Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:
Coronavirus and Public Health:
CDC Ordered to Immediately Stop Working with WHO
U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately.
Experts said the sudden stoppage was a surprise and would set back work on investigating and trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as brewing threats from around the world. It also comes as health authorities around the world are monitoring bird flu outbreaks among U.S. livestock.
Politics:
Tillis Assured Hegseth’s Former Sister-in-Law
A key witness in the contentious Senate confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was assured by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) that her sworn statement would carry weight in last week’s vote and could convince Republican senators to oppose the nominee.
Tillis personally assured Danielle Hegseth in a call on Jan. 19, witnessed by two other people, that if she signed the statement testifying that she believed her former brother-in-law Pete Hegseth has an alcohol abuse problem and was abusive to his second wife, it would carry weight, and potentially move three votes—his own, along with the votes of Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
On Friday, Tillis became the 50th senator to vote ‘yes’ on Hegseth, clinching his confirmation to lead the Pentagon.
Trump Administration Moves to Finalize Purge
The Trump administration on Monday ordered former staff members for as many as 17 fired inspectors general to immediately arrange for the return of work laptops, phones, parking decals and ID cards — even as questions remained over whether President Trump broke the law in dismissing independent watchdogs.
Some of the fired officials were seeking to raise alarms about what had happened.
Trump-Appointed Prosecutor Probes January 6 Cases
A top Trump-appointed prosecutor has opened an internal review of the Justice Department’s decision to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants with felony obstruction offenses in connection with the Capitol attack.
Acting U.S. attorney Ed Martin in Washington, D.C., asked prosecutors in an email Monday to turn over files, documents, notes, emails and other information related to the cases, the people said, which included charges against some of the most violent rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021…
Within the U.S. attorney’s office, some prosecutors viewed Martin’s inquiry as an opening salvo in the Trump administration’s stated aim of investigating the Jan. 6 investigators.
‘People Will Be Shocked’: Trump Tests the Boundaries of the Presidency
“The level of anticipatory obedience we’re seeing from business, universities and the media is unlike anything I’ve seen in my lifetime.”
What possible justification is there for this loathsome act? Trump Administration Halts HIV Drugs in Poor Countries
The Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries to stop disbursing H.I.V. medications purchased with U.S. aid, even if the drugs have already been obtained and are sitting in local clinics.
The directive is part of a broader freeze on foreign aid initiated last week.
Why Trump Won’t Be Deporting ‘Millions’ of Criminals
To deport millions of ‘criminals,’ Trump would have to consider all undocumented immigrants as criminals. But being in the U.S. illegally is a civil violation, not a criminal one.
Those millions would have to include agricultural, construction and service workers, students and others who are unauthorized to be in the U.S. but have no criminal backgrounds.
Unauthorized immigrants caught near the border can be quickly removed. But any convicted immigrants serving time — or those charged with crimes — will face deportation hearings only after the U.S. criminal justice system is done with them.
Call it a guess, but the Tenth Amendment is going to smack down this attempt at a power grab: Trump Seeks More Control Over California’s Water
The White House on Sunday released an executive order by President Trump that laid out a plan to exert the federal government’s role in California’s complex water management operations and claimed its authority to overrule state officials.
The order, dated Friday, comes after Mr. Trump traveled to the state to see the devastation from wildfires that have been raging in Los Angeles for weeks. It put formal directives behind Mr. Trump’s steady criticism of California’s leaders and their response to the fires.
Democrats Eye Debt Limit to Block Trump’s Agenda
Democrats in Congress are considering forcing a showdown over the debt limit to rein in President Donald Trump’s vast plans to reshape the U.S. economy and remake the federal government.
For 30 years, Republicans have used the threat of a national default to make Democrats negotiate over GOP demands. But as America hurtles once again toward a potential debt crisis, Democrats see an opportunity to turn the tables to cut off Trump’s agenda and take the debt limit off the table in future legislative battles.
Oil Companies Not Embracing ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’
President Trump is swinging American energy policy sharply in favor of fossil fuels, but oil and gas companies say those changes won’t push them to engage in the frenzy of new drilling that Mr. Trump wants.
The oil industry is thrilled by Mr. Trump’s executive orders, which are designed to make life harder for renewable energy companies and easier for oil, gas and pipeline businesses. But on the critical question of whether his policies will lead to more oil and gas production — one of Mr. Trump’s central goals — industry executives say not unless prices rise a lot, something the president says he will not stand for.
White House Pauses All Federal Grants
The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, according to an internal memo sent to agencies Monday, creating significant confusion across Washington.
The memo also calls for each agency to perform a ‘comprehensive analysis’ to ensure its grant and loan programs are consistent with President Donald Trump’s executive orders, which aimed to ban federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and limit clean energy spending, among other measures.
Chief Corruption Prosecutor Resigns
The head of the Justice Department’s public integrity section has resigned after he was unwilling to accept a forced transfer by Trump administration officials who wanted him to work on immigration instead.
The chief, Corey Amundson, was informed of his reassignment in recent days. Mr. Amundson was one of many senior career officials told he was being sent to work on a task force focused on sanctuary cities — jurisdictions that are expected to be reluctant to comply with administration officials trying to ramp up deportations and immigration arrests.
Serendipity:
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