U.S. and world news for Jan. 21

Pardons: Despite having promised that any pardons issued to criminals who assaulted police and trashed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 would be done on a case-by-case basis, Donald Trump last night issued approximately 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of others who took part in the effort to overturn the 2020 election and keep Trump in office. The action by Trump is seen by some as sending a message that he will protect people who commit crimes in support of his objectives. Vice President Vance and Trump’s nominee for Attorney General Pam Bondi both expressed their opposition to pardoning convicts who assaulted police.  

Bible: Donald Trump did not place his left hand on a Bible when he took the oath of office as the country’s 47th president. His wife Melania was standing next to him, holding two Bibles, but Trump kept his left hand at his side as he recited the oath of office administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump not having a hand on a Bible was in sharp contrast to Vice President Vance, who had his left hand on a Bible held by his wife as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh administered his oath of office.  

Birthright: After having taken an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, Donald Trump yesterday tried to rewrite it all by himself by signing an executive order to take out the Constitutional guarantee that anyone born in the U.S. is a U.S. citizen. The move was part of Trump’s anti-immigration policies. Lawsuits were quickly filed including a suit by the American Civil Liberties Union. The lawsuits say that what Trump did is highly illegal.

Rollback: Among the first things Donald Trump did after taking the oath of office was to sign orders rolling back 78 actions taken under the Biden Administration to deal with vital issues such as climate change, lowering prescription drug prices, and developing policies governing the use artificial intelligence. Trump also overturned several actions taken by the Biden Administration to promote diversity in the federal workforce and protect LGBTQ+ rights.

Migrants: As soon as Donald Trump assumed the presidency, his administration shut down an internet application that had been successfully used to help control the flow of migrants seeking asylum to legally enter the U.S. The Customs and Border Protection application, known as CBP One, was made inoperative and approximately 30,000 appointments that people had been given to begin the process of legally entering the U.S. were cancelled. Proponents of the appointment system say it has reduced illegal attempts to enter the U.S.

Weather: Potentially historic amounts of snow were expected to fall in parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi as an estimated 40 million people remained under a winter weather alert extending from Texas to the Carolinas. Bitterly cold temperatures were in place as a cold wave continued across the Northeast. The National Weather Services described the storm hitting the south as a weather event that occurs once in a generation.