Trump starts the wall, looks into banning Muslims from certain countries, and says torture works.
In one of the most cited comments during the election, Silicon Valley billionaire and early Trump supporter Peter Thiel suggested Trump should be taken seriously, but not literally: “I think one thing that should be distinguished here is that the media is always taking Trump literally. It never takes him seriously but it always takes him literally. I think a lot of the voters who vote for Trump take Trump seriously but not literally. So when they hear things like the Muslim comment or the wall comment, or things like that, the question is not are you going to build a wall like the Great Wall of China, or how exactly are you going to enforce these tests. What they hear is we’re going to have a saner, more sensible immigration policy.” On Wednesday, Trump signed executive orders to begin building the literal wall along the US border with Mexico, and is considering limits on immigration from Muslim countries. From the LA Times: “President Trump directed federal workers Wednesday to start building a border wall and begin punishing so-called sanctuary cities and is considering dramatically limiting the flow of people from other countries, including a ban on Syrian refugees.” Trump also signed an order to “strip federal funding to [sanctuary] cities that refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement.”
+ In a sit-down interview with ABC News, Trump indicated the building would begin in a matter of months, and insisted Mexico would ultimately pay for the wall (“perhaps in a complicated form”).
+ Alexis Madrigal: What I learned from a week at the Mexico border wall (Yes, there is a wall there.)
+ AP: Trump draft order could lead to new CIA-run black sites. “He said he had asked top intelligence officials in the past day: ‘Does torture work?’ And the answer was ‘yes, absolutely'”
+ Trump also threatened to “send in the Feds!” if Chicago “doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on.”
The Fraud Squad
“I think we have to understand where the problem exists, how deep it goes and then suggest some remedies to it.” In a series of tweets and statements to the press, the White House has indicated plans to move forward with a broad investigation into the widespread voter fraud that doesn’t exist.
+ Related: Steve Bannon is registered to vote in two states. So is Steven Mnuchin.
+ If the voter fraud claims and actions are based on entirely invented data, it’s worth wondering if other policy decisions are as well. Is the perceived need for a wall based on real need? (The number of illegal immigrants from Mexico has been declining in recent years). Do we really have a problem with Syrian refugees? Only 14,333 of them have been resettled in the US.
+ Reminder: Many people are more than satisfied with the message coming from the president. According to one poll, “49 percent of those who watched or heard about” the Inaugural speech said it was excellent or good.
+ With all the other things going on, who really cares how many people were at the Inauguration? Well, the president, for one. Here, WaPo takes an interesting look at what Trump voters said when asked to compare his inauguration crowd with Obama’s.
+ Related: Scientists are planning to run for office.
Do You See What ICBM?
A North Korean official tells NBC News that his country is “ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile ‘at any time, at any place.'”
+ The Guardian: North Korean elite is turning against Kim Jong-un, says defector.
Extraordinary Person
Mary Tyler Moore was a funny, talented actor that absolutely changed television and had a huge impact on the way Americans viewed a single woman in the workforce. And that hat being thrown in the air … one of TVs most iconic moments. From the NYT: Mary Tyler Moore, Who Incarnated the Modern Woman on TV, Dies at 80.
+ NPR: She Turned The World On With Her Smile. In addition to her comedic roles, she was also unbelievably good in Ordinary People.
+ Mary Tyler Moore, a celebration.
Shall We Play a Game?
“The potential to positively impact attitudes with digital games is not only rooted in their ability to grant perspective, but also in their potency as instruments of persuasion.” From Polygon: Here’s why the UN is getting interested in video games.
This is 20
“The index for American blue chips took the round-number milestone after a handful of rallies fell short in the past month. It was the second-fastest 1,000-point trip in its history.” From Bloomberg: Dow Tops 20,000.
This is a Movement
“People using the app turned out to feel happier when they had been moving in the past quarter-hour than when they had been sitting or lying down, even though most of the time they were not engaged in rigorous activity.” From the NYT’s Gretchen Reynolds: Get Up and Move. It May Make You Happier.
Not
“We think it’ll help [minimize] cases where maybe one specific story goes viral even if there might not be something real going on in the world about that story.” Facebook will “stop pulling in trending topics that surface based off a single news report” in an effort to slow the spread of fake news.
+ Google has banned 200 publishers since it passed a new policy against fake news.
+ According to a Fox News poll, “84% of Americans are worried fake news is hurting the country. But 79% are confident they can identify fake news.” I study news all day, and at this point, I’m not even sure the poll is real.
+ Related: No, the organizers of the women’s march are not connected to terrorist organizations. Obama did not pat Melania on the butt. And “a story shared on social media that claims a Boston man lost his testicles in an explosion while trying to fill a scuba tank with marijuana smoke is false.”
Big News
Since 1998, five wrestlers from American Samoa and Mongolia have become sumo champions. Now, the first time in nearly two decades, Japan has formally named its first home-grown sumo grand champion.
Bottom of the News
As a one-person operation, it’s hard for me to spend a lot of time promoting NextDraft. I need your help. Can you take 2 seconds and share this NextDraft promotion on Facebook? Just click on the share button at the bottom of this Read Real News post. Don’t Like It (which won’t help). Share it (which will). The world needs real news now more than ever. And my kids have been asking me about my readership numbers. Help me spread the word.
+ “Two and a half packs by noon. I talked to my doctor about it, he said it’s no problem.” You know that thing about it taking seven years for swallowed gum to get through your system. Well, it’s fake news. Sean Spicer says he swallows more than 2 packs of gum daily.
+ Want to join Mar-a-Lago? The membership fee just doubled.
+ Elon Musk is digging a tunnel under LA.
