Europe weighs response to Trump; Spain train crash kills dozens
Europe moves into emergency mode after President Donald Trump ties new tariffs on close allies to negotiations over buying Greenland.
Plus, the Trump administration is now preparing for the possibility of deploying active-duty troops in Minneapolis.
And 39 people are dead this morning after two high-speed trains collided on the same track in southern Spain. Now investigators are trying to understand how a nearly new train derailed on a freshly renovated line.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, January 19, 2026.
Trump threatens EU with tariffs as countries hold ‘emergency talks’
Europe is swiftly reacting to an extraordinary escalation from President Donald Trump over the weekend, with a rapid response now taking shape across the continent. Diplomats from all 27 European Union nations met for several hours behind closed doors in Brussels on Sunday for emergency talks.
The countries were likely weighing how to respond to Trump’s latest pressure campaign. He threatened to impose new tariffs on eight European countries, saying they’d start at 10% and then rise to 25% in June unless Europe agrees to talks over the purchase of Greenland.
“Starting on February 1st, 2026, all of the above mentioned countries [Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland] will be charged a 10% tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “On June 1st, 2026, the tariff will be increased to 25%. This tariff will be due and payable until such time as a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of greenland.”
European Council President Antonio Costa said a summit of leaders will take place later this week in Brussels, warning that Trump’s threats risk tearing apart the foundations of transatlantic relations.
And the public reaction has been equally blunt.
Thousands marched through snow and freezing rain in Greenland’s capital over the weekend, chanting “Greenland is not for sale.” Protests also spread to Copenhagen and several other cities.
European nations that Trump targeted are also noting recent joint military exercises in Greenland, calling them routine, defensive and legal.
Germany has already begun withdrawing its small contingent of troops from the island. It’s a signal that Europe is trying to lower the temperature, even as tensions rise.
“We have been asking since the very beginning of this, to have constructive dialogue with our American ally and friends,” said Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. “Free from social media and the headlines and strong words. And we opened that dialogue last week. We will not give up on that.”
The president and those within the administration are framing the move as necessary for national security.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC that American ownership of Greenland would prevent a future crisis in the Arctic.
“If there were an attack on Greenland from Russia, from some other area, we would get dragged in. So better now, peace through strength, make it part of the United States,” Bessent said. “The European leaders will come around and they will understand that they need to be under the U.S. security umbrella.”
But so far, that’s not looking likely.
On X Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made it clear that the E.U. is firmly backing Denmark and Greenland, saying that Europe will stand together to protect its sovereignty.
And if talks fail, Europe has signaled it has a big gun ready.
French officials want the EU to unlock its “anti-coercion” powers, a trade weapon designed to hit U.S. companies hard and fast. In Brussels, they call it the trade bazooka.
1,500 Army soldiers on standby if Trump invokes Insurrection Act in Minnesota
About 1,500 active-duty Army soldiers are on standby, ready to be sent to Minnesota if Trump follows through on his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act.
It comes as protests continued over two recent ICE officer-involved shootings, one of them deadly.
The FBI has asked agents from field offices across the country to volunteer for temporary assignments in Minneapolis, according to Bloomberg and NBC News.
It’s still not clear what those assignments would be.
Protests continued Sunday, including a demonstration by U.S. postal workers demanding that ICE stop using postal property to stage operations.
And the Justice Department says it’s now investigating a group of protesters who disrupted services at a church where a local ICE officer apparently serves as a pastor. The department is now vowing to press charges.
Thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents have flooded into Minneapolis and St. Paul in recent weeks as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Homeland Security said about 3,000 people have been arrested in Minnesota since “Operation Metro Surge” began in December 2025.
Among them, nearly 150 U.S. citizens have been arrested for “assault or obstructing law enforcement.”
On Friday, a federal judge blocked federal agents from using pepper spray and other non-lethal munitions on peaceful protesters.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called that ruling “a little ridiculous.”
“We only use those chemical agents when there’s violence happening and perpetuating and you need to be able to establish law and order to keep people safe,” Noem said. “So that judge’s order didn’t change anything for how we’re operating on the ground, because it’s basically telling us to do what we’ve already been doing.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to support local law enforcement, though they have not been deployed yet. A new video released over the weekend shows prep work for possible deployment.
Asked whether he believes the city needs that presence, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey didn’t hold back.
“We are doing everything possible to keep the peace, notwithstanding this occupying force that has quite literally invaded our city,” Frey said. “I mean, we’ve got 600 cops in the city of Minneapolis, and we’re talking about 3,000+ ICE agents and border control that have come in. They’re not making our city safer. In fact, our city has been safe.”
The Trump administration has accused local leaders of stoking chaos. And late Friday, the Justice Department announced both Frey and Walz are now under federal investigation, accused of conspiring to impede immigration agents.
Iran protests go quiet as doctors claim government killed 16,500
Iran’s bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters appears to have succeeded, for now.
After weeks of mass protests, the streets are quiet, but behind a near-total internet blackout, the true cost is still coming into view.
Activists and analysts who have spoken with people inside Iran told ABC News there is an “eerie calm” across much of the country after a crackdown that human rights groups say has killed more than 3,000 people since late December.
Iranian doctors have described a far deadlier toll.
They told the UK’s Sunday Times that the regime has killed at least 16,500 people, with most of the victims believed to be under the age of 30.
On Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, acknowledged the scale of the violence for the first time.
He admitted that “several thousand” people have been killed since the protests began. However, he defended the crackdown, calling the demonstrations “criminal” and blaming foreign influence.
Two high-speed trains collide in southern Spain, killing dozens
Two high-speed trains collided head-on Sunday night in southern Spain, killing at least 39 people and injuring dozens more. It was one of the deadliest rail disasters the country has seen in years. The crash occurred near Córdoba when the rear cars of a train derailed and slammed into an oncoming train.
The impact ripped the front cars off the second train, sending them down an embankment and leaving multiple carriages twisted and off the tracks.
-
In this grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, rescue workers at the scene after a high speed train collision, in Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP) -
In this grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, rescue workers at the scene after a high speed train collision, near Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP) -
In this aerial view grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, a view of the Alvia train with rescue workers at the scene after a high-speed train collision, near Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP) -
In this aerial view grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, a view of the Iryo train with rescue workers at the scene after a high-speed train collision, near Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP) -
In this grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, rescue workers at the scene after a high speed train collision, in Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP) -
In this grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, a view of the wreckage of a train in the tunnel, after a high-speed collision, in Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP) -
In this grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, rescue workers at the scene after a high speed train collision,in Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP) -
In this grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, rescue workers transport a person injured after a high speed train collision, in Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP) -
Emergency crews work alongside one of the trains involved in a train collision, in Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Rescue crews worked through the night, using cutting tools to reach passengers trapped inside as survivors crawled out through broken windows.
The transportation minister called it a “truly strange” accident on a stretch of track that had just been renovated.
Train service across much of southern Spain has since been suspended. An investigation into how two high-speed trains ended up on the same track is underway.
Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ forms with $1B admission price
A new “Board of Peace” is emerging, but it comes at a significant cost. The Trump administration is building a leadership group to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, and countries will have to pay up to get a seat at the table.
The administration is now requesting that certain countries contribute $1 billion — effectively a membership fee — to join the governing board.
The group would oversee security, disarm Hamas and direct the massive reconstruction of Gaza after two years of war.
Eight countries are now on the initial invite list. Hungary and Vietnam have already accepted. Other countries confirmed they’ve been invited to join, including Canada, Egypt, Pakistan and India.
The complete list is anticipated to be announced this week during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
This follows the U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached in October 2025, ending the war that began after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Florida sees unexpected snowfall for second consecutive winter
For the second year in a row, Florida saw snow over the weekend. It didn’t last long, but fresh snow was visible in parts of the western Florida Panhandle early Sunday.
A passing cold front changed what would have been cold rain into snowflakes, briefly dusting roads, lawns and rooftops. The same system brought snow to southern Alabama and parts of Georgia.
It’s the second time in less than a year that Florida has seen snow. Last January, parts of the state saw up to 8 inches.
More from Straight Arrow News:
Can a simple blood test improve seniors’ lives through earlier cancer detection?
Can a simple blood test improve the lives of seniors through early cancer detection? A three-year clinical trial hopes to find the answer.
The study, known as REACH (NCT05673018), will compare outcomes for up to 50,000 Medicare patients who receive standard medical care, plus an annual Galleri multi-cancer early detection test, with those who receive standard care alone. The Galleri test, developed by the biotechnology company GRAIL, is designed to detect signals associated with multiple cancer types from a single blood draw.
Enrollment in the study focuses on recruiting participants who reflect the broader Medicare population, including individuals who have traditionally been underrepresented in clinical research, according to Mercy officials. Read the full story now>
The post Europe weighs response to Trump; Spain train crash kills dozens appeared first on Straight Arrow News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
