Early Edition: January 30, 2026

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

MINNESOTA

White House Border Czar Tom Homan said yesterday that there are plans for a “drawdown” of immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota if state and local officials cooperate and allow federal agents access to local jails. Homan also told reporters in Minnesota, “I’m not here because the federal government has carried out this mission perfectly,” adding, “certain improvements could and should be made.” Chelsia Rose Marcius reports for the New York Times; Brad Brooks and Ted Hesson report for Reuters. 

Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis told U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota David Rosen that they feel deeply frustrated by the Justice Department’s response to the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by immigration officers and suggested that they could resign en masse, according to two officials. At least one prosecutor resigned this week after a meeting with Rosen. Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post 

IRAN

President Trump has considered an expanded list of potential military options in Iran in recent days, aimed at doing further damage to nuclear and missile facilities or sparking regime change, U.S officials said. It is unclear whether the White House has sought a legal opinion for the Iran options that Trump is currently considering. The U.S. military continues to build up its presence in the region. The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, armed with F/A-18 attack planes and F-35 fighter jets, is on station in the Arabian Sea, and well within striking distance of Iranian targets, Navy officials said this week. Tyler Pager, Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt, David E. Sanger, and Helene Cooper report for the New York Times. 

The U.S. Navy has sent an additional warship to the Middle East, a U.S. official told Reuters yesterday. The official said that the USS Delbert D. Black had entered the region in the past 48 hours. Reuters reports. 

The Trump administration has met with senior defense and intelligence officials from Israel and Saudi Arabia in Washington for talks on Iran this week. Israeli military intelligence chief Gen. Shlomi Binder came to Washington to share intelligence on possible targets inside Iran, officials said. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman was expected to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss a diplomatic solution to the Iran issue. Barak Ravid reports for Axios. 

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE

Israel yesterday returned 15 bodies of Palestinians killed during the war in Gaza, following the recovery of the remains of the last Israeli hostage. Only 99 of around 360 Palestinian bodies handed over since October have been identified, according to the Gaza health ministry, with health officials forced to bury unidentified bodies in mass graves. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.  

Israeli airstrikes yesterday killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza, according to medics. The Gaza health ministry said Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 490 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect in October; Israel said four soldiers have been killed by Palestinian militants during this period. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.  

A senior Israeli military source indicated to Israeli journalists that the Israeli military accepts that more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, acknowledging the accuracy of the Hamas health ministry’s figures. Dan Johnson reports for BBC News. 

U.S. Agency for International Development employees drafted a warning in February 2024 to senior officials in the Biden administration, saying that Northern Gaza had turned into an “Apocalyptic Wasteland.” The U.S. ambassador to Jerusalem, Jack Lew,  and his deputy, Stephen Hallett, blocked the cable from wider distribution because they believed it lacked balance, according to four former officials and documents seen by Reuters. The February cable was one of five sent in the first part of the year documenting the rapidly deteriorating conditions in Gaza, six officials said. The other four were also blocked by Lew and Hallett. Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay, and Humeyra Pamuk report.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Trump said yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to his request to temporarily pause missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities because of the extreme cold in the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday, “Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates. We expect the agreements to be implemented.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Reuters reports.  

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Panama’s Supreme Court has ruled that CK Hutchison’s long-held contracts to operate ports at either end of the Panama Canal were unconstitutional. Alexandra Stevenson and Peter Eavis report for the New York Times. 

Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), backed by armed drones, yesterday raided an army base in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state and killed several troops, according to the Nigerian military. The use of drones by the fighters from ISWAP in recent attacks has marked a significant escalation in the violence in the region, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Sani Uba said. Ahmed Kingimi Kolawole and Adewale report for Reuters.  

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces today announced a new agreement with the Syrian government, intended to stabilize a recently agreed ceasefire and layout steps towards integration. The SDF said that under the agreement, security forces affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Interior would enter the cities of al-Hassakeh and Qamishli, which they had previously been barred from entering, and the process of integrating SDF and government forces would begin. Hogir Al Abdo reports for AP News.  

TECH DEVELOPMENTS 

A cohort of music publishers, led by Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Anthropic, saying the company illegally downloaded more than 200,000 copyrighted songs, including sheet music, song lyrics, and musical compositions. The publishers said in a statement on Wednesday that the damages could exceed $3 billion. Amanda Silberling reports for TechCrunch. 

The Pentagon and Anthropic are at a standstill over safeguards that would prevent the government from deploying its AI technology to target weapons autonomously and conduct U.S. domestic surveillance, according to three sources. Anthropic said its AI is “extensively used for national security missions by the U.S. government and we are in productive discussions with the Department of War about ways to continue that work.” Deepa Seetharaman, David Jeans, and Jeffrey Dastin report for Reuters.  

China has granted DeepSeek approval to buy Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, subject to regulatory conditions still being finalised, two sources told Reuters.  

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS

Venezuela’s National Assembly yesterday approved significant changes to legislation governing the oil industry, granting foreign oil companies greater control over operations and opening the way for the authorities to sharply reduce royalties and taxes paid to the Venezuelan government. The overhaul effectively reverses much of Venezuela’s nationalization of oil projects in 2007. Simon Romero reports for the New York Times.  

Trump yesterday signed an executive order declaring Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security, saying he would impose tariffs on all U.S. imports from any country that supplies Cuba with oil. Karen DeYoung reports for the Washington Post.  

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

“I expect the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday, adding that Trump had never brought up the issue of Alberta independence during their meetings. Carney’s comments followed a report in the Financial Times that the White House had met several times with an Alberta separatist group. Max Saltman reports for CNN.  

“We will never accept joint operations by the United States … operations on our territory are carried out by Mexican forces … we always tell President Trump that,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said yesterday following a call with Trump. Sheinbuam reiterated this to reporters in response to questions surrounding the case of a former Olympic snowboarder accused of drug trafficking, who was recently sent from Mexico to the United States to face charges. AP News reports. 

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

ICE has ended enhanced operations in Maine, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said yesterday. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO.  

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS  

Senate Democrats yesterday reached an agreement with Trump, which, if it holds, would avert a government shutdown and buy more time to negotiate restrictions on the administration’s immigration crackdown. It would provide two weeks of funding for the Homeland Security Department while lawmakers and White House officials negotiate over Democrats’ demands to rein in federal immigration agents. Catie Edmondson and Carl Hulse report for the New York Times. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Kevin Warsh will succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair, Trump announced this morning. Jeff Cox reports for CNBC.  

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has spent months investigating the 2020 election results and potential crimes, White House officials said, adding that this is a priority for the President. Gabbard has begun studying information about voting machines, analyzed data from swing states, and pursued theories that President Trump has promoted to claim the 2020 election was unfairly taken from him, the officials said. This role took Gabbard to a related FBI search of an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, this week. Josh Dawsey, Dustin Volz, and Sadie Gurman report for the Wall Street Journal 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal appeals court yesterday upheld a lower court ruling that the Trump administration lacked the statutory authority to vacate and terminate the Temporary Protected Status designation for Venezuelan and Haitian migrants. Jazmine Ulloa reports for the New York Times.  

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit last week seeking $941,114 plus interest from Marta Alicia Ramirez Veliz for allegedly failing to leave the United States for more than three years after the Justice Department appeals panel ruled against her immigration case. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.  

Trump filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Internal Revenue Service for the unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns during his first term, seeking at least $10 billion in damages. Andrew Duehren and Chris Cameron report for the New York Times.