23 JAN 26 SITREP

• Tens of thousands of individuals assembled on the National Mall and surrounding streets in Washington DC for the March for Life, with estimates ranging from more than 50,000 to nearly 100,000 people filling Independence Avenue, Fourth Street, and the area surrounding the Supreme Court of the United States.
• The crowd consisted largely of students and young people under age 25, including high school and college groups transported by bus from Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Montana, and additional states, with organizers stating representation from all 50 states.
• Religious organizations and clergy participated visibly, including Catholic priests, nuns, Knights of Columbus organizers who ran event operations, and Bishop Joseph Strickland, who attended the march and performed blessings.
• Demonstrators marched in freezing conditions ahead of a forecast winter storm, carrying coordinated signage and apparel including “Freedom For The Unborn,” “Life Is Our Revolution,” and other explicitly pro-life messages throughout downtown Washington DC.

• Vice President JD Vance traveled to Minneapolis on Thursday and conducted a press conference alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to express support for federal officers during unrest linked to a large-scale immigration enforcement crackdown.
• Vance accused mainstream media outlets of spreading false information about ICE operations and condemned harassment, doxxing, and assaults carried out against federal agents by leftist agitators, stating the attacks were totally unacceptable and interfered with law enforcement operations.
• The visit followed an ICE-involved shooting in which ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot leftist agitator Renee Good in apparent self-defense after she struck Ross with her vehicle in a ramming attack, an incident that triggered protests, riots, and organized interference with federal agents throughout Minneapolis.
• Vance stated that local police officers provided on-the-ground support to federal agents, criticized higher-level local and state officials for resisting cooperation, and said the Insurrection Act was not necessary at the time but could be reconsidered if assaults on federal officers continue.

• The United Kingdom introduced a pay-per-mile tax for electric and hybrid vehicles in its national budget, setting rates at 3 pence per mile for electric vehicles and 1.5 pence per mile for hybrid vehicles beginning in April 2028, with annual increases tied to inflation.
• A ban on new gas- and diesel-powered vehicle sales takes effect in the United Kingdom in 2030 and in the European Union in 2035, requiring residents to purchase electric or hybrid vehicles, while new hybrid vehicle sales in the United Kingdom will end in 2035.
• The UK government linked the policy to its net-zero target of 2035, citing cars, buses, and trains as responsible for more than 25 percent of total emissions in 2023, making transportation the largest emitting sector.
• Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick criticized UK and EU net-zero policies while seated next to UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, arguing the measures increase dependence on China for battery production while adding congestion pricing and luxury taxes on higher-priced electric vehicles.