Morning Brief: Anti-ICE Activists Attack Target, Shutdown Scramble, & Nashville Storm Failures
This morning’s briefing (February 3, 2026) highlights three main stories:
– Activists pressure businesses to oppose ICE: Left-wing critics are pressuring companies, notably Target, to publicly condemn ICE and to block ICE agents from operating on their property or entering stores. Demonstrations have extended to Target stores in Minneapolis and even Target’s headquarters,with critics calling out the company’s new CEO,Michael fiddelke.
– Government shutdown persists: Lawmakers are racing to end the shutdown before its effects are felt. President Trump says there must be no changes to the spending bill and aims to have it signed into law promptly, working with Speaker Mike Johnson.
– Outrage over Nashville Winter Storm Fern outages: More than 20,000 residents remain without power in Nashville more than a week after the storm.National attention has grown, with celebrities joining the outcry over the outages. Criticism centers on Nashville Electric Service for inadequate preparation: the utility had onyl about 100 line workers available to start restoration, far fewer than other regional utilities that had hundreds. The CEO, Teresa Boyles-Aplin, had previously prioritized tree canopy concerns over clearing power lines.
Anti-ICE activists pressure businesses to “pick a side,” the House looks to vote on reopening the government, and thousands of Americans demand answers as the lights remain off after Winter Storm Fern.
It’s Tuesday, February 3, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
Left-Wing Activists Pressure Businesses To Dump ICE
Businesses that don’t even have ties to ICE are under pressure to take an explicit stance against the federal agency. Currently, Target is the main mark for demonstrators. Over the weekend – similar to the protest that included the storming of Cities Church in St. Paul – dozens of activists marched through Target stores all over Minneapolis. Left-wing activists want the company to publicly condemn ICE and ban agents from conducting operations on Target property, or even entering stores. Activists even went to Target headquarters in Minneapolis on Monday and called out its new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, who officially stepped into the top job on Sunday.
Government Shutdown Is On
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been working frantically to end the government shutdown before its effects are felt. President Donald Trump says he wants to move forward with the federal government spending package without any changes, as the government has remained shut down since last weekend. He wrote on Truth Social, quote: “There can be NO CHANGES at this time.” The president says that he wants the bill to be signed into law right away, and that he’s “working hard with Speaker Mike Johnson.”
Outrage Over Nashville Storm Failures
The response to the crippling power outages from Winter Storm Fern has frustrated many communities across the country – including here in the Nashville area. It’s been more than a week, and more than 20,000 residents are still without power in the Music City in a situation declared “unacceptable.” The Nashville power outage fiasco has made national news as Reese Witherspoon, John Rich, and other celebrities have spoken out about their Tennessee neighbors living in the dark. The Nashville Electric Service’s lack of preparation is most frustrating to residents. Last summer, the CEO, Teresa Boyles-Aplin, focused on saving Nashville’s tree canopy instead of cutting down the trees that clearly were overtaking power lines. On top of that, Nashville started the power restoration with around 100 linemen – far too few for such a widespread outage. Other regional utilities had 500-600 linemen ready.
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