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.

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 …

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” …

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.”

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Utah reviewed its voter rolls for noncitizens.  It found one.  Who never voted  —  After a sweeping, Republican-led review of more than 2 million voter registrations, Utah election officials identified just one apparent noncitizen in their voter rolls — who never voted.

Vance announces aid restrictions for groups that promote diversity, transgender policies abroad … “Now we're expanding this policy to protect life, to combat [diversity, equity and inclusion] and the radical gender ideologies that prey on our children,” Vance told people attending the March …

Trump administration weighs naval blockade to halt Cuban oil imports … The Trump administration is weighing new tactics to drive regime change in Cuba, including imposing a total blockade on oil imports to the Caribbean country, three people familiar with the plan said Thursday.

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 supporters back bid to annex Greenland: ‘Our president is a negotiator’  —  Conservative communities accept president's arguments for why the US needs the Arctic island as genuine  —  Owen Strickland's life as mayor of a town of 568 people between Rocky Mount and Raleigh, North Carolina, is usually small-town politics.

Defending His Absence in House, Hunt Celebrates Casting a Vote  —  House leaders were forced to rush Representative Wesley Hunt, Republican of Texas, to the Capitol with a police escort to avoid an embarrassing defeat on the floor.  —  It was an embarrassing moment for Speaker Mike Johnson …

‘Enough Is Enough’: Hundreds of Minnesota Businesses Take Stand Against ICE  —  After protesters called for a pause on economic activity and work to strike against the federal immigration crackdown, many business owners kept their doors shut on Friday.  — 1.2k  —  No work, no shopping, no dining out.