lsanderson | 2026.01.06

A major deployment of Department of Homeland Security agents is underway in the Twin Cities, according to CBS News. “The crackdown could involve roughly 2,000 agents … The plan is for the agents and officers to oversee a 30-day surge in operations in the Twin Cities area, making the region the first major target of the Trump administration’s expanded immigration crackdown in the new year, officials said. Agents deployed from Homeland Security Investigations are expected to probe alleged cases of fraud, building on last month’s inspection of dozens of sites in the Minneapolis area.” Via MinnPost
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/minneapolis-federal-agents-crackdown/

What are we supposed to make of Tim Walz not running for a third term?
The governor’s remarks Monday were an admission that Medicaid fraud has subsumed his administration.
by Matthew Blake
https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2026/01/what-are-we-supposed-to-make-of-tim-walz-not-running-for-a-third-term-re-election/

Now that Gov. Tim Walz has dropped out of the race for a third term as Minnesota’s governor, there is a lot of speculation surrounding possible Democratic candidates. MPR News has the latest on who’s in, who’s out and who might be considering a run. MinnPost’s Washington, D.C. correspondent Ana Radelat also has some insight on possible candidates. Via MinnPost
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/05/who-is-running-for-minnesota-governor-in-2026-with-tim-walz-out

Amy Klobuchar, other Dems eye a run for governor in wake of Walz decision
Secretary of State Steve Simon and Attorney General Keith Ellison are among the Democrats weighing the opportunity.
by Ana Radelat
https://www.minnpost.com/national/washington/2026/01/as-walz-bows-out-of-governors-race-amy-klobuchar-other-dems-eye-a-run/

Could a Minnesota governor appoint themself to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat?
by Brian Arola
https://www.minnpost.com/fact-briefs/2026/01/could-a-minnesota-governor-appoint-themself-to-fill-a-vacant-u-s-senate-seat/

Trump suggests US taxpayers could reimburse oil firms for Venezuela investment
President says a ‘tremendous amount of money’ will need to be spent repairing country’s infrastructure
Guardian staff and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/06/trump-us-taxpayers-oil-firms-venezuela-investment

US justice department has released less than 1% of Epstein files, filing reveals
Federal law required majority of documents to be released by 19 December, but only 125,575 pages have been published
Richard Luscombe
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/06/epstein-files-release-justice-department

January 6, five years on: sustained effort by Trump to rewrite history
President and Republican allies have tried to make sure the deadly attack on the Capitol has been erased from memory
Sam Levine
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/06/january-6-trump-us-capitol-attack

US will be exempt from global tax deal targeting profits of large multinationals
Agreement finalised by the OECD waters down a landmark 2021 deal that set a minimum global corporate tax of 15%
Guardian staff and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/06/us-exemption-oecd-global-tax-deal-multinational-companies

Many schools don’t think students can read full novels anymore. That’s a tragedy
Margaret Sullivan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/06/many-schools-are-assigning-excerpts-of-novels-to-read-instead-of-full-books-why

Arizona supreme court evacuated after package tests positive for explosives
Department of education, across the street from the supreme court, also evacuated
Abené Clayton
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/05/arizona-supreme-court-evacuated-package-explosives

Narnia! Dune! Charli xcx! The 2026 films Guardian writers are most excited about
From much-anticipated sequels to music mockumentaries to auteur returns, the next 12 months offers up a wide variety of intriguing new movies
Andrew Pulver, Adrian Horton, Veronica Esposito, Benjamin Lee, Jesse Hassenger, Radheyan Simonpillai, Andrew Lawrence, Richard Lawson and Catherine Shoard
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/jan/06/new-film-releases-2026

The strangest thing: is the future of cinema … not new movies?
Netflix’s big-screen release of the Stranger Things finale is estimated to have made over $25m at the US box office, the latest example of event cinema proving popular
Jesse Hassenger
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jan/06/non-traditional-cinema-releases

Industry season four review – truly twisted, top-tier television
It may only be January, but you already know this banking drama is going to be one of the year’s best shows – a daring, debauched and jaw-dropping treat
Hannah J Davies
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jan/06/industry-season-four-review-bbc-one-iplayer-hbo-binge

Snow, ice and a penguin count: photos of the day – Tuesday
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world
https://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2026/jan/06/snow-ice-and-a-penguin-count-photos-of-the-day-tuesday