All federal DEI personnel should be fired, according to Donald Trump. After the L.A. wildfires, California officials want to rebuild as soon as possible, but experts are calling for more careful designs. Additionally, the emergence of Trump family cryptocurrency attracts attention.
What to know today is as follows.
Trump pushes forward with DEI crackdown as he faces backlash against Jan. 6 pardons
On his second day in office, President Donald Trump criticized Day 1 orders to pardon Jan. 6 defendants and his attempts to abolish birthright citizenship. He also ordered all government employees in diversity, equity, and inclusion responsibilities to take paid leave.For the most recent information as his administration develops, follow our live blog.
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Diversity, equality, and Inclusion: Yesterday, the Trump administration issued a letter telling agencies to present a plan by the end of the month for firing federal employees who work in diversity, equality, and inclusion jobs. The memo also mandated that all federal employees in these areas be placed on paid leave by today afternoon. The Office of Personnel Management’s directive also instructed agencies to get ready to shut down all DEI-related programs and offices, as well as to delete all of their websites and social media accounts. The number of employees who will be impacted was unclear.
The action was taken the day after Trump issued an executive order banning radical and inefficient DEI initiatives across government agencies. The Federal Aviation Administration’s diverse recruiting policies were the focus of another executive order President Trump issued yesterday.Learn more about Trump’s directives to terminate DEI initiatives.
January 6 pardons: Trump justified his pardons of January 6 criminal defendants, saying they were treated horribly and served time they shouldn’t have. Prosecutors identified the most aggressive rioters among the approximately 1,500 defendants.
However, some Republican senators objected to the pardons, particularly those given to rioters who attacked police officers. The pardons, according to numerous Justice Department employees and legal experts, are an extraordinary and risky exercise of executive authority that denigrates the years of labor put in by federal judges, prosecutors, and FBI agents—some of whom were chosen by the president.Learn more about the response.
Immigration: As of right now, the raids that were supposed to target significant sanctuary cities as soon as Trump entered office have not happened. Nevertheless, his government has started laying the framework for additional immigration initiatives. A significant rule change gives ICE the authority to detain undocumented individuals at or close to alleged sensitive sites, such as places of worship, educational institutions, and medical facilities.Learn more about the developments surrounding Trump’s intentions for mass deportations.
The great-grandson of the man who created birthright citizenship criticized Trump’s attempts to rescind the long-standing entitlement, and Democratic attorneys general filed lawsuits to stop Trump’s attempt to do so. Additionally, Trump dismissed four senior staff members from the DOJ’s Executive Office of Immigration Review, which is in charge of the country’s immigration courts.
More on Trump s first week in office:
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What s on Trump s to-do list after his first day in office? Tariffs, for one.
Here s why he hasn t taken action yet
, despite saying he would on Day 1.
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The bishop leading yesterday s inaugural prayer service
urged the president to have mercy
on LGBTQ people and immigrants.
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Trump reversed Biden-era policies
on drug pricing and Obamacare
.
Hegseth denies new allegations made by former sister-in-law
The former sister-in-law of defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth testified before senators yesterday that his actions made his second wife worry for her safety. She was contacted for several days by workers of the Senate Armed Services Committee before receiving the affidavit.
Danielle Hegseth, who is divorced from Pete Hegseth’s brother, claimed in the affidavit that Hegseth’s erratic and menacing behavior caused Samantha Hegseth, his second wife, to worry for her safety. Samantha is accused of hiding from Hegseth once in a closet and of creating escape plans in case she felt the need to flee.
Pete Hegseth’s attorney denied the accusations. In an email, Samantha Hegseth stated that she would not discuss my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I don’t think your information is correct, she continued.
Since Trump named the former Fox News anchor as his choice to lead the Defense Department, Hegseth has been the subject of intense scrutiny. The most recent accusations cast doubt on the extent and completeness of the FBI’s investigation into Hegseth’s history, as well as what the Trump transition team, Armed Services Committee members, and staff were aware of and when.Go here to read the entire story.
In fire-damaged L.A., swift rebuilding ambitions are at odds with calls for change
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have relaxed some regulations that are normally necessary for new construction in order to expedite the reconstruction of thousands of houses that have been burned in recent wildfires. Bass has waived hearings to determine if a development complies with zoning standards, Newsom has stopped environmental permitting procedures, and Newsom has suspended the requirement that new structures use electricity instead of gas for appliances and heating.
However, specialists in disaster management, engineering, and urban planning contend that these communities should rebuild gradually and include features that will increase their resilience. The alternative: Locals run the risk of becoming sitting ducks for fires in the future.
Think about the Pacific Palisades. According to experts, in a perfect world, residences would be spaced further apart, native plants that are less prone to burning, like sage or succulents, would be planted on public land close to residential areas, and brick, stone, or concrete would be utilized for construction rather than wood. The California fire code already requires some of these tactics, but none of them are always quick.
Read All About It
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The Supreme Court
issued a rare ruling in favor of a death row inmate
, finding that an Oklahoma woman convicted of murdering her estranged husband can pursue a claim that prosecutors inappropriately focused on her sex life at trial.
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Ichiro Suzuki became the first Asian player
elected to baseball s Hall of Fame
but missed unanimous selection by just one vote. CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected in yesterday s vote.
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What s the deal with seed oils?
The fad surrounding the Hateful Eight which include canola, corn and sunflower oils, among others misses the bigger picture when it comes to improving health.
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Four men from Chile
were arrested
amid an ongoing investigation of burglaries at the homes of the rich, some at pro athletes homes.
Staff Pick:
Concerns and questions about Trump s digital currency
Donald Trump shared a link to a brand-new memecoin, simply named $TRUMP, late last Friday. By Saturday morning, its value had soared, minting the Trump organization billions in paper net worth overnight. According to the fine print, insiders owned 80% of the TRUMP coin’s total supply, therefore the general public would not be the main benefactor of the coin’s success. Nevertheless, many in the cryptocurrency world saw an opportunity despite cautious optimism, and the price continued to rise until Trump’s wife revealed her own $MELANIA token on Sunday afternoon, which caused the price of the original TRUMP coin to plummet by as much as 40%.
Even among staunch Trump fans, widespread criticism quickly gained momentum. Was the president’s pledge to de-regulate cryptocurrency during the campaign a ruse to gain personal gain? The Melania coin: why? What are the hazards of foreign influence? I asked professionals about these issues and the reasons why this memecoin launch differs from others.Rob Wile is a business reporter.
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
This season, chapped lips and dry skin? Editors at NBC Select evaluated more than fifty lip balms to determine which ones were the best. Additionally, we discussed how to choose the best moisturizing lotion based on your skin type with board-certified physicians.
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