Early Edition: January 29, 2026

A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

MINNESOTA

Two Customs and Border Protection agents involved in killing Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last week have been placed on administrative leave, the agency said yesterday, adding that the leave is “standard protocol.” While an agency spokesperson said they had been on leave since Saturday, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino had said on Sunday that, “All agents that were involved in that scene are working, not in Minneapolis, but in other locations,” adding, “that’s for their safety.” Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO.  

Pretti was forcefully taken to the ground by federal immigration agents after kicking out the tail light of their vehicle during a Minneapolis protest 11 days before he was shot and killed, videos that emerged yesterday show. Michael Biesecker and Jesse Bedayn report for AP News. 

ICE officers were directed yesterday to avoid engaging with “agitators” as they carry out their immigration enforcement crackdown, according to internal guidance reviewed by Reuters. The new guidance also orders federal immigration agents to target only immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. When asked about the new guidance, the White House said, “There are ongoing conversations about how to most effectively conduct operations in Minnesota. No guidance should be considered final until it is officially issued.” Kristina Cooke and Ted Hesson report.

A federal judge said yesterday that she was “deeply disturbed” that Attorney General Pam Bondi had published photographs of some of the 16 people charged with assaulting immigration agents in Minneapolis on social media, adding, “this conduct is not something that the court condones.” Bondi posted photographs of 11 of the defendants shortly before Wednesday’s hearing, calling them “rioters,” adding “Nothing will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law.” Chelsea Rose Marcius and Lauren McCarthy report for the New York Times.

White House officials hope that Border Czar Tom Homan can calm concerns about the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement actions in Minnesota and help avert a partial government shutdown ahead of Friday’s funding deadline. “It’s all wait and see. I think a lot of it is determinative of what Homan comes back with … in terms of reforms,” a White House official said, adding, “If there’s enough positive movement on that front, it can get congressional Democrats back to the table.” Alex Gangitano and Jordain Carney report for POLITICO.  

House Democrats have been privately advised by their leadership not to travel to Minnesota in support of anti-ICE protestors there, according to an email obtained by Axios. A senior staffer for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) urged members to remain in their districts for security reasons, adding, “the best thing to do” is to participate in the Days of Action in their home districts this week. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.  

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE

The United States told the U.N. Security Council yesterday that demilitarization of Gaza will include decommissioning weapons through an agreed process “supported by an internationally funded buyback program.” This reflects point 13 of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan. Two Hamas officials told Reuters that neither Washington nor the mediators had presented Hamas with any derailed or concrete disarmament proposal. Michelle Nichols reports.

IRAN

President Trump said yesterday that if Iran did not agree to the Trump administration’s set of demands, he would mount an attack “with speed and violence.” U.S. and European officials say that three demands have been put to the Iranians during talks: a permanent end to all enrichment of uranium and disposal of its current stockpiles, limits on the range and number of their ballistic missiles, and an end to all support for proxy groups in the Middle East. None of the demands addressed the protection of Iranian protestors. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday that Iran had not requested a meeting with the United States, and that he and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had not been in contact in recent days. Araghchi added that if the United States wants to hold negotiations, “it must abandon threats, excessive demands, and the raising of unreasonable issues.” David E. Sanger, Tyler Pager, and Farnaz Fassihi report for the New York Times; Barak Ravid reports for Axios. 

Trump is weighing options against Iran, including targeted strikes on security forces and leaders to inspire protestors, creating the conditions for “regime change,” according to two sources. Trump is looking to hit institutions and commanders that Washington holds responsible for the violence against protestors this month, giving protestors the confidence that they could overrun government and security buildings, the sources said. Samia Nakhoul, Humeyra Pamuk, Rami Ayyub, and Parisa Hafezi report for Reuters. 

The European Union will most likely include Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on its list of terrorist organizations, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said today. Lily Bayer and Benoit Van Overstraeten report for Reuters. 

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that Trump reserves the right to use military force in Venezuela if Interim President Delcy Rodriguez fails to cooperate fully with U.S. demands, during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, adding that “right now” the United States does not expect to need to. Rubio also said that the United States was not imposing a “blockade” on Venezuela, but that there was a quarantine in place to control the oil exports. Further, Rubio stated that Rodriguez has agreed to submit a monthly “budget” to the Trump administration, which will release funds from an account funded by oil sales and initially managed by Qatar. Laura Kelly reports for the Hill; Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times. 

The United States is transferring to Venezuela a tanker it seized this month, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The officials did not say why the tanker was being returned. Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart report.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

32 Palestinian families in Silwan, East Jerusalem, have been handed eviction orders in favour of an Israeli settler organization which has already taken over parts of the Palestinian district, according to an order from Israel’s Supreme Court seen by Reuters. Ali Sawafta reports.

Corneille Nangaa, the leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo, which includes the M23 group, told Reuters that the Dec. 4 deal between Kinshasa and Washington on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s critical minerals was deeply flawed and unconstitutional. Nangaa also accused Kinshasa of blocking peace efforts, saying ceasefire commitments discussed in Doha talks, mediated by Qatar with U.S. backing, had not been implemented. The DRC government rejects those claims, blaming the rebel group for the continued violence. Nangaa also said that the AFC was working with neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda on security issues, but denied receiving support from Kigali. Reuters reports. 

TECH DEVELOPMENTS 

China plans to launch space-based AI data centers over the next five years, Chinese state media reported today. Laurie Chen reports for Reuters.  

Nvidia helped China’s DeepSeek hone AI models that were later used by the Chinese military, House Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) said in a letter seen by Reuters yesterday. “According to NVIDIA records, NVIDIA technology development personnel helped DeepSeek achieve major training efficiency gains through an ‘optimized co-design of algorithms, frameworks, and hardware,’” Moolenar said in the letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Stephen Nellis reports.

City council members in Madison, Wisconsin, voted unanimously this month to temporarily ban the construction of large data centers for one year. Tyler Katzenberger reports for POLITICO. 

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Technical talks between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland over an Arctic security deal are underway, Rubio said yesterday. The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland agreed earlier this month to create a working group to address any differences with the United States. “It begins today and it will be a regular process,” Rubio said. “We’re going to try and do it in a way that isn’t like a media circus every time these conversations happen.” Aamer Madhani reports for AP News.  

The United States said yesterday that it would lift a suspension of aid to Somalia after claiming that authorities in Mogadishu had taken responsibility for the disruption of World Food Program aid that led to the suspension. The Somali government did not respond to a request for comment. AP News reports. 

State Department officials have held several covert meetings with leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), a far-right separatist group seeking to make the western Canadian province independent, according to sources. APP is seeking another meeting next month with Treasury officials to request a $500 billion credit facility to help fund the province if an independence referendum, which has yet to be called, passes. A state department official said, “The department regularly meets with civil society types. As is typical in routine meetings such as these, no commitments were made.” Ilya Gridneff and Myles McCormick report for the Financial Times. 

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

ICE has been using Palantir’s generative AI tools to sort and summarize immigration enforcement tips from its public submissions form, according to an inventory released yesterday of all use cases the Homeland Security Department had for AI in 2025. The “AI Enhance ICE Tip Processing” service is intended to help ICE investigators “to more quickly identify and actions tips”, as well as translate submissions not made in English. It also provides a “BLUF,” defined as a “high-level summary of the tip,” produced using at least one large language model. Caroline Haskins and Makena Kelly report for Wired. 

An immigration judge yesterday granted asylum to Chinese national Guan Heng, who has been in custody since being swept up by immigration enforcement in August 2025. Guan in 2020 secretly filmed detention facilities in Xinjiang, adding to a body of evidence of widespread rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the region, particularly the Uyghurs. Didi Tang reports for AP News.  

Democratic legislators are intensifying efforts to restrict and challenge federal immigration policies in their states. A Colorado bill introduced this month would enable individuals to sue federal law enforcement officials for civil rights violations. A Delaware bill would prevent commercial airlines from receiving jet fuel tax exemptions if they transport people detained by ICE without warrants and due process. Following Pretti’s shooting on Saturday, a California lawmaker said he would sponsor two bills, one requiring any shooting by an ICE agent to be subject to an independent state investigation, and another to bar ICE from using state properties as a staging area for federal operations.  David W. Chen reports for the New York Times.  

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) moved toward a possible agreement last night to avert a government shutdown early Saturday, according to two officials. The officials said that under the emerging plan, the Senate would split off legislation funding DHS from a six-bill package of spending measures to keep other federal agencies and programs funded for the remainder of the fiscal year. The Senate would pass those bills before Friday’s deadline, and Congress would consider a short-term extension for DHS operations. The stopgap bill would provide time for lawmakers and the White House to draft a new DHS spending bill that would include new restrictions on immigration enforcement officers. Carl Hulse reports for the New York Times.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

The Trump administration has overhauled a set of nuclear safety directives and shared them with the companies it is charged with regulating, without making the new rules available to the public, according to documents obtained by NPR. The orders slash hundreds of pages of reactor security requirements and loosen protections for groundwater and the environment. The changes were made to accelerate the development of next-generation nuclear reactor designs. Geoff Brumfiel reports.

The Trump administration yesterday announced that California is violating federal law by allowing schools to withhold information from parents about students’ gender identity. The finding targets a California policy signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2024. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said a federal investigation determined state officials “egregiously abused” their authority by pressuring local districts to keep quiet about transgender students. Eric He reports for POLITICO.  

The FBI yesterday searched an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, seeking records related to the 2020 election. Among the 2020 election documents sought are ballots, tabulator tapes from the scanners used to tally them, electronic ballot images, and voter rolls. An FBI spokesperson said agents were “executing a court authorized law enforcement action.” Kate Brumback reports for AP News.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

The chief federal judge in Minnesota yesterday rescinded an order he had issued on Tuesday summoning ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to appear before him to explain why he should not be held in contempt. In the new ruling, the judge said that contempt proceedings could resume if the violations continue, noting that ICE had violated nearly 100 court orders in the state and had disobeyed more judicial directives in January alone than “some other federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.” Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.

A federal judge yesterday evening issued a temporary restraining order, directing federal agents to stop detaining and deporting refugees in Minnesota who were lawfully admitted to the United States, and to immediately release those currently held for re-examination of their cases. Miriam Jordan reports for the New York Times.