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MN Prosecutors Quit, Cancer Survival Milestone & Olympics Tickets Lottery - Wednesday, January 14, 2026
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Today is Wednesday, January 14th. We're talking about confrontations between protesters and federal agents in Minnesota and President Trump's advice to Iranian protesters who are facing mass casualties. Plus, what a hopeful new report found about cancer survival rates. Remembering a civil rights pioneer and your chance to make it to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 begins this morning. Those stories and even more news coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. Anti ICE protests are growing even more tense. Large crowds of protesters in Minnesota are rallying against what they see as overly aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. Many are also calling for justice for Renee Goode, who was shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week. It's common for activists to boo, taunt and blow whistles when they spot ICE agents passing through in unmarked vehicles or walking the streets. The idea is to warn the neighborhood and remind the government they're watching. But some believe to be impeding operations have been arrested. Federal officers have also used tear gas, pepper balls and flashbangs to get crowds to move out. Things have gotten especially heated between protesters and officers guarding the federal building in Minneapolis being used as a base for the immigration crackdown. So concrete barriers and fencing went up yesterday. President Trump defends ICE operations, saying they're only there to make Minneapolis safer and that Minnesota's Democratic leadership loves unrest because it distracts from the fraud cases under investigation there. He told the people of Minnesota that ICE wants to remove what he said were thousands of violent criminals and, quote, a day of reckoning and retribution is coming. But local officials have said ICE agents are doing more harm than good by using excessive force and causing fear and chaos. DHS says immigration agents have made thousands of arrests since their operation in Minneapolis began five weeks ago. 2,800 federal agents are on the ground, with hundreds more expected soon. Six federal prosecutors quit their jobs this week rather than work on investigations related to the Minneapolis shooting. One of them was the U.S. attorney President Trump appointed, who led a massive welfare fraud investigation that led to dozens of people being convicted. And remember, those fraud cases were cited as a main reason for the surge of immigration agents to Minnesota in the first place. But the prosecutors reportedly had concerns because the Trump administration was pressuring them to investigate Renee Goode's widow, who witnessed the shooting. Reports say they were also upset at the Justice Department for being reluctant to investigate the ICE agent who shot Good. So far, the Justice Department has not said anything about the specific prosecutors who resigned. But as we've told you, the federal government defends the ICE agent by saying he was only acting in self defense, while local officials say he recklessly killed a woman who was trying to get away. At Beast one former U.S. attorney from Minnesota says this week's resignations could decimate an office already struggling to deal with a surge in immigration enforcement and fraud cases, though reports say the Pentagon is also planning to send military lawyers to the area to help. Meanwhile, there has also been an exodus at the Justice Department's Civil Rights division. Several career prosecutors announced they were leaving after finding out there would be no civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis shooting. One DOJ official says these prosecutors were planning to retire soon anyway, well before the shooting, and the timing just influenced their decisions on when to announce their departures. Already, the civil rights division has been massively downsized since President Trump came back to office. Many of those who quit cited frustrations about how political leaders were handling other cases and sidelining prosecutors. The Office lost about 75% of its staff last year alone. President Trump is now telling Iranian protesters help is on the way. It's not clear what exactly he meant by that, though, and when asked, the president told a reporter, quote, you're going to have to figure that one out. American based activists say the death toll from Iranian protests has now topped 2,500, but it's possibly much higher. CBS News cites sources who say at least 12,000 people have actually been killed and the number could even be up to 20,000. The truth has been tough to piece together since Iran's rulers have cut off Internet access and phone service as part of the crackdown on protests. President Trump even said he hasn't been able to get an accurate number, but he's warned multiple times that if the Iranian regime killed protesters, the US Would take action. Besides saying help is on the way, Trump also gave protesters some advice on his social media site. He told them to keep protesting, take over their institutions, and to save the names of all killers and abusers. You may remember, Trump recently said Iranian officials wanted to talk, but now he says all meetings with them are canceled until the killing stops. Trump's national security team was scheduled to hold a meeting at the White House yesterday to talk about options for a potential US Intervention. It's not clear exactly what came out of that meeting. Stay tuned. Some Americans who have been detained in Venezuela have now been released. These are actually the first US Citizens freed since the US Military captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Under Maduro, the Venezuelan government held many international prisoners as bargaining chips in negotiations, especially with the US at this point, the State Department hasn't specified exactly how many American prisoners were let go. Overall, a Venezuelan civil rights group says 56 prisoners who were detained for political reasons had been freed, including Americans, Spaniards and Italians. Venezuela's interim government says the real number is 400, but didn't give any evidence of those releases or a time range of when they were let go. Either way, the US Is calling this development an important step in the right direction. The global economy is expected to weather turmoil pretty well. The World bank put out a new forecast this week that projects steady growth over the next two years. That said, it also warned that growth is too concentrated in advanced countries and overall too weak to reduce extreme poverty. Still, here in the US Affordability is a major concern. A new inflation report out this week showed prices rose 2.7% in December as compared to a year ago. That's actually pretty contained as compared to what we've seen over the last few years. But when you look at the cost of food, it's gone up more than that. In fact, grocery prices and restaurant prices saw the biggest spike since 2022. Prices for insurance and housing are also much higher than they were just a few years ago. The overall inflation rate held steady, though, mostly because of gas prices that have gone down. Now, economists say they're interested to see how inflation will fare for January and February, since many businesses adjust their prices at the start of the year. Another winter storm is expected to bring snow to several states starting today this morning. The heaviest of it is expected in parts of Indiana and Michigan, like up to 8 inches, along with strong winds that could cause whiteout conditions on the roads. Then more snow is expected starting tonight. Stretching further north and south. Snow showers could span 25 states from the Appalachians to the Mid Atlantic to the Northeast, and that's expected to stick around through the weekend. More news is still coming up, but first let's take a quick break to talk about our sponsor. Reports show that a lot of parents are concerned about microplastics in cleaning products. Yet as we reset our habits for the new year, most don't realize they're still bringing them into their homes every day. And that's why I've made the switch to Blueland across all the cleaning products in my home, especially going into the new year when I'm rethinking routines and trying to build more sustainable habits at home. Certified by Cradle to Cradle Blueland products meet the highest standard of clean. They're effective, yet gentle on people and the planet. From cleaning sprays and toilet bowl cleaner to dishwasher and laundry detergent tablets, Blueland's 100% microplastic free EPA Safer Choice certified formulas are safe to use around my family, including my son and my cat. I love not having to choose between the safe option and what actually gets my house clean. For example, the dishwasher tablets are so convenient. There's no measuring, no mess. And they clean just as well, if not better than the harsher stuff I was using before. And I feel so much better about it. Blueland has a special offer for listeners right now. You can get 15% off your first order by going to blueland.comnewsworthy. you won't want to miss this. Blueland.comnewsworthy for 15% off. That's blueland.comnewsworthy to get 15% off. OK, now back to the news. Here's a bit of good news in the fight against cancer. A new report from the American Cancer society shows that 7 in 10 people diagnosed with cancer in the US now live at least five years or more. That's a major milestone because back in the 1970s, only about half of cancer patients made it that long. By the mid-1990s, it was around 63%. Now, or at least from 2015 to 2021, it's 70%. Experts say this reflects decades of progress in treatment, early detection and prevention. Immunotherapies, for example, which help the body's own immune system find and attack cancer, have been a game changer for some cancers. Targeted therapies, which go after specific genes or proteins in cancer cells, have also helped patients live longer with fewer side effects. Declines in smoking, as well as early detection through breast, cervical, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer screenings, have played a big role as well. That said, doctors warn, progress is not even across the board. Cancer rates are rising in younger adults. For some types, obesity remains a major risk factor, and big gaps still exist by race, income and access to care. Experts also say future gains depend on continued investment in research, screening and treatment. So this milestone is both a celebration and a reminder of what's still at stake. America is saying goodbye to a woman whose actions helped spark the modern civil rights movement. Claudette Colvin died at 86 years old. But when she was just 15, Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Nine months later, Rosa Parks gained international fame for doing the same. Since it became the catalyst for the year long Montgomery bus boycott, Colvin was never as well known as parks. But the current Montgomery mayor says that's partly why she's such an important role model, as he put it. Colvin's legacy quote reminds us that movements are built not only by those whose names are most familiar, but by those whose courage comes early, quiet, and at great personal cost. In 2021, Colvin filed a petition to have her court record expunged. At the time, she said she was hoping to remind a younger generation that progress is possible and things do get better. Her request was granted. For the first time in 19 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be in the market for a new head coach. The team announced yesterday, just one day after being eliminated from the playoffs, that Mike Tomlin is stepping down with two years left in his contract. He was the longest tenured head coach in any major American professional sport, and during his 19 year run, Tomlin actually never had a losing season. He led the team to a Super bowl in 2009 and made the playoffs 13 times, but he had a losing streak during the playoffs that was apparently hard to shake. Now, this opening makes the ninth vacancy in the NFL this offseason, and it's likely not the only shakeup for the Steelers. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said last year that this season would most likely be his final one, though he hasn't made an official announcement just yet. The Summer Olympics in Los Angeles might still be two years away, but fans might want to start planning now. Starting today, prospective ticket buyers can register online, and that gets you into a lottery to get access to the first batch of tickets that will go on sale this spring. Organizers say tickets to all sports will be available. Ticket prices depend on interest in the sport and the venue. They start at just $28, and a third of overall tickets sold will cost less than $100. The opening ceremony for the LA Olympics is scheduled for July 14, 2028. The Paralympic Games will begin two weeks later. We've added a link where you can register today in today's Episode notes on thenewsworthy.com Zoe Saldana is now officially the highest grossing actor of all time. The box office website the Numbers put out its most updated list that says Saldana's movies have made more than $16.8 billion. This comes nearly a month after Fire and Ash was released, propelling her to the top spot over actress Scarlett Johansson. Besides Fire and Ice, Saldana has starred in the three highest grossing movies ever. We're talking about the original Avatar movie, its sequel the Way of Water and Endgame. She's also in popular movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek and Pirates of the Caribbean. On top of all her box office success, Saldana has earned a lot of critical acclaim. In fact, she won Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars last year for her role in Amelia Perez. And that's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Work Wednesday, when we break down one interesting career or work related news story every Wednesday. So finding a new job might not be as easy as it used to be, but some professions are definitely faring better than others. LinkedIn looked at data from the last two and a half years and put out a new list ranking the fastest growing occupations, and it may not surprise you to hear jobs in artificial intelligence made the top five spots. But not all the roles are technical. For example, some are researchers, strategists and consultants who might be asked to do things like integrate AI into a workplace, even if they're not actually building the AI systems themselves. Self employed careers also took several spots on LinkedIn's list, and the number of users adding the word founder to their profile has nearly tripled since 2022. Founder could mean people who are founding startups, but also building side hustles, consulting brands, creator led services, and more. One LinkedIn career expert has a theory that economic uncertainty may be pushing a lot more people to strike out on their own. To build experience in general, she suggests people who want a new direction check out the list, but she says even if the jobs on there aren't in your chosen business, you can think about the skills you have and how they might transfer to a role with potential for more growth. Thank you so much for listening today and for sharing the show if you found it helpful. Be back tomorrow with the latest news. Until then, have a great day.