Happy Thursday Everyone! Todayâs newsletter: 1,206 wordsâŠ4.5 mins
đ Todayâs Edition: The Minneapolis ICE Shooting, Senate Passes War Powers Resolution, Chinese Hackers Breach U.S. House Emails, Trump Familyâs Crypto Firm Wants A U.S. Banking License, Warner Bros. Discovery Rejects Paramount Bid Again ⊠& much more!
đTHE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Left: Renee Nicole Good; Top-Right: Seconds before Renee got fatefully shot as she tried to run over the officer and flee; Bottom-Right: Massive protests break out with some burning an American flag
đ„The Minneapolis ICE ShootingâA Collision of Two Americas
On Jan. 7, an ICE officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during a federal immigration op in Minneapolis. Good was not a target of the raid. She was an American protester. Two realities instantly clashed.
To ICE, get the f*ck outâŠ
đ Version 1: The Federal "Terror" Claim.
DHS states Good âweaponized her vehicleâ to run over officers trying to do their jobâan act of âdomestic terrorismâ and the officer acted in self-defense.
The operation was targeting Somali suspects in large-scale immigration and welfare fraud cases; and she acted to impede that process.
For Trumpâs admin, this is law & order, plain and simple.
đ Version 2: The Local âReckless Provocationâ Claim
Minneapolis PD says Good was merely blocking the road, not a target.
Governor Walz had warned for weeks that these âsensationalizedâ federal raids would get someone hurt.
Good, a mom of three who was living with her same-sex partner after her second husband died in 2023; is seen as a civilian caught in a politicized showdown.
𧚠The Aftermath: The fallout was immediate. Protests erupted, with crowds chanting âShame!â and âICE out of Minnesota!â surrounding officers, burning American flags and staging late-night demonstrations outside hotels housing federal agents.
đč The Footage: Several videos showing the incident from various angles confirm the officer in front of the car was hit and sustained injuries for which he was hospitalized.
The pro-Renee camp insist they see the wheels of the SUV turn away from the officers, and that the fatal shooting was an unnecessary escalation that resulted in the loss of an innocent life.
đŹWhat Theyâre Saying:
⥠President Trump (on Truth Social): âThe woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.â
⥠Gov. Tim Walz: "We've been warning for weeks that the Trump administration's dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety and that someone was going to get hurt."
He even issued a "warning order" to prepare the Minnesota National Guard amid protests, stating the state "doesn't need any further help from the federal government."
⥠Mayor Jacob Frey: "Get the f--- out of Minneapolis... Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite."
đĄWhy it matters: One side sees ICE nabbing criminal fraudsters and an unruly protester impeding their dangerous operation; the other sees racist federal overreach targeting immigrants and a brave civilian standing up for their rights.
But when governors mobilize National Guards to block federal immigration enforcement instead of the rioters, we're past politicsâwe're in a values war where "criminal" vs. "victim" depends entirely on which America you live in.
âïžTHE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
đ„· Salt Typhoon Hits Capitol Hill
Chinese hackers breached email systems used by U.S. House staffers in December (revealed publicly on Jan. 7.)
Who? Hackers linked to Salt Typhoon, a state-backed group tied to Chinaâs Ministry of State Security.
Targets included aides on the China Committee, Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, and Intelligence â aka the people shaping Beijing policy.
Officials say lawmakersâ inboxes werenât confirmed accessed, but the move escalates a campaign thatâs already hit Treasury, telecom networks, and the National Guard.
âĄBottom line: Beijingâs response: âUnfounded speculation.â Washingtonâs worry: This looks less like spying â and more like battlefield prep.
â Trump Pulls the Plug on 66 Global Bodies
President Trump signed a memorandum ordering the withdrawal from â and defunding of â 66 international organizations, including 31 UN-linked entities, in a sweeping strike against what the White House calls âglobalist agendas.â
Targets range from UN Energy and the Peacebuilding Commission to climate, migration, and cultural bodies.
Rubioâs take: Many are âanti-American, useless, or wasteful.â
đĄThe pattern: This builds on Trumpâs earlier exits from WHO, UNRWA, and UNESCO â signaling a hard pivot from multilateralism to America-first diplomacy, no chaperone required.
đ Cambodia Hands Alleged Scam Kingpin to Beijing
Cambodia has extradited Chen Zhi, a billionaire tycoon accused of running a global crypto scam empire, to China after his arrest on Jan. 6.
The U.S. charged Chen last year with stealing billions in cryptocurrency through online fraud operations that allegedly used trafficked workers forced to scam victims worldwide.
The UK sanctioned his Prince Group, and Cambodia has now liquidated Prince Bank, its local subsidiary.
đĄBottom line: Beijingâs message: Arrests are coming. The subtext: Southeast Asiaâs scam economy is finally facing a reckoning.
đœTHE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
đł Senate Pushes Back on Trumpâs Venezuela War Powers
The U.S. Senate advanced a War Powers Resolution 52â47, aiming to limit President Trumpâs authority to conduct further military actions in Venezuela without Congressâs okay â a rare bipartisan rebuke amid fallout from the Maduro capture operation.
Sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY), the measure would require congressional approval before further U.S. force is used.
Supporters argue Trump bypassed constitutional checks and risks further escalation.
Opponents, including Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, say it does not assert Congressâs powers but instead weakens U.S. security.
âĄThe resolution still faces hurdles: it must pass the House and survive a likely Trump veto â and even then it may struggle to enforce real limits on executive military action.
đ WBD Rejects Paramountâs Takeover BidâŠAgain
Warner Bros. Discovery flatly rejected Paramount Skydanceâs $108.4B revised bid yet again calling it a debt-soaked leveraged buyout, burdened with $87B in liabilities.
The board unanimously backed its $82.7B Netflix merger, citing cleaner terms, lower risk and fewer operational restrictions.
âĄParamount Skydance maintains its $30-per-share cash offer remains superior and is urging shareholders to tender by Jan. 21, keeping the bidding contest alive.
đ€ CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AIâs Black Mirror Moments
đ Trump-Linked Crypto Wants a Federal Bank Badge
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto firm backed by Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and partners including the Witkoff brothers, applied for a national trust bank charter from the OCC.
If approved, WLFI could issue and custody its USD1 stablecoin under one federal regulator, instead of juggling state licenses.
Context: Similar charters were granted to Circle and Coinbase in late 2025.
âĄWLFI says the move would help integrate its tokens into traditional finance â a sign that stablecoins are edging closer to the banking system.
đ Morgan Stanley Builds Its Own Digital Wallet
Morgan Stanley plans to launch a digital wallet in late 2026, focused on tokenized assets like private equity and traditional investments.
It will pair with Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana trading on E*Trade in early 2026.
âĄContext: After filing for spot BTC, ETH, and SOL ETFs, the bank is moving beyond third-party crypto products â and building its own regulated crypto infrastructure for wealth and retirement clients.
đș FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
George Washington
This Day In History
January 8th, 1790: George Washington delivers the very first State of the Union Address.