Minnesota ‘Day of Action’ planned; Major winter storm moves east
Minnesota activists are calling for a statewide “Day of Action” to shut down work, school and shopping as tensions escalate over ICE enforcement, with Vice President JD Vance heading into the flashpoint.
Plus, a massive winter storm is slamming the U.S. with ice, snow and brutal cold — and in some places this morning, it feels like minus 40.
And President Donald Trump has yanked Canada’s invitation to his new “Board of Peace,” widening a diplomatic rift after he called Prime Minister Mark Carney “ungrateful.”
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, January 23, 2026.
Minnesotans plan economic blackout amid high tensions with ICE
Minnesota protests are growing over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and two recent shootings, one of which was deadly. Recent snowstorms haven’t stopped demonstrators from gathering outside the ICE detention facility in Minneapolis.
On Friday, the protest movement is escalating. Hundreds of businesses are expected to stay closed.
Meanwhile, a network of labor unions, progressive groups and faith leaders are urging Minnesotans to skip work, school and shopping in what they’re calling an economic blackout. This comes as the Trump administration announced the arrests of three people in connection with a protest that interrupted a Sunday service at a church where a top Minnesota ICE official is a pastor.
But a federal judge on Thursday refused to sign a complaint charging independent journalist Don Lemon with his presence at that service.
Vice President JD Vance was in Minneapolis on Thursday, warning protesters to remain peaceful or face federal consequences.
“Our plan is very simple: if you assault a federal law enforcement officer, we are gonna do everything we can to put you in prison. It’s very simple. And most of these protesters, as much as I may disagree with their politics, most of them have been peaceful. But a lot of them have not been peaceful,” Vance said. “And if you go and storm a church, if you go and assault a federal law enforcement officer, we are gonna try very hard, we are gonna use every resource of the federal government to put you in prison.”
Vance also defended an ICE action that’s sparking public outcry. A 5-year-old boy was taken into custody with his father on Tuesday.
The Department of Homeland Security says the father was in the country illegally, but has not released the details or cited any criminal history. The father and son are now together in Texas.
Jack Smith faces Congress defending Trump indictments in combative hearing
Former special counsel Jack Smith walked straight into the political blast furnace on Capitol Hill Thursday and didn’t blink.
Smith, who twice indicted President Donald Trump before both cases were dropped after Trump won re-election, defended his investigations in a tense, combative and deeply partisan House hearing. It was his first public testimony before Congress.
“I made my decisions without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs or candidacy in the 2024 election,” Smith said. “President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law. The very laws he took an oath to uphold.”
Republicans framed Smith as a rogue prosecutor who tried to take down Trump for political reasons. Democrats view him as a public servant who did exactly what the law required.
At one point, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., walked Smith through what his investigation actually found:
Jayapal: My Republican colleagues keep trying to rewrite history. They claim that somehow Trump’s words and actions did not legally rise to the level of criminal activity, that he did not directly cause violence at the Capitol. And so I want to set that record straight with you right now. First of all, you successfully secured indictments against Donald Trump in two major federal cases: election interference in the 2020 election and mishandling of classified documents after leaving office. Is that correct?
Smith: Yes
Jayapal: And you’ve been a federal prosecutor for nearly 30 years, you led this investigation, combing through hundreds of thousands of documents, photos, videos and communication. Did your investigation find that Donald Trump attempted to manufacture fraudulent state slates of presidential electors in seven states that he lost?
Smith: Yes
Jayapal: “Did he pressure state officials to ignore true vote counts in those states?”
Smith: Yes
Jayapal: “Did he spread lies and conspiracies to his followers to make them believe that the election had been illegally rigged against him?”
Smith: Yes
Jayapal: “Did he pressure DOJ officials to stop the certification of the election?”
Smith: He did.
Republicans zeroed in on tactics they say crossed the line, including subpoenas for phone records tied to GOP lawmakers.
Smith pushed back, saying his office needed those logs because Trump was actively trying to reach members of Congress as he worked to delay certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6.
Then came the question Republicans were clearly waiting for: Did he make mistakes?
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif.: Looking at the record, I see that you were reversed and rebuked by the Department of Justice itself, by the attorney general, by the solicitor general, by multiple district court judges, by the Court of Appeals, and by the US Supreme Court itself. So my final question is, do you believe that you made any mistakes? Do you have any regrets as to how you conducted this investigation?
SMITH: “If I have any regret, it would be not expressing enough appreciation for my staff who work so hard in these investigations. We follow the facts and the law. These people who work for me sacrificed endlessly and have endured way too much for just doing their job. So if anything, I wish that I had thanked them…”
Kiley: “So no mistakes. There’s that humility. Mr. Chair, I yield back.”
Democrats closed ranks around Smith.
“My Republican colleagues are a joke. They’re wrong. History will harshly judge them,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said. “So I want to you to lean in today. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did every right, sir.”
As Smith was testifying, Trump posted on Truth Social, calling him “a deranged animal,” accusing Smith of destroying lives, and suggesting Attorney General Pam Bondi should go after him.
Massive winter storm spreads with ice, snow and extreme cold hitting 30+ states
A massive winter storm, stretching nearly 2,000 miles across more than 30 states, is moving in. Some are experiencing bitterly cold temperatures, while others are seeing ice and freezing rain. Some will even see heavy snow as the system pushes north and east into the weekend.
The biggest threat right now is ice.
States including Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Virginia are bracing for freezing rain that could turn roads, trees and power lines into an icy glaze, raising the risk of dangerous travel and power outages that could last for days.
As the storm shifts east Friday afternoon, places like Dallas, Oklahoma City and Kansas City could see snow before it reaches Little Rock and Memphis.
On Saturday, the system tracks up the East Coast. Washington, Philadelphia and New York City are preparing for six to twelve inches of snow by the end of the weekend.
Crews are already pre-treating roads with salt and sand, and air travel is taking a hit. More than 1,000 flights have already been canceled as conditions deteriorate in several states.
In Kentucky and across the South, people are lining up at gas stations to fill their cars and trucks, and clearing out grocery stores for bread, milk and bottled water as they prepare to hunker down.
In the Midwest, the story is extreme cold. Schools in Chicago closed Friday, with wind chills expected to reach minus 40.
That arctic blast is expected to persist through Saturday.
In Omaha, temperatures dropped to minus one Friday morning, with a wind chill of minus 18. In Des Moines, Iowa, temperatures were reported as minus-8, with wind chills dipping to minus-40. Schools are closed there as well.
Trump revokes Canada’s ‘Board of Peace’ invite, Carney pushes back
After signing the charter for his international board of peace in the absence of any major Western allies, Trump has now rescinded Canada’s invitation to join. The move comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney fires back at Trump for comments the president made this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he called Carney “ungrateful.”
“Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” Trump said.
Carney didn’t let that go. Back in Canada on Thursday, he responded directly, without naming Trump, and drew a line on Canada’s sovereignty,
“Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security, and in rich cultural exchange. But Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian,” Carney said.
Carney also used his Davos remarks to condemn what he called “great powers” for trying to coerce smaller countries.
The backdrop here is a rapidly widening rift. Trump has previously suggested making Canada the 51st state.
This week, he posted an altered map of the U.S. that included Canada, Greenland, Venezuela and Cuba as part of American territory. After Carney’s message to Canadians, Trump posted again on Truth Social, announcing that he was withdrawing Canada’s invitation to join the “Board of Peace.”
Just last week, Carney said he was open to joining but wanted more details on the terms first. Now, Canada is out.
TikTok US spinoff goes live, taking control of app operations
TikTok’s U.S. spinoff has officially launched, and the new American-controlled company is now operational. Semafor was the first to report that it had signed off on the deal. By late Thursday night, the joint venture formally launched and named its leadership team.
The new company now controls TikTok’s American operations and user data, just one day before a Trump administration deadline to force ByteDance to divest or face a ban.
Under the deal, Bytedance retains a 19.9% stake. The rest is owned by a U.S.-led investor group, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the UAE-backed fund: MGX.
The venture will be led by CEO Adam Presser, with Oracle overseeing data storage and security. The group says it will control content moderation, algorithm security and software protection for users in the U.S.
TikTok says Americans won’t see visible changes to the app, but the algorithm will now retain U.S. user data under the new ownership structure.
‘Heated Rivalry’ duo joins Olympic relay as torchbearers
Things are heating up between the co-stars of one of HBO’s most popular shows, but not in the way you might think.
The co-stars of the hit hockey romance “Heated Rivalry,” Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, will be among the torchbearers as the Olympic flame makes its way to the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Games. Exactly when and where they’ll carry the torch has not been announced yet.
The flame began its journey across Europe after departing Olympia, Greece, in late November. As the Feb. 6 opening ceremony draws closer, it’s now in Italy.
More from Straight Arrow News:
America’s measles elimination status is under review. Here’s what that means
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) set an April 13 date to review data on the ongoing measles outbreaks in the U.S. and to determine if the country will lose its measles-elimination status, a largely symbolic badge first bestowed upon the U.S. in 2000.
Measles has resurged across the country and around the world in recent years. In November 2025, PAHO revoked Canada’s measles-elimination status.
So far in 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documented 171 cases across nine states. Utah recorded six new measles cases this week; Arizona reported eight last week. The South Carolina Department of Public Health announced 88 new cases over a five-day stretch that included last weekend.
There have been no deaths reported. Read the full story now>
The post Minnesota ‘Day of Action’ planned; Major winter storm moves east appeared first on Straight Arrow News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
