Myanmar’s rebels liberate territory – administrating it is the next battle
Karen State, Myanmar – Thaw Hti was a tiny speck amid a march of hundreds of thousands that snaked its way through the streets of Yangon in 2021, demanding a return to democracy after the Myanmar military seized power. “We had signboards and they had guns,” she said, recounting with bitterness the events of March 2021. In the intervening four years, much has changed for Thaw Hti and her generation in Myanmar. After the military slaughtered hundreds in bloody crackdowns on those pro-democracy protests, young people fled to territory controlled by ethnic armed groups in Myanmar’s border regions with Thailand, India and China. Thaw Hti went, too. Ethnically part Karen, her choice was obvious. She sought refuge with the Karen National Union – Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armed group, which has been fighting for political autonomy for the Karen people since the 1940s in Myanmar’s eastern Karen State, also known as Kayin State. Speaking during an interview with Al Jazeera in Karen State recently, Thaw Hti told how she was so furious at the military for seizing power that she wanted to become a rebel soldier. Advertisement All new arrivals in KNU territory had to undergo a survival course, which included weapons training, marching long distances in rugged terrain and basic self-defence. Firing a gun, Thaw Hti remembers, gave her a feeling of strength after powerlessly watching the military massacre her fellow protesters. Now, her face crinkles into a huge smile when she says: “I love guns”. But, being short and slight, she struggled to complete even the basic survival course and knew that she would not pass the KNU’s real military training. “I came here to join the revolution but as a woman, there are more barriers,” she said. “Mentally I want to do it but physically I can’t.” Lessons in oppression With a background in education and the ability to speak Karen, Thaw Hti and her husband instead opened a school accredited by the KNU where they teach more than 100 children who have been displaced by conflict. The school is concealed in the forest in eastern Myanmar because of the military’s tendency to launch air strikes on the Karen’s parallel public services – including schools and hospitals. The bombing aims to destroy the emerging administrative structures that lend legitimacy to Karen autonomy. Unlike schools under the military regime’s control, Thaw Hti explained that her school teaches children in the Karen language and teaches a Karen-centred version of Myanmar history that includes the decades of oppression the Karen faced, which is often left out of official narratives. The Karen have fought for their autonomy for decades, but as newer, pro-democracy forces team up with ethnic armed groups, the Karen’s long-simmering conflict with Myanmar’s military – a majority, ethnic Bamar force – has exploded in intensity. Advertisement Particularly in the last year, the military has lost huge swaths of territory in the borderlands – including nearly all of Rakhine State in the west and northern Shan State in the east – as well as large chunks of Kachin State in the north, and also more of Karen State. But as fighters take more and more territory, they are faced with a new challenge: administering it. Parallel administration Seized from the military in March, Kyaikdon in Karen State has been spared the devastating air strikes that have plagued other large towns won by resistance forces. During Al Jazeera’s recent visit to Kyaikdon, the town’s restaurants were filled with civilians and Karen troops eating Burmese curry. Shops were open and selling household goods and traditional Karen fabrics, while the main road was backed up with traffic. Soe Khant, the town’s 33-year-old KNU-appointed administrator, said he had big plans for the liberated territory. “I would like to finish public works, get electricity and water running and clean up the plastic and the overgrown areas,” said Soe Khant, who was officially appointed interim administrator, with an election planned after one year. He agrees with eventually being popularly elected, rather than appointed. “If it’s what the people want, I will take the position. If they choose somebody else, I will pass it on,” he told Al Jazeera. KNLA troops on patrol in November, 2024 at a military base seized from the Myanmar military in the Thin Gan Nyi Naung area of Karen State [Andrew Nachemson/Al Jazeera] Soe Khant said the military regime “totally neglected the people of this town”. Advertisement Growing up in Kyaikdon, Soe Khant told how he would hike to the top of a hill near the town with a friend. From there they would sketch the cluster of buildings around the dusty main road, the winding river that nourishes the farms, and the nearby mountain range that forms the border with Thailand. When he got older, he turned to photography, making a living from wedding shoots. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Myanmar in 2020, he answered another calling, launching a social welfare organisation. After the military coup, the situation worsened further. “The healthcare system broke down, so my friends and I volunteered to help take care of people,” he said. While Soe Khant is relatively new to the business of running a parallel administration, the KNU has been doing this for decades – albeit usually in smaller, rural pockets of territory. ‘Going so fast, but we don’t go very far’ Kawkareik township’s secretary Mya Aye served as a village tract leader for 12 years before being elected to his current role, the third most senior in the township. He told Al Jazeera how years of war and a lack of human resources had hampered the local economy and undermined the KNU’s ability to provide public services. “There are no factories, no industry, you can’t work here to support your family,” he said, explaining that because of the conflict and hardships, young people would move to live in nearby Thailand. But the military regime’s cruelty is often its own worst enemy. It has inspired more fervent resistance and driven human resources
Gov. Newsom cut fire budget by $100M months before lethal California fires
A review of last year’s California state budget shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom cut funding for wildfire and forest resilience by more than $100 million. The budget, signed in June and covering the 2024-25 fiscal year, eliminated $101 million from seven “wildfire and forest resilience” programs, according to a report from Newsweek. The California fires, responsible for destroying more than 10,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area, are still not contained. CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES DEVASTATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY, KILLING 5 AND THREATENING THOUSANDS OF HOMES Cal Fire had a $5 million reduction in spending on fuel reduction teams, including funds used to pay for vegetation management work by the California National Guard, the report noted. LA FIRE SOUNDED ALARM ON BUDGET CUTS IMPACTING WILDFIRE RESPONSE: MEMO Other changes: Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, called the budget cuts a “ridiculous lie,” in a statement to Fox News Digital Friday night. ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP “The governor has doubled the size of our firefighting army, built the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet and the state has increased the forest management ten-fold since he took office,” she wrote. “Facts matter.” His office attached statistics that refer to the overall increase in spending and personnel over a number of years since he took office in 2019, as opposed to commenting on the most recent cuts. Cal Fire did not immediately respond to a request for comment as of 8 p.m. Friday.
Trump fills latest Cabinet spots as Jan. 20 inauguration nears
President-elect Trump announced his latest picks to join the growing number of Cabinet choices as his Jan. 20th inauguration nears. Trump, in a Friday evening announcement, said that Bill Briggs would serve as the next Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. If confirmed, Briggs will serve alongside Trump’s pick for SBA Administrator, Kelly Loeffler. “Bill is a successful businessman who served in my First Term as the Acting Associate Administrator in the Office of Capital Access at SBA,” he said. “During his tenure, Bill helped oversee our Historic Paycheck Protection Program that saved many of our Small Businesses, and millions of jobs.” TRUMP NAMES LATEST WHITE HOUSE STAFF PICKS AS JAN. 20 INAUGURATION APPROACHES The president-elect also announced Ed Russo as his pick for the Environmental Advisory Task Force. “I am pleased to announce that Ed Russo, an Environmental Expert, will lead our Environmental Advisory Task Force, which will advise my Administration on initiatives to create great jobs and protect our natural resources, by following my policy of CLEAN AIR and CLEAN WATER,” he said. “Together, we will achieve American Energy DOMINANCE, rebuild our Economy, and DRILL, BABY, DRILL.” The nominations come as Trump continues to round out picks for his Cabinet as Jan. 20 nears. The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate will soon begin holding hearings for Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Republicans will control the Senate with 53 seats to the Democrats’ 47 once Senator-elect Jim Justice of West Virginia is sworn in later in January and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appoints a senator to fill Vice President-elect Vance’s seat.
Wife of American detained in Afghanistan heads to Mar-a-Lago to beg Trump to take up prisoner swap
EXCLUSIVE: A wife desperate to bring her husband home from 2½ years of wrongful detainment in Afghanistan has flown to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to implore President-elect Trump to take up her case. Ryan Corbett was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2022 just as the U.S. was pulling out of the country, and Anna Corbett says she has been trying to get a meeting with the Biden administration ever since. This week, Anna saw a glimmer of hope when reports broke that the Biden administration has been negotiating with the Taliban to swap three U.S. citizens being held in Afghanistan in exchange for a Guantanamo Bay prisoner alleged to have been a close associate of Usama bin Laden. But that deal has seemingly stalled. A senior Taliban official told The Guardian the Taliban would rather wait to negotiate with the incoming Trump administration, shattering the hopes of the Corbett family. 2 AMERICANS ARRESTED IN VENEZUELA ON EVE OF MADURO INAUGURATION OVER ‘TERRORISM’ CLAIMS “I am absolutely desperate to fight for my family,” Anna Corbett told Fox News Digital Friday during a layover on her last-minute flight to Mar-a-Lago. She isn’t sure whether the last-ditch attempt will work. The Trump team has not yet set up a meeting. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if I got a meeting in one day, when, for 883 days, I tried to get a meeting with President Biden, and he didn’t have the time?” she said. Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy he would consider a prisoner swap but seemed skeptical. “I haven’t looked at it,” Trump said Thursday. “I have not been in favor of the trade, but I’ll be taking a look tomorrow. We’ll announce something tomorrow.” The talks, which have been ongoing since at least July 2024, involve exchanging suspected senior al Qaeda aide Muhammad Rahim al Afghani for U.S. citizens Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2022. Some Republicans in Congress privately voiced national security concerns over returning Rahim to the Taliban and questioned whether the negotiations had resulted in a bad deal. “Ryan is an amazing person, and he has done nothing wrong, and our family desperately needs him,” Anna Corbett said, imploring the U.S. government to accept the deal. “He’s a patriot. He was just trying to help the Afghan people, and this is a decision that the president needs to make. And we are just desperate for Ryan to come home alive as soon as possible.” Glezmann and Ryan Corbett have been declared by the State Department as wrongfully detained, and the Taliban denies holding Habibi. Anna Corbett said she last spoke to her husband Christmas Day for about 15 minutes. ITALIAN JOURNALIST CECILIA SALA FREED FROM DETENTION IN IRAN “He was obviously trying hard to be in good spirits for Christmas for the kids and I,” she said. “But it was a difficult call, obviously, because this has been going on so long. “He asked me where things were at, if there was progress. And there really was nothing that I could share with him.” In 2024, two released American detainees revealed Ryan Corbett was severely malnourished, was experiencing blackouts and fainting and was being held in a basement cell with almost no sunlight or exercise. Anna Corbett said that since then her husband has gained some weight but still experiences constant headaches and ringing in his ears. Ryan Corbett was abducted Aug. 10, 2022, after returning to Afghanistan, where he and his family had been living during the collapse of the U.S.-backed government there a year before. He arrived in Afghanistan on a valid 12-month visa to pay and train staff as part of a business venture he led aimed at promoting Afghanistan’s private sector through consulting services and lending. Despite the detentions, the U.S. remains the largest financial supporter of Afghanistan, having offered the nation around $3 billion since the 2021 withdrawal. The Taliban have long sought the release of Rahim, who has been held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba since 2008 because the Pentagon believes he was a close associate of bin Laden. In November 2023, the Guantánamo Bay prison review board cited Rahim’s work for senior al Qaeda members and his participation in attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan as reasons to keep him in custody. Biden has long been intent on closing the Guantánamo Bay prison. On Monday, he announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees, including two former bodyguards of bin Laden, from Guantanamo to Oman, which has agreed to help resettle them. Fox News’ Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
‘Deeply disgusted’: GOP senator shreds Biden admin in scathing letter on new immigrant deportation shield
FIRST ON FOX: Newly sworn-in Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in his first letter as a member of the Senate, sent a blistering inquiry to the Department of Homeland Security demanding answers on the extension of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from a slew of countries. “I write to express my sincere concerns regarding the extensions of the designations of El Salvador, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Sudan for Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”),” Moreno wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday. “These 18-month extensions allow these noncitizens to remain in the United States through the Fall of 2026, when the designations were set to expire.” “These decisions were shamefully made by an outgoing administration ten days before President Donald J. Trump takes the oath of office. One would think that after handedly losing the 2024 Presidential Election when voters overwhelmingly rejected the Biden-Harris Administration’s open-border policy, that you would finally understand American citizens’ mandate. And yet, you continue to completely disregard the will of the majority of voters, by unilaterally deciding to allow nearly 1 million noncitizens who entered our country without original authorization to remain in the United States.” DHS announced on Friday it is extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Venezuela, Sudan and Ukraine for an additional 18 months beyond their current expirations. RED STATE AGS WELCOME TRUMP CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AFTER FOUR YEARS BATTLING BIDEN TPS grants protection from deportation and work permits for nationals living in the U.S. from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned. DHS cited environmental disasters in El Salvador, including storms and heavy rainfall, that it said resulted in a “substantial, but temporary” disruption of living conditions. It also cited the political and economic crises in Venezuela, political instability in Sudan and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with Russia. In his letter to Secretary Mayorkas, Moreno criticized the government’s rationale for the move. “I am also deeply disgusted by your attempts to justify these decisions,” Moreno wrote. “For example, according to your Department, the extension of the TPS status of 234,000 noncitizens is due to “geological and weather events” in El Salvador. However, a quick review of the current weather in San Salvador, El Salvador currently shows that it is “mostly sunny” and 81 degrees Fahrenheit.” NEW REPORT REVEALS MASSIVE NUMBER OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BENEFITING FROM BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN’S ‘QUIET AMNESTY’ The moves do not redesignate countries for the status, meaning only those currently protected by TPS are eligible for an extension and no new applications can be received. Venezuela’s extension will apply to approximately 600,000 nationals; El Salvador’s will apply to 232,000; Ukraine’s will apply to approximately 103,000; and Sudan will affect about 1,900 nationals. Venezuela’s extension will run until October 2026, and El Salvador’s will run until September 2026, with both having been scheduled to end in the spring of 2025. The moves, particularly for El Salvador and Venezuela, could complicate efforts by the Trump administration to deport illegal immigrants from those countries. Venezuelan nationals have been a particular focus, given the rise of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, while El Salvador is where the MS-13 gang originated. Moreno’s letter asked Mayorkas to provide answers to a series of questions, some of them related to the concerns about MS-13. “What is the current number of MS-13 members known to be in the United States?” Moreno asked. ” What is the current number of TdA members known to be in the United States? How many of the noncitizens suspected of being associated with MS-13 and/or TdA have remained in this country through a TPS designation?” The letter also asks for sourcing and data related to the “geological and weather events” cited by the government as well as information about the vetting process for these individuals and answers about how the government is ensuring that these migrants will not commit crimes in the United States. “DHS responds to Congressional inquiries directly via official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. The department added that a series of earthquakes in El Salvador that caused a disruption in living conditions played a role in the extension for foreign nationals from that country. The department added that it has implemented “enhanced screening measures” to identify gang members. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The first Trump administration moved to cut down on the number of countries designated for TPS, but the Biden administration has used it broadly, designating or redesignating a number of countries, including Venezuela, Afghanistan and Haiti. There are currently 17 countries designated for TPS. Both President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance have indicated they want to cut back on TPS once in office, specifically for Haiti. Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report
LA County cut fire budget while spending heavily on DEI, woke items: ‘Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe’
While Los Angeles officials were stripping millions in funding from their fire department ahead of one of the most destructive wildfires in state history, hundreds of thousands of dollars were allocated to fund programs such as a “Gay Men’s Chorus” and housing for the transgender homeless. Deadly fires erupted across Southern California this week, which were amplified by fierce winds that resulted in about 10,000 homes and businesses being destroyed. After fire hydrants weren’t producing water and homes burned to the ground, residents began calling out Democratic-led leadership in the state, who cut the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) funding by $17.6 million just months prior. But even as the department funding was being pulled back, a Fox News Digital review of the L.A. County budget uncovered thousands of taxpayer dollars that were allocated to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and programs giving syringes to the homeless. For example, the budget allocated $14,010 to the “Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles” this year, a group that seeks to “create musical experiences that strengthen our role as a leader among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and performing arts organizations.” DESANTIS CALLS FOR MEDIA TO HOLD DEMOCRATIC CALIFORNIA LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR WILDFIRES: ‘HAVE NOT SEEN THAT’ Another $190,000 was allocated to the Homeless and HIV Program, which includes a “syringe exchange” program that gives sterile syringes to homeless drug addicts. An additional $100,000 of county funds was put aside to pay for Juneteenth celebrations, while $13,000 was allocated to “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs.” ADAM CAROLLA RIPS CALIFORNIA LEADERS FOR RUNNING STATE ‘INTO THE GROUND’ AS FIRES RAGE: ‘LUNATIC NUTJOBS’ The Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department was also granted $100,000 for a “Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe” to fund housing for homeless transgender individuals in Hollywood. The county also granted $13,000 to “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs” and $4.5 million to the infrastructure of electric vehicle (EV) chargers. Appropriations for the General City Purposes saw $250,000 set aside for “equity and inclusion.” According to the report, homelessness funding was larger than the LAFD budget for the second year in a row. Amid the Los Angeles-area fires, celebrities, such as actress Sara Foster, called out state officials for their legislative focus over the years. “We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits,” Foster wrote in a post on X. “@MayorOfLA @GavinNewsom RESIGN. Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party.” Following the funding cut, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone on Wednesday said that “there are not enough firefighters in L.A. County to address four separate fires of this magnitude.”
‘Weaponized migration’: US faces deadly consequences with Maduro in power, Venezuelan opposition warns
As the Venezuelan political crisis reaches a breaking point, members of the Venezuelan opposition party are warning there will be an increase in Tren de Aragua gang violence with deadly consequences for the U.S. if socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro remains in power. Despite widespread belief among Venezuelans and much of the international community that Maduro lost the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election to opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, he was sworn into his third six-year term on Friday. But with opposition leader María Corina Machado calling on Venezuelan citizens to join her on the streets to demand González be installed as the rightful president of Venezuela, the stage is now set for a confrontation with the Maduro regime. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Machado, whose supporters said she was temporarily kidnapped by authorities and then released after a rally on Thursday, warned that if Maduro is not stopped there will be millions of Venezuelan migrants fleeing the country into the U.S. TREN DE ARAGUA ARE IDEOLOGICAL TERRORISTS DISGUISED AS A STREET GANG WARNS FORMER MILITARY OFFICER “If Maduro remains, prepare yourself because we will see three, four or five million Venezuelans crossing the border,” she said. On the other hand, Machado told Fox News Digital: “I want you to know how important it is also for the safety of the American people.” “We also are desperate to solve the migration problem in our region,” she said. “We want those Venezuelans to come back in billions and voluntarily. And that will happen when they’ll see there’s a future in their country.” Meanwhile, José Gustavo Arocha, a former high-ranking Venezuelan military official who fled persecution by the Maduro regime, told Fox News Digital that gang violence in the U.S. by the Maduro-aligned criminal group Tren de Aragua will get worse if he remains president. Tren de Aragua — also known by its acronym “TdA” — is Spanish for “Train from Aragua.” It is a brutal international gang that victimizes Venezuelan migrants and Americans alike and has unleashed a spate of violence in recent months, including kidnapping, torture, robbery and taking over entire apartment buildings. 2 AMERICANS ARRESTED IN VENEZUELA ON EVE OF MADURO INAUGURATION OVER ‘TERRORISM’ CLAIMS Arocha, who is now a senior fellow for the U.S.-based Center for a Secure Free Society, told Fox News Digital that “if Maduro remains in power, he will likely use the Tren de Aragua as a tool for coercion and asymmetric tactics to achieve his objectives.” “Migration, weaponized with elements of the Tren de Aragua, will serve as leverage to seek the easing of economic sanctions and to gain legitimacy from the United States,” he said. “Repression, economic collapse and chaos in Venezuela will continue to be cornerstones of Maduro’s state policy. As a result, migrants who are deported will likely return, as in recent years they have established logistical routes that enable them to navigate clandestine pathways along the southern border.” Alberto Ray, a security and risk strategist who helps handle security for Machado, told Fox News Digital that the situation in Venezuela is “extremely explosive.” He said that “more Maduro is more Tren de Aragua in the U.S.” ‘GOING TO BE PAINFUL’: VENEZUELAN EXPERT SOUNDS ALARM ABOUT WHAT’S NEXT IF SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES CONTINUE CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE While Ray noted that most Venezuelan migrants are honest, hardworking people, he said that Maduro has been “weaponizing” migration to sow chaos and discord in the U.S. He said it is “inevitable” that TdA presence in the U.S. will grow if the Maduro regime continues. “These are very few fractions of Venezuelans that were introduced inside those migration processes designed by the regime… but you don’t need too many to destabilize, create chaos, to install organized crime processes inside the U.S.,” said Ray. “What is going to happen if Maduro stays in power is that more illegal and weaponized migration is going to keep going out of Venezuela and that increases the probability of Tren de Aragua and other gangs to migrate and be around the region, including the U.S.” On the other hand, Ray said that if Maduro is stopped, “we will see Venezuelans returning to Venezuela because many of them didn’t want to leave.” VENEZUELAN GANG TREN DE ARAGUA IS A ‘NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT,’ WARNS RETIRED ICE SPECIAL AGENT While he said that both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration have been very supportive, Ray urged the U.S. to take a strong stance against Maduro not only for the sake of the Venezuelans but for Americans as well. He urged the U.S. government to shed light on what is happening in Venezuela and to strictly enforce already-existing sanctions against Maduro and several members of his government. He said that “the next 72 hours are going to be critical.” “Maduro has nobody supporting him but some factions inside the armed forces, and he’s counting on those factions to support him and make him president,” Ray explained, adding, “There are not two sides here. There is a huge Venezuelan side that is democratic, and they are looking and trying to get back democracy. And there is a tiny group that is in power that is desperately fighting to keep their privileges and to keep their position in power.”
Biden claim about empty hydrants undermined by LA water utility’s lack of common wildfire safety protocol
Los Angeles’ municipal utility lacks a common safety procedure that may have kept water pumping to fire hydrants during an intentional power shutoff, though President Biden said the outage caused the problem. Republicans, including President-elect Trump, have blamed Democratic officials — at least in part — for the water shortage, which has hampered efforts to fight devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County. However, Democrats have rebuked these claims, and on Thursday, Biden suggested the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) bore responsibility for shutting off power to pumps that fuel the hydrants. “What I know from talking to the governor, there are concerns out there that there’s also been a water shortage,” Biden told reporters. “The fact is the utilities, understandably, shut off power because they are worried the lines that carried energy were going to be blown down and spark additional fires. When it did that, it cut off the ability to generate pumping the water — that’s what caused the lack of water in these hydrants.” Biden noted that generators were being deployed following the shutdown to get power back to the pumps and ensure there is no longer a shortage of water to fight the fire. TRUMP ACCUSES NEWSOM OF PRIORITIZING ENDANGERED FISH SPECIES OVER PROTECTING RESIDENTS FROM WILDFIRES But a report from The Wall Street Journal unveiled Friday highlighted how LADWP is the only major utility company in California without an intentional shut-off protocol, known as a “Public Safety Power Shut Off” procedure. The protocol lays out plans for how to proactively shut down certain electricity lines during dangerous windstorms and limit the impact to public safety. “Being prepared for a power shutoff takes careful planning, which begins by designing our water systems the right way and working with local fire agencies and energy companies to ensure community safety,” California Water Service, a private utility provider in the state, explains on its website FAQ page about public safety power shutoffs. OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST-TURNED-FIREFIGHTER BATTLES CALIFORNIA BLAZES AS WILDFIRES CONTINUE TO BURN “We go to great lengths beyond our standard procedures to ensure water service isn’t disrupted during a power shutoff,” the company added. “Cal Water has been installing permanent generators at a number of our critical stations over the years, and we are working to bring in additional, portable generators for other stations. Our crews and employees have also been trained on emergency response procedures for when these widespread shutoffs occur.” Michael Wara, a lawyer who directs the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University and studies wildfire mitigation strategies, added in remarks to the Journal that “there is no need to make any trade-off between reliability and safety.” Edward Ring, the director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center, confirmed there are measures that could be taken to keep power to the pumps during an intentional shutoff. “They need to underground these power lines, that would be the solution, or they need to have parallel systems that go to vital services like fire hydrant pumps that are not on the same circuit as the lines that are going into households,” he said. ‘DEVASTATING’: CALIFORNIA HAD RECORD RAINFALL LAST YEAR, BUT LACKED INFRASTRUCTURE TO STORE IT A spokesperson for LADWP told Fox News Digital that in the absence of a public safety power shutoff protocol for Los Angeles, it has a different procedure in place to reduce fire risks while continuing vital functions. The spokesperson said that Los Angeles’s urban environment is different from the environments that other California utility companies serve. “LADWP worked closely with the Los Angeles Fire Department to develop this emergency protocol,” the spokesperson said. “LADWP’s plan is audited every 3 years by an independent third party and is submitted to state regulators as required.” But, in the past, according to the Journal, LADWP has asserted it will not proactively shut off power ahead of heavy winds. Former Los Angeles firefighter John Knox, who spoke with Fox News on Friday, said he was “surprised” to hear that fire hydrants were running dry, adding that there are “a lot of things that need to be asked by the people to get answers from these so-called leaders.” “In my career I’ve never seen us have — every once in a while you might have a dry hydrant, but we do annual testing in January where we test all the fire hydrants and that didn’t happen this year,” Knox said. “That area has a very large reservoir with four huge tanks that are supposed to be filled at all times. It’s my understanding also that they had one of them that’s been out for maintenance for a year during peak brush season. “There’s a lot of issues and a lot of things that need to be asked by the people to get answers from these so-called leaders.”
Montana AG asks Supreme Court to uphold law requiring parental consent for a minor’s abortion
FIRST ON FOX: Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal of a ruling handed down by his state’s highest court invalidating a 2013 law that requires minors seeking an abortion to obtain notarized written consent from a parent or guardian. The law also includes a judicial bypass provision, allowing minors to seek court approval for an abortion without parental consent. The Montana Supreme Court struck down the Parental Consent for Abortion Act in 2024, ruling it violates a minor’s fundamental right to privacy under the state constitution by conditioning access to abortion on parental consent. The court acknowledged parents have a right to direct the care and custody of their children but determined those rights don’t override the “fundamental” right of a minor child to seek an abortion. GOP AG PREDICTS WHICH SIDE HAS ADVANTAGE IN HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE WITH ‘DIVIDED’ JUSTICES Justice Laurie McKinnon, writing for the Montana Supreme Court, said “a minor’s right to control her reproductive decisions is among the most fundamental of the rights she possesses” and that the state failed to demonstrate a compelling need for the law to protect minors, Reuters reported at the time. Knudsen’s appeal asks the U.S. Supreme Court to address whether parental rights include the ability to participate in decisions about a minor child’s medical care, including abortion. The case highlights the ongoing debate over parental authority after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. “SCOTUS should hear the case and reverse the radical Montana Supreme Court’s bad decision allowing minors to receive abortions without parental consent,” Knudsen said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “A child’s right to privacy does not supersede a parent’s fundamental right to direct the care and upbringing of their child. Until we get clarity from the Supreme Court, the health and safety of young Montanans seeking abortions is at risk.” WHISTLEBLOWER AT TRANS CARE CENTER EXPOSES ‘APPALLING’ PRACTICES INSIDE GENDER-AFFIRMING HOSPITAL FOR KIDS The outcome could have broad implications for abortion access and parental consent laws nationwide because several states have passed “shield laws” recently, protecting medical providers from legal fallout for performing gender transition surgeries and abortions on minors. For Knudsen’s case to be heard before the court, at least four justices must agree to review it. Fox News Digital has reached out to Planned Parenthood Montana for comment.
DOGE reps launch meetings with federal staffers in effort to cut government waste: report
Aides for Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are starting to interview staffers with the federal government for the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to a new report. Representatives for DOGE have had conversations with staffers from more than a dozen federal agencies — including the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, The Washington Post reported Friday. Musk and Ramaswamy are leading DOGE, a blue-ribbon committee separate from the federal government that seeks to address issues concerning government spending, waste, efficiency and operations. They are expected to suggest executive actions for the Trump administration and partner with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to initiate reforms. Altogether, the committee aims to cut $2 trillion from the federal government budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and the federal workforce. AMERICA’S NEWEST GOVERNOR TAKES PAGE FROM TRUMP WITH DOGE-LIKE COMMISSION However, Musk recently cast doubt on the likelihood of eliminating $2 trillion from the federal budget and said there was a better chance at cutting $1 trillion. “I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s like the best-case outcome,” Musk said during tech trade show CES on Wednesday in Las Vegas, the Post reported. “But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion].” Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have voiced support for working with DOGE, and Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, announced the creation of the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus last year. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING “Our national debt has surpassed a staggering $36 trillion and should be a wakeup call for all Americans,” House DOGE Caucus Co-Chair Bean said in a statement in November. “We must take action to avoid diving headfirst off the cliff of fiscal ruin. I’m thrilled with President-elect Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE, but taking on Crazy Town will be no easy task — they will need partners.” Likewise, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is slated to oversee the Senate DOGE Caucus. “The tables are finally turning, the knives are out, and waste is on the chopping block,” Ernst said in a November statement. Currently, DOGE boasts a staff of approximately 50 people who are working from SpaceX’s offices in Washington, D.C., and it is aiming to roughly double that number when President-elect Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20, according to the Post. A representative for Ramaswamy declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital. DOGE appears to be the source of inspiration for other similar initiatives at the state level. For example, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte of swing state New Hampshire on Thursday announced the creation of the Commission on Government Efficiency, known as COGE. “COGE will make us smarter than ever before when it comes to saving taxpayer dollars and finding better ways to serve the people of our state,” Ayotte said in her inaugural address.