Friday, January 23rd, 2026 - Davos updates; Trump’s pay-to-play peace & $5B lawsuit; ICE detains toddler; Winter storm “Fern”

Morning Announcements

Betches

News, Daily News, Politics, News Commentary

4.7 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2026

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s Headlines: At Davos, Trump hosted the signing of his new “Board of Peace,” a pay-to-play lineup including Belarus, Hungary, Egypt, Qatar, and Kazakhstan, with countries reportedly paying about $1 billion to join. Several European nations declined, warning the board looks like an attempt to sideline the UN. Jared Kushner also floated a vague, zone-based plan for rebuilding Gaza. Back home, Trump filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon, claiming he was “debanked” after January 6. JPMorgan says the case has no merit. In other news, former DOJ special counsel Jack Smith testified to Congress, warning of serious threats to democracy and criticizing mass pardons for January 6 defendants. Trump responded by publicly calling for Smith to be prosecuted. In Minnesota, ICE detained a 5-year-old child and his father outside their home, while school officials confirmed multiple students have been taken into custody, some on their way to school. Local police chiefs also say ICE has stopped off-duty officers based solely on skin color. DHS announced the next enforcement push will be in Maine. The New York Times reports the Trump family made at least $1.4 billion in 2025, driven by overseas real estate, crypto, settlements, and foreign gifts. A growing pardon-for-hire industry has wiped out hundreds of millions in restitution owed to victims. A new analysis found Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok generated millions of sexualized deepfake images in just nine days. And finally, a massive winter storm named Fern is expected to hit much of the U.S. this weekend, potentially affecting over 230 million people. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: T he Guardian: Davos onlookers notice Trump’s ‘board of peace’ logo resembles UN emblem | Donald Trump CNBC: Trump sues Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase over debanking the suit calls 'political' CNN: Live updates: Jack Smith testifies in House Judiciary hearing NBC News: ICE detains 4 Minnesota students, including 5-year-old, school district says USA Today: ICE agents drew guns on off-duty officer in Minnesota, chief says ABC News: DHS launches 'Operation Catch of the Day' enforcement action in Maine NYT: Opinion | How Trump Has Used the Presidency to Make at Least $1.4 Billion NBC News: Trump's pardons forgive financial crimes that came with hundreds of millions in punishments NYT: Trump Sets Fraudster Free From Prison for a Second Time WSJ: Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon NYT: Musk’s Chatbot Flooded X With Millions of Sexualized Images in Days, New Estimates Show Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today is Friday, January 23rd, and you're listening to the morning announcements presented by Betches Media.
0:06.8	I'm your host, Sammy Sage, and the morning announcements is your daily five-minute breakdown of the headlines
0:11.3	that isn't a megaphone for the loudest voices, but a magnifying glass for the most important news.
0:16.9	One quick thing before we get into the episode, if you are a listener on Spotify and you hear this podcast in your daily drive,
0:23.2	Spotify is getting rid of that feature. So if you want to keep listening to the morning announcements,
0:27.7	make sure to follow the show so it ends up in your feed. Now on to the news.
0:34.0	The good news this morning is that we made it through the week without invading Greenland
0:38.4	or any other countries.
0:40.3	For Trump's second day at Davos, he held an event for the signing of the new, so-called
0:44.3	Board of Peace, which was attended by every world leader who wouldn't get arrested for war crimes
0:48.9	upon landing at the airport.
0:51.0	That would be Putin and Netanyahu.
0:53.0	The Board of Peace is a real who's who of world leaders,
0:56.0	with member countries including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Armenia, Egypt, Pakistan,
1:02.0	Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Qatar, and more. Guess that is the new crew these days, the ones who are willing
1:08.0	to pay a billion apiece for their spot on the Peace Board.
1:11.6	On the other hand, several European countries have said that they won't join the board,
1:16.6	expressing concerns that the whole thing is a Trojan horse to replace the UN.
1:20.6	I mean, it sounds like something they would do at the very least.
1:24.6	Jared Kushner also revealed his new master plan for the reconstruction of Gaza at Davos
1:29.8	yesterday. He said that they will be dividing it into zones. Ladies and gentlemen, your architect
1:35.8	of peace in the Middle East. Of course, leave it to Donald to make a work conference awkward. Donald
	...

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