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President Donald Trump at the White House with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump ordered a new deployment of around 1,500 troops to the U.S. southern border on Wednesday, as part of a surge in efforts to halt illegal border crossings and smuggling efforts.

Around 2,500 U.S. troops are already attached to a federal border security mission, dubbed Joint Task Force North.

“This is something President Trump campaigned on,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The American people have been waiting for such a time as this for our Department of Defense to actually take homeland security seriously.”

Trump signed several executive orders on his first day back in office, paving the way for using the military to secure the border. One of the orders, titled “Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States,” states the U.S. armed forces are to “prioritize the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States along our national borders.” (More)

The military deployment was part of a broader border and immigration surge by the federal government on Wednesday:

EXPLAINER: A Trump executive order says he plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target cartels in the United States. Here’s what that means.

President Donald Trump’s latest executive action will cut off federal funding to any learning institutions that mandate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) provisions or hire contractors that engage in such practices.

The executive order says that any schools that receive federal money will be issued guidance for complying with this mandate within 120 days.

The attorney general, U.S. Department of Education, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have also been assigned to identify the “most egregious and discriminatory practitioners in each sector of concern.”

The Department of Education is asked to identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations pertaining to colleges and universities with endowments exceeding $1 billion. That list could include all Ivy League institutions, several elite private schools, and large research-based public universities across the country.

“Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system,” the order states.

The measure would also impact the Council of Higher Education Accreditation and the many college and university credentialing agencies it oversees. Under the 1965 Higher Education Act, college majors are required to be accredited in order to get federal money for research and other functions. (More)

More Politics

New York state Gov. Kathy Hochul. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed legislation to ban students from using cellphones in schools to minimize distractions during school hours.

Hochul said teachers face challenges in competing for students’ attention because of phone distractions. To address this issue, the governor aims to implement a statewide cellphone ban in schools starting in the next academic year.

The governor said a poll showed that 95 percent of students in the United States have access to mobile devices and receive an average of 250 notifications per day.

“As a mom, these aren’t just statistics to me. I know how hard it is to get your kids’ attention,” she said. “We’re not developing the skills we need because kids are distracted with the cellphones.”

The proposed law is a result of roundtables that the governor convened last year with parents, students, teachers, school administrators, advocates, and local leaders to discuss the impact of smartphones on students’ mental health and their ability to learn and communicate. (More)

More U.S. News

President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs and sanctions on Russia in his opening push for a quick end to the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.

“I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and [Russian President Vladimir Putin], a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account.

“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” the president added.

It’s not yet clear what peace terms, if any, the White House has conveyed to Putin.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to end the war within 24 hours of taking office.

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who is leading Trump’s effort to end the war, in an interview with Fox News earlier this month, set a more relaxed goal to reach a deal within Trump’s first 100 days in office.

Trump’s team has been working to set up a meeting with Putin since before the inauguration.

The Russian president congratulated Trump on his White House return on Jan. 20, and said, “Moscow is open for dialogue with the United States that will be built on an equal and mutually respectful basis.” (More)

More World News:

✍️ Opinion: These Restorative Executive Orders Should Not Be Necessary by Jeffrey A. Tucker

🍵 Health: How to stimulate vagus nerve function to counter depression.

▶️Live With Josh: Anti-Trump resistance forms among government employees. (Watch)

🍿 Documentary: A mountain climbing destination in Rakchham, India, thrives on respect for the village’s culture and traditions. (Watch free on Gan Jing World)

🎵 Music: Wagner – Kaisermarsch (Listen)

📷 Photo of the Day: Mexican immigration officials and police receive deportees after they were sent back into Mexico on Jan. 22, 2025 as seen from Nogales, Arizona. 👇

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

Day in Photos: New Fires Near Los Angeles, Knife Attack in France, and Camel Racing

Joon-hyuk (Kim Sung-cheol, R) and Sung-min (Lee Si-eon), in “Search Out.” (GJW+)

Social networking sites have reshaped the way we connect, communicate, and share our lives.

In the United States, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X dominate the landscape; they act as digital town squares where people post updates, share photos, and send messages to friends or wider audiences.

These sites bring people together but also blur the lines between public and private life, fostering a world of endless possibilities—and potential pitfalls.

South Korea, a leader in technological innovation, takes social media engagement to another level. With an internet penetration rate of 98 percent, outpacing even other hyper-connected nations like Taiwan and Japan, the country stands as a digital powerhouse.

South Korean techno-thriller film “Search Out” delves into this very subject, exploring the double-edged sword of social networking. While these platforms foster connection and creativity, they can also fuel harm, manipulation, and danger.

This gripping cautionary tale peels back the glossy surface of SNS culture to expose the darker realities hidden beneath, shedding light on the challenges of living in a hyper-connected world.

One of the standout elements of this film is the natural development of its characters, particularly their relationships. The chemistry between the lead characters feels organic, evolving over the course of the film.

Another strength of the film is its ability to entertain as a taut thriller while subtly exploring deeper themes.

Beneath the suspense, it serves as a commentary on the potential dangers of oversharing online, as well as the growing sense of social isolation, a timely reflection of the lockdowns of 2020 (when the film was first released).

Read the full article by our colleague Ian Kane here.

Watch the film on Gan Jing World here. As an exclusive to our subscribers, the film will be available to watch for free until this Sunday, January 26.

Spot the Difference is our readers’ favorite. Play it here.

Play more games at Epoch Fun ➞

Thanks for reading.

Have a wonderful day.

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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