First Thing: Trump cites UK’s ‘stupidity’ over Chagos Islands as reason to take over Greenland | US news

Good morning.

Donald Trump claimed that Britain’s decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was among the reasons he wanted to seize Greenland.

The US president, who traveled to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, made the claim as he stepped up his rhetoric about seizing Arctic territory.

Trump made numerous posts on the Truth Social platform overnight about seizing Greenland, a region of Denmark, a US NATO ally. Trump wrote: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is planning to give Mauritius Diego Garcia Island, which currently houses a vital US Military Base, and is doing so WITHOUT ANY REASON.”

• What else did Trump share on Truth Social? He leaked private text messages in which France’s Emmanuel Macron and NATO’s Mark Rutte discussed their latest policy moves and reiterated his intention to seize Greenland as “imperative for national and world security”, saying “there can be no going back”.

• This is an evolving story. Follow our live blog here.

‘The fight continues’: MLK Day celebrated amid tense political climate

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated with parades and ceremonies across the United States on Monday. But the celebration of the achievements of the slain ’60s civil rights leader was marred by current concerns about racial and social equality and the Trump administration’s crackdown in Minneapolis.

At a rally in Harlem, the Rev. Al Sharpton mentioned Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who was killed by an immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this month.

“If he cursed them, does that give them the right to shoot him?” he said. “Now they’re talking about sending in the national guard, sending in more ICE agents. We’re in a situation where Dr. King is going to fight against this country going this far.”

• What was said at other rallies and events? In Washington, Wisdom Cole, senior national advocacy director for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said growing fears in racially diverse and immigrant communities mean MLK Day celebrations are being forced to take on a more urgent tone. “We are facing increasing police and state violence by the government,” he said. Meanwhile, New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, framed inequality as an economic problem at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s annual MLK Day celebration.

Noem backtracks on ICE pepper spray denial amid tension in Minneapolis

Kristi Noem first denied that federal agents used chemicals against protesters, then, after being shown video footage, began blaming the protesters themselves as tensions remain high at a time when federal officers from the Trump administration have descended on Minneapolis.

The homeland security chief who led the ICE operation in the city known as “Operation Subway Surge” told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday that his department did not use pepper spray against crowds.

A federal judge on Friday ordered federal law enforcement to stop using pepper spray against peaceful protesters whom Noem accused of trying to disrupt a crackdown on immigration.

• What did Noem say? He initially rejected the judge’s finding, but after being shown a video of chemicals being used four times, he backtracked and said his department “only uses these chemicals when there’s violence and it’s ongoing, and you have to be able to legislate to keep people safe.”

In other news…

Status of the day: China’s population plummets again as birth rate drops 17% to record low

China’s population fell for the fourth consecutive year in 2025 as the birth rate fell to record lows despite the implementation of policies aimed at encouraging people to have children. Registered births will fall to 7.92 million in 2025 (5.63 for every 1,000 members of the population), a 17% drop from 9.54 million in 2024, the lowest since records began in 1949.

Culture pick: Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review – the Game of Thrones we all need right now

The latest Game of Thrones spin-off won’t literally set the world on fire, with or without the show, but the real world is now too much like Westeros for us to handle, writes Lucy Mangan: The legendary land of violence is now our safe haven.

Don’t miss this: I got lost in homeschooling when I was nine years old. Nobody came to look

“My mother insisted that I needed a ‘free-form education’ outside of public school,” writes Stefan Merrill Block. “After four years of loneliness, I’ve given up hope that anyone will pull me out. One day, there in 1990s Texas, I’ll learn that I’ve fallen into the invisible realm of homeschooling, where a child doesn’t need to take basic grade-level learning tests.”

Climate control: Antarctic penguins have radically altered their breeding seasons, apparently in response to climate change

The study found that penguins in Antarctica have radically changed their breeding seasons, apparently in response to climate change. A decade-long study revealed dramatic changes in behavior. The changes threaten to cut off the penguins’ access to food and raise survival concerns.

Latest Thing: ‘Take America Away’ – Fake Maga hats rise in popularity amid Greenland crisis

Red baseball caps imitating Donald Trump’s Maga hats have become a symbol of Danish and Greenlanders’ resistance to the US president’s threat to take over the frozen region. Capital letters reading “Take America Away”, parodying Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, gained popularity on social media and in public protests, along with several variants.

become a member

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you haven’t registered yet, subscribe now.

Contact us

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com.