Monday, January 27, 2025

​ January 27, 2025 Good morning, Welcome to the news for independent thinkers ​ Leading the News . . . ​ From DEI to JFK: Trump's Week 1 blitz quickly reshapes government, redirects America's focus . . . President Trump's dizzying pace of executive actions during his first week back in office quickly extinguished many of the Biden administration's initiatives, including closing the wide-open borders and reducing the number of federally recognized genders to two. "What the world has witnessed in the past 72 hours is nothing less than a revolution of common sense," Mr. Trump said in an address to the World Economic Forum on Thursday. "My administration is acting with unprecedented speed to fix the disasters we've inherited from a totally inept group of people and to solve every single crisis facing our country." Washington Times​ Politics Colombia's President Gustavo Petro buckles under Trump's trade war threat . . . Colombian President Gustavo Petro quickly reversed course about accepting flights of deported migrants from the US after President Trump threatened emergency tariffs of up to 50% on the South American country for refusing to cooperate. Petro not only acquiesced to Trump's demands, he even offered up the official Colombian presidential plane to help shuttle migrants back to the country, calling it a response to "the Government's commitment to guarantee decent conditions." New York Post​ ​ Teddy Roosevelt's Big Stick Latin America policy is back. ​ ​Bitter Colombian president calls Trump a "white slaveholder"​ ​ Trump orders massive overhaul of FEMA after accusing agency of bias against Republicans . . . President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council to evaluate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), although stopping short of instant action to shut down the country's lead disaster response agency. The order calls for the establishment of council made up of relevant federal leaders and 'distinguished individuals' selected by Trump from outside government. Daily Mail​ ​ Biden Admin Spent $15M To Distribute 'Contraceptives and Condoms' in Afghanistan . . . The Biden administration quietly awarded $15 million in taxpayer funds to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to help distribute "oral contraceptives and condoms," a non-public congressional funding notice reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon shows. In doing so, the administration acknowledged that "some coordination" with the Taliban would be "necessary for programmatic purposes." Washington Free Beacon​ ​ How did that become a priority? ​ RFK Jr. Owns Stake In Gene Editing Firm; MAHA Revolts Over New Trump-Backed mRNA Project . . . Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has investments in biotech companies that use gene editing technology he previously cautioned against, his Senate confirmation ethics paperwork revealed Wednesday. Kennedy holds dividend rights to multiple biotech firms, including a stake in CRISPR Therapeutics, ethics paperwork he filed in his bid to be confirmed as President Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services revealed. Daily Caller​ Culture The Ludicrous Reason Hollywood Barred 'Reagan' From a Best Picture Nomination . . . No conservative could honestly have expected the 2024 biopic "Reagan" to be a viable contender for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars. Ultraliberal Hollywood could never honor a film that dares to depict our 40th president as a hero. But that it's officially ineligible for nomination because it doesn't meet new diversity requirements? One ensures that "at least one of the lead actors or significant supporting actors … is from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group." The list ranges from "African American" and "Hispanic or Latina/e/o/x" to "Pacific Islander" and "Southeast Asian." Daily Signal​ ​ ​NPR, PBS, and Voice of America eyed for defunding, reform amid reporting bias concerns​ ​ 'So Bad*ss': Support Grows for Idea of Adding President Donald Trump to Mount Rushmore . . . The idea of carving President Donald Trump's likeness into South Dakota's Mount Rushmore is apparently picking up steam. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) told the New York Post that she is introducing legislation to have the job done, the outlet reported Saturday. Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was the first to propose the move during a recent interview on the Benny Johnson Show. Breitbart​ National Security Hegseth sets out to eradicate DEI from Pentagon: 'No exceptions' . . . "The President's guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at @DeptofDefense. The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays," Hegseth posted on X. Attached to the post was a picture of an apparent handwritten note from Trump that says, "DOD ≠ DEI." Washington Examiner​ ​ Pete Hegseth @PeteHegseth The President's guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at @DeptofDefense. The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays. 1:10 PM • Jan 26, 2025 24677 Retweets 131896 Likes Read 7812 replies ​ ​ Trump should rethink revoking former officials' security details, Tom Cotton says . . . President Donald Trump should rethink his decision to remove security details from three former senior national security officials, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday. That protection is not just for them, but also the public, said Sen. Tom Cotton, a Trump loyalist who nonetheless is pushing back against the president's targeting of those he perceived as adversaries. Cotton said a president needs to keep qualified individuals interested in serving the White House and that may sometimes require enhanced security for officials. Associated Press​ ​ Gabbard facing skepticism from Intel panel Republicans . . . Republicans are cautioning that Tulsi Gabbard's path to confirmation to lead the U.S. Intelligence apparatus is narrowing as she seemingly has trouble winning over key GOP senators. "I think it remains to be seen," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an Intelligence member, when asked if Gabbard can win support of the committee. "I think the jury's still out." The Hill​ ​ C.I.A. Now Favors Lab Leak Theory to Explain Covid's Origins . . . The C.I.A. has said for years that it did not have enough information to conclude whether the Covid pandemic emerged naturally from a wet market in Wuhan, China, or from an accidental leak at a research lab there. But the agency issued a new assessment this week, with analysts saying they now favor the lab theory. There is no new intelligence behind the agency's shift, officials said. Rather it is based on the same evidence it has been chewing over for months. New York Times​ ​ A "gain of function" virus emerges right outside a "gain of function" virus development lab in Wuhan. Who would have guessed there might be a link? ​ Feds round up 50 Tren de Aragua members at 'makeshift nightclub' in Denver . . . Federal agents rounded up dozens of members of Tren de Aragua in an overnight raid on a "makeshift nightclub" in Denver after the vicious Venezuelan prison gang terrorized the city and the suburb of Aurora. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said agents in Colorado interrupted an "invite-only party" where dozens of the gangbangers were cutting loose in Adams County, just outside Denver city limits. New York Post​ ​ Vance clashes with CBS host Margaret Brennan during fiery debate over refugee program paused by Trump . . . Brennan asked whether Afghan refugees, including some who worked with the US government, should be allowed in the country, and pointed out Vance said last year he doesn't think the country "should abandon anybody who's been properly vetted and helped us." But Vance was quick to insist he doesn't think all the refugees have been vetted the right way. "And now that we know that we have vetting problems with a lot of these refugee programs, we absolutely cannot unleash thousands of unvetted people into our country," the veep added. New York Post​ ​ ​ International Trump's Palestinian refugee idea falls flat with Arab allies and confounds a Republican senator . . . Egypt and Jordan, along with the Palestinians, worry that Israel would never allow them to return to Gaza once they have left. Both Egypt and Jordan also have perpetually struggling economies and their governments, as well as those of other Arab states, fear massive destabilization of their own countries and the region from any such influx of refugees. "The idea that all the Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I don't see that to be overly practical," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Associated Press​ Money The Extra Reward for Owning Stocks Over Bonds Has Disappeared . . . Stocks haven't looked this unattractive, by at least one measure, since the aftermath of the dot-com era. Plenty of investors are piling in anyway. The equity risk premium, often defined as the gap between the S&P 500's earnings yield and that of 10-year Treasurys, turned negative in late December for the first time since 2002 and sat last week at negative 0.15 percentage point. The metric is based on a calculation of how much stocks yield, which is derived by dividing the stock market's expected earnings by its price. Wall Street Journal​ ​ DeepSeek shocks AI world with 'cheap' Chinese chatbot . . . Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) app DeepSeek has overtaken ChatGPT and other rivals to become the top-rated free application on Apple's App Store in the US, UK and China. The app has surged in popularity since its launch in January, challenging the widely-held belief that America is the untouchable leader of the AI industry. It is powered by the open-source DeepSeek-V3 model, which its researchers claim was developed for less than $6m - significantly less than the billions spent by rivals. BBC​ You should also know L.A. Caves to Trump, Local Residents: Pacific Palisades to Reopen Immediately . . . Los Angeles County authorities announced Sunday evening at a mayor with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass that the Pacific Palisades will be completely reopened to residents in daylight hours on Monday, January 27 — far ahead of schedule. Two days before, at a roundtable at a local fire station on Friday, Bass had told President Donald Trump that it was unsafe for residents to return. After residents at the meeting objected, Bass relented and said they could return "within a week." Breitbart​ ​ Mahomes and the Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl to attempt a historic three-peat . . . Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are going for a three-peat in a Super Bowl rematch. This time, Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles have Saquon Barkley. The Eagles and Chiefs will face off for the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in three years on Feb. 9 in New Orleans. Kansas City aims to become the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row. Associated Press​ Guilty Pleasures Woman 'surprised' after being declared dead . . . A woman has spoken of her anguish after she was mistakenly declared dead. Nicole Paulino, of Gaithersburg, in Maryland, made the discovery after applying to renew her driver's licence. She said she was left "frightened and surprised" as a text informing her she was officially dead popped up in the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration's system. Sky News​ ​ She may have trouble collecting Social Security, but fortunately, she will have no problem voting. ​ Help CTTN reach more people by forwarding it to your family and friends! Click below to write your message and share the signup link by email. ​ Or, you can share it on social media. ​​​​ Got this from a friend? Subscribe here and get Cut to the News sent to your Inbox every morning. ​ Have a great day! ​ Follow us ​​​​ 2302 Gallows Road #625, Dunn Loring, VA 22027 Unsubscribe · Preferences​ ​