Senate blocks restriction of Trump’s Venezuela operation!
The vote ended 51 to 50. Vice President J.D. Vance cast the deciding vote.
The U.S. Senate has blocked a resolution that would have limited President Trump in further military actions against Venezuela. Republican senators followed heavy pressure from the White House and thereby prevented formal congressional oversight. The trigger for the vote was the nighttime arrest of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. troops, carried out without prior approval by Congress. Five Republicans had initially joined Democrats in supporting a debate, but later partially withdrew their support. In the end, the decisive vote came from J.D. Vance, who brought down the initiative. Senator Todd Young switched sides at short notice and said he had received assurances that no U.S. ground troops were present in Venezuela. Critics strongly contradicted this account. Rand Paul made clear that blockades, attacks on ships, and the detention of a president already constitute military actions. The episode shows how far Trump conducts foreign policy without binding himself to parliamentary control. At the same time, unease is growing in the Senate over a course that creates facts first and allows oversight only afterward.
Trump enforces tariffs and overturns milk rules in schools
Even before speaking about protests in Iran or nutrition, Donald Trump signed two new tariff orders. One provides for a punitive tariff of 25 percent on imported semiconductors if they are not used in the United States. Trump said China wanted to sell chips this way, and the United States would in future profit directly from it. The revenue, he claimed, would effectively flow into American coffers. The second order concerns tariffs on strategically important minerals considered indispensable for industry and technology. Both measures mark a further tightening of the government’s trade policy line. On the same day, Trump also signed a law allowing whole milk to return to school cafeterias. This lifts earlier restrictions that had pushed high-fat dairy products out of school meals. Schools in the national lunch program will again be allowed to offer whole milk and milk with two percent fat. The rule could take effect as early as fall and follows new government nutrition guidelines that explicitly permit full-fat dairy products again.
Wahnsinn geht weiter - Feuerwehr hilft ICE bei Festnahme von Dachdeckern in West Virginia
In Teays Valley in the state of West Virginia, the local fire department assisted ICE in arresting several roofers, even though the homeowner says the workers had valid work permits and carried them with them. ICE had a total of eight men brought down from a multi-story residential building and used a fire department ladder truck that is normally intended for emergency and rescue operations. The arrests took place directly on the roof while work was ongoing. The fire chief personally approved the operation and publicly said ICE should be supported in every conceivable way. After the operation, the roof was left unfinished and exposed to winter weather without protection. Whether or when any of the detained workers will be allowed to return to complete the job remained unclear. The incident occurred about twenty kilometers west of Charleston and raises questions about the role of municipal emergency services in immigration enforcement.
Impeachment proceedings against Noem gain momentum – pressure shifts to districts
Opposition to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is taking on a new form after the organization Voto Latino announced its full support for three articles of impeachment introduced by Democratic Representative Robin Kelly. At the same time, Voto Latino is launching a digital campaign in Republican-led districts to urge voters to directly pressure their representatives to support the effort. The move is justified by what is described as years of insufficient oversight of the secretary’s actions and the accusation that she has exercised her office without adequate accountability. At the presentation of the articles, Kelly said real people are being injured or killed by immigration enforcement measures and that inaction is not an option. Ten additional Democrats described the impact of deportation policy in their districts, and according to their statements nearly seventy party colleagues now support the step.
Republicans continue to hold majorities in both chambers, so the chances of success are considered rather low. The debate was triggered by the killing of a woman in Minnesota by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, which has reignited questions of oversight and responsibility. Representative Angie Craig said ICE had crossed a line, that security is legitimate, but that the current approach does not reflect what the public expects. With the mobilization by Voto Latino, a parliamentary initiative turns into a public conflict that shifts pressure from committees into districts, to the places where political majorities are formed or lost.
Unnoticed shift: Green energy overtakes fossil reality
While climate policy is losing support worldwide, the real transformation is unfolding away from political resolutions. In 2025, more than one third of global electricity generation came from renewable sources for the first time, surpassing coal-fired power. Solar and wind grew faster than global electricity demand. One in four newly sold cars was electric. In China, electric vehicles have made the leap into the mass market and are often cheaper than combustion-engine cars. The restructuring of energy systems there and in India is permanently reshaping global structures. Even where governments slow down or reverse course, expansion continues. In the United States, the share of renewable energy is rising despite political blockades.
In China, an industry is emerging that hardly needs people. Automaker Zeekr produces in so-called dark factories, fully automated plants where machines operate around the clock and lighting is unnecessary. Robots handle almost every step, from the body to final assembly. This lowers costs, increases speed, and shifts industrial benchmarks. While Europe still debates working hours, energy prices, and subsidies, the next stage of production is already underway here.
Vor diesem Hintergrund trafen sich damals, am 4. Dezember 2025, in Peking Emmanuel Macron und Xi Jinping. Offiziell ging es um Handel, Ukraine und geopolitische Stabilität. Im Raum stand jedoch unausgesprochen die industrielle Realität. Europa fordert fairen Wettbewerb, China demonstriert technologische Überlegenheit. Die dunklen Fabriken sind kein Zukunftsversprechen, sondern Gegenwart. Sie zeigen, wie schnell sich globale Produktionsverhältnisse verschieben.
In Europe, the long-term course remains intact despite slowdowns. In many countries, prices rather than programs are driving the transition. Pakistan shows how rising electricity costs and cheap solar technology can trigger a private energy transition. In China, emissions from power generation are also falling noticeably. India crossed the threshold of fifty percent non-fossil power capacity for the first time in 2025. The contrast is particularly stark in Russia. There, the expansion of renewable energy is stagnating while emissions targets are being mathematically obscured. Globally, a pattern is emerging. Technological progress, falling costs, and energy security are prevailing over political inertia. The transformation of energy supply increasingly follows economic logic. The process is gaining momentum. It is withdrawing from national mood swings. And that is precisely where its explosive force lies.
Weitere Recherchen belegen interne Leitlinien und zeigen die rote Linien vor ICE-Einsätzen
The leaked training slides and operational documents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection show how sensitively the agency assesses its own operations. The documents explicitly state what does not constitute a criminal offense: insults, provocative gestures, dissent toward officers, or questioning their authority. Even passive resistance, failure to follow instructions without counterforce, and filming operations in public spaces are not considered violations of the law.
At the same time, protected rights are clearly named. Freedom of expression, nonverbal communication, photos and videos, peaceful protests, assemblies, and leaflet campaigns are protected by the Constitution. Not protected, by contrast, are incitement, so-called fighting words, concrete threats of violence, or triggering imminent violence. The dividing line is sharply drawn in law and emphasized internally. Particularly explosive is the section on the use of force. Any use of coercion is defined as an intervention that must be necessary and appropriate, measured against the situation, the danger, the alleged offense, and the behavior of the person concerned. This reminder is not accidental. It shows that the agency is warning against escalation while covert large-scale operations are being prepared at the same time. The documents demonstrate a contradiction: outward toughness, inward legal brakes. This very difference explains why the internal warnings are now formulated so clearly. See also our investigation: Secret deployment plans after the death of Renee Good.
Family of Renee Good announces its own investigation
The family of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by an immigration officer in Minneapolis in early January, is now having the death of the 37-year-old independently examined. The family is represented by the law firm Romanucci & Blandin under attorney Antonio M. Romanucci. The firm, which secured a settlement of 27 million dollars for the family of George Floyd, now represents Becca Good as well as Renee Good’s parents and siblings. At the same time, the attorneys, in cooperation with journalists, presented a detailed account of the events that ended with fatal shots in her car on January 7.
According to the firm, Good had taken her child to school with her partner and then stopped to observe the actions of federal agents in the neighborhood and to support residents. There is so far no evidence of prior involvement in migration-related activism. The family describes Good as hopeful, optimistic, and firmly rooted in the daily life of her community.
While President Trump and leading federal officials continue to portray the use of deadly force as self-defense, state and local politicians reject this depiction. The official criminal investigation lies with the FBI. Calls to also involve the state investigative agency have been blocked by federal authorities. At the same time, the political conflict is escalating. Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned in protest over the Justice Department’s handling of the case. Shortly afterward, they were dismissed, stripping them of pay and benefits. Meanwhile, investigators are examining alleged links between Renee Good and activist groups, while the ICE officer involved has not yet been criminally investigated.
A federal court also addressed Minnesota’s request to temporarily halt the massive deployment of additional immigration officers. The judge postponed a decision and requested further submissions. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, resentment is growing over masked officers, arrests in public spaces, and clashes with demonstrators. Municipal officials speak of fear, paralysis, and a situation that has spiraled out of control. The family’s attorneys intend to make their findings public. The central question, according to their statement, remains unanswered: what should have been done so that Renee Good could have picked up her child from school alive that afternoon.
McConnell openly questions government’s Greenland claim
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell has distanced himself unusually clearly from the Trump administration’s demands regarding Greenland. He said he had so far heard nothing from the White House that the United States needed from Greenland that this sovereign people was not already willing to provide. The statement directly targets the government’s justification for why control or access should be necessary. McConnell thus makes clear that security and economic interests, in his view, can be pursued without pressure or claims of power.
At the same time, he places the question of sovereignty at the center. Greenland, he said, already acts cooperatively toward the United States. This challenges the logic with which the government justifies its demands. The remark comes at a time of growing international irritation. It shows that even within the Republican Party there are doubts about the White House’s course. McConnell avoids open confrontation, but contradicts the central narrative. His statement points to a strategic void. If there is no concrete need, only the claim to power remains. It is precisely this claim that McConnell is now publicly calling into question.
