EXCLUSIVE: Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate Patrick Knight slammed Gov. Tim Walz and other leading Democrats, saying that the state is «cratering» under their leadership as they treat the law like a «buffet.»

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Knight criticized the sanctuary policies in his state, saying, «The law is not a buffet table where you just pick and choose which laws you’re going to enforce today and which laws you’re going to ignore.»

«The rule of law matters,» he said.  

A Marine veteran of 20 years and a former manufacturing CEO, Knight is one of nearly a dozen candidates running for the Republican nomination to succeed Walz in the Minnesota governor’s mansion.

TIM WALZ ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘ORGANIZED BRUTALITY’ IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN, SAYS ICE TACTICS ARE ‘UN-AMERICAN’

His decision to run comes as the state is reeling from a recently exposed massive fraud scandal, involving state programs, that is believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. The fraud crisis, which saw heavy involvement from Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community, prompted a federal immigration crackdown that has in turn sparked widespread unrest. Two anti-ICE activists, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, have been killed by ICE officers during confrontations with law enforcement.

Addressing these deaths, Knight said, «The loss of any life is tragic, and there should be a full and transparent investigation with both the state and the federal government participating and let the facts drive the accountability.»

Knight went on to say that for too long the people of Minnesota have been «the ones picking up the pieces» left by irresponsible state and local leadership.

«Things could have been easier as they are in other states,» he said. «When the federal government, in a reasonable manner, enforces immigration law and the city and state cooperate, that’s when it works. It’s when egos get involved and political theatrics get involved where it spins out of control.»

DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT, THREATENING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Knight served in the Marines for over 20 years, including time as a judge advocate and later as an infantry officer deployed to the Middle East. He retired in 2006 as a lieutenant colonel. (Patrick Knight for Governor Campaign)

«When Governor Walz testified before Congress, he stated openly that he would, the state would cooperate with ICE. And then, two weeks later, he is at the University of Minnesota Law School graduation where he is calling ICE the ‘modern day Gestapo.’»

Connecting this to a broader pattern of Walz and other Minnesota politicians prioritizing politics over the people, saying, «Minnesota is cratering on the fundamentals.»

«We’re just going on the wrong way on every, not just some, every fundamental. Crime, education, economy, affordability, not to mention good governance,» he said. «For the past six years, we’ve just been the center of political theater. We just can’t escape it, and I think Minnesotans are tired of it, I certainly am, and we need to just focus on fixing the basics, the fundamentals.»

Knight frames his platform around a 5-point plan he jokingly titled the «big, beautiful, basic, boring» plan that focuses on the economy, affordability, education, rule of law and building a smaller, more efficient state government.

LEAVITT SAYS TRUMP SPOKE TO WALZ, DEMANDS MINNESOTA ‘WORK TOGETHER PEACEFULLY’ WITH ICE: ‘LET COPS BE COPS’

A man walks in front of the Minnesota State Capitol building at sunset in St. Paul, Minnesota.  (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

His argument is that the North Star State has lost its way and now needs to move away from the excitement of the current political climate to focus on the basics and ending the fraud.

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«It’s a cultural issue that needs to be changed and it starts at the top.»

«I say it’s a simple fix,» Knight concluded. «Get a strong, competent governor.»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Sunday that a new round of talks involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia will take place this week, as Kyiv presses for progress toward ending the war while Moscow continues strikes across the country.

Writing on X, Zelenskyy said the meetings are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Abu Dhabi.

«Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war,» Zelenskyy wrote.

The announcement comes as Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy and logistics infrastructure, worsening conditions for civilians as winter temperatures plunge.

US ACCUSES RUSSIA OF ‘DANGEROUS AND INEXPLICABLE ESCALATION’ IN UKRAINE WAR DURING PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

Ukrainian officials say Moscow has repeatedly targeted power grids, heating and water systems throughout the nearly four-year war, a campaign Kyiv has described as an effort to use winter conditions as a weapon against the civilian population.

An elderly man looks out from his damaged balcony after a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

Authorities warned that Ukraine is facing one of its coldest stretches of the season, with temperatures in some areas expected to fall as low as minus-22 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

President Donald Trump said late last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to temporarily halt strikes on Kyiv and other cities amid the extreme cold.

ZELENSKYY SAYS US SECURITY GUARANTEES DOCUMENT IS ‘100% READY’ FOR SIGNING

«I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this … extraordinary cold,» Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, adding that Putin had «agreed to that.»

The White House has not provided details on the timing or scope of the pause, and Ukrainian officials have expressed skepticism about Russia’s intentions.

Zelenskyy said Thursday that key obstacles to a peace agreement remain unresolved, including the future of occupied Ukrainian territory and Moscow’s demands for land it has not captured.

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by an overnight Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, January 30, 2026.  (Reuters)

Russia struck Ukrainian energy facilities in several regions on Thursday, Zelenskyy said, though he noted that no such strikes occurred overnight. He added that Russian drones and missiles have continued to hit residential areas and logistics hubs across Ukraine.

Trump has described Putin’s acceptance of a pause as a concession, but Zelenskyy questioned whether Moscow is genuinely interested in ending the war as the invasion approaches its fourth anniversary on Feb. 24.

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«I do not believe that Russia wants to end the war. There is a great deal of evidence to the contrary,» Zelenskyy said Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

El papa León XIV pidió este domingo a Cuba y Estados Unidos que mantengan “un diálogo sincero y eficaz para evitar la violencia y cualquier acción que pueda aumentar el sufrimiento del pueblo cubano”, después del rezo del ángelus en la Plaza de San Pedro.

“He recibido con gran preocupación noticias de aumento de tensiones entre Cuba y Estados Unidos, dos países vecinos, y me uno al mensaje de los obispos cubanos para promover el diálogo”, dijo el pontífice estadounidense, asomado a la ventana de su estudio en el palacio apostólico.

León XIV también pidió que Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre, la patrona de Cuba, “proteja y asista a todos los hijos de esta amada tierra”.

Sus palabras se dirigen a un escenario de creciente tensión entre Washington y La Habana, tras que el presidente Donald Trump firmó el jueves una orden ejecutiva que establece que Cuba “constituye una amenaza inusual y extraordinaria para la seguridad nacional y la política exterior” de Estados Unidos.

La nueva medida llega tras el corte del suministro de crudo venezolano a La Habana, anunciado tras la detención del dictador Nicolás Maduro en una intervención militar estadounidense el pasado 3 de enero. Trump considera que bloquear el suministro de petróleo a la isla provocará un cambio de régimen en un país ya desgastado por una crisis económica, energética y social.

El papa se sumó al llamado que un día antes realizó la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Cuba (COCC), que expresó “su profunda preocupación” ante lo que consideró un “agravamiento” de la situación económica y social en el país.

La conferencia exhortó a “buscar caminos de diálogo y cambios estructurales”, y señaló que “Cuba necesita cambios y son cada vez más urgentes, pero no necesita para nada más angustias ni dolor”, en referencia a una posible paralización del suministro de petróleo tras la orden de Trump.

“Queremos y anhelamos una Cuba renovada, próspera y feliz, pero sin aumentar el sufrimiento de los pobres, de los ancianos, de los enfermos, de los niños cubanos”, agregó el mensaje de los obispos católicos cubanos.

El llamado del papa se enmarca en una serie de declaraciones que realizó este domingo tras el rezo del ángelus, en las que también abordó otros conflictos y situaciones de crisis en el mundo.

León XIV afirmó que las víctimas civiles en acciones armadas “violan abiertamente la moral y la ley”, y pidió que se ponga fin a “esta intolerable injusticia”. Sus comentarios coincidieron con la celebración en Italia del “Día Nacional en Memoria de las Víctimas Civiles de Guerras y Conflictos en el Mundo”.

El pontífice también compartió sus oraciones por las víctimas de un deslizamiento de tierra en una mina en Kivu del Norte, en la República Democrática del Congo, y por los fallecidos y los que sufren por las tormentas que han azotado Portugal y el sur de Italia en los últimos días. No olvidó a la población de Mozambique, gravemente afectada por inundaciones que han provocado cientos de miles de desplazados desde octubre, según la ONU.

Además, León XIV instó a una tregua olímpica con motivo de los Juegos Olímpicos de invierno de Milán-Cortina, que darán inicio el próximo viernes en Italia. “Estos grandes eventos deportivos constituyen un fuerte mensaje de fraternidad y reavivan la esperanza de un mundo en paz, que es también el sentido de la tregua olímpica”, indicó el papa, y deseo que “todos aquellos que tienen en el corazón la paz y ocupan puestos de autoridad sepan aprovechar esta ocasión para realizar gestos concretos de distensión y diálogo”.

(Con información de EFE)