Good morning. Major developments are unfolding right now. The ICE funding bill is stalled in the Senate—blocked by Lindsey Graham. At the same time, the DOJ is releasing three million Epstein-related files today. This is huge.
I’m diving into the Epstein documents as we speak and will bring you a comprehensive update shortly. What’s coming matters—and so does independent reporting.
This is exactly why it’s never been more important to fight back, stay informed, and keep telling the truth. I will not stop. Not now. Not ever—no matter the pressure.
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Here’s the news:
Todd Blanche says that 3 million pages of the Epstein files are being released today, along with thousands of videos and images.
Senate efforts to avert a shutdown stalled after Sen. Lindsey Graham blocked a Trump-backed funding plan, objecting to the handling of DHS and rhetoric about ICE agents, even after Trump and Chuck Schumer agreed to pull the DHS bill from a broader package and fund the agency temporarily with a two-week continuing resolution, making a partial shutdown this weekend likely because the House still must act.
Lindsey Graham said he will lift his hold on the revised government funding package if the Senate agrees to votes on his proposals to criminalize actions by local officials in sanctuary cities and to expand and strengthen legal protections for lawmakers targeted in past federal surveillance, positioning the two-week DHS funding window as a chance for Republicans to press their case on border security.
A federal judge ruled that Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty for the alleged December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, delivering a setback to prosecutors, but also allowed key evidence seized from Mangione’s backpack at the time of his arrest—including a handgun, loaded magazine, and notebook—to be admitted at trial despite defense objections.
The arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon has triggered widespread backlash from journalists, press-freedom advocates, and lawmakers, with critics—including Jim Acosta and the Freedom of the Press Foundation—calling it an outrageous, politically motivated move and a dangerous attack on the First Amendment meant to intimidate journalists.
According to MS Now, career prosecutors refused to participate in the Lemon arrest because there was insufficient evidence to proceed:
Independent journalist Georgia Fort, who was covering a protest at a Minnesota church, was arrested by federal agents after livestreaming that officers had a warrant for her arrest, saying she believed her First Amendment right to film the demonstration was being violated, and she surrendered to authorities while stating she was acting as a member of the press.
Large-scale anti-ICE protests are planned in Minneapolis and nationwide this weekend, including a Friday “national shutdown” and Saturday demonstrations, as organizers build on a recent general strike and respond to growing outrage over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the killings of protesters and bystanders by federal agents.
The FBI has taken over the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, replacing ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit after concerns were raised about HSI’s unusual role in leading an officer-involved shooting case, while two federal agents involved have been placed on administrative leave and key questions remain about the circumstances of the shooting.
Trump called Pretti an insurrectionist overnight:
President Trump publicly contradicted his administration’s immigration-enforcement messaging in Minnesota by insisting federal ICE and other immigration agents will not be pulled out of Minneapolis, even as his border czar Tom Homan said the administration is working on plans to “draw down” or reduce the number of agents there, a shift aimed at responding to backlash over heavy-handed federal operations after fatal shootings involving ICE agents and amid calls from local officials to scale back the deployment.
President Trump nominated former Federal Reserve governor and longtime Fed critic Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair, a move welcomed by markets but criticized by Democrats and some Republicans as a threat to central bank independence, as Warsh aligns more closely with Trump’s push for lower interest rates despite his historically hawkish views on inflation.
A key Republican Senator, Thom Tillis, has confirmed he will not vote for Trump’s nominee to be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve:
A small but vocal separatist movement in Canada’s oil-rich Alberta is pushing for a referendum on independence and has sought meetings and potential financial support from the Trump administration, angering Canadian leaders and straining US-Canada relations, while experts say a referendum is likely but public support for secession remains low and the legal, economic, and political barriers to leaving Canada or joining the US are extremely high.
December producer price inflation came in hotter than expected, with headline PPI at 3.0% and core PPI rising to 3.3%, its highest level since July 2025, signaling renewed inflationary pressure at the wholesale level.
See you soon.
— Aaron
