Good morning.
Pressure is mounting on Donald Trump’s administration to fully investigate the killing of the 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.
Calls for an investigation have come from across the political spectrum after video analysis showed officers had removed a handgun from Pretti that he was reportedly permitted to carry – and which he was not handling – before fatally shooting him on Saturday. Trump officials, meanwhile, are continuing to lie about what happened.
Barack and Michelle Obama described Pretti’s death as “a heartbreaking tragedy” and “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault”.
What’s the latest on what’s happening in Minnesota? A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments today on whether to halt the often brutal immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, which has led to the killings of two 37-year-old US citizens by government officers in less than a month. Follow our live blog here.
What’s happening with the investigation into Renee Nicole Good’s fatal shooting? A supervisor in the FBI’s Minneapolis field office who had sought to investigate the ICE agent responsible for the fatal shooting in the city on 7 January has resigned, according to reports.
US storm leaves seven dead and more than 1m without power
At least seven people have died as a result of a powerful winter storm sweeping across the US, bringing heavy snow and ice from the Gulf Coast to the north-east.
More than 1 million people in the south were left without power, and more than 10,000 flights were cancelled.
The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed two storm-related deaths in Caddo Parish, while the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said “at least five New Yorkers passed away and were found outside” on Saturday, before snowfall began.
How is the government responding? On Saturday, Trump approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and West Virginia.
Israel agrees to ‘limited reopening’ of Gaza’s Rafah crossing after hostage search operation
Israel has said its military is conducting a large-scale operation to locate the body of the remaining hostage in Gaza, adding that the Rafah crossing with Egypt would be reopened only once the mission was completed.
The statement came as Israel’s cabinet met to discuss the possible reopening of the key border crossing, and a day after senior US envoys met the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and reportedly urged him to reopen the vital entry point for humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel’s demand for the return of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, has been widely seen as the final obstacle to opening the Rafah crossing and beginning the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire. The border was originally due to open during the initial phase of Trump’s plan to end the war last October.
What has Hamas said about the search for Gvili? Hamas said in a statement yesterday that it had provided all the information in its possession about Gvili’s remains and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.
In other news …
Iranian authorities unveiled a new mural on a billboard in a central Tehran square yesterday, issuing a direct warning to the US against launching a military strike, as US warships move into the region.
China’s military leadership is in turmoil after its most senior general – a close ally of Xi Jinping – was placed under investigation for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”.
A US security agreement for Ukraine is “100% ready” to be signed, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said after two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, the US and Russia.
Stat of the day: Gold tops $5,000 an ounce for first time as investors seek refuge from Trump turmoil
Gold has risen above $5,000 an ounce for the first time, as Trump’s erratic policies and pronouncements drive investors to seek safe harbor in the precious metal. The price hit a record high of $5,100 this morning, before easing to settle up 2.2% at $5,089.
Building power: Meet the OB-GYNs fighting Trump’s ‘guerrilla war on science’
As some medical groups yield to pressure from the Trump administration, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is taking a stand. Over the past year, the non-partisan organization has become a leading voice in the fight against Donald Trump’s anti-science agenda, particularly on issues related to pregnancy and childbirth.
Don’t miss this: the US feels like a country on the brink of an authoritarian takeover
“One flick of our index finger on our phones transports us from disaster to disaster, from crisis to crisis, from maddening lie to maddening lie, each grabbing the headlines, meanwhile the government’s attempts to terrorize and silence the people of our country continue,” writes Francine Prose, the American novelist, critic and former president of PEN American Center. “So let me break it down. There is one story: our country is on the brink of an authoritarian takeover. It is happening now.”
… or this: ‘Embarrassed’ v ‘force to be reckoned with’ – Americans on Trump’s foreign interventions
As Trump continues to call for the US to take control of Greenland – not long after the US captured the deposed president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro – we asked people in the US what they thought about Trump’s foreign interventionism and rhetoric. Here are some of their responses.
Climate check: Trump says the big winter storm is proof of a climate hoax – here’s why he’s wrong
Donald Trump has erroneously pointed to the latest enormous winter storm in the US as supposed proof that the world is not heating up. Scientists, however, say the storm is being fueled by a weakened polar vortex – a phenomenon linked by research to a rapidly warming Arctic – while long-term trends show US winters are, overall, getting warmer.
Last Thing: Does it even need to be said? No, you don’t need to do a ‘parasite cleanse’
Type “parasite cleanse” into TikTok or Instagram and you’ll be inundated with so-called experts peddling expensive herbal supplements that promise to detox the body. So should we all do a cleanse? “No,” says Caroline Susie, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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