Nova Newsletter
Jan 29, 2026
☕ Good morning. 1432 words for you today - 8 minute read
The Spotlight
1. Driver rams Brooklyn Chabad HQ, detained
Police said there were no apparent injuries. (AP)
A driver repeatedly slammed a car into the doors of Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Wednesday night, and police detained the suspect.
Takeaways
NYPD says the crash appears intentional; no injuries were reported.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch said investigators are treating it as a potential hate crime.
The NYPD bomb squad checked the vehicle and found no explosives.
The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation.
Chabad spokesperson Motti Seligson confirmed damage to the building’s doors and said no one was hurt.
Police said the driver told bystanders “it slipped” and suggested they were trying to park, but authorities are reviewing intent and motive.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the incident “deeply alarming” and said antisemitism has no place in New York City.
The next step is whether evidence supports hate and civil rights charges. Read More
2. ICE tells Minnesota teams: ignore agitators
ICE officers in Minnesota received new orders to avoid engaging “agitators” during operations and to focus arrests on immigrants with criminal charges or convictions, according to guidance.
Takeaways
The memo bars communication with “agitators” beyond issuing commands.
It narrows targets to people with a criminal nexus, including pending charges.
The shift follows two fatal Minneapolis shootings of U.S. citizens this month.
ICE will lead the operation with Border Patrol in a support role.
The email came from Marcos Charles, a top official in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division.
Officers will use megaphones and are told to verbalize each step of an arrest, but the guidance does not define what triggers commands.
The question now is whether targeted raids cool tensions or invite fresh scrutiny. Read More
3. Supreme Court still holds Trump tariff decision
The Supreme Court did not issue a ruling Monday on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, leaving the decision date unknown.
Takeaways
The court released orders in other cases, not the tariffs dispute.
The justices have not signaled when the tariff opinion will drop.
The next likely non-argument decision day on the calendar is Feb. 20.
At issue: whether Trump can use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs without Congress.
During arguments, multiple justices pressed the administration on the scope of emergency power and separation of powers.
Until the court moves, businesses and trading partners stay stuck planning around a moving target. Read More
Quick Headlines
Oil jumps on Iran strike fears
Oil rose for a third day as Trump warned Iran to accept a nuclear deal or face military action, lifting WTI to about $64 and Brent near $69 as traders priced in Middle East disruption risk. Read MoreGiancarlo Esposito calls for revolution
Breaking Bad actor Giancarlo Esposito told Variety at Sundance in New York that the Trump era and immigration enforcement brutality demand a “revolution,” urging mass public resistance despite fears of violent crackdowns. Read MoreCelebrity exodus talk resurfaces
Kristen Stewart says she will “probably not” stay in the U.S. under Trump, joining a wave of post election relocation talk that includes actual moves by James Cameron to New Zealand and Rosie O’Donnell to Ireland. Read MoreJamaat’s comeback tests Bangladesh identity
Jamaat-e-Islami, once outlawed under Sheikh Hasina, is polling strongly ahead of Bangladesh’s Feb. 12 election as leader Shafiqur Rahman tells Sreenivasan Jain its rise will reshape debates on secularism, women’s rights, and Islamic law. Read MoreTexas carries out first 2026 execution
Texas executed Charles Victor Thompson, 55, by lethal injection in Huntsville for the 1998 killings of his ex girlfriend Glenda Dennise Hayslip and her boyfriend Darren Keith Cain, after he asked victims’ families for forgiveness. Read More
Deep Dive
The polling site at Davies Student Center on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024 at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The Washington Post | Getty Images
4. AI super PACs gear up to shape 2026 midterms
The AI industry is building super PAC muscle in Washington and state races, aiming to replicate crypto’s 2024 playbook and steer AI regulation.
Takeaways
The new group Leading the Future positions itself as AI’s Fairshake, targeting swing races and policy fights.
Fairshake was the top corporate political donor in 2024 and backed more than 50 winning candidates, a blueprint AI donors now want to copy.
Public anxiety is the pressure point: Pew and Gallup polling shows Americans tilt more worried than excited about AI.
The policy battlefield is federal versus state power, with Trump’s recent executive order raising preemption questions.
Leading the Future draws money from familiar Silicon Valley circles, including donors tied to a16z, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, Palantir’s Joe Lonsdale, and Perplexity, while Meta launched its own super PAC focused on AI regulation.
Sen. Mark Warner warned AI becomes “the issue of our time” for 2026 and 2028, as job-loss fears and privacy concerns harden into political messaging. Brookings fellow Darrell West summed up the public mood: many fear AI “will take jobs, invade privacy, and be biased.”
At Davos, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said AI may move “too fast for society,” predicting fewer employees over five years. That tension, investor optimism versus voter skepticism, is the opening AI advocates plan to manage with campaign spending.
Legal scholar Rick Hasen called tech super PACs “inevitable,” and said Trump’s executive order likely faces court tests. Early proof of limits: New York’s RAISE Act became law despite Leading the Future’s opposition. Read More
On Our Radar
5. Greenland’s Inuit reject land ownership debate
Residential houses stand behind an iceberg floating by two days after U.S. President Donald Trump walked back on his most aggressive threats over acquiring Greenland on January 23, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images
In Kapisillit, Greenland, Inuit residents say Arctic land is shared, not owned, as President Trump talks about buying Greenland and Denmark stresses sovereignty.
Takeaways
Inuit leaders say collective stewardship sits at the core of Inuit identity.
Greenlandic law allows ownership of homes, not the land beneath them.
The view has endured centuries of colonization and remains embedded in daily life.
In remote settlements, locals focus on survival, not geopolitical bargaining.
Residents describe land as something people use, care for, and pass through, not a commodity to buy or sell. That mindset clashes with outside political framing that treats Greenland as an asset.
Trump’s comments have sharpened global attention on the island’s strategic value, while Denmark maintains its legal claim. Inuit voices add a third lens: legitimacy rooted in lived practice and law.
The fight over Greenland’s future may hinge on whose definition of ownership prevails. Read More
6. Bonds return as portfolios’ key shock absorber
Bonds are regaining attention as investors look for steadier ballast amid a frothy stock market.
Takeaways
Bonds trade upside for predictability, with scheduled interest payments and principal return at maturity.
In past stock crashes, bonds often held up better, though 2022 showed they can still get hit by inflation shocks.
Experts favor Treasuries and inflation-linked TIPS, plus laddering maturities to manage rate swings.
Taxes matter: Treasury interest is generally exempt from state and local taxes, while many munis offer federal tax breaks.
In 2025, Nvidia rose about 39%, while the 10 year Treasury yielded roughly 4.5%, a gap that highlights bonds’ slower pace.
Allan Roth calls bonds the portfolio’s “shock absorber” and urges broad exposure, especially to TIPS tied to the consumer price index. Fidelity’s Richard Carter points to the appeal for income focused investors: you know when coupons pay and when principal returns.
The risk is not just default. It is selling early into higher rates or weaker credit.
As rate cuts and recession fears shift, bond selection becomes a strategy, not an afterthought. Read More
8. 🎉 This day in history
On this day: January 29th
2002: President George W. Bush brands Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an “Axis of Evil,” sharpening the post-9/11 foreign policy fight lines.
1892: The Coca-Cola Company incorporates in Atlanta, formalizing the business behind what becomes one of America’s most iconic global brands.
2025: A U.S. Army helicopter on a night-vision training flight collides midair with a commercial jet near Reagan National, killing all 67 people aboard and drawing intense scrutiny of airspace safety.
Life Hack of the day
Find your luggage faster.
That’s your morning brief. Now go show someone how smart you are. 🧠
Share The Nova: Forward this email!
Let us know how we did on the newsletter today!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
