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• Federal immigration officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis on Saturday.
• It was the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by ICE in Minneapolis this month.
• The killing elicited sharp reactions from Americans, including business and tech leaders.

Federal immigration agents on Saturday shot and killed a US citizen in Minneapolis — the second fatal shooting involving ICE officers this month — adding more fuel to an already explosive national debate over immigration enforcement.

The killing sparked an outcry on Minneapolis streets, as well as online, eliciting sharp responses from all sides, including leaders in the business and tech communities.

The billionaire CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, Bill Ackman, for instance, wrote in a post on X that it was “time to take the temperature down before more lives are lost.”

Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, criticized the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, for what they said were overly aggressive tactics. The DHS, meanwhile, defended its agents, arguing that they are being provoked by unruly protesters and an uncooperative city government and police.

Thousands of ICE officers began descending on Minnesota on December 1 as part of Operation Metro Surge. The DHS says it is targeting criminal activity among immigrants in the state and has deployed over 2,000 ICE agents across Minnesota.

Residents of Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul have been protesting since the federal immigration agents arrived. Those demonstrations grew more intense after the first fatal shooting on January 7. In that incident, ICE agents shot and killed Renee Good, 37, as she tried to drive away in a car.

Here’s how business and tech leaders are reacting to the latest violence.

CEOs of major Minnesota-based companies

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce distributed a letter on Sunday signed by more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies.

Among the signatories were Target CEO Michael Fiddelke, 3M CEO William Brown, Allianz Life Insurance Company CEO Jasmine Jirele, Cargill CEO Brian Sikes, General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening, and UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley, among many others.

The letter called for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” and for state, local, and federal officials to “work together to find real solutions.”

“In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state, and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future,” the letter says.

Bill Ackman

The hedge-fund billionaire called for calm in an X post on Saturday, lamenting that the United States had reached a point where “there are only two sides to every issue and every incident.”

“Individuals are ‘convicted’ of serious crimes in the headlines, by politicians appealing to their base, and ultimately in the minds of the public, or they are exonerated, before all of the facts are in and a detailed investigation has been completed,” He wrote. “This is not good for America.”

Just two hours later, in another post on X, Ackman laid the blame on Minnesota’s state government.

“It is almost as if the governor of Minnesota called for protesters to intervene in ICE enforcements in an incendiary manner,” he said, tagging Walz. “Inciting the people to rise up against law enforcement is guaranteed to end badly, and now we have seen the tragic consequences.”

Reid Hoffman

Like Ackman, billionaire LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman is perpetually online, posting frequently on social media. He has been largely quiet this weekend, though he has reposted comments from other people, including one that called ICE “out of control.”

In another post that Hoffman amplified, an X user called out “chronically online tech leaders” for suddenly falling quiet. Another X user called on business and tech leaders to use their platform to stand up to the Trump administration and its immigration enforcement tactics, to which Hoffman replied, “It’s time for all Americans to do so.”

James Dyett

James Dyett, head of global business at OpenAI, also called on leaders in the tech and business communities to use their influence to criticize the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

“There is far more outrage from tech leaders over a wealth tax than masked ICE agents terrorizing communities and executing civilians in the streets,” Dyer wrote on X. “Tells you what you need to know about the values of our industry.”

Jeff Dean

Jeff Dean, Google DeepMind’s chief scientist, wrote in response to a video of the shooting circulating on X: “This is absolutely shameful.”

“Agents of a federal agency unnecessarily escalating, and then executing a defenseless citizen whose offense appears to be using his cellphone camera,” he wrote. “Every person, regardless of political affiliation, should be denouncing this.”

Minneapolis police confirmed that Pretti, who was filming ICE agents when they wrestled him to the ground, was legally carrying a gun.

Border Patrol officials said Pretti had threatened them with the gun, but multiple videos of the incident show that agents had already disarmed and subdued Pretti when he was shot.

Jason Calacanis

Jason Calacanis, a prominent investor and entrepreneur who is these days perhaps most known as one of the hosts of the popular “All-In” podcast, blamed the country’s political leaders in a post on X on Sunday.

“Once again, I will remind everyone that our leaders are failing us,” he wrote. “True leadership would be to calm this situation down by telling these non-peaceful protesters to stay home while recalling these inadequately-trained agents.”

He later posted that “all of this violence” could be avoided by fining businesses that hire immigrants who are not in the country legally.

Cristina Cordova

Cristina Cordova, the chief operating officer at Linear, a product management software company, called the incident “indefensible” in a post on X.

“The victim’s legally owned handgun was removed from the scene, and then ICE agents shot him multiple times. It’s far from law enforcement — it’s just murder,” she wrote.

“Those who defend this don’t care about law or order. It’s about money, power, and protecting an executive branch that’s already been bought and paid for.”

• A huge winter storm has hit the US this weekend, bringing heavy snow and ice to millions.
• The storm is expected to spread more than 2,000 miles from New Mexico to Maine.
• Here’s where the storm is set to hit hardest.

A massive winter storm is battering the US this weekend, bringing heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain to millions of Americans.

The storm, which is set to stretch over 2,000 miles from New Mexico to Maine, hit the south-central US on Friday night and is now pummeling the Northeast.

As snowfall picked up in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced schools would operate remotely on Monday due to the weather.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had previously announced that “all state employees” were also authorized to work remotely to start the week.

“I encourage other employers to do the same, just to keep people off the roads and think about this,” she said.

Here’s where else the storm is set to hit.

Heavy snow is continuing to fall across large parts of the US on Sunday morning, but it is expected to concentrate in eastern regions by the evening.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has predicted that more than 12 inches could fall across the Ohio Valley, the northern mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast on Sunday, with almost double that amount possible in parts of New England and the inner Northeast.

The agency said power outages, tree damage, and dangerous travel conditions are also likely across parts of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic due to freezing rain and lingering icing.

Major cities in the weather system’s path include Atlanta, Charlotte, Richmond, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

Some of the worst-hit states so far include Arkansas, where some areas recorded around seven inches of snowfall through Friday night into Saturday.

The NWS said the state had so far experienced “wave one” of the storm, with a second wave due to hit overnight into Sunday.

Oklahoma, which saw several inches of snow on Friday night, was also bracing for a second round of snow on Sunday.

Speaking to Fox News on Saturday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said the state could handle the snow and that he was more concerned about power outages.

More than 900,000 customers from New Mexico to Virginia are without power as of Sunday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

Moving forward, the NWS said heavy snowfall is likely to lead to “widespread travel disruptions and closures” that could last several days.

Travel has already been hit hard this weekend, with airlines canceling thousands of flights across Saturday and Sunday.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International are the worst-affected airports on Sunday, per flight-tracking site FlightAware.

Many airlines are waiving rebooking fees for flights to and from affected regions.

• A Democratic congressional report criticizes the Department of Veterans Affairs for healthcare cuts.
• The VA saw a decrease of thousands of workers in 2025, impacting mental health and appointment access, the report says.
• A VA spokesperson called the report “political theater” and rejected its criticisms.

A scathing report released this week by Democratic congressional staff sharply criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs, accusing the agency of reducing its healthcare capacity after its workforce shrank by tens of thousands of jobs in the past fiscal year.

The report, issued by Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats, argues that the sweeping overhaul of the VA has weakened its ability to deliver care, a criticism the department firmly rejected in an email to Business Insider.

The VA workforce decreased by more than 40,000 employees in fiscal year 2025, marking the department’s first net workforce decline in years, the report said; early planned cuts targeted over 80,000 jobs. Nearly 90% of those staffing losses, it continued, came from healthcare roles, including physicians, nurses, mental health providers, and appointment schedulers.

VA spokesman Peter Kasperowicz disputed the report’s findings, telling Business Insider post-publication that the decrease in the size of the workforce was roughly 30,000 and came from “voluntary early retirement and deferred resignation.”

Democratic staffers attribute the workforce cuts to last year’s dramatic DOGE-driven actions — a federal hiring freeze, firings of probationary employees, deferred resignation and early retirement programs, and new staffing caps that limited the department’s ability to backfill vacancies. The report maintains that those changes accelerated departures among clinicians and support staff.

“In a typical year, VA’s workforce gains a net of at least 10,000 employees,” the report said, “Under the first year of Trump, Collins, and Musk, the workforce has experienced a net loss three times that number,” it added, referring to Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk.

The congressional report brought up the issue of veteran trust in the VA. Veteran trust in the VA exceeded 80% in 2024, according to the report, a marked increase over the preceding decade. More veterans than ever had begun using VA healthcare for their needs, the report added. The system had managed to decrease wait times after years of criticism from veterans — in 2016, some veterans were waiting over 100 days to see a medical provider. That same year, veterans reported trust in the VA was just 25%.

Kasperowicz told Business Insider that veteran trust in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 was 81.8%.

The congressional report includes internal data showing net losses among medical providers and administrators and insight from veterans.

“Appointments are often canceled or rebooked with little to no notice,” one Maryland veteran said, per the report. Others warned that an already strained civilian health system, particularly for mental health care, cannot easily absorb displaced veterans as the US continues to grapple with a shortage of mental health providers in many areas.

“We desperately need more investment in the VA,” another veteran said. “Too many people depend on it here.” In 2024, the VA oversaw over 127.5 million healthcare appointments and saw the highest number of female veterans enrolling for care.

Cuts have had tangible effects on care delivery, the report said. Wait times for new mental health appointments average 35 days, and in many states over 40 days, more than double the VA’s threshold, it said. The report also cites facility closures, canceled therapy programs, and new limits on one-on-one mental health sessions tied to staffing shortages.

Kasperowicz disputed those assessments, telling Business Insider that as of mid-December, average wait times were 5.7 days for established patients and 18.7 days for new patients.

Mental health care has been particularly affected, the report says. At one VA outpatient clinic in California, seven of twelve mental health providers left the department, citing return-to-office mandates, resulting in wait times for new patients at that facility reaching more than 120 days.

Beyond staffing, the report says nearly 16,000 VA contracts were either canceled or allowed to expire, affecting services ranging from radiology and disability exams to suicide prevention programs. The VA overstated the financial savings from those cancellations, the report says, and has failed to provide Congress with a full accounting of the affected contracts.

Kasperowicz told Business Insider that the contract eliminations “will allow VA to redirect billions of dollars back toward health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries.”

VA leadership has previously said staffing and contract changes are intended to improve efficiency and accountability and has disputed claims that care has been harmed. The report counters those assertions and argues that the changes reflect a shift away from capacity-building at a moment when veteran demand remains high.

The congressional report also raises concerns about research breakdowns. “Due to the Trump hiring freeze, essential researchers whose terms were ending were shown the door and forced to abandon lifesaving work, and their positions were unable to be backfilled,” the report said. “These actions directly damaged veterans’ access to cutting-edge treatments and clinical trials, including cancer trials.”

In a pre-publication response to Business’ Insider’s query regarding the report from Senate Democrats, Kasperowicz called the congressional report on the VA “political theater” and pointed to 16 VA press releases detailing improvement for veterans under President Donald Trump. Those improvements, Kasperowicz said, include opening new clinics, a decrease in benefit backlogs, terminating employee union contracts, and ending DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives.

Update: January 25, 2026 — This article has been updated with additional information provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs challenging the report from Democrats on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.

• I buy duplicates so my kids don’t live out of bags between homes.
• Small comforts like shampoo and perfume help ease switch-day stress.
• Making transitions easier helps me cope with being apart from my kids.

After my divorce, my kids started living out of bags, going back and forth between my home and their dad’s each week.

It’s been like this for five years, but this school year added something new to the shuffle. My son and daughter, now 11 and 13, suddenly became interested in styling their hair every morning. They wanted specific hair care products and personal care items of their own.

Suddenly, we weren’t just packing clothes, shoes, school bags, and sports equipment; we were also packing hair products, favorite shampoos, perfumes, colognes, and body washes. I love when my home and bathroom smell like my kids’ favorite scents, but practically speaking, it felt ridiculous to schlep all of it back and forth every week.

This winter, I started buying two of the special items they love, making the back-and-forth easier and easing some of the stress that comes with not having small comforts.

I bought duplicates of things they love

I bought duplicate shampoos my daughter loves, one for my house and one for her dad’s. I found a smaller, on-sale bottle of the Replica perfume she’s obsessed with, so she could keep it with her. My son is really into his hair products, and I’ve started stocking up on those, along with the body washes he likes. He wanted a Versace cologne, so I bought a full-size bottle for my home and a travel-size version for him to bring with him.

My kids are also at the age where a random zit can feel like a crisis, so I bought each of them an extra moisturizer to help with blemishes, plus an extra box of pimple patches they can share at their other home. In a way, I hope these products are helpful when I’m not there to offer advice. As a worrier, it brings me relief knowing they have what they need wherever they are.

As a divorced parent, I’ve remained the default for buying clothes, shoes, school supplies, and now personal care items. I pay attention to what makes my kids feel confident. I often ask myself, would I want to go a full week without my favorite shampoo or hair product? Knowing they have the things they love, even in smaller or travel-size versions, makes me feel better no matter whose week it is.

Some things are too expensive, though

Of course, not everything can be duplicated. My son has one pair of Apple headphones that goes back and forth. My daughter’s iPad travels with her. They each have a phone. The clothes they love are packed into reusable bags every week, along with three or four pairs of shoes. In cooler months, sweaters and jackets get added to the pile.

Packing up their lives is exhausting. Sometimes I pack for them even though they’re capable, because I understand the emotional weight of the divorced-kid routine. I wouldn’t want to do what they do every week: loading bags with clothes, shoes, sports equipment, backpacks, Chromebooks, and then living out of them.

I could coordinate more with their dad or create shared shopping lists, but our relationship didn’t end well, and I’d rather limit contact. What matters most is that my kids have what they need without worry.

Once the car is loaded, I always tell them I’ll see them soon. We share a moment, maybe a joke, a memory, a compliment, or something to look forward to. Watching the other door close always hurts. My love for them rises straight to my eyes. I take a deep breath as I walk back to my car. I miss them immediately, but knowing they have the things that make them feel good while we’re apart warms my heart.

• Ruth Davis is a 39-year-old mom who moved two hours away from her family in 2019 for work.
• Leaving her dad was harder than she expected.
• Although Ruth doesn’t regret her move, she wouldn’t advise her daughter to make the same one.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ruth Davis, a Creative Director in LA. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2019, I relocated with my 12-year-old daughter and fiancé to Los Angeles, which is two hours away from the “family village” where I had grown up.

All my family — siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents — all lived within 15 minutes of each other. I knew it was going to be a hard move for our nuclear family unit, but I was convinced LA was the right place for us to be.

I didn’t fully understand the impact it would have on me.

My dad is my everything

It was my dad whom I immediately felt I had lost.

Before we moved, my dad was everything to me. He and my mom had split when I was young, so my dad had full custody. It was just the two of us all the time.

When I had my daughter, my dad moved in with us and was there to help with all the practical aspects of raising a child. But he was also just there as emotional support for me. He made me complete.

After we moved, we only saw him once a month, when he’d take the train to visit us. I missed him and felt overwhelmed without him.

In August 2025, I was grieving the loss of two family members, feeling overwhelmed with sadness, but also with life in general. I remember sitting on my bed, losing it, crying.

I called him, crying

My daughter was knocking on the door, asking me when we were leaving the house — we were going out for the day. I snapped at her. I couldn’t leave the bed. I wanted to show up for her in that moment, but couldn’t.

In that moment, I felt like a failure compared to my dad. He had lived through so much grief and so many hard times, and yet I never knew because he managed to hold everything together.

All I could think to do was to call my dad, crying as he answered. He listened to me and then told me he would call me right back.

“Everything is going to be OK,” he said before hanging up. Dad has never been a “words” person.

Not too long after, he called back and told me he had been to the train station to buy a train ticket to come visit the next day.

Knowing he was coming felt like a double-edged sword. I felt incredibly lucky to have a dad who would come and see me at the drop of a hat, but I also felt self-doubt because my elderly dad could get it together, but I couldn’t.

The next morning, when I knew my dad was on the train, bound for my house, I was certain everything would be OK. My dad was coming. With him, life feels normal and complete.

I won’t advise my daughter to move away

I don’t regret the wonderful changes the move afforded me and the position in life it put my nuclear family and me in. But had I known not seeing my dad every day would wreck me as it has, I don’t know if I would have done it the same way.

I had bought into the modern idea that decisions should always be made with the nuclear family in mind, but the distance from him made me realize how much I emotionally value my dad in ways I didn’t think imaginable.

Knowing what I know now, I would never advise my daughter to move away from her village, even if it means she’ll move closer to a partner’s village, as I did. I think as a mother, I did her a disservice by moving her away from my family, her tight-knit community.

• Thousands of flights are canceled this weekend as the US braces for a major winter storm.
• The storm is set to stretch over 2,000 miles from New Mexico to Maine.
• Airlines must refund canceled flights. Some offer meals or overnight hotel accommodations.

US airlines are canceling thousands of flights and expanding travel waivers this weekend as Americans brace for a major winter storm.

Heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain are expected to threaten almost 180 million people across the country, the National Weather Service warned, with the storm set to stretch over 2,000 miles from New Mexico to Maine.

The NWS said in an update early Saturday that much of the south-central US was already feeling the effects of the storm, which it warned would continue to move eastward through Sunday.

Major metro areas in the weather system’s projected path include Dallas, Austin, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

Cirium, an aviation analytics company, said flight cancellations are increasing across the country as Winter Storm Fern arrives. Major US airlines have so far canceled over 2,400 flights on Saturday and 4,600 flights on Sunday.

American Airlines, which had the most scheduled flights on Saturday and Sunday, now has the most cancellations, according to Cirium.

Delta Air Lines said Thursday that it was canceling flights at airports in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as it prepared for the storm. On Saturday, the airline said it canceled flights along the East Coast, including Atlanta, Boston, and New York City.

The airline said it was also adjusting staffing levels, including deploying cold-weather specialists from northern hubs to support deicing and ground operations at airports such as Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville, Knoxville, and Nashville.

“We encourage customers in affected areas to move their flights at no charge to before or after the storm,” Delta added in a post on social media.

American Airlines has said it is waiving rebooking fees for travelers flying to or from eligible airports on select dates.

The carrier said late Friday that it would also be adding extra flights across several markets in an effort to help customers reach their destinations.

Other major carriers have also rolled out travel waivers. Southwest Airlines is offering free rebooking at 46 airports for travel between January 23 and January 26, United Airlines has dropped rebooking fees at 35 airports for customers traveling from January 24 to January 26, and JetBlue is waiving fees for travelers at 15 affected airports over the same period.

Here is the best advice for what to do if your flight is disrupted.

1. Know your rights as an airline passenger in the US

According to the Department of Transportation, there is no law requiring US airlines to compensate passengers for disruptions caused by uncontrollable events, such as weather. That also includes air traffic control delays.

The only rule carriers must follow is to refund customers for cancellations, even for non-controllable events. And that does not mean travel credits or vouchers — it must be cash, and includes any add-ons, such as bags or seats.

But carriers do not owe meals, hotel rooms, or financial compensation for storm-related cancellations or delays — because the cause is the weather, not the airline.

Passengers are still entitled to a refund or rebooking on the same airline, but carriers are not required to provide additional accommodations or rebook on another airline.

If you choose to travel but your flight is delayed or canceled, ask the airline for the reason — ideally in writing — so you know what you’re entitled to. Airlines have different policies for disruptions they control, like crew or maintenance issues.

The DoT’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard — launched in 2022 — shows what the 10 largest US airlines promise in those cases, including rebookings, meal vouchers, and hotel accommodations.

2. Monitor your airline’s app for rebooking options

When a flight delay or cancellation is announced, expect people to flock to the nearest customer service line for assistance, and for the phone lines to clog.

Wait times can be painfully long, and the best alternatives will likely go quickly. However, some airlines offer the option to rebook on their website or mobile app and waive any fees, making it sometimes easier to make changes online than in person.

If all available options are exhausted, have a plan B, such as waiting to speak with a live agent, contacting the airline through social media, or booking a hotel for the night.

Direct messaging on Facebook or Twitter can actually serve as a virtual placeholder, and you may hear back via chat before speaking to a live agent.

Here are the phone numbers for each airline:

• Alaska: 1-800-252-7522 or text 82008
• Allegiant: 1-702-505-8888
• American: 1-800-433-7300
• Avelo: 1-346-616-9500
• Breeze: No phone number to call, but you can text the airline at 501-273-3931. If you call this number, it’ll tell you different ways to contact Breeze, like via email or Facebook Messenger.
• Delta: 1-800-221-1212
• Frontier: No phone number. The best way to contact Frontier is via online chat or email.
• JetBlue: 1-800-538-2583
• Southwest: 1-800-435-9792
• Spirit: 1-855-728-3555
• Sun Country: 1-651-905-2737
• United: 1-800-864-8331

3. Ask for a hotel or meal voucher

For controllable delays or cancellations that result in a customer waiting at least three hours for a new flight or requiring an overnight stay, several airlines will offer meal or hotel vouchers. 

Carriers offering both are Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines, per the DoT dashboard.

Frontier Airlines is the only carrier that does not offer accommodations in the event of an overnight delay or cancellation, but it will provide a meal voucher.

For US airlines not listed on the dashboard, or in cases where the disruption is uncontrollable (like because of a winter storm), or if the compensation is unclear, simply ask.

It never hurts to request a meal or hotel during flight disruptions, and you might get lucky with a goodwill gesture from the carrier.

4. Check if your credit card company offers travel insurance

Several major banks offer credit cards with travel insurance, such as Chase’s Sapphire Reserve and American Express’ Platinum Card. Both offer trip protection, meaning customers who purchased their flights with those cards can reap the benefits.

For example, during a major storm system, it’s likely many passengers will end up stranded in random cities across the US.

However, banks with travel insurance included can reimburse cardholders for unexpected expenses outside their control, including hotel, meal, and transportation costs. 

Travel insurance does not apply in all circumstances, like short delays, so be sure to check your policy before making a claim — but it also doesn’t hurt to make the claim anyway, even if the answer is no.

5. Know when to walk away

During the holidays, it’s easy to lose sight of your purpose — seeing friends and family or simply getting away from home for a few days.

However, delays and cancellations are inevitable. Don’t spend all day sitting around waiting — give yourself a cut-off time. Once that moment passes, consider alternative means of getting to your destination, such as driving or taking a bus or train (which may also be covered by travel insurance).

If you are stuck in another city and have no other option but to stay in a hotel or wait at the airport, decide how you want to spend your time and make a plan.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2023 and has been updated.