Daily News — January 7, 2026

"Governed by Strength, by Force, by Power"

While others stenograph, grift, or chase the next distraction—this is the news that matters and how it’s connected.

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Renee Nicole Good is dead.

She was 37 years old. A US citizen. She was in her car in south Minneapolis this morning, watching out for her immigrant neighbors during an ICE raid. Federal agents shot her in the head.

Within hours, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem accused her of “an act of domestic terrorism.”

Here’s what the video shows: Good’s Honda Pilot was blocked by federal agents. One tried to open her door. She put the car in reverse, then forward—leaving. Agents fired three shots. She was unarmed. She wasn’t the target of any investigation. She was just there.

Mayor Jacob Frey has seen the video. His message to ICE: “Get the fuck out of Minneapolis.”¹

He called the self-defense narrative “bullshit” and “garbage.” Governor Tim Walz called it “propaganda” and said Good is “dead in her car for no reason whatsoever.” He’s preparing the National Guard.²

Even a former ICE Acting Director called Noem’s terrorism claim “incredibly irresponsible.”³

They killed a woman who was watching out for her neighbors. Within hours, they called her a terrorist. Not after an investigation. Not after reviewing evidence. The lie came before the body was cold—because the lie is the point.

This is what “governed by strength, by force, by power” looks like when it comes home.⁴ Terrorize your scapegoats—brown people—and execute any American who gets in the way.

Renee Nicole Good was 37. Now she’s dead, and the machine that killed her is calling her a monster.

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Meanwhile, Abroad

If Trump attacks Greenland, America goes from ally to enemy. That’s former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, speaking to Bloomberg today. “It will be a huge historical change,” he said. “The first time in the history of the world that a democracy attacks another democracy.”⁵

Senator Chris Murphy said NATO’s Article 5—the collective defense treaty we wrote—would apply against us. “Article 5 did not anticipate that the invading country would be a member of NATO.”⁶

Denmark’s intelligence service has classified the United States as a security threat for the first time ever.⁷ Seven European leaders issued a joint statement: “Greenland belongs to its people.”⁸

Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen warned that a US attack on Greenland would mean the end of NATO.⁵

The 80-year world order that maintained stability since World War II is being torn apart in real time. Our allies aren’t just sounding alarms—they’re considering whether we might become the enemy they have to fight.

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The Pattern

This isn’t aberration. This is consolidation.

In November, a federal judge in Chicago found that ICE’s use of force “shocks the conscience.” She said government testimony was “simply not credible.”

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino admitted to lying about being hit by a rock before deploying tear gas. He was caught on video attacking a demonstrator—then lied about that too. A second federal judge found agents’ testimony “simply unreliable.”⁹

DHS’s response? They called her an “activist judge.”

The administration ended protections for schools, churches, and hospitals on day one. ICE has since targeted immigrants near schools in Denver and outside churches in DC. According to the Cato Institute, 65% of those detained have no criminal convictions. 93% have no violent convictions.¹⁰

Meanwhile, the Venezuela invasion we covered this week has moved from regime change to resource extraction. Yesterday Trump announced Venezuela will hand over up to 50 million barrels of oil—money that “will be controlled by me, as President.”¹¹ Today (January 7) the US seized a Russian-flagged tanker to enforce the blockade.

And Republicans? They’re cheering. Support for Trump’s Venezuela strike jumped to 74%—up from 52-58% before.¹² The share demanding Congressional authorization dropped 19 points after Trump acted without it. A war powers resolution failed 211-213. Only three Republicans broke ranks.¹³ Speaker Johnson called the strike “decisive.” Senator Schmitt said “we are a superpower... we’re going to start acting like it again.”

The Epstein files deadline passed the same day as the Venezuela strike. Less than 1% of documents released. Schumer says DOJ has been “lying to the American people since day one.” Khanna and Massie are seeking to hold Attorney General Bondi in contempt.¹⁴

Abroad, seizing countries and their oil, threatening allies. At home, executing citizens and terrorizing communities. And in between—protecting elite pedophiles.

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There’s more below, but first: If work like this—tracking the pattern from Minneapolis to Greenland to Caracas while others look away—feels worth having in the world, please consider supporting The American Manifesto. Paid subscriptions make it possible to keep watching when watching is the last thing anyone wants to do.

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We documented the fascism syndrome—ten indicators that separate authoritarianism from something darker. Today checks most of the boxes:

• Aggression as virtue: Invading Venezuela, threatening Greenland, seizing oil tankers

• War on reality: Killing a citizen, calling her a terrorist before the body is cold

• Normalization of political violence: Federal agents execute an American; administration defends it

• Cult of the leader: Republican support increases after Trump acts without authorization

• Weaponized justice: Epstein files stay buried while citizens die in the street

The world is watching. Trump doesn’t care—he only answers to his base. And his base isn’t failing to stop this. They’re cheering it on.

Republicans in Congress could end this tomorrow. They won’t. They’re complicit.

You just watched the fascism syndrome in action. If you want to understand the machine behind it well enough to break it, start here: The Freedom Illusion.

The Freedom Illusion — Part I

1. Minyvonne Burke, Julia Ainsley, and Suzanne Gamboa, “Minneapolis woman shot and killed by ICE officer“, NBC News, January 7, 2026.

Comprehensive NBC News report on the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis, including video of the incident and Mayor Jacob Frey’s press conference. Documents Frey telling ICE to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis” and calling the self-defense narrative “bullshit.” Includes eyewitness accounts contradicting DHS claims that Good was trying to run over officers—witnesses describe her attempting to flee after agents tried to force open her door.

2. ABC News, “Governor Walz responds to ICE shooting in Minneapolis“, ABC News, January 7, 2026.

Documents Governor Walz issuing a “warning order” to prepare the Minnesota National Guard for potential deployment following the ICE shooting. Walz called the DHS account “propaganda” and said Good was “dead in her car for no reason whatsoever.” Establishes that state-federal tensions are escalating to potential military deployment.

3. Mediaite, “Ex-ICE Director Calls Kristi Noem’s Shooting Statement ‘Incredibly Irresponsible’“, Mediaite, January 7, 2026.

Former ICE Acting Director John Sandweg appeared on CNN immediately after Noem’s “domestic terrorism” claim, calling her statement “incredibly irresponsible” and arguing there’s no way to make that conclusion. Underscores that even former enforcement officials recognize the administration is lying about Renee Nicole Good’s death.

4. CNN, “Trump’s new US mission statement: Strength, force, power“, CNN, January 6, 2026.

Stephen Miller’s interview with Jake Tapper in which he declared “the world is governed by strength, by force, by power” and called these “the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.” Establishes the administration’s explicit rejection of diplomatic norms and embrace of raw power as governing philosophy.

5. Bloomberg, “France’s de Villepin: US Attack on Greenland a Red Line“, Bloomberg, January 7, 2026.

Video interview in which former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin warns that if Trump attacks Greenland, “the status of the US will go from adversary or rival to the one of enemy” and calls it “a huge historical change”—”a first in the history of the world” where a democracy attacks another democracy. Establishes that European leaders view the US as a potential enemy.

6. NPR, “White House says military ‘always an option’ in Greenland“, NPR, January 6, 2026.

Reports Senator Chris Murphy stating NATO would “of course” have to defend Greenland against the US under Article 5, and Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen warning that “if the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops”—effectively the end of NATO. Documents the absurd position of the US potentially triggering collective defense against itself.

7. PBS NewsHour, “Danish intelligence report warns of U.S. military threat under Trump“, PBS, December 2025.

Reports that Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service classified the United States as a security threat for the first time ever, warning the US “uses economic power, including threats of high tariffs, to enforce its will and no longer rules out the use of military force, even against allies.”

8. CNBC, “‘Greenland belongs to its people’: European leaders unite over Trump’s threats to annex territory“, CNBC, January 6, 2026.

Documents the joint statement from seven European leaders—Denmark, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, and Poland—affirming “Greenland belongs to its people” and that “these are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.”

9. Chicago Tribune, “‘The use of force shocks the conscience’: Judge issues sweeping injunction on Chicago tactics of immigration agents“, Chicago Tribune, November 6, 2025.

Federal Judge Sara Ellis issued a sweeping injunction finding ICE’s use of force “shocks the conscience” and that government testimony was “simply not credible.” Documents Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino admitting to lying about being hit by a rock before deploying tear gas, and lying about attacking a demonstrator despite being caught on video.

10. Chicago Tribune, “‘The use of force shocks the conscience’: Judge issues sweeping injunction on Chicago tactics of immigration agents“, Chicago Tribune, November 6, 2025.

Federal Judge Sara Ellis issued a sweeping injunction finding ICE’s use of force “shocks the conscience” and that government testimony was “simply not credible.” Documents Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino admitting to lying about being hit by a rock before deploying tear gas, and lying about attacking a demonstrator despite being caught on video.

11. NPR, “Trump says US will get up to 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela“, NPR, January 7, 2026.

Reports Trump’s announcement that Venezuela will hand over 30-50 million barrels of oil to the US, with Trump stating on Truth Social that “that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States.” Documents the shift from regime change justification to explicit resource extraction.

12. Washington Post, “Americans split on operation in Venezuela to capture Maduro, Post poll finds“, Washington Post, January 2026.

Post-strike polling showing 74% of Republicans approved of the Venezuela operation, up from 52-58% before. Documents that Republican support for Congressional authorization dropped 19 points after Trump acted without it—proving principles follow the leader, not the reverse.

13. ABC News, “Republicans largely back Trump on Venezuela action, Democrats decry it as unjustified“, ABC News, January 2026.

Documents near-unanimous GOP support for Venezuela action: war powers resolution failed 211-213 with only 3 Republicans breaking ranks, leadership praising Trump, and the Gang of 8 not briefed beforehand with no GOP objection.

14. The Hill, “Chuck Schumer rips DOJ over missed Epstein files deadline“, The Hill, January 2026.

Documents DOJ missing both the December 19 and January 3 deadlines for Epstein file releases, with less than 1% of documents released. Reports Schumer accusing DOJ of “lying to the American people since day one” and Khanna/Massie seeking to hold AG Bondi in contempt.