Fires: There were six major wildfires burning in Los Angeles County this morning, with five known dead and at least two thousand buildings destroyed and tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate. An estimated 1.5 million electric customers were without power. High winds dropped enough to allow helicopters and other firefighting aircraft to resume making drops of water and fire retardant. President Biden declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered federal aid to help pay for firefighting costs and the costs of recovery and rebuilding. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Justice Alito: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito admits that he talked with Donald Trump in a phone call before Trump filed an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to block his sentencing scheduled for tomorrow in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Trump was convicted by a jury of 34 felonies. Alito denies that he and Trump discussed the case and upcoming sentencing by Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan. Alito says the purpose of the phone call was for him to recommend that Trump give a job in his new administration to one of Alito’s former law clerks.
Jimmy Carter: A funeral service was being held today at Washington National Cathedral for Former President Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100. President Biden had been asked by Carter to deliver the eulogy. Carter was to be laid to rest in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn. She died in 2023 at age 96. On the guest list were Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, all of whom were sharply criticized by Donald Trump who also was attending.
Death toll: Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said today that the death toll in the war between Hamas and Israel has topped 46,000. In addition, the Health Ministry said that more than 109,000 people were wounded. It said that more than half of those killed were women or children. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he hopes that a cease-fire deal with hostage releases can take effect before Donald Trump enters the White House again.
Informant: Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant who lied to the FBI about President Biden and his son Hunter taking bribes, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison. Smirnov entered guilty pleas to lying to the FBI and to tax evasion. Republicans had used the lies told by Smirnov as the basis for starting to impeach Biden. He had falsely claimed that a Ukrainian energy company paid Biden and his son Hunter $5 million each in bribes.
Ukraine: Today, the Department of Defense announced additional security assistance for Ukraine. It’s a $500 million package authorized by President Biden and represents another effort by the Biden Administration to make sure Ukraine has needed military supplies before Donald Trump takes office. The new package includes missiles for air defense; air-to-ground munitions; and equipment to support Ukraine’s use of F-16 fighter jets. This is the Biden Administration’s seventy-fourth shipment of equipment to be provided from Defense Department inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
