Trump pardons anti-abortion activists ahead of March for Life rally

What did anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy do in 2020?

As we mentioned earlier, one of the people reportedly pardoned by Donald Trump is Lauren Handy.

In 2020 she was the leader of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) group and describes herself as a "Catholic anarchist".

On 22 October that year, Handy booked an abortion appointment at the Surgi-Clinic in Washington DC under the name Hazel Jenkins.

When she arrived, she and others forced their way into the clinic. A nurse sprained her ankle as one of the group entered.

The group stayed inside for hours, livestreaming on Facebook as they linked arms and used furniture, locks and chains to block the doors.

Handy was arrested and charged with conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate patients and staff.

She was found guilty in August 2023 and sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Trump to address America's largest anti-abortion rally

As we've reported, he also pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists a day before the March for Life in Washington DC.

In 2020, Trump became the first US president to attend the rally in person.

Previous Republican presidents, including George W Bush and Ronald Reagan, have addressed the group remotely.

The annual demonstration first began in 1974 - a year after the US Supreme Court legalised abortion in Roe v Wade.

What's the significance of Roe v Wade?

Roe v Wade was a landmark 1973 legal ruling that made abortion legal across the US, but it was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2022.

In 1969, Norma McCorvey, using the pseudonym "Jane Roe", challenged Texas's criminal abortion laws, which only allowed abortion if the mother's life was at risk.

Henry Wade, the district attorney for Dallas County, defended the anti-abortion law – giving the case its name, Roe v Wade.

In 1973, the US Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s right to end her pregnancy was protected by the constitution.

The ruling gave American women an absolute right to an abortion in the first three months (trimester) of pregnancy, with some restrictions later on.

But in 2022, the court ruled in favour of Mississippi in another case that challenged the state's ban on abortion after 15 weeks, effectively ending the constitutional right to an abortion.

Since then, many US states have passed laws that outlaw abortion.

Trump pardons 23 anti-abortion protesters

Donald Trump signed pardons for anti-abortion activists on Thursday, during another round of executive orders from the Oval Office

The president pardoned 23 people who had been convicted for blocking access to abortion clinics.

"They should not have been prosecuted. Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted," he said. "This is a great honour to sign this. They’ll be very happy."

US media report that one of those pardoned is Lauren Handy, leader of the group Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU).

The group was convicted of conspiring in 2020 to storm a Washington reproductive health clinic and block access to intimidate patients and staff. Members forced their way into the Surgi-Clinic, injuring a nurse, and spent several hours inside.

Handy was found guilty in August 2023 and sentenced in May 2024.

Abortion rights became a key issue in the 2024 presidential race after the US Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling in 2022, ending nearly 50 years of federal protection for abortion.

Trump orders release of more files on JFK and MLK assassinations

As we've reported, Donald Trump has ordered officials to make plans to declassify documents related to three of the most consequential assassinations in US history - the killings of John F Kennedy, Robert F Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

The order directs top administration officials to present a plan to declassify the documents within 15 days.

President John F Kennedy was killed in Dallas in 1963. His brother Robert F Kennedy was assassinated while running for president in California 1968, just two months after King, America's most famous civil rights leader, was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee.

John F Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, a Marine veteran who had defected to the Soviet Union and later returned to the United States. A government commission determined that Oswald acted alone.

However, unanswered questions have long dogged the case, and have given rise to alternative theories about the involvement of government agents, the mafia and other nefarious characters - as well as more outlandish conspiracy theories.

In 1992, Congress passed a law to release all documents related to the investigation within 25 years. Both Trump in his first term and President Joe Biden released piles of JFK-related documents, but thousands - out of a total of millions - still remain partially or fully secret.

Trump promised to declassify all of the files in his first term, but held back on his promise after CIA and FBI officials persuaded him to keep some files secret.

Birthright citizenship 'a vital part' of being American - lawyer

Speaking to the BBC's correspondent Sumi Somaskanda earlier, one of the lawyers challenging Trump's attempt to restrict birthright citizenship called the president's effort "just a blatant violation" of the US Constitution.

Dana Nessel, Michigan's attorney general, says "it's unsurprising" the federal judge in Washington has temporarily blocked Trump's plan.

The White House says it will challenge the ruling.

"A vital part about being an American is that if you are born in the United States, you are considered to be an American citizen, and it's been that way, of course, for over a century," she says.

Trump's challenge to the century-old constitutional right has been tested before the Supreme Court twice before and failed, she says, adding that changing birthright citizenship - protected by the 14th Amendment - is "quite a lengthy process".

She says Trump "simply wants to implement his policies without following the law" and the court's ruling today says "that he simply is not going to be permitted to do that".

Here in Beijing, people are wondering what Trump wants

China has been offered some breathing room from Donald Trump’s tariffs, prompting some analysts to ask if the US president has gone soft on China.

But this approach is also keeping Beijing guessing. Many here are wondering – what does the US want in return?

Trump described tariffs as Washington’s “one very big power” over China, so he sees them as a key diplomatic tool to do a deal.

In response the Chinese foreign ministry has once again warned in its daily briefing that there will be no winners in a trade war and that Beijing is ready to talk to the US to “properly handle differences”.

They appear to be keeping the tone neutral and seem open to engagement.

So, what could those talks involve? And what deal could be on the table?

During Trump’s honeymoon period with China during his first term in the White House he came to Beijing to ask for President Xi’s help with North Korea and Kim Jong Un.

This time, there is some speculation that he could ask for Xi’s help with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump told business leaders in Davos during a video speech that China had “a great deal of power over that situation”.

He could also demand that China do more to end the flow of fentanyl to the United States or he could do a much talked about deal on TikTok.

Whatever the deal is, it holds both promise and peril for Beijing. A deal could help reset US-China ties. No-deal could abruptly end this second honeymoon and set the two leaders up for a far more confrontational relationship.

There are no winners in trade and tariff wars, says China

As we've been reporting, Donald Trump said he "would rather not" have to impose tariffs on China and suggested a deal could be done with Beijing.

We've now heard from Beijing and in today’s foreign ministry briefing, spokesperson Mao Ning emphasised that economic and trade co-operation between the two countries is "mutually beneficial and win-win".

"There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars, which are not in the interests of either side and are not in the interest of the world," she added.

In terms of trade deficit, a central issue in the two countries' dispute over trade, Mao said that China had never deliberately pursed a trade surplus and pointed out that there is "enormous room" for co-operation between China and US.

How would tariffs affect trade between the US and China?

Exporters in China have been rushing to load and ship cargo through ports ahead of an eight-day Lunar New Year holiday, and a proposed wave of US tariffs.

It’s called frontloading – increasing exports of everything from toys to furniture and electronics before any tariffs kick in.

Yantian Port in Shenzhen is one of the world's largest container ports and handles one-quarter of China's exports to the United States.

In a statement on Wednesday, it said it’s increased the daily quota on containers by 15% between 20 and 28 January.

Tariffs would hurt US demand for Chinese products – manufacturers would be left with no choice but to pass on the increased costs to the consumers, and so they may order less.

In the US, polls have shown that Americans don’t think tariffs are a good idea if they lead to higher prices, and many are sceptical they would even protect jobs for US workers.

The Chinese commerce ministry has said that China is willing to work with the United States to promote stable and healthy development of economic and trade ties.

Amendment to allow third Trump term proposed by Republican

A congressman has proposed an amendment which would allow Donald Trump to serve a third term as US president.

Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, has introduced a joint resolution to alter the 22nd Amendment, which currently prohibits anyone from serving more than two terms as president.

His new wording would allow a president to serve three terms, as long as only two of them are consecutive. It’s a proposal squarely intended for Trump, which Ogles makes clear in a statement.

"This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs," he says.

But amending the Constitution is extremely difficult, requiring the support of two-thirds of the House and Senate. Even the backing of every Republican in congress - which is far from guaranteed - would not be enough.

Trump tariffs aren't China's only problem

China's economy rebounded in the last three months of last year, allowing the government to meet its growth target of 5% in 2024, Beijing announced last week.

But it is one of the slowest rates of growth in decades as the world's second largest economy struggles to shake off a protracted property crisis, high local government debt and youth unemployment.

The head of the country's statistics bureau said China's economic achievements in 2024 were "hard won", after the government launched a slew of stimulus measures late last year.

Beijing has rarely missed its growth targets in the past.

Experts had broadly predicted this rate of growth. The World Bank said lower borrowing costs and rising exports would mean China could achieve annual growth of 4.9%.

Investors, however, are bracing themselves: the threat of President Donald Trump's tariffs on $500bn (£409bn) worth of Chinese goods looms large.

Yet that is not all that stands in the way of China achieving its growth targets next year.

-BBC