USA – Page 26 – Prologue Journal

Trump Administration Fires Prosecutors Who Aided Jack Smith Investigations

New York Times The termination of more than a dozen lawyers who worked with the special counsel, Jack Smith, came hours after the department’s most senior career official was reassigned. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/us/politics/trump-fires-prosecutors-jack-smith-investigations.html

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion

Washington Post The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/27/white-house-pauses-federal-grants/

Trump Administration Puts Dozens of USAID Officials on Paid Leave

New York Times An email to the aid agency’s employees cited actions “that appear to be designed to circumvent” an executive order by President Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/us/politics/trump-usaid-officials.html

Comer launches investigation of sanctuary cities, asks mayors to testify

Fox News House Republicans are calling on sanctuary city mayors to testify next month about the policy’s impact on public safety and the refusal to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Tenn., chair of the GOP-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said he was launching an investigation into sanctuary cities across…

DNA Match Yields Murder Arrest in 2005 Utah Cold Case

New York Times Mark Munoz, 53, a homeless man, was charged in the killing of Jason Royter, 33, a father of two from Magna, Utah. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/us/jason-royter-cold-case-arrest-utah.html

Ecstatic House Republicans cry unity after Trump speech in Miami: ‘Made politics fun again’

Fox News DORAL, Fla. — House Republicans brimmed with optimism after President Donald Trump’s speech at their annual retreat on Monday evening, where the new commander in chief detailed his policy goals for a busy first 100 days of the new administration. Trump’s speech, which ran just over an hour, covered a wide range of…

Nigerian Man Is Extradited in Sextortion Case After Teen’s Suicide

New York Times The man, Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, is accused of posing as a teenage girl to convince a boy in South Carolina to send him sexually compromising images of himself. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/us/nigerian-extradited-sextortion-teen-death.html

Department of Veterans Affairs places 60 DEI employees on leave with salaries totaling more than $8M

Fox News The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has placed nearly 60 employees on leave who focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and had a combined salary of more than $8 million. The VA said in a press release Monday that it completed its implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order to end…

Trump’s Careful Abortion Calculus

New York Times His opening moves on abortion weren’t exactly “shock and awe.” Democrats see an opening. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/us/politics/trump-abortion-calculus.html

Spending showdown: Republicans will need to corral votes – but they haven’t asked, yet

Fox News In about six weeks, there could be another scramble to avert a government shutdown. One of the biggest untold stories in Washington right now is that bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leaders, plus top appropriators, have yet to forge an agreement on a “topline” spending number for the rest of fiscal year 2025 – which…