*By Alisha Haridasani*
President Trump signed an [executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/affording-congress-opportunity-address-family-separation/) on Wednesday ending the practice of separating children from their parents while still detaining those who have illegally crossed the southern border.
"We're going to keep the families together," Trump said when he signed executive order. "At the same time we are keeping a very powerful border."
After widespread condemnation from elected officials, corporate leaders, former first ladies, and most recently, the Pope, President Trump directed Homeland Security to detain families together while they wait for their case to be processed.
Detaining families together, however, goes against a 1997 consent decree that prohibits the federal government from holding children for more than 20 days. In his executive order, Trump also directed the Attorney General Jeff Sessions to modify the decree in order to "detain alien families together throughout the pendency of criminal proceedings."
Trump's action was an extraordinary reversal for the president, who as recently as Tuesday night was defending his administration's "zero tolerance" police and blaming Congress for the crisis.
His about-face appears to have been driven by the [bipartisan national outrage](https://cheddar.com/videos/republicans-scramble-to-fix-border-crisis-as-trump-digs-in) towards the new policy, which was implemented by Sessions in April and which has so far separated more than 2,000 children from their parents.
“I think he probably expected he would have the support of Republicans to try to corner the Democrats and isolate them on this,” said Jack Crowe, news writer at the National Review.
“But what’s happened is actually a lot of his own party have turned against him on this,” he said. “He doesn’t have a lot of allies left in this.”
Trump's executive order also calls on Congress to draw up a broader package that would address immigration policy and fund his border wall.
In the days leading up to the executive order, the administration also faced condemnation from the private sector, as major companies weighed in on the issue and urged policy changes.
“It is a moral imperative to stop separating families,” said Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who rarely speaks out on political issues.
Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook chiefs have all also vehemently condemned Trump while Uber is reportedly exploring how its legal team can help the migrant families.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-president-trump-says-hell-end-family-separation-at-the-border).
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
The two-sentence footnote raised serious concerns about accuracy and credibility.
Real estate software company RealPage has agreed to stop sharing nonpublic information between landlords as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice.
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track. A handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the bill after what's become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services. But hurdles remain. Senators are hopeful they can pass the package as soon as Monday and send it to the House. What’s in and out of the bipartisan deal has drawn criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation includes funding for SNAP food aid and other programs while ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers. But it fails to fund expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting for, pushing that debate off for a vote next month.
