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The surge of immigration detention flights at Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport spurred plane spotter Nick Benson to shift from tracking rare and unusual aircraft to cataloging the removal of detainees from Minnesota.Through a telephoto lense fixed to a tripod set up on a frozen, wind-swept corner of an airport carpark, Benson watched shackled detainees being loaded onto a flight chartered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”It’s a charter flight operated by global crossing airlines on behalf of what we would call ‘ICE air,'” he said. “It’s the network of airplanes and airlines that are moving deportees around in the United States, from cities all across the United States to detention facilities.”In January so far there have been 39 flights that have taken 2,282 migrants out of Minnesota according to Benson’s count, with multiple daily flights at the height of the Trump administrations surge of immigration arrests in Minnesota this month.By contrast in January 2025 there was just one such flight a day.Benson, a jolly, plaid-wearing midwesterner brimming with enthusiasm for planes, said he was spurred to action by what he described as the cruelty of US President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda.He said he had witnessed elderly detainees who needed assistance climbing the stairs to the aircraft, as well as one individual who was still wearing their Amazon work uniform.”That doesn’t make any sense,” he said as he tracked the loading of an aircraft with 40 detainees Wednesday.He logs each removal flight, updating a database and sharing his findings with campaign group the 50501 Movement.”This is the only source of real time information on how many people are actually leaving Minnesota right now,” he said as the state is in the grip of unprecedented sweeps to arrested undocumented people.Nationwide, ICE operates thousands of such flights a year, both to move detainees around the United States like with Wednesday’s charter, as well as deporting people to other countries — sometimes nations other than their own.- ‘Worst of the worst’? -From January 20 to December 31, 2025, there were 13,446 immigration enforcement flights, of which 2,138 were deportation flights, ICE Flight Monitor reported.Benson, an aviation data analytics professional, said tracking the flights had been complicated by the Department of Homeland Security, which charters aircraft from private companies, having flight data withheld from the public. “It’s the same mechanism that, like Taylor Swift and Elon Musk use to maintain privacy. It’s unusual,” he said.Benson, 41, said the vast majority of flights have been destined for El Paso in Texas on the southern border with Mexico.El Paso is home to the vast Camp East Montana detention center, a makeshift tent facility that has been beset by claims of substandard conditions and at least three migrant deaths since it opened in August.The Department of Homeland Security said only “for operational security, ICE does not release information concerning deportation flight schedules.”The airport did not respond to a request for comment.Previously the department at the forefront of executing Trump’s deportation drive has defended the flights as necessary to remove undocumented immigrants guilty of crimes that make them the “worst of the worst.” Minneapolis airport was the scene of a tense protest last week by religious leaders demonstrating against the operation of ICE flights from the facility, with organizers reporting that around 100 clergy had been arrested.”ICE has even been arresting airport workers while they are on the job,” said one of those who protested, reverend Mariah Furness Tollgaard of Hamline Church United Methodist.”What this administration and ICE are doing in Minnesota is not abstract policy — it is shattering families, traumatizing children, and spreading fear through our neighborhoods.”

On a frigid night in Canada’s oil capital, Jordan Fritz joined a rally of thousands for a separatist movement once considered a sideshow, but which is now drawing interest from US President Donald Trump’s allies.”We need the Americans’ support,” said Fritz, a burly, bearded man with the flag of Alberta — western Canada’s oil-rich province — draped around his shoulders. “We need pipelines here in Alberta. We need them to be built. We need them to flow oil, and if the Canadian government isn’t going to help us with that, I’m sure the Americans will,” Fritz told AFP at a Calgary roadhouse.  Unlike the decades-old, highly organized independence movement in French-speaking Quebec province, Alberta’s fractious separatist camp has not previously threatened Canadian unity.Western Canadian resentment of eastern political elites is not new, but political scientist Frederic Boily said the idea of an independent Alberta only began to crystallize around 2018.Albertans broadly opposed then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, viewing his climate-conscious government as hostile to an oil and gas sector crucial to the local and Canadian economies. “It was at first mainly an economic idea, about no longer paying for the rest of Canada,” Boily, a professor at the University of Alberta, said of Alberta’s independence movement.Trudeau is gone, replaced by Prime Minister Mark Carney — an Albertan who has backed initiatives to support the oil industry, drawing scorn from environmental groups.But despite those shifts, the Alberta independence push is more prominent than ever and may secure the right to a referendum this year.Elections Alberta has approved a citizens’ petition initiative from a group called the Alberta Prosperity Project.If the group collects 178,000 signatures by May 2, they will be on track to secure an independence vote this fall.- ‘Natural’ US partner -Current polling indicates the separatists would lose. A January 23 Ipsos survey found just 28 percent of Albertans would vote to secede.The possible significance of interventions from Washington remains unclear, but Boily said: “It’s certain that the agitation south of the border has an impact on what is happening in Alberta.”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered veiled backing for Alberta’s independence last week.”Alberta has a wealth of natural resources, but they won’t let them build a pipeline to the Pacific,” Bessent said.”I think we should let them come down into the US, and Alberta is a natural partner for the US. They have great resources. The Albertans are very independent people.”Earlier this month, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon had the Republican-supporting writer Brandon Weichert on his podcast. “Alberta is the linchpin,” Weichert told Bannon. “They’re getting out of the Canadian union, they are going to become an independent state. We’re gonna recognize them.”- All about oil -Some at the roadhouse rally wore cowboy hats. Others, like Jesse Woodroof, had on baseball caps that said “Alberta Republic.”Woodroof told AFP his ancestors arrived in what is now Canada “hundreds and hundreds of years” ago.He voiced concern about “immigrants pouring into this country,” and implied that a sovereign Alberta would take a different approach.Jennifer Wiebe — her daughter resting against her chest — said: “Alberta could be more prosperous and free on our own.”While the views expressed may vary, conversations about Alberta independence typically circle back to oil.Right-wing Premier Danielle Smith, an outspoken oil industry advocate who despised Trudeau’s leadership, has said she supports “Alberta sovereignty within a united Canada.” Speaking on her weekend radio program, Smith implied the motivation for independence has diminished because Ottawa appears open to a new pipeline.”I’m forging a new relationship with Canada. We’ve got a new leader, we’ve got a new prime minister… and we seem to have common cause on trying to get a new pipeline built,” she said.The leader of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, Yves‑Francois Blanchet, drew smirks with his May critique of Alberta’s prospective independence.”The first idea is to define oneself as a nation,” he said, adding nations need “a culture of their own.””I am not sure that oil and gas qualifies to define a culture.”

American rock hero Bruce Springsteen dived into the outrage over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown with a fiery song released Wednesday that pays tribute to two protesters fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis.Springsteen said the song “Streets of Minneapolis” was a response to “state terror” in the northern US city, rocked by the actions of armed federal officers that have stoked vociferous local protests.”I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city” in the state of Minnesota, The Boss wrote on his Instagram page.”It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” the 76-year-old wrote, referring to the two US nationals killed this month. Pretti died after a scuffle with agents on a snowy Minneapolis street on Saturday. “Stay free,” Springsteen added.The “Born to Run” and “Badlands” singer has often been willing to criticize President Donald Trump with very blunt language in interviews and at performances, and the anthemic song he released online Wednesday pulls no punches.It refers to the several thousand immigration agents who descended on Minneapolis as “King Trump’s private army” wearing “occupiers’ boots” and with “guns belted to their coats” as they undertake Trump’s push to deport undocumented immigrants.”There were bloody footprints where mercy should have stood, and two dead left to die on snow-filled streets: Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” he sings in the opening verse.The chorus: “Oh Minneapolis I hear your voice, crying through the bloody mist. We’ll remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis.”The song’s title echoes the 1994 classic “Streets of Philadelphia,” Springsteen’s haunting ballad about people living with AIDS.For decades, Springsteen has been revered by rock fans in the United States and beyond for his man-of-the-people guitar music and socially conscious, working-class anthems like “Born in the USA,” “The River,” and “Rosalita.”During the 2024 election campaign that led to Trump’s second presidency, Springsteen threw his support behind Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, and said Trump was running to be an “American tyrant.”At that time he said of Trump, “He does not understand this country, its history or what it means to be deeply American.”Trump has in recent days sought to tamp down the furor over the violence in Minneapolis and has shuffled the leadership of immigration agents deployed there, putting a less confrontational figure in charge.But on Wednesday he warned the mayor of Minneapolis that he is “playing with fire” with his refusal to cooperate with federal authorities.

Tesla reported a 61-percent drop in fourth-quarter profits on Wednesday due to lower auto sales and increased expenses as CEO Elon Musk ramps up technology investments.The results conclude a turbulent year for the electric vehicle maker that included a controversial Musk stint in Donald Trump’s White House and a shareholder vote in November to award the outspoken CEO a pay package worth as much as $1 trillion in anticipation of massive technology breakthroughs at Tesla. Profits came in at $840 million in the quarter ending December 31, down from $2.1 billion a year earlier. Revenues were $24.9 billion, down 3.1 percent.Lower profits had been expected after Tesla reported a drop in fourth-quarter and full-year auto deliveries early in January. A company presentation cited a litany of other factors. These included higher restructuring costs, increased research and development funding for AI pursuits, the drag from higher tariffs and a decline in revenues tied to emission tax credits following Trump’s reversals on US environmental policies.Musk opened a conference call by saying he was committed to “very, very big investments” to realize the mission of working to ensure “the best future,” an “era of abundance” where the “environment is great, nature is great, and people can have whatever they want.”Chief Financial officer Vaibhav Taneja said the 2026 capital spending budget would be “in excess of $20 billion,” more than that double the $8.5 billion last year.Musk said Tesla plans to wind down production of the Models S and X luxury EVs and will convert plant capacity in Fremont, California to build humanoid robots.Tesla’s outlook did not include a projection for its expected 2026 auto sales, saying it would depend partly on “aggregate demand for our products.” In its January 2025 earnings release, Tesla projected a return to growth in vehicle sales. But Tesla’s 2025 auto sales fell nine percent, reflecting increased competition from rivals and blowback to Musk’s embrace of Trump and far-right political figures.- Unrealistic timing? -Shares of Tesla rose sharply in the second half of 2025 after Musk left the White House in spite of weaker financial results shrugged off due to Tesla’s perceived growth potential.Musk has touted Tesla’s technological prowess on artificial intelligence and autonomous driving as a decisive advantage against rivals that justifies the company’s lofty stock market valuation. The company describes itself as in “transition from a hardware-centric business to a physical AI company.”At the World Economic Forum earlier this month, Musk described self-driving cars as “essentially a solved problem at this point,” adding that the robotaxi service will be very widespread in the United States by the end of 2026.Musk has also spoken optimistically about the expected growth in revenue tied to subscriptions of the driver-assistance “FSD” program. Many analysts have learned to take Musk’s utterances with a grain of salt after earlier predictions about the nearness of fully autonomous driving didn’t come to pass.CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson characterized Wednesday’s results as better than expected, pointing to revenue gains from Tesla’s energy generation and storage business and the company’s confirmation of the buildout of Cybercab and other big projects targeted for 2026.Stil, “execution risk is high as Tesla has its work cut out to deliver on its promises and justify the company’s lofty valuation in the face of challenging EV demand and growing competitive threats,” Nelson said. Included in Wednesday’s earnings press release, Tesla disclosed that it entered into an agreement on January 16 to invest $2 billion in Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence venture.A “framework” accord “builds upon the existing relationship between Tesla and xAI by providing a framework for evaluating potential AI collaborations between the companies,” said Tesla, adding that the investment agreement is expected to close in the first quarter.Tesla shares rose 1.7 percent in after-hours trading.

A branch of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent to Italy for the Winter Olympics will not carry out patrols and will have only an “advisory” role, Washington’s ambassador to Rome said on Wednesday.News of its deployment for the February 6-22 Games in Milan-Cortina has sparked anger in Italy, after the agency’s involvement in an often brutal crackdown on immigration in the United States.But US ambassador to Italy Tilman J. Fertitta said ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit will be “strictly advisory and intelligence-based, with no patrolling or enforcement involvement”.”At the Olympics, HSI criminal investigators will contribute their expertise by providing intelligence on transnational criminal threats, with a focus on cybercrimes and national security threats.”All security operations will remain the responsibility of Italian authorities,” he said after meeting Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.ICE operations in a number of US cities have triggered large-scale protests, and the recent killings of two demonstrators have caused outrage.Agents accused of violence there are from a different division than that earmarked for the Olympics.Fertitta said the HSI focuses on “cross-border criminal activity, ranging from investigating human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, child exploitation, financial crimes, intellectual property right theft, to recovering stolen art and antiquities”.The Italian authorities initially denied speculation that ICE would be present at the Games, then played down their role, suggesting that they would only be helping with security for the US delegation.US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected at the opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium on February 6.Italy’s political opposition has asked the government to refuse the deployment, and protests are expected in the coming days in Rome and Milan.

A US immigration judge on Wednesday granted asylum to a Chinese man who fled his country after documenting sites of alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs, his mother and lawyer told AFP.Guan Heng, 38, had been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in August, sparking fear among activists and supporters that he could be sent back to China where they said he would likely face persecution.But Guan was granted asylum Wednesday, a result that has become increasingly difficult in recent times.His lawyer, Chen Chuangchuang, told AFP that his actions “driven by his extraordinary moral courage, are worthy of US government protection.””We’ve been very moved, and thankful for everyone’s concern,” he said.Besides efforts by human rights activists, the top Democrat of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Raja Krishnamoorthi, also urged in December for Guan’s asylum petition to be granted.In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he said the United States has “a legal responsibility to protect those who seek refuge in our country from persecution by authoritarian governments.”For now, Guan remains in detention and the Department of Homeland Security has a 30-day window where it could appeal the decision.”It’s unbelievable,” Guan’s mother, Luo Yun, said of the outcome. “I’m really, really happy.”She has spoken with her son since learning of the decision, and said he is similarly overwhelmed: “He had been anxious and unsettled about today’s hearing.”In late 2021, Guan published a 20-minute video online detailing his travel around the northwestern Xinjiang region in China.He was visiting places identified by a BuzzFeed investigation as detention facilities for Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities — or likely sites for such centers.Beijing has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017, part of a campaign that the United Nations previously said could constitute “crimes against humanity.”China vehemently denies these allegations, claiming its policies have rooted out extremism in Xinjiang and boosted economic development.Guan left China after filming the videos, and entered the United States after travels through South America.Asked about her plans if Guan were released, Luo said: “The first thing I want to do is go shopping at a large supermarket with him, to finally be able to walk through the aisles hand-in-hand with my child.”

A man was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison at a US court for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist highly critical of Tehran.Carlisle Rivera, 50, was arrested in November 2024 before carrying out the plan that the US Justice Department said was directed by the government of Iran. Alinejad is one of the most prominent dissident campaigners against Iranian authorities and for years has pushed for the abolition of the obligatory headscarf in Iran under the banner of “MyStealthyFreedom.”She left Iran in 2009.After the sentencing, Alinejad, 49, called on the United States to “take action against (those) in power in Iran” and to arrest its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Her remarks outside a New York courthouse came as US President Donald Trump upped his military threats against Iran on Wednesday. “Today’s sentence underscores the consequences of conspiring with a regime that relies on violence and intimidation to survive,” John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. Another man who pleaded guilty in the plot, Jonathan Loadholt, will be sentenced in April.Alinejad was the target of another assassination attempt thwarted at the last moment in the summer of 2022.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Wednesday urged the US government to provide reassurances to World Cup visitors, days after images of federal immigration agents killing a second person in Minneapolis sent shockwaves around the world.The United States is co-hosting this summer’s football showcase with Canada and Mexico. Most of the games are being staged in the United States, with concerns growing among overseas visitors that they could be caught up in President Donald Trump’s often brutal immigration crackdown.”We need to show a better face to the world, that we are going to welcome people, that they’re not going to have immigration problems,” Bass said.Bass told reporters she was “sure” that sports fans visiting Los Angeles for the World Cup or the 2028 Summer Olympics would not be directly affected.”But I do think that message has to come from the White House as well. They are the ones that need to send that message,” she said.This month, immigration agents shot dead two Minneapolis protesters at point-blank range.The latest, intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti, was shot multiple times after being forced to the ground by camouflage-clad officers.Federal immigration agents have been deployed to several other major cities including Los Angeles, which will host eight World Cup games including the host nation’s opener and a quarter final.Trump has become closely associated with the upcoming World Cup, attending the tournament’s draw, where he was awarded a “FIFA peace prize.”Ross McCall, FIFA’s executive director for commercial operations, told AFP that football’s governing body was in “constant dialogue” with the Trump administration.”Everyone is incentivized to make this World Cup as safe and inclusive as it can be. So just know that that work is obviously going on,” he said.At Wednesday’s event, officials announced a series of fan zones with live screenings and other festivities across the Los Angeles area during the World Cup.These include the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a giant 78,000 capacity stadium that has hosted two Olympic Games, and world-famous Venice Beach.Earlier this week it was reported that a branch of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be deployed for next month’s Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.US ambassador to Italy Tilman J. Fertitta said Wednesday that those agents, from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, will have an “advisory” role.”I think it’s very frightening,” Bass said. “I think it sends a very scary message to the world.”

A nonprofit says authorities in the US capital Washington have failed to properly warn the public about a massive sewage leak into the Potomac River, thought to be among the largest such spills in the nation’s history.A six-foot-wide rupture in an aging line on January 19 released 40 million gallons of raw effluent until January 24, when DC Water, the city’s water utility, activated a bypass that channeled the flow through a canal and back into another section of the line.Overflow is still entering the river, albeit at a reduced rate, as workers try to plug the gap — efforts that have been hampered by subzero temperatures and one of the worst snowstorms in years, which has yet to be fully cleared days after it passed.Dean Naujoks of the nonprofit Potomac River Keeper Network said that while it was clear that authorities were doing their best to contain the spill, they had failed to adequately convey public-health risks to the public.”I’ve dealt with a lot of sewage spills, but this is definitely the largest I’ve ever dealt with,” he told AFP, adding his organization estimated that 300 million gallons had now entered the river.That figure is equivalent to around 450 Olympic-sized swimming pools and higher than a reported 230- million gallon spill along the US-Mexico border in 2017.Sampling by the group found levels of E. coli bacteria at 12,000 times higher than limits set by authorities for human contact, said Naujoks, who added that he returned to the rupture site again on Wednesday to test for other contaminants.E. coli is a type of bacteria that resides in mammal guts and is considered a proxy indicator for water quality and pollution levels. “It’s really concerning and yet, we’re the only ones doing the sampling,” he added.Public-health agencies typically issue advisories in summer, when people are more likely to recreate in the water, including paddling and fishing. So far, the state of Maryland has activated a shell fish consumption advisory, but the District of Columbia has not taken similar steps.The Potomac, which flows along Washington’s western edge and past its monuments, is both the capital’s defining waterway and a major source of drinking water for the region.The rupture occurred at Lock 10, just upstream of CIA headquarters in neighboring Virginia, creating a foul stench in the surrounding area.DC Water says there is no impact on drinking water because the Washington Aqueduct’s main intake points are upstream of the break.In an email to AFP, DC Water spokeswoman Sherri Lewis said: “After the overflow is fully contained and the pipe repaired, work will begin to assess the areas where the overflow occurred,” adding that the work would be carried out with relevant partner agencies.She added that the ruptured line was built in the 1960s and that DC Water had scheduled the section for remediation under a $625 million plan, but work had not yet begun.

When immigration officials came to arrest two men targeted for deportation, a community sprang into action to protest what they said was a brutal policy by an inhumane government.With little more than cellphones and a righteous sense of injustice, a handful of people spread the word that they needed to take a stand.Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands more arrived to confront the authorities to stop their neighbors being taken away.But this was not Minneapolis in 2026 — it was Scotland’s Glasgow in 2021. The community effort worked; the men were released.”Everybody to Kenmure Street” was perhaps the most timely documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.Director Felipe Bustos Sierra pieced together the events using cellphone footage from some of the estimated 2,500 people who answered the call from WhatsApp groups, book club text message circles or Facebook livestreams.What emerged was an uplifting portrait of a spontaneous, organic and leaderless protest in Pollockshields, an ethnically diverse suburb of Glasgow.  – ‘Drip, drip, drip’ -Tabassum Niamat had been up all night preparing a family feast for Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.”Suddenly, I got these text messages,” she told AFP. “I made my way to Kenmure Street, and lo and behold, what was in front of me was a big immigration van.”A dawn raid on the first day of Eid by a team from Britain’s Home Office (interior ministry) seemed designed to inflame tensions in an area with a large South Asian population.One quick-thinking campaigner crawled underneath the van as the arrests were happening inside a home — a place he would remain for over eight hours to prevent the van moving.”It was just maybe five of us at that point. And soon after, there was 10, then it was 20…just like drip, drip, drip, until there were so many of us I couldn’t see one end of Kenmure Street to the other,” said Niamat.A growing police presence did not deter the protesters, who set up a makeshift pantry in a bus stop offering food and drinks.The local mosque also threw open its doors to allow anyone — police officers or protesters — to use the toilets.”What do you do when guests arrive at your doorstep? You feed them, you look after them,” Niamat said.As news of the protest spread, a local human rights lawyer arrived and was able to negotiate the detainees’ unconditional release. No one was seriously injured in the spontaneous protest.- Van man -Many of the locals who told the story of the protest appeared on camera, but some key characters did not. Among them was the figure dubbed simply “Van Man,” whose name was not revealed, but whose words were spoken by actress Emma Thompson, appearing to be lying under a van.Partly, explained Bustos Sierra, this was to safeguard a person who became something of a legend around Glasgow after the protest.But it was also an effort to emphasize that this protest was a collective action, and a victory for everyone.”Van Man had the opportunity,” Bustos Sierra told AFP. “Anybody could have done this. Anybody should do this. It’s the only way we move forward.”The documentary premiered at Sundance two days before 37-year-old protester Alex Pretti was shot dead by US federal agents in Minneapolis as he demonstrated against a military-style immigration crackdown in the city.While the context was different — UK police are not routinely armed, and there were no signs in the film that pepper spray or batons were used on protesters — Niamat saw parallels with Minnesota.”If you come out for your fellow man, if you come out for the sake of humanity, if you come out because you believe what’s happening is wrong, you’re instantly going to feel connected, and you’ll want to stand together.”The Sundance Film Festival runs until February 1.