Posted January 09, 2026
1. America’s “free hand” in Greenland
Greenland is back in the news, with President Trump once again talking about how America needs the island nation “from the standpoint of national security.” However, a little-known Cold War-era agreement means the US doesn’t necessarily have to own the country to expand our presence there. As Mikkel Runge Olesen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen, describes, “The US has such a free hand in Greenland that it can pretty much do what it wants.”
Why it matters
The Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela, and its threats against Colombia, Cuba, and others, are largely predicated on those nations’ proximity to the United States and the drugs they sell to the world. However, Greenland is technically a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, one of our NATO allies. As such, any steps taken against Greenland could also threaten our standing with other NATO nations.
What to watch
President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not seem deterred by Greenland or Denmark’s resistance to the idea of the US expanding its influence in the island nation. How far is Trump willing to go in his pursuit of Greenland, and what bridges is he willing to burn along the way?
The New York Times has more on the story.
2. The Trump administration announces a new food pyramid
On Wednesday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a new food pyramid, encouraging Americans to eat less packaged and highly processed foods while adding more protein and full-fat dairy. The guidelines are updated every five years, but the latest changes mark the most significant departure from previous standards in quite some time.
Why it matters
While the food pyramid is little more than a recommendation for many Americans—one that’s especially tempting to ignore when you turn down the ice cream aisle—it impacts federal nutrition policy, which in turn can change what’s offered in free school lunches, given to our soldiers, and made available through federal assistance programs.
What to watch
Some Americans will have little choice but to adopt the new food pyramid, while others will have more flexibility. Can Kennedy’s new guidelines really change the way most Americans eat? If so, how much of an impact will it have?
3. House votes to extend Obamacare subsidies
The House of Representatives voted to extend the expired Obamacare premium subsidies for three years after 17 Republicans joined Democrats to pass the legislation by a vote of 230–196. The Congressional Budget Office projects that extending the subsidies would cost $80 billion while insuring an additional 4 million people and lowering the premiums for others.
Why it matters
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it’s expected to fall short of the necessary votes to become law. That it passed the House, however, is seen as a shot across the bow for Republican leadership that they’re running out of time to find a workable solution of their own.
What to watch
A bipartisan Senate group is working on its own healthcare legislation, with the most promising bill proposing a minimum premium of $5 per month for all recipients and capping the subsidies at 700 percent of the poverty level. They hope to release the bill next week before the Senate goes on recess for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Now for today’s main Focus…
While the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Renee Nicole Good on Wednesday are complicated and none of the narratives that came out shortly after the story went viral are entirely accurate, the basic truth is that she would still be alive if anyone involved had chosen to de-escalate the situation.
Why it matters: The speed at which officials from President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to Governor Waltz and Mayor Frey felt the need to get their version of events out to the public meant that many people made up their minds on what happened before all the details were known. However, the truth of the situation is that there is plenty of blame to go around, and unless people take the time to learn from those mistakes, it’s far too likely to happen again.
On Wednesday afternoon, three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers approached a vehicle blocking their way in a neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There are conflicting reports about what happened next, but here’s what we know so far:
The story quickly took over social media, and President Trump, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz all released statements offering conflicting explanations within hours of the shooting.
Noem said the woman committed an act of “domestic terrorism” by disobeying the officers’ commands and then weaponized her SUV in an attempt to “run a law enforcement officer over.” President Trump echoed that understanding, saying Good was “a professional agitator” who “violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer.” He then added, “Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital.”
Conversely, Frey claimed that “This was a federal agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying,” before telling ICE, “We do not want you here. Your stated purpose for being in this City is to create some kind of safety, but you are doing exactly the opposite.” Walz said much the same, arguing that “We do not need any further help from the federal government,” before issuing a “warning order” to prepare the Minnesota National Guard for deployment in case the shooting resulted in riots.
So which version of the story should we believe?
In the time since the shooting took place, the narrative around what occurred has started to change from the version both sides put out in its immediate aftermath. The video clearly shows that the claims saying the officer who shot Good was lucky to be alive and did so to defend “his fellow officers,” as described in the DHS’s official statement, are overstated at best.
It’s entirely possible—and, perhaps, even probable—that the officer who pulled the trigger did fear for his life in that moment. And given that he was involved in a similar incident six months ago, where his taser proved ineffective, and he was dragged roughly 100 yards while trying to make a similar stop, it’s understandable that he would be so quick to pull his gun on Wednesday.
Vice President Vance pointed to that event, saying, “You think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about someone ramming him with an automobile?”
But while the situations are similar, they are not the same, and the video clearly shows that his fellow officers were in no immediate danger by the time the car started to pull forward.
Ultimately, the officer’s actions may have been legal, but they also stemmed from a series of mistakes that had put him in that position to begin with. DHS officers are never supposed to stand in front of a vehicle or discharge their firearm at a moving vehicle unless they have “no other objectively reasonable means of defense.”
In both cases, Good’s death would have been avoided if the officer who shot her had taken the proper approach to the situation. That said, she would also be alive if she had simply heeded the officers’ warnings instead of attempting to drive away or had not chosen to interfere with ICE in the first place.
City leaders claim she was acting as “a legal observer” during a nearby ICE raid, though Noem stated that Good had been “stalking and impeding their work” by “blocking them in” and “shouting at them.” At this point, it’s difficult to know how much of Noem’s description is accurate, but Frey and Walz laying the blame entirely on the ICE officers also seems out of touch with the reality of the situation.
At the end of the day, this was a tragedy that could have been easily avoided if any of the principal actors had chosen a different approach. That’s not to say the blame should be assigned equally, but if anyone involved had been more interested in de-escalating the situation before it reached the point that a gun was drawn, then Good would still be alive. My prayer is that others heed that lesson before something like this happens again.
However, if I’m being honest, it’s a lesson I could stand to apply in my own life as well.
While not every sin in my life is something I could see coming, far too many are the result of failing to heed the warning signs that the Holy Spirit threw in my way before I proceeded to step right over them. And I don’t think that problem is unique to me. Fortunately, God’s word has something to say on this subject.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers:
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better to lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:29–30)
This instruction was given originally in the context of combating lust, but the basic idea applies to sins of all kinds. The longer we allow sin to fester in our lives, the more the consequences of that sin will escalate and the harder it will be to stop.
While God is not calling us to literally maim ourselves—after all, even a blind or crippled person can be tempted—Jesus wanted to make sure we understood the importance of not letting sin linger. And lust is a perfect illustration of just how quickly sin can escalate from thought to action.
Take the story of David and Bathsheba, for example:
“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful” (2 Samuel 11:2).
David’s sin was not noticing the woman; it was in persisting to look and dwelling on that beauty long after the first glance. Because he allowed that look to escalate into lust, he ended up taking her into his room, getting her pregnant, deceiving her husband, and then having the man carry his own death sentence back with him to the army David should have been leading.
Rarely are we able to see where our sins will lead if left unchecked. David did not plan on murdering an innocent man or essentially forcing himself on the beautiful woman he saw from his balcony. Yet, that’s precisely what happened because he attempted to manage his sin rather than stop it from escalating further.
While I hope your sins have not escalated to the precipice of sexual assault or murder, we all have areas of our lives where we’re especially prone to letting temptation fester.
So, take some time today to ask the Lord to help you identify any of those areas in your life. Then turn them over to him and take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that the temptation does not escalate into action.
God is ready to help. Are you ready to let him?
Denison Forum: Who is Nick Fuentes, and why do you need to know?
First 15: Communion with God: Building Blocks for your Time with God
Christian Parenting: Navigating mental health with faith and community with Erin Kerry
Foundations: Trusting God from the seat of a chariot
It’s been just over a year since the first of the fires that eventually burned more than 37,000 acres and claimed thirty lives began to spread outside of Los Angeles. Yet, in that time, God has been moving in a powerful way. He has helped churches that have lost buildings and families who have lost homes learn that the church is more than just brick and mortar. As one pastor described, “God’s mercy continues after the world burns. That’s one lesson churches in Los Angeles learned this year.”
While many of the churches lost to the fires will eventually be rebuilt, the opportunities to serve the communities of Los Angeles and to model what it means to trust God in the midst of tragedy will hopefully endure long after life has returned to some semblance of normal. Will you join me in praying that the churches in these neighborhoods will remain beacons of hope and stability for the communities in which God has placed them?
Christianity Today has more on the story.
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