Good afternoon, everyone. It has been a fast-moving and consequential day, with the President in Switzerland and European leaders responding forcefully to his remarks. Here is where things stand.
President Trump announced what he is calling a framework for a deal on Greenland. It is important to be clear about what that means. This is not a finalized agreement, and it does not include U.S. ownership of Greenland. That outcome represents a significant win for Europe and came only after European leaders made it unmistakably clear that Trump’s push to take control of Greenland was unacceptable.
At the same time, ICE enforcement is intensifying. In Maine, federal agents are already on the ground as part of a broader immigration crackdown that is drawing sharp concern from local officials.
Separately, a major winter storm is impacting large portions of the United States. As someone who studied meteorology growing up, I will be closely tracking this system and will bring you updates as conditions evolve and risks increase.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, I will have extensive coverage of Jack Smith’s testimony before Congress, which is expected to be a major moment in this ongoing legal and political landscape.
Many of you have reached out this week to say that the news cycle feels overwhelming. I understand that, and I feel it too. It is okay to pause when you need to. I will continue reporting regardless, because accurate, verified information matters, and millions of people rely on it.
Here’s the news:
- President Donald Trump said he will pause planned tariffs on eight European countries after reaching a preliminary “framework” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte over Greenland and Arctic cooperation, easing market fears while insisting the U.S. still seeks control of Greenland through negotiations with Denmark.
- Trump did not confirm any specifics of the deal outside of saying it was “indefinite”:
- According to the New York Times, the deal is set to involve “small pockets of land.”
- Residents of Greenland, especially in Nuuk, reacted with fear and anger as Donald Trump renewed demands that Denmark hand over the island, rejecting his characterization of it as “a block of ice,” stressing their identity and sovereignty, and warning his rhetoric has shaken trust in the U.S. despite his pledge not to use force.
- Karoline Leavitt tried to pretend that Donald Trump did not mix-up Greenland and Iceland in his speech at the World Economic Forum claiming that Greenland is just a “piece of ICE.”
- In reality, here is Trump mixing the two up:
- NBC News has confirmed that amid doubts about U.S. commitment under Donald Trump, European leaders are urgently debating whether to rely more on France and United Kingdom or even develop their own nuclear capabilities to deter Russia, signaling a potential shift away from decades of dependence on the U.S.-led NATO nuclear umbrella.
- JD Vance will visit Minneapolis amid backlash over the ICE crackdown, as Democratic leaders including Tim Walz condemn the operation following a fatal shooting and accuse the Trump administration of overreach, while federal officials vow to expand enforcement.
- Maria Stenergard welcomed Donald Trump’s decision to retreat from tariffs on NATO allies backing Denmark and Greenland, saying firm allied resistance to border-related demands showed Europe would not be blackmailed and that coordinated pressure had worked.
- Federal immigration authorities under the Department of Homeland Security launched an ICE crackdown dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day” in Maine as part of the Trump administration’s deportation push, prompting heightened concern in cities like Portland, where Mayor Mark Dion said residents are on high alert amid recent migrant arrivals.
- The House Oversight Committee will depose Ghislaine Maxwell on Feb. 9 as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, though her lawyers say she will invoke the Fifth Amendment, while the panel simultaneously moves toward holding Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton in contempt for defying subpoenas.
- A bipartisan group of House Democrats joined Republicans to recommend holding Bill Clinton—and, in a separate vote, Hillary Clinton—in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation, sending the measures to the full House and raising the possibility of Justice Department referrals.
- One of the most extreme winter storms in years is expected to hit nearly half the United States this weekend, combining damaging ice in the South and heavy snow from the Plains to the Northeast with record-breaking Arctic cold, widespread travel disruptions, and the risk of prolonged power outages affecting tens of millions of people.
- A Justice Department court filing revealed DOGE, launched under the Donald Trump administration and linked to Elon Musk, improperly accessed and shared sensitive Social Security Administration data with an outside political group, raising potential Hatch Act violations and prompting calls from Democratic lawmakers for prosecutions over what they called serious breaches of public trust.
- The Washington Post has asked a federal court to order the U.S. government to return electronics seized from reporter Hannah Natanson during an FBI raid tied to a national security leak investigation, arguing the action is unprecedented, violates the First Amendment, and threatens press freedom by exposing confidential sources, while the Pam Bondi defends the seizure as necessary to protect classified information.
- The Supreme Court signaled skepticism toward Donald Trump’s effort to fire Lisa Cook, with justices from across the ideological spectrum emphasizing the Federal Reserve’s independence and questioning whether Trump’s fraud allegations meet the legal “for cause” standard—concerns heightened by a separate Justice Department investigation involving Jerome Powell and the broader implications for the Federal Reserve.
- The U.S. military has begun transferring Islamic State detainees from northeastern Syria to secure facilities in Iraq, moving an initial 150 prisoners in coordination with Iraqi authorities to prevent prison breakouts amid shifting control from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to the Syrian government and ongoing concerns about IS remaining a regional security threat.
- Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, plans to deploy 5,408 satellites starting in 2027 to create a high-speed communications network called TeraWave aimed at governments, data centers and businesses, entering a market currently dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink.
- Political reported that Rahm Emanuel called for a mandatory retirement age of 75 for all branches of the federal government—including the presidency, Congress, and the courts—arguing it would strengthen ethics and accountability even though it would bar him from completing a second term if elected and disqualify figures like Donald Trump and Joe Biden from serving past that age.
See you soon.
— Aaron