digdeeper

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Minnesota National Guard was mobilized on Saturday afternoon to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies, according to an announcement from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS).

This development occurs amid the , referred to as “Operation Metro Surge” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS officials are reporting the operation as a major success, citing the arrests of the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from Minnesota neighborhoods” including alleged thieves, drug traffickers and fraud perpetrators. Recent DHS statements have also claimed that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey “refuse to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens” from custody.

Governor Walz, who directed the Minnesota National Guard to mobilize on Saturday, made a statement earlier in the week criticizing the intentions behind this latest crackdown operation in his state.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A large group of protesters turned out in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday and confronted a much smaller group of people organized by conservative influencer Jack Lang to demonstrate in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Anti-Ice protesters chased the pro-ICE group away and forced Lang, who appeared to be injured, to leave the scene with visible bruises and scrapes on his head.

The draft appears to suggest Trump himself would control the money, something that would be considered unacceptable to most countries who could have potentially joined the board

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/53614323

Donald Trump bought at least $1m worth of bonds in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), according to a financial disclosure form, days after he said would “be involved” in a proposed merger between the two companies.

The White House released a financial disclosure report on Friday which showed that Trump made two purchases from Netflix and two purchases from WBD, each amounting to at least $502,000.

Trump bought the bonds on 12 December and 16 December, a little more than a week after Netflix agreed to buy WDB in an $82.7bn deal.

The purchase is subject to regulatory clearance and is sure to raise eyebrows given Trump has said he will be engaged in that process.

“They have a very big market share,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center on 7 December, two days after the deal was announced and five days before he began to purchase Netflix and WBD bonds.

https://xcancel.com/AfricanHub_/status/2011742594124992534#m

Article without paywall https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-doj-files-bonkers-motion-164621097.html

On Friday, Trump’s Department of Justice quietly filed a motion to block Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie’s request for an independent monitor to oversee the release of Epstein Files in the closed case against Ghislaine Maxwell.

In a new motion, the DOJ urged Judge Paul A. Engelmayer to reject the request, stating that the court had no authority to approve it because neither Khanna nor Massie were involved in the criminal case against Maxwell that landed her behind bars.

EPP leader Manfred said approval of the EU-US deal “is not possible at this stage” given the US president's threats

Archived version: https://archive.ph/WwGfZ

Organizers have called on Danish and Greenlandic residents to join marches and rallies against US President Donald Trump's push to acquire Greenland.

NOVI SAD, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people rallied Saturday in Serbia as university students announced a new stage in their struggle against President Aleksandar Vucic’s tenure. They have led more than a year of mass demonstrations that shook his autocratic government in the Balkan country.

The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries signed on Saturday signed a free trade deal that follows a quarter-century of careful negotiations. France still remains opposed to the trade agreement, with the country's powerful agricultural lobby warning it could damage local farmers' livelihoods.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/41844117

Fatima Khan, Meghnad Bose January 17 2026, 6:00 a.m.

Creating new ICE watch patrols and rapid response networks, fearing going to work or leaving home, watching their shared community spaces grow desolate and their shops sit empty — these are the experiences of Somali residents of the Twin Cities who spoke with The Intercept about being under siege in their own hometowns.

While many of the state’s residents are being impacted by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, Somalis in particular know they are targets of the administration and the thousands of federal immigration agents deployed to Minnesota.

Fatima Khan, Meghnad Bose January 17 2026, 6:00 a.m.

Creating new ICE watch patrols and rapid response networks, fearing going to work or leaving home, watching their shared community spaces grow desolate and their shops sit empty — these are the experiences of Somali residents of the Twin Cities who spoke with The Intercept about being under siege in their own hometowns.

While many of the state’s residents are being impacted by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, Somalis in particular know they are targets of the administration and the thousands of federal immigration agents deployed to Minnesota.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/58805949

Over on reddit, there's a very active "EndFPTP" subreddit that I post to from time-to-time. It's a place where people can discuss alternatives to "FPTP", which is an initialism for "first-past-the-post voting". There are other methods besides FPTP, such as "RCV" or "ranked-choice voting" promoted by FairVote. There are also many Condorcet methods, not to mention approval voting and STAR voting.

There's a lot to explain and a lot to discuss on this topic. Is this community the right place to post about this sort of thing, or should I be looking for a different community to post in?

An 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy allegedly shot his father to death after previously having his Nintendo Switch handheld gaming system taken away.

The boy is facing criminal homicide charges after a 13 January shooting at his family’s home in Duncannon Borough.

As put in court documents obtained and reported by WGAL News 8, the case illustrates how easily children can access guns in the US, where firearms are ubiquitous.

The victim was reportedly discovered in the bedroom he shared with his wife, which court documents say is connected to their son’s bedroom by a closet.

Police reported it was the child’s birthday, and he had entered the bedroom shouting: “Daddy’s dead.” Troopers at the scene also reportedly said that they heard the son tell his mother: “I killed Daddy.”

Police said the shooting occurred after the couple had gone to bed shortly past midnight. The child reportedly told authorities that he had had a good day with his parents, but the documents reportedly state that he became “mad” when his father told him it was time to go to bed.

According to the news outlet, the court document says that the boy told police he found a key to the gun safe in his father’s drawer in his parent’s bedroom. He reportedly unlocked it while attempting to locate his Nintendo Switch – which had previously been taken away from him – and found a gun.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/41843291

Akela Lacy
January 14 2026, 6:00 a.m.

Justice Democrats is wading into a high-profile congressional race in New York City, where a competition between the progressive Brooklyn borough president and a socialist first-term State Assembly member is testing competing visions for the future of the electoral left under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The group is endorsing Claire Valdez, a State Assembly member from Queens and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District. Valdez launched her campaign last week alongside Mamdani and United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, two of her highest-profile backers, in a signal that the race could prove divisive among the most influential figures in the Democratic Party’s left flank.

Akela Lacy
January 14 2026, 6:00 a.m.

Justice Democrats is wading into a high-profile congressional race in New York City, where a competition between the progressive Brooklyn borough president and a socialist first-term State Assembly member is testing competing visions for the future of the electoral left under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The group is endorsing Claire Valdez, a State Assembly member from Queens and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District. Valdez launched her campaign last week alongside Mamdani and United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, two of her highest-profile backers, in a signal that the race could prove divisive among the most influential figures in the Democratic Party’s left flank.

Donald Trump threatened to sue JPMorgan Chase on Saturday, citing an unsubstantiated allegation that major banks discriminated against him after the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.

Trump announced the potential lawsuit in a post on social media, tying the threat to his criticism of a recent Wall Street Journal article that reported he had offered the JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, the position of US Federal Reserve chair. Trump insists the report is inaccurate and says no such offer was ever made.

The president also reiterated his claim that JPMorgan Chase – the largest US bank – improperly cut off his banking access after the January 6 Capitol attack, without providing evidence. He also did not provide evidence for his often-repeated false claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.

Trump has alleged that several banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, refused to accept his deposits following the events of 6 January 2021. Both institutions have strongly rejected those accusations.

Donald Trump bought at least $1m worth of bonds in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), according to a financial disclosure form, days after he said would “be involved” in a proposed merger between the two companies.

The White House released a financial disclosure report on Friday which showed that Trump made two purchases from Netflix and two purchases from WBD, each amounting to at least $502,000.

Trump bought the bonds on 12 December and 16 December, a little more than a week after Netflix agreed to buy WDB in an $82.7bn deal.

The purchase is subject to regulatory clearance and is sure to raise eyebrows given Trump has said he will be engaged in that process.

“They have a very big market share,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center on 7 December, two days after the deal was announced and five days before he began to purchase Netflix and WBD bonds.

As President Donald Trump wraps up the first year of his second term—one marked by US aggression abroad and rising political violence at home—a wave of new polls released this week shows him and his policies at remarkably high, and in some cases record, levels of unpopularity. Across nearly every major measure, Trump is generating more backlash than loyalty, deepening distrust as his personal standing continues to slide.

A new CNN poll released Friday found that nearly 60 percent of Americans describe Trump’s first year back in office as a failure. Trump is faltering even on issues that have historically been his strongest, like the economy. A majority of Americans (55 percent) say he has made the economy worse, while just 36 percent believe he has focused on the right priorities—a nine-point drop since the start of his term. CNN also found Trump’s overall job approval rating languishing at 39 percent, down from 48 percent last February. A clear majority say he has gone too far in using presidential power. You can read the full results here.

CNN’s numbers are not outliers. A new Associated Press–NORC poll, released on Thursday, shows erosion even within Trump’s own party. Only 16 percent of Republicans say the president has helped “a lot” with the cost of living, down sharply from 49 percent in April 2024. Trump’s approval on immigration—still one of his strongest issues among Republicans—has slipped as well, falling from 88 percent in March to 76 percent in the latest survey. Overall, just 38 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, a marked decline, while 61 percent disapprove. Across the poll, voters say Trump is focused on the wrong priorities, abusing power, hurting the economy, and leaving the country worse off. The survey marked his lowest approval ratings on the economy reported by AP pollsters during both stints in the White House.

Other surveys this week echoed the same themes. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump deeply underwater overall, with 58 percent disapproving of his job performance and just 36 percent approving of his handling of the economy. The poll also found overwhelming opposition to Trump’s foreign adventurism, with 71 percent saying the use of military force against Greenland would be a bad idea. Meanwhile, a Marist poll released Friday found that 56 percent of Americans oppose the United States taking military action in Venezuela.

More resignations of federal prosecutors are expected at the US Attorney’s Office in Minnesota amid ongoing frustration over the Trump administration’s response to the fatal shooting of Renée Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.

“I have heard there may be more people leaving, people I would consider senior and respected career prosecutors,” said Anders Folk, a former acting US attorney in Minnesota, who left the office in 2021 to work for the Justice Department in Washington, DC, under former President Biden.

Minnesota Federal Defender Katherian Roe, in a staffwide email obtained by the Sahan Journal, also wrote that “more resignations are anticipated” at the US Attorney’s Office. “It’s a sign that something is not right” there, added Folk, who is still in touch with colleagues in the office and is now running for Hennepin County Attorney.

Already this week, at least five federal prosecutors in Minnesota announced their resignations. Among them was the office’s second-in-command, Joseph Thompson, who was overseeing the welfare fraud investigation involving Somali immigrants that President Trump used as a pretext to send his immigration force to Minneapolis.