US AND CANADA

Photo Credit; Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson faces tough days ahead trying to muscle a federal funding package to passage and prevent a prolonged partial government shutdown as debate intensifies over the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement operations.

Johnson signaled he is relying on help from President Donald Trump to ensure passage. Trump struck a deal with senators to separate funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a broader package after public outrage over two shooting deaths during protests in Minneapolis against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Under the plan approved by the Senate, DHS would be funded temporarily to Feb. 13, setting up a deadline for Congress to try to find consensus on new restrictions on ICE operations.

“The president is leading this,” Johnson, R-La., told “Fox News Sunday.”

“It’s his play call to do it this way,” the speaker said, adding that the Republican president has “already conceded that he wants to turn down the volume” on federal immigration sweeps and raids.

Photo Credit; Getty Images

Donald Trump sharply criticized the 2026 Grammy Awards following the broadcast, calling the show “virtually unwatchable” and launching a personal attack on host Trevor Noah after a joke referencing Trump and Jeffrey Epstein aired during the ceremony. Trump shared his reaction in a lengthy post on Truth Social shortly after the telecast ended, focusing much of his anger on Noah and the network that aired the event.

In his post, Trump described the Grammys as the “worst” awards show and suggested that CBS was fortunate to no longer carry the program. He also compared Noah unfavorably to Jimmy Kimmel, referencing what he described as low ratings for other recent award shows. Trump took particular issue with a joke Noah made during the live broadcast that implied Trump had spent time on Epstein’s private island.

Trump forcefully denied the claim, stating that he had never been to Epstein Island or anywhere near it. He emphasized that, according to him, he had never previously been accused of being there, including by major media outlets. Trump said the comment was false and defamatory and accused Noah of failing to check basic facts before making the joke on live television.

Photo Credit; Getty Images

A self-described Luigi Mangione superfan armed with a pizza cutter and a barbecue fork allegedly posed as an FBI agent in a bizarre and doomed attempt to bust the accused CEO killer out of a notorious Brooklyn lockup, federal prosecutors said.

The would-be rescuer, identified as Mark Anderson, 36, of Mankato, Minnesota, allegedly marched into the intake area of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park late Wednesday claiming he had a judge-signed order authorizing Mangione's immediate release.

According to court records and law enforcement sources, Anderson's story quickly unraveled when Bureau of Prisons staff asked for his credentials. Instead of a badge, Anderson allegedly produced a Minnesota driver's license. When pressed further, he handed over a stack of random documents, including paperwork explaining how to sue the Department of Justice.

Photo Credit; Getty Images

The 2026 Grammy Awards unfolded against the backdrop of intensified immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, with many artists using music's biggest night to spotlight opposition to mass deportations and the presence of U.S. ICE in American cities.

From the red carpet to the awards stage at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, immigration emerged as a recurring theme throughout the evening. In the days leading up to the ceremony, organizers and activists urged celebrities to wear protest pins and coordinate messaging across awards-season appearances, resulting in visible and vocal moments during the broadcast.

Photo Credit; Getty Images

One of the TLC stars has passed away. Charity Pierce, best known for chronicling her weight loss journey on My 600-lb Life, has died, according to her daughter Charly Jo. She was fifty.

Charly shared the sad news in a Facebook post on Jan. 27, noting that her mother was "finally at peace," but she did not specify the cause of death.

"I wasn't going to post about this," she wrote in the post, which included a close-up photo of her holding her mother's hand, per TMZ. "But... the calling and texting are making my head feel like it's on fire."

Photo Credit; Getty Images

The Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum revealed that just weeks before his November 2025 wedding to Stephanie Lebo, he was diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary embolisms, which occur when a blood clot breaks loose and travels to the lungs. John had one on either side of his body.

According to the 48-year-old, he first experienced "grueling pain" in his legs, which spread to his shoulder the next day, as he told The Daily Mail. After waking up from a coughing fit, John said, "I was like, 'Something is wrong.'" I coughed up what appeared to be silly putty—it was actually a blood clot."

The reality star—who has eight children with ex-wife Kate Gosselin—then drove himself to the hospital, where an MRI revealed his diagnosis.

"Stephanie was scared to death," he said, adding that his 21-year-old children, Hannah and Collin, "freaked out" at the news. Fortunately, the condition could be managed with medications.

"I'm on heart meds, blood pressure meds, aspirin, and then I take Eliquis," he told me. "It's a drug that prevents blood clots."

Jon is still haunted by what might have been.

"I definitely could have died," he admitted. "If I had just stayed home that night, I could have had a real pulmonary embolism and just died."

Jon's health scare came around the same time Kate, with whom he costarred on their reality show for ten years, experienced one of her own. Kate suffered a debilitating injury in late September when her dog collided with her leg while playing fetch.

"My boyfriend [Steve Neild] threw the ball and she came running for it, and she was running at the absolute speed of light, and I stepped the wrong way," she said in a TikTok Live at the time, according to People. "The only way I can describe it, it was like a concrete wall running at the speed of light."

The 50-year-old would need to undergo surgery and physical therapy for the injury, which prevented her from walking on the injured leg until 82 days later.

“It's walking day!” she said in a video posted on TikTok Dec. 20 as she made her way to a doctor’s appointment. “It finally came. I'm so excited I can't even stand it.”