Wow... lots of executive time today:

Chinese agency Dagong cuts U.S. sovereign ratings to BBB+ from A-

Source: Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Dagong Global Credit Rating Co, one of the country’s most prominent ratings firms, on Tuesday cut the local and foreign currency sovereign ratings of the United States, citing an increasing reliance on debt in the world’s largest economy.

Dagong said in a statement that it cut the sovereign ratings to BBB+ from A- and also placed them on a negative outlook.

The growing reliance on the debt-driven mode of economic development will continue to erode the solvency of the U.S. federal government, the Beijing-based ratings agency said.

In December, U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a package of tax cuts that will add $1.4 trillion over a decade to the $20 trillion national debt.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ratings-dagong/chinese-agency-dagong-cuts-u-s-sovereign-ratings-to-bbb-from-a-idUSKBN1F50OU?il=0

Foreign governments, candidates, trade groups spent at Trump properties: report

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sixty-four trade groups, foreign governments, Republican candidates and others stayed at or held events at properties linked to U.S. President Donald Trump during Trump’s first year in office, a political watchdog group said in a report released on Tuesday.

The arrangements represented “unprecedented conflicts of interest” because Trump oversees the federal government and has not divested from properties he owns or that carry his name, Public Citizen, a nonpartisan group, said in the report.

Shortly before taking office last year, Trump said he would hand off control of his global business empire to his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and move his assets into a trust to help ensure that he would not consciously take actions as president that would benefit him personally.

Many government and private ethics watchdogs said the president should have gone farther, divesting assets that could cause a conflict of interest.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-business/foreign-governments-candidates-trade-groups-spent-at-trump-properties-report-idUSKBN1F50DM?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5a5dc3c204d30178f7280ef0&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Ivana Says Trump Is Not Racist, Just Confused Because Lots of People Are Telling Him What to Say

Source: Newsweek

Simone Biles claims she, too, was abused by Larry Nassar

Source: Boston Globe

Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles, who won four gold medals at the 2016 Olympics, has joined a list of high-profile gymnasts — including six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman, 2012 all-around champion Gabby Douglas, and two-time medalist McKayla Maroney — who have accused Larry Nassar of sexual misconduct.

Biles released a statement via Twitter outlining that abuse.

Feelings... #MeToo pic.twitter.com/ICiu0FCa0n
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) January 15, 2018

Nassar, who spent more than two decades as a physician at USA Gymnastics while also working at Michigan State University, has admitted sexually assaulting gymnasts, possessing child pornography and molesting girls who sought medical treatment. He was sentenced in December to 60 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography and is facing another 40 to 125 years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting seven girls.

Read more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2018/01/15/simone-biles-steps-and-claims-she-too-was-abused-larry-nassar/2AiPovRMlYlJU3HvhHuXkJ/story.html?s_campaign=bostonglobe%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Is Probably Making Up This Crap About Alexa Ordering a Batman Toy

Source: Gizmodo

After 30 years in U.S., metro Detroit immigrant deported to Mexico

Source: The Detroit Free Press

After 30 years of living in the U.S, a 39-year-old Lincoln Park man was deported this morning from Detroit Metro Airport to Mexico as family and friends wiped away tears.

Jorge Garcia was brought to the U.S. by undocumented family members when he was 10 years old. Today the landscaper has a wife and two children,, all of whom are U.S. citizens.

In the past, Garcia, a child of undocumented immigrants, would have been allowed to stay in the U.S. But because of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, in November Garcia was ordered to return to Mexico. His supporters say he has no criminal record and paid taxes.

Nevertheless, Garcia had to be removed, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Monday morning, accompanied by ICE agents at Detroit Metro Airport, Garcia went through security as supporters around him held up signs that read, "Stop Separating Families."

Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2018/01/15/jorge-garcia-daca-deported-mexico-immigration/1033296001/

On MLK Day, President Trump visits Trump golf course

Source: The Washington Post

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump's first stop Monday was Trump International Golf Club, apparently beginning the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with golf rather than the charitable service the slain civil rights leader's family has urged as the best way to memorialize him.

The morning after declaring “I'm not a racist,” Trump began his Monday the same way he has begun each day of the three-day holiday weekend: with tweets sent before leaving his private Mar-a-Lago estate and then a short motorcade to the golf club.

It was not clear whether he planned to perform service later in the day; his public schedule is blank. A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president's plans, including whether he was playing golf.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2018/01/15/on-mlk-day-president-trump-visits-trump-golf-course/

After years living in the U.S. for 30 years, a 39-year-old immigrant in metro Detroit was deported..

Niraj Warikoo? Verified account @nwarikoo

After years living in the U.S. for 30 years, a 39-year-old immigrant in metro Detroit was deported this morning to Mexico. Escorted by ICE agents, he said bye to wife and 2 kids before boarding. He was brought to US from Mexico when he was 10-yrs-old, too old to qualify for DACA:



7:23 AM - 15 Jan 2018 from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)

Niraj Warikoo ?Verified account @nwarikoo

"Stop Separating Families," read signs from supporters of Jorge as he prepares to board flight for Mexico in a deportation by ICE, part of crackdown by Trump administration:





7:29 AM - 15 Jan 2018 from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)

House Dem: Trump censure resolution meant to put Congress on record opposing racism

Source: The Hill

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Monday that a resolution censoring President Trump for disparaging marks he allegedly made about African countries is meant to put Congress on the record opposing racism.

“The goal is to put the Congress of the United States on record that we don’t approve of racism and that the president, when he makes these kinds of racist remarks, he’s not speaking for the people of the United States,” Nadler said on CNN’s “New Day” Monday morning.

Reps. Nadler and Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, said Friday that they would unveil the resolution to censor Trump over comments that he allegedly made disparaging individuals from Haiti and other African countries during a closed-door meeting with lawmakers.

The Washington Post first reported on Thursday that Trump had described Haiti and other nations as “shithole” countries, expressing a preference for immigrants from Norway. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) backed up the press account on Friday.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/369022-house-dem-trump-censure-resolution-meant-to-put-congress-on-record