Today in one sentence: FBI agents searched the Virginia home of a Washington Post reporter; Denmark said it still had a “fundamental disagreement” with the Trump administration over Greenland; the Pentagon began evacuating nonessential personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a precaution while Trump weighs possible military strikes over Iran’s crackdown on protests; the State Department said it will indefinitely pause immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries; Trump gave an autoworker who called him a "pedophile protector" the middle finger and twice mouthed “fuck you” while touring a Ford plant in Michigan; and 2025 was the third-warmest on record, and the past 11 years have been the 11 warmest.

1/ FBI agents searched the Virginia home of a Washington Post reporter and seized her phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch as part of an investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of unlawfully retaining classified national defense information. The search, conducted at the Pentagon’s request, sought evidence of communications between Hannah Natanson and the contractor, Aurelio Perez-Lugones, even though Natanson and the Post were told they aren’t targets and haven’t been accused of wrongdoing. Court papers charge Perez-Lugones only with retaining classified material and don’t accuse him of leaking or sharing information with Natanson. Attorney General Pam Bondi, however, claims that Natanson was “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information.” Investigators said documents marked “SECRET,” including one found in a lunchbox, were recovered from Perez-Lugones’s home and car. (Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / The Guardian / ABC News / CNN)

2/ Denmark said it still had a “fundamental disagreement” with the Trump administration over Greenland after talks in Washington. Prior to the meeting, Trump insisted that “the United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security” and that “anything less than” U.S. control of the territory was “unacceptable.” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called U.S. proposals that don’t respect Denmark’s territorial integrity or Greenlanders’ right to self-determination “totally unacceptable.” (Bloomberg / CNBC / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / New York Times / NBC News / CNBC / NPR)

3/ The Pentagon began evacuating nonessential personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a precaution while Trump weighs possible military strikes over Iran’s crackdown on protests. U.S. intelligence assessed that if Trump strikes Iran, Tehran would retaliate against U.S. forces in the region, including the al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Trump, meanwhile, claimed that “I’ve been told that on good authority” by unnamed “very important sources” that Iran has “no plan for executions” of anti-regime protesters. “We’ll find out about it. I’m sure if it happens I’ll be very upset.” (Wall Street Journal / CNN / NBC News / Axios / Washington Post / New York Times)

4/ The State Department said it will indefinitely pause immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries. The pause begins Jan. 21, and applies only to immigrant visas for people seeking permanent residency that the administration considers likely to become a “public charge.” It doesn’t apply to nonimmigrant visas, such as those for tourists, students or temporary workers. The U.S. issued more than 600,000 immigrant visas in 2024, and immigration analysts estimate the suspension could block nearly half of all legal immigrants if it remains in effect for a year. (Reuters / Associated Press / Politico / Bloomberg / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

5/ Trump gave an autoworker who called him a “pedophile protector” the middle finger and twice mouthed “fuck you” while touring a Ford plant in Michigan. The White House called Trump’s response “appropriate,” calling TJ Sabula “a lunatic [who] was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage.” Ford suspended Sabula, who said he had “definitely no regrets whatsoever.” A GoFundMe campaign, titled “TJ Sabula is a patriot!!,” has raised nearly $500,000 so far. (Washington Post / CBS News / The Guardian / Bloomberg)

poll/ 56% of Americans say Trump has “gone too far” in using the U.S. military to intervene abroad, while fewer say his actions have been about right. Nearly half of Americans want the U.S. to take a less active role in world affairs, about one-third say the current role is about right, and roughly 2 in 10 want the U.S. to be more involved. (Associated Press)

poll/ 70% of voters said the U.S. shouldn’t take military action against Iran if protesters there are killed, while 18% said the U.S. should take action, and 12% were undecided. 70% of voters said Trump should first receive approval from Congress before taking military action against another country, compared with 24% who said congressional approval isn’t needed.(Quinnipiac)

poll/ 51% of Americans say ICE is making U.S. cities less safe, while 31% say they are making cities safer, and 18% say they’ve had little effect. 52% of Americans say Trump’s deportation efforts have gone too far, compared with about one-third who say he hasn’t gone far enough. (CNN)

The 2026 midterms are in 293 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,028 days; it’s been 26 days since the Trump administration was required by law to release the Epstein files.

✏️ Notables.

  1. A federal three-judge panel upheld California’s new congressional maps, dismissing Republican and Trump administration claims that the voter-approved plan was an illegal racial gerrymander. The 2–1 ruling keeps the maps in place for upcoming midterm elections. Republicans are expected to appeal despite the Supreme Court’s recent refusal to block a similar Texas map. (Politico / New York Times)

  2. Trump said he will cut off federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities” and their states starting Feb. 1, the latest attempt to use federal funding to punish local governments that disagree with his policy positions, like diversity and inclusion practices, and immigration enforcement. Two previous efforts by Trump to cut off funding for sanctuary jurisdictions were blocked by the courts. (NBC News / Bloomberg)

  3. The Trump administration abruptly terminated hundreds of federal grants for mental health and addiction services, offering little detail about which programs were cut or why. More than 2,000 grants totaling nearly $2 billion are affected. (Washington Post / NPR)

  4. 2025 was the third-warmest on record, and the past 11 years have been the 11 warmest. Global average temperatures were about 1.47 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. (NBC News / NPR)

Five years ago today: Day 1456: "Self-pity mode."
Six years ago today: Day 1090: "Deserve the truth."
Seven years ago today: Day 725: Big fat hoax.