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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are visiting hurricane-battered Asheville, North Carolina, before heading west to assess the damage in wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles.
The visits come amid a debate about the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with the president doubling down on the idea that states are better equipt to deal with disaster response.
Back on Capitol Hill, the confirmation vote for Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, is expected this evening and could go down to the wire, with at least two no-votes already expected from Republican senators.
In other news, the president continues to remove government security details from former U.S. officials who oppose him, the latest being Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Meanwhile, during the second part of his interview with Sean Hannity, which aired on Fox News last night, Trump blamed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion of his homeland.
The president said Zelensky was “no angel” and had allowed the war to rumble on but added he would be prepared to impose massive tariffs on Moscow if Vladimir Putin refuses to enter talks on ending the conflict.
Trump shrugged it off but key staff furious at Musk for bashing $500bn AI deal
It comes following the online spat between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the Stargate artificial intelligence infrastructure project touted by the president earlier this week, who described it as “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential.”
Musk questioned the investment just hours later on his social media platform, X.
Mike Bedigan has the full story.
Oliver O’Connell24 January 2025 20:25
California hiker shot by suspected ‘cartel terrorist’
An American and a Canadian were attacked by armed suspected Mexican “cartel terrorists” near the Mexican border while hiking in California this week.
Deputies with the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call reporting a man had been shot and needed assistance, the agency said.
Officials encountered the men within approximately 1,000 feet north of the US-Mexico International Border. That’s where they say they encountered a group of hikers who reported part of their group had been attacked by armed individuals.
Oliver O’Connell24 January 2025 20:05
DOJ asks federal judge to lift release conditions on Oath Keepers founder and others
This morning a federal judge barred Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes from entering Washington, D.C., without the court’s approval after President Donald Trump commuted the far-right extremist group leader’s 18-year prison sentence for orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Capitol four years ago.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta issued the order two days after Rhodes visited the Capitol, where he met with at least one lawmaker, chatted with others, and defended his actions during a mob attack on the complex on January 6, 2021. Rhodes was released from a Maryland prison a day earlier.
Mehta also barred other Oath Keepers members who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for participating in a violent plot to attack the Capitol.
Now, in a motion signed directly by Acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, asks Judge Mehta to lift all release conditions for Stewart Rhodes and others with commuted sentences.
Oliver O’Connell24 January 2025 19:53
Trump ends Fauci’s security detail and says he’d feel no responsibility if harm befell him
President Donald Trump has ended the federal security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised him on the COVID-19 pandemic, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
Fauci is the latest in a string of former Trump aides-turned-critics to see their federal protection canceled despite ongoing threats to their lives.
Speaking to reporters in North Carolina on Friday, Trump said he wouldn’t feel any responsibility if harm befell the former government officials. A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues, said that Fauci’s federal security detail was ended on Thursday and that he has since hired private security.
When asked about Fauci and former national security adviser John Bolton, Trump said, “They all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security, too.”
State Dept freezes new funding for nearly all US aid programs worldwide
The State Department on Friday froze new funding for almost all U.S. aid programs worldwide, making exceptions to allow humanitarian food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt to continue.
The order — sent in a cable to U.S. embassies worldwide — prohibits new government spending, which appears to limit programs to running only as long as they have cash on hand.
The State Department will conduct a review of which of the thousands of U.S. aid and development programs can continue. Its order spells out the execution of an aid-freezing executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday.
Friday’s order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including any exemptions sparing health clinics and other health programs worldwide from the new funding freeze.
COMMENT: TikTok, trade and tariffs — What is Trump playing at with China?
How well do Donald Trump and Xi Jinping get on? The world’s most important relationship is between America and China. And it is in the hands of two powerful men in their seventies who are a study in contrasts.
Their deeds will shape events for the next four years, from TikTok to trade, tariffs, technology, war and peace.
Xi is a Marxist trained in party discipline, immune to charm, hyper-cautious, set on aims fixed in conclaves behind the vermilion walls of Beijing and not a man to negotiate on the fly. Trump is, well, Trump.
Oliver O’Connell24 January 2025 19:25
Full story: Oath Keepers founder barred from entering Washington or Capitol without court’s permission
A federal judge on Friday barred Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes from entering Washington, D.C., without the court’s approval after President Donald Trump commuted the extremist group leader’s 18-year prison sentence in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who oversaw the seditious conspiracy trial of Rhodes and other Oath Keepers, issued the order two days after Rhodes visited Capitol Hill, where he met with at least one lawmaker, chatted with others and defended his actions the day of the riot.
Mehta’s order applies to seven other defendants who were charged in one of the most serious conspiracy cases brought by the Justice Department over the riot. The order also prohibits them from entering the Capitol building or surrounding grounds without the court’s permission.
Oliver O’Connell24 January 2025 19:09
