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Minnesota GOP candidate for governor drops bid over ICE operation
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

Republican attorney Chris Madel, a GOP gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, announced Monday that he is ending his campaign. 

Madel said his decision to resign is because he can no longer align himself with the national party’s approach to federal immigration enforcement in the state through Operation Metro Surge, calling it “an unmitigated disaster.” 

“I support the originally stated goals of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s operation, locating and deporting the ‘worst of the worst,’” Madel said in a video on X. “But Operation Metro Surge has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats.” 

His resignation comes after news that a Border Patrol agent fatally shot Alex Pretti. Pretti died in a physical confrontation that began when he intervened in an immigration operation he had been recording on his phone. 

Madel condemned federal immigration tactics, calling them “unconstitutional,” and said U.S. citizens, particularly people of color, are living in fear and carrying paperwork to prove their citizenship. “That’s wrong,” he said.

Madel, a Minneapolis trial lawyer, rose quickly in GOP straw polls since launching his campaign in December. He positioned himself as a staunch defender of law enforcement and conservative views. 

Madel drew attention for providing legal counsel to ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who fatally shot Renee Good earlier this month. 

In addition to his criticism of immigration operations in Minnesota, Madel said his second reason for resigning is that the national Republican Party has made it impossible for a GOP candidate to win in the state. 

“The reality is that the national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a state-wide election in Minnesota,” Madel said Monday.

While he voiced his frustrations about Operation Metro Surge, he also pointed to GOP leaders at the state level who have contributed to the inability to elect a Republican governor. 

“Minnesota House leadership, including two of the Republican candidates for governor, have done nothing to properly investigate Minnesota fraud,” Madel said. “[They have] asked the federal government to do their jobs … the remedy for bad government is not more government.” 

Madel made it clear he is a supporter of President Donald Trump on other fronts, praising his actions in Gaza and credit card interest caps. 

With Madel’s departure, the Republican field now includes Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, conservative activist …

Finding Out What Happens When You Bring A Gun To An ICE Fight
Law enforcement shouldn't be political.

On August 25th, 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse traveled from his home in Antioch, Illinois, to take part in the riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin after the shooting death of Jacob Blake by police. Armed with an AR-15-style long gun, at only 17 years of age, Rittenhouse found himself arrested and tried on several major felonies, including first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide. Three people were shot dead by Rittenhouse that night. Rittenhouse's defense, a successful one, was that all three were in self-defense. A jury acquitted him of all charges, and as for possession of the weapon in the first place, in Wisconsin, long guns that are not altered into short barrels may be in the possession of minors, but cannot be sold to a minor. It was a limited ruling, but one that did not place Rittenhouse in any legal jeopardy for having the gun on him. For Wisconsin's purposes, he was legally carrying the gun. Whether he should have been there in the first place is another question entirely. After the carnage and when police caught up with Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old had several options in front of him - shoot it out with police, resist arrest, and/or run and take his chances, or this.

Trump skipping Super Bowl over Bad Bunny and Green Day performances: ‘I’m anti-them’
Confidence requires clarity.

President Donald Trump said he will not attend the Super Bowl over the “terrible” choices for the big game’s music performances.

Trump made history when he became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl last year. However, he will not make a consecutive appearance next month, citing the opening performance by Green Day and halftime performance by Bad Bunny for this reason, according to the New York Post.

“I’m anti-them,” Trump said. “I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”

President Donald Trump, left, Bad Bunny, upper right, and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, lower right. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File, AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, and Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

Besides his distaste for the musicians, Trump also said the big game is “too far away,” and would go if the trip was “a little bit shorter.” The 2026 Super Bowl is being held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, was selected by entertainment company Roc Nation to perform at the game’s halftime show. He previously said he would not tour in the United States over concerns that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could raid his concerts.

Meanwhile, Green Day’s musicians have been outspoken critics of Trump, altering the lyrics to one of their most popular songs, “American Idiot,” to take a swing at Trump in 2023. During a 2016 performance at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, Green Day yelled, “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA,” during their televised performance of the song “Bang Bang.”

Despite the controversy over Bad Bunny’s selection, he was still Spotify’s most listened-to artist last year. 

Turning Point USA announced in October that it will conduct its own halftime show, the All-American Halftime Show, as counter-programming to Bad Bunny’s performance. The organization said the show’s lineup will not be revealed before it airs, according to TMZ.

STEPH CURRY SAYS IT’S ‘BEAUTIFUL TO SEE THAT TURNOUT’ FROM MINNEAPOLIS PROTESTS

The Super Bowl will be played on Feb. 8.

The White House declined to provide further comment to the Washington Examiner.

Trump announces DOJ investigation into Ilhan Omar amid questions over wealth
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the Department of Justice is investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

The investigation comes after widespread fraud was reported in several Minnesota health services programs, with most of the defendants being of Somali descent. Trump has sought to tie Omar to the scandal, referring to her as “garbage,” and said Somalis should “go back to where they came from.”

“Additionally, the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Omar responded to Trump’s comments in a post on X later Monday morning, writing, “Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking.”

She continued, “Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing. Get your goons out of Minnesota.”

The Justice Department investigation comes after the House Oversight Committee launched an inquiry into Omar’s net worth, which has reportedly increased by 3,500%, Fox News reported.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told Fox News’s Jesse Watters that Omar won’t answer any questions, saying the business with the net worth gain is in her husband’s name. The chairman pledged to investigate her husband, but has not levied any specific allegations.

In her 2024 financial disclosures, Omar valued Rose Lake Capital LLC, a business firm co-founded by her husband, between $5 million and $25 million, a significant increase from the $1 to $1,000 reported in 2023.

Her husband, Tim Mynett, has a second business that has also increased in net worth — a California-based winery with its assets between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 in the last disclosure. The winery was worth between $15,000 and $50,000 in the previous year’s financial disclosure.

Questions over Omar’s net worth have swirled over the last year, with Omar denying any wrongdoing.

“Since getting elected, there has been a coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign claiming all sorts of wild things, including the ridiculous claim I am worth millions of dollars, which is categorically false,” Omar told Business Insider last year.

The Oversight Committee tabled a motion from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) earlier this month to subpoena Omar to release her immigration records.

“America would be a better place if @IlhanMN were deported back to Somalia,” Rep. Brandon Gill …

Anti-ICE law set to take effect in Maine as governor faces increased criticism for allowing it amid Senate run
Who's accountable for the results?

As anti-ICE protests continue to erupt across the country, a new Maine law restricting cooperation between state law enforcement and federal immigration authorities is set to take effect Tuesday, after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills declined to veto or delay the measure, drawing renewed criticism over her progressive record as she runs for Senate.
The law, passed by Maine’s Democrat-controlled legislature late last year, takes effect on Tuesday and bars state and local law enforcement from assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a wide range of civil immigration matters. 
Even though the law has not officially taken effect, Mills, who declined to veto or sign the law, which will take effect without her signature, has already ordered Maine State Police to begin enforcing its provisions, according to a report from the Portland Press Herald.
The legislation passed the Maine legislature by just one vote last year.
ICE LAUNCHES NEW OPERATION IN MAINE AMID TRUMP'S BROADER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRACKDOWN AROUND THE US
Mills, who is running for Senate in the Democratic primary to unseat moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins, has recently called ICE "secret police" and said their "reckless actions" have "no place here."
As ICE ramps up activity in Maine, including over 50 arrests in one day last week, Republicans in the state have pushed back against the ICE rhetoric coming from Mills.
"Let me be very clear: ICE agents are federal law enforcement officers," Assistant House Republican Leader Katrina Smith said last week. "They take an oath. They operate under federal authority. And they show up to work knowing that rhetoric alone can make them a target. You can oppose immigration policy without turning the people enforcing the law into enemies."
Mills released a statement on Saturday, shortly after federal immigration agents shot and killed an armed man in Minneapolis, demanding a meeting with President Trump and for him to remove ICE from Maine.
The immigration law is the latest in a series of high-profile decisions that critics say underscore Mills’ liberal record as Maine prepares for her State of the State address later this month.
Since taking office, Mills has expanded eligibility for MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, to include non-citizens regardless of immigration status. The policy allows taxpayer-funded health care for non-citizen children and pregnant individuals, a move Republicans say has driven up costs for working Mainers. State records show Maine has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on health care for individual illegal …

Pentagon warns future wars may hit US soil as 'direct military threats' grow
Is this competence or optics?

The Pentagon’s newly released National Defense Strategy warns that future wars may no longer be fought solely overseas, arguing the U.S. military must be prepared to conduct combat operations directly from the American homeland as adversaries gain the ability to strike the United States itself.
The strategy, released Friday evening, elevates homeland defense above all other missions, calling for expanded missile defense, counter-drone systems, cyber capabilities and long-range strike forces capable of launching decisive operations from U.S. soil. Pentagon planners describe a global threat environment that is faster, more dangerous and far less forgiving than in past decades.
"The Joint Force must be ready to deter and, if called upon, to prevail … including the ability to launch decisive operations against targets anywhere — including directly from the U.S. Homeland," the strategy states.
"More direct military threats to the American Homeland have also grown in recent years, including nuclear threats as well as a variety of conventional strike and space, cyber, electromagnetic warfare capabilities," it adds.
CHINA’S GLOBAL AGGRESSION CHECK: TAIWAN TENSIONS, MILITARY POSTURING, AND US RESPONSE IN 2025
Russia and China both field intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the continental United States, while North Korea has tested long-range missiles that U.S. officials say are capable of hitting U.S. territory. Iran is not believed to possess intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching U.S. soil.
As a result, the Pentagon will prioritize President Donald Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defense shield, with a focus on defeating "large missile barrages and other advanced aerial attacks," while also hardening military and key civilian infrastructure against cyber strikes. 
"The United States should never — will never — be left vulnerable to nuclear blackmail," the strategy says, as it calls for continued modernization of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
After years of focusing on a potential conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific, the strategy makes clear the Pentagon will seek what it calls a "stable peace" with Beijing, including expanded military-to-military communications.
WAR DEPARTMENT REFOCUSES ON AI, HYPERSONICS AND DIRECTED ENERGY IN MAJOR STRATEGY OVERHAUL
"We will also be clear-eyed and realistic about the speed, scale, and quality of China’s historic military buildup," the document says. "Our goal … is simple: To prevent anyone, including China, from being able to dominate us or our allies."
Pentagon planners argue …

Trump announces DOJ investigation into Ilhan Omar amid questions over wealth
Ask who never gets charged.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the Justice Department is investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

The investigation comes after widespread fraud was reported in several Minnesota health services programs, with most of the defendants being of Somali descent. Trump has sought to tie Omar to the scandal, referring to her as “garbage,” and said Somalis should “go back to where they came from.”

“Additionally, the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Omar responded to Trump’s comments in a post on X later Monday morning, writing, “Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking.”

She continued, “Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing. Get your goons out of Minnesota.”

The Justice Department investigation comes after the House Oversight Committee launched an inquiry into Omar’s net worth, which has reportedly increased by 3,500%, Fox News reported.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told Fox News’s Jesse Watters that Omar won’t answer any questions, saying the business with the net worth gain is in her husband’s name. The chairman pledged to investigate her husband, but has not levied any specific allegations.

In her 2024 financial disclosures, Omar valued Rose Lake Capital LLC, a business firm co-founded by her husband, between $5 million and $25 million, a significant increase from the $1 to $1,000 reported in 2023.

Her husband, Tim Mynett, has a second business that has also increased in net worth — a California-based winery with its assets between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 in the last disclosure. The winery was worth between $15,000 and $50,000 in the previous year’s financial disclosure.

Questions over Omar’s net worth have swirled over the last year, with Omar denying any wrongdoing.

“Since getting elected, there has been a coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign claiming all sorts of wild things, including the ridiculous claim I am worth millions of dollars, which is categorically false,” Omar told Business Insider last year.

The Oversight Committee tabled a motion from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) earlier this month to subpoena Omar to release her immigration records.

“America would be a better place if @IlhanMN were deported back to Somalia,” Rep. Brandon Gill …

Kyle Rittenhouse blasts Democrats for using his story as ‘rage bait’
Every delay has consequences.

Gun rights activist Kyle Rittenhouse condemned the comparison of his story to that of the latest Minneapolis, Minnesota, shooting to “stoke the flames.”

On Saturday, a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, after Pretti allegedly got involved during a federal operation. Pretti was present at the scene of what the Department of Homeland Security called a “targeted” operation “against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault.” 

At the time, Pretti was carrying a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun on his person, according to DHS, but not in his hand. Open carry of a handgun is legal in Minnesota with a permit. Video shows that Pretti was disarmed before being shot multiple times.

Some compared Pretti’s final moments to the story of how Rittenhouse rose to fame. In 2020, 17-year-old Rittenhouse attended a rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin, while openly carrying a rifle. During a confrontation, Rittenhouse fatally shot two people but was ultimately acquitted of homicide after he said he acted in self-defense.

“Armed vigilante kills two civilians in Wisconsin and is called a hero by Trump and Far-Right extremists. Law-abiding VA nurse is killed by masked thugs in Minnesota and they label him a domestic terrorist,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote on Facebook on Sunday. 

As a result of the post and others on X, Rittenhouse was trending online on Sunday. Rittenhouse responded directly to Jeffries on X on Monday.

“Hakeem Jeffries is a gay communist. It was his supporters — pedophiles and woman beaters — who ATTACKED me in the streets of Kenosha,” he wrote. “Now he wants to continue defending these degenerates and use my situation for rage bait and stoke the flames. NOPE.”

During Saturday’s incident, Pretti was helping another protester who was shoved to the ground when an agent began pepper-spraying him from behind and wrestled him to the ground with the help of several other agents. During the struggle, an agent was seen carrying what appeared to be Pretti’s gun away, with the fatal shots fired seconds later.

Others online noted FBI Director Kash Patel’s change in tone regarding armed protesters. In 2021, when Rittenhouse was on trial for homicide, and long before Patel became director, he promised to “help Kyle Rittenhouse.”

However, while on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, Patel condemned Pretti, saying, “You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want.”

Kash Patel today: "You …

‘I failed’: Tom Suozzi walks back support for ICE funding after Minnesota shooting
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), one of seven House Democrats to vote in favor of funding the Department of Homeland Security last week, walked back his support on Monday in the wake of another fatal immigration official-involved shooting in Minneapolis.

Suozzi, who represents a suburban district that President Donald Trump won in 2024, said at the time of the vote that he did not take into account the anger of his constituents and needed to do a better job of showing his opposition to the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota.

“I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” the New York Democrat said in a social media post. “I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior and I must do a better job demonstrating that.”

Suozzi’s apology came after the death of Alex Pretti, an American citizen, in Minneapolis on Saturday. Pretti was fatally shot during an altercation with Border Patrol agents. At the time of the incident, Pretti was recording a federal immigration operation and intervened before being taken to the ground by agents and shot.

Although an ICE officer was not responsible for Pretti’s shooting, the agency has been the face of the immigration raids in Minnesota, especially after an ICE officer fatally shot another American citizen, Renee Good, earlier this month.

The incidents have put new scrutiny on the DHS funding bill Suozzi supported last week.

Six of the 12 appropriations bills have been signed into law by Trump. The House passed the DHS funding bill and three others last week, with the Senate planning to package them together with two others passed earlier this month.

Democrats secured a $115 million reduction in funding for ICE operations in the DHS funding bill. GOP appropriators also agreed to reduce the number of detention beds in migrant holding facilities by 5,500 and earmark $20 million to equip ICE officers with body cameras.

While some Democrats, such as Suozzi, have since distanced themselves from their support, others have defended voting for the DHS bill.

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) said he backed the legislation “not to fund ICE” but to fund other agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard. In a video, he also asked for an investigation into the recent ICE incidents.

The shootings in Minnesota have enraged Democrats. …

GOP lawmakers split on US military intervention to fulfill Trump's calls for regime change in Iran
The headline tells the story.

Republicans are split on whether President Donald Trump should use military force in Iran to bring about the regime change he has called for.
While some Republicans would trust Trump to pull the trigger and stand ready to back him, others urged the administration to use force as a last resort.
Across the board, lawmakers said change is coming to Iran one way or the other. Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., believes that with American economic and diplomatic pressure, it’s only a matter of time.
"It’s going to happen," Messmer said.
IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER SAYS REGIME HAS 'FINGER ON THE TRIGGER' AS US WARSHIPS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST
"I think eventually the regime is not going to be able to keep a thumb on their people," Messmer said.
The U.S. on Monday deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln to U.S. Central Command waters in the Indian Ocean, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to Fox News on Monday. The move comes as Tehran’s government carried out a brutal crackdown in the country that left thousands dead earlier this month.
In its wake, Trump condemned the killing and called for regime change in Iran. Trump described a conversation with Iranian envoys, warning them about the consequences that would follow if they failed to stop the killings. "I said, 'If you hang those people, you're going to be hit harder than you've ever been hit,'" Trump said.
Questions remain about whether the president may see some form of American intervention as a way to precipitate that change amid the ongoing unrest.
Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, trusts Trump’s decision-making process and believes that the U.S. would be acting consistently with its own interests to apply military power in toppling Iran’s current government.
"You know what, I trust President Trump, I trust our military," Babin said.
"It is time for a regime change. There was a red line established by President Trump. He means what he says, and he says what he means in plain English," Babin said, referring to warnings Trump made to Iran’s leadership about killing protesters.
"I would not want to be one of the ayatollah’s brutal henchmen mowing down and brutalizing, torturing their own people," Babin said.  
Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., agreed with Babin, framing his stance as a way the U.S. could eliminate terror threats well beyond just Iran.
"Iran is the center of terrorism. They’ll fund anyone who goes against Israel and who goes against the United States of America. So, if you don’t think I would be for strategically bombing the leadership of the dictatorship that runs Iran, you would be mistaken," Meuser said. …