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A monster storm barreling across swathes of the United States has killed at least 10 people and prompted warnings to stay off the roads, mass flight cancelations and power outages, as freezing conditions persisted into Monday.As the storm dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain across the wide expanse, officials cautioned that an Arctic air mass behind the system would see temperatures fall dangerously low for days, prolonging disruptions to daily life.The US National Weather Service (NWS) told Americans to expect more of the same weather conditions into Monday morning.New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said five people were found dead outside over the weekend in freezing temperatures. While he did not confirm the deaths were weather-related, he told reporters “there is no more powerful reminder of the danger of extreme cold.”In Texas, authorities confirmed three deaths, including a 16-year-old girl killed in a sledding accident.Two people died in Louisiana from hypothermia, the southern state’s health department said.The PowerOutage.com tracking site showed more than 840,000 customers without electricity as of Sunday night, mostly in the US South where the storm intensified Saturday.In Tennessee, where a band of ice has downed power lines, more than 300,000 residential and commercial customers were without electricity, while Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia — where such storms are less common — each had over 100,000 outages.The outages are particularly dangerous as the South is being walloped by treacherous cold that the NWS warns could set records.Authorities from Texas to North Carolina and New York urged residents to stay home due to the perilous conditions.”Stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary,” Texas’s Emergency Management Division posted on X.The storm was moving Sunday into the northeast, dumping snow and sleet on heavily populated cities including Philadelphia, New York and Boston.At least 20 states and the US capital Washington have declared states of emergency.Residents in the capital Washington awoke to a blanket of several inches of snow on sidewalks and roads, followed by heavy sleet.Federal offices have been preemptively closed for Monday.Several major airports in Washington, Philadelphia and New York had nearly all flights canceled for the day.Tracking site Flightaware.com showed more than 19,000 flights into and out of the country had been scrapped since Saturday.President Donald Trump, who was riding out the storm at the White House, said on his Truth Social platform Saturday: “We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm!”- Polar vortex -The brutal storm system is the result of a stretched polar vortex, an Arctic region of cold, low-pressure air that normally forms a relatively compact, circular system but sometimes morphs into a more oval shape, sending cold air spilling across North America.Scientists say the increasing frequency of such disruptions may be linked to climate change, though the debate is not settled and natural variability plays a role.But Trump — who scoffs at climate change science and has rolled back green energy policies — questioned how the cold front fit into broader climatic shifts.”WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???” the Republican leader posted.The NWS warned that heavy ice could cause “long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions,” including in many states less accustomed to intense winter weather.Authorities warned of life-threatening cold that could last a week post-storm, especially in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, where wind chill lows were forecast to dip to extremes under -50F (-45C).Such temperatures can cause frostbite within minutes. 

The US military is increasing materiel deliveries and intelligence sharing with Nigeria, Africom’s deputy commander told AFP, as part of a broader American push to work with African militaries to go after Islamic State-linked militants.The Pentagon has also kept open lines of communication with militaries in the junta-led Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, Lieutenant General John Brennan said.The increased cooperation with Abuja follows Washington’s diplomatic pressure on Nigeria over jihadist violence in the country, but also as the US military is becoming “more aggressive” in pursuing IS-linked targets on the continent.Under the Trump administration, “we’ve gotten a lot more aggressive and (are) working with partners to target, kinetically, the threats, mainly ISIS,” Brennan said in an interview on the sidelines of a US-Nigeria security meeting in the Nigerian capital last week.”From Somalia to Nigeria, the problem set is connected. So we’re trying to take it apart and then provide partners with the information they need,” he added. “It’s been about more enabling partners and then providing them equipment and capabilities with less restrictions so that they can be more successful.”Last week’s inaugural US-Nigeria Joint Working Group meeting came roughly a month after the US announced surprise Christmas Day strikes on IS-linked targets in northwest Nigeria.- Diplomatic clash -Though both militaries seem keen on increased cooperation after the joint strikes, hanging over it all is diplomatic pressure by Washington over what Trump claims is the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria.Abuja and independent analysts reject that framing of Nigeria’s myriad, overlapping conflicts, which has long been used by the US religious right.Charged politics were on display at the Joint Working Group meeting in Abuja, where Allison Hooker, the number three at the State Department, pushed the Nigerian government “to protect Christians” in a speech that did not mention Muslim victims of armed groups.Africa’s most populous country is roughly evenly split between a mostly Muslim north and mostly Christian south. Though millions live peacefully side by side, religious and ethnic identity remains a sensitive topic in a country that has seen sectarian violence throughout its history.Brennan told AFP that US intelligence would not be limited to protecting Christians.He also said that following the US strikes in northwestern Sokoto state, American support going forward would focus on intelligence sharing to aid Nigerian air strikes there, as well as the northeast, where a jihadist insurgency by Boko Haram and rival breakaway ISWAP has raged since 2009.Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) is “our most concerning group”, he said.Analysts have been tracking US intelligence flights over the country in recent months, though some have questioned whether air support alone can push back armed groups that thrive amid widespread poverty and state collapse in rural areas.- ‘Still collaborate’ with AES militaries -US-Nigerian cooperation going forward will involve “the whole gamut of intel sharing, sharing… tactics, techniques, and procedures, as well as enabling them to procure more equipment,” Brennan said.The initial strikes targeted militants linked to Islamic State Sahel Province, typically active in neighbouring Niger, Brennan said.Analysts have voiced concerns about ISSP’s spread from the Sahel into coastal west African countries like Nigeria.The impact of those strikes so far has been unclear, however, with local and international journalists unable to confirm militant casualties.Asked about their effectiveness, Nigerian information minister Mohammed Idris said last week it was “still a work in progress”.In the Sahel more widely, Brennan said “we still collaborate” with the junta-led governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which have broken away from their west African neighbours and largely shunned the West.Security cooperation has been curtailed since coups toppled civilian governments across the three countries from 2020 to 2023.”We have actually shared information with some of them to attack key terrorist targets,” he said. “We still talk to our military partners across the Sahelian states, even though it’s not official.”Brennan also said the US is not seeking to replace its bases in Niger after its troops were pushed out by the ruling junta.”We’re not in the market to create a drone base anywhere,” he said, referencing the shuttered US drone operations in Agadez. “We are much more focused on getting capability to the right place at the right time and then leaving. We don’t seek long-term basing in any of the western African countries.”

Clad in tactical gear with a helmet and hurling a tear gas canister at protesters, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has become the public face of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign.Bovino’s public profile rose further in recent days as he defended violent immigration sweeps in Minneapolis, which culminated Saturday with federal agents fatally shooting 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, the second citizen to be killed in the heavily Democratic northern city in several weeks. The Trump administration swiftly accused Pretti of seeking to harm immigration agents, saying he was in possession of a pistol, despite footage from the scene showing that Pretti never drew a weapon, as agents fired multiple shots after throwing him to the ground.Bovino doubled down, saying it was the agents, not Pretti, who were the victims in the confrontation.”The fact that they’re highly trained prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement, so good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that,” Bovino told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.He added: “It’s too bad the consequences had to be paid because he injected himself into that crime scene. I can’t say that enough. He made the decision to go there.”Cesar Garcia Hernandez, an immigration law professor at Ohio State University, said that with the Trump administration seeking to deport millions of undocumented migrants, Bovino is the man for the job.”He is turning the aggressive rhetoric that we see from (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem, President Trump and other top officials into an operational reality,” Garcia Hernandez told AFP.- ‘Turn and burn’ – Over the past year, Bovino, who is in his mid-fifties, has directed several high-profile immigration raids, including sweeps in Los Angeles and Chicago, using what he calls the “turn and burn” tactic of moving in to make quick arrests and leaving swiftly before protesters arrive.Bovino was leading an immigration sweep in Minneapolis when on January 7, an agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car, an incident that prompted mass demonstrations and national outrage.Bovino also defended his agents taking a five-year-old boy into custody last week while seeking to arrest his father, saying: “We are experts in dealing with children.”Last week, footage emerged of Bovino throwing a canister with a chemical irritant into a group of demonstrators in Minneapolis.”I’m gonna gas. Get back. Gas is coming,” he said, before hurling the cartridge at protesters as plumes of green smoke rose into the air.Unlike many of his agents who wear masks during raids, Bovino relishes the spotlight and controversy.When not wearing tactical gear, he is often seen in a long, double-breasted green overcoat with wide lapels that was popular during World War I and II, which, coupled with his military-style buzz cut, has some critics making unflattering comparisons.”Greg Bovino dressed up literally as if he went on eBay and purchased SS garb,” California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said last week.Bovino shot back, saying that the coat is standard-issue Border Patrol uniform, which he has owned for over 25 years, and in turn accused Democratic officials of fueling unrest with such fierce criticism of his agency.”They’re trying to portray Border Patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi and many other words,” he said on CNN, adding that Pretti could have been influenced by such statements.”Did this individual fall victim, as many others have, of this type of heated rhetoric?”To Garcia Hernandez, Bovino’s actions and demeanor convey a clear message.”He leaves no room for confusion that the Trump administration’s position is that there is no room for dissent in the United States, and that is a frightening proposition,” Garcia Hernandez told AFP.

A landmark trial beginning this week in Los Angeles could establish a legal precedent on whether social media companies deliberately designed their platforms to addict children.Jury selection is set to start in California state court on Tuesday in what is being called a “bellwether” proceeding because its outcome could set the tone for a tidal wave of similar litigation across the United States.Defendants in the suit are Alphabet, ByteDance and Meta, the tech titans behind YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is slated to be called as a witness during the trial.Social media firms are accused in the hundreds of lawsuits of addicting young users to content that has led to depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide.Lawyers for the plaintiffs are explicitly borrowing strategies used against the tobacco industry in the 1990s and 2000s that faced a similar onslaught of lawsuits arguing that companies sold a defective product.The trial before Judge Carolyn Kuhl in state court is expected to start the first week of February, after a jury is selected.It focuses on allegations that a 19-year-old woman identified by the initials K.G.M. suffered severe mental harm because she was addicted to social media.”This is the first time that a social media company has ever had to face a jury for harming kids,” said Social Media Victims Law Center founder Matthew Bergman, whose team is involved in more than 1,000 such cases.The center is a legal organization dedicated to holding social media companies accountable for harms caused to young people online.”The fact that now K.G.M. and her family get to stand in a courtroom equal to the largest, most powerful and wealthy companies in the world is, in and of itself, a very significant victory,” Bergman said.”We understand that these cases are hard fought and that it is our burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that K.G.M. was harmed by the design decisions of these companies — that’s a burden that we happily undertake.”— Design not content —A decisive outcome of the trial could provide a “data point” for settling similar cases en masse, according to Bergman.Snapchat last week confirmed that it made a deal to avoid the civil trial accusing it, along with Meta, TikTok and YouTube, of addicting young people to social media.The terms of that deal were not disclosed.Internet titans have argued that they are shielded by Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act, which frees them of responsibility for what social media users post.However, this case argues those firms are culpable for business models designed to hold people’s attention and promote content that winds up harming their mental health.”We are not faulting the social media companies for failure to remove malign content from their platforms,” Bergman told AFP.”We are faulting them for designing their platforms to addict kids and for developing algorithms that show kids not what they want to see but what they cannot look away from.”Lawsuits accusing social media platforms of practices endangering young users are also making their way through federal court in Northern California and state courts across the country.None of the companies responded to requests for comment.

Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton issued pointed calls Sunday for America to stand up and defend their values after the second killing of a citizen in Minneapolis by immigration agents that Donald Trump blamed on Democratic “chaos.”The Trump administration has faced intensifying pressure over its mass immigration crackdown, particularly after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, Saturday while scuffling with him on an icy roadway. That incident came less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car in the same Midwestern city.Trump administration officials quickly claimed Pretti had intended to harm the federal agents — as they did after Good’s death — pointing to a pistol they said was discovered on him.However, video shared widely on social media and verified by US media showed Pretti never drawing a weapon, with agents firing at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with chemical irritant and thrown to the ground.Trump provocatively attributed the deaths to Minnesota’s Democratic elected officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, writing on his Truth Social platform: “Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States are REFUSING to cooperate with ICE.” “Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos,” he added.After top officials described Pretti as an “assassin” who had assaulted the agents, Pretti’s parents issued a statement Saturday condemning the administration’s “sickening lies” about their son.With tensions high, protesters gathered Sunday in Minneapolis, denouncing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One person held a cardboard sign that read: “Be Pretti, be Good.”The double tragedies have stirred outrage, including from two of Trump’s Democratic presidential predecessors. Barack and Michelle Obama on Sunday said in a statement that Pretti’s shooting should be a “wake-up call” that core US values “are increasingly under assault.”Hours later Bill Clinton delivered a fierce indictment of the current administration, saying peaceful protesters “have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed.””All of this is unacceptable,” Clinton said in a statement as he urged Americans to “stand up, speak out.””If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.”- ‘We’re reviewing everything’ -US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said an investigation was necessary.While administration officials have defended the officer who shot Pretti, Trump in a brief Sunday interview with the Wall Street Journal declined twice to say whether the officer had acted appropriately.”We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” the president told the paper.Multiple senators from Trump’s Republican Party have called for a thorough probe into the killing, and for cooperation with local authorities.Trump’s administration controversially excluded local investigators from a probe into Good’s death.Walz posed a question directly to the president during a press briefing Sunday, asking: “What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?”On Sunday, business leaders from 60 corporations headquartered in Minnesota — including retailer Target, food giant General Mills and several professional sports franchises — signed an open letter “calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions” and for authorities to work together.- Voters upset -Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed to heavily Democratic Minneapolis for weeks, after conservative media reported on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants, which Trump has repeatedly amplified.The city, known for its bitterly cold winters, has one of the country’s highest concentrations of Somali immigrants.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back against Trump’s claim, telling reporters “it’s not about fraud, because if he sent people who understand forensic accounting, we’d be having a different conversation. But he’s sending armed masked men.”Since “Operation Metro Surge” began, many residents have carried whistles to notify others of the presence of immigration agents, while sometimes violent skirmishes have broken out between the officers and protesters.Recent polling has shown voters increasingly upset with Trump’s domestic immigration operations, as videos of masked agents seizing people off sidewalks — including children — proliferate.

The day after a second US citizen was shot dead by federal agents in the northern city of Minneapolis, local residents gathered Sunday at a makeshift memorial to honor their fallen neighbor.”I’m angry and I’m sad for this loss,” a resident named Lucy told AFP at the memorial site on Nicollet Avenue, in the southern part of the city.”But I’m not scared to stay and I’m not scared to continue to fight and stand for what’s right, even when it puts my physical safety at risk,” she continued.Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was fatally shot Saturday by agents who were in the city as part of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.”I heard about the shooting of Alex and came with some fellow nurse friends who wanted to come and pay our respects,” Anna Parthun, a nurse, told AFP.Pretti’s death at the hands of federal agents took place less than three weeks another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent — on a street about 1.25 miles (two kilometers) away.The area around Pretti’s killing was marked off Sunday by yellow caution tape with police cars parked across the road.Some knelt at the memorial despite the icy ground, where temperatures as low as -4F (-20C) were recorded.”If we were to leave and not stand as Alex did, as Renee did, just because things got scary, then that would not be right,” said Lucy, who only gave her first name, her voice shaking with sobs.- ‘Enough is enough’ -The makeshift memorial in the snow was decorated with bouquets of flowers and candles — along with a host of signs.”Stop killing us,” “Enough is enough. ICE out,” and “Alex should be here” were among the slogans written on signs posted around the site. “I’m here on behalf of the Jewish community of Minnesota, and we are absolutely standing in solidarity against these ICE actions,” a Minneapolis resident named Elizabeth told AFP.After conservative media reported on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants — which Trump has repeatedly amplified — thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed for weeks to Minneapolis, which has one of the highest concentrations of Somali immigrants in the United States.”It’s been an outrage what our president has said about them (Somalis) and the demonization of beautiful, civil, hardworking people,” said Elizabeth, who also declined to give her last name.Another mourner, a man named Andy, stressed the importance of solidarity in the face of oppression.”If they come for you, and they come for them, and you don’t show up, there’s nobody there to come for you,” he told AFP. “So we’ve got to band together as a community and society and oppose this all.”

The emergence of BlackRock’s Rick Rieder as a Federal Reserve frontrunner means the US central bank could be led by a financial markets master less academically credentialed than other recent chairs.Rieder vaulted to the top of betting markets this week after President Donald Trump spoke effusively of the bond market expert, who makes frequent appearances as a commentator on CNBC and other business news broadcasts.Rieder, whom Trump described as “very impressive,” manages some $2.4 trillion as BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income. The post demands deep understanding of myriad securities and digitalized investment platforms.Rieder studied business as an undergraduate at Emory University and earned a Master of Business Administration at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.But unlike past Fed chairs Alan Greenspan, Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke — who won a Nobel prize after his Fed service — Rieder has no PhD. He has served on government panels, but never worked for the US central bank. That lack of government experience was viewed as a “big positive,” according to a Fox Business report on Rieder’s January 15 interview at the Oval Office.Besides Trump, the interview included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who in July likened the Fed’s personnel management to “universal basic income for academic economists.” In a 2023 interview with the Goldman Sachs podcast “Exchanges,” Rieder described trading as a thrilling challenge of navigating constantly changing dynamics and discovering when you need to pivot.”I always say this in managing money, we’re not in the business of being right,” said Rieder, who famously begins his daily research ritual at 3:30 am. “We’re in the business of generating return for our clients.”Trading is about “risk management and your perception of where the world is and how people think the world is,” he said. Rieder worked at Lehman Brothers from 1987 to 2008 before starting R3 Capital Partners in 2008, months before the Lehman bankruptcy. In 2009, BlackRock acquired R3. BlackRock declined to comment. – Independent streak -Ironically, the Fed chair from recent years whose profile most closely resembles Rieder’s is probably Jerome Powell, the current central bank head, whom Trump has criticized relentlessly.Trump in 2017 named as chairman Powell, an attorney who had worked in private equity in between stints at the US Treasury Department and the Fed. Trump’s interest in Rieder reflects “MAGA’s critique of the Fed as being excessively technocratic,” said Mark Blyth, a professor in international economics professor at Brown University.Blyth also called Rieder a bit of a “dark horse” on whether his decisions would shift from Powell’s.”It’s not automatically clear that Rieder is a very low-interest rates guy,” Blyth said.Rieder’s political donations suggest an independent streak. In the 2024 cycle, he backed Trump’s Republican primary challenger Nikki Haley over Trump and some DemocratsIn a January 2 BlackRock column, Rieder said the inflation “storm has passed,” characterizing labor market weakness as the bigger priority.That position is in line with pronouncements by Powell at recent meetings. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged this week at between 3.50 percent and 3.75 percent after three straight cuts.Rieder told CNBC on January 12 that the “Fed’s got to get the rate down” to about three percent.His appearance on CNBC came the day after Powell hit out at a criminal probe of the Fed launched by Trump’s Justice Department as a “pretext” for the president’s opposition to the Fed’s cautious approach to cutting rates.Rieder declined to comment directly on Powell’s remarks, but backed Fed independence, insisting that whomever leads the Fed is “going to make the right decisions… for maximum employment and price stability,” he told CNBC.Besides Rieder, the other leading candidates are White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett; former Fed official Kevin Warsh; and Fed governor Christopher Waller.

The shooting death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, by federal agents Saturday in Minneapolis has spurred a new kind of debate around gun rights in the United States. President Donald Trump’s administration and law enforcement agencies under him have justified the fatal shooting on the grounds that Pretti was carrying a handgun and acting aggressively when he became entangled with agents during protests against Trump’s immigration crackdown.”We can’t have individuals that are impeding law enforcement operations and then showing up with guns and weapons and no ID, and confronting law enforcement,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on “Fox News Sunday.””That is one of the reasons that we see situations like this unfold,” she added.FBI chief Kash Patel echoed those comments.”No one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines! That is not a peaceful protest,” Patel, a close Trump loyalist, said Sunday on Fox.At least one high-profile politician from the opposition Democrats as well as gun-rights advocacy groups — who normally stand on opposite sides of the debate — criticized Trump administration officials for that justification.The shooting has led to a reversal of sorts in the usual debate around the right to own and carry guns in America. Republican officials normally are staunch defenders of gun rights while Democrats have traditionally fought against the spread of firearms and gun violence in the country.- Constitutional protection – The Second Amendment to the US Constitution stipulates that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” For decades, it has been the subject of intense controversy.The US Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed this right and the right to carry a weapon in public.In 2023, nearly a third of Americans said they owned a firearm, according to a Pew Research Center survey.Pretti was one of those gun owners, and legally so, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who stated the nurse had no criminal record.- ‘Maximum damage’ – But for the Trump administration, Pretti’s firearm possession was a critical factor leading to shots fired by Border Patrol agents deployed in Minneapolis to assist immigration police operations.Shortly after the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security posted a photo of a handgun, presented as the one found on Pretti.Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino said Saturday that “this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”Bill Essayli, a federal prosecutor in California, said on X that “if you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you. Don’t do it!” — ‘God-given right’ — Such statements were condemned by several gun-rights advocacy groups, including the Gun Owners of America, which rejected the notion that police were justified in shooting people who were legally carrying a firearm.”The Second Amendment protects Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting — a right the federal government must not infringe upon,” the group posted on X.The National Rifle Association called Essayli’s remarks “dangerous and wrong.””Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens,” the NRA, a powerful pro-gun lobby group, said on X.A rare dissenting voice in the Republican camp of politicians, congressman Thomas Massie, joined in on criticizing federal law enforcement.”Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, it’s a Constitutionally protected God-given right,” Massie, a regular Trump critic, said on X. “If you don’t understand this you have no business in law enforcement or government.”Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, also slammed various officials who justified the agents’ actions in Minneapolis. “The Trump administration does not believe in the Second Amendment,” Newsom, widely considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, posted on X.”Good to know.”

President Donald Trump on Sunday blamed the deaths of two Americans by federal agents on Democratic “chaos,” as his administration faced intensifying pressure over its mass immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.Federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, early Saturday while scuffling with him on an icy roadway in the Midwestern city, less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car.Trump administration officials quickly claimed that Pretti had intended to harm the federal agents — as it did after Good’s death — pointing to a pistol it said was discovered on him.However, video shared widely on social media and verified by US media showed Pretti never drawing a weapon, with agents firing around 10 shots at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with chemical irritant and thrown to the ground.Trump provocatively attributed the deaths to Minnesota’s Democratic elected officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, writing on his Truth Social platform: “Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States are REFUSING to cooperate with ICE.” “Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos,” he added.After top officials described Pretti as an “assassin” who had assaulted the agents, Pretti’s parents issued a statement Saturday condemning the administration’s “sickening lies” about their son.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, asked on Fox News show “The Sunday Briefing” what she would say to Pretti’s parents, responded: “Just that I’m grieved for them.”US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said an investigation was necessary to get a full understanding of the killing.Asked if agents had already removed the pistol from Pretti when they fired on him, Blanche said: “I do not know. And nobody else knows, either. That’s why we’re doing an investigation.”- ‘Joint’ probe -Their comments came after multiple senators from Trump’s Republican Party called for a thorough probe into the killing, and for cooperation with local authorities.The Trump administration controversially excluded local investigators from a probe into Good’s killing.Walz posed a question directly to the president during a press briefing Sunday, asking: “What’s the plan, Donald Trump?” “What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?”On Sunday, business leaders from 60 corporations headquartered in Minnesota — including retailer Target, food giant General Mills and several professional sports franchises — signed an open letter “calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed to heavily Democratic Minneapolis for weeks, after conservative media reported on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants, which Trump has repeatedly amplified.The city, known for its bitterly cold winters, has one of the country’s highest concentrations of Somali immigrants.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back against Trump’s claim, telling reporters “it’s not about fraud, because if he sent people who understand forensic accounting, we’d be having a different conversation. But he’s sending armed masked men.”- Court order -Since “Operation Metro Surge” began, many residents have carried whistles to notify others of the presence of immigration agents, while sometimes violent skirmishes have broken out between the officers and protesters.Local authorities have sued the federal government seeking a court order to suspend the operation, with a first hearing set for Monday.Recent polling has shown voters increasingly upset with Trump’s domestic immigration operations, as videos of masked agents seizing people off sidewalks — including children — proliferate.Barack and Michelle Obama on Sunday forcefully condemned Pretti’s killing, saying in a statement it should be a “wake-up call” that core US values “are increasingly under assault.”The former president and first lady blasted Trump and his government as seeming “eager to escalate the situation.”

Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said the NBA team was “heartbroken” by events unfolding in Minneapolis, where federal agents shot dead a second US citizen amid the Trump administration’s mass immigration crackdown.An emotional Finch spoke to reporters shortly before the Timberwolves took on the Golden State Warriors in Minneapolis on Sunday, a game postponed from Saturday when the city was sent reeling by the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car.”As an organization, we are heartbroken for what we are having to witness and endure and watch,” Finch said. “We just want to extend our thoughts, prayers and concern for Mr. Pretti’s family, all the loved ones, and everyone involved in in such an unconscionable situation in a community that we really love.”The Timberwolves observed a moment of silence honoring Pretti before the game that ended amid expletive-laced chants against ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement).Warriors coach Steve Kerr, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump who had called the shooting of Good “shameful,” said it was time for Americans to appeal to their “better angels” in a time of extremism.”People are so angry. There should be an appeal to our better angels to look after one another and to recognize what’s happening,” Kerr said. “We’re being divided by media for profit, by misinformation. There’s so much out there that is really difficult for all of us to reconcile.”That’s what’s so sad about all this — we’re at each other’s throats right now. You can’t just say ‘I’m right and the other person’s wrong.'”It’s hard to decipher what’s real and what’s not, what’s true and what’s not true — people arguing over the exact same video and saying ‘this happened, no, that happened.'”Kerr said the loss of life is “the number one concern.”When all the unrest settles down, whenever that is, those family members won’t be returning home and that’s devastating,” said Kerr, whose university president father was shot dead in Beirut by Islamic militants in 1984.Both coaches praised the decision to postpone the game.”Playing basketball just didn’t feel like the right thing to do,” Finch said.The NBA’s Players Association issued a statement on Sunday saying players “stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice.””The fraternity of NBA players, like the United States itself, is a community enriched by its global citizens, and we refuse to let the flames of division threaten the civil liberties that are meant to protect us all.”The Timberwolves, along with the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, the NFL’s Vikings, MLB’s Twins, NHL’S Wild and Minnesota United of MLS, joined prominent Minnesota companies in signing an open letter calling for state, local and federal officials to work together in pursuit of a “deescalation of tensions.”- ‘Lives at stake’ -Individual athletes were also speaking out.Breanna Stewart, a three-time WNBA champion who co-founded the Unrivaled 3-on-3 women’s league, held up a small sign saying “Abolish Ice” during player introductions before an Unrivaled game in Florida.”All day yesterday I was kind of just disgusted … we’re so fueled by hate right now instead of love,” Stewart said.”When human lives are at stake it’s bigger than anything else.”She said the issue hit close to home since her wife, retired Spanish basketballer Marta, is still in the process of seeking US citizenship.”She’s a legal permanent resident and all of that, but it seems like it doesn’t matter,” Stewart said.Other athletes weighed in on social media.Two-time NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, who plays for the Indiana Pacers, posted on X: “Alex Pretti was murdered.”Brianna Turner, who played for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever last season, posted on X: “The minority that are still defending ICE will forever be on the wrong side of history.”