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Pentagon is sending 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the US-Mexico border
By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPPUpdated 5:51 PM CST, January 22, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Wednesday it has begun deploying 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border, putting in motion plans President Donald Trump laid out in executive orders shortly after he took office to crack down on immigration.
Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said the troops will fly helicopters to assist Border Patrol agents and help in the construction of barriers. The Pentagon also will provide military aircraft for Department of Homeland Security deportation flights for more than 5,000 detained migrants.
The number of troops and their mission may soon change, Salesses said in a statement. “This is just the beginning,” he said.
“In short order, the department will develop and execute additional missions in cooperation with DHS, federal agencies, and state partners to address the full range of threats outlined by the President at our nation’s borders,” Salesses said. ...
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Dem who called Trump 'existential threat to democracy' now blocking his nominees
A Senate Democrat is blocking a streamlined process to vote on Trump's nominees, forcing the Senate to take lengthy procedural votes. This strategy was employed by Republicans while in the minority.
World's most active volcano begins 5th eruptive episode
Kilauea's volcanic activity on Wednesday marked the fifth episode since the latest eruption began in December 2024.
Supreme Court could revive lawsuit against Texas officer who shot motorist stopped for unpaid tolls
The Supreme Court seems inclined to revive a civil rights lawsuit against the Texas police officer who shot a man to death during a traffic stop in Houston over unpaid tolls.
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Trump’s blanket Jan. 6 pardons undermine the rule of law - Washington Examiner
President Donald Trump went much too far in issuing a blanket pardon to almost every person convicted of offenses committed at the Capitol.
www.washingtonexaminer.comGOP-led states are emboldened to keep rolling back trans rights. Democrats struggle with a response
Republicans in statehouses are emboldened by GOP electoral successes to push a new wave of bills to restrict transgender rights and gender-affirming care.
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In denying John Bolton security, Trump breaks inaugural free speech pledge - Washington Examiner
In revoking John Bolton's Secret Service detail, President Donald Trump has shown a petty disregard for the First Amendment and Iran's assassination threats.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
Executive actions Trump has taken so far | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump has taken the first steps toward enacting his sweeping agenda with a series of executive actions that are expected to kickstart his promised transformation of the federal government.
www.cnn.comEverything Trump did in the first executive orders and actions of his presidency
President Donald Trump began his second administration with a blitz of policy actions to reorient U.S. government priorities.
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Israel applies ‘lessons’ from Gaza in occupied West Bank’s Jenin: Minister
Israel’s defence minister says military applying ‘method’ from Gaza war in major raid on occupied West Bank’s Jenin.
Palestinians confront a landscape of destruction in Gaza's 'ghost towns'
Drone footage captured by The Associated Press shows mounds of rubble stretching as far as the eye can see — remnants of the longest and deadliest war between Israel and Hamas in their blood-ridden history.
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Federal regulations paused, halting FDA's proposed ban on formaldehyde in hair products
Over the years, an increasing number of studies have linked formaldehyde to cancers that are especially prevalent among Black women.
www.nbcnews.comTrump administration freezes many health agency reports and online posts
The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month.
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Trump lobbying firm supporting China - Washington Examiner
A lobbying firm with deep ties to President Donald Trump has taken on a client partially owned by the Chinese government.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
Oath Keepers, Proud Boys leaders out of prison after Trump Jan. 6 pardons
Four years after they raided the Capitol and assaulted police officers, a group of some of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters are now free men.
MrBeast not quite in the bidding race for TikTok just yet, rep says
Jimmy Donaldson — better known online as MrBeast — isn’t in the TikTok bidding race just yet, according to a representative for the YouTube star.
apnews.comTrump reflects on return to White House after 4 years of Biden's agenda: 'Got there just in the nick of time'
President Donald Trump gives the details about his nonconsecutive terms and what it's like to be in the White House for a second time on "Hannity."
Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed after China rolls out market boosting measures
Asian shares are mixed after China rolled out more moves to boost its lagging stock markets. Hong Kong and Shanghai rose but then shed some of their initial gains early Thursday.
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Melania Trump is brimming with plans for second term | CNN Politics
First lady Melania Trump is returning to the East Wing bolstered by lessons from four years in an unelected job she has privately acknowledged was a whirlwind of responsibilities of which she was largely unaware.
www.cnn.comRepublicans renew efforts to limit people in US illegally from census count
Republican efforts to exclude people in the U.S. illegally from numbers used to divvy up congressional seats among states have begun anew, with four Republican state attorneys general suing to alter the once-a-decade head count even before President Donald Trump’s second term in office began.
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'We're in the era of the billionaire,' human rights expert says. Here's why wealth accumulation is accelerating
Last year alone, roughly 204 new billionaires were minted, bringing the total number of billionaires to 2,769, up from 2,565 in 2023.
www.nbcnews.comEstimated 24.6 million TV viewers watched inauguration coverage, smallest audience since 2013
The Nielsen Company says an estimated 24.6 million people watched coverage of President Donald Trump's second inauguration.
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Trump's ICE racks up hundreds of arrests, including illegal immigrants arrested for horror crimes
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the first days of the Trump administration, has made hundreds of arrests of illegal immigrants across the U.S.
Trump’s threat of tariffs and sanctions on Russia over Ukraine may fall flat
President Donald Trump is threatening to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the war in Ukraine.
apnews.comTrump pardons founder of Silk Road website
President Donald Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an underground website for selling drugs.
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A welfare check: House Republicans have their sights on income-based federal programs - Washington Examiner
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) set his sights on means-tested anti-poverty and welfare programs.
www.washingtonexaminer.comFact check: Trump litters Oval Office interview with false claims | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump littered a Wednesday interview on Fox News with many of the same false claims he made earlier in his first three days back in the White House.
www.cnn.com
Israeli forces kill 2 in West Bank raid; UN ramps up Gaza relief effort
Israeli forces continue violent raids across the occupied West Bank as UN agencies surge aid to Gaza.
Virginia Democrats pass constitutional amendments blasted by Republicans
The Democratic-led Virginia Senate has voted to enshrine the right to an abortion and to vote in the state's constitution.
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CNN to lay off 'hundreds' of staffers in first days of second Trump presidency: reports
CNN is reportedly set to lay off "hundreds" of staffers just as President Donald Trump returned to the White House to serve a second term following his historic election victory.
Republican senators are mostly quiet on Trump's sweeping pardons of Jan. 6 rioters
Many Republicans on Capitol Hill do not agree with President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon and commute sentences for more than 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
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Trump seeks to eliminate Biden ‘EV mandate’ in sweeping executive order - Washington Examiner
“We will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers,” Trump said.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
Trump orders restart of new LNG export permit approvals
Donald Trump ended the pause on liquefied natural gas export permit approvals implemented by the Biden Energy Department, which the industry hated.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
With Trump’s TikTok extension, new potential U.S. buyers emerge
YouTuber MrBeast, X owner Elon Musk and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison are names that have floated around in the past week.
www.nbcnews.comTrump administration directs all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on leave
Trump has called the diversity and inclusion programs “discrimination” and insisted on restoring strictly “merit-based” hiring.
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How Trump’s birthright citizenship order could affect children of legal visa-holders
Legal experts warn that those whose parents are on work and student visas won’t be exempt from the implications of the new order.
www.nbcnews.com
