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A federal agent shot a woman in Minneapolis amid a surge in immigration enforcement in that Minnesota city. The mother of three, a U.S. citizen identified as Renee Nicole Good, subsequently died. The Department of Homeland Security said a 鈥渧iolent鈥� rioter attempted to kill officers with her vehicle. Mayor Jacob Frey denies that account, and has told ICE to leave. The Minneapolis police chief thanked locals on the scene who 鈥渞emained peaceful鈥� and called for calm. The FBI is investigating the shooting.聽

Syrian government and Kurdish forces clashed in Aleppo. In the largest military confrontation between the two sides since the fall of the Assad regime, missiles, suicide drones, and snipers displaced thousands of Syrians from northern Aleppo on Wednesday. The fighting comes as talks collapse between Damascus and Kurdish leaders over integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian army and the future shape of Syria鈥檚 constitution, under a March 2024 agreement.

The White House is withdrawing from dozens of international organizations it considers contrary to its interests. President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive order names 66 entities working on issues from environment to education, nearly half from the United Nations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the initiatives 鈥渞edundant,鈥� 鈥渨asteful,鈥� or a threat to American 鈥渟overeignty, freedoms, and general prosperity.鈥� The U.S. is now the only country to have left a 1992 U.N. climate framework.

The House Oversight Committee held a hearing on a series of multimillion-dollar fraud cases in Minnesota. Republicans accused the state鈥檚 Democratic leaders of neglecting their duties as taxpayer money was stolen over years. Democrats countered that fraud in GOP-led states and in the federal government has received less attention. The Trump administration has frozen $10 billion in federal funds for child care and social services to five Democrat-run states, including Minnesota, that it accuses of fraud.

Australia announced a new commission into antisemitism following last month鈥檚 mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum pushed for the royal commission, Australia鈥檚 most influential form of national inquiry. Due this coming December, the report will make recommendations on tackling antisemitism and strengthening 鈥渟ocial cohesion.鈥� Parliament is also working on new laws against hate speech and tougher gun laws.

Democratic presidential hopeful Rahm Emanuel is making an appearance in a state he has praised for its education turnaround: Mississippi. The former Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan has touted what is sometimes called the 鈥淢ississippi Miracle鈥� 鈥� a jump from almost last place in reading to 9th in a decade. While some researchers say other factors have played a role, Mr. Emanuel has commended the state鈥檚 focus on teacher training and phonics.

鈥� Our Monitor writers around the globe

After directing military action in Venezuela, Donald Trump appears to be eyeing Greenland again. That is challenging Europe鈥檚 understanding of its relationship with the U.S., and whether it can respond effectively to Mr. Trump鈥檚 demands.

Iran鈥檚 leaders are juggling chronic economic malaise 鈥� caused by years of mismanagement, corruption, and U.S.-led sanctions 鈥� with a growing expectation of military conflict with Israel or, following President Donald Trump鈥檚 threats, the United States.

Following the U.S takeover of Venezuela, President Trump wants American companies to produce oil from that South American country鈥檚 vast reserves. But the cost, and the political instability caused by the U.S. intervention, make companies wary.

The documentation of society, once the purview of traditional media, is being increasingly challenged by nontraditional reporters, as evidenced by Nick Shirley鈥檚 viral video. It triggered dramatic White House action, even amid questions about the veracity of his claims.

Monasteries and nunneries worldwide have embraced the digital era to advance their missions. They use social media to get their messages out, attract new followers to their faiths, and stoke interest in religious vocations.

Since 1979, the militant meddling of the Islamic Republic of Iran has thrown the Middle East off balance. Now, after nearly two weeks of mass protests across most of the country, the people of Iran might have unbalanced the regime 鈥� although not yet in any material way.

The number of protesters on the streets since Dec. 28 is not as large as protests in 2009 and 2022-23.聽And this time, the triggering issue is steep inflation and a devalued currency, not a rigged election or the killing of a young woman for showing her hair.

But today鈥檚 protesters have shown high admiration for a few heroes who exemplify a dignity eagerly asserted by Iranians 鈥� and which highlights how much the people have eroded the regime鈥檚 claim to moral supremacy.

Just before the protests began, Iranians were glued to a BBC documentary, 鈥淭araneh,鈥� about acclaimed film actress Taraneh Alidoosti. Jailed briefly for her resistance to the regime and then banned from working in movies, her calm and selfless demeanor 鈥� especially in wearing no headscarf 鈥� ignited a social media storm. Her story, the BBC stated, is 鈥渆mblematic of broader aspirations for a freer聽Iran聽grounded in聽dignity.鈥�

鈥淎lidoosti reminds us that the struggle over Iran鈥檚 future is fought not only on the negotiating table and on the battlefield but also in the quiet, costly decision to speak and to remain standing,鈥� wrote Negar Karamati, a former U.S.-based Persian-language news editor, in The Jerusalem Post.

Then, as the protests revved up, a video went viral of a lone, hooded man sitting on a street in Tehran trying to block police officers on motorcycles. While questions remain about whether the video was altered, it nonetheless triggered memories of the iconic聽image聽of 鈥淭ank Man鈥� on China鈥檚 Tiananmen Square in 1989. And it inspired artists to depict the man鈥檚 composed bravery.

Another inspiration was an Instagram video by a man who, after being shot during a protest, appealed to the riot police by saying 鈥淚 am just like you, by God.鈥� He also, bravely, gave his real name.

All of this fits into what Menahem Merhavy, a historian of modern Iran, described as Iranians quietly constructing 鈥渁n alternative moral order rooted ... in dignity, bodily autonomy, and truth-telling.鈥�

鈥淭his bottom-up civil religion now challenges the core of the Islamic republic鈥檚 political theology more effectively than any party or organized opposition,鈥� he wrote in Foreign Policy last month.

The new moral framework relies on a Persian meaning for dignity, or keramat (divine grace), which protesters describe as the core of ethical life, or giving without expecting anything in return.

The regime鈥檚 lost moral authority cannot be reversed through repression alone, Dr. Merhavy stated.

鈥淎 political system can endure material crises, but enduring a crisis of meaning is harder."