Today's Top Stories from NBC News

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026

In today's newsletter: Some Trump administration advisers and allies say the optics of the immigration operation in Minneapolis have led the president to make changes. An influential group of doctors has split with the CDC over shot recommendations for children. And the downfall of China's top general could have implications for Taiwan.

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▼ The Lead

Trump reshuffles his Minnesota operation after a backlash

(Byline / Source)

President Donald Trump has made significant changes to leadership of the Minnesota immigration operations after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, according to administration officials and allies.

"The visuals were not playing well. He understands TV. … He saw it for himself," said a Republican lawmaker who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Saturday's shooting has prompted a leadership shakeup, a reduction of agents in the city, a reset with key Democratic officials in the state, and an attempt to distance the president from some of the more extreme comments from some of his top advisers.

More than 3,000 federal agents have been sent to Minneapolis, and they currently outnumber the local police force nearly five-to-one. One adviser said that while immigration enforcement will not end, the shooting is forcing the administration to rethink what operations will look like going forward.

Trump said he and Gov. Tim Walz spoke by phone Monday, calling it a "very good call" in a social media post.

Walz said Trump agreed to talk to the Department of Homeland Security about allowing state officials to conduct their own independent shooting investigations and decreasing the number of federal agents in his state.

Read the full story here.

More news out of Minneapolis:

Democrats are pushing to drastically slash funding for ICE and Border Protection, or totally gut the agencies after the shooting death of Pretti.

Investigators are reviewing body-camera videos that captured Pretti's fatal shooting. Analysis shows witness video contradicts the Trump administration's description of the event.

A growing number of Senate Republicans are calling for an investigation into the shooting.

FBI Director Kash Patel says the agency is investigating Minnesota Signal chats that are tracking ICE.

A Minnesota Republican dropped out of the governor's race, citing his party's handling of immigration enforcement in the state.

The nation's leading group of pediatricians released its annual children's vaccine recommendations — and for the first time in 30 years it significantly broke from the government's proposed vaccine schedule.

The American Academy of Pediatrics' guidance largely reflects what has previously been recommended, no longer completely aligning with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently reduced the number of diseases on the vaccine schedule. The AAP additionally recommends shots against Covid, RSV, the flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, and meningitis.

"These recent changes to the CDC schedule are a strong departure from the medical evidence and no longer offer the optimal way to prevent illness in children," said Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the AAP's committee on infectious diseases.

Read the full story here.

The downfall of China's top general

The investigation into China's top general, once a close ally of President Xi Jinping, has thrown the leadership of the country's military into turmoil and raised questions about Taiwan's future.

The Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement that Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls the armed forces, was under investigation and accused of serious "violations of discipline and law."

An editorial in the Liberation Army Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the country's armed forces, suggested that Zhang, 75, was accused of corruption and possibly disloyalty to Xi.

Zhang was previously considered "untouchable," according to Alessandro Arduino, an expert in Chinese security at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank. "This is a reminder coming directly from President Xi Jinping that political loyalty stands well before combat readiness," he said. "Political disloyalty is a cardinal sin inside the party. I think the message is extremely clear: No one is safe."

Of the six generals the president appointed to the commission in 2022, only one is left, allowing Xi to consolidate power but also heightening the risk of a military miscalculation when it comes to Taiwan, according to Steve Tsang, the director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London. "Removing generals like Zhang means that there will not be any general who would dare to advise Xi against a military adventure when the time comes, and this increases the risk of a miscalculation," he said.

▼ Read All About It

TikTok says widespread disruptions were caused by a power outage, after users voiced concerns that they were being politically censored under the app's new U.S. ownership.

India and the European Union have finalized a landmark trade deal that will represent a quarter of the world's economy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

It's officially tax season, and there are several new deductions going into effect this year that could change how Americans file their returns.

People are opting for the cheapest available Affordable Care Act plans, but that could lead to higher out-of-pocket costs later.

The remains of the last hostage held in Gaza were identified by the Israeli military, paving the way for the next phase of the ceasefire.

Alex Vindman, an Army veteran who was a key witness during Trump's first impeachment, will run for the Florida Senate as a Democrat.

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, apologized for his history of "reckless" antisemitic comments in a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal.

▼ Staff Pick

Some prediction market traders find a lucrative niche: Betting against Elon Musk.

As a tech reporter, I've seen Elon Musk fall short on a lot of promises. The Tesla CEO has failed, for example, to deploy fully self-driving cars. And since entering the political world, he has made one pledge after another that haven't come true, such as his 2024 vow to find $2 trillion in federal budget waste.

Musk is also a master at evading scrutiny. Tesla's sky-high share price is evidence of that, and he is still the world's wealthiest person. But now, prediction markets are providing at least a small measure of accountability. These markets are rising in popularity, as people turn to sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket to wager on current events. Recently, I spoke with some users who bet against Musk's predictions coming true — a strategy that has worked out pretty well for them.

— David Ingram, tech reporter

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