Top U.S. & World Headlines — February 9, 2026

Takeaways

• ❖At least 50 people were arrested in Minneapolis protesting the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer, as ICE faces widespread criticism.
• ❖Jim Stali, ICE's chief counsel in Minnesota, resigned after 31 years amidst a surge of immigration cases and a federal judge's criticism of ICE for over 100 judicial order violations.
• ❖A Mexican immigrant, Alberto Castineda Mondreon, described being violently arrested by masked men, resulting in a skull broken in eight places, contradicting ICE's claims.
• ❖Over 1,000 Google workers signed a petition demanding the company cancel contracts with ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
• ❖A federal judge temporarily halted data sharing between the IRS, Social Security Administration, and ICE in Massachusetts to protect immigrant families during tax season.
• ❖Former President Trump refused to apologize for publishing a racist video depicting the Obamas as apes, which remained on Truth Social for 12 hours and drew rare Republican criticism.
• ❖The Justice Department will grant Congress access to unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files, and Ghislaine Maxwell is set to testify virtually, likely invoking the Fifth Amendment.
• ❖Israel's security cabinet approved new rules tightening control over the occupied West Bank, easing land purchases for settlers and strengthening enforcement on Palestinians.
• ❖The Pentagon secured a $210 million deal to buy advanced cluster munitions from Israeli manufacturer Tomeare, despite cluster munitions causing nearly 25,000 injuries/deaths since the 1960s.
• ❖Iran's foreign ministry is open to a deal limiting uranium enrichment for sanctions relief, but insists on the right to enrich for peaceful purposes, amidst US military threats.
• ❖Iranian security forces arrested four senior opposition politicians, including the head of the reformers front, widening a crackdown on dissent.
• ❖Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lie was sentenced to 20 years in prison under the national security law, having already served over 5 years on fraud charges.
• ❖A drone attack by the RSF paramilitary group in Sudan killed at least 24 displaced people, including eight children, highlighting the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
• ❖A federal judge unfroze $16 billion in rail infrastructure funds withheld by former President Trump, who reportedly sought to tie their release to renaming airports/stations after him.
• ❖Thousands protested the Winter Olympics in Milan, objecting to environmental impacts, Israel's participation, and the presence of ICE agents with the US delegation.
• ❖US Vice President JD Vance was met with boos at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, which were not audible in US broadcasts.
• ❖Bad Bunny made history with a Super Bowl halftime show almost entirely in Spanish, ending with a pro-independence Puerto Rican flag, drawing criticism from former President Trump.