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China Condemns Trump’s ‘Tariff Shocks’ at World Trade Organization Meeting

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China’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Li Chenggang, told a closed-door meeting in Geneva on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s “tariff shocks” could trigger a worldwide recession.

“These ‘tariff shocks’ heighten economic uncertainty, disrupt global trade, and risk domestic inflation, market distortion or even global recession. Worse, the U.S. unilateralism threatens to upend the rules-based multilateral trading system,” Li said.

The WTO, headquartered in Geneva, is governed by a “General Council” that meets regularly with trade ambassadors from all 166 nations. Tuesday’s meeting was the first time since the 2024 U.S. election that growing worldwide trade frictions have been formally addressed by the General Council.

Disputes between the two top economies at the WTO long predate Trump’s arrival. Beijing has accused Washington of breaking rules while Washington says Beijing does not deserve its “developing country” status which entitles it to special treatment under WTO rules.

This last was an allusion to China absurdly classifying itself as a “developing nation” to enjoy preferential treatment at the WTO, despite being one of the world’s largest economies. (Read more from “China Condemns Trump’s ‘Tariff Shocks’ at World Trade Organization Meeting” HERE)

Trump Endorses Sending DOGE Rebate Checks to Taxpayers

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President Trump on Wednesday endorsed sending Americans rebate checks based on a percentage of the savings achieved by the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting measures.

“There’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% goes to paying down debt because the numbers are incredible,” Mr. Trump said at the Future Investment Institute’s PRIORITY Summit in Miami.

Mr. Trump said by allowing the American people to get in on the action, they will help the federal government identify the fraud, waste and abuse that he was sent to Washington to clean up.

“By doing this Americans will tell us where there’s waste. They’ll be reporting it themselves. They’ll participate in the process of saving money,” he said.

Mr. Trump did not offer any details about the plan, including how many Americans would receive checks or how the process would work. (Read more from “Trump Endorses Sending DOGE Rebate Checks to Taxpayers” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Trump, Musk Emphasize the Importance of ‘Full Transparency’ in DOGE Efforts

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President Donald Trump and DOGE head Elon Musk emphasized the role of “full transparency” in efforts to root out waste, fraud and abuse in an exclusive interview on “Hannity.”

“You know what’s better than saying ‘trust me’? It’s just full transparency. So what we’re doing with DOGE, just go to DOGE.gov. You can see every single action that has been taken,” Musk told Fox News host Sean Hannity during a segment that aired Wednesday.

Trump and Musk discussed a range of topics during their wide-ranging interview, including DOGE and the president’s first 100 days in office.

Trump tapped Musk to lead DOGE with the aim of dismantling government bureaucracy, slashing regulations, cutting wasteful spending and restructuring federal agencies.

“To me, it was important for people to understand he’s doing a big job. He’s doing a very thankless job. It’s really a thankless job. But he’s helping us to save our country. Our country is in serious trouble. And I had to get the best guy,” Trump said. (Read more from “Trump, Musk Emphasize the Importance of ‘Full Transparency’ in DOGE Efforts” HERE)

ABC News Piece on Who’s in Charge Raising Lots of Questions

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Now that President Donald Trump in his second term is really looking to get to the bottom of wasteful spending, with the help of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), ABC News is now asking questions about who is in charge.

“Contradictory statements about Musk make it unclear who runs DOGE,” read the headline from Monday night, with the article shared over X on early Tuesday morning.

As the article mentioned about Musk and DOGE:

As its influence within the federal government grows daily, one question routinely emerges about the Department of Government Efficiency: Who is in charge?

That answer continues to evade the lawyers tasked with defending President Donald Trump’s administration in court.

…

However, according to Office of Administration Director Joshua Fischer, Musk is neither the administrator nor an employee of DOGE. Instead, Musk is a “non career special government employee” who serves as a senior adviser to the president. The filing compared Musk’s role to that of Anita Dunn, a longtime political adviser who served as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden.

“In his role as senior advisor to the President, Mr. Musk has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors. Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions,” the affidavit said.

(Read more from “ABC News Piece on Who’s in Charge Raising Lots of Questions” HERE)

Associated Press Ban Will Continue Until News Organization Uses ‘Gulf of America,’ Trump Says

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President Trump said Tuesday the Associated Press will continue to be barred from White House events, the Oval Office and Air Force One until the news organization starts using “Gulf of America” to refer to the body of water between Florida and Mexico.

“We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that’s the Gulf of America,” Mr. Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago. “We’re very proud of this country and we want it to be the Gulf of America.”

“They’re not doing us no favors and I guess I’m not doing them any favors. That’s the way life works,” Mr. Trump said.

The Associated Press has explained that the wire service intends to continue to use the “Gulf of Mexico” because the organization’s news is disseminated around the world, and AP wants to ensure that names and geography are recognizable to global audiences.

Mr. Trump bashed the news service as a left-wing outlet that he claimed was biased against him and Republicans. (Read more from “Associated Press Ban Will Continue Until News Organization Uses ‘Gulf of America,’ Trump Says” HERE)

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Trump Has Already Made a Massive Dent in Illegal Immigration

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Border crossings have plummeted considerably since President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, according to a report from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

The report notes a whopping 85 percent drop in apprehensions at the southern border compared to the same time period in 2024. This suggests that Trump’s election has discouraged many would-be illegal immigrants from attempting to gain entry into the country.

There were 61,465 apprehensions along the border in January, according to the CBP report. In December, the agency reported 96,048. Border Patrol apprehended 176,195 at the southwest border in January 2024, one year ago.

CBP’s report also noted that it has confiscated record numbers of deadly fentanyl as smugglers attempted to bring it into the country.

In the last two fiscal years, CBP seized record amounts of fentanyl – nearly 50,000 pounds – enough to produce more than 2 billion lethal doses. In January 2025, CBP seized 1,029 pounds of fentanyl, and methamphetamine seizures increased 15%.

(Read more from “Trump Has Already Made a Massive Dent in Illegal Immigration” HERE)

Trump Signs Executive Order to ‘Aggressively Reduce’ IVF Costs — After Campaign Pledge to Make It Free

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President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday meant to start fulfilling a campaign pledge to make in-vitro fertilization (IVF) free for would-be parents.

“PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT: President Trump just signed an Executive Order to Expand Access to IVF!” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted.

“The Order directs policy recommendations to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments.”

The document requires the Domestic Policy Council, led by Vince Haley, to submit a report within 90 days that contains “a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.”

“Americans need reliable access to IVF and more affordable treatment options, as the cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000,” the order says. (Read more from “Trump Signs Executive Order to ‘Aggressively Reduce’ IVF Costs — After Campaign Pledge to Make It Free” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Vance’s Munich Speech Threw Down the Gauntlet and Left EU Leaders Melting Down

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. . .This was the moment for President Trump’s administration to make its grand entrance onto the world stage—and they rolled into Europe like a boss. And yes, Vance threw down the gauntlet, putting every European leader on notice.

Vance made it clear—Europe and America are drifting apart. They’re heading straight into communist waters, while we’re swimming in a sea of freedom. Finally.

It’s time for them to reverse course and join us.

He called out the globalist leaders for being manic little tyrants who have weaponized censorship and obliterated free speech. He also highlighted the shameful case of a British man arrested for the so-called “crime” of praying outside an abortion clinic.

Lines like this are timeless:

“I wish I could say that this was a fluke, a one-off crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person. But no… Free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”

Intel Agencies Begin Dismantling DEI In Response To Trump’s Order

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Federal agencies are scrapping diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in response to President Trump’s executive order — and the intelligence community (IC) is no exception.

Trump issued an executive order on day one of his presidency targeting DEI programs in the federal government. Federal agencies have since begun rolling back DEI, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA).

“CIA is complying with the Executive Order,” an agency spokesperson told the Caller.

“We are laser-focused on our foreign intelligence mission. We are complying with the EO and [Office of Personnel Management] Implementing Guidance. CIA sent out a notice on 31 January stating that Agency Resource Groups (ARGs), Directorate Resource Groups (DRGs), and Workforce Partner Groups have been disbanded.”

A CIA page on Diversity and Inclusion now goes to a 404 error page. According to an archived page of the site, ARGs are groups composed of “employees and allies who share a common affinity.”

(Read more from “Intel Agencies Begin Dismantling DEI In Response To Trump’s Order” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Trump Plans Mass Firings of Government Workers. It Will Begin With These Employees.

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The mass firings of government workers have begun. On Thursday, the Trump administration met with the Office of Personnel Management, advising them to fire federal workers on probationary status. NBC News said this could put hundreds of thousands of workers in the crosshairs. These workers are essentially recent hires, and some might get fired very soon (via NBC News):

President Donald Trump’s administration began a mass firing of federal workers Thursday.

Office of Personnel Management officials met with agency leaders and advised them to dismiss probationary employees, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Hundreds of thousands of people could be affected, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management, although the exact number of people who will be terminated was not immediately clear.

Employees who have probationary status have typically been with the federal government for only one or two years — before all their civil service protections have kicked in.

(Read more from “Trump Plans Mass Firings of Government Workers. It Will Begin With These Employees.” HERE)