Minnesota and Illinois sue Trump administration over immigration crackdown – liveNEWS | 13 January 2026From 3h ago 17.11 EST Minnesota sues Trump administration over surge of federal immigration agents Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, state attorney general Keith Ellison said on Monday, asking a federal court to halt the ramped-up immigration crackdown in the state. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the surge unconstitutional and unlawful, with officials claiming the crackdown has led to racial profiling and disruptions to everyday life. “The unlawful deployment of thousands of armed, masked, and poorly trained federal agents is hurting Minnesota,” said Ellison. “People are being racially profiled, harassed, terrorized, and assaulted. Schools have gone into lockdown. Businesses have been forced to close. Minnesota police are spending countless hours dealing with the chaos ICE is causing.” The lawsuit comes just days after the death of Renee Nicole Good, the woman shot to death by an Ice agent in Minneapolis, which has led to heated demonstrations in Minnesota. Share
9m ago 19.50 EST Richard Partington My colleague Richard Partington writes about how the White House’s pressure on the US central bank to cut interest rates could put the economy in danger: Donald Trump’s attempts to influence the US Federal Reserve could risk plunging America into a period of 1970s-style inflation and trigger a global backlash in financial markets, economists have warned. After the US Department of Justice (DoJ) launched a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, the current Fed chair, investors said efforts by the White House to pressure the US central bank to cut interest rates would put the world economy at risk. Analysts drew parallels with the 1970s when US inflation soared after the then president, Richard Nixon, pressured the then Fed chair, Arthur Burns, to ease monetary policy to help smooth his 1972 election campaign. Atakan Bakiskan, US economist at Berenberg bank, said: “If the Fed pursues an ultra-accommodative monetary policy despite higher inflation, the result could resemble the 1970s in a worst-case risk scenario. “Moreover, if the Fed acts on politics rather than data, foreign investors could pull back on financing the US debt and seek new safe havens.” Read the full story here: Trump’s attempts to influence Fed risk 1970s-style inflation and global backlash’ Read more Share Updated at 19.51 EST
37m ago 19.21 EST The New York Times reports that the Pentagon carried out a lethal strike on a boat by using an aircraft that resembled a civilian plane, killing 11 people in September. Officials told the Times that the boat was suspected of smuggling drugs. “The aircraft also carried its munitions inside the fuselage, rather than visibly under its wings”, reads the report. According to legal experts who spoke to the Times, the aircraft’s civilian appearance is significant because the Trump administration has argued the attacks are lawful acts of war. But the move could imply perfidy, a war crime that prohibits deceptive acts based on the abuse of the good faith of an adversary, according to Oxford Public International Law. Officials familiar with surveillance footage of the strike told the Times that the aircraft descended low enough to be visible to those on the boat, and that the vessel appeared to turn back toward Venezuela after the people aboard noticed it. Share
1h ago 18.46 EST A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate nearly $12 million in funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics, including grants supporting rural health care and early screening for disabilities in young children. The ruling comes after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) terminated several multimillion-dollar grants to the association in December after it criticized secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s public health policies. US district judge Beryl Howell issued a preliminary injunction on Sunday, finding that the move to terminate the grants was likely motivated by retaliation. “This is not a case about whether AAP or HHS is right or even has the better position on vaccinations and gender-affirming care for children, or any other public health policy”, Howell wrote in her decision. “This is a case about whether the federal government has exercised power in a manner designed to chill public health policy debate by retaliating against a leading and generally trusted pediatrician member professional organization focused on improving the health of children”. Share
2h ago 18.22 EST The former deputy national security advisor to President Donald Trump, Dina Powell McCormick, was named as the president and vice chair of the tech giant Meta. Trump congratulated Powell McCormick earlier today in a post on Truth Social. “She is a fantastic, and very talented, person, who served the Trump Administration with strength and distinction!”, he said. Powell McCormick is the second former Trump administration official Meta has brought on in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the company announced it hired Curtis Joseph Mahoney, who previously served as a deputy US trade representative during Trump’s first term, as its new chief legal officer. Share
2h ago 17.52 EST President Donald Trump called New York City’s congestion pricing program “a disaster”, claiming “it’s never worked before, and it will never work now”. In a post on Truth Social, he said it should be ended “immediately”. However, data have shown that the policy, which began in January 2025, has reduced traffic, increased transit ridership, and decreased pollution over the course of a year. After New York’s congestion pricing was installed, most drivers were charged $9 during peak travel times to enter Manhattan below 60th Street. The move led to about 73,000 fewer vehicles entering the central business district each day, according to a New York Times analysis. That adds up to about 27 million fewer vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street, resulting in an 11 percent reduction in traffic. According to a Cornell University study, the city’s program led to a drop in pollution in parts of the city. “Our overall conclusion is that congestion pricing in New York City, like many other cities in the world that have implemented it, helped not only improve traffic, but also helped reduce air pollutant concentration, improve air quality and should be good for public health,” said the study’s senior author and director of Cornell’s Center for Transportation, Environment and Community Health, Oliver Gao, in a statement. Share
3h ago 17.28 EST Chris Stein Count Louisiana senator John Kennedy among the Republican skeptics of the justice department’s criminal investigation of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. “We don’t need this,” the senator told reporters at the Capitol on Monday evening. Kennedy serves on the Senate banking committee, where fellow Republican Thom Tillis has vowed to oppose any Fed nominees that come before the committee as long as the investigation remains open. Kennedy declined to say if he would endorse a similar step. Share
3h ago 17.22 EST In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said any country doing business with Iran will face a 25% tariff “on any and all business being done with the United States of America”. That new tariff is “effective immediately”. Further details remained unclear. Share Updated at 17.46 EST
3h ago 17.11 EST Minnesota sues Trump administration over surge of federal immigration agents Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, state attorney general Keith Ellison said on Monday, asking a federal court to halt the ramped-up immigration crackdown in the state. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the surge unconstitutional and unlawful, with officials claiming the crackdown has led to racial profiling and disruptions to everyday life. “The unlawful deployment of thousands of armed, masked, and poorly trained federal agents is hurting Minnesota,” said Ellison. “People are being racially profiled, harassed, terrorized, and assaulted. Schools have gone into lockdown. Businesses have been forced to close. Minnesota police are spending countless hours dealing with the chaos ICE is causing.” The lawsuit comes just days after the death of Renee Nicole Good, the woman shot to death by an Ice agent in Minneapolis, which has led to heated demonstrations in Minnesota. Share
3h ago 16.42 EST A US judge ruled that Ørsted, a European offshore wind developer, can continue development of a windfarm project off the coast of Rhode Island after the Trump administration had suspended work along with several other projects. Last month, officials from the Department of the Interior halted the leases for five large offshore wind projects that are under construction in US waters over “national security risks”, which were unclear. Earlier this month, Ørsted announced it had filed a legal challenge against the administration’s decision to suspend the lease for its Revolution Wind site. Today’s ruling marks the latest move in an ongoing clash between the renewable energy industry and Donald Trump, whose administration has sought to block offshore wind projects since he returned to office. Share Updated at 16.47 EST
4h ago 16.20 EST Illinois sues Trump administration over immigration crackdown The state of Illinois sued the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security, with officials alleging that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents used “unlawful and dangerous tactics” across the state. The lawsuit, filed by Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul and backed by governor JB Pritzker, argues that federal agents exceeded their authority under US law by making arrests without warrants or probable cause, indiscriminately deploying teargas, and carrying out other enforcement actions not authorized by Congress. “We have watched in horror as unchecked federal agents have aggressively assaulted and terrorized our communities and neighborhoods in Illinois, undermining constitutional rights and threatening public safety,” said Pritzker. “In the face of the Trump administration’s cruelty and intimidation, Illinois is standing up against the attacks on our people.” More than 4,300 people were arrested in “Operation Midway Blitz” in 2025, according to the AP. Share Updated at 16.30 EST
4h ago 15.48 EST Senator Coons to lead congressional delegation to Copenhagen amid Trump threats to annex Greenland Democratic senator Chris Coons will lead a congressional delegation of at least nine lawmakers to the Danish capital this week, according to a source familiar with the trip. Republican senator Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, will also be on the trip to Copenhagen, the source confirmed. The delegation will meet with Danish officials, as Donald Trump repeats his threats to seize Greenland, the semiautonomous territory of Denmark. View image in fullscreen Chris Coons speaks during a Senate judiciary committee hearing, 20 April 2021. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/AP The White House has called the annexation of Greenland a “national security priority”, and the president has warned that if the US doesn’t acquire the territory it will open the door for Russia and China to act first. Share Updated at 16.00 ESTAuthor: Frances Mao. Coral Murphy Marcos. Shrai Popat. Lucy Campbell. Source
