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Biden admin threatens to restrict Israel aid and Tyron McAlpin arrest under scrutiny: Morning Rundown

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Biden admin threatens to restrict Israel aid and Tyron McAlpin arrest under scrutiny: Morning Rundown

The Biden administration threatens to restrict military assistance to Israel over conditions in Gaza. The arrest of a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy in Arizona draws national attention. And centuries of Egyptian artifacts get an enormous new home. 

Here’s what to know today.

The Biden admin’s warning to Israel about military assistance

Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration may restrict military assistance to Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza doesn’t improve within the next 30 days, according to a letter sent last weekend to Israeli Defense Minister Yaov Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed the existence of the letter yesterday.

In the letter, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the U.S. must continually assess under its own law whether Israel is “directly or indirectly” impeding the transport of U.S. humanitarian assistance to Gaza. If it is, they warned that the U.S. could halt additional military financing, two U.S. officials and a defense official said.

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The Biden administration sent a similar warning to Israeli officials in April but ultimately determined the actions taken by Israel to improve the humanitarian situation afterward met the requirements under the law. Since then, the situation in the Gaza Strip has further deteriorated.

Read the full story here.

More coverage of Middle East conflicts: 

  • The Biden administration also signaled support for Israel’s operations against Hezbollah in hopes that the Iran-backed group will withdraw from southern Lebanon. But a State Department spokesperson said Israel’s incursions should be “limited.”

Harris says Trump wants to ‘please dictators’ in radio interview

Vice President Kamala Harris opened a new line of attack against former President Donald Trump, criticizing his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and connecting it to the well-being of Black Americans. The comments came during a live radio town hall hosted by Charlamagne Tha God as she tries to stem a small but steady erosion of support from voters of color. 

On Trump, Harris said he “admire[s] dictators” and sent hard-to-find Covid tests to Putin for personal use “when Black people were dying every day by the hundreds.” The claim that Trump sent testing devices to Putin came to light last week in a new book from journalist Bob Woodward. 

Harris also tried to belittle Trump, which could be an attempt to chip away at his appeal among male voters. She has ramped up efforts this week to appeal to Black male voters in particular. “This man is weak, and he is unfit,” she said. 

The wide-ranging interview also covered the idea of slavery reparations, which Harris first embraced but has since distanced herself from, and touched on her record as a prosecutor. Read the full story. 

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More election coverage: 

➡️ A Georgia judge blocked a rule backed by Trump allies that would have required ballots cast on Election Day to be counted by hand.

➡️ Trump doubled down on calling Democrats “enemies from within” in a taped Fox News town hall set to air today.

➡️ Despite a rousing DNC speech urging voters to “do something,” former first lady Michelle Obama has yet to hit the campaign trail in support of Harris. Here’s why.

➡️ House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries hopes voters will help flip control of the House and, as a result, potentially pave the way for a historic speakership.

➡️ Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Colin Allred clashed over abortion, trans athletes and Jan. 6 in a feisty Texas Senate debate

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➡️ ISIS-K was behind a foiled U.S. Election Day terror plot that resulted in the arrest last week of an Afghan man in Oklahoma, two senior U.S. officials said.

➡️ “While Biden isn’t on the ballot anymore, voters are certainly feeling his presence,” NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes. The clock is ticking for Harris, who needs to find more ways to differentiate herself from the president. Read the full analysis here.

➡️ Harris recently proposed to have Medicare cover the costs of at-home care. For those feeling the financial sting of caring for ill and aging loved ones, it could be a lifeline.

Arrest of deaf Black man with cerebral palsy under scrutiny

Public outcry is mounting against a pair of Phoenix police officers who repeatedly punched and Tased a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy as he was arrested outside a convenience store — a case that this week a public official acknowledged “merits additional scrutiny.” The incident involving Tyron McAlpin happened in August but recently drew national attention when one of his attorneys released police body camera video and surveillance footage from his arrest. 

According to a police incident report, the Aug. 19 incident began when two police officers responded to an emergency call of a fight at a Circle K convenience store. They spoke to a white man, who a 911 caller said had been the aggressor in the fight. That man, who had dried blood on his T-shirt, pointed to McAlpin, who was walking nearby, and said he was the person who assaulted him. The two officers pursued McAlpin and intercepted him in the parking lot of another store. After his arrest, McAlpin, 34, was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest.

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Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said on Monday she plans to “personally review” the case. The Phoenix Police Department also said this week that McAlpin’s arrest is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation. Read more about the case and see video of the confrontation.

Read All About It

  • The Menendez brothers’ extended family is expected to gather outside a Los Angeles courthouse today as the district attorney weighs a possible resentencing. 
  • Facing a long road to recovery after Hurricane Helene, Asheville musicians fret about scraping by until crowds can come back.
  • Nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products, from major stores such as Trader Joe’s, Kroger and 7-Eleven, were recalled over a listeria risk.
  • A man was arrested in the fatal shooting of a woman who was killed while exercising on a popular Nashville walking trail. 
  • The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returned after a yearslong hiatus, featuring past Angels like Adriana Lima, Tyra Banks and Kate Moss.

Staff Pick: Ancient Egyptian artifacts have a grand new home

Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza
Khaled Desouki / AFP – Getty Images

If Egypt wasn’t already on your travel bucket list, it should be now. The country is finally opening the doors of its sprawling new archaeological museum today, after nearly two decades of delays to the project. The site, a mile from the Pyramids of Giza, is destined to become a staple of the tourist trail, but for now only a portion will be open to visitors. Among the 100,000 artifacts set to entice visitors are the gold mask of Tutankhamun and a colossal 3,200-year-old statue of Ramesses the Great. I bet they have a great gift shop too.— Nick Duffy, platforms editor

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Sick of waking up with a crick in your neck? One NBC Select reporter tested out the Marlow memory foam pillow from Brooklinen and has been sleeping soundly ever since. Plus, as cooler weather rolls in, it’s time to turn on your space heater. Here are the 11 best heaters at every price point, plus safety tips from the experts.

Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.

Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.

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Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say

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Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, a day after an officer shot and killed a driver in Minnesota, authorities said.

The Department of Homeland Security described the vehicle’s passenger as “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants Thursday afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a written statement.

“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” the statement said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”

There was no immediate independent corroboration of those events or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle’s occupants. During prior shootings involving agents involved in President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement in U.S. cities, including Wednesday’s shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, video evidence cast doubt on the administration’s initial descriptions of what prompted the shootings.

READ MORE: What we know so far about the ICE shooting in Minneapolis

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According to the the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting near a hospital at about 2:18 p.m.

A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers then responded there and found the two people with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers determined they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.

Their conditions were not immediately known. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a Portland city council meeting that Thursday’s shooting took place in the eastern part of the city and that two Portlanders were wounded.

“As far as we know both of these individuals are still alive and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon,” she said.

The shooting escalates tensions in an city that has long had a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump, including Trump’s recent, failed effort to deploy National Guard troops in the city.

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Portland police secured both the scene of the shooting and the area where the wounded people were found pending investigation.

“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” said Chief Bob Day. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in Oregon’s largest city until a full investigation is completed.

“We stand united as elected officials in saying that we cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” a joint statement said. “Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”

The city officials said “federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. We’ll use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.”

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They urged residents to show up with “calm and purpose during this difficult time.”

“We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice,” the statement said. “We must stand together to protect Portland.”

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, urged any protesters to remain peaceful.

“Trump wants to generate riots,” he said in a post on the X social media platform. “Don’t take the bait.”

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Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

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Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

new video loaded: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

The New York Times sat down with President Trump in the Oval Office for an exclusive interview just hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis. Our White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs explains how the president reacted to the shooting.

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, Nikolay Nikolov and Coleman Lowndes

January 8, 2026

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Community reacts to ICE shooting in Minnesota. And, RFK Jr. unveils new food pyramid

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Community reacts to ICE shooting in Minnesota. And, RFK Jr. unveils new food pyramid

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman, yesterday. Multiple observers captured the shooting on video, and community members demanded accountability. Minnesota law enforcement officials and the FBI are investigating the fatal shooting, which the Trump administration says was an act of self-defense. Meanwhile, the mayor has accused the officer of reckless use of power and demanded that ICE get out of Minneapolis.

People demonstrate during a vigil at the site where a woman was shot and killed by an immigration officer earlier in the day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 7, 2026. An immigration officer in Minneapolis shot dead a woman on Wednesday, triggering outrage from local leaders even as President Trump claimed the officer acted in self-defense. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey deemed the government’s allegation that the woman was attacking federal agents “bullshit,” and called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducting a second day of mass raids to leave Minneapolis.

Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images


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  • 🎧 Caitlin Callenson recorded the shooting and says officers gave Good multiple conflicting instructions while she was in her vehicle. Callenson says Good was already unresponsive when officers pulled her from the car. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims the officer was struck by the vehicle and acted in self-defense. In the video NPR reviewed, the officer doesn’t seem to be hit and was seen walking after he fired the shots, NPR’s Meg Anderson tells Up First. Anderson says it has been mostly peaceful in Minneapolis, but there is a lot of anger and tension because protesters want ICE out of the city.

U.S. forces yesterday seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the north Atlantic between Iceland and Britain after a two-week chase. The tanker was originally headed to Venezuela, but it changed course to avoid the U.S. ships. This action comes as the Trump administration begins releasing new information about its plans for Venezuela’s oil industry.

  • 🎧 It has been a dramatic week for U.S. operations in Venezuela, NPR’s Greg Myre says, prompting critics to ask if a real plan for the road ahead exists. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded that the U.S. does have a strategy to stabilize Venezuela, and much of it seems to involve oil. Rubio said the U.S. would take control of up to 50 million barrels of oil from the country. Myre says the Trump administration appears to have a multipronged strategy that involves taking over the country’s oil, selling it on the world market and pressuring U.S. oil companies to enter Venezuela.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released new dietary guidelines for Americans yesterday that focus on promoting whole foods, proteins and healthy fats. The guidance, which he says aims to “revolutionize our food culture,” comes with a new food pyramid, which replaces the current MyPlate symbol.

  • 🎧 “I’m very disappointed in the new pyramid,” Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert who was on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, tells NPR’s Allison Aubrey. Gardner says the new food structure, which features red meat and saturated fats at the top, contradicts decades of evidence and research. Poor eating habits and the standard American diet are widely considered to cause chronic disease. Aubrey says the new guidelines alone won’t change people’s eating habits, but they will be highly influential. This guidance will shape the offerings in school meals and on military bases, and determine what’s allowed in federal nutrition programs.

Special series

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Trump has tried to bury the truth of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. NPR built a visual archive of the attack on the Capitol, showing exactly what happened through the lenses of the people who were there. “Chapter 4: The investigation” shows how federal investigators found the rioters and built the largest criminal case in U.S. history.

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Political leaders, including Trump, called for rioters to face justice for their actions on Jan. 6. This request came because so few people were arrested during the attack. The extremists who led the riot remained free, and some threatened further violence. The government launched the largest federal investigation in American history, resulting in the arrest of over 1,500 individuals from all 50 states. The most serious cases were made by prosecutors against leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. For their roles in planning the attack against the U.S., some extremists were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Take a look at the Jan. 6 prosecutions by the numbers, including the highest sentence received.

To learn more, explore NPR’s database of federal criminal cases from Jan. 6. You can also see more of NPR’s reporting on the topic.

Deep dive

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images


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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump takes 325 milligrams of daily aspirin, which is four times the recommended 81 milligrams of low-dose aspirin used for cardiovascular disease prevention. The president revealed this detail in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published last week. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that anyone over 60 not start a daily dose of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease if they don’t already have an underlying problem. The group said it’s reasonable to stop preventive aspirin in people already taking it around age 75 years. Trump is 79. This is what you should know about aspirin and cardiac health:

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  • 💊 Doctors often prescribe the low dose of aspirin because there’s no benefit to taking a higher dose, according to a large study published in 2021.
  • 💊 Some people, including adults who have undergone heart bypass surgery and those who have had a heart attack, should take the advised dose of the drug for their entire life.
  • 💊 While safer than other blood thinners, the drug — even at low doses — raises the risk of bleeding in the stomach and brain. But these adverse events are unlikely to cause death.

3 things to know before you go

When an ant pupa has a deadly, incurable infection, it sends out a signal that tells worker ants to unpack it from its cocoon and disinfect it, a process that results in its death.

When an ant pupa has a deadly, incurable infection, it sends out a signal that tells worker ants to unpack it from its cocoon and disinfect it, a process that results in its death.

Christopher D. Pull/ISTA


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Christopher D. Pull/ISTA

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  1. Young, terminally ill ants will send out an altruistic “kill me” signal to worker ants, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications. With this strategy, the sick ants sacrifice themselves for the good of their colony.
  2. In this week’s Far-Flung Postcards series, you can spot a real, lone California sequoia tree in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris. Napoleon III transformed the park from a former landfill into one of the French capital’s greenest escapes.
  3. The ACLU and several authors have sued Utah over its “sensitive materials” book law, which has now banned 22 books in K-12 schools. Among the books on the ban list are The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. (via KUER)

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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