Good morning, everyone. There is a lot happening today. Special Counsel Jack Smith will be testifying on Capitol Hill this morning, and I’ll have a full recap for you around lunchtime.
But before we get to that, you need to know what’s happening right now with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As Congress prepares to vote on more ICE funding, new information shows ICE is detaining five-year-old children and using them as bait to lure their parents. At the same time, ICE has quietly changed policy to allow agents to enter homes without a judicial warrant.
Today is also the day TikTok officially moves under new ownership—and censorship on the platform is already increasing. That’s why I’m doubling down here. The news is too important to be filtered or buried.
Here’s what you missed:
Former special counsel Jack Smith is set to testify publicly before the House Judiciary Committee, defending his decision to charge Donald Trump and asserting that evidence showed Trump committed crimes related to overturning the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents—setting up a high-profile clash with Republicans led by Chair Jim Jordan.
MPR News has confirmed that federal immigration agents detained four Columbia Heights students in separate incidents—most notably a 5-year-old boy allegedly used as “bait” to draw family members out of their home—sparking outrage from school officials, trauma-driven absenteeism across Twin Cities districts, and renewed criticism of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement practices. This is an image of the little boy with an agent:
A leaked 2025 memo shows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told officers they may forcibly enter homes using only administrative warrants—without judicial approval—to arrest people with final removal orders, a sharp break from past practice that critics and whistleblowers say undermines Fourth Amendment protections, a claim defended by the Department of Homeland Security.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE officials are upset that agents cannot use restrooms in Minnesota without being confronted by protestors:
The New York Times has confirmed that an autopsy ruled the death of Cuban detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos at the El Paso ICE facility Camp East Montana a homicide caused by asphyxiation during law enforcement restraint, contradicting federal claims of suicide and intensifying scrutiny of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security as the family prepares a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Fear of raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is driving some pregnant people to skip prenatal care and consider unsafe home births, raising alarms among health providers about growing risks to maternal and infant health.
A family-commissioned autopsy found that Renee Good was shot three times—including a fatal head wound—by an officer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a Minneapolis encounter, sharply contradicting federal claims of self-defense from the Department of Homeland Security and prompting an ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation amid criticism from state and local leaders.
Congressional Democrats, led by Hakeem Jeffries, are expected to overwhelmingly vote against a bill funding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, citing outrage over aggressive and deadly enforcement tactics under Donald Trump—including incidents in Minnesota—even as party leaders stop short of formally whipping votes to block its passage.
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her said it was “heartbreaking” to witness a Hmong American man taken from his home by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, amid widespread reports of aggressive, door-to-door immigration raids in St. Paul that community leaders say target people based on appearance, claims strongly denied by the Department of Homeland Security.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are overwhelmed reviewing more than two million files tied to Jeffrey Epstein for victim-protection redactions, forcing even senior staff to divert time from major cases—including the prosecution of Nicolás Maduro—and raising concerns that the extraordinary workload is delaying other high-profile trials and investigations.
Donald Trump signed the charter for his “Board of Peace” despite the fact that similar charters would need Senate approval as they are akin to a treaty with other nations. No prominent Western nation signed onto the Board of Peace charter, with the following countries joining: Bahrain, Morocco, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Uzbekistan
Europe is backing away from Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace,” with major allies including France, Britain, and the Netherlands declining or hesitating over concerns it could undermine the United Nations, invite figures like Vladimir Putin into a parallel global body, and require costly buy-ins—leaving the initiative increasingly populated by non-Western and smaller states despite U.S. pressure.
Donald Trump dismissed concerns raised by Maria Bartiromo about European investors dumping U.S. assets, warning that any such move would trigger “big retaliation” from the U.S. because, he said, “we have all the cards.”
Donald Trump said the U.S. would gain “total access” to Greenland—including unrestricted military access—under a preliminary framework he announced after meeting Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum, though details and final terms of any agreement remain unclear.
The Trump administration unveiled a redevelopment vision for Gaza at the World Economic Forum, with Jared Kushner presenting slides and maps depicting large-scale reconstruction and investment contingent on security measures, including the demilitarization of Hamas, while urging critics to “calm down” and embrace the possibility of peace.
Gavin Newsom said his scheduled fireside chat at the World Economic Forum was canceled after USA House bowed to pressure from the Donald Trump’s administration, prompting Newsom to accuse the White House of political intimidation and censorship while he was in Davos criticizing Trump on the global stage.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States will not provide security guarantees to oil companies planning to operate in Venezuela, emphasizing that it won’t offer on-the-ground protection for foreign firms even as the administration pushes for investment to revive the country’s oil sector, per Bloomberg reporting.
The Guardian confirmed that senior Venezuelan figures including Delcy Rodríguez and her brother secretly assured U.S. and Qatari officials they would cooperate after the removal of Nicolás Maduro, according to sources, signaling regime insiders’ willingness to work with the Donald Trump administration to ensure stability following Maduro’s capture while stopping short of actively helping to topple him.
California Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a voter-approved congressional map that could flip up to five House seats to Democrats, urging Justice Elena Kagan to issue an emergency injunction after a federal court rejected claims that the redistricting—passed via Prop 50—illegally used race.
See you soon.
— Aaron
