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16 Things Trump And His Team Did In Three Weeks

Published

11 months ago

February 16, 2025

The third week of Donald Trump’s second term has been marked by more major action from the US president and his team.

From announcing US goals on the future of Gaza and massively slashing the US agency for foreign aid to intervening in a golf dispute and banning transgender women from female sports competitions, Trump, his adviser Elon Musk and the rest of his team have pressed on with their agenda.

There’s a lot to keep up with – so here’s a reminder of 16 moves this week.

1. Proposed the US ‘take over’ Gaza

At a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the US would “take over” and “own” Gaza, resettling its Palestinian population in the process.

Trump proposed developing the territory, devastated after 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” Trump repeated on social media on Thursday, reiterating the idea would mean resettling Palestinians who currently live there.

Trump suggested the displacement would be permanent, but administration officials later suggested any relocation would be only temporary.

Any forced deportation of civilians would be a violation of international law.

2. Planned to put thousands of USAID staff on leave

Thousands of employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the government’s main foreign aid agency, were expected to be placed on leave at midnight on Friday.

That was until a judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s plan, hours before it was due to happen.

Judge Carl Nichols issued a “limited” temporary restraining order, in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions trying to save the agency.

The proposed cuts will affect the vast majority of the agency’s workforce, leaving only a few hundred essential staff out of a total of about 10,000 employees globally.

The move comes after workers were asked to stay out of the agency’s Washington DC headquarters earlier this week.

Cutbacks at the agency have upended the global aid system, with hundreds of programmes already frozen in countries around the world.

The Trump administration reportedly intends to merge the agency, which distributes billions of dollars in aid globally, with the State Department, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was now the acting head of the agency.

3. Imposed tariffs on China and pulled back threats on neighbours

Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports on Tuesday, but held off on his threat of implementing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico for 30 days, after those countries’ leaders pledged to beef up border security.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to reinforce the US-Canada border to clamp down on migration and the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to bolster the country’s northern border with troops, and in return the US would limit the flow of guns into Mexico.

The tariffs, which some experts suggest could exacerbate inflation, were part of Trump’s campaign platform ahead of November’s election.

4. Pressed ahead with plan to incentivise federal workers to resign

The Trump administration had offered incentives to federal workers to voluntarily resign by a Thursday midnight deadline – part of an effort to slash the size of the government.

However, a US judge temporarily halted the plan hours before the deadline, pausing it until a hearing on Monday to determine the merits of a lawsuit filed by federal employee unions, CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported.

Some of the federal government’s more than two million civilian workers have voiced confusion about the terms of the deal, which the administration says would allow them to receive pay and benefits through September in exchange for resigning.

Critics have questioned the legality of the offer and some federal employee unions have advised members to exercise caution around accepting the deal.

5. Sanctioned the International Criminal Court

On Thursday, Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on some staff of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The sanctions place financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

The Hague-based court brings global prosecutions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Recently, it issued arrest warrants for a Hamas commander and Israel’s Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies.

Trump’s announcement came as Netanyahu was visiting Washington DC.

More than 120 countries, including the UK, are members of the ICC, though the US and Israel are not.

6. Ordered strikes against the Islamic State group in Somalia

Trump said he ordered military air strikes on a senior attack planner and others from the Islamic State (IS) group in north-east Somalia on 1 February.

He said “many terrorists” were killed “without, in any way, harming civilians”. The BBC could not independently verify reports of casualties.

The office of Somalia’s president on social media welcomed the “unwavering support of the United States in the fight against international terrorism”.

7. Withdrew from United Nations institutions

Trump also took action to end US involvement in several UN institutions.

On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, of which Israel has been highly critical.

The same order said the US would no longer participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the US would conduct a review of its membership in the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) within 90 days.

8. Sent first plane of deportees to Guantanamo

The US sent the first group of migrants to Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday, after Trump announced plans to expand migrant detention at the US Navy base in Cuba.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the detainees were part of the Tren de Aragua – a gang that originated in Venezuela’s prisons. Ten detainees were sent, CBS reported, citing multiple US officials.

The move came after Trump ordered that an existing migrant detention facility at the base be expanded to hold some 30,000 people.

The Naval base has been used to house a small number of migrants – a few dozen at a time, in recent years – for decades.

Separately, nearly 800 people – most held on suspicions of terrorism – have been jailed at the base’s detention centre since it opened in 2002. About 15 people are still held there now, according to US media.

Deportation flights also carried migrants back to India this week.

9. Demanded Ukraine provide rare earth resources

On Monday, Trump said he wanted Ukraine to guarantee the supply of more rare earth metals in exchange for $300bn (£240bn) to support its fight against Russia.

“We want what we put up to go in terms of a guarantee… we’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where we’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth (minerals) and other things,” Trump said.

Ukraine has large deposits of uranium, lithium and titanium, which can be used for defence and electronics manufacturing, CBS reported.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was open to investment by American companies.

10. Banned transgender competitors from women’s sports

Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports.

The order outlines guidance, regulations and legal interpretations largely around high school, university and grassroots sports.

However, Trump said the order would include the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, adding he would deny visas for transgender Olympic athletes trying to visit the US to compete.

11. Released water from dams in California

Trump on Monday ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in California’s Central Valley after deadly wildfires in Los Angeles in January.

Trump had claimed California withheld water supplies that could have made a difference in fighting the fires, which the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials disputed, CBS reported.

The water was released into a dry lakebed more than 100 miles (160km) away from the fires. Experts and officials told CBS the water could not flow to Los Angeles and would likely go to waste.

US Congressman Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, said that before the water in the dams was released, it was being “saved for the farmers for the summer season when they needed the water” in the state’s agricultural region.

12. Announced taskforce to tackle ‘anti-Christian bias’

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that aimed “to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government”.

He appointed newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bond to lead a task force to eradicate what he called “anti-Christian bias” in the federal government.

Trump signed the order after giving remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC. 13. Intervened in a dispute in the golf world

Trump, an avid golf player who owns courses around the world, reportedly intervened in a dispute between championship organiser PGA Tour and its rival series LIV Golf.

After the launch of LIV Golf led to a rift, the rivals entered negotiations and announced a “framework agreement” for a merger, but a deadline to complete that deal passed.

This week, PGA Tour said it was “closer to a deal” with LIV Golf after calling on Trump to step in.

“We asked the president to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved,” said the statement. “We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”

13. Removed climate change mentions from government websites

Starting last week, the Trump administration reportedly ordered some US government agency websites to remove references to climate change.

It has affected the websites of the departments of transportation, defence, state and agriculture, which manages the forest service, the Guardian reported.

Some climate content remained on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nasa and Energy Department’s sites.

This week, some employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were also ordered to temporarily stop communicating with foreign nationals, US media reported.

The change came after reports that staff from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – which is not an official government department – entered the offices of NOAA and took over the agency’s internal websites, removing pages devoted to diversity-focused employee affinity groups.

14. Increased access for Musk’s Doge

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had directed Musk’s Doge, a cost-cutting initiative to shrink the federal government, to “check out” spending at the Defence Department among other agencies.

“Pentagon, education, just about everything,” Trump said during a news conference with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The Trump administration also gave members of Doge access to a US treasury department payments system that controls the flow of trillions of dollars in funds every year, US media reported.

But on Saturday, a federal judge blocked Doge from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans in Treasury Department records.

US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit access, ordering Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records.

Musk’s newly created Doge, which is not an official federal department, has been heavily involved in government upheaval.

15. Joe Biden’s security clearance revoked

Trump revoked Joe Biden’s security clearance and access to daily intelligence briefings on Friday – something Biden did to Trump four years ago.

“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“JOE, YOU’RE FIRED,” the Republican added in a reference to his catchphrase on the reality TV show, The Apprentice.

It came among a flurry of other announcements on Friday, which included an executive order freezing financial assistance to South Africa and announcing that he would fire the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC and name himself chairman.

16. Scraps task force that seized assets of Russian oligarchs

Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi this week disbanded a force designed to combat foreign interference in elections, as well as another initiative which targeted Russian oligarchs.

In an order signed on Bondi’s first day in office, she disbanded the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force – which aimed to prevent foreign meddling in US elections – to reassign its staff to focus instead on drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations.

The order stated it would “free resources to address more pressing priorities, and end risks of further weaponization and abuses of prosecutorial discretion”.

Bondi also disbanded Task Force KleptoCapture, which was launched after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It had been tasked with seizing yachts and other assets from Russian oligarchs.
(Tribune)

Headline

Trump Warns Of More Strikes In Nigeria If Attacks On Christians Continue

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

US President Donald Trump has warned that he could authorise additional military strikes in Nigeria if attacks against Christians continue, citing the security situation in the West African nation as a key concern.

In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, Trump was asked whether the Christmas Day strikes in Sokoto State, which targeted Islamist militants, were intended as part of a broader campaign. “I’d love to make it a one-time strike. But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” he said.

Trump’s comments follow his 2025 designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” due to what he described as an “existential threat” to its Christian population. The remarks have drawn criticism from Nigerian officials, who insist that jihadist groups target people regardless of religion. “Muslims, Christians and those of no faith alike” are affected, a government spokesperson said, rejecting claims that Christians are being singled out.

When pressed about reports that most victims of jihadist groups in Nigeria are Muslims, Trump responded, “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.” Nigeria, with a population exceeding 230 million, is roughly evenly divided between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north.

The December strikes targeted camps run by a jihadist group known as Lakurawa in Sokoto, a largely Muslim region near the border with Niger. Both the US and Nigerian authorities have linked the militants to Islamic State-affiliated groups in the Sahel, although the IS has not formally claimed any association with Lakurawa. Details of casualties from the strikes remain unclear, as neither government has provided official figures.

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said the operation was a “joint effort” and emphasised that it was not motivated by religion. He confirmed that the strikes had the approval of President Bola Tinubu and included
participation by Nigerian armed forces. Addressing the timing of the strikes, Tuggar added that they were unrelated to Christmas, though Trump described them as a “Christmas present”.

Headline

Science Discovers Why Hungry, Broke Men Prefer Bigger Breasts

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A scientific study has found that men who feel financially insecure or hungry are more likely to find larger female breasts attractive.

The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE and was conducted by psychologists Viren Swami and Martin J. Tovée.

The study examined whether breast size acts as a signal of fat reserves and access to resources, and whether men facing resource insecurity rate larger breast sizes as more attractive than men who feel economically secure.

Researchers carried out two separate studies across Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

In the first study, 266 men from three areas in Malaysia were assessed. The locations represented low, medium and high socioeconomic backgrounds. Participants were shown rotating computer-generated images of women with different breast sizes and asked to rate which they found most attractive.

The findings showed a clear socioeconomic pattern.

Men from low-income rural areas preferred larger breasts.

Men from middle-income towns preferred medium to large breasts.

Men from high-income urban areas preferred smaller to medium breasts.

PLOS ONE study showing how hunger and financial insecurity affect men’s breast size preferences
Cover page of a PLOS ONE study examining how resource insecurity influences men’s breast size preferences. Source: PLOS ONE

As stated in the study, “Men from relatively low socioeconomic sites rated larger breast sizes as more physically attractive than did participants in moderate socioeconomic sites, who in turn rated larger breast sizes as more attractive than individuals in a high socioeconomic site.”

The researchers noted that the lower a man’s financial security, the stronger his preference for larger breast size.

The second study focused on hunger rather than income.

In Britain, 124 male university students were divided into two groups. Sixty-six participants were classified as hungry, while 58 had recently eaten. Both groups viewed the same breast size images under identical conditions.

Hungry men consistently rated larger breasts as more attractive than men who were full.

According to the researchers, “Hungry men rated a significantly larger breast size as more physically attractive than did the satiated group. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that resource security impacts upon men’s attractiveness ratings based on women’s breast size.”

The researchers explained that these shifts suggest attraction is not fixed but responsive to immediate conditions.

They noted that men experiencing hunger or financial pressure may place greater value on physical traits that signal access to resources or stability.

The study added that temporary states such as hunger can shape attraction in the same way long-term economic conditions do, reinforcing the idea that social and environmental factors play a key role in how physical attractiveness is judged.

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Man With Lengthy Criminal Record Shoots Nigerian To Death Inside Bus In Canada

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A 40-year-old man with an extensive criminal history has been charged with first-degree murder after a Nigerian national was shot dead on a GO bus at the Yorkdale GO Bus Terminal in Toronto, marking the city’s first homicide of 2026.

Toronto Police, in a statement on their website, said officers were called to the terminal, near Yorkdale Road and Allen Road, at about 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 4, following reports of a shooting. Investigators allege that both the suspect and the victim boarded a GO bus at the terminal, where the suspect shot the victim before fleeing the scene on foot.

According to the statement, officers arrived to find a man suffering from a gunshot wound, but despite carrying out life-saving measures, the Nigerian was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was later identified as Osemwengie Irorere, a 46-year-old man from Nigeria, the Toronto police said in a later statement.

Local media reports noted that an eyewitness who was seated just behind the victim said the bus had been dark and crowded as passengers waited to depart when a single gunshot rang out.

“I assumed it was a popped tyre or something, but immediately after, a guy sitting in front of me got up, shoved his hands in his pocket and ran off the bus,” the witness said, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.

“Right after, I stood up and I looked at the seat in front of me and I saw a guy, bleeding,” he added, saying he could smell smoke in the air after the shot was fired.

Police said the suspect was located and arrested a short time later near the Yorkdale subway station, and a firearm was recovered.

The accused has been identified as Tyrel Gibson, 40, of Toronto. He appeared at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Monday, January 5.

Court documents show that Gibson has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2000, with nearly two dozen charges. He has previously been convicted of offences including attempted murder and firearm-related crimes. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, using a firearm, possession of a firearm with ammunition and possession of an unauthorised firearm and was handed a lifetime weapons prohibition. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2017, although it remains unclear how much of that term he served.