What we're covering
• ICE protests: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem today stood by the comments she made immediately after the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. More demonstrations are planned today after nationwide outcry over the shooting spilled into the streets of cities across the US yesterday.
• Iran intervention: President Donald Trump is weighing a series of potential military options in Iran following a deadly crackdown on protests in the country, two US officials told CNN, as he considers following through on his recent threats to strike the country should they use lethal force against the Iranian people.
• Venezuela’s oil: Meanwhile, Trump is pressing ahead with his plans for the US to overhaul Venezuela’s oil industry after removing Nicolás Maduro from power. American energy executives have been noncommittal, so far.
Cuba pushes back after Trump’s demand to make deal: "The US is behaving like a criminal"
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel rebuffed US President Donald Trump’s demand to make a deal on Sunday, saying the country is an independent and sovereign nation that won’t be bossed around.
“No one dictates what we do,” the Cuban leader said on X. “Cuba does not aggress; it is aggressed upon by the United States for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the Homeland to the last drop of blood.”
He also said those who turn everything into a business, “even human lives,” have no moral authority to point fingers at his country.
Earlier, Trump ramped up pressure on the communist island, saying he “strongly suggests” making a deal with Washington and that it won’t receive any more money from Venezuela’s oil industry.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said the Caribbean country has an “absolute right” to import fuel from economic partners without US pressure.
He also rejected Trump’s claim that Cuba provided “security services” to Venezuela in exchange for oil and money.
“The US is behaving like a criminal and uncontrolled hegemon that threatens peace and security not only of Cuba and this hemisphere but of the entire world,” Rodriguez said.
Noem added new restriction on congressional ICE facility visits day after Minneapolis shooting
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem barred lawmakers from visiting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detention facilities without a week’s notice, as political tensions mount following the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent.
Noem issued the directive on Thursday, according to a statement from DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, due to “escalating riots and political violence targeting buildings and facilities used by ICE.”
Protests have broken out in Minneapolis and around the country after Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Wednesday. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Saturday that most demonstrators have acted peacefully, but warned that those who damaged property or endangered others would be arrested.
McLaughlin argued that Noem is acting to “ensure adequate protection for Members of Congress, congressional staff, detainees, and ICE employees alike.”
“Unannounced visits require pulling ICE officers from their normal duties. This guidance has been issued to protect all parties and ensure that ICE and DHS are fully cooperating with lawful court orders,” the statement continues.
Though a federal court in DC ruled late last year that US lawmakers have the right to visit facilities funded by Congress, DHS said ICE detention facilities are funded by President Donald Trump’s domestic policy law, which is exempt from that mandate.
Former acting ICE director says operations have seen a "radical shift" in tactics
Recent ICE operations across the US have seen a “radical shift” in tactics that remove agents from their core missions and training while exposing them to greater danger, former Acting ICE Director John Sandweg said on Sunday.
“What I’m looking at generally in this is wondering, how did we get ICE officers in a position where we are today? We have seen a shift in tactics at ICE that has increased the number of assaults on the agents themselves, exposing them to greater danger,” Sandweg said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Sandweg’s comments come in the wake of Wednesday’s ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis that killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.
Sandweg, who was the acting director from 2013-2014, said in the past the majority of ICE’s arrests would be of individuals already in custody by other agencies.
“We’ve shifted ICE to where they’re doing a lot more at-large street operations. We’ve pulled these Border Patrol up off the street, outside their normal operating environment. Instead of the Southwest desert, they’re now in these urban cities. And then we’ve preannounced that we’re coming, thus giving these protesters an opportunity to get organized and forcing these agents to have to deal with this,” he added.
“All of this is a radical shift, and when you take these officers out of their core experiences, and really different than their core training, unfortunately, what happened in Minneapolis and what’s happening kind of writ large with these use of force incidents, is really what you have to expect,” Sandweg said.
Trump tells Cuba to "make a deal before it's too late"
President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post today ramped up the pressure on Cuba, saying he “strongly suggests” the nation make a deal with Washington and that it won’t receive any more money from Venezuela’s oil industry.
“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided “Security Services” for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!” Trump wrote.
The post continued: “Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years. Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!”
“I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” he added.
Cuba for decades has relied on massive aid packages from its ally, oil-rich Venezuela, for its survival. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s capture during a US operation, and Trump’s announcement that Venezuela will turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the US, could therefore lead to economic trouble for Cuba’s communist government.
The Cuban government, in a post on Facebook, said 32 of its citizens were killed during the US operation to capture Maduro “in combat actions, performing missions on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, at the request of counterparts of the South American country.”
Virginia Gov. Youngkin touts JD Vance for 2028
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called Vice President JD Vance a “great” option for a 2028 presidential nominee, while still not ruling out his own bid for the 2028 GOP ticket, in a new interview.
“I think as people speculate on what’s going to happen down the road in 2028, I agree with President Trump and Marco Rubio,” the Republican governor said in an interview on “FOX News Sunday.” “I think JD Vance would make a great, great presidential nominee.”
Youngkin’s term as Virginia governor concludes this week as the one-term position will turnover to Democrat Gov.-elect Abigial Spanberger on Saturday. Youngkin said in November that he will not run for US Senate, but he has been rumored as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
While supporting Vance, the governor did not rule out the possibility of his own run for president. He instead said he is focused on finishing out his term in Virginia and stressed the importance of Republicans maintaining both majorities in Congress later this year with victories in the 2026 midterm elections.
“I think the most important thing we can do, just like Vice President Vance said recently, is stay focused on the here and now.” Youngkin said when asked if he would run. When pressed again for a yes or no, he just reiterated that Vance would be a great nominee.
Democratic senator doesn't rule out seeking ICE restrictions in government funding negotiations
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, of Minnesota, said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement should be “reformed, not abolished,” after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in her home state, and she added that she’s willing to withhold her vote on a key funding bill in Congress over the issue.
“Clearly, I see a role in our country for strong border security, but we need to get serious about what is actually happening with this unaccountable agency that is not abiding by any of the laws or the procedures that we would expect to see from professional law enforcement,” she told CNN’s Manu Raju on “Inside Politics Sunday.”
Smith, who is retiring after this term, left the door open to joining her progressive colleagues who have urged the party to draw a “red line” over demands to include ICE restrictions in ongoing negotiations to pass funding bills to avert a shutdown by the end of the month.
“It is hard for me to imagine how I could vote to support a budget bill for the Department of Homeland Security, given how the Department of Homeland Security is functioning right now in my community. I want to see work done that would bring some serious reforms to ICE,” she said.
Smith also cast doubt on the federal government’s ability to conduct a legitimate probe of the shooting, as administration officials blame rhetoric by Democrats for the violence.
“I don’t see how we can trust the outcome of this probe when they are blocking out state investigators and when the people that are in charge, that are in power in the Trump administration, have already said what they think has happened here,” she said. “It seems clearly that it would be a prejudiced investigation to me.”
Noem says domestic terrorism comment after Minnesota ICE shooting wasn't a rush to judgment
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem today stood by the comments she made immediately after the shooting death of a Minnesota mother by an ICE officer last week, when she said Renee Good committed an act of domestic terrorism by trying to run over an ICE agent.
“If you look at what the definition of domestic terrorism is, it completely fits the situation on the ground,” Noem told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
She added: “This individual, as you saw in the video that we released just 48 hours after this incident, showed that this officer was hit by her vehicle. She weaponized it, and he defended his life and those colleagues around him and the public.”
Pressed on how she could have asserted that there’s no ambiguity in the situation or Good’s motives before an investigation plays out, Noem said she had spoken to the officers and their supervisors and watched videos before she went to speak at the press conference after the shooting.
Noem did not acknowledge the possibility that Good could have been fleeing the scene.
“The facts of the situation are that the vehicle was weaponized, and it attacked the law enforcement officer. He defended himself, and he defended those individuals around him,” Noem said.
Context: On the day of the shooting, Noem held a press conference where she said good “refused to obey (the ICE officer’s) commands. She then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle and she attempted to run a law enforcement officer over. This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents; an act of domestic terrorism.”
Noem says Trump is focused on "consequences" for people who attack police officers despite Jan. 6 pardons
When confronted on CNN’s “State of the Union” with a video of January 6, 2021, rioters, who were pardoned by President Donald Trump, attacking law enforcement, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that laws are equally enforced under the Trump administration.
Anchor Jake Tapper asked Noem if she believes that law enforcement would have been justified in using deadly force against those attacking them on January 6, based on her assessment of the Minneapolis shooting.
“Every single situation is going to rely on the situation those officers are in,” Noem said. “But they know that when people are putting hands on them, when they are using weapons against them, when they are physically harming them, that they have the authority to arrest those individuals, and make sure they’re facing the consequences.”
Pressed on Trump pardoning people who assaulted police officers that day, Noem said Trump is focused on equally enforcing laws.
“Every single one of these investigations comes in the full context of the situation on the ground,” Noem said. “That’s one thing that President Trump has been so focused on, is making sure that when we’re out there, we don’t pick and choose which situations are and which laws are enforced and which ones aren’t. Every single one of them is being enforced under the Trump administration.”
Tapper responded, “I showed you video of people attacking law enforcement officers. Undisputed proof, undisputed evidence, and I just said, ‘President Trump pardoned all of them,’ and you said that President Trump is enforcing all the laws equally. It’s just not true.”
Noem responded: “These instances and these investigations all have to be taken and done and done correctly in context of every situation that is happening on the ground,” adding that her department is making sure it is “targeting the worst of the worst, and that we’re talking factually about each situation.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar says ICE is creating "chaos" in wake of Minnesota shooting
Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said the federal government is stoking “chaos” with its heavy-handed immigration enforcement efforts in the wake of last week’s shooting death of a US citizen.
“What we have seen in Minneapolis is ICE agents oftentimes jumping out of their cars. These are unmarked cars. Oftentimes they’re wearing a mask. They’re approaching, running towards cars. They’re pulling people out of those cars. Oftentimes, these people are citizens,” Omar said Sunday on CBS’ “Face The Nation.”
“What they are doing is creating confusion, chaos, trying to intimidate people from being able to exercise their regular, normal activities that they would,” she added.
Omar’s comments come in the wake of Wednesday’s ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis that killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.
Omar said it is important for Americans to “create the level of accountability and transparency that we need” when it comes to ICE-involved activities.
“Oftentimes these people have documentation of their legal right to be in this country, and we know that DHS has lied repeatedly when it comes to these accounts, so it is even more important for there to be recording from eyewitnesses every single time these actions are taking place,” Omar said.
“There is no reason to have over 2,000 people coming into our city and creating the level of terror that they have,” she added.
Energy Secretary says "process" for US investment in Venezuela “off to a strong start,” despite skepticism
It’s “quite likely” that American companies will have an expanded presence in Venezuela but exactly how that’s going to work will “unfold over time,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday, despite skepticism in the industry about Venezuela being a viable investment.
“Venezuela has been a very dangerous, very destabilized place,” Wright told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
“With United States influence now, by controlling the sale of their oil and therefore the flow of funds into the country, we think we will see relatively rapid change, improvement on the ground in Venezuela.”
These comments come after President Donald Trump met with more than a dozen energy executives at the White House Friday as his administration is working to convince the companies to reinvest in Venezuela. Several of the executives expressed reluctance, warning that the industry would first need to secure extensive security and financial guarantees before beginning a yearlong effort to ramp up oil production.
“We had a great meeting with oil executives. We sort of formed a deal,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to depart to Mar-A-Lago for the weekend.
Noem says DHS sending "hundreds more" CBP officers to Minneapolis today and tomorrow
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that they are sending “hundreds more” officers to Minneapolis today and tomorrow.
“We’re sending more officers today and tomorrow, they’ll arrive. There will be hundreds more in order to allow our ICE and our Border Patrol individuals that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely,” Noem said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
A DHS spokesperson clarified to CNN that Customs and Border Patrol officers will be sent.
Noem criticized Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for what she called a failure to help and work alongside ICE’s efforts, accusing them of putting criminal undocumented immigrants above their constituents.
“They’ve said they’re not going to help us, so we’ll make sure that we protect our officers, but we also follow through on making sure these criminals are brought to justice,” Noem said.
Noem tells Walz and Frey to “grow up”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem today called on officials in Minnesota to “grow up,” following their complaints that federal officials aren’t cooperating with state and local officials on investigating the killing of a Minnesota woman by an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent.
Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union,” about those complaints, Noem homed in on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who she said have politicized the shooting and encouraged “destruction” and “violence” in the city.
“They’ve extremely politicized and inappropriately talked about the situation on the ground in their city. They have inflamed the public. They have encouraged the kind of destruction and violence that we have seen in Minneapolis the last several days,” Noem said. “I would encourage them to grow up, get some maturity, act like people who are responsible, who want people to be safe, and the right thing be done.”
As for DHS, Noem said, “We do work with locals when they work with us, but on the investigation piece of it, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have a process and a protocol that we’ve always followed, and we’re doing the same thing in this situation.”
Noem clarified that she wanted local officials to work with DHS to arrest criminal undocumented immigrants.
Border czar Tom Homan to ICE critics: “Stop the hateful rhetoric”
White House Border Czar Tom Homan asked people who are critical of the response to the deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis to “tone down the rhetoric” and defends the officer involved.
“I truly believe this officer, in his mind, thought his life was in danger which allows him to use lethal force,” Homan said Sunday in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” today.
“Let the investigation play out,” Homan said pointing to other potential evidence that could emerge. “There’s a lot of video we probably haven’t seen that the FBI has that we don’t. Where’s the forensics and the ballistics? That hasn’t been released. How about the officer’s statements?”
“We need to let this play out, but while we’re doing that, we’ve got to stop the hateful rhetoric,” Homan said. “Saying this officer is a murderer is dangerous. It’s just ridiculous. It’s going to infuriate people more, which means there’s going to be more incidents like this because the hateful rhetoric is not only continuing, it has tripled down and doubled down.”
As Homan made the point that people should wait for more details, he was pressed multiple times on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to say the woman who was shot and killed during the incident was committing an “act of terrorism.”
“I’m not going to judge what the secretary says, but if you look at the definition of terrorism it certainly can fall within in that,” Homan said. “I think we’ve all got to agree, there’s no reason for this lady to do what she did.”
Homan said people have the right to protest, but he warned protesters: “Don’t actively impede and interfere, and certainly don’t drive a 4,000-pound vehicle toward an officer.”
Trump weighs potential military intervention in Iran
President Donald Trump is weighing a series of potential military options in Iran following deadly protests in the country, two US officials told CNN, as he considers following through on his recent threats to strike the country should they use lethal force against the Iranian people.
Trump was briefed in recent days on different plans for intervention, the officials told CNN, as violence in the country has led to dozens of deaths and arrests. Some of the discussions have also included options that do not involve direct US military force, one of the officials said.
The president has not yet made a final decision on intervention, the officials said, but he is seriously considering action as the death toll in Iran continues to rise.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” Trump posted to social media on Saturday. “The USA stands ready to help!!!”
On Friday, Trump told reporters that if Tehran engaged in deadly violence against protestors, the US would “get involved.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Saturday about the ongoing protests, two sources familiar with the call said. The leaders also discussed the situation in Syria and Gaza, they said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday it is “monitoring developments” in Iran as the country enters its third week of anti-government protests.
Minneapolis mayor pushes back on Noem’s claims on ICE shooting
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pushed back today on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s claims surrounding the shooting death of a Minnesota mother by an ICE officer last week.
Frey strongly condemned the incident and urged ICE officers to get out of Minneapolis after 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good was shot and killed by a federal officer in Minneapolis Wednesday.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” moments earlier, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Good had been engaging in domestic terrorism and that Frey needed to tone down his rhetoric around the incident.
“She’s calling Minneapolis this dystopian hell hole. You know how many shootings we’ve had so far this year? Two, and one of them was ICE,” Frey told Tapper.
Frey doubled down on his assertion that the officer who shot Good was “a federal agent recklessly using power that ended up in somebody dying.”
“Am I biased in this? Of course. I’m biased, because I got two eyes. Anybody can see these videos, anybody can see that this victim is not a domestic terrorist,” Frey said.
The mayor called for an independent investigation into the shooting.
“It should be a neutral, unbiased investigation, where you get the facts,” he said. “And by the way, I shouldn’t be the one conducting the investigation, nor should Kristi Noem, but you should have an entity that is able to do it with some common sense and operating in reality.”
Warner says he opposes holding up government funding over demands for ICE restrictions
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner expressed no appetite today to potentially force another government shutdown over demands to place restrictions on ICE after a fatal shooting by an agent in Minneapolis.
“I think we went through the longest government shutdown in American history last year. I don’t think we need to repeat it,” Warner told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
Some progressives have been urging the party to draw a “red line” in negotiations over ICE provisions in a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the fiscal year.
Warner, who voted against the GOP-led short-term package last fall to reopen government through this month, urged Congress to forge ahead with bipartisan appropriations bills and “keep the government operating.”
The Virginia Democrat said “we’re starting to see a little bit of splintering” as some lawmakers cross party lines on bipartisan initiatives, like the five Republicans who crossed party lines and backed advancing a resolution to limit President Trump’s war powers in Venezuela.
“Congress has got to provide some level of check on Donald Trump again,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner: Trump's "morality" shouldn't determine military intervention in Iran
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said today there should be more checks on President Donald Trump’s ability to intervene militarily around the world than the president’s own “morality.”
“We’re depending on Donald Trump’s morality to decide whether we put troops in harm’s way. That is not what our Constitution set up. That is why our country was founded on the notion that one individual can’t take our country to war. You’ve got to consult with Congress, which this president has completely blown off throughout his whole first year,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
Trump suggested in an interview with The New York Times last week that his “morality” was the only thing that could stop him from wielding American military power abroad. The paper also reported this weekend that the president has been briefed on new options for strikes in Iran as unrest mounts amid anti-regime protests.
Warner acknowledged that leaders like Nicolás Maduro are “bad guys,” but added, “the last thing I thought was Donald Trump was going to be the world’s policeman for his moral view of the world. That’s not what, I think, we signed up for.”
He argued that the US should put “as much pressure in support of the Iranian people” on the region as possible, but warned that military intervention could lead to strategic consequences and impact the “internal dynamics” of Iran.
“I want to know what the president talking about. Is he simply talking about another airstrike? Is he talking about boots on the ground in Iran to take out military facilities?” Warner asked, pointing out that an aircraft typically stationed in the Middle East is currently off the coast of Venezuela. “We get stretched pretty thin.”
US "ready to help" Trump says in message of solidarity with Iran protesters
Elsewhere, President Donald Trump said yesterday the US is ready to help the Iranian people — without spelling out what that help might look like — posting a message in solidarity with those standing up to the Iranian regime.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday.
Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, today also told the Iranian people that they’ve caught the president’s attention, forecasting that their “long nightmare” would soon be over.
“Your bravery and determination to end your oppression has been noticed by @POTUS and all who love freedom,” Graham said on X.
Graham elaborated on what he believes Trump means by “Make Iran Great Again” and signaled “help is on the way.”
“It means the protestors in Iran must prevail over the ayatollah. That is the clearest signal yet that he, President Trump understands Iran will never be great with the ayatollah and his henchmen in charge. To all who are sacrificing in Iran, God bless. Help is on the way,” Graham said.
Without elaborating further on what role the Defense Department might play, Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted Trump’s message that “The USA stands ready to help” the Iranian people.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also posted yesterday that “The United States supports the brave people of Iran.”
Anti‑ICE protests held across US after fatal shooting of Renee Good
Nationwide outcry over the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent spilled into the streets of cities across the US on Saturday, with protesters demanding the removal of federal immigration authorities from their communities and justice for the slain Renee Good.
In Minneapolis, snow flurries drifted down as thousands of people gathered in parks, along residential streets and outside federal buildings, chanting Good’s name, whose death has become a focal point of national outrage over federal authorities’ tactics in US cities while carrying out President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
Similar protests unfolded across the US – from Los Angeles and New York to Washington, DC, El Paso and Boston. More than 1,000 demonstrations were planned across the country this weekend by the “ICE out for good” national coalition of advocacy groups.
“The response to ICE’s horrific killing of Renee Nicole Good is loud, peaceful, and inescapable,” coalition member group Indivisible said in a Saturday Facebook post accompanied by images of protests in multiple cities.
Read the full story here.
Trump has set his sights on acquiring Greenland. The island is home to valuable resources
President Donald Trump has renewed his calls for the US to take control of Greenland, telling reporters last week that if he is not able to acquire the Arctic territory “the easy way,” then he will have to “do it the hard way.”
Officials and residents in the autonomous Danish territory insist it is not for sale.
Here’s part of the reason why control of the island is so significant:
