Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🚨 Latest ICE shooting
• 🏈 Super Bowl is set
• 🐈 World’s deadliest cat

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.86-minute read (1,028 words).

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“A person sees in the world what they carry in their heart.”

–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

On Saturday, Border Patrol agents fatally shot a protester in Minneapolis while carrying out a federal immigration enforcement operation.

It marks the latest of several ICE-related shootings—and the second death of a US citizen—since the Trump admin launched a major immigration operation in Minneapolis earlier this month.

What happened?

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old US citizen who worked as an ICU nurse in Minneapolis, was shot and killed following a scuffle with ICE officers who were carrying out an operation targeting a man from Ecuador. Videos shared widely online show Pretti filming federal officers with his phone before stepping in to help a woman who was shoved, then getting tackled by several federal officers in a scuffle that led to Pretti’s fatal shooting.

The incident comes two weeks after the death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year old US citizen who was fatally shot by an ICE agent during a similar immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis.

As with Good’s shooting, public characterizations of Pretti’s death have split sharply depending on the source.

• A DHS statement asserted that Pretti confronted ICE agents with a handgun and resisted efforts to disarm him, prompting what DHS described as “defensive shots.”
• Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said Pretti arrived with the intent to “massacre law enforcement,” while both Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller accused Pretti of being a domestic terrorist.

On the flip side, multiple eyewitnesses and videos posted online appear to contradict parts of the federal account. A frame‑by‑frame WSJ review shows federal agents removing a handgun from Pretti’s person as he was wrestled to the ground, with an agent firing at least 10 shots into Pretti roughly a second after the weapon was taken. Pretti didn’t appear to draw or aim the gun before that point.

• State and local officials also dispute key elements of the federal account.
• They cite videos from the scene that contradict claims that he posed an immediate threat, and note that Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit to carry and no criminal record.

What comes next?

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) deployed the state National Guard to Minneapolis in the aftermath of Pretti’s shooting to assist with crowd control, and called for the White House to pull ICE agents from the state.

• Secretary Kristi Noem announced that DHS will lead the investigation into Pretti’s death. State officials have allegedly been blocked from gathering evidence at the scene of Pretti’s death, similar to Renee Good’s crime scene, per a lawsuit from Minnesota’s AG.
• More than 60 Minnesota‑based CEOs—including leaders from Target, UnitedHealth Group, and the Mayo Clinic—have signed a letter calling for “an immediate de‑escalation of tensions” and collaboration across government levels to address the unrest.

On Capitol Hill: This weekend’s shooting in Minneapolis has raised the chances of a partial US gov’t shutdown starting on Friday, with Democratic leaders now saying they’ll oppose any funding package that includes appropriations for DHS.

📊 Flash poll (long-form): What are your thoughts on the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis? The most thoughtful answers will be featured in tomorrow’s newsletter.

• Click here to leave a response

Some people can tell something is wrong, even when it’s not said aloud. They’re the ones friends call in a crisis, and who help without needing credit.

Right now, veterans are sitting on waitlists, fighting battles no one sees.

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It’s not loud work, and it doesn’t go viral. But it changes lives.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 Silver and gold prices both hit new record highs Friday; silver broke the $100/oz mark for the first time ever, and gold closed just ~$24 shy of the $5,000/oz mark.
• 💻 Intel stock fell 17% on Friday—its worst day since 2024—following a worse-than-expected earnings report and warnings of a supply shortage.
• ⛏️ Trump admin to reportedly take 10% stake in USA Rare Earth as part of $1.6 billion deal aimed at helping the company develop a domestic mine and magnet facility.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 The Super Bowl is set: The New England Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks on February 8 after winning the AFC and NFC Conference Championships, respectively. | Pittsburgh Steelers hire former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy to the same position.
• 🎬 Chris Pratt’s Mercy led the domestic box office with $11.2 million in its weekend debut, ending Avatar: Fire and Ash’s five-week run at the top.
• 🧗 Renowned climber Alex Honnold ascended Taipei 101, one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers (1,667 feet), without any ropes or protective equipment on Sunday; the event was broadcast live on Netflix.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🔫 President Trump told the NY Post that a secret new weapon he calls “The Discombobulator” was essential to the recent US raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
• 🌌 Stanford researchers uncover a long-lost map of the universe created by Hipparchus, the second-century BC mathematician known as the “father of astronomy”; it represents the oldest known attempt to catalog the entire night sky.
• 🚘 Tesla removed its Autopilot software as a standard feature on new cars in an effort to boost sales of its more advanced Full Self-Driving mode.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🚨 Ryan Wedding, a 44-year-old former Olympic snowboarder and FBI most-wanted fugitive, was arrested in Mexico and transported to the US; Wedding allegedly smuggled cocaine from Latin America into the US and orchestrated several murders.
• 🎓 Columbia selects Jennifer Mnookin, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as its next president.
• 🌏 US, Russia, and Ukraine held joint peace talks in the UAE over the weekend; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said talks concluded with "constructive" discussions on "possible parameters for ending the war," with a future meeting planned as soon as this week. | China’s senior-most general, Zhang Youxia, is reportedly accused of leaking nuclear weapons data to the US and accepting bribes for promotions.

☝️ A record-breaking winter storm pummelled the US South, East, and Midwest yesterday, bringing as much as 18 inches of snow to areas from Texas to New England. Heavy winds and snowfall left more than 1 million people without power and resulted in 16,000+ cancelled flights.

🤔 Did you know? The world’s deadliest cat isn’t a lion or tiger. In fact, it’s roughly the size of a kitten. The African black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) is a tiny hunter with night vision, impeccable hearing, and a ~60% hunting success rate.

📰 Worth a read: How the brain creates ‘Aha!’ moments that seem to come out of nowhere

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Why is ice slippery? No one is quite sure
• Here’s what the Northern Lights look like from space
• Why did the rubber chicken cross the road?

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On Friday, we covered the recent rise of prediction markets, one of the fastest-growing trading segments in the US economy, which essentially represent stock markets for future events.

❓ Our question to you: Have you ever used a prediction market like Kalshi or Polymarket?

• Yes, to place a bet: 13%
• Yes, only to check real-time odds: 24%
• No: 63%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 546 votes and 51 longform responses.

Monday: National Spouses Day

Tuesday: Latest Marvel Cinematic Universe entry—TV series Wonder Man—debuts on Disney+

Wednesday: Federal Reserve makes interest-rate decision; Microsoft, Meta, Tesla report earnings; Shrinking Season 3 debuts on Apple TV

Thursday: Weekly US jobless claims; Apple reports earnings; Bridgerton Season 4 hits Netflix

Friday: Deadline for US gov’t to avoid a partial shutdown; Send Help starring Rachel McAdams hits theaters

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Ac
2. Carcer
3. Don
4. Foss
5. Mut

🕶️ 61-year-old Jim Gogan had never accurately seen color due to severe color blindness, until his son surprised him with a very special Christmas gift.

1. Ac = Sharp (e.g., acupuncture)
2. Carcer = Jail (incarcerated)
3. Don = Give (donation)
4. Foss = Dig (fossil)
5. Mut = Change (mutation)

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