First Thing: Federal agent in Minneapolis shoots man as tensions in city run high | US news

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A federal officer shot a man in the leg during an enforcement operation in north Minneapolis, sparking protests in the city still on edge following the killing of Renee Nicole Good by a federal agent last week.

According to eyewitnesses, the attack occurred around 19:00 local time. Hundreds of protesters gathered at the scene Wednesday night and confronted agents who blockaded the area and used smoke and other crowd control weapons.

At a press conference at Minneapolis City Hall on Wednesday night, police Chief Brian O’Hara said protesters were “engaging in unlawful behavior” and urged anyone gathered at the scene to leave the area.

• What did the mayor of Minneapolis do? to say? “I have seen disgusting and intolerable behavior by ICE,” Jacob Frey said. But he urged protesters to go home. “We cannot counter Donald Trump’s chaos with more chaos… Anyone taking the bait tonight, stop. You are not helping undocumented immigrants in our city.”

Trump said Iran told him “the killings have stopped” as he backed off attack threats

Donald Trump has at least temporarily retreated from threats to attack Iran, saying he has been assured that the killing of protesters has stopped and no executions are planned.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday night, the US president said: “We have been told that the killings in Iran have stopped – they have stopped – they are stopping. And there is no plan for execution, execution or execution – so they told me that from a reliable source.” He gave no details and said the US had not yet confirmed the allegations.

• What did Trump say he would do? Trump has repeatedly talked about coming to the aid of the Iranian people in recent days, saying the United States would be “locked and loaded” if Iran opened fire on protesters.

Trump administration halted immigrant visa processing from 75 countries

The Trump administration has indefinitely suspended immigrant visas for people from 75 countries, in one of its most sweeping efforts yet to restrict legal routes to the United States.

The freeze, which will take effect on January 21, targets applicants defined as people who may rely on government benefits for basic needs, which authorities think will become a “public liability.”

The State Department wrote on social media that it would “pause processing immigrant visas from 75 countries where immigrants receive unacceptable rates of benefits from the American people.”

• Which countries are affected? The Guardian has obtained a foreign ministry cable containing the full list of affected countries, which can be viewed here.

In other news…

• Elon Musk’s X announces that AI-powered Grok feature has stopped editing photos of real people to show them in revealing clothing like bikinis, including premium subscribers.

• Donald Trump reiterated yesterday that the US needs Greenland and that Denmark cannot be trusted to protect the island. Regarding the future management of Denmark’s overseas territories, he said “something will work out”.

• Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised at a Ford plant in Michigan for an autoworker who was fired without pay after heckling Donald Trump. TJ Sabula reportedly called the president a “pedophile protector”; Trump responded by raising his middle finger.

Fact of the day: Gaza war causes 41% drop in births and sparks allegations of reproductive violence

Two reports on the impact of the conflict on pregnant women, babies and maternity care reveal that Israel’s war in Gaza has led to a 41% drop in births in the region and a high number of maternal deaths, miscarriages, neonatal deaths and premature births.

The filter suggests: 12 book-like things that will help you read more books

“I’ve consistently finished about a book a week since Covid. Kindle aside, some simple strategies have helped me become a better reader,” writes Lauren Gould. “Whether you’re a busy business executive or a student drowning in homework, these strategies can help you, too. Below, I’ve shared 12 of my favorite ways to read often and lots, including a completely free (and legitimate) way to access ebooks, including new releases.”

Don’t miss this: The crisis whisperer – How Adam Tooze makes sense of our surprising age

Whether it is the financial crisis, the climate emergency, or the collapse of the international order, historian Adam Tooze has become the go-to guide to the radical new world we have entered. Since Tooze published Crashed in 2018, his “contemporary history” of the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, he has become, in the words of his editor at the Financial Times Jonathan Derbyshire, “a kind of platonic ideal of the universal intellectual”.

…or this one: ‘It’s a nasty little song, it’s actually pretty bad’ – How Every Breath You Take ripped apart Sting and the Police

This week’s UK supreme court hearings between Sting and his former Police bandmates Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers are the latest chapter in the life of a song whose negative energy seems to have seeped into real life. Every Breath You Take, which Sting once called a “nasty little song, really pretty bad,” is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Copeland and Summers against Sting, alleging that Sting owes royalties.

Climate control: Experts say human activities are helping make 2025 the third warmest year in history

Last year was the third hottest on record and fossil fuel pollution increased on the back of “exceptional” temperatures, scientists said. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said 2025 continues a three-year streak of “exceptional global temperatures”, with surface air temperatures averaging 1.48C above pre-industrial levels during this period.

Latest Thing: ISS astronauts return to Earth after NASA’s first medical evacuation

Four astronauts from the International Space Station returned to Earth a month ahead of schedule after a serious medical condition developed on the orbiting outpost. NASA confirmed that the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov crashed off the coast of San Diego at 12.41 local time.

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