CNN

By Kaitlan Collins, Hannah Rabinowitz, Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — The Justice Department is investigating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over possible obstruction of federal law enforcement, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

A person familiar with the matter told CNN that a grand jury has issued subpoenas for both men as part of the investigation. But Walz’s office had not received any notice as of Friday evening, according to another source familiar with the matter. It was not immediately clear when Frey and Walz would receive the subpoenas.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

President Donald Trump and his administration have been critical of state and local officials’ response to unrest in Minnesota over the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, with the president suggesting he might invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to the city to quell any violence.

The investigation, though, represents an escalation of the rhetoric, threatening possible criminal consequences for the two Democratic leaders.

Both Walz and Frey have openly rebuked the surge of federal activity in Minneapolis, with Frey delivering a public message for federal agents to “get the f**k out of Minneapolis.”

Walz did not confirm the investigation to CNN but accused the federal government of “weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents,” which he called a “dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday blamed the two Democratic officials for the unrest in their state and vowed to take action against them.

“Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement,” Blanche said in a post on X. “It’s disgusting. Walz and Frey – I’m focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It’s a promise.”

Blanche visited Minneapolis on Friday alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, according to a post on Patel’s X account.

Patel wrote that his team was “working 24/7 here cracking down on violent rioters and investigating the funding networks supporting the criminal actors with multiple arrests already.”

CNN has reached out to Frey’s office for comment.

The investigation was first reported by CBS and affiliate WCCO.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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CNN

By Andi Babineau, Nick Watt, CNN

(CNN) — Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, is in a Utah court Friday afternoon for what could be a consequential hearing in the case.

Robinson’s defense attorneys allege a conflict of interest exists at the Utah County Attorney’s Office and are arguing to have the entire office disqualified from prosecuting the case – the latest development on the road to a state trial for the killing of the prominent conservative activist.

Robinson, dressed in a light blue button up shirt and tie, appeared calm as his attorney began Friday’s hearing by asking the judge to designate the state Attorney General to litigate the motion on the conflict of interest instead of the attorney’s office. The court is now in recess as Judge Tony Graf weighs the next move.

The defense team first addressed the potential conflict of interest during an October 24 hearing that was at the time sealed to the public: An attorney’s 18-year-old child was at the September 10 Utah Valley University event where Kirk was shot, according to court documents.

“A family member of one of the attorneys was present at the incident,” defense attorney Richard Novak told the court, according to a redacted transcript from the hearing. “Law enforcement were actually deployed to the area with her safety and status in mind.”

The attorney’s name has been redacted from public documents.

The daughter, a student at the university, was about 85 feet from where Kirk was seated, according to the documents.

The county attorney’s office will argue no conflict of interest exists because the attorney’s daughter, referred to as “adult child (AC)” in court documents, “did not see Charlie get shot,” and “did not see anyone [in the crowd or elsewhere] with a gun.”

The attorney’s office won’t be calling the daughter as a witness in the case because “nearly everything [AC] knows about the actual homicide is hearsay,” a document filed by the attorney’s office says. “And because Mr. [Dpty Atty] has no conflict of interest, the County Attorney’s Office also has no conflict of interest requiring disqualification.”

The defense also implies in its motion to disqualify that the attorney’s office’s decision to pursue the death penalty so quickly in the case may have been related to the alleged conflict of interest.

“The rush to seek death in this case evidences strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution, the motion says.

In Utah, prosecutors have 60 days after an arraignment to file notice of intent to pursue the death penalty against a defendant.

The attorney’s office pushed back on that assertion in their response, saying “there is nothing unusual or untoward about filing a death penalty notice before a preliminary hearing.”

The evidence and circumstances of the case “justify the death penalty,” and a delay “would have been unnecessarily unsettling and painful to Charlie Kirk’s loved ones and does not promote justice for anyone,” the court filing said.

Robinson will not be arr

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By Jacqueline Howard, CNN

(CNN) — When President Donald Trump claimed last year that taking Tylenol during pregnancy can be linked with an increased risk of autism, ob-gyn Dr. Nathaniel DeNicola’s office had an influx of questions and confusion – but only for a few days.

“Then, after a week, it had kind of gone away as a hot-button topic,” said DeNicola, based in Newport Beach, California, who helped author the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ guidance on the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy.

At the time, the scientific medical community “was so prompt in its response and so definitive in its assertion of the utility and safety of Tylenol during pregnancy as needed, I don’t think there was any lasting confusion, at least from those who listen to the medical experts,” DeNicola said.

“Patients, I think correctly, are going to their doctors,” he added. “The public seems to have taken the direction from the experts, that they trust their voice on this.”

Chicago-based maternal-fetal medicine physician Dr. Lynn Yee said that fewer of her patients seem worried about Tylenol now than in the fall.

“In September, October, November, there was quite a bit of public concern and attention on this topic, and now, in January, I feel like things are changing and that I have fewer patients asking me about Tylenol or acetaminophen,” said Yee, chief of maternal-fetal medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“I’m really proud of our professional organizations like American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. They’ve done a lot of messaging around the safety of acetaminophen and ‘talk to your doctor,’” she said. “All these trusted organizations have been doing a commendable job of getting the right messages out there, and maybe it’s working.”

Experts stress that autism has many potential causes – including genetics, advanced parental age, and prenatal exposure to air pollution or certain pesticides – and that the science linking it to acetaminophen remains far from settled.

In guidance released after Trump’s claims in September, ACOG reaffirmed that “acetaminophen remains the analgesic and antipyretic of choice during pregnancy. Judicious use at the lowest effective dose for the shortest necessary duration, in consultation with an obstetrician–gynecologist or other obstetric care professional, remains consistent with best practice.”

Acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol and sold under the brand name Tylenol, is widely considered the only safe over-the-counter option for treating pain or fever during pregnancy. Other common medications, such as ibuprofen or Read more