Attacks, which killed women and children, come day before border crossing is due to open in Gaza's southern most city…
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Electric cars go mainstream as adoption surges across rich and developing nations
Last year, almost every new car sold in Norway, the nature-loving country flush with oil wealth, was fully electric. In prosperous Denmark, which was all-in on petrol and diesel cars until just before Covid, sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) reached a share of 68%. In California, the share of zero-emissions vehicles hit 20%. And at least every third new car now bought by the Dutch, Finns, Belgians and Swedes burns no fuel…
The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2026-01-30
Domestic
A man rushed towards Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar during an event in her home state on Tuesday, spraying the congresswoman with a liquid authorities later identified as vinegar. President Donald Trump told reporters later that evening he thought there was a chance that Omar had staged the attack herself as a stunt.Another deadline for a government shutdown is fast approaching. And questions are mounting about whether Democrats will continue to dig their heels in over the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.
Andmore acts are pulling out of scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center. Composer Phillip Glass announced his decision to not debut a symphony he wrote in honor of Abraham Lincoln written for the Center’s 50th anniversary.
Interview:
International
President Donald Trump said this week that Iran needed to give into a list of demands related to its nuclear disarmament and that “time was running out.” The military is now moving Navy and Air Force assets to the Middle East.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he couldn’t rule out further military intervention in Venezuela during testimony before the Senate.
And traditional U.S. allies are looking elsewhere for aid and trade deals, as the president continues to demolish the old world order in favor of one that centers himself.
Interview:
Trump says ‘very dangerous’ for UK to do business with China, after Starmer hails progress in Beijing
US president warns Keir Starmer over closer ties with China during British PM's trip to secure lower tariffs and better access to Chinese market…
Anti-ICE protests to be held across US as organizers urge national strike
"We are calling for this strike because we believe what we have been doing in Minnesota should go national," said Kidus Yeshidagna, president of the Ethiopian Students Union at the University of Minnesota and one of the students organizing the strike.
"We need more people and lawmakers across the country to wake up."…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/30/ice-protests-friday-strike
Trump sues IRS and US treasury for $10bn over leak of tax returns
Agencies accused of failing to take precautions to stop former contractor leaking returns to 'leftist media outlets'
Lawyers want to send Trump a message in New Jersey: Free accused criminals - POLITICO
That's the remedy some defense attorneys are now urging a federal judge to consider amid an escalating standoff over who is legally allowed to run the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office...
DOJ announces full release of Epstein files - POLITICO
"The DOJ said it identified over 6 million potentially responsive pages but is releasing only about 3.5 million after review and redactions," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who teamed up with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to force a vote on the bill that resulted in the Epstein files' release, in a statement. "This raises questions as to why the rest are being withheld."…
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/30/epstein-drop-live-00757275
Inside Congress Live
There will still be a partial shutdown through the weekend, at least...
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/01/30/congress/theyve-got-a-deal-00758107
ICE has expanded its mass surveillance efforts. Online activists are fighting back. - POLITICO
Protesters are using social media and encrypted messaging apps to track ICE vehicles and agents, while hackers have targeted ICE's surveillance arsenal…
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/29/ice-tracking-tools-protesters-00755703
French diplomats are taking on MAGA — one meme at a time – POLITICO
PARIS — When a French government account publicly sparred with the White House over Greenland on X, it wasn't a mistake or the work of some rogue diplomat. It was part of a deliberate new strategy by Paris to fight online disinformation from Russia, China and, increasingly, MAGA-aligned voices in the United States...
Lindsey Graham signals path to defuse funding threat - Live Updates - POLITICO
The South Carolina Republican said he will drop his blockade in exchange for future votes...
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/01/30/congress/lindsey-graham-amendments-funding-00757533
The Regime Plans to Weaponize the FACE Act (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #049)
The Trump Regime and Bondi’s DOJ are going after anti-ICE protesters who protested in a church that has an ICE Pastor (it’s a thing). The FACE Act is the newest talking point and prosecution point for the regime. What is the FACE Act? Why was it passed? How is it being used against these protesters? Andrew explains it all. But first, the regime altered photos of the arrest of the protester in deliberately cruel ways.
- The Guardian article with the photo tool
- NAACP lynching stats
- Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is here
- Hemant Mehta’s article, “The anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church was a justified rebuke of the pastor's cruelty.”
- The text of the FACE Act is here.
- Trump pardons FACE Act violators by lying about “anti-Christian bias”
The anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church was a justified rebuke of the pastor's cruelty (Hemant Mehta)
The protesters didn't desecrate a house of worship by demanding justice and peace for the people in their community. Easterwood desecrated it when he decided threatening immigrants with deportation was an extension of his faith...
DOJ opens civil rights investigation into Pretti shooting, Blanche says - POLITICO
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the investigation at a press conference Friday...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/30/doj-investigation-pretti-shooting-minnesota-00757544
Trump announces August auto race in downtown Washington - POLITICO
"To think, 190 miles an hour down Pennsylvania Avenue — this is going to be wild," said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy…
Democratic governors scramble to build a legal wall against Trump’s deportation agenda - POLITICO
"We're sending a strong message to ICE: You will not weaponize our police in the state of New York," Hochul said...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/30/democratic-governors-trumps-deportation-agenda-00757892
Students Walk Out Across the Country to Protest ICE – Mother Jones
From Georgia to Arizona, young people are standing up to federal agents' violent operations in American towns and cities...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/students-ice-protest-immigration/
History Minute (081): KKK support from Henry Ford and Hiram Wesley Evans
“In 1920, business magnate Henry Ford introduced the American public to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and published his own article series ‘The International Jew’ (1920–1922), which contributed to enhance anti-Semitism as ideological element for nationalist mobilization. [Grand Dragon Hiram Wesley] Evans on the other hand emphasized political anti-Catholicism and strived to make the Klan a political force in America.”
Friday, January 30, 2026
Taliban birth control ban: women ‘broken’ by lethal pregnancies and untreated miscarriages
Women across Afghanistan describe the traumatic impact of disappearing clinics and contraception
Videos show altercation between Alex Pretti and federal officers 11 days before he was killed
Three newly discovered videos show the Minneapolis ICU nurse being tackled by federal agents in a prior confrontation…
Iran accused of ‘campaign of revenge’ as doctors arrested for treating protesters
US state department calls for the release of all detained healthcare workers as at least one arrested surgeon reported to be at risk of execution…
House infighting will complicate brewing Senate spending deal - POLITICO
Some Republicans are skeptical of a plan to split off and renegotiate Homeland Security funding...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/29/shutdown-house-dhs-stopgap-00754590
Who Takes Palantir’s Money? A New Tracker Finds Out. – Mother Jones
The top six Palantir-funded politicians—via the company's corporate PAC or individual contributors employed there—are Donald Trump, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.)…
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/purge-palantir-donation-tracker-ice-congress/
Celebrating Black Military Service Is Not “DEI Woke Shit.” It’s Essential to America’s Defense. – Mother Jones
Shortly after taking office, in February 2025, President Donald Trump abruptly fired General Charles "CQ" Brown, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as part of a purge of military leaders who advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. In March, Arlington National Cemetery scrubbed from its website educational materials about the history of Black service members, including the Tuskegee Airmen and even General Colin Powell, the first Black Joint Chiefs chairman. …
With these and other petty moves executed by Pete Hegseth, Trump's loyalist secretary of "war," the White House and Pentagon appear strangely determined to undermine, and even erase the evidence of, Black patriotism—not to mention the military's hard-won reputation as an institution that embraces the talents and capabilities of all Americans…
WATCH LIVE: Senate Democrats block government funding package over DHS demands as negotiations continue | PBS News
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats voted to block legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies Thursday as they continued to negotiate with Republicans and the White House on new restrictions for President Donald Trump's surge of immigration enforcement...
FBI raid in Georgia highlights Trump's preoccupation with the 2020 election | PBS News
DENVER (AP) — Donald Trump lost his bid for reelection in 2020. But for more than five years, he's been trying to convince Americans the opposite is true by falsely saying the election was marred by widespread fraud...
WATCH: Trump says he wants to drive housing prices up, not down | PBS News
Trump has said that he wants to keep home prices high to increase people's net worth, but doing so will likely keep construction levels low and price out possible first-time buyers…
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-says-he-wants-to-drive-housing-prices-up-not-down
Trump says he'll announce Federal Reserve chair pick next week | PBS News
Even though Powell's term as chair ends in May, he could stay on the board of governors until 2028 and block Trump's ability to appoint someone new to the board as chair...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/trump-says-hell-announce-federal-reserve-chair-pick-next-week
WATCH: Trump says he closed his eyes in the last Cabinet meeting because 'it got pretty boring' | PBS News
Recalling being seen as struggling to keep his eyes open during that gathering, Trump insisted, "I didn't sleep. I just closed them because I wanted to get the hell out of there."…
PolitiFact | Under Trump, more FEMA disaster assistance applications are in limbo for longer
As of Jan. 28, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had 18 disaster declaration applications awaiting President Donald Trump's approval. Eleven are more than a month old and some date back to October 2025
Senators Accuse Todd Blanche of “Glaring” Crypto Conflict, Cite ProPublica Report — ProPublica
The senators presented a letter demanding that top DOJ official Todd Blanche clarify the legality of his actions, pointing to ProPublica reporting that found he owned at least $159,000 in related assets when he shut down crypto investigations...
https://www.propublica.org/article/todd-blanche-crypto-conflict-senator-letter
FBI’s Search of Fulton County, Georgia, Election Center Is Unprecedented, Experts Say — ProPublica
"This is not legitimate. This is Donald Trump's obsession with losing the 2020 election," Ivory said. "This is his way to sow doubt that Fulton County doesn't hold proper elections."…
https://www.propublica.org/article/fbi-fulton-county-voting-records-search-warrant
Senate Democrats reach deal to avert partial government shutdown
The deal would avert a partial shutdown that would have affected many of the government's functions. However, it would not stop a temporary lapse in funding for DHS, because any changes to the DHS funding bill would have to be approved by the House of Representatives, which is out of session until Monday.
The impact of such a lapse was not immediately clear. The Senate could vote on the deal as soon as Thursday evening. In the House, speaker Mike Johnson, told the Associated Press that he had been "vehemently opposed" to breaking up the funding package, but "if it is broken up, we will have to move it as quickly as possible. We can't have the government shut down."…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/senate-democrats-deal-dhs-funding-bill
Van Hollen Grills Marco Rubio On Trump's 'Corruption' And The 'Intersection with our foreign policy
At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) questioned Sec. Marco Rubio about President Trump's foreign businesses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfr-lXlLyS4
History Minute (080): Christian pastors and theology in the KKK
“Walter C. Wright, a Texas reverend and one of the Klan’s foremost ideologues, emphasized that the core of Klan theology was belief in Christianity’s essential tenets, to regard Christ as ‘Criterion of Character’, and to consider Romans 12 as his ‘Law of Life’. Across the country, individuals who lived up to the membership requirements sought themselves to the Invisible Empire, predominately those from Evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal churches, which in many respects constituted the Klan’s recruiting ground. Kleagles [i.e., recruiters for the Klan] were eager to recruit Protestant ministers to the Klan, highlighting the importance of clergy in building a Protestant fraternal and political movement.”
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar sprayed with unknown substance at Minneapolis town hall
Man arrested and charged with assault after spraying strong-smelling liquid at Minnesota Democrat from syringe…
JD Vance wrong that Minneapolis ranks No. 1 in unauthorized immigrants. - PolitiFact
There are about 130,000 immigrants in the country illegally in Minnesota, which is about 2% of the state's population.
Seventy-eight metro areas have a higher percentage of immigrants in the U.S. illegally than the Minneapolis metro area.
‘I was violated and put in extreme danger’: women denied abortions sue over Arkansas ban
It argues that the laws banning abortion in Arkansas – there are two virtually identical laws on the books – must be struck down because they violate the state constitution and its guarantee that people have the right to equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These anti-abortion laws, the lawsuit alleges, not only infringe on people's right to choose how to build their families, but also threaten their lives, fertility and economic wellbeing…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/28/arkansas-lawsuit-abortion-ban-miscarriage
Trump impeachment whistleblower Vindman raises $1.7M in first day of Florida Senate campaign - POLITICO
The Democratic candidate is vying to challenge GOP Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Ron DeSantis..
Senate Democrats float DHS changes in shutdown stalemate - Live Updates - POLITICO
Democrats are seeking new limits on the use of warrants and other changes to immigration enforcement...
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/01/28/congress/democrats-dhs-minnesota-shutdown-00753256
The Legal Fallout in Minnesota Has Only Just Begun - POLITICO
You can add it to the list of major political aberrations and ironies in the second Trump administration. With Trump at the helm, the Republican Party — once the nominal party of law and order, limited government and states' rights — is running roughshod over the states, creating chaos in the streets and making the country less safe in the process...
Minnesota’s chief judge, a veteran in conservative legal circles, takes on ICE - POLITICO
The low-key George W. Bush appointee confronting Trump's immigration tactics ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to his courtroom….
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/27/patrick-schiltz-judge-minneapolis-ice-00750030
Tillis, Murkowski say Noem should be fired - Live Updates - POLITICO
The senators are the first GOP lawmakers to call for the DHS secretary's ouster...
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/01/27/congress/thom-tillis-kristi-noem-fired-00750580
FBI raids Atlanta-area elections office amid Trump’s push to relitigate 2020 election - POLITICO
The action comes after Trump promised that individuals would be prosecuted "soon" related to the 2020 presidential election...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/28/fbi-raid-georgia-elections-trump-2020-00753249
OK State Senator Seeks to Rein In Oil Companies’ Groundwater Pollution — ProPublica
The legislation comes after The Frontier and ProPublica found over 150 incidents where oilfield wastewater had gushed from the earth, releasing toxic chemicals — including some that cause cancer — near homes and farms and into drinking water sources...
HHS Wasn’t Worried About South Carolina’s Measles Outbreak. It’s Now Enormous. – Mother Jones
"CDC is not currently concerned that this will develop into a large, long-running outbreak," the agency said in December…
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/hhs-rfk-south-carolina-measles-outbreak/
Yup. Trump Suggested Ilhan Omar Staged Her Own Attack in Minneapolis. – Mother Jones
Trump's latest in a string of attacks against Omar, Somalis, and Minnesotans...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/trump-ilhan-omar-attack-minneapolis-reaction/
Why the Next “No Kings” Could Be the Biggest One Yet – Mother Jones
"My goal here is a unified, strong opposition party to the regime," Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, said ahead of the March 28 protests...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/no-kings-protests-minneapolis-march-28/
History Minute: (079): How big was the KKK?
“In a period of four years, the Invisible Empire [i.e., the KKK] turned into one of the country’s largest mass movements with an estimated four to six million members in 1924. This means that the Klan at its peak had as many members as the American Federation of Labour, at the time one of the largest union movements in the United States.” (Gustaf Forsell, Blood, Cross and Flag: The Influence of Race on Ku Klux Klan Theology in the 1920s).
- At a time when the population of white males over age 15 was roughly 30 million, approximately 15 - 20% were members of the KKK.
- In former Confederate states, where the male population over age 15 was 8 to 12 million, approximately half of them were KKK members. (Census figures from Perplexity.ai)
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Critics of Minnesota anti-ICE protests falsely call protesters paid - PolitiFact
President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly characterized Minnesota protesters as paid professionals.
Although it's common for professional community organizers to be involved in protests, reporting by multiple news outlets, statements from people on the ground and experts' observations show thousands of Minnesotans have been voluntarily protesting.
Gun rights groups blast Trump over Minnesota response - POLITICO
The National Rifle Association, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, posted that Essayli's remarks were "dangerous and wrong," and called for a full investigation rather than "making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens."…
‘Abdication’: Trump formally takes US out of Paris climate agreement for a second time
Experts are watching for how other countries will react as the 'real economy' shifts to cheaper, cleaner energy…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/27/trump-withdraws-paris-climate-agreement
How Greg Bovino Proved Too Openly Fascistic for Trump – Mother Jones
It is worth stressing what Bovino got away with before Trump shoved him aside... 
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