Early Edition: January 14, 2026

A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

IRAN 

At least 2,500 people have been killed in more than two weeks of nationwide protests in Iran as of early this morning, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said, adding that 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated—including 12 children and nine civilians, it said, were not participating in demonstrations—and estimating more than 18,100 people have been detained. Jon Gambrell reports for the Associated Press. 

Two Iranian government officials recently said internal figures put the death toll around 3,000 and possibly higher, the New York Times reported. A senior health ministry official said “about 3,000” people had been killed nationwide—including “hundreds of security officers”—while seeking to shift blame to “terrorists” allegedly fomenting unrest. Another government official said he had seen an internal report referring to “at least 3,000” dead and added that the toll could climb. Erika Solomon, Farnaz Fassihi, Sanam Mahoozi, and Sanjana Varghese report.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff secretly met over the weekend with Iran’s exiled former crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, to discuss the protests in Iran, Axios reported. Axios also reported that the White House national security team met yesterday morning to weigh response options—without President Trump attending—and that Israel shared an assessment with the U.S. estimating at least 5,000 protesters have been killed, according to a U.S. official. Barak Ravid reports.

Accounts emerging from Iran amid a near-total communications blackout describe a “shoot to kill” crackdown on protests, the New York Times reported. Witnesses and hospital workers described security forces opening fire, sometimes “indiscriminately,” with “snipers” positioned on rooftops, an emergency room treating “19 gunshot patients in a single hour,” and a “mass-casualty situation.” Despite the blockade, videos and broadcasts referenced “rows and rows of body bags,” and one protester told the Times: “The regime is on a killing spree.” Erika Solomon, Farnaz Fassihi, Sanam Mahoozi, and Sanjana Varghese report.

Trump escalated his public calls for unrest in Iran yesterday, urging protesters to “KEEP PROTESTING,” “TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!,” and promising “HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” In his Truth Social post, Trump also said he has “cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials” until the regime’s crackdown stops, and told demonstrators to “Save the names of the killers and abusers,” warning they “will pay a big price.” Elwely Elwelly and Bo Erickson report for Reuters. 

Trump said he was consulting with his national security team on next steps as he sought confirmed figures on how many Iranians have been killed or arrested, and urged Tehran to show protesters humanity. He said the killing appeared “significant” and that the U.S. would “act accordingly,” adding that Iran’s government was “badly misbehaving.” Trump said he had yet to receive a confirmed death toll, noting he had heard “five different sets of numbers.” Aamer Madhani reports for the Associated Press. 

Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned Trump’s latest remarks in a formal letter to U.N. officials, characterizing them as “interventionist rhetoric.” Iravani said the comments amounted to a direct call for destabilization, encouraged violence, and threatened Iran’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security. Aamer Madhani reports for the Associated Press.

Users of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service in Iran were able to access the service for free yesterday, according to Holistic Resilience, a U.S.-based group that helps Iranians get online. The group’s executive director, Ahmad Ahmadian, said Starlink’s parent company SpaceX waived fees amid an almost complete communications blackout as mass protests continue. Natallie Rocha reports for the New York Times; Sean Lyngaas reports for CNN.  

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS

A Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) concluded that President Trump had constitutional authority to send U.S. military forces into Venezuela to help arrest President Nicolás Maduro without congressional authorization, revealed a 22-page memo penned by OLC head T. Elliot Gaiser, dated December 23, about 11 days before the operation, and provided to lawmakers yesterday. In its unclassified form, the memo describes the mission as “Maduro’s abduction” and argues the President may act unilaterally if the deployment serves the national interest and its expected nature, scale, and duration fall short of “constitutional war,” even though it involved “boots on the ground” and anticipated fighting. It also argues that even if the operation “violated international law,” that would not “vitiate” the President’s domestic authority under “longstanding precedent,” citing prior OLC views that a president can override the U.N. Charter as a matter of domestic law. To support the legality of U.S. forces assisting FBI arrests abroad, it points to precedents including operations linked to the 1998 Africa embassy bombings and the 2012 Benghazi attack, and it builds on a 1989 William Barr OLC opinion asserting “inherent constitutional authority” to seize suspects overseas, treating the only operative limits as domestic ones such as the Constitution and the War Powers Act. Charlie Savage reports for the New York Times; Natasha Bertrand and Zachary Cohen report for CNN. 

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE

The Trump administration will announce today it is moving to “Phase 2” of its Gaza plan and will name a temporary Palestinian committee to run day-to-day governance of the enclave, U.S. officials said. The U.S. is expected to identify 15 Palestinian technocrats for a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) to manage basic services, while appointing former U.N. envoy Nickolay Mladenov as “high representative” to oversee implementation through a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace,” whose membership has not yet been disclosed. Some regional officials remain skeptical because Hamas has not explained whether or how it will disarm under the ceasefire terms. Robbie Gramer, Alexander Ward, and Anat Peled report for the Wall Street Journal. 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DEPARTURES 

At least six senior prosecutors in the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division have departed in recent days amid broader internal turmoil. Reuters reported that some sources linked the exits to dissatisfaction with the division’s Trump-era direction and to Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon’s decision to sideline the unit from the Minnesota ICE shooting probe. DOJ, however, said the attorneys had already given notice and pursued an early-retirement program well before the shooting, and other reporting similarly suggested the departures were not driven by that specific case. Dhillon told the unit last week it would not be involved in the Minnesota probe, Reuters reported. Andrew Goudsward and Mike Spector report for Reuters; Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post; Sarah N. Lynch and Scott MacFarlane report for CBS News. 

Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota, including the U.S. attorney’s office’s second-in-command, resigned yesterday amid escalating tension with Justice Department leadership over the Minneapolis ICE shooting investigation. The New York Times reported they were driven by DOJ pressure to investigate the victim’s widow and reluctance to investigate the shooter or the lawfulness of the use of force, including resistance to involving state officials in the probe. CNN said some departures also stemmed from pressure to investigate others tied to ICE protests, and CBS News added sources were frustrated that the case was being treated as an assault-on-a-federal-officer matter rather than a civil rights investigation. Ernesto Londoño reports for the New York Times; Evan Perez reports for CNN; Aki Nace, Caroline Cummings, Jonah Kaplan, Sarah N. Lynch, and Michael Kaplan report for CBS News.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for Somali nationals will terminate on March 17 under the Trump administration, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services notice confirmed, citing improved conditions in Somalia. The program, intended to protect migrants who cannot safely return home, currently covers 2,471 Somali nationals, with another 1,383 TPS applications pending. Madeleine Ngo reports for the New York Times. 

ICE agents in Minnesota have recently arrested dozens—potentially more than 100—Somali refugees, including children, and sent many to detention facilities in Texas, lawyers and advocates say. The arrests come after the Trump administration said it would “re-examine thousands of refugee cases” through new background checks and moved this week to end TPS for Somali nationals. Miriam Jordan reports for the New York Times. 

Around 1,000 additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began deploying to Minneapolis last Friday, with deployments continuing through the weekend, CNN reported, on top of roughly 2,000 ICE officers and agents already in the area. CBP Commander Gregory Bovino said “hundreds and hundreds” of additional federal agents are being deployed to Minneapolis under “Operation Metro Surge,” warning that undocumented immigrants, particularly those with criminal histories, “should probably be very scared.” CNN also reported that Bovino was already on the ground last week with hundreds of agents conducting targeted operations, including door knocks. CBS News reported that Minneapolis had 800 CBP agents on the ground, according to a Homeland Security official who called it “the largest DHS operation in history.” Priscilla Alvarez reports for CNN; Emma Tucker reports for CNN; Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports for CBS News.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

President Trump criticized a group of U.S. attorneys at a White House photo event Thursday, calling them “weak” and complaining they were not moving fast enough to prosecute targets he favors, according to people familiar with the exchange. Last week, dozens of U.S. attorneys who run prosecutors’ offices nationwide went to the White House, anticipating a routine, ceremonial photo opportunity. After Attorney General Pam Bondi introduced the group, Trump told them they were ineffective and said their performance was making it harder for Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to do their jobs, the people said. Sadie Gurman, C. Ryan Barber, and Josh Dawsey report for the Wall Street Journal.  

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said Monday that federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., are investigating her after she helped organize a video urging military service members to resist illegal orders. Slotkin said she learned of the inquiry from the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, after Pirro’s office emailed the Senate sergeant-at-arms requesting an interview with Slotkin or her private counsel. Pirro’s office declined to confirm or deny any investigation, and it remains unclear what specific crime officials believe the video implicates. Greg Jaffe reports for the New York Times.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday expanded the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices by appointing two obstetrician-gynecologists who have sharply criticized vaccination, including during pregnancy. HHS named the appointees as Kimberly Biss and Adam Urato; the Washington Post reported that a review of their past interviews, podcasts, and social media found their criticism “goes deeper” than pandemic-era objections. In a December 2022 podcast, Biss said, “I was not anti-vaxxer, but I am now,” and later called the vaccine industry “disgusting,” adding, “My grandchildren will not get any shots if I can help it,” according to the Post. Lena H. Sun reports for the Washington Post. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) assistant chief counsel James “Jim” Joseph Rodden has returned to work in Dallas immigration court after the Texas Observer identified him as the alleged operator of the “GlomarResponder” X account that posted white-supremacist and other hateful content. The Observer reported that, after its initial story, Rodden was apparently pulled from federal immigration court schedules, and ICE said its Office of Professional Responsibility “understands the seriousness of the allegations” and would address them, but it has provided no further public update. After receiving a tip, the Observer went to Dallas Immigration Court yesterday and reported that Rodden was seated at the prosecutors’ desk in Judge Deitrich H. Sims’s courtroom. Steven Monacelli reports for the Texas Observer. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

A federal court will hear today Oregon’s motion to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking access to the state’s statewide voter registration data, arguing the complaint fails to state a claim. The DOJ sued Oregon and Secretary of State Tobias Read after the state declined to provide an unredacted statewide voter file and instead offered voter data available through public-records channels; DOJ cites the NVRA, HAVA, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Oregon voters and a nonprofit group have intervened, warning that turning over unredacted files would expose sensitive personal information.

A federal judge in Boston suggested the Trump administration consider issuing a student visa to resolve what he called a “bureaucratic mess” involving Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 19-year-old Babson College student deported to Honduras in violation of a court order. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns raised the visa option at a hearing yesterday after the government acknowledged an ICE officer “made a mistake” and failed to properly flag an order barring Lopez Belloza’s deportation; an assistant U.S. attorney apologized on the government’s behalf. Stearns did not immediately rule on Lopez Belloza’s request for relief, including a motion seeking to hold officials in contempt, but asked what remedy the government proposed given that “we have a real human being here.” Nate Raymond reports for Reuters. 

OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

Transcripts of secret testimony given in 2022 to a special purpose grand jury in Atlanta in the Georgia election interference investigation indicate that several senior Republicans privately dismissed President Trump’s claims of widespread 2020 election fraud, the New York Times reported. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the claims “unnerving”; Gov. Brian Kemp described Trump’s push to get Georgia lawmakers to intervene as a “fruitless exercise;” and former Georgia House Speaker David Ralston called the fake electors plan “the craziest thing I’ve heard.” The Times obtained the transcripts this week after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee last week lifted a November 2023 order that placed restrictions on disclosure of much of the discovery material. Richard Fausset and Danny Hakim report. 

House Oversight Republicans said they will begin contempt proceedings next week against former President Bill Clinton after he did not appear for a subpoenaed deposition in the committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation, and warned they could take the same step against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if she skips her scheduled deposition today. In an eight-page letter, the Clintons’ counsel argued the subpoenas are “invalid and legally unenforceable,” offered sworn statements instead of in-person testimony, denied having relevant knowledge, and accused Chair James Comer of pursuing a politically driven process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment.” Kate Santaliz reports for Axios; Annie Karni reports for the New York Times; Bhargav Acharya and Nolan D. McCaskill report for Reuters. 

The BBC and two BBC Studios entities told a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, that they will move by March 17 to dismiss President Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit, and asked the court to stay merits discovery while allowing only limited jurisdictional discovery. In a court filing Monday, the BBC argues Florida lacks personal jurisdiction because the program was not created, produced, or aired in Florida, and contends the complaint fails to state viable defamation and Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act claims. It also argues Trump cannot show cognizable damages given he won reelection after the broadcast, including carrying Florida by a wide margin, and warns merits discovery would be sweeping and burdensome, raising First Amendment and cross-border complications. Yang Tian reports for BBC; Reuters reporting.  

A Virginia state court yesterday rejected an emergency bid by Republican legislators to block a proposed constitutional amendment that could allow Democratic lawmakers to redraw Virginia’s congressional map as part of a broader effort to counter GOP gerrymanders. The Tazewell County Circuit Court denied a temporary restraining order, holding that courts cannot intervene midstream in the legislature’s constitutional-amendment process and may review only after the legislature completes the relevant action.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in two challenges to Idaho’s and West Virginia’s bans on transgender girls playing on girls’ and women’s school sports teams—cases that could affect roughly 27 states with similar laws. The justices focused not only on the merits (how to define sex, what level of constitutional scrutiny applies, and whether the bans amount to unlawful discrimination) but also on threshold issues, including whether the Idaho case may be moot after plaintiff Lindsay Hecox sought to withdraw and stopped competing—prompting concerns about forcing “an unwilling plaintiff” to stay in a politically charged suit. The conservative majority appeared inclined to let the bans stand, though several justices signaled interest in a narrower ruling that preserves room for states that keep trans-inclusive sports policies. Josh Gerstein and Bianca Quilantan report for POLITICO; Lawrence Hurley reports for NBC News; CNN reporting.  

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said yesterday that Greenland would rather remain part of the Danish Kingdom than join the United States, a day before officials from the three governments are set to meet at the White House today. Nielsen rejected President Trump’s insistence that he would seek to take over Greenland “whether they like it or not,” and said that if Greenland had to choose between the United States and Denmark “here and now,” it would choose Denmark — along with NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the European Union. Maya Tekeli and Amelia Nierenberg report for the New York Times. 

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Independent counsel Cho Eun-suk yesterday urged the Seoul Central District Court to sentence former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to death on rebellion charges tied to his brief December 2024 martial law declaration. Yoon—removed from office in April 2025—faces multiple criminal trials stemming from the episode and other allegations; the court is expected to rule in February, though observers view life imprisonment as more likely than execution. Joyce Lee and Kyu-Seok Shim report for Reuters; Hyung-Jim Kim reports for the Associated Press.