The mayors of American cities large and small reacted with outrage on Wednesday as President Trump signed an executive order saying he would halt funding to municipalities that did not cooperate with federal immigration officials.The defiant officials — from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and smaller cities, including New Haven; Syracuse; and Austin, Tex., said they were prepared for a protracted fight.

About a month ago, Politico reported that some officials at Voice of America were concerned that the former reality-show personality might try to turn VOA into “an unfettered propaganda arm.” Politico published a follow-up piece yesterday on the state of those fears as a pair of political operatives from Trump’s campaign showed up at the VOA offices.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is meeting with his cabinet in Calgary this week to assess options, and has tried to act pre-emptively by shuffling his cabinet. [...] In this volatile, unpredictable and complex operating environment, the Freeland appointment may have been a necessary response to the incoming Trump administration, but it will not be sufficient. In terms of action, how might Canada’s new foreign minister best minimize risk, manage vulnerabilities and maximize opportunity? 

A growing number of Israeli politicians are expected to descend on Washington DC in the coming months as part of an effort by the government to forge ties with the Trump administration.
The first to meet with the new administration will be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom President Donald Trump invited to visit the White House during their phone call on Sunday.

President Donald Trump on Monday dispatched two aides to scope out the studios of Voice of America, heightening concerns among some longtime staffers that Trump may quickly put his stamp on the broadcasting arm that has long pushed U.S. democratic ideals across the world. The arrival of the two aides [...] comes after Voice of America received blowback over the weekend for sending out a series of tweets about White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s claims about inauguration crowd size that looked to some like an endorsement of his false statements.

Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House means it may, finally, be decision time for Europe. The new U.S. president’s barrage of criticism in the run up to his inauguration last week prompted pledges to stick together and revive support for the European Union. Germany’s Angela Merkel vowed to maintain unity through continuous dialogue with other members. Mark Rutte of the Netherlands called for a fresh focus on the economy. 

Women’s March Los Angeles was among dozens of similar events nationwide and in California, including in Riverside and Santa Ana the day after Trump took the oath of office. The local protests were coordinated in unity with a massive march on Washington, D.C., where organizers there said they would “send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office and to the world that women’s rights are human rights.”

Trump is expected to lead on cybersecurity, even as he assumes the job of leader of the free world amid ongoing investigations in federal law enforcement and probes on Capitol Hill about the extent to which cyberattacks and hacks of political targets during the 2016 campaign were linked to Russian state security or their proxies. Investigators also are exploring whether there were any direct links between hackers and individuals involved in the Trump campaign.