News Wrap: Minnesota sues feds to stop immigration enforcement surge

Geoff Bennett:

We start the day's other headlines in Minnesota.

State and city officials are suing the federal government to try to stop the surge of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and St. Paul. It comes just days after a 37-year-old woman, Renee Good, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.

The Department of Homeland Security says it's pushing more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota as part of a crackdown targeting fraud in the state. This afternoon, Minnesota's attorney general said the increased action is jeopardizing community safety.

Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General:

Thousands of poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the state -- of the federal government have rolled into our communities, overwhelmed our local police departments. And law enforcement agencies should be focused on our public safety. But, instead, many are dealing with the aftermath of DHS agents' chaos and violence.

Geoff Bennett:

Meantime, another tense scene unfolded between neighborhood activists and federal officers just blocks from where Good was shot. This crowd formed after ICE agents reportedly rear-ended a bystander's car. Officers then fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.

Also today, Illinois state officials in the city of Chicago sued the Department of Homeland Security over what they called unlawful and dangerous tactics carried out by federal agents. Federal officials have defended their work in both Illinois and Minnesota, saying it's necessary to carry out President Trump's immigration agenda.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is suing the Pentagon over its attempts to punish him for urging members of the military to refuse illegal orders. In his lawsuit, the former U.S. Navy pilot argued that the First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that he was censuring Kelly, a procedural step that could lead to a demotion and a cut in retirement pay. In November, Kelly and five other Democrats released a video calling on troops not to follow orders if they are unlawful.

Greenland is asserting its place inside of the NATO military alliance as President Trump continues to push the idea of a U.S. takeover. The government there released a statement today saying: "As part of the Danish Commonwealth, Greenland is a member of NATO and the defense of Greenland must therefore be through NATO."

It comes after President Trump told reporters last night that the U.S. would have Greenland one way or another.

But NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte today chose to focus on what he sees as cooperation, not conflict.

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary-General:

And I applaud the fact that our colleagues who are bordering on the Arctic have come together, have worked together and have decided to get NATO more and more involved. That's the United States, that's Canada, that's Iceland, Denmark and the other European countries bordering on the High North, all seven, but, of course with the whole of the alliance.

Meantime, China also weighed in today, pushing back on President Trump's claims that the U.S. needs to take Greenland to prevent China or Russia from doing so. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the U.S. should not use other countries, in their words, as a pretext for pursuing its own interests.

Venezuela's interim government said today it had released more than 100 political prisoners, though human rights groups say the number is far lower. That comes as opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado asked Pope Leo today for his help in securing more prisoner releases. She's due to meet with President Trump on Thursday.

Separately, Mr. Trump says he's inclined to freeze ExxonMobil out of Venezuela's oil market after its CEO called the Venezuelan market uninvestable.

In New York City, nearly 15,000 nurses walked off the job today after contract negotiations hit a wall over the weekend. It's the largest nurses strike in the city's history.

(Chanting)

Geoff Bennett:

Striking workers gathered outside locations linked to three private nonprofit hospital groups. Demands vary by hospital, but the nurses union says staffing levels and workplace safety are among the key issues.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani showed up in support of the workers and pointed out that hospital executives are raking in millions.

Zohran Mamdani (D), Mayor of New York City: This strike is not just a question of how much nurses earn per hour or what health benefits they receive, although both of those issues matter deeply. It is also a question of who deserves to benefit from this system.

Geoff Bennett:

The hospitals say the union's demands are too costly. In a statement, New York Presbyterian said: "We're ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play and also recognizes the challenging realities of today's health care environment."

The hospitals have hired temporary nurses to help in the meantime, though some sites have canceled surgeries and tried to discharge patients ahead of the strike.

In Mississippi, the FBI says the suspect in a synagogue fire admitted to targeting the site because of its -- quote -- "Jewish ties." The FBI says Stephen Pittman confessed to lighting the fire inside the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson this past weekend. He was charged today with maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive.

No one was injured, but the synagogue's library and administrative offices were damaged. Beth Israel was founded in 1860. It was bombed by the KKK in the 1960s over its rabbi's support for civil rights.

Paramount Skydance is ramping up its efforts to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Today, the company said it would name its own slate of directors to the Warner Bros. board. And it filed a lawsuit seeking information on how Warner Bros. decided that a rival offer from Netflix is better than its own.

Warner Bros. has already rejected multiple takeover efforts from paramount. Instead, it's urging shareholders to back the sale of its streaming and studio businesses to Netflix in a $72 billion deal.

On Wall Street today, stocks managed modest gains, as traders brushed off early concerns about President Trump's battle with the Fed. The Dow Jones industrial average added more than 80 points on the day. The Nasdaq managed a gain of about 60 points. The S&P 500 also ended higher, rising about 10 points.