Hello Australia!! - Trump takes office, immediately begins screwing Americans - The Gambia narrowly averts a crisis - A Dog's Purpose is not to be abused by Hollywood - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Well, at least the world is ridding itself of ONE dictator today.  The Gambia's strongman leader Yahya Jammeh has agreed to step down and leave the country.  I could think of another country where that ought to happen.  But seriously, Jammeh had threatened not to leave after losing last month's presidential election.  I mean, actually having a president who didn't win the popular vote - that'd be crazy!  Who'd do that?  Troops from neighboring Senegal had crossed the border early on Friday morning to support the new president Adama Barrow, who took the oath of office on Thursday.

Rescuers located ten survivors in the rubble of the Hotel Rigopiano in Italy's Abruzzo mountains, after it was crushed by an avalanche of rock and snow loosened by a series of earthquake.  They've pulled out six of the survivors so far, but four people are confirmed dead and twenty are still missing.

This is why governments and the European Union are good ideas:  Accountability.  A French court is ordering a German medical product safety body to pay 60 Million Euros in compensation to to 20,000 women who received faulty breast implants.  The French company company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) made implants with substandard, industrial-grade silicone, and TUV Rheinland certified them.  Even worse, the PIP implants had double the rupture rate of competitors.  The firm was eventually liquidated as the scandal spread.

The so-called Islamic State is back in control of the ancient Roman site of Palmyra in Syria, and destroyed two more ancient ruins:  The Tetrapylon, which is a complex of ancient columns and a marvel of Roman engineering; and the facade of its Roman Theater.  IS destroyed most of the Palmyra historic site during from June 2015 to March 2016; the jihadists retook it from Syrian troops last month.

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment have cancelled the premier of the movie "A Dog's Purpose", after leaked video showed filmmakers forcing a terrified stunt dog into a rumbling pool of water to film a rescue scene.  Animal Rights activists including PETA were appalled and called for a boycott of the movie, which stars actor Dennis Quaid.  The director Lasse Hallstrom and co-star Josh Gad said they were "disturbed" by the video, which was apparently shot by a second unit in Canada:  The local Humane Society said, "This dog was fearful and not properly trained for this experience."

And now, the orange clown:

After taking the oath of office as 45th (and soon to be worst) president of the United States of America, orange clown Donald Trump gave one of the most divisive inaugural addresses ever.  In 16 harsh and confrontational minutes, Cheeto Mussolini railed against Washington insiders, claimed he was giving government back to the people, and announced an "America First" isolationism that will stop "enriching" foreign industries and armies.  And he lifted a quote - not from a great statesman or political theorist, not from an economist of scientist or religious leader - from Bane.  BANE, the "Batman" supervillain played by Tom Hardy.  That's where Trump got his speech.

But his first real action was to screw the American homeowner:  Trump ordered the Department of Housing and Urban Development to end a program that brought down mortgage rates for lower income families, allowing them to own homes for the first time.

Then, the Trump team took over the White House Twitter account and Official Website. The latter was instantly scrubbed of any mention of Climate Change, LGBT issues, and Civil Rights.  But it did gain a page advertising god-awful cheap jewelry that Trump's wife Melania hawks on a cable TV shopping channel.  The Twitter account's background image was changed to show a large crowd attending the inauguration.  However, people quickly noticed that the photo used by the Trump team was actually from Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009.

This might have been thought of as necessary by the Trump people because of noticeably smaller crowds attending the oath of office outside the US Capitol building, and along the inaugural parade route.  Both had large gaps in seating and viewing areas than in the past few US presidential inaugurations, especially those of Barack Obama.  There were a few fun protests, but nothing really widespread.  That comes on Saturday in Washington, DC.

In all, the saddening spectacle was about a small and vulgar man trying to make a great nation as small and vulgar as he is, and a troubled populace in no great rush to embrace him or his small and vulgar ways.