Trump meets with California residents, fire and law enforcement officials to see LA wildfire damage first hand
President Donald Trump declared a national emergency after touring the devastation of the Los Angeles fires with residents who were personally impacted by the disastrous event. Trump traveled to Southern California on Friday to survey the damage from the recent wildfires that destroyed over 10,000 structures in the Los Angeles area and tragically took the lives of nearly 30 people. Trump took an aerial tour of the area before his landing, with images showing the once ritzy neighborhood in ashes. The president and first lady Melania Trump then experienced the damage up close, meeting with local law enforcement and members of the community for a tour of the destroyed Pacific Palisades neighborhoods. ‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD’: TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA “Not even believable,” Trump told reporters on site. Trump sat down for a roundtable with LA Mayor Karen Bass and other state officials. When the president entered the room, individuals were heard chanting “USA, USA, USA!” Bass greeted the president and said that his presence was welcomed. “This is an honor to be with you,” during the meeting, saying that homeowners told him that they want to rebuild their homes in the area. Trump said he would sign an executive order to open up the water valves in the area. “I don’t think you can realize how rough, how devastating it is until you see it,” Trump said of the wildfire damage. “The federal government is standing behind you, 100%.” Trump said that he is going to waive federal permits for rebuilding in the area. “I’m gonna be the president to help you fix it,” he said. “We’re going to waive all federal permits… Because a federal permit can take 10 years… we don’t want to take 10 days.” LOS ANGELES AGENCY REVEALS ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DEADLY WILDFIRES AS INFERNOS STILL RAGE After the fires broke out, Trump blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic city policies for the damage, citing their forest and water management policies. Newsom was waiting for Trump on the tarmac when he exited Air Force One and was seen shaking hands with the president in their first face-to-face encounter since the inauguration. “Thank you first for being here. It means a great deal to all of us,” Newsom told Trump after they met on the tarmac of LAX in Los Angeles just after 3 p.m. local time. “We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help.” Speaking about his meeting with Newsom, Trump said that “we had a good talk, a very positive talk.” Trump traveled to North Carolina to tour the hurricane damage, before heading to California for his first visit to the state since becoming president.
U.S. Senate investigation of migrant child’s death finds poor medical care at border protection facilities
The Senate Judiciary Committee launched its investigation following the 2023 death of an 8-year-old girl at a facility in Harlingen.
Feds drop charges against Texas doctor accused of leaking transgender care data
Dr. Eithan Haim of Dallas had faced four counts for wrongfully disclosing the individually identifiable health information of underage patients at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
Marco Rubio to Chinese foreign minister: Trump will put ‘American people first’ in US-China relations
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Chinese Foreign Minister and Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi that the Trump administration will put the “American people first” and advance U.S. interests in its relationship with China, according to a readout of the call from spokesperson Tammy Bruce. The meeting was the first between Rubio and Wang since the former Florida senator was unanimously approved by the Senate this week to become President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet official following Monday’s inauguration. “The Secretary also stressed the United States’ commitment to our allies in the region and serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea,” Bruce said. “The Secretary also discussed other issues of bilateral, regional, and global importance with his Chinese counterpart.” MARCO RUBIO HEADING TO PANAMA ON FIRST TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE: ‘WE WON’T CONTINUE TO IGNORE THE REGION’ Wang told Rubio during the call that he hoped he would “conduct” himself well and “play a constructive role in the future of the Chinese and American people and in world peace and stability.” He added that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had already set the tone for U.S.-Chinese relations. TRUMP, CHINA’S XI SPEAK ON PHONE AHEAD OF INAUGURATION “The teams of both sides should implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation, promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and find the right way for China and the United States to get along in the new era,” Wang said. MARCO RUBIO CLASHES WITH NBC ‘TODAY’ HOST WHEN PRESSED ON TRUMP’S JAN. 6 PARDONS Trump has threatened China with 10% tariffs on imports over its role in fentanyl trafficking, starting as early as Feb. 1, and Rubio called the country the gravest threat to the U.S. during his confirmation hearing. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump n Thursday told the World Economic Forum virtually that he and Xi have “always had a great relationship,” and all his administration wants is “fairness. We just want a level playing field.”
Trump Department of Education dismisses ‘meritless’ book ban complaints
The Department of Education has dismissed 11 complaints related to “book bans” and eliminated a Biden-era position tasked with investigating school districts and parents, the agency announced Friday. The department said it was ending Biden’s “Book Ban Hoax” regarding complaints that alleged that the removal of age-inappropriate, sexually explicit or obscene materials from school libraries created a hostile environment for students. It also eliminated the “book ban coordinator,” which investigated school districts and parents “working to protect students from obscene content.” GOP SENATOR DEBUTS BILL TO ABOLISH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOLLOWING TRUMP CAMPAIGN PROMISE “By dismissing these complaints and eliminating the position and authorities of a so-called ‘book ban coordinator,’ the department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities. “Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility,” Trainor added. “These decisions will no longer be second-guessed by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.” Six pending allegations were also dismissed. TRUMP WANTS TO DISSOLVE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. EXPERTS SAY IT COULD CHANGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS The DOE called the book removals “meritless” and based “upon a dubious legal theory.” The agency began investigating the complaints Jan. 20, finding that school districts and parents have “established commonsense processes by which to evaluate and remove age-inappropriate materials.” The first complaint was filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Feb. 23, 2022, against the Forsyth County School District in Georgia. The complainant alleged the district violated Title IX and Title VI by removing eight books from the school library because they contained sexually explicit content, the DOE said. The OCR’s office in Atlanta sought to have the complaint dismissed, but the Biden administration overruled a determination that the complaint had no merit, the agency said. The school district agreed to a resolution under threat of further federal intervention, officials said. “This included requiring the district to post a statement in all of its middle and high schools that embraced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” the OCR said. “The department will terminate the agreement and any obligations under it.”
March for Life attendees react to JD Vance speech: ‘It was amazing’
Vice President JD Vance received a massive welcome from pro-lifer activists at the March for Life this Friday in his first public address since the inauguration. Vance touted President Donald Trump’s recent pardons of several pro-life activists prosecuted by the Biden Department of Justice. He also spoke strongly about the need for pro-family governmental policies, saying, “I want to see more babies in the United States of America.” Trump also delivered remarks to the March for Life crowd via a video message. Marchers told Fox News Digital that Vance’s presence showed that the new Trump administration stands in solidarity with the pro-life movement and gives them optimism for the future. “It was amazing,” said Amy Lewis, a pro-lifer who came with a group from Dry Fork Christian School in Virginia. “It was amazing that he was here. We were able to see him and to see that our new administration supports life as much as we do. It just really kind of drives it home that we have an administration that’s here to support us and to support our beliefs.” PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST PROSECUTED BY BIDEN DOJ REACTS TO TRUMP PARDON: ‘I WANT TO GIVE HIM A HUG’ Sarah Morales Wade, an activist who came with a pro-life youth group from Houston called the Catholic Organization of Life, told Fox News Digital: “It’s so inspiring to see someone so high up in office fighting with us, with the kids and, and that we have people who are supporting us and who will fight for life with us.” Elizabeth O’Brien, another member of the Houston group, told Fox News Digital that she thought Vance’s speech was “amazing.” “When the vice president comes out, and he’s telling us how precious life is, that’s an eye-opener,” she said. “It gives us reassurance that the Trump administration is with us.” GOP IS UNIFIED BEHIND TRUMP’S ‘WINNING’ AGENDA, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER SAYS Isaac Desrosiers, a student at Franciscan University, a Catholic college in Steubenville, Ohio, Vance’s home state, told Fox News Digital that for him, the vice president’s speech showed that “he’s not just a politician telling tales, trying to get votes.” “He’s truly Catholic, he holds Catholic values, and he brings that compassion and that sincere Catholic belief and faith to the table,” he said. “He’s genuinely concerned about what is going on in the world, what’s going on in our country. And he generally wants freedom and equality for babies so that they may have the chance to come into this world and to live an amazing life.” Desrosiers said that though he’s “not sure what to expect” from the Trump administration regarding the abortion issue, he is “optimistic.” “I’m hoping it means that this country’s going to be more pro-life and he’s going to pass more pro-life laws,” he said.
President Trump names Australian professional basketball team owner as New Zealand, Samoa ambassador
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Australian basketball Illawarra Hawks majority owner Jared Novelly will serve as the next U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa. Trump described Novelly as a “highly respected philanthropist” in an announcement on Truth Social. TRUMP NOMINATES PENNY SCHWINN FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY OF US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Novelly serves as chairman of Crest Sports and Entertainment and Crest Management. WHO IS SEAN CURRAN? HEAD OF TRUMP’S PERSONAL DETAIL TO BE NOMINATED FOR SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR He is also an East Asia Superleague Basketball shareholder, according to his LinkedIn profile. “He will fight hard to protect our Nation’s interests in the Indo-Pacific, and always put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump wrote. “Congratulations Jared!”
Newsom thanks Trump for coming to California to tour fire damage in tarmac face-off
Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked President Donald Trump Friday for visiting Southern California to tour the devastation left by the fires this month, marking their first face-off since starting an ongoing online feud over the wildfire damage. Trump traveled to Southern California Friday to see damage from the recent wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres and more than 10,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area and claimed the lives of nearly 30 people. Newsom was waiting on the tarmac for Trump before the president exited Air Force One. The two shook hands, and Trump appeared to tug on Newsom’s arm, a power move he has been known to pull on world leaders. “Thank you first for being here. It means a great deal to all of us,” Newsom told Trump after they met on the tarmac of LAX in Los Angeles just after 3 p.m. “We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help.” TRUMP TO VISIT CALIFORNIA AFTER RIPPING ‘IDIOT’ NEWSOM ON WILDIFRE; CRITICS BASH CRIME, HOMELESSNESS, SPENDING He added that Trump was with California “during COVID. I don’t forget that.” The encounter marked the first face-to-face interaction Newsom and Trump have had since Trump was sworn in as president Monday. ‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD’: TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA Trump said he appreciated Newsom greeting him after he arrived, adding, “I think you’re going to see some very good progress” on fire recovery. “We want to get the problem fixed,” Trump said. “It’s like you got hit by a bomb.” Making reference to some of the blame he had placed on Newsom and other California Democrats for not being properly prepared to handle the fires, he added, “We’ll get it permanently fixed so it can’t happen again.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump has spent the last several weeks blaming Newsom and Democratic leadership for the extent of the wildfire damage, citing fire management and water policies. “Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” Trump charged in a social media post Jan. 8.
Ohio mom bombarded with death threats after Black neighbor’s video goes viral: ‘Massive misunderstanding’
An Ohio mother of two is speaking out after receiving vicious death threats both directly and on social media over a viral video that has caused some to smear her as “racist,” which she says is completely false and the result of a “massive misunderstanding.” Michelle Bishop spoke to Fox News Digital about the situation involving her neighbor, DaMichael Jenkins, who posted Ring camera footage of her in a panic at his front doorstep, believing she was being inappropriately followed by Jenkins and not believing his claim that he lived at the house he had pulled into. The exchange has gone viral on social media, with news reports labeling her as a “Karen” who assumed Jenkins was a threat simply because of his race, which Bishop vehemently disputes. Bishop told Fox News Digital that the incident in question began on a cold November night in Delaware County, Ohio, when she took her young daughter and son with her on a jog to go look at Christmas lights and a car with its headlights on was slowly driving behind them as they walked down a poorly lit street in the dark. ‘THE VIEW’ FUMES TRUMP IS HELPING RACISTS WITH DEI POLICIES Bishop then explained that she moved her kids onto the sidewalk but that the car did not pass her “in a timely manner” and that the driver began asking her questions. “I didn’t answer, I walked into— I told my daughter, ‘walk up this driveway, turn here, don’t look back at the truck,’ and so we went into the driveway, ended up on the porch, was ringing the doorbell,” Bishop said. “Nobody was answering at that point. The truck was backing into the driveway. He stayed in his truck. I could not see him and I look out at the driveway at that point and I said, ‘Is this your home?’ And he said, ‘Yes. And I said, ’I don’t believe that’ and in that moment I was in, just, complete defense mode. I was challenging it. There was no way of changing my mind at that point. I was completely in panic and just trying to protect my kids.” Bishop had, in fact, attempted to seek shelter in the home that belonged to Jenkins, and the Ring doorbell footage captures her telling Jenkins that she doesn’t believe he lives there before running to another nearby house and yelling for help. Footage from later shows Bishop telling Jenkins that he had “scared the crap” out of her and that she was “caught off guard.” Jenkins told Bishop he was not following her and was just admiring Christmas lights. BLACK AMERICANS, COMMON SENSE AND OUR FUTURE Bishop tells Fox News Digital she has apologized many times, which the Jenkins family would not accept, and thought the issue was resolved until the video was posted on a local neighborhood Facebook group and ultimately picked up by the media, causing a firestorm of hateful messages to come her way attacking her as a racist. “It is causing massive devastation to our family in every way that you can possibly think,” she said. “Our family, our businesses. We are receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of threats at this point in our direct messages, to our phones, voicemails calling into stores. But some of the threats that we have received have become death threats.” “You and your children deserve to die slow and you should kill yourself or it will be done for you,” Bishop was told in one message. “We know who you are and where you live. Your husband is going to come home to being a single Dad. You should be hung in public,” another message said. “There are multiple that are very graphic and violent in regards to our children that I do not want to share here,” she added. “Our businesses have seen massive devastation, one of them having to close temporarily due to death threats, calling into our shop, saying that they are going to kill every last one of the employees. So it is affecting us in massive ways.” ATF ACCUSED OF ‘CIRCUMVENTING’ TRUMP ORDER TO PLACE DEI STAFF ON PAID LEAVE Social media is littered with posts calling Bishop “racist,” including one post that said, “Michelle Bishop… count your f—ing days.” Jenkins, a real estate developer, went on the “Nightcap” podcast with former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson earlier this week, a show with over 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, and accused Bishop of racial profiling despite her claims that she did not know Jenkins’ race during the interaction. Bishop told Fox News Digital that she “absolutely” did not know Jenkins was Black, and that she even told the neighbor at the house she ran to when she panicked that the person might have been White. “The headlights were behind me and then the first time I looked out in the driveway at his truck, the headlights were there and I was not specifically trying to look at him,” Bishop said. “I was addressing the situation. I absolutely did not know what he looked like. Like I said, I thought he was a young White man. It was all a massive misunderstanding. That’s all that it was.” Bishop has received some support on social media from prominent conservative accounts, including that of commentator and author Matt Walsh. “I’m late to this but of course the internet outrage mob got this situation completely wrong,” Walsh posted on X. “The woman saw a truck following behind her slowly. She panicked about the truck before she ever saw who was inside it. Later that night she came back and apologized for the mistake.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Walsh continued, “That should have been the end of it. No harm, no foul, nobody was hurt. An innocent mistake. Instead this guy decides to put the footage online and shame her in front of the world. And unsurprisingly a bunch of slobbering idiots on social media
Cruz spearheads effort to derail nuclear waste dumping in oil-rich area of Texas
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is leading a bipartisan amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to validate a lower court ruling preventing nuclear waste from being deposited in his state. Cruz, along with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, wants the top court to uphold a lower court ruling that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) lacks authority to license nuclear waste storage facilities. They argue the proposed location of the nuclear waste sites poses “an enormous threat to the country’s security and economic well-being.” The case, NRC v. Texas, will decide “whether the Commission has authority to issue the license under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 or the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.” TOP TRADE ASSOCIATION SENDS LETTERS CALLING ON BIG CHANGES IN THREE KEY DEPARTMENTS: ‘UNLEASH AMERICAN ENERGY’ The Supreme Court in October agreed to take up the case after the Biden administration appealed a Fifth Circuit decision holding that the NRC lacked authority to license nuclear waste storage facilities. The license, which was granted to the Biden administration and a company to build a waste storage facility in western Texas, was challenged by Texas and New Mexico. Interim Storage Partners planned on operating the nuclear storage facility in Andrews County, Texas, a decision that spurred backlash because of the facility’s location within the Permian Basin. “The Permian Basin is our nation’s leading oil- and gas-producing region and a critical pillar of America’s energy security,” Cruz told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I support the State of Texas in opposing the NRC’s federal overreach and will keep fighting to ensure West Texas remains the energy power house it is today.” The brief argues that placing the storage facilities near the Permian Basin makes the area “an enticing target for adversaries,” therefore threatening the oil-producing region. The brief says neither the parties hoping to operate the facilities nor the NRC are “equipped to consider the broader ramifications” of placing the facilities in the area. ALASKA LEADERS CHEER TRUMP OIL AND GAS DRILLING EXECUTIVE ORDER Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cueller and Republican Reps. August Pfluger and Ronny Jackson have also joined Cruz’s brief. “Energy independence is national security, which is why I support the scale-up of all reliable and economical energy sources, including nuclear, to meet our rising energy demand,” Arrington said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “However, I will not allow Washington to impose its will on West Texas regarding the temporary disposal of high-level nuclear waste simply because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can’t — or won’t — finalize permanent storage elsewhere.” Arrington said Texas “and the people of Andrews should make the decision” rather than “some nameless, faceless bureaucrat in Washington, D.C.” The amicus brief states that the location of the waste sites — while “remote” — “present an enormous threat to the country’s security and economic well-being.” “Energy security is national security. That adage remains as true now as it did in the 1970s, when OPEC strategically curtailed its oil supply to the United States,” the filing continues. BIDEN HAD NO IDEA HE SIGNED NATURAL GAS EXPORT PAUSE, JOHNSON SAYS “And although we’ve come a long way since then — building up domestic energy production capacity and decreasing dependence on fossil fuels — recent events are a vivid reminder of the importance of energy independence,” the amicus continued. “They’ve also shown that the Permian Basin has global importance.” The high court is set to hear oral arguments in the case in early March.