curated news excerpts & citations
WSJ: Why Congress Can’t Claw Back War Powers From Trump
The changing nature of foreign conflict—and the president’s grip on the GOP—has allowed the White House to pursue a nearly unchecked agenda overseas
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So far, these lawmakers concede they are failing. The latest Republican-controlled Congress has accelerated a decadeslong shift giving the White House greater authority to take on America’s adversaries and even some allies. Threats from terror groups and foreign entities have fueled the dynamic by blurring the clear lines between war and peace. The Supreme Court has generally, but not always, favored a strong executive in this arena.
(WSJ more…)
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Jennifer Rubin: Undaunted Women
Two governors take office and inspire hope
…Sherrill pledged that — in contrast to Trump — she would be fighting for the people and working to do things such as keeping energy prices under control, and would not be wasting taxpayer money on a ballroom.
Spanberger, just three days earlier, demonstrated her political deftness as she reached across the aisle, practically daring Republicans to obstruct her. She offered the prospect of an endurable governing coalition that would reach well beyond the core base of Democratic activists.
(Jennifer Rubin more…)
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – January 23, 2026
Tens of thousands of Minnesotans took to the streets today in bitter cold temperatures with wind chills of -20°F (–28°C) to protest the occupation of Minneapolis and St. Paul by federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Status Coup News interviewed a protester walking down the street holding a sign that said: “CLASSIC NAZI BLUNDER: INVADING IN WINTER.”
The protester compared ICE agents to the Ku Klux Klan, noting that both wore masks and raided immigrant communities. …
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)Robert Reich: Minnesota’s General Strike, and America’s
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NY Times: F.B.I. Agent Who Tried to Investigate ICE Officer in Shooting Resigns
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Jess Piper: Mama
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RNS: Inside the effort to organize clergy nationwide to resist ICE
MINNEAPOLIS (RNS) — As she stood at the pulpit at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Thursday (Jan. 22), the Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, a United Church of Christ minister, looked out at the packed sanctuary with tears in her eyes.
Far from the typical flock of Presbyterian worshippers who frequent the church on Sundays, the more than 600 people who filled the pews represented a wide range of faiths — Christians of all kinds as well as Buddhists, Jews, Muslims and Indigenous practitioners, among others.
All were religious leaders who had traveled to Minnesota on short notice, spurred by their faith to oppose President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign in the city.
(RNS more…)
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Above the Law: DOJ Tells Court They Could Deport The Beatles Because It Was Called The ‘British Invasion’
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Wired: US Judge Rules ICE Raids Require Judicial Warrants, Contradicting Secret ICE Memo
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Ken Klippenstein: ICE Making List of Anyone Who Films Them
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WSJ: What Trump Was Really Like at Davos
… This was Davos 2026. Everyone had to decide how to take on America over decisions big (hand over Greenland) and small (stay for Sancerre).
…“When Trump is doing things, you have to follow the money,” said David Rubenstein, chairman of Carlyle Group, in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum just after Trump’s speech. “There’s going to be a lot of minerals, rare earth, gold, copper, whatever might be coming out of [Greenland], if you have a right to exploit it.”
Many Davos attendees acknowledged in interviews that the state of global affairs today is more unstable than at any time in generations. They said the world appeared to be splitting into spheres of influence, forcing business leaders to think about government relations—and risks to their operations—in an entirely new, transactional way.
Some investors said they were anxious about committing capital or decisively moving on new investments. At parties across town all week, U.S. executives acknowledged that deals and partnerships they hoped to ink with international investors didn’t happen because so many of their meetings wound up being discussions about Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy.
(WSJ more…)
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Reuters: US National Park Service removes slavery exhibit in Philadelphia
U.S. National Park Service staff have removed a slavery exhibit from a Philadelphia historic site in line with President Donald Trump’s claims, rejected by civil rights groups, of “anti-American ideology” at historical and cultural institutions.
The exhibit was at the President’s House Site in Independence National Historical Park, where the first U.S. president, George Washington, lived when the Pennsylvania city was the nation’s capital. It described the history of slavery and Washington’s ownership of enslaved people.
The outdoor exhibit was dismantled and removed on Thursday, according to media footage and activists.
(Reuters more…)Daily Kos: Philadelphia fights back against Trump’s racism
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Raw Story: Trump unleashes nearly 100 Truth Social posts overnight in furious tirade
Heather Delaney Reese: Trump spiraled when the truth couldn’t be covered up
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Foreign Affairs: The Unconstrained Presidency and the End of American Primacy
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Jefferson Said It (or Not), It’s All About You (I Mean Me), & A Land With No Laws
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent
— often attributed to Thomas Jefferson
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Lisa Needham: What if we just stopped paying taxes?
… Like many other blue states, Minnesota pays more to the federal government than it takes in. But why should the state continue to subsidize a government bent on destroying it? What if it just … didn’t?
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Wired: ICE Agents Are ‘Doxing’ Themselves
The alleged risks of being publicly identified have not stopped DHS and ICE employees from creating profiles on LinkedIn, even as Kristi Noem threatens to treat revealing agents’ identities as a crime.
(Wired more…)
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zeteo: Bari Weiss’s CBS News Won’t Even Condemn Israel for Killing a CBS Contributor
Margaret Chase Smith: Declaration of Conscience
NPR: January 6, 2021: A visual archive
Accountability Initiative ICE List
GriftMatrix
Trump Action Tracker
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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