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What Happened Today – January 19, 2026

The world is finally believing Donald Trump’s bluster.

Norway’s prime minister confirmed a message Donald Trump sent because he was angry about not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump said he “no longer feels an obligation to think purely of Peace” and demanded “Complete and Total Control of Greenland.” He even questioned Denmark’s claim to the territory, “There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago.”

With tomorrow’s first anniversary of his second inauguration looming, Denmark has had enough. They’ve deployed military units to defend Greenland. Meanwhile, three U.S. cardinals renounced Trump’s foreign policy and the French have declined a seat on his hand-picked Board of Peace.

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🚨 GovBrief Intensity Score 170
Extreme. History will remember.
Volume: Low (12)
Severity: Moderate (2.33)
Defining Moments: 0
Previous 5 Days
🟡97|🚨212|🚨184|🚨180|🚨160
100 = normal day. Volume is headline count. Stories weighted by significance. Defining Moments are the ones history remembers.
Today's Quote
Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT
Donald Trump's message to the Prime Minister of Norway, made public on January 19, 2025
Yesterday's Most Read

Trump says he will sign executive order giving Army-Navy football game an exclusive television window that would block competing playoff games.

Today’s GovBrief News


Foreign Relations 1 of 12

Denmark deploys troops to Greenland for military exercises as Trump vows to "100%" impose tariffs on eight European allies who oppose his demand for "Complete and Total Control."

Exercise "Arctic Endurance" intensified amid threats

Source: The Independent

January 19, 2026

Foreign Relations 2 of 12

France rejects Trump's Gaza "Board of Peace" over concerns it would undermine the United Nations, as the Kremlin confirms Putin has been invited to join.

$1 billion fee for permanent membership

Source: Politico

January 19, 2026

Foreign Relations 3 of 12

Trump tells Norway's prime minister he no longer feels obligated to "think purely of Peace" after not receiving the Nobel Prize, demands "Complete and Total Control of Greenland."

Claims to have stopped "8 wars PLUS"

Source: The Independent

January 19, 2026

Justice Dept 4 of 12

DOJ threatens to prosecute church protesters in Minnesota while ICE has made arrests at churches in at least a dozen incidents since revoking protections for houses of worship.

Civil Rights Division sending two prosecutors

Source: The Hill

January 19, 2026

Justice Dept 5 of 12

Justice Department considers loosening gun regulations including easing private sales and shipping restrictions, as the administration pushes to cut 5,000 ATF law enforcement officers.

Gun form would ask biological sex at birth

Source: The Washington Post

January 19, 2026

Courts 6 of 12

Fed Chair Powell will attend Supreme Court arguments Wednesday in the case challenging Trump's power to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, an unusual move as Powell himself faces a DOJ criminal probe.

Powell: Probe is "consequence" of not lowering rates

Source: CNBC

January 19, 2026

Courts 7 of 12

Judge refuses to block DHS policy requiring seven-day notice for congressional visits to ICE facilities, though she stressed she was not ruling the policy lawful.

Noem signed new policy day after Good's death

Source: The Associated Press

January 19, 2026

Immigration 8 of 12

Nicaraguan man arrested by ICE in Minneapolis died in Texas detention facility, the sixth death in ICE custody in 19 days and 38th since Trump took office.

6 deaths in 19 days, rate tripled from 2025

Source: Newsweek

January 19, 2026

Immigration 9 of 12

Noem claims 10,000 "criminal illegal aliens" arrested in Minneapolis, but immigration experts say the numbers are "VERY likely false" and "HIGHLY inflated."

3,000 arrested in last six weeks, she claims

Source: The Hill

January 19, 2026

Oversight 10 of 12

Trump stands by Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer amid allegations of an affair with a staffer, drinking in her office and taking subordinates to a strip club on a government trip.

Public schedule not updated since August

Source: The Washington Post

January 19, 2026

Religion 11 of 12

Three Catholic cardinals call U.S. foreign policy immoral, citing Venezuela, Ukraine and Greenland, and renounce war "as an instrument for narrow national interests."

Pope Leo XIV: "Zeal for war is spreading"

Source: UPI

January 19, 2026

Fighting Back 12 of 12

Virginia legislature sends reproductive rights amendment to November ballot, becoming the first Southern state to let voters enshrine abortion access.

Party-line vote, every Republican opposed

Source: The Virginia Mercury

January 19, 2026

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