Trump Delays Tariff Increases on Furniture and Cabinets for One More Year 
Jazz Ensemble Cancels Kennedy Center New Year’s Eve Shows After Trump Renaming Sparks Backlash 
MSF Faces Possible Ban From Gaza as Israel Enforces New Aid Registration Rules 
U.S. Appeals Court Allows Trump Administration to Enforce Medicaid Funding Ban on Planned Parenthood 
Trump Administration Lifts Sanctions on Three Intellexa-Linked Executives 
Najib Razak Files Appeal Against Latest 1MDB Corruption Conviction and 15-Year Sentence 
Kremlin Says Ukrainian Drone Attack Hardens Russia’s Stance on Peace Talks 
Zohran Mamdani Sworn In as New York City Mayor in Historic New Year Ceremony 
China Imposes 55% Tariff on Beef Imports Above Quota to Protect Domestic Industry 
Trump Administration Clarifies Minnesota Childcare Funding Status Amid Fraud Claims 
U.S. Government Agrees to Review Frozen NIH Diversity Research Grants After Legal Challenge 
Trump Administration Audits Somali-Origin Citizenship Cases Amid Fraud Allegations 
Pentagon Awards $328.5 Million Lockheed Martin Contract to Support Taiwan Air Force Amid Rising Tensions 
Global Concern Grows as Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Deepens Despite Ceasefire 
Trump Ends National Guard Deployments in Major Cities Amid Legal Setbacks and Crime Debate 
Boeing Secures $8.6 Billion Pentagon Contract for F-15 Jets for Israel 
One of former President Donald Trump’s campaign pledges was to block the southern border from migrants by building a wall. The wall, while inevitably shut down by Joe Biden, was reportedly often compromised by migrants looking to cross using cheap ladders.
The wall that was being built to close off the southern border to migrants, did not stop migrants seeking to cross over to the US. US Border Patrol officials have been finding discarded ladders that migrants use to climb over the portions of the wall that was built under the Trump administration. The officials have resorted to calling authorities in Hidalgo, Texas, to take away the discarded ladders.
Texas Monthly reports that the ladders were reportedly the method for migrants for crossing along the Granjeno-Hidalgo stretch of the border. Local artist and activist Scott Lowry even mocked the function of the former president’s supposed wall. Lowry added that the ladders are more useful than the wall Trump was seeking to build using Mexican funds.
“It’s made of cheap, rough wood, quickly nailed together because it’s only going to be used once,” said Lowry regarding the ladders. “Unlike the wall, these ladders are functional.”
Lowry added that the wall only serves as “a backdrop for politicians who want to rile up their voters.”
However, McAllen-based border patrol official Chris Cabrera defended the use of the wall. Cabrera said that climbing over the wall would give officers time to catch migrants that are looking to cross over to the US. Cabrera also noted that the border patrol officers are currently very busy as the Biden administration sees record numbers of migrants looking to enter the US.
In other news, a report found that Trump administration officials purposely blocked aid for Puerto Rico in light of the hurricane that devastated the region. The report also noted that the Trump administration also blocked an investigation into why the Congressionally-approved aid for the territory was blocked.
The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Public Housing and Development issued the findings that were made public Thursday. The report noted that the tensions between the agency and the Office of Management and Budget led to unprecedented procedural hurdles that resulted in delays in disbursement of funds.
