AFP USA

Millions of Americans were facing dangerously cold temperatures Monday in the wake of a massive winter storm that whipped snow and ice across the country, knocking out power and paralyzing transportation.A frigid, potentially life-threatening Arctic air mass threatened to delay clean-up as municipalities from New Mexico to Maine tried to dig out following the storm, which dropped a vicious cocktail of heavy snow and wind along with freezing rain and sleet.Over 780,000 customers remained without electricity, the Poweroutage.com tracking site showed.Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana — southern states unaccustomed to intense winter weather and the bone-chilling cold that’s forecast to continue for much of the next week — were especially impacted.Approximately 190 million people in the United States were under some form of extreme cold alert, the National Weather Service (NWS) told AFP.Areas across 20 states received at least a foot of snow (30.5 cm), and in many cases far more. The NWS said New Mexico’s Bonito Lake accumulated the highest US total over the weekend with 31 inches (78.7 cm).New York’s Central Park received 11.4 inches (29 cm) — breaking a same-day snowfall record from 1905.A compilation of local media reports tallied at least 21 storm-related deaths.NWS meteorologist Allison Santorelli told AFP the agency was seeing widespread reports of significant ice accumulation, including in places unaccustomed to severe winter weather.She said this storm recovery was particularly challenging because so many states were impacted — meaning northern states with more resources were unable to share their equipment and resources with less-prepared southern areas.”A lot of those locations don’t have the means or the resources to clean up after these events,” she said. “We’re particularly concerned about the folks in those areas that are without power right now.”Dave Radell, an NWS meteorologist based in New York, told AFP that the character of this storm’s snow was “very dry” and “fluffy,” meaning the wind could lash it around with ease, impeding roadway-clearing efforts and visibility.”That makes it even more challenging,” he said.- Excruciating cold -The snowfall and biting icy pellets that pummeled cities saw impassable roads, canceled buses and trains along with grounded flights — thousands of departures and arrivals were scrapped over the weekend — as concern turned to the hazardous temperatures set to linger for the better part of a week.The brutal storm system was 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 pouring 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.People in the Great Lakes region woke up to extreme temperatures that could cause frostbite on exposed skin within minutes — in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the NWS reported early morning temperatures as low as an excruciating -23F (-30.6C).Forecasted windchills in those areas that make the apparent temperature even more frigid could hit as low as -50F (-45.6C), the weather authority said.As far south as the Gulf Coast was expected to see freezing temperatures each night into the end of the week.At least 20 states and the US capital Washington were under states of emergency in order to deploy emergency personnel and resources.Many cities had opened warming centers for those without shelter or without power to take refuge, and authorities across the country were continuing to encourage residents who could to stay home.

Donald Trump is likely facing the second government shutdown of his presidency after a fatal shooting by US immigration agents detonated a fragile budget truce in Congress and unified Democrats against funding his hardline immigration crackdown.Until the weekend, the president and Republican leaders appeared close to averting a lapse in funding at the end of the week. The House of Representatives had passed the remaining funding bills for fiscal year 2026, and Senate Republicans were quietly confident they could secure enough Democratic votes to push the package through before Friday night’s deadline.That calculation collapsed after Saturday’s killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, during a confrontation with federal agents in Minneapolis — the second fatal shooting by immigration officers in the city this month.His death has become a political flashpoint in Trump’s immigration crackdown, triggering an unusually broad backlash that now threatens to shut down large parts of the federal government.Numerous departments would be affected, including defense, health, labor, transportation, housing and, crucially, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP).Democrats say they will no longer provide the votes needed to advance the six-bill funding package if it includes DHS money without new guardrails on immigration enforcement.”This brutal crackdown has to end. I cannot and will not vote to fund DHS while this administration continues these violent federal takeovers of our cities,” Democratic Virginia Senator Mark Warner said on X.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer formalized the Democratic position Saturday, saying his party would block the funding package if it includes the DHS bill, which he described as “woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of (ICE).”- ‘Uncharted territory’ -The White House and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have portrayed Pretti’s killing as an act of self-defense, initially claiming — against all evidence — that he approached agents brandishing a handgun, intent on a “massacre.” Multiple witness videos contradict that account, appearing to show Pretti holding a phone while recording, rushing to help a civilian who was shoved to the ground, and being sprayed with chemical irritant before being dragged to his knees, beaten, disarmed and then shot dead.Pretti was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, local law enforcement and his family said.For Trump, the standoff risks reviving memories of last year’s record-length shutdown — which disrupted travel, delayed paychecks and bruised the administration politically — and underscores how his aggressive immigration push is colliding with the basic mechanics of keeping the government open.The Republican leader struck a conflicted tone when asked about the incident, saying, “I don’t like any shooting,” while also criticizing armed protesters. He said Monday he was sending his point man for border security to Minneapolis, which is around 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the US-Canada frontier and 1,400 miles from Mexico.But state and city leaders have demanded the immediate withdrawal of federal officers and an independent investigation, saying Minnesota authorities have been excluded from the probe. “We’re in uncharted territory here,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said.The fallout has rattled Republicans as well. The party’s House lawmakers have asked for testimony from immigration agency heads, and for a federal withdrawal from Minneapolis, while several senators — including longtime Trump allies — have called for investigations, in an unusual break with the administration. Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy called Pretti’s shooting “incredibly disturbing,” warning that “the credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake,” while Pete Ricketts of Nebraska urged a “prioritized, transparent investigation.”Despite the growing unease, Republican leaders are pressing ahead with the funding package as written. Separating the DHS bill — Democrats’ preferred off-ramp — would require new votes in the House, which is out of Washington this week, making a temporary shutdown look highly likely.

US President Donald Trump dispatched his top border official Monday to Minnesota in a bid to regain control over an escalating crisis sparked by the second killing of a protester against his administration’s militarized immigration raids.Trump said that Tom Homan, his point man for border security, would arrive in the state later and “will report directly to me.”Minneapolis has become ground zero in the clash between Trump and growing numbers of Americans over his nationwide immigration crackdown.Trump’s deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, described the city on Fox News as a “powder keg.”Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been transformed under Trump into the United States’ most heavily funded law enforcement body. But polls show growing anger over its frequently brutal tactics.A huge rally took place despite bitter cold in Minneapolis on Friday to protest the raids and the point blank shooting by an ICE agent of protester Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three on January 7.Then on Saturday, immigration agents gunned down Alex Jeffrey Pretti, also 37, after having already tackled him to the ground. Like Good, the intensive care unit nurse was a US citizen.More rallies erupted after his death in Minneapolis, New York and other major cities.Opening a new front in the crisis, a federal judge in Minneapolis was hearing arguments Monday on whether the deployment of federal officers — often masked, heavily armed and unidentified — violates the state of Minnesota’s sovereignty.And in Congress, Democrats are threatening to hold up funding for the US government unless immigration enforcement agencies are reformed.- Trump defends tactics -Trump has so far dismissed concerns.The 79-year-old Republican’s first reaction to Pretti’s killing was to suggest that the nurse had come intending to shoot at the police.Pretti was carrying a pistol with him at the time but never removed it and had apparently already been disarmed when he was shot multiple times at point-blank range. He was licensed to carry a weapon.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Sunday accused Trump of pushing a “flat-out insane” narrative.Trump repeated the insinuation that Pretti was to blame when he told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday: “I don’t like any shooting… but I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun.”White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt indicated Homan would not focus on Pretti’s killing and instead lead efforts to arrest “criminal illegal aliens” and tackle alleged fraud by Somali immigrants — racially charged claims fueling the crackdown.Blanche told Fox News “it is extraordinarily important that we do not jump to conclusions,” while describing the incident as “a very violent altercation.”- Republican criticism -In Monday’s court action the judge was hearing arguments from state and city lawyers that the federal deployments amount to an occupying force. Also under consideration was a bid to force federal officials to preserve evidence related to Pretti’s killing.The lawsuits highlight the deep rift between local and federal law enforcement over the deployment, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge.”Trump’s immigration raids have focused deliberately on Democratic-run cities, pitting mayors and governors against the president.Local police have repeatedly confronted federal agents and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has even suggested he could call out the state’s National Guard to push back against Trump’s forces.Trump will also be watching signs of growing disenchantment from his Republican Party in Congress. The party is usually in lockstep with Trump but it has only a slender majority.One of the most prominent cautions came from House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, who signaled Sunday that federal agents should withdraw from Minneapolis — an intervention that would normally be unheard of from a figure considered one of Trump’s staunchest loyalists.Trump told the Journal that the immigration agents would leave Minneapolis “at some point.”

The horrific knife attack that almost killed Salman Rushdie was an example of violence unleashed by unscrupulous political leaders, the author said Sunday, warning that “everybody’s in danger now” in the increasingly febrile United States. Speaking at the premiere of the documentary “Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie,” the writer pointed to events unfolding across the country, where a second protester was shot dead by federal agents 24 hours earlier.”The idea of danger and violence is close to everyone now in this country,” he told AFP at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.”I think everybody’s in danger now.” The film, directed by documentarian Alex Gibney, is the companion piece to Rushdie’s “Knife,” a memoir recounting the harrowing 2022 attack and its aftermath.The British-American author was at an event in Chautauqua, New York when 24-year-old Hadi Matar leapt onto the stage and stabbed him 15 times.The brutal assault left Rushdie with life-changing injuries, including the loss of his right eye.The comments on political violence come as President Donald Trump has surged militarized immigration raids into American cities, notably Minneapolis where federal agents have shot dead two US citizens this month. A man was arrested at Sundance on Saturday after allegedly punching Congressman Maxwell Frost in the face and screaming that Trump was going to deport him, the Florida lawmaker said on X.- Fatwa -Gibney’s film uses graphic video of the assault on Rushdie, shot by event organizers and attendees, as well as intimate footage filmed by his wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, over six weeks as the author lay in hospital grievously wounded.It also mixes in archival news reports and interviews with Rushdie detailing the furor in the Islamic world that greeted the publication of his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses.”The following year, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, telling Muslims worldwide it was their religious duty to kill Rushdie.For over a decade the author lived in hiding, protected by the British government, until a deal was reached in which the fatwa was officially rescinded in exchange for Britain’s granting diplomatic recognition to Tehran.As the immediate risk appeared to recede, Rushdie re-emerged, becoming something of a celebrity and continuing to create successful literary fiction.But the threat against him never vanished, and the animosity some bore him remained. – ‘Authoritarian’ -Hadi, who was sentenced last year to 25 years for attempted murder and assault, told a reporter before his trial that he believed Rushdie had “attacked Islam.” He admitted he had only read two pages of “The Satanic Verses.”Rushdie said the brutal attack on him was an example of a “larger thing.””Violence is that thing, violence unleashed by the unscrupulous using the ignorant to attack… culture.”For the authoritarian, culture is the enemy. Whether that’s journalism or universities or music or writing… the uncultured and ignorant, and the radical don’t like it, and they take steps against it, which we see every day.”Rushdie’s comments come in the wake of a crackdown Trump has launched on higher education, in an effort to stamp out what he claims is a “liberal bias” in university teaching.Trump also routinely derides journalism and journalists, blasting any report he disagrees with as “fake news,” while conservative US states increasingly ban books from school libraries.The Booker-Prize winning author said the film as conceived was not intended as a commentary on the here and now.”When you’re making the film, you’re making the film, and then the world does what it does, and sometimes the two things run into each other,” he said.”I’m now beginning to think that maybe the film is here at a kind of apposite moment, that maybe all of us now are feeling the risk of violence.”The Sundance Film Festival runs until February 1.

Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday downplayed US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat against Canada, saying the comments should be viewed with an eye toward an upcoming trade deal review.Asked about Trump’s threat to impose 100-percent tariffs on Canadian imports should Ottawa finalize a new trade deal with China, Carney told reporters that the North American free trade deal is up for review this year and “the president is a strong negotiator.””I think some of these comments and positioning should be viewed in the broader context of that,” Carney said. Trump has so far adhered to most of the existing United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), which the president negotiated and praised during his first term.Canada has been hit hard by Trump’s sectoral tariffs — especially in the auto, steel and aluminum sectors — but more than 85 percent of bilateral US-Canada trade has remained tariff free through the ongoing trade war.Substantial changes to the USMCA could upend the Canadian economy.  The USMCA review set for the first half of this year comes as Trump has escalated his rhetorical attacks on Carney.The Canadian prime minister delivered a blistering denunciation of US global leadership at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, earning a rare standing ovation and capturing global headlines. Trump shot back in his own Davos address, telling Carney to watch his words, as “Canada lives because of the United States.” Carney slapped down that claim but has broadly sought caution when replying to Trump’s inflammatory remarks.Trump called Carney “governor” in a social media post over the weekend, reviving an insult he directed at former prime minister Justin Trudeau — who Trump said was leading the 51st US state, rather than an independent country.Carney was asked Monday if he was offended by being called governor.”In this role, you get called a lot of things,” Carney said. “I’m not going to comment on every tweet…I can handle it.” 

A monster storm barreling across the United States had killed at least 11 people on Monday, prompting warnings to stay off the roads, mass flight cancelations and power outages after a weekend of misery.The storm dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain across swathes of the country from Texas to New England, with temperatures set to fall dangerously low this week.New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said five people were found dead outside over the weekend, telling 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.Meanwhile, one person was killed and two others injured Saturday during a winter weather related collision in southeast Iowa, according to local State Patrol.The PowerOutage.com tracking site showed more than 820,000 customers without electricity as of Monday, mostly in the US South where the storm intensified on Saturday.In Tennessee, where a band of ice has downed power lines, more than 250,000 residential and commercial customers were without electricity, while Louisiana and Mississippi — where such storms are less common — each had over 100,000 outages as of Monday.The outages are particularly dangerous as the South is being walloped by treacherous cold that the National Weather Service 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 Monday through the US northeast and southeast Canada, with some areas in Toronto seeing record-breaking snowfall.At least 20 states and the US capital Washington have declared states of emergency.Federal offices have been preemptively closed for Monday and 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.In Maine, a small aircraft carrying eight passengers crashed on takeoff Sunday evening at Bangor International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported.It was not immediately clear if the crash was weather-related or the conditions of the passengers.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. 

A federal judge in Minnesota will consider Monday whether to halt the deployment of thousands of immigration agents to the state, after the killings of two US citizens sparked uproar.Minneapolis has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car, on January 7.On Saturday, ICE agents killed intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, also 37, claiming he intended to harm them during a confrontation.Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed for weeks to the state, after media reports on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants — which US President Donald Trump has seized upon.The US District Court for Minnesota will hold hearings in two key lawsuits Monday, as pressure mounts for an independent investigation into the killings.In one case, Minnesota’s attorney general has asked a federal judge to halt the surge of ICE agents to the area. The other case focuses on stopping federal officials from destroying evidence related to Pretti’s killing.The lawsuits highlight the deep rift between local and federal officials over the ICE deployment, which has put pressure on Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign.Democratic-led Minneapolis is a sanctuary city, meaning police do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.Trump, who has vowed to arrest and deport “millions” of undocumented people, quickly defended the ICE agents who fired the shots that killed Good and Pretti, claiming they had intended to harm federal agents.But he later declined to say whether the officer who shot Pretti had acted appropriately and said his administration was reviewing the incident.”We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal in a brief interview on Sunday.He said ICE agents would leave Minneapolis “at some point”, without giving a timeframe.Multiple senators from Trump’s Republican Party have called for a thorough probe into the killing, and for cooperation with local authorities.US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said an investigation was necessary.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?”- ‘Wake-up call’ -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.Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have issued pointed calls for Americans to stand up and defend their values after the second killing of a citizen in Minneapolis by immigration agents that Trump blamed on Democratic “chaos.”Barack and Michelle Obama said on Sunday 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.”Trump provocatively attributed Good and Pretti’s 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 ICE. One person held a cardboard sign that read: “Be Pretti, be Good.”

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.