Reuters World News - Minnesota, social media trial, China purge and LVMH

Episode Date: January 27, 2026

President Donald Trump signals a new conciliatory note on Minnesota after a phone call with the state Governor Tim Walz, while top U.S. Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino gets a demotion and will leave Minneapolis. Meta, TikTok and YouTube will stand trial over claims of a youth mental health crisis. In China, President Xi Jinping’s corruption purge hits his inner circle. And LVMH investors demand transparency on succession plans.  Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Find the Recommended Read 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 Carmel Crimmons in Dublin. It's Tuesday, January 27th. Today, signs of a thaw, as Trump and Minnesota's governor share a private phone call, and a top U.S. Border Patrol official is demoted. Meta, TikTok and YouTube go on trial, as a teen says social media addiction fueled her depression. China's top general is under investigation for alleged corruption, and a succession drama, French style. This is Reuters World News. bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week.

Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Prettie, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt, reflecting a sharp reversal in tone. With public outrage mounting over the fatal shooting of Alex Prettie over the weekend, President Trump is now saying he's on a similar wavelength with the Democratic governor of Minnesota, Tim Walts, after what he describes as a very good call between them. Waltz and other Democratic leaders

fiercely oppose the immigration surge, which they characterize as a lawless invasion. And the man in charge of that surge, Gregory Bovino, is being removed from his role. Reporter Andy Sullivan covers U.S. politics. You're seeing other moves by Trump that could be seen as de-escalating the situation, They're pulling out one of their top border patrol officials, Gregory Bovino, who's really seen as a face of the crackdown, bringing in the border czar, Tom Homan.

But they still appear to be at loggerheads over a number of issues. One of them is the extent to which local police cooperate with federal agents. There are many cities like Minneapolis that have specific orders not to cooperate with federal immigration agents. And that comes from a concern that if the local immigrant community sees police as sort of the enemy, then they're less likely to call in things like domestic assaults and other crimes. There's been fierce blowback to the administration since the shooting on Saturday. And even a lot of Republicans are saying there needs to be a thorough investigation. Democrats are saying they're not going to be funding the Department of Homeland Security bill this week in the Senate, which means we could be looking at a government shutdown starting next week. and the political impacts are being felt beyond D.C. So there's a few warning signs we're seeing for Trump.

One is polling. His approval rating on immigration is the lowest it's been since he's returned to office. Remember, this is one of his strongest issues that helped get him elected in the first place. Then you also saw a Republican governor candidate in Minnesota drop out of the race, a guy named Chris Medell. I cannot support the National Republican stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so. And finally, you're seeing some pushback from gun rights groups.

They're objecting to the line from the Department of Homeland Security that is blaming Alex Pretti for showing up to the protest with a gun. They're saying that the Trump administration is on the wrong side of this. They shouldn't be blaming him for carrying a gun, which he can do lawfully. Israel has recovered the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza. In a statement, the Israeli military said the remains of police officers, Iran Govili, who was held in Gaza for more than 840 days, have been identified and will be returned for burial. The recovery fulfills a key condition of the initial phase of President

Trump's ceasefire plan and could pave the way for reopening the Rafah crossing. That's Gaza's main gateway to the outside world. France's government is moving closer to banning social media for under 15s, following in the footsteps of Australia's world-first block. And in California, jury Re-selection begins today in a case against TikTok, Meta and YouTube, which are facing allegations their platforms are fueling a youth mental health crisis. The case, brought by a 19-year-old woman who says she became addicted to the apps as a child, is a test for thousands of other pending lawsuits and could crack the legal shield that's protected Big Tech for decades. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify. U.S. Tech Policy reporter Courtney Rosen is covering the case.

The question is whether social media platforms have fueled a mental health crisis in the United States among kids, among teens. On one side, you have the social media companies who are saying that there's a law called Section 230. That law protects the companies from legal liability for the content that's posted on their platforms. On the other side of this, you have plaintiffs. In this case, it's a 19-year-old who said she became addicted to the company's platforms and that the apps fueled her. depression and her mental health issues. The plaintiffs are going to try to argue that the tech companies have to face these claims in court and that the law doesn't shield them from that. Courtney says the stakes for social media companies in this case are high. A verdict against the

companies would put a crack in that defense. And that's a defense they use across lots of litigation across decades. And it would show that the juries are willing to hold the platforms themselves liable for what these issues are with teens. That's a big deal. To China, where President Xi Jinping's years-long corruption purge is now striking at the heart of his innermost circle. Over the weekend, it was announced that China's most senior general, Zhang Yud Tsah, and another senior officer, are under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.

Anthony Swadkowski is in Beijing. The most important character at the heart of this drama that's playing out at the top echelence of power in China is China's most powerful, most important general, Zhang Yohsiah. We've spoken to analysts and people who watch this ongoing purge that has kind of consumed the Chinese military basically since Xi Jinping took power in 2012. And what they're telling us is that, number one, this is astonishing and it's really unprecedented. It represents a really important shift in Chinese politics.

And this is because Zhang Yosha is. is not just senior general who has some kind of small overlap here and there with Xi Jinping. Zhang is a princeling, just like Xi Jinping himself, which means that their fathers fought together during the Civil War. And so there is this deep, personal, familial connection. And Anthony says this leaves a number of key military positions unfilled. China's militaries run by the seven-men Central Military Commission, and that commission, Owing to all of these purges, right now has only two members left. The Supreme Commander, the Commander-in-Chief Xi Jinping and his ally, Zhang Sheming.

So the secretive organization that the People's Liberation Army is, and its leadership is even more opaque than before. As the luxury giant LVMH prepares to publish its annual results later today, fears of a succession-like drama hitting the brand are growing among shareholders. Tassilo Hummel has been looking at the story to gauge why there's been an apparent shift in mood. What has changed now, essentially, is that to us it felt like a critical mass of investors would go on the record and voice their concerns.

You're just sensing that the tone has shifted a little bit, and people are a bit less tolerant of the company and its CEO, leaving everybody in the dark about what possible succession could look like, which in itself doesn't come as a surprise, because Bernardano just extended his maximum age for a second time to 85. So in theory, could be staying at the helm for another 9 to 10 years. Bernard Arnaud's five children are involved in the running of his luxury empire, and their relationship is key to what happens when he leaves.

I think everybody knows that as long as the different members of the family are collaborating, working towards the same aim, and cooperating, everything is fine. but if there changes and if there are differences, that it could become really, really complicated. And just bear in mind we are talking about the company that is worth around $350 billion right now and half of it is owned by the family. So we are in the hundreds of billions of dollars when it comes to the worth of their equity stake in the business. For more Econ and Finance News, check out our sister markets podcast MorningBid, available wherever you get your podcasts.

And we've got one more business story for you today. Actor Jennifer Garner's Organic Children's Food Company, Once Upon a Farm, is aiming for a valuation of up to $764 million in its U.S. stock market debut. The company is planning to raise more than $200 million, but warns that trade barriers affecting Mexico and South America, where it sources much of its fruit and vegetables, could drive up costs.

Now, many of you in the U.S. are still struggling in the wake of that monster storm and extreme cold is expected to persist in some places through the week. But in Australia, they're dealing with the other end of the spectrum, extreme heat. Australian open organisers invoked their extreme heat policy as temperatures hit 104 degrees. Play was suspended on outer courts and roofs shut on main show courts. We have a story all about it on the Reuters app and we'll put a link to it in the description of today's show.

For more on any of the stories from today, check out roiders.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. 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.