Trump Signs Executive Order to Publicly Release the JFK Files
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JFK files: Trump signed an executive order to release the classified files concerning the deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. During his first term, Trump made the same promise; however, he said some members of his then-cabinet, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asked him not to release them, which Trump said he wanted to respect. The EO says that within 45 days, a plan for the release of the documents will be presented to the president.
Inauguration speech: Speaking from the Capitol on Tuesday, President Trump claimed a new “golden age of America.” Referencing the assassination attempt in July, Trump said that he “felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.” With former presidents Bush, Obama, Clinton, and Biden seated behind him, Trump did not shy away from rebuking the past administrations. He added that the power of the U.S. “will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable.” (video)
Reader question: What in your view would make America great? Do you think Trump is capable of uniting the country? (comment below)
Hostages released: Shortly after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday, the first three Israeli hostages were released and received an emotional welcome home (video). In return, 90 Palestinians were freed from Israeli prisons and were welcomed with jubilant crowds (video). More hostages are set to be freed over the coming days during the first phase of the agreement. Meanwhile, aid convoys have been allowed to enter Gaza en masse, which has largely been reduced to rubble (photos). The UN estimates that about 90% of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the war.
Biden’s last-minute pardons: Just before Trump was inaugurated, former President Biden granted pardons and clemency to a number of people, including his siblings and their spouses, Anthony Fauci, and the J6 investigation team. In a statement Biden said these people have been “subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics.” Biden pardoned his son Hunter in December, 2024. The move was extremely controversial and raises questions of presidential pardon power moving forward.
More: In general, presidential pardons are given to people who have been charged with crimes.
1,500 troops sent to the border: President Trump sent more than 1,500 troops to the southern border to help construct the wall, monitor border activity with helicopters, and provide military aircraft to aid in deportation efforts. The move comes after Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border. In addition, Trump has granted federal agents the ability to arrest illegal immigrants in sensitive areas such as schools and churches, which was prohibited under the Biden Administration. (more in main story below)
ChatGPT for school work: A PewResearch survey found 26% of teens (13-17) have used ChatGPT for schoolwork, up from 13% in 2023.
Looking to Turn the Country in a Different Direction, Trump Signs Flurry of Executive Orders
Following his inauguration on Jan. 20, the Trump administration immediately prioritized a myriad of policies that can be implemented with the signature of a pen. In the first few days, he has signed dozens of executive orders and rescinded 78 orders from the Biden Administration.
The News Memo reviewed the executive orders. Below are a few we think are important to know.
Jan 6 pardons: Trump pardoned 1,500 people involved in the J6 events in the U.S. Capitol. Although the vast majority of the pardons were for non-violent offenders, the more controversial pardons covered some members who assaulted capitol police officers. Trump argues the events on Jan. 6 were a setup and that his supporters were politically and unfairly charged. Some Republicans, though, such as Sen. Lankford of Oklahoma, aren’t fully supportive of the order: “I think if you attack a police officer that’s a very serious issue and they should pay a price for that.”
National Emergency at Border: This executive order allows the U.S. Government to deploy more resources to repel “forms of invasion” including drug trafficking and illegal migration. Border wall construction will resume and 1,500 National Guard Troops are already present to help enforce law and begin deporting illegal immigrants. During his inauguration speech, Trump said, “All illegal entry will be immediately halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of illegal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
End of Birthright Citizenship: This executive order takes away the right to become a U.S. citizen after being born to illegal immigrant parents. Birthright citizenship has been based on the text from the 14th amendment that reads: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." The Trump Administration believes the practice is unconstitutional. The EO has already been hit with numerous legal challenges from several states and rights groups. On Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the order from going into effect.
Death Penalty: Trump directed the Attorney General (AG) to pursue the death penalty where possible, and in particular, for cases of murder of police officers and capital crimes committed by illegal immigrants living in the U.S. He also directed the AG to ensure states have “sufficient supply of drugs needed to carry out lethal injection.”
TikTok: Trump put a 75-day hold on the TikTok ban, which briefly went into effect the day before the inauguration. Congress and President Biden passed a law banning TikTok in the U.S. over data privacy and national security concerns, unless it was sold to a U.S. company (the law was upheld by the Supreme Court). Trump directed the AG not to enforce the law for 75 days while he seeks to find a “resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.” In a press conference, Trump raised the idea of the U.S. government owning 50% of TikTok while partnering with a tech billionaire such as Larry Elison.
Terminating DEI Initiatives: President Trump directed the Attorney General and other department heads to terminate all “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.” For example, Federal hiring and employment practices, including performance reviews, are prohibited from considering DEI goals or practices as factors in the process. In addition, leaders of Federal offices are ordered to terminate all DEI-related positions, including but not limited to “Chief Diversity Officers” and Federal contractors that provided DEI training.
DOGE: Formerly established the Department of Government Efficiency, with the stated goal of implementing Trump’s DOGE agenda by “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
WHO Exit: The U.S. will withdraw the World Health Organization primarily due to its response to the covid-19 pandemic, among other criticisms. The U.S. is the largest financial contributor to the WHO each year, providing more than $1.3B in 2023.
The full list is available on the White House website.
What are executive orders?
Executive orders are directives for managing federal government operations and policies. They are only binding for the executive branch and cannot contradict or violate existing laws or the Constitution.
Trends: Americans Seeing Therapists and Psychiatrists at Highest Rate Ever
More Americans are seeing therapists and psychiatrists than ever before as rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness continue to rise. In addition to increased visits, the online therapy industry has boomed in recent years. In 2021, investors poured $4.8 billion into online mental health startups like Cerebral and BetterHelp, which boosted advertising and made counseling and the prescription of some psychiatric drugs a 100% online process.
Individuals in the 18-34 age group actively seeing a therapist nearly doubled from 12% in 2019 to 19.9% in 2023. For context, that’s roughly 5.7M more people in that age range seeing a therapist than just 4 years ago.
The increase has occurred among other age groups but not as drastically. In short, the older the population, the less likely therapy visits have increased.
Ages 18-44: Increase from 12% in 2019 to 19.9% in 2023
Ages 35-49: An increase from 10.7% in 2019 to 15.5% in 2023
Ages 50-64: An increase of 8.7% to 10.5%
Ages 65+: This group stayed the exact same at 5.7% in 2019 and 2023
Online therapy soars
Before the pandemic, virtual therapy and mental health care visits were virtually zero. Now, they account for more than half of all visits. Companies like BetterHelp, TalkTherapy, Brightside, and Doctor on Demand have seen immense growth and have accumulated billions in investor funding.
Dive deeper: Some of these companies such as Cerebral have been under investigation for overprescribing drugs like Adderall for profit incentives.
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