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Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Category: News
February 4, 2025
Education

White House Plans to Dismantle Department of Education.

The Trump White House is in the process of drafting an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, according to sources. This move aligns with President Donald J. Trump’s longstanding promise to close the federal agency—though the measure may require Congressional approval.

In September 2023, Trump reiterated his intention to devolve education responsibilities to state governments. He expressed dissatisfaction with the nation’s standing in global education rankings despite significant financial investment, estimated at over $1 trillion yearly.

The initiative to abolish the Department of Education reflects a broader Republican strategy focused on shifting control of education to the state level and expanding school choice. Last week, Trump signed an order directing the department to assist states in using federal funds to enhance school choice programs. This policy is viewed favorably in many Republican-led states, where increased financial support for charter and private schools has been observed.

Trump aims to implement broader changes in the education sector. In a July 2024 campaign email, he outlined priorities such as withdrawing federal funding from institutions promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT), conducting civil rights investigations into schools for discrimination against Asian Americans, establishing a credentialing system favoring “patriotic values,” and identifying and removing ideological radicals from the federal department.

Perhaps most notably, in November 2023, President Trump pledged to create a free, online institution able to award degrees, dubbed the American Academy. He described it as an alternative to America’s increasingly woke private universities, funded through a tax on university endowments.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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The Trump White House is in the process of drafting an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, according to sources. This move aligns with President Donald J. Trump's longstanding promise to close the federal agency—though the measure may require Congressional approval. show more
February 4, 2025
William Upton
Crime
Immigration

Win-Win: Criminal Migrants Thank Trump for Deportation.

Illegal immigrants deported by President Donald J. Trump say they are actually thankful for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action against them as, in some instances, it cut short their U.S. prison sentences. Since taking office on January 20, 2025, President Trump has moved swiftly to deport illegal immigrants with criminal histories—especially those currently being held in American prisons.

“I started crying with happiness,” said Carlos Suezo—a 54-year-old illegal immigrant from Honduras—after being released from a U.S. prison into ICE custody and promptly deported to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Suezo had one month remaining on a six-month prison term for unlawfully entering the country after being deported in 2017 following his arrest for a gun crime. President Trump has prioritized the removal of illegal immigrants who are currently being held in the U.S. prison system.

Suezo described his fellow illegal immigrant inmates as being “so happy” that their prison sentences were being cut up to several years short, even if it was because they were being swiftly removed from the country. In his first week in the White House, Trump oversaw the deportation of 7,000 illegal immigrants either held in American prisons or detained by ICE.

Meanwhile, on the Mexican side of the border, a number of migrants who had hoped to use the former Biden government’s CBP One app to enter the U.S.—before Trump shut the program down—are gathered in temporary encampments. Even among these individuals, now barred from legally entering the U.S., few blame Trump.

Margelis Tinoco—a 48-year-old woman who went viral after her CBP One app appointment was abruptly canceled in the moments after Trump took office—says she still doesn’t blame the America First leader. According to Tincoco, Trump is right to deport those who are “damaging the country.”

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Illegal immigrants deported by President Donald J. Trump say they are actually thankful for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action against them as, in some instances, it cut short their U.S. prison sentences. Since taking office on January 20, 2025, President Trump has moved swiftly to deport illegal immigrants with criminal histories—especially those currently being held in American prisons. show more
February 4, 2025
Jack Montgomery
News

Trump ‘Buyout’ Offer Has Already Cut Federal Bureaucracy by 20,000.

According to a senior official, approximately 20,000 bureaucrats have accepted the “buyout” offer proposed by the Trump administration last week. This figure represents about one percent of the total federal workforce. The White House’s ultimate goal is to cut the bureaucracy by five to ten percent.

The buyout window remains open until Thursday, so the final tally of acceptances is likely to increase. “We expect more to come. If you see what’s happening at USAID, it’s just one piece of the puzzle,” the unnamed official told Axios, referring to the radical overhaul of the United States Agency for International Development. USAID is being effectively dismantled and having its functions absorbed into the U.S. State Department. The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) determined it was unsalvageable.

In addition to managing voluntary departures, the administration is attempting to enforce a hiring freeze across federal agencies. However, implementing this has been challenging, with some agencies continuing to hire new staff.

Under the buyout offer, federal employees cease in-person work almost immediately—instead being directed to work from home—while still receiving their salary until September 30.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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According to a senior official, approximately 20,000 bureaucrats have accepted the "buyout" offer proposed by the Trump administration last week. This figure represents about one percent of the total federal workforce. The White House's ultimate goal is to cut the bureaucracy by five to ten percent. show more
February 4, 2025
Jack Montgomery
Crime

El Salvador’s Prez Offers to ‘Outsource’ U.S. Prison Problem — What is ‘CECOT’?

Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s anti-crime president, has offered to host criminals convicted in the United States in his Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) super prison. Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has backed the proposal, calling it a “Great idea.”

“We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system,” Bukele announced on X (formerly Twitter). He added: “We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee.”

The Latin American populist noted this fee “would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.”

He later reposted an X user claiming, “El Salvador and the United States have agreed on a plan to hold some of America’s worst criminals in El Salvador’s CECOT.” However, this is unconfirmed as of the time of publication.

El Salvador is notorious for birthing the violent MS-13 crime gang and, as recently as 2015, was noted for a ferocious homicide rate of over 100 per 100,000. Following his election in 2019, Bukele enacted an anti-gangs strategy structured around mass incarceration. CECOT, capable of holding 40,000 prisoners, and other new facilities made this possible, ultimately reducing the homicide rate by an astonishing 98 percent.

Former Congressman Matt Gaetz visited CECOT in July 2024, saying of its inmates, “The people in the United States of America are very grateful… that CECOT exists so that these criminals are not harming the people of El Salvador or harming the people of the United States.”

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Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's anti-crime president, has offered to host criminals convicted in the United States in his Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) super prison. Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has backed the proposal, calling it a "Great idea." show more
February 4, 2025
News
Politics
World

Democratically Elected Populists Excluded from Major Security Conference.

Germany’s populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been denied an invitation to a major global security conference after organizers claimed the party does not believe in peace through dialogue. Christoph Heusgen, the Munich Security Conference chairman, cited the AfD’s departure from Germany’s Bundestag (federal parliament) during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and their stance on aid to Zelensky as factors.

Starting February 14, the conference will gather global leaders, lawmakers, and senior defense officials to discuss security matters. Historically, regardless of orientation, German political parties are typically invited to this annual security dialogue. The exclusion of the AfD is seen as a move to further isolate populists in Germany as they rise in the polls.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk recently appeared via video link at an AfD campaign event in Halle, Germany, voicing support for the party. Earlier, Musk had taken to social platform X, expressing that the AfD was key to Germany’s future in a conversation with party co-chairwoman Alice Weidel.

While the AfD is polling at over 20 percent ahead of this month’s German federal election, putting it in second place, Musk’s intervention in German politics is not popular among the public. A poll found only 19 percent of Germans viewed Musk favorably in the country.

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Germany's populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been denied an invitation to a major global security conference after organizers claimed the party does not believe in peace through dialogue. Christoph Heusgen, the Munich Security Conference chairman, cited the AfD's departure from Germany's Bundestag (federal parliament) during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and their stance on aid to Zelensky as factors. show more
February 3, 2025
News
Politics
Sports

Bret Baier to Interview Trump at Mar-a-Lago for Super Bowl Pregame.

Fox News announced on Monday that Bret Baier, the network’s chief political anchor, will interview President Donald J. Trump during the Super Bowl LIX pregame coverage. The interview is scheduled to air on Sunday, February 9, at 3 PM ET and will be broadcast from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

This marks Baier’s first one-on-one interview with Trump since June 2023. According to Fox News, the discussion will cover the administration’s initial policies and the political environment.

The interview comes after a whirlwind of executive orders signed in the first weeks of President Trump’s second term, including scrapping DEI departments and ordering U.S. Marines to help secure the southern border.

Interviews with the sitting president on Super Bowl Sunday became a tradition under former President Barack Obama. President Trump continued the tradition but skipped the interview in 2018 during his first term. Last year’s Super Bowl drew the largest television audience since the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, with over 123 million viewers. Nielsen data claimed that over 202 million people watched at least part of the game. This year’s game will see the Kansas City Chiefs—looking for their third straight Lombardi Trophy—square off against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Former President Joe Biden skipped the Super Bowl interview last year, and Bloomberg’s senior Washington correspondent Salena Mohsin questioned whether Biden simply could not handle a live interview at the time. Later that year, when Biden debated President Trump, it became more apparent than ever that the now-former president had suffered a mental decline, and Vice President Kamala Harris soon supplanted him as the Democratic presidential candidate.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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Fox News announced on Monday that Bret Baier, the network's chief political anchor, will interview President Donald J. Trump during the Super Bowl LIX pregame coverage. The interview is scheduled to air on Sunday, February 9, at 3 PM ET and will be broadcast from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. show more
February 3, 2025
News

Elon Musk Criticizes Reagan-Era National Endowment for Democracy.

Elon Musk, billionaire tech entrepreneur and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald J. Trump, has publicly criticized the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). On the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk labeled the organization a “SCAM” and asserted it is “RIFE with CORRUPTION.”

Established in 1983 during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the NED is a supposedly independent nonprofit that claims to be dedicated to bolstering democratic institutions worldwide. It allocates over 2,000 grants annually for nongovernmental group initiatives across more than 100 countries, primarily funded by U.S. government allocations through Congress. Many allege it squanders funds on undermining conservative governments in allied nations such as Hungary while boosting leftist media and politicians.

Recently, Musk revealed plans to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Aid Development (USAID), citing it as “beyond repair.” President Donald J. Trump has expressed support for Musk’s budget-cutting efforts, acknowledging they sometimes disagree but praising Musk’s commitment to reducing spending.

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Elon Musk, billionaire tech entrepreneur and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald J. Trump, has publicly criticized the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). On the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk labeled the organization a "SCAM" and asserted it is "RIFE with CORRUPTION." show more
February 3, 2025
Christopher Tomlinson
Crime
World

Despite Gun Control, Ten Dead in School Shooting in This European Country.

Multiple people have been shot at a school in Europe’s most deadly country for gun violence, with police confirming that the shooter is dead and media reporting that at least ten victims have died. The shooting took place at a school for adults studying secondary education in the Swedish city of Örebro, with police reporting that several of their officers had also been shot at, but none were injured.

The incident occurred in the early afternoon of February 4, around 2:10 PM. Police said that there was no longer any danger as the perpetrator is believed to have shot himself.

While some social media users have claimed the shooter was Syrian, this remains unsubstantiated as of the time of publication, with Swedish police only describing him as “a man.”  Some Swedish media claim that an automatic firearm was used during the shooting, but this is also unconfirmed.

Swedish police officer Lars Hedlin told Swedish media that police had ordered people in the area of the school to remain indoors. Officers have deployed officials to other schools in the area as a precautionary measure.

The shooting is just the latest in Sweden, which has become the country with the most deadly shootings in the entire European Union in recent years. This is despite the high-immigration country having relatively strict firearms ownership laws compared to the United States, with pistols being difficult to acquire legally and automatic weapons effectively banned.

Image by Patrick Buechner.

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Multiple people have been shot at a school in Europe's most deadly country for gun violence, with police confirming that the shooter is dead and media reporting that at least ten victims have died. The shooting took place at a school for adults studying secondary education in the Swedish city of Örebro, with police reporting that several of their officers had also been shot at, but none were injured. show more
February 3, 2025
Immigration

America’s Birthright Citizenship Laws Make It an Outlier Among Peer Nations.

The United States is an outlier among wealthy, developed nations in that it has almost no restrictions on birthright citizenship, also known as jus soli (“right of the soil”) citizenship. Under the current interpretation of U.S. law, any child born on American soil—even if both parents are illegal immigrants—is granted citizenship. According to legal precedent, only the children of diplomats and other similar foreign officials are explicitly excluded. President Donald J. Trump has issued an executive order to end the practice, but this is subject to a legal challenge.

While Canada also allows unrestricted birthright citizenship, the practice is far less common in Europe and Asia. In fact, not a single European state allows for unrestricted birthright citizenship—with most requiring either one parent to be a citizen or legal permanent resident and, in some cases, mandating that at least one of the parents reside in the country for a set period.

Historically, Europe experienced significant migration waves, particularly post-World War II and during the following economic reconstruction period. This led to spontaneous, often unregulated, immigration. European countries initially expected migrants to return home after their labor was no longer required, but regulations evolved over time. By the 1970s, amid economic challenges, restrictions became more common, altering naturalization policies. Notably, the United Kingdom shifted from a jus soli to a more jus sanguinis (“right of blood”) citizenship norm, requiring parental citizenship to obtain British nationality. As of 2004—when Ireland abolished its expansive jus soli laws—Europe ceased offering unrestricted birthright citizenship entirely.

Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand have followed similar paths, with Australia abolishing jus soli citizenship in 1986 and New Zealand following in 2006. In Asia, birthright citizenship is extremely rare, with most countries imposing strict conditions to attain citizenship.

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The United States is an outlier among wealthy, developed nations in that it has almost no restrictions on birthright citizenship, also known as jus soli ("right of the soil") citizenship. Under the current interpretation of U.S. law, any child born on American soil—even if both parents are illegal immigrants—is granted citizenship. According to legal precedent, only the children of diplomats and other similar foreign officials are explicitly excluded. President Donald J. Trump has issued an executive order to end the practice, but this is subject to a legal challenge. show more
February 3, 2025
Jack Montgomery
Corruption

DEI Musicals, Transgender Operas, and Meals for al-Qaeda: A Catalog of USAID Waste.

President Donald J. Trump’s Rapid Response team has cataloged some of the wasteful spending disbursed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which looks set to be abolished as an independent entity and absorbed into the U.S. State Department after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) concluded it was beyond saving.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, the Rapid Response team noted that USAID has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and promoting transgenderism. For instance, $1.5 million was spent to promote DEI in Serbian workplaces, and $70,000 was spent on a “DEI musical” in Ireland.

In Latin America, USAID allocated $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru, and $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala.

Spending beyond the realm of DEI and transgenderism also appears questionable, with $2.5 million spent promoting electric vehicles in Vietnam, resulting in the construction of just one battery station. $6 million was directed towards boosting tourism in Egypt.

Even more controversially, USAID funded a non-profit linked to designated terrorist organizations and EcoHealth Alliance, which had connections to research at the Wuhan lab. USAID funding was also used to provide al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists in Syria with meals.

Similarly, USAID funds were used to support poppy farming in Afghanistan, bankrolling the Taliban, and bolstering the international heroin trade.

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President Donald J. Trump's Rapid Response team has cataloged some of the wasteful spending disbursed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which looks set to be abolished as an independent entity and absorbed into the U.S. State Department after Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) concluded it was beyond saving. show more