International
Justice gives a pause to the trial of Trump for the assault on the Capitol
Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed this Friday to give a pause to the trial facing Donald Trump in Washington for the assault on the Capitol to give time to the special prosecutor, Jack Smith, to evaluate how to proceed after the Republican’s victory in Tuesday’s elections.
The magistrate authorized the suspension of the pending deadlines and the Government to present by December 2 its deliberations on the way forward in this criminal case, as requested by Smith.
His petition states that he needs the remaining deadlines to be annulled to determine “the appropriate path” in line with the policies of the Department of Justice, which prevent investigating presidents while they are in office.
The accusation
Trump, who beat Kamala Harris on Tuesday, and will be invested on January 20, is accused in the District of Columbia for his attempts to reverse the results of the elections he lost in 2020 and having allegedly instigated the assault on the Capitol.
The request recalls that, as a result of those elections, it is expected that Trump’s victory will be certified on January 6 and that the investiture will take place on the 20th of that month.
Smith stressed that the prosecutor’s office has consulted with the defense lawyers and pointed out that they have not opposed the pause.
The prosecutor will present a report on the Trump case for the assault on the Capitol
According to The New York Times, Smith had already started discussions with members of the Department of Justice on how to move forward after the elections in the two federal cases against Trump: the assault on the Capitol and the accusation in Florida for having taken classified documents from the White House when leaving power.
The Republican said during the election campaign that on his first day as president he would fire Prosecutor Smith and order the Department of Justice to close the cases against him that, he claims, are motivated by political persecution.
On November 21, Trump’s lawyers were scheduled to present their documentation to the judge on why he should not be tried in Washington after the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents enjoy broad judicial immunity.
Smith indicated in his note that by December 2 he can submit a report with the result of his deliberations.
The special prosecutor has not yet requested a pause in the process in Florida. That case was dismissed on July 15, but Smith claimed on August 26 to a court of appeals that it be restored.
The messes of the future US president with the Justice
Trump faces four parallel criminal trials: those two federal and two others in local courts in New York and Georgia.
The only one where there is a conviction is the one he has in New York for falsification of commercial records to cover up a payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had an affair in the past, to prevent it from harming him in his 2016 campaign.
The goal of Trump’s team, according to NBC News this week, is to dismiss all cases against him. In New York, the possibility of postponing the hearing scheduled for the end of November indefinitely is also contemplated.
According to the US Constitution, a president cannot forgive himself in a state accusation, as happens in New York, and in the case of Georgia, where he is accused of electoral interference, the governor could not pardon him either.
NBC News pointed out that the Department of Justice seems to have assumed that neither the process in Washington nor the Florida process can take place in the near future and now after the elections it sees no room to continue with them.
International
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.
The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.
This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.
The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.
International
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.
During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.
Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.
Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.
On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.
International
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.
Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.
“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.
Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.
The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.
As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
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Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
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