Transcript of Evening Wire: SCOTUS Considers Trump Tariffs & DOJ’s Major Minnesota Bust | 1.16.26

The nation's highest court is poised to rule soon on Trump's tariff use. A Latin King's gang member is busted in Minneapolis, and the much-anticipated divisional round of the NFL playoffs kicks off this weekend with the college playoffs not far behind. I'm Georgia Howe with DailyWire executive editor John Bickley. It's Friday, January 16th, and this is EveningWire.

The Supreme Court is set to rule soon on Trump's tariffs. Dailywire DC Bureau Chief Tim Rice has the latest.

Oral arguments over Trump's tariffs began in November, with justices focused on the major questions doctrine, which is designed to allow courts to limit the power of executive agencies on actions with vast economic and political significance. Plaintiffs told the court that Trump's decision to unilaterally impose his steep import duties violates the major questions doctrine since the Emergency Economic Power Act does not explicitly mention the word 'tariffs'. Lawyers for the Trump administration countered that the text of the law is, The practical equivalent of a tariff. The tariff case is also, to some degree, a foreign policy issue in which executives enjoy a higher level of deference from the court. More on this as it develops.

President Trump is threatening countries with tariffs over Greenland. Speaking at the White House today, the President said he'd use tariffs to acquire the Arctic country. I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland because we need Greenland for national security, so I may do that. Trump did not specify which countries would be affected, but this follows French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron launching Operation Arctic Endurance, mission that sent 15 soldiers to the island nation in order to show support for Danish ownership. Germany, France, Sweden, and Norway also have plans to send similarly small military groups, despite the presence of the US base in Patufkin, which houses 200 of our own.

Trump reels in another big win as Taiwan is pledging $250 billion in US investment in exchange for lowering their rate. Daily Wire Senior Editor, Virginia Kruda, has more.

The United States and Taiwan signed a trade deal on Thursday. Under the agreement, Taiwan's tariff rates will drop from 20% to 15%. In exchange, Arizona will see several new semiconductor factories built by the company Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC, as well as a double investment of $250 billion into the US. The first comes from TSMC and similar companies, and then will be matched by the government of Taiwan. So effectively, half a trillion dollars is headed to the US, as well as the means to produce these advanced processing chips in country. Us Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnik, told CNBC about the deal.

So we're going to bring it all over so we become self-sufficient in the capacity of building semiconductors.

This is exactly what Donald Trump said he was going to do, and he's doing it today, 250 billion and 250 billion. This is the scale that Donald Trump operates in.

The ruthless slaughter of anti-government protesters in Iran appears to have stopped, but only because residents are being held hostage in their homes. Daily Wire reporter, Amanda Prestigiacomo has more.

Rather than celebration after Iran back down from the mass execution of protesters as well as a hanging, reports from the Muslim Nation detail something closer to an eerie silence. A mass mobilization of security forces has suppressed the demonstrations, leading many in their homes too afraid to walk outside. A source in the country claimed, There were tanks out. There's tanks everywhere. There's trucks that are covered with 10 people inside with machine guns just aiming them at everyone on the street. Others say that Tehran is gripped in fear as Capitol Police Patrol and routinely conduct security stops. More than 2,600 people have been confirmed dead since the start of the demonstrations, though locals on the ground told the New York Post, There are no protests anymore because of massive killings. With 12,000 dead, people are terrified.

Incident reports of the January seventh shooting of Renee Nicole Good have been released, revealing that law enforcement allegedly begged for help in dealing with the aftermath. Dailywire reporter Tim pierce has the details.

Transcripts released late Thursday paint a chaotic picture with one officer saying that the crowd is getting hostile. Minutes later, another report called for crowd control and to block off the surrounding area. At 10: 07 AM, authority said, Contact who is in charge of feds and have them leave scene. But roughly an hour later, transcripts show those same officers being surrounded. 911 dispatch calls show the other side with protesters saying, There's 15 ICE agents, and they shot her because she wouldn't open her car door. Another collar begged for an ambulance. First responders observed two gunshot wounds on the right side of Goods chest, one on her left forearm, and one with, Pertruiting tissue on the left side of the patient's head. The Department of Homeland Security maintains the agent opened fire in self-defense, following being struck by Goods' It's really cool.

The Department of Justice has arrested a Latin King's gang member accused of stealing an FBI weapon and body armor in Minneapolis, an incident caught on video. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on social media yesterday that an arrest warrant was executed on a Latin King's gang member who allegedly stole FBI armor and weaponry and had a long list of violent crimes. She continued, The criminal is a perfect example of what our brave federal law enforcement agents are up against every day as Minnesota leadership encourages law-breaking.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom conceded in a sit down with Ben Shapiro that ICE are not domestic terrorists, even though his press office tweeted out that allegation. Shapiro appeared on Newsom's podcast this week, and clips from it are going viral. Here's the moment when Shapiro pressed Newsom on claims his own social media team made.

Your press office tweeted out that it was state-sponsored terrorism, which, I mean, governor, I have to ask you about that.

That thing makes our politics worse, and it does.

Our ICE ICE officers, obviously, are not terrorists.

A tragic situation is not state-sponsored terrorism.

Yeah, I think that's fair.

Newsom also claimed that despite California's sanctuary policies and just months after violent anti-ice riots in the state, that his state cooperates with the agency.

We work very directly with ICE as it relates to CDCR, our state prison. California has cooperated with more ICE transfers, probably than any other state in the country.

President Trump has ended up with the Nobel Peace Prize after all. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Needler explains.

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gifted her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump at the White House Thursday. Machado met with the President a day after Trump spoke with Venezuela as acting President, Delce Rodriguez, over the phone. Machado had previously dedicated her award to Trump last year, for his decisive support of our cause. She told reporters yesterday that Trump deserved the prize as recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom. Trump thanked Machado for the award and complimented the opposition leader in a post on Truth Social. He wrote of Machado that she is, A wonderful woman who has been through so much. Adding, Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Former Arizona Senator Kirsten Sinema is being sued under North Carolina's home wrecker law over alleged interference in the marriage between a former member of her security detail and his now ex-wife. Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arkin reports.

The lawsuit accuses Sinema of, intentional and malicious interference in a marriage between Heather and Matthew Amel, who separated in November 2024. Ammel joined Sinema's security team in 2022, and the lawsuit alleges that Sinema had numerous lengthy conversations with the man through multiple platforms, including in-person and over text that were, Romantic or sexual in nature. The lawsuit also alleges that the senator met with him regularly outside of professional settings, including including meetings that were, quote, emotionally or physically romantic or sexual nature, and that cinema was encouraging him to leave his wife. The Daily Wire has reached out to both individuals for comment.

America is outputting copper for the first time in over a decade, and Amazon is first in line. The tech and e-commerce giant will apparently put the copper to use in its ever-expanding data centers. The deal was struck with a recently reopened copper mine in Arizona, securing a promise of 14,000 metric tons of copper cathode over the next two years. New data centers have massive copper requirements for wiring, circuit boards, and power systems, which have put a strain on the market, driving copper to all-time high prices at around $6 per pound. As market demands for metal increases, in part due to the AI boom, Amazon has opted to secure materials directly from the source.

The NFL and college football playoffs continue. Here are the preview as Crain and Cohn host, David Cohn.

The divisional round of the NFL playoffs is this weekend with two games on Saturday and two more on Sunday. First, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will head to Denver to take on the AFC's number one seed, Broncos. That's at 4: 30 PM Eastern. Then the Seattle Seahawks, the number one seed in the NFC, will host the 49ers in an all-NFC West divisional matchup at 8: 00 PM. Sunday, the Houston Texans head to Foxborough to face the Patriots at 3: 00 PM Eastern, followed by the Chicago Bears hosting the LA Rams at 6: 30. More football will follow Monday when the Indiana Hoosiers and Miami Hurricains face off for the College Football Playoff National Championship. Indiana seeks to become the first team in the modern era to complete a perfect 16: 00 season.

And the embattled reign of Kathleen Kennedy is officially over, as Star Wars is getting a new leader to head up the franchise. After a rocky 13-year stretch on the big screen and mostly misses on TV that includes the widely blasted Acolyte series, Kennedy is hanging up the lightsaber as President of Lucas Film. Taking her place is George Lucas Padawan, Dave Faloni. Faloni was hired by the Hollywood legend back in 2005 to helm the popular Clown Wars animated series. While Disney has touted Kennedy's legacy on the way out. Many from the Star Wars Alliance are expressing a new hope that the franchise will return to once again being a force to reckon with under the new order. Too much? Probably too much.

Those are your drive home updates. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire. Com. In case you missed earlier today, we covered some major stories, including Trump threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minneapolis, the latest on Trump's Iran strategy, and we talked with Senator Bill Cassidy about a key abortion hearing. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with a weekend edition of MorningWire.