Thursday January 8th, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Protesters Clash With Federal Agents In Minneapolis After Fatal Shooting
Protesters demonstrating over the fatal shooting of a woman during an
encounter with an ICE officer in Minneapolis clashed with law
enforcement agents Thursday morning.
At least one protester was detained as federal officers armed with
pepper-ball guns and tear gas faced off with a large crowd of
demonstrators, one of whom brandished an "ICE = murder" sign.
As dawn began to break, scores of people bundled up in heavy coats
gathered in a parking lot near the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal
Building at Fort Snelling.
Noem alleges woman killed in ICE shooting 'stalking and impeding' agents all day
Minneapolis mayor calls DHS self-defense claims 'bulls—' as federal investigation begins into Renee Nicole Good's death
Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Kristi Noem alleged at a press
conference on Wednesday that the woman who was shot and killed by an
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was "stalking and
impeding" agents all day.
Noem told reporters that ICE agents repeatedly instructed the victim,
Renee Nicole Good, 37, to get out of her car and stop "obstructing" law
enforcement but she did not comply.
The agency is labeling the incident as an act of "domestic terrorism."
Cruz demands impeachment of Boasberg and judge who sentenced Kavanaugh’s attempted assassin
Republican senator cites controversial rulings by judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman as grounds for removal
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday called on Congress during a Senate
hearing to impeach two federal judges, making his most elaborate case
yet for imposing the extraordinary sanction on a pair of closely
scrutinized jurists.
Cruz acknowledged that impeaching federal judges is exceedingly rare —
15 have been impeached in history, typically for straightforward crimes
like bribery — but the Texas Republican argued it was warranted for
judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman.
"Rarer still, until now, were the deeper offenses the framers feared
most — judges who, without necessarily breaking a criminal statute,
violate the public trust, subvert the constitutional order or wield
their office in ways that injure society itself," Cruz said. "That is
why, throughout history, Congress recognized that impeachable
misconduct need not be criminal."
Top Dems silent after trans athlete they backed in SCOTUS case is accused of sexual harassment, intimidation
Jeffries, AOC, Warren, Pelosi among lawmakers who won't comment ahead of Supreme Court arguments next week
In November, 130 congressional Democrats signed an amicus brief
supporting two transgender athletes who are plaintiffs in a pair of
lawsuits that the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing. The lawsuits
challenged and blocked state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that
banned biological males from women’s and girls’ sports. Supreme Court
justices are set to review the cases, beginning with oral arguments on
Jan. 13.
One of the plaintiffs in those cases, a transgender teen in West
Virginia, has been accused of allegedly sexually harassing a former
female teammate and using intimidation tactics against a female
opponent, Fox News Digital reported Tuesday.
Fox News Digital has reached out to offices of some Democrats who
signed the brief asking if they stand behind their signatures, in light
of the allegations. Fox News Digital has not received any responses.
Sen. Paul: I Want Capitalism for Venezuela
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Newsmax on Wednesday that he hopes the
removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will lead to the country
abandoning socialism.
"I'm happy to see Maduro gone," Paul said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight." He
said he has warned before on the dangers of socialism. "I wrote a book
called 'The Case Against Socialism.'"
"I have no love lost for socialism," Paul added. "I may be one of the greatest critics of socialism, so I'm glad he's gone.
But Paul said he was concerned that Maduro’s vice president is also a
hardcore socialist and that it won’t make life better for Venezuelans,
especially if money made from Venezuela’s oil flows right back into
their government rather than into the people.
Trump Proposes Massive Increase in 2027 Defense Spending to $1.5T: 'Dangerous Times'
President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed setting U.S. military
spending at $1.5 trillion in 2027, citing "troubled and dangerous
times."
Trump called for the massive surge in spending days after he ordered a
U.S. military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and
spirit him out of the country to face drug trafficking charges in the
United States. U.S. forces continue to mass in the Caribbean Sea.
The 2026 military budget is set at $901 billion.
Trump Withdraws US From Global Climate Agreement
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States will
withdraw from the international agreement that has served as the
foundation for global efforts to rein in climate change for 34 years.
The pact includes every other nation in the world, making it one of the
most widely adopted international frameworks still in force.
In a social media post, the White House said Trump signed a memorandum
directing the U.S. to exit 66 international organizations and treaties
that "no longer serve American interests."
Activists: Protests in Iran Sparked by Economic Woes Now Nationwide
Protests in Iran sparked by economic woes have now gone nationwide in
the Islamic Republic, activists said Thursday, signaling both their
staying power and intensity as they challenge the country's theocracy.
Wednesday saw the most-intense day of demonstrations, reaching rural
towns and major cities in every province though still localized enough
for daily life to continue in Tehran, Iran's capital, and elsewhere. So
far, violence around the demonstrations has killed at least 38 people
while more than 2,200 others have been detained, said the U.S.-based
Human Rights Activists News Agency.
The growth of the protests increases the pressure on Iran's civilian
government and its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. So far,
authorities haven't shut down the internet or fully flooded the streets
with security forces like they did to put down the 2022 Mahsa Amini
demonstrations. But any intensification may see them act.
Russia: Foreign Troops in Ukraine Are 'Legitimate Targets'
Russia said on Thursday that any troops sent to Ukraine by Western
governments would be "legitimate combat targets," after Britain and
France announced plans to deploy a multinational force there in the
event of a ceasefire.
A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said "militaristic declarations"
by a coalition of pro-Ukraine Western governments were becoming
increasingly dangerous.
Russia was responding for the first time to a meeting of the
"coalition of the willing" in Paris on Tuesday at which Britain and
France signed a declaration of intent on the future deployment.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it could involve sending
thousands of French troops. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said
it paved the way for a legal framework whereby "British, French and
partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's
skies and seas and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the future."
The peril of Mamdani and Weaver’s Communist college kids’ field trip in New York City
By Jonathan Turley
Socialism has long been a political theory that survives more on hype than history.
The problem for the growing movement of young socialists in America is
that it has consistently failed, outside the confines of their college
Marxism 101 courses.
During the Cold War, Soviet communists referred to American liberals as
“useful idiots,” armchair revolutionaries who spouted proletarian
slogans at cocktail parties.
Zohran Mamdani and his newly appointed cadre engage in chest-pounding
about their intentions to “seize the means of production” while living
off their parents or working friends in high society.
Today, they are often young people who joined communist coffee klatches
in college under the tutelage of academia’s “radical chic.”
Trump promotes global order by seizing ‘ghost fleet’ oil tankers
Kudos to President Trump for clamping down on the “ghost fleet” tankers
that flagrantly dodge sanctions on rogue nations like Venezuela and
Iran.
On Wednesday, the US military and Coast Guard took control of two
tankers that had tried to run the blockade of Venezuela — including one
ship, Bella 1, that tried to evade capture by changing its name to the
Marinera in mid-chase, re-registering as a Russian ship and painting a
Russian flag on its hull.
A gambit that Moscow was rushing in forces to back up, as Vladimir Putin again showed his true colors.
President Joe Biden’s team sanctioned Bella 1 in 2024 for carrying
black-market Iranian oil; Trump is simply enforcing the law here —
taking action to support the liberal international order.
