ICE shooting updates: Protests erupt in Minneapolis as officer who killed Renee Nicole Good is identified

 Democratic congressional candidate calls ICE 'domestic terrorists'

Conservative lawyer-turned-Democratic congressional candidate George Conway has lashed out at ICE, calling them “domestic terrorists.”

Appearing on CNN’s The Lead to discuss the Trump administration’s reaction to the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, Conway said the killing was “mendacious and heartless”.

“Absolutely horrible the way they’ve talked about this. I mean, the notion that Donald Trump thinks that this is somehow, or claims that this is somehow making the country safer is absurd. It’s making the country more dangerous,” he told Jake Tapper.

“It’s making people on the streets have to fear federal agents. And as we saw in Minneapolis, it’s just asking for some tragedy to occur. And that’s exactly what happened.”

He slammed Kristi Noem’s “ridiculous” claim that Good committed “domestic terrorism, and said ICE agents are the domestic terrorists”.

“She was just an ordinary woman who, with a six-year-old kid, in an SUV. And I mean, the domestic terrorists are ICE. This is what’s happening here in this country, which is just hard to believe. We have a criminal president running a lawless government trying to intimidate the people of this country through force,” he said

Chicago Bulls game at United Center postponed due to condensation on the court

 CHICAGO -- The game between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Thursday was postponed after a nearly two-hour delay due to condensation on the court.

The officials cited "court conditions" for the delay in starting the contest. There appeared to be moisture on the floor at the United Center, which is also home to the Chicago Blackhawks, who played Wednesday and will skate at the arena again Friday. Workers tried to dry the surface using mops and towels.

The game was officially postponed at 8:53 p.m., prompting boos from the crowd. A rescheduled date for the game was not immediately announced.

The Bulls entered at 17-20 and on a three-game losing streak. The contest was supposed to be the second in a four-game trip for the Heat (20-17).

About 40 minutes after the expected 7:05 p.m. tipoff time, an announcement was made that the expected start time would be after 8 p.m. local time.

Maintenance personnel pushed large mops across court while players from both teams milled about dribbling, shooting and chatting at the start of the delay. At about 7:50 p.m. players and coaches returned to their dressing rooms and the floor was cleared to allow workers to attempt to dry the the surface using mops and towels.

Game officials, then Heat players and coaches, started returning to the floor at 8:25 p.m. Bulls coaches and a handful of Chicago players led by Coby White followed minutes later and filtered about. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra were among those chatting.

The teams then exited the court at 8:45 p.m. without attempting to warm up.

Temperatures in Chicago reached the mid-50s on a rainy Thursday.

Miami beats Ole Miss behind Carson Beck's game-winning touchdown to reach CFP National Championship Game

 The Hurricanes will now await the winner of the other semifinal between the Indiana Hoosiers and Oregon Ducks to see who they will play on Jan. 19. But Miami will do so on their home turf, with the National Championship Game being played at Hard Rock Stadium – the site of their home games. 

The game began slowly for both teams, with only Miami getting on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a field goal on their 13-play opening drive. But the fireworks came out from there for the Rebels thanks to the speed of running back Kewan Lacy.

On just the second play of the second quarter, Lacy was off to the race, finding a seam and busting out a 73-yard touchdown run to go up 7-3 after the extra point.

But this game was back and forth for quite some time, including the ensuing Hurricanes drive as quarterback Carson Beck led the way on a 15-play touchdown series with a CharMar Brown rushing score from four yards out.

The game was deadlocked at 10 apiece when Beck decided to air it out to Keelan Marion, and it was worth the risk. Marion made the grab for a 52-yard touchdown to help Miami go up 17-13 at halftime

ICE agent shoots, kills woman in Minneapolis

 

A 37-year-old woman who was shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on Wednesday morning has died, according to several officials. She was identified by the City Council as Renee Nicole Good.

Late Wednesday night, Council Member Jason Chavez posted a GoFundMe for the victim’s family, which includes her son and wife.

That’s when an ICE officer opened fire and killed the woman.

Several videos shared with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS call into question the federal government’s narrative that the driver tried to strike agents.

The videos show a red SUV blocking the path of ICE vehicles on Portland Avenue. Masked agents get out of their car and approach the SUV. One positions himself near the front of the SUV, and another goes to the driver’s side, yanking the door handle and reaching inside the open window. The car reverses a few feet before shifting into drive, steering away from the agent in front who ultimately fires three shots into the car.

One angle of the incident shows several feet of separation between the SUV and the ICE agent who DHS alleges was acting in self-defense. No ICE agents appeared to be hit and all were standing at all times.

Aaron Rodgers clinched the dignified end he deserved, if this is indeed goodbye

 

PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers was cutting easily through a thick haze of cigar smoke in a winners locker room that was louder than the loudest nightclub on New Year’s Eve, wearing flip-flops and shorts with his AFC North championship T-shirt and cap. He was stopping at different lockers to hug different Steelers teammates, too busy basking in the delirious present to ponder the failures of the recent past.

Later, as he headed for the showers, Rodgers smirked when saying he hadn’t given any thought to the fact that he won 10 games while the team that told him he wasn’t good enough to do what he did Sunday night, the New York Jets, won three. But the truth is, his fourth-quarter mastery in a breathless conquest of the Ravens was all about securing a dignified ending worthy of his first-ballot Hall of Fame career.

An ending that Rodgers tucked inside his hip pocket, preserved forever, if he indeed decides to say goodbye when Pittsburgh’s playoff run is done.

Even if the Ravens’ Tyler Loop had nailed that field goal attempt on the final play and sent him home at age 42, Rodgers could have lived with the result. He did what he had to do even without having DK Metcalf on the field, leading the Steelers on those two touchdown drives in the fourth, hitting Calvin Austin on that 26-yard scoring pass inside the final minute before a missed Chris Boswell extra point left the score at a perilous 26-24.

Rodgers had been betrayed by special teams and other assorted breakdowns in his Green Bay prime — the failure to recover an onside kick once cost him a second trip to the Super Bowl. So as he watched Loop line up that fateful kick, of course Rodgers couldn’t believe he was back in that position, with his career potentially on the brink of ending in a most heartbreaking way.

North Korea fires ballistic missiles, condemns US strikes on Venezuela

 

North Korea fires ballistic missiles towards East Sea

At least two missiles flew 900-950 km, Tokyo says

Launches send message to China not to boost ties with Seoul, analysts say

South Korean President Lee to leave for China for summit with Xi

North Korea calls US strikes on Venezuela 'serious encroachment of sovereignty'

SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - North Korea launched ballistic missiles on Sunday, the day the leader of rival South Korea starts a state visit to China, Pyongyang's chief ally, and just hours after the U.S. attacked Venezuela.

The firings of at least two missiles, the country's first in two months, further heighten global tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump launched an assault in Venezuela in which President Nicolas Maduro was captured.

North Korea strongly denounced the U.S. action, saying Washington "wildly violated the sovereignty of Venezuela" and the act shows "the rogue and brutal nature of the U.S."

The North launched its missiles hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung began a state visit to China on Sunday in the hope of promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula during a summit with his counterpart Xi Jinping.

The launches from the capital Pyongyang into the sea between the Koreas and Japan represent "a message to China to deter closer ties with South Korea and to counter China's stance on denuclearisation", said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.

Seahawks ride stifling defense, secure NFC's No. 1 seed

 

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Leonard Williams didn't want to leave the smoke-filled visitor's locker room at Levi's Stadium on Saturday night, even as the Seattle Seahawks were winding down a raucous celebration after securing one of their biggest wins in recent memory.

"The victory cigars were pretty awesome," said Williams, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman. "I couldn't really breathe in there at one point, but it didn't really matter. ... It was just beautiful to see my team celebrating."

With the NFC West title and the conference's No. 1 seed on the line, Williams' defense led Seattle to a 13-3 win against the division rival San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks rode their emerging running game and got just enough from quarterback Sam Darnold to win their seventh straight, earning a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

With Levi's Stadium hosting Super Bowl LX, Mike Macdonald's team is hoping to return in five weeks.

"All the things that we've been working at since we walked in the door, especially this year, are coming to life," Macdonald said. "I'm just incredibly proud of them. They played incredibly hard, they played together, they played complementary football. Each phase picked the other up."