The Justice Department’s New Target in D.C., and a Surge of Federal Agents in Minnesota

Summary

The Headlines – January 12, 2026

Host: Tracey Mumford
Podcast: The Headlines (The New York Times)

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Episode Overview

This episode covers a series of major developments in U.S. politics, law enforcement, and international affairs. The main stories include a Justice Department investigation targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a surge of federal agents in Minneapolis in response to protests and alleged welfare fraud, escalating US-Iran tensions amid protests in Iran, controversy over Elon Musk's Grok AI tool, and insights into life under Russian occupation in Ukraine.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Justice Department Opens Investigation into Fed Chair Powell

Timestamps: 00:43 – 02:30

• Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chair, revealed he is the target of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department, following months of tension with the Trump administration.
• The investigation focuses on whether Powell lied to Congress about expensive renovations at the Fed headquarters, significantly over budget.
• Powell characterized the move as intimidation from the administration, citing its ongoing attempts to pressure the Fed for lower interest rates.
• The episode highlights the Trump administration's broader attacks on Fed independence, including attempts to fire Lisa Cook (Biden appointee), which is now headed to the Supreme Court.

Notable Quotes:

• “No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve, is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.” – Political Analyst [00:43]
• “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.” – Political Analyst [01:27]

Contextual Note:
President Trump, despite nominating Powell, has become a vocal critic, demanding lower rates. He denies political motivation, stating “what should pressure him is the fact that rates are far too high.” [02:04]

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2. Federal Agents Surge in Minneapolis Amid Protests

Timestamps: 02:30 – 05:19

• Widespread protests erupted nationwide in the wake of an ICE agent killing Renee Good in Minneapolis, coinciding with a new deportation push by the Trump administration.
• Kristi Noem (Homeland Security Secretary) confirmed on Fox News a significant surge of federal agents headed to Minnesota, labeling the state "ground zero" for welfare fraud (claims not substantiated) and making accusations of organized resistance against ICE.
• Local and state politicians condemned the federal response and the administration's framing of the killing.
• Minneapolis Police Chief described dramatic increases in 911 calls, with disturbing details:
  • Arrested individuals’ cars left unattended in the street, sometimes rolling away.
  • Pets left in vehicles.
  • Reports of ICE officers pepper spraying civilians.

Notable Quotes:

• “We’re sending more officers today and tomorrow they'll arrive.” – Kristi Noem [03:08]
• “It is ground zero for stealing of taxpayer dollars and protecting criminals—billions and billions of dollars.” – Kristi Noem [03:20]
• “We had that happen. We had another time where there was a dog in the car and they left the dog in the car.” – Minneapolis Police Chief [04:52]
• “Even this morning, we’ve gotten calls for individuals who were pepper sprayed by ICE.” – Minneapolis Police Chief [04:58]

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3. U.S.-Iran Crisis Escalates

Timestamps: 05:19 – 07:20

• President Trump warns "military options are on the table" as Iran intensifies its crackdown on anti-government protests, asserting a U.S. red line if demonstrators are killed.
• Hundreds of casualties reported, with the internet cut and videos of body bags emerging; Iran's parliamentary speaker threatens retaliation against U.S. targets if attacked.

Notable Quotes:

• “They're starting to [cross the red line], it looks like, and there seem to be some people killed that aren't supposed to be killed.” – Donald Trump [05:25]
• “But we’re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it and we're looking at some very strong options.” – Donald Trump [05:38]
• “If the U.S. does strike Iran, U.S. military and shipping lanes will be our legitimate targets.” – Iran’s speaker of Parliament (reported by host) [07:10]

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4. Backlash Against Musk’s Grok Chatbot

Timestamps: 07:20 – 08:46

• Elon Musk’s AI tool Grok, integrated with X (formerly Twitter), faces international bans due to its role in generating sexualized images of real people, including minors.
• Case in point: Grok created altered images in response to online requests, circumventing existing safeguards.
• Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brazil (pending) are blocking the tool; French authorities have initiated legal inquiries.
• Musk asserts consequences for accounts that exploit the technology while limiting AI image creation to paying users, a step heavily criticized by UK officials as inadequate.

Notable Quotes:

• “It simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service.” – UK Prime Minister (reported by host) [08:40]

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5. Life Under Russian Occupation in Ukraine

Timestamps: 08:46 – 10:48

• Times reporter Maria Verenikova shares testimonies from Ukrainians fleeing Russian-held territories.
• Children report being barred from learning Ukrainian, instead receiving Russian-centric propaganda and pseudo-military training.
• Artwork and curriculum are militarized; some children adopt Russian government narratives, blaming Ukraine for starting the war due to pervasive messaging.

Notable Quotes:

• “For example, the Ukrainian language—they were not able to learn it anymore; they were studying a lot of Russian history. And in that Russian history, there is already a bit about when Russia occupied their house, which is called liberating.” – Maria Verenikova [09:08]
• “Some children, they do fall for [Russian propaganda] and believe in what they have been told. For example, one boy … told me that he indeed started believing that Ukraine had started the war and was bombing his hometown, Kherson.” – Maria Verenikova [10:11]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Political Analyst on Fed independence: “This unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.” [00:43]
• Minneapolis Police Chief on ICE conduct: “We had that happen. We had another time where there was a dog in the car and they left the dog in the car.” [04:52]
• Donald Trump escalating military threat: “They're starting to [cross the red line], it looks like, and there seem to be some people killed that aren't supposed to be killed.” [05:25]
• Maria Verenikova on occupation schooling: “Instead of some flowers, they would be drawing weapons.” [09:33]

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Important Timestamps

• Jerome Powell investigation recap: 00:43 – 02:30
• Protests and Minneapolis police on ICE tactics: 02:30 – 05:19
• US-Iran escalation: 05:19 – 07:20
• Grok AI controversy: 07:20 – 08:46
• Life under Russian occupation in Ukraine: 08:46 – 10:48

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Summary

Today’s episode delivers rapid-fire, deeply reported updates on legal and political drama surrounding the Federal Reserve, the escalation of aggressive immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and its social fallout, the evolving US posture toward unrest in Iran, international attempts to regulate problematic AI tools, and harrowing first-person accounts of Russian indoctrination in occupied Ukrainian regions. For listeners, the episode paints a vivid picture of global turmoil, domestic standoffs, and technological controversy as the critical stories shaping 2026.

Transcript

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[Tracey Mumford]

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracey Mumford. Today's Monday, January 12th. Here's what we're covering.

[Political Analyst]

No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve, is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and and ongoing pressure.

[Tracey Mumford]

On Sunday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell released a rare video message saying he had learned that he is now the target of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department. He said the Fed had been served with grand jury subpoenas. The inquiry centers on a claim the Trump administration has made for months, that Powell lied to Congress about the scope of renovations of the Fed's headquarters that have run $700 million over budget. Powell, who Trump has previously threatened to fire, said the Justice Department is trying to intimidate him.

[Political Analyst]

The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.

[Tracey Mumford]

While Trump was the one to nominate Powell to the fed back in 2017, the President has taken an increasingly hostile stance towards him, attacking Powell again and again for not slashing interest rates. Even though the Fed is designed to be insulated from political pressure, it's part of a broader assault by Trump on the Fed's independence. He's also tried to fire Lisa Cook, a Fed governor appointed during the Biden administration, in a case that the Supreme Court will hear arguments about next week. Last night, Trump denied that the investigation into Powell is politically motivated, saying, quote, what should pressure him is the fact that rates are far too high. That's the only pressure he's got. This weekend. Mounting outrage over the Trump administration's deportation campaign and the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis sparked protests across the country, from New York to Los Angeles to Houston, Omaha, Boston, Seattle. In Minneapolis itself, protests wound through downtown, where demonstrators stopped at hotels to bang drums and blare music to try and keep any ICE agents staying there from sleeping. Meanwhile.

[Kristi Noem]

Well, Maria, we're sending more officers today and tomorrow they'll arrive.

[Tracey Mumford]

There'll be hundreds more Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration is sending another surge of federal agents to the city.

[Kristi Noem]

It is ground zero for stealing of taxpayer dollars and protecting criminals billions and billions of dollars.

[Tracey Mumford]

In an interview on Fox News, Noem claimed the new deployment would be aimed at getting to the bottom of a major welfare fraud scandal linked to Minnesota's Somali community. She also claimed, without evidence that local nonprofits had been training people on how to distract, assault and even ram their cars into ICE agents.

[Kristi Noem]

All of these times you see these rioters out there doing that. They've been trained to do that. They know they're training them to break the law.

[Tracey Mumford]

Noem and other members of the administration have fiercely defended the actions of the agent who shot Good in her car last week, calling it self defense, while state and local politicians called that framing garbage and propaganda. Today on the Daily We've just gotten.

[Minneapolis Police Chief]

A pretty dramatic increase in 911 calls from people in the community related to a lot of the street enforcement that's happening.

[Tracey Mumford]

The police chief in Minneapolis on what he has seen happening in his city as the administration has ramped up its aggressive immigration enforcement there in the past few weeks.

[Minneapolis Police Chief]

And I mean, it's everything from people are being arrested and their cars are left in the roadway, sometimes blocking the street at one case left when it wasn't even placed in park and was rolling down the road.

[Tracey Mumford]

Wait, wait. So ICE officials are taking someone out of their car, arresting them and their car is not even put in park?

[Minneapolis Police Chief]

We had that happen. We had another time where there was a dog in the car and they left the dog in the car.

[Tracey Mumford]

Wow.

[Minneapolis Police Chief]

I mean, even this morning we've gotten calls for individuals who were pepper sprayed by ice. There's just a variety of calls for service that we then have to manage and triage that were not happening before.

[Tracey Mumford]

On Air Force One yesterday. Sir, on Huron, have they crossed your red line yet to trigger response?

[Donald Trump]

They're starting to, it looks like, and there seem to be some people killed that aren't supposed to be killed.

[Tracey Mumford]

President Trump said military options are on the table for Iran as the government there cracks down on protests.

[Donald Trump]

But we're looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it and we're looking at some very strong options.

[Tracey Mumford]

Trump previously said the US Would step in if government forces killed peaceful demonstrators. Crowds have been gathering across Iran since late last month. It started as a reaction to the country's deep economic crisis and it's become a larger anti government movement. Trump has said the Iranians are looking at freedom and Quote, the US Stands ready to help as the government has tried to subdue the protests. The Internet's been cut, but reports have trickled out this weekend, including verified videos of body bags lined up outside hospitals. Human rights groups are reporting casualties in the hundreds, with no sign the authorities are relenting in response to Trump's threat. Iran's speaker of Parliament warned about retaliatory attacks, saying if the U.S. does strike Iran, quote, U.S. military and shipping lanes will be our legitimate targets. The chatbot Grok, which was created by Elon Musk's company xai, has ignited a huge backlash to the point that some countries are now blocking access to it entirely. The outrage centers on Grok's ability to churn out sexualized images of real people. For example, earlier this month, a young woman posted a picture of herself wearing a blue tank top on X, Musk's social media platform. Over the next several days, dozens of people replied to her post, asking Grok to create new images of her in lingerie or bikinis. Grok did it, attaching them as replies, and those AI images racked up thousands of views. The incident is part of a flood of Grok generated images that sexualize women and children and have been posted on X. The system has safeguards to prevent it from generating fully nude images, but some X users have found ways to circumvent that. This weekend, Indonesia and Malaysia said they would be blocking access to Grok. A Brazilian official has called for the chatbot to be banned there, and French lawmakers said they've reported X to a public prosecutor. In response to the controversy, Musk said that accounts who create sexualized images of children would suffer, quote, consequences. And the company is now limiting requests for AI images only to some paid subscribers. The Prime Minister of Britain denounced that, saying it was not a solution and insulting to victims. He said it, quote, simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service. And finally, every month in Ukraine, a small stream of people who've been caught on the other side of the front lines escape from Russian occupied territory as they've come across a border checkpoint. They've given some of the most detailed accounts yet of life under Russian rule. My colleague, Times reporter Maria Verenikova, has been interviewing some of them. She says that the children in particular have described a widespread attempt in occupied schools to indoctrinate kids and turn them into Russian national nationalists.

[Maria Verenikova]

Most children and parents told me many stories about how Russia is pushing their propaganda on them. For example, the Ukrainian language. They were not able to learn it anymore, that they were studying a lot of Russian history. And in that Russian history, there is already a bit about when Russia occupied their house, which is called liberating. They also, from young age have been marching on a schoolyard doing lots of exercises aimed at the military training, preparing them to the war. Also from very first grade at school, they are drawing, instead of some flowers, they would be drawing weapons. One mother showed me a picture of her children standing in a line in a school class holding the pictures that every child has drawn. And just looking through every picture, you could see like machine gun, tank, and every child was holding this green picture in front of them. Students and their parents and human rights experts in Ukraine told me that Russian propaganda does work and some children, they do fall for it and believe in what they have been told. For example, one boy that I spoke with told me that he indeed started believing that Ukraine have started the war and was bombing his hometown, Kherson. Because he said that seeing so many grown ups around me telling the same story, you start believing it.

[Tracey Mumford]

Those are the headlines. I'm Traci Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.