly, the Trump administration’s defense of Alex Pretti’s killing has come to center on the fact that he had a gun. “We respect that Second Amendment right, but those rights don’t count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforce…

Body of last remaining hostage retrieved from Gaza, Israel says

Jordana Miller, Meredith Deliso, ABC News

The return of all remaining hostages in Gaza was agreed to under the first phase of the U.S.-brokered Gaza Strip ceasefire deal that began in October 2025.

Trump abandons attack mode as Minneapolis shooting backlash grows

BBC News

The White House has shifted how it talks about Alex Pretti's killing as more Republicans express concern over the deadly encounter.

WATCH: White House distances itself from accusations Alex Pretti was 'domestic terrorist'

ABC News

ABC News' Mary Bruce asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt if President Donald Trump agrees with administration officials who labeled Alex Pretti a "domestic terrorist."

OpenAI’s president is a Trump mega-donor

Hayden Field, The Verge

OpenAI's co-founder and longtime president, Greg Brockman, didn't just make a run-of-the-mill donation to the main pro-Trump super PAC - together, he and his wife Anna's September 2025 donations equaled the largest of them all, totaling $25 million to "MAGA I…

Tech Workers Demand CEOs Use Their ‘Leverage’ to End ICE Violence

Ece Yildirim, Gizmodo.com

Big tech helped get us into this situation. Workers want it to help get us out, starting with canceling ICE contracts.

ICE in Minnesota: Latest stories and updates

Vox Staff, Vox

Since early January, a massive surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis has provoked national outrage. There have been two fatal shootings by federal immigration agents since the year began. On January 24, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old US citizen,…

Israeli and Palestinian captives and prisoners: A timeline of key events

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Israelis held captive in Gaza and Palestinians swept into Israel detention centres have been focus of ceasefire talks.

LLM Brainrot Is Here: Grokipedia Is Starting to Show Up in ChatGPT Citations

Bruce Gil, Gizmodo.com

GPT-5.2 is "learning" from Musk’s AI-generated version of Wikipedia.

Lula, Trump discuss ‘Board of Peace’, agree to meet in Washington: Brazil

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Lula criticises US actions in Venezuela, calling the capture of Maduro an unacceptable line against regional stability.

Minister claims 'sabotage' behind Chagos debate delay

BBC News

The Conservatives have raised further concerns after Donald Trump described the agreement as a "great act of stupidity".

America's business leaders need to say something. Now.

Peter Kafka, Business Insider

It's understandable that CEOs and other leaders are wary of wading into the latest shooting in Minneapolis. But that's not an excuse for silence.

Judge Blocks DHS From Destroying Evidence From Alex Pretti’s Execution By Federal Officers

Tim Cushing, Techdirt

First, there’s the lies: the immediate, reflexive flurry of posts meant to portray anyone federal immigration officers kill as a threat to public safety. When an officer murdered Renee Good, the administration claimed she was a terrorist who was trying to run…

Is the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown working?

Al Jazeera English

There has been a second fatal shooting in the US state of Minnesota this month.

When Constitutional Guardrails Fail

Bayesianpersuasion.com

A Framework for Understanding the Erosion of Democratic Immigration Enforcement

America’s Most Fundamental Values Are at Risk

Barry Friedman, Brandon del Pozo, The Atlantic

What’s happening in Minneapolis is potentially delegitimizing for law enforcement.

Tim Cook attends VIP White House screening of ‘Melania’ documentary

Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook spent his weekend attending the premier of Melania, the new Amazon-backed film that follows Melania Trump in the lead up to Donald Trump’s second inauguration. more…

I.C.E. recruitment posts employ far-right messaging

CNN

The immigration crackdown in Minnesota is bringing a new level of scrutiny to the Trump administration’s tactics – and its social media. CNN’s Chief Media...

Samara installs its first factory-built home in Los Angeles rebuild effort

Ben Dreith, Dezeen

Samara, the factory-built ADU company co-founded by US chief design officer Joe Gebbia, has installed the first of a series of units in Los Angeles on the site of a home that burned down in the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Last Thursday, Samara lowered a facto…

Photos of Melania Trump's Slovenia hometown show her humble beginnings

Talia Lakritz, Business Insider

Melania Trump grew up in the small town of Sevnica, Slovenia. The country's tourism soared after she became first lady.

An American Murder

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

Two weeks ago, ICE agent Jonathan Ross murdered Nicole Good in cold blood. I said then that we had to abolish ICE and impeach Trump & Noem before they incited another murder. As more details have emerged, it’s only looked worse. Multiple angles of video showe…

Why chatbots are starting to check your age

James O'Donnell, MIT Technology Review

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. How do tech companies check if their users are kids? This question has taken on new urgency recently thanks to growing co…

Payment processors were against CSAM until Grok started making it

Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge

For many years, credit card companies and other payment methods were aggressive about policing child sexual abuse material. Then, Elon Musk's Grok started undressing children on X. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found 101 sexualized images of children…

TikTok blames its US problems on a power outage

Emma Roth, The Verge

TikTok says a power outage is causing ongoing issues and outages that started in the US early Sunday morning. In an email to The Verge, TikTok USDS spokesperson Jamie Favazza pointed to a statement posted to the joint venture's newly-created X account, which …

As US ‘armada’ approaches, Iran warns of dire consequences if attacked

Maziar Motamedi, Al Jazeera English

Iranian authorities are keeping the population offline for a third week amid lingering threats of another war.

Trump’s second term: ‘Reality has overtaken satire’

Al Jazeera English

Marc Lamont Hill sits down with The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel to unpack the first year of Trump’s second term.

Government by AI? Trump Admin Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence

Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, Gizmodo.com

Cutting out the middle man?

Transcript: Zach Buchwald, Russell Investments CEO and Chairman

Barry Ritholtz, Ritholtz.com

The transcript from this week’s MiB: Zach Buchwald, Russell Investments CEO and Chairman, is below. You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcast…

Republican Drops Out of Minnesota Gubernatorial Race and Renounces GOP

Lauren Tousignant, Jezebel

See, Republicans: calling out your party for supporting the murder of American citizens isn’t that hard!

Gustavo Petro: Colombia’s former rebel fighter turned president

Niko Vorobyov, Al Jazeera English

From urban rebel to senator facing death threats, what drives Petro, 65, the country’s first progressive president?

Trump says Justice Department ‘looking at’ Ilhan Omar’s wealth

Ali Harb, Al Jazeera English

Donald Trump says he is sending his border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota amid protests against the killing of Alex Pretti.

DHS Is Reviewing Body Cam Footage of Alex Pretti Shooting. If Only We Could Trust That Video.

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

Just days ago, the Trump administration used AI to doctor an image of a suspect. How can we trust body cam footage in their possession?

‘Trump Phone’ Still Doesn’t Exist, Pre-Order Totals Appear Completely Made Up

Karl Bode, Techdirt

Last year the fraud-prone Trump organization announced a half-assed wireless phone company. As we noted at the time, calling this a “phone company” is generous; it was just a lazy marketing rebrand of another, half-assed, MAGA-focused, mobile virtual network …

Trump family crypto accumulation

Nathan Yau, Flowingdata.com

In 2023, most of the family’s wealth, about 79% of it, was tied to real estate. These days, a growing portion belongs to cryptocurrency endeavors. For Bloomberg, Annie Massa and Tom Maloney r…

The ‘discombobulator’: Did US use ‘secret weapon’ in Maduro abduction?

Nina Montagu-Smith, Al Jazeera English

US President Donald Trump refers to a ‘sonic weapon’ he describes as a ‘discombobulator’, but what is he talking about?

How the Bernie Goetz Shootings Explain the Trump Era

Heather Ann Thompson, The Atlantic

A notorious event in 1984 divided New Yorkers in ways that feel extremely familiar four decades later.

Colleges Are Stuck Between Bad Options for Fighting Hateful Ideas

Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

Deans and administrators keep confronting the same dilemma.

Senators call for Alex Pretti death investigation. And, winter storm recovery efforts

Brittney Melton, NPR

Minneapolis strikes and protests continue after ICE's fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. And, states work to recover from a massive winter storm that has left widespread power outages and flight chaos.

President Trump Criticizes Alex Pretti for Possessing 'Very Powerful' Gun

TMZ Staff, TMZ

President Trump is chiming in again on the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal Border Patrol agent in Minnesota, saying his administration is looking into the matter while also criticizing Pretti for carrying a "very powerful, fully loaded" gun.

Melania Had Herself a Movie Night!

Danielle Han, Jezebel

Hours after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents, Erika Kirk, Tim Cook, Queen Rania of Jordan, and Tony Robbins joined Melania at the White House to watch her new documentary. Fun!

⚡ Weekly Recap: Firewall Flaws, AI-Built Malware, Browser Traps, Critical CVEs & More

info@thehackernews.com (The Hacker News), Internet

Security failures rarely arrive loudly. They slip in through trusted tools, half-fixed problems, and habits people stop questioning. This week’s recap shows that pattern clearly. Attackers are moving faster than defenses, mixing old tricks with new paths. “Pa…

10 Monday AM Reads

Barry Ritholtz, Ritholtz.com

My back-to-work morning train WFH reads: • Meme Stocks Turn 5. Will There Ever Be Another GameStop? Five years after GameStop shareholders launched a revolt, Wall Street has adapted and may have won the war. (Barron’s) • UK Telegraph: Trump has crossed all li…

US Government wants DNA and social media from visitors

Privacyinternational.org

Yesterday the Trump Administration announced a proposed change in policy for travellers to the U.S. It applies to the powers of data collection by the Customs and Border Police (CBP).

Even Trump Is Clearly Scared of the Alex Pretti Shooting Fallout

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

Following the shooting of Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti, Donald Trump refused Sunday to say whether he supported the Border Patrol shooter.

What MAGA Can Teach Democrats About Organizing—and Infighting

Charles Duhigg, The New Yorker

Republicans have become adept at creating broad coalitions in which supporting Trump is the only requirement. Democrats get tied up with litmus tests, Charles Duhigg writes.

Maybe the United States Can Be One of Mark Carney’s “Middle Powers”

Bill McKibben, The New Yorker

Bill McKibben on the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney’s Davos speech on how middle powers like Canada may navigate a world shaped by Trumpism and declining American leadership.

How Shinzo Abe’s Assassination Brought the Moonies Back Into the Limelight

E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker

A shocking act of political violence exposed the cult’s deep influence, E. Tammy Kim writes.

Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah warns of ‘total war’ if Iran is attacked

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Abu Hussein al‑Hamidawi, leader of Iraqi armed group, says war against Iran will not be a 'walk in the park'.

Gold prices cross $5,100 for the first time amid geopolitical uncertainties

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Spot gold price touches an all-time high of $5,110.50 for an ounce in the first hours of the day.

TikTok broke in its first weekend with US ownership

Dominic Preston, The Verge

TikTok has suffered from extensive problems on its first weekend after completing the sale of its US arm, though some issues appear to have spread globally. TikTok has yet to confirm any issues a day after troubles began, making it difficult to surmise the ex…

President Xi says India, China ‘friends, partners’ in Republic Day message

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

On India's Republic Day, President Xi Jinping says Beijing and New Delhi are 'good neighbours, friends and partners'.

2 Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen signal will to attack as Iran-US tensions high

JON GAMBRELL, Yahoo Entertainment

Two Iranian-backed militias in the Mideast are signaling their willingness to launch new attacks, likely trying to back Iran on Monday as it worried about an...

US State Secretary Rubio speaks to Iraqi PM amid tensions with Iran

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Marco Rubio's call with PM Shia al-Sudani comes as Iraq is expected to see a new government amid US-Iran tensions.

Al-Sharaa checkmates the SDF and Washington still wins

Wael Alzayat, Al Jazeera English

The US interest has long lied in a unified Syria.

Ukraine’s security guarantees: What are they and why might they fall short?

Nils Adler, Al Jazeera English

Kyiv is ready to send an agreement to Parliament and US Congress but Ukrainians say their safety is far from guaranteed.

Trump administration, MAGA allies spread misinformation on Pretti killing

Erin Hale, Al Jazeera English

Video footage of fatal shooting contradicts narrative spun by officials and right-wing influencers.

DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is ending her reelection campaign for Congress

The Associated Press, NPR

The 18-term delegate for the District of Columbia in Congress and a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement has filed paperwork to end her campaign for reelection.

Israel launches 'large-scale operation' to locate last hostage in Gaza

The Associated Press, NPR

The return of the remaining hostage, Ran Gvili, has been widely seen as removing the remaining obstacle to proceeding with the U.S.-brokered ceasefire's second phase.

What role is China playing in global geopolitical transformations?

Shayma Zhou Yi Yi, Al Jazeera English

Chinese foreign policy is shaped by a paradox: it wants to project power and yet it seeks to avoid conflict.

Minneapolis protesters march against ICE as governor urges Trump to remove agents

BBC News

Second fatal shooting an 'inflection point' says Tim Walz as protests spread over Saturday's shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

'This is horrifying' - Minneapolis residents reel from second deadly shooting

BBC News

Two people have been shot dead by federal agents in the city in recent weeks, leaving many angry and frustrated.

Welcome to the American Winter

Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic

In the frozen streets of Minneapolis, something profound is happening.

UK to join major wind farm project with nine European countries

BBC News

For the first time, the new wind farms will be connected to more than one country through undersea cables.

Everyone Saw CBP Kill Alex Pretti

Mary Harris, Slate Magazine

Minneapolis is in mourning again – but still fighting back.

Trump Goon Ripped for Sick Response to Graphic ICE Images

Yahoo Entertainment

‘Union County’ Review: Will Poulter Stars in a Sensitive Docudrama About Community Recovery

Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire

Sundance: Will Poulter and Noah Centineo star as brothers struggling with opiates in a sensitively observed, occasionally myopic addiction docudrama set in rural Ohio.