Hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th commander-in-chief of the United States, he withdrew from the World Health Organization as part of a flurry of executive orders he signed.
Sitting in the Oval Office, Trump argued other countries should pay more and the U.S. should pay less to fund the WHO.
“China pays $39 million, and we pay $500 million,” Trump said. “And China’s a bigger country.”
The move comes four years after Trump froze the U.S.’s funding to the WHO at the end of his first term.
Also at the White House, he said he pardoned 1,500 “J6 hostages” and issued six commutations — nearly all January 6 defendants — following through on his campaign promise. He also ended birthright citizenship and ordered a hiring freeze of federal employees.
Speaking to reporters, Trump vowed to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting February 1.
Before heading to the White House, Trump signed a handful of executive orders in front of a crowd at Capital One Arena on Monday evening. Through with signing a flurry of orders, he flung his Sharpie into the crowd.
Earlier in the day, in his inaugural address, Trump declared that a new “golden age of America” has started, which will make the country he now leads “greater, stronger and far more exceptional than ever before.” He then delivered a dark and brooding denunciation of his own government.
Trump signs executive orders on immigration
Trump signed a handful of immigration-related orders on his first day back in office.
He declared a national emergency at the southern border, ordering members of the armed forces to be deployed to the area as well as the construction of additional physical barriers along the border.
In another order, he ended the practice known as “catch-and-release” and also ceased the CBP One app, which facilitated the entry of otherwise inadmissible aliens into the United States.
Kelly Rissman21 January 2025 03:18
Republicans grouse over Biden’s pardon of family members: ‘A bunch of lying clowns’
Republicans and leading MAGA movement figures reacted with outrage to the preemptive pardons announced by Joe Biden in the final hours of his presidency.
Some, including GOP firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Jr, claimed the action was indicative of the pardonees’ guilt, and accused the Democrats of closing ranks to protect their own.
On Monday, shortly before Trump’s swearing-ceremony, Biden pardoned Dr Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Kelly Rissman21 January 2025 03:10
Who’s attending the Commander-In-Chief inaugural ball?
Kelly Rissman21 January 2025 03:00
ICYMI: From oversized hats to audio issues: Key moments from Donald Trump’s inauguration
Kelly Rissman21 January 2025 02:55
Billy Ray Cyrus gives disastrous performance at Trump’s Liberty Ball: ‘Is anyone awake’
Billy Ray Cyrus gave a disastrous performance during Donald Trump’s Liberty Ball, following the presidential inauguration.
The 63-year-old singer took the stage at the event in Washington, DC on Monday night (January 20). He performed a mix of his hit songs, including “Old Town Road” and “Achy Breaky Heart.”
However, his show didn’t go without a few issues.
At one point during his performance, he couldn’t hear his guitar playing. “Is my guitar still on?” he asked the stage crew. “I think they cut me off. I don’t hear my guitar anymore.”
Amber Raiken has the full story.
Kelly Rissman21 January 2025 02:45
Trump signs sweeping order on death penalty
Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order regarding the death penalty.
He condemned former President Joe Biden’s moratorium on federal executions as well as his commutations of 37 individuals on death row in December.
“When President Biden took office in 2021, he allowed his Department of Justice to issue a moratorium on Federal executions, in defiance of his duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States that provide for capital punishment,” the order said.
He added: “Politicians and judges who oppose capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws of our country.”
The order also compels the Attorney General to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that each state that permits capital punishment has a “sufficient supply” of lethal injection drugs.
Kelly Rissman21 January 2025 02:37
ANALYSIS: TikTok realized the advantage of bowing to autocrats. The tech barons at Trump’s inauguration are following suit
We’ll never know what prayers were whispered by the billionaire tech barons — Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon head Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Google boss Sundar Pichai — as they sat together inside St John’s Church in Washington DC Monday morning.
First the men crowded together at Donald Trump’s pre-inauguration church service, then they attended the ceremony at the Capitol itself, along with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI chief Sam Altman, and TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew.
But while we don’t know what they spoke about, their companies have access to our deepest fears, desires, conversations, and life updates.
The power concentrated among these men is stunning when you stop to ponder it.
Oliver O’Connell21 January 2025 02:30
Another inauguration, another Bernie Sanders meme
Sometimes, you don’t need props like mittens when your expression says it all…
Katie Hawkinson has the story.
Oliver O’Connell21 January 2025 02:10
Trump withdraws U.S. from World Health Organization
Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization, the United Nations global public health body.
In the Oval Office, Trump called the conditions of the U.S. membership in the body “pretty sad,” arguing other countries should pay more and the U.S. should pay less to fund it.
“China pays $39 million, and we pay $500 million,” Trump said. “And China’s a bigger country.”
The U.S. contribution to the WHO has ranged from $163 million to $816 million over the last decade, according to KFF.
Trump frequently criticized the WHO during the height of the Covid pandemic, and temporarily suspended its funding during his first term.
Josh Marcus21 January 2025 02:10
