The News for 1/24/26
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We’ll get back to the music on 120 Minutes in just a moment, but first, it’s 12:30 and it’s time to check the news, for this week, January 24th.
The Minnesota Star-Tribune reported Friday that thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Minneapolis and shut down large parts of the Twin Cities as hundreds of businesses there closed their doors, and workers and students took the day off as part of a general strike to demand an end to what residents there have referred to as government terrorism and a paramilitary occupation of their state by federal agents in ICE and Border Patrol. Tensions have been rising and coming to a boiling point in Minneapolis ever since ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old mother and citizen Renee Good on January 7th. The “ICE Out! Statewide Shutdown” event was put together by labor and faith leaders in Minnesota, the Star-Tribune reported, and culminated Friday afternoon with a large-scale anti-ICE rally held in a downtown arena in Minneapolis. The New York Times reported that the demonstration, which unfolded in bitter cold subzero temperatures, may in fact be the largest, most widespread and organized worker action in the entire history of Minnesota. A New York Times/Siena poll released on Friday found that now 63% of registered voters nationwide disapprove of ICE, saying that the federal agency has gone too far and should be reined in or abolished.
In other news, the World Economic Forum was held in Davos, Switzerland, all week long, and it marked a turning point that historians say marks the crumbling of the world order that has been in place for 80 years since the end of World War II. Donald Trump spoke at Davos on Wednesday in a rambling and largely incoherent address, according to news analysis from the Times. Their reporting summed it up as follows: “For days, Trump insisted that he would accept nothing less than full ownership of Greenland. He dismissed concerns that his demands were risking the disintegration of the primary Western military alliance, and he threatened economic war on anyone who tried to stop him. And then he took it all back.” The chancellor of Germany said at Davos that “the United States’ global pole position is being challenged”, and the prime minister of Canada said Tuesday that the world’s dependence on the United States and its status as a superpower was coming to an end, saying that the Trump administration has caused a “rupture” in the world order.
Meanwhile, The Verge reported Thursday that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have formed a joint venture with 3 major investors so the app can remain available in the United States. Taking over TikTok operations in the U.S. will be tech giant Oracle, the private equity firm Silver Lake, and Emirati MGX, an AI investment company based in the UAE. Oracle’s executive chairman is Larry Ellison, whose son David Ellison took over Paramount last year and reshaped the historic media studio to be friendly to the Trump administration. The move raises questions about TikTok’s proprietary and opaque algorithm. The 2024 law requiring TikTok to have U.S.-based operations was originally passed due to concerns about China’s influence over the algorithm and user data, but The Verge reported that users are now voicing similar concerns about possible U.S. influence over TikTok.
Finally tonight, WKYT meteorologist Chris Bailey reported Friday that a major snowstorm is headed for Lexington. He said that the storm “will shut down the state, bringing significant amounts of snow, sleet and freezing rain with bitterly cold air slamming in as well,” and the new call for snowfall that he issued Friday night now predicts upwards of a foot of snow for Lexington by the time the storm is over Sunday night. Lexington mayor Linda Gorton said people should move their cars off of main roads by 5 p.m. Saturday and that the city will be offering free parking in 4 downtown garages from Saturday morning through Tuesday morning. Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Friday and said, “This is a serious storm that will likely cause dangerous conditions on our roads and potential power outages, which is why we ask that everyone does what they can to prepare now.” Snow is expected to start falling late Saturday afternoon.
And that’s… the news.