Inauguration Unignorable: Not that we want to be consuming national news anymore – because, doctor’s orders – but it turns out the inauguration thing was gross. Tech overlords had front-row seats. And then Trump pardoned the Jan. 6 rioters, pulled out of the Paris climate accord, declared the government will only recognize two genders, and closed the border.
You Will Now Clap: And the speech, uh… Before all that, Trump was sworn in and reprised his American Carnage speech from eight years ago. He also reaffirmed his commitment to tariffs to a room of billionaires who were, as The New York Times’ Mara Gay said, “required to applaud him.”
Yeah, He Did That: Our least favorite South African and Austinite, Elon Musk, was there and he didn’t have to be told to applaud. The world’s richest MAGA fan got emotional in remarks to the audience, saying they had saved “the future of civilization” after firing off a pair of Nazi salutes. Afterward, Musk felt it necessary to not-quite-deny the sieg heils, tweeting, “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.” Maybe, but the sieg heil don’t lie. Claire Aubin, an expert on U.S. Nazis, recommended to those wondering whether the salutes were real: “believe your eyes.”
More Texas Detention Centers: Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is planning on bringing its barbaric treatment of migrants to a city near you. Records secured by the American Civil Liberties Union show corporate entities such as private prisons and other services that build staff facilities submitted proposals following ICE’s contract requests. The records indicate that ICE is planning on expanding immigration detention capacities in states such as Michigan, California, Kansas, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington state.
Preparing for ICE: With Trump in office, advocates across the country are providing guidance to immigrants on how to interact with authorities and advising them of their rights. But public schools on the Texas border are waiting to see what happens next, The Texas Tribune reports. “I feel like that’s kind of the way it has to be right now,” Bobbie Treviño, superintendent of the 3,200-student Zapata County school district, told the Tribune. “Because we really don’t know.”
DACA Deterred: The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, an Obama-era policy created to shield immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from deportation. There are 500,000 of these DACA recipients among us, the majority of whom have little connection to the Latin American countries their parents came from. Attorney General Ken Paxton, who brought the lawsuit against DACA, said the court’s decision was a major victory. The case will probably be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Austin, Please Don’t Catch Fire: Austin will burn. No, not really. However, Austin is currently ranked fifth in the nation for cities that have homes that are at risk for being destroyed by wildfires, KUT reports. The other four cities are all within the Southern California region. While Central Texas lacks the high-powered winds that can accelerate flames, there is still the threat of hot and dry conditions, dense vegetation, and an increasing number of 100-degree days.
And Please Don’t Freeze: During the cold snap this week, Austinites came together to shelter some of the city’s unhoused population, KUT reported. The city’s shelters housed an estimated 550 people overnight Monday, but according to nonprofit ECHO, there are more than 5,300 homeless Austinites. Several faith-based groups helped house people. At St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in North Austin, volunteers converted the space into a shelter for 30 people.
Maybe Good News: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he wants to fix Texas’ abortion laws so doctors know when they may lawfully terminate pregnancies. In recent months, ProPublica has reported on two pregnant Texas women who died after doctors delayed treatment for miscarriages, fearing they would violate the state’s heartbeat law, which prohibits abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detectable. “[W]e need to clarify any language so that doctors are not in fear of being penalized if they think the life of the mother is at risk,” Patrick said.
And a Great Loss: Speaking of caring for women, Cecile Richards, the eldest daughter of Gov. Ann Richards, has died. Richards passed away on Monday from brain cancer at age 67. Like her mother, she was a leader in the fight for women’s rights, serving for 12 years as the president of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading provider of reproductive health care. She was battling cancer in August when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention for Vice President Kamala Harris. “When women are free to make their own decisions about their lives and to follow our dreams, we are unstoppable,” Richards told the delegates.
Quote of the Week
“It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”
– Elon Musk, directly after doing the exact motion of a Nazi Salute twice, while celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration
This article appears in January 24 • 2025.