D-DAY: Donald Day. In one last political rally before he becomes President again  Donald Trump yesterday promised that “Tomorrow at noon, the curtain closes on four long years of American decline, and we begin a brand-new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” the president-elect said, adding that Joe Biden presided over “a failed administration. We’re not going to take it anymore.”

  Trump addressed an adoring crowd at the Capitol One Arena not far from the White House. His speech was loaded with his usual lies and exaggerations. The Village People delivered a live performance of their song “Y.M.C.A.,” which has become an anthem for Trump. One comedian said it’s the first time Trump has paid a construction worker,.

  On one of the hot-button issues of his campaign in which he promised he would pardon the January 6^th insurrectionists,  he said, “Tomorrow, everybody in this very large arena will be very happy with my decision on the J6 hostages.” Trump said, “You’ll be very, very happy. I would say about 99.9 percent in this beautiful arena.”

  He also said he would issue an executive order to revive the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, which went offline at midnight Saturday because of a federal law banning it. “And as of today, TikTok is back,” he declared.

   Trump has said he has at least 100 executive orders to sign on the first day. He told the crowd, “Starting tomorrow I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country. You will see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy.” 

  High on the list of actions he plans is sweeping up illegal immigrants across the country. He promised that, “By the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will come to a halt.” He said: “We will not be invaded. we will not be occupied, we will not be overrun, we will not be conquered. We will be a free and proud nation once again and that will take place tomorrow at 12 o’clock.”

  Trump aides said there will be arrests of illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities and airplanes standing by to take them away. 

  However, Trump’s handpicked “border czar” Tom Homan said in an interview Saturday that the incoming administration is reconsidering planned immigration raids that were to start in Chicago as soon as tomorrow because the plans had been leaked to the press. “We’re looking at this leak and will make a decision based on this leak,” Homan said. “It’s unfortunate because anyone leaking law enforcement operations puts officers at greater risk.

  Trump can also be expected to attempt undoing the Biden administration energy policies, in particularly the push toward electric vehicles, as well as removing restrictions on drilling for oil offshore and on federal lands. He wants to stop development of offshore wind power. 

PARDONED: President Biden issued last-minute pre-emptive pardons for people under threat of political prosecution under the new administration. Among those  pardoned are Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, and all members of the bipartisan House committee that investigated the January 6^th insurrection, including former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.

TIKTOK, TIKTOK: As mentioned, the social media platform TikTok used by 170 million Americans went dark at midnight Saturday. Donald Trump vowed to save it despite previous declarations that it’s a national security risk. The difference between now and then is that Trump says he believes that TikTok helped him to get elected. 

  Trump has the authority under law to delay the ban for 90 days if the platform makes significant progress in shielding user data from collection by the Chinese owners of the platform. Don’t expect him to adhere strictly to the law.

RELEASED: Three young Israeli women held hostage in Gaza were released by Hamas militants yesterday in the opening hours of a 42-day ceasefire and prisoner-hostage exchange.

  At the moment they were given over to the Red Cross, each of the women has  handed a paper Hamas “gift bag” containing photos of them in captivity, a commemorative photo of Gaza, and some kind of certificate. It was notable that after 18 months of war to eradicate Hamas, there was no shortage of Hamas gunmen at the handover.

  Roughly 90 Palestinian prisoners, all of them women or minors, were released by Israel in return. If the deal holds, another 30 Israeli hostages will be let go.

  Video released by the Israeli military showed the three women walking under their own power as they were handed over from the Red Cross to Israeli soldiers and having emotional reunions with their families at an Israeli hospital. The three appeared to be in good health but one of them lost two fingers during the October 7^th attacks.

  Israel began recalling troops from parts of Gaza as Hamas militants sought to reassert control and a daily convoy of 600 aid trucks began to enter the largely-destroyed Gaza strip. As many as 47,000 Palestinians have died in the 18-month war and most of the strip’s two million residents are displaced.   

 THE SPIN RACK: Accused 9/11 terrorist attacks master Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, despite claiming he was tortured for his confession, has agreed to let prosecutors use portions of that 2007 confession for sentencing if his case is settled with a life sentence rather than death. — Skier Lindsey Vonn was in the running to finish on the podium in the Super-G yesterday in Cortina, Italy, when she crashed out. Sher was able to get up and ski down, still pursuing a return to the top of her game at age 40. 

BELOW THE FOLD: Joe Biden and Donald Trump are sharing a limo ride to the inauguration this morning.

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