Appeals court hands Trump administration ‘victory’ in Minnesota ICE force restrictions case
A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily lifted restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ use of force against protesters in Minnesota, handing a short-term win to President Donald Trump’s administration as it challenges a lower-court ruling. The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an unsigned order placing an administrative stay on limits imposed by a district judge after protesters filed suit. The move pauses those restrictions while the appeals court considers the government’s request to block the injunction during the appeal. The ruling comes as federal immigration enforcement tactics face growing legal scrutiny nationwide. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the court’s decision, calling it a “victory.” FEDERAL PROSECUTORS OPEN INVESTIGATION INTO WALZ, FREY OVER ALLEGED IMPEDING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT “A liberal judge in Minnesota tried to handcuff ICE agents who are enforcing the Nation’s immigration laws and responding to obstructive and violent interference from agitators,” Bondi said on X. “The 8th Circuit just granted an administrative stay HALTING these restrictions, which were designed to undermine federal law enforcement. “This DOJ will protect federal law enforcement agents from criminals in the streets AND activist judges in the courtroom.” The Associated Press reported that ICE is operating under an internal memo asserting broader authority to use force during arrests, including entering homes with administrative warrants rather than warrants signed by a judge. DOJ LAUNCHES CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION AFTER MINNESOTA AGITATORS STORM CHURCH In a Jan. 16 ruling, U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez issued the preliminary injunction at the center of the appeal, siding with protesters and legal observers who sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE over their treatment during immigration enforcement operations. ACTING ICE DIRECTOR DEFENDS AGENCY’S FOCUS ON TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, DETAILS THREAT TO AGENTS Menendez found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims that federal agents violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights during protests and observation of ICE activity tied to Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities. The judge cited a pattern of confrontations in which ICE agents allegedly used pepper spray, pointed weapons, made arrests and conducted traffic stops against individuals who were peacefully observing or protesting immigration enforcement. Menendez’s ruling temporarily barred agents from using force or making arrests against peaceful protesters and observers absent probable cause, prompting the Trump administration to seek emergency relief from the 8th Circuit. The decision on Wednesday put a pause on those restrictions as the appeal moves forward. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Somali-born activist praises Trump’s stark warning at Davos speech: ‘Priority No. 1’
After President Donald Trump took to the World Economic Forum stage in Davos to declare that Western civilization must defend itself from an existential attack, Somali-born activist and author Ayaan Hirsi Ali said “Trump is right.” Trump shocked other politicians and leaders gathered in Switzerland Tuesday night by declaring, “The West cannot mass import foreign cultures.” “The situation in Minnesota reminds us that the West cannot mass import foreign cultures which have failed to ever build a successful society of their own,” he said. “We’re taking people from Somalia, and Somalia is a failed [state]. It’s not a nation, got no government, got no police, got no military, got no nothing. “The explosion of prosperity, in conclusion, and progress that built the West did not come from our tax cuts. It ultimately came from our very special culture. This is the precious inheritance that America and Europe have in common. TRUMP CITES MINNESOTA FRAUD CASES TO WARN AGAINST MIGRATION FROM ‘FAILED’ SOCIETIES “We share it, we share it. But we have to keep it strong. We have to become stronger, more successful and more prosperous than ever. We have to defend that culture and rediscover the spirit that lifted the West from the depths of the Dark Ages to the pinnacle of human achievement.” In response, Hirsi Ali told Fox News Digital Trump is communicating a critical truth. “I don’t think it’s an important thing. I think it is the most important thing,” she said. “Trump is right … and I can’t think of a better and more powerful platform than that of the president of the United States to say, ‘Hey, you guys wake up.’” As a child in Somalia, Hirsi Ali was subjected to a severe form of female genital mutilation. Later in life, she fled the country to escape a forced marriage and served as a Dutch lawmaker. She is now based in the U.S. and uses her platform to advocate for women’s rights, critique Islam and voice support for Western greatness. “I think every American and every European should know that what the president is trying to say is that what made America and Europe great is there’s this unique culture. If we don’t understand that culture and if we do not defend it, we risk losing it,” she said. “The economy is very important. Military is very important. All these other aspects of government are extremely important, but more important than all of that is our value system. And it’s our heritage. And it is our national identity.” Regarding Trump’s critique of the Somali immigrant population’s involvement in the massive Minnesota fraud scheme, Hirsi Ali said, “I wholeheartedly agree with the president.” TRUMP SAYS MEDIA FOCUSES TOO MUCH ON MINNESOTA ICE COVERAGE, NOT ENOUGH ON CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS “The president is right when he says Somalia hasn’t even made it into a nation,” she said. “Every attempt at building something, making something out of Somalia has always failed because of the clan code, because of Islam, because of Marxism. We’ve had all the bad ideologies, and, as Somalis, we’ve run away with them.” Further, Hirsi Ali said the situation in Minnesota exposes a “subversive agenda in the United States to transform it and to Islamize it using American institutions and the American vocabulary of civil rights.” “You see that the Somalis exploit and extract the benefit system,” she said. “They tell everyone, ‘If you expose this, investigate it, object to it, stop it, you’re racist. You’re an Islamophobe. You are a bigot. “If we keep on doing what we are doing, getting huge numbers of people from the Third World to come and establish themselves in the United States and European countries and depend on welfare benefits, that is to take and take and never contribute, then we’re setting ourselves up not only for failure. We’re committing a cultural and national and political suicide.” To combat this, Hirsi Ali said European nations must follow the Trump administration’s example in sealing their borders. She said the U.S. and Europe must also address their broad welfare systems, which she said are “just too expensive.” In Minnesota, Hirsi Ali advocated a hardline stance on the Somali immigrant population to assimilate into American culture. TRUMP UNLOADS ON BIDEN POLICIES FROM DAVOS, WARNS EUROPE TO DROP THE OLD PLAYBOOK “We’ve got to force them either to assimilate, or we’ve got to give them that choice and say, ‘If you don’t want to assimilate into American society, then you will be denaturalized,’” she said. “This isn’t just like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s another day in politics. It’s existential.’” Hirsi Ali called Trump’s Davos speech a “breakthrough” in getting European leaders to understand that defending Western civilization must be “priority No. 1.” “JD Vance put it this way: [It’s] not what are we fighting against, but what are we fighting for? What are we fighting to preserve? If you can’t answer that question, then I think you are lost. And the European leaders are lost. And I think he’s trying to help them find their way,” she said.
Only one House Democrat joined GOP to repeal ‘short-circuiting’ Biden-era regulation
Only one House Democrat joined Republicans on Wednesday in a vote to repeal a Biden-era regulation on public lands in Minnesota. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., passed in a 214-208 vote. Rep. Jarred Golden, D-Maine, voted in favor of the legislation while one Republican, Don Bacon, R-Neb., voted against it. The public lands bill is the most recent in a string of regulations Republicans have undone in the 119th Congress — accounting for at least 10 such measures in 2025. ZELDIN OVERHAULS BIDEN-ERA WATER RULE TO END ‘WEAPONIZATION’ THAT LED ‘PUDDLES’ TO TRIGGER PRICY PERMITS In this case, lawmakers voted to reopen the door to mineral development on federal lands in the North Star State. “The resolution before us today does not mandate projects, mining sites, firms, or schedules — it simply reverses the Biden administration’s unilateral short-circuiting of the normal permitting process,” House Natural Resource Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., said on the House floor. “It’s a step towards the mineral abundance that the American people deserve and that Washington, [D.C.] has denied them for too long,” Westerman added. Stauber, the sponsor, framed access to Minnesota’s deposits as a part of larger national interests. “America’s national security depends on securing our own critical minerals — not just relying on imports from adversaries,” Stauber said in a post to X. “We must unleash domestic production, including in Minnesota’s Iron Range, to power our military, energy grid and future [technology.]” TRUMP ADMIN IMPLODES LITERAL BIDEN ROADBLOCK WITH POTENTIAL TO UNLEASH MAJOR MINING WINDFALL According to the Minnesota government website, the state has rich deposits of gold, silver, zinc, copper, nickel, titanium and other precious metals. Democrats opposed to the measure argued that it would open up Minnesota’s land to development, casting aside safeguards for environmental protections. That was the position of Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. “The Boundary Waters have been under threat for years,” Huffman said, referring to the area near the northern tip of the state. “They draw more visitors than any other wilderness in the country. Millions of Americans have paddled, fished, swum and found pristine solace in [its] forests. It supports a billion-dollar outdoor economy.” In addition to pollution concerns, Huffman noted that the bill would allow mining access to groups with longstanding interests in the area — some of which, he warned, might not be aligned with national interests. “Twin Metals, a mining company with close ties to China, has been lobbying for years to set up a mine just outside the wilderness area,” Huffman said. “There’s no guarantee that the precious minerals produced from this mine would stay in the U.S. at all.” Having passed the House, the measure now heads to the Senate for the upper chamber’s consideration.
Goa inks MoU with Starlink to explore satellite internet for smart governance, disaster response
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Barron Trump reportedly saved woman’s life after witnessing violent assault on FaceTime call
A woman who said she was violently attacked by her ex-boyfriend last year told a London court that her friend Barron Trump unexpectedly saved her life after she managed to call him during the assault, United Kingdom media outlet Metro reported Wednesday. After answering the FaceTime call and witnessing the alleged assault, the 19-year-old son of President Donald Trump reportedly contacted emergency operators, prompting UK police to respond to the scene on Jan. 18, 2025, shortly after 2 a.m. local time. The woman, who cannot be named, reportedly claimed that her former Russian partner, 22-year-old Matvei Rumianstev, of east London, was jealous of her friendship with Trump. She added that she was raped on the day she called Trump and alleged that her ex-boyfriend, who first became violent six months into their relationship, had a history of assaulting her, including stranglings, Metro said, citing hearings at Snaresbrook Crown Court. BARRON TRUMP SPOTTED ON NYU CAMPUS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE INAUGURATION According to bodycam footage from the day of the alleged attack, Trump was heard over the phone telling officials, “I just saw a ceiling and could hear screaming. I could see a guy’s head on the phone, and then the camera turns to her crying and getting hit.” Trump, who reportedly attempted to call his friend for a casual conversation before finally receiving a callback, said the call lasted only 10 to 15 seconds, after which he contacted the authorities. According to the 999 emergency call played in court, Trump reportedly said, “I just got a call from a girl I know. She’s getting beaten up.” After giving them her address, he emphasized that, “It’s really an emergency, please. I got a call from her with a guy beating her up.” When police arrived, the woman identified their anonymous caller as Trump, explaining, “I am friends with Barron Trump, Donald Trump’s son.” An officer was later heard on bodycam footage telling a colleague, “So apparently, this informant from America is likely to be Donald Trump’s son,” he said. “This female is friends with Donald Trump’s son. She was on a Facetime with him when this assault happened, and he’s called us.” ‘CLASS ACT’: BARRON TRUMP SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ABLAZE FOR SHAKING HANDS WITH BIDEN AT DAD’S INAUGURATION To confirm to the police, the woman called Trump again, asking, “Hello, Barron, did you call the police or anything?” “I had someone call the police,” Trump said. “I called you guys, that was the best thing I could do. I wasn’t going to call back and threaten things to him because that would just make the situation worse.” During her testimony, the woman said Trump “helped save my life. That call was like a sign from God at that moment.” BARRON TRUMP, CELEBRATING 19TH BIRTHDAY, PRAISED AS ‘SMART GUY’ BY HIS FATHER The trial between Trump’s friend and Rumianstev remains ongoing. While Rumianstev has denied the allegations, the woman said she has been repeatedly attacked and sexually abused, including being raped in November 2024 and on January 18. She also alleged that Rumianstev has been pressuring her to withdraw her complaints. The Russian defendant, of New Providence Wharf, east London, has denied assault, actual bodily harm, two counts of rape, intentional strangulation and perverting the course of justice. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for more information.