Trump's ICE Goons Detained a 5-Year-Old.  Then JD Vance Made It Worse.  —  In an administration that sometimes seems to lack a well-defined institutional role for JD Vance, he appears to be taking on a new function: putting a softer, more reasonable face on Stephen Miller's authoritarian police state.

Trump 0, Europe 1  —  Ignorance and contempt lose a round  —  As I wrote yesterday, Donald Trump and his team clearly went to Davos determined to demean and insult their hosts.  It was, one might say, a novel approach to diplomacy: “You're pathetic, your societies and economies are falling apart, now give us Greenland.”

Trump leaves NATO allies “dumbfounded” and “disgusted” with remarks dismissing sacrifices in Afghanistan  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  London — European military veterans, families of the fallen, and politicians have voiced outrage after President Trump claimed the U.S. had “never needed” …

These Gen-Z Trump voters don't want JD Vance in 2028 … When the 18- to 24-year-olds were asked who else they would like to see as potential candidates in 2028, they named Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tom Cotton …

ICE detains family seeking emergency care for child at Portland hospital  —  Federal immigration agents arrested and detained a Gresham family, including a 7-year-old child, outside a Portland hospital last week as the girl's parents sought emergency medical care for her.

Rejecting Decades of Science, Vaccine Panel Chair Says Polio and Other Shots Should Be Optional  —  Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who leads the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said a person's right to refuse a vaccine outweighed concerns about illness or death from infectious diseases.

Minnesota judges continue to reject arrest warrants in ICE protests  —  Sources say federal agents aren't providing evidence that protestors are committing the crimes of which they're accused.  —  Federal judges in Minnesota have several times in recent weeks rejected arrest warrants …

D.H.S. Cited Foreign Students' Writings and Protests Before Their Arrests  —  Documents unsealed by a federal judge on Thursday include dossiers that investigators prepared on pro-Palestinian student activists before they were targeted for deportation.  —  Secretary of State Marco Rubio …

Hundreds of clergy descend on Minneapolis and go on lookout for ICE  —  MINNEAPOLIS (RNS) — Around 200 faith leaders fanned out across the city on Thursday (Jan. 22) to observe and document the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with some clergy confronting Department …

U.S. Formally Withdraws From World Health Organization  —  Global health experts worry that a lack of international coordination will lead to death and disaster.  —  The United States formally withdrew from the World Health Organization on Thursday, making good on an executive order …

Minnesotans strike to protest ICE surge in state: ‘No work, no school, no shopping’  —  Organizers demand ICE leave state and agency be investigated for constitutional violations  —  A “no work, no school, no shopping” blackout day of protest was kicked off by community leaders …

Patel ousts senior FBI agents linked to Trump probes, say sources  —  As many as six agents in Miami were forced out over their connection to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.  Special agents in charge in Atlanta and New Orleans were removed, as well as the acting assistant director in charge of the New York field office.

The People vs. ICE … For limited durations, in isolated contexts, it's a party.  On a Thursday morning the number of protesters outside the brutalist building from which ICE conducts its menace in Minneapolis swells from 25 to at least 100 by early afternoon.  Spirits are high.

Senate Democrat calls for investigation into TikTok deal  —  Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) called for an investigation Friday into a deal that saw TikTok's American business spun off into a separate entity in order to allow the app to continue operating in the U.S.

Executive Director of South L.A.-Based Charity Arrested on Federal Complaint Alleging $23 Million Swindle of Homelessness Funds  —  For Immediate Release  —  U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California  —  LOS ANGELES - A Westwood man was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging …

Trump's Turnabout on Greenland Shows the Limits of His Coercive Powers  —  President Trump's faith in his ability to wring concessions by taking maximalist positions was on full display this week.  So were the costs, as he splintered NATO and then undercut his credibility by climbing down from his threats.

White House Posts Altered Photo Showing Arrested Minnesota Protester Crying  —  Got a Tip?  The Times offers several ways to send important information confidentially ›  —  Face to Face With History's Most Dangerous Painter  —  Jacques-Louis David, artist and politician of the French Revolution …

The Trump administration admits even more ways DOGE accessed sensitive personal data  —  For much of the last year, staffers who were initially part of the Department of Government Efficiency effort improperly accessed and shared sensitive personal data on millions of Americans.

Iran's top prosecutor denies Trump's claim 800 prisoners were spared execution  —  Iran's top prosecutor on Friday called U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters there “completely false.”  Meanwhile, the overall death toll …

The consent of the governed has been withdrawn  —  The Friday edition of Strength In Numbers is free to all readers.  If you'd like to support data-driven political journalism and get deep-dive analysis every Tuesday, become a paying subscriber today.  Your support also helps fund interactive data projects, like this one.

What if we just stopped paying taxes?  —  In solidarity with the anti-ICE general strike in Minnesota, I am donating all proceeds from today's newsletter to People over Papers, the Midway-Hamline Diaper Bank, and Every Meal.  If you're not already a paid subscriber but would like to do so and support …

First Draft: Elder Abuse of Power  —  🩺 On this day in 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the US to earn a medical degree from Geneva Medical College in New York.  After being rejected by 29 other schools, GMC's all-male student body unanimously voted in favor of her admission …

Massive winter storm could lay bare Trump's FEMA cuts  —  Over 160 million Americans could be pummeled by a massive winter storm this weekend, with utility companies warning of dangerous, potentially life-threatening power outages. … - Multiple energy companies have warned customers to prepare for “multi-day outages.”

Defund Science, Distort Culture, Mock Education  —  It's not just about cuts to research.  It's about power.  —  Joan Brugge has worked for nearly 50 years as a cancer scientist, studying the earliest signs that someone might become sick.  Then the Trump administration canceled her lab's funding.

Canadian ex-Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin arrested, NBC News reports  —  Ryan Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder suspected of becoming a cocaine smuggling kingpin, has been arrested, NBC News reported on Friday, citing two law enforcement officials familiar with the U.S. investigation.

RNC takes steps toward a 2026 GOP midterm convention … The amendment was approved at the RNC's winter meeting with no objections.  An unusually high number of RNC members had already left the meeting to catch early flights ahead of winter storms bearing down on much of the country by the time the vote was brought up.

ICE has been entering homes without judicial warrants since last summer, sources say  —  A DHS official went to Los Angeles in June to brief officers on the new policy ahead of an immigration enforcement action, two administration officials told NBC News.  —  Listen to this article with a free account

Trump administration plans to deport 40 Iranians days after mass killings in Iran  —  Two of the deportees are gay and terrified of returning to a country where homosexuality is punishable by death, their lawyer says.  —  The Trump administration plans to deport at least 40 Iranian nationals …

“Immigrants Are Welcome Here”: Thousands of Minnesotans Take to the Streets to Stop ICE  —  Extreme cold couldn't stop the Minnesota shutdown on Friday as some 100 faith leaders were arrested in an act of civil disobedience and scores of residents participated in the work stoppage …