Trump’s first presidential trip shows his ‘man of the people’ cred after Ohio ‘turning point,’ WH spox says
In her first White House briefing from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump’s first presidential trip showed why he is a “man of the people.” Leavitt suggested Trump’s visit to Hurricane Helene-ravaged parts of the Great Smoky Mountains and wildfire-torched areas of southern California were a predictable start to a second presidency that was, in part, inspired by a previous trip to visit “forgotten” Americans dealing with tragedy. “President Trump still talks about his visit to East Palestine, Ohio. That was one of the turning points, I would say, in the previous election campaign where Americans were reminded that President Trump is a man of the people and he, as a candidate, visited that town that was just derailed by the train derailment, no pun intended,” Leavitt said. SENIOR TRUMP OFFICIAL REVEALS WHAT VISIT SET TRAJECTORY FOR VICTORY Trump visited Columbiana County, Ohio, in the wake of the 2023 caustic crisis, and handed out Trump Water and other supplies, while meeting with residents and local leaders. “He offered support and hope, just like I saw the president do this past week [in North Carolina and California]. It was a purposeful decision by this president on his first domestic trip to go to North Carolina and to California to visit with Americans who were impacted by Hurricane Helene and also by the deadly fires…” Leavitt added. “[A] red state and a blue state.” Leavitt said Californians and North Carolinians in the affected areas feel forgotten by the Biden administration, adding Trump will continue to “put Americans first,” whether they voted for him or not. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The September hurricane caused widespread destruction from Augusta, Georgia, to Damascus, Virginia – notably swelling the banks of the Savannah, Toccoa and Pigeon rivers and wiping out whole communities like Chimney Rock, North Carolina. A piece of Interstate 40 collapsed into the Pigeon River in Haywood County, North Carolina, and a portion of the crucial U.S. Route 58 artery near Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, remains shut down several months later due to the damage incurred. Actor Mel Gibson recently gave Fox News Channel a tour of what little remained of his home in Pacific Palisades, California, following this month’s wildfires – as innumerable other houses were reduced to their foundations. “Everyone is putting on a brave face,” the “Patriot” star said.
Transgender service members and rights groups file suit against Trump’s Pentagon directive
A group of transgender service members and rights groups are filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s restrictions on transgender troops in the military. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of six active duty transgender service members by GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), argues that the new executive order violates the equality guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. Filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the suit says the six transgender service members would lose access to healthcare and retirement benefits as a result of the executive order. “When you put on the uniform, differences fall away and what matters is your ability to do the job,” said Army 2nd Lt. Nicolas Talbott, named as plaintiff in the suit: Talbott v. Trump. The new order, signed by Trump on Monday evening, requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to update medical standards to ensure they “prioritize readiness and lethality” and take action to “end the use of invented and identification-based pronouns” within DOD. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,’ DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY It says that expressing a “gender identity” different from an individual’s sex at birth does not meet military standards. The order also restricts sleeping, changing and bathing facilities by biological sex. It’s not an immediate ban, but a direction for the secretary of Defense to implement such policies. It revokes former President Joe Biden’s executive order that the White House argues “allowed for special circumstances to accommodate ‘gender identity’ in the military – to the detriment of military readiness and unit cohesion.” The categorical ban on transgender service members was lifted in 2014 under President Barack Obama. “I’ve been military my entire life. I was born on a military base,” said Navy Ensign Dan Danridge, student flight officer, a plaintiff in the suit. DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH SAYS ‘NO MORE DEI AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’: ‘NO EXCEPTIONS’ “Every day I lace up my boots the same as everybody else. I pass the same tests as everybody else. Being transgender is irrelevant to my service. What matters is that I can complete the tasks that are critical to our mission.” “I’ve spent more than half my life in the Army, including combat in Afghanistan,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Kate Cole. “Removing qualified transgender soldiers like me means an exodus of experienced personnel who fill key positions and can’t be easily replaced.” Trump’s new order builds on another directive he issued last week that revoked a Biden-era order allowing transgender people to serve in the military. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to reinstate the ban on transgender troops he imposed during his first term. In his inauguration speech, he said he would formally recognize that there are only two genders: male and female. There are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender service members – exact figures are not publicly available. Between Jan. 1, 2016, and May 14, 2021, the DOD reportedly spent approximately $15 million on providing transgender treatments (surgical and nonsurgical) to 1,892 active duty service members, according to the Congressional Research Service. The move comes as part of a campaign taken up by Trump and Hegseth to weed out any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices across the military. And GOP lawmakers successfully included an amendment in their 2025 defense policy bill that bans irreversible transgender care for minors in the military healthcare system.
What a US exit from the WHO means for global healthcare
For decades, the United States has held considerable power in determining the direction of global health policies and programmes. President Donald Trump issued three executive orders on his first day in office that may signal the end of that era, health policy experts say. Trump’s order to withdraw from the World Health Organization means the US will probably not be at the table in February when the WHO executive board next convenes. The WHO is shaped by its members: 194 countries that set health priorities and make agreements about how to share critical data, treatments, and vaccines during international emergencies. With the US missing, it would cede power to others. “Withdrawing from the WHO leaves a gap in global health leadership that will be filled by China,” said Kenneth Bernard, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University who served as a top biodefence official during the George W Bush administration. “[This] is clearly not in America’s best interests.” The executive orders to withdraw from the WHO and to reassess the US approach to international assistance cite the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic” and say the US aid serves “to destabilise world peace”. In action, they echo priorities established in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership”, a conservative policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation. Advertisement The 922-page report says the US “must be prepared” to withdraw from the WHO, citing its “manifest failure”, and advises an overhaul to international aid at the Department of State. “The Biden Administration has deformed the agency by treating it as a global platform to pursue overseas a divisive political and cultural agenda that promotes abortion, climate extremism, gender radicalism, and interventions against perceived systemic racism,” it says. As one of the world’s largest healthcare funders – through both international and national agencies, such as the WHO and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) – the US stepping back may curtail efforts to provide lifesaving healthcare and combat deadly outbreaks, especially in lower-income countries without the means to do so. “This not only makes Americans less safe, it makes the citizens of other nations less safe,” said Tom Bollyky, director of global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The US cannot wall itself off from transnational health threats,” he added, referring to policies that block travellers from countries with disease outbreaks. “Most of the evidence around travel bans indicates that they provide a false sense of security and distract nations from taking the actions they need to take domestically to ensure their safety.” Less than 0.1 percent of US GDP Technically, countries cannot withdraw from the WHO until a year after official notice. But Trump’s executive order cites his termination notice from 2020. If Congress or the public pushes back, the administration can argue that more than a year has elapsed. Advertisement Trump suspended funds to the WHO in 2020, a measure that does not require congressional approval. US contributions to the agency hit a low of $163m during that first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, falling behind Germany and the Gates Foundation. Former President Joe Biden restored US membership and payments. In 2023, the country gave the WHO $481m. As for 2024, Suerie Moon, a co-director of the global health centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, said the Biden administration paid biennium dues for 2024-25 early, which will cover some of this year’s payments. “Unfairly onerous payments” are cited in the executive order as a reason for the withdrawal from the WHO. Countries’ dues are a percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP), meaning that as the world’s richest nation, the US has generally paid more than other countries. Funds for the WHO represent about 4 percent of the US budget for global health, which in turn is less than 0.1 percent of US federal expenditures each year. At about $3.4bn, the WHO’s budget is roughly a third of that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which got $9.3bn in core funding in 2023. The WHO funds support programmes to prevent and treat polio, tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, measles and other diseases, especially in countries that struggle to provide healthcare domestically. It also responds to health emergencies in conflict zones, including places where the US government does not operate – in parts of Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others. Advertisement In January 2020, the WHO alerted the world to the danger of the COVID outbreak by sounding its highest alarm: a public health emergency of international concern. Over the next two years, it vetted diagnostic tests and potential drugs for COVID, regularly updated the public, and advised countries on steps to keep citizens safe. Experts have cited missteps at the agency, but numerous analyses show that internal problems account for the US having one of the world’s highest rates of death due to COVID. “All nations received the WHO’s alert of a public health emergency of international concern on January 30,” Bollyky said. “South Korea, Taiwan, and others responded aggressively to that – the US did not.” ‘It’s a red herring’ Nonetheless, Trump’s executive order accuses the WHO of “mishandling” the pandemic and failing “to adopt urgently needed reforms”. The WHO has made some changes through bureaucratic processes that involve inputs from the participating countries. Last year, for example, the organisation passed several amendments to its regulations on health emergencies. These include provisions on transparent reporting and coordinated financing. “If the Trump administration tried to push for particular reforms for a year and then they were frustrated, I might find the reform line credible,” Moon, from the Geneva Graduate Institute, said. “But to me, it’s a red herring.” “I don’t buy the explanations,” Stanford University’s Bernard said. “This is not an issue of money,” he added. “There is no rationale to withdraw from the WHO that makes sense, including our problems with China.” Advertisement Trump has accused the WHO of being complicit in China’s failure to openly investigate COVID’s origin, which he alludes to
England down India to keep T20 series alive
England beat India by 25 runs in Rajkot in the third T20 international to keep the five-match series alive. Disciplined bowling and a quickfire 51 by Ben Duckett helped England bounce back to win the third T20 international against India and keep the series alive. Duckett’s 28-ball knock set up England to make 171-9 despite a collapse triggered by Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who returned figures of 5-24 in Rajkot, India on Tuesday. England’s bowlers then combined to limit India to 145-9, sealing a 26-run win in a five-match series now only led 2-1 by India. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid impressed with figures of 1-15 from an excellent four-over spell, while England’s fast bowlers struck regularly. Jamie Overton took three wickets while Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse claimed two each. England’s Jamie Overton celebrates with Phil Salt after taking the wicket of India’s Hardik Pandya, caught by Jos Buttler [Amit Dave/Reuters] Hardik Pandya stuttered to 40 off 35 deliveries before being dismissed by Overton when the required run rate climbed to more than 20 an over. Archer struck first with the wicket of Sanju Samson, who was caught at mid-on by Rashid. Advertisement Carse dismissed Abhishek Sharma, for 24, with Archer taking a spectacular catch while running backwards from mid-off. Mark Wood sent back skipper Suryakumar Yadav, with the batter top-edging a quick, rising delivery into the gloves of wicketkeeper Phil Salt. Wickets kept tumbling as Rashid bowled Tilak Varma and Overton sent back Washington Sundar to reduce India to 85-5, and Pandya never seriously threatened to take India over the line. England’s Ben Duckett top scored in the match [Amit Dave/Reuters] Earlier, Duckett’s blazing start and then a 24-ball 43 by Liam Livingstone boosted the total and the lower order chipped in after England slipped to 127-8 in 16 overs. Duckett put on 76 runs with skipper Jos Buttler, who hit 24, after losing his opening partner Salt. Chakravarthy broke the stand with Buttler’s wicket, a caught-behind dismissal given on review. Duckett, who struck two sixes and seven fours, reached his 50 in 26 balls but was out in the same over off Axar Patel’s left-arm spin. England soon lost their way against India’s spinners as Ravi Bishnoi bowled Harry Brook for eight and Chakravarthy struck twice to send back Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton in the next over. India’s Varun Chakravarthy celebrates with Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson after taking the wicket of England’s Harry Brook [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters] Chakravarthy returned in his last over to take two more and register his second five-wicket haul in T20 internationals. Livingstone stood defiant and smashed Bishnoi for three sixes in the space of four balls before he holed out off Pandya, but his knock proved key. Advertisement Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who returned to international action for the first time since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, bowled three wicketless overs for 25 runs. The fourth match is on Friday in Pune. Adblock test (Why?)
UNRWA chief warns against Israel’s ‘disastrous’ impending ban
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini says Israel’s ban would ‘heighten instability and deepen despair’ at a ‘critical moment’. The head of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has warned that an impending Israeli ban on the organisation would cripple humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip and undermine the Israel-Hamas ceasefire there. Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UNRWA, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the ban, due to come into effect on Thursday, would “heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territory at a critical moment”. The move would also undermine recovery and reconstruction efforts for the enclave that has been ravaged by more than 15 months of war, eroding trust in the international community and jeopardising prospects for peace and security, he said. The United States, a key Israel ally, supported the “sovereign decision” made by Israel to shutter UNRWA and cut all contact with it. Dorothy Shae, Washington’s envoy to the Security Council meeting, said the agency delivering aid to millions is “exaggerating” the potential impact of the Israeli ban – which experts and UN officials have said would likely be catastrophic. Advertisement UNRWA runs the largest network delivering humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and to Palestinian refugee populations across the Middle East. It also works with a host of other agencies, and manages schools-turned-shelters housing displaced civilians in Gaza that were repeatedly targeted by the Israeli military. Israel had told the meeting that within 48 hours it would cut all contact with UNRWA, ban Israeli officials dealing with the agency, and require the closure of the organisation’s offices in areas under Israeli control. The agency has been instrumental in delivering aid supplies to Gaza under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal which took effect earlier this month. The deal has seen the release of several Israeli captives held by armed groups in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners who had been held in Israeli jails. In accordance with the agreement, Israel has opened some military checkpoints in the territory, allowing thousands of Palestinians who had been displaced to southern Gaza to return to their homes in the north of the Strip. Reporting from Salah al-Din Street, the main highway that runs from southern Gaza to the north, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said the journey was overwhelming and exhausting for those making it. “People who returned to assess the damage to their homes [in the north] told us they found nothing but destruction and the remnants of their previous lives,” he said. “They’ve started again from scratch to rebuild what they lost. Many of them have set up their makeshift shelters again near the ruins of their destroyed homes.” Advertisement More than 47,000 people have been killed and more than 111,000 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities. Adblock test (Why?)
Abbott orders state police to help federal agents with immigration enforcement
According to the governor, 5,400 immigrants in Texas have a warrant for their arrest.
Individuals receiving direct assistance won’t be impacted by federal funding freeze, press secretary says
President Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that federal individual assistance will not be affected by a freeze on federal grants and loans. “I have now been asked and answered this question four times,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday during her first White House press briefing on Tuesday. “To individuals at home who receive direct assistance from the federal government: You will not be impacted by this federal freeze.” Programs including Social Security benefits, Medicare, food stamps, welfare benefits and other assistance going directly to individuals will not be impacted under the pause, according to Leavitt. TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW “There is no uncertainty in this building … this is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration,” Leavitt said. The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo on Monday issuing a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate “wokeness” and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency. “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” the memo, obtained by Fox Digital, reads. The pause takes effect at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Trump-era southern border sees migrant encounters plummet by over 60% as new policies kick in
EXCLUSIVE: The number of migrants arriving at the southern border has dropped by over 60% since President Donald Trump took office last week, new data obtained by Fox News Digital shows. There were 7,287 migrant encounters at the southern border in the first seven days (Jan 20-26) after Trump’s inauguration by both Border Patrol between ports of entry and by the Office of Field Operations (OFO) at ports of entry, with a daily average of 1,041 encounters a day. That compares to 20,086 encounters in the seven days in the final days of the Biden administration (Jan 13-19) prior to Trump’s inauguration, averaging 2,869 encounters a day. BORDER AGENTS RECORD SHOCKINGLY LOW NUMBER OF ILLEGAL CROSSINGS ONE WEEK INTO SECOND TRUMP PRESIDENCY That equals more than a 63% decrease in the number of encounters at the southern border. President Trump entered office last week and immediately declared a national emergency at the southern border, and ordered the expulsion of migrants without the possibility of asylum. He also shut down the Biden-era use of the CBP One app that allows migrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry so they can be allowed into the U.S. via humanitarian parole. The numbers suggest that the moves are having an impact at both the ports of entry and for those crossing illegally. COLOMBIAN LEADER QUICKLY CAVES AFTER TRUMP THREATS, OFFERS PRESIDENTIAL PLANE FOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS Fox News reported on Monday that fewer than 600 people crossed illegally into the U.S. on Sunday, and that not a single of the nine sectors received more than 200 illegal crossings. The Del Rio sector – which is the same sector that would sustain over 4,000 crossings per day during the height of the border crisis in December 2023 – only recorded 60 crossings. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Trump has sent the U.S. military to the border, ordered the continuation of wall construction and has shut down additional parole programs, including the processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Separately, his administration has launched a mass deportation program, quickly racking up daily arrests of more than 1,000 as raids take place in sanctuary cities including Boston and New York City. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem oversaw one of the raids on Tuesday in New York City, saying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement caught “dirtbags” — including an illegal immigrant with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges. Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
State Dept pulls millions in funding for ‘condoms in Gaza,’ as Trump admin looks to trim spending
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to freeze foreign aid over the weekend included pulling millions of dollars-worth of U.S. funding for “condoms in Gaza,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. The revelation came as the official explained that a separate memo from the Office of Management and Budget will temporarily pause grants, loans and federal assistance programs pending a review into whether the funding coincides with President Donald Trump’s executive orders, such as those related to ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the Green New Deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) “that undermine the national interest.” “If the activity is not in conflict with the President’s priorities, it will continue with no issues,” the White House official told Fox News Digital. “This is similar to how HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] stopped the flow of grant money to the WHO [World Health Organization] after President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the organization. Or how the State Department halted several million dollars going to condoms in Gaza this past weekend.” RUBIO PAUSES FOREIGN AID FROM STATE DEPARTMENT AND USAID TO ENSURE IT PUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST’ Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department on Tuesday seeking additional information. In her first-ever briefing Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the OBM found “that there was about to be $50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza.” “That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money. So that’s what this pause is focused on, being good stewards of tax dollars,” Leavitt told reporters. She said DOGE and OBM also found $37 million was about to be sent to the WHO before Trump’s executive order breaking ties with the global health body. The Jerusalem Post reported in 2020 that scores of condoms were being used to create IED-carrying balloons that winds would carry into southern Israel, raising alarm on schoolyards, farmlands and highways. At the time, the Post reported that the improvised explosive devices – floated into Israel via inflated contraceptives – burned thousands of hectares of land and caused “millions of shekels of damage.” It’s not clear if the practice continues. Just two days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, which involved Hamas terrorists brutally raping some of the approximately 1,200 people killed in southern Israel and hundreds of others brought back into Gaza as hostages, a global NGO known as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) released a statement regarding the resulting war and escalating violence. The NGO claimed that any blockade of aid shipments into Gaza would infringe on their “enormous gains made in life-saving sexual and reproductive healthcare in this region.” “Palestinians are systematically denied sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights,” the executive director of a corresponding NGO, the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA), said at the time. “Our health system has been repeatedly targeted and depleted by the Israeli occupation, and the more it disintegrates, the more it will hinder the full realization of these rights for women and girls.” On Sunday, Rubio paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for review. SECRETARY OF STATE RUBIO HAILS RELEASE OF US PRISONER IN BELARUS AS CONTROVERSY HANGS OVER NATION’S ELECTION The move came in response to Trump’s executive order, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” issued last week directing a sweeping 90-day pause on most U.S. foreign assistance disbursed through the State Department. The State Department said Sunday that Rubio was initiating a review of “all foreign assistance programs to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.” “President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people. Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative. The Secretary is proud to protect America’s investment with a deliberate and judicious review of how we spend foreign assistance dollars overseas,” a State Department spokesperson said Sunday. “The mandate from the American people was clear – we must refocus on American national interests,” the statement added. “The Department and USAID take their role as stewards of taxpayer dollars very seriously. The implementation of this Executive Order and the Secretary’s direction furthers that mission. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, ‘Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?’” Rubio had specifically exempted only emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt from the freeze on foreign assistance. On Monday, at least 56 senior USAID officials were placed on leave pending an investigation into alleged efforts to thwart Trump’s orders, the Associated Press reported, citing a current official and a former official at USAID. An internal USAID notice sent late Monday and obtained by the AP said new acting administrator Jason Gray had identified “several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.” “As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,” Gray wrote. The senior agency officials put on leave were experienced employees who had served in multiple administrations, including Trump’s, the former USAID official said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Department of Justice cuts off federally funded legal aid to detained immigrants
The decision to halt the program could prevent thousands of people detained in immigration detention centers from receiving legal advice.