But though no more funds will be allocated to cover border barriers and already awarded contracts will have to be diverted, a Defense Department spokesman told Military Times on Thursday that there are no current plans for redeployment of thousands of troops.

Biden’s executive order “has no direct effect on DoD support to the border mission,” Army Lt. Col. Christian Mitchell said. “It will continue as normal.”

More than 3,000 troops, mostly National Guardsmen, are still rotating to the border to support Customs and Border Protection missions, though they have not be tasked with detaining anyone who tries to cross the border.

At the peak, the Pentagon had authorized up to 5,500 troops on the border, which former Defense Secretary Mark Esper dropped down to 4,000 in June.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/01/22/the-border-emergency-is-canceled-but-thousands-of-troops-there-arent-scheduled-to-go-home/

Jan. 23, 2021 at 2:11 p.m. PST

RICHMOND — Virginia, a state that has executed more prisoners than any other in the country, appears poised to eliminate the death penalty — a seismic shift for the state legislature, which just five years ago looked to the electric chair and secret pharmaceutical deals to keep the ultimate punishment alive.

The former capital of the Confederacy would become the first Southern state to abolish capital punishment if a bill on track to pass the Senate gets out of the House and over to the desk of Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who has promised to sign it.

A ban in Virginia could help sweep in change across the South, according to experts who say racial disparities in the death penalty’s application have roots in the region’s history of slavery and Jim Crow segregation.

“Just as Confederate monuments are being dismantled, this vestige of Confederate law is also facing dismantling,” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. “That historical context is a central part of the repeal. And repeal offers a real opportunity for racial healing.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virgina-death-penalty/2021/01/23/5d51d21a-5c02-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/illinois-national-guards-latest-mission-help-vaccinate-chicago-area-from-covid-19/ar-BB1d1XKc

Villafuerte’s effort shows the delicate dance the Illinois National Guard must perform. No one questions the troops’ ability to bolster the massive operation’s efficiency or pace, but there have been debates nationwide concerning whether uniformed soldiers would fuel baseless conspiracy theories about the government’s motive for mass immunizations and exacerbate vaccine hesitancy.

“We’re trying to squash the conspiracies,” said Villafuerte, who lives in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. “I use my (immunization) card to show them it’s not a conspiracy. It’s a real thing, and we’re very lucky to have the vaccine. As members of the Illinois National Guard, we’re just here to help.”

The assistance comes as nearly 1.1 million people across Illinois have been infected with the virus. On Friday, the reported death toll reached 18,615 statewide since the start of the pandemic.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker activated the Guard this month to help distribute vaccines as they become more widely available to the public, though he’s warning that demand will continue to exceed supply. The state will move into phase 1b Monday, as an estimated 3.2 million residents will become eligible for their first round of shots. The allowed group includes people older than 65 , teachers, first responders and other front-line workers.

More than 200 Guard members have been activated so far, and the governor plans to activate about 400 total to all regions of the state. The first soldiers arrived in Cook County on Tuesday and are now helping to administer vaccines at six suburban locations. The Guard members were not vaccinated before arriving, but can receive the shot at the end of the day if there are any leftover doses that would otherwise spoil.

At Cook County Health’s North Riverside Health Center, Guard members and the site’s regular staff moved patients quickly through the vaccination process Friday. It took most people less than 30 minutes from the time they walked in the door for their scheduled appointment until the time they finished, including the required 15-minute waiting period to be monitored for immediate side effects.

Opinion by

Max Boot

Columnist

Jan. 23, 2021 at 1:25 p.m. PST

I am in awe of dissidents in police states who risk their lives and freedom to fight for democracy and human rights. Their courage stands as a searing rebuke to all those — including, most recently, many Republicans in Washington — who are complicit in plots against democracy.

But even among fighters for freedom, Alexei Navalny stands out for his sheer, unadulterated courage. This man has, as so many have said, “balls of steel.”

Last August, Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok — almost certainly on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Only medical evacuation to Germany saved his life. Yet Navalny was unbowed by this ordeal. He even managed to record a conversation in which he tricked one of his alleged would-be assassins — an FSB operative — into a confession.

No one would have held it against him if Navalny had decided to go into exile with his family. It would have been the smart move, especially given that Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service warned that he faced immediate imprisonment on his return to Russia on trumped-up criminal charges. Navalny and his wife, Yulia, flew back to Moscow anyway on Jan. 17, setting up the arrest everyone expected.

Edward Lucas of the Center for European Policy Analysis has fleshed out how to hold Putin and his gang accountable: Anyone involved in persecuting Navalny should no longer be welcome in the West. Same with their families. “No visas. No shopping. No holidays. No bank accounts. No investments.” Track down the dirty Russian money in the West. “Freeze the accounts. Seize the properties. Demand evidence … that the money was honestly acquired.” Go after the Russians’ intermediaries too — bankers, accountants, lawyers. They deserve social disgrace at a minimum, and possibly even prison.

The Biden administration must do what it can to protect Navalny’s life — and the flickering hopes of freedom in Russia.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/23/biden-must-act-save-navalnys-life-hopes-freedom-russia/

Many experts expect Biden to hold off on the public saber-rattling and use of U.S. policy toward Taiwan as a way to push back at China that typified the Trump approach.

Biden’s objectives are likely to include “viewing Taiwan as a card to be valued, not a card to be played in competition with China,” said Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served as the director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia on the National Security Council during President Barack Obama’s second term. “I think that there will be a focus on helping Taiwan gain confidence and its own security, control of its own economic destiny, and dignity and respect on the world stage.”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/22/taiwan-seeks-assurances-biden-trump-china/