Monday morning news: January 19, 2026

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Greenland » The European Union held an emergency meeting Sunday as President Trump turns up the pressure in his effort to buy Greenland.

Trump says he plans to impose 10% tariffs starting February 1st on a list of US allies who are not on board with the Greenland takeover bid.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed the president’s position, telling NBC’s Meet the Press that Trump believes enhanced security is not possible without acquiring Greenland:

BESSENT:  If there were an attack on Greenland from Russia, from the, some other, other area, we would get dragged in. So better now. Peace through strength, make it part of the United States and there will not be a conflict.

But Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide countered:

EIDE: That's exactly why we are stepping up our, uh, uh, presence in Greenland. Because, uh, if there are security concerns, we can meet them jointly and both bilaterally, Denmark, and the US, but also as a NATO alliance.

 Some European nations are pushing back against President Trump's tariff lists. Denmark's Prime Minister said Europe will not be blackmailed. The UK's Prime Minister said these tariffs are completely wrong, and the Prime Minister of Ireland said the EU will retaliate.

SOUND: [Minnesota protests]

Minnesota protests / National Guard » In Minnesota, anti-ICE protests continue outside of a federal building in Minneapolis.

Demonstrators are chanting and cursing at federal agents as they go by, and the protests have, at times, turned violent.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons accused Democratic city and state leaders of fomenting unrest and violence against ICE agents.

LYONS:  ICE agents and deportation officers have arrested murderers, gang members, serial rapists, people wanted from their home country for heinous crimes. Yet unfortunately, you don't hear that. We're automatically assuming from uh, elected officials, that ICE is out there doing something wrong.

The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active duty soldiers to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota.

And Gov. Tim Walz has mobilized the state's National Guard to help quell the violence, but has not yet deployed guardsmen on the streets of  Minneapolis.

Iran protest update » Iran’s supreme leader is blaming President Trump for unrest in Iran — as Trump President backs the protests there and has not ruled out the possibility of U.S. action.

Republican Senator John Cornyn, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, said of Trump:

CORNYN:  He, uh, has multiple options and, uh, only he knows which of those options he will choose. But, uh, I'm glad to see him standing up for these protestors.

Demonstrations in Iran have thinned out considerably in recent days.

During widespread protests, Trump had told demonstrators that “help is on the way” and he said his administration would take action if the killing of demonstrators continued or if Iranian authorities executed detained protesters.

But he later said Iran had cancelled executions, and suggested he was satisfied with that. However, he has not taken any response off the table.

Reuters reports that an unnamed Iranian official has admitted that the death toll during the widespread demonstrations has topped 5,000 people. 

Appeals court reinstates parts of Ohio pro-life law » An Ohio appeals court may have just given new life to parts of a pro-life law. WORLD's Dennis Crowley explains.

DENNIS CROWLEY: In 2023, Ohio voters passed an amendment to the State Constitution, stating that every Ohioan has the right to make personal reproductive decisions, which it said included abortions.

The state’s Republican attorney general tried to preserve some protections for unborn children under the state’s pro-life heartbeat law.

But a judge later ruled that the heartbeat law could not be enforced after the constitutional amendment.

However, an appeals court said the trial judge went too far by striking down every part of the law. And it ordered the lower court to go back and decide, piece by piece, which provisions of the law can still stand.

For now, none of the pro-life protections have yet been reinstated.

For WORLD, I’m Dennis Crowley.

Spain train death toll » Two high-speed trains have derailed and collided in southern Spain, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 100 others.

The accident happened Sunday near Adamuz in Córdoba province, when a train from Málaga to Madrid jumped the tracks and struck another train coming from Madrid to Huelva.

Rescue crews worked through the night to free passengers from twisted carriages and authorities warn the death toll could rise as they continue their work at the scene.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Civil rights and women’s sports at the Supreme Court. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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