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Trudeau exits, Guantánamo shrinks and Giuliani in contempt

 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

Canada's Trudeau announces resignation

What happened
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced yesterday that he is stepping down after nearly a decade in office, as soon as his Liberal Party picks a new leader. That leader will take over as prime minister heading into elections that the opposition Conservative Party is heavily favored to win, and as Donald Trump takes office in the U.S., threatening punishing tariffs.

Who said what
"It's time for a reset," Trudeau, 53, told reporters outside his Ottawa residence. Canada "deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election."

Trudeau is the "latest leader in the West to be swept aside by a mood of anti-incumbency" and anger over immigration and post-pandemic inflation, The New York Times said. But the pointed resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in December "ignited a growing chorus" among Liberal lawmakers for Trudeau to "step aside for the sake of the party," sealing his downfall.

It's also "rare" for a Canadian leader to "rack up four election wins in a row," The Washington Post said, and Trudeau has won three. "This is a government in its 10th year — at some point the milk just expires," Shachi Kurl, president of pollster Angus Reid, told Reuters. "I think the milk has turned pretty sour."

What next?
Trudeau said Canada's Parliament, scheduled to return to session Jan. 27, will now be suspended until March 24, allowing the Liberals to pick their new leader. "All three main opposition parties have said they plan to topple the Liberal Party in a no-confidence vote when Parliament resumes," The Associated Press said, teeing up new elections as soon as May.

 
 
Today's NATIONAL SeCurity story

Biden resettles 11 more Guantánamo detainees

What happened
The Pentagon said yesterday that 11 Yemeni detainees held for more than two decades at Guantánamo Bay without charges have been transferred to Oman. With four more detainees repatriated last month — two Malaysians, a Tunisian and a Kenyan — the secretive U.S. prison camp in Cuba now holds 15 prisoners, the fewest since 2002.

Who said what
Yesterday's resettlement is "part of President Joe Biden's fervent effort during his final weeks in office to reduce the number of those held in Guantánamo," The Washington Post said. There were 40 detainees when Biden took office and "resurrected an Obama administration effort to close the prison" that had been halted during Donald Trump's first term, The New York Times said. At its peak, "Guantanamo held about 800 detainees," The Associated Press said.

The Pentagon thanked Oman for supporting "ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility." All 11 prisoners had been cleared for transfer years ago.

What next?
The Pentagon said three other Guantánamo prisoners are eligible for transfer, three are eligible for review, two were convicted by military tribunals and the remaining seven are "involved in the military commissions process." Monday's resettlement, the Times said, came "days before "Guantánamo's most notorious prisoner, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, was scheduled to plead guilty to plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks," in a deal that rules out the death penalty.

 
 
Today's LEGAL Story

Giuliani held in contempt of court over forfeit assets

What happened
A federal judge yesterday found Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for failing to cooperate in the handover of $11 million in assets to two Georgia election workers he was found to have defamed after the 2020 election.

Who said what
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman said yesterday, after two days of hearings, that Giuliani had "willfully violated a clear and unambiguous" court order when he "blew past" a Dec. 20 deadline to turn over information that will help the judge decide if the former New York City mayor must forfeit his $3.5 million Florida condo and sports memorabilia to the poll workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss.

The contempt ruling is the "latest in a string of embarrassments for Giuliani" since he helped Donald Trump try to overturn his 2020 election loss, The Wall Street Journal said. Giuliani, 80, has been disbarred and faces criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona, and this ruling could "lead to additional fines or even jail time."

What next?
Liman said he would hold off on imposing other contempt sanctions, though Giuliani's lack of compliance would weigh against him when the judge decides whether he can hold on to his Palm Beach condo at a Jan. 16 court hearing. Freeman and Moss said Giuliani has handed over his $6.5 million Manhattan apartment and Mercedes convertible, but "not the paperwork necessary to monetize the assets," The Associated Press said.

 
 

It's not all bad

Researchers may be on the cusp of developing new treatments for the skin conditions rosacea and eczema. A team from the University of Pittsburgh recently reported discovering the compound SYM2081 in mast cells, which protect against threats like snake bites through a process called degranulation. Mast cells can also be activated erroneously, leading to allergic reactions. SYM2081 "effectively suppressed" degranulation in human and mice skin samples, researchers said, suggesting that a cream containing the compound could prevent inflammatory skin conditions.

 
 
Under the radar

The market for private nuclear bunkers is growing. Some experts believe these structures, from "small metal boxes to crawl inside to extravagant underground mansions," are unnecessary and unhelpful against blasts or nuclear fallout and "create a false perception that a nuclear war is survivable," said The Associated Press. But buyers say bunkers "offer a sense of security."

In the U.S., the market for bomb and fallout shelters is expected to hit $175 million annually by 2030, and other countries are also seeing a surge in demand. In Spain, "fears of the growing threats from war and a rise in catastrophic natural disasters" like floods have bolstered the market, said i news. The country is formulating a new national security plan that will tell citizens what to do in case of war. Meanwhile, "wealthy clients" across Spain are buying under-home bunkers — and one company said a "middle-class family" took out a loan to install one. 

The bunker interest isn't limited to anxious individuals, either. Residents of Switzerland are entitled to a place in one of the country's 370,000 nuclear shelters, and the Swiss government is spending $248 million to ensure that all the shelters are operational. The country "already has bunker space for each of its 9 million inhabitants — a situation long dismissed as paranoia by its neighbors," said The Times of London. But Germany, which "dismantled many of its Cold War bunkers in recent decades," now has space for only 480,000 people and is rushing to identify any structure that could be used to shelter from missile attacks.

 
 
On this day

January 7, 2001

John Kufuor was inaugurated as the president of Ghana, marking the country's first peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another. Kufuor served as Ghana's president for eight years, during which the country saw relative peace and stability. He is considered a major figure in the history of African politics.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

"Congress ratifies Trump's win in peaceful session, unlike '21," The Wall Street Journal says on Tuesday's front page. "Peace, not mobs, as ritual seals Trump's victory," The New York Times says. It was a "'dignified but boring' day on the Hill," The Boston Globe says, though Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Ma.) noted that Republicans "get to applaud" while "we had to evacuate." USA Today says "winter blast cripples broad swaths of US." The "strong storm packs a wallop," The Washington Post agrees. Meanwhile, "Trump team discusses plans to dial back tariffs" and Washington's "new cardinal is known as advocate for migrants."

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

High-roller hotel

Anyone who has ever wanted to live like a drug lord without actually trafficking narcotics can spend the night in an airplane rumored to have been owned by Pablo Escobar, the notorious founder of Colombia's Medellín cartel. Johnny Palmer bought the Boeing 727 in 2020 and moved it to Bristol, England, where he converted it to an Airbnb with a sauna, hot tub and gold-plated toilet. Daily rates start at $1,055, with the aircraft "used most nights of the week," Palmer told The Independent.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Peter Weber and Abby Wilson, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Dave Chan / AFP via Getty Images; Celal Gunes / Anadolu via Getty Images;  Alex Kent / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images