Reuters World News - ICE protest, brief shutdown and Don Lemon

Episode Date: January 31, 2026

Thousands protest nationwide after deadly U.S. immigration actions, putting ICE under scrutiny. Congress slips into a brief partial shutdown after immigration funding talks stall. Plus Former CNN anchor Don Lemon pleads not guilty to federal charges tied to protest coverage. Listen to the latest On Assignment Minneapolis from different angles. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm your weekend host Sharon Reich Garson. It's Saturday, January 31st. Today, thousands protest across the U.S. as anger grows over deadly immigration enforcement. The U.S. government enters what's likely to be a brief shutdown. Plus, a sewing mistake becomes a viral symbol of burnout in China. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. We begin in the U.S., where thousands of protesters took to the streets across the country on Friday,

angry over the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents. Down with our two patients. From Houston to D.C. to Los Angeles, where riot police with shields lined up outside a detention center, facing off against demonstrators, some of whom came wearing a, gas masks in anticipation. They were joined by students across the country who staged walkouts to show solidarity. Here's a D who didn't give their last name. I think that Congress needs to take action, especially Democratic senators and representatives, and I think that they need to rise up.

And I also think we need to vote in 2026. In the meantime, the Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the death of Alex Preddy, the ICU nurse shot and killed by a federal immigration officer. It could lead to criminal charges, though the legal bar is high. There have been mixed messages from the Trump administration about whether they're in fact trying to dial down tensions. In a post-on-truth social, President Trump on Friday described Prattie as, quote, an agitator and perhaps an insurrectionist. And while the protests continue, we're taking a deeper look at how all this unfolded. On this weekend's episode of On Assignment, host Christopher Waljaspur talks with Reuters

reporters on the ground in Minneapolis covering the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and the tense moments after a second U.S. citizen was killed by ICE agents. I think what was different was you had the civilians more angry than I've ever. ever seen. You won't even lift me in my eyes. We'll drop a link in the pod description. Over to Iran now, where a series of explosions were heard in the southern port early Saturday. The cause of the blast wasn't immediately clear when this podcast was published, and authorities

haven't released any details. It comes at a moment of rising tension between Tehran and Washington after Iranian authorities moved to quell the biggest protest the country has seen in three years. And all of this is unfolding against the backdrop of continued Western concern over Iran's nuclear program. You can follow the latest on this developing story at Reuters.com and on the Reuters app. Meanwhile, anger over the immigration crackdown is led to a partial government shutdown, now in effect. But it's unlikely to last long. The Senate pushed through a huge spending bill on Friday right up against the deadline. But because the Senate passed an amendment, it has to go back to the House of Representatives,

which doesn't come back until Monday. The issue is Democrats not wanting to continue Homeland Security funding, but that's been separated out. Now Homeland Security gets a two-week extension, giving lawmakers more time to hammer out new limits on immigration agents. Reporter Andy Sullivan says, unlike the last shutdown, which lasted 43 days, this will be relatively quick. If you think back to the shutdown last fall, Republicans and Democrats were really dug in in their dispute over health care policy. Neither side budged until 43 days. That was a record, the longest shutdown ever. It cost the economy $11 trillion. This time around, neither side seems willing to take the government funding hostage while they debate immigration policy. The spending bill passed the Senate by a wide margin on Friday,

and the House expects to take it up quickly when they return on Monday. Of course, this is Congress, and this is the year 2026, so things could go sideways pretty quickly. We'll have to wait and see how things turn out. But right now, signs don't point to a long, disruptive shutdown. Next to another flashpoint related to Trump's immigration policy, this time between the press and the government. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon,

Don Lemon has pleaded not guilty to federal charges linked to his live stream of a protest inside a Minnesota church. His case has quickly become a rallying point for critics of the administration's latest immigration crackdown. Outside the courthouse, Lemon told reporters he won't stop doing his job, calling the charges an attack on press freedom. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects that work for me and for countless of other journalists who do what I do. I stand with all of them, and I will not be silence. Actor and activist Jane Fonda showed up in support, delivering her own sharp message to the cameras. They arrested the wrong Don. And Lemon isn't the only journalist swept up. Minnesota-based independent

reporter Georgia Fort, who was also filming inside the church, has been arrested as well. Freedom advocates are warning this marks a serious escalation in how the government's treating journalists covering demonstrations. Reporter Andrew Hay has more. The legal analysts that I've spoken with say that trying to charge journalists who are there to report on what occurs with with those same laws is really just unprecedented. and they believe that the charges may well be thrown out against Lemon and Georgia Fort. Turning now to another story drawing intense scrutiny, the Epstein files. Elon Musk is weighing in on newly released Justice Department files tied to Epstein. In a post on X, he says he always knew some of his emails with Epstein could be, quote,

misinterpreted. He stresses that he repeatedly turned down. invitations to visit the island and to fly on Epstein's plane. And he says he'd pushed for these documents to be made public. And now the fight about what's missing, Democrats are pointing to gaps and heavy redactions in the documents that still leave major questions unanswered. They're noting that the DOJ had identified six million potentially responsive pages, but released only three and a half million. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says this release is it, the final batch,

and he stresses that redactions were made only to protect victims or ongoing investigations. We did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect or not protect anybody. I mean, I think that there's a hunger or a thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents. Next to a major development in a high-profile federal murder case. Luigi Mangione will no longer face the death penalty for the killing of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson. A federal judge in New York has thrown out the murder charge, ruling that the federal murder count couldn't legally be paired with the stalking charges Mangione still faces. But this doesn't mean he walks free.

Mangione could still spend the rest of his life in prison if he's convicted on those federal charges. And he's also facing a separate state murder case. Legal reporter Jack Queen has been covering the case. It's still very significant. He faces the possibility of life without parole if he's convicted on the stocking counts. And he, as you said, is charged with murder, forgery, weapons, offenses, and a number of other charges in the parallel state prosecution that's ongoing. So while this removes the possibility of the death penalty, which I'm sure is very welcome news for him, he's still looking at very, very serious charges here. And finally, to a lunar New Year sensation, no one saw coming.

At Yiwu International Trade City, China's biggest wholesale market, crowds are lining up for a toy that's gone viral. A red plush horse with big blue eyes, long lashes, and a dramatically droopy mouth. Online people are calling it the crying horse. The thing is, it was never meant to look sad. Zhang Hoking runs the happy sister toy shop in Yiwu. She says the crying horse was born from a simple mistake. A worker stitched its smile upside down. One customer even tried to return it.

But then Zhang started seeing photos of this sad little horse spreading online, and once it caught on, demand it. exploded. Young office workers say the horse's exhausted expression mirrors how they feel after long hours and heavy workloads. And it taps into China's love of ugly cute collectibles. And with this Lunar New Year ushering in the year of the horse, this accidentally melancholy mascot is one of the holiday's hottest sellers. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast player. And if you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back

tomorrow with our daily headline show.