After a dramatic and deadly first week of the year, week 2 brought some leftovers from last week. The fires are still burning, and the politicians are still politicking. This week, there was an official Israel-Hamas ceasefire, a ban on TikTok, and President Biden gave his farewell address to the nation that came with a dark warning.
The California Wildfires are finally somewhat under control, but they are still burning.
As of Thursday, January 16th, The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has recorded 26,117 total emergency responses, 40,695 acres burned, and over 12,300 structures destroyed. These numbers will grow across the board, as the total number of wildfires stands around 164.
The wildfires have been extreme due to hurricane-force winds of up to 100 mph, which fueled the fire to maximum damage potential. Canada and Mexico, along with a growing list of states that include Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington, came to California’s aid; their firefighters are among the 14,000 heroes battling the Palisades Fire.
Over 80 planes and helicopters have been deployed in the firefighting efforts, 8 of which are military C130s activated for the California wildfires with capabilities to carry 3,000 gallons of fire retardant from the ground to the sky to get to areas unreachable on the ground. The ability to hit large areas of land from above has been crucial to contain the fires.
Read the full press release here.
The fires are still burning. Here are some videos from ONSCENE TV and Austin American-Statesman with raw footage. Also, check out this playlist I made on YouTube of select news clips and fire footage.
A ceasefire between Israel-Hamas has been reached. Hostages will be released in the next 60 days.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has finally been reached, though the 24 hours that followed since the announcement were a bit unstable. The war has been ongoing since the initial attack by Hamas on October 7th, 2023.
Promises of the ceasefire had been broken time after time, so this final ceasefire deal also came with a few bumps along the way. Thankfully, the ceasefire should be in place before the incoming Trump administration takes over the White House on January 20th. If the ceasefire falls through and the new administration is calling the shots, the response from the US may be dramatically different than how the US has been working with Israel under the Biden Administration.
Here are the terms of the ceasefire, summarized by the Associated Press:
Draft of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal
PHASE 1: (42 days)
- Hamas releases 33 hostages, including female civilians and soldiers, children and civilians over 50
- Israel releases 30 Palestinian prisoners for each civilian hostage and 50 for each female soldier
- Halt to fighting, Israeli forces move out of populated areas to the edges of the Gaza Strip
- Displaced Palestinians begin returning home, and more aid enters the strip
PHASE 2: (42 days)
- Declaration of “sustainable calm”
- Hamas frees remaining male hostages (soldiers and civilians) in exchange for a yet-to-be-negotiated number of Palestinian prisoners and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
PHASE 3:
- Bodies of deceased Israeli hostages exchanged for bodies of deceased Palestinian fighters
- Implementation of a reconstruction plan in Gaza
- Border crossings for movement in and out of Gaza are reopened
Users are bracing for a TikTok ban – but will it happen?
170 million domestic users will be affected by the ban, set to take place on January 19th – the day before Trump takes office. A few things have yet to fall into place for this to officially happen, most notably, whether or not the ban will be enforced.
For the majority of its users, TikTok is entertainment, but for many business owners and content creators, TikTok is a platform that is the heart of their ability to earn a living. TikTok users across the platform have called out many underlying motivators that are not being talked about but are pretty obvious.
“Fascist countries ban apps and websites under the guise of threats to National Security when every other country knows it’s about suppressing the free speech of its citizens. If the government believes that a single app could quote ‘skew the perspective of American citizens to be anti-American’, maybe the real problem is that American citizens are already in such a state of political unrest and unhappiness that our government is scared a single foreign influence could tip the scale and have it all be over. Don’t you think that by taking away the, and I quote, ‘“’key communications channel of Americans’, it’s going to make those 170 million Americans a little more anti-American?”
Check out some of the creators’ responses about why they believe the app is being banned. It is clear that they are not taking this lightly.
For one, TikTok is hardly the only Chinese company that collects personal information. TEMU and SHEIN, already with shaky reputations, capture the same information and more, including payment and shipping information.
If the Supreme Court upholds the ban, President Biden said he is not going to enforce it. Trump said he would like the Supreme Court to delay the decision until after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” for the issue. Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas shut down the idea of postponing the ban.
What is actually going to happen? Check out this video that breaks it down.
The ban would mean that TikTok would no longer be available for download, and the app would slowly become obsolete and be subject to the vulnerabilities left behind that TikTok software updates would fix. Currently, nothing official has happened, but the answer will come by Sunday, January 19th. TikTok is planning a data download option for users if the ban is implemented.
Senate confirmation hearings for Trump’s proposed cabinet were heated.
Confirmation hearings serve as the job interview for these major leadership positions, with the candidates spending hours in the hot seat being grilled for hours, answering hypotheticals and pressing answers for past behavior.
Alcohol abuse, sexual abuse allegations, fathering a child outside of his marriage, and questions of qualification plagued Fox News Host Pete Hegseth’s hearing as his nomination to be the Secretary of Defense was put under a microscope. Hegseth’s comments on women not being fit for combat roles were also challenged, where he walked back his stance on the issue and promised that women would still be allowed to serve in combat roles under his leadership.
The rest of the hearings were less salacious, but some would say they were equally as important. Other hearings this week are below.
January 14
- 9 a.m. – Doug Collins, Veterans’ Affairs Committee
- 9:30 a.m. – Pete Hegseth, Armed Services Committee
- 10 a.m. – Doug Burgum, Energy and Natural Resources Committee
January 15
- 9 a.m. – Kristi Noem, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
- 9:30 a.m. – Pam Bondi, Judiciary Committee
- 10 a.m. – Marco Rubio, Foreign Relations Committee
- 10 a.m. – John Ratcliffe, Intelligence Committee
- 10 a.m. – Sean Duffy, Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
- 10 a.m. – Chris Wright, Energy & Natural Resources Committee
- 1 p.m. – Russell Vought, Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
January 16
- 10 a.m. – Scott Turner, Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee
- 10 a.m. – Lee Zeldin, Environment and Public Works Committee
- 10:15 a.m. – Pam Bondi, Judiciary Committee
- 10:30 a.m. – Scott Bessent, Finance Committee
January 17
- 9 a.m. – Kristi Noem, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
The Associated Press reported some interesting recruits to represent a major industry during his term: Hollywood.
“— Donald Trump wants to make Hollywood “bigger, better and stronger” and has cast Mel Gibson, Jon Voight, and Sylvester Stallone as stars of what he is calling his “Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California.”
On Wednesday, the President-elect announced on his social media site that the three actors would be his eyes and ears to the moviemaking town.
“It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!” he wrote on Truth Social.”
President Biden gives his farewell address warning of a developing oligarchy where the richest people in the world run the country without guardrails.
“To you, the American people, after 50 years of public service, I give you my word. I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands. A nation where the strength of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure,” he said.
Most of the time, these farewell addresses to the country serve as a way to summarize the president’s accomplishments. However, Biden used the time to warn of an impending technology-industrial complex.
“That’s why, in my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And this is the dangerous concern- — and that’s the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few ultra-wealthy people and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked.”
With Elon Musk’s influence, free speech is clearly at play. After years of harsh criticism of shadow banning certain politicians on Twitter during the Biden administration, Musk’s position in the incoming White House has triggered his power over his free speech platform, X, by banning users who speak badly about him – which is exactly what free speech is meant to protect.
“Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith. I love America. You love it too. God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you for this great honor.”
Read the full transcript here: Remarks by President Biden in a Farewell Address to the Nation
Watch the full speech here: President Biden Delivers a Farewell Address to the Nation
Until next week!