News From Around the Web
#10 Trump Pardons Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht - Brett Samuels for The Hill, UncoverDC, John Stossel, Thomas Massie/President Trump, and Bitcoin Magazine on X
President Trump said Tuesday he had signed a full pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the scandalous online marketplace Silk Road, fulfilling a campaign promise Trump had made to Libertarian voters. Trump posted on Truth Social that he had called Ulbricht’s mother to inform her of the pardon. “The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences plus 40 years. Ridiculous!” Trump posted on Truth Social. Ulbricht founded Silk Road, which served as an online black market for drugs, like heroin and, cocaine, and other illicit materials. He was convicted in 2015 on seven counts related to the site, including distributing narcotics on the Internet and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise...
#9 Reducing Food Additives: A Path to Healthier Eating Choices - Gina Hulse for UncoverDC, Canning Diva, NSEWAnswers, and UArizona AG on X
Most of the foods on our grocery store shelves contain additives, from preservatives and flavor enhancers to thickeners and food coloring. Many foods contain more than one additive, some containing three or more. Examining how to significantly reduce additives in our food supply is essential to Making America Healthy Again. The WHO states that additives are used to improve safety and extend the amount of time food can be stored, among other reasons. The WHO also contends that additives are assessed for potential harmful effects before being approved. The food industry justifies using food additives for several reasons, including preservation, appearance, flavor, texture, and nutritional value. Some justifications may be valid, such as those for shelf-life and maintaining freshness, color, and taste; however, many preservatives are not safe for the human body...
#8 Study Finds That Girl Scout Cookies Are Toxic - Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The HighWire, Guns&Gadgets, Captain Morgan, JustaHousewife, and Toria Brooke on X
Girl Scout Cookies, a financing tool of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) since 1917, were initially home-baked by Girl Scouts and their moms to finance troop activities. Today, two commercial bakers are licensed to produce Girl Scout Cookies. And, despite claiming they are full of “top-quality ingredients,” the cookies contain suspicious elements like natural and artificial flavors. But it gets even worse. Raking in $800 million a year, Girl Scout Cookies are intentionally formulated with genetically modified ingredients (GMOs), and 100 percent of the thirteen types of twenty-five cookies test positive for both cancer-causing glyphosate and toxic metals...#7 Trump Announces $500B Stargate AI Project: ‘Country Will Be Prospering Like Never Before' - Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy for USA TODAY, Tracy Beanz/Jefferey Jaxen, Shadow of Ezra/Josh Barnett-AZ, the SCIF, Dr. Ben Tapper, and Charlie Kirk on X
President Trump announced on Tuesday a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to build artificial intelligence infrastructure, aiming to outpace rival nations in the business-critical technology. Trump said the joint venture, called Stargate, will build data centers and create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle, along with other equity backers of Stargate, have committed $100 billion for immediate deployment, with the remaining investment expected over the next four years. And CEOs Masayoshi Son of SoftBank and Sam Altman of OpenAI CEO along with Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison joined Trump at the White House for the launch...
#6 ‘I Got to Use It’: Donald Trump’s Evolution From TikTok Foe to a Fan - Joey Garrison for USA TODAY, Autism Capital, Philip Melanchthon Wegmann, and Justice_Seeker on X
President Donald Trump says he wants to "save TikTok." But during the final months of his first term as president in 2020, he tried to shut down the wildly popular social media video app. It marks a dramatic evolution as Trump begins his second term. His previous administration raised concerns about TikTok sharing personal data with the Chinese government. But Trump is now shrugging off the same risks as he's getting hailed as TikTok's savior after seeing its benefits help him connect with young voters en route to winning back the White House...
#5 U.S. Expands Expedited Deportations Beyond Border Areas as Part of Trump Crackdown - Camilo Montoya-Galvez for CBS News, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nas, Douglas Mackery, Immigration Reform Law Institute, MAGA Voice George and Judy on X
he Trump administration on Tuesday dramatically broadened the scope of expedited deportations, enacting a nationwide expansion of an immigration policy known as "expedited removal" that was previously limited to areas close to U.S. borders. Expedited removal allows U.S. immigration officials to deport migrants who lack proper documents through a streamlined process that bypasses the lengthy and massively backlogged immigration court system. If those identified for expedited removal do not request asylum or fail to establish they may have a legitimate asylum case, they can be expeditiously deported, without an opportunity to see an immigration judge...
#4 As WEF Gets Underway, the List of World Leaders Not Attending Davos Speaks Volumes - Holly Ellyatt for CNBC, Alex Armstrong, Peter Sweden, Liz Churchill, Anti WEF, Naomi Seibt, Concerned Citizen, and Wide Awake Media on X
It's that time of year when the great and the good gather for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. A slew of heads of state, politicians, and business moguls are set to attend the four-day event in the Alpine resort — but what might be more telling is which leaders are sidestepping the forum. While Donald Trump, who is being inaugurated as U.S. president on Monday, is expected to address the forum via live video link on Thursday, a number of key leaders will be completely absent from the event. These include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations — which includes the U.S., Europe's biggest economies, Canada and Japan — the only head of state attending the summit in person is outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz...
#3 UW Turning Point USA Event Cancelled Following Counter-Rallies Anna Hull and Piper Davidson for The Daily, Riley Gaines, Jonathan Choe, Olivia Krolczyk, Frontline, and Andy NGO on X
Olivia Krolczyk’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA) presentation, “Protect Women from Men: The Threat of the Trans Agenda,” was canceled Tuesday evening after a fire alarm evacuation of Thomson Hall and rallies, led by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), protesting Krolczyk’s rhetoric and presence on the UW campus. Krolczyk was hosted by the UW chapter of TPUSA, a national right-wing conservative organization founded by Charlie Kirk, who hosted an event at UW last spring quarter. Krolczyk is a Riley Gaines Center Ambassador, which is a part of the conservative training center, the Leadership Institute. UW SDS hosted a rally on the Quad beginning at 5:30 p.m. in protest of Krolczyk’s presentation. Initially under 50 organizers, the rally joined a group of over 150 dancers and protesters in front of Thomson Hall on King Lane...
#2 John J. Durham Appointed Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York - United States Attorney's Office, We Have It All, Brian Cates/Feisty-n-Friends, and Toria Brooke on X
John J. Durham has begun serving as Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York as per the authority of Acting United States Attorney General James R. McHenry III. Mr. Durham was sworn in on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert. He will serve as Interim United States Attorney for a period of 120 days or until a Presidential nominee has been confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Durham has served as Chief of the Long Island Division and Chief of the Criminal Section of the Long Island Division since June 2024 to the present. “As someone who has served this Office for nearly 20 years, it is truly an honor to be appointed as Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York,” stated John J. Durham. “Our mission remains steadfast and vital: to combat the greatest threats to this district – from violent crime, terrorism, and drug trafficking to cybercrime, corruption, white-collar fraud, and civil litigation – uphold the rule of law and pursue justice. I, along with my team of dedicated public servants in this great Office will never waver in our mission to protect the over eight million residents of this district, and the nation at large.”
#1 Trump’s FBI Overhaul Begins as Acting Director Brian Driscoll Puts ‘Untouchable’ Feds on Notice: Former Agent - Sarah Rumpf-Whitten for Fox News, The Washington Times, Kyle Seraphin/Jason Foster, and Amuse on X
President Donald Trump has promised to usher in a new era in America's top investigative unit — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — with day-one changes being implemented as key senior roles were reassigned. The agency's shakeup began when former FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was nominated by Trump in his first administration, announced last month that he would step down from his post. Hours before Trump was sworn in, acting director Paul Abbate similarly stepped down. The Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the longtime head of the Justice Department’s office of international affairs, Bruce Swartz, was reassigned along with as many as 20 other staffers... A winter storm sweeping through the U.S. South on Tuesday was dumping snow at levels millions of residents haven’t seen before. Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was combining with a low-pressure system and chilly air to drop significant amounts of snow in some spots. That included 10.5 inches near Lafayette, Louisiana, by Tuesday afternoon — within striking distance of the state record of 13 inches set in 1960. The National Weather Service said 7 to 8 inches of snow had been reported in areas between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. New Orleans’ old record was 2.7 inches, set in 1963. In Texas, the Houston-Galveston area had 2 to 4 inches before midday...
And Now for Something Special 
‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the U.S. South - Isabella O’Malley for AP News
