Category: News
Colombian President Says He Will ‘Take Up Arms’ If US Military Attacks
Colombian President Says He Will ‘Take Up Arms’ If US Military Attacks
Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday he will “take up arms again” if attacked, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that drug traffickers in Colombia could be the next target for the U.S. military.
After hours of silence, Petro accused U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio in an early morning post on X of believing “false information against the state” from several intelligence colonels in the Colombian police, whom he said he has since fired.
He said the alleged lies about him came from Colombian politicians linked “to the mafia” who “want the US and Colombia to break off relations so that cocaine trafficking skyrockets worldwide.”
In September, the U.S. State Department determined that Colombia was one of a handful of countries that served as a major drug transit or production hub.
“Under President Petro’s leadership, coca cultivation and cocaine production have reached record highs, while Colombia’s government failed to meet even its own vastly reduced coca eradication goals, undermining years of mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries against narco terrorists,” the State Department said.
Columbia’s security institutions and local authorities showed “skill and courage” in confronting terrorist and criminal groups, the department said, adding that the nation’s failure to meet its drug control obligations rests with its political leadership.
Petro denied all allegations of drug trafficking and corruption, while defending his government’s approach to fighting narcotraffickers and opposing military action that he said would put civilians at risk.
“I have ordered bombings, respecting all norms of humanitarian law, resulting in the deaths and capture of top commanders of armed groups subservient to drug trafficking,” he said of coca leaf plantations that serve as the world’s primary source for cocaine production.
“Their tactics include recruiting minors to protect their leaders from being bombed.
“If you bomb just one of these groups without sufficient intelligence, you will kill many children.
“If you bomb peasants, thousands of guerrillas will rise up in the mountains.”
He then said if the U.S. military targets him, as it did with ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, “a large part of my people love and respect, they will unleash the people’s jaguar.”
“I swore never to touch another weapon after the 1989 Peace Agreement, but for the sake of my country, I will take up arms again, weapons I don’t want.”
After defending his record and election by popular vote, Petro said, “I’m not illegitimate, nor am I a drug trafficker.”
“I have enormous faith in my people, and that is why I have asked them to defend the president against any illegitimate act of violence,” he said.
“The way to defend me is to take power in every municipality in the country.”
Trump hinted at possible actions against Colombia on Sunday, warning the country and Mexico that their drug traffickers could face U.S. military intervention.
“Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“And he’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.”
In December, Trump issued a warning to Petro to curb Colombia’s cocaine production.
Last fall, the Trump administration sanctioned Petro for failing to curb drug trafficking through his country.
Petro denied the claim, saying his administration had made record-setting cocaine seizures.
Amid the recent drug boat strikes by the United States in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, Petro said that a majority of the people killed were Colombian.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/06/2026 – 14:25
‘The right time to go’: Homewood police Chief Denise McGrath retires after three decades
When Homewood police Chief Denise McGrath got her first job at the department in 1990, she was a dispatcher. At the time, she said, she never would have thought she would one day hold the top job.
“I think myself and everyone else would have laughed about that,” McGrath said. “At that time, there weren’t very many women in law enforcement in general, let alone women who were chiefs. So no, I think if someone had predicted that, we would’ve all thought they were crazy.”
McGrath’s last day on the job will be Friday after more than three decades with the department.
“This just feels like the right time, as far as personally and professionally,” McGrath said. “The next generation is ready to move up in the department, and it just kind of in my gut feels like it’s the right time to go.”
Her time at the department has been one long learning experience, she said.
“Every day I have learned something. You know, it’s not a routine ‘come in and do the same thing day after day’ kind of job,” McGrath said. “Just when you think you’ve known it all or seen it all, something completely unexpected happens.”
After working dispatch in South Holland and Homewood and completing a basic law enforcement course at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute in Champaign, McGrath worked at the South Holland Police Department from 1992 to 1995. While there, she worked in a variety of positions, including as a paramedic.
In May 1995, she returned to the Homewood Police Department as an officer. McGrath has worked as a detective, public information officer and patrol sergeant.
“I can’t believe how fast 34 years has gone by. That’s amazing to me. Like, blink of an eye,” McGrath said. “If I had it to do all over again, I absolutely would.”
McGrath has seen police work change dramatically over the course of her career, she said, especially with the adoption of digital methods.
When she was first working as a patrol officer, she said, there were no computers in patrol cars. Officers had to take all notes on calls and cases on notepads.
“When a call came out, you had to scribble the description down, and the address and everything,” McGrath said. “It’s amazing, what has changed.”
Another example is fingerprints, she said. When she first started, fingerprints were taken and submitted manually on a card with ink; now fingerprinting is all digitally processed.
“Somebody starting today, what is that going to be for them, 30 years from now?” McGrath said. “It’s what makes it hard to leave.”
Homewood village officials smile for a photo in Christmas sweaters, December 2025. Denise McGrath is in the center of the front row. (Village of Homewood)
She said that the most important piece of advice she would give new police officers is to always remember why they wanted to do the job in the first place.
“Always do the best you can. Work the hardest you can. What becomes a routine call for a police officer is not routine to the person you’re dealing with,” McGrath said. “Handle it how you would want you or your family or someone you care about treated, during the course of that call.”
Though she’s leaving the Homewood department, McGrath’s career in law enforcement is not over. She will move to a position working as an investigator with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office investigations bureau.
“I certainly think a normal 40-hour work week will feel like retirement to me,” McGrath said.
Beyond the new job, McGrath said she’s not sure yet what she will do with her newfound free time.
“It’s, I think, an opportunity for me to do things I’ve never done before, and see what the universe has in mind for me,” McGrath said.
Thomas Johnson (Village of Homewood)
Homewood announced Tuesday its new police chief will be Thomas Johnson, the deputy chief. Johnson spent seven years on the Glenwood police force before joining the Homewood department in 2009.
“Tom leads an exceptional team that is eager to work alongside him as he continues the department’s and community’s legacy of progress and excellence,” Village Manager Napoleon Haney said in a statement.
Johnson will be sworn in at the Village Board meeting on Jan. 27.
elewis@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/06/homewood-police-chief-denise-mcgrath-retires/
Enemies Not Allowed To Control Large Oil Reserves: US Ambassador To United Nations
Enemies Not Allowed To Control Large Oil Reserves: US Ambassador To United Nations
The US ambassador to the United Nations on Monday said that enemies of his country cannot be allowed to control vast oil reserves, such as the ones in Venezuela under President Nicolas Maduro.
Mike Waltz spoke less than two hours before Maduro made his first court appearance, not far from UN headquarters in Manhattan. Maduro is charged with narco-trafficking, among other charges, and has pleaded not guilty. “We’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be used as a base of operation for our nation’s adversaries,” Waltz said. “You cannot continue to have the largest energy reserves in the world under the control of adversaries of the United States, under the control of illegitimate leaders, and not benefiting the people of Venezuela.”
He insisted, however, that despite the US president himself saying that his administration will be “running” Venezuela, the US will not be “occupying” the Latin American nation. “There is no war against Venezuela or its people,” Waltz told the UN Security Council (UNSC). “We are not occupying a country.”
US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, via Reuters
US President Nicolas Maduro entered a not guilty plea in a federal courthouse in New York City on Monday, following his abduction by the US in the early hours of Saturday morning.
US attorney general Pam Bondi said Maduro has been charged with “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States”.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against him and his wife, Cilia Flores, in 2020, under the first Trump administration. Five other defendants were named in the document, but not Flores.
Bondi has since shared an unsealed indictment that charges Flores and the couple’s son, who was not abducted with them, with trafficking drugs. Flores is also accused of ordering kidnappings and murders, and accepting bribes.
In the US, an unsealed indictment is effectively the withholding of formal criminal charges until the suspects have appeared in court. On Monday, Flores also appeared in court next to her husband and pleaded not guilty.
Maduro’s stunning abduction from Venezuela by US forces in the early hours of Saturday has been condemned by allies Russia and China, both of which are among the five permanent and veto-wielding members of the UNSC.
But the US also has that power, meaning there will likely be no accountability at the UN for its actions. The body’s secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has already said he fears there may have been a violation of international law in abducting a head of state from a sovereign country.
UN member states must “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”, the body’s charter says.
A statement from Guterres on Monday, read by UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo to the UNSC, said he is “deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in [Venezuela], the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted”.
He added that the UN will support all efforts at dialogue between the US and Venezuela. For his part, Venezuela’s ambassador to the UN, Samuel Moncada, said the abduction was “an illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification”.
The death count from the US attack on Venezuela has risen to 80, including civilians and members of security forces, according to a senior Venezuelan official who said the number could rise further, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The Trump admin’s talking points on what was behind the Venezuela intervention have been shifting…
Pete Hegesth, “We spent decades, purchased in American blood and got nothing economically in return”
“Now we can ensure we can access to additional wealth”
In case you had any doubt, it’s all about oil pic.twitter.com/cac90Iid8x
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) January 5, 2026
US special forces abducted Venezuela’s president from the capital, Caracas, early on Saturday, as American fighter jets bombed key military installations and bases across the country. Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, said the US seizure of Maduro had “Zionist undertones”.
Rodriguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president, has been appointed by the Supreme Court to lead the country on an interim basis.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/06/2026 – 13:45
Elgin News Digest: Elgin holding MLK Food Drive, King celebration, youth program; Dundee Library offering program on seasonal mood shifts
Elgin holding MLK Food Drive, King celebration, youth program
As part of its events honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Elgin is holding a citywide food drive through Sunday, Jan. 18, a community celebration on Sunday, Jan. 18, and a youth program on Monday, Jan. 19.
The food drive will benefit Food for Greater Elgin and other local food pantries, according to a news release. Donations will be accepted at area schools, Elgin City Hall, 150 Dexter Court, the Edward Schock Centre, 100 Symphony Way, Elgin fire stations and participating houses of worship. Monetary donations will also be accepted.
The free community celebration, sponsored by the city’s Human Relations Committee, will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at The Hemmens Culture Center and will will feature music, dance performances and the announcement of MLK Scholarship recipients. No registration is required.
Signup ends Thursday, Jan. 8, for youths who want to take part in Elgin’s Martin Luther King Day event, scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 19, at the Schock Centre.
The morning will feature workshops on what it means to dream and the importance of acceptance, according to the city’s website. There is no cost to participate, but a signed permission slip is required. To sign up and for more information, email mlk@elginil.gov.
For information on planned events, go to elginil.gov/MLK.
Senior Services to offer caregiver support group Thursday
A free caregiver support group meeting will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, by Senior Services Associates at its 101 S. Grove Ave. office in Elgin.
The session is geared toward those who provide unpaid, in-home and community- based services to seniors and adults with Alzheimer’s or related disorders and for adults 55 and older who are the primary caregivers for children who live with them, according to a news release.
Meetings are typically held the second Thursday of each month, and walk-ins are welcome. For more information, call Debbie Miller at 630-897-4035 or email DMiller@seniorservicesassoc.org.
Dundee Library offering program on seasonal mood shifts
A free program for adults, “Mood & Seasons: How Weather and Light Impact Our Mental Health,” will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Dundee Library, 555 Barrington Ave., East Dundee.
Elgin-based counselor Shira Greenfield will talk about the science behind seasonal mood shifts and provide practical strategies for managing seasonal affective disorder and the winter blues, according to the library’s website. The presentation is provided through a grant from the Dundee Township Mental Health Board and Pivotal Counseling Center.
For more information, email jmunoz@frvpld.info or call 847-428-3661. To register, go to www.frvpld.info/event/vision-boardtarot-reading-83459.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/06/elgin-mlk-food-drive-dundee-seasonal/
Trump Admin Expands Massive Funding Cuts To Blue States Amid Widening Fraud Scandal
Trump Admin Expands Massive Funding Cuts To Blue States Amid Widening Fraud Scandal
The Trump administration has taken decisive action against rampant welfare fraud beyond Minnesota, escalating a long-overdue reckoning for lax oversight under Democrat governance.
Following explosive revelations of massive fraud schemes – many tied to the state’s Somali immigrant community – the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has not only frozen federal child care payments to Minnesota, but has slashed funding allocated for social services and child care for multiple blue states, affecting programs such as the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Social Services Block Grant, the New York Post revealed Monday.
The Post reports:
At least $7.35 billion in TANF money will be prevented from going to California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. The CCDF funding block of nearly $2.4 billion affects all those states. Another $869 million from the Social Services Block Grant coffers is being kept from all five states as well. The funding pauses were to be announced via letters to each state sent Monday, citing concerns that benefits were fraudulently going to non-US citizens.
The move comes amid the continuing fallout from viral video by citizen reporter Nick Shirley, who documented dozens of purported child care facilities in Minneapolis that appeared empty or minimally operated yet received millions in taxpayer subsidies.
Last week, HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill announced the freeze on payments from the Child Care and Development Fund, declaring that future disbursements would require receipts, photos, and justifications to prevent abuse. Minnesota, which receives roughly $218 million annually for its Child Care Assistance Program serving low-income families, now faces heightened scrutiny, including demands for audits of suspect centers.
The Trump administration’s actions aim to address a broader crisis that has ballooned under Gov. Tim Walz’s (D) administration, encompassing the Feeding Our Future scandal – where over $250 million in COVID-era child nutrition funds were allegedly misused.
A bombshell report by Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo and journalist Ryan Thorpe alleged that some diverted funds were transferred abroad – potentially reaching the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Al-Shabaab. The shocking report outlined how perpetrators allegedly diverted at least $250 million to $300 million by claiming to serve millions of children while delivering few or no meals. By late 2025, more than 70 individuals had been charged, with dozens convicted or pleading guilty; many were Somali-Americans. The funds were said to have been used for personal gains, including luxury vehicles and properties in the United States, Turkey, and Kenya.
In a stunning development Monday, Walz announced he would not seek re-election in 2026, citing the need to focus on governance (lol) amid the intensifying scandal that has eroded public trust and drawn fierce criticism of his oversight.
“I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” Walz said, insisting his administration has cracked down on fraud but accusing opponents of politicizing the issue to “make our state a colder, meaner place.”
Walz’s decision to forgo another bid for governor represents a major scalp for Rufo, Shirley and independent journalism at large.
We bet it’s only a matter of time until another shoe drops. Will it be in California?
Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/06/2026 – 13:25
Officer did nothing until it was too late during Uvalde school shooting, prosecutor says
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A school police officer in Uvalde, Texas, stood by during one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history and made no attempt to distract or stop the gunman before he opened fire inside classrooms, a prosecutor told a jury Tuesday.
Adrian Gonzales, a former Uvalde schools officer who was among the first to respond to the attack, arrived while the teenage assailant was still outside the building and did nothing, even when a teacher pointed out the direction of the shooter, special prosecutor Bill Turner said during opening statements of a criminal trial.
The officer only went inside Robb Elementary minutes later “after the damage had been done,” Turner said.
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty in the case, which is a rare example of charges being brought against an officer who is accused of not doing more to save lives. His attorney has said the officer tried to save children that day in 2022.
Once inside the school, authorities waited more than an hour to confront the shooter. Gonzales faces 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment and could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison if he’s convicted.
“He could have stopped him, but he didn’t want to be the target,” said Velma Lisa Duran, sister of teacher Irma Garcia, who was among the 19 students and two teachers who were killed.
Duran, who arrived at the courthouse Tuesday morning to watch the beginning of the trial, said authorities stood by more than three years ago while her sister “died protecting children.”
Defense attorneys insisted Tuesday that Gonzales did what he could when he arrived at a confusing and chaotic scene. They described an officer who tried to assess where the gunman was while thinking he was being fired on without protection against a high-powered rifle.
Gonzales was among the first group to go into the building before they took fire from Ramos, the officer’s attorneys said.
“This isn’t a man waiting around. This isn’t a man failing to act,” defense attorney Jason Goss said.
Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo are the only two officers to face criminal charges over the response. Arredondo’s trial has not been scheduled.
Gonzales, a 10-year veteran of the police force, had extensive active shooter training, the special prosecutor said. “When you hear gunshots, you go to the gunfire,” Turner said.
“When a child calls 911, we have a right to expect a response,” Turner said, his voice trembling with emotion.
Some families of the victims were upset that more officers were not charged given that nearly 400 federal, state and local officers converged on the school soon after the attack.
Terrified students inside the classrooms called 911 and parents outside begged for intervention by officers, some of whom could hear shots being fired while they stood in a hallway. A tactical team of officers eventually went into the classroom and killed the shooter.
An investigation found 77 minutes passed from the time authorities arrived until the tactical team breached the classroom and killed Salvador Ramos, who was obsessed with violence and notoriety in the months leading up to the shooting.
The trial for Gonzales was expected to last about two weeks, Judge Sid Harle said.
Among the potential witnesses are FBI agents, Texas Rangers, emergency dispatchers, school employees and family members of the victims.
At the request of Gonzales’ attorneys, the trial was moved to Corpus Christi after they argued Gonzales could not receive a fair trial in Uvalde.
The indictment accuses Gonzales of putting children in “imminent danger” of injury or death by failing to engage the shooter and by not following his training.
State and federal reviews of the shooting cited cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned why officers waited so long.
According to the state review, Gonzales told investigators that once police realized there were students still sitting in other classrooms, he helped evacuate them.
Prosecutors likely will face a high bar to win a conviction. Juries are often reluctant to convict law enforcement officers for inaction, as seen after the Parkland, Florida, school massacre in 2018.
Sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson was charged with failing to confront the shooter in that attack. It was the first such prosecution in the U.S. for an on-campus shooting, and Peterson was acquitted by a jury in 2023.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/06/uvalde-school-shooting-officer/
Fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack brings fresh division to the Capitol
WASHINGTON — Five years ago outside the White House, outgoing President Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters to head to the Capitol — “and I’ll be there with you” — in protest as Congress was affirming the 2020 election victory for Democrat Joe Biden.
A short time later, the world watched as the seat of U.S. power descended into chaos, and democracy hung in the balance.
On the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, there is no official event to memorialize what happened that day, when the mob made its way down Pennsylvania Avenue, battled police at the Capitol barricades and stormed inside, as lawmakers fled. The political parties refuse to agree to a shared history of the events, which were broadcast around the globe. And the official plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol has never been hung.
Instead, the day displayed the divisions that still define Washington, and the country, in split-screen events.
Trump, during a lengthy morning speech to House Republicans convening away from the Capitol at the rebranded Kennedy Center now carrying his own name, shifted blame for Jan. 6 onto the rioters themselves.
The president said he had intended only for his supporters to go “peacefully and patriotically” to confront Congress as it certified Biden’s win. He blamed the media for focusing on other parts of his speech that day.
At the same time, Democrats held their own morning meeting at the Capitol, reconvening members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack for a panel discussion. Recalling the history of the day is important, they said, in order to prevent what Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., warned was the GOP’s “Orwellian project of forgetting.”
And the former leader of the militant Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, summoned people for a midday march retracing the rioters’ steps from the White House to the Capitol to honor Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt and others who died in the Jan. 6 siege and its aftermath. About 100 people gathered, including Babbitt’s mother.
Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for having orchestrated the Jan. 6 attack, and he is among more than 1,500 defendants who saw their charges dropped when Trump issued a sweeping pardon on his return to the White House last year.
Echoes of 5 years ago
This milestone anniversary carried echoes of the differences that erupted that day.
But it unfolds while attention is focused elsewhere, particularly after the U.S. military’s stunning capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and Trump’s plans to take over the country and prop up its vast oil industry, a striking new era of American expansionism.
“These people in the administration, they want to lecture the world about democracy when they’re undermining the rule of law at home, as we all will be powerfully reminded,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on the eve of the anniversary.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office, responding to requests for comment about the delay in hanging the plaque honoring the police at the Capitol, as required by law, said in a statement that the statute “is not implementable,” and proposed alternatives “also do not comply with the statute.”
Democrats revive an old committee, Republicans lead a new one
At the morning hearing at the Capitol, lawmakers heard from a range of witnesses and others — including former U.S. Capitol Police officer Winston Pingeon, who said he loved his job and if it hadn’t been for Jan. 6, he would still be on the force today, as well as a Pamela Hemphill, a rioter who refused Trump’s pardon, and silenced the room as she blamed the president for the violence and apologized to the officer, stifling tears.
“I can’t allow them not be recognized, to be lied about,” Hemphill said about law enforcement.
“Until I can see that plaque up there,” she won’t be done, Hemphill said.
Among those testifying were former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who along with former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming were the two Republicans on the panel that investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn Biden’s win. Cheney, who lost her own reelection bid to a Trump-backed challenger, did not appear. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi joined the audience.
Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, who has been tapped by House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana to lead a new committee to probe other theories about what happened on Jan. 6, rejected Tuesday’s session as a “partisan exercise” designed to hurt Trump and his allies.
Many Republicans reject the narrative that Trump sparked the Jan. 6 attack, and Johnson, before he became the House speaker, had led challenges to the 2020 election. He was among some 130 GOP lawmakers voting that day to reject the presidential results from some states.
Instead, they have focused on security lapses at the Capitol — from the time it took for the National Guard to arrive on the scene to the failure of the police canine units to discover the pipe bombs found that day outside Republican and Democratic party headquarters. The FBI arrested a Virginia man suspected of placing the pipe bombs, and he told investigators last month he believed someone needed to speak up for those who believed the 2020 election was stolen, authorities say.
“The Capitol Complex is no more secure today than it was on January 6,” Loudermilk said in a social media post. “My Select Subcommittee remains committed to transparency and accountability and ensuring the security failures that occurred on January 6 and the partisan investigation that followed never happens again.”
The aftermath of Jan. 6
Five people died in the Capitol siege and its aftermath, including Babbitt, who was shot and killed by police while trying to climb through the window of a door near the House chamber, and Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died later after battling the mob. Several law enforcement personnel died later, some by suicide.
The Justice Department indicted Trump on four counts in a conspiracy to defraud voters with his claims of a rigged election in the run-up to the Jan. 6 attack.
Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers last month that the riot at the Capitol “does not happen” without Trump. He ended up abandoning the case once Trump was reelected president, adhering to department guidelines against prosecuting a sitting president.
Trump, who never made it to the Capitol that day as he hunkered down at the White House, was impeached by the House on the sole charge of having incited the insurrection. The Senate acquitted him after top GOP senators said they believed the matter was best left to the courts.
Ahead of the 2024 election, the Supreme Court ruled ex-presidents have broad immunity from prosecution.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/06/jan-6-attack-capitol-anniversary/
Harvey Park Board member alleges political motivation behind domestic violence arrest
Harvey Park Board member Lakeisha Brown-Oneal was arrested last week following an allegation of domestic violence, though she said she suspected a political motivation behind her arrest.
Brown-Oneal was arrested Dec. 29. A Harvey spokesperson said the Harvey Police Department had pressed charges of domestic battery.
The spokesperson said the city could not comment on if or how the charges would be pursued, saying that formally filing charges is up to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, which handles prosecutions.
The state’s attorney’s office said Monday it had no information on the case and referred further inquiries back to the Harvey Police Department.
Brown-Oneal said she was not the aggressor in the altercation, and said she was the person who called 911.
“I am confident that the facts, including the 911 call I made, the evidence of the assault we sustained and the truth about who initiated this violence will be revealed through the legal process,” Brown-Oneal said.
Brown-Oneal said she suspected her arrest was an act of political retaliation. She is one of two board members suing others at the Harvey Park District for allegedly preventing her from carrying out her duties.
“The timing and selective nature of these charges combined with the immediate media notification raise serious questions about whether this is law enforcement or political retaliation,” Brown-Oneal said.
This is not the first instance of an elected official in Harvey alleging political motivation for an arrest. Last April, 2nd Ward Ald. Colby Chapman, a vocal critic of Mayor Christopher Clark, was arrested and charged with battery against a police officer after Clark ordered her removed from a City Council meeting. Those charges were later dropped by the state’s attorney’s office.
“The Harvey Park District is a separate and independent entity, outside the authority of the City of Harvey and the Mayor,” the Harvey spokesperson said. “The individual involved is not a City employee, official, or representative.”
The computer court file shows an order of protection was issued against Brown-Oneal and the case continued until Jan. 20. But a full charging document is not shown on the court computer.
The Cook County clerk’s office at the Markham courthouse refused to allow the Daily Southtown to view the physical case file on the basis that it included an order for protection.
elewis@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/06/harvey-park-board-member-political-arrest/
Stephen Miller Asserts US Has Right To Take Greenland, & Wouldn’t Even Have To Fight For It
Stephen Miller Asserts US Has Right To Take Greenland, & Wouldn’t Even Have To Fight For It
Stephen Miller, one of President Trump’s top aides who serves as his deputy chief of staff for policy, just poured more fuel on the fire in terms of the ongoing spat with Denmark over the future of Greenland and sovereignty.
He said in fresh remarks that there won’t be any military intervention to take the Arctic territory as simply “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.“ More importantly he spelled out the US administration’s view that Denmark fundamentally does not have a right to the resource-rich Arctic territory.
Miller was asked by reporters on whether Trump might ‘invade’ Greenland next, after this weekend’s ‘shock’ Venezuela action. “What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” he began his response.
“The real question is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?” Miller then questioned.
And he added: “The US is the power of Nato. For the US to secure the Arctic region to protect and defend Nato and Nato interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the US. And so that’s a conversation that we’re going to have as a country. That’s a process we’re going to have as a community of nations.”
Despite the somewhat absurd diplomatic circus surrounding the Greenland question, which has of course remained highly entertaining, Miller has an indisputable point on his NATO comment. If Washington were to ever pull out of NATO, the military alliance would simply become one only on paper – akin to a mere ‘EU Army’.
Denmark’s foreign policy committee is meanwhile Tuesday evening having an emergency session to try and figure out how to handle the growing diplomatic showdown with the Trump administration. According to more background and context related to the latest:
The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded on Monday by saying that an attack by the US on a Nato ally would mean the end of the military alliance and “post-second world war security”. It would, she warned, mark the end of “everything”.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement in which he urged Trump to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of “completely and utterly unacceptable” rhetoric. “Enough is enough,” he said.
Miller’s comments about Greenland came after his wife, the rightwing podcaster Katie Miller, posted a map on X of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “SOON” hours after the military operation in Venezuela.
Stephen Miller was later asked about this, to which he explained: “It has been the formal position of the US government since the beginning of this administration, frankly going back into the previous Trump administration, that Greenland should be part of the US. The president has been very clear about that.”
Trump’s Greenland rhetoric currently does appear more than just about bombastic social media claims, memes or mocking Europe – as there’s currently said to be real, high level admin discussions:
According to two people familiar with private high-level discussions and granted anonymity to share their details, the White House has shown little interest in an overture last year from Denmark’s prime minister offering the U.S. the option to increase its military presence in Greenland, where it already operates a base and has long deployed troops at liberty.
“The option of more U.S. military presence has been on the table,” said one of the people, a European defense official. “The White House is not interested.”
The second person, an American in frequent contact with the administration and European officials, said that most of what Trump says he wants out of Greenland — access to investment resources like critical minerals, more troops and military bases, better intelligence sharing — could be easily accomplished by negotiating directly with Denmark, a steadfast ally.
Greenland – As viewed from a proper map
Why Greenland? Well because Moscow bases almost all of their strategic military assets on the Kola Peninsula next to Finland. This is where the Russian ICBM silos, submarine bases, and their strategic bombers are.
If you look at the… pic.twitter.com/z6qECCJ3u5
— Object Zero (@Object_Zero_) January 6, 2026
Europe is (as expected) immediately coming to Denmark’s defense:
Six European allies have rallied to support Denmark following renewed insistence by the US that it must have control over Greenland.
“Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations,” the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark said in a joint statement.
On Sunday, Donald Trump said the US “needed” Greenland – a semi-autonomous region of fellow Nato member Denmark – for security reasons.
Meanwhile fresh commentary by Rabobank has some creative ideas that the administration might want to take up, such as providing every Greenlander $1 million in exchange for their country, which they would likely find very attractive.
That fresh Rabobank commentary and thought experiment is re-presented in the below:
* * *
Historically, the Monroe Doctrine applied to Central and South America, but its geographic boundaries were never explicitly defined. The Trump Administration, however, may be getting creative with borders, suggesting the Doctrine could soon extend to Greenland (which is still technically in the Western Hemisphere).
Greenland first surfaced as a talking point during Trump’s campaign. This has re-emerged over the weekend with Trump announcing that the U.S. “need[s] Greenland from a national security situation,” and that “we will deal with Greenland in about two months. Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.” What exactly we’ll be talking about when it comes to Greenland is not yet clear, but Denmark—and the EU—is taking this as a threat.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that “if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister had some strong words for the Trump Administration, but seemed open to negotiations. “No more pressure,” he said, “No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law.”
While an outright U.S. military takeover seems unlikely, diplomatic maneuvering is another matter. Trump’s approach to Statecraft has often been described as “too much stick, not enough carrot.” In the case of Greenland, we may see a bit more carrot. Still, with a population of only around 50,000, one might imagine a thought experiment where, for the low, low price of $50 billion, the U.S. offers every Greenlander $1 million in exchange for their country. That might prove more attractive.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/06/2026 – 12:45
Batavia’s Jordan Buckley joins two other local football players entering transfer portal. ‘Find a better shot.’
Will he stay or will he go?
Jordan Buckley, a former defensive line standout at Batavia, weighed that question the past few weeks while he and his Western Michigan teammates prepared for the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
The question has become college football’s mantra at the end of each year. Players now have the option to enter the NCAA transfer portal during a short window in January.
It was a dilemma for Buckley, who just completed his redshirt freshman season for the Broncos but hadn’t seen game action yet.
“I love the coaching at Western Michigan and I love the program,” Buckley said. “But I feel with the depth there at my position, I could find a better shot somewhere else.”
Buckley is one of at least three players from the area who are known to have taken the leap into the portal and have until Jan. 16 to reach a decision on a new school and program.
Batavia’s Jordan Buckley, right, tries to get around Phillips’ Keevan Blanton during a nonconference game in Chicago on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. (Michael Gard / The Beacon-News)
Illinois backup quarterback Ethan Hampton, an Aurora Christian alum, announced on social media Monday that he was trying the portal for the second year in a row. So did NCAA Division II Bemidji State defensive end Tyler Sapit, another Batavia graduate and Buckley’s former teammate.
“The process is going well — it feels like high school again,” Buckley said of recruiting.
Buckley, an education major, has had talks with several schools and hopes to have a decision soon since he will have to move and complete arrangements to start classes at his new college.
“Most of them will be starting their new semester on Monday,” he said. “School has been going well here. This has been a family and I’ve had a great time.”
Complicating Buckley’s decision? His older brother Jalen, a redshirt junior running back, is a Western Michigan teammate who has been doing very well.
Jalen Buckley topped 1,000 yards rushing this season for the second time in his career and was named offensive player of the game with 19 carries for 193 yards and touchdown runs of 67 and 64 yards in the Broncos’ 23-13 over Miami of Ohio for the MAC championship.
Two weeks later, he bolted 65 yards for a TD on the the first play of the game and was named Myrtle Beach Bowl MVP in a 41-6 win over Conference USA champion Kennesaw State.
“He left the decision up to me,” Jordan Buckley said of transferring. “We’re usually talking football but he’s been a brother for me no matter what, encouraging me to work hard.”
Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton, an Aurora Christian graduate, throws a pass during practice at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Jordan Buckley has trained at both defensive tackle and defensive end in his two years in Kalamazoo. His first choice may be end, where he moved last spring, but he’s comfortable playing both.
“I’m confident I can play in a phone booth, which is how one of my coaches describes playing tackle,” he said.
Buckley played both in high school and remembers receiving help from Sapit — two years ahead of him — when he was promoted to varsity late in his sophomore season.
“Tyler was kind of like an assistant coach and I really learned a lot from him,” Buckley said.
Batavia linebacker Jack Sadowsky (6) lines up at defensive end alongside teammate Tyler Sapit (97) against Geneva during a DuKane Conference game on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
Sapit, who redshirted as a true freshman in 2022 and used a medical redshirt due to a knee injury in 2023, was first team all-conference this past fall at Bemidji State and set a program single-game record with 26 yards in tackles for loss.
Reached at the airport for a flight to speak with a school that’s interested in him, Sapit wasn’t planning to transfer initially.
“I thought I’d be back but posted some film, just to see what would happen,” he said.
Receiving plenty of interest, he took the leap.
Hampton, who lead Northern Illinois to its upset of Notre Dame two years ago, saw limited action in four games for the Illini this past season and will have one year of eligibility left.
“Illinois is and always will be home,” Hampton said on the social platform X. “I couldn’t be more grateful for coach (Bret) Bielema for giving me the opportunity to play for a Big Ten school in my home state.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/06/jordan-buckley-batavia-ncaa-transfer-portball-football/
