In your briefing today:

📣 A US immigration agent has shot a woman dead in Minneapolis, sparking widespread anger and protests and shining further light on the White House’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The incident took place in the middle of the day and was recorded, in its entirety, by passers-by: the woman was attempting to drive away from ICE agents when she was shot at close range, apparently in the head, three times. The car then crashes. (BBC)

📣 The US seized a tanker in the North Atlantic yesterday, escalating its blockade of Venezuelan oil and incurring the ire of Russia, whose navy watched the operation unfold. It was a further demonstration of increasingly aggressive US tactics against its foes - and, amid talk of US designs on Greenland, evidence of the importance of the North Atlantic in this new cold war. Scottish airports also played a supporting role.

📣 It’s still cold across Scotland and weather warnings remain in place: now the cleanup, and some political finger-pointing, begin.

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📣 A young father died after a 15-hour wait for an ambulance, and to be seen in A&E. Dylan Jones, 28, died at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary ten days after he was admitted, having become unwell at work. During the long wait, his family claim, his spleen ruptured and he had been bleeding internally. (The Daily Record has the exclusive)

📣 There are warnings over the future of Scotland’s national orchestra if more government funding is not forthcoming. (The Scotsman has the exclusive)

📣 SNP ministers are quietly attempting to challenge the Supreme Court ruling on sex, claiming that implementing the ruling would unlawfully trample on the rights of transgender criminals. (The Times has the exclusive (£))

📣 Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has backed Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, and dismissed claims Scottish MPs are looking to revolt as “tittle tattle”. (STV)

📣 Another NHS specialism in crisis: Scotland’s gynaecology waiting lists have soared by 250%, with 66,000 women now waiting for treatment. (The Herald has the exclusive(£))

📣 Storm Goretti moves across the UK today bringing more heavy snow and strong winds, but this time to the south of the country. Goretti is likely to undergo “explosive cyclogenesis” - also known as a “weather bomb”. (BBC)

📣 The US is exiting 66 international organisations - coordinating on issues from counter-terrorism to climate change - as it continues its retreat from global cooperation. (AP)

📣 People who stop taking weight-loss injections regain weight at a pace four times faster than those who abandon traditional weight loss methods, new research has found. (BBC)

⚽️ It was a busy night in the English Premier League: Newcastle scored twice in injury time to win a thriller against Leeds, Manchester United were held by Burnley, and Fulham beat Chelsea. (🎥 See the highlights)

⚽️ Rangers are in pursuit of a new left back: they’ve made a move for Belgian under-21 international Tour Rommens, who plays for Westerlo in the Belgian top flight. (Daily Record)

⚽️ Celtic are close to signing Canadian international Niko Sigur from Hadjuk Split (Scotsman)

⚽️ The inquest has begun after England’s grim Ashes tour came to an end. “This has been my 10th tour covering England in Australia and has been, quite comfortably, the most disappointing,” writes Jonathan Agnew. (BBC)

🗣️Alex Massie reflects on the Angela Constance affair, which has dragged into the New Year. A panel of independent assessors has found the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs had, indeed, broken the ministerial code on two occasions.

She had falsely claimed a child abuse expert agreed with the Scottish Government’s position that there was no need for a Scotland-specific inquiry into grooming gangs. The said expert thought no such thing - quite the opposite, in fact.

Her claims, he says, reflects a broader attitude among Scottish politicians who have “quietly and implicitly asked voters to believe that [grooming gangs] is a Down There problem with no implications for anything Up Here.”

That attitude, in itself, is reason enough for an inquiry, says Massie. (The Times (£))

🗣️Rebecca McQuillan urges Edinburghers, famously fond of moaning about the state of their city, to perk up. Yes, there’s lots to be concerned about - not least the cost of housing, where demand for rented accommodation is through the roof and many people have to live outside the city in order to work there.

But all that is, at least in part, a symptom of success. “Would we really prefer a quiet town that no one visited?” she asks. “No, we really wouldn’t.

“Edinburgh has more than its share of economic spoils, with its tourism, four universities, finance and life sciences sectors, tech companies and the Scottish parliament. Thanks to the world’s largest arts festival, it also has a world-class cultural scene. ‘Stop your whingeing,’ wouldn’t be an unreasonable retort to the negative chatter.” (The Herald (£))

🗣️ The decline of British Airways is a parable for modern Britain, thinks Alexander Larman. His is only the latest broadside against the nation’s flag-carrier airline. But if you’ve sampled its customer service at the gate (“surrender your handbags!”), tried to use its truculent app or despaired at the curious famines in its onboard catering, then he probably speaks for you too.

“Those travelling with the airline are paying a premium cost for a budget service: a state of affairs that has lasted for a considerable time,” writes Harman. “Last year, I flew to Italy with BA and returned on EasyJet. It was telling that the experience on the latter was preferable in every conceivable regard, from the warmth and professionalism of the staff to the extra leg room.” (The Spectator (£))

🗣️ If our national airline is a symbol of what’s going wrong with the country, then our pubs are a symbol of all that’s right, says Christopher Howse. Moreover, “If the pub is the soul of Britain, then it is a rough and ready sort of soul. But then the British are a rough and ready sort of people,” he writes, as part of the Telegraph’s “Save Our Pubs” campaign. (Telegraph - 🎁 gift link)

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