January 10, 2026

Who Could Have Guessed? Jonathan Wolfe of the New York Times: “On Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Institute clarified the rules governing the award, writing that the facts were  'clear and well established.' 'Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others,' the institute wrote. 'The decision is final and stands for all time.' The statement was released after María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader and the winner of last year’s prize, offered this week to give her Nobel Peace Prize to ... [Donald] Trump, who has long coveted the award. On Monday, Ms. Machado, speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News, said that presenting the prize to Mr. Trump would be an act of gratitude from the Venezuelan people for the removal of Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president who was captured last week by the United States.”

Megan VerHeist of Patch, republished by Yahoo! News: "The Trump administration announced on Friday that it will suspend funding for food stamps and other hunger relief programs in Minnesota, as officials investigate what they described as 'widespread and systemic' fraud associated with federal benefits programs in the state. In a letter addressed to Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the administration would freeze just over $129 million in annual funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis.... The move is the latest attempt by the administration to cut off funding for state programs amid allegations of fraud." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yeah, poor people and their children should definitely go hungry because Donald Trump dislikes Tim Walz. 

digby posts some of the crazy stuff Demented Don did and said at Friday's meeting with oil executives. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Official DHS Site Uses Infamous White Nationalist Song in Recruitment Post. Joe.My.God. re-posts the DHS post and details how the poster is the title of a white nationalist/neo-Nazi anthem of the Proud Boys. thanks to RAS for the link. MB: Kristi Noem should be hauled up to Capitol Hill for this. I'm writing to my Senator, the fairly useless Maggie Hassan, who is on the Homeland Security Committee and demanding to know why my tax dollars are funding a hateful anthem and using the anthem to recruit federal employees.

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Molly Hennessy-Fiske, et al., of the Washington Post: “Renee Nicole Good had 'stopped to support our neighbors' when she was fatally shot by an ICE officer during an exchange of words on a residential street, according to a statement issued by her wife and video made public Friday. 'We had whistles. They had guns,' Rebecca Good said in the statement.... A video released Friday by Alpha News appears to show the moments immediately before the shooting from the perspective of one of the ICE officers. In the video, Renee Good can be heard speaking to an ICE officer through the open driver’s-side window, saying, 'That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you,' as the officer circles her vfgrehicle while filming with a phone camera in his left hand. Rebecca Good, who was outside the car, can be heard taunting the officer: 'Go get yourself some lunch, big boy.' The video abruptly ends seconds later as the car reverses and then moves forward. The video does not show whether the vehicle struck the officer. It records what sounds like shots being fired.... Vice President JD Vance blamed Good for her own death, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said Good’s actions amounted to 'an act of domestic terrorism.'” (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ The agent's video is linked above. Chris Hayes provides analysis and context. (The video is also linked in his segment):

      ~~~ Marie: In the version of the video I saw on MS NOW yesterday afternoon, a male voice -- presumably one of the ICE agents -- is heard saying, "Fucking bitch!" just after Agent Ross shoots Good dead. Nicolle Wallace said MS NOW got the video from JD Vance's social media feed. How JayDee thinks this video exonerates ICE is beyond me: a woman smiles & says, "I'm not mad at you, Dude," while an agent, possible the shooter, uses an expletive to describe her. ~~~

     ~~~ Whoever said it, "Fucking bitch!" explains why Donald Trump is not my president. The full "translation" of "Fucking bitch!" is "She deserved to be shot dead for pissing me off," or "Anyone who pisses me off deserves to be shot dead." Donald Trump excused and condoned this murder by making up grotesque lies about the victim, her actions and her motives. Sure, he farmed out the shooting to one of his thugs, but he is the capo behind the crime. This was murder by proxy. Those of us who don't show Donald Trump "proper respect" deserve to be shot. On Fifth Avenue or elsewhere. Trump is president only to those who show him fealty. To the rest of us, he's an enemy with an army that will kill any one of us for saying, "I'm not mad at you" with a smile.  ~~~

     ~~~ Of the many lies the Trump administration has told to explain why Renee Good "got what she had coming" is this one. In one variation or another, several Trump officials and other wingers have said or written: "She was impeding a federal investigation." Even if she was, that is no justification for murder. But in fact, she was not impeding ICE's activities. She and her partner were just documenting them. Indeed, one bystander video shows Good stopping to wave an ICE vehicle through -- a few minutes before Ross killed her.

Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: “The killing of a US citizen by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis was a five-alarm fire for the Trump administration. But a torrent of untruths, half-truths, smears and innuendo has been unleashed by the White House, and amplified by its social media and cable television acolytes, in an attempt to douse the flames. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, called the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, a 'stone cold liar' on Thursday for her efforts to falsely portray the victim, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three and award-winning poet, as a 'domestic terrorist'.... The victim-blaming began almost immediately after news broke of Good’s killing on Wednesday. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a regular spokesperson for ICE, declared in a post on X that 'one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them – an act of domestic terrorism'. Multiple ICE officers were hurt, she insisted, when videos of the shooting showed no such thing.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Philip Bump in an MS NOW opinion piece: "You cannot trust the Department of Homeland Security. This seems like a political statement, but it isn’t. It is a recommendation rooted in 12 months of presentations and claims from Homeland Security officials and agents — claims that have been proven false at a remarkable rate." Bump lays out numerous lies DHS officials and officers -- as well as Donald Trump -- have told over the past year. MB: Bear in mind that lies like these are assaults on freedom and liberty nearly as vicious as the physical assaults themselves. Not only do these lies defame or demonize the victims of government crimes and inflame public opinion on false pretexts, they also undermine the essential machinery of democracy, which depends upon an educated populace able to make decisions about its government based on facts.

Like Michelle Goldberg (column linked yesterday), Heather Cox Richardson sees the racial component to the murder of Renee Nicole Good. If Trump's base -- white people -- identify with Good, Trump is toast. (Also linked yesterday.)

Justin Glawe of Public Notice: “While Good’s killing is just the latest act of brutality carried out by Trump’s unaccountable masked thugs — what increasingly looks like the president’s personal secret police — it marks a new chapter in the decade-long tragedy of police brutality caught on film for the entire nation to witness. But what makes this police killing distinct from others in the past decade that have roiled the nation and sparked mass protests ... is that this one has the tacit approval of the White House. Exacerbating matters are the Trump administration’s justifications of the incident.... Before Good had even been identified, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem started smear her and lying about what happened.... 

“Given the footage, Trump’s claim that the agent is 'lucky to be alive' is mind-bogglingly absurd. No video that has been posted so far even remotely backs up that claim. Further proof that the agent was not injured — in addition to the video evidence — came from Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. O’Hara said Wednesday that federal law enforcement informed him 'only the woman' was injured at the scene of Good’s killing.... here is no indication that Good’s actions interfered with any law enforcement operation being carried out on Wednesday. In fact, before she was killed, she calmly waived an ICE vehicle past her SUV. The vehicle passed without incident, video shows.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Mitch Smith of the New York Times: “With the Minneapolis area in a state of upheaval, Minnesota officials renewed their calls on Friday for state agents to be allowed to help investigate the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer earlier this week. Two days after the federal officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good..., immigration agents remained in Minneapolis, public schools were closed and the Minnesota National Guard was activated in what Gov. Tim Walz’s office described as a precautionary move.... In Minnesota on Friday, a few-dozen protesters faced off with federal agents outside a government building. Agents shot pepper balls at demonstrators who approached a fence, and at least one person was taken into custody by law enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security also announced plans on Friday to re-examine thousands of refugee cases in Minnesota, framing that effort as a way to root out fraud.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Oh, we're sorry, Minnesota. Donald Trump has a very good excuse for excluding state investigators from the Good case: ~~~

~~~ Willa Robbins of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump said that he supported the unusual decision to block state officials from taking part in the investigation into the fatal shooting by an ICE officer because Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is 'a stupid person.'... [In response to a reporter's question,] Trump claimed he supported the investigation being conducted solely by federal officials because Minnesota’s state government was corrupt, citing the recent [MB: baseless] allegations of fraud in Minnesota brought in part by influencer Nick Shirley’s viral video about some daycare centers in the state. 'Normally, I wouldn’t, but they are crooked officials,' said the president. 'Minneapolis and Minnesota, what a beautiful place, but it’s being destroyed. It has got an incompetent governor. Fool, I mean, he’s a stupid person.'” Read on. Another reason to exclude the state from the investigation: Trump won the presidential race in Minnesota. but the state has a “corrupt voting system,” so officials there claimed he lost Minnesota all three times he ran for president. ~~~

Kyle Rempfer of the Washington Post: “Minnesota’s top prosecutors will conduct their own review of Renee Nicole Good’s killing by an ICE agent after the state’s criminal investigative bureau said the FBI had cut it out of the investigation. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the review Friday at a news conference. They said the effort would ensure state authorities have access to investigative materials, such as video and witness statements, if the case merits state-level charges.... The decision to review Good’s killing came a day after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the FBI was revoking its access to the case file, scene evidence and witness interviews.”

Trump War on Immigrants, Ctd. Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: “The Homeland Security Department announced on Friday that it was reviewing thousands of refugee cases in Minnesota, subjecting immigrants who had already been approved for status to new interviews and background checks amid an intense federal crackdown in the state. Homeland security officials said the initial focus of the effort would be on the roughly 5,600 refugees in the state who do not yet have green cards. It comes as the federal government has escalated its immigration enforcement operation in the state, deploying about 2,000 officers to the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. 'Minnesota is ground zero for the war on fraud,' the department said in a statement. 'This operation in Minnesota demonstrates that the Trump administration will not stand idly by as the U.S. immigration system is weaponized by those seeking to defraud the American people.'”

Jacey Fortin & Anna Griffin of the New York Times have more on the federal agents' shooting of two people in Portland, Oregon, including the names of the victims. MB: Again, this is not a few "rogue agents" behaving badly; this is an entire federal apparatus, directed from the top down, to harm whoever displeases them, by whatever means suit them. Then they will lie about it and pretend to take the high road and declare themselves the victims. If you're a prominent person, the harm to you may be reputational or financial. Or you could go to jail. If you're an ordinary person, the harm also could be physical. They could shoot you. Dead. 

ICE Agent So Full of Shit He Clogged the Toilet, AND He's Gun-Crazy. Maxine Bernstein of the Oregonian: “The federal government Friday agreed to pay $125,000 after a judge found a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent liable for civil assault for pointing a gun at a hotel maintenance man who came to the agent’s room to unclog a toilet.... In 2020, agent Joshua Jones was part of a Phoenix-based Border Patrol tactical unit sent to Portland to guard the federal courthouse and other federal buildings during nightly unrest downtown after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Jones was staying in Room 428 at the Residence Inn by Marriott in North Portland and had called down to the front desk to report a malfunctioning toilet. Christopher Frison, a chief maintenance engineer at the hotel, arrived at Jones’ room about 5 p.m. on July 27, 2020, and knocked several times. Frison also called out 'maintenance,' gave his name and waited, holding a plunger, he testified in court.... According to Frison, Jones ... 'swung' the hotel door open, reached with his right hand behind his back and suddenly pointed a handgun at Frison’s chest. He said Jones held his gun in two hands, both arms outstretched.”

Rebecca Elliott, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump prodded American energy executives to quickly tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves on Friday, hours after the United States military intercepted another tanker carrying Venezuelan oil. The tanker, which American forces boarded in the Caribbean Sea early Friday, was the fifth that they have boarded or seized in the past month, as the Trump administration seeks to control Venezuela’s oil exports. Mr. Trump said Friday afternoon in a meeting with oil executives at the White House that he did not expect more U.S. attacks on Venezuela.... Mr. Trump praised the country’s interim leaders but said that American warships — which he called an armada — would stay in place off the Venezuelan coast. Trump administration officials have outlined a sweeping but bare-bones plan to take over Venezuela’s lucrative oil industry and have said they expect the country’s new leaders to follow orders from Washington. Mr. Trump has said that U.S. oversight of the country could last years....

“But it is not clear that oil executives are prepared to commit to that investment. Darren Woods, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, emphasized the opportunities that Venezuela presents — and the big hurdles it would need to clear to return to the country. 'We’ve had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes,' Mr. Woods said at the White House meeting. 'Today it’s uninvestable.'... Oil executives are concerned about political instability in Venezuela, since oil investments are often measured in decades....”

From TACO to EMPANADA, Trump's South of the Border Diet. Ben Lefebvre, et al., of Politico (Jan. 8): “The giant energy companies most capable of rebuilding Venezuela’s shattered oil fields are also the most skeptical about heeding ... Donald Trump’s call to pour money into the country.... Companies may follow the playbook of promising the White House they are interested in investing in Venezuela just to stay on Trump’s good side but ultimately not following through, said one business lobbyist familiar with the situation.... That phenomenon — sometimes described as 'Everyone Makes Promises And Never Actually Does Anything' — has become common enough during this administration that it has garnered an acronym, this person added. 'My impression is it’s EMPANADA all over again,' this person said.”

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: Donald “Trump again threatened on Friday to forcibly annex Greenland, saying that he was 'going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.' In a White House event discussing his plans to have American companies exploit Venezuela’s vast oil reserves under the threat of a military blockade, Mr. Trump advanced an imperialist vision of American foreign policy, where the U.S. must dominate strategically important neighboring countries because of the perceived possibility that rival powers might do so first. 'If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland,' Mr. Trump said, falsely suggesting that Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, was surrounded by Chinese and Russian warships. Russia and China are active in the Arctic Circle, but Greenland is not ringed by their ships, and the United States has a military base on Greenland. Mr. Trump delivered an ominous warning to Danish and Greenlandic officials...: 'I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way we’re going to do it the hard way.'” ~~~

     ~~~ AP: “Greenland’s party leaders have rejected ... Donald Trump’s repeated calls for the U.S. to take control of the island, saying that Greenland’s future must be decided by its people. 'We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,' Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a statement Friday night.”

James Kirchick of the New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s surreal endeavor to conquer Greenland is of a piece with his general hostility to Europe. In the eyes of Mr. Trump and his acolytes, the old continent is the place of right-wing caricature, a ragbag of rootless nations in irreversible decline that love open borders, abhor free speech and are too stingy to pay for their own defense.... While Mr. Trump insists that the U.S. “needs” Greenland for national security purposes, Washington already has extensive and near-exclusive military access to the island via the 1951 U.S.-Denmark defense agreement and the current Danish government has made clear its openness to increasing security cooperation.... Denmark ... punch[es] far above its weight militarily. It has also taken positions sympathetic to those that the Trump administration has placed at the forefront of its Europe policy.” ~~~

     ~~~ All very complicated & nuanced and steeped in historical context that is way too difficult for Trump to comprehend and too sensible for JayDee to adopt. Fear not! RAS has found a quick, simple solution: "A translated satirical Danish headline that reads 'Denmark changes Greenland's name to Epstein Island so Trump will stop talking about it.'"  

Heather Cox Richardson: Back in 1945, the War Department explained fascism to soldiers. MB: You might find The War Department's description of fascism surprisingly familiar.

What the Great Dealmaker Hath Wrought: ~~~

⭐Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: “The European Union, overcoming deep dissension among its members, gave the green light to a sweeping trade pact with four South American countries on Friday that would create one of the largest free-trade zones in the world, connecting markets with more than 700 million people. The agreement offers a stark contrast to the amped-up aggression on display this week from the Trump administration. As Europe worked to extend an era of economic collaboration, the United States, its once-close ally, demonstrated that it preferred coercion over cooperation. In Brussels, European leaders negotiated and revised rules to win agreement. Across the Atlantic..., [Donald] Trump authorized military raids to oust Venezuela’s president and capture two tankers.... He then doubled down on threats to Colombia, Cuba and Greenland.... To some degree, Mr. Trump’s confrontational approach and embrace of trade wars helped seal a deal between the 27-member European Union and four South American nations in the trade bloc known as Mercosur that had languished for a quarter-century.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Annie Correal & Max Bearak of the New York Times: A hastily-arranged phone call between Donald Trump & Colombian President Gustavo Petro might have averted another Trump-instigated international crisis. The conversation Wednesday “was a complete break with the two leaders’ approach, for nearly the past year, of using social media to attack, often in derisive and caustic posts, each other’s politics and personalities.... Mr. Trump seemed to threaten Colombia, and other countries, with military action on Sunday.... The exchange raised the possibility that Mr. Petro, like left-leaning leaders in Brazil and Mexico, might be able to avoid the punishment threatened by Washington, such as unilateral military action or additional tariffs, and walk a fine line between fulfilling Mr. Trump’s demands and remaining true to his ideology.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday that the Justice Department would create a high-ranking position with broad authority to investigate fraud across the country that would be 'run out of the White House' and answer directly to himself and ... [Donald] Trump. The assertion by Mr. Vance that he and Mr. Trump intended to exercise direct supervision over a senior Justice Department official was one of the administration’s most brazen efforts to date to toss out the traditional boundaries that have long existed between the White House and investigations conducted by federal law enforcement. The announcement came at a news conference that was primarily held to defend the shooting this week of a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis by a federal immigration agent.... He also appeared to conflate the allegations about day care fraud [in Minnesota] with unfounded claims that the woman who was slain in Minnesota ... had been part of a left-wing 'network' of activists dedicated to going after immigration officials.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. I missed this one. See also his commentary in today's thread. This really is extraordinary. Not only does Trump control the so-called Justice Department as no president since Nixon has done, he also will have his own junior "justice" department, always at the ready to harass his perceived enemies with fake fraud charges. It looks like the problems he's had with his fake prosecutors failing to make cases against Letitia James & Jim Comey are too much for Trump to bear. ~~~

     ~~~ Ken W. observed in yesterday's Comments that it seemed as if "the murderous madness is being cranked up faster and faster and that we're inevitably heading toward bigger and bigger explosions not that far down the road." I think that's right. Like many a substance abuser, Trump must take more and more of his drug of choice to satisfy his desire. When Susie Wiles, Trump's chief-of-staff, said Trump had "an alcoholic's personality," she knew whereof she spoke. Trump's addiction is power, and he just can't get enough of it. So like a rat addicted to nicotine, he just keeps pushing that lever more and more often. The nation and the world political order is disintegrating not just because the POTUS* is senile and mentally unstable, but also because he is an addict desperately in need of an intervention he is not going to get.

We will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more. AFFORDABILITY! -- Donald Trump, on social media, Friday ~~~

~~~ Suddenly Seeking AFFORDABILITY! Stacy Cowley of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Friday called for a one-year cap limiting credit card interest rates to 10 percent, but offered no details on how he planned to enact such a policy, which would typically require congressional or regulatory action. Mr. Trump said on the campaign trail [in September 2024]..., 'We’re going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates at 10 percent.' But once in office, Mr. Trump did not pursue the promise. His officials killed a regulation, enacted during the Biden administration that would have capped credit card late fees at $8, and his administration sought to close — without congressional approval — the nation’s top consumer finance watchdog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Russell T. Vought, the director of the White House budget office, has served since early last year as the consumer bureau’s director [and has curtailed its consumer protection activities].” MB: Just coincidentally, a one-year cap would get him through the midterms.

Paul Krugman: "... as we head into the 2026 midterm season, the best way to understand U.S. policy is that it’s in the pursuit of one crucial objective: Propping up Trump’s fragile ego.... The real purpose of the abduction [of Nicolás Maduro], surely, was to give Trump an opportunity to strut around and act tough. But this ego gratification, like a sugar rush, won’t last long.... In Trump’s mind, Renee Nicole Good’s murder is at most collateral damage, in service to his insatiable need to dominate and feel powerful -- so insatiable that he is attempting to create an alternate reality, claiming that that Good ran over an agent although there is irrefutable video evidence that she didn’t. And when one set of lies doesn’t work, he switches tactics – changing the topic, deflecting, and spouting even more lies. Thus, just hours after Good’s death, Trump proclaimed that he was seeking a huge increase in military spending[.] Krugman ends with some warnings for Trump's various enablers.

Trump, Putin Piss Off the Pope. Motoko Rich & Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: “Amid escalating threats across the globe, Pope Leo XIV used an annual address on Friday to the diplomatic corps to the Vatican to forcefully condemn 'a diplomacy based on force' and a 'zeal for war.' Nations must commit to work together to follow international laws and 'cannot depend on mere circumstances and military or strategic interests,' Pope Leo told the diplomats in the speech, which amounts to a sort of annual papal foreign policy statement. Leo did not mention any world leaders by name. But his remarks were pointed given the events of recent days, including the Trump administration’s military operation in Venezuela and threats against Greenland, and on a day when Russia said it had attacked Ukraine with a nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Anthony Faiola, et al., of the Washington Post: “For days [right before Christmas], the influential Italian cardinal [Pietro Parolin] had been seeking access to Secretary of State Marco Rubio..., desperate to head off bloodshed and destabilization in Venezuela. In his conversation with [Brian] Burch, [the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See and] a Trump ally, Parolin said Russia was ready to grant asylum to [Nicolás] Maduro and pleaded with the Americans for patience in nudging the strongman toward that offer. 'What was proposed to [Maduro] was that he would go away and he would be able to enjoy his money,' said a person familiar with the Russian offer. 'Part of that ask was that [President Vladimir] Putin would guarantee security.'” MB: Ah, but what the Cardinal didn't realize was that Marco answered to a higher power. No, no, not that one. Trump. Marco, perhaps, should catch up on the Inferno. I believe there's a place in the Eighth Circle reserved for him. (Also linked yesterday.)

More Misadventures Abroad. Abiodun Jamiu, et al., of the Washington Post: “When ... Donald Trump announced U.S. airstrikes in Nigeria on Christmas night, he declared that his newly rebranded War Department had conducted 'numerous perfect strikes' against 'ISIS Terrorist Scum.' But warheads in four of the 16 Tomahawk missiles that were fired that night appeared not to explode, according to Nigerian officials, analysts and imagery reviewed by The Washington Post.... Nigerian and Western analysts said it was unlikely that the strikes [that did land] hit high-level members of the Islamic State, who are most active in the northeast of the country. More likely, they said, the attack targeted lower-level militants associated with a newer Islamist group called Lakurawa, whose relationship with the Islamic State is disputed by researchers.”

Everything Is Going Very Smoothly:

~~~~ Talmon Smith of the New York Times: “The unemployment rate fell in December, but job growth across 2025 was the lowest in five years.” An NBC News report is here.

Janay Kingsberry & Kelsey Ables, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Washington National Opera announced Friday that it plans to leave the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, its longtime home, a stunning move that follows reports of declining ticket sales for the 70-year-old organization amid upheaval at the center since ... Donald Trump’s takeover. The opera said in a statement that it would 'seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center' and 'resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity.' After the opera’s announcement, the Kennedy Center claimed it had ended the relationship.... But a person familiar with the situation ... told The Washington Post that the choice was 'definitely a WNO decision' and that there was consensus to leave, 'but it’s with great regret.'” The AP's story is here.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from threatening to withhold federal election funding for states that refuse to alter their voter registration forms or voting systems to ... Donald Trump’s liking. U.S. District Judge John Chun ruled Friday that Trump’s threat to pull Election Assistance Commission funds was an attempt to put unconstitutional pressure on states even though the president — by design — has no formal power to determine how states administer elections. 'The President has no authority to unilaterally impose new conditions on federal funds,' Chun wrote in a 75-page ruling. Chun, a Seattle-based Biden appointee, is the third federal judge to block large portions of Trump’s March 25 Executive Order purporting to require states to alter their election processes.”

Rachel Bluth of Politico: “A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from freezing $10 billion in welfare funds earmarked for five blue states. In response to a request from the states for an emergency injunction, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ordered that the money from three programs — Child Care Development Fund, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and Social Services Block Grants — must continue to flow to the states. His decision, which expires in two weeks, was meant to give the two sides time to submit more extensive legal arguments on whether the cuts should be allowed or the ban kept in place, the judge wrote.” The New York Times story is here. The link to the NYT report appears to be a gift link.

As reported in a story linked yesterday, Team Trump prosecutors are still harassing New York attorney general Letitia James. But there's this: ~~~

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. Subpoenas issued under that authority are invalid. -- Federal Judge Lorna G. Schofield ~~~  

~~~ Jeremy Roebuck, et al., of the Washington Post: “A judge on Thursday barred the top federal prosecutor in Albany from overseeing a criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, delivering the latest blow to the Justice Department’s efforts to prosecute one of ... Donald Trump’s perceived enemies. U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield ruled that John A. Sarcone III — a Trump loyalist appointed in March as interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York — has been unlawfully serving in his role for months. Sarcone had no legal authority when he subpoenaed James’s office during the summer as part of a probe into whether her office had violated civil rights of Trump or others, Schofield said.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Al Weaver of the Hill: Donald “Trump on Thursday laid into Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) with a 'profanity-laced' phone call after she supported a Democratic-led war powers resolution over his actions in Venezuela. According to two sources familiar, a fuming Trump dialed up Collins, the foremost Senate GOP centrist, during the vote aimed at blocking the White House from using military force against Venezuela. 'He called her and then basically read her the riot act,' one Senate GOP member told The Hill, describing it as a 'profanity-laced rant' on Trump’s end. The GOP member also noted that the call came 'out of the blue' as the two do not talk frequently.”

At Long Last. Hailey Fuchs of Politico: “The Senate unanimously approved a measure Thursday to display an existing plaque honoring the officers who protected the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot. Congress passed a law in March 2022 mandating the plaque, but years later it has yet to be installed. Speaker Mike Johnson has argued the project is 'not implementable,' and the Justice Department has maintained in litigation that an existing plaque does not comply with the law because it lists the departments who responded, not the individual officers. The measure on Thursday, led by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), sought to address the long-running political squabble.... It’s not clear when the Senate will install the plaque, which will remain in the Senate until a permanent location is identified on the west front of the Capitol. The resolution does not need to be approved by the House.” (Also linked yesterday.)

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Colorado. Shaun Boyd of CBS News: "Gov. Jared Polis, in his last year on the job, is considering granting clemency to former elections official Tina Peters "who was convicted of several felonies in connection with a 2020 election fraud scheme.... [Donald] Trump asked the governor to transfer Peters to federal authorities last year so he could pardon her, but Polis refused and Trump pardoned her anyway, but because she was charged in state court she remains imprisoned. Trump has since blocked funding to Colorado for needy families, disaster relief and clean water." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$ dubs Polis "America's worst Democratic governor." Seems fair enough.

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Iran. Leily Nikounazar & Aurelien Breeden of the New York Times: “Iran’s supreme leader vowed on Friday that the government would 'not back down' in the face of protests that have rocked the country in recent weeks, as the country’s leadership threatened to escalate its crackdown on demonstrators.... Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ... accused the protesters of being vandals who were trying to 'please' ... [Donald] Trump. Hours later, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that 'saboteurs' would be shown “no leniency.” It was one of several official statements on Friday that appeared to signal the government would heighten its repression of the uprisings, despite Mr. Trump’s pledge to aid protesters if they faced lethal force.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Roxana Saberi & Fatehmeh Jamalpour of Time: “As protests against Iran’s government swelled significantly in size on Thursday night, the regime responded in many places by opening fire. A Tehran doctor told TIME on condition of anonymity that just six hospitals in the capital had recorded at least 217 protester deaths, 'most by live ammunition.' The death count, if confirmed, would signal a feared crackdown presaged by the regime’s near-total shutdown of the nation’s Internet and phone connections since Thursday night. It would also constitute a direct challenge to ... Donald Trump, who earlier in the day warned that the regime would 'pay hell' if it killed protesters who have taken to the streets in growing numbers since Dec. 28.” ~~~

     ~~~ Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times: “Tens of thousands of Iranians poured into the streets on Friday night in a second night of mass, nationwide antigovernment protests despite a total internet blackout and threats of a severe crackdown from the senior Iranian leadership. Videos posted on BBC Persian Television showed thousands of people on the march in the capital, Tehran, drawing supporters from what residents said in interviews was a demographically diverse cross-section of working-class, middle-class and wealthy neighborhoods.” An AP report is here.