Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.
Trump changes course in MinnesotaFaced with broad outcry over the killing of a second protester in Minneapolis, President Trump announced today that he was sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to oversee the immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Greg Bovino, the senior Border Patrol official who has become the face of the administration’s aggressive enforcement efforts, is expected to be reassigned out of Minneapolis, officials said. The decision to move Bovino came two days after he made the unsubstantiated claim that Alex Pretti, the man who was shot and killed on Saturday by federal agents, was planning to “massacre” law enforcement officers. Some of the federal agents in Minneapolis are expected to begin leaving tomorrow, the city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, said this afternoon after speaking to the president over the phone. Trump also backed off his criticism of Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, a Democrat whom he had blamed for the killings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents. Trump said today that he and Walz had “a very good call” and “seemed to be on a similar wavelength.” Walz’s office said the two had agreed to discuss the possibility of independent investigations into the killings and to look into reducing the number of federal agents deployed to the state. The White House press secretary also tried to distance Trump from comments that had been made by some of his top aides. That effort seemed to suggest that the White House understood that Saturday’s shooting may pose a grave political threat. Some Republicans have called for a fair investigation into Pretti’s killing. For more:
U.S. warships are nearing IranOfficials in the Middle East are preparing for the possibility of a U.S. strike against Iran in the coming days, as American warplanes and aircraft carriers approach the Persian Gulf. Some officials are worried that such an attack could trigger a cycle of retaliation, including strikes against U.S. bases in the region. Iran and its regional allies have repeatedly warned they would respond aggressively to a U.S. strike. In related news, many Iranians are beginning to regain internet access, enabling them to provide a fuller picture of the recent government crackdown.
Large parts of the U.S. are still dangerously coldThe weekend’s gigantic storm dumped a foot or more of snow on at least 19 states, delivering a layer of white across much of the country that we captured in photos and video. More than 70 million people live in places that remain under an extreme cold warning. See the temperature forecast in your area. At least 22 storm-related deaths were reported across the country, including several from hypothermia. The threat has been intensified by power outages that left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, mostly in the South, without power today. For more:
Israel recovered the body of the last Gaza hostageThe Israeli military said today that it had found and brought back the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer who was shot while defending a kibbutz on Oct. 7, 2023. The retrieval marked the end of a painful chapter for Israelis, and also paved the way for the next phase of the cease-fire in Gaza. That began with Israel announcing that it would soon reopen the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt for travelers on foot. The move would allow Palestinians who fled the enclave during the two-year war to return home for the first time. More top news
Welcome to fashion’s age of reconstructionSo long, body positivity. The fashion industry’s most influential designers are showcasing clothes that shape, distort and exaggerate the body like never before — a fitting trend, perhaps, in the GLP-1 era. Our critic Vanessa Friedman explains what is going on and where this all might lead. For more: My colleague Jacob Gallagher has been filing delectable dispatches from Paris Fashion Week. His latest is on why the new Celine men’s wear works so well.
A 200-year mystery is solvedA century ago, Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, reported in the International Psychic Gazette about a séance that had been held in an effort to find a long-lost portrait of Robert Burns, Scotland’s most beloved poet. That was one of many attempts over the last 200 years to find the missing painting. But thanks to the sleuthing of some Scottish history experts, the portrait was discovered last year in an auction — where it was estimated to fetch $400 to $700. It was placed on display last night in Edinburgh to coincide with Burns Night, an annual holiday that honors the poet.
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