United States President Donald Trump has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the imprisoned founder of the dark-web black market Silk Road.
Trump said on Tuesday that he had called Ulbricht’s mother to inform her he had signed a “full and unconditional pardon” for her son, who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015 for his role in operating the illicit marketplace.
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponisation of government against me,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous! ”
Ulbricht, 40, was convicted of seven counts related to his operation of Silk Road, which facilitated the sale of illegal drugs and other illicit goods using Bitcoin, including distributing narcotics and engaging in a criminal enterprise.
US prosecutors alleged that the site had been used to facilitate more than 1. 5 million transactions worth approximately $213m, including more than $183m in drug sales.
Prosecutors also alleged that Ulbricht, who operated under the alias Dread Pirate Roberts, had solicited the murders of people he viewed as threats to his enterprise, though he was not charged over the alleged murder-for-hire plots and no evidence was presented that anyone had actually been killed.
Sentencing Ulbricht, US District Judge Katherine Forrest said that the California man’s actions had been his “carefully planned life’s work” and that he was “no better a person than any other drug dealer”.
While Ulbricht admitted creating Silk Road, his lawyers argued that he had passed control of his “economic experiment” to others after a few months and had been lured back to take the fall for its true operators just as authorities were closing in.
Ulbricht’s case had been held up as an example of government overreach by libertarians and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who argued that he was unfairly prosecuted since he had not sold illegal goods himself and was being held responsible for the transactions of people who used the site.
In May, Trump told the national convention of the Libertarian Party, a fringe party that has no representation in the US Congress, that he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence on “day one” of his administration if elected.
After Trump’s election in November, Ulbricht expressed gratitude to those voting for the Republican on his behalf.
“I trust him to honor his pledge and give me a second chance. After 11+ years in darkness, I can finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel,” he said in a post on X.
Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman known for advocating libertarian causes, was among a number of Ulbricht supporters to welcome the news of the pardon.
The administration of newly inaugurated United States President Donald Trump has revoked longstanding protections barring immigration raids on schools, hospitals, churches and other “sensitive areas”.
The announcement on Tuesday arrives as part of Trump’s attempts to fulfil a campaign-trail pledge to launch a campaign of “mass deportation”.
According to government estimates, as many as 11 million undocumented people live in the United States, many of them cornerstones in their families and communities.
For more than a decade, federal agencies have issued guidance against carrying out immigration enforcement efforts in places like schools and medical centres, on the basis that such raids might discourage people from seeking necessary services.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implemented its policy in 2011. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) followed suit in 2013.
But in Tuesday’s statement, the Trump administration accused that guidance of serving to “thwart law enforcement” efforts.
It framed the new directive, repealing the protections, as a form of empowerment for immigration agencies.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the statement said. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense. ”
Trump has long conflated irregular migration with criminality. On the campaign trail last year, he repeatedly raised examples like that of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old student who was allegedly murdered by an undocumented person.
He has also used dehumanising language to refer to migrants and asylum seekers.
“The Democrats say, ‘Please don’t call them animals. They’re humans. ’ I said, ‘No, they’re not humans. They’re not humans. They’re animals,’” he said in April, while referring to the Riley case.
Studies, however, have repeatedly shown that undocumented immigrants commit far fewer crimes than native-born US citizens.
Human rights groups have warned that Tuesday’s decision could force undocumented people, including children, into precarious situations, cut off from vital services.
The head of the United States Coast Guard has been removed from her position, as newly inaugurated President Donald Trump follows through with his pledges to fire top officials.
On Tuesday, US media published reports that four-star Admiral Linda Fagan had been ousted, less than 24 hours after Trump had taken office.
She was part of a wave of dismissals as Trump sought to swiftly reshape the executive branch, brandishing the catchphrase carried over from his time as a reality TV star: “You’re fired. ”
Fox News was the first to report Fagan’s removal. In 2022, Fagan became the first uniformed woman to lead a branch of the US Armed Forces.
According to a statement sent to Coast Guard units and obtained by The New York Times, the incoming administration found Fagan unfit for several reasons.
“She was terminated because of leadership deficiencies, operational failures and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U. S. Coast Guard,” the statement said.
It also alleged that Fagan had pursued an “excessive focus” on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, known by the acronym DEI.
Trump has pledged to dismantle DEI programmes within the federal government, calling them “illegal and immoral”.
On Monday night, shortly after he was sworn in, Trump issued an executive action to that effect, calling on federal agencies to “terminate” DEI initiatives.
“The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination,” he wrote.
US President Donald Trump speaks next to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the White House on January 21 [Carlos Barria/Reuters]
Fagan was one of several officials in Trump’s crosshairs on his first and second day in office.
Late on Monday night, Trump also posted a message on his platform Truth Social teasing widespread firings.
“My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” he wrote.
The post identified four people to whom Trump offered the following message: “YOU’RE FIRED. ”
They included General Mark Milley, a former Trump appointee-turned-critic who told the journalist Bob Woodward that the Republican leader was “fascist to the core”.
Another individual identified in the post was Spanish American chef Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides meals in disaster zones.
Andres had served on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition under Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, and Biden awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this month for his humanitarian work.
The chef clapped back at Trump’s “YOU’RE FIRED” post with a social media missive of his own on Tuesday.
“I submitted my resignation last week…my 2 year term was already up,” Andres wrote, the sentence punctuated by laughing and shrugging emojis.
Raphinha struck a dramatic winner in stoppage time as Barcelona came from behind to beat Benfica 5-4 in a wild match and virtually ensure direct qualification to the Champions League last 16.
The home side believed they should have had a penalty in the build-up to the late strike by Barca after Leandro Barreiro appeared to be shoved in the back by Ferran Torres in the box. VAR looked at the appeal, delaying the celebrations for what would be the winning goal, but elected not to ask the referee to take a second look at his decision.
Benfica were leading 4-2 with under 15 minutes remaining in the game on Tuesday but Barcelona mounted a stunning late comeback to stay three points behind leaders Liverpool.
Vangelis Pavlidis hit a first-half hat-trick for the hosts, in part thanks to two big errors by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
However, a Robert Lewandowski double from the penalty spot, an Eric Garcia’s header and a brace for Raphinha helped Barcelona claim a stunning late triumph in Lisbon.
Barcelona’s Raphinha scores their fifth goal [Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters]
Benfica opened the scoring in the second minute, when Pavlidis escaped Pau Cubarsi and fired home from Alvaro Carreras’s low cross.
Barcelona responded swiftly with Lewandowski scoring from the penalty spot after Alejandro Balde was brought down by Benfica defender Tomas Araujo.
The hosts nosed back ahead through a stroke of luck, when Szczesny raced out of his goal to try and cut out a through-ball, but crashed into Balde.
Greece international Pavlidis gleefully collected the loose ball and rolled his second into the empty net.
Barcelona’s Wojciech Szczesny fouls Benfica’s Kerem Akturkoglu to concede a penalty [Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters]
Barcelona, who lured Szczesny out of retirement to replace the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen in October, soon fell further behind.
Pavlidis completed his half-hour hat-trick with a penalty after another Szczesny mistake, with the goalkeeper flying in to try and dispossess Kerem Akturkoglu, but bringing him down.
Lamine Yamal and Raphinha missed good chances before the break as Barcelona pushed forward.
Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin saved from Jules Kounde, who should have scored, and Lewandowski could not turn home from Pedri’s dangerous ball across the face of goal.
Raphinha pulled one back for Barcelona in bizarre fashion as a clearance by Trubin struck his head on the edge of the area and flew back into the net.
However, Benfica soon struck again, with Ronald Araujo nudging past Szczesny into his own net as he tried to cut out a cross.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal looks dejected after Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis scores the home side’s first goal [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]
Barcelona kept pushing and Lewandowski converted another penalty after Nicolas Otamendi brought down Yamal.
The Catalan giants, who last won the Champions League in 2015, pulled level when substitute Garcia headed home from Pedri’s inviting cross.
Szczesny saved former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria’s low shot before Raphinha’s dramatic winner.
With Benfica appealing for a penalty, Barcelona sprang a quick breakaway and the Brazilian winger slotted home to end a blockbuster clash.
Benfica’s Nicolas Otamendi awaits with teammates as VAR checks their penalty claims in injury time [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]
The cabinet of United States President Donald Trump has started to take shape, with its first nominee confirmed to a role: Florida lawmaker Marco Rubio.
On Tuesday, Rubio, 53, was sworn in as secretary of state, the country’s chief diplomat and the highest-ranking role in the cabinet, second only to the vice president and president.
The ceremony came after a rare unanimous vote in the Senate to elevate him to the role.
All 99 members voted in favour: The only vote missing in the 100-seat chamber was Rubio himself, as he had to step down as senator to take up his new position.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, Vice President JD Vance described Rubio as a “needed departure from a generation of failed foreign policy”.
“He is a bipartisan solutions-seeker, a guy who can actually get things done, but a conservative of great principle and vision,” Vance said. “And I think more than anybody that I’ve met in Washington over the last few years, Senator Rubio, I think, understands the distinctive priorities of President Trump. ”
But what has Rubio pledged to do in his new role? And what did Tuesday’s ceremony reveal about the newly-minted diplomat? Here are three takeaways.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sworn into office by Vice President JD Vance, as he places his hand on a bible held by his wife, Jeanette Rubio [Evan Vucci/AP Photo]
Rubio defends State Department employees
In his first remarks as secretary of state, Rubio praised the federal employees who conduct day-to-day operations at the US Department of State, the executive agency he is now charged with running.
“This is an extraordinary honour and a privilege to serve in this role, to be here — frankly, to oversee the greatest, the most effective, the most talented, the most experienced diplomatic corps in the history of the world,” Rubio said.
“ I want to also thank the locally employed staff, the nationals of those countries who work with us,” he added. “Without their help, without their support, it would be impossible for us to conduct our mission. ”
Rubio’s remarks come at a sensitive time for federal civil servants, as Trump sweeps into office with a raft of executive actions designed to rein in government bureaucracy.
Just one day earlier, on the first day of his second term, Trump threatened to fire those employees he perceives as loyal to his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.
“To gain immediate control of the vast federal out-of-control bureaucracy, I will implement an immediate regulation freeze, which will stop Biden bureaucrats from continuing to regulate,” Trump told supporters gathered at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, DC.
“Most of those bureaucrats are being fired. They’re gone. Should be all of them, but some sneak through. ”
By contrast, Rubio entered his new role defending the work of the State Department and praising its employees.
“ There’s no other agency in the world, there’s no other agency in our government, that I’d rather lead because of the talent that’s collected here in this room and those watching around the world,” he said.
State Department staff listen as Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses them on Tuesday in Washington, DC [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]
Rubio pledges to advance ‘America First’
Still, Rubio once again restated his firm commitment to advancing Trump’s “America First” policy platform, and warned that changes would come to the State Department as a result.
“There will be changes, but the changes are not meant to be destructive. They’re not meant to be punitive,” he told the audience at his swearing-in, made up largely of State Department employees.
Rubio outlined a vision where the State Department takes more of a leading role in government affairs.
“Sometimes, the Department of State has been sort of relegated to a secondary role because some other agency can move faster or seems to be bolder or more creative,” Rubio said.
“It’s not your fault. But we’re going to change that. We want to be at the centrepiece. We want to be at the core of how we formulate foreign policy. ”
The former senator explained that the department’s role moving forward would be more inward-looking, seeking to craft policies that would make the US “stronger or safer or more prosperous”.
He also advised employees to look at Trump’s election to a second term in November as a mandate to centre US priorities.
“Our job, across the world, is to ensure that we have a foreign policy that advances the national interest of the United States,” he said, adding: “I expect every nation on earth to advance their national interests. ”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to State Department staff next to his wife, Jeanette Rubio [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]
Balancing hawkishness with peace
But despite his unifying tone on Tuesday, Rubio faced protesters as he sat for Senate hearings about his nomination over the past week.
“Little Marco, keep your hands off our country! ” one protester shouted, denouncing the US’s involvement in “forever wars”.
Another, speaking Spanish, criticised hardline US policies abroad: “The sanctions of Marco Rubio are killing kids in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. ”
Rubio brushed aside the interruptions with light-hearted remarks. “I get the bilingual protesters,” the lawmaker, a child of Cuban immigrants, quipped. He will be the first Latino person to serve as secretary of state.
But the protests were a reminder of Rubio’s reputation as a foreign-policy hawk, known for his aggressive stance to US adversaries overseas.
One particular target during Rubio’s confirmation hearings was China, which has sanctioned the Florida politician for his support of Hong Kong’s autonomy. He told senators last week that he believed the US-China rivalry would “define the 21st century”.
“The Communist Party of China that leads the PRC [People’s Republic of China] is the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted,” Rubio said.
He explained the threat of China dwarfed that of the US’s Cold War rival, the Soviet Union.
“They have elements that the Soviet Union never possessed. They are our technological adversary and competitor, an industrial competitor, an economic competitor, a geopolitical competitor, a scientific competitor now — in every realm. ”
Still, despite his hawkish posture, Rubio told State Department employees on Tuesday that he planned to follow through with Trump’s promises of delivering world peace.
“That’s what we endeavour to do: to promote peace around the world because that’s in our national interest,” Rubio said. “Without peace, it is hard to be a strong nation, a prosperous nation. ”
He did, however, admit that “there will be conflict”. In explaining how he viewed US policy abroad, he echoed rhetoric popular among the Christian right: namely, that the US is founded on a religious mandate.
“We are, at the end of the day, a nation founded on a powerful principle. And that powerful principle is that all men are created equal because our rights come from God, our creator — not from our laws, not from our governments,” Rubio said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on ways to strengthen bilateral ties a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
The two leaders discussed their prospective contacts with Trump’s administration during a wide-ranging video call that lasted more than one and a half hours, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
Russian media reported that the two leaders spoke about boosting trade flows. China is the largest consumer of Russian energy and the single biggest oil export market for Russia.
Xi and Putin “have indicated a willingness to build relations with the United States on a mutually beneficial, mutually respectful basis, if the Trump team really shows interest in this”, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
“It was also noted from our side that we are ready for dialogue with the new US administration on the Ukrainian conflict. ”
For his part, Trump has said he is willing to accommodate Russia’s view that Ukraine’s right to self-determination could be put aside in favour of peace and stability.
Ushakov said Putin wanted long-term peace in Ukraine, not a short-term ceasefire. No specific proposals for a call with Trump have been received, he said.
On Taiwan, Ushakov said Russia had “confirmed its unwavering position of support for the one China principle”.
China regards democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. In a New Year’s speech, President Xi said that no one could stop China’s “reunification” with Taiwan. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims.
Ushakov said the Putin-Xi video call had been planned before Trump’s inauguration.
No-limits partnership
China and Russia declared a “no-limits” partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing, days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Putin has, in recent months, described China as an “ally”.
Trump has said he will be tough on China and speak to Putin about ending the war in Ukraine. In remarks to reporters after his inauguration, Trump said Putin should make a deal to end the war because the conflict was destroying Russia.
