by Adam Johnson | Jan 14, 2026 | Article, Iran, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Trump, Venezuela
The Trump White House took time out this weekend from openly mocking and threatening Venezuela, and justifying US immigration forces executing an unarmed American woman while ordering the FBI to investigate her widow, to, once again, feign concern for human rights in Iran. And, once again, US media dutifully lined up to repeat this clearly absurd motivation as genuine without any an ounce of critical reporting, context, or pushback.
Almost every major outlet has taken Trump’s alleged motivation for potentially bombing Iran of defending Iranian demonstrators at face value:
Wall Street Journal (1/11/26): “…a sign the president is considering reprimanding the regime for its crackdown on demonstrators as he has repeatedly threatened.”
New York Times (1/10/26): “Mr. Trump has not made a final decision [to bomb Iran], but the officials said he was seriously considering authorizing a strike in response to the Iranian regime’s efforts to suppress demonstrations set off by widespread economic grievances.’
New York Times (1/13/26): “…the Trump administration is simultaneously considering a range of measures, including possible military strikes, to try to prevent further killings of protesters.”
CNN (1/11/26): “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 Iranian regime should it use lethal force against civilians.”
Washington Post (1/11/26): “The Trump administration is considering military options in response to the crackdown…”
Washington Post (1/13/26): “Trump’s escalating rhetoric and the soaring death toll from inside Iran come as the White House said this week that his administration was weighing diplomatic options while considering potential responses [to the
by Sarah Lazare and Amie Stager | Jan 14, 2026 | Article, ICE, Minneapolis, Politics and Movements: US, Prisons and Policing, Reprint, Unions
This story originally appeared in Workday Magazine on Jan. 13, 2026. It is shared here with permission.
This article is a joint publication of Workday Magazine and In These Times.
Unions and community groups gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning to announce a day of “no work, no school, no shopping” on January 23 to oppose the ferocious assault on the state by federal immigration authorities.
“We are facing a tsunami of hate from our own federal government,” Abdikarim Khasim, a Minnesota rideshare driver, told the crowd. “We’re going to shut it down on the 23rd. We’re going to overcome this.”
JaNaé Bates Imari, representative of the church Camphor Memorial UMC., told the crowd that the joint action will be “a day when every single Minnesotan who loves this state—who loves the idea of truth and freedom—will refuse to work, shop and go to school. We are asking every single person, every family member, every teacher, every bus driver, every childcare worker, to come together, to be in community, to stand with one another.”
“What we have witnessed, what we have all gone through, is not normal,” she added. “We have seen through several videos the murder of one of our own, Renee Good. We have witnessed violence, over and over again. Families being ripped apart, loved ones being torn from their hospital beds, from their workplaces, homes. Violence is no longer a threat but a reality that surrounds us.”
Major labor unions in Minnesota are supporting the call, including Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005, SEIU Local 26, UNITE HERE Local 17, CWA Local 7250, and St.
by Stephen Prager | Jan 14, 2026 | Article, ICE, Minneapolis, Politics and Movements: US, Prisons and Policing, Reprint
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Jan. 13, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents deployed to Minnesota are pulling many nonwhite residents aside and asking them to prove their citizenship, according to several reports and multiple videos posted to social media this week amid the Trump administration’s surge of immigration agents to Minneapolis.
There is no federal law requiring US citizens to carry proof of their citizenship, and immigration agents are barred from carrying out indiscriminate searches unless they have reasonable suspicion to believe that someone is in the country without authorization.
And yet, one video, posted on Sunday by a Somali resident of Minneapolis, a US citizen named Nimco Omar, shows a group of agents accosting her and asking her to show her identification as part of what they said was a “citizen check.”
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Omar said she was on a walk when masked agents who “looked like soldiers” approached her and began questioning her.
The video shows one of the agents asking Omar, “Do you have an ID on you, ma’am?”
She replied: “I don’t need an ID to walk around in my city. This is my city.”
“OK, do you have some ID, then, please?” the officer asked. “If not, we’re going to put you in the vehicle, and we’re going to ID you.”
Omar responded: “I am a US citizen. I don’t need to carry around an ID in my home. This is my home.”
After being repeatedly asked, “Where were you born?” Omar replied simply, “Minneapolis is my home.”
The agent then told her: “We’re doing an immigration check. We’re doing a
by Brad Reed | Jan 12, 2026 | Article, doj, Economy, Economy and Inequality, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint, Trump
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Jan. 12, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
The US Department of Justice’s decision to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has ignited a major backlash that even has some Republican senators drawing a line in the sand.
Shortly after Powell released a video on Sunday accusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) of waging an “intimidation” campaign against him on behalf of President Donald Trump, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) blasted the administration, accusing them of trying to compromise the independence of America’s central bank.
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” said Tillis, who further vowed to “oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved.”
On Monday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) backed up Tillis’ pledge to oppose any nominees for the Federal Reserve until the criminal probe of Powell, whose term as Fed chair is due to end in May, has been resolved.
Murkowski also revealed that she spoke with Powell and determined that “it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion” aimed at affecting his decisions on US monetary policy.
“The stakes are too high to look the other way,” Murkowski emphasized. “If the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer.”
Trump can only afford to lose the support of four Republican senators in a vote for a new Fed chair, which means Tillis and Murkowski’s vows not to support any nominee until the case
by Brad Reed | Jan 12, 2026 | Article, Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint, Unions
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Jan. 12, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
Thousands of nurses are hitting the picket lines in what will be the largest nurses strike in the history of New York City.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) on Monday announced that nearly 15,000 nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian are going on strike after “greedy hospital management at these wealthy private hospitals have given frontline nurses no other choice.”
The NYSNA posted a long list of sticking points on contract negotiations, including “safe staffing for our patients, protections from workplace violence, and healthcare for frontline nurses.”
NYSNA president Nancy Hagans said that any patients in need of care at these hospitals should enter them, emphasizing that “going into the hospital to get the care you need is not crossing our strike line.” She also encouraged patients to join the picket line with the nurses after receiving care.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke out in solidarity with the striking nurses, while also emphasizing the importance of “ensuring New Yorkers have the care they need… especially during flu season.”
“No New Yorker should have to fear losing access to healthcare,” Mamdani wrote in a social media post. “And no nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits, or less dignity for doing lifesaving work. Our nurses have kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also expressed support for the striking nurses, while denouncing “NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore, and Mount Sinai hospitals for being willing to spend millions on replacement nurses rather than bargain for a fair contract.”
The NYSNA also got a boost from
by Isabela Escalona | Jan 9, 2026 | Article, ICE, immigration, Minneapolis, Politics and Movements: US, Prisons and Policing, Reprint
This story originally appeared in Workday Magazine on Jan. 09, 2026. It is shared here with permission.
On Friday morning, around 150 parents, students, and educators gathered for a press conference at Lake Hiawatha Park in South Minneapolis to demand ICE leave Minneapolis. The event took place two days after federal agents detained an on-duty school staffer and member of the Minneapolis Federation of Educators (MFE) at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis.
Only a few hours after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident and mother Renee Good on January 7, federal immigration enforcement agents descended onto Roosevelt High School property during school dismissal as students were exiting the building. MFE members say that ICE agents tackled and detained a school staff member and union member who was working at the time. The agents also deployed a chemical irritant against students and staff on school grounds, MFE says. A school official, speaking to MPR News on condition of anonymity, said many students sheltered in a nearby library.
Christin Crabtree, a Minneapolis Public School (MPS) parent, witnessed the ICE events at Roosevelt High School on Wednesday. Crabtree was driving by the school when she saw what she described as federal agents creating a scene of “chaos and terror” as students were exiting the school building. “United States federal agents created an assault upon our students and community on district property, in front of the place meant to educate, nurture, inspire, and grow our future generations,” Crabtree said at the press conference. “This is not safety. This is indiscriminate violence intended to stoke fear and division.”
Natasha Dockter, a social studies teacher in Minneapolis and MFE’s
