Saved By God.

Here I am.

“Most mornings I learn more from New Items than I do from all of the traditional papers I read combined.” — Michael Blair, Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and former presiding partner, Debevoise & Plimpton.

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1. Peter Baker, The New York Times:

Donald John Trump completed an extraordinary return to power on Monday as he was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States and opened an immediate blitz of actions to begin drastically changing the course of the country and usher in a new “golden age of America.”

In a triumph of the man and his movement, Mr. Trump took the oath of office during a ceremony in the Capitol four years after he was evicted by voters, reinvigorated for another term aimed at remaking America in his vision. He wasted no time outlining an ambitious program of often divisive policies to “reclaim our Republic” and purge its enemies and his own.

“My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and, indeed, their freedom,” Mr. Trump said during a 29-minute Inaugural Address as former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and former Vice President Kamala Harris looked on. “From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”

Feeling vindicated by voters after impeachments, indictments and conviction on 34 felony counts, Mr. Trump claimed a personal mandate as well as a political one. “Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback,” he said. “But as you see today, here I am. The American people have spoken.” (Source: nytimes.com)

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2. President Trump said he planned to enact previously threatened tariffs of as much as 25% on Mexico and Canada by Feb. 1, reiterating his contention that America’s two immediate neighbors are allowing the flow of undocumented migrants and drugs into the country. “We’re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast numbers of people,” into the country, Trump said in response to questions from reporters, as he sat behind the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk on Monday night. “I think we’ll do it February 1.” Trump’s plans for tariffs on two nations vital for US energy and auto imports threatens to set off a trade war among the signatories of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the successor to Nafta negotiated at Trump’s insistence during his first term. The pact governed the flow of $1.8 trillion in goods and services trade, based on 2022 data. Both Canada and Mexico have said they’d retaliate against American goods if Trump slaps tariffs on them. The USMCA is up for review in 2026. (Source: bloomberg.com)

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