“In anticipation of a second Donald Trump administration, which would have likely thwarted their effort to phase out the sales of big diesel trucks, California regulators withdrew waiver and authorization requests that were pending approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. The withdrawal grants President Trump an early victory against California, as the two are expected to clash over emissions standards and climate policies. The California Air Resources Board announced last week that it’s continuing to improve the state’s air quality and reduce harmful pollutants with other programs but has withdrawn four requests it had submitted to the EPA, including one to phase out sales of new diesel-powered semitrailers and buses by 2036 in California.” (01/22/25)
“It was the day before Trump’s inauguration, and his fans were being tested. First, by the fact that all of the regular MAGA faithful who had flocked to D.C. in the tens of thousands had found out, as soon as they arrived, that the inauguration was effectively canceled. The news fell like a series of depressing dominos: First the swearing-in ceremony was moved inside, where only a handful of VIPs could see it; then, the parade was canceled, because it would be too chilly; and then, in what seemed like a final ‘fuck you’, the inaugural committee ordered all of the large video screens removed from the National Mall, so that even if people did want to go stand out in the cold on the big day, they wouldn’t have anything to look at.” (01/21/25)
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Linda Feldmann
“Inauguration Day, every four years, is like no other in the U.S. capital. Even in the winter chill, the crowds on the National Mall can number in the hundreds of thousands – or more. Anticipation is in the air. People from all over have come to witness the launch of a new presidential term, promptly at noon on Jan. 20. I’ve seen my share of inaugurations over the years, sometimes from the viewing stands right below the Capitol Building, sometimes from the fringes of the Mall, sometimes on TV. It’s always exciting, especially when a new party takes over and a hallmark of American democracy goes on full display: the peaceful transfer of power. Often, the most memorable aspect of an inauguration isn’t the actual swearing-in or the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue or the celebratory balls.” (01/20/25)
“US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO). ‘Oooh, that’s a big one,’ the newly inaugurated US president said as he approved the document after arriving back at the White House. It was one of dozens of executive actions he put his signature to on day one in office. This marks the second time Trump has ordered the US be pulled out of the WHO. Trump was critical of how the international body handled Covid-19 and began the process of pulling out from the Geneva-based institution during the pandemic. President Joe Biden later reversed that decision. Carrying out this executive action on day one makes it more likely the US will formally leave the global agency. ” (01/21/25)
“I remember The Resistance. You can say that it was corny, that it was ineffective, that it was performative or overmatched or misguided. But you can’t say it wasn’t real. It happened. In 2017, Trump’s first inauguration was a miserable, lightly attended affair. And then, the very next day, all of downtown DC was choked by a heaving mass of hundreds of thousands of incensed people at the Women’s March …. In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, there were several months when the entire country vibrated with the footsteps of angry protesters, a movement large enough to prompt politicians and corporations to scramble to appear concerned about justice, whether they were or not. While separate, those two episodes were consecutive points on a line of Resistance that had been building for years.” (01/19/25)
“I’ve never really been in favor of the idea of endless investigations into people just because they are your political opponent. I didn’t like it when Democrats did it to Donald Trump, and I wasn’t keen on the idea of Republicans doing it to Democrats. But notice how that sentence is in the past tense. Screw those people, unleash the hounds. I have known Joe Biden was a vindictive, corrupt little man. On his last day in office he showed just how far down the toilet he now lives.” (01/21/25)
“More than 200 potential jurors were summoned Tuesday to a Georgia courthouse to face questions about whether they can serve impartially in the trial of a former prosecutor accused of meddling with police as they investigated the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Jackie Johnson served as district attorney when Arbery, a 25-year-old [b]lack man, was chased by three white men in pickup trucks and fatally shot on a residential street. Johnson’s misconduct trial will be held in the same courthouse where Arbery’s assailants were convicted of murder in 2021. The threat of winter weather is causing delays. Senior Judge John R. Turner said he plans to adjourn early Tuesday ahead of forecast snow showers.” (01/21/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“During his inaugural address, the new president of the United States was refreshingly open about the fact that Washington is the hub of a continuously expanding empire which is ruled by billionaire plutocrats. As Joe Lauria highlighted for Consortium News, President Trump’s speech included references to the ‘manifest destiny’ of America, saying that under his presidency the US will consider itself a nation that ‘expands our territory.’ He waxed fondly about the settler-colonialist past which established the country at the expense of the people who were already living there, and vowed to take control of the Panama Canal. Trump gave this speech to an audience where the wealthiest people on earth sat alongside his own cabinet in the best seats in the house.” (01/21/25)
“Democrats are in freefall. As of Monday, Donald J. Trump is officially the 47th president of the United States. He starts his second term in the Oval Office with a bang – rolling out dozens of executive orders fulfilling promises made to American voters — and more popular than he has ever been. Democrats have no idea how to respond. Their party is currently earning its lowest approval ratings ever, for good reason. It is guilty of perpetrating the greatest political scandal of our lifetimes — pretending President Joe Biden was OK to run for another four years. Their efforts to brand Donald Trump a threat to Democracy were a bust and their leadership is in disarray. They deserve every minute they serve in political purgatory. A former communications director for Kamala Harris says Democrats ‘got to burn down our image’. He’s right. The party’s trials will not end soon.” (01/21/25)
“A fire raged through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey early Tuesday during a school holiday, killing at least 66 people — at least two of them when they jumped from the building to escape the flames, officials said. At least 51 people also were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Istanbul, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The fire occurred near the start of a two-week winter break for schools, when hotels in the region are packed. ‘We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel,’ Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site.” (01/21/25)
