International News Briefs for Tuesday, January 21, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – Here are the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Tuesday January 21, 2025.
Tech Billionaires Share Stage as Donald Trump Takes Oath of Office as 47th U.S. President
Jan 21, 2025
Donald J. Trump has been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office inside the Capitol after Monday’s inaugural proceedings were moved indoors because President Trump said it was too cold outside.
President Donald Trump: “During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first.”
CEOs of tech giants were given prime positions at Trump’s inauguration, including Tesla, X and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk; Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg; Amazon’s Jeff Bezos; Apple’s Tim Cook; and Google’s Sundar Pichai. Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders commented, “When the 3 wealthiest men in America sit behind Trump at his inauguration, everyone understands that the billionaire class now controls our government.”
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Trump Declares Emergency at Southern Border, Promising “Millions and Millions” of Deportations
Jan 21, 2025
During his inaugural address, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, saying his administration’s top priority would be mass deportations of “millions and millions of criminal aliens.” Trump also said he would reintroduce his “Remain in Mexico” policy for asylum seekers. And he rescinded a Biden-era interagency task force set up to reunite families separated at the border during Trump’s first term.
Just moments after Trump took office, the Customs and Border Protection’s CBP One smartphone app, which provides a path for people to apply for asylum at the U.S. border, stopped working. All appointments to hear claims for refugee status on the app have been canceled. President Trump also set up a return to his first administration’s travel ban on citizens from several predominantly Muslim nations, issuing an order directing a 60-day study to come up with a list of countries.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Senate approved the Laken Riley Act, a bill to mandate immigration detention for undocumented immigrants charged with crimes, including nonviolent offenses. Twelve Democratic senators joined Republicans voting for the bill; that follows 48 House Democrats who sided with Republican representatives to approve the legislation.
Topics:
- Donald Trump
- Immigration
- Immigrant Rights
- Refugees
- Border Patrol
- Mexico
- Senate
- Department of Homeland Security
Trump Pardons 1,500 Capitol Rioters Including Proud Boys and Oath Keepers
Jan 21, 2025
Monday’s inauguration took place inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the same spot where Trump’s supporters staged an insurrection on January 6, 2021, in a violent attempt to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 race. Just hours after Trump took the oath of office, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of all of his supporters charged in the January 6 Capitol insurrection. He’s also seeking to dismiss hundreds of pending cases.
President Donald Trump: “So, this is January 6th, and these are the hostages, approximately 1,500, for a pardon.”
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in planning the insurrection, is set to be released from prison following the sweeping pardons.
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Biden Grants Clemency to Indigenous Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier
Jan 21, 2025
Joe Biden granted clemency Monday to longtime political prisoner and Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier in a surprise move in the final minutes of his presidency. Under terms of his release from federal prison, the 80-year-old Peltier must live under house arrest. We’ll have more on this later in the broadcast with the NDN Collective’s Nick Tilsen, who helped lead the campaign for Peltier’s clemency.
As he was exiting office, Biden also pardoned five more members of his own family, saying they did nothing wrong but that he feared reprisal by the Trump administration.
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Trump Withdraws U.S. from Paris Climate Agreement
Jan 21, 2025
During his inaugural address Monday, President Trump vowed to declare a “national energy emergency” in order to fulfill his campaign pledge to “drill, baby, drill.” Trump then proceeded to sign executive orders opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration; lifting a pause on new liquefied natural gas exports; pledging to streamline permitting for energy and mining projects; and revoking a Biden-era goal of transitioning to electric vehicles. And for the second time, President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the United Nations’ Paris Climate Agreement. As he signed the order, Trump said, “The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity.” That prompted this response from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Guo Jiakun: “China is concerned about the U.S. announcement that it will withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Climate change is a common challenge facing all mankind. No country can stay out of it, and no country can be immune to it.”
Trump’s return to power has alarmed climate activists worldwide. On Monday, protesters in London unfurled a 100-meter-wide banner across from the Houses of Parliament.
Phil Thornhill: “It says, ‘Trump: Climate Genocide.’ And it’s to get over the point that the election of a climate denier to be the most powerful man in the world is going to have dreadful consequences.”
Topics:
- Donald Trump
- Climate Crisis
- Oil & Gas
- Coal
- Auto industry
- Paris Climate Summit 2015
- Alaska
- Arctic
- United Nations
- Protests
- China
Trump Withdraws from WHO, Rolls Back LGBTQ Rights and Puts Cuba Back on Terrorism List
Jan 21, 2025
Trump has ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the U.N.’s World Health Organization, a move health experts say could undermine the global response to the next pandemic.
Other executive orders issued by Trump on day one include a rollback of policies around DEI and LGBTQ rights, reflecting the mounting right-wing attack on transgender communities. One order states, “Agencies will cease pretending that men can be women and women can be men when enforcing laws that protect against sex discrimination.”
Another order seeks to rename the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” and Alaska’s Denali, the highest peak in North America, to Mount McKinley — the name it was known by until President Obama changed it in 2015. The order has no bearing on what names are used for the sites internationally.
Trump also reversed a Biden executive order barring the use of deadly chokeholds and no-knock warrants by federal law enforcement, and a Biden order that sought to wind down the Justice Department’s use of private prisons.
Trump also revoked Biden’s removal last week of Cuba from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list.
Topics:
- Donald Trump
- Healthcare
- Race in America
- Women’s Rights
- LGBTQ
- Transgender Rights
- Mexico
- Alaska
- Native American
- Police Brutality
- Cuba
Senate Votes 99-0 to Confirm Marco Rubio as Secretary of State
Jan 21, 2025
On Monday, the Senate unanimously confirmed Marco Rubio as the new secretary of state and Trump’s first Cabinet member. He is the first Latino to hold the top diplomatic post. Rubio is a staunch supporter of Israel, defending its devastating assault on Gaza during his confirmation hearing last week. He also repeatedly touted his hawkish position toward China, which has imposed sanctions against Rubio.
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Senate Armed Services Committee Advances Pete Hegseth’s Nomination to Lead the Pentagon
Jan 21, 2025
Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday voted to advance Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary to the Senate floor. Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Armed Services Committee, blasted her Republican colleagues for “rushing through the most unqualified nominee for U.S. Secretary of Defense in modern history.” Hegseth has been accused of domestic violence, rape, being drunk on the job, Islamophobia and mismanaging two nonprofits’ funds, among other things.
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Gaza Authorities Say 10,000 Bodies Could Be Uncovered from Rubble After 15 Months of Genocide
Jan 21, 2025
In Gaza, civil defense workers say they’ve discovered the bodies of 137 people buried under the ruins of Palestinian homes, schools and businesses in the hours since the ceasefire deal took effect Sunday. The grisly discoveries are only the first of what the Palestinian Civil Defense agency estimates to be 10,000 bodies trapped under the rubble covering Gaza following 15 months of Israeli bombardment. Asem Alnabih is spokesperson for the Gaza Municipality.
Asem Alnabih: “There are still thousands of bodies trapped under the rubble. Of course, the municipal authorities have been working with other departments to support the cleanup. We hope to uncover the victims’ remains in the next few days. However, our success heavily relies on the introduction of heavy equipment. Gaza City is the largest city in the Gaza Strip, but its current engineering machinery is also very limited, making it impossible to carry out the necessary work.”
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Trump Lifts U.S. Sanctions on Far-Right Illegal Israeli Settlers, Threatens to “Develop” Post-War Gaza
Jan 21, 2025
In his first remarks on Gaza since retaking the White House, President Trump said Monday he’s “not confident” the ceasefire will remain in place. Trump said he plans to lift the Biden administration’s pause on U.S. deliveries of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. And he rescinded Biden-era sanctions on far-right Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Trump said Gaza appeared to be a “massive demolition site” that should be rebuilt.
President Donald Trump: “You know, Gaza is interesting. It’s a phenomenal location: on the sea, the best weather. You know, everything is good. It’s like — some beautiful things could be done with it. But it’s very interesting. But some fantastic things could be done with Gaza.”
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Vivek Ramaswamy Departs DOGE to Launch Campaign for Ohio Governor
Jan 21, 2025
Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Monday he will leave his position as co-chair of Trump’s incoming Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and will mount a campaign to become governor of Ohio. According to Politico, DOGE co-chair Elon Musk made it known in recent days that he wanted Ramaswamy out. Three lawsuits filed in federal court Monday accuse DOGE of violating federal transparency laws. A fourth lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity seeks DOGE-related records under the Freedom of Information Act.
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Elon Musk Appears to Make Nazi “Seig Heil” Gesture Twice During Trump Inauguration
Jan 21, 2025
On Monday, Elon Musk stoked outrage when he appeared to make a “sieg heil” Nazi salute — twice — as he thanked Trump supporters at an inaugural rally in Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena.
Elon Musk: “And I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you.”
In response, New York Congressmember Jerrold Nadler wrote on Musk’s social media platform X, “I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a Heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal. This abhorrent gesture has no place in our society and belongs in the darkest chapters of human history. I urge all of my colleagues to unite in condemning this hateful gesture for what it is: antisemitism.”
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Cecile Richards, 67, Longtime Former President of Planned Parenthood, Dies of Brain Cancer
Jan 21, 2025
Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood and fierce defender of reproductive rights, has died at 67 after a battle with brain cancer. Richards was a labor and voting organizer before leading Planned Parenthood from 2006 to 2018, helping fend off Republican attacks on abortion in red states. In November of last year, Richards was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden. She was the daughter of pioneering Texas Democratic Governor Ann Richards. Cecile Richards spoke on Democracy Now! many times, including in July of 2018, after then-President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court as part of the far-right plan to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Cecile Richards: “Roe v. Wade didn’t create the idea of abortion. Abortion existed before it was legal. It was simply unsafe, and young, healthy women died routinely in emergency rooms across this country. I still meet doctors who can tell me they remember doing their residencies and their rotations, seeing women die. So, the point is now, I think, what the president is saying is we’re going to actually now say that women may be safe in some states, but in a lot of states they won’t be. My home state of Texas, where they actually have basically tried to outlaw abortion almost completely, we’re going to go back to a day in which women had to go across the border or take things into their own hands. It’s a very scary time for women.”
That was Cecile Richards speaking in 2018. She just died at the age of 67. Click here to see our interviews with Cecile Richards over the years.