Politics

Trump to install Texas border czar as Border Patrol chief, sources say

By Camilo Montoya-Galvez

January 16, 2025 / 7:19 PM EST / CBS News

The incoming Trump administration is planning to install Texas' border czar as head of U.S. Border Patrol, replacing the career official who currently leads the agency in charge of stopping the illicit movement of migrants and drugs.

Mike Banks, who has spearheaded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's border crackdown, is expected to be appointed Border Patrol chief after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, two sources familiar with the move told CBS News Thursday.

Banks would replace current Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, a 28-year veteran career official at the agency. Owens is set to retire from government service in April, two U.S. officials told CBS News.

In an internal message sent to agents Thursday and obtained by CBS News, Owens said the opportunity to serve as Border Patrol chief was "the highest honor I have ever received."

"Looking ahead, I will leave with a profound sense of optimism about its future and that of our country," Owens wrote. "I will take comfort knowing that you are on our frontline, standing between the innocent and the evil."

Banks' appointment would be a departure from the general practice of Border Patrol having leaders that are career government officials, not political appointees.

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, Banks has been a key player in Texas' aggressive effort to counter what the state has argued is the Biden administration's failure to secure the southern border amid record levels of migrant crossings.

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SpaceX knows how to put on a show.

The company launched the seventh flight test of its Starship megarocket this afternoon from its Starbase site in South Texas. The 403-foot-tall (123 meters) vehicle lifted off successfully and achieved stage separation. And its first-stage booster, called Super Heavy, made it back down to Starbase for a dramatic catch by its launch tower's "chopstick" arms.

But some eight minutes into the flight, SpaceX lost contact with the Starship upper stage, known as Ship. It's currently unknown what caused the problem, but one thing is certain: Ship went out with a bang.

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26-year-old Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI researcher, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment in November 2024. While his death was ruled a suicide, his mother claims he was murdered since he was a key witness in copyright lawsuits against OpenAI.

In an interview with US commentator Tucker Carlson, Poornima Ramarao shared how Balaji had celebrated his birthday the day before his death and how police took 14 minutes to declare it a suicide.

“Everybody is suppressed, nobody is ready to come up and tell the truth,” she said Wednesday, adding that there was evidence of a struggle in the house and unusual activity on Balaji’s devices, emphasising her suspicions of foul play.

On Wednesday, entrepreneur Elon Musk shared the video on X along with the comment “extremely concerning”, drawing interest in Balaji’s death.

Balaji quit OpenAI in August 2024 after 4 years at the company and began speaking out against the company’s use of copyrighted material. Ramarao revealed that he was named a custodian witness by The New York Times and had important documents against the company.

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 North Korea denounced the United States for sending military aircraft over the Korean peninsula several times this month, as well as the U.S., Japan and South Korea for holding an air military exercise, state media KCNA reported on Friday.

North Korea also denounced the joint Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) between the U.S. and South Korea that seeks to manage North Korea's nuclear threat, the report said.

North Korea will "strongly curb any military provocations" by exercising its thorough right to self-defence, KCNA reported, citing the country's foreign ministry.

During the latest NCG meeting held last week, the U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to enhance the regular visibility of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean peninsula, according to a joint statement from the U.S. and South Korea.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian deepened military ties between their countries on Friday by signing a 20-year strategic partnership that is likely to worry the West.

Under the agreement, Russia and Iran will boost cooperation in a range of areas including their security services, military drills, warship port visits and joint officer training.

Neither will allow their territory to be used for any action that threatens the other and will provide no help to an aggressor attacking either nation, according to the text, which also said they would work together to counter military threats.

But it did not include a mutual defence clause of the kind included in a treaty between Russia and North Korea, which the West says has seen North Korean troops deployed to fight in Ukraine, something Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied.

Nor was there specific mention of arms transfers, a topic of particular concern to the U.S. and its allies, though the two sides said they would develop "military-technical cooperation".

Pezeshkian, on his first Kremlin visit since winning the presidency last July, hailed the treaty as an important new chapter in bilateral relations, while Putin said Moscow and Tehran shared many views on international affairs.

"This (treaty) creates better conditions for bilateral cooperation in all areas," said Putin, emphasising the upside for economic ties and trade, which he said was mostly carried out in the two countries' own currencies.

"We need less bureaucracy and more concrete action. Whatever difficulties are created by others, we will be able to overcome them and move forward," Putin added, referring to Western sanctions on both countries.

Putin said Russia regularly informed Iran about what was going on in the Ukraine conflict and that they closely consulted on events in the Middle East and the South Caucasus region.

Russia and Iran were the main military allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow after being toppled last month. The West also accuses Iran of providing missiles and drones for Russian attacks on Ukraine. Moscow and Tehran say their increasingly close ties are not directed against other countries.

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Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was on Friday sentenced to 14 years in prison, and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years in a case related to the misuse of authority and corruption involving Khan’s Al-Qadir University Project Trust.

Khan was also given a fine of 1 million Pakistani rupees ($3,500), while Bibi was fined half that amount.

An accountability court operating from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023, had reserved its verdict in December last year and deferred the announcement three times. Bibi was arrested at the court premises.

Khan, who did not appear before the court on January 13 when the decision was delayed for a third time, had earlier claimed the delays were an attempt to “pressurise” him.

This marks the fourth major case in which the former prime minister has been convicted.

Three earlier convictions, announced in January last year, were related to selling state gifts, leaking state secrets, and unlawful marriage, all of which were overturned or suspended. Despite this, Khan remains behind bars, with dozens of cases pending against him – a situation he describes as a political witch-hunt.

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The former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has announced he is running to replace Justin Trudeau as leader of the Canadian Liberal Party.

Carney officially launched his bid to lead in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, earlier today.

If he is successful, the 59-year-old will succeed Prime Minister Trudeau and will lead Canada into the next general election, which will take place later this year.

Carney said in his launch announcement: "I'm doing this because Canada is the best country in the world, but it could still be even better.

"People are anxious, no wonder... Too many people are falling behind... I've helped managed multiple crises and I've helped save two economies...

"I know how business works, and I know how to make it work for you."

Carney's father, Bob Carney, ran for the Liberals federally in 1980 in the riding of Edmonton-South, coming in second to Douglas Roche, a Progressive Conservative.

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As the third anniversary of the Ukraine war approaches, the US and its European Union (EU) allies are tightening the noose on Russian energy trade through fresh sanctions. While the outgoing Joe Biden administration sanctioned scores of companies that were aiding Russia in energy exports, some EU countries have also called for the 27-nation bloc to impose a blanket ban on pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia.

However, the EU continues to rely on Russian LNG imports, with reports highlighting that a record amount of LNG was imported from Moscow last year. Additionally, two EU shipyards were reportedly involved in repairing Russian ice-class tankers and providing docking facilities.

The fresh US sanctions may force India and China, two of the largest consumers of Russian oil and gas, to seek their demand from alternate routes.

EU’s dependence on Russian LNG

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the EU, along with G7 countries, introduced price caps on Russian crude oil ($60 per barrel) and petroleum products. Additionally, seaborne imports of Russian crude oil and refined petroleum products were prohibited to limit funding for Moscow's war efforts.

However, gas has remained outside of the bloc’s sanctions, even as the EU aims for a complete Russian fuel phase-out by 2027. According to a report in The Guardian, Europe bought a record amount of LNG from Russia last year, with ships carrying 17.8 metric tonnes (mt) of LNG docking in European ports in 2024 — up by more than 2 metric tonnes compared to 2023.

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Following its democratic tradition, Costa Rica labeled Nicolás Maduro’s takeover of power in Venezuela as “illegitimate.” The nation firmly dismissed the inauguration act through which Nicolás Maduro seeks to perpetuate himself in power based on “persecution, the improper use of electoral and judicial means, and state terror against his people, especially against opposition leaders.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the mockery orchestrated by the Maduro regime is “an insult to the people of Venezuela,” especially to the millions who peacefully and overwhelmingly voted for democratic change, backing Edmundo González Urrutia.

On Friday, Maduro took the oath for the third consecutive time as Venezuela’s president, having led the South American country during the terms of 2013-2019, 2019-2025, and now for the period extending from 2025-2031.

Costa Rican officials stated that the sole individual with the legitimacy gained through the ballot to take the presidency of Venezuela is Edmundo Gonzalez and urged all democratic nations “not to validate the electoral fraud and the illegitimate and undemocratic reelection of Nicolas Maduro.”

The nation called on the global community to persist in seeking a democratic resolution to the Venezuelan crisis, driven by the Venezuelan populace, and to conclude this distressing era of repression and ongoing breaches of human rights and essential freedoms of the Venezuelan citizens.

Simultaneously, the U.S. government revealed reward offers of up to $25 million each for information that results in the arrests and/or convictions of Nicolás Maduro and Maduro’s Minister of Interior, Diosdado Cabello. The Department of State additionally announced a fresh reward of up to $15 million for Maduro’s Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López.

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China's Vice President Han Zheng will attend U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, Chinese state news agencies said on Friday, with Beijing ready to enhance dialogue with the new U.S. administration.

Han's participation in the Washington, D.C. event comes at the invitation of the U.S. side, China's national television broadcaster reported.

"We are ready to strengthen dialogue and communication with the new U.S. government, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and jointly promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations," China Central Television (CCTV) said.

"China has always viewed and developed China-U.S. relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation."

China is prepared "to find a correct way for China and the United States to get along in the new era," CCTV said.

Trump said on Jan. 6 that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping have been communicating through representatives, expressing optimism about their relationship.

Trump has named numerous China hawks to key posts in his incoming administration including Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state.

He has also said he will impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods unless Beijing does more to stop trafficking of the highly addictive narcotic fentanyl. He threatened tariffs in excess of 60% on Chinese goods while on the campaign trail.

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