Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Today is Tuesday, January 21, 2025. Here are today’s news stories.
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Trump’s hand not on Bible
Many people noticed that Trump didn’t place his hand on the Bibles that his wife Melania was holding during his swearing-in ceremony yesterday.
ABC News explained that there is “no legal requirement” for the president to place his hand on the Bible.
I don’t think that Trump was intentional about it. I saw comments online that said it may be because Chief Justice Roberts started reciting the oath before Melania could walk up to near where Trump was and by the time she got there, Trump already had his hand raised and was focused on the justice.
Generally speaking, Trump has already made it obvious that he supports the Bible and the Christian religion. During his campaign, he said the Bible is his favorite book. Last year, he encouraged people to buy $60 Bibles that had his endorsement and name on it. So, Trump is definitely supportive of Bibles.
ABC News explained that presidents take an oath to the U.S. Constitution. So, really, Trump wants to be president, not a priest. So it doesn’t have an impact whether his hand is on the Bible or not because he’s in a president role.
The Constitution also says that there cannot be any kind of “religious test” for a person to be qualified to any public office. So it’s not required and cannot be required for presidents to swear on a Bible.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-inauguration-hand-bible-swearing-in/story?id=117897715
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At least 66 killed in ski resort fire in Türkiye
At least 66 people were killed in a hotel fire at a ski resort in northwest Türkiye. AlJazeera reported that the fire started overnight in the hotel’s restaurant. The fire spread through the hotel and reached its roof. There were 234 guests at the hotel. It took firefighters several hours to put out the fire. A hotel guest said the hotel’s fire alarms did not go off and that there were people trapped on the upper floors and some had to jump out and were killed. Investigators detained four people, including the business owner.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/21/hotel-fire-at-turkiye-ski-resort-kills-at-least-10
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Trump signs order for U.S. to exit World Health Organization
President Trump said on Monday that he’s signed an order for the U.S. to leave the World Health Organization. Trump said the WHO mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic, allowed itself to be politically influenced, and that the U.S. was unfairly paying too much money into the organization.
Reuters said the move sets a 12-month notice period for the U.S. to leave the WHO and stop all financial contributions. The U.S. is the largest fund contributor to the WHO and accounts for almost 20% of the WHO’s $6.8 billion funding.
Reuters said the U.S. departure is likely to put at risk various programs that the WHO does, such as fighting against tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and other health emergencies.
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18 states sue Trump’s order cutting birthright citizenship
One of President Trump’s many executive orders yesterday was an end to birthright citizenship, which said the U.S. would no longer recognize the citizenship of a child in the U.S. if their parents were not citizens or permanent residents in the U.S.
ABC News said birthright citizenship is protected by the 14th Amendment, which says that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens.
The Trump administration said the order is to protect against invasion and is about national security.
ABC News said 18 states with Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Trump, saying he does not have the authority to end a longstanding Constitutional principle.
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New wildfires in San Diego County
USAToday reported that multiple wildfires broke out in San Diego County early Tuesday. The largest is called the Lilac Fire and it grew to at least 80 acres. A small community was under evacuation orders, affecting 86 residents. The two other fires were much smaller and seem to be under control. It is not known what caused the fires to break out, but they happened when there were extremely strong Santa Ana winds in the region that saw a 102-mph wind gust. Many areas in Southern California are under “red flag” warnings, which means there is a high risk for rapid fire spread if a blaze breaks out.
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.