BLOGONITY

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department has threatened local and state authorities with prosecution if they fail to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, which include a pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.  Citing a constitutional clause concerning division of power, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove said in a memorandum that “federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands.”  “The Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution,” Bove added in the memo issued late Tuesday and published by U.S. media on Wednesday.  Trump announced new restrictions on immigration and asylum in the United States hours after taking office on Monday, including a plan to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and end birthright citizenship.  The Republican president vowed during his White House campaign to carry out the largest mass deportation of migrants in U.S. history.  Bove said a newly created Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group would identify “state and local laws, policies, and activities that are inconsistent with Executive Branch immigration initiatives and, where appropriate, to take legal action to challenge such laws.”  A number of Democratic-controlled “sanctuary cities” in the United States restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities.  “Laws and actions that threaten to impede Executive Branch immigration initiatives, including by prohibiting disclosures of information to federal authorities engaged in immigration enforcement activities, threaten public safety and national security,” Bove said.  Bove, who served as one of Trump’s personal lawyers before being named to the Justice Department, also directed the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces to participate “in the execution of President Trump’s immigration-related initiatives.”  The FBI and other agencies should “review their files for identifying information and/or biometric data relating to non-citizens located illegally in the United States” and turn it over to the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate removals, he said. …

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — China is bracing for potential tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap a 10% duty on Chinese imports as early as Feb. 1.  At a regular press briefing Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stressed China’s commitment to defending its “national interests.”  “We have always believed that there are no winners in a trade war or a tariff war,” she said.  Following Trump’s remarks, China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index dropped 0.9% Wednesday, ending a four-day winning streak. The Hong Kong-listed Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks Chinese stocks, fell 2%.  Beijing’s reactions come after Trump said his team was looking at potentially imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese imports because China has been “sending fentanyl into the U.S. through Mexico and Canada.”   “Probably February 1st is the date we’re looking at,” the U.S. president told reporters Tuesday at the White House.  Trump’s comment comes one day after he appeared to be holding off on imposing tariffs on imports from China, and he directed federal agencies to investigate U.S. trade deficits and unfair trade practices with other countries on Monday.  On Chinese social media, the U.S. president’s threat was met with a mixed response. Some internet users said the 10% tariff could be followed by a series of duties imposed against Chinese goods, while others criticized Trump for being unpredictable and inconsistent with his decisions.   “Why does the U.S. go through all this trouble? In the end, the American people are the ones who would have to pay because if China doesn’t export goods, American people won’t even have Christmas trees,” Chinese internet user Fortune Axe Brother wrote in a post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Some analysts say the threat to impose tariffs as early as Feb. 1 could be the U.S. president’s “negotiating gambit” to force concessions from China.   “Compared to the 25% tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose on Mexico and Canada, the 10% tariff on Chinese imports seems like Trump going easy on China,” said Dexter Roberts, a non-resident fellow at Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.   In Roberts’ view, the threat reflects Trump’s desire to “cut some sort of deal” with Beijing. “If China comes through with what Trump views as concessions that are good for him and the U.S., he is very likely not to pursue those tariffs right away,” Roberts told VOA by phone.   While it … “China braces for potential trade war after Trump threatens to impose tariffs” →

New U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that core national interests will be at the heart of American diplomacy as President Donald Trump embarks on his second four-year term in the White House. Rubio, the first of Trump’s Cabinet nominees to win Senate confirmation and take office, said in a mission statement that all U.S. spending and efforts on foreign affairs “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?”  He said that “to advance our national interest, we will build a more innovative, nimble, and focused State Department. This will require replacing some priorities, deemphasizing some issues, and eliminating some practices.” Rubio, 53, echoed Trump’s early promises to end masses of undocumented migrants from entering the U.S. “The State Department will no longer undertake any activities that facilitate or encourage mass migration,” Rubio said. “Our diplomatic relations with other countries, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, will prioritize securing America’s borders, stopping illegal and destabilizing migration, and negotiating the repatriation of illegal immigrants” to their home countries. Rubio said the State Department will end any efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring, in line with orders Trump issued on day one of his new term.   “This order will be faithfully executed and observed in both letter and spirit,” Rubio said, “We must reward performance and merit.” He said foreign policy efforts “must return to the basics of diplomacy by eliminating our focus on political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad. This will allow us to conduct a pragmatic foreign policy in cooperation with other nations to advance our core national interests.” In addition, he said the U.S. “must stop censorship and suppression of information” and “reprioritize truth.” He emphasized “the fundamental truth that America is a great and just country whose people are generous and whose leaders now prioritize Americans’ core interests, while respecting the rights and interests of other nations.” With Trump announcing he will pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement — joining Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries that will officially not adhere to the pact to limit global warming — Rubio said the State Department “will use diplomacy to help President Trump fulfill his promise for a return to American energy dominance.” “Amid … “Rubio: US foreign policy will focus on core national interests” →

Washington — President Trump’s executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program would affect the resettlement of thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan, an advocacy group said. AfghanEvac, a California-based coalition of organizations helping U.S. Afghan allies to resettle in the U.S., said Monday that the pause in all refugee resettlements would affect Afghan allies who are awaiting relocation to the U.S. “Thousands of Afghan allies who have completed almost all required steps in the refugee process would be immediately impacted by a refugee resettlement pause, and thousands more who are currently undergoing processing would remain in limbo,” AfghanEvac said, in a statement on its X account. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that called the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program detrimental to U.S. interests and suspending it beginning on January 27. “This order suspends the USRAP until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligned with the interest of the United States,” stated the executive order. It called on the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the secretary of state, to report to the president within 90 days if the program “would be in the interests of the United States.” The order added that every 90 days, a report would be submitted to the president until he “determine[s] that resumption of the USRAP is in the interests of the United States.” According to Shawn VanDiver, president of AghanEvac, more than 180,000 Afghans were relocated in the U.S. from August 2021, after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, to December 2024. Thousands of Afghans are still waiting to be relocated to the United States. AfghanEvac said that the order would not only have an impact on at-risk Afghans living in hiding but also on the family members of the active-duty U.S. troops. Earlier, Reuters reported that the flights of 1,660 Afghans cleared by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S. were canceled. But the president of AfghanEvac, Shawn VanDiver, said in a post on X that no flights were canceled. “To be clear: flights have not yet been canceled for anyone,” VanDiver said. Omar Samad, a former Afghan diplomat living in the U.S., told VOA that the ban is part of a larger package and it will impact Afghans who are waiting to be relocated to the U.S. “It is going to be reviewed … “Trump order suspending refugee resettlement affects US Afghan allies, says advocacy group “ →

Forecasters issue new round of warnings about fire conditions in southern California  TEASER: Chance of rain in the coming days could calm fires, but bring threat of mudslides  PUBLISHED: 01/22/2025 at  6:01 am  BYLINE:  VOA News  WRITER: Fern Robinson, Chris Hannas  ASSIGNING EDITOR:    DATELINE:    SCRIPT EDITORS: wpm  PLATFORMS: WEB X TV __ RADIO __            EDITOR NOTES: new lede & grafs 2-4, edits graf 7, trims))      Firefighters and residents in southern California braced Wednesday for the possibility of more wildfire activity fueled by dry and strong winds, while the prospect of some rain in the forecast brought the potential for some relief from the fire threat but also the dangers of mudslides in fire-ravaged areas.  The National Weather Service said dangerous fire conditions would persist in the Los Angeles area through Thursday or Friday.  Forecasters said there was a 60% to 80% chance of rain in the region starting Saturday, with rainfall totals in most areas not exceeding 8 millimeters.  A chance of thunderstorms bringing locally heavier rainfall has raised fears of mudslides with debris flowing down hilly areas that have been scorched by two weeks of wildfires.  Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said an executive order she signed Tuesday is designed to curb the flow of toxic debris from the region’s fires and protect the area’s beaches and oceans.      “This is to prevent additional damage to areas already ravaged by fire and also to protect our watershed, beaches and ocean from toxic runoff,” the mayor said. City workers will remove toxic materials and set up barriers to direct the flow of debris into the sewer system.  The fires have killed at least 27 people and destroyed thousands of buildings.  Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.    …

Millions of U.S. TikTok users are looking to newly sworn-in President Donald Trump, who has given the app’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, 75 days to strike a deal with a U.S. buyer. …

The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for most of California’s Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Tuesday for the area’s “extremely low relative humidity and periods of gusty offshore winds.” The weather service said its “Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag warning has ended, but dangerous fire weather conditions persist through Thursday or Friday.” Northeast winds will remain “gusty” in the hills and mountains, the service said in a statement. Low humidities are set to continue.  Some areas will experience a lull in the winds Tuesday night into Wednesday, but extremely dry conditions will continue and winds will strengthen again late Wednesday, according to the weather service. The Red Flag Warning covers most of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties through 8 p.m. Thursday. Earlier Tuesday, the weather service said there was an extreme risk of fire weather over parts of Southern California. The service said winds of 32 to 64 kilometers per hour, combined with “stronger winds in the terrain, low relative humidity, and dry fuels, have contributed to the dangerous conditions.” Strong winds sparked some scattered fires Tuesday in Los Angeles, but alert firefighters quickly brought the fires under control. At least 27 people have died in a series of wildfires across the Los Angeles area during the past two weeks as Santa Ana winds mixed with dry conditions on the ground to quickly spread blazes. Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger has called for an outside investigation into the evacuation notification process for residents of western Altadena, near the Eaton Fire, one of several that erupted across Los Angeles. A report in the Los Angeles Times says evacuation orders for western Altadena were delayed for hours. “From what I have been told, it was a night of pure chaos for both fire and first responders,” Barger told The Times. The county supervisor said she has “deep concerns” about what happened. Residents told the Times that by the time they received evacuation orders, many of the homes in the area already were on fire.  Seventeen people are reported to have died in the Eaton fire. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said an executive order she signed Tuesday is designed to curb the flow of toxic debris from the region’s fires and protect the area’s beaches and oceans.    “This is to prevent additional damage to areas already ravaged by fire and also to protect our watershed, beaches … “Weather Service issues red flag warnings for fire-ravaged California” →

Representative Elise Stefanik, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, faced questions at her Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday. The high-ranking House Republican told lawmakers she would advance Trump’s “America First” agenda at the international body. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. …

HOUSTON — A rare winter storm churned across the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday, breaking snowfall records more than a century old in a southern region where flurries are unusual, as much of the United States remained in a dangerous deep freeze. A snowstorm warning was in effect for 31 million people – from southern Texas east through Georgia and north to the Carolinas and into Virginia – until Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service said. With the storm moving east, crews near Houston plowed highways on Tuesday while downtown streets, covered in white, were virtually deserted. Schools were closed Tuesday and Wednesday as the city, the fourth-biggest in the U.S., expected about 10 cm of snow to fall. “I’ve been in Texas my entire life and I have never seen this depth of snow,” said Ishan Bhaidani, 29, who owns a fintech consulting company in Houston. “It typically gets more icy, but this type of fine snow, this is a first.” Authorities in Houston investigated two deaths that may be weather-related, including that of a homeless man who was found near an apartment complex, the Harris County Sheriff said on X. Snow was also falling in New Orleans, where nearly 25 cm had accumulated by late afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Richard Bann, an NWS meteorologist, said that the service was trying to confirm whether Tuesday’s snowfall broke a New Orleans record set in 1895. The last time New Orleans received any measurable snowfall was 2009, according to the NWS. “Stay home and stay off the roads,” said a bundled-up New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, as winds whipped snow in her face, in a video message to residents on X. Breaking a 144-year-old record, more than 15 cm of snow fell in Mobile, Alabama, by late afternoon, according to the NWS. The storm is expected to crawl through Mississippi, Georgia and Florida early this week. The storm snarled air travel with flights delayed or canceled on Tuesday. More than 1,000 flights departing or bound for Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport were canceled, according to Flightaware.com. Temperatures dipped into single digits Fahrenheit, well below freezing, across the region. Forecasters and local leaders urged residents to protect themselves from frostbite and to take steps to keep their water pipes from rupturing. Across the South, the snow, combined with an inch of ice accumulation and wind gusts of up to 64 … “Rare snowstorm blankets Houston and New Orleans” →

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday talked up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank.  The new entity, Stargate, will start building data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum.  “It’s big money and high quality people,” said Trump, adding that it’s “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential” under his new administration.  Joining Trump fresh off his inauguration at the White House were Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Larry Ellison of Oracle. All three credited Trump for helping to make the project possible, even though building has started and the project goes back to 2024.  “This will be the most important project of this era,” said Altman, CEO of OpenAI.  Ellison noted that the data centers are already under construction with 10 being built so far. The chairman of Oracle suggested that the project was also tied to digital health records and would make it easier to treat diseases such as cancer by possibly developing a customized vaccine.  “This is the beginning of golden age,” said Son, referencing Trump’s statement that the U.S. would be in a “golden age” with him back in the White House.  Son, a billionaire based in Japan, committed in December to invest $100 billion in U.S. projects over the next four years. He previously committed to $50 billion in new investments ahead of Trump’s first term, which included a large stake in the troubled office-sharing company WeWork.  While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout in data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI, which holds the promise of increasing productivity by automating work but also the risk of displacing jobs if poorly implemented.  The initial plans for Stargate go back to the Biden administration. Tech news outlet The Information first reported on the project in March 2024. OpenAI has long relied on Microsoft data centers to build its AI systems, but it has increasingly signaled an interest in building its own data centers.  OpenAI wrote in a letter to the Biden administration’s … “Trump highlights partnership investing $500B in AI” →

On his first day on the job, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his staff and spelled out his foreign policy priorities. He also met with allies from the Indo-Pacific region who seek to counter Chinese military and economic ambitions. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, with Kim Lewis contributing. …

ABUJA, NIGERIA — Conservatives across Africa applauded U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders Monday regarding gender and diversity, while gay rights activists and the LGBTQ community on the continent are expressing deep concern. On his first day as the 47th U.S. president, Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, including some that reversed policies of his predecessor, Joe Biden. These included orders revoking some protections for transgender people and defining the sexes strictly as male and female. Trump’s actions sparked a mix of reactions throughout Africa. Some, like Bishop John Praise Daniel, vice president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, welcomed Trump’s moves. “I’m very excited,” he said “I think Donald Trump has just done what is right, because how can some young persons wake up and say, ‘I don’t feel like being a girl, I want to be a boy,’ and their sexes will be changed. We don’t need that confusion. Bringing back righteousness, order and sanity to society.” But while many in Africa’s conservative societies are in support, LGBTQ activists strongly opposed the decision, calling it a setback after years of progress and advocacy. Frank Ejiogu, founder of Creme de la Creme, a Nigerian LGBTQ advocacy group, warned of serious consequences. “We know this will have ripple effects that might catalyze violence against LGBTQ community members in the Global South, which will boil down to discrimination, assault, and a lot of [restrictive] policies that governments will start enacting,” he said. Ejiogu said LGBTQ activists already are planning how to resist such measures. “We’re strategizing on how to stand firm on what we believe in and for the community,” he said. “[Trump] can only be there for four years. The only thing we promise ourselves all over the globe and in the Global South is to making sure that we fight back against the policies against LGBTQ communities all around the world.” Members of the LGBTQ community already face harsh penalties in many African countries. In Nigeria, same-sex relationships are punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Uganda’s constitutional court upheld a life sentence for homosexuality offenders last year, while Mali’s junta criminalized homosexuality with imprisonment in December. …

Taipei, Taiwan — China has urged the United States to focus on managing bilateral relationships through cooperation instead of confrontation as U.S. President Donald Trump kicks off his second term in office.  “China is willing to work with the new U.S. government to maintain communication, strengthen cooperation, properly manage differences, and push China-U.S. relations to make greater progress from a new starting point,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during the regular press conference on Tuesday in Beijing.  Analysts say Beijing hopes to reduce misunderstandings between both sides through engagement and exchanges in the early stage of the second Trump presidency.  “The Chinese government hopes China and the U.S. could understand each other’s needs through communication,” said Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international relations scholar.  “Beijing believes China and the U.S. can still reach a consensus and avoid many misunderstandings that have arisen during the first Trump presidency” if both sides prioritize efforts to stabilize bilateral relations, he told VOA by phone.  Ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday, China and Trump’s team conducted several top-level exchanges, including a call between the new U.S. president and Chinese President Xi Jinping last Friday.  Trump said he and Xi would “solve many problems together” while the Chinese president said the key to handling bilateral relations was to “respect each other’s core interests and major concerns and to find a proper solution to the problem.” On Sunday, China’s Vice President Han Zheng, who was in Washington, D.C., to attend Trump’s inauguration ceremony, met with his American counterpart JD Vance, and a group of American business leaders, including Tesla founder Elon Musk. He said China and the U.S. could “contribute to each other’s progress, bring benefits to the two countries, and make important contributions to world peace and development” as long as they “uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.” Additionally, Han urged U.S. businesses to “play an active role as a bridge and make greater contribution to the development of China-U.S. relations” by continuing to “invest and take root in China.”  Experts say Beijing wants to seize the opportunity to improve bilateral relations with Washington through these initial engagements with the Trump administration.  Beijing “would not only prefer to avoid increased sanctions but also the potential for greater limitations on tech exports to China,” said Timothy Rich, a political scientist at Western Kentucky University.  While the Chinese government has expressed willingness … “China seeks more cooperation with US as Trump takes office” →

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration has removed Admiral Linda Fagan — the first woman to lead a U.S. military service — as the head of the Coast Guard. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Coast Guard, did not immediately respond to a request on Tuesday for comment on Fagan’s dismissal. Fox News cited a senior official saying reasons included her failure to address border security threats, excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, and an “erosion of trust” over the Coast Guard’s investigation into sexual assault cases. Trump and other Republicans have long railed against government programs aimed at fostering diversity, and border security is a key priority for the president, who declared a national emergency at the U.S. frontier with Mexico on Monday, the first day of his new term. “She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation,” acting DHS secretary Benjamine Huffman said in a message to the Coast Guard, which is one of the five U.S. military branches. Fagan had led the Coast Guard since 2022, and previously held posts including vice commandant of the service. She “served on all seven continents, from the snows of Ross Island, Antarctica to the heart of Africa, from Tokyo to Geneva, and in many ports along the way,” according to an archived version of her biography, which is no longer available on the Coast Guard website.   …