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It’s Monday, January 19. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today, the United States honors Martin Luther King Jr. Read King’s Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jonathan Eig in our pages, on the last speech the great American ever gave:
Coming up: Haviv Rettig Gur on how to help Iran. Can prediction markets be tamed? The Oscar short-listed period drama that writes Jews out of the story. Jed Rubenfeld on the reported Justice Department investigation into Tim Walz. And much more.
But first: Donald Trump ups the ante over Greenland.
“It is time for Denmark to give back—World peace is at stake!” So said the president of the United States in a post on Truth Social over the weekend.
The claim was part of a significant escalation in the president’s push to acquire Greenland. On Saturday, Trump demanded a deal to buy Greenland, and said he would impose 10 percent tariffs on all imports from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the UK, France, and Germany on February 1. Those tariffs will increase to 25 percent on June 1 and remain until a deal for the “complete and total purchase” of Greenland, Trump said.
On Sunday, European leaders were weighing how to respond, considering hitting the U.S. with tariffs worth $93 billion.
A European freak-out over comments from Donald Trump isn’t necessarily anything to write home about. But this time is a little different. We explain why in our editorial. Read about Trump’s geopolitical petulance, and why it risks undermining his foreign policy achievements.
—The Editors
A Minneapolis police officer in tactical gear stands on the street in downtown Minneapolis as protesters gather on January 17, 2026. (Jim Vondruska via Getty Images)The Pentagon is preparing 1,500 soldiers for possible deployment in Minnesota. In response, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey is gearing up to push back. “I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government,” he said Sunday.
A majority of Americans say that ICE is making communities where it is conducting operations less safe; 31 percent say it is making communities more safe, according to a CBS News poll. Sixty-one percent of Americans say that ICE is being too tough when stopping and detaining people.
Josh Shapiro was asked by Kamala Harris’s vice presidential search team whether he was an Israeli agent, the Pennsylvania governor claims in his new memoir. “Had I been a double agent for Israel? Was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was,” Shapiro writes in Where We Keep the Light.
A high-speed train derailed in Spain on Sunday, jumping onto another track and hitting an oncoming train. At least 21 people died in the accident, according to Spanish authorities.
The Israeli government is pushing back against the U.S.’s Gaza oversight committee. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the committee, which includes countries like Turkey and Qatar, was “not coordinated with Israel and contrary to its policy.”
President Trump endorsed Louisiana Representative Julia Letlow for a potential primary challenge against Senator Bill Cassidy. The announcement comes as a significant blow to the Republican senator, who once voted to convict President Trump in his impeachment trial.
For the second time in the past two years, parts of Florida are covered in snow. The weekend’s snowfall in the Sunshine State was part of a vast cold front that is projected to continue across the American South.
View all episodes
By Bari WeissIt’s Monday, January 19. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today, the United States honors Martin Luther King Jr. Read King’s Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jonathan Eig in our pages, on the last speech the great American ever gave:
Coming up: Haviv Rettig Gur on how to help Iran. Can prediction markets be tamed? The Oscar short-listed period drama that writes Jews out of the story. Jed Rubenfeld on the reported Justice Department investigation into Tim Walz. And much more.
But first: Donald Trump ups the ante over Greenland.
“It is time for Denmark to give back—World peace is at stake!” So said the president of the United States in a post on Truth Social over the weekend.
The claim was part of a significant escalation in the president’s push to acquire Greenland. On Saturday, Trump demanded a deal to buy Greenland, and said he would impose 10 percent tariffs on all imports from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the UK, France, and Germany on February 1. Those tariffs will increase to 25 percent on June 1 and remain until a deal for the “complete and total purchase” of Greenland, Trump said.
On Sunday, European leaders were weighing how to respond, considering hitting the U.S. with tariffs worth $93 billion.
A European freak-out over comments from Donald Trump isn’t necessarily anything to write home about. But this time is a little different. We explain why in our editorial. Read about Trump’s geopolitical petulance, and why it risks undermining his foreign policy achievements.
—The Editors
A Minneapolis police officer in tactical gear stands on the street in downtown Minneapolis as protesters gather on January 17, 2026. (Jim Vondruska via Getty Images)The Pentagon is preparing 1,500 soldiers for possible deployment in Minnesota. In response, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey is gearing up to push back. “I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government,” he said Sunday.
A majority of Americans say that ICE is making communities where it is conducting operations less safe; 31 percent say it is making communities more safe, according to a CBS News poll. Sixty-one percent of Americans say that ICE is being too tough when stopping and detaining people.
Josh Shapiro was asked by Kamala Harris’s vice presidential search team whether he was an Israeli agent, the Pennsylvania governor claims in his new memoir. “Had I been a double agent for Israel? Was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was,” Shapiro writes in Where We Keep the Light.
A high-speed train derailed in Spain on Sunday, jumping onto another track and hitting an oncoming train. At least 21 people died in the accident, according to Spanish authorities.
The Israeli government is pushing back against the U.S.’s Gaza oversight committee. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the committee, which includes countries like Turkey and Qatar, was “not coordinated with Israel and contrary to its policy.”
President Trump endorsed Louisiana Representative Julia Letlow for a potential primary challenge against Senator Bill Cassidy. The announcement comes as a significant blow to the Republican senator, who once voted to convict President Trump in his impeachment trial.
For the second time in the past two years, parts of Florida are covered in snow. The weekend’s snowfall in the Sunshine State was part of a vast cold front that is projected to continue across the American South.