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The Short List

Thu Jan 15 2026

Phaedra Trethan | National Correspondent

@wordsbyphaedra

👋🏼 Hello, Thursday! I'm Phaedra Trethan, thinking about spring (and baseball!) on a cold, windy January day. ⚾️ ❤️ ⚾️ ❤️

In Thursday's news:

•	Amid growing unrest in Minnesota and another ICE-involved shooting, President Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act.
•	Twenty people have been indicted for allegedly fixing college basketball games.
•	New details are emerging in the murders of an Ohio couple.

But first: Heads up! It's iguanas-falling-from-trees season in Florida. 🦎

Minnesota on the brink

Tensions are ratcheting up ever higher in Minnesota: On Wednesday night, there was another ICE-involved shooting, a week after the fatal shooting of Renee Good. Protesters and federal agents are clashing, and on Thursday, President Trump threated to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely-used action that would give Trump the authority to deploy U.S. armed forces on American soil, against American people. The latest.

•	The man shot by federal agents Wednesday has been identified. What we know.
•	The family of Renee Good is launching its own inquiry into her fatal shooting by an ICE agent and revealing new details about the morning she was killed.
•	Photos and videos help paint a visual picture of the situation in Minnesota.
•	Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had a message for residents who encounter ICE agents.
•	What is the Insurrection Act? The reality behind the threat.

Federal agents stand guard after deploying tear gas as community members protest after federal law enforcement agents were involved in a shooting incident, a week after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, in Minneapolis.

Ryan Murphy, Reuters

Feds net 20 in basketball gambling scheme

In October, a gambling scandal enveloped the NBA. Now it's college basketball's turn.

Federal investigators announced Thursday that 20 people have been indicted in an alleged scheme to fix college basketball games and professional games in China. Gamblers allegedly got players to agree to point-shaving in games from 2022-25; charges include bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy.

Real quick

•	The NTSB says Boeing knew about a UPS plane's faulty part before it crashed in November, killing 15 people.
•	U.S. astronauts returned home safely from a mission to the International Space Station that was cut short due to a health issue.
•	Americans do not want the U.S. to annex Greenland, polls show.
•	A federal appeals court upheld California's redistricting maps.

'She was terrified'

Investigators in Ohio say they've recovered the weapon allegedly used to kill a couple at their home while their young children were left crying, but physically unharmed in a December. The ex-husband of Monique Tepe, killed along with her husband Spencer, is accused of killing them both in what Columbus' police chief called "a targeted attack."

Spencer and Monique Tepe of Columbus, Ohio, are pictured on their wedding day.

Courtesy of Rob Misleh

Verizon outage a warning sign?

Can you hear me now? For several hours Wednesday, millions of people who rely on Verizon's wireless network had to say, "No."

The outage impacted more than 1.5 million people, and experts say outages like that carry real dangers — and there might be more of them . The carrier didn't say why the outage occurred, but offered a credit and an apology to customers. But for nearly 10 hours, users couldn't call, text or use internet from their devices.

A break from the news

•	Ever wonder what happens to unsold Girl Scout cookies at the end of the season? We got the answer. 🍪
•	File this one under Unlikely But Adorable Friendships. 🐶 🦌
•	If you cuff an emu's legs, can you still call them "handcuffs"? 🤔

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 whether you, like her, can't wait to see warm weather and baseball. Email her at ptrethan@usatoday.com.