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Friday, January 31, 2025

Trump's Pentagon says it will 'rotate' out some media from offices

 President Donald Trump's administration, in an unprecedented move, announced late on Friday it would remove four media organizations including the New York Times from their dedicated office spaces in the Pentagon, citing a desire to make room for others.

The memo on a "New Annual Media Rotation Program" said it would also remove National Public Radio, Comcast Corp-owned NBC News and Politico, which must vacate their spaces by Feb. 14. In their place, it would give dedicated office space to the New York Post, One America News Network, Breitbart News Network and HuffPost News.

Each year going forward, one outlet from print, online, television and radio will rotate out of the Pentagon "to allow a new outlet from the same medium that has not had the unique opportunity to report as a resident member of the Pentagon Press Corps," the memo said.

The New York Times, NBC, Politico and National Public Radio did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

More than two dozen news organizations operate out of the Pentagon, including Reuters, reporting on the daily activities of the U.S. military.

"To be clear, the outlets that vacate the spaces loaned them by the Secretary (of Defense) will remain full members of the Pentagon Press Corps," John Ullyot, acting assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs.

"The only change will be giving up their physical work spaces in the building to allow new outlets to have their turn to become resident members of the Pentagon Press Corps."

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents journalists who cover the Defense Department, said it was "greatly troubled by this unprecedented move by DOD to single out highly professional media."

Reuters correspondent Phil Stewart is a member of the association's four-member board of directors.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/trump-s-pentagon-says-it-will-rotate-out-some-media-from-offices/ar-AA1ydqae

Los Angeles' Eaton Fire is 100% contained, Cal Fire says

 The Eaton Fire that scorched more than 14,000 acres (57 square km) east of Los Angeles has been 100% contained, fire officials said on Friday, a largely symbolic milestone more than three weeks after two devastating wildfires broke out on either side of Los Angeles.

The larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed 23,448 acres (95 square km) on the west side of Los Angeles, was also now 100% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

The two major fires plus several smaller ones created the worst natural disaster in Los Angeles County history, killing 28 people and damaging or destroying more than 16,000 structures, Cal Fire said. At one point, 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, according to Los Angeles County officials.

Private forecaster AccuWeather projects damage and economic losses at more than $250 billion.

Containment measures the percentage of a fire's perimeter that firefighters have under control, with confidence that those lines can be maintained. Parts of the fire's interior may still be burning.

Long overdue rain reached Southern California in the past week, helping firefighters contain the fires while also increasing the danger of flash floods and mudslides in the denuded hills and the spread of toxic material left in the fire's devastation.

Firefighters say 100% containment is largely symbolic at this point as the last remaining fires were isolated in steep mountain terrain.

"It's more important when we say forward progress is stopped," said Margaret Stewart, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Forward progress was halted about a week after the two major fires started on Jan. 7.

The rain was "more of a hindrance," Stewart said, because it caused mudslides and blocked roads used by responders.

"Had this rain come two weeks ago, it might have been more helpful," Stewart said.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Los-Angeles-Eaton-Fire-is-100-contained-Cal-Fire-says-48930848/

Trump and Nvidia CEO discuss DeepSeek, AI chip exports during meeting, source says

 U.S. President Donald Trump and the CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang discussed DeepSeek - the Chinese company whose AI model's performance rocked the tech world - and tightening AI chip exports during their meeting at the White House on Friday, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Trump did not provide details of the meeting but called Huang a "gentleman."

"I can't say what's gonna happen. We had a meeting. It was a good meeting," Trump said.

The Friday afternoon meeting came as the government is set to further restrict AI chip exports this spring to ensure advanced computing power remains in the United States and among its allies, while looking for more ways to block China's access.

"We appreciated the opportunity to meet with President Trump and discuss semiconductors and AI policy," an Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement. "Jensen and the President discussed the importance of strengthening U.S. technology and AI leadership."

The source with knowledge of the meeting between the president and the CEO of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, which makes the most advanced AI chips, said it was set up before DeepSeek rocked the tech world.

The source also said the president thinks the Chinese company's emergence means "U.S. companies don't have to spend a ton of money building a low-cost (AI) alternative."

The meeting took place as worries are mounting that China is catching up to the United States in AI development. China's DeepSeek last week launched a free assistant it says uses less data at a fraction of the cost of U.S. models.

Within days, DeepSeek became the most downloaded app in Apple's App Store and stirred concerns about the United States' lead in AI, sparking a rout that wiped around $1 trillion off U.S. technology stocks. At one point, shares of Nvidia, a top producer of AI chips, fell 17%.

The Trump administration is considering tightening restrictions on Nvidia's sales of its H20 chips designed for the China market, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Conversations among Trump officials to restrict shipments of those chips to China are in early stages, the sources said, but the idea has been under consideration since Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration. H20 chips can be used to run AI software and were designed to comply with existing U.S. curbs on shipments to China implemented by Biden.

Two U.S. lawmakers are also calling for more restrictions on exports of Nvidia's artificial intelligence chips.

Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, who lead the House of Representatives Select Committee on China, asked for the move as part of a Commerce and State Department-led review ordered by Trump to scrutinize the U.S. export control system in light of "developments involving strategic adversaries."

In 2022, the Biden administration restricted sales of Nvidia's most powerful AI chip, the H100, to China. Nvidia then released a new variant, the H800, which fell just below the export threshold, for the Chinese market. The H800 was restricted in 2023 and Nvidia came out with the H20 last year.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the U.S. Commerce Department is looking into whether DeepSeek has been using U.S. chips that are not allowed to be shipped to China.

https://www.aol.com/news/trump-meet-nvidia-ceo-friday-145648040.html

US envoy calls China's presence around Panama Canal a security concern

 China's presence around the Panama Canal is a national security concern that Panama's government has to deal with, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S. special envoy for Latin America, said on Friday, ahead of U.S. top diplomat Marco Rubio's visit to the country.

Rubio will depart on Saturday on his first foreign trip, with a scheduled visit to the canal and a meeting with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, the first talks between the countries since President Donald Trump's threat to take control of the U.S.-built canal. 

Rubio will also visit El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, where the Trump administration's efforts to repatriate migrants from the region and stem migration into the U.S. will be on the agenda, Claver-Carone said in a briefing call with reporters.

Claver-Carone said it was not Mulino's fault that China's presence around the canal "got completely out of hand" under previous Panamanian governments, but added that the Panamanian president now "has to deal with it."

"This increasingly creeping presence of Chinese companies and actors throughout the Canal Zone, in everything from ports and logistics to telecommunications infrastructure and otherwise, which is very concerning, not only frankly to the national security of the United States, but frankly to the national security of Panama and to the entire Western Hemisphere," he said. "So that will be an issue of discussion."  

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has for more than two decades operated the ports at the canal's entrances. The company is publicly listed and not financially tied to the Chinese government, though Hong Kong firms are subject to government oversight.

China's economic influence has been growing in Latin America, fueling worries in Washington that the resource-rich region will tilt to Chinese interests rather than those of the U.S.

Panama has vehemently denied ceding operation of the canal to China, but Rubio said on Thursday he had "zero doubt" that Beijing had a contingency to be able to block the canal in the event of a conflict.

Mulino says he won't discuss control of the canal with Rubio.

Panama is awaiting the results of an audit into CK Hutchinson's payments to the state, which analysts say could provide Panama with a pretext to alter its concession with the company.

Despite the awkwardness in relations with Panama, one of the closest U.S. partners in Latin America, R. Evan Ellis, a professor at the U.S. Army War College, said he thought the two sides were likely to search for a quick resolution.

"I think it could actually go down relatively quickly," Ellis told Reuters. "At the end of the day, President Trump is probably looking for a deal where he can declare victory. The Panamanians are looking for what they can give up in the context of not violating their own management of the canal."

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/us-envoy-calls-china-s-presence-around-panama-canal-a-security-concern/ar-AA1yctKP

Trump: Nothing Canada, Mexico or China can do to delay Feb 1 tariffs

 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would impose hefty new tariffs of 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10% on imports from China, and nothing could be done by the three countries to forestall them.

Trump did, however, reference a potential carve out for oil from Canada, saying that rate would be 10% versus the 25% planned for other goods from the United States' northern neighbor. But he indicated wider tariffs on oil and natural gas would be coming in mid-February, remarks that sent oil prices higher.

Trump has been threatening the tariffs for weeks, saying they would be imposed on Feb. 1 and remain in place until the countries did more to stem the flow of both migrants and fentanyl over the U.S. border.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office as he was signing executive orders, Trump said he understood the duties could result in higher costs being passed on to consumers and acknowledged his actions may cause disruptions in the short term. Most economists estimate such sweeping import taxes, and the likely retaliation, would disrupt economic activity around the globe.

Asked if there was any opportunity at this stage for the three top U.S. trading partners to win a delay, Trump said: "No, no. Not right now, no."

He brushed away the notion his threats for levies have been a bargaining tool. "No, it's not ... we have big (trade) deficits with, as you know, with all three of them."

"It's something we're doing, and we'll possibly very substantially increase it, or not, we'll see how it is," Trump said. "But it's a lot of money coming to the United States."

And more tariffs are on the way, the Republican president said, saying import taxes were being considered on European goods as well as on steel, aluminum and copper, and on drugs and semiconductors.

"We're going to be putting tariffs on steel and aluminum, and ultimately copper. Copper will take a little longer," he said.

Financial markets have been whipsawed by the rapid-fire but still not fully clear developments on Trump's tariff plans, with currency trading showing particular volatility. The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso both weakened while Treasury bond yields rose, and stocks ended the day lower.

Still, he said he was not concerned about the reaction of financial markets to his plans to impose tariffs.

"The President will be implementing tomorrow 25% tariffs on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told a press briefing.

Leavitt said details of the tariffs will be released sometime on Saturday.

When Trump imposed punitive duties on Chinese goods in 2018 and 2019, there was typically a lag of two to three weeks for Customs and Border Protection to begin collecting tariffs, due to computer system updates and notices required for importers.

Trump traveled late on Friday to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, saying he would work all weekend there. He was joined on the flight by his commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, who Trump has designated as his trade policy chief.

MAJOR DISRUPTION

Economists and business executives have warned the tariffs would spark increases in the prices of imports such as aluminum and lumber from Canada, as well as fruits, vegetables, beer and electronics from Mexico and motor vehicles from both countries.

Trump again spoke of collecting hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues from other countries, but economists generally say tariffs are paid by firms that import goods and pass the costs on to consumers or accept lower profits.

"President Trump's tariffs will tax America first," said Matthew Holmes, public policy chief at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "From higher costs at the pumps, grocery stores and online checkout, tariffs cascade through the economy and end up hurting consumers and businesses on both sides of the border."

Trump's move is expected to draw retaliatory tariffs, potentially disrupting more than $2.1 trillion in annual two-way U.S. trade with the three trading partners.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said Canada would immediately respond with forceful countermeasures, adding Canadians could be "facing difficult times in the coming days and weeks."

Canada has drawn up detailed targets for immediate tariff retaliation, including duties on Florida orange juice, a source familiar with the plan said. Canada has a broader list of targets that could reach C$150 billion ($105 billion) worth of U.S. imports, but would hold public consultations before acting, the source said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would "wait with a cool head" for Trump's tariff decision and was prepared to continue a border dialogue.

Sheinbaum previously said Mexico also would retaliate, arguing Trump's tariffs would cost 400,000 U.S. jobs and drive up prices for U.S. consumers.

China has been more circumspect about its retaliation plans, but has vowed to respond.

China "firmly opposes" Trump's new duties, a spokesperson for Beijing's embassy in Washington said, adding: "There is no winner in a trade war or tariff war, which serves the interests of neither side nor the world."

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/north-america-braces-for-new-trump-tariffs-as-saturday-deadline-nears-3842133

Acting on Trump's order, federal officials opened up two California dams

 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dramatically increased the amount of water flowing from two dams in Tulare County, sending massive flows down a river channel toward farmlands in the San Joaquin Valley.

Federal records show that water releases from Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah and Schafer Dam at Lake Success jumped early Friday morning.

The sudden increase occurred four days after President Trump said on social media that the U.S. military had “entered” California and “TURNED ON THE WATER." Trump also vowed during a visit to Los Angeles last week to "open up the valves and pumps" in California to deliver more water.

According to federal data, the flow from Terminus Dam into the Kaweah River near Visalia increased from 57 cubic feet per second to more than 1,500 on Friday morning. The flow from Lake Success near Porterville into the Tule River increased from 105 cubic feet per second to 990.

The Army Corps of Engineers is “conducting controlled water releases” from the two dams, said Tyler Stalker, a spokesperson for the Corps in Sacramento. “The action is being coordinated with local officials. The releases are within the capacity of the downstream waterways.”

Responding to questions about the reasons for the sudden increase in water flow, Gene Pawlik, a spokesperson at the Corps' headquarters in Washington, said in an email that the action was “consistent with the direction" in Trump's recent executive order to enact "emergency measures to provide water resources" in California.

Pawlik said the Army Corps was releasing water from the dams "to ensure California has water available to respond to the wildfires." It was not immediately clear how or where the federal government intends to transport the water.

Trump, meanwhile, shared a photo on X of water pouring from a dam, saying: "Photo of beautiful water flow that I just opened in California."

"Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons. Everybody should be happy about this long fought Victory!," Trump wrote. "I only wish they listened to me six years ago — There would have been no fire!"

The president has sought to link local water supply problems during the L.A. County firestorms, such as fire hydrants that ran dry, with his calls for changing water management elsewhere in the state. But state officials and water experts have called the comments inaccurate: Regional reservoirs in Southern California are at record-high levels, and more water from Northern California would not have affected the fire response.

Water was released from the dams as the first of two approaching atmospheric river storms brought snow and rain to California.

Dam managers in California sometimes release water ahead of major storms to make room in reservoirs for more runoff. But the federal agency's comments about Trump's executive order suggest that this case was different.

State officials were “not part of the decision-making” to release water from the federal reservoirs, said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources.

“We traditionally have a high degree of coordination at the operational level, which really wasn't a part of this decision,” Nemeth said.

The two reservoirs are used to hold supplies for agricultural irrigation districts. Nemeth noted that winter is not the irrigation season for farms, which require more supplies to grow crops in the summer months, “so there isn't a demand” for the water in the San Joaquin Valley at this time.

The dams are also used to regulate the pace of floodwaters that could otherwise affect downstream areas, Nemeth said. During historic storms in 2023, she said, the state sought to work with local landowners to capture flood flows where possible to replenish groundwater.

“I really can't speak to the decision process at the Corps to make this release at this time,” she said.

It was not clear where federal officials intended to send the water that was being released from the dams.

Local water managers said they were caught off-guard by the federal government's plans on Thursday. Dan Vink, a water consultant who previously served as general manager of the Lower Tule River Irrigation District, called the situation "exremely unprecedented."

Vink said local water officials heard Thursday afternoon that the Army Corps planned to "go from a fairly nominal release to channel capacity in two hours."

A release of that magnitude, he said, would normally be coordinated days in advance, in part because farmers might have expensive farm equipment placed near riverbanks. There are also homeless encampments near some riverbanks, and officials would want to make sure people were out of the way and not in danger before unleashing so much water.

The local water managers on Thursday communicated their concerns to the Army Corps officials, who agreed to release less water than originally planned and to delay the releases until Friday, Vink said.

Aaron Fukuda, general manager of the Tulare Irrigation District, told the news site SJV Water that normally such flood releases are done with a great deal of prior notification and coordination. "I've been doing this 18 years and have never seen something like this," he said.

Peter Gleick, a water scientist and senior fellow at the Pacific Institute, said dam managers would typically only release large quantities of water in the winter when major storms create a need to make space for large inflows of runoff. But Southern California has been very dry and the snowpack in the southern Sierra remains far below average, so "there is no indication that that's why these releases occurred."

"In addition, when those kinds of releases do occur, they're always done in consultation with local and state agencies," Gleick said.

"I don't know where this water is going, but this is the wrong time of year to be releasing water from these reservoirs. It's vitally important that we fill our reservoirs in the rainy season so water is available for farms and cities later in the summer," Gleick said. "I think it's very strange and it's disturbing that, after decades of careful local, state and federal coordination, some federal agencies are starting to unilaterally manipulate California's water supply."

Vink agreed, saying that given how dry it has been in the region this winter, there was no need to make such a release. In fact, he said, farmers were counting on that water to be available for summer irrigation.

"This is going to hurt farmers," Vink said. "This takes water out of their summer irrigation portfolio."

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom took other actions to adjust how the state is managing water. With two storms approaching on Friday, Newsom signed an executive order that aims to divert and store more storm runoff.

The order directs the Department of Water Resources and other state agencies to maximize the storage and capture of water from rivers to recharge groundwater and boost reservoirs such as San Luis Reservoir, located south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

"It is more important than ever that we maximize every opportunity to recharge our groundwater supplies," Newsom said.

“We are also preparing to use every last drop to boost our water supply for communities and farms throughout the state,” Newsom said. “By storing these stormwaters, we are creating a literal rainy day fund to help us recover from a multiyear drought and prepare for our hotter, drier future.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/acting-trumps-order-federal-officials-205054431.html