Politics

As reported by NBC News, FBI director Kash Patel said the probe was inspired by conservative journalist Cam Higby, who claims to have “infiltrated” Signal groups from around Minneapolis that were allegedly obstructing law enforcement and tracking ICE agents’ movements.

Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander known for getting into social media fights with people criticizing ICE’s presence in Minnesota, has reportedly been removed from his job as “Commander at large” and will return to his former job in California, where he is expected to retire. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson denied that Bovino had been “relieved of his duties”, but nothing rules out the possibility that he’s being Mike Waltz’ed.

Service journalism from the Minnesota Star Tribune.

If you’re wondering what kind of access a gold-and-Gorilla-Glass statue, a $1 million donation, and endless fawning buys you, well, it gets a special advanced screening of a state-sanctioned propaganda documentary film about the First Lady. Okay, it buys more than that, this is just a nice bonus.

Musk has already donated $10 million to a super PAC supporting Nate Morris, who is running for the seat Mitch McConnell is leaving, and is “focused on” convincing voters who only vote when Trump is on the ballot to turn up for this year’s elections, The Wall Street Journal reports.

After Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted a photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong’s arrest in connection to a Minnesota church protest against ICE, someone behind the White House account on X decided to post a version edited to make it look like she had been crying.

It’s been a long, confusing, and at times tiresome saga, but according to Semafor, the Chinese and U.S. governments have given the green light for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s American arm. The target closing date set back in December was today, January 22nd, 2026.

A federal judge barred government officials from reviewing Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s devices that were seized by investigators last week. The ruling came after the Post asked for the return of Natanson’s devices and not to review their contents, alleging a grave First Amendment violation.

Billionaires attending the exclusive World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland are reportedly getting duped by scammers selling fake VIP packages to meet President Donald Trump during his visit. (And yes, according to USA House, the official Davos venue hosting members of the Trump administration, the scam is specifically targeting billionaires.)

Looks like the man himself has weighed in. The Jackpot’s here — just unevenly distributed. At least, for now.

The Federal Aviation Administration is barring drones from flying within 3,000 feet of “Department of Homeland Security facilities and mobile assets,” 404 Media reports. The notice is similar to those restricting drones near military bases, 404 says, but could apply to flying them near Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles.

Polymarket — the same platform someone made thousands of dollars betting on Nicolás Maduro’s arrest — has 48 hours to cease operations in Portugal after users wagered more than 103 million euros (~$120 million) on the outcome of the country’s presidential election, according to a report from CoinDesk.

Mark Davis, an independent running for the District 16 House seat in Florida, picked up the domain and pointed it to the department, explaining on X that “the GOP went full fascist and the democrat establishment still won’t name it.” He’s hoping to capture some of the growing furor over ICE’s increasingly aggressive tactics after several high-profile shootings.

At a hearing on kids’ screen time, lawmakers debated a federal fund for school internet services. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) accused the Biden administration of using funds to help students get online with little supervision. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said rather than “threatening” school funds, Congress should pass privacy protections.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) made a last minute decision to postpone a vote on the Clarity Act, which would determine which federal agency could regulate crypto. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong came out against the latest version of the bill one day before the scheduled vote.

As Donald Trump steps up his attacks on Minneapolis, even threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act, Governor Walz is encouraging documentation. He delivered a primetime address on Wednesday evening in which he told citizens to pull out their phones and record ICE agents whenever they see them:

That’s how many Australian social media accounts were removed in just the first few days after the country’s under-16 social media ban took effect in December, according to the Australian internet regulator. We already knew 550,000 of them were from Meta, but TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and more were also covered by the ban.