News from the Note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
This is an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
President Trump granted a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road drug marketplace. Ulbricht was serving a life sentence for creating a site in a shady corner of the internet to sell heroin, cocaine and other illicit substances.
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) January 21, 2025 at 8:51 PM
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NEW: Speaker Johnson says President Trump has “made his decision” on Jan. 6 pardons and that he does not “second guess” the president, adding that "we believe in second chances." nbcnews.to/4jFTgof
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) January 22, 2025 at 12:42 PM
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As Trump's team wrestled with the best way to handle Jan. 6 pardons as inauguration drew near, "Trump just said: 'F -k it: Release 'em all.'" The decision was a surprise to some Republicans in Congress, who grimaced at the appearance of the new president condoning violence against police officers.
— Axios (@axios.com) January 22, 2025 at 9:57 AM
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The White House told federal agencies to detail by Friday a list of federal employees who are on probationary status and make recommendations on whether they should remain on the job reut.rs/40F9er5
— Reuters (@reuters.com) January 21, 2025 at 11:12 PM
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Breaking News: The Trump administration ordered that officials overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across federal agencies be placed on leave.
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) January 22, 2025 at 12:59 AM
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The Department of Homeland Security is firing all the members of its various advisory committees, a move which people familiar with the matter said would disrupt the agency's efforts to investigate a sweeping hack of US telecom companies blamed on Beijing reut.rs/3C97b5g
— Reuters (@reuters.com) January 21, 2025 at 11:18 PM
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Refugees who were slated to travel to the US have had their flights canceled, according to a State Department memo obtained by CNN
— CNN (@cnn.com) January 22, 2025 at 9:07 AM
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European Parliament members decided today to send a delegation to Washington on April 9-11 to strengthen relations with their US counterparts ahead of what they think could be a rocky Trump administration.
— POLITICO Europe (@politico.eu) January 22, 2025 at 9:58 AM
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Thousands of additional active duty US troops are being ordered to the southern US border with Mexico, just two days after President Donald Trump mandated that the US military step up its presence there.
— CNN (@cnn.com) January 22, 2025 at 11:38 AM
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The day after Election Day, Melanie Claros, a South Florida teacher, had more than two dozen students ask about changes to immigration enforcement ahead of Trump's presidency. At least one of her students has already stopped showing up to school for immigration-related reasons. nbcnews.to/3WoToOH
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) January 22, 2025 at 12:35 PM
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Shortly after President Donald Trump announced a new massive AI infrastructure investment from the White House, “First Buddy” Elon Musk tried to tear it down.
— CNN (@cnn.com) January 22, 2025 at 1:05 PM
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According to CalFire, the Hughes Fire ignited on Wednesday shortly before 11 a.m. PT and quickly grew to more than 3,400 acres. Evacuation warnings are in place for several neighboring areas. via @laist.com
— NPR (@npr.org) January 22, 2025 at 3:55 PM
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A major storm spread heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and the coastal Carolinas on Wednesday after breaking snow records in Texas and Louisiana, treating the region to unaccustomed perils and wintertime joy.
— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) January 22, 2025 at 2:24 PM
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