The new and improved  CBS Evening News burst upon the scene with a fundamental promise of getting the story right. While this new iteration is a significant improvement over prior news product, there remain opportunities for improvement. Case in point, the most recent reporting out of Minneapolis. Correspondent Nicole Sganga is, for some reason, still on the scene in Minneapolis. The last time we examined Sganga’s reporting, she referred to the shooting of Renee Nicole Good as a “murder”. Now, she is framing the DHS as dishonest by default when talking about jail cooperation- a key component to helping keep ICE off the streets and out of dangerous situations. Her report begins with a setting meant to evoke fear: the empty Hmong marketplace, and a chat with the mayor of St. Paul, who claims that her parents are more afraid of ICE than of the communists during the Secret War in Laos.  Sganga’s then video package runs reel of the ICE official denouncing the state’s release of illegals in police or state custody. Sganga brings on the director of the state’s correctional system to refute ICE. Watch: WATCH: ICE official denounces Minnesota's release of criminal aliens in police or state custody", prior to CBS correspondent Nicole Sganga bringing on the director of the correctional system to refute. No consideration of the county jails. pic.twitter.com/tYc1YD88WJ — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 22, 2026 MARCOS CHARLES: Since President Trump took office one year ago today, the state of Minnesota has released nearly 500 criminal aliens who were in police or state custody, rather than turning them over to ICE. PAUL SCHNELL: If ICE has a detainer, they want them to take custody of them. We will facilitate the transfer of custody. Period. SGANGA: Commissioner Paul Schnell oversees Minnesota's Department of Corrections, including the state’s prison system.  Does it feel like the Department of Homeland Security is lying when it says that state authorities are not cooperating? SCHNELL: It is fundamentally false. We cooperate with ICE And ICE detainers. We have, as a matter of policy, done that for a long, long time. SGANGA: The Department of Homeland Security says roughly 450 criminals have been released into Minnesota's streets. And you say you don't know where that number comes from? SCHNELL: We have no idea where that number comes from. We know we released 84 people -- SGANGA: To ICE SCHNELL: -to ICE that were subject to detainers. And so this notion that Minnesota is not honoring federal ICE detainers is utterly untrue. State correctional agencies typically have oversight over state prisons and, in some states, juvenile detention facilities. These entities are separate from county jails, and so it is entirely plausible that there would be a discrepancy between what the state has and what DHS has.  The main sticking point with ICE has always been access into the county jails. Sanctuary jurisdictions deny ICE the access to detain illegal aliens housed in county jails. This is where the numerical discrepancy might come from. But this is never explored. ICE is left holding the bag and appearing to look deceitful. Narrative construction clearly on display. A reasonable individual might think that this is a minor distinction hardly worth examining. But once a correspondent refers to an unfortunate agent-involved shooting as a “murder,” without evidence, then it becomes time to examine everything else. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned transcript as aired on the CBS Evening News on Wednesday, January 21st, 2025: TONY DOKOUPIL: We are going to turn to new developments in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Late today, we received a copy of an internal ICE memo authorizing federal agents to forcibly enter homes without a warrant from a judge. The directive was provided to Congress by whistleblowers who say this goes against standard training in the Department of Homeland Security. Tonight, Nicole Sganga has new reporting on how immigrants in Minnesota are responding to what is happening there. NICOLE SGANGA: In St. Paul, Minnesota’s Hmong Village, empty stalls line a once-busy marketplace. KAOHLY HER: On a normal day, all of these stalls would be open. SGANGA: It’s a sign, the city's mayor explains, of the deeply rooted fear spreading within immigrant communities. HER: They’re afraid to leave their homes, they’re afraid to let their children go to school. SGANGA: Mayor Kaohly Her says that fear has driven naturalized U.S. citizens, including her own parents, to hide in their homes. HER: When I talk to them they’re telling me they are more afraid now than they were fighting communism in Laos during the Secret War. SGANGA: Top Homeland Security officials have declared Operation Metro Surge, laser focused on arresting what DHS calls the worst of the worst, convicted felons and violent offenders, accusing Minnesota officials of not cooperating. MARCOS CHARLES: Since President Trump took office one year ago today, the state of Minnesota has released nearly 500 criminal aliens who were in police or state custody, rather than turning them over to ICE. PAUL SCHNELL: If ICE has a detainer, they want them to take custody of them. We will facilitate the transfer of custody. Period. SGANGA: Commissioner Paul Schnell oversees Minnesota's Department of Corrections, including the state’s prison system.  Does it feel like the Department of Homeland Security is lying when it says that state authorities are not cooperating? SCHNELL: It is fundamentally false. We cooperate with ICE And ICE detainers. We have, as a matter of policy, done that for a long, long time. SGANGA: The Department of Homeland Security says roughly 450 criminals have been released into Minnesota's streets. And you say you don't know where that number comes from? SCHNELL: We have no idea where that number comes from. We know we released 84 people -- SGANGA: To ICE SCHNELL: -to ICE that were subject to detainers. And so this notion that Minnesota is not honoring federal ICE detainers is utterly untrue. SGANGA: CBS News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for clarity. The department responded just moments ago, doubling down on their numbers. They again are asking Minnesota elected officials to honor all ice detainers. Tony. DOKOUPIL: Nicole, thank you very much.  

Monday marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday honoring a man best remembered for urging Americans to judge one another by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. It is a legacy rooted in a specific historical struggle -- one that culminated in the Civil Rights Act after years of fierce resistance, largely from Southern Democrats, to dismantling Jim Crow. Since that era ended, the Democratic Party has repeatedly searched for what might come next: a successor to the civil rights movement that once defined its moral authority. Over the decades, a series of causes have been framed in those terms, often with strained comparisons to the racial discrimination of the mid-20th century. First came a movement centered on gender, casting women as victims of a patriarchal system in a way likened to black Americans’ experience under segregation. The analogy never quite fit. Later, similar language was applied to issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, with LGBTQ+ advocacy presented as the new front line of civil rights. Now, Democrats appear to have settled on a new cause: illegal immigration. In this framing, enforcing immigration law is portrayed not merely as a policy disagreement but as an expression of white supremacy itself. Illegal immigrants, the argument goes, must be allowed to remain in the country, and any attempt at enforcement is morally suspect. This is a stretch -- one that suggests demand for examples of systemic American racism has outpaced the available supply. Consider a recent example. On Monday, former Attorney General Eric Holder warned that the Voting Rights Act faces an abiding threat, claiming that the Trump administration is pursuing “unprecedented mid-decade gerrymandering attempts” and engaging in a “concerted effort to resegregate America.”      Such rhetoric dramatically overshoots reality. There is no serious movement in the United States to reinstate segregated schools, water fountains, restaurants or public accommodations. No credible constituency is calling for a return to Jim Crow, and no sentient observer believes America is on the verge of enforced racial separation. In fact, the post-Jim Crow story of race in America was, for decades, one of steadily improving relations. Polling data show that until around 2013, large majorities of both black and white Americans believed race relations were getting better and had improved significantly since the 1960s. That perception changed during the later Obama years and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which coincided with a sharp decline in public optimism about race relations. But declining optimism is not the same as renewed racial oppression, nor does it suggest that white supremacy now rules the roost. Yet the search continues. Democrats need a new civil rights struggle to justify claims of moral urgency and political authority. That case has become increasingly difficult to make. The party is now defined, for many voters, by abortion on demand, an inability to articulate basic distinctions about sex and gender, and a posture approaching open borders. So illegal immigration is being folded into the civil rights narrative. History suggests that this, too, will fall short. Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author. To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM

On Wednesday’s CNN This Morning, the network attempted to downplay possible criminal charges against protestors involved in storming a Saint Paul, Minnesota church in the recent anti-ICE unrest. CNN guest Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, minimized the threat of arrests while complaining about so-called political persecutions of Minnesota Democrats. Guest host Erica Hill introduced the segment with news of subpoenas being issued to Democratic Minnesota leaders, including Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Attorney General Keith Ellison.      “I was speaking with another former federal prosecutor yesterday who said this is highly unusual. This is not the way the DOJ does business. You don't issue a subpoena if you're potentially investigating someone,” Hill said. Krissoff agreed and rambled through an answer worrying of a pending clash between state and federal officials: Yeah, I mean, if they want to be overt about it, they certainly can, you know, issue a subpoena to someone. The really sort of unprecedented issue here is the nature of this investigation. (…) It just really sets up this showdown between the federal and local and state officials here. Hill then asked Krissoff about possible criminal action taken against anti-ICE agitators, which included disgraced former CNN host Don Lemon, who stormed a Minnesota church during its Sunday service. Hill did mention how the church was a private space and how there was a right to religion in that place, but played dumb about alleged violations of the FACE Act: And when we look at potential charges, when it comes to the protesters who were at that church in Saint Paul on Sunday - you know, we're hearing from protesters right to free speech. This is a private space, though, and there is, of course, also right to, to, to religion in that space. How do you see that playing out? This is what's calling it, I believe it's called the FACE Act, which is a lot of, which is a lot of what we're hearing. What could those charges potentially be? In response to Hill’s mention of the FACE Act, which was used against pro-life protestors during the Biden Administration, Krissoff remained fully skeptical of charges being able to survive a jury trial.  Instead of talking about the actual merits of criminal charges, Krissoff complained about the DOJ using too much force. “Yeah, a lot of these sort of circumstances, in addition, sort of the circumstances regarding the church, they seem like, you know, there are threats of charges. There are, there is, you know - the DOJ is very clearly trying to bring the full force of itself down upon people,” Krissoff responded. The segment concluded with Krissoff decrying perceived political persecutions, again basically scoffing at the premise of Hill’s question about the FACE Act: “But at the end of the day, it is very hard to imagine these types of charges stick and that they go forward and - ultimately criminal charges in our country have to be decided by a jury, right? The DOJ doesn't get to decide whether someone is guilty or not.” No mention of criminal campaigns taken against Trump by the likes of New York Attorney General Letitia James or New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who got elected running on the political persecution of Trump. CNN squeezed the mention of the Minnesota church incident in a segment dominated by outrage over Trump DOJ actions in Minnesota, spawned by the state’s rampant fraud crisis. Of course, it is not unexpected, but CNN and their guest decided to not give the trending story any credence.  The transcript is below. Expand to read: CNN This Morning January 21, 2026 6:30:00 a.m. Eastern ERICA HILL: The Justice Department, meantime, is hitting at least five Minnesota officials with subpoenas, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, as well as the state's attorney general, Keith Ellison, the Mayor of Saint Paul, and a local county attorney. It's all part of a federal investigation, we’re told, into alleged obstruction of immigration enforcement efforts. And it comes as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warns of arrests coming in connection to anti-ICE protests at a Minnesota church in Saint Paul over the weekend. [Cuts to video] KRISTI NOEM (DHS Secretary): And that pastor really did a remarkable thing there, trying to protect his parishioners. [Transition] And there's going to be arrests in the next several hours. [Transition] There will be arrests tied to that, and people will be brought to justice for how they violated the law in that situation. [Cuts back to live] HILL: Joining me now to discuss is Sarah Kristof. She's a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. Sarah, it's good to have you with us. I want to start. If we could, on these subpoenas, which are reportedly being issued. We're talking about officials here. I was speaking with another former federal prosecutor yesterday who said this is highly unusual. This is not the way the DOJ does business. You don't issue a subpoena if you're potentially investigating someone. SARAH KRISSOFF: Yeah, I mean, if they want to be overt about it, they certainly can, you know, issue a subpoena to someone. The really sort of unprecedented issue here is the nature of this investigation. I mean, the - these officials have spoken out against ICE’s Operations. There's been a lawsuit filed that's pending in federal court in - in Minnesota. And so - to - in that context, to then issue a subpoena and say ‘oh, actually, there's a criminal investigation going on here by DOJ, we are now seeking documents from you in connection with that’. It just really sets up this showdown between the federal and local and state officials here. HILL: And that's something I think people are trying to wrap their head around. Part of what we heard from, uh, from Gregory Bovino yesterday is he was saying that some of the local leaders, in his words, and I'm quoting him here, “relied on heated rhetoric and allegations that distract from the facts.” Um, are words enough to lead to criminal charges? KRISSOFF: I mean, listen, the DOJ has very broad discretion to open an investigation, right? They open it on the slimmest of, of innuendo or belief. But to bring charges is an entirely different thing, which is what we've seen, frankly, in connection with these other politically motivated prosecutions of, of, of politicians that have been unsuccessful in other jurisdictions. So, I mean, I think it is, it is one thing to issue a subpoena and sort of, you know, try to make a show of force here. I think it will be an entirely different thing to try to proceed with some sort of charges or any type of charges, frankly.  [DISCUSSION ON CHURCH] HILL: And when we look at potential charges, when it comes to the protesters who were at that church in Saint Paul on Sunday - you know, we're hearing from protesters right to free speech. This is a private space, though, and there is, of course, also right to, to, to religion in that space. How do you see that playing out? This is what's calling it, I believe it's called the FACE Act, which is a lot of, which is a lot of what we're hearing. What could those charges potentially be? KRISSOFF: Yeah, a lot of these sort of circumstances, in addition, sort of the circumstances regarding the church, they seem like, you know, there are threats of charges. There are people are arrested. There are, there is, you know - the DOJ is very clearly trying to bring the full force of itself down upon people. But at the end of the day, it is very hard to imagine these types of charges stick and that they go forward and - ultimately criminal charges in our country have to be decided by a jury, right? The DOJ doesn't get to decide whether someone is guilty or not.” HILL: It is an excellent point. You talk about - but you talk about the government bringing the full force. We also have, of course, The Washington Post reporting DOJ is bringing in additional prosecutors to help when it comes to cases related to anti-ICE protests amid a staffing shortage. This comes on the heels of, I believe it was six prosecutors in Minnesota who resigned last week, although Pam Bondi then went on to say she was going to fire them. What does all this do in terms of pressure on prosecutors in this moment? KRISSOFF: It is very difficult to be a prosecutor in the Department of Justice at the moment. So there is a shortage of prosecutors across the DOJ, and there is also a shortage of career prosecutors, many folks who have been there for many years have that expertise and knowledge, how to bring these cases, how to proceed with them judiciously, have left the Department of Justice. There was a real flight from the Department of Justice. And so they are - the the DOJ is understaffed generally at the moment, and they are really scrambling to sort of do the work and then to be pulled in all of these different directions, right. To be told on Monday they're doing one thing and Tuesday they're doing another, and Wednesday they're investigating yet another, you know, political enemy really hinders the work that they are doing. It makes it very hard for them to do the work and, frankly, unlikely that any of these politically prosecuted, politically motivated prosecutions will go anywhere. HILL: Sara, really appreciate your insight on this. Thank you. KRISSOFF: Thank you.

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is bringing his long-standing Obama-polishing interview style to the early contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is the latest beneficiary, after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The primary subject was, inevitably, Donald Trump as a threat to democracy.  The online headline was er, helpful to the usual Democrat paranoia: Gretchen Whitmer says it's not 'paranoia' to fear Trump using homeland security personnel in elections Inskeep proclaimed at the top of the nearly eight-minute segment "she said her swing state is preparing for any efforts to disrupt elections this fall." GRETCHEN WHITMER: We know that there will be efforts to compromise the election or to dissuade people from showing up, to scare people away, to threaten people. We cannot let that stand. I'm concerned about it. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. INSKEEP: Some people spin out theories, and they will say, well, Homeland Security people are everywhere, and they might be used in some way. WHITMER: I don't think it's paranoia to have that concern. The Morning Edition anchor also pushed this DHS/ICE angle on X:  Gretchen Whitmer warns in an NPR video that it’s not “paranoia” to fear immigration agents interfering in the 2026 elections. Her remark exposes a longstanding link between the immigration debate and election results. Read it here or watch at the link below. pic.twitter.com/nMcNOZSrC2 — Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) January 21, 2026 Inskeep's questions were often just "you go, girl" prompts to whack Trump:  INSKEEP: Just before our interview, Trump's administration had promised not to prosecute immigration agents while also investigating Democrats, including a Michigan senator. [To Whitmer] What does that all add up to? WHITMER: I think an abuse of power. I think that's pretty clear. That's the through line there, and I think it's a very serious and scary moment in this country. The toughest NPR questions nudged Whitmer to explain why the Democrats aren't currently in a terrific position in the polls. INSKEEP: Democrats have the advantage of facing an unpopular president and his party, but Democrats are unpopular themselves. There are a lot of people who voted for Trump, not because they love him, but because they wanted drastic change. Do Democrats have anything to say to people who want drastic change in the way the country has been run? WHITMER: I think drastic change might be an oversimplification. I think that people want leaders who understand them and care about them. You know, I've met a lot of Michiganders who voted both for me and Donald Trump twice. I don't understand everything that makes that voter tick. But when I talk to them, they tell me, I think you're the one that understands what I'm going through. You're the one that's talking about the issues that matter to me. INSKEEP: Democrats did really badly with men in 2024. And then, in your State of the State speech in early 2025, about a year ago, you warned about a generation of men falling behind their fathers and their grandfathers. What were you saying, and is anything better now? Whitmer explained they couldn't get men to participate in some economic programs to the same degree as women, such as first-time home-buying help. There's nothing about transgender controversies, one mover of male voters: INSKEEP: There's a whole conversation about the demoralization of men, about men feeling left out, not seeing a way forward. Is society doing something to men? WHITMER: You know, I don't know all of the different pressures. I've been studying it. I'm listening to probably a lot of the same podcasts that you are to understand... INSKEEP: (Laughter). WHITMER: ...What can we do? How do we bridge this gap? Inskeep concluded the on-air story by asking Whitmer if Michelle Obama was right that America isn't ready for a female president. Unsurprisingly, for a potential 2028 candidate, she gently disagreed on that. A longer interview was posted on YouTube (with the same paranoid push): 

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They want him overthrown. President Trump’s visit to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum where he dressed down European leaders was the final straw for the leftists of ABC’s The View. They were so fed up that, on Wednesday’s episode, ABC moderator Whoopi Goldberg was openly calling for Trump to be overthrown via the 25th Amendment. It would be a move she didn’t seem educated on since it required his cabinet to act and she wanted them gone too. “25th Amendment! 25th Amendment! It’s time! 25th Amendment! It's time! It's time! It's time!,” Goldberg shouted after playing soundbites of Trump’s Davos address. With support from co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Joy Behar, Goldberg argued that it was long past when Trump needed to be removed from office: HOSTIN: You believe at this point that the President of the United States may not have his full faculties? GOLDBERG: I felt that before now! JOY BEHAR: Yeah, but the cherry on the cake was yesterday. GOLDBERG: Well, no. There's been a lot of cherries on the cake. There have been several cherries. The cherries on this cake are enormous! There are so many. BEHAR: It’s a cherry tree. GOLDBERG: The line's in the sand. I mean, it looks like a stamp! There's so many lines in the sand.   Whoopi Goldberg after hearing Trump's Davos speech: "It's time! 25th Amendment! It's time! It's time! It's time!" Additionally: SUNNY HOSTIN: To that point, Whoopi, you would be in a lot of company. You believe at this point that the president of the United States may not have… pic.twitter.com/4VPyGk1IH8 — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 21, 2026   “Look, he is sitting in a position that is uncomfortable to me. I'm sorry. I'm uncomfortable with him as president,” Goldberg proclaimed, as if her feelings were enough justification to overthrow a sitting president. Unfortunately for her, a majority of Americans did feel comfortable with him being president. That’s why he won the election. Faux conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin chimed in with a “dose of reality” to remind Goldberg the cabinet was need to invoke the 25th Amendment, but she shouted that she wanted them out too: FARAH GRIFFIN: But just remember, the 25th amendment requires the cabinet around him to act. GOLDBERG: I understand. FARAH GRIFFIN: I know, but just as a dose of reality, his cabinet is squarely with him, though I do think -- GOLDBERG: Yes, and it's time for them to go too!   Despite needing the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment, Whoopi wants them gone too: GOLDBERG: You know, look, he is sitting in a position that is uncomfortable to me. HOSTIN: Yeah. GOLDBERG: I'm sorry. I'm uncomfortable with him as president. BEHAR: A lot of people believe… pic.twitter.com/YPi3qsA1Kq — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 21, 2026   Farah Griffin would go on to gripe about Trump’s dressing down of European leaders, whining it sounded, “like he's more mad at them than he is our enemies.” According Behar’s conspiracy-theory-driven brain, it was because “Putin likes him” and “He's a Russian asset!” Behar’s regurgitation of the long-debunked Russia Collusion Hoax didn’t really square with her concern from two weeks prior, that Trump was pointlessly antagonizing Russia by seizing a ghost fleet oil tanker, and possibly leading us into a military confrontation.   Joy Behar regurgitates the Russia collusion hoax and claims - without evidence - that Trump is a "Russian asset." FARAH GRIFFIN: It frustrates me when he talks about our European allies. Like he's more mad at them than he is our enemies. [Crosstalk] BEHAR: You know why? You… pic.twitter.com/uSpJsVcvYf — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 21, 2026   Hostin chimed back in later in the show to claim that Trump was planning to take over the world unless Europe stood up to him: “[I]f Europe capitulates, as Whoopi just said, every single country is at risk! This is an imperialist president! He wants to colonize everybody! Every country!” Behar nearly had a mental breakdown after Farah Griffin reminded them that Trump still had three years left. “No, don't tell me he has three years left! I can't. I can't hear that,” she pleaded. Goldberg responded by hinting at her 25th Amendment plot: “You got to make some changes. You got to make changes. You know?” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View January 21, 2026 11:04:25 a.m. Eastern (…) WHOOPI GOLDBERG: 25th Amendment! 25th Amendment! It’s time! 25th Amendment! It's time! It's time! It's time! [Applause] SUNNY HOSTIN: To that point, Whoopi, you would be in a lot of company. You believe at this point that the President of the United States may not have his full faculties? GOLDBERG: I felt that before now! JOY BEHAR: Yeah, but the cherry on the cake was yesterday. GOLDBERG: Well, no. There's been a lot of cherries on the cake. There have been several cherries. The cherries on this cake are enormous! There are so many. BEHAR: It’s a cherry tree. GOLDBERG: The line's in the sand. I mean, it looks like a stamp! There's so many lines in the sand. BEHAR: Even his former White House attorney Ty Cobb said that 'anybody outside the United States who believes that Trump is sane is' -- there is nobody outside this country that thinks he's sane. And his former Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said 'this presser is bizarre even for him. It's low energy and feels like he's mentally slipping.' These are people who would normally work for him. Who have worked for him. GOLDBERG: A two-hour – HOSTIN: Press conference. BEHAR: Ramble. GOLDBERG: Press conference about I don’t know what. It was – it – You know, look, he is sitting in a position that is uncomfortable to me. HOSTIN: Yeah. GOLDBERG: I'm sorry. I'm uncomfortable with him as president. BEHAR: A lot of people believe that. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: But just remember, the 25th amendment requires the cabinet around him to act. GOLDBERG: I understand. BEHAR: Well, we're talking to them. FARAH GRIFFIN: I know, but just as a dose of reality, his cabinet is squarely with him, though I do think -- GOLDBERG: Yes, and it's time for them to go too! FARAH GRIFFIN: This is where midterms, elections, and Congress comes into pay. (…) 11:07:29 a.m. Eastern FARAH GRIFFIN: It frustrates me when I hear him talk about our European allies. It’s like he's more mad at them than he is our enemies. [Crosstalk] BEHAR: You know why? You know why? Because they don't like him and they don't support him! Putin likes him because he likes what is going on with him! FARAH GRIFFIN: I don't think Putin likes him. BEHAR: Well, Putin is on his side! He's a Russian asset! (…) 11:11:51 a.m. Eastern HOSTIN: [I]f Europe capitulates, as Whoopi just said, every single country is at risk! This is an imperialist president! He wants to colonize everybody! Every country! (…) 11:21:29 a.m. Eastern FARAH GRIFFIN: It all just feels like a distraction from the one thing he was asked to and it’s like you've got three years left and Americans are hurting. BEHAR: No, don't tell me he has three years left! I can't. GOLDBERG: Well, you know -- BEHAR: I can't hear that. GOLDBERG: You got to make some changes. You got to make changes. You know? (…)

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel wants all of the benefits that come with the ability to talk about politics on a nationally televised show without any of the ethics or responsibility that comes with it. On Tuesday, Kimmel declared that Renee Good was “murdered in Minneapolis” despite there being no charges filed against ICE agent Jonathan Ross, let alone a conviction. Kimmel made his remarks while introducing a clip of President Trump at that day’s White House press conference, “Trump also for the first time expressed a measure of sympathy for Renee Good, the woman who was murdered in Minneapolis. He now concedes that her death was a tragedy but not necessarily for the reason you might hope.”   Despite their being no charges let alone a conviction, Jimmy Kimmel says Renee Good was "murdered" and later posits that Trump "is jealous that all the shows on the History Channel are about Hitler, and not him." pic.twitter.com/gu4RPeWPoi — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) January 21, 2026   While Kimmel would go on to mock Trump for talking about himself, Kimmel’s introduction is just the latest example of him not putting his monologue through the rigorous fact-checking process he claims he does. In addition to the irresponsible riling up of his liberal audience, journalism ethics 101—and yes, journalism ethics also apply to comedians—says that you do not say someone has committed a crime until they have been convicted, and at this moment in time, Ross hasn’t even been alleged to have committed a crime. A bit later, Kimmel hypothesized that the reason why Trump is acting like he is, “Trump is jealous that all the shows on the History Channel are about Hitler and not him.” Kimmel is just the latest member of the media to flippantly throw around the M-word, but Disney still might find it wise to stage another intervention with Kimmel.   Guilty until proven innocent? The leftist media are spreading lies explicitly claiming Renee Good was murdered. They're not even throwing in the obligatory "alleged" anymore — they've already found ICE officer Jonathan Ross guilty. pic.twitter.com/wwrVuBugzP — MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) January 14, 2026   Here is a transcript for the January 20 show: ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! 1/20/2026 11:43 PM ET JIMMY KIMMEL: Trump also for the first time expressed a measure of sympathy for Renee Good, the woman who was murdered in Minneapolis. He now concedes that her death was a tragedy but not necessarily for the reason you might hope. DONALD TRUMP: I felt horribly when I was told that the young woman who was—a tragedy, it’s a tragedy, it’s a horrible thing. Everybody would say -- ICE would say the same thing, but when I learned her parents, and her father in particular, I hope he still is, but I don't know, was a tremendous Trump fan, he was all for Trump, loved Trump. And you know, it's terrible. I was told that by a lot of people, they said, “Oh, he loves you.” He was -- I hope he still feels that way. I don’t know, it’s hard. Hard situation. But her father was a tremendous -- and parents – were tremendous Trump fans. It's so sad, it just happens. It's terrible. … I have a theory, and I think this might explain a lot. Trump is jealous that all the shows on the History Channel are about Hitler and not him. 

Through early Wednesday, ABC, CBS, and NBC have only spent two minutes and 43 seconds on their lead morning and evening newscasts spotlighting Sunday’s stunt by a deranged anti-Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) mob — which included former CNN host Don Lemon — to disrupt a St. Paul church’s Sunday service. And, despite what the elite, liberal press would have you think, CBS News is anything but MAGA media as evidenced by their paltry 13 seconds on the harassing of congregants that’s drawn the attention of the Justice Department. Out of a possible six newscasts (three evening, three morning), CBS Mornings has ignored the stunt meant to protest Renee Good’s killing and now drawn the interest of the Justice Department. This left the 14 seconds to the CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil, which only mentioned it once in a single sentence on Monday’s show by correspondent Ian Lee: The Justice Department late today said it will consider federal charges against anti-ICE protesters who interrupted a church service in St. Paul on Sunday, where they accuse one of the pastors of working with ICE. ABC and NBC had nothing to tout either. ABC’s Good Morning America (22 seconds) and World News Tonight (29 seconds) each covered it once on Tuesday and Monday, respectively. Amid two soundbites from the mayhem, here was what correspondent Matt Rivers said on Monday’s World News Tonight: “After anti-ICE protesters disrupted this Sunday service, the Justice Department says it's now investigating...Protesters targeting the church because one of the pastors is also the director of an ICE field office.” Rivers was back for Tuesday’s Good Morning America, noting that “tensions [are] ris[ing] in Minneapolis as anti-ICE protesters disrupted this Sunday service demonstrating against a pastor who is also the director of an ICE field office, though it’s unclear if he was even there.” Following a soundbite from the stream of co-ringleader William Kelly screaming at congregants, Rivers simply added “[t]he Justice Department is now investigating.” NBC accounted for more than half the overall tally as, between NBC Nightly News and Today, the peacock network accounted for one minute and 39 seconds. Monday’s Today (18 seconds) was the lone lead morning show to cover it to cover it that day: On NBC's ‘Today,’ @Maggie_Vespa was the only broadcast network correspondent to mention on the lead morning shows the anti-ICE mob storming a Minneapolis church service, tacking it onto the end of her piece (skip to the last 30 seconds): “On the ground, tensions rising.… pic.twitter.com/rZ37q4RPqw — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 19, 2026 After there was no Monday Nightly News due to an NBA tripleheader, both NBC newscasts highlighted the incident. Correspondent Maggie Vespa sucked up to one of the ringleaders — “civil rights attorney” Nekima Levy Armstrong — on Today (69 seconds) (click “expand”): SHEINELLE JONES: The White House is now vowing consequences for Sunday’s high profile protests inside a Minnesota church. (....) VESPA: A civil rights attorney who was part of the church protest telling me she has no regrets. That’s despite the Department of Justice now vowing a federal investigation into that demonstration as tensions soar here in Minneapolis and nationwide. (....) ANTI-ICE MOB: Justice for Renee Good! VESPA: Meanwhile, Sunday’s protests at a St. Paul church under an intensifying spotlight, demonstrators claiming a pastor at City’s Church [sic] runs local ICE operations. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE [on FNC’s The Will Cain Show, 01/19/26]: What you saw there was anti-Christian, anti-law enforcement rioters storming a church. VESPA: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arguing protectors broke federal law. BLANCHE [on FNC’s The Will Cain Show, 01/19/26]: You are not allowed to stop people from worshipping. And you’re not allowed to intimidate or impede them. ARMSTRONG: The church invited us in. VESPA: Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong was one of the protesters. She says federal authorities have not contacted her about an investigation. ARMSTRONG: They need to be investigating Jonathan Ross for the killing of Renee Good, not trying to weaponize their power against nonviolent, peaceful demonstrators. Come Tuesday’s Nightly News, Vespa had a 12-second aside about President Trump’s remarks hours earlier in the White House Briefing Room lambasting the mob:  VESPA: ....while President Trump slamming anti-ICE protesters who confronted parishioners inside a church where they believe a pastor works for ICE. TRUMP: What they did in that church was horrible. These numbers are in contrast to three minutes and six seconds through Wednesday morning across the same newscasts about video of an American citizen from Laos whom ICE dragged out of his home because, according to ICE, he was living with two illegal alien sex offenders. In the case of ABC (76 seconds) and CBS (49 seconds), both have spent far more time on the supposedly viral images while NBC surprisingly has spent less time on this Laotian with 61 seconds on the board.

Joe Scarborough is obsessed with "Rape Island." He climbed up on that hobby horse no fewer than seven times in Morning Joe's opening segment today.  Scarborough's motive, revealed at the end of his spiel, was to claim that President Trump is falling into a trap by asserting that Denmark has no legal right to Greenland other than having landed boats there hundreds of years ago..  Scarborough turned to an unusual source: a New York Post article reporting it appears that there was a treaty in 1917 by which the US recognized Denmark's right to Greenland in return for Denmark granting the US rights to islands in the West Indies that included what eventually became Epstein Island, or "Rape Island," as Scarborough loves calling it.  So, according to Scarborough, questioning Denmark's right to Greenland will inevitably lead to something Trump would like to avoid: mentions of Jeffrey Epstein and the files that the Trump administration has not yet completely released. Meanwhile, is there a more boorish, big-footing, liberal media TV host than Scarborough? He embarrassed Mika [see screencap] with his multiple mentions of Rape Island, and arrogated to himself Mika's traditional role of introducing the show, inducing head-shaking exasperation from his wife.  And despite inviting co-host Jonathan Lemire to explain the history of the treaty, Scarborough didn't let him get more than a few words out before cutting him off to give his own explanation of the relevant history.  And before letting Lemire (briefly) speak, Scarborough humiliated co-host Willie Geist, forcing him to admit that he hadn't read the New York Post story on the treaty. There's a more apt term for the likes of Joe Scarborough, but NewsBusters being a family-friendly site, we'll stick with "boor."  Here's the transcript. MS NOW Morning Joe 1/21/26 6:00 am ET JOE SCARBOROUGH: There was a deal made! A deal's a deal.  MIKA BRZEZINSKI: That's a different deal.  SCARBOROUGH: Greenland for Rape Island, but we'll talk about that in a second. That's what you call a tease.  Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It's Wednesday, January the 21st [Mika shakes her head because it's traditionally her role to introduce the show that way.] Willie, it's so good to have you here. We also have Jon Lemire. Are you aware, Willie? He does work here.  Are you aware, Willie, as Mr. Lemire,  have you read Rupert Murdoch's New York Post this morning to understand the history behind the Danish getting Greenland?  WILLIE GEIST: No, I think Jon's going to bring that to us. I'm not familiar.  . . .  SCARBOROUGH: We learn, thanks to the New York Post, that the United States in 1917, Jonathan, recognized the Danish right to Greenland, not because they brought ships there 500 years ago. But tell us exactly why did the United States State Department agree to the Danish controlling Greenland in 1917?  JONATHAN LEMIRE: So, this update comes to us from the investigative journalists at the New York Post, and I posted a story last night, and I'll just read from it. "The last time the United States purchased land from Denmark, the sale included Jeffrey Epstein's future notorious island, known as Epstein Island. It's because of the 1917 --- SCARBOROUGH: [Interrupts Lemire] Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Hold on. So you're saying that actually, the Danish have rights to Greenland today in a large part because the United States recognized that right after a part of islands, which contained Jeffrey Epstein's Rape Island, was part of that deal.  . . .  SCARBOROUGH: So, Willie, so Willie, it's not because -- MIKA: We're read in now. SCARBOROUGH: -- of 500 years, cause the Danish sent a boat 500 years ago. It's because in World War I, the United States gave the Danish rights to Greenland for Rape Island [rings a bell.] We can ring the bell. It's official. It's official. Greenland for Rape Island.  MIKA: Ugh! SCARBOROUGH: Congratulations, our Danish friends.  GEIST: First of all, I didn't know we had an ISO cam on the bell. That's just great work by our team in the control room. Wow, it's there when you need it.  SCARBOROUGH:[Rings bell again] Yeah, get it.  GEIST: Fantastic. You know, I think it was called something else at the time. It later became the island that you're describing there. . . .  SCARBOROUGH: Right. Right. But we are also bringing up the fact that Rape Island -- MIKA: Oh my God! SCARBOROUGH: -- which was a part of St. Thomas, was part of the deal in 1917.  . . .  MIKA: Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham joins us this morning.  SCARBOROUGH: Little known fact: he won the Pulitzer Prize based on that land transfer in 1917.  MIKA: Also had a camera focused, just like on the bell.  SCARBOROUGH: Exactly! I'm still trying to figure out, Willie, though, how did he pull in, how did he pull in the French-Indian War, and Shays' Rebellion into the 1917 transfer -- MIKA: Yes! It's so hot.  SCARBOROUGH: -- of Greenland for St. Thomas and Rape Island. Only Jon Meacham could do that, Willie.  . . .  [Trump aides] don't have books at home, I'm sure. But if they just checked the Google machine! The Google machine would say the Danish got the rights to Greenland because in 1917 the United States said, give us the Danish West Indies, which includes Saint Thomas, which includes Rape Island -- MIKA: Oh my -- SCARBOROUGH: -- wasn't called that, of course, until Jeffrey Epstein bought it. But don't you think there'd be one person there saying, Mr. President, you know, probably be better for you not to say, that because it's going to lead back to the very thing that you're trying to distract the American people and the world from. That, of course, is Jeffrey Epstein. And the fact that the White House and the DoJ continues [sic]  to break the law every single day -- MIKA: More than a month now. SCARBOROUGH: -- for over a month, by not releasing all the files which they are required by law to release, but they only released about 1% of them. Don't you think there would have been one person in the White House that would have checked that out and told the president?

Before flying out to Davos, President Donald Trump sat down with Katie Pavlich for an extensive interview on her new and eponymous program. The interview was significant, newsworthy, and a refreshing departure from the usual Elitist Media fare.  Here are some of the most notable moments: The rapid-fire interview went straight to business and opened with a question on the day’s biggest story: the anti-ICE protests in Minnesota that escalated to a church incursion and subsequent DoJ civil rights investigation. First question in the Pavlich-Trump interview is on Minnesota: Trump denounces the professional protesters, calls Don Lemon a "loser" pic.twitter.com/RDYLqRpluc — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 21, 2026 KATIE PAVLICH: Thank you, Mr. President for having us here at The White House to mark the one-year anniversary to your second term in The White House. Minnesota continues to be Ground Zero for the left's war against your deportation efforts. Just today you saw the Department of Justice issue a number of subpoenas against Democratic officials there- Governor Tim Walz, the mayor of Minneapolis and the Attorney General, Keith Ellison. What is the status of Minneapolis and what is your administration doing to ensure that your deportation efforts can continue in that city and around the country?  DONALD TRUMP: I think you have two problems: number one, you have $19 billion dollars worth of stolen money, at .I think the number's going to be much higher, and you have that in California, you have it in other states also, I believe, when you- when you go through it. So that's a big problem. And then you have the agitators, anarchists. You know, I watched sort of everything. I see it all. And I see people screaming, “shame, shame”. You know, this is not people that are, like, living in Minnes- these are professional paid people. They’re like actors. I mean, I watched the guy last night in the church. He was- and not just Don Lemon, Don Lemon’s a loser.  But what you got last night in the church- this guy's a professional guy and he actually admits to it. He gets paid a lot of money to go and cause trouble. And you see that. But they don't see is that ICEgets rid of murders, drug dealers, Tren de Aragua. I mean, the worst gang in the world anywhere in the world- MS-13, Tren de... But these are the worst gangs and they get rid of them. They take them out- and I say, something's wrong when a place like Minnesota, which is a good place, it’s got a horrible governor. It’s got horrible people- this Ilhan Omar is horrible.  I mean, she comes from a country that doesn't even have a government, they have nothing. And she comes here and she lectures us on the Constitution. She's got constitutional rights. She's just horrible. Somebody said she's worth 30 million dollars. Therefore, she's obviously a very dishonest person. And she should be looked at for that, so you have a couple of things. You have the money thing and then you have the- all of the fake nonsense going on and- screaming. The people, they’re so professional. They hold their cameras up high and it's a terrible thing going on in Minnesota.  Pavlich quickly moves to a potential invocation of the Insurrection Act as a result of the unrest in Minnesota. Trump broke news by assessing that an invocation of the Insurrection act is not yet necessary. Trump, on the Insurrection Act: “I don’t think it is yet. It might be at some point. It is actually very common—you know, with me they’ll make it like a big deal—but, it’s been used by over 40 percent of the presidents during their term. It's something I would have no problem… pic.twitter.com/Co8XMyzaW1 — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 21, 2026 PAVLICH: Well, you've threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if the governor did not get things under control, they clearly don't have things under control and don't seem to want to get them under control yet. These activists storming churches now. They're still impeding these investigations of child sex offenders, murders. At a press under stay at The White House you held up a number of photos of the people that ICE has been supporting. The Insurrection Act would allow you- requires, essentially, that if federal law cannot be enforced, that you can invoke and it would allow it to be enforced. So where are you with that threat? Do you still think it's necessary?  TRUMP:I don't think it is yet, it might be at some point. It is actually very common, you know, with me, they'll make it like a big deal, but, uh, it's been used by over 40% of the presidents during their term. Uh, it's something I would have no problem doing if I think we needed it. We have great people in ICE, uh, they're strong people, they're smart people. And I don't think it's necessary yet, but I, you know, I see they're building up like, "Oh, if he ever did that." Uh, over 40% of the presidents used it. Some presidents used it actually many times. And it does make life a lot easier. Uh, you don't go through the court system, you don't, you know, it's just a much easier thing to do. But I don't think we need it, uh, at this point, and hopefully we won't need it. But I would, I would not have any problem with invoking it if we needed it. The conversation continued along that immigration track before moving to Greenland. Here, Trump explains his national security rationale behind the emphasis on Greenland. Trump on the Greenland imperative: its location is critical to national security and the Golden Dome. pic.twitter.com/gZLrjDed0o — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 21, 2026 PAVLICH: You're on your way to Davos this week. TRUMP: Right. PAVLICH: And there's a lot of talk about Greenland, of course. Uh, European leaders are not so happy about your increased pressure to acquire Greenland. For the average American who maybe doesn't understand why the United States is pursuing this piece of property -- TRUMP: Right. PAVLICH: -- what, what do you say to them? Why do we need Greenland? TRUMP: It's located in such a place that is literally so important for national security. When you come to Russia, when you come to China, a lot of Chinese boats, a lot of, uh, Russian, you know, ships, military ships, uh, it's, uh, in a location that is very important for our national security and also for the international security of the world, literally. It's a very big piece of land. It's really cold, got a lot of ice on it, so it's not like we're gonna put, build a nice real estate development or anything. PAVLICH: No golf course on Greenland? TRUMP: Well, I don't see a golf course. You'd have to be very, you'd have to wear a lot of very heavy clothes. Like we're not gonna set any records with golf. But I will tell you that it's very important, uh, to the United States. And, uh, as an example, we're building the Golden Dome, which we're gonna have a dome over the country. If somebody wants to shoot missiles, it'll not come out of the air like match decks. It'll, it'll go very nicely. It's amazing. You know, Ronald Reagan wanted this many, many years ago. He was ahead of his time, but the problem is you didn't have equipment that worked. Today, the equipment is unbelievable. You've seen it. I mean, we can knock a missile coming at thousands of miles an hour. It's like, and you get literally 100% of them. The technology is so good. So we're building a Golden Dome and having Greenland makes it a much more effective Golden Dome. PAVLICH: So you're saying Greenland is essential for the security of the United States in the free Western world -- TRUMP: Correct. PAVLICH: -- for the sake of missile defense? TRUMP: That is correct. PAVLICH: And that's why we need Greenland. TRUMP: That is correct. And even beyond missile defense, but it is so important for the Golden Dome. It's so important for just national and actually international security. Moving to domestic policy, Pavlich asks Trump about domestic policy goals- Trump calls on Congress to codify his executive orders: Trump calls on Congress to codify his executive orders ahead of the midterm pic.twitter.com/BMabgSHrbs — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 21, 2026 PAVLICH: So, looking back here at home domestically, last year you worked with Congress very closely, Republicans in charge of both the House and the Senate, and of course you're in the White House and you worked with them on the Big Beautiful Bill. For 2026, especially in a midterm election year, what is your goal for Congress in terms of getting your agenda through? What, what is on the agenda? What expectations do you have for, for Congress? TRUMP: Well, one of the things I'd like to do, you know, we pass so many executive orders. I have great executive orders that are really common sense and good and have, I mean, like water coming out of a sink, uh, the water wouldn't come out. They had all sorts of ridiculous restrictions. I took all of that off. So, I pass so many different things like that and much more important things, but like that. They are, they are important, they're quality of life. And I'd like to have all of that confirmed by Congress if we can. And we've done a lot of it. We've done probably 35, 40%. I'd like to get them all, uh, confirmed, every one of them. PAVLICH: So, you want your executive orders codified in law, so to speak? TRUMP: Uh, ideally we get them codified and we get them codified soon, yes. This kicked off a segment on domestic economics where Trump asserted that tariffs could replace the income tax, expects a boom in 2026, and stresses the need to expand the electrical grid in order to sustain AI. Shifting to foreign policy, Pavlich asked about the sonic weapon deployed during the raid to capture Nicolas Maduro. Trump acknowledged the existence of such weapons.  Trump demurs when asked about the sonic weapon deployed during the Maduro raid: "We have weapons that nobody knows about. And I say it's probably good not to talk about it but we have some amazing weapons. That was an amazing attack." Trump cites the Maduro regime as a root cause… pic.twitter.com/uBCX6JdXcQ — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 21, 2026 PAVLICH: Speaking of Venezuela, there was a, a weapon used, a sonic weapon that took out many of the Cuban bodyguards that were used to, to  TRUMP: Yeah. PAVLICH: -- defend Maduro. Uh, lots of people saw the details about that weapon and were concerned. Is that something that Americans should be afraid of, something the United States is combating? TRUMP: Well, yeah. It's something I don't wanna, nobody else has it. We have weapons that nobody knows about. And I say it's probably good not to talk about it, but we have some amazing weapons. That was an amazing attack. Don't forget, that house was in the middle of a fort, an army base, a big one. A lot of soldiers, and they came in and they did their job. We had, we lost nobody. PAVLICH: Uh, do you feel like, uh, Maduro's gonna make some kind of deal when it comes to the charges he's up against to give you intelligence about what the Russians and Iranians are doing in his country?  TRUMP: Well, I'm leaving, uh, that up to the Department of Justice. We'll see how it all goes. But, uh, look, he killed a lot of people. I mean, you look at what happened with the drugs. And he also was responsible more than any other country for emptying his jails, his mental institutions. Just emptied them out and brought him into the United States. And that's what we're talking when we talk about Minnesota, when we talk about all this crime stuff. We're getting rid of, Biden left us a mess. We're getting rid of the mess. He had open borders. He had an open border policy. So Maduro came in and let all of his criminals into the United States because of Biden's open border. They didn't even question. They'd look at some people, they'd say, "They're criminals. I don't want to get into it. " They'd say, "They're criminals." And it's, "Come on in."  And what we're doing is getting them out. And, and believe me, it takes a big part of my time. This was a self-imposed error. This was just a terrible, what they did to this country can never be forgotten. He was the worst president. And what Biden did, and, you know, it's the people that, that use the autopen, you can call it a lot of different things, but he was surrounded by people, the beautiful resolute desk in the Oval Office, which I'll show you right after this.  PAVLICH: Oh, fantastic. TRUMP: But, uh, it's beautiful, but it was surrounded by radical left lunatics. And what they did to this country can never be forgotten. They let in millions of, of criminal, you know, you have probably 25 million people that were let into this country, and no checking, no vetting, no anything. They come, many of them came from prisons. Many of them came from mental institutions --  PAVLICH: Yeah. TRUMP: -- gang members, drug dealers. They just let 'em into our country -- PAVLICH: Yeah. TRUMP: -- and I've got to get 'em out. Pavlich then asks Trump about Iran issuing fresh assassination threats, which provides a notable quote: Trump, on retaliation against an Iranian assassination attempt: Well, they shouldn't be doing it, but I've left notification. Anything ever happens, we're going to blow the—the whole country is going to get blown up. So, we've, you know, originally, Biden should have said… pic.twitter.com/OLASDoNGwv — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 21, 2026 PAVLICH: Iran. Uh, you mentioned in the press conference today that you did in the briefing room with reporters that they canceled or at least put on hold hundreds of hangings that were scheduled. TRUMP: Yeah. PAVLICH: However, there are reports that they are still burning thousands of protestors alive. They also issued an assassination threat against you over the weekend. I know that you can't talk about what's on the table, but what is your response to Iran's, uh, leadership in the regime continuing to taunt you, threaten you, especially given over the weekend you said it's time for new leadership in Iran. TRUMP: Well, they shouldn't be doing it, but I've left notification, anything ever happens, we're gonna blow the hell, the whole country's gonna get blown up. So w- -- we've, you know, originally, uh, Biden should've said something, you know, when they made a statement. We always said, "Why isn't Biden saying anything?" Because he didn't. But a president has to defend a president, like if I were here and they were making that threat to somebody, even, not even a president, but somebody, like they did with me, uh, I would absolutely hit them so hard. But I have very firm instructions, anything happens, they're gonna wipe 'em off the face of this earth. Pavlich asked the legacy question, with Trump saying he’d like to be remembered as a great president.  Trump on his legacy: I would love my legacy to be that I was a great president. pic.twitter.com/PosrXnnImz — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 21, 2026 PAVLICH: What do you want your legacy to be that now that you have three le- -- years left in your term? If you can pick one. TRUMP: I would love my legacy to be that I was a great president, and a great president covers a lot of territory. Uh, we were safe, we were prosperous, we were doing well, we were happy as a country. Uh, I'd like to be known as a great president. A great president takes it all in. Towards the end of the interview, Trump joked that the Democrats will impeach him for having a good economy, should they retake the House. The interview ended with Trump’s thoughts on the dangers of the presidency, then proceeded to a panel segment that was cut short due to Air Force One’s late emergency landing due to electrical issues.  The interview proved to be a refreshing change of pace from the usual Elitist Media slop. Pavlich appears not to be consumed with the narcissist impulse to be the story. This allowed Pavlich to be efficient with her time, engage Trump on a wide array of matters, and emerge with a very newsworthy interview. A home run all around.

Broadcast network talk shows can’t shirk their responsibility to provide equal opportunities to political candidates by claiming they’re acting as “news” shows, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Media Bureau warned Wednesday. Citing Section 315 of the Section 315 of the Communications Act, the Bureau’s Public Notice reminds broadcasters that, if they provide airtime to one candidate, they are required by law to provide equal and comparable access to airtime to all opposing legally-qualified candidates: “Adherence to these requirements are (sic) central to a broadcast licensee’s obligation to operate in the public interest.” Exemptions to this requirement are granted if the candidate’s appearance serves a genuine (“bona fide”) news purpose, specifically: A bona fide newscast, A bona fide news interview, A bona fide news documentary (if the appearance of the candidate is incidental to the presentation of the subjects covered by the news documentary), or On-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events (including, but not limited to, incidental political conventions and activities). Supposed entertainment programs, such as both late night and daytime talk shows, may or may not qualify for the “bona fide news” exemption, depending on the specifics of each political candidate’s interview. The notice recalls two contradictory rulings by the FCC’s Media Bureau over the years, both regarding “The Tonight Show.” However, since the 2006 ruling that a candidate interview on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” did qualify as “bona fide news,” broadcast networks have assumed that all candidate interviews on similar entertainment programs are exempt. Not so, the FCC notes warns: “Importantly, the FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on the air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption. “Moreover, a program that is motivated by partisan purposes, for example, would not be entitled to an exemption under longstanding FCC precedent.” "The FCC is doing its job. Broadcasters use public airwaves for free, and in return they are required to follow the law,” Media Research Center (MRC) President David Bozell said, commenting on the FCC notice: “Equal time and fair treatment are not optional. They are the price broadcasters agreed to pay for what is effectively a massive taxpayer subsidy." “Left to their own ‘news judgment,’ the broadcast networks would naturally tilt toward putting on Democrat politicians, and that air time sounds promotional, like Scott Pelley buttering up Joe Biden on ‘60 Minutes,’” MRC’s Tim Graham, executive director of NewsBusters, added. “The FCC is talking about equal time for candidates, and not forcing the networks to grant equal respect, because they tend to celebrate Democrats and attempt to ruin Republicans,” Graham explained, noting that broadcasters’ liberal-leaning bias is extensively documented by NewsBusters studies, such as: “2025: The View Chatted Politics with 128 Lib Guests, 2 Conservatives*” “Late Night Comedy Shows Go Six Months With 99% Liberal Guests, Again” “STUDY: Late Night Comedy Shows Begin 2025 With 99% Of Guests Being Left-Wing” Under the Act, the FCC has sole discretion to determine the scope of each exemption and is tasked with the responsibility to address “Congressional concerns that broadcast stations would apply the exemption too broadly in service of a political agenda,” thereby frustrating the Act’s intent. Programs do not qualify for the exemption if they are “designed for the specific advantage of a candidate,” the FCC notice explains: “The federal equal opportunities regulations operate to prevent broadcast television stations, which have been given access to a valuable public resource (namely, spectrum), from unfairly putting their thumbs on the scale for one political candidate or set of candidates over another.” A program does not have a blanket exemption for all subsequent shows and candidate interviews, simply because it was once granted a news exemption for a single, particular show it aired, the FCC warns. Each FCC decision is distinct, fact-specific and “based on the show that was the subject of the [exemption] request as it existed at the time of the request,” the notice explains. In order to ensure compliance, broadcasters should keep a log of their political interviews and file requests for exemptions, the notice says.

Leigh McGowan drew an amusing retort from consistent Trump defender Ben Ferguson when she told him to "Zip it!" during a CNN brawl over Trump's ICE crackdown.

CBS’s Stephen Colbert welcomed Sen. Bernie Sanders to The Late Show for the nineteenth and hopefully final time on Tuesday for an obnoxiously long, four-segment softball interview covering everything from Colbert’s employer to Venezuela to Minnesota to socialism. Early on, Colbert put the ball on the tee, “As long as I've got you here, as long as I've got you here, I think we all understandably say what an authoritarian society is. It's an abuse of authority, really, for people's own personal gain. When we say oligarchic society, when we say oligarchy, just define for everybody what you mean by that.”     Sanders declared, “Okay. They go together, actually. An oligarchy is a nation where a small number of incredibly wealthy people control the economy, control media, and we have some experience with that right here on CBS. And they control the political system.” After his usual rantings against rich people, Sanders returned to the media, “So, you add ownership of media, which is becoming more and more concentrated. Right-wing people buying media, owning social media. Mr. Musk owns X. Zuckerberg owns... Meta. Right. Ellison now owns Paramount and CBS. You add all those things up, what you end up with a really small number of people with incredible wealth and incredible power.” Later, Colbert shifted the conversation to Venezuela, “You were talking about Venezuela a little bit earlier. Obviously this interest in Greenland comes on the heels of having gone into Venezuela and snatching Maduro. Who's in charge now, as far as you know? Is that Delcy Rodriguez, or is it some sort of shadowy group of people in the United States because we don't get a clear answer when reporters ask direct questions.” After Sanders guessed the latter, Colbert continued, “Does that mean people like—is it JD Vance? Is it Marco Rubio? Is it the head of Chevron? Who is it?”     Sanders then made an obscene analogy when he compared capturing Maduro to Putin invading Ukraine: Well, I mean, certainly the oil companies, some of them at least, are excited about the opportunity to enjoy rampant imperialism. And what bothered me most about what Trump did, is not only that it was illegal and unconstitutional.  If you, under—for no pretext can invade and attack another country, the United States can no longer say to any other country on Earth that you can't do that. Alright. All of us, many of us have condemned Putin’s horrific invasion of Ukraine and the hundreds of thousands of people that are suffering there. It was a barbaric act. How do you criticize Putin? How do you criticize anybody who says, 'We have our reasons, and we're going to attack another country, and the United States can't say a word about it because that's what you did'? Maduro was a dictator who was under federal indictment for drug trafficking. Putin invaded Ukraine because he thinks Ukraine’s independence was a mistake, and the invasion shows that Sanders’s insistence on norms against aggression is not sufficient to deter people like Putin. However, the bizarre analogies were just beginning. Further along, Colbert turned to Minnesota, “The Pentagon is putting 1,500 troops on standby for a potential deployment to Minnesota after an ICE agent killed unarmed, non-violent mother of three, Renee Good. You’ve said her death reminds you of January 6th. What do you mean by that?” Sanders huffed, “In this sense, first of all, what ICE is doing under Trump, under Trump, this is Trump's directive, they are -- have invaded the city of Minneapolis. Their goal is to intimidate every person in this country, that if you stand up, you are in trouble because the military is coming.”     He also wailed, “And now you have a woman, mother of three, sitting in an automobile, shot in the head by an ICE agent, and the Trump people label her a domestic terrorist. So, it is the Big Lie that we hear over and over again which is part of what authoritarianism… look, in a democracy, we're going to have differences of opinion. You know what? That's a good thing. But these differences have got to be based on a foundation of truth. And not constant lies. And that is what the Trump people do.” It’s ironic that Sanders was lamenting the state of CBS earlier in the interview, despite it being the worst of the three major networks in their Minnesota coverage. Sanders and Colbert should probably refrain from accusing other people of spreading lies about Minnesota, given their reluctance to accept certain facts about Good and her wife’s actions before she was shot. Finally, Colbert gushed, “This is a red-letter day for you. Here you are administering the oath of office to Mayor Mamdani and I just—you’ve been fighting, you've been carrying the banner of democratic socialists for a long time. What was that like to swear in the first democratic socialist mayor of a major city?” After Sanders claimed, “It was enormously gratifying,” Colbert added, “In a recent poll, a recent Gallup poll, 66 percent of Democrats had a favorable view of democratic socialism. Up significantly over the last year. Why do you think that is?”     Sanders didn’t actually answer the question and instead focused on praising Mamdani, “When he started campaign, it's not only that he's really obviously smart, incredibly energetic, really good with people, really good politician.” As Colbert interjected to add “cute,” Sanders rolled on, “Cute, alright, well. He started at one percent in the polls. One percent. He was taking on the Democratic establishment, Republican establishment, president of the United States, and all the oligarchs prepared to spend zillions of dollars to beat him. He took them all on and he won.” Perhaps if Colbert didn’t turn The Late Show into a progressive talk show, he would not be losing CBS as much money as he is. And if that were so, then perhaps CBS wouldn’t have canceled him. Here is a transcript for the January 20 show: CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 1/20/2026 11:57 PM ET STEPHEN COLBERT: As long as I've got you here, as long as I've got you here, I think we all understandably say what an authoritarian society is. It's an abuse of authority, really, for people's own personal gain. When we say oligarchic society, when we say oligarchy, just define for everybody what you mean by that. BERNIE SANDERS: Okay. They go together, actually. An oligarchy is a nation where a small number of incredibly wealthy people control the economy, control media, and we have some experience with that right here on CBS. And they control the political system. So, you add it all together, today we have more income and wealth inequality than we've ever had in the history of America. So, you've got the top one percent owning more wealth than the bottom 93 percent. One man, Mr. Musk, one man, owning more wealth than the bottom 52 percent of American households. Alright, and then you have a political system, alright. These guys not only want to control the economy. They want to control the political system. So, you have a corrupt political system as a result of this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision. So that billionaires like Mr. Musk can spend $270 million to elect Trump. There are Democratic billionaires also putting money into the political process. And ordinary people, they say "I've got one vote. I can spend millions of dollars to elect a candidate." So, you add ownership of media, which is becoming more and more concentrated. Right-wing people buying media, owning social media. Mr. Musk owns X. Zuckerberg owns— COLBERT: Facebook and Instagram. SANDERS: Right. Meta. Right. Ellison now owns Paramount and CBS. You add all those things up, what you end up with a really small number of people with incredible wealth and incredible power. Stephen, that is what oligarchy is about. COLBERT: And that goes together with authoritarianism as the chocolate and peanut butter of terrible ideas. … COLBERT: You were talking about Venezuela a little bit earlier. Obviously this interest in Greenland comes on the heels of having gone into Venezuela and snatching Maduro. Who's in charge now, as far as you know? Is that Delcy Rodriguez, or is it some sort of shadowy group of people in the United States because we don't get a clear answer when reporters ask direct questions. SANDERS: Probably a shadowy group of people in the United States. COLBERT: Does that mean people like—is it JD Vance? Is it Marco Rubio? Is it the head of Chevron? Who is it? SANDERS: Well, I mean, certainly the oil companies, some of them at least, are excited about the opportunity to enjoy rampant imperialism. And what bothered me most about what Trump did, is not only that it was illegal and unconstitutional.  If you, under — for no pretext can invade and attack another country, the United States can no longer say to any other country on Earth that you can't do that. Alright. All of us, many of us have condemned Putin’s horrific invasion of Ukraine and the hundreds of thousands of people that are suffering there. It was a barbaric act. How do you criticize Putin? How do you criticize anybody who says, 'We have our reasons, and we're going to attack another country, and the United States can't say a word about it because that's what you did'? So, it unleashes international anarchy. Might makes right. You want to blow up a building? Hey, you can do that. That's what scares me about this. … COLBERT: The Pentagon is putting 1,500 troops on standby for a potential deployment to Minnesota after an ICE agent killed unarmed, non-violent mother of three, Renee Good. You’ve said her death reminds you of January 6th. What do you mean by that? SANDERS: In this sense, first of all, what ICE is doing under Trump, under Trump, this is Trump's directive, they are — have invaded the city of Minneapolis. Their goal is to intimidate every person in this country, that if you stand up, you are in trouble because the military is coming. Alright? And I've got to tell you this is repellent to the vast majority of the American people. Now in terms of—authoritarianism also, it's all of the things I mentioned but it is also propagating the Big Lie, all right? So, you say black and it's white. You say white and it's black. So, for January 6th, we had a radical group of insurrectionists trying to destroy democracy and undermine a free election, that's what they did. Trump turns around and says these were peaceful demonstrators. And now you have a woman, mother of three, sitting in an automobile, shot in the head by an ICE agent, and the Trump people label her a domestic terrorist. So, it is the Big Lie that we hear over and over again which is part of what authoritarianism, what I believe, you believe, think the vast majority of the American people believe is, look, in a democracy, we're going to have differences of opinion. You know what? That's a good thing. But these differences have got to be based on a foundation of truth. And not constant lies. And that is what the Trump people do. … COLBERT: Okay, this is a red-letter day for you. Here you are administering the oath of office to Mayor Mamdani and I just—you’ve been fighting, you've been carrying the banner of democratic socialists for a long time. What was that like to swear in the first democratic socialist mayor of a major city? SANDERS: It was enormously gratifying. COLBERT: In a recent poll, a recent Gallup poll, 66 percent of Democrats had a favorable view of democratic socialism. Up significantly over the last year. Why do you think that is? SANDERS: Well, let me tell you I love Mamdani. When he started campaign, it's not only that he's really obviously smart, incredibly energetic, really good with people, really good politician— COLBERT: Cute. SANDERS: Cute, alright, well. He started at one percent in the polls. One percent. He was taking on the Democratic establishment, Republican establishment, president of the United States, and all the oligarchs prepared to spend zillions of dollars to beat him. He took them all on and he won. And he won, he won not just because he is good, which he is, but because he had 90,000 volunteers in New York City knocking on doors. So what excited me and I think he's going to be a great mayor and I look forward to working with him. What excited me was a strong grassroots movement, took on the establishment and won. They did it in New York City. We can do it in every state in this country.

Leftist media outlets take an extremely opportunistic approach to covering the intersection of religion and politics. They’re appalled at religion when it impedes their agenda, but gush over religious figures when they align with their talking points. On January 19, New York Times religion reporter Ruth Graham penned a story headlined “Top Catholic Clerics Denounce U.S. Foreign Policy.” Three Catholic cardinals – Blase Cupich of Chicago, Joseph Tobin of Newark, and Robert McElroy of D.C. -- put out a statement critical of President Trump’s international policies. “Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination,” the cardinals contended. “And the building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity’s well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies.” The line about “partisan categories” is amusing, since The Times and Rachel Maddow and the rest are delighting in how this statement fits their category. It’s puzzling to argue that Trump messing with tyrants in Venezuela and Iran is somehow not taking on “evil.” Opposition to any military action is at the forefront of their message, and religious liberty and the right to life are subordinated. The Times never used words like “liberal” or “leftist” or “progressive” to describe these three prelates, or for Pope Leo, whom they cite as their inspiration. But go back four years, and Ruth Graham and The Times took an entirely different approach. On June 20, 2021, the labels were flying. The headline was “In Rift With Biden, a Dramatic Show of Force by a Conservative Catholic Movement.” Graham and her colleague Elisabeth Dias began by asserting “Pope Francis and President Biden, both liberals, are the two most high-profile Roman Catholics in the world.” But forget the pope, it’s “now a conservative movement that decides how the Catholic Church asserts its power in America.” Including headlines, the word “conservative” appeared 15 times. In this story, they mourned their heroes Cardinal Cupich and Cardinal Tobin – “leading U.S. allies of Pope Francis” -- were “ultimately drowned out” as the bishops voted to draft a policy that could restrain the offering of the Eucharist to Catholic politicians like Biden, who energetically opposed church teaching on abortion and other moral issues. This was lamented as “polarizing the Catholic faithful,” something The Times did not say about the Trump-bashing statement.   On Inauguration Day 2021, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, put out a welcoming statement to Biden, but underlined “our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender.” At the time, the Catholic News Agency reported Cardinal Cupich wanted “a more supportive, clearly pro-Biden statement, and that he spent most of Wednesday trying to get the support of other bishops to come up with an alternative statement.” In other words, he was “polarizing the Catholic faithful” on Biden’s behalf. Cardinal Cupich put out a four-tweet attack on Gomez for an “ill-considered statement” that didn’t seek enough “collegial consultation,” leading to “internal institutional failures” when the bishops should “take up the work of healing our nation in this moment of crisis.” In other words, it’s impolite and divisive to confront a pro-abortion, pro-transgender Catholic president, but years later, church leaders can attack non-Catholic President Trump while claiming they’re against “partisan categories.” This is blatantly partisan advocacy, which is why the leftist media applaud it so enthusiastically. 

Minnesota-based special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro was the point man for PBS News Hour’s coverage on the ongoing confrontations in far-left Minneapolis between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and mobs of activists obstructing their legal duties. Monday evening’s News Hour devoted a piddling 15 seconds to a despicable mob protest during Sunday services at a church in which the associate pastor was employed as an ICE officer, matching the downplaying of the incident by the major networks. There was typically hostile framing of ICE and no discussion of possible civil rights violations incurred including the FACE ACT, while former CNN journalist Don Lemon’s presence -- not to mention his live recording, his cheerleading involvement, and his boasting of the trauma he caused church parishioners -- went unmentioned. Fred de Sam Lazaro: Another weekend and another intense wave of immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities, as more than 2,000 federal officers continue a crackdown characterized by aggressive force and unyielding protests. It comes as weary residents brace for the potential deployment of active duty troops after President Trump threatened late last week to invoke the Insurrection Act, something Mayor Jacob Frey said Sunday would be -- quote -- "shocking.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: You got to understand how wild this is right now. In Minneapolis, crime is dramatically down. We don't need more federal agents to keep people safe. We are safe. de Sam Lazaro: Frey himself, along with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are now reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly impeding federal law enforcement officers. Yesterday, the Justice Department announced a separate investigation into protesters who disrupted a church service where they believed a local pastor was also an ICE official from the St. Paul…. Thursday’s News Hour did manage a 40-second bite about protesters hurling rocks and fireworks at ICE officers, but even that brief admission was divided by including a clip from Minneapolis’s mayor pleading with the local mob not to match Trump’s “chaos.” (Friday’s newscast skipped news coverage from Minneapolis, and PBS’s weekend news show is kaput.) de Sam Lazaro: This morning, new threats from President Trump of heavier intervention, this after protests broke out in Minneapolis again overnight. On social media, Trump warned he'd use the Insurrection Act….Crowds gathered after an ICE agent shot of Venezuelan national in the leg during a targeted traffic stop. Administration officials alleged the man and two others attacked the agent with a shovel and a broom handle -- in the biting Minnesota cold, it is one thing that is dialing up the temperature -- after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Goode one week ago. Brian O'Hara, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Chief: The crowd is engaging in unlawful acts. de Sam Lazaro: At a late-night press conference, the city's police chief said yesterday went too far when protesters hurled rocks and fireworks at law enforcement. Mayor Jacob Frey called for calm. Jacob Frey: And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop. That is not helpful. Go home. We cannot counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos. PBS’s reporter rode the wave of anti-government paranoia. de Sam Lazaro: ….For many, it's as if ICE is around every corner. Locals have spotted arrests as their kids board the bus to school and in random I.D. checks…. Transcripts are available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 1/19/26 7:13:25 p.m. (ET) Fred de Sam Lazaro: Another weekend and another intense wave of immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities, as more than 2,000 federal officers continue a crackdown characterized by aggressive force and unyielding protests. It comes as weary residents brace for the potential deployment of active duty troops after President Trump threatened late last week to invoke the Insurrection Act, something Mayor Jacob Frey said Sunday would be -- quote -- "shocking. Jacob Frey: You got to understand how wild this is right now. In Minneapolis, crime is dramatically down. We don't need more federal agents to keep people safe. We are safe. Fred de Sam Lazaro: Frey himself, along with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are now reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly impeding federal law enforcement officers. Yesterday, the Justice Department announced a separate investigation into protesters who disrupted a church service where they believed a local pastor was also an ICE official from the St. Paul office. That same day, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche again confirmed there would be no investigation into the altercation that has most roiled the city, the fatal shooting of Renee Good, killed by an ICE agent in her car on January 7. Todd Blanche, U.S. Deputy Attorney General: We investigate when it's appropriate to investigate. And that is not the case here, it wasn't the case when it happened and it's not the case today. Fred de Sam Lazaro: The Department of Homeland Security said its agents are facing -- quote -- "rampant violence" and have made 3,000 arrests in the last six weeks. The "News Hour" could not independently verify that number. It all comes after a federal judge in Minnesota ruled agents could not arrest or pepper spray peaceful demonstrators, including those monitoring ICE operations. Kristi Noem, DHS secretary, said on CBS' Face the Nation yesterday that the judge's ruling -- quote -- "didn't change anything." Kristi Noem, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary: That federal order was a little ridiculous, because that federal judge came down and told us we couldn't do what we already aren't doing. We -- we are -- have not engaged in... Margaret Brennan, Host, "Face the Nation": Well, we just saw video of chemical agents being used. Kristi Noem: ... any -- we only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening and perpetuating and you need to be able to establish law in order to keep people safe. Fred de Sam Lazaro: Nonetheless, the Justice Department said today it would appeal the court ruling. This weekend, a planned anti-Islam pro-ICE rally, which was set to feature a Koran burning, drew few supporters. But its organizer, far right activist Jake Lang, had to be escorted from the scene, ironically by counterprotesters themselves, after he was swarmed and pelted with water balloons. Lang could be seen bleeding from his head and later claimed he had been stabbed, but Minneapolis police said no report had been filed. Even for Minnesota, weather here in recent days has been unusually cold, about the only indication that temperatures are turning down here. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Minneapolis. PBS News Hour 1/15/26 7:03:06 p.m. (ET) Fred de Sam Lazaro: This morning, new threats from President Trump of heavier intervention, this after protests broke out in Minneapolis again overnight. On social media, Trump warned he'd use the Insurrection Act. That's the 18th century power of the president to deploy the U.S. military if the president decides local authorities cannot maintain order. It was last used in 1992 during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison said he's ready to go to court if it's invoked. It all came just after the dust settled from overnight scenes like this. Crowds gathered after an ICE agent shot of Venezuelan national in the leg during a targeted traffic stop. Administration officials alleged the man and two others attacked the agent with a shovel and a broom handle -- is dialing up the temperature after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Goode one week ago. Brian O'Hara, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Chief: The crowd is engaging in unlawful acts. Fred de Sam Lazaro: At a late-night press conference, the city's police chief said yesterday went too far when protesters hurled rocks and fireworks at law enforcement. Mayor Jacob Frey called for calm. Jacob Frey: And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop. That is not helpful. Go home. We cannot counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos. Fred de Sam Lazaro: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz: Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN): As hard as we will fight in the courts and at the ballot box, we cannot and will not let violence prevail. Fred de Sam Lazaro: In Washington today, PBS News' Liz Landers asked the White House if President Trump is working with the governor to de-escalate. Liz Landers: Governor Walz's office is saying today that he's trying to get ahold directly with the president. Have you spoken? Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary: Look, the president is always willing to answer the phone when people pick up and call. But I would ask that the governor stops inciting the harassment and illegal obstruction of law enforcement in his state. Fred de Sam Lazaro: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, Insurrection Act or not, ICE isn't going anywhere. Kristi Noem, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary: Remember, we are there in surged operations because of the largest fraud scheme in American history. Fred de Sam Lazaro: Trying to tie the crackdown to Minnesota's welfare fraud scandal. Separately, the president himself has threatened to defund states with so-called sanctuary cities that include the Twin Cities. For many, it's as if ICE is around every corner. Locals have spotted arrests as their kids board the bus to school and in random I.D. checks. Secretary Noem today said people should carry I.D. to confirm their legal status, something not legally required of U.S. citizens except in circumstances like travel. Question, are you OK with federal agents and officers violating people's Fourth Amendment rights by asking for papers without reasonable suspicion? Kristi Noem: Every single action that our ICE officers take is according to the law and following protocols that we have used for years. Fred de Sam Lazaro: Meantime, schools in the area are reporting a sharp drop in attendance and several districts will soon offer students the option to attend online. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Minneapolis.

With the World Economic Forum underway and President Trump about to join his economic team there, ABC made sure to slather on the partisan rhetoric and do everything possible to shape perceptions on the administration’s economic success. This includes a particularly nasty item from Mary Bruce on World News Tonight. Watch the aforementioned report in its entirety, as aired on ABC World News Tonight on Tuesday, January 20th, 2026: DAVID MUIR: Now to President Trump's plan to take Greenland, President Trump saying, quote: “there is no going back.” The stock market plunging 870 points today over the president’s insistence that he will take Greenland and will impose tariffs against NATO allies who don't support him. The president later today asked “how far you are you willing to go on this?" He said: "you'll find out.” Mary Bruce at The White House. MARY BRUCE: Tonight, as Wall Street plunges under President Trump's threat to impose new tariffs on NATO allies, the president doubling down on his quest to own Greenland. Declaring, quote: “there can be no going back.” REPORTER: How far are you willing to go to acquire Greenland? DONALD TRUMP: You'll find out. BRUCE: America’s NATO allies, beyond frustrated. Trump releasing a text from French President Emmanuel Macron, who told him “I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.” Today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Macron with this veiled shot. EMMANUEL MACRON: We need more stability in this world. But we do prefer respect to bullies. BRUCE: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke of a rupture in the world order. MARK CARNEY: Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. BRUCE: President Trump, who is heading to Davos tonight, downplaying tensions with Macron and other leaders. TRUMP: I think I get along very well with them. I mean, they always treat me well. They get a little bit rough when they’re- you know, when I'm not around. But when I'm around they treat me very nicely. BRUCE: But in Europe, the anger is palpable. Thousands taking to the streets of Copenhagen, wearing Trump’s signature red hats, these saying: “Make America Go Away.”  Greenlanders have made it clear they don’t want to be part of the U.S. What gives the U.S. the right to take away that self-determination? TRUMP: Well, I haven’t- I haven’t- I haven’t spoken to them. If I speak to them, I’m sure they’ll be thrilled. BRUCE: Trump insisting there’s a deal to be made. TRUMP: I think that we will work something out where NATO’s going to be very happy. And where we’re going to be very happy. BRUCE: The president speaking today for an hour and 45 minutes in that a rambling press conference marking the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, listing off his accomplishments. But the president also keenly aware of the polls. New CNN data shows a majority of Americans think Trump’s first year is a failure, and that he hasn’t gone far enough to reduce prices. But Trump insists he’s turned things around. David. MUIR: Mary Bruce at The White House today. Mary, thank you.  David Muir’s introduction was only slightly less overwrought than normal, making reference to a stock market drop fueled by hysteria over what President Trump might do to annex Greenland. Muir then tosses to Mary Bruce, who appears to be approaching midterm form and is already sharply echoing partisan narrative. Bruce then proceeds to repeat Muir’s points on the stock market, even going so far to use the same opinionated “plunged” descriptor of the markets. Bruce then proceeds to bemoan Trump’s play for Greenland, bolstering her argument by citing two foreign leaders. In the case of French President Emmanuel Macron, Bruce used a “standing up to bullies” line. She left out the part about the Chinese needing to come in and invest more directly in Europe. Bruce then used the “rupture” quote from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Here again, no mention of Carney’s recent visit to China, where he declared the New World Order, Mentioning those things might bolster Trump’s claim to Greenland, thus they were omitted from the newscast and report. The report then switches to protests in Europe and to the people weathering red “Make America Go Away” hat. The report closes out on with another rant from Mary Bruce, wherein she cites a poll in order to call Trump “ a failure.” Four years ago Joe Biden would have been hailed for similar numbers to these- but things are now (D)ifferent.  

Shame on those anti-ICE protesters who invaded a St. Paul, Minnesota church. Don't they realize they might have harmed the anti-ICE movement? That was Audie Cornish's not-so-subtle suggestion on Tuesday's edition of the CNN This Morning show she hosts. Using Katie Couric's old "some say" trick, Audie put her concerns in the mouths of others. As she expressed it to fellow lib Chuck Rocha: "As people were talking about this yesterday, I heard over and over again, I feel like [protesting in] the church is too far. I feel like the activists are taking it to a place that I can't follow. I feel like I feel like it could it be something that the administration can use against the protest movement." So, nothing intrinsically wrong about invading a house of worship to stage a protest. The concern is only that it's something the terrible Trump administration "can use against the protest movement."  And while Cornish didn't explicitly blame the Trump administration for the church protest, she noted that "the government did open the door to ICE being allowed to go into churches. They made an adjustment to the targeting rules." Was Audie somehow implying that what is sauce for ICE is sauce for protesters?  Cornish failed to mention the involvement of ex-CNN host Don Lemon in the protest. Somewhat surprising, considering that, as we noted back in 2023, it was Audie herself who, live on the air, called out Lemon over his idiotic claim that Nikki Haley was no longer "in her prime" because she was 51. If Lemon ever was in his prime when it comes to understanding the Constitution, those days have clearly passed. During the protest, Lemon told a pastor that there is a constitutional right to freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, and freedom to protest. Uh, not in someone else's private property! Would protesters have a constitutional right to bust into your home or studio to protest your inanity, Don?  Cornish played a clip of Minnesota AG Keith Ellison saying that whereas the church members might otherwise have had a First Amendment right, it's "difficult to say" that, given that the Trump administration is investigating various people. Huh? Zachary Wolf, who writes CNN's "What Matters" newsletter, pitched in to say that Ellison "does have a point." Right on, Zach! The DoJ's investigation of Tish James and others obviously cancels out the church members' right to pray without being interrupted by screaming anti-ICE protesters!    At least Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Andersen explained the conservative view: "Remember, this was, when Charlie Kirk was shot. This was a big piece of what conservatives were saying. Look, we've told you, we're not allowed to do what we want without liberals coming in and stopping us and shutting down our speech, and coming into our spaces, and harming us. And this is yet another example of something like that." Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 1/20/26 6:32 am ET AUDIE CORNISH: In Minneapolis, we have the latest on the investigation into the killing of Renee Good, or what has now become the investigation of Renee Good and those close to her. Two sources tell CNN the FBI opened a civil rights investigation into the officer who shot and killed Renee Good two weeks ago before quickly closing it and shifting the focus to whether or not the officer had been assaulted.  Instead, the focus now seems to be here [video of anti-ICE protest inside St. Paul church.] The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is now focusing on this protest, which disrupted church services in a St. Paul church on Sunday. Protesters say one of the pastors is a local ICE official. CNN spoke with one of the organizers of the protest, and she said she felt it was her job to inform people at the church about their pastor's alleged ties to ICE.  NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG: I have not heard from the DOJ. But I think that it's interesting that the Trump administration will charge everyone except people who are actually violating the law. I do not have any regrets about going in and raising the questions.  CORNISH: Group chat is back. Chuck, I want to talk to you because as people were talking about this yesterday, I heard over and over again, I feel like the church is too far. I feel like the activists are taking it to a place that I can't follow. I feel like I feel like it could it be something that the administration can use against the protest movement.  CHUCK ROCHA: If they could, and they want to wrap this up. We've all talked about why, and I know we'll probably talk about the possibility of bringing 1,500 U.S. troops to that city as well. The administration wants to wrap this up because this is the playing field for political messaging, and messaging that they can talk about, that's in their lane. They love talking about this because it's positive for them. They're talking about law and order.  But for all of you in Minnesota thinking about going to a church or you want to punish Target, this is what you should know: is that these ICE agents can go into a public space and there's nothing Target can do or any other people can do because it's a public space. So we need to make sure we're protesting peacefully in the right areas and not punishing small business owners or Target or churches or whatever, because these ICE agents can go almost anywhere they want to go and that's what you should be protesting and that's the thing that worries me.  CORNISH: It's interesting, the government did open the door to ICE being allowed to go into churches. ROCHA: Right!  CORNISH: They made an adjustment to the targeting rules.  . . .  KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON: One of the things that I think is the reason why this particular, the videos are getting so much circulation, there is so much focus on this in conservative circles in particular, is because they, this is not new, have for the last couple of years really felt like being a conservative Christian in America is something you're not allowed to be, or that you are targeted. Remember, this was, when Charlie Kirk was shot. This was a big piece of what conservatives were saying. Look, we've told you, we're not allowed to do what we want without liberals coming in and stopping us and shutting down our speech, and coming into our spaces, and harming us.  And this is yet another example of something like that, and is why conservatives are now saying, send in everything you've got because this is unacceptable . . . But for a long time, this has also been a part of the whole message of kind of the MAGA movement, was that for too long, conservatives were too nice, and allowed tools to be used against them that now that they're in charge, they're saying, we're gonna take these tools and use them for our own ends.  CORNISH: All right, well, needless to say, there's no more Mr. Nice Guy under Trump 2.0. Here's Keith Ellison, the Attorney General of Minnesota, talking about the context he sees.  KEITH ELLISON: Well, we live in the age when people like Jerome Powell are under investigation. Tish James, James Comey, Mark Kelly, Elise Slotkin, the list goes on and on. Under this DOJ, wrongdoing has nothing to do with whether they're going to focus or investigate you.  So, I wish, in a normal time, I would say, no, I say this is First Amendment activity. In time like this, it's just really difficult to say.  ZACHARY WOLF: I mean, he does have a point. It feels like everybody the administration disagrees with on anything is the subject of some kind of investigation. You talked about the FACE Act. I saw some reports they might use laws designed to go after the Ku Klux Klan to go after some of these protesters, which would be a strange turn of events. 

On January 14, MS NOW host Katy Tur pushed the latest claims of ICE "terrorizing" people as she also compared ICE agents to "jerks" who believe everyone else is a jerk. Shortly after 2:00 p.m. Eastern, she began the segment: People in Minneapolis say they are being terrorized by the federal government. In video after video posted online, you can see ICE or immigration officers grabbing people off the street, clashing with protesters, telling demonstrators to learn a lesson from the shooting of Renee Good, and even getting into it with people who say they're just trying to travel through their community. She continued: "They break windows, knock down doors, physically drag people away. And the administration says all of this is justified, that it isn't federal law enforcement escalating the tensions. It's the community who won't leave them alone." After three video clips of federal agents having to aggressively react to left-wing activists, The MS NOW host commented: It's hard to definitively determine what is going on in each of those videos, because we don't know the full context. We don't know identities. We don't know much beyond what you see for yourself. What we do know, though, is that confrontations like that are happening over and over and over again. And in each one we see a pattern of aggressive behavior from the feds and operations that have only intensified since that ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good. A bit later, as MS NOW senior investigative reporter Carol Leonnig appeared for the segment, Tur further excoriated immigration enforcement agents: There's this rule, this common saying that -- and it uses an expletive that I won't use, but I'll replace it -- that if you encounter one jerk, that's -- that's too bad. If you encounter two jerks, bad luck. Three jerks, you're the jerk. Is that what we're seeing with this pattern of these ICE interactions, these ICE confrontations? Because I know ICE keeps saying and immigration keeps saying it's all the demonstrators. But the videos all follow a very similar script. Leonnig, who used to work for the Washington Post, began by expressing her approval for Tur's choice of words: "Katy, I think it's so smart for you to focus on exactly that question, and we can't know the answer definitively." She soon fretted that the Trump administration for the ICE officer who shot Renee Good was emboldening similar actions by other agents: But that pressure to do something is causing a lot of tension in the streets. And the shooting of Renee Good, which the President of the United States and the Vice President both declared as justified prior to any investigative work being done. In fact, some sources say when evidence was ignored of a potentially -- that this shooting was illegal and unjustified, their declaration has emboldened a certain element of enforcement on the streets who might believe they're under attack from residents who are angry about this -- this surge in their communities. Transcript follows: MS NOW's Katy Tur Reports January 14, 2026 2:00 p.m. Eastern KATY TUR: People in Minneapolis say they are being terrorized by the federal government. In video after video posted online, you can see ICE or immigration officers grabbing people off the street, clashing with protesters, telling demonstrators to learn a lesson from the shooting of Renee Good, and even getting into it with people who say they're just trying to travel through their community. They break windows, knock down doors, physically drag people away. And the administration says all of this is justified, that it isn't federal law enforcement escalating the tensions. It's the community who won't leave them alone. Here are three videos -- we'll let you decide for yourself. (...) It's hard to definitively determine what is going on in each of those videos, because we don't know the full context. We don't know identities. We don't know much beyond what you see for yourself. What we do know, though, is that confrontations like that are happening over and over and over again. And in each one we see a pattern of aggressive behavior from the feds and operations that have only intensified since that ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good. (...) There's this rule, this common saying that -- and it uses an expletive that I won't use, but I'll replace it -- that if you encounter one jerk, that's -- that's too bad. If you encounter two jerks, bad luck. Three jerks, you're the jerk. Is that what we're seeing with this pattern of these ICE interactions, these ICE confrontations? Because I know ICE keeps saying and immigration keeps saying it's all the demonstrators. But the videos all follow a very similar script. CAROL LEONNIG, MS NOW SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Katy, I think it's so smart for you to focus on exactly that question, and we can't know the answer definitively. But let me tell you what I'm hearing from law enforcement sources. One, the ICE officers from various elements, by the way, of the Department of Homeland Security -- they may be TSA employees who got drafted into this immigration work. They may be FBI agents who were also pulled, as you remember, into immigration raids. They may be other components of the Department of Homeland Security, in which obviously FBI is not. But all of these officers are being ordered to meet a quota of arresting and deporting illegal or undocumented immigrants, and that oftentimes they're arresting and detaining people that are legally here or have not been involved in any crime or are complying with their asylum requirements  But that pressure to do something is causing a lot of tension in the streets. And the shooting of Renee Good, which the President of the United States and the Vice President both declared as justified prior to any investigative work being done. In fact, some sources say when evidence was ignored of a potentially -- that this shooting was illegal and unjustified, their declaration has emboldened a certain element of enforcement on the streets who might believe they're under attack from residents who are angry about this -- this surge in their communities. But also, Katy, so important if I can just defend law enforcement officers who have the right intentions and the right motives. Here they are saying this is a recipe for disaster, to send thousands of officers into the street and urge them to crack down on immigration and crack down on civil protests, which are all apparently right now legal, that this creates a tinder keg. This creates a situation that is going to explode again and again.