Good morning. More sun today, with highs around 54. Clouds will roll in overnight, along with lows near 39.
You can find me on Bluesky, I’m kmcorliss.19 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below. This roundup is available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.
A great book on my nightstand:
“Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism” by Amanda Montell. Montell, a linguist and co-host of the “Sounds Like A Cult” podcast, breaks down the rhetoric that helps various communities establish cult-like followings. She analyzes the language used by actual cults to radicalize members, and also explores how other modern cultural movements employ the same manipulation strategies—think multi-level marketing schemes, CrossFit, and even QAnon.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Minneapolis shooting: An ICE agent in Minneapolis shot a woman to death in her car yesterday. (AP) The victim has been identified as 37-year-old Renee Good. She had three children and lived just a few blocks from the site of the shooting with her partner. (Minnesota Star-Tribune) In one of several videos recorded by bystanders, Good’s SUV is stopped perpendicularly on a residential street, appearing to block one lane of travel. She “rolls forward slightly, then stops and waves” at approaching ICE vehicles, “signaling that they should drive past.” (NYT) Two officers exit a pickup truck; one tries to open the SUV’s driver-side door and reach through the open window. Good “reverses and turns, getting straighter with the road,” and then “[levels] the car out with its front pointing away from the two officers.” A third officer crosses over from the other side of the street and “pulls out a firearm while the car is turning away from him and fires into the car three times.” (404 Media) In footage taken after the shooting, a man asks if he can take Good’s pulse and identifies himself as a physician. Officers deny his request. Eyewitnesses say it took about 15 minutes for emergency responders to arrive, and ICE agents did not administer medical aid in the meantime. (HuffPost) Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said the officer was acting out of self-defense, claiming the woman tried to run officers over. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Noem’s narrative “bullshit,” and Governor Tim Walz urged Americans not to “believe this propaganda machine.” (MPR) This marks the ninth ICE shooting since September; all of the victims were shot in their cars, and in every case, the administration has claimed that the involved officer fired in self-defense for fear of being run over. (NYT)
The reaction: President Trump wrote on social media that Good was “very disorderly, obstructing and resisting” and expressed his shock that the officer who shot her had survived. (NBC News) “I want to see nobody get shot,” he told the New York Times. “I want to see nobody screaming and trying to run over policemen either.” (NYT) Several congressional Republicans defended the shooting, while some Democrats are threatening to leverage the end-of-January funding cliff in order to force negotiations on the DHS budget. (Axios) The shooting has mobilized protests across the country. (USA Today) In DC, demonstrators gathered outside of ICE’s headquarters near L’Enfant Plaza. (Washingtonian Problems/Instagram)
On all cylinders: Trump says the US’s presence in Venezuela could last for years. (NYT) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told senators in a closed-door meeting that the US plans to keep American military forces stationed around Venezuela indefinitely as “leverage.” (Politico) Republicans largely celebrated the administration’s plan after the briefing, while Democrats said key questions about the intervention’s timeline, cost, and scope remain unanswered. (NYT) US forces have seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker, formerly known as the Bella 1, in the North Atlantic after weeks of pursuit. They took control of another vessel in the Caribbean, which officials claim was “conducting illicit activities.” (CNN) Some members of the GOP are still not on board with forcibly taking over Greenland. House Speaker Mike Johnson said congressional Republicans are “certainly not” considering military action in the Danish-controlled territory. (Washington Post) The president wants to raise the defense budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. (NYT)
Administration perambulation: The president said he plans to pull the US from dozens of international organizations, including the United Nations’ bedrock climate treaty; we’d be the first country to withdraw from that agreement. (CNN) America is heading into 2026 with 271,000 fewer federal employees than we started with in 2025, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Axios) Health Secretary RFK Jr. unveiled the administration’s new dietary guidelines yesterday, which emphasize full-fat milk, butter, and red meat and caution against “highly processed” foods. (Washington Post) Avelo Airlines, which was apparently the only commercial airline working with ICE to carry out regular deportation flights, has cut ties with the agency. (Axios)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Look no further: These are the hottest home design trends of 2026.
• This wedding featured plenty of Disney-inspired details.
Local news links:
• The Department of Transportation is looking to get rid of speed, red light, and stop sign cameras throughout DC. (Politico)
• Maryland lost more federal jobs than any other state in 2025, according to the new Bureau of Labor Statistics data. (Maryland Matters)
• One pedestrian was killed and three other people were hurt in a four-car crash in downtown DC yesterday. (WJLA)
• US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said she “can’t wait” for DC Council Member Trayon White’s upcoming bribery trial. “I expect a conviction,” she said. (NBC Washington)
• Will Scharf, the Trump-appointed chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, would like to see classical architecture in the new Commanders stadium. (Axios DC)
• Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, a Democrat who is the third-longest-serving member of the House, won’t seek reelection. (Washington Post)
• The DC Council approved the creation of a new Business Improvement District to serve the Congress Heights and St. Elizabeths East neighborhoods. (Washington Business Journal)
• The DC Public Library system received a $227,000 grant from the Bedford Falls Foundation to support its homelessness services. (DCPL)
• The Atlanta Hawks traded Trae Young to the Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. (Shams Charania/X)
