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Gobsmacking Fabulists 'R Us
For the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot that almost toppled democracy (more quickly than now), the hacks and crackpots in power have concocted a deranged revisionist history of such "evil," "pathological," "Stalin-level propaganda" it's somehow dragged us even further through the looking glass. In its telling, "orderly patriots" marched to the Capitol, Democrats who "masterfully reversed reality" "staged the real rebellion," and Trump "triumphed over tyranny." Up is down. What the fuck. Orwell lives.
A few days ago, Robert Reich described the Jan. 6 insurrection as "the most shameful day in American history." He later wisely upped the ante to draw a direct line from that crime to all the rest, including his capture of Maduro, arguing they're all based on the same disturbing premise: "The hubris of omnipotence." Many have made the same connection, calling Jan. 6 a stark "fork in the road" whose moral implications - supremacy of political loyalty over the rule of law - poisoned all that followed. It became "the moment we lost the plot," "a riot that never ended," not "the final, violent death spasms of the cult of Trump" as many thought but "the dawn of Trump’s total liberation." Today, amidst all the gaslighting, denial, lies, the ongoing, well-fed hubris, we pay the price.
A few weeks ago, former special counsel Jack Smith appeared before the House Judiciary Committee, testifying that his team had "proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power." We all know Trump should be behind bars. Tragically, he isn't, because he inexplicably weaseled his way into getting elected, a complicit, lawless SCOTUS gave him an unconscionable lifeline, Merrick Garland was a dud, Biden got old, and Smith was forced to drop the case. Since then, Trump has blasted ahead with his revenge tour, his toadies have gutted the DOJ, the far-right, fueled by Charlie Kirk's death, has soared, and truth has lost at every mournful turn.
And so to Trump's "day of love” as framed by a demented J6 website, widely deemed "disgusting lies," "an absolute disgrace," and "a despicable, shameful distortion of reality by a lawless, rogue White House." With a stark black and white banner portraying a supposed gallery of villains composed of - surprise! - Democrats, along with traitorous Cheney and Kinzinger, it opens with the florid claim, "President Trump took decisive action to pardon January 6 defendants who were unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples... They were punished to cover incompetence." It boasts Trump, on his first day in office, pardoned nearly 1,600 "patriotic Americans...treated as insurrectionists by a weaponized Biden DOJ" for "exercising their First Amendment rights."
Blasting Nancy Pelosi for creating "a scripted TV spectacle to fabricate an 'insurrection' narrative and pin blame on President Trump" and flaunting contextless quotes - "We have totally failed" - it claims Pelosi "repeatedly" acknowledged responsibility for “catastrophic security failures" after refusing Trump's gracious offer of 10,000 National Guard troops for protection (not, all of it). Thus did wily Dems reverse reality: "In truth it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election, ignoring widespread irregularities, and weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissenters. This gaslighting narrative allowed them to persecute innocent Americans, silence opposition, and distract from their own role in undermining democracy.”
Then, a timeline of fictional events: Trump "invites patriotic Americans" to DC for "a peaceful and historic protest against certifying the stolen 2020 election." He "speaks to hundreds of thousands of supporters." The crowd "responds with massive enthusiasm." The march "is orderly and spirited." Capitol Police "fire tear gas, flash bangs, and rubber munitions, deliberately escalating tensions." The "stolen election is certified" despite "hidden suitcases of ballots," also "exploding water pipes"? Trump is "silenced," "weaponized prosecutions," "FBI entrapment," "fabricated indictments," "rigged show trials," "Trump prevails despite relentless Deep State efforts to imprison, bankrupt, and assassinate him," and of course "God’s unmistakable grace." Whew.
The triumphant finale: Trump "corrected a historic wrong - freeing Americans who were unjustly punished in one of the darkest wrongs in modern American history" - reportedly, when faced with the task, saying fuck it and giving all 1,600, even the most vile, a free ride 'cause he was too lazy to go through each case. He pardoned "patriotic citizens viciously overcharged, denied due process and held as political hostages by a vengeful regime." Those victims of "merciless persecution (for) the simple act of peacefully walking through the Capitol" were "finally freed from years of cruel imprisonment" as he "ended the nightmare of weaponized justice and delivered long-overdue vindication to those betrayed by those leaders sworn to protect them."
Speaking of: Since then, Republicans have spinelessly toed the line. To date, unholy Mike Johnson's even refused to install a legally mandated plaque at the US Capitol honoring the brave and still damaged souls in law enforcement who tried to stop the mayhem; challenged, he argues the plaque is "not implementable" as written, and that alternatives offered by Democrats "do not comply with the statute." On Tuesday's anniversary, dozens of Dem lawmakers held a forum to recount their experiences of the traumatic event and honor those who fought to protect them and uphold the law; they gathered in the basement where many had hidden that day after the Speaker's office declined their requests for a hearing room or larger auditorium upstairs.
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. Also on Tuesday, a twisted, ragtag "family reunion" of several dozen rioters came to D.C. to march again, ostensibly to commemorate Ashli Babbitt, who was killed as she tried to breach the Capitol; the administration paid $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit with her family. The pardoned rioters, many of whom are similarly seeking millions in damages, marched draped in MAGA gear. "This is about redemption," said one. "This is the life force of MAGA." Some tangled with a handful of counter-protesters - "Eat Shit Donald Trump" - and a small fight began when one thug tried to seize the bullhorn from a protester’s hands. She was handcuffed by the police. Color us shocked.
Since Trump's sweeping pardons, even of the worst of the worst, at least 33 rioters have been re-arrested for other crimes. The charges include plotting the murder of FBI agents who investigated Jan. 6 cases, and violent assault - punched a woman in the throat, stomped on a man’s chest at a bar. Three have been arrested for rape, and six have been charged with child-sex crimes, including child rape and child pornography, because only the best. After a five-year manhunt, the DOJ also just indicted the guy accused of planting pipe bombs outside DNC and RNC headquarters the night before Jan. 6, 2021; he's detained pending trial, but oops - it turns out the stable genius may have already pardoned him.
Others pop up in a sordid "Where Are They Now" round-up. Former Proud Boys leader and self-proclaimed “Western chauvinist" Enrique Tarrio, who formed a militia-like Ministry of Self-Defense unit,” got a 22-year-sentence, with terrorism charges included, before being pardoned. He joined Tuesday's march; before that, he was last seen getting charged with another assault, but feds declined to prosecute him. Jan. 6 shaman Jacob Chansley last made the news when he filed an unhinged $40 trillion lawsuit against Trump, declaring himself "the first legal President of the New Constitutional Republic of the United States." In that capacity, he ordered the printing of a $40 trillion coin, and gave himself $1 trillion "for my years worth of pain and suffering."
Of other Jan. 6 heroes, one was arrested on a felony charge after his off-leash dogs viciously attacked multiple people, sending four to the hospital. One was arrested for driving a van loaded with weapons near Barack Obama's home; he also livestreamed threats against Jamie Raskin, threatened to blow up a federal building, and was convicted on a weapons and hoax bomb threat charge. One was arrested for making a “terroristic threat" against Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. One, Jared Wise - "Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!” - works at the DOJ under Ed Martin, who represented Jan. 6 defendants. And one, the Instigator-In-Chief, just overthrew the president of Venezuela in violation of the U.N. Charter and international law, among many other crimes. He has yet to serve any time; somehow, horrifyingly, he is still babbling in public.
Despite the attempts at revisionist history, "Americans remember that day for a simple reason – we watched it happen." - Gregory Rosen, former DOJ prosecutor of Jan. 6 defendants.
Jan 07, 2026
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'A Wake-Up Call': Scientists Find 2025 Among Hottest Years on Record
Climate change driven by human burning of fossil fuels helped make 2025 one of the hottest years ever recorded, a scientific report published Monday affirmed, prompting renewed calls for urgent action to combat the worsening planetary emergency.
Researchers at World Weather Attribution (WWA) found that "although 2025 was slightly cooler than 2024 globally, it was still far hotter than almost any other year on record," with only two other recent years recording a higher average worldwide temperature.
For the first time, the three-year running average will end the year above the 1.5°C warming goal, relative to preindustrial levels, established a decade ago under the landmark Paris climate agreement.
"Global temperatures remained very high and significant harm from human-induced climate change is very real," the report continues. "It is not a future threat, but a present-day reality."
"Across the 22 extreme events we analyzed in depth, heatwaves, floods, storms, droughts, and wildfires claimed lives, destroyed communities, and wiped out crops," the researchers wrote. "Together, these events paint a stark picture of the escalating risks we face in a warming world."
The WWA researchers' findings tracked with the findings of United Nations experts and others that 2025 would be the third-hottest year on record.
According to the WWA study:
This year highlighted again, in stark terms, how unfairly the consequences of human-induced climate change are distributed, consistently hitting those who are already marginalized within their societies the hardest. But the inequity goes deeper: The scientific evidence base itself is uneven. Many of our studies in 2025 focused on heavy rainfall events in the Global South, and time and again we found that gaps in observational data and the reliance on climate models developed primarily for the Global North prevented us from drawing confident conclusions. This unequal foundation in climate science mirrors the broader injustices of the climate crisis.
The events of 2025 make it clear that while we urgently need to transition away from fossil fuels, we also must invest in adaptation measures. Many deaths and other impacts could be prevented with timely action. But events like Hurricane Melissa highlight the limits of preparedness and adaptation: When an intense storm strikes small islands such as Jamaica and other Caribbean nations, even relatively high levels of preparedness cannot prevent extreme losses and damage. This underscores that adaptation alone is not enough; rapid emission reductions remain essential to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
“If we don’t stop burning fossil fuels very, very, quickly, very soon, it will be very hard to keep that goal” of 1.5°C, WWA co-founder Friederike Otto—who is also an Imperial College London climate scientist—told the Associated Press. “The science is increasingly clear.”
The WWA study's publication comes a month after this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference—or COP30—ended in Brazil with little meaningful progress toward a transition from fossil fuels.
Responding to the new study, Climate Action Campaign director Margie Alt said in a statement that "2025 was full of stark reminders of the urgent need to cut climate pollution, invest in clean energy, and tackle the climate crisis now."
"Today’s report is a wake-up call," Alt continued. "Unfortunately, [US President Donald] Trump and Republicans controlling Congress spent the past year making climate denial official US policy and undermining progress to stave off the worst of the climate crisis. Their reckless polluters-first agenda rolled back critical climate protections and attacked and undermined the very agencies responsible for helping Americans prepare for and recover from increasingly dangerous disasters."
"Across the country, people are standing up and demanding their leaders do better to protect our families from climate change and extreme weather," Alt added. "It's time those in power started listening.”
Dec 30, 2025
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Tax the Rich, Say Mamdani, Sanders, and NYC Inauguration Crowd
"Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich."
The chants broke out at City Hall in New York on Thursday as US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) addressed the crowd before swearing in Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who campaigned on a platform that prioritized NYC's working class.
"Demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes is not radical. It is exactly the right thing to do," declared Sanders—who endorsed Mamdani even before his June primary victory over former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and "the billionaire-backed status quo."
The 34-year-old mayor on Thursday described Brooklyn-born Sanders—50 years his senior—as "the man whose leadership I seek most to emulate, who I am so grateful to be sworn in by today."
During the afternoon inauguration ceremony—which followed an early morning swearing-in at the abandoned subway station beneath City Hall—Mamdani also called for taxing the rich as he reiterated the agenda that secured him over 1.1 million votes in November.
"Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try," he said. "To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers' lives."
"Here, where the language of the New Deal was born, we will return the vast resources of this city to the workers who call it home," Mamdani vowed. "Not only will we make it possible for every New Yorker to afford a life they love once again, we will overcome the isolation that too many feel, and connect the people of this city to one another."
The mayor said that "the cost of childcare will no longer discourage young adults from starting a family, because we will deliver universal childcare for the many by taxing the wealthiest few. Those in rent-stabilized homes will no longer dread the latest rent hike, because we will freeze the rent."
"Getting on a bus without worrying about a fare hike or whether you'll be late to your destination will no longer be deemed a small miracle, because we will make buses fast and free," he continued. "These policies are not simply about the costs we make free, but the lives we fill with freedom. For too long in our city, freedom has belonged only to those who can afford to buy it. Our City Hall will change that."
The ceremony also featured remarks from another early Mamdani supporter, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), as well as the swearing-in of Jumaane Williams for a third term as New York City's public advocate and Mark Levine, the new comptroller.
"New York, we have chosen courage over fear," said Ocasio-Cortez, whose district spans the Bronx and Queens. "We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few. And when the entrenched ways would rather have us dig in our feet and seek refuge in the past, we have chosen instead to turn towards making a new future for all of us."
AOC: New York City has chosen the ambitious pursuit of universal childcare, affordable rents and housing and clean and dignified public transit for all. We have chosen that over the distractions of bigotry and the barbarism of extreme income inequality
[image or embed]
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) January 1, 2026 at 1:47 PM
As NYC kicked off the new year with progressive city leadership, 2025 findings from the Bloomberg Billionaire Index sparked fresh wealth tax demands. According to the tracker, the world's 500 richest people added a record $2.2 trillion to their collective fortunes last year. About a quarter of that went to just eight Big Tech billionaires: Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg.
In New York, Mamdani has proposed raising the state corporate tax rate from 8.85% to 11.5% and hiking taxes for individuals who make more than $1 million a year. Achieving those goals would require cooperation from state legislators.
Mamdani acknowledged Thursday that for much of history, the response from City Hall to the question of who New York belongs to has been, "It belongs only to the wealthy and well-connected, those who never strain to capture the attention of those in power."
In the years ahead, he pledged, "City Hall will deliver an agenda of safety, affordability, and abundance, where government looks and lives like the people it represents, never flinches in the fight against corporate greed, and refuses to cower before challenges that others have deemed too complicated."
"Together, we will tell a new story of our city," the mayor said. "This will not be a tale of one city, governed only by the 1%. Nor will it be a tale of two cities, the rich versus the poor. It will be a tale of 8.5 million cities, each of them a New Yorker with hopes and fears, each a universe, each of them woven together."
Jan 01, 2026
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‘Breathtaking Cruelty’: Trump Cuts Billions in Federal Childcare Funds for Democrat-Led States
The Trump administration is portraying its decision to slash $10 billion in funding to five Democrat-led states as a response to a scandal in Minnesota, where dozens of people have been convicted of stealing public money through the state's social services system—but advocates and Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday condemned what they called an act of "political retribution" that will punish working families who have nothing to do with the recent fraud cases.
"Rather than an isolated decision, this is part of a clear and dangerous pattern," said Kristen Crowell, executive director of the advocacy group Fair Share America.
Crowell pointed to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was passed by Republicans last year, and said that along with the cuts announced Monday, "these policies amount to a coordinated attack on working families."
The US Health and Human Services Department (HHS) said the cuts would impact New York, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Illinois.
About $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program will be impacted, reducing cash assistance that is provided to low-income families with children. The five states will also collectively lose nearly $2.4 billion in assistance for working parents through the Child Care and Development Fund and $870 million for social services grants.
The funding freeze follows the administration's suspension of $185 million in annual aid to childcare centers in Minnesota and a pause it announced on childcare funding for all states until officials could prove verification data about how the money was being spent—a response to what Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O'Neill called "blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country."
A spokesperson for HHS, Andrew Nixon, told CNN Tuesday that the new funding cuts for the five states were moving forward because "for too long, Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch. Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes. We will ensure these states are following the law and protecting hard-earned taxpayer money.”
The administration did not point to any evidence that the five states have used taxpayer money fraudulently in their social services programs.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused President Donald Trump of "playing politics with our children's lives," while Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) posited that Colorado was being targeted once again in retaliation for the state's prosecution of a former county clerk over her involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
In addition to responding to Minnesota's fraud scandal by cutting funding for millions of families in four other states, Trump has cited the controversy as a reason to further ramp up immigration enforcement as he's placed blame on Minnesota's entire Somali community of about 80,000 people for the fraud. Members of the Somali diaspora have been charged with defrauding the state government.
Trump said Sunday that "every one of them should be forced to leave this country," referring to all Somalis, and is deploying thousands of federal agents to Minnesota to intensify anti-immigration operations there.
In the case of the childcare funding cuts, the administration's decision will mean "higher costs, fewer slots, and more families forced into impossible choices between caring for their children and keeping a job," said Crowell.
"Beyond the immediate human harm, this agenda undermines foundational elements of our economy: the care infrastructure that makes work possible and the purchasing power of the working class," she added. "When parents can’t afford childcare, when families lose health coverage, when hunger rises, our workforce shrinks, productivity falls, families are forced to go without. This is not fiscal responsibility—it’s economic sabotage, paid for by America’s kids.”
On social media, one commentator pointed to the right-wing policy blueprint Project 2025 as evidence that the administration ultimately aims to gut the childcare industry altogether—ending federal funding for large-scale childcare programs and supporting parents "directly" instead so they can stay home with their children.
"It’s not about fraud. It’s about defunding childcare," they wrote. "While not offering a real financial alternative. While cutting programs like Head Start. While rolling back access to birth control and abortion. That’s not support. That’s coercion."
Jan 06, 2026
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Threat of NSPM-7 Made Clear as Kristi Noem Doubles Down on Blaming Renee Good for Fatal Shooting
As US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday doubled down on claims that Renee Nicole Good had committed "an act of domestic terrorism" before being killed by a federal immigration agent, one journalist warned that the killing appeared to be the direct result of an underreported memo signed by President Donald Trump several months ago—a sign that the administration is entering a new phase in what it views as a war with the so-called "enemy within."
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) "killing of unarmed American citizen Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis has NSPM-7 written all over it," said independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, who has reported extensively on National Security Presidential Memorandum 7.
The memo was signed soon after Trump announced that Antifa—which is not an organization—had been designated a domestic terrorist group, and weeks after the White House blamed the "radical left" for the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
NSPM-7 mandates a "national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts," and has an exclusive focus on "anti-fascist" or left-wing activities.
Klippenstein noted on Wednesday that NSPM-7 was followed by an order signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, which directs federal law enforcement agents to crack down on "threats" to ICE officers, including actions that impede enforcement operations.
"The directive goes on to direct prosecutors to target those interfering with or impeding ICE actions," Klippenstein wrote. "'The U.S. Attorney’s Office for each district shall prosecute any individual who assaults or forcibly impedes or intimidates these officers, who interferes with the performance of these officers’ official duties, or who attempts to do so, consistent with 18 U.S.C.§ 111 and other applicable federal laws,' the document says."
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Noem highlighted the administration's claim—one that has not been made clear by evidence that's been released—that Good was impeding ICE officers on Wednesday before she was killed.
A reporter asked if Noem still believed the officer accused of killing Good, Jonathan Ross, had acted in self-defense and according to ICE procedures.
"This is an experienced officer who followed his training," said Noem. "These individuals had followed our officers all day, had harassed them, had blocked them in. They were impeding our law enforcement operations, which is against the law. And when they demanded and commanded her to get out of her vehicle several times, she did not."
Noem: "What happened was our officers were out trying to get a car stuck out of the snow when they were surrounded and assaulted and blocked in by protesters ... this was an act of domestic terrorism" (It was 40 degrees in Minneapolis yesterday and snow was melting ... ) pic.twitter.com/eGDsBnGcJE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 8, 2026
The reporter on Thursday also questioned how the administration could declare Good a domestic terrorist despite the fact that no investigation has been completed into the case.
"This was an act of domestic terrorism," she said simply.
The Trump administration's continued smearing of Good as a terrorist is a sign, said Klippenstein, that while the "global War on Terror is finally over... It came home."
Podcast host Wajahat Ali wrote that "if Renee Good is 'a domestic terrorist' according to Kristi Noem, it means the label is meaningless and will be used by the Trump administration to murder anyone it wants. From Venezuelan fishermen to anti-Trump protestors. Eyes wide open, friends."
Jan 08, 2026
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House Dems Unveil Bill to Prohibit Taxpayer Funding for Trump Occupation, Plunder of Venezuela
A pair of House Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation that would prohibit the Trump administration from using any taxpayer funding to control Venezuela or exploit its vast oil reserves, an effort launched after the US president said he expects his illegal plunder operation in the South American country to last years.
The new bill, titled the No Occupation of Venezuela (NOVA) Act of 2026, would bar "any federal funds from being used to support US possession, supervision, jurisdiction, or control over Venezuelan territory or resources, whether through military or civilian means," according to a summary released by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), the measure's lead sponsors.
The legislation would also prevent "taxpayer dollars from being used to subsidize, reimburse, or otherwise support oil company expansion, reconstruction, or resource control in Venezuela" and halt any effort by the White House to shift "from military action to civilian governance or economic administration without explicit congressional authorization."
“The American people want affordable healthcare, not to spend billions or more on ‘running’ Venezuela,” Castro said in a statement. “The NOVA Act would block the president from occupying Venezuela and prevent him from enriching himself, his cronies, and oil companies in the process.”
The Democratic lawmakers unveiled their legislation a day after the US Department of Energy released a document outlining, with few specific details, how the Trump administration intends to exploit Venezuela's oil with the help of American fossil fuel corporations.
The document states that the US government "has begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil in the global marketplace for the benefit of the United States, Venezuela, and our allies."
"All proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and oil products will first settle in US-controlled accounts at globally recognized banks to guarantee the legitimacy and integrity of the ultimate distribution of proceeds," the fact sheet continues.
"At a time when families are stretching every dollar for groceries, housing, and healthcare, American taxpayers should not be forced to bankroll an overseas occupation or subsidize Big Oil’s return to Venezuela at Donald Trump’s direction."
Trump has repeatedly suggested that US taxpayers could "reimburse" oil companies that agree to invest in Venezuela in the wake of the administration's illegal assault on the country and abduction of its president, Nicolás Maduro. The president is set to meet with the top executives of major US oil companies at the White House on Friday.
"We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,” Trump said of Venezuela's oil infrastructure in an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday. “We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the Trump administration is "about to execute on a deal to take all the oil." Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, said Wednesday that it was in active negotiations with the Trump administration, but did not say a deal was in place.
The Trump administration's military campaign against Venezuela directly and its massive buildup of forces in the Caribbean have already cost US taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Fortune reported Thursday that the administration's ongoing naval blockade against Venezuelan oil tankers has cost "an estimated $700 million and counting," while the Center for American Progress noted earlier this week that US military deployments to the Caribbean have cost upwards of $600 million.
“At a time when families are stretching every dollar for groceries, housing, and healthcare, American taxpayers should not be forced to bankroll an overseas occupation or subsidize Big Oil’s return to Venezuela at Donald Trump’s direction,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement Thursday. “The NOVA Act draws a clear line: No president gets to spend Americans’ money on foreign occupations or oil deals without Congress—and without the consent of the American people.”
Jan 08, 2026
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LATEST NEWS
Footage From Phone of ICE Agent Who Shot and Killed Renee Good Released
The video comes "as close as you can get to conclusively disproving" the Trump administration's claims about Renee Good, said one observer.
Jan 09, 2026
WARNING: The following article includes graphic footage of the shooting that some people may find disturbing...
New footage taken from the phone of the federal immigration agent who killed Renee Good was released on Friday, and it offers the closest view so far of the deadly shooting that took place on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
In a video first published by Alpha News, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Jonathan Ross is seen exiting his vehicle and approaching Good's car.
As Ross circles the car while filming it with his phone, Good can be seen smiling at him and gently taunting him.
"It's fine, dude," she says as Ross passes by her on the driver's side window. "I'm not mad at you."
As Ross continues circling the car and captures its license plate, Good's wife, Becca Good, approaches him and tells him that "we don't change our license plates every morning, just so you know."
Becca Good also asks Ross if he was "going to come at us," and then recommends that he "go get yourself some lunch, big boy."
Shortly after this, other immigration officers begin moving aggressively toward Good's car, instructing her to exit the vehicle.
After this, Good can be seen turning her steering wheel completely to the right, which was away from the location where Ross was standing, and trying to drive away.
As the car drives past Ross, it is unclear if it makes any contact with him, although he remains on his feet the entire time and is able to take out his weapon and fire multiple shots at the vehicle.
A man can be heard calling Good a "fucking bitch" as her car crashes into a phone pole.
BREAKING: Alpha News has obtained cellphone footage showing perspective of federal agent at center of ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/p2wks0zew0
— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) January 9, 2026
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council, argued on Bluesky that the video is "about as close as you can get to conclusively disproving the Trump [administration's] claims that she deliberately attempted to run down the officer."
Reichlin-Melnick cautioned, however, that this does not mean that prosecutors will be able to prove that Ross was guilty of murder when he opened fire on Good.
"The threshold for when police officers are allowed to use force is very low, so I'm not going to offer a definitive opinion," he explained. "And yes; what the law permits and what is justified are two different things entirely."
Appearing on MS Now, former FBI agent Michael Feinberg said that Ross' decision to film Good's vehicle with his phone while approaching her car was "the height of unprofessionalism."
"Why on Earth is a law enforcement officer filming an interaction with a civilian on his cellphone?" he asked. "They're not influencers, they're not social media posters. If you're there to do a job as an agent of the federal government, do the job. You don't need to be making content in the midst of it."
MSNBC's ex-FBI guest just dismissed a vehicular assault on ICE agents as "minor annoyance" and "sass" from a "lightly combative" activist.
In reaction to new video of the Minnesota shooting of anti-ICE activist Renee Good, Michael Feinberg calls it "law enforcement officers… pic.twitter.com/Gv5XL9B5CZ
— Media Lies (@MediasLies) January 9, 2026
Independent journalist Radley Balko noted that Alpha News, which first obtained the video, "is a far-right site run by the wife of the former head of the Minneapolis police union."
"Whoever leaked this to them thinks it makes Ross look good," Balko wrote. "Which is just astonishing."
Vice President JD Vance nonetheless declared in a post on X that the video showed "the reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self-defense," even though the video makes it clear that Good was turning the car away from where Ross was standing.
Vance has also falsely claimed that ICE agents have "absolute immunity," which has been rebuked by legal experts including Reichlin-Melnick.
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'Don't Hide': Minnesota Officials Demand Access to Probe of ICE Killing
"If you feel that the ICE agent operated within the law, then let there be an investigation so that that can be revealed," said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Jan 09, 2026
Top Minnesota officials are demanding that the Trump administration stop their efforts to "hide" evidence in the probe of an immigration agent's killing of 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier this week, which has been met with outrage in the community and demonstrations across the country.
After initially saying that it was cooperating with local law enforcement to investigate the killing, the FBI said Thursday that it assumed sole responsibility for the probe, which the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said left them without access to evidence needed to carry out a full investigation.
At a press conference on Friday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who demanded after the shooting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "get the fuck out of Minneapolis," said that the Trump administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi's Department of Justice were seeking to commandeer the investigation because they "have already come to a conclusion" that the ICE officer who shot Good, identified Thursday as Johnathan Ross, should not face criminal charges.
The federal government has claimed that Ross acted in self-defense, shooting Good as she attempted to ram him with her car. But video evidence contradicts this version of events, showing her attempting to avoid hitting the agent, and that he fired the fatal shots into her window from the car's side.
Members of the administration have justified Good's killing repeatedly with attacks on her character. Within hours of the shooting, President Donald Trump referred to Good, without a shred of evidence, as a "professional agitator" who "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” Ross. The video shows that Ross actually walked away from the incident unscathed.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later described Good as a "domestic terrorist," while Vice President JD Vance degraded her as a "far-left... lunatic."
"From the very beginning, they're calling the victim a domestic terrorist. They're calling the actions of the agent involved some form of defensive posture," Frey said. "We know that they've already determined much of the investigation."
"If you've got nothing to hide from, then don't hide from it," he added. "Include local experts in the process. We've got nothing to hide from here. All we want in Minneapolis is justice and the truth."
Jason Chavez, a member of the Minneapolis City Council representing the area where Good was shot, noted that contrary to the administration's claim that Good attempted to run over agents, she could be heard shouting "I'm pulling out" before her car was surrounded.
"The video that we have all seen... does not match the false narrative from the federal government," said Chavez, who described Good as "a mother, a wife, and a beloved community member, not a domestic terrorist."
Noem has asserted that Minnesota officials "don't have any jurisdiction in this investigation," while Vance has dubiously claimed that federal agents have "absolute immunity" from prosecution.
Minnesota's Democratic attorney general, Keith Ellison, however, argued on Friday that, given the nature of the incident, the state should be in charge of the investigation.
"This is clearly a homicide. And because of that, the states, traditionally, historically, have had priority and jurisdiction over these kinds of matters," Ellison said in an interview with Democracy Now! "It’s certainly the right thing for local authorities, state authorities, to be intimately involved in conducting this investigation."
"My thought is: What are you hiding?" he continued. "I mean, if you feel that the ICE agent operated within the law, then let there be an investigation so that that can be revealed."
Legal experts have said that Minnesota can investigate and prosecute Ross. Bryna Godar, a staff attorney at the State Democracy Research Initiative, wrote in a piece for Slate on Wednesday:
Contrary to recent assertions from some federal officials, states can prosecute federal officers for violating state criminal laws, and there is precedent for that.
Although federal officers do have immunity in some circumstances, that protection applies only if their actions were authorized under federal law and “necessary and proper” in fulfilling federal duties. When federal officers violate federal law or act unreasonably when carrying out their duties, they can face state charges.
States have a long history of prosecuting federal officials for allegedly using excessive force on the job. And when federal courts agree that the force may not have been legally justified, they have allowed the state prosecution to proceed.
Good was shot shortly after the Trump administration deployed around 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis. On the day of the shooting, agents were also filmed pepper-spraying students during a raid at a Minneapolis high school, leading it and other schools in the area to cancel classes for the remainder of the week.
"We need a couple things here," said Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. "We need Minnesota to carry out this investigation, to make sure that the professionals at the BCA and that local law enforcement, who’s in charge of law enforcement, make sure we do the investigation, and then to pull back this unnecessary surge."
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who has been floated as a possible successor after Walz announced earlier this week that he would not seek a third term as governor, joined Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) to send a letter to Bondi, calling on her to cooperate with state authorities.
The US senators said the administration’s decision to freeze out state law enforcement "raises serious questions about its objectivity, particularly after administration officials have made statements that conflict with the video and other evidence that has already become public."
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‘To Be Clear,’ Contrary to Vance’s Claims, ICE Agents Do Not Have ‘Absolute Immunity,’ Say Legal Experts
"Just so you all understand what our vice tyrant is saying here this means ICE is allowed to shoot and kill Americans with ZERO consequences," said one advocate.
Jan 09, 2026
When Vice President JD Vance told reporters at a press briefing Thursday that Jonathan Ross, the federal immigration agent who was filmed fatally shooting Renee Good in Minneapolis, has "absolute immunity," he was not referring to any recognized statute in United States law, according to legal experts.
Instead, said Human Rights Campaign press secretary Brandon Wolf, "masked federal agents who can gun people down with 'absolute immunity' is called fascism."
Vance addressed reporters at the White House the day after Good was fatally shot at close range while serving as a legal observer of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) surge of federal agents in Minneapolis, where the Trump administration is targeting members of the Somali community in particular.
Widely available footage taken by onlookers shows ICE agents including Ross approaching the car and, according to at least one witness, giving her conflicting instructions, with one ordering her to leave the area and another telling her to get out of the car. The wheel of Good's car was seen turning as she began to drive away, just before Ross fired his weapon at least three times.
President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Vance immediately blamed Good for her death, saying she had committed an act of domestic terrorism and had tried to run Ross over with her car.
Vance doubled down on Thursday when a reporter asked him why state officials in Minnesota were being cut off from investigating Good's death—a fact that has left the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which had been planning to launch a probe, with few tools to bring a case to prosecutors.
The vice president said Minnesota prosecutors should instead investigate people who "are using their vehicles and other means" to interfere with ICE's operations before claiming that Ross is protected from being held accountable for his actions.
"That guy's protected by absolute immunity," said Vance. "He was doing his job. The idea that [Minnesota Gov.] Tim Walz and a bunch of radicals in Minneapolis are going to go after him and make this guy's life miserable because he was doing the job that he was asked to do is preposterous."
Vance: He is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job. The idea that Tim Walz and a bunch of radicals are going to go after him and make his life miserable because he was doing the job that he was asked to do is preposterous. pic.twitter.com/AfwpFvhLsC
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 8, 2026
Robert Bennett, a veteran lawyer in Minneapolis, told Mother Jones that he has worked on hundreds of cases regarding federal law enforcement misconduct.
"I’ve deposed thousands of police officers,” he said. “ICE agents do not have absolute immunity.”
He continued:
There’s plenty of case law that allows for the prosecution of federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE. And it’s clear under the law that a federal officer who shoots somebody in Minnesota and kills them is subject to a Minnesota investigation and Minnesota law.
Mary Moriarty, the Hennepin County attorney, whose jurisdiction includes Minneapolis, appeared incredulous Friday when asked about Vance's claim.
"I can't speak to why the Trump administration is doing what it's doing or says what it says," she told a reporter before adding unequivocally, "the ICE officer does not have complete immunity here."
Q: Is this ICE officer immune to charges?
HENNEPIN COUNTY ATTORNEY MORIARTY: I can't speak to why the Trump administration says what it says. I can say the ICE officer does not have complete immunity here. pic.twitter.com/N2ThNOun6w
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 9, 2026
Constitutional law expert Michael J.Z. Mannheimer of Northern Kentucky University told CNN that more than a century of legal precedent has shown that state prosecutors can file charges against federal officials for actions they take while completing their official duties.
“The idea that a federal agent has absolute immunity for crimes they commit on the job is absolutely ridiculous,” Mannheimer said.
Should the state take up the case, Ross could attempt to raise an immunity argument if he were able to move the case to a federal court, where a judge would then conduct a two-part analysis—determining whether Ross was acting in his official capacity and whether his action was "reasonable" considering all the facts on the ground, gathered from video evidence and eyewitness testimony.
While holding Ross accountable may be an uphill battle, former federal prosecutor Timothy Sini told CNN, "officers are not entitled to absolute immunity as a matter of law," contrary to Vance's claim.
Gun control advocate David Hogg called the vice president's comments "insanely dangerous."
"Just so you all understand what our vice tyrant is saying here this means ICE is allowed to shoot and kill Americans with ZERO consequences," said Hogg. "It’s important to note that absolute immunity is something that basically no cop gets. It goes even beyond qualified immunity."
Police officers are typically shielded from liability for civil damages by qualified immunity, provided they can prove their actions did not violate "clearly established" constitutional rights. "Absolute immunity" is typically applied to judges, prosecutors, and legislators who are acting within their official duties.
On Friday, US Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) announced they would introduce a bill aimed at stripping ICE officers of qualified immunity.
Goldman noted that under current law, it would be difficult to prosecute an ICE agent because the legal standard "allows for the officer’s own view to carry a lot of weight.”
"So what this bill does is only for civil enforcement officers—not criminal enforcement officers who are dealing with real bad guys, not moms driving cars—it would say that it’s an objective test,” he said on a podcast by the New Republic. “And if you are acting completely outside of your duties and responsibilities, you don’t have immunity from a civil lawsuit, and you don’t have a defense from a criminal charge.”
Goldman added that the bill would make clear that ICE agents' "only authority is to investigate and civilly arrest immigrants for immigration violations."
“And so they should have never been in the situation they were in, where they were trying to take a woman out of a car," he said. "That was not part of what they should be doing. They could ask her to move if they needed to. It doesn’t look like from the video that she was doing anything that was obstructing them.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has expressed outrage over Good's killing and demanded that ICE leave the city immediately, called Vance's claims about absolute immunity "pretty bizarre" and "extremely concerning" in comments to reporters on Friday, and called on the press to "get to a point where we're not trusting everything that [administration officials] are saying."
"That's not true in any law school in America, whether it's Yale or Villanova or anywhere else," said Frey. "That's not true. If you break the law, if you do things that are outside the outside the area of what your job responsibilities require, and this clearly seems to be at the very least, at the very least, this is gray... This is a problem and it should be investigated."
Frey: I think he also asserted that because you work at the federal government that you somehow have absolute immunity from committing crimes. That's not true in any law school in America, whether it's Yale or Villanova or anywhere else. That's not true pic.twitter.com/kqEwYdeVMI
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 9, 2026
Vance's comments, said political scientist Norman Ornstein, made clear that "we are in a police state."
"The notion expressed by Trump, Vance and Noem that there is absolute immunity for a cold blooded murder if it’s carried out by one of their agents is the final straw," he said. "If we do not turn this around, we are done for as a free society and a decent country."
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