Border czar Tom Homan sends message to far-left officials pushing back against mass deportations: 'Game on'

Border czar Tom Homan issued a stark warning to blue cities and states resisting the Trump administration's mass deportations, telling far-left officials who want to stifle the efforts, "game on."

"We're just trying to help public safety in your community," Homan told Lawrence Jones during "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday.

"Help, work with us because you've forced us in the community. Here's what's going to happen. We'll find the bad guy, but when we find him, he's going to be with others, others that may not be a criminal priority. But guess what? If they're in the United States illegally, they're going to be arrested, too."

"Sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don't want, more agents in the communities, more people arrested, more collaterals arrested. So that's a game they want to play? Game on," he continued.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is just one of the attorneys general among the batch of far-left officials that have pushed back against the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the surge of illegal immigrants.

She previously defended Dreamers, beneficiaries of the Obama-era DACA program, saying any federal attempts to send them to their home countries would be "a bright red line for me."

"I also will not have any part of and will fight the attempt to set up what I believe are essentially concentration camps and family separation camps in the state of Arizona," she said Tuesday.

Homan called her remarks "insulting" and a misrepresentation of the truth.

"We said right out of the gate, Lawrence… we're going to concentrate on public safety," he shot back. "So she's saying that she doesn't want public safety threats out of the community? I also am insulted by the term concentration camps. Are you serious?"

"We just lost a Border Patrol agent to a shooting up in Vermont yesterday, and they're the Gestapo? Are you serious? Concentration camps? ICE has detention centers. They have the best standards in the entire industry," he continued. "I'll compare ICE detention standards in any state or federal facility or any county facility in the entire world. We got the highest detention standards, so that's an insult, and it's a lie."

Homan noted that there were 766 apprehensions at the southern border within the last 24 hours, compared to thousands on any given day under the Biden administration. He also said U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents did not release anyone.

The border czar called the stark pivot a "game-changer."

"We're concentrating on the worst first, the public safety threats and national security threats," Homan said. "And just yesterday, in the last 24 hours, ICE arrested over 308… serious criminals. Some of them were murderers. Some of them were rapists. Some of them raped a child. Some were sexual assault of a child."

"So ICE is doing their job, and they're prioritizing, just as the president said they would," he continued. "ICE is performing excellent right now out in the field and they're going to continue every day."

Homan confirmed mass deportations began Tuesday following Trump's inauguration as the new administration kicks off its crackdown on illegal immigration, reiterating the importance of the mission as it pertains to public safety and national security.

"I want to save lives. Secure border saves lives," Homan said. "When President Trump locks this border down, less women and children will be sex trafficked in this country, less aliens would die making that journey. Under President Biden, we've had a record number of people die crossing that border [and a] 600% increase in sex trafficking."

"You can't have strong national security if you don't have border security," he continued. "So we need to know who's coming in, what's coming in, where it's coming and why is coming in. So, again, President Trump [is a] game-changer. [He] already made a significant difference on that border. This country's already strong because of President Trump."

https://news.yahoo.com/news/border-czar-tom-homan-sends-155748183.html

Pete Hegseth breaks filibuster 51-49, advances to Senate vote.

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1882538797268946998

Trump signs new wave of executive orders, holds court with reporters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5xZcv5x1Uc

‘Don’t Write About the Laptop, Don’t Talk About the Laptop’: Ace Reporters Claim Politico Killed Negative Biden Stories

Two former Politico reporters, Marc Caputo of Axios and Tara Palmeri of Puck, claimed there were instances in which they felt their ex-employer either killed or resisted negative stories about former President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden on a podcast earlier this week.

Their conversation on Palmeri’s podcast Somebody’s Gotta Win arrived at that point after Caputo submitted that the press has lost the public’s trust by erroneously declaring true or plausible information “misinformation,” and cited the infamous Hunter Biden laptop story as an example.

“Politico did that terrible, ill-fated headline: 51 intelligence agents, or former intelligence agents, say that the Hunter Biden laptop was disinformation, or bore the hallmarks of disinformation. Turns out that story was closer to disinformation because the Hunter Biden laptop appeared to be true,” he observed.

“But then Facebook also pulled all stories down about the Hunter Biden laptop, and I think Twitter did at the same time, too,” jumped in Palmeri.

“Correct, they punished The New York Post, that didn’t help. I mean, Politico, my former employer and I knew at the time, didn’t do itself any favors,” said Caputo. “I was covering Biden at the time, and I remember coming to my editor and saying, ‘Hey, we need to write about the Hunter Biden laptop.’ And I was told this came from on high at Politico: Don’t write about the laptop, don’t talk about the laptop, don’t tweet about the laptop. And the only thing Politico wound up writing was that piece that called it disinformation, which charitably could be called misinformation, at the least.”

“Yeah, I mean, I had a hard time — you know I wrote some pretty serious reporting on Hunter Biden, which actually ended up getting him prosecuted — the story on the gun” replied Palmeri, delving into her own trouble to publish stories that could hurt the elder Biden’s political prospects.

“Yeah! And I remember you consulted with me cause you had, you did the original report on the gun and you came to me like, ‘How do I write about this?’ I’m like, ‘Honestly, I don’t know.'” remembered Caputo.

“Cause it was hard to get it done. I spent three months on it, I went to the laptop shop, and I did all of the reporting in Delaware, and I did all of that. But yeah it had, it had to be like much, it had to be 100% nailed down. I had everything, you know, the police reports, every, like, you know, I’m a solid reporter. But I do wonder if it could have, if it would have been published a little quicker if it was a different type of story,” reflected Palmeri. “It was the beginning of his administration, it was a honeymoon period — you know what I mean?”

“Since we’re spilling tea about our former employer, I still have a copy of the story on my external hard drive. In 2019, a rival presidential Democratic campaign of Joe Biden’s gave to me the tax lien — the oppo research — the tax lien on Hunter Biden for the period of time that he worked at Burisma,” recalled Caputo. “And I wrote what would have been a classic story saying, you know, ‘The former vice president’s son was slapped with a big tax lien for the period of time that he worked for this controversial Ukrainian oil concern, or natural gas concern, which is haunting his father on the campaign trail.'”

“That story was killed by the editors, and they gave no explanation for that either,” he said. “So that general experience, you know, obviously the public doesn’t know about those things, but as a reporter having witnessed the way in which the two candidates-”

“We just get called, like, ‘the terrible mainstream media.’ It’s like you don’t understand the process there,” interjected Palmeri.

“Well, you also don’t understand the dumb decisions of cowardly editors that are made above us,” agreed Caputo.

Hunter Biden was found guilty of committing three federal felonies stemming back to Palmeri’s story about his gun last summer and pled guilty to three more felony and six more misdemeanor tax charges pertaining to Caputo’s spiked tax lien story.

Notoriously, Politico published a story echoing the suggestion of former intelligence officials that The New York Post‘s story about the younger Biden’s laptop was “Russian disinfo.”

In a statement given to Mediaite, a Politico spokesperson objected to Caputo and Palmeri’s characterization of the publication’s editorial processes and biases and provided links to a number of unflattering stories about the former president and his family.

The statement read:

Seems like a case of false memory, given that across the years they referenced, POLITICO journalists lead the way on wide-ranging reporting on the business dealings of Joe Biden’s closest relatives. Ben Schreckinger was probably the top reporter in the country reporting on these matters—he literally wrote the book on it.

Through deeply reported coverage—both pre- and post-election—POLITICO provided readers with a nuanced understanding of the dealings of James Biden, Hunter Biden, and other relatives of the president, along with the ethical questions they raised. Notably, POLITICO was the first to confirm that Hunter Biden’s laptop contained genuine material and to report on the gun incident that led to his conviction, as demonstrated in the stories below.

And to Tara’s point, yes, our editors uphold rigorous standards, ensuring every story is thoroughly vetted and ‘buttoned up’ before publishing. This approach reflects our unwavering commitment to accuracy and accountability—principles that have guided us and will continue to do so.

https://www.mediaite.com/news/dont-write-about-the-laptop-dont-talk-about-the-laptop-ace-reporters-claim-politico-killed-negative-biden-stories/?cfp

Citizen Free Press

@CitizenFreePres

TRUMP CALLS OUT BANK OF AMERCIA CEO TO HIS FACE AT DAVOS

'To Brian Moynihan and Jamie Dimon, I hope you're going to open your banks to conservatives because what you're doing is WRONG.'

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1882560900663779692

‘Mitch McConnell Is In’: Fox News Reports On Ex-Host Pete Hegseth Clearing Key Vote Ahead of Likely Confirmation

Fox News reported Thursday on Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News morning show host, passing a key vote to become President Donald Trump’s secretary of defense.

“Breaking news this afternoon. I’m Martha MacCallum and this is the story breaking right now. The senate voting to advance Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary. There’s a couple of steps that are in in the in between on this. As you just heard John Roberts mentioning, there’s this is a test vote,” began anchor Martha MacCallum in the afternoon, adding:

We have had word that Lisa Murkowski, Senator Murkowski of Alaska, will be a no. But of course, it would take at least three no’s, which it does not sound like they have against Pete Hegseth in the Senate in order to even need the JD Vance as vice president tie-breaking vote. But it doesn’t sound like that’s even going to be necessary at this point. He has cleared the hurdle that is the main hurdle before this vote for secretary of defense.

I should also mention that we are waiting for the swearing-in of John Ratcliffe. So things are starting to move a little bit faster today as we see some movement on this. And we do expect that we’ll see a swearing-in for John Ratcliffe as CIA director. As you remember, he was, of course, the DNI, director of national intelligence in the first Trump presidency and will have an intelligence role as head of CIA in this presidency, as while we wait for that swearing-in and also another EO executive order coming for the White House.

MacCallum then brought in Capitol Hill reporter Aishah Hasnie for further details.”Hey, Martha. Well, this is a big deal for Pete Hegseth that the defense secretary nominee, because this means that he may have the 51 votes that he needs for final confirmation without the help of Vice President JD Vance,” Hasnie began, adding:

And that’s because Mitch McConnell came forward today and voted yes on cloture. This is overcoming the filibuster. To get to that final confirmation, two senators that we expected to vote no voted no on cloture, and that was Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.

And both of them put out pretty lengthy statements on X, Susan Collins putting her out just a few moments ago. And they’re both pointing to a couple of different things. They both say that they don’t believe that Hegseth is prepared to manage such an enormous-sized department like the Pentagon. And then also pointing to those past allegations of infidelity. And they just don’t feel comfortable saying that he’s just not ready for that role.

So that’s the two senators that are out. Mitch McConnell is in as is all as are all the other senators in the conference. Roger Wicker, the Armed Services Committee chairman, had told me right before this vote I’d asked him, do you think you still have the 50? That was when Lisa Murkowski came out as she was a no and he said yes. So they walked into the room here feeling confident. They had whipped the votes for quite some time.

And they knew that they had these votes and they would not need JD vance to come in. What happens next is a lot of waiting. It’s a waiting game because Democrats are going to jam the Senate again, invoke that 30-hour debate rule, and we won’t see a final confirmation vote on that until probably late Friday night Martha.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/mitch-mcconnell-is-in-fox-news-reports-on-ex-host-pete-hegseth-clearing-key-vote-ahead-of-likely-confirmation/?cfp

Tom Homan: "We’re hitting every large sanctuary city today"

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1882569626900709789

'Prompt removal': Trump DHS expands expedited deportation powers as operations ramp up

The Trump administration is significantly expanding its powers to quickly deport illegal immigrants, one of a number of rapid-fire moves made by the administration to fulfill its promise to launch a mass deportation operation.

A Department of Homeland Security notice, issued Tuesday, removes limits put on the power of expedited removal put in place in March 2022 during the Biden administration. Until the new memo, officials were limited in their use of the power to 100 miles of the border or recent arrivals.

Expedited removal allows for the rapid removal of illegal immigrants who have failed to meet the standard for asylum or have not requested asylum. The new power takes off the 2022 limits, allowing agents to remove those who are unable to prove they have lived in the U.S. for at least two years.

"Presently, immigration officers may apply expedited removal to aliens apprehended anywhere in the United States for up to two years after the alien arrived in the United States, provided that the alien arrived by sea and the other conditions for expedited removal were satisfied," the notice, signed by acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman, said.

"In particular, the full application of expedited removal authority will enable DHS to address more effectively and efficiently the large volume of aliens who are present in the United States unlawfully, without having been admitted or paroled into the United States, and ensure the prompt removal from the United States of those not entitled to enter, remain, or be provided relief or protection from removal," it says.

The memo comes a day after DHS rescinded a Biden-era memo limiting the places in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers could arrest illegal immigrants. Another memo ordered a review of the use of humanitarian parole to admit migrants.

That, in turn, came after a slew of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump that declared a national emergency at the border, halted refugee resettlement, ordered a removal process without asylum, ordered border wall reconstruction and deployed the military to the border.

Trump promised a "historic" mass deportation operation, and his border czar, Tom Homan, said on Tuesday that the operation was already underway.

"No, it started [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. Teams are out there as of today," Homan said on "America’s Newsroom." "We gave them direction to prioritize public safety threats that we're looking for. We've been working up the target list."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/prompt-removal-trump-dhs-expands-152642202.html

Saudi Arabia intends to invest $600 billion in US, crown prince says during call with Trump

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Thursday the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump earlier put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip.

Trump's 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a tradition of U.S. presidents first heading to the United Kingdom as their first trip abroad. It also underscored his administration's close ties to the rulers of the oil-rich Gulf states as his eponymous real estate company has pursued deals across the region as well.

The comments from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reported early Thursday by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, came in a phone call with Trump. It marked Trump's first call with a foreign leader since his inauguration Monday.

“The crown prince affirmed the kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond that,” the report said.

The readout did not elaborate on where those investments and trade could be placed. The U.S. in recent years has increasingly pulled away from relying on Saudi oil exports, which once was the bedrock of their relationship for decades. Saudi sovereign wealth funds have taken large stakes in American businesses while also looking at sports as well.

Saudi Arabia does, however, rely predominantly on U.S.-made weapons and defense systems, which could be a part of the investment.

The White House on Thursday issued a statement acknowledging the call, saying the two leaders “discussed efforts to bring stability to the Middle East, bolster regional security and combat terrorism.”

“Additionally, they discussed the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s international economic ambitions over the next four years as well as trade and other opportunities to increase the mutual prosperity of the United State and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the statement said, without elaborating.

The crown prince, the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, also spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio early Thursday.

On Monday after his inauguration, Trump talked about possibly heading to the kingdom again as his first foreign trip, as he did in 2017.

“The first foreign trip typically has been with the U.K. but … I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450 billion or $500 — we’ll up it for all the inflation — I think I’d probably go.”

Trump offered no breakdown on the sales, though in 2018 in the White House, he famously showed Prince Mohammed a poster declaring $12.5 billion in “finalized sales” to the kingdom of military weaponry.

"That’s peanuts for you,” Trump told the smiling prince, who chuckled.

On a potential trip to Saudi Arabia in Trump's new term, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists Thursday: “I’m not aware of any plans at this time.”

Trump's 2017 visit to the kingdom set in motion a yearslong boycott of Qatar by four Arab nations, including the kingdom.

Trump maintained close relations with Saudi Arabia, even after Prince Mohammed was implicated in the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. The kingdom also had been talking for years with the Biden administration about a wider deal to diplomatically recognize Israel in exchange for U.S. defense protections and other support.

The $600 billion pledge, which dwarves the gross domestic product of many nations, also comes as the kingdom faces budgetary pressures of its own. Global oil prices remain depressed years after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, affecting the kingdom's revenues.

Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed also wants to continue his $500 billion project at NEOM, a new city in Saudi Arabia's western desert on the Red Sea. It also will need to build tens of billions of dollars' worth of new stadiums and infrastructure ahead of it hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudi-crown-prince-says-kingdom-050715090.html

Davos 2025 updates: Trump addresses WEF as tariffs and trade dominate discussions'

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/23/wef-live-blog-whats-going-on-in-davos-on-thursday-january-23-2025.html#108091048-post

Mayors, local officials could face arrest if they don't comply with Trump's mass deportations

The Trump administration warned that any local leaders, including mayors, who try to stifle mass deportation efforts could face arrest as the president and his team work to mitigate the surge of illegal immigration.

Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller warned on "Jesse Watters Primetime" that any officials trying to shield migrants from deportation will face "criminal jeopardy" for violating the law.

"The law is clear that harboring an illegal alien, smuggling an illegal alien, obstructing law enforcement, obstructing an official proceeding and a conspiracy to violate the rights of Americans, all of these and many more are criminal statutes," the Homeland Security advisor told Jesse Watters on Wednesday.

"So if there [are] incidences that occur where a public official or an elected individual engages in violations of those criminal statutes, then I fully expect the Department of Justice will follow the letter of the law."

Miller emphasized that "no one is above the law, not illegal aliens, and not anyone who may choose to illegally harbor those aliens."

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the first days of the Trump administration, has made more than 460 arrests of illegal immigrants, including those with criminal histories that include sexual assault, domestic violence and drugs and weapons crimes.

Information obtained by Fox News Digital shows that between midnight Tuesday and 9 a.m. Wednesday, a 33-hour period, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 460 illegal immigrants that include criminal histories of sexual assault, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drugs and weapons offenses, resisting arrest and domestic violence.

Agents arrested nationals from a slew of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal and Venezuela.

"The initial immigration raids have already arrested and removed some of the most vicious criminals in this country, including child pornography cases, homicide cases, sexual assault attacks on children," Miller said. "This is just the very beginning in the effort to liberate this country from the migrant criminal threat. In the coming days, you're going to see a massive scale-up in enforcement activities all across the country to dismantle this criminal network."

Miller said ICE will be supported by "law enforcement partners in FBI, ATF, DEA and U.S. Marshals."

Border czar Tom Homan confirmed to Fox News that deportation efforts began Tuesday, with officials prioritizing the "worst first" in order to restore public safety.

"With respect to sanctuary cities overall, they are going to be flooded by federal law enforcement to find and remove these criminal threats," Miller said. "The law of this nation is being restored by President Trump. The sovereignty of this nation is being restored by President Trump, and the cartels are being designated as terrorists, and they are going to be sent packing."

Homan issued a stark warning Wednesday to officials in blue cities and states resisting the Trump administration's mass deportations.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mayors-local-officials-could-face-145535523.html

U.S. House Republicans roll out bill to restrict birthright citizenship

WASHINGTON — Falling in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, House Republicans on Thursday unveiled legislation that would amend federal immigration law to narrow the scope of citizenship, although the right is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Trump’s Monday executive order has already faced staunch legal challenges from Democratic state attorneys general and the ACLU, with oral arguments on a multistate case starting Thursday in federal court in Washington state.

The sponsor of the House bill, H.R. 569, GOP Texas Rep. Brian Babin, said he welcomed the legal challenges to Trump’s executive order and to his bill.

“We appreciate and wanted the challenges to this,” he said. “So we can get it into the Supreme Court of the United States. This thing could take up to three years before it winds up on the high court and let’s see how they (rule).”

Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, who was also at the press conference, said that despite a Supreme Court case in 1898 that upheld birthright citizenship as written in the 14th Amendment, he thinks the GOP bill will be upheld in the courts.

Other Republicans at the press event included Reps. Mike Collins of Georgia, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Brandon Gill of Texas, John Rose of Tennessee, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin and Ralph Norman of South Carolina.

“I believe, ultimately, and I’m predicting and forecasting, that when this gets to the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court’s going to rule that this, this particular piece of legislation, is constitutional,” Biggs said.

Trump has appointed a third of the Supreme Court, solidifying a conservative 6-3 majority.

The Supreme Court in 1898 upheld the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship provision — which means citizenship is guaranteed to any child born in the country, with the exception of children born to foreign diplomats.

Trump’s Monday executive order that ends birthright citizenship directs the federal government to not recognize or issue citizenship documentation to any child born after Feb. 19 to parents who are in the country without proper authorization, or to children with one parent who is in the United States on a temporary visa and another parent who is a noncitizen.

There are roughly 5.5 million U.S. children born to at least one parent who is an undocumented immigrant and 1.8 million U.S.-born children with two undocumented parents.

Babin’s legislation would make a change to federal immigration law, the Immigration Nationality Act. It says citizenship would be granted to children born in the United States who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen, or a green card holder, or an immigrant with a legal status who is serving in the military.

It does not address the potential that some parents could hold a different type of legal immigration status, such as work or student visas. According to the bill text, it would only affect children born after the bill is signed into law — although it’s likely to face immediate legal challenges.

“This is about ensuring the citizenship, a cornerstone of our national identity, that is protected, respected and aligned with the principles upon which this country was built,” Babin said.

https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/23/dc/u-s-house-republicans-roll-out-bill-to-restrict-birthright-citizenship/

President Donald Trump says he’ll ‘demand that interest rates drop immediately’

President Donald Trump lobbed his first volley at the Federal Reserve, saying Thursday that he will apply pressure to bring down interest rates.

Speaking via video to an assembly of global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the new president in a wide-ranging policy speech did not mention the Fed by name but made clear he would seek lower rates.

“I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately,” Trump said. “And likewise, they should be dropping all over the world. Interest rates should follow us all over.”

The comments represented an initial strike at Fed officials, with whom he had a highly contentious relationship during his first term in office. He frequently criticized Chair Jerome Powell, who Trump appointed, on occasion calling policymakers “boneheads” and comparing Powell to a golfer who can’t putt.

Stocks reacted slightly positive on the comments, with the Dow Jones Industrial average extending gains as Trump spoke and the policy-sensitive 2-year Treasury yield edging a bit lower.

In the flurry of activity surrounding the president’s first week in office, he has not discussed his views on monetary policy. However, during the presidential campaign Trump indicated that he should get a say in interest rate decisions.

Speaking later in the day to reporters, Trump said he expects the Fed to listen to him and plans to speak to Powell “at the right time.”

For their part, Powell and his colleagues have emphasized the importance of Fed independence. Powell in particular frequently has insisted the central bank does not make decisions based on political considerations. Trump does not have statutory authority over the Fed, though he nominates members to the board of governors.

Fed independence is seen as essential to stable markets, though the central bank has come under fire in recent years for dismissing the inflation surge in 2021 as “transitory,” which led to a series of aggressive hikes.

Trump’s comments come less than a week before the Fed holds is two-day policy meeting that will conclude Wednesday.

Markets are assigning virtually no chance that the Fed will lower further its benchmark borrowing rate, which currently is targeted in a range between 4.25%-4.5% following a full percentage point of cuts in the last four months of 2024. Traders are pricing in a first rate reduction likely coming in June and about a 50-50 probability of another move before the end of the year, according to CME Group data.

The Fed cut its funds rate after hiking it 5.25 percentage points in its efforts to battle inflation. Though inflation is still running above the central bank’s 2% mandate, officials have said policy does not need to be as restrictive as they see the pace of price increases moderating.

Trump blamed the inflation surge under former President Joe Biden on “wasteful deficit spending.”

“The result is the worst inflation crisis in modern history, and sky-high interest rates for our citizens and even throughout the world. Food prices and the price of almost every other thing known to mankind went through the roof,” he said.

A Fed official declined comment on Trump’s remarks.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/23/president-donald-trump-says-hell-demand-that-interest-rates-drop-immediately.html

UK teenager jailed for minimum of 52 years for Southport girls’ murders

A British teenager who killed three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event was jailed for at least 52 years on Thursday, for an attack Prime Minister Keir Starmer called one of the most harrowing moments in Britain’s history.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, admitted killing the girls and stabbing 10 others last July in the northern English town of Southport, an atrocity that shocked Britain and was followed by days of nationwide rioting.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer told Liverpool Crown Court that Rudakubana was obsessed with violence and genocide, and two of his victims suffered such terrible injuries they were “difficult to explain as anything other than sadistic in nature”.

Judge Julian Goose said Rudakubana should serve a minimum of 52 years. He said he could not impose a full life sentence as Rudakubana was 17 when the attack took place but he was unlikely ever to be released.

Twice during Thursday’s hearing, Rudakubana was removed from the dock after shouting he was unwell. He refused to return to court to hear his sentence.

The court was shown harrowing video footage of screaming girls fleeing the building. One bloodied girl collapsed outside, provoking gasps and sobs from the court’s public gallery.

“He targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey,” Leanne Lucas, 36, the yoga teacher who organised the event and was stabbed five times, told the court.

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were killed. They were among 26 children attending the summer vacation event.

Two suffered at least 85 and 122 sharp force injuries Heer said, saying it appeared he had tried to decapitate one of them.

After his arrest, Rudakubana told police: “I’m glad those kids are dead, it makes me happy.”

Images and documents found on a computer at his home showed a long obsession with violence, killing and genocide, Heer said.

Rudakubana also admitted possessing an al Qaeda training manual and producing ricin, a deadly poison which the judge said it was likely the teenager would have used.

Heer said the murders were not considered terrorism as Rudakubana was not inspired by any particular political or religious ideology. Material mocking religions including Islam, Judaism and Christianity had been found on his devices.

“It is not possible to identify any particular terrorist cause,” Heer said. “Rather, the evidence suggests that the defendant’s purpose was the commission of mass murder as an end in itself.”

Rudakubana had been diagnosed with autism but his lawyer, Stan Reiz, said he did not have a mental disorder that explained his actions and there was little he could offer in mitigation for “such wickedness”.

Heer said Rudakubana had in 2019 contacted a helpline for children and asked: “What should I do if I want to kill somebody?”

Soon afterwards, he was expelled from school after admitting bringing in a knife 10 times, and was arrested with a knife in his backpack after returning and attacking a pupil with a hockey stick, Heer said.

Rudakubana had been referred to a counter-radicalisation scheme, Prevent, after researching school shootings, uploading images of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to Instagram and researching an attack in London, but no action was taken.

The government has ordered a public inquiry, saying there were grave questions to answer.

“After one of the most harrowing moments in our country’s history we owe it to these innocent young girls and all those affected to deliver the change that they deserve,” Starmer said.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/23/uk/southport-girls-murders-rudakubana-sentence-intl/index.html

'Deeply alarming' new report shows 1 in 12 people in London are illegal migrants as Home Office fails to publish population data

As many as one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants, a "deeply alarming" new report has revealed.

A previously confidential report found that almost 600,000 people live in the nation's capital without the right to be in Britain - but the Home Office do not provide any official figures on the scale of the problem.

The figure - some 585,000 in London - has come to light after a study for Thames Water was brought to light by The Telegraph through freedom of information-style laws for the environment.

As many as one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants, a "deeply alarming" new report has revealed.

A previously confidential report found that almost 600,000 people live in the nation's capital without the right to be in Britain - but the Home Office do not provide any official figures on the scale of the problem.

The figure - some 585,000 in London - has come to light after a study for Thames Water was brought to light by The Telegraph through freedom of information-style laws for the environment.

The report estimates that there are more than one million illegal migrants in the UK as a whole - 60 per cent of which reside in the capital.

As many as one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants, a "deeply alarming" new report has revealed.

A previously confidential report found that almost 600,000 people live in the nation's capital without the right to be in Britain - but the Home Office do not provide any official figures on the scale of the problem.

The figure - some 585,000 in London - has come to light after a study for Thames Water was brought to light by The Telegraph through freedom of information-style laws for the environment.

The report estimates that there are more than one million illegal migrants in the UK as a whole - 60 per cent of which reside in the capital.

London

As many as one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants, the report foundPA

It suggests that the majority of illegal migrants arrived in the UK on work, study or visitor visas and then overstayed.

Migration experts have even warned that the numbers could be even higher as some of the underlying data dates from 2017, before immigration - both legal and illegal - soared under the former Conservative Government.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp - who served in said Government - called the figures "deeply alarming" and has called on Labour to ramp up its deportations.

In a veiled swipe at the ECHR, Philp added: "It is totally unacceptable to have these numbers of illegal immigrants in the UK. The law needs to be looked at so that spurious human rights, modern slavery and asylum claims cannot be used to delay or prevent removals of illegal immigrants."

That sentiment was echoed by Reform UK's migration hardliner MP Rupert Lowe, who said "mass deportations" are now required.

While the party's deputy leader Richard Tice warned: "One in 12 people in London are here illegally - probably working illegally using taxpayer-funded public infrastructure and services. It is totally unacceptable.

"It's another reason why we need to properly control our borders and welcome those who come here legally, but thank those who are here illegally as we return them where they came from."

The Thames Water report, carried out by Edge Analytics and Leeds University data analysts, had aimed to work out how many people truly used its services to enable the water firm to better meet demand.

It based its research on national estimates of illegal migrants from the Pew Research Center in the US, the London School of Economics, and Office for National Statistics data.

It then used National Insurance registrations for non-EU foreign nationals over a nine-year period to estimate the number of so-called "irregular" migrants in each London borough.

For London, the study placed its estimate at a minimum of 390,355 illegal migrants and a maximum of 585,533 at its highest, with a median figure of 487,944.

The capital's estimated population sits at 7,044,667. As a result, one in 12 of the capital's population is an illegal migrant.

When other areas outside London covered by Thames Water are included, like Henley, Guildford, Reading, Swindon and Newbury, the range for the number of illegal migrants rises to between 415,568 to 623,351.

But in the face of this, the Home Office does not publish any full data on the total number of illegal migrants in the UK, while only since 2018 has it publicised figures on the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.

A Thames Water spokesman said: "Water companies have a regulatory obligation to undertake a 'water balance', which includes understanding how much water our customers use on a per-person basis, and how it is distributed across our supply area.

"Analysis to estimate 'hidden and transient' populations is carried out by an independent firm of consultants, who draw from publicly available sources including census, surveys, and published academic research.

"Thames Water played no part in the writing of the report and the conclusions drawn are those of the independent firm that carried out the research."

A Home Office spokesman said: "This Government is strengthening global partnerships and rooting out the criminal gangs who profit from small boat crossings which threaten lives.

"We have also removed 16,400 illegal migrants in just six months, the highest figure in half a decade, making it clear that those who arrive illegally will be returned."

https://www.gbnews.com/news/migrant-crisis-report-london-illegal-immigrants-home-office-population

Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao faces up to 95 years in prison on federal charges

Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and three others have been indicted by a federal jury following a corruption investigation, the FBI and US Attorney's Office announced Friday.

The federal charges include bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud.

The three others being indicted are Thao's longtime partner Andre Jones, as well as two prominent East Bay businessmen David Duong and his son Andy Duong.

All four were arraigned Friday morning. Thao pleaded not guilty and faces a maximum of 95 years in prison. She has been released with travel restrictions.

This comes seven months after the FBI raided Thao's home along with several other locations, including properties belonging to the Duong family.

The family holds Oakland's curbside recycling contract with California Waste Solutions and has been the focus of a city probe into campaign contributions.

"As is often the case, the accused left a money trail from their deceptive acts of corruption," says special agent Linda Nguyen with the IRS Oakland field office.

EXCLUSIVE: First-hand account of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao donor paying to help her 2022 campaign

The 22-page indictment alleges that Thao and Jones accepted $95,000 worth of bribes and left a money trail to show for it. ABC7 News video shows Jones arriving to the Oakland Courthouse for his arraignment, and his attorney said he was planning to turn himself in Friday.

Andy Duong also arrived at the same courthouse in a white suit.

Federal prosecutors detailed the indictment at a press conference, saying the illegal scheme began in October 2022, just a month before the mayoral election.

"The indictment charges a scheme the defendants entered into knowing bribes would be offered and accepted by Thao and Jones. In exchange for allowing the Duongs to exercise illegal influence over the levers of city government," explains Patrick Robbins, First Assistant United States Attorney.

The indictment alleges that Thao made commitments to take official action that would benefit the Duongs.That includes an agreement to purchase housing units from a company owned by the Duong family and her agreement to ensure a contract extension that the city of Oakland has with a recycling company owned by the Duongs. It also includes her agreement to use her influence to appoint a high-level city official to benefit the Duongs.

But Thao's lawyer, Jeff Tsai, who spoke after the hearing, claims the evidence in the U.S. government's case is weak.

"The case is built on allegations from an unknown co-conspirator, that we believe when the evidence is reveled, it will show that my client has committed no crimes," says Tsai. "The timing as well is curious. And we think the timing of the event has amplified the politicalization of this issue."

Thao was released on an unsecured $50,000 bond with travel restrictions. Her next court appearance is set for February 6.

Lawyers for David Duong issued a testament to ABC7 News, saying, "Mr. Duong denies wrongdoing and will vigorously defend these allegations in court. He looks forward to prevailing in this case and continuing his decades of service, philanthropy, and devotion to our community and the Bay Area."

Lawyers for Andy responded by saying: "Our client and friend, Andy Duong, is innocent of the charges. We have kept quiet despite the media frenzy of the past months in the hope that the government would correctly come to see through objective investigation that the allegations are baseless, and being fanned by nothing more than gossip and supposition stitched together by the fabrications and delusions of those who lack all fundamental credibility. But disappointingly, Andy instead is today the most recent in a long line of Asian Americans who unfairly are singled out and forced to pay a price for daring to be active in the political sphere. We look forward to clearing his good name before the court and a jury of his peers."

ABC7 News spoke with Thao's former Chief of Staff Renia Webb Thursday night.

"Two years ago, everyone said I was lying and tonight, everyone knows I was telling the truth," Webb said.

She said this moment is a reset for the city of Oakland.

Thao was elected mayor of Oakland in 2022, and was then recalled by voters last fall.

"I'm honestly sad about Sheng. Again, she's a mom. She's very bright and smart. She just made really foolish decisions. She has to deal with the consequences of her actions," Webb said.

In front of cameras days after the raid, former Mayor Thao denied any wrongdoing.

"I want to be crystal clear; I have done nothing wrong, and I can tell you with confidence that this investigation is not about me," Thao said in June 2024.

Webb testified in front of a federal grand jury last month.

"I was informed there was pay-to-play behavior going on. That there was corrupt behavior going on in that administration," Webb said.

Thursday evening, ABC7 News insider Phil Matier says the federal indictment has profound implications.

"For a long time the question was – was she involved or was she just in the room? Did something happen or was it an associate of hers? Was it her live-in boyfriend, is it other people? If this indictment comes out, then what we are saying is we know she was directly involved in some way," Matier said.

He went on to say, "The feds don't mess around. If federal money is involved, they are going to do an investigation. They have zero tolerance for public officials bartering or dealing on the side."

Webb says let this be a lesson to other elected leaders.

"Serve the people in the way you are supposed to with honesty and transparency and if you don't, you are going to get recalled and you might go to jail if you are doing illegal and corrupt stuff," she said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-faces-up-to-95-years-in-prison-on-federal-charges/ar-AA1xm9Jf