The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is hitting back at Billie Eilish after the singer reshared a series of posts on her Instagram Story calling ICE a “terrorist group” in light of the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis earlier this week.

In a statement shared with Billboard late Friday night (Jan. 9), DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin began, “Clearly, Billie Eilish has not seen the newly released footage, which corroborates what DHS has stated all along — that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement.”

Sharing a link to a video on X of the Jan. 7 shooting — seemingly taken by the officer who pulled the trigger, later identified as Jonathan Ross — McLaughlin said that Ross had been “in fear of his own life [and] the lives of his fellow officers and acted in self-defense,” adding, “The American people can watch this video with their own eyes and ears and judge for themselves.”

The assistant secretary’s statement aligns with previous remarks from the DHS, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who have all insisted that Ross was simply defending himself when he shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in her car during an ICE operation in Minnesota. Seconds before her death, Good had tried to drive away from the confrontation — as seen in the footage from the day — but the DHS has claimed that she’d been attempting to “run over” the officer with her vehicle.

In her statement to Billboard, McLaughlin went on to share a defense of ICE’s protocols and cited an internal investigation into the alleged “increase in vehicle rammings” against immigration enforcement officers, which the DHS published one day after Ross shot Good.

“ICE does not separate families,” she said. “Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administrations’ immigration enforcement. It’s garbage rhetoric from the likes of Billie Eilish that is leading to a 1,300% increase in assaults and 3,200% increase in vehicle rammings against our brave law enforcement.”

Billboard has reached out to Eilish’s reps for comment.

Though the singer herself did not comment on what happened in Minneapolis prior to McLaughlin’s response, Eilish did share a number of posts from other creators onto her Story on Friday. One of them called ICE a “federally funded and supported terrorist group” that is “tearing apart families, terrorizing citizens, and now murdering innocent people” under the Trump administration.

Another post Eilish reshared on her Story called on the U.S. to “abolish ICE,” while a third post encouraged people to contact their representatives in Congress to demand that Ross be arrested and charged for killing Good.

The nine-time Grammy winner is far from the only person who was horrified by the footage of Good’s death. Backlash to ICE’s ongoing crackdown on immigrant communities has reached a fever pitch in the days since it was shared, though the agency’s actions have repeatedly come under fire throughout Trump’s first year back in office. Previously, artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator and more slammed the various raids that have taken place across the country.

In the aftermath of Good’s death, countless Minneapolis residents have rallied together to grieve her loss and protest ICE’s presence in their city. The city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, also demanded that the enforcement officers “get the f—k out of Minneapolis” during a press conference on Jan. 8, adding, “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.”

And during a press meeting in the Oval Office the day prior, even Trump seemingly struggled to justify what happened after watching a video of the shooting in front of reporters, according to The New York Times. “Well … I — the way I look at it …,” the POTUS reportedly said after playback. “I think it’s horrible to watch. No, I hate to see it.”

From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

Cain Culto & Xiuhtezcatl Demand Justice With Powerful Protest Anthem

Amid ongoing outrage over immigration policies and ICE raids — including protests this week following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis — Cain Culto and Xiuhtezcatl’s “¡BASTA YA!” has taken on fresh urgency. Originally released in late November, the fiery bilingual track was reposted by Mexican artist Xiuhtezcatl via Instagram on Friday (Jan. 9) with a call to action. “We must resist the politics of death this administration and its henchmen embody,” he wrote. “Another world is possible. Fuerza a los pueblos que resisten (strength to all the communities who resist).”

Set against hyper piano pop beats, the song delivers bluntly powerful verses like “Hasta sin papeles somos de la tierra” (“Even without papers we belong to this Earth”), underscoring themes of resilience, anger, and solidarity.

Last October, superstar Shawn Mendes invited Xiuhtezcatl to share the stage at the Hollywood Bowl to highlight Native American voices and raise awareness for #LANDBACK and Indigenous rights.

Check out the incendiary “¡BASTA YA!” video below.

Rawayana & Biz Execs Reflect on the Future of Venezuela’s Music Industry

In light of Nicolás Maduro’s recent capture in Caracas by U.S. forces, Venezuelan artists and music executives are reflecting on the future of the country’s music industry. Speaking to Billboard Español, Rawayana’s Beto Montenegro declared, “The potential is immense. Venezuela is not just any country; it’s a territory rich in resources. If there were no theft and real investment were made, the return and integration of Venezuela into the world would be fascinating.”

Once a booming music hub, Venezuela’s industry has faced years of economic instability, censorship, and emigration of talent. Still, local players like José Luis Ventura, director of Ventura Espectáculos, remain optimistic: “There is still a market for Venezuelan singers… people are still eager to consume culture.” Read the complete story here.

New Book Highlights Spanish Punk’s Role in Democracy

Spanish Punk: Screaming for Democracy in a Postdictatorial State, written by musician and scholar David Vila Diéguez, is a deep dive into how Spain’s punk movement became a rebellious, cultural response to the nation’s transition from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy. Through fanzines, lyrics, and interviews, Vila Diéguez documents the genre’s role in shaping protest movements and posing critical questions about freedom and identity in a “new” Spain.

With a foreword by Billboard Español associate editor Isabela Raygoza, the book also highlights the lasting political significance of bands like Kortatu and La Polla Records, positioning punk as a force for resistance and change in the country’s unsettled transformation. Spanish Punk is an essential read for history, music, and political culture enthusiasts alike. Get your copy here.

Farruko to Headline 2026 Miami E-Prix

Farruko, the Puerto Rican superstar and two-time Latin Grammy winner, has been announced on Friday (Jan. 9) as the headlining act for the 2026 Miami E-Prix, taking place on Jan. 31. Held at the Miami International Autodrome at Hard Rock Stadium for the first time, the event will combine elite all-electric racing with live music as part of Formula E’s new “Miami Energy Drop” experience. Tickets are now on sale via Ticketmaster.

Yungblud’s arrival in Australia ahead of the kickoff of his IDOLS World Tour has been anything but low-key.

The British rocker touched down in Sydney earlier this week and quickly drew massive fan attention after attending a pop-up photo gallery exhibition in Newtown, where crowds reportedly became so large that police were called to manage the situation.

The event, titled Yungblud: IDOLS, featured photography by British photographer Tom Pallant and showcased images from previous legs of the singer’s ongoing tour.

Yungblud — born Dominic Harrison — had encouraged fans to attend the gallery via social media, telling them he would be there in person. Hundreds reportedly queued for hours to catch a glimpse of the artist, with some lining up from early morning.

Though no major incidents were reported, the turnout was large enough that authorities asked the event to wrap earlier than planned.

“Yo guys, I love you so much, thank you for coming out,” Yungblud said in a voice memo shared to fans afterward. “That got a bit f—ing hectic, didn’t it? The cops said we had to move on because it was just getting mad.”

The exhibition is scheduled to run through Jan. 11, with fans lining up as early as 6:30 a.m. on opening day, according to the gallery.

The day prior, Yungblud kicked off his Australian arrival with a bang—quite literally stripping down to nothing on a Sydney Harbour yacht alongside socialite Dina Broadhurst. 

The back-to-back viral moments have only amplified attention around Yungblud’s return to Australia, where he is set to launch the local leg of his IDOLS World Tour on Saturday (Jan. 10) at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

The Australian dates come after a turbulent end to 2025, when he was forced to cancel several shows following medical advice related to vocal and blood tests.

“It is in my nature to run and run until I run myself to the ground,” he said in a statement shared in November. “But this time I’ve been told I have to take it seriously.”

The Australian leg of the IDOLS World Tour was later confirmed to proceed as scheduled, with multiple dates selling out quickly.

The tour supports Yungblud’s fourth studio album, IDOLS, released in June 2025. Yungblud’s tour down under is in support of Idols, his fourth studio album which dropped in at No. 4 on the ARIA Chart last June. That effort marked his third top 10 chart appearance in these parts, after Weird! reached No. 6 in 2020, and his self-titled collection logged one week at No. 1 in 2022. Last November, the pop-punk artist released One More Time, a collaborative EP with Aerosmith.

In the months following its release, Yungblud also received multiple Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.

Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is suing a construction manager for allegedly interfering with the sale of his $57 million Malibu house.

Ye brought slander and breach of contract claims on Thursday (Jan. 8) against Tony Saxon, who handled construction work on the rapper’s beachfront mansion in 2021. Notably, Saxon has been pursuing his own lawsuit against Ye since 2023 over alleged unpaid wages and unsafe working conditions on the job.

To account for those alleged unpaid wages, Saxon took out a $1.8 million lien on the house after Ye put it on the market, through which Saxon claimed he would be entitled to a portion of the proceeds from any sale. Saxon’s lawyer, Ronald Zambrano, told media outlets at the time, “If someone wants to buy Kanye’s Malibu home, they’ll have to deal with us first.”

“Ye is one of the most recognizable recording artists and entrepreneurs in the world and rarely initiates litigation,” wrote Ye’s lawyers in the Thursday complaint. “Plaintiffs bring this action because defendants recorded and then wrongfully maintained a $1,819,986.00 mechanics lien against the property — despite knowing or having reason to know the lien was invalid — while simultaneously launching an aggressive publicity campaign designed to pressure Ye, chill prospective transactions, and extract payment on disputed claims already being litigated in court.”

A judge ultimately disposed of Saxon’s lien last year after determining that he’d failed to enforce it. But Ye alleges that the lien, and the swirl of publicity initiated by Saxon’s team, did damage to his real estate dealings while in place.

According to Ye, the lien required him to buy a bond and had the effect of “discouraging buyers, title and escrow professionals, lenders and the public.” Ye ultimately sold the house for $21 million, significantly below his $57 million purchase price from 2021, according to an MLS report.

Ye is now seeking unspecified financial damages from Saxon, Zambrano and the lawyer’s firm. Zambrano did not immediately have any comment on the claims when reached on Friday (Jan. 9).

Zambrano is behind a number of employment-related lawsuits that have been brought against Ye in recent years. In addition to Saxon, his clients have included teachers who allege the controversial rapper fired them for complaining about bizarre conditions at his now-shuttered school, Donda Academy.

Saxon’s lawsuit against Ye remains pending, with a trial scheduled to begin this March. Ye maintains that he doesn’t owe anything, arguing in court papers that he already made “substantial payments” and that Saxon isn’t entitled to more because he doesn’t have a valid contractor’s license.