Center Square

Following a second fatal shooting in Minneapolis involving immigration officials, a prominent law enforcement organization is urging the White House to bring together local, state and federal law enforcement to identify a “constructive path forward” amid rising tensions.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police argues that rising tensions among federal law enforcement officials in communities like Minneapolis are putting a “significant strain on public safety systems.”
The organization is calling on the White House to exercise “its convening authority” to bring together officials from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to discuss current policies in hopes of lowering tensions between civilians and law enforcement.
IACP underscored the need for proper training in accordance with the law to build community trust.
“In times of uncertainty, officials at all levels play a critical role in de-escalating tensions by using measured, responsible rhetoric that reinforces lawful processes and public trust rather than deepening division,” according to a release from the organization.
The Center Square reached out to the White House to request information on whether the administration planned to convene a discussion with law enforcement leaders. They underscored the desire to coordinate with all law enforcement to remove “criminal aliens.”
“President Trump has made it clear he wants to work with state and local governments to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American cities. The Administration has had tremendous success doing so in states that cooperate. Democrat leaders in Minnesota should cooperate with the federal government to remove criminal illegal rapists, murderers, and pedophiles instead of providing them sanctuary.” Abigail Jackson, White House spokeswoman, told The Center Square.
The IACP request preceded a conversation between President Donald Trump and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Monday, which the president described as “very good” as the two leaders try to find common ground.
During a press briefing at the White House Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expanded on the Trump administration’s demands for Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to cooperate with immigration officials.
Leavitt said the White House is demanding that the Democratic leaders “turn over all criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in their prisons and jails,” in addition to “any illegal aliens with active warrants or known criminal history of immediate deportation.”
The second demand is that local and state law enforcement “must agree to turn over all illegal aliens who are arrested by local police.” The third calls on local law enforcement to assist federal authorities in “apprehending and detaining illegal aliens who are wanted for crimes.”
“If Governor Walz and Mayor Frey implement these commonsense cooperative measures that I would add have already been implemented in nearly every single other state across the country, Customs and Border Patrol will not be needed to support ICE on the ground in Minnesota. Ice and local law enforcement can peacefully work together, as they are effectively doing in so many other states and jurisdictions,” Leavitt said during the briefing.

A systematic organization behind riots in Minnesota exposed through leaked group chats is under investigation, says FBI Director Kash Patel.
Patel said the FBI is investigating what is legal and illegal in the protests. He added that he was also made aware of reporting done by Cam Higby, a self-described “independent investigative journalist and political commentator” according to his website.
Higby says he infiltrated the encrypted Signal group chats used by those rioting.
“We look at all this stuff,” Patel said. “As soon as Higby put that post out, I opened an investigation on it. We immediately opened up that investigation because that sort of Signal chat, being coordinated with individuals not just locally in Minnesota – but maybe even around the country – if that leads to a break in the federal statute or a violation of some law, then we are going to arrest people.”
Reports on the ground and from the Signal chats say protestors are well-organized, have means of communication they are using to coordinate tracking of federal law enforcement, and even have a database they are using to input license plate numbers and dox agents.
Patel said that, while peaceful protesting is legal, that would not be permitted.
“You cannot create a scenario that illegally traps and puts law enforcement in harm’s way,” Patel said. “We have to let the community know that we will not tolerate acts of violence.”
Higby first released information about the Signal chats on Saturday, the same day federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The shooting was the third in 18 days by federal agents in Operation Metro Surge.
“I have infiltrated organizational signal groups all around Minneapolis with the sole intention of tracking down federal agents,” Higby said in his initial social media post. “Each area of the city has a signal or several signals.”
Higby says protestors have handbooks, training manuals and webinars, and dispatchers. TCS has not confirmed the findings.
Other reports accuse various state officials of being involved in the chats, including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. TCS has not confirmed the reports.
Flanagan has not responded to the accusations, which quickly began spreading online. She has been previously outspoken against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, urging community members at a recent event to “get trained up.”
“Enough is enough,” Flanagan said on Saturday. “They are killing us in the streets. The Senate cannot send one more penny to ICE.”
Flanagan is running in 2026 to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate.
Since Saturday, riots have only further escalated. Second-term Democratic Gov. Tim Walz deployed 1,500 members of the National Guard, and federal officials have continued their enhanced enforcement of federal immigration law.
President Donald Trump said local and state officials are contributing to the rising tensions, both through their rhetoric and by refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement.
On social media, he wrote that “sanctuary cities and states are refusing to cooperate with ICE, and they are actually encouraging leftwing agitators to unlawfully obstruct their operations.”
The second-term Republican president said “Democrats are putting illegal alien criminals over taxpaying, law-abiding citizens, and they have created dangerous circumstances for everyone involved.”
He said the loss of two lives was at the hands of Democrats causing chaos.

Malibu is open for business, but officials say more time is needed to get the famous beach city back in the shape it was in before the devastating Palisades Fire.
With a population of around 10,500 people, Malibu has businesses that did not burn during the January 2025 blaze. But access to them has become more difficult with the Pacific Coast Highway essentially serving as a construction road with a 25 mph speed limit.
“This would be a huge challenge if it were New York or Los Angeles,” said Maryam Zar, CEO of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce. Zar noted it’s an even bigger challenge for a city of Malibu’s size.
“Given the fact that it’s Malibu, I think the city needs all the support that it can get to be able to manage,” Zar told The Center Square.
The Palisades Fire burned 23,448 acres along coastal Los Angeles County and resulted in 12 deaths and the destruction of 6,833 buildings.
The disaster is referred to as the Palisades Fire after the coastal Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, which is near Malibu. The small city is known for its mix of movie stars and everyday residents, living side by side with beachfront homes in a community that stretches for more than 30 miles south along the Pacific Ocean toward Santa Monica. Malibu is well-known as a city that has been featured in countless movies and TV shows.
Because of the fire’s name, “people forget or maybe underestimate the impact of the fire on Malibu,” Zar said.
The chamber CEO called the impact devastating and said full recovery will take time.
“It’s going to be years in the making, and it’ll be complicated,” said Zar. “Add to that the fact that Malibu has always been and it has purposefully been a slow-growth city. And that’s not because city government is inept.
“It’s because that’s how Malibu wanted it to be, so you’re talking about a recovery that requires Malibu to almost bifurcate its policies and say, ‘We have one set of policies that are directed at swift rebuilding for those places that were impacted by the fire,’ ” she said. “And then we have our underlying slow growth ethos, which means that we’re not going to allow this to be a reason or a pretext under which we have to endure great development.”
That, said Zar, is hard to do for a small city.
Malibu Mayor Marianne Riggins said recovery has been slow, but nearly two dozen new businesses have opened since the fire.
“Obviously, we did lose quite a few businesses, but some new ones have come in and taken their place,” Riggins told The Center Square. “So we are really excited about what we have seen as far as people investing and wanting to open their small, local business in our community.”
Longtime business owners include Helene Henderson, who opened Malibu Farm in 2013 at the start of the Malibu pier.
These days, Henderson said business is pretty good on a nice, sunny weekend. Weekdays, however, can be more challenging.
“A lot of locals were displaced, so there are fewer people here,” Henderson told The Center Square. “Tourism to Malibu seems to be down, but I think that’s for all of Los Angeles.”
Henderson said things won’t get back to normal anytime soon. She pointed to the number of people who were displaced, both in Malibu and Palisades, along with the challenges nearby in the Topanga Canyon.
“The No. 1 thing we always need is people to come out on weekdays,” said Henderson. “Weekends are very busy and then the weekdays are very slow, and that makes it very hard from an operational standpoint. It makes it very difficult from a staffing standpoint.”
Henderson said most staff want full-time jobs working five days a week, not just Saturdays and Sundays.
Melissa Smith, owner of SweetBu candy shop, can relate.
The store opened in 2017, and Smith said business in 2025 was extremely slow from January to June.
“Business has not come back to its fullest since,” said Smith. “Even the holidays were not where it should be.”
Smith encourages consumers to come visit, tell others and shop at small businesses.
“Order online,” added Smith.
While business owners face their share of challenges, residents are rebuilding homes.
As of Jan. 15, Malibu had owners of 22 homes getting permits for reconstruction and close to 500 permits overall for repairs and other things for homes that did not burn down but were still impacted by the fire.
Riggins described permits to a “team sport” between the property owner and the city.
The city’s role is to confirm each project complies with local zoning and building codes, the Malibu mayor said.
The property owners and their teams show what they want to build and provide proof they’ve complied with codes and completed structural engineering, Riggins said. She said the work can include civil engineering if there’s grading.
The mayor said the city’s role is to review those plans and make sure they comply with minimum code standards.
Malibu has opened a center to assist property owners with their needs. For example, the center houses Malibu’s planners, building plan checkers and environmental health specialists to review details with property owners.
“So they have a one-stop shop that property owners and their team can come in and get answers to all their questions,” said Riggins. “They will schedule a meeting, and they will have every group represented in that meeting and available to them.”
Zar said Riggins is the perfect woman for this moment.
“Marianne’s background is actually city planning,” the chamber CEO said. “She’s absolutely right.”
Pointing to Los Angeles, Zar said the city has suspended some paperwork to move things along, but “government cannot slash every rule for this recovery.”
“In L.A. they’ve suspended the California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA], and they’ve suspended Coastal Commission review, which is aimed at streamlining. And that’s great. But if the trade-off is that we’re going to end up having homes that negatively impact our environment, we might not be happy about it 20 years from now,” said Zar.
Just as someone in Los Angeles has to go through many hoops to get something done, Zar said people in Malibu have to go through “half a dozen loops.” The beach city still requires property owners to submit the things needed to get a project approved, she noted.
Riggins added that more state and federal assistance would be welcomed.
“FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] does offer reimbursement for a lot of things and repairs, so we are definitely looking to have those reimbursements processed as quickly as possible through FEMA,” the mayor said. “The state, through their Office of Emergency Services, offer assistance for repairs and rebuilding, and so we’ve been diligently filling out our paperwork. But we’re eager to see some of those reimbursements because we have had both a lot of damage to our public infrastructure, but also the things that we need to stand up to make sure that the residents are supported so that we are able to focus on their rebuilding.”
While Riggins and others are waiting, they invite people from out of town or out of state to visit and shop in Malibu.
“We welcome everybody, whether you are coming to visit the beaches or you are coming to hike on one of the public trails that are here, see the parks that are here,” said Riggins. “Please stop in on our stores, on our restaurants, and grab something, whether it is one of our seafood restaurants or picking up a sandwich or a burrito from one of our places. We kind of have something for everybody here.”
Zar is also doing her part.
“One of the things that we’re trying to stand up is a PaliBu marketplace,” said Zar. “It’s a digital marketplace for all the businesses, and once we stand this thing up, if anybody wants to help Malibu, go on and shop.”
Travel on the PCH can be difficult, but the Chamber of Commerce has asked the California Department of Transportation to suspend the 25 mile-an-hour speed limit in the afternoons and on Sundays to make it easy for people to be able to go to dinner or brunch in Malibu.
“Right now with the 25 mile-an-hour speed limit, nobody wants to get on that road,” Zar said. “But we’re saying, ‘We understand that there’s construction and there’s stuff that needs to happen on that road, but when the workers are gone, pick up the pace so that we can get people out there.’ “

A year into President Donald Trump’s second term, American energy dominance has advanced as promised, confirmed by affordable power and reliable energy, and seen in the termination of the war on coal, according to energy advocates.
Spokesman for energy workers advocacy group Power the Future Larry Behrens told The Center Square that “one year of President Trump’s American Energy Dominance agenda is delivering what decades of green failures never could: affordable power and real global strength.”
“One year ago, our 4-year unwanted subscription to the Green New Scam was cancelled and not a moment too soon,” Behrens said.
“American Energy Dominance doesn’t happen by accident, it is the result of putting our workers, families and national security ahead of destructive climate mandates,” Behrens said.
America’s Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth stressed to The Center Square the importance of Trump’s moves to bring reliable energy back into the power equation, coal in particular.
“Since taking office, President Trump has taken concrete steps to restore America’s energy dominance by recognizing the essential role of coal alongside other dependable energy sources,” Bloodworth told The Center Square.
“His administration has started to reverse policies forcing the premature retirement of coal-fired power plants and has emphasized an all-of-the-above energy strategy centered on reliability, affordability, and domestic production,” Bloodworth said.
America’s Power is a national trade organization that advocates on behalf of the U.S. coal fleet, according to its website.
Bloodworth explained to The Center Square that “for American families, energy dominance includes ensuring affordable electricity and reliable service, especially during periods of extreme weather.”
“Coal-fired power plants provide around-the-clock, fuel-secure electricity that helps stabilize prices and prevent blackouts,” Bloodworth said.
“By working to keep these plants operating, the President’s approach helps protect households – particularly low- and middle-income families – from rising electric bills and unreliable power,” Bloodworth said.
Additionally, Bloodworth stated that “as electricity demand grows rapidly from data centers, artificial intelligence, and electrification, the importance of coal cannot be ignored.”
“Coal plants provide dependable baseload power and on-site fuel security, and preserving America’s coal fleet is one of the most immediate and cost-effective ways to maintain grid reliability, strengthen national security, and support economic growth,” Bloodworth said.
The U.S. Department of Energy issued a release outlining “promises made, promises kept” in regards to energy one year into the Trump administration’s second term.
“With President Trump and Secretary Wright’s leadership, the Energy Department has ushered in an unprecedented era of energy dominance, resulting in record energy production and more affordable prices,” a department news release said.
The release notes how gas prices have reached a five-year low of $2.80 a gallon, the U.S. is leading in oil production – producing more than Russia and Saudi Arabia combined – as well as in natural gas, and how the nation has withdrawn from conservation standards so that costs are lowered and consumer choice is restored.
The release mentions Trump’s ending the war on “beautiful, clean” coal and strengthening the fossil fuel’s role in “powering America,” as well as describes efforts in the nuclear energy field.
“The next American Nuclear Renaissance has arrived,” the release said.
“DOE has taken numerous actions to accelerate the development of next generation nuclear technology and restore domestic supply chains,” the release said.
Additionally, the release stated that over the past year, U.S. national security has been made “a priority by reducing U.S. dependence on foreign supply chains.”
The Department of Energy has not yet responded to The Center Square’s two requests for comment.

Illinois members of Congress are speaking out following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, emphasizing the need for a transparent investigation and accountability.
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, said in a statement that the incident “is deeply concerning and demands a comprehensive and transparent investigation with full cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement.”
“I support the mission of our federal law enforcement officers and the critical role they play in keeping communities safe,” said LaHood. “However, with their authority, officers must be held to the highest professional and ethical standards to maintain public trust. Any use of force must be lawful, justified, and subject to full accountability.”
LaHood’s comments come as accounts of the shooting differ.
Federal officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, say Pretti “was brandishing” a gun when he was shot, but local authorities say video suggests he may have been shot after a scuffle during which the weapon was removed.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Rockford, called the shooting “murder.”
“Today is different. What happened in Minneapolis is different,” Sorensen said. “We were right in this country to speak, to protest, to open up a phone and shoot video on the street. We also have a duty as Americans to protect our neighbors, and every person, whether you wear a badge or not, must follow the law. What happened this morning was murder, and I demand that it be called that.”
Sorensen also called for legislative action, urging the Senate to push back against what he called “this blatant assault on the Constitution and the rights of Americans” and encouraging citizens to contact their senators to hold the Department of Homeland Security accountable.
“We can and all should be supportive of law enforcement, but that also means the law enforcement follow the law,” he said.
Democratic senators say they will oppose any Department of Homeland Security funding bill that includes DHS money in the wake of the Minneapolis shooting, a stance that raises the risk of a partial government shutdown this week.
In a recent social media post, U.S. Rep. Mary Miller said, “Democrats aided and abetted a foreign invasion by millions of illegals, and now threaten to shut the government down to obstruct the enforcement of our immigration laws.”
Miller saidPresident Trump and House Republicans put America first and Democrats put America last.
Sorensen urged other leaders to speak out.
“Every elected leader, Democrats and Republicans, I am waiting to hear meaningful words from every one of you,” he said.
Sorensen added that citizens and officials alike must organize to uphold constitutional rights.
“What can we do? Well, we can get organized, and it’s more about being on the right side of history than it is being in any political party. I will continue to use my power to force this administration to abide by the Constitution and its laws,” he said.
Pretti reportedly was active in a Minnesota Signal group aimed at tracking ICE. Encrypted Signal messages reviewed by Fox Newsshow anti-ICE “rapid responders” tracking and calling for “backup” around federal agents near Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis before the shooting occurred.

Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, called on Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to resign after she said people who feel they are in danger are legally allowed to shoot masked federal law enforcement officers.
Mayes made these comments in an interview with 12News, where she said, “We have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.”
Mayes told the news outlet she was not advocating for shooting law enforcement. However, she asked, “How do you know they’re a peace officer? That’s the key … If you’re being attacked by someone who is not identified as a peace officer, how do you know?”
Kavanagh told The Center Square that Mayes’ comments about people being able to legally “shoot law enforcement officers if their faces are covered and they’re wearing non-traditional SWAT-type uniforms is false.”
He added that this comment by the attorney general was “irresponsible and incendiary.”
Her comments are “putting the lives of federal and local law enforcement officers engaged in such dangerous work at risk,” the state senator explained.
“She needs to recant her statement and resign in disgrace,” Kavanagh said.
“Kris Mayes is the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Arizona. She has just given drug cartel members [and] dangerous criminals a license to kill cops,” he noted.
Kavanagh said if cartel members or dangerous criminals kill a cop, they will use the attorney general’s comments as a “defense.”
“ I don’t want to see the chief law enforcement officer of Arizona as the star witness for the defense in a gang banger or drug cartel member’s murder trial when they kill a cop,” Kavanagh told The Center Square.
According to Kavanagh, Democrats have “become so insanely anti-immigration enforcement that they’ll demonize immigration officers at every chance they get.”
He described federal law enforcement officers as “sworn officers who took an oath to enforce the immigration law that is law of the land.”
America’s immigration laws are democratic laws “that need to be enforced,” Kavanagh explained.
“President Trump got elected because he said he would enforce [immigration laws], and the Democrats lost because they opened our border,” he told The Center Square.
Besides Kavanagh, U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Surprise, condemned Mayes’ statement.
“Kris Mayes’ comments justifying the murder of our ICE agents were reprehensible but entirely predictable. This is the natural consequence of elevating a far-left political activist to Arizona’s top law enforcement position,” he noted.
Hamadeh said nothing in Arizona’s Stand Your Ground Law gives citizens the right to use lethal force against law enforcement.
Arizona Police Association Executive Director Joe Clure, an organization that represents more than 12,000 police officers, said law enforcement “is inherently dangerous work,” but Mayes’ recent comments “have the potential to make it even more dangerous.”
“ICE agents are sworn federal law enforcement officers carrying out the lawful duties of the federal government. Publicly speculating about how someone might legally justify shooting an ICE agent sends a dangerous and irresponsible message, particularly in an already tense and polarized environment,” Clure said.
“Words from elected officials matter. It only takes one unstable individual to interpret such commentary as permission or encouragement to use deadly force against police officers,” he added.
In a video on Sunday, Mayes said the “idea that [she] would want the life of any member of law enforcement put in danger is wrong and offensive.”
“It is an outright lie,” she added.
Mayes said state residents do “not want masked agents entering their homes without warrants.” She called these actions “un-American” and threatening to “the rights and safety of everyone in our state.”
“ICE’s behavior is destroying the public’s trust in law enforcement and putting every American, including local law enforcement, in danger. It will take years, if not decades, to undo the damage that has been done over the past 12 months,” Mayes noted.
The Center Square reached out to Mayes’ office for comment, but it did not respond before press time.
But Arizona Senate Democrats voiced their support for Mayes in a statement.
“Violence and chaos are not welcome in Arizona,” the Democrats said. “Attorney General Kris Mayes knows this, and she’s fighting to protect Arizonans in a new political reality where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is increasingly comfortable violating the civil rights of U.S. Citizens and those here legally. This is about public safety, and Attorney Mayes is right. We are unfortunately likely to experience a tragedy in Arizona if the ICE enforcement actions continue as they have been.”
“The Attorney General was describing our new legal reality – not encouraging anyone to harm law enforcement,” the Senate Democrats continued. “She was warning that unconstitutional and irresponsible procedures can create tragic events and that no one should have to guess whether the armed person breaking in their door is a criminal or a peace officer.”

Rioting is crippling Minneapolis with local lawmen standing down in the wake of the second shooting by federal agents in the Twin Cities.
Local law enforcement continues to refuse to cooperate with federal forces – standing by as rioters went after a hotel where they believed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were staying.
Videos online show rioters smashing windows, assaulting hotel employees, and throwing bricks and other objects at federal agents Sunday night.
This is just the latest escalation of the violence in the Twin Cities, following Saturday morning’s shooting.
During that incident, an armed Minneapolis man approached a group of U.S. Border Patrol agents who were conducting a targeted operation in south Minneapolis against a person illegally in America.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the federal agents during a press conference on Saturday afternoon. She said then that the man, identified as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an ICU nurse and U.S. citizen, was intent on impeding the operation.
“This individual showed up to impede a law enforcement operation and assaulted our officers,” Noem said. “They responded according to their training and took action to defend the officer’s life and those of the public around him.”
Democrats throughout Minnesota and nationally have pushed back against the Trump administration. They say the shooting was unwarranted and have called withdrawal of federal agents from Minneapolis.
Second-term Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, former candidate for vice president and in office when riots burned portions of the city in conjunction with the death of George Floyd, said it is time for Operation Metro Surge to end. He also maintained that the protests are peaceful.
“What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?” Walz said during a press conference on Sunday. “If fear, violence and chaos is what you wanted from us, then you clearly underestimated the people of this state and nation. We are tired, but we’re resolved. We’re peaceful, but we’ll never forget. We believe in law and order in this state. We believe in peace, and we believe that Donald Trump needs to pull these 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota.”
To enter America from another country, if not a U.S. citizen, a visa or some other travel authorization is required to be presented at a port of entry.
Walz compared the situation for illegal immigrants in Minnesota to that of the Jewish Holocaust during World War II.
“We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses afraid to go outside,” Walz said. “Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody is going to write that children’s story about Minnesota.”
That comparison garnered much public outrage from Republicans, who argue that this is just another example of Democrats attempting to incite more violence in the state.
“After previously calling ICE ‘Gestapo,’ Gov. Tim Walz just compared removals pursuant to federal law to capturing people to carry out genocide,” said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. “Walz is using this reckless rhetoric as signs appeared in Minneapolis over the weekend calling for people to ‘Kill Nazis.’”
Walz promised the state will also be conducting an investigation into the shooting.
“Minnesota’s justice system will have the last word on this,” Walz said. “The state will handle it.”
That comes as Minnesota state law enforcement says it was blocked from the shooting scene on Saturday. Courts granted Minnesota both a search warrant for access to the scene and an emergency court order barring federal officials “from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers.”
This is the third shooting in 18 days in Minneapolis by federal officials. On Jan. 7, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot during an encounter with ICE officers. ICE said Good hit an agent with her car while trying to pull away and the agent fired defensive shots.
One week later, bystanders attacked an agent attempting to execute a detainment. The suspect was shot in the lower body.
Many Republicans are blaming local and state officials for the heightened tension and chaos on the streets in Minneapolis, which led Walz to deploy about 1,500 Minnesota National Guard troops on Saturday.
“This violence is directly fueled by hateful rhetoric from Minnesota’s sanctuary politicians,” Noem said. “It must end now.”
Federal immigration operations continue in Minneapolis, despite Walz’s demands. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also reports that protestors are being arrested for federal charges.
“Arrested for throwing ice blocks at law enforcement in Minneapolis,” it said in a social media post on Sunday of an arrested individual. “Federal crime. Felony. You will be arrested.”

A new report from a technology watchdog group is urging federal regulators to block a potential merger between Netflix and Warner Bros., warning the deal would reduce competition, raise consumer prices, and hurt movie theaters.
The report, published by the Digital Progress Institute, argues that a Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. would give the streaming giant too much market power in the subscription video-on-demand market.
The paper is co-authored by Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer and former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., who represented Colorado’s 4th Congressional District from 2015 until 2024. Buck previously served as the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee and was known for sometimes aligning with Democrats on antitrust policy.
“Netflix, armed with an acquisition of Warner Bros., would be able to raise prices with impunity, reduce consumer choice, and dictate the terms of distribution not only in Hollywood but across global markets,” the authors wrote. “Once Netflix becomes the dominant platform worldwide, there’s no reason to think it will behave differently from other tech monopolies we’ve spent years trying to rein in.”
The report argues that Netflix already holds monopoly power under what it describes as even the most conservative definition of the premium streaming market, citing the company’s global subscriber base and scale advantages over competitors. Absorbing Warner Bros., the authors contend, would further concentrate control over major film and television franchises.
“Allowing it to take control of Warner Bros. would hand it overwhelming dominance of the video streaming space,” the paper states.
The authors compare the proposed deal to allowing AT&T to acquire Sprint rather than breaking up the telecom giant in the 1980s, calling it a red flag for anticompetitive behavior.
The report also warns that consumers would likely face higher prices due to a reduction in meaningful alternatives. Viewers seeking access to Warner Bros. content could be forced to keep a Netflix subscription even after price increases, the authors say.
“A consumer who cancels Netflix after a price increase may still want access to Warner’s catalog,” the paper says. “Under this merger, they would have no choice but to return to Netflix to get it.”
Beyond streaming, the paper raises concerns about the impacts on movie theaters and film distribution. A Netflix-controlled Warner Bros. could shorten theatrical release windows, reduce theater runs, or shift major films to streaming-first releases, hurting local economies.
“The result would be less competition in distribution channels and fewer viable paths for film producers and exhibitors,” the authors wrote.
The report notes that criticism of the proposed merger has been bipartisan, with lawmakers from both parties raising antitrust concerns. Netflix executives and other industry figures will testify at a Senate antitrust hearing next month.
The authors concluded their report with their call for federal regulators to block the merger.
“The Netflix–Warner Bros. merger is unnecessary for business, harmful to consumers, and anticompetitive,” the paper says. “It should be presumed unlawful and blocked.”

The United States completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization due to the group’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a medical group praising the move and officials stating the withdrawal is for those who died alone in nursing homes and whose businesses were destroyed due to COVID responses induced by WHO.
Medical director for Do No Harm Dr. Kurt Miceli told The Center Square that “the Trump administration is right to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to an organization that has allowed politics to supersede science.”
“From its deference to China during the COVID 19 pandemic to its broader tendencies toward centralized control and bureaucratic overreach, the WHO has undermined its own credibility – leaving little reason for continued American participation or financial support,” Miceli said.
Do No Harm is an organization of “physicians, nurses, medical students, patients, and policymakers focused on keeping identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice,” according to its website.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Thursday that it had completed its withdrawal from WHO “due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”
When reached, the HHS referred The Center Square to its press release on the subject.
WHO media relations referred The Center Square to past statements on the topic from its Director-General.
Plans to withdraw the U.S. from WHO began on Jan. 20, 2025 with an announcement from President Donald Trump, according to the HHS’ press release.
Since then, “the U.S. stopped funding WHO, withdrew all personnel from WHO, and began pivoting activities previously conducted with WHO to direct bilateral engagements with other countries and organizations,” the release said.
U.S. relations with WHO will be “solely in a limited fashion to effectuate withdrawal,” the release said.
The HHS stated in its release that before declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, WHO “echoed and praised China’s response despite evidence of early underreporting, suppression of information and delays in confirming human-to-human transmission.”
Additionally, HHS finds fault with WHO for not adopting “meaningful reforms to address political influence, governance weaknesses or poor coordination,” after the pandemic, which HHS stated reinforced “concerns that politics took priority over rapid, independent public health action and [eroded] global trust.”
HHS said in the release that WHO’s report “evaluating the possible origins of COVID-19 rejected the possibility that scientists created the virus.”
WHO rejected this idea “even though China refused to provide genetic sequences from individuals infected early in the pandemic and information on the Wuhan laboratories’ activities and biosafety conditions,” HHS said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of HHS Robert Kennedy said in a joint statement: “Like many international organizations, the WHO abandoned its core mission and acted repeatedly against the interests of the United States.”
“Today, we right these injustices and bring an end to the bureaucratic inertia, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest, and international politics that have rendered the organization beyond repair,” the statement said.
“We will get our flag back for the Americans who died alone in nursing homes, the small businesses devastated by WHO-driven restrictions, and the American lives shattered by this organization’s inactivity,” the statement said. “Our withdrawal is for them.”

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide how a 1988 video privacy law applies to the modern age.
Salazar v. Paramount Global seeks to challenge the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act’s definition of “consumer” in reference to all goods and services or only audiovisual goods and services provided by a video tape service provider.
Michael Salazar subscribed to Paramount’s online newsletter to view videos. According to Salazar’s lawyers, Paramount shared his Facebook ID and video-watching history to Meta.
The primary issue in litigation is how the VPPA defines the term “consumer.” In the legislation drafted by Congress, “consumer” is defined as “a subscriber of goods or services from a video tape service provider.”
The argument lies in whether the statute refers to all goods and services or specifically audiovisual goods or services.
“The VPPA broadly prohibits a video tape service provider—like Paramount here—from knowingly disclosing ‘personally identifiable information concerning any consumer of such provider,’” lawyers for Salazar wrote.
Lawyers for Paramount Global argue that Salazar had access to content on its 247Sports platform, which was available to anyone on the internet.
“All Salazar allegedly did was sign up for a free, written email newsletter. That is not a ‘video cassette tape or similar audio visual material,’ so he is not a ‘consumer’ under the statute,” lawyers for Paramount wrote in a brief to the Supreme Court.
The law originated after a journalist obtained the video rental records of Robert Bork, a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Congress cited privacy concerns as technology evolved and “revolutionized our world.”
In an era of streaming and video rentals, justices on the nation’s highest court will likely provide clarity for consumer privacy protections through this case.