Month: January 2025

The 47th US President was sworn into office today (20 January) as former presidents, cabinet nominees, tech giants and other guests watched on.

During Trump’s initial speech in the hall of the Capitol Rotunda, he said the country’s ‘decline’ will now immediately end as he begins ‘the golden age of America’.

He went on to list the promises he had previously made that he now intends to make true, including sending troops to the US-Mexico border, boost domestic oil production and impose tariffs to ‘enrich our citizens’.

“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” Trump continued. “Our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free.”

And part of the promises he went over was the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

This quickly went viral but not necessarily because of what he said, but because viewers noticed Clinton laughing. Take a look:

“Hillary Clinton p***ing her pants laughing when Trump said he will rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” it was pointed out on X.

“Ah, well, Hillary laughing her tits off when Donnie said he’s going to retitle the Gulf of Mexico, made it worth the watch,” one wrote.

As another put: “Hillary Clinton just had the best reaction to Trump’s statement changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.”

“Hillary Clinton laughing hysterically when Trump said he’s renaming the Gulf of Mexico… she is all of us. What a joke,” a third echoed.

Others were in stitches that the ‘stoic queen couldn’t keep it together’ as Trump listed his priorities.

“We are all Hillary Clinton right now. Donald Trump literally lives in a universe of his own, thinking he could change the name of the Gulf of Mexico with one stroke of a pen,” another slammed.

During his address, Trump slammed America’s past leadership as corrupt as he said: “We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad.”

But he has cast himself as uniquely positioned to fix it all, with him having said: “All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly.”

Everything Trump has pledged to do as 47th US President

Delaying the TikTok ban

After TikTok went dark on January 19 in the US, it was bought back after mere hours with a message reading: “Welcome back! Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”

Trump will reportedly sign an executive order to delay the ban saying he wants to ‘make a deal to protect our national security’.

Immigration

In a statement during a rally at Madison Square Garden during his presidential race, he said: “On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.

“I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”

Planning over 100 executive orders

It’s been reported by AP that Trump plans on preparing over 100 executive orders on his first day in the White House. Trump’s allies have reportedly spent time preparing documents that Trump can sign quickly, on issues such as deportation, school gender policies and vaccine mandates, without input from congress.

“There will be a substantial number,” said Senator John Hoeven, R-N.D.

Making hidden government files public

Including the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr., Trump promised at his recent rally in Washington D.C that, in a bid to increase government transparency, he will be making these disclosures in ‘the coming days’.

“And in the coming days, we are going to make public remaining records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

‘Make Greenland Great Again Act’

In a bid that has not gone down well with Greenlanders, taking to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.

“Greenland is an incredible place. The people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

January 6 pardons

Trump’s loss in the 2020 election led to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in turn resulting in the arrests of a number of Trump supporters.

In an interview with TIME, Trump said that looking into the cases of the rioters’ will take place in ‘the first nine minutes’ of his time in office.

In a post shared on his social media channel, Trump said: “I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”

Getting rid of birthright citizenship

Exactly as it sounds, Trump once declared he wanted to get rid of birthright citizenship, which immediately gives citizenship to anyone born in US. Noting that this may not be possible as it’s written into the constitution, he said he wants to achieve this by executive order – bypassing congress again – ‘if we can’.

Cut federal funding for schools educating on ‘inappropriate’ topics

Speaking early last year, Trump addressed a crowd in Iowa and made plans to ‘save [the] country from destruction’.

“On day one, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity,” he said, per NPR.

Trump also said he would target schools pushing ‘any other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children’.

Making the US the ‘crypto capital’

Back in 2021, Trump called crypto a ‘scam against the dollar.’ But four years on, he’s pulled a u-turn as he vowed to make the US the ‘crypto capital of the planet’.

On social media, Trump claimed crypto would be ‘mined, minted and made in the US’.

Both he and wife Melania released their own memecoins ahead of the inauguration, while experts previously predicted Bitcoin could reach up to $250,000 this year.

Be a ‘dictator’

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity last year, he referred to himself as a ‘dictator’ when asked if he was promising to ‘never abuse power as retribution against anybody’.

In response, Trump said: “Except for Day 1. I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill. We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”

End Green Deals

Trump has spoken previously about his plan to ‘terminate the Green New Deal’, which he dubbed the ‘Green New Scam’.

The Green New Deal was pitched by Democrats Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, but it was never signed into law.

Addressing the policies in a speech in September, Trump said: “To further defeat inflation, my plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam. Greatest scam in history, probably.

“We [will] rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act. I’m going to write it out in an executive order. It’s going to end on Day 1.”

Arrange green cards for college graduates

Despite making his stance on migration clear, Trump has advocated for non-US citizens to receive green cards to stay in the country if they graduate from college.

During an episode of the ‘All In’ podcast recorded this year, Trump said: “Anybody graduates from a college, you go in there for two years or four years, if you graduate, or you get a doctorate degree from a college, you should be able to stay in this country […]

“Somebody graduates at the top of the class, they can’t even make a deal with the company because they don’t think they’re going to be able to stay in the country. That is going to end on Day 1.”

Scrap ‘electric vehicle mandates’

Trump plans to scrap Biden administration’s so-called electric vehicle mandate, referring to new pollution standards that incentivize auto manufacturers to increase production of electric and lower-emission vehicles.

Despite vowing to get rid of the policy on his first day, Trump told podcaster Joe Rogan the move could take ‘maybe two days, because it’s a little bit busy’.

Fire the man who indicted him

Trump faced two federal cases in relation to the 2020 election result from special counsel Jack Smith, and the future POTUS has no plans to work with him again.

Speaking on October 24, Trump told the Hugh Hewitt show he would fire Smith ‘within two seconds’.

“He’ll be one of the first things addressed,” he said.

We are once again in the era of a Donald Trump presidency, which means that things are once again about to get very interesting.

The past few months have seen Trump forge a close friendship with tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, with the 53-year-old even earning the role of government efficiency tsar.

We’re still none the wiser on what the Department of Government Efficiency (which of course has the acronym DOGE) will actually do, but Musk’s influence can already be seen as Trump promised to send astronauts to Mars during his inaugural address.

“We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” Trump told attendees at the US Capitol.

Before we even begin to speculate over the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ about sending astronauts to space, let’s first dissect Musk’s reaction to the announcement.

The cameraman did an astounding job of panning over to Musk once Mars was mentioned, given that it’s his lifelong obsession, and managed to catch his very goofy real-time response.

Of course the reaction of a man who (despite being the very famous) still has no idea how to act on camera has garnered plenty of reactions online.

“Elon immediately looking for the memes,” one person responded to the clip, while a second added: “Elon Musk’s reaction when Trump says we will plant an American flag on Mars is pure gold.”

Meanwhile others were quick to point out that while Musk looked excited at the prospect of humans reaching Mars, Trump’s 18-year-old son Barron was much less enthusiastic.

“Barron’s mind is still in the trenches,” one user joked, as a second commented: “Barron tired of hearing about Mars.”

“Barron Trump is not going to Mars, that’s for sure,” a third added.

Although Barron appears to have very little interest in visiting the Red Planet, making it to Mars is somewhat of a lifelong goal for Musk, who once told SXSW crowds in 2013: “I’d like to die on Mars, just not on impact.”

The former footballer had just two days ago agreed to fight with the YouTuber at a Misfits event in March. It would have been the 44-year-old’s first professional boxing bout.

But Bridge took to Instagram this afternoon (20 January) to confirm the fight is off, citing ‘personal comments’ made by his would-be opponent on Saturday.

The pair had gone face to face that night and KSI made a brutal (verbal) jab about the star’s past relationship with Vanessa Perroncel.

And KSI slammed: “Wayne Bridge, aren’t you the guy that let John Terry smash your ex?

“That is what you are known for.”

He then sang out: “Vanessa Woah, she jumped on Terry’s d**k, it made the big boy feel sick.”

With Bridge held back on the night by security guards, he had appeared to let the comments slide at first.

But he wrote on Instagram earlier: “I’m sure a lot of you have seen what happened on Saturday night at the Misfits Boxing event.

“Firstly, I think it’s important that I explain my reason for accepting the fight. I always like to challenge myself. This felt like a good opportunity to go up against an interesting opponent on a big stage. I have always loved boxing as part of my everyday training routine. I was fully prepared to train hard and have some fun.

“Of course, I expected to face some criticism, but I feel like what was said on Saturday crossed a line.

“These are deeply personal comments that affect mine and other families involved in the situation. I’m a family man first and my priority is protecting them.”

He continued: “My opponent is someone that many children look up to around the world, including my kids. I hope one day he will look back on this differently. I personally don’t want to be involved in these exchanges.”

Bridge confirmed he’s got ‘some exciting things coming up in 2025’, and also thanked his followers for their support.

“Thanks for all the love,” he wrote. “The support has been overwhelming. I want my friends and family to know how special they are. Deep down I know this is the right thing to do.”

The US president has been sworn into office today (20 January) as celebrities, former presidents, cabinet nominees and others gather at the ceremony in Washington.

Trump is of course joined by his wife and family and they awaited him as he was welcomed into the hall of the Capitol Rotunda.

And when he approached, he leaned in to give Melania kiss on her cheek, except he didn’t quite make it. Now, it could be that the pair were simply doing a chic air kiss.

But it looked more like Melania’s hat simply shielded her from her husband’s lips.

Trump went on to shake the hand of outgoing president Joe Biden, but viewers were completely distracted by the baffling kiss attempt.

“Was that a fake kiss?” one wrote on X, as others who had already been confused by the new first lady’s wide-rimmed black hat wrote: “Oh, now it makes sense. Melania wore the hat as a barrier to Trump’s lips. Got it.”

Another simply shared the clip and wrote: “CAN’T THIS IS TOO FUNNY.”

Many agreed she’s ‘so mother’ as they reckon the ‘hat was intentional’.

“Got booped by that fashion set up,” one joked.

Another wrote: “What a bizarre moment, and Trump’s face after….”

“All time moment there with Trump trying to give Melania a kiss on cheek without hitting her hat,” a third joked.

Others simply said Trump knows ‘she don’t want her makeup smeared’ by him kissing her while some simply nicknamed the hat a ‘Trump shield’.

Some simply said he should have just ‘kissed her hand’ instead, while there are people saying Melania has dressed for a ‘funeral’ rather than Inauguration Day as she returns to the first lady title.

Before being baffled by the air kiss, viewers were asking a big question when Barack Obama entered the hall.

Many noticed that Michelle Obama was not present when her husband arrived at the inauguration.

Quickly taking to X, many wondered where she was, as one user said: “Where is Michelle Obama?”

Another added: “Dear Obama, where is Michelle?” while a third posted: “Where has Michelle Obama been.”

And a fourth suggested: “Michelle Obama has been MIA for a while.”

The last comment comes after the fact that Barack Obama’s wife was also absent from former US President Jimmy Carter’s funeral earlier this month. While many have theorised on her absence from the political events, an official reason has not yet been given.

An official statement from the Obama’s office read: “Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration.”

Well, if the above sounds like you then there’s probably good reason, as businessman-turned-politician Donald Trump is just hours away from being sworn in as US president… again.

The second president to star in his own reality show and make a cameo in the WWE ring since… (checks notes) previous Republican President Donald Trump, the 78-year-old will begin his second term in the White House after defeating Democrat nominee back in November.

Since winning, Trump has wasted no time in sharing his vision for America, so here is everything you can expect from his inauguration day.

What time will Donald Trump’s inauguration start?

The inauguration will take place inside the US Capitol Rotunda, with coverage beginning at 3:30pm UK time, while the oath of office is expected to be around 5pm UK time (12pm EST).

The setting of Trump’s swearing-in ceremony will also differ from 2020 and 2016, as adverse weather conditions in Washington, D.C. mean the inauguration will be taking place inside for the first time inside for 40 years.

This particular location is also the location of the infamous 2021 US Capitol riots, adding another layer of intrigue to the the day.

What happens at a US presidential inauguration?

An inauguration event sees the president-elect takes the oath of office and formally begin their four-year term in the White House.

The swearing-in ceremony will see Trump take the oath of office on the Bible (because nothing screams loyalty like placing your hand on a book) and saying the following words: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

As mentioned before, the oath of office is currently will likely take place at 12pm EST (5pm here). Trump will then deliver the inaugural address, in which he sets out his goals for the coming four years, which I’m sure will bring us plenty of viral moments.

Who will be in attendance?

Asides from Trump, his family and Vice President elect JD Vance, there will be a number of political figures and celebrities present to watch the ceremony.

Leaders of the outgoing administration, President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris, will be in attendance (a courtesy which Trump rejected back in 2021). All living former presidents are usually present, which means we should see Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton.

Trump’s new efficiency tsar and number one fanboy Elon Musk will of course have a front row seat to the event. He will be joined by businessmen such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Numerous global leaders and political figures have also been invited, among them Nigel Farage – who will no doubt be hoping to win favour back with Musk.

Should you find yourself at a loose end this afternoon and find yourself curious about what happens when a US president is sworn into office then don’t worry, as live coverage of the event will be broadcast on TV via BBC One and ITV1. The BBC’s coverage begins at 3:30pm while ITV will be heading stateside from 4pm.

Alternatively, live streams will be available across various news websites such as BBC, ITV and Sky News as well as US outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS News and Fox News.

Trump will today (20 January) be inaugurated as the US President for the second time, eight years on from the start of his first term.

The 78-year-old Republican will succeed Democrat President Joe Biden, assuming office for four years from today.

However, while watching the arrivals of many celebrities and figures from the nation’s history, everyone made the same observation.

Many noticed that Michelle Obama was not present when her husband arrived at the inauguration.

Quickly taking to X, many wondered where she was, as one user said: “Where is Michelle Obama?”

Another added: “Dear Obama, where is Michelle?” while a third posted: “Where has Michelle Obama been”

And a fourth suggested: “Michelle Obama has been MIA for a while.”

The last comment comes after the fact that Barack Obama’s wife was also absent from former US President Jimmy Carter’s funeral earlier this month.

While many have theorised on her absence from the political events, an official reason has not yet been given.

An official statement from the Obama’s office read: “Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration.”

It is a rare break in the traditional protocol, as former Presidents and their spouses usually attend presidential inaugurations, regardless of the party of the President-elect.

With that being said, Trump and his wife Melania were not present at Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2020, weeks after the 6 January riot on the Capitol.

According to AP, there shouldn’t be any other noteworthy absences, as Laura Bush and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton – both former First Ladies – will be present at the inauguration, along with their respective husbands.

When Trump was elected as President for the first time, Michelle Obama did follow transitional tradition, hosting First Lady to-be Melania Trump at the White House for tea before the ceremony.

While many await the arrival of the rest of the high-profile guests expected at the inauguration, Trump has already got to work as President, doing millions across the country a favour.

He has also outlined his main goals as President, with the nation set to crack down on immigration, focus on education, and even buy Greenland, among other promises.

You know, like the meaning of an Easter egg in a film or something random about the celebrity playing the lead.

And if you find yourself watching Only Fools and Horses anytime soon, here’s one to have up your sleeve – one of the actors had a real-life, three decade relationship with their on-screen son.

Over the TV hit’s legendary run of episodes, we saw Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter (David Jason) go the distance with love interest Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones).

She went on to stay in the show until its finale episode in 2003.

Raquel and Del Boy went on to have a child together – named Damien – who was played by six actors across the years, notably Ben Smith and Jamie Smith.

And in 1996, Peake-Jones’ partner played an adult Damien in the 1996 Christmas special ‘Heroes and Villains’.

Douglas Hodge plays the grownup son when uncle Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) has a nightmare of a dystopian future in which Damien ruled the Western world.

This was Hodge’s only appearance in the series as Damien went back to being a child after the episode.

But that whole time, Peake-Jones, now 67, and Hodge, now 64, were already well acquainted, having starting dating in 1984.

They also share two children together, a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Mollie Rose.

The pair were romantically linked for about 28 years before a statement came in 2013: “I’m able to confirm that Tessa and Douglas separated in the autumn of last year by mutual and amicable agreement and they will continue to raise their two children jointly.”

Hodge may have only had a cameo in Only Fools but has an extensive career in theatre as well as other film and TV appearances.

He has both a Tony and Olivier Award to his name for his performance in La Cage aux Folles. His film credits include the likes of Joker, the recent We Live in Time and the upcoming G20.

So, while it might have sounded like an odder bit of trivia than it is, it’s one to have up your sleeve that Raquel and dystopian future Damien were together.

The American bodybuilder and fitness content creator is known for calling people out on social media when they’re doing something they probably shouldn’t while in a public gym, or if they’re caught doing anything ‘disgusting’ in public areas.

Swoll boasts 7.9 million followers on TikTok, his most followed account, and aims to make a difference to gym-goers, calling himself the ‘CEO of GYM POSITIVITY’.

Now, he’s back to call out a woman for rubbing herself on some gym equipment.

Playing the first few seconds of the video at the start, where she is seen filming herself in the mirror of a public gym, things seem normal at first.

But then, she can be seen rubbing herself on a squat bar in the gym in a very suggestive manner, with the clip disappointing Swoll, as he shares what he thinks of this video, and others of the sort.

Beginning the video with a sigh, he criticises her, saying: “I can’t believe that this even has to be said but in 2025, can we please stop rubbing ourself on gym equipment, just to sell more subscriptions to our ‘exclusive content’?”

He also highlights, in case she wasn’t aware, that other people have to use the equipment too once she’s done.

But that’s not all from Swoll, as he goes into comments that he gets from others when he brings attention to videos like this, adding: “This behaviour is disgusting, and it needs to stop. If you think it’s okay to do, then shame on you. You’re part of the problem.”

The influencer further responded to claims that he is actually getting paid to promote these adult content models, which he strongly denied.

“First off, my videos make a difference. I’ve had these people removed from gyms, their posts taken down, legal action against them, I’ve had entire social media accounts taken down,” he pointed out.

Swoll called people that subscribe to, or support people similar to this model, ‘dumb’ and also ‘part of the problem’.

To conclude, he sent a message to the woman in the clip: “To this young woman, keep the OF content at home, and out of the gym. You need to do better. Mind your own business.”

Users took to the comment to share their agreement with Swoll, as one said: “Your work is appreciated Joey! Can’t agree enough.”

Another added: “Please stop. I just want to take my sons to the gym in peace,” with a third writing: “Why is this even a thing?

“I would lose my mind if I saw somebody doing that in my gym.”

It looks like Swoll has got across to this influencer though, as she seems to have deleted the video off her accounts.

The American musician was appearing on BBC News this afternoon (20 January) as part of the broadcaster’s coverage of Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day.

A supporter of the incoming US president, after performing at his ‘victory rally’ yesterday, the rapper was discussing how he would be spending the big day today. And afterwards, while live on BBC news, seemed to decide to shoot his shot.

Real name Robert James Ritchie, he politely asked Irish journalist Caitríona Perry what she would be doing.

“What about you? What are you doing? Where you at?” he asked while being streamed via a video call.

Perry explained she was ‘standing on a rooftop’ in the ‘very, very chilly conditions’.

“We’ll be on air for 11 or 12 hours, so I don’t think I’ll have anywhere near as fun a day as you have planned for yourself there. That sounds like you got the better deal here indeed,” she added.

Kid Rock went on to see he couldn’t see the journalist ‘so I don’t know what you look like’.

But the rapper used this as an excuse to say he ‘loves to go skiing’, adding: “You sound sexy, you want to go with me?”

Perry managed to quickly shut this down and swiftly move on as she responded: “Well we won’t get into that right here. We’re doing no skiing today, we’ve got a day of broadcasting to do.

“But Kid Rock, thank you so much for joining us here on BBC News, enjoy your day.”

A pretty awkward moment, viewers on X said they ‘cringed so hard’ as one just wrote: “Yikes.”

Baffled by the whole thing, another put: “I think I just watched @KidRock ask an @BBCNews reporter (that he couldn’t see) out on a date while being interviewed. All very wholesome and funny. I think it must’ve been the (Irish?) accent that piqued his interest.”

While another said: “See a day of potentially wild TV moments has started early. Within minutes of appearing on BBC News, Kid Rock’s interview descends into him hitting on host Caitríona Perry.”

And plenty called it one of ‘the most awkward thing’.

No, this isn’t the intro for some kind of horror sci-fi film, it’s very much a real place known as the ‘gateway to hell’. Although, to be honest, even the pictures look like something that would be created for a movie set.

Over in Ethiopia, the Danakil Depression is incredibly hot and probably one of the most alien places in the world, with few scientists going to visit.

Across the dry land are bright ponds of yellow and green that are said to bubble like a cauldron.

At over 330ft below sea level, it’s of the most inhospitable and least-studied spots on the globe.

It’s one of the driest places but swathes of molten magma sit just beneath the crust’s surface with two highly active volcanos in the area. Plus the area is studded with acidic ponds and geysers as well as a deep crater called Dallol.

Barbara Cavalazzi is from the University of Bologna, Italy, and has been conducting expeditions in Danakil since 2013.

She describes the environment as ‘very extreme’, recalling once measuring a temperature of 55C. But it’s not just the heat they have to contend with as the air is deadly.

The researchers have to wear gas masks due to the toxic hydrogen sulphide gas as well as the chlorine vapour choking their lungs.

A small lake outside the Dallol crater isn’t as hot as the salt springs and is less acidid with a pH of about two. Thanks to the volcanic activities down below, the water is rich in carbon dioxide.

“The lake is known by many different names,” she told BBC Future. “The local people call it ‘Gaet’Ale’ or ‘Arrath’. Some call it ‘oily lake’ or ‘yellow lake’. Other people have named it ‘killer lake’, because when you work around it and look around you can see a lot of small insects and birds lying dead nearby. They probably arrived there and drank some water, but what actually killed them was the strong emissions of carbon dioxide.”

Because of this carbon dioxide, birds flying just above the lake end up suffocating.

Thanks to our height, it’s not as dangerous for us humans but anything that stays within 30cm of the water will die from getting in too much carbon dioxide.