CHICAGO/WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump has announced he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances. Trump called it "a great honour to sign this". "They should not have been prosecuted," he said as he signed pardons for "peaceful pro-life protesters”. The people pardoned were involved in the October 2020 invasion and blockade of a Washington clinic.

Abortion rights advocates slammed Trump's pardons as evidence of his opposition to abortion access, despite his vague, contradictory statements on the issue as he attempted to find a middle ground on the campaign trail between anti-abortion allies and the majority of Americans who support abortion rights.

Protections for ex-Secretary of State Pompeo, aide revoked

President Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump's first administration. A congressional staffer confirmed the change, but offered no explanation. Pompeo and Hook were told of the loss of protection on Wednesday and that it took effect at 11 pm that night.

Executive order to declassify JFK assassination files

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking to declassify files on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Asserting that the victims' families and the American people deserve to know the truth about these assassinations, the executive order directs the Director of National Intelligence to present a plan within 15 days for the "full and complete release" of all John F. Kennedy assassination records. It also directs the Director of National Intelligence to immediately review the records on the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations and present a plan for their full and complete release within 45 days.

Cryptocurrencies working group to be formed

President Trump has signed an executive order to form an internal working group on crypto aimed at making America the world capital in crypto. It also prohibited the establishment of central bank digital currencies. Chaired by White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, the working group would be tasked with developing a federal regulatory framework governing digital assets, including stablecoins, and evaluating the creation of a strategic national digital assets stockpile.