đ TRAGEDY STRIKES 10 MINUTES AGO: One week after Renee Good allegedly tried to run him down before shots were fired, despite desperate medical efforts and nationwide donations, the hospital
In a heartbreaking turn that has plunged the nation deeper into grief and division, officials at Hennepin County Medical Center have confirmed the death of ICE agent Jonathan Ross, the 43-year-old veteran officer at the center of the January 7 fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good. Ross succumbed to complications from severe internal injuries sustained during the chaotic confrontation in south Minneapolis, marking a tragic double loss in an incident already tearing at the fabric of American society.
The announcement came just after 9:00 p.m. local time, following a week of intensive care where Ross fought for his life amid widespread public donations exceeding $500,000 raised through a GoFundMe campaign organized by federal law enforcement unions and supporters. Despite round-the-clock medical interventionâincluding emergency surgery to address massive internal bleeding in his torso, multiple organ support, and experimental treatmentsâdoctors were unable to reverse the damage. A hospital spokesperson issued a brief statement: âWe are devastated to confirm that Agent Jonathan Ross passed away peacefully surrounded by family. Our thoughts are with his loved ones and colleagues during this unimaginable time.â
Rossâs death transforms the narrative surrounding the shooting from a single fatality to a dual tragedy, intensifying debates over accountability, use of force, immigration enforcement, and the human cost of polarized politics.
The Incident: A Routine Enforcement Action Turns Deadly
On the morning of January 7, during âOperation Metro Surgeââa sweeping immigration crackdown in the Twin CitiesâRoss and fellow agents encountered Renee Good, 37, and her partner Becca in their maroon Honda Pilot. The couple, having dropped off their young son at school, stopped near Portland Avenue to observe what they described as support for âneighborsâ targeted in the raids. Bystander videos and Rossâs own cellphone footage (later released by DHS) captured the escalating tension.
Agents approached the vehicle, ordering Good to exit. She responded calmly: âThatâs fine, dude. Iâm not mad at you.â As one agent attempted to open the door, Good reversed briefly before accelerating forward and to the rightâaway from the officers, according to independent video analyses by The New York Times, CNN, and Bellingcat. Ross, positioned near the driverâs side with one arm braced against the SUV, fired three shots through the windshield and open window. Good crashed into a parked car and was pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds to the chest, arm, and head.
Federal officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump, immediately defended Ross, claiming Good had âweaponizedâ her vehicle in an attempt to run him overâan act labeled âdomestic terrorism.â Trump posted on Truth Social: âShe viciously ran over our brave agentâshots fired in self-defense!â However, synchronized footage raised doubts: Ross appeared to walk away unaided immediately after the shots, with no clear evidence of being struck by the vehicle at high speed.
Rossâs Injuries: The Unseen Toll
Initial reports from DHS described Ross as ârecoveringâ after hospital release the same day, but anonymous sources later revealed he suffered severe internal bleeding to the torsoâpossibly from being clipped or dragged briefly by the accelerating SUV. CBS News and USA Today cited officials confirming the injury, though videos showed Ross moving without apparent distress. Skeptics, including use-of-force experts interviewed by the Star Tribune, questioned the severity, noting a bruise or minor impact could qualify as âinternal bleeding,â while others suggested the claim bolstered the self-defense narrative.
By January 10, Ross was readmitted in critical condition. Donations poured in from across the country, with high-profile contributionsâincluding $10,000 from billionaire Bill Ackmanâframing him as a hero defending law and order. Federal unions described him as a â10-year ICE veteran, former Border Patrol agent, and Iraq War combat veteranâ who âfeared for his life and the lives of his team.â Ross had previously been dragged approximately 100 yards by a fleeing vehicle in a June 2025 incident in Minnesota, an event that left him with lingering trauma, according to court records.
Medical experts speculate the January 7 impactâhowever minorâmay have exacerbated prior injuries or caused delayed complications like splenic rupture or aortic damage. Despite aggressive treatment, including blood transfusions and ventilator support, Rossâs condition deteriorated rapidly in the final days.
A Nation in Mourning and Outrage
Rossâs death has elicited polarized reactions. Supporters, including conservative commentators and law enforcement groups, mourn him as a fallen hero sacrificed on the altar of âwoke activismâ and sanctuary policies. President Trump issued a statement: âJonathan Ross was a patriot who gave everything to protect our borders and communities. His death is on the hands of radical left agitators who encourage obstruction and violence against our brave officers.â
Conversely, advocates for Goodâwhose family hired the firm that represented George Floydâview the dual tragedy as evidence of systemic overreach. Becca Good released a statement: âTwo lives lost in senseless violence. Renee was made of sunshine; she stopped to show kindness. No one should die this wayâneither her nor the agent.â Protests in Minneapolis escalated, with vigils blending grief for both victims while demanding independent investigations into Rossâs use of force.
Six federal prosecutors resigned in protest over DOJ prioritiesâfocusing on potential obstruction by Goodâs supporters rather than the shooting itself. No civil rights probe into the killing has opened, unlike the rapid George Floyd investigation in the same city.
Broader Implications: Immigration, Force, and Division
Ross, born around 1983, served in the Indiana National Guard during Iraq (2004-2005), joined Border Patrol in 2007, and transferred to ICE around 2015-2016. As a firearms instructor and Special Response Team member, he embodied the militarized approach to immigration enforcement championed in the second Trump term.
His death amplifies calls for reform: stricter guidelines on shooting at vehicles, mandatory body cameras for ICE, and limits on aggressive raids in residential areas. Polls show growing support for abolishing ICE, with the incident fueling 2026 election debates.
As funerals are planned for both Good and Ross, the nation grapples with shared loss amid irreconcilable narratives. Was this justified self-defense gone tragically wrong, or excessive force in a heated crackdown? The answers remain elusive, but the human cost is undeniable.
RELEASED IN 1979, THIS BEAUTIFUL LOVE BALLAD TOUCHED MILLIONS â AND DECADES LATER, IT STILL BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF FIRST LOVE AND THE ONES WE NEVER FORGOT
Some songs become hits. Others become memories that stay with us for a lifetime. And then there are songs like âThe Roseâ by Bette Midler, which seem to reach into the deepest corners of the human heart, reminding us of the love we have known, the people we have lost, and the hope that carries us through life's most difficult moments.
When Bette Midler released âThe Roseâ in 1980, few could have predicted just how deeply the song would touch generations of listeners. More than four decades later, its gentle melody and timeless message continue to move audiences across America and around the world. For many people, hearing those opening notes is enough to bring back memories they thought time had quietly tucked away.
A first love. A wedding dance. A late-night drive along a familiar road. The comforting voice of a parent who is no longer here. Sometimes, a single song can bring all those moments rushing back, making the past feel as close as yesterday.
That is the extraordinary power of âThe Rose.â It does not simply remind people of a particular year or a particular moment in music history. It reminds them of their own lives.
When the song first reached audiences, its message offered something that felt both deeply personal and universally understood. Love, it suggested, was not always easy. It could be frightening, painful, and uncertain. It could leave people feeling vulnerable, especially after disappointment or heartbreak. Yet love remained one of the most meaningful parts of being human.
What made the song so special was its honesty.
Many popular love songs celebrate the excitement of falling in love, the happiness of finding someone special, or the promise of a future filled with romance. âThe Roseâ approaches the subject from a different direction. It recognizes that love can be difficult and that people sometimes protect themselves from getting hurt by refusing to open their hearts.
Its message is not that life will always be beautiful or that every relationship will end happily. Instead, it gently suggests that fear should not have the final word. Even after disappointment, there can still be room for tenderness, trust, and a new beginning.
That idea resonated with listeners who understood that real life rarely follows the simple, perfect stories portrayed in movies and romantic fantasies.
By the time people reach adulthood, many have experienced the complicated side of love. They have watched relationships change, struggled through misunderstandings, endured painful goodbyes, and learned that the people who matter most are not always the people who remain beside them forever.
For those listeners, âThe Roseâ offered a kind of reassurance. It acknowledged their pain without allowing that pain to erase the possibility of happiness.
Bette Midler's performance helped give the song its lasting emotional power. Her voice carries a combination of strength, warmth, and vulnerability that makes the message feel sincere rather than distant. She does not need to overwhelm the listener with dramatic vocal displays. Instead, the emotion develops naturally, allowing the words and melody to speak for themselves.
There is something deeply moving about a performance that feels as though it understands what the listener has experienced. Midler's interpretation invites people to bring their own memories to the song, giving it a different meaning depending on where they are in life.
For a young listener discovering love for the first time, âThe Roseâ might sound like a beautiful promise. For someone who has experienced heartbreak, it may feel like a reminder that healing is possible. And for an older listener looking back across decades of memories, the same song can become a reflection on everything life has taught them.
Perhaps that is why its emotional impact has continued to grow rather than fade.
Over the years, âThe Roseâ found its way into some of the most meaningful occasions in people's lives. It became a favorite at weddings, where couples could hear its message as a reminder that lasting love requires courage as well as affection. It appeared at anniversaries, where the passage of time gave its words a deeper significance. At graduations, its hopeful message could represent the uncertainty and promise of a new beginning.
The song also found a place at memorial services and family gatherings, where its themes of love, loss, and renewal offered comfort to people struggling to express feelings that words alone could not capture.
In those moments, music often says what people cannot.
A person standing at a memorial may find it difficult to explain the emptiness left by someone they loved. A parent watching a child leave home may struggle to describe the mixture of pride and sadness that comes with seeing someone grow up. A couple celebrating decades together may realize that their relationship has survived challenges they could never have imagined when they first met.
âThe Roseâ can accompany all those experiences because its message is not limited to one kind of love or one stage of life.
It speaks to the human experience of caring deeply about something that matters, even when there is no guarantee that it will last forever.
For Americans who came of age during the 1970s and 1980s, the song also carries a powerful sense of nostalgia. It belongs to a time when music often became woven into everyday life in a particularly intimate way.
People listened to songs on car radios during long journeys, played records in their living rooms, and gathered around stereos to share music with friends and family. Certain melodies became inseparable from the places and people associated with them.
A song heard on the radio during a summer road trip could become a lifelong reminder of youthful freedom. A melody played at a wedding could forever recall the person standing across the dance floor. A familiar tune heard in the family home might bring back the sound of a parent's laughter or the feeling of being surrounded by people who made life seem safe.
Music became a kind of personal time capsule.
And for many listeners, âThe Roseâ became part of that collection of memories.
The song's continued popularity also demonstrates something remarkable about the relationship between music and time. A song does not remain meaningful simply because people remember when it was released. It survives because new experiences continually change the way listeners understand it.
When someone first hears âThe Rose,â they may focus on its romantic message. Years later, after navigating relationships, raising children, losing loved ones, and facing unexpected changes, they may hear something entirely different.
The melody has not changed, but the listener has.
The passing years give familiar words new meaning. Experiences that once seemed distant become personal. Advice that once sounded sentimental begins to feel earned through experience.
Someone who once listened to the song while dreaming about the future may eventually hear it while reflecting on the past. The emotions become more complicated, but the message remains comforting.
For some, the song recalls a love that lasted a lifetime. For others, it brings back a relationship that ended long ago but still helped shape the person they became. Some may associate it with a loved one who has passed away, while others may hear it as a reminder that life can offer unexpected opportunities even after periods of profound sadness.
There is no single correct way to experience a song like this.
Its meaning belongs partly to the artist who performs it, but it also belongs to the millions of people who have carried it through their own lives.
That personal connection is one reason âThe Roseâ continues to find audiences across generations. Parents introduce it to their children. Couples choose it for meaningful occasions. Listeners who discover it decades after its original release can still recognize the feelings it expresses.
In an entertainment world where musical trends change rapidly, that kind of longevity is remarkable.
New songs arrive every week, and many become popular for a short time before disappearing from public attention. Their melodies may dominate playlists, radio stations, and social media, but popularity alone does not guarantee a lasting emotional connection.
âThe Roseâ has endured for a different reason.
It does not depend on a particular fashion, a passing cultural reference, or the excitement of a specific moment. Its themes are as relevant to someone experiencing their first heartbreak today as they were to someone listening to it in 1980.
People still fall in love. They still experience disappointment. They still fear rejection and struggle to trust again after being hurt. They still search for reassurance that difficult experiences do not have to define the rest of their lives.
And they still need reminders that vulnerability is not necessarily a weakness.
The song offers that reminder without pretending that life is simple.
Its central image of a rose growing through difficult conditions gives listeners a way to understand resilience. Growth does not always happen quickly, and beauty does not emerge without struggle. Sometimes, the most meaningful changes begin when circumstances seem least encouraging.
That message can apply to far more than romantic relationships.
It can speak to someone rebuilding a life after losing a job, a family recovering from a difficult period, or a person learning to find happiness after years of disappointment. It can also remind people that kindness and emotional openness remain worthwhile even in a world that sometimes rewards defensiveness and indifference.
Perhaps the song's greatest strength is that it offers hope without demanding that listeners ignore their pain.
It acknowledges that hardship is real, but it leaves room for the possibility that something meaningful can grow beyond it.
That is a message people may need even more as they grow older. With time comes a deeper understanding that happiness and sadness are rarely separated as neatly as they appear in stories. Life can bring joy and grief into the same room. People can feel grateful for their memories while wishing they could return to a moment that has passed.
A familiar song can make those emotions easier to accept.
For someone remembering a parent, âThe Roseâ may become a quiet expression of gratitude for the love they received. For a couple celebrating an anniversary, it may recall the challenges they overcame together. For someone beginning again after heartbreak, it may provide a little encouragement to believe that the future still holds possibilities.
Each listener brings a different history to the music, and that history becomes part of the experience.
More than four decades after its release, Bette Midler's âThe Roseâ remains a reminder that the most enduring songs are not always the loudest or the most complicated. Sometimes, their power comes from expressing a feeling people have carried inside themselves for years but have never quite known how to describe.
A beautiful melody can make an old memory feel alive again. A familiar voice can bring comfort during a difficult evening. A few lines from a beloved song can remind someone of a person, a promise, or a moment that helped shape their life.
And sometimes, a song can help people understand that the difficult chapters of their stories are not necessarily the final ones.
Perhaps that is why âThe Roseâ continues to hold such a special place in the hearts of listeners.
It has accompanied generations through love and loss, beginnings and endings, celebrations and farewells. Its meaning has grown alongside the people who continue to listen to it, allowing the same melody to tell a different story at every stage of life.
When the song plays today, some listeners may remember where they were in 1980. Others may think of a wedding, a childhood home, or someone whose absence they still feel. Younger audiences may simply discover a beautiful song whose message seems surprisingly relevant to their own experiences.
Different memories, different generations, but the same emotional connection.
In the end, âThe Roseâ reminds us that love is not meaningful because it guarantees a life without pain. It is meaningful because it gives us something worth caring for, something worth protecting, and sometimes something worth finding again after we have lost our way.
That is a message that does not grow old.
In a world filled with songs that come and go, this one remains. Not because it was the loudest, not because it followed every trend, and not because its message belonged to only one generation.
It remains because it speaks quietly to something universal inside all of us.
And every time Bette Midler's voice brings âThe Roseâ to life again, millions of listeners are reminded that some songs are more than music.
They become memories. They become comfort. They become a part of the stories we tell ourselves about love, loss, hope, and the people who have made our lives meaningful.
Some songs become hits. Others become memories. And a rare few become part of who we are.
What memory comes to mind when you hear âThe Roseâ?
