Category: News
President Trump Exposes The Real Reason Why Minnesota Politicians Are Hostile Toward ICE
President Trump Exposes The Real Reason Why Minnesota Politicians Are Hostile Toward ICE
Trump shared how ICE has brought Minnesota’s illegal alien population “way down” despite heavy opposition from Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
He explained to reporters, “They [politicians] want to keep those people who are lying on the floor. They want to keep those people in Minnesota whereas the “real people of Minnesota [want them].”
President Trump exposes the real reason why the Minnesota politicians are so hostile towards ICE.
“They want to keep those people who are lying on the floor. They want to keep those people in Minnesota.”
“I don’t think the real people of Minnesota [want them]… and the… pic.twitter.com/hthL9Lotst
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) January 20, 2026
Why? The answer seems to be simple: votes.
Trump asserted that the elections in Minnesota are “totally corrupt,” detailing how the Somali population votes one group, even if they’re NOT CITIZENS.”
“I feel I won it all three times. Nobody’s won that state since Richard Nixon. It’s a rigged state,” Trump lamented.
“And the Somalians vote as one group, even though they’re not citizens… and you get 600,000 votes against you.”
Trump appears to have given a nod to Nick Shirley’s interview with David Hoch, which alleges there is a massive Somali ballot harvesting scheme keeping Democrats in power.
In that interview, Hoch said he’s “seen” this ballot harvesting fraud with his own eyes.
He alleged that a single person will go into a Somali apartment complex and collect all the ballots to vote for “one specific candidate.” They all vote together.
Some apartment units can claim to have nine people living in them or more. However, there is “no verification” or due process to check “if these people are even citizens that are voting,” Hoch claimed.
He alleged that local judges bow down to the Somali mafia under the threat that these apartment complexes will all vote in blocs for their opponent if they don’t serve their interests.
Altogether, Hoch said, “You’re talking probably 100,000 or more people” who all vote for one specific candidate.
Trump appears to have given a nod to Nick Shirley’s interview with David Hoch, which alleges there is a massive Somali ballot harvesting scheme keeping Democrats in power.
In that interview, Hoch said he’s “seen” this ballot harvesting fraud with his own eyes.
He alleged that a… pic.twitter.com/22pF4fuDU2
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) January 20, 2026
If true, this is voting fraud on an entirely different scale. A 200,000-vote swing like that would be more than enough to change the outcome of Minnesota’s 2024 presidential election results.
Then consider local elections in cities where the Somali population is concentrated. In theory, that alone could turn a close race into a blowout.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/21/2026 – 10:15
Mariah Keller named executive director of Wrightwood 659
Mariah Keller was named executive director of Wrightwood 659 on Jan. 12. She succeeds Jan Kallish, who led the Lincoln Park exhibition space since 2021 and is entering retirement.
“I’m really honored that I’ve been given this opportunity,” Keller said. “I’m excited to learn from the staff here and also through the experience of working with new artists.”
As executive director, Keller will oversee all aspects of Wrightwood 659’s operations, including managing the building, shaping exhibitions, planning public programs and events and producing exhibition publications.
Founded in 2018, Wrightwood 659 presents exhibitions focused on socially engaged art and architecture. Recent exhibitions include a large-scale survey of LGBTQ+ art spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a Joffrey Ballet retrospective and the work of queer artist Scott Burton.
Designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, Wrightwood 659 is a repurposed 1920s apartment building. Its preserved red-brick exterior contrasts with Ando’s signature minimalist interior of exposed concrete and geometric forms. The entire top floor, added during the renovation, features floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the space with natural light.
“It’s a very important architectural space that is unique to Chicago, in a city that is known for its architecture,” Keller said.
While Keller said Wrightwood 659’s distinct design poses a new challenge, she’s confident she can manage the space effectively, drawing on her experience in other architecturally significant museums.
She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a bachelor’s degree in art history and has held positions at two museums designed by the renowned Chinese architect I. M. Pei: most recently as interim director and editor-in-chief of her alma mater’s Eskenazi Museum of Art, and previously at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The Indiana native also ran her own consulting business in Chicago from 2004-2015, advising museums and art book publishers around the world.
“I’m so excited to be back in Chicago,” Keller said. “I always have told people over the years that I would jump at the chance to come back here and live here. I love this city.”
Keller’s other professional roles include head of publications and digital media at the Saint Louis Art Museum, senior editor at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art and editor at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Outside of seeking a new challenge in her career, Keller said she was drawn to the museum’s mission to uplift underrepresented voices, specifically LGBTQ+ and Asian artists.
“We have an important role to play,” Keller said. “It’s a challenging environment for museums right now to be able to work on shows like we do here.”
Last March, the Trump administration attempted to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent agency that awards federal grant funding to museums and libraries across the country. As a result, many museums in the state of Illinois temporarily lost funding until the IMLS was reinstated last month.
Despite President Trump’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Wrightwood 659 has remained steadfast in its commitment to showcasing art by marginalized groups.
Wrightwood 659’s 2026 spring and summer season will feature two retrospectives. “Martin Wong: Chinatown USA” will include more than 100 paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs by the Chinese American queer artist. “Dispossessions in the Americas: The Extraction of Bodies, Land, and Heritage from La Conquista to the Present” will have over 40 pieces from artists across Latin America, examining the effects of European colonialism. Both exhibitions will be on display from April 17 to July 18.
Keller said she plans to build on Wrightwood’s legacy of presenting socially engaged work while also expanding its reach.
“I hope it’s going to be a place where everybody feels welcome and feels like they find something that they can connect with,” Keller said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/mariah-keller-wrightwood-659/
CEO de Ryanair descarta idea de Elon Musk de comprar la aerolínea
Por KELVIN CHAN
LONDRES (AP) — El CEO de Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, desestimó el miércoles la idea de Elon Musk de comprar la aerolínea de bajo costo y restó importancia a los insultos del multimillonario, en una guerra de palabras que estalló por la instalación de sistemas Starlink en los aviones.
La disputa entre uno de los individuos más ricos del mundo y uno de los jefes corporativos más francos de Europa ha escalado durante días. O’Leary dijo la semana pasada que la aerolínea descartó la instalación del Wi-Fi satelital Starlink de Musk en los aviones de Ryanair porque el gasto adicional de combustible debido a la resistencia aerodinámica causada por las antenas del sistema sería demasiado alto.
En respuesta a las acusaciones de Musk de que estaba “mal informado”, O’Leary dijo a una estación de radio irlandesa: “No prestaría ninguna atención a Elon Musk, es un idiota”.
Musk respondió en X, llamando a O’Leary un “completo idiota” y un “imbécil”. Publicó: ”¿Debería comprar Ryanair y poner a cargo a alguien cuyo nombre real sea Ryan?” y encuestó a sus seguidores sobre la idea de comprar la aerolínea; un 76,5% respondió que sí.
O’Leary dijo a los periodistas en Dublín, donde se encuentra la sede de Ryanair, que los ciudadanos no europeos no pueden poseer una participación mayoritaria en aerolíneas europeas. Musk nació en Sudáfrica y vive en Estados Unidos.
“Pero si quiere invertir en Ryanair, pensaríamos que es una muy buena inversión. Ciertamente, una inversión significativamente mejor que los rendimientos financieros que obtiene en X”, dijo O’Leary.
Musk compró X en 2022 por 44.000 millones de dólares tras enfrentarse con los principales ejecutivos de la plataforma anteriormente conocida como Twitter.
O’Leary, conocido por trolear a sus críticos, agradeció a Musk por la “publicidad adicional”. La aerolínea ha aprovechado la disputa para poner en marcha una venta de asientos con material promocional que presenta una caricatura de Musk.
El ejecutivo restó importancia a los insultos del multimillonario.
“Lo único que le diría a Elon Musk es que tendría que formarse al final de una fila muy, muy, muy, muy larga de personas” que ya lo han insultado, “entre ellas, mis cuatro hijos adolescentes”, dijo.
O’Leary dijo que Ryanair había estado en conversaciones con Starlink durante unos 12 meses sobre la instalación del sistema.
“Nos gusta el sistema Starlink. Es un sistema magnífico. Funciona muy bien”, dijo, pero agregó que le costaría a la compañía alrededor de 250 millones de dólares al año. Eso incluye el costo de instalar dos antenas en cada fuselaje de avión, además de un 2% adicional de arrastre aerodinámico que aumentaría la factura de combustible en 200 millones de dólares.
Ryanair tendría que cobrar por Starlink, pero O’Leary estimó que menos del 5% de los pasajeros querrían gastar unos euros extra por el servicio en sus vuelos de corta distancia, que promedian alrededor de una hora y 15 minutos.
La aerolínea sigue en conversaciones con otros proveedores de telecomunicaciones, entre ellos, Amazon, que está en proceso de lanzar Kuiper, su rival de Starlink, para proporcionar servicio de internet a bordo, “pero solo de una manera que reduzca nuestros costos”, dijo O’Leary.
También abordó una reciente controversia en torno a Grok, el chatbot de IA de Musk, que está disponible a través de X y se utilizaba para generar imágenes deepfake no consensuadas.
“Las redes sociales, X en particular, son una fosa séptica”, dijo O’Leary. “La controversia más reciente con, ya sabes, desvestir a niños o desvestir a mujeres es francamente ofensiva”.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
US Pending Home Sales Crash Most Since COVID, Back Near Record Lows
US Pending Home Sales Crash Most Since COVID, Back Near Record Lows
After four straight months of increases, US pending home sales crashed in December (-9.3% MoM vs -0.3% MoM exp), dragging sales down 1.27% YoY in 2025…
Source: Bloomberg
This is the biggest monthly decline since COVID.
“The housing sector is not out of the woods yet,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
“After several months of encouraging signs in pending contracts and closed sales, the December new contract figures have dampened the short-term outlook.”
December’s collapse crashed the US Pending Home Sales Index back near record lows (from 33 month highs)…
Source: Bloomberg
Housing activity typically slows in winter months and picks up more in the spring selling season. While NAR adjusts the data for these patterns, the drop was still the largest for any December in data back to 2001.
Yun said it’s unclear whether the figure was a one-off or the start of a worsening trend.
Activity may pick up soon as mortgage rates have kicked off the new year at some of the lowest levels since 2022, and home prices are growing at a much slower pace than last year. However, much of the outlook also depends on available inventory, which has struggled to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
Pending-homes sales tend to be a leading indicator for previously owned homes, as houses typically go under contract a month or two before they’re sold.
Meanwhile, addressing affordability concerns, President Trump just laid out a slate of proposals aimed at the housing market including an executive order targeting institutional investors.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/21/2026 – 10:08
Michele Tafoya goes from the NFL sidelines to a US Senate race in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — Former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya launched her campaign for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, hoping to win the Republican nomination for the Minnesota seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.
“For years, I covered the biggest football games in America,” Tafoya said in a video posted on social media. “I walked the sidelines when the pressure was mounting and the stakes were the highest. That job taught me about more than football.
“It taught me about how leadership really works. When leaders are prepared and accountable, teams succeed. When they aren’t, people pay the price.”
Tafoya, who’s long been active in Minnesota Republican politics, is best known for her work from 2011-2022 as a sideline reporter for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Other Republicans in the race include former NBA player Royce White, who lost to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in 2024, and military veterans Adam Schwarze and Tom Weiler.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are competing for their party’s nomination to succeed Smith, who announced last February that she wouldn’t seek another term.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/michele-tafoya-us-senate-run/
Nuclear Stocks Surge After Trump Tells Davos “US Going Heavy Into Nuclear”
Nuclear Stocks Surge After Trump Tells Davos “US Going Heavy Into Nuclear”
President Trump opened his speech at Davos with a major plug for the US nuclear industry.
Trump: “The US is going heavy into nuclear. I wasn’t a fan of nuclear, but the safety progress they’ve made with nuclear is unbelievable. We are very much into the world of nuclear energy”
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2026
Nuclear fuel chain and reactor developer stocks spiked in the premarket on Trump‘s comments.
The US nuclear industry has suffered decades of atrophy under the crushing weight of nuclear disaster fears, cheap natural gas, crushing regulation hurdles and brutal lawfare from environmental (spoken “anti-nuclear”) activists. But thanks to the unprecedented support from the current federal administration, in particular from Energy Secretary Chris Wright, nuclear is finally “cool” again.
As we’ve covered dozens of times over just the past few months, the current administration is taking an all hands-on deck approach for reinvigorating the nuclear industry.
*BESSENT: U.S. IS BEHIND CHINA ON NUCLEAR POWER BUT WILL CATCH UP
*BESSENT: IT’S ALL HANDS ON DECK FOR NUCLEAR POWER
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 30, 2025
The US government has recognized the deficit at every stage of the nuclear industry from the lack of domestic uranium mining, the devoid enrichment capacity, the lack of heavy manufacturing and fabrication, and the absence of advanced reactor development.
The industry has thankfully received waves of support from the government in the form of awards for enrichment, high speed licensing pathways, and new potential nuclear applications, including launching reactors into space for moon colonization.
There’s even more bullish events on the horizon, as we detailed the near term catalyst for the nuclear fuel chain participants with the DOJ granting antitrust immunity for participants willing to revitalize domestic capabilities.
Hundreds of billions of dollars have also been predesignated for reactor development in the US, both from domestic government support and foreign aid from countries like Japan and South Korea.
We are very likely still in the earliest stages of the US nuclear renaissance.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/21/2026 – 09:55
Legal battles over immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota intensify
MINNEAPOLIS — As confrontations with federal officers over their massive immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota showed no signs of stopping Wednesday, legal battles over the surge and the local response were also intensifying.
Federal prosecutors served grand jury subpoenas Tuesday to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office and five other officials in the state as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded law enforcement during a sweeping immigration operation in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, a person familiar with the matter said.
The subpoenas, which seek records, were also sent to the offices of Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the person said.
The person was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The subpoenas came a day after the government urged a judge to reject efforts to stop the immigration enforcement surge that has roiled Minneapolis and St. Paul for weeks.
The Justice Department called the state’s lawsuit, filed soon after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer, “legally frivolous.” Ellison has said the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, is expected to travel to Minneapolis on Thursday for a roundtable with local leaders and community members, according to sources familiar with his plans who spoke on condition on anonymity because the trip had not yet been officially announced.
Mayor: Subpoenas are to stoke fear
The subpoenas are related to an investigation into whether Minnesota officials obstructed federal immigration enforcement through public statements they made, two people familiar with the matter said Friday. They said then that it was focused on the potential violation of a conspiracy statute.
In a subpoena released by Frey’s office, the long list of documents required include “any records tending to show a refusal to come to the aid of immigration officials.”
Frey said: “We shouldn’t have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with.”
The governor’s office referred reporters to a statement earlier Tuesday in which Walz said the Trump administration was not seeking justice, only creating distractions.
Hard to track arrests
Greg Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol, who has commanded the Trump administration’s big-city immigration crackdown, said more than 10,000 people in the U.S. illegally have been arrested in Minnesota in the past year, including 3,000 “of some of the most dangerous offenders” in the last six weeks during Operation Metro Surge.
Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, expressed frustration that advocates have no way of knowing whether the government’s arrest numbers and descriptions of the people in custody are accurate.
Good, 37, was killed on Jan. 7 as she was moving her vehicle, which had been blocking a Minneapolis street where ICE officers were operating. Trump administration officials say the officer, Jonathan Ross, shot her in self-defense, although videos of the encounter show the Honda Pilot slowly turning away from him.
Since then, the public has repeatedly confronted officers, blowing whistles and yelling insults at ICE and Border Patrol. They, in turn, have used tear gas and chemical irritants against protesters. Bystanders have recorded video of officers using a battering ram to get into a house as well as smashing vehicle windows and dragging people out of cars.
Bovino defended his “troops” and said their actions are “legal, ethical and moral.”
Pastor says protesters invaded church
A Minnesota church targeted by an anti-ICE protest Sunday decried it as unlawful, while one of the protest leaders called for the resignation of a church leader who works at a local ICE office. About three dozen people entered Cities Church in St. Paul, some walking right up to the pulpit.
“Invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus — or any other act of worship — is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation,” Cities Church in St. Paul said Tuesday in a statement shared by its pastor, Jonathan Parnell.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the protesters as “agitators” in a post on X and said, “arrests coming.”
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a lawyer and local activist, called for another pastor who works at ICE to resign from the church, saying his dual role poses a “fundamental moral conflict.”
Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Sarah Raza, Jack Brook and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Ali Swenson in Washington contributed.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/legal-battles-immigration-minnesota/
Combative Prince Harry disputes having ‘leaky’ social circle in Daily Mail trial
LONDON — Prince Harry struck a combative tone as he testified Wednesday in his lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail and disputed suggestions he was cozy with journalists who covered the royal family or that his friends dished dirt about him to the tabloids.
“My social circles were not leaky,” he declared in the third and final round of his battle against the British tabloids.
His curt replies during cross-examination and efforts to explain what it’s like living under what he called “24-hour surveillance” eventually brought the intervention of the judge, who told him not to argue with the defense lawyer
“You don’t have to bear the burden of arguing the case today,” Justice Matthew Nicklin told the frustrated prince.
Harry and six other prominent figures, including Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, allege that Associated Newspapers Ltd. invaded their privacy by engaging in a “clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering” for two decades, attorney David Sherborne said.
Associated Newspapers Ltd. has denied the allegations, called them preposterous and said the roughly 50 articles in question were reported with legitimate sources that included close associates willing to inform on their famous friends.
Harry says he was ‘paranoid beyond belief’
Harry said in his 23-page witness statement that he was distressed and disturbed by the intrusion into his early life by the Mail and its sister publication the Mail on Sunday, and it made him “paranoid beyond belief.”
Under the English civil court system, witnesses present written testimony, and after asserting that it’s the truth are immediately put under cross examination.
Harry, dressed in a dark suit, held a small Bible in his right hand in London’s High Court and swore to “almighty God that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” After the Duke of Sussex said he preferred to be called Prince Harry, he acknowledged that his 23-page statement was authentic and accurate.
Defense lawyer Antony White, in a calm and gentle tone, began to put questions to Harry to determine if the sourcing of the articles, in fact, had come from royal correspondents working their sources at official events or from friends or associates of the prince.
As a soft-spoken Harry became increasingly defensive, White said: “I am intent on you not having a bad experience with me, but it is my job to ask you these questions.”
Harry suggested that information had come from eavesdropping on his phone calls or having private investigators snoop on him. He said journalist Katie Nicholl had the luxury to use the term “unidentified source” deceptively to hide unlawful measures of investigation.
“If you complain, they double down on you in my experience,” he said in explaining why he had not objected to the articles at the time.
For decades, Harry has had what he called an “uneasy” relationship with the media, but kept mum and followed the family protocol of “never complain, never explain,” he said.
Articles about Meghan pushed him to sue
The litigation is part of Harry’s self-proclaimed mission to reform the media that he blames for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris. He also said persistent press attacks on his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, led them to leave royal life and move to the United States in 2020.
He said “vicious persistent attacks,” harassment and event racists articles about Meghan, who is biracial, had inspired him to break from family tradition to finally sue the press.
It is Harry’s second time testifying after he bucked House of Windsor tradition and became the first senior royal to testify in a court in well over a century when he took the stand in his similar lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mirror in 2023.
The trial is expected to last nine weeks and a written verdict could comes months later.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/prince-harry-daily-mail-trial/
Bessent Warns Taiwan Chip Reliance Risks “Economic Apocalypse”
Bessent Warns Taiwan Chip Reliance Risks “Economic Apocalypse”
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Jan. 20 that the world economy faces a single, outsized systemic vulnerability because advanced semiconductor production remains overwhelmingly concentrated in Taiwan, saying a blockade or destruction of the island’s manufacturing capacity could trigger an “economic apocalypse.”
“I would say that the single biggest threat to the world economy, the single biggest point of […] failure is that 97 percent of the high-end chips are made in Taiwan,” Bessent said during remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 20. “If that island were blockaded, that capacity were destroyed, it would be an economic apocalypse.”
The Trump administration is pushing to accelerate the reshoring of critical supply chains—especially semiconductors and critical minerals like rare earths—amid ongoing tensions with China and concerns over potential disruption to global trade routes in the event of a major military conflict in Asia.
In Davos, Bessent said Washington was working to relocate more semiconductor manufacturing to the United States, describing the effort as a national security and economic stability priority.
“So, we are reshoring the semiconductor industry to the U.S. with the defense contractors,” he said.
Bessent characterized major U.S. defense contractors as critical industry players akin to systemically important banks, which enjoy special protections like Federal Reserve backstops that prevent their potential failure from throwing the entire financial system into chaos. He urged defense contractors to prioritize building domestic production capacity over returning capital to shareholders.
“The defense contractors are no different than the systemically important banks,” Bessent said, adding that they benefit from government support and oversight much like large financial institutions. He said contractors have fallen behind in meeting obligations and should scale up U.S.-based industrial investment.
“They have let down the American people. They are five, six, seven years behind on fulfillment of their contracts.” Bessent said. “So I do not think it is unreasonable to tell them that until further notice, you need to build more factories and buy back less stock.”
‘Test Run’ During COVID-19
Bessent also described the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as a warning sign of what could happen if supply chains were severed by a major geopolitical conflict.
“I think the only good thing that came from COVID was it was a test run for what would happen if our supply chains were ever broken due to a kinetic war,” Bessent said.
He said the disruption revealed that there are about a half dozen industries that are essential to U.S. economic resilience and national security.
“So we saw that there are five, six, seven key industries that we have to reshore,” he said. “Rare earth magnets. We’ve got to get out from under China’s grasp. The semiconductors.”
Critical Minerals Alliance
Bessent said the United States was moving to coordinate with allies and partners to reduce reliance on China for critical minerals and mineral processing, warning that Beijing has used pricing power to undercut American and allied industrial projects.
“We have seen what happens when the free markets get kind of perverted,” Bessent said, describing cases in which companies attempted to launch critical mineral facilities in the United States only to be undercut by cheaper Chinese supply.
“The Chinese come, lower prices, undercut them, and then they’re bankrupt.”
He said that the Trump administration plans to intervene with pricing mechanisms to bolster domestic production.
“We are going to put in a system, price floor, price ceilings,” he said.
An AI server assembly station is displayed at the Century Trading Corporation booth during the Semicon Taiwan exhibition in Taipei on Sept. 10, 2025. I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images
Bessent also said the Treasury Department was helping assemble a new coalition he described as a “critical minerals block” involving the G7 nations plus additional partners, including Australia, India, Mexico, and South Korea.
“We are working at warp speed to create a critical minerals block where we can mine, process, and refine critical minerals, and China won’t have this sword over our heads,” he said.
When asked when the United States could become independent in terms of refining critical minerals, Bessent estimated the timeline at “18 to 24 months,” pointing to early progress in domestic rare earth magnet manufacturing.
“I went down about two months ago to my home state of South Carolina, and in South Carolina for the first time in 25 years, there’s a producer there who made rare earth magnets,” he said.
Rare earth magnets are displayed in the showroom at Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co. in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, on May 5, 2010. Nelson Ching/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bessent said producers believed that they could fulfill most of the rare earth magnet needs for the United States within two years.
“And then we also want to help our allies, because the supply chain is important,” Bessent added.
Bessent’s Davos comments echoed warnings he has raised previously about Taiwan’s dominance in high-end chip manufacturing.
In an appearance on the All-In Podcast in December, Bessent said he viewed the concentration as the top economic risk to the United States and the global economy.
His latest warning comes days after the U.S. Commerce Department announced a major U.S.–Taiwan chips deal intended to expand manufacturing and supply chain investment in the United States.
The Trump administration’s push to reshore manufacturing and coordinate supply chains has unfolded alongside broader U.S.–China tensions over semiconductors, technology exports, and industrial subsidies.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/21/2026 – 09:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/bessent-warns-taiwan-chip-reliance-risks-economic-apocalypse
Ucrania enfrenta un duro invierno tras ataques rusos mientras esfuerzos de paz quedan opacados
Por KAMILA HRABCHUK
KIEV, Ucrania (AP) — Aproximadamente 4.000 edificios en Kiev permanecieron sin calefacción el miércoles, y casi el 60% de la capital ucraniana estaba sin electricidad, informó el presidente ucraniano Volodymyr Zelenskyy después de días de bombardeos rusos en la red eléctrica de Ucrania.
Con temperaturas cayendo hasta a 20 grados centígrados bajo cero (4 grados Fahrenheit bajo cero) en Kiev, Ucrania está experimentando uno de los inviernos más fríos en años, profundizando las dificultades casi cuatro años después de que Rusia lanzara su invasión a gran escala.
Los esfuerzos estadounidenses para detener los combates no ha producido ningún avance, a pesar de que el presidente Donald Trump emitió una serie de plazos, aunque se esperaba que los esfuerzos continuaran.
El enviado norteamericano Steve Witkoff dijo a The Associated Press el miércoles que planea discutir propuestas de paz con el presidente ruso Vladímir Putin, así como mantener conversaciones con una delegación ucraniana.
“Necesitamos paz”, afirmó Witkoff en el Foro Económico Mundial en Davos, Suiza.
Pero con la disputa sobre Groenlandia eclipsando otros temas transatlánticos en Davos, las discusiones sobre la defensa de Ucrania parecían estar relegadas a un segundo plano.
Zelenskyy dijo la semana pasada que sus enviados intentarían finalizar con funcionarios estadounidenses documentos para un acuerdo de paz propuesto que se relacionan con garantías de seguridad posguerra y recuperación económica.
Agregó que Estados Unidos y Ucrania podrían firmar los documentos en Davos esta semana, pero el martes dijo que no viajaría a Suiza y se centraría en restaurar la electricidad en Ucrania.
El Gabinete de Ministros de Ucrania está asignando 2.560 millones de hryvnias (casi 60 millones de dólares) de un fondo de reserva para comprar generadores, dijo la primera ministra Yuliia Svyrydenko el miércoles.
El secretario general de la OTAN, Mark Rutte, instó el miércoles a los jefes militares de la alianza de 32 naciones a presionar a sus gobiernos nacionales para que suministren sistemas de defensa aérea desesperadamente necesarios a Ucrania, ayudándola a defenderse de los ataques aéreos de Rusia.
“Por favor, usen su influencia para ayudar a sus líderes políticos a hacer aún más”, dijo Rutte en un mensaje de video a los altos mandos mientras se reunían en la sede de la OTAN en Bruselas.
“Revisen profundamente sus reservas para ver qué más pueden dar a Ucrania, particularmente interceptores de defensa aérea. El momento realmente es ahora”, expresó.
Rusia lanzó 97 drones y un misil balístico contra Ucrania durante la noche, indicó la fuerza aérea ucraniana.
En la región central de Dnipropetrovsk, los ataques mataron a un hombre de 77 años y a una mujer de 72 años, según Oleksandr Hanzha, jefe de la administración militar regional.
El Ministerio de Defensa de Rusia declaró que las defensas aéreas derribaron 75 drones ucranianos en varias regiones.
Los aeropuertos internacionales de Krasnodar, Sochi, Gelendzhik y Saratov suspendieron brevemente los vuelos durante la noche debido a los drones.
En Adygea, a más de 200 kilómetros (120 millas) de la frontera ucraniana, un dron ucraniano causó un incendio en un edificio de apartamentos que hirió a 11 personas, incluidos dos niños, según el gobernador Murat Kumpilov.
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Lorne Cook contribuyó a esta nota desde Bruselas
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
