Minneapolis has been on most of our minds this month, for good reason. But the stories coming out of there are so big, that it can be hard to see how they interconnect. We’re going to spend some time looking at how this cycle’s stories link together–not because it makes the stories any easier to stomach, but because it’s important to see the bigger picture.
Several nouveau and some classic reminders still apply: we may be closing out my ninth year of journalism, but I focus on national news within my areas of expertise–which, at this point, includes (1) health news, (2) queer news, (3) news about law and government, (4) news about descent into authoritarianism, and (5) connections between news stories. NNR summaries may still occasionally contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not SAMHSA funding!–but we are moving away from this model in general, as we pioneer a more focused and sustainable format. And, of course, for the law things you read here, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!
Nightmares in Minneapolis
‘‘RoboKruger’ by Si2productions, released to the public domain by its creator
- Murder Filmed in Broad Daylight. By now, most folks have likely heard about Renee Good, who was shot three times while leaving an ICE encounter in her car, and Alex Pretti, who was shot ten times after trying to help a fellow protester. Both cases are horrifying abuses of power, but it’s also important to note how the federal government is handling the aftermath. Both Good’s and Pretti’s murders were filmed from several angles, and these videos have become widely available–making it easy for Americans to form a clear understanding of events. Despite this, however, the federal government in both instances has issued narrative statements that wildly contradict the video footage, and in both instances there have been issues with federal officials destroying evidence. At least one FBI official resigned in protest because she was being pressured to drop a civil rights investigation into the ICE officer who killed Renee Good. The FBI instead opened an investigation into Good’s widow, because, I don’t know, reasons. (Several U.S. Attorneys resigned over the latter decision as well.) Meanwhile, in correspondence with Governor Walz, Attorney General Pam Bondi straight-up told him to hand over voter rolls if he wanted conditions to improve. And while all this was happening, an autopsy in Texas confirmed witnesses’ reports that a detainee in ICE custody was murdered by guards. It is extremely unlikely that he was the first homicide in custody.
- Ongoing ICE Raids. To fully understand the Minneapolis murders, it’s also important to understand the context that Renee Good and Alex Pretti were protesting in the first place. This administration began occupying Minneapolis back in December, but their behavior has escalated badly in that time–and in the wake of Renee Good’s death, things have gotten worse, not better. Reports have come in of ICE kidnapping a five-year-old and using him as bait, harassing and even detaining local Indigenous people, harassing off-duty cops, stopping and dragging citizens out of cars to detain them, shooting people during arrests, and breaking down doors to gain entry to homes they claim they can enter without a warrant. Minnesota is suing the administration, and has already obtained a judicial order protecting peaceful protest–but Trump has responded by threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act and putting 1500 Army troops on standby. Governor Walz has mobilized the National Guard. Today we’re seeing signs that it might deescalate, but it’s still an ugly situation that is only made uglier by a second murder this week.
From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifice
Image unnamed and in the public domain
Poison Potpourri. There were a lot of toxic odds and ends out of DHHS in the last couple of weeks as well. First Trump announced his “health plan,” which is less a health plan and more six buzzwords in a trench coat. We finalized our withdrawal from the World Health Organization, apparently sticking them with a large bill in the process. The CDC both froze and unfroze about $2B in funding for SAMHSA. And the CDC was also in the news because a high-up official opined that losing measles elimination status was “the cost of doing business,” which is definitely a phrase you want to hear come out of a public health official’s mouth.
Spills in Aisle 47
‘Toddler Supermarket Tantrum,’ taken with permission from Stockcake.com
- Manifest Fuckery (again, still). In “somehow I am still typing this” news, the fetid orange doubled down again on taking over Greenland during this cycle. After talks with the Danish Foreign Minister got him nowhere, he threatened to impose tariffs in an attempt to get his way. Neither the European Union nor international stock markets were amused by this development. Then just to cap everything off, he told Norway’s Prime Minister that he was doing all of this because he didn’t win a Nobel peace prize.
- Targeting Political ‘Enemies’ (Minneapolis Edition). We’ve already discussed this administration’s horrifying occupation of Minneapolis above, but one aspect that doesn’t get as much air time is their ‘investigation’ targeting Tim Walz, the current governor of Minnesota, and Joseph Frey, the current mayor of Minneapolis–which then escalated to a grand jury for several other MN officials. They join a long list of political figures who are being threatened via federal investigation; the list also includes several Congresspeople, Federal reserve chair Jerome Powell, and New York Attorney General Leticia James.
Ways to Weather This
Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
5 Calls and Zoom Calls. In the wake of the state terror above, it’s hard to know how to respond. If you, like me, process this type of news through action, one obvious and relatively easy thing we can do is call our Congress people with specific legislative asks. 5 calls has several scripts about taking away ICE’s bloated budget, impeaching Kristi Noem, and investigating both Minneapolis murders. If you have a bit more time, you can also learn how to respond and protect community in dangerous situations with ICE through online trainings. You can also print and distribute Know Your Rights cards, or learn how to be a hotline verifier.
So that’s what I have for you this cycle, and I’m sorry, there are still no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve this beaver eating cabbage and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out sustainability, and I would love feedback in the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me responses to Out: The Community Survey!
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