The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Tue Jan 27 2026

Nicole Fallert
Reporter & Newsletter Writer

Morning! Welcome to the Daily Briefing. Here's what's breaking this morning:

•	Greenland shut down Trump on sovereignty for U.S. bases.
•	Southwest closed a quirky era in flying.
•	Meet all 232 athletes Team USA is sending to the Milano Cortina Olympics.

Nicole Fallert here, bringing you the news to know on Tuesday, from immigration enforcement in Minnesota to Americans without power amid cold weather. Also: What happens in a polyamorous breakup?

A chilling effect to ICE?

A major tonal shift came Monday after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz described his Monday phone call with President Donald Trump as "productive," saying the president agreed to consider reducing the number of immigration agents in Minnesota and will ensure state investigators can independently probe the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents. Trump himself said the two were on a "similar wavelength."

Also on Monday, the White House announced border czar Tom Homan is being sent to Minnesota as the Trump administration's new point person for immigration enforcement operations while Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has spearheaded the Trump administration's militarized approach to immigration enforcement, is reportedly leaving Minneapolis.

The shifts come against the backdrop of growing backlash after federal immigration agents shot and killed two people in Minneapolis this month. Trump's immigration approval dropped to a new low, a poll found. Republican lawmakers have increasingly called for investigations into the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, as Democrats refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security despite the likelihood of a government shutdown. At the same time, discontent over ICE could risk voters Republicans need in 2026 battleground races.

💬Talk to USA TODAY: What are your thoughts on the latest Minnesota shooting by federal agents? Tell us.

Inside an ICE arrest

"I passed holding cells filled with people who appeared to be of Latino and East African descent. The despondent faces and the screaming, wailing and pleading from these men, women and children – reportedly as young as 5 years old – will forever haunt me. But perhaps more haunting still was the sound of agents nearby laughing. Are our lives all just a joke to them?"

- Minneapolis resident Patty O'Keefe shared an account of her ICE arrest for USA TODAY Opinion.

More news to know now

•	Is more winter weather on the way? A blast of Arctic air has moved south over Canada and is expanding across the eastern half of the U.S., prolonging extremely cold temperatures and raising concerns for those without electricity. Tennessee is one of the states hit the hardest by power cuts.
•	Ex-Olympian in court. Ryan Wedding, 44, who completed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, pleaded not guilty to charges of becoming a cocaine smuggling kingpin responsible for multiple drug-related murders.
•	Sports at the White House? The commissioners of the four major men's sports are expected to visit the White House, possibly as early as Tuesday. Would their visit be seen as a Trump endorsement?

Fashion

Are those ... stolen jewels?

Teyana Taylor after the Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2026 collection show in Paris, France, on Monday

Abdul Saboor, REUTERS

American actor Teyana Taylor stepped out at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Monday wearing a set of ornate jewels inspired by the Louvre jewelry heist in October. Oh, la la!

Dating & relationships

They kicked her out of a 'throuple'

Ashley Ashborn was in a polyamorous "throuple" – until her two partners kicked her out of it, and her life came crashing down. Ashborn, 30, had a husband, the girlfriend they shared and four kids among the three of them. Now, she's healing and documenting her journey online, shedding light on polyamorous relationships.