Jan 25, 2017

Spicer's Day 3: Unveiling Trump executive actions

Shane Savitsky

Evan Vucci / AP

  1. Executive order #1 today: "Border Security and Immigration Enforcement improvements": Builds the wall and Mexico pays for it ("his goal was to get the project started...and then move forward to work with Congress on an appropriations schedule"), ends catch and release, and establishes detainment centers along border.
  2. Executive order #2 today: "Enhancing Public Safety on the Interior of the United States": ends sanctuary cities ("there's a taxpayer issue here") and directs federal agencies to abide by immigration policy — includes nothing specific regarding DACA policy.
  3. That draft executive order on CIA black sites: Trump hasn't seen it. "It is not a White House document. I don't know where it came from or where it originated."
  4. Investigation into voter fraud: Spicer implied the investigation is going to focus on bigger states. "This isn't just about the 2016 election. It's about the integrity of our voting system."
  5. @BadlandsNPS and the EPA: The White House didn't crack down on the social media activity of government agencies. He said that directive would come from the agencies themselves.
  6. Extreme vetting: Details on Trump's plan to restrict visas from various Middle Eastern countries still forthcoming, but his "guiding principle is keeping people safe."

Go deeper

Axios

Coronavirus kills 2 Diamond Princess passengers as South Korean cases surge

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's

Two elderly Diamond Princess passengers have been killed by the novel coronavirus — the first deaths confirmed among the more than 600 infected aboard the cruise ship.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed more than 2,100 people and infected over 75,000 others, mostly in mainland China, where the National Health Commission announced 114 new deaths since Wednesday.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Health
Rebecca Falconer

Massive MGM data breach: Guests' personal details posted on hacking site

The MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

An MGM Resorts security breach last summer resulted in the personal details of 10.6 million guests published on a hacking forum this week, ZDNet first reported Wednesday.

Why it matters: Federal government employees and high-profile guests were affected by the breach, according to analysis by data breach monitoring service Under the Bridge and ZDNet — including officials from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Microsoft staffers and singer Justin Bieber.

Go deeperArrow2 hours ago - Technology
Rebecca Falconer

George Zimmerman sues Buttigieg and Warren for $265M

George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, in November 2013. Photo: Joe Burbank-Pool/Getty Images

George Zimmerman filed a lawsuit in Polk County, Fla., seeking $265 million in damages from Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren, accusing them of defaming him to "garner votes in the black community."

Context: Neither the Massachusetts senator nor the former Southbend mayor tweeted his name in the Feb. 5 posts on what would've been the 25th birthday of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teen Zimmerman fatally shot in 2012. But Zimmerman alleges they "acted with actual malice" to defame him.

Go deeperArrow4 hours ago - Politics & Policy