“We had whistles. They had guns.”

“I mean, she didn’t wear glitter, but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time.”

That’s how Becca Good remembers her wife, Renee who was shot and killed this week by an ICE agent in her Minneapolis neighborhood after she intersected with federal officers while seemingly trying to protect her neighbors from overzealous government enforcement. 

“Renee was a Christian who believed all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole,” Becca said. 

But at the end of the day, Becca says: "We had whistles. They had guns."

WHAT MATTERS

Government Against the People

On Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot 37-year-old poet, wife, and mother Renee Nicole Good in a Minneapolis residential street. 

Good’s family says she had just dropped off her 6-year-old son at school and was blocks from home when she encountered ICE agents. 

One of whom would kill her.

How did we get here? And why?

• The shooting occurred one day after the Trump administration deployed 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis for what ICE described as its “largest immigration operation ever.”
• Many residents were already on edge. The administration has repeatedly singled out the region’s Somali community—the largest in the United States—and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara had recently criticized federal agents for using “questionable methods” during enforcement actions.
• The government claims Good was following ICE agents and impeding their work. There is no evidence of this.
• ICE claims the shooting was self-defense, alleging that Good attempted to run over an agent—Jonathan Ross—as agents tried to free a vehicle stuck in the snow and leave the area. There is no evidence that Good tried or intended to hurt federal agents.

Despite unresolved evidence, senior administration officials quickly declared the killing justified.

• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem labeled the incident “domestic terrorism” and said the officer “followed his training”—before the investigation concluded.
  • Experts note that firing at moving vehicles is among the most restricted uses of deadly force, precisely because officers are expected to step out of the vehicle’s path when possible.
• Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the administration’s account “bullshit” and “garbage.”
• Vice President JD Vance later suggested the agent feared for his life because he had been injured in a prior incident. If that were the case, it raises a different question: why was an agent not fully fit for duty placed back into a volatile enforcement operation? Prior injury is not justification for lethal force.
  • If prior experience or trauma matters in assessing fear, should we also consider that Good—a woman—may have feared for her own life when a masked man tried to enter her vehicle?
  • Vance said Good’s death was “a tragedy of her own making,” later accusing the media of endangering law enforcement by reporting on the case.
• Trump claimed Good “violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer,” a statement flatly contradicted by video evidence.

Video footage and eyewitness accounts directly contradict ICE’s claims.

• There is no evidence that Good’s vehicle struck Ross. He remains upright throughout the encounter and does not lose balance or control.
• Eyewitnesses told MPR News that ICE agents issued conflicting commands—ordering one driver to leave while another agent simultaneously tried to open her car door.
• Video shows Good placing her car in reverse, backing away, and then steering away from the agent in an apparent attempt to leave the area. If her intent were to hit him, she could have accelerated forward. Instead, she maneuvers to disengage.
• A frame-by-frame analysis shows Ross fired after he had moved out of the vehicle’s path, striking Good as the SUV veered past him—not toward him.
• Videos show Good waving other drivers around her, undermining claims that she was blocking ICE vehicles or preventing agents from leaving.

Federal authorities have blocked Minnesota state investigators from participating in the probe, asserting exclusive federal jurisdiction through the FBI.

• Good is the fifth known death linked to ICE enforcement actions in the past year. No officers have been charged in any of the cases.
• A GoFundMe for Good’s family—her wife and three children—has raised more than $1.5 million. Her 6-year-old son is now an orphan. The boy's father died recently and has now lost his mother.

We're being told by our leaders not to trust our own eyes.

Good was killed less than a mile from where George Floyd was murdered by police in 2020, a moment that forced a national reckoning over state violence and accountability. Six years later, instead of building on that reckoning, the country is watching a federal agent fire multiple shots into a civilian’s vehicle in broad daylight, killing an unarmed woman who appears to have posed no imminent threat—then seeing our leaders lie about what happened.

VENEZUELA

Last Saturday, U.S. forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an operation that ended with Maduro in U.S. custody on American soil. He’s facing narco-terrorism, weapons, and corruption charges—all of which he has pleaded not guilty to. In Caracas, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was immediately sworn in as his replacement.

The mission—dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve—removed Maduro without any American casualties. But it was not bloodless. An estimated 32 people, both military and civilian, were killed during the raid. Venezuelan and Cuban officials put the death toll closer to 100.

According to The New York Times, a CIA team slipped into Venezuela as early as August, quietly tracking Maduro’s movements for months. Intelligence from a human source close to Maduro—combined with stealth drones—allowed U.S. officials to map his routines in minute detail.

Why They’re Doing It

The official justification is narco-terrorism. The administration hasn’t hidden the real incentive: oil.

Within hours of Maduro’s capture, Trump announced the U.S. would take 30–50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil and sell it on the open market. (Reuters, Truth Social)

In an interview with the New York Times, Trump said the U.S. will be “running Venezuela,” claiming it will fix the country and return profits to the people. Given his record, that promise doesn’t pass the smell test.

There’s also a pettier motive. The Times reports that Maduro’s habit of dancing on television “helped persuade some on the Trump team that the Venezuelan president was mocking them and trying to call what he believed to be a bluff.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) put it bluntly on What A Day:

“It’s about the oil. He has already given [the oil industry] a lot of favorable treatment, but this is the biggest gift he could probably give them.… It’s just about making some more money for his oil industry backers.”

Who Benefits

Not you.

Venezuela produces less than 1% of the world’s oil supply. This will not move gas prices.

The winners are Trump’s oil-industry allies—and the paper trail is clear: Chevron CEO Mike Wirth met with Trump in the Oval Office in March to negotiate an extension of Chevron’s Venezuela license. The company spent nearly $4 million on lobbying in the first half of the year and donated $2 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order creating a special fund for Venezuelan oil revenue that operates outside congressional oversight.

The money is technically labeled “Venezuela’s”—a convenient designation that places it beyond Congress’s control, shields it from judicial review, and leaves spending decisions entirely in the hands of the executive branch. This is military action underwriting executive power with no accountability.

The irony: Trump’s revised Chevron license last year actually benefited Maduro-linked networks. A trading company tied to a sanctioned businessman connected to Maduro has sold roughly $500 million in crude from Chevron’s Venezuelan operations since July.

What’s Next

On Friday, Trump met with oil executives and urged them to invest $100 billion in Venezuela’s “rotting energy infrastructure.” According to CNN, they’re skeptical.

ExxonMobil’s CEO called Venezuela “uninvestable,” noting the company has already had its assets seized there twice: “You can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes.” The administration is also demanding Venezuela sever ties with Iran, Russia, China, and Cuba.

There are no U.S. troops on Venezuelan soil as of now, but the Coast Guard is enforcing a blockade that has already seized multiple tankers.

In a rare show of backbone, the Senate advanced a War Powers Resolution 52–47, with five Republicans breaking ranks.

GREENLAND

As if regime change in Venezuela weren’t enough, Trump is once again floating the idea of taking over Greenland—whether its people want it or not.

• The administration is openly threatening military action to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a founding member of NATO. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said acquiring Greenland is a “national security priority” and confirmed that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.”
• That refusal to rule out force prompted an extraordinary response from European leaders—including Britain, France, and Germany—who issued a joint statement warning the U.S. against annexing the territory of a NATO ally. Defense experts say a military takeover of Greenland’s capital could occur in under 30 minutes.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists Trump only wants to buy Greenland—not invade it.

POWER MOVES

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has formally censured Sen. Mark Kelly for participating in a November video reminding service members that they are not required to obey illegal orders—which is accurate and settled law.

• The Trump administration, led by Hegseth, has branded the video “seditious behavior,” despite its content being both legal and truthful. Kelly, a former Navy captain and astronaut, now faces a Department of Defense review that could result in a demotion and a reduction in his military pension. (NYT)
• Two Republican senators are warning the Pentagon not to proceed. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) both say the move risks criminalizing protected speech.
• Tillis put it bluntly: “That video was rage bait…but my gosh, he is a U.S. senator who operates in a political world. I think it has a chilling effect on speech, and I’ve got a real problem with it. And I think Hegseth overreached.” (X)

Just before the holidays, House Democrats secured the 218 signatures required for a discharge petition to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act health-care subsidies, which expired at the start of the year. On Thursday, that vote finally happened.

• The bill passed 230–196, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats to extend the subsidies for three years. What happens next—particularly in the Senate—is unclear. (Washington Post)
• Why 218 matters: it’s the minimum needed for a House majority. Republicans entered the holidays with 220 seats. They’re now down to a razor-thin 218–213 edge due to two departures:
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is now a former member of Congress. Greene announced in December that she would resign before the end of her term. Monday was her final day. (ABC News)
• Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), a staunch Trump ally, died suddenly this week after suffering an aneurysm. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has two weeks to call a special election. The winner will serve the remainder of LaMalfa’s term and must then run again in November. (Politico)

The Department of Justice has been running a shell game to keep prosecutors in power illegally—allowing the Trump administration to target political enemies without lawful authority.

• This week marked the fifth time a federal judge has ruled that a top DOJ prosecutor appointed by the current attorney general was serving unlawfully. The ruling reinforces the statutory limits Congress placed on executive power and affirms that investigations launched without lawful authority are invalid.
• By law, DOJ prosecutors must be confirmed by the Senate within 120 days. Until then, they may serve only as “acting” officials. When those temporary terms expire, the department has repeatedly attempted to reset the clock by re-titling the same individual under a different role.
• This time, the ruling involved John Sarcone III, who had been appointed interim U.S. attorney. His term expired in July. Unable to lawfully extend it, DOJ reappointed him as a “Special Attorney”—while allowing him to continue performing the same prosecutorial functions.
• Judge Lorna Schofield rejected the maneuver outright, writing:

“When the Executive branch of government skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority.”

• Sarcone is now barred from participating in any investigation involving Letitia James. As acting U.S. attorney, Sarcone had launched a federal probe into James related to two major civil cases she brought—one against Donald Trump and his associates for financial fraud, and another against the National Rifle Association for alleged violations of New York charity laws.
• Judge Schofield emphasized that after Sarcone “claimed the title of Acting U.S. Attorney, he used that authority to subpoena a state law-enforcement office that the President had publicly cast as a political adversary.” She added that grand juries are “‘not meant to be the private tool of a prosecutor,’ much less one not lawfully appointed.”
• Since August 2025, federal courts in New Jersey, Nevada, and California have issued similar rulings. A case in Virginia underscored the stakes: an unlawfully appointed prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, brought criminal charges against Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey—charges that were later dismissed.

On the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, the White House is attempting a full-blown rewrite of history.

• The administration appears to have spent significant time—and taxpayer money—promoting a glossy website that deflects responsibility, minimizes violence, and recasts the attack on the Capitol as something closer to a Girl Scout meeting than an insurrection carried out by Trump supporters.
• At the same time, House Speaker Mike Johnson is blocking even symbolic accountability—this time, aimed directly at the police officers who defended the Capitol. Johnson's office says a previously approved plaque honoring police officers who responded to the insurrection are "not implementable" and don't "comply" with rules.

Quick Hits

• Political appointees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now formally recommending that children receive fewer vaccines than prior schedules advised. Removed from the recommended list: flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A & B, meningitis, RSV, and Covid-19.Trump administration officials say the overhaul—long sought by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—won’t block access for families who still want the vaccines and that insurance coverage will remain. Medical experts warn the move will sow confusion and could increase preventable disease.
• For the first time in 25 years, California has no areas classified as being in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, following recent rain and snowstorms.
• Jobs growth slows sharply.U.S. employers added just 50,000 jobs in December, well below the 73,000 economists expected. Total job growth in 2025 was 584,000, compared with two million jobs added in 2024—an average of 168,000 per month.Unemployment dipped to 4.4% in December but remains above the 4% rate when Trump took office.

“Outside of the two most recent recessions, 2025 saw the lowest pace of average monthly job growth since 2003.” (WSJ gift link)

• Four months after signaling interest in a possible third term, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz—and Kamala Harris’ former running mate—dropped out. Declining approval ratings and allegations of fraud in state-run social programs contributed to the decision. Chatter: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) may run for governor. (Star Tribune)
• The Washington National Opera will no longer perform at the Kennedy Center after Trump renamed and took control of the institution. The company says it will move performances elsewhere. Other artists have also cut ties.
• Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City’s first Muslim mayor, taking the oath of office on a Quran.