MN troop deployment; Greenland; Gaza peace board : NPR

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Today’s top stories

Up to 1,500 active-duty troops in Alaska are on standby for possible deployment to Minnesota, a U.S. official informed NPR. This comes as the Trump administration has escalated pressure on the state, including threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act to suppress protests happening in Minneapolis. Anti-ICE protesters continued to take to the streets over the weekend, even as temperatures plummeted.

• 🎧 Democrats can’t do much to push back on the Trump administration, besides publicly denouncing the presence of over 2,000 federal immigration agents in the state, Minnesota Public Radio’s Clay Masters tells Up First. Attorney General Keith Ellison and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul sued the administration, calling its actions an unconstitutional federal invasion that violates the First and 10th amendments. Because Democrats do not control either chamber of Congress, they are pursuing legal channels in federal courts.

President Trump escalated tensions across Europe over the weekend with comments about the U.S. acquiring Greenland. He says the United States needs the territory for national security. On Saturday, he announced plans to impose a tariff on eight NATO allies until there is a deal for the U.S. to purchase Greenland. On Sunday, those eight nations convened an emergency meeting and warned that Trump’s tariffs threaten a “dangerous downward spiral” for transatlantic relations.

• 🎧 Lawmakers said multiple times this weekend that they haven’t received any intelligence about an imminent threat to Greenland from Russia or China. Regarding U.S. national security, they point out that the Kingdom of Denmark and the U.S. already cooperate, and the U.S. already maintains a military presence in Greenland. NPR’s Barbara Sprunt says on Saturday, thousands of people marched peacefully and passionately to the U.S. Embassy in Denmark. She says she saw many Greenland flags and red hats that said “Make America Go Away.”

Trump’s board of peace for Gaza, advertised as a way to aid the region’s reconstruction, now appears more expansive and expensive than initially stated. The president would serve as the board’s chairman, with representatives from other nations. A copy of its charter, obtained by NPR, shows that the board claims power beyond Gaza. Trump has also asked other nations to pay at least $1 billion for the privilege of permanent representation.

• 🎧 The charter excludes the word “Gaza,” and instead appears to be a proposal for a rival United Nations Security Council that would handle world conflicts, says NPR’s Daniel Estrin. The charter’s language expresses a need for a more effective international peace building body, Estrin says. Critics argue that the president is trying to undermine the U.N. to make diplomacy transactional. Israel objects to Trump appointing representatives of Turkey and Qatar to be part of the leadership group because it sees those nations as primary Hamas backers. However, Israel acknowledges that it cannot block the move, and leaders there are skeptical that any international body can get Hamas to disarm.

Life advice

Introverts and extroverts can be good friends even though they move through the world differently. Their friendship suffers, however, when their differences clash, says Jennifer Kahnweiler, author of The Introverted Leader. She says the key is to speak up before the resentments pile up. Kahnweiler shares tips with Life Kit on how both personalities can foster deep connections despite differences.

• 👭 Don’t pigeonhole a person as just an introvert or extrovert. Where they fall within that spectrum isn’t static.
• 👭If a friend’s behavior is bugging you, consider if a personality difference might be behind it. Then, show them a little grace.
• 👭 Create a code phrase or gesture to signal what you both need, such as a hand signal to remind your friend not to fill the silence.

For more guidance on how introverts and extroverts can be better friends, listen to this episode of NPR’s Life Kit. Subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.

Today’s listen

The Trump administration recently removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day from the list of free entry days at national parks. Dr. King’s image has also been used in racist AI-generated videos. For MLK day, Code Switch sat down with historian Nicholas Buccola, author of One Man’s Freedom, to re-examine the concept of “freedom” by comparing the legacies of King and conservative politician Barry Goldwater. Buccola reveals the gulf between Goldwater’s abstract view of freedom and King’s focus on daily dignity and liberty, showing what this historical battle teaches us about freedom today. Listen to the episode here or read the transcript.

3 things to know before you go

Artemis II will send a crew of four astronauts on a journey around the moon as the United States prepares to send American astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than five decades.

Derek Demeter/Central Florida Public Media

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Derek Demeter/Central Florida Public Media

1. NASA’s spacecraft for its Artemis II mission reached its Kennedy Space Center launch pad Saturday evening. The program aims to send Americans to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
2. Rare snow blanketed Florida for the second year in a row yesterday, as freezing temperatures continue to grip the state into early this week.
3. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has won the presidential elections, extending his 40-year rule. The vote happened under a government-imposed internet blackout.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.