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President Donald Trump is changing his approach to the violence in Minnesota. That's where we're starting the seven from the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Tuesday, January 27th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. Yesterday, President Trump softened his tone on the immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis. It follows the killing of another US Citizen, Alex Preddy, by federal officers over the weekend and polls which show Americans are turning against ice. Trump sent a new official to take charge of the operation in Minneapolis and expressed sorrow over the bloodshed. That's a different approach to his top officials, who characterized Preddy as a domestic terrorist in the aftermath of the shooting. Here's White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt at a news conference yesterday.
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Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Preddy, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals.
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But at the same time, the White House has still tried to pin the blame for the violence on Democrats. In that same press conference, Levitt said this tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota. Trump said he spoke with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry yesterday evening. Frey said that some federal agents would begin leaving the area today. Meanwhile, House Democrats are set to open an investigation into Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as early as next week. They are hoping to lay the groundwork to eventually impeach her. Trump officials ordered the removal of signs in more national parks. That's number two. In March, President Trump issued an executive order titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. Staff at national parks have been working to enact that order by removing displays since seen as at odds with Trump's view of history. Last week, they removed an exhibit at Independence National Historical park in Philadelphia that focused on George Washington's ownership of enslaved people. And according to documents reviewed by the Post, there are many more removals to come. Trump officials have ordered the removals of signs about climate change, environmental protection, and the historical mistreatment of Native Americans from 17 national parks. That includes displays at the Grand Canyon, Big Bend, Glacier, and Zion national parks. Number three, another big snowstorm might hit the eastern US this weekend. If you haven't dug yourself out yet from last weekend's snow, be warned, more is probably on the way. Right on the heels of a blockbuster storm that knocked out power for millions and killed dozens of people, another system is set to be fueled by lingering frigid conditions. Forecasts predict that a strong low pressure system will form offshore of the Carolinas late Saturday. It will then track northeast, passing south of New England on Sunday night. It's still unclear how quickly the storm will develop and how close to the Eastern seaboard it will track, but it is very clear that we have a long way to go in this hemisphere before we are free of winter's icy grip. Four. Israel confirmed the return of the last hostage's remains from Gaza 24 year old Israeli police officer Ronnie Gavili was killed during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Southern Israel. Hamas and its allied militants abducted about 250 people on that day. Yesterday's recovery of Gavili's body closes a painful chapter. It may also open the way for the next phase of the US backed ceasefire agreement that could entail initial reconstruction of Gaza, the disarming of Hamas and a further Israeli pullback in the enclave. In Gaza, the news was met with cautious optimism. War weary civilians hoped it might end lethal Israeli fire that has persisted despite the ceasefire deal reached in October. The recovery of Gavili's body could also clear the way to reopen a border crossing with Egypt that could increase aid to Gazans and would allow Palestinians who fled the war to be able to reunite with their families. An AI company had a secret plan to destructively scan every book in the world. That's our fifth story. Anthropic is the company behind the popular AI chatbot Claude, according to legal filings in early 2024, executives at the startup ramped up an ambitious project they sought to keep quiet. It was known as Project Panama. The company spent tens of millions of dollars buying millions of books. Then they sliced off the book's spines so the pages could be scanned to feed more knowledge into its AI models. The company paid to settle a case brought by book authors last year. These new revelations come from unsealed documents from that case. The new documents, along with earlier filings in other copyright cases, show the lengths to which tech firms went to obtain colossal troves data to train their software. According to court filings, Anthropic, Meta and other companies found ways to acquire books in bulk without author's knowledge, including by downloading pirated copies. Six. Kanye west, who's now known as Ye, apologized for anti Semitic comments. The musician and fashion mogul took out a full page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. It was addressed to those I've hurt. In the statement, Ye linked his behavior to his diagnosis of bipolar disorder and an undiagnosed brain injury, he said. I am not a Nazi or anti Semite. I love Jewish people. Beginning in 2022, Ye has steadily made anti Semitic and hateful statements. In an appearance on Alex Jones Infowars, he denied the Holocaust, proclaimed he was a Nazi and said he loved Adolf Hitler. Last year he doubled down again on antisemitic beliefs while selling a swastika T shirt on his website. In May, he released a song titled Heil Hitler which sampled a speech from Hitler. And at number seven, our columnist cracked the code for guilt free Toddler Screen time. It is perhaps the biggest flashpoint for parents of young children today. How much screen time, if any, can a young brain handle? My colleague Michael Coren held out for an impressive three and a half years with almost no screens before he cracked in the face of long distance travel. So he spoke to experts and figured out some ground rules to help him feel less bad about it. It turns out the child development researchers he spoke to saw screens as a valuable tool if an overused one that can help families when handled well. Yes, screen time is associated with impaired language development and other problems, but the emerging science on screens suggests that how young children use them matters far more than the number of hours they're on them. So for Michael, he limits his son's tablet to a single library app and doesn't use it every day. Researchers emphasize that time with tech should be social, with shows designed for kids brains, and it should supplement rather than be a substitute for other activities. In any case, you can take it from the experts, as I certainly will try to free yourself from the relentless guilt of parenting. Alright, you're all caught up. For your next listen, check out the latest episode of Post Reports. It dives deeper into the battle of narratives surrounding Alex Preddy's killing by federal agents in Minneapolis and what this incident tells us about the debate around gun rights. Find Post reports wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Hannah Jewell. I'll meet you back here tomorrow.
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