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The Short List

Wed Jan 14 2026

Phaedra Trethan | National Correspondent

@wordsbyphaedra

👋🏼 Hi there! I'm Phaedra Trethan, and I'll endure an Arctic blast but I don't have to like it. ❄️ 🥶 😫

In Wednesday's news:

•	ICE detention centers are booming under the Trump administration.
•	Ahead of VP JD Vance's meeting with Denmark officials, President Donald Trump explains why he thinks the U.S. "needs" Greenland.
•	There's good news in the fight against cancer: More people in the U.S. are surviving the disease.

But first: Civil Rights pioneer Claudette Colvin died at 86 . Her life "reminds us that movements are built not only by those whose names are most familiar, but by those whose courage comes early, quietly, and at great personal cost," Montgomery (Alabama) Mayor Steven Reed said. 🕯️

ICE detention centers are booming

More immigrants are being held in detention centers than ever before thanks to the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. Detention centers have expanded dramatically — in terms of their capacity and the number of people being housed in them, and the length of time those people are in detention. We take a look at the reasons for the expansion of these detention centers, as well as where they are, who's being held and how it's being funded.

•	Native Americans were detained in Minnesota immigration raids.
•	Clashes between protesters and federal agents continue in Minneapolis.
•	For the first time in decades, the U.S. had negative net migration.
•	Some laid-off federal employees tasked with de-escalation during protests are being asked to return, USA TODAY has learned.

The number of detention centers across the country has grown in 2025.

Reuters, Getty Images, El Paso Times

Trump: US 'needs' Greenland

President Donald Trump says the U.S. "needs" Greenland for national security purposes, ahead of a planned meeting between Vice President JD Vance and Danish officials. Leaders in Denmark and Europe, though, aren't so sure.

Meanwhile, Denmark and Greenland are beefing up their militaries.

•	Watch: What Danish officials are saying.
•	Greenland is big. Here's some context.
•	Watch: How U.S. action on Greenland might impact NATO.

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Danish armed forces practice looking for potential threats during a military drill as Danish, Swedish and Norwegian home guard units together with Danish, German and French troops take part in joint military drills in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

Guglielmo Mangiapane, REUTERS

Real quick

•	Last year was among the hottest on record, both in the U.S. and globally. 🥵
•	The FBI searched a Washington Post reporter's home and seized her electronic devices.
•	Trump announced the next phase in the ongoing Israel-Gaza peace process. 🕊️
•	The U.S. government admitted to, and apologized for, wrongly detaining and deporting a Massachusetts college student.

Need good news? Here's some!

Cancer survival rates in the U.S. are improving, the American Cancer Society said, lauding the strides in research, prevention, detection and treatment as a "stunning victory" in the fight against an insidious disease affects millions of American families.

Five or more years after diagnosis, seven in 10 people are still living, up from about 50% in the mid-1970s, with the study's lead author saying we're now "turning many cancers from a death sentence into a chronic disease."

🏘️ Living (in) history

"Yes! People really do live here, & have since 1713!"

That's the message to the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia each year. The tiny street, packed with small Colonial-era houses, is among the oldest continuously occupied residential streets in the U.S. So what's it like to live in one of those homes? We found out.

•	Watch: The legacy of Dolly Ottey, the woman who helped preserve Elfreth's Alley.
•	Some of what's in store for America's 250th birthday. 🎂 🎉
•	Want to learn more about America, its history, its people and how we're celebrating 250 years? Subscribe to our weekly USA250 newsletter.

Many of the houses along Elfreth's Alley, like the one that now serves as the alley's museum, were both businesses and residences. The homes are examples of how working-class Philadelphians lived in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Phaedra Trethan

A break from the news

•	This video has me singing "Stray Cat Strut." 🐈
•	Watch: A wildlife enthusiast created a "bird charcuterie." It's oddly soothing. 🐦‍⬛
•	Who doesn't love a great bookstore? This one was inspired by Oprah and Prince Harry. 📚

Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent at USA TODAY. She'd love to hear from readers about The Short List, story ideas from across the nation and your favorite bookstores. (Hers are Inkwood Books in Haddonfield and Labrynith Books in Princeton, NJ.) Email her at ptrethan@usatoday.com.