1A

The Trump administration now says a “softer touch” might be required when it comes to their immigration agenda in Minnesota. Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border head, says that 700 ICE agents will leave the state.

In another warning sign for Republicans in Washington, a Democratic candidate won an upset in a special election for a Texas State Senate seat.

And the Department of Justice released another round of Epstein emails on Friday, revealing communications between the late New York financier and several public figures, from Bill Gates to Elon Musk.

Talks between the U.S. and Iran got off to a stuttering start this week, one moment being tabled, and the next moment being back on. Arab leaders lobbied the White House on Wednesday to not walk away from the table entirely.

The Trump administration revealed a plan to create a critical mineral reserve and a new trade alliance, aimed at taking away China’s ability to use its near monopoly of the rare metals as leverage in trade negotiations.

Spain is set to follow Australia’s lead and implement a ban on social media use for minors.

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Immigration enforcement is arresting a growing number of refugees and detaining them in Texas.

It’s a strategy immigration lawyers call a conveyor belt. The number of children in ICE detention has also grown sixfold under the Trump administration – with most being held in Texas.

The ICE detention budget grew by billions last year. What’s the effect on refugees?

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This week, 330,000 Haitian immigrants who’ve lived and worked in the U.S. legally, sometimes for decades, were set to lose their immigration protections.

That’s after the Trump administration announced it would end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haitians on Feb. 3. After a federal court order on Monday, the program remains in place for now, but could still be undone. The administration says it will appeal the ruling, potentially to the U.S. Supreme Court.

What does it mean for Haitians who rely on TPS, who could go from integral parts of their community to undocumented immigrants? Even if they never crossed a border illegally or overstayed a visa?

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Thousands of people have signed up to document and protest the actions of immigration agents in Minnesota.

They say they are legal observers, exercising their constitutional rights. The government claims they’re impeding the lawful work of a federal agency.

Where is the line between observer and disrupter? And what are the limits to how federal agents can respond?

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The biggest news stories, the ones that shape our democracy, don’t just play out in Washington. They unfold in neighborhoods, on street corners, and around the country.

In many cases, the first images and explanations of what’s happening don’t come from national news outlets, but the people who are there with cellphones and cameras in hand. That includes local journalists who are out in their communities. Journalists are trained to confirm and contextualize, but what does that look like in today’s shifting media landscape?

Local reporters on the ground are crucial. But nearly 40 percent of local newspapers in the U.S. have disappeared since the early 2000s. Even the largest newspapers — providing national coverage out of major cities — are on shaky ground. Layoffs are expected at The Washington Post in the coming weeks.

What does it all mean for how news gets made and who gets heard? What’s at stake for our democracy? And who is trying to chart a new path forward?

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