Renee Nicole Good’s killing is the latest example of the president’s outrageous – and blatant – assaults on the truth

With Donald Trump back in office for a year, it seems increasingly clear what his motto should be: “Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?” Whether about grocery prices, January 6, Ukraine or actions by ICE agents, Trump keeps making astonishingly false statements that contradict what we can see with our own eyes.

In recent weeks, Trump has once again sought to bamboozle us into not believing what we saw – the most egregious recent example involved the ICE agent who killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Within hours of her death, Trump smeared Good on Truth Social, saying that the 37-year-old mother of three belonged to “a Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate” and that she “viciously ran over the ICE officer”. Trump added, “It is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital.”

Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labour and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues

Researchers found a new way to filter and destroy Pfas chemicals at 100 times the rate of current systems

New filtration technology developed by Rice University may absorb some Pfas “forever chemicals” at 100 times the rate than previously possible, which could dramatically improve pollution control and speed remediations.

Researchers also say they have also found a way to destroy Pfas, though both technologies face a steep challenge in being deployed on an industrial scale.

The Broadway performer shot to fame without a safety net in The Greatest Showman. The resulting public scrutiny was painful, she says, but it was the ideal grounding to step into the shoes of presidential widow Mary Lincoln

Bathed in the fluorescent glow of a rehearsal studio on the south bank of the Thames, Keala Settle is embodying a woman redefining herself in the court of public opinion. Cast as former first lady Mary Lincoln in Mrs President, a sombre and haunting stage production that begins a six-week run at London’s Charing Cross theatre this month, she grapples with the turbulent inner world of Abraham Lincoln’s wife, vilified by the media and eager to rewrite herself in the eyes of the US after her husband’s assassination and the civil war.

As an actor, and woman, Settle – known globally for her performance in The Greatest Showman as bearded lady Lettie Lutz – is also done with being what people tell her to be. It has, she explains, taken 10 years to reach this point. But her own encounters with celebrity and grief were the ideal preparation for this psychological drama. “This role – I jumped at it. I’ve never related to anything so closely.”

The only positive of this stranger-than-fiction scenario is that Greenland and Denmark stand more united than ever

• Adam Price is the creator of the TV series Borgen

As a writer of political fiction for many years, including four seasons of my TV series Borgen, I find myself in the strangest of landscapes watching Donald Trump desperately wanting Greenland like a spoilt child who has never heard the word “no”.

We dedicated an episode to Greenland in the first season in 2010 and then it became the main setting for the fourth season in 2022. Our focus on this former colony of Denmark, and its amazing Indigenous people, was motivated by one big factor. For political drama I always look for stories with emotion, and the old colonial tale of Denmark and Greenland is full of it.

Palazzo Ca’ Dario, empty for years, has failed to find a new owner, with local legends suggesting it is jinxed

It ought to be an estate agent’s dream. Primely positioned on the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice, just steps away from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the storied Palazzo Ca’ Dario has shimmered on the water since the late 15th century, its elegant early Venetian Renaissance facade among the city’s most distinctive.

Named after its first owner, Giovanni Dario, a diplomat hailed a hero after securing a peace treaty with the Ottoman empire, over the centuries the palazzo has been home to nobles, merchants and even British rock music royalty. In 1908, it was painted by Claude Monet during his trip to Venice and one year later was cited by Henry James in his travelogue Italian Hours.

Lining up for best supporting actor in the year’s most hotly-tipped film, the Lewisham-born actor has long been a favourite of the Malcolm X director and is poised for brighter limelight

In the aftermath of the Oscar nominations, Wunmi Mosaku was heralded as Britain’s saviour after her best supporting actress nod at Hollywood’s most prestigious awards. The UK had been facing its first nomination-less year in the acting categories since 1986.

But the Sinners star was joined by a fellow cast member, Lewisham-born, Delroy Lindo, who will also be representing Britain on the big night on 15 March.

Opener had not played 50-over cricket in more than two years, meaning the England selectors are going on instinct

Another continent, fresh pyjamas and, after the disappearance of spin in Australia, a contest dominated by the slow stuff. But it was natural at times to rewind to the Ashes during England’s series-opening defeat against Sri Lanka on Thursday, stretching their losing run away from home in one-day internationals to 11.

The flashbacks hit immediately when Jamie Overton took the new ball for the first time in his ODI career, a middle-overs-man miscast, the same way Brydon Carse was when he opened in the Tests. Sri Lanka’s fielding late on in the chase – Dunith Wellalage’s hopscotch grab on the boundary to end Rehan Ahmed’s pyro-party, Dhananjaya de Silva’s swooper at backward point to get rid of Liam Dawson – was clinical, reminiscent of Australia.

Scottish social justice secretary says pledge for the city shows shared ‘commitment to tackling child poverty’

New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has received a baby box from the Scottish government after modelling part of his election campaign on Edinburgh’s example of providing each expectant mother with a set of essentials.

Scotland’s social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said it would help the city’s leader develop his own plans for a “baby basket”.

Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez told influencers of US threat to kill leaders if they did cooperate after capture of Maduro

The communications minister holds a phone up to a microphone before a gathering of regime-friendly influencers.

On speakerphone is Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who claims that when US forces captured the dictator Nicolás Maduro, she and other members of his cabinet were given 15 minutes to decide whether to comply with Washington’s demands – “or they would kill us.”

The LA-based pop duo are sending a jolt through TikTok with maximalist songs that emote wildly in every direction

From Los Angeles
Recommend if you like Erasure, Chappell Roan, Jade
Up next Debut album Big Disgrace out 13 March

Just when you think pop is finally moving away from the synth-heavy 80s sound, another thrilling new act comes along to say: “Nope!” With shades of Erasure and a good dollop of theatre kid energy, Haute & Freddy are the Regency-styled freaks sending a jolt through TikTok. Their latest single Dance the Pain Away is the year’s first true banger, a dazzling sad-pop production that bursts through the January gloom, thrusts a spritzer in your hand and drags you to the dancefloor.

US president’s $5bn lawsuit against JP Morgan and Jamie Dimon follows a steady rise in tensions between the two men

Weeks after Donald Trump’s first shock election win, bosses from across corporate America were scrambling to enter the president’s orbit.

Business leaders ranging from the General Motors boss, Mary Barra, to Disney’s chief, Bob Iger, quickly signed up to a new advisory council in 2016 to help shape the aggressively pro-growth policies of this new populist politician. Among them was the head of America’s largest bank: Jamie Dimon, the chair and chief executive of JP Morgan.

Jessica Rankin sews up painting, arte povera’s Mario Merz comes in from the cold and Andy Warhol brings pop to the Midlands – all in your weekly dispatch

Jessica Rankin
This New York artist’s abstract works hover between embroidery and painting and have a seductive, lyrical beauty.
• White Cube Mason’s Yard, London, 28 January to 28 February

US aerospace tech company reportedly held talks last year over private share sale that values business at $800bn

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly lining up four Wall Street banks to help the company list on the stock market as investors prepare for an expected rush of US tech listings.

SpaceX is considering Bank of America, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for leading roles in an initial public offering, according to the Financial Times and Reuters.

Squint hard into the darkness and you’ll find there’s so much to feel positive about. Gwyneth Paltrow and HBO Max for starters

Ah, Blue Monday – it seems to come round quicker every year, no? For those of you not familiar with the term, it denotes the third Monday of January, which is alleged to be the most depressing day of the year. Collectively, I mean – obviously each of us has a birthday, plus a year coming up that will inescapably include bad haircuts, disappointing Vinted purchases and expensively untraceable leaks in the home. And Prue Leith’s leaving Bake Off.

With conflict averted for now, European leaders will be tempted to retreat to their comfort zone of cowardice. But the next crisis will soon be here

Donald Trump’s climbdown, after days of escalation during which he had refused to rule out a military attack to annex Greenland, was spectacular. In his Davos speech, Trump repeated his desire to own Greenland, claiming that you cannot defend what you do not own, only to then announce that he would not conquer the Arctic island by force. Hours later, he claimed that he had reached an unspecified deal on Greenland, and would therefore refrain from imposing additional tariffs on those European countries that had had the audacity to participate in a joint military exercise in Greenland at Denmark’s invitation.

We know neither the details of the framework agreement reached by Trump and the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, nor whether it carries any weight, given the US president’s fickleness. But it appears that the deal, while open to discussing Arctic security, mineral rights and possibly even the sovereignty of US bases, preserves Greenland’s sovereignty within the Kingdom of Denmark. In short, this has been a remarkable U-turn.

Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist

Despite US pushback, officials in west Africa say controversial hepatitis B study on pause amid ethics concerns

US health officials insisted it was still on. African health leaders said it was cancelled. At the heart of the controversy is the west African nation of Guinea-Bissau – one of the poorest countries in the world and the proposed site of a hotly debated US-funded study on vaccines.

The study on hepatitis B vaccination, to be led by Danish researchers, became a flashpoint after major changes to the US vaccination schedule and prompted questions about how research is conducted ethically in other countries.

Following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis, the Guardian’s Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone travel to the heart of affected neighbourhoods to speak with residents who are fighting to defend their community from violence and intimidation. They embed with ICE watch groups, hear from Somali-American residents, and witness a swarm of federal agents conduct a sweep in the suburbs

Trump’s remarks and Project 2025’s proposals have made the plan clear. Democrats must focus on stopping it

Last week, during an Oval Office Interview with Reuters, Donald Trump touted his accomplishments and suggested that they are so great that “we shouldn’t even have an election” in November. Not surprisingly, that comment made headlines.

But it is at best a distraction from the real threat: the United States will have elections this year, but they will not be free and fair.

Organizers demand ICE leave state and agency be investigated for constitutional violations

• ICE protests – live updates

A “no work, no school, no shopping” blackout day of protest was kicked off by community leaders, faith leaders and labor unions on Friday in protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surge in the state.

The “Day of Truth & Freedom” protest comes in the wake of the killing of Renee Good, the unarmed woman killed by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this month.

In a less flowery garden, you can spot the gaps more easily – and fill them with bare-root plants at this time of year

This time last year we were about to put our old flat on the market – the first proper garden I had as a gardening adult. The one that taught me so much, where I made compost for the first time and cut peonies from the bare roots I’d ordered as soon as we exchanged contracts on the place. Where I painted the back wall pink and strung up lights and held parties and watered the ground with cheap prosecco; where I planted a tree for my newborn son, and lay beneath it with him in languid, too-long summer afternoons, trying to make sense of motherhood.

Anyway, every time I’d show estate agents around our two-bed flat, they’d conjure unconvincing compliments about our airing cupboard, before sticking their head cursorily out the back door and saying: “Oh, it’s winter, no gardens look good in winter, no buyers will be expecting it to look nice,” and I’d seethe.

Town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky gets 1.8 metres of snow in places, burying cars and cutting off roads and buildings

A record-breaking snowfall event unfolded in far eastern Russia last week when the town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, located on the Kamchatka peninsula’s east coast, received more than 1.8 metres (6 feet) of lying snow in places.

Strong winds accompanying the snowfall caused extreme drifting of more than 3 metres against buildings and cars. Two key ingredients combined to cause such an extreme snowfall event. Strong Pacific low pressures dragged moist air from the tropics northwards, which clashed with cold Arctic air already over the region.

Canadian backpacker, 19, was found dead on K’gari island earlier this week surrounded by pack of wild dingoes

The autopsy of Piper James, whose body was found on K’gari surrounded by a pack of dingoes, has found “physical evidence consistent with drowning and injuries consistent with dingo bites”.

The Canadian backpacker’s trip to Australia ended in tragedy when the 19-year-old was found dead on a beach on Monday on the world heritage-listed island formerly known as Fraser Island off the Queensland coast.

Judge shelves inquiry into use of Israeli-made software to target ministers’ phones citing chronic lack of cooperation

Spain’s highest criminal court has again shelved its investigation into the use of Israeli-made Pegasus software to target the mobile phones of senior Spanish ministers, including the prime minister, citing a chronic lack of cooperation from the Israeli authorities that has violated “the principle of good faith” between countries.

The investigation began in May 2022 after the Spanish government revealed that the phones of the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the defence minister, Margarita Robles, had been infected the previous year with the spyware, which, according to its manufacturers, NSO Group, is available only to state agencies. It was later established that the phones of the interior minister and the agriculture minister had also been targeted.

The Trump administration has paused immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries. We’re looking to speak to applicants, especially those close to a final decision, about the impact of the suspension

The Trump administration has indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries, freezing applications from 21 January as part of a sweeping crackdown on legal immigration pathways.

We would like to hear from people from countries on the visa ban list who are currently in the immigrant visa application process, particularly those who are at an advanced or final stage.