Trump News for Wednesday, January 21, 2026

The week Europe fought back

Joshua Keating, Vox

The great Greenland war of 2026 appears to be on hold for the moment.  This week’s World Economic Forum in Davos has been largely overshadowed by President Donald Trump’s demand that the US take control of the Danish territory of Greenland, which set off a ra…

Chris Mason: Latest twist in Trump diplomacy brings relief for Starmer

BBC News

The row over Greenland risked uprooting the PM's carefully cultivated relationship with the US president.

Canada’s prime minister just declared the end of the world as we know it

Caitlin Dewey, Vox

This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. Canada’s prime minister delivered a blistering and remarkable speech at the World Economic Forum this week, …

Gov. Gavin Newsom denied entry to a fireside chat at Davos

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert, Business Insider

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was denied entry to an event at Davos, according to posts he made on social media.

“Trump always chickens out,” briefly explained

Cameron Peters, Vox

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: Donald Trump is once again moving markets — and being …

Trump Claims ‘Concept of a Deal’ Reached for Greenland, Says He’ll Cancel New Tariffs

Matt Novak, Gizmodo.com

The president says he "assumes" Denmark knows about the deal.

The Supreme Court Sounds More Frustrated With Trump Than Ever Before

Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine

Chief Justice John Roberts also wants to end this nonsense for once and for all.

Washington Is Divided on AI Chip Exports as Anthropic CEO Deems China Sales a ‘Mistake’

Ece Yildirim, Gizmodo.com

Congress might seek more authority over AI chips exports. MAGA can't make up its mind.

Trump said he agreed to lower tariffs on Swiss goods after meetings with Rolex and other leaders

Jordan Hart, Business Insider

Rolex and Swiss business leaders influenced President Donald Trump's decision to lower tariffs.

Trump drops tariffs threat over Greenland after Nato talks

BBC News

In a speech in Davos, the US president said that he would not use force to take the island.

House GOP wants final say on AI chip exports after Trump gives Nvidia a China hall pass

Tobias Mann, Theregister.com

Bill still needs to pass the House and Senate before the president can sign or veto it President Trump's decision to green-light the sale of Nvidia H200 GPUs to China isn't sitting well with some of his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives. T…

Lindsey Halligan, Trump's former personal attorney, exits Virginia prosecutor's office

Bill Chappell, NPR

The move comes after a federal judge wrote in court document that the "charade of Ms. Halligan masquerading as the United States Attorney … must come to an end."

Engineer at Elon Musk’s xAI Departs After Spilling the Beans in Podcast Interview

AJ Dellinger, Gizmodo.com

Interesting timing.

Trump stands down on NATO tariff threat, citing 'framework' for a deal on Greenland

ABC NEWS, ABC News

President Trump said he is standing down on his NATO tariff threat over Greenland, citing a "framework of a future deal" on the Danish territory.

Ghislaine Maxwell agrees to testify before US Congress in Epstein probe

BBC News

The convicted sex trafficker has previously said she would decline to answer questions unless she is granted immunity.

Iran says 3,117 killed during protests, activists fear 'far higher' toll

Stuart Williams, Yahoo Entertainment

Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed during protests that first erupted in late December, but activists said the actual toll risked...

Why Does Greenland Look So Big on the Map?

Noah Giansiracusa, Slate Magazine

An incredibly detailed explanation of why this international nightmare came to be.

Trump says he's reached a Greenland deal 'framework' with NATO — and is putting tariffs on ice

Bryan Metzger, Business Insider

"I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

Faisal Islam: What it was like inside the room with Donald Trump at Davos

BBC News

Faisal Islam said there was mixed reaction in the room during Trump's Davos speech.

Fact-checking Trump's Davos speech

BBC News

The US president made a series of contested claims, ranging from the status of Greenland to Nato spending.

Tenacious D Hash Things Out, Return From Creative Hiatus

Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork

In a new interview, Kyle Gass revealed he and Jack Black are on good terms again after a viral joke about the attempted assassination of President Donald J. Trump

Trump's jibes are wearing thin for many of Europe's leaders

BBC News

The ball is in the court of European leaders ahead of Thursday's emergency EU meeting in Brussels, writes Nick Beake.

Evil ICE Fucks Ate Lunch At A Mexican Restaurant Just So They Could Come Back And Detain The People Who Fed Them

Tim Cushing, Techdirt

Do you still want to cling to this pretense, Trump supporters? Do you still want to pretend ICE efforts are targeting “the worst of the worst?” Are you just going to sit there and mumble some incomprehensible stuff about “respecting the laws?” Go ahead. Do it…

The Supreme Court is likely to hand Trump a rare loss on the Federal Reserve

Ian Millhiser, Vox

The Supreme Court’s Republican majority ordinarily believe that President Donald Trump is allowed to fire virtually anyone who works for a federal agency. Last July, for example, they permitted the Trump administration to fire nearly half of the Department of…

Supreme Court justices expressed frustration with 'hurried' Trump administration handling of Lisa Cook case

Jacob Shamsian,Brent D. Griffiths, Business Insider

The Supreme Court heard arguments over Trump's efforts to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook. The case has broad implications for the economy.

US Supreme Court appears reluctant to let Trump fire Fed's Lisa Cook

By Andrew Chung, John Kruzel and David Lawder, Yahoo Entertainment

By Andrew Chung, John Kruzel and David Lawder WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Conservative and liberal U.S.

Rand Paul Only Wants Google To Be The Arbiter Of Truth When The Videos Are About Him

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

Just a year and a half ago, Senator Rand Paul sponsored a bill that would make it illegal for federal government employees to ask internet companies to remove any speech. Now, in a NY Post op-ed, Paul proudly announces that he did exactly that—formally contac…

European officials suspend US trade agreement amid tariff dispute over Greenland

Max Zahn, ABC News

The 27-nation bloc struck a trade deal with Trump in July.

Watch: Faisal Islam considers how Trump's Davos speech was received

BBC News

The BBC's Faisal Islam was in the room when President Trump told his audience that he would not use force in Greenland, but also launched a long argument for why the US should own it.

Supreme Court appears wary of allowing Trump to fire Fed's Cook in closely watched case

Nina Totenberg, NPR

The administration wants the authority to fire Lisa Cook, a Fed governor. Experts say that would undermine the independence of the central bank.

Trump is steamrolling global calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining

Justine Calma, The Verge

The Trump administration took the next step toward unilaterally jumpstarting deep-sea mining this week, announcing a "consolidated" permitting process for both searching for and commercially extracting minerals that have so far remained relatively untouched. …

ESA puts ExoMars lander through its paces with eye on 2028 launch

Richard Speed, Theregister.com

After Russia drama and NASA's on-again-off-again romance, rover shows it still has legs... four of them The European Space Agency (ESA) has unveiled a full-scale structural mock-up of the landing platform for its long-delayed ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover.…

Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass Joked About Trump Getting Shot. ‘I’ve Felt Terrible Ever Since’

Jason Newman, Rolling Stone

With a new live album on deck, the musician-actor breaks his silence about the “shitstorm” he caused, hashing it out with Jack Black, and the future of the D

Trump, 79, Ditches International Travel After Hellish Flight

Leigh Kimmins, Daily Beast

President Trump is set to scale back international travel to focus on upcoming midterm elections after an Air Force One malfunction curtailed his sleep as he...

Business leaders react to Trump's Davos speech

Roya Shahidi,Tom Carter, Business Insider

Business leaders and CEOs weighed in on President Donald Trump's highly anticipated speech at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

Coinbase CEO: Banking Lobbyists Are Trying to Ban Their Competition

Kyle Torpey, Gizmodo.com

Bank lobbyists and crypto lobbyists are publicly fighting over new legislation. Lawmakers are noticeably absent from the debate.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction are about to be unlocked because someone needs to build all these new AI centers

Preston Fore, Yahoo Entertainment

The AI boom is threatening white-collar entry jobs—but it’s creating a booming six-figure opportunity for electricians, plumbers, and construction workers.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Trump's proposed 10% cap on credit card rates would be an 'economic disaster'

Alice Tecotzky,Polly Thompson, Business Insider

Dimon warned at Davos that Trump's credit card interest rate cap could harm 80% of Americans.

WATCH: President Trump says he's asking for 'a piece of ice' in reference to Greenland

ABC News

During remarks in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump said he's "not sure" if NATO "would be there for us" if an attack against the U.S. were to occur.

Ukraine endures a bitter winter after Russian attacks as peace efforts overshadowed

KAMILA HRABCHUK Associated Press, ABC News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says about 4,000 buildings in Kyiv remain without heating, and nearly 60% of the city is without power following days of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid

Alex Cooper Shuts Down Sex Talk With Michelle Obama on 'Call Her Daddy'

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Michelle Obama didn't have to dodge any of the usual kiss-and-tell on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast this week ... Alex opted to take the high road over grilling the former First Lady about her sex life, much to her own reluctance. Michelle…

Trump says no nation can secure Greenland but the US in Davos speech

Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News

President Donald Trump, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said no other country is in a position to defend Greenland but the United States.

Trump Continues To Make It Clear He Has CBS On A Leash

Karl Bode, Techdirt

By now, it’s pretty clear that right wing billionaire and Trump ally Larry Ellison bought CBS to convert what was left of the news division into lazy agitprop that blows smoke up the ass of wealth and power. Leading the charge is CBS News boss Bari Weiss, an …

Greenland relegated to 'stepping stone' in Trump-Europe standoff, party leader says

David Brennan, ABC News

"We are currently being caught in broader political conflicts driven by opposition to Donald Trump," Naleraq party leader Pele Broberg told ABC News.

WATCH: Helicopter crash caught on camera

ABC News

The chopper was in the air for about 10 minutes over Utah before it spun out of control, descending and slamming into trees, injuring one person and three others evacuated from the wreckage.

What to expect from Trump's Davos speech. And, the DOJ subpoenas Minnesota officials

Brittney Melton, NPR

President Trump is expected to address affordability at the World Economic Forum today. And, Minnesota officials react after the Justice Department subpoenas them.

4 tech moguls who attended or donated to Trumps inauguration got $288 billion richer, cumulatively, in his first year back

Kelsey Vlamis, Business Insider

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jensen Huang attended or donated to President DonaldTrump's inauguration. All of them got richer last year.

Pro-AI Super PACs Are Already All In on the Midterms

Maxwell Zeff, Wired

Silicon Valley’s battle against AI regulation is already shaping the next US election cycle.

Gold prices surge past $4,800 on jitters over Greenland dispute

Vicky McKeever, Yahoo Entertainment

Gold prices extended recent gains on Wednesday, surging on concerns about escalating tensions over US president Donald Trump's push to take over Greenland.

Parliament tells Dutch gov't to keep DigiD data out of American hands

NL Times

A parliamentary majority has asked the current caretaker and upcoming new Cabinet to do everything in their power to prevent Dutch DigiD data from ending up in the United States government’s hands.

Trump's hugely anticipated Davos speech looks set for a delay after Air Force One had to turn around

Pete Syme, Business Insider

President Donald Trump took a replacement plane to Switzerland after Air Force One turned around, leaving him with little time before his speech.

US allies push back on Greenland at Davos ahead of Trump address

David Brennan, ABC News

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney added his voice to the condemnation of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to acquire Greenland.

House Republicans set to move forward with holding Clintons in contempt of Congress

John Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Fritz Farrow, James Hill, ABC News

House Republicans continue their Epstein probe – voting on resolutions to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with committee subpoenas.

Could US Congress stop Trump from taking over Greenland?

BBC News

Some of the president's fellow Republicans oppose him - but it's not clear if they would join Democrats to block a takeover of the island.

Trump Family Makes $1.4 Billion Off Crypto in 2025, Offsetting Losses Elsewhere

Mike Pearl, Gizmodo.com

Crypto is now said to account for roughly 20% of the family’s $6.8 billion fortune.

California wildfire smoke linked to increased autism diagnoses, new study finds

Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American

Children born to mothers who were exposed to smoke in southern California showed increased rates of autism, although the reason why is unclear

CBS Boss Secretly Knifes ‘60 Minutes’ Reporter She Tried to Censor

Catherine Bouris, Daily Beast

MAGA-curious CBS News chief Bari Weiss has reportedly been venting to journalists about a 60 Minutes correspondent who stood up to her decision to pull a...

WATCH: ‘Bridgerton’ cast hints at what’s to come in season 4

ABC News

“Bridgerton” season 4 will roll out in two parts, with the first four episodes premiering Jan. 29 and the remaining episodes arriving Feb. 26.

China distances itself from Greenland issue but warns against US dependence

Reuters, Yahoo Entertainment

BEIJING, Jan 21 (Reuters) - China rejected speculation on Wednesday that it would compete for influence in the West as a U.S. bid to take control of...

Jeffrey Epstein Used Birthday As Excuse to Traffic Victims, Congressman Claims

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Here's how twisted Jeffrey Epstein was ... he used his birthday as an excuse to traffick and take advantage of girls ... at least according to one of the members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee that's been releasing photos and documents from the Epstein…

Late-Night Hosts Mourn Donald Trump’s ‘Exhausting’ Year in Office

Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone

Late-night TV hosts addressed the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump's second term as president.

'Minor electrical issue' on Air Force One delays Trump Davos visit

BBC News

Journalists travelling with the president said the lights went out briefly in the press cabin.

EU Parliament freezes US trade deal ratification

Le Monde with AFP, Le Monde

By delaying ratification, European lawmakers signal their discontent as the bloc debates possible responses, including retaliatory tariffs, should Washington follow through on its warnings.

Trump Tries to Keep Second Set of Damning Files Secret Forever

Catherine Bouris, Daily Beast

President Donald Trump is seeking to stop his own Justice Department from releasing a whole new set of files he’d rather keep away from public view. Trump...

Millionaires ask leaders at Davos to tax the rich

Shubhangi Goel, Business Insider

The letter said that a handful of those with extreme wealth are negatively influencing nearly every aspect of society.

Davos updates: Trump speech looms as Greenland threats fuel global tension

Cheryl Teh, Business Insider

The rich and powerful at Davos are bracing for President Donald Trump's speech. His threats against Greenland have sparked outcry from world leaders.

Iran warns Trump not to take action against Khamenei

The Associated Press, NPR

Iran on Tuesday warned Donald Trump not to take any action against the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, days after the U.S. president called for an end to the nearly 40-year reign.

Iran's top diplomat issues most direct threat yet to US as crackdown over protests squeezes nation

JON GAMBRELL, Yahoo Entertainment

Iran's foreign minister issued the most direct threat yet Wednesday against the United States after Tehran's bloody crackdown on protesters, warning the...

Some tech workers want their CEOs to 'call the White House' and speak out against ICE

Lloyd Lee, Business Insider

A small group of tech workers, including Google and Amazon employees, signed a petition calling on CEOs to speak out against the federal agency.

Trump laid out his plans to restrict institutional housing investors — with some notable carveouts

Shubhangi Goel, Business Insider

The order comes with a carveout: build-to-rent properties that were designed to be rental communities will not be affected.

US futures edge higher and gold hits another record as markets swoon over Greenland dispute

CHAN HO-HIM, Yahoo Entertainment

Asian shares mostly extended their losses on Wednesday and gold prices hit a record high as concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on...

Donald Trump won't take Air Force One to Davos after an electrical issue forced a U-turn

Aditi Bharade, Business Insider

Air Force One headed back to Joint Base Andrews after it ran into a "minor electrical issue," per a White House pool report.

“We’re Too Close To The Debris”: Airplanes Dodge The Remains Of Exploding SpaceX Rockets

Heather Vogell and Agnel Philip, Techdirt

This story was originally published by ProPublica. Republished under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. There are additional (exceptional!) imagery in the original. When SpaceX CEO Elon Musk chose a remote Texas outpost on the Gulf Coast to develop his company’s ambi…

Why is Emmanuel Macron wearing sunglasses at Davos?

BBC News

The French leader drew attention for his rebuke of Trump's tariff threat - and also his choice of eyewear.

Trump Threatens to Blow Up ‘Whole Country’ in Wild Warning

Yahoo Entertainment

A year later, some Jan. 6 rioters are emboldened by Trump's pardons

Diana Paulsen, Jay O'Brien, ABC News

On the five-year anniversary of Jan. 6, some of the rioters pardoned by Trump on his first day back in office returned to the Capitol.

Trump doubles down on Greenland threats, saying there is 'no going back'

BBC News

Trump is due to arrive at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, where he said there are "a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland".

Elon Musk Says He Hasn't Sold Tesla Stock For Over Three Years: 'Bought A Billion Dollars...'

Badar Shaikh, Yahoo Entertainment

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has shared that he has not sold any of the EV giant's stock in the past three years. Bought A Billion Dollars Worth Of...

Full Transcript of Carney's Speech to World Economic Forum

Sean Boynton, Global News

Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a forceful speech in Davos, Switzerland, on the 'new world order' and how middle powers like Canada can benefit by working together.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have been subpoenaed by the DOJ

Ayana Archie, NPR

The Minnesota attorney general and St. Paul mayor have also been subpoenaed as local, state and federal officials have clashed in the aftermath of the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent.

Greenland, Davos, and a Flame-Throwing President

Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic

Trump heads to Switzerland as European leaders warn him not to seize sovereign land.

Is paracetamol in pregnancy a risk factor for ADHD?

Carolyn Brown, Nature.com

A common pain reliever taken in pregnancy might raise the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to research in the past decade. But proof of cause and effect remains elusive.