Tuesday, January 28, 2025
It is Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Here are today’s top stories.
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Trump pausing federal grants and loans
AP News said the Trump administration is pausing federal grants and loans starting today, but federal assistance to individuals such as Social Security, Medicare or food stamps will not be affected.
AP said the federal funding freeze could affect trillions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives.
Democratic Senators said they view Trump’s actions as a challenge to Congress’ “power of the purse” because many of the programs that are halted have already been authorized by Congress. New York’s attorney general said she’s asked a federal court to block Trump’s moves.
The Trump administration said the freeze is necessary to make sure that the federal government stops any kind of support for transgender rights, environmental justice and DEI efforts.
AP said the federal government has always been a hub of spending that flows to various departments, local governments, nonprofits, and contractors and this funding freeze has left many people wondering how they will be affected.
I reached out to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) to ask if the spending freeze would affect them. Their interim CEO Bobbie Beth Scoggins said NAD is ok for the time being but things change rapidly.
https://apnews.com/live/trump-presidency-updates-day-9
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Google Maps to update “Gulf of America”
CBS News reported that Google Maps users can expect to see the “Gulf of Mexico” be renamed to “Gulf of America” in the near future. Right now, it hasn’t been changed because Google Maps said it’s waiting for the U.S. government to update the name changes in the “Geographic Names Information System,” which is an official database that includes descriptions and location information for millions of places within the U.S.
Another significant name change is Denali, a mountain in Alaska and the tallest peak in North America — it will get its old name of Mount McKinley.
Both name changes are a result of President Trump’s executive order.
The “Gulf of Mexico” name first appeared on a world map about 400 years ago.
Denali’s name comes from the Koyukon Indigenous residents of Alaska who are native to the area around the mountain. Former President Obama is the one who formally renamed it as Denali. The mountain was named McKinley in the early 1900s to honor former President McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-maps-us-gulf-of-mexico-america-denali-mount-mckinley/
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ICE arrested over 3,500 people during Trump’s 1st week
Axios reported that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) arrested at least 3,500 people during President Trump’s first week in office. The most in a single day is 1,179 arrests on Monday.
This is important for context — during the Biden administration, the ICE arrested an average of 310 people who are noncitizens with criminal convictions or pending charges during the previous fiscal year.
CNN reported that ICE plans to carry out immigration raids across the Southeast U.S. about two to three times a week.
Axios said ICE’s ramped-up arrests are a part of Trump’s many actions to crack down on immigration. Republican lawmakers are also moving fast to pass tough immigration bills and planning to investigate Democratic-leaning sanctuary cities that have historically not cooperated with the federal government in enforcing immigration law.
https://www.axios.com/2025/01/28/immigrant-arrests-ice-raids-trump-first-week-second-term
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Florida principal arrested after house party with underage teens
Fox News reported that an elementary school principal in Florida, 47-year-old Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan, was arrested for allegedly hosting a “booze-filled house party” where there were over 100 underage teenagers in attendance. Another teacher was arrested.
The party took place on January 19 in the Cocoa Beach area. Police said when they arrived at the house, they saw over 100 teenagers wearing matching t-shirts and consuming alcohol that was available in coolers allegedly provided by the principal. The party was allegedly hosted by the principal’s two sons and advertised on SnapChat.
Both the principal and the teacher were charged with child neglect and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The principal faced an additional charge of holding an “Open House Party.”
The local school district said they were very troubled by the accusations and that the principal and teacher have been placed on administrative leave.
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Thieves steal valuables from museum
At the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, thieves used explosives to break in and steal four ancient artifacts, including a gold helmet that is about 2,500 years old. This happened on Saturday morning before 4:00 am local time. The other artifacts stolen were gold bracelets. Local police have been trying to identify the thieves and said they may have stolen a gray car prior to the museum break-in. That gray car was found abandoned about four miles from the museum and set on fire. The artifacts were a part of an exhibition about the Dacians, an ancient society that lived in present-day Romania before they were conquered by the Roman Empire.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/27/style/netherlands-drents-museum-heist-helmet/index.html
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.