While more and more <a href="https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/09/03/gen-z-millenials-faith-church-attendance/">young people</a> are searching for God, Catholic advocacy group CatholicVote is stepping up to meet the moment with the launch of its new platform, <a href="https://zeale.co/">Zeale</a>.
Zeale aims to put out high-quality, entertaining Catholic content – including news, podcasts, documentaries, and other special programming – while also building community and prayer life. And, most importantly, it promises to do so while never sacrificing depth or truth.
Surveys show folks in Gen Z are increasingly drawing closer to Christ, and churchgoers in this ever-online generation are actually more inclined to show up to service than other generations. Moreover, Catholic affiliation, in particular, is on the rise with young people.
CatholicVote hopes to guide and support those in this search. As the organization’s president and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt put it, Zeale is designed to “inspire every American to live out the truth through the lens of beauty and goodness.”
“Zeale engages people in the political and cultural discussions of our time through the heart and imagination,” Reinhardt said in a statement sent to The Daily Wire. The platform, she added, “helps you ‘live Catholic’ with confidence and enthusiasm.”
The new platform is accessible on mobile devices, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.zeale.app&amp;hl=en_US">available</a> to download on the App Store and Google Play, meeting Gen Z in their own space. The platform is also <a href="https://zeale.co/">available</a> on desktop.
<div id="attachment_1033907" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1033907" class="wp-image-1033907 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot-384x576.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Kelsey-Reinhardt-headshot.jpg 837w" sizes=" (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" />Kelsey Reinhardt, Courtesy of CatholicVote</div>
Zeale will feature CatholicVote’s new Morning LOOPcast, which is a video roundup of the day’s most compelling headlines, in addition to the organization’s beloved daily news roundup, The Loop.
Users will also have access to a growing library of podcasts, documentaries, and special programming — covering everything from fashion and food, to sports and travel, prayers and spirituality, human-interest stories, cultural issues, and even games.
Prayer, unsurprisingly, is also a huge focus of Zeale. The platform allows users to access daily Mass readings and connect with fellow Catholics. Notably, you can pray with and for others, submit prayer intentions, and join the Zeale community when urgent news calls for collective prayer.
“Zeale is the hub for Catholics who want to stay informed and respond together, thoughtfully, collectively and prayerfully when crises arise,” Reinhardt said.

Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 8.23.37 PM

‘Gen Z Is Searching For God’: CatholicVote Meets The Moment, Launches New Faith Platform

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Three of the world&#8217;s largest social media platforms are heading to court on Tuesday as they defend themselves in a bellwether social media addiction case.
The California Superior Court in Los Angeles County is set to hear the case, which alleges that Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have contributed to the growing problem of social media addiction and the mental health issues that stem from it. Jury selection for the trial begins on Tuesday, with opening arguments scheduled for next week. The case is part of a coordinated effort across the country that includes hundreds of similar cases where litigants accuse social media giants of fueling addiction.
In the case before the California Superior Court, a 19-year-old woman, referred to as K.G.M., argues that social media platforms have knowingly designed their platforms to get children and young users addicted. Studies have shown that social media features such as autoplay and infinite scroll induce a dopamine hit, which can lead to users spending hours on platforms each day.
K.G.M.&#8217;s social media addiction <a href="https://www.carriermanagement.com/news/2025/10/21/280613.htm">resulted</a> in crippling depression, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts, according to the lawsuit. K.G.M.&#8217;s case is just the first of many that are expected to trial this year, targeting Snapchat, Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, which is owned by Google. Snapchat settled with K.G.M., but it remains a defendant in numerous other social media cases that are set to go before state and federal courts.
YouTube told The Daily Wire that the allegations it faces in the cases “are simply not true.”
“Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work,” said YouTube spokesman José Castañeda. “In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls. The allegations in these complaints are simply not true.”
The Daily Wire also reached out to Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. Snapchat told The Daily Wire that it was &#8220;pleased&#8221; to have settled the K.G.M. case in &#8220;an amicable manner.&#8221;
The K.G.M trial will likely put Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the witness stand, where he will have to answer questions in front of a jury. Meta’s lawyers <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/meta-tiktok-youtube-stand-trial-youth-addiction-claims-2026-01-26/">told</a> Reuters that the social media giant will argue before the court that its platform did not lead to K.G.M’s mental health issues. YouTube said it will argue that its platform is different from those of the other defendants and shouldn&#8217;t be considered in the same case as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
The California Superior Court trial could shape public opinion on social media platforms moving forward as the companies face more trials, including one in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which is set to begin on June 12. The lawsuit before the federal court was filed by school districts, which argue that social media addiction fueled by social media companies “not only harms individual children and their loved ones but also causes substantial and financially burdensome interference with school district, county, and municipal operations.”
In recent years, Meta has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ig-introduces-teen-accounts-with-built-in-privacy-settings-to-better-support-parents">rolled out</a> online safety features for children using Instagram. The platform&#8217;s &#8220;Teen Accounts&#8221; keep children&#8217;s accounts private, meaning other Instagram users cannot see posts from or contact a Teen Account unless the teenager accepts their follow requests. Instagram also censors content on Teen Accounts, so that children are not shown content that features fighting or cosmetic procedures.
TikTok, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/support/faq_detail?id=7543604789335071238&amp;category=web_account">created</a> &#8220;a separate TikTok experience specifically designed&#8221; for kids under 13 years old. The &#8220;TikTok Under 13 Experience&#8221; curates content that is more appropriate for young children, makes all accounts private, and limits screen time to one hour. YouTube also has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/intl/ALL_us/kids/safer-experience/">kids version</a> of the platform that is &#8220;designed to be a safer and simpler place for kids to explore their interests through online video.&#8221; YouTube requires videos uploaded on YouTube Kids to be &#8220;family-friendly.&#8221;
The effects of social media on children has become a hot topic in recent years, and the issue gained more attention after the book, &#8220;The Anxious Generation,&#8221; by Jonathan Haidt was published in 2024. In the book, Haidt, a social psychologist, argues that anxiety and depression skyrocketed in the past 15 years, coinciding with what he calls the &#8220;great rewiring of childhood,&#8221; which is the flip from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood.
The social media addiction case in California comes as some countries move to ban social media for children. Last month, Australia became the first nation in the world to ban social media for kids under 16. Malaysia has introduced a similar social media ban, and Utah passed a law in 2024 requiring social media platforms to verify a users&#8217; age and obtain parental consent, but parts of the law were temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

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Bellwether Social Media Addiction Trial Puts Instagram, YouTube, And TikTok In The Crosshairs

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Border Patrol commander at large Gregory Bovino was relieved of his national duties and returned to his California post on Monday, the latest development in the Trump administration&#8217;s response to tensions in Minneapolis.
Bovino, who has been one of the most visible faces of the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, is expected to leave the Twin Cities with several Border Patrol agents this week amid growing backlash over enforcement tactics that ignited protests and political fury in the state. Sources familiar with the matter say federal leadership is recalibrating strategy as the operation transitions to new command.
Bovino&#8217;s reassignment comes just hours after President Donald Trump announced that he was dispatching Border Czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis, which has been gripped by unrest after the Saturday killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent. As The Daily Wire&#8217;s Jennie Taer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-trump-administrations-growing-divide-over-mass-deportation-raids?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=Original&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Inside+The+Trump+Administration%E2%80%99s+Growing+Divide+Over+Mass+Deportation+Raids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Monday, there is a growing divide in the Trump administration over how to handle deportations, with Homan squaring off against Bovino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Bovino has also been suspended from accessing his official social media accounts, a move confirmed by a source within Homeland Security, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/26/politics/gregory-bovino-minnneapolis-exit-ice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>. The suspension comes after a string of aggressive posts by Bovino defending Border Patrol actions and trading barbs with critics online following Pretti&#8217;s death &#8212; behavior that drew attention from lawmakers and media alike.
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin pushed back on rumors that Bovino was “relieved of duty,” insisting that he remains employed and will continue to be a part of the agency’s leadership nationally. McLaughlin described Bovino as “a key part of the President’s team&#8221; in an X post.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties. As <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@PressSec</a> stated from the White House podium, <a href="https://twitter.com/CMDROpAtLargeCA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@CMDROpAtLargeCA</a> is a key part of the President’s team and a great American. <a href="https://t.co/qj3E9B8uzg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://t.co/qj3E9B8uzg</a>
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) <a href="https://twitter.com/TriciaOhio/status/2015939758858371393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Bovino is expected to return to California, where he previously served as chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector. The post covers roughly 70 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, including Imperial and Riverside Counties, and oversees a mix of rural and urban areas with significant immigration activity. El Centro has long been considered a key operational sector for the Border Patrol, making Bovino’s return a prominent assignment even as he leaves the high-profile Minneapolis deployment.
While DHS maintains Bovino’s overall status has not changed, his high‑profile role in Minnesota has been supplanted as the administration seeks to tamp down political fallout and reassert control on strategy and messaging.
Trump on Monday announced that he held productive phone calls with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. In a series of social media posts, Trump said he and Walz had discussed the situation on the ground and were now on “a similar wavelength.&#8221;
“We had a good conversation,” Trump wrote, adding that both sides agreed tensions in Minnesota needed to be brought under control.
Walz confirmed the call, saying he urged the administration to de-escalate the federal presence and restore coordination with state and local authorities. “What Minnesota needs right now is calm, clarity, and accountability,” Walz said following the conversation.

CBP Commissioner Gregory Bovino faces protest in Minnesota

Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino Relieved Of Post Amid Minnesota Scandal

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Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino will reportedly leave Minnesota immediately as the Trump administration handles fallout from a fatal agent-involved shooting.
Bovino will exit the state along with a portion of Border Patrol agents, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/minneapolis-shooting-alex-pretti/card/gregory-bovino-to-leave-minnesota-imminently-administration-officials-say-frrOvYHhip0aGJEmPlz5?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos3">The Wall Street Journal</a>. President Donald Trump has said that he will recall all Border Patrol agents from Minnesota if the state agrees to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that if Minnesota and local authorities change their approach to ICE and agree to assist federal authorities in apprehending illegal aliens, the president would withdraw Border Patrol from the state.
“If Governor [Tim Walz] and Mayor [Jacob Frey] implement these common sense cooperative measures that, I will add, have already been implemented in nearly every single other state across the country, Customs and Border Patrol will not be needed to support ICE on the ground in Minnesota,” <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/2015853983022137651">said</a> Leavitt. “ICE and local law enforcement can peacefully work together as they are effectively doing in so many other states and jurisdictions.”
Tensions in Minneapolis have exploded after two immigration enforcement-involved shootings this month. On Saturday, a Customs and Border Protection agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA hospital, who was allegedly interfering with immigration operations in the city. Pretti’s death came just weeks after Renee Good was shot and killed in her vehicle after appearing to drive in the direction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.
As Bovino withdraws from the state, border czar Tom Homan is traveling to Minnesota to take the lead in mediating between state and local authorities and federal immigration authorities, the White House announced on Monday.
“Mr. Homan is the point-person in cooperating with state and local authorities and corresponding with them, again, to achieve this level of cooperation to subdue the chaos on the streets of Minneapolis,” <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2015858143268360266">said</a> Leavitt.
The president spoke with Walz and Frey over the phone on Monday and had positive reports about both calls. Of Walz, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115962378381121858">said</a> that he and the Minnesota governor “seemed to be on a similar wavelength” regarding the future of immigration operations in the state. Of Frey, Trump described the conversation as “very good” and said the mayor would be meeting with Homan on Tuesday.
Rhetoric from state leaders and administration officials flared in the aftermath of the Good and Pretti shootings. On Sunday, Walz suggested that illegal aliens in his state were experiencing a version of the tragedy of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who hid from the Nazi regime in an attic for over two years before dying in a concentration camp during the Holocaust.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist.”
“Violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and to perpetuate violence. That is the definition of domestic terrorism,” <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/25/trump-officials-stick-terrorist-label-on-americans-killed-by-dhs">said</a> Noem.

Gregory Bovino

Border Patrol Partially Withdraws From Minnesota After Pretti Shooting

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The Department of Education referred its Minnesota transgender athletes investigation to the Justice Department on Monday, a major step toward pulling funding for the Democrat-run state&#8217;s education and high school sports agencies.
Minnesota has so far refused to negotiate with the Trump administration on the issue after the federal government found that the state violated Title IX by allowing boys to compete against girls. Now, Minnesota is close to losing its federal funding from the Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, The Daily Caller <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2026/01/26/minnesota-trump-administration-title-ix-education-department-health-human-services/">reported</a>. The DOJ referral comes as the Trump administration targets Minnesota in its immigration enforcement operation and over allegations of massive fraud.
&#8220;As Minnesota reels from a fraud scandal, @GovTimWalz is fighting to keep men in women’s sports,&#8221; Education Secretary Linda McMahon <a href="https://x.com/EDSecMcMahon/status/2015868775153782813">wrote</a> on X. &#8220;Now, he’ll have to make his case in court.&#8221;
The Education Department and HHS <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-and-us-department-of-health-and-human-services-find-minnesota-violated-title-ix">said</a> last September that their investigation found the Minnesota State High School League was in violation of Title IX by allowing boys who identified as girls to compete against girls in high school sports. Minnesota was the center of a sports controversy last spring when a male pitcher <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/girls-softball-team-sparks-outrage-after-suspected-male-pitcher-leads-them-to-state-tournament">dominated</a> the girls&#8217; state softball tournament. The Trump administration also said that Minnesota allowed boys to compete against girls in Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, lacrosse, track and field, and volleyball.
The Minnesota Department of Education has argued that Title IX &#8220;requires schools provide transgender students with the right to participate in…athletics in a manner consistent with their gender identity&#8221; and that “transgender and gender nonconforming students should be afforded the opportunity to use the restroom of their choice&#8221; &#8212; positions that directly contradict the Trump administration&#8217;s interpretation of the law.
“Despite repeated opportunities to comply with Title IX, Minnesota has chosen defiance – continuing to jeopardize the safety of women and girls, deny them fair competition, and erode their right to equal access in educational programs and activities,” McMahon told The Daily Caller.
&#8220;The Trump Administration will not stop until accountability is delivered for Minnesota’s students,” she added.
Minnesota leftist Attorney General Keith Ellison <a href="https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2025/04/22_EO_TitleIX.asp">sued</a> the Trump administration over the president&#8217;s executive order on keeping men out of women&#8217;s sports, arguing that the Trump administration is &#8220;bullying vulnerable children.&#8221; Ellison said last year that Trump does not have the authority to override Minnesota state law that allows trans-identifying athletes to compete in sports categories that match their gender identities.
Trump signed an executive order in February banning boys and men from competing against female athletes, threatening to strip federal funding from states that don’t obey the order. The Trump administration has also gone after Maine and California for violating Title IX protections for women and girls.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

Trump Admin Moves Closer To Yanking Federal Funding For Minnesota Over Trans Athletes Probe

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Kyle Wagner, a crossdressing Antifa leader who incited violence in Minneapolis over social media, has been kicked off Venmo and Instagram, The Daily Wire has learned.
Following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents on Saturday, Wagner took to social media to encourage his followers to take up arms and clash with law enforcement on the streets of Minneapolis.
&#8220;Show up ready to go. Not talking about peaceful protests anymore,&#8221; Wagner said, calling on people to &#8220;march&#8230;with guns&#8221; and saying &#8220;the Second Amendment is the only thing that&#8217;s going to keep you f*cking protected from literal f*cking Nazi gunmen.&#8221;
&#8220;Get your f*cking guns, and stop these f*cking people,&#8221; he added.
After this initial call, the self-described Antifa member — clad in tactical gear and a bullet-proof vest, not the women&#8217;s clothing he often dons — solicited money from his followers.
“My link to my Venmo is in my bio,&#8221; he said. “It’s an emergency freedom and defense fund.&#8221;
&#8220;I’m not going to tell you what I’m spending my money on,&#8221; Wagner added. &#8220;I&#8217;m not gonna tell you why I need you to give me large sums of money right now. I just want you to understand that this is an actual guerrilla war in our streets now. They&#8217;re using live ammunition to kill our citizens. I need everyone to show up, fully prepared — whatever that means to you — to whatever degree you can.&#8221;
Within minutes of the video going live, supporters started sending funds over Venmo. Payment notes reviewed by The Daily Wire included, “For protecting women and children” and “Give them hell.”
Hours later, Venmo deactivated Wagner’s account for violating its terms of service. Users attempting to send money were met with an error message from Venmo stating, “We’re sorry, the transaction could not be completed. Please contact the person you are trying to pay.”
On Monday, Wagner&#8217;s Instagram account was deleted, and he appears to have been removed from Facebook and TikTok as well.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: Antifa leader in Minneapolis Kyle Wagner has been taken off <a href="https://twitter.com/instagram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@instagram</a>. Earlier today he was taken off <a href="https://twitter.com/Venmo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Venmo</a>.
He had been using the platform to incite violence against ICE agents, raise money to fund riots. Nice to see reason prevail. <a href="https://t.co/ErZJNpkykR">pic.twitter.com/ErZJNpkykR</a>
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentScher/status/2015892824504332303?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
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A GoFundMe campaign remains active in which Wagner asks for $50,000 to help him “replace my essential documents, apply for political asylum, and relocate my belongings into safe storage.”
Wagner says, “Every dollar will go directly toward helping me flee this persecution and secure a future where I am not hunted for my beliefs.”
He tells would-be donors that with their support, “we can make a difference and ensure that I am able to continue fighting for what is right.”
The Daily Wire reached out to GoFundMe for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Among Wagner’s previous calls to action were videos unrelated to protest activity, including clips in which he appeared dressed in women’s clothing. In one video, Wagner abandoned his tactical wear for a red spaghetti-strap dress, hoop earrings, and heeled boots.
“I do this all year, all the time,” he said. “I do this for me … I like to get real clean and pretty and go out and shoot pool or get dinner and go dance.”
Wagner is just one of many activists calling for retaliation for Pretti&#8217;s death, which led to widespread demonstrations across the city. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz deployed the National Guard on Saturday, though unrest continues. On Monday, protesters vandalized a hotel where immigration officials were staying.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott shared images of the damaged hotel, stating, &#8220;This is our Border Patrol being targeted at their hotel in Minneapolis—surrounded, blocked in, glass smashed, [and] people trying to force their way inside.&#8221;
&#8220;This is not a protest,&#8221; he added. &#8220;This is an attack on law enforcement.&#8221;
Walz on Monday called President Donald Trump, and had a conversation the president described as &#8220;very good.&#8221; Trump added that he and Walz &#8220;actually seemed to be on a similar wavelength,&#8221; and said the Democrat &#8220;was happy&#8221; that Border Czar Tom Homan was set to visit Minneapolis.

Venmo/Antifa

Crossdressing Antifa Leader Who Incited Violence In Minneapolis Kicked Off Venmo, Instagram

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Winter Storm Fern is <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/winter-weather/live-blog/live-updates-winter-storm-freezing-rain-snow-rcna255871">responsible</a> for at least 17 deaths so far, with fatalities reported in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Kansas, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Arkansas.
Officials in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Louisiana have each reported three deaths. Mississippi and Texas have reported two deaths each. The other states have reported one death each, per officials.
The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed that an 86-year-old man died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves also confirmed two weather-related fatalities from the winter storm, per NBC News. Ohio police announced a tragic incident in which a snowmobiler was struck and killed by a plow truck.
<a href="https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/deadly-historic-winter-storm-ice-power-outages-south-snow-northeast">Fox Weather</a> reported on the death of a 16-year-old girl in Frisco, Texas. The teenager died after a sledding crash, and another teenager is in critical condition. Local police said the two were being pulled by an SUV when the sled hit a tree.
In Pennsylvania, the coroner&#8217;s office said three people died in three separate medical incidents while they were cleaning up snow on Sunday, according to Fox Weather. The outlet also reported that a Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority snowplow struck a married couple who were on a walk. The wife died from her injuries.
In New York, several deaths are being investigated as potentially weather-related, so the number of dead could rise.
The Northeast is getting the last bit of snowfall from the storm, but the bitter cold temperatures aren&#8217;t moving out.
According to The Weather Channel, the cold could last well into next week. The National Weather Service has issued extreme cold alerts in parts of the Midwest, South, and Ohio Valley as the frigid air arrives.
More than a dozen low-temperature records were broken Monday morning. Some of the cities that dropped to their lowest temperatures include: New Orleans at 27 degrees, San Antonio and Austin at 19 degrees, Tulsa at 0 degrees, and Springfield, Missouri, at a record -11 degrees.
The Arctic blast will refreeze existing ice and snow, making power outages worse, especially in the South, where ice has been the biggest threat.
The cold temperatures are devastating to regions of the country dealing with power outages. There are more than 800,000 people without power, including 250,000 in Tennessee alone.
In Mississippi, more than 145,750 people are without power. Louisiana isn&#8217;t far behind, with 117,325 customers still in the dark. Texas has nearly 50,000 without power.

Credit: Jon Cherry via Getty Images

Death Toll Rising From Winter Storm As Parts Of Country Remain In Sub-Freezing Temperatures

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A  bookstore owner from Minneapolis who has joined an “economic blackout” to protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement likened ICE to Nazi death camps, saying, “I&#8217;m not saying they&#8217;re putting people in ovens — yet.”
On CNN’s “The Lead,” host Jake Tapper noted, “Hundreds of businesses statewide have closed in solidarity, joining in a so-called economic blackout. One of those businesses participating is an independent bookstore in Minneapolis called Moon Palace Books and the co-owner, Jamie Schwesnedl, joins me now. Jamie, why was it important for you and your wife to close your bookstore today?”
“Well, Jake, we can&#8217;t do business as usual right now anyway because our city has been invaded by masked gunmen kidnapping family members and friends and neighbors of ours to send them to concentration camps,” Schwesnedl replied. “Additionally, there&#8217;s a lot of businesses in our area that have staff or customers or owners who are afraid to come to work, afraid to come in and shop. People are closing down today and we felt like it wouldn&#8217;t be kind or fair for us to stay open. So we&#8217;re closing in solidarity to help send a message.”
“I&#8217;m not here to defend ICE, but I&#8217;m not a big fan of people using the term concentration camp to describe detention camps,” Tapper protested. “That has a very specific meaning in terms of people that —”
“I understand that,” Schwesnedl responded. “But they take people to Fort Snelling here, which literally was built as a concentration camp. And Alligator Alcatraz, which I think we can all agree is a concentration camp. Not saying they&#8217;re Dachau, I&#8217;m not saying they&#8217;re putting people in ovens yet, but these are concentration camps.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
CNN guest implies ICE will soon start to &#8220;put people in ovens&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Nieyp5FrRO">pic.twitter.com/Nieyp5FrRO</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2015827740776083877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Schwesnedl’s outrageous comparison of ICE to Nazis mocks the horrific mass murder of six million Jews and millions of others committed by the German Reich during World War II and their deadly efficiency at doing so.
The elite of society joined in the Nazis’ mass murder, whether engineers, scientists, lawyers, bankers, or doctors. In just one example, in October 1941, SS architect Walter Dejaco <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/25/opinion/walter-dejaco-auschwitz-architect/">drafted</a> Auschwitz’s first industrial crematorium, applying professional precision to mass murder. His designs solved the Nazis’ central logistical problem: not how to kill Jews, but how to dispose of bodies at scale. The crematoria and gas chambers he helped design could incinerate thousands daily, mostly Jews. Historians argue Dejaco was “more effective at killing” than guards, because his architectural efficiency made genocide feasible.

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Minneapolis Bookstore Owner Sparks Outrage By Comparing ICE To Nazi Death Camps On CNN

Media

Nazis

Jan 26 (Reuters) &#8211; A powerful winter storm sweeping across much of the United States forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights and delay hundreds on Monday, as freezing rain and heavy snowfall disrupted travel and snarled transportation networks.
About 3,800 flights were canceled, and more than 1,000 were delayed as of early Monday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware, following more than 11,000 cancellations reported on Sunday.
The number of cancellations and delays was expected to rise as the day progressed.
Low pressure south of New England is expected to move east over the Atlantic on Monday, bringing heavy snow to parts of the Northeast and freezing rain across sections of the Mid-Atlantic, the U.S. National Weather Service said.
Snow is also expected along the Appalachian region, while rain will spread along the Southeast coast as a cold front moves offshore, the agency said.
American Airlines accounted for the largest share of disruptions on Monday, with more than 600 flights canceled and about 135 delayed, followed by Republic Airways, JetBlue Airways, and Delta Air Lines.
Shares of American Airlines, Delta Air, and United Airlines fell nearly 1% each in premarket trading.
The disruptions also left thousands of travel plans in limbo. Passengers inundated carriers on social media platforms such as X seeking clarity on flight schedules.
MORE DISRUPTION LIKELY
The Federal Aviation Administration said in an advisory that weather-related constraints, including snow, freezing rain and low visibility, were affecting major hubs such as Boston and the New York-area airspace.
The agency said ground stops and delay programs could be imposed through the afternoon at airports including LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International, Philadelphia International, Newark Liberty International and Washington Dulles International if conditions worsen.
Major American carriers rolled out sweeping travel waivers and flexible re-booking options to assist passengers whose travel plans were disrupted by the cancellations.
Airline operations are highly interconnected, meaning cancellations can leave aircraft and crews out of position, complicating efforts to restore normal flight schedules.
International operations were also affected by the extreme weather. Dutch carrier KLM said some of its U.S.-bound flights were disrupted over the weekend, but added that all services to the country were expected to operate normally on Monday.
ROADS BATTERED, THOUSANDS WITHOUT POWER
The storm also impeded road travel. The Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that driving conditions could become dangerous as blizzard-like conditions, strong winds, and ice spread further.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of customers across several states, from Tennessee to the Carolinas, reported power outages, with Tennessee reporting the most cases.
More than 820,000 customers were without electricity as of early hours on Monday, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Joanna Plucinska in London; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
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Travellers at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Massive Winter Storm Wreaks Havoc On Travel, Cancels Flights

More than 4,000 flights were canceled in the U.S. on Saturday ahead of a monster winter storm that has already cut power to more than 100,000 utility customers as far west as Texas, and threatened to paralyze eastern states with heavy snowfall.
Forecasters said snow, sleet and freezing rain, accompanied by dangerously frigid temperatures, would sweep the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday and into next week.
Calling the storms &#8220;historic,&#8221; President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia.
&#8220;We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,&#8221; Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said.
&#8220;We do have tens of thousands of people in affected states in the South that have lost power. We have utility crews that are working to restore that as quick as possible,&#8221; DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said late Saturday afternoon.
The number of power outages continued to rise. As of 6:30 pm ET, more than 130,000 U.S. customers had lost electricity, the bulk of them in Texas and Louisiana, according to PowerOutage.com.
The U.S. National Weather Service warned of an unusually expansive and long-duration winter storm that will bring widespread, heavy ice accumulation in the southeast U.S. and cited &#8220;crippling to locally catastrophic impacts.&#8221;
Weather service forecasters predicted record cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills descending further into the Great Plains region of the U.S. by Monday.
As of 6:42 p.m. EST, more than 4,000 U.S. flights scheduled for Saturday had been canceled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. More than 9,000 U.S. flights originally set for Sunday also have been canceled, the website indicated.
Major U.S. airlines warned passengers to stay alert for abrupt flight changes and cancellations.
In an update on its website on Saturday morning, Delta Air said it “continues to make schedule adjustments due to Winter Storm Fern,” with additional cancellations in the morning for Atlanta and along the East Coast, including Delta hubs in Boston and New York City.
The airline said it was relocating experts from cold weather hubs to support de-icing and baggage teams at several southern airports.
JetBlue said as of Saturday morning it had canceled about 1,000 flights through Monday, with additional cancellations possible, as it was “closely monitoring” forecasts for the storm.
U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts.
Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said if its ice forecast holds, it could be among the largest-ever winter events to affect the utility&#8217;s operations.
Noem, speaking at a news conference about U.S. government preparations for the storm, warned Americans to take precautions.
&#8220;It’s going to be very, very cold,&#8221; Noem said. &#8220;So we&#8217;d encourage everybody to stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together.&#8221;
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Sergio Non, David Gregorio and Chizu Nomiyama)

Snowstorm

Winter Storm Leads To More Than 100,000 Power Outages, Thousands Of Flight Cancellations

Texas

Winter storm

U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts as frigid weather hitting half of the country&#8217;s population stressed their operations.
The PJM Interconnection &#8211; the largest U.S. regional grid that serves 67 million people in the East and Mid-Atlantic &#8211; reported temporary spikes in spot wholesale electricity prices that soared above $3,000 per megawatt hour on Saturday morning from earlier levels of less than $200 per MWh.
Older power plants, typically idled much of the year, are coming online to take advantage of the elevated prices to serve higher than expected demand, said Georg Rute, CEO of grid software company Gridraven, and an expert on how weather affects power line capacity.
&#8220;A 40-year-old gas turbine switches on because it sees these super-high prices,&#8221; Rute told Reuters. He added it is a sign of stress in the PJM system and elsewhere.
Prices also soared in other regions as stormy weather and temperatures hovering around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius) pushed up electricity demand and prompted some operators to shut in natural gas production in key basins, while grid companies also faced constraints on gas pipeline supply.
Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said if its ice forecast holds, it has the potential to be one of the largest winter events to affect the utility&#8217;s operations.
While regional grid operators juggle restricted fuel supplies, congested transmission lines and wild weather, electric utilities are staging crews to repair expected ice and snow damage on low-voltage distribution lines that bring power to homes and businesses.
Faced with constricted gas supplies, regional U.S. grid operators are asking coal and gas-fired power plants to boost output, according to grid operations reports.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator called on power plants to maximize output and curtailed electricity exports in a territory that stretches across 15 states in the Midwest and South and Manitoba, Canada.
Over the past 24 hours, MISO imported up to several thousand megawatts of power from PJM&#8217;s territory to meet demand, according to MISO&#8217;s operations reports.
PJM faces greater reliability threats in winter because natural gas plants &#8211; the backbone of its generation &#8211; frequently face fuel supply constraints and mechanical freezing during extreme cold, according to analysts at consulting firm ICF International.
Neighboring grid MISO issued an all-hands-on-deck emergency action designed to avoid capacity shortfalls as some power plants are forced offline or reduce their output because of freezing temperatures, alerting utilities to be prepared to produce as much electricity as possible.
MISO spot wholesale electricity prices soared to nearly $500 per MWh in MISO&#8217;s Minnesota hub, as the upper Midwest experienced transmission bottlenecks across high-voltage power lines. By contrast, spot electricity prices in MISO&#8217;s southern territory were less than $50 per MWh.
In New England, fuel oil generation kicked into high gear to help the six-state region&#8217;s electric grid conserve natural gas, its top fuel source.
Early Saturday, oil-fired generation accounted for 35% of the New England grid&#8217;s output, compared with a typical level of about 1% or less, ISO New England&#8217;s operations display showed. Natural gas, usually the grid&#8217;s main fuel source, accounted for 22% of the grid&#8217;s generation output.
New England spot electricity prices were more than $300 per MWh, or about double the price on Friday.
For the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the winter storm is the biggest test for the state&#8217;s main grid operator since 2021, when a storm nearly caused a catastrophic regional blackout.
More than 200 people died as ERCOT lost about half of its generation capacity amid frigid weather.
Since then, stricter state and federal rules have been implemented to require better winter readiness by utilities and grid operators throughout the country.
Rute said ERCOT appears to be in good shape as it has abundant fossil-fuel generation, big contributions from wind and solar power, and more battery storage than any other grid.
&#8220;I think there&#8217;s very little chance of a (2021) rerun,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But no blackout happens the same way twice.&#8221;
(Reporting by Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Jan Harvey, Liz Hampton, Rod Nickel)

Icicles

Frigid Weather Stresses U.S. Electric Grid

Electricity

power grid

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the Justice Department established probable cause to charge former CNN host Don Lemon and four others over the anti-ICE church storming in Minneapolis last weekend. The appeals court, however, declined to force a lower court judge to sign arrest warrants.
The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth District was unsealed on Saturday after the Justice Department asked the appeals court to force a lower district court in Minnesota to sign the five arrest warrants. The ruling did not make the names of the five defendants public, but CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/appeals-court-don-lemon-protest-minnesota-probable-cause/">reported</a> that its sources confirmed one of the defendants is Lemon. The Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-vows-to-pursue-don-lemon-charges-to-the-ends-of-the-earth?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DOJ+Vows+To+Pursue+Don+Lemon+Charges+%E2%80%98To+The+Ends+Of+The+Earth%E2%80%99">vowed</a> on Friday to pursue charges against Lemon &#8220;to the ends of the Earth.&#8221;
While Friday&#8217;s ruling supported the Trump administration&#8217;s pursuit of charging Lemon on paper, it did not solve the Justice Department&#8217;s request. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon responded to the ruling, <a href="https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2015140496344314364">writing</a> on X, &#8220;Stay tuned 🤨.&#8221; The Justice Department could now seek a grand jury indictment or represent the charges to a magistrate judge.&#8221;
Lemon joined a large group of anti-ICE protesters who stormed Cities Church in Minneapolis last Sunday during the worship service because one of the church&#8217;s pastors is believed to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Three of the anti-ICE agitators who organized the church storming have been arrested by the FBI, including Black Lives Matter activist Nekima Levy Armstrong.
Lemon&#8217;s attorney argued that he is protected under the First Amendment since he was with the anti-ICE agitators to cover the church storming as an independent journalist. The Justice Department, however, argues that Lemon was coordinating with leaders of the anti-ICE group before the church storming.
“Freedom of the press extends to a lot of different areas,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier this week. “It does not extend to somebody just trespassing and being embedded with a group of rioters and being part of the group that storms inside of a church.&#8221;
Magistrate Judge Doug Micko refused to sign the arrest warrant for Lemon, saying that federal prosecutors failed to present enough evidence to justify his arrest.
The Trump administration is pursuing charges against Lemon and others who participated in the storming of Cities Church through the FACE Act, which penalizes people for interfering with Americans who are exercising their right to religious freedom. The FACE act was used by the Biden administration to go after pro-lifers who were accused of blocking access to abortion clinics.
News of the appeals court ruling broke as Minneapolis erupts into chaos again after an armed man was shot and killed by federal agents on Saturday morning. Video showed federal officers attempting to detain a man on the street during what the Department of Homeland Security said was a &#8220;targeted operation&#8221; for an illegal immigrant &#8220;wanted for violent assault.&#8221; The man was armed with a loaded &#8220;semi-automatic handgun&#8221; and was shot and killed by a federal agent who was fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow agents, according to Homeland Security.

Don Lemon

Appeals Court Finds Probable Cause To Charge Don Lemon, But Rejects DOJ’s Bid To Force Arrest Warrant

Department of Justice

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