January 26

Vance gives his first interview as vice president on CBS Face the Nation

VP Vance gives his first post-inauguration interview as VP to Margaret Brennan on CBS Face the Nation, defending Pete Hegseth and outlining administration priorities.

Homeland Security Council targets FEMA abolition under Stafford Act review

The Homeland Security Council convened a working group to examine abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and transferring disaster response authority to individual states under a restructured Stafford Act framework. President Trump publicly endorsed the review, calling FEMA ''a big, fat bureaucracy.'' State emergency management directors, including those from Republican-led states, warned that most states lack the financial or logistical capacity to absorb federal disaster response functions on short notice.

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NIST releases AI Risk Management Framework 1.0 for enterprise AI governance

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) releases AI Risk Management Framework version 1.0, a voluntary but broadly influential framework for organizations developing or using AI systems. The framework establishes four core functions — Govern, Map, Measure, and Manage — and provides guidance for evaluating bias, safety, privacy, and explainability. Federal agencies are directed to use the framework under Biden's October 2023 executive order. Major corporations, including major banks and healthcare companies, adopt the framework for internal AI governance. NIST Director Laurie Locascio calls it "the foundation for responsible AI in the United States."

Federal jury finds Trump liable for defamation in Carroll I, awards $83.3 million in damages

A federal jury awarded E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages against Donald Trump on January 26, 2024 — the largest individual defamation verdict against a sitting or former U.S. president. Judge Lewis Kaplan presided; the jury found Trump's social media attacks on Carroll's credibility after the May 2023 verdict constituted further defamation. Trump did not attend the trial and continued attacking Carroll publicly during proceedings. The judgment became the target of two parallel DOJ gambits after Trump's return to office in 2025.

Interior Secretary Haaland issues Public Land Order 7917 imposing 20-year mining ban

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issues Public Land Order 7917, withdrawing more than 225,504 acres of Superior National Forest land, upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, from mineral and geothermal leasing for 20 years. The order protects the Rainy River watershed, the 1854 Ceded Territory, and downstream Voyageurs National Park from sulfide-ore copper mining. The U.S. Forest Service's environmental assessment, which informed the order, received 675,000 public comments, of which over 95 percent favored protection.

ChatGPT surpasses 100 million users in fastest consumer product adoption ever recorded

OpenAI's ChatGPT reaches 100 million monthly active users just two months after its November 2022 launch — the fastest consumer product growth rate in history, surpassing TikTok (nine months) and Instagram (two and a half years). The milestone forces governments, educators, and employers to grapple with generative AI as a mass consumer product rather than a research curiosity. Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, announces the milestone publicly. Within weeks, Google rushes the launch of its Bard chatbot, Microsoft integrates GPT-4 into Bing, and congressional offices begin drafting AI disclosure requirements.

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Israeli raid in Jenin kills multiple Palestinians amid rising West Bank violence

Israeli raid in Jenin kills multiple Palestinians amid rising West Bank violence..

Biden Imposes 20-Year Mining Ban on 225,000 Acres Near Boundary Waters

The Biden administration imposed a 20-year ban on mining across 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. The ban blocked Twin Metals Minnesota — a subsidiary of Chilean company Antofagasta — from reapplying to build an underground copper-nickel mine near Ely. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland cited risks of irreversible water contamination to one of the most visited wilderness areas in the United States.

Biden administration cancels Twin Metals leases near Boundary Waters

The Biden administration's Department of the Interior cancels the two federal mineral leases held by Twin Metals Minnesota for copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, concluding they were improperly reinstated by the Trump administration in 2017. Twin Metals sues. Earthjustice intervenes on behalf of conservation groups and successfully defends the cancellation in court. The following year, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issues Public Land Order 7917 withdrawing 225,000 acres from mineral leasing entirely.

CNN reveals Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene liked posts calling for execution of Pelosi Obama Clinton

On January 26, 2021, CNN's KFile reports that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — who had just been sworn into the 117th Congress — had repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians and federal agents in Facebook posts from 2018 and 2019. Greene liked a post saying "a bullet to the head would be quicker" to remove Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In a separate Facebook Live broadcast in 2019, Greene said Pelosi "will suffer death or she'll be in prison" because of her "treason." In another 2019 video, Greene said Pelosi "is a traitor to our country. She's guilty of treason." Greene also liked posts calling for the execution of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and responded to a user suggesting Clinton and Obama be hanged by writing: "Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off." On February 4, 2021, the House stripped Greene of her committee assignments in a 230-199 vote, including 11 Republicans. Greene did not face expulsion and remains in Congress. House Republican leadership — Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise — took no punitive action against her.

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Federal authorities arrest Nick DeCarlo in a Texas Jan. 6 case

Federal authorities arrested Nick DeCarlo, then 30, of Fort Worth, Texas, in a Jan. 6 Capitol breach case. The case involved conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties, assaulting or impeding officers, civil disorder, destruction of government property, and theft of government property. NPR records that DeCarlo later pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding. He was sentenced on December 9, 2022 to 48 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release. The obstruction conviction was later vacated, and the court dismissed the case without prejudice on January 22, 2025. NPR's public Jan. 6 archive was checked against the linked U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia record before insertion.

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Federal authorities arrest Daniel Dink Phipps in a Texas Jan. 6 case

Federal authorities arrested Daniel Dink Phipps, then 48, of Garland, Texas, in a Jan. 6 Capitol breach case. The case involved assaulting or impeding officers with physical contact, civil disorder, entering restricted grounds, disorderly conduct, and parading or picketing in a Capitol building. NPR records that Phipps later pleaded guilty to all charges, was sentenced on August 10, 2023 to 27 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release, and later received a full pardon on January 20, 2025. NPR's public Jan. 6 archive was checked against the linked CourtListener federal case record before insertion.

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Federal authorities arrest Kenneth Grayson in a Pennsylvania Jan. 6 case

Federal authorities arrested Kenneth Grayson, then 51, of Bridgeville, in a Pennsylvania Jan. 6 Capitol breach case. The case involved civil disorder. NPR records that Grayson later pleaded guilty to the single charge. He was sentenced on December 19, 2022 to two months in prison, two years of supervised release, a $100 assessment, and $2,000 in restitution. NPR records a full pardon on January 20, 2025. The NPR archive was checked against the linked CourtListener federal record before insertion.

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Senate confirms Antony Blinken as Secretary of State

The Senate confirms Antony Blinken as Secretary of State by a vote of 78-22. Blinken, a longtime foreign policy adviser to Biden who served as Deputy Secretary of State under President Obama, becomes the top U.S. diplomat. His confirmation comes on Biden's first full day in office. Blinken pledges to rebuild alliances and reengage with international institutions.

Biden directs agencies to fight anti-Asian racism during COVID-19

President Joe Biden issues a memorandum on January 26, 2021, directing federal agencies to combat racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The memorandum says political leaders and public officials have a responsibility to avoid language that fuels stigma and discrimination. It directs agencies to improve language access, data collection, and public messaging. The federal government formally recognizes anti-Asian racism tied to pandemic rhetoric and directs agencies to respond.

NRC mandates force-on-force security drills at all U.S. nuclear plants

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission published a final rule requiring mandatory triennial force-on-force security exercises at all operating nuclear power reactors, following recommendations from a post-September 11 security review. The exercises involve mock commando-style attacks conducted under NRC oversight to test whether plant security forces can repel simulated armed assaults. The rule was part of a broader post-9/11 overhaul of nuclear facility security that also increased requirements for armed response teams and access controls.

Reagan calls for abolishing the Education Department in his State of the Union

President Ronald Reagan used his 1982 State of the Union address to call for dismantling the Department of Education, framing it as federal overreach into a state responsibility. Education Secretary Terrel Bell opposed the plan privately, warning that eliminating the department would disrupt federal education funding. Democrats controlling the House refused to move abolishment legislation, and Senate Republicans showed little enthusiasm. Reagan abandoned the effort by 1984 without a single floor vote.