Within minutes of yesterday's fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis, the country had splintered into two irreconcilable camps — one crying murder, the other terrorism, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.

• Why it matters: In another era, responsible actors might have treated a tragedy like this with restraint and calls for a thorough investigation. In today's hyperpartisan climate, it became an instant Rorschach test.

The left branded the ICE agent a "rogue officer" who executed a U.S. citizen during a federal immigration crackdown that never should have happened in the first place.

• The right labeled the slain driver as a "domestic terrorist" and framed the shooting as a clear-cut case of self-defense amid an assault on law enforcement.

The same video footage, watched by millions of Americans, fueled both narratives. Elected officials only accelerated the rush to judgment.

• President Trump accused 37-year-old Renee Good of "violently, willfully, and viciously" running over an ICE officer, and said "it's hard to believe" the officer survived.
• Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called a similar account by the Department of Homeland Security "bullsh*t," and told ICE to "get the f*ck out of Minneapolis."

🖼️ The big picture: With thousands of federal agents on the ground in Minneapolis — and millions of Americans enraged by what they think they saw — the city is at risk of becoming a hub of civil unrest.

• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — who led the state during the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020 — has issued a "warning order" to prepare the Minnesota National Guard for possible deployment.

He urged protesters to remain peaceful and "not take the bait," warning that Trump would love nothing more than to deploy federal troops and invoke the Insurrection Act.

👀 What we know: The shooting took place before 10 a.m. local time in a chaotic sequence in a snowy residential neighborhood in south Minneapolis, Axios Twin Cities' Kyle Stokes writes.

• A witness shared with Axios video of the incident, filmed at a distance, in which gunshots are audible after a dark SUV attempts to drive past a gathering of ICE agents and vehicles.
• Video from a different angle, obtained by the Minnesota Reformer, shows agents approaching the SUV after it briefly stopped in the middle of the roadway.

An eyewitness told MPR News that ICE officers on the scene gave mixed orders to the motorist. One told her to drive off; another demanded she get out of the car.

• Good, the woman who was killed, was not the target of ICE enforcement. Other witnesses and activists called her an "ICE observer."

An Instagram account that appears to belong to Good describes her as a "poet and writer and wife and mom and sh*tty guitar strummer from Colorado; experiencing Minneapolis, MN." (Minnesota Star Tribune)

• Go deeper: Fatal shooting raises tensions in Minneapolis ... More on Renee Good ... Get Axios Twin Cities.

President Trump is moving to eject America's adversaries from the Western Hemisphere, seizing on the momentum of an extraordinary show of force in Venezuela, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.

• Why it matters: With allies and adversaries still reeling from the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, Trump is seeking to cement a new world order through strict enforcement of his "Donroe Doctrine."

MAGA's modern take on the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine casts the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence that will not tolerate encroachment by rival great powers.

• If they weren't already, adversaries including Russia, China and Iran — and even NATO ally Denmark, as it relates to control of Greenland — are now officially on notice.

🔎 Zoom in: The Coast Guard's seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic yesterday offered an early glimpse of what enforcing the Donroe Doctrine looks like in practice.

• The Trump administration alleges that the vessel was violating U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil. Moscow denounced the seizure as "outright piracy."
• Russian naval assets, including a submarine, were operating nearby during the interdiction — making it one of the most direct U.S. confrontations with Russian forces in years.

🔭 Zoom out: The seizure underscores how Trump's Venezuela intervention has struck at a hub of foreign influence built by U.S. adversaries.

• A senior Chinese envoy met with Maduro in Caracas the night before the U.S. raid, highlighting how closely Beijing had aligned itself with Venezuela's fallen strongman.

The Trump administration is now pressing Venezuela's interim government to expel intelligence officers from Russia, China, Iran and Cuba, aiming to dismantle the foreign security networks that helped prop up Maduro's rule.

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President Trump's proposal yesterday to increase the Pentagon's budget to $1.5 trillion for 2027 would push defense spending to its highest levels since the end of the Cold War, Axios' Colin Demarest writes.

• Why it matters: Trump is betting on Cold War-scale spending to build a "dream military" for a new era of great-power competition.

Trump's proposal easily clears previous defense budgets by hundreds of billions of dollars, a move that will likely satisfy congressional hawks.

• It would be the largest Pentagon budget as a share of GDP since 1990, the year after the Berlin Wall fell.
• Last month, Congress passed a $900 billion defense bill for this fiscal year.

⚓ Zoom in: The blueprint — if it's even that detailed — coincides with two brand-name initiatives now underway:

1. Golden Dome, a hemispheric missile shield.
2. Golden Fleet, a revamping of warships (including one named after Trump) and the yards that build them.

Get Axios Future of Defense.

A state-by-state health report card, out today from the United Health Foundation, finds an array of encouraging signs for America: Rates for premature death, drug deaths, firearm deaths and homicides all fell. Rates of cancer screenings, physical activity and volunteerism all increased.

• But rates of e-cigarette use and multiple chronic conditions increased. Homelessness and unemployment — socioeconomic factors that help determine the nation's health — rose.

Why it matters: America's Health Rankings — from the United Health Foundation, established by UnitedHealth Group — synthesize 99 measures of health and well-being, drawn from 31 data sources, to produce a "comprehensive portrait of health at both the national and state levels."

The five healthiest states, based on social and economic factors, physical environment, clinical care, behaviors and health outcomes: 1. New Hampshire ... 2. Massachusetts ... 3. Vermont ... 4. Connecticut ... 5. Utah.

• The least healthy states: 46. West Virginia ... 47. Alabama ... 48. Mississippi ... 49. Arkansas ... 50. Louisiana.

Explore the data ... 2-page report cards for 50 states + D.C. ... PDF of report.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long-awaited rewrite of federal nutrition guidelines — released yesterday with a new, inverted food pyramid — says Americans should eat fewer packaged foods and more protein and full-fat dairy, Axios' Maya Goldman writes.

• Why it matters: The new guidelines, closely watched by the food and beverage industries, are the strongest leverage RFK Jr. has over what Americans eat.

What's inside: The guidelines emphasize prioritizing protein at every meal and limiting added sugars.

• Balanced diets should include a variety of protein, including red meat, eggs, and plant-based items like beans and soy.
• Americans should consume less alcohol, without setting limits.
• Consumption of artificial flavorings, dyes and preservatives should be restricted.

Keep reading ... Official website ... Get Axios Vitals.

President Trump took his embrace of command capitalism to a new level with a series of moves in recent days dictating how companies spend their money, Axios' Madison Mills writes:

1. 🏠 Trump surprised Wall Street by saying he's "taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes," linking the move to housing affordability.
2. 🎖️ He targeted defense companies and said big stock buybacks and dividends will "no longer be tolerated." He also said defense executives shouldn't earn above $5 million annually.
3. 🛢️ Trump insisted oil companies were ready to invest billions of dollars in Venezuela's energy infrastructure, which those companies have yet to verify.

Go deeper with Axios Markets.

Utah regulators are allowing AI to prescribe some drugs — the first prescriptions in the nation to be filled by a bot rather than a doctor, Axios Salt Lake City's Erin Alberty writes.

• Why it matters: Proponents say AI will save patients money and time, especially in rural areas, where physicians are few and far between.

State officials launched the pilot program last month via New York-based tech startup Doctronic, which uses AI to refill certain prescriptions for patients with chronic conditions.

• 190 commonly prescribed drugs are eligible. Some medications, such as painkillers, injectables and ADHD drugs, are excluded.

💡 How it works ... Get Axios Local: Newsletters in 34 cities.

The nonprofit that manages Washington's historic public golf courses is preparing for a potential legal battle against President Trump to block a federal takeover, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil writes in his "Town Talker" column.

• Why it matters: Trump wants to overhaul the courses to bring a big pro event like the Ryder Cup to Washington.

The National Links Trust retained Williams & Connolly — a storied D.C. firm that stood up to Trump's campaign against Big Law last year — to defend the group, which manages three courses on federal land.

• Sources told The Wall Street Journal the president wants golf course architect Tom Fazio to redesign East Potomac, with a potential new name: "Washington National Golf Course."

💰 Friction point: Many locals worry that a Trump-grade, upscale renovation would defeat the purpose of affordable municipal golf courses.

• Keep reading ... The backstory.