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Trump pardons again, Israeli resignation and another Hegseth controversy

 
Today's NATIONAL story

Trump pardons Silk Road founder, defends Jan. 6 acts

What happened
President Donald Trump yesterday pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of dark-web drug marketplace Silk Road, 10 years into his life sentence for conspiracy to traffic narcotics, money laundering and other crimes. Trump also defended his decision to pardon or free more than 1,500 participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault, claiming they had been "treated unbelievably poorly" and "served years in jail" they "should not have served."

Who said what
Trump said on social media he had pardoned Ulbricht "in honor" of the Silk Road founder's mother and "the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly." He called the life sentence "ridiculous" and the New York federal prosecutors who secured the jury conviction "scum." Prosecutors said Silk Road facilitated more than 1.5 million sales of heroin, cocaine and other illicit substances, contributing to the deaths of at least six people. A federal judge in Manhattan called Ulbricht "the kingpin of a worldwide digital drug-trafficking enterprise" at his 2015 sentencing.

But Ulbricht is a "cult hero in the cryptocurrency and libertarian worlds," The New York Times said. "Crypto enthusiasts" appreciated that he created "one of the first venues where people used Bitcoin to buy and sell goods," and libertarians generally oppose drug laws. Trump had promised to commute Ulbricht's sentence at the Libertarian Party national convention last May.

Congressional Republicans "struggled to defend" Trump's Jan. 6 pardons, especially for the rioters convicted of assaulting police officers, CNN said. Some said they disagreed with the pardons for violent rioters, but "most Republicans wouldn't weigh in on whether Trump had made the right decision."

What next?
Counterterrorism experts said Trump's clemency, especially for the Proud Boys and Oath Keeper leaders serving long sentences for seditious conspiracy, "could further embolden fringe groups" and boost political violence by far-right militias, The Washington Post said. 

 
 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

Top Israeli general to resign over Oct. 7 failures

What happened
Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, announced his resignation yesterday, citing failures to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that sparked Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza. The head of the Israeli Defense Forces' Southern Command, which oversees Gaza operations, also resigned.

Who said what
"My responsibility for the terrible failure accompanies me every day, every hour and will for the rest of my life," Halevi (pictured above right) said in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Halevi is the "most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security and intelligence breakdown on Oct. 7," The Associated Press said. His departure, effective March 6, is "adding pressure" on Netanyahu to also step aside and support a "public inquiry into the Oct. 7 failures."

Netanyahu has "declined to take responsibility" for the failures leading up the Hamas attack, insisting that "accountability will come only after the war," CNN said. The military's investigations into those failures are "in their final stages," Halevi said in his letter.

What next?
The 15-month Gaza war is paused under a fragile ceasefire agreement set to include a second round of hostage releases on Saturday. But yesterday Israel launched what Netanyahu called a "large-scale and significant military operation" in the West Bank, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 35. Hours earlier, President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on West Bank "ultranationalist Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian villages," Reuters said.

 
 
Today's POLITICS Story

Senate learns new Hegseth abuse, drinking allegations

What happened
Danielle Hegseth, a former sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth, said in a sworn affidavit to senators yesterday that President Donald Trump's defense secretary nominee was abusive toward his second wife and regularly drank to the point of passing out at family gatherings, among other allegations.

Who said what
Danielle Hegseth was reportedly a confidante of Samantha Hegseth during their concurrent marriages to Hegseth and his brother in the 2010s. She said in her affidavit that Samantha once "hid in her closet from Hegseth because she feared for her personal safety," and another time texted Danielle an emergency code word to set in motion a prearranged plan to "get away" from her husband.

The "new allegations are strikingly similar to a raft of accusations that had already surfaced" against Hegseth, The New York Times said. A lawyer for Hegseth denied the abuse allegations, and Samantha Hegseth told NBC News "there was no physical abuse in my marriage." She told the FBI earlier this month her ex-husband "abused and continues to abuse alcohol," the Times said. 

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he had requested the affidavit due to now-confirmed fears that Hegseth's FBI background check was "inadequate." Danielle Hegseth's allegations, shared with the FBI last month, were not included in the background report shared with Reed and committee chair Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), sources told The Washington Post.

What next?
The Armed Services Committee approved Hegseth's nomination in a 14-13 party-line vote Monday, and the full Senate is expected to hold his confirmation vote as soon as tomorrow. Hegseth has said that, if confirmed, he will stop drinking.

 
 

It's not all bad

Artist Asher Bingham is bringing comfort to those who lost their houses in the Los Angeles County fires by offering to sketch their homes, free of charge. She started her project with a drawing for a friend, using art where words failed. Bingham has received hundreds of requests and will get to each home. "I'm like, 'I will put every detail I can into perfecting this to give you a good memory,'" she told NBC News.

 
 
Under the radar

As Spain continues dealing with a nationwide housing crisis, the government has proposed an unconventional fix to the problem, announcing plans to implement a 100% tax on homes purchased by non-European Union residents.

Spain, as with most Western nations, is in the "throes of a growing housing affordability problem," said The Associated Press. The biggest issue is rent, particularly in Madrid and other major cities. This is largely due to wages not keeping up with surging rents, but prices "have also been driven up by short-term contracts mainly offered for tourists."

Foreigners accounted for 15% of all real estate purchases in Spain in the third quarter of 2024, snapping up more than 24,000 properties, according to the country's registrar. These foreigners "often are buyers of investment properties" and do not reside in the EU.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's plan to address Spain's housing crisis involves 12 measures. The most notable is a government tax reform that effectively limits the "purchase of homes by non-resident foreigners from outside the EU," said the prime minister's office. For foreigners who do get approved for a home, the "tax burden they will have to pay in case of purchase will be increased to 100% of the value of the property." These proposals would need to pass in Spain's Parliament, and there is "no knowing if or when they might become a reality," said Forbes.

 
 
On this day

January 22, 1973

Abortion was recognized as a "fundamental" U.S. constitutional right in the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. The 7-2 ruling, based on a privacy right under the 14th Amendment, limited federal and state abortion restrictions for nearly 50 years, until the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

On President Donald Trump's first full day back in office it was "full throttle" on his "promised upheaval," The Washington Post says on Wednesday's front page. His "wave of moves" to "remake nation" include seeking to "unleash energy, but not if it's wind or solar," The New York Times says. "Business navigates Trump's thicket of orders" on "trade, taxes, immigration," The Wall Street Journal says. "Immigrant rights advocates gear up for legal fights" against a "savvier Trump administration," the Los Angeles Times says. Meanwhile, a "crippling freeze rolls into the South," USA Today says. "Historic snowfall," the Houston Chronicle says, with pictures of smiling Texans out in the snow. The Journal shows a snowball fight in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Big chicken

The largest weathervane in U.K. history was unveiled in Ness Point, England, last week, with the massive rooster on top — an updated version of the Kellogg's Corn Flakes mascot, Cornelius — standing 10 feet tall. It took more than two months for engineers and artists to design, hand-carve and paint the sculpture, with "extra attention to detail to capture his cheeky personality and swagger," Kellogg's said. Cornelius moves to face the direction of the wind, as designed.

 
 

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

Image credits, from top: Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images; Israeli Prime Minister's Office / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images; Chen Mengtong / China News Service / VCG via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images