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There was often a disconnect between the Trump who sounded broken when he was off his teleprompter on the campaign trail, and the guy who appeared at town halls televised by Fox News. Some of it was due to Fox’s pre-taping and editing Trump’s appearances, but allegedly that wasn’t enough. Before a January 2024 town hall, somebody leaked the questions to Trump’s campaign.
“About thirty minutes before the town hall was due to start, a senior aide started getting text messages from a person on the inside at Fox. Holy s–t, the team thought. They were images of all the questions Trump would be asked and the planned follow-ups, down to the exact wording. Jackpot. This was like a student getting a peek at the test before the exam started,” Isenstadt writes.
,,,
But “with the questions in hand” ahead of the telecast, the team “workshopped answers.”
The same book also alleges that Fox’s Maria Bartiromo has given Trump questions in advance for her interviews.
Trump made a big production out of claiming that Hillary Clinton’s campaign got debate questions in advance during the Democratic primary in 2016, but it turns out that it was Trump who was cheating in 2024.
The Trump team doesn’t want to hear any of this, and they claim that Trump won because he was so accessible, but it helps the candidate to have the questions in advance.
We will discuss below the ramifications of the allegations that Trump cheated and what it means for both Trump and Fox News.
LA’s Democrat Mayor Karen Bass slashed Fire Department funding by $17.6 million a few months before the fires erupted on Tuesday.
This is the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history and the city is not prepared to contain the fire because of Democrats like Karen Bass.
Karen Bass was tweeting from Africa as her city burned down.
The LA Mayor was in Africa attending the presidential inauguration in Ghana as tens of thousands of Los Angeles residents evacuated and watched their homes burn down.
FOX 11: “If you’re wondering, ‘Where is LA Mayor Karen Bass?’ She has been in Ghana, so she’s apparently on her way back. That’s why we have not seen her.” pic.twitter.com/tEF9q64HFK
Emergency shelters are open for Angelenos who have been evacuated due to these devastating fires.#PalisadesFire Shelter: Westwood Recreation Center – 1350 S Sepulveda Blvd#HurstFire Shelter: Ritchie Valens Recreation Center – 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd
The Los Angeles Fire Department had its budget cut by a staggering $17.6 million this financial year, records show — as fire crews continue to battle out-of-control blazes ravaging the City of Angels.
The drastic decrease in funding for the fire department was the second-largest cut to come out of embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass‘ 2024-25 fiscal year budget, according to city figures.
The police budget, meanwhile, increased by $126 million, a graphic shared by LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia shows.
Bass had initially wanted to cut the fire department by even more — a staggering $23 million.
The details on Bass’ budget slashing resurfaced as the mayor faced widespread backlash Wednesday after it was revealed she was away in Africa for the Ghana president’s inauguration — even as wind-whipped wildfires turned parts of her city into an apocalyptic hellscape.
Update: Fresh off the plane from Ghana, Mayor Karen Bass met with Governor Newsom and Los Angeles firefighters for a photo op with charred houses as the perfect backdrop.
WATCH:
The impact of these fires and winds are devastating.
I just got off the phone with @POTUS and discussed an urgent path forward towards recovery for the thousands of families impacted.
So can you stop people smugglers by lumbering them with sanctions? That is the government’s latest idea, and it is bold and innovative.
It will certainly get attention, even if that doesn’t mean it will work. But it is another effort by this government to differentiate itself from the leaders who came before.
In a nutshell, the idea is to cut the financing to what the Foreign Office refers to as “organised immigration networks” and is intended to deter “smugglers from profiting off the trafficking of innocent people”.
So far, so convincing. The rhetoric is good. The reality may be more difficult.
For one thing, and we await actual details of what’s going to be done, this raises an enormous question of how this can be accomplished.
Image: A view of small boats and outboard motors used by people thought to be migrants to cross the Channel at a warehouse facility in Dover. Pic: PA
Some of the people smugglers bringing people across the Channel are based in Britain, but most aren’t. And as a general rule, they’re quite hard to track down.
He had absolutely no fear of being caught, and no sense that he was even breaking the law.
Image: The smuggling gang, who we met in October 2023, did not want to reveal their faces
Instead, Karwan considered that he was doing a duty to Kurds, allowing them to escape from the hardship of their nation to a more prosperous life in other countries, including Britain. Or, at least, that’s what he said.
How exactly Britain could impose sanctions on him is hard to imagine.
These people are well aware that they’re breaking the law. You can hardly spend your time dodging French police and claim to be innocent.
Guns are becoming more commonplace in migrant camps. The spectre of sanctions won’t stop them.
Image: Life jackets allegedly belonging to a gang of people smugglers which were seized by police in November
So the question is whether the British government can track down the people at the very top of these organisations and find a way of levying financial sanctions that bite.
Presumably, if these people were in Britain, they’d be arrested, with the prospect of their assets being frozen.
So imposing sanctions will probably involve working alongside European countries, coordinating action and sharing information. A process that has become more complicated since Brexit.
Sanctions have previously worked well when targeted towards high-profile people and organisations with a clear track record.
The oligarchs who have propped up Vladimir Putin’s regime, for instance, or companies trying to procure armaments for hostile states. All have been targeted by a coalition of nations.
But this idea is novel – unilateral for a start, even if, one assumes, the French, Germans, Belgians and others have been warned in advance.
It’s also not quite clear how it will work – organised crime is famously flexible and if you successfully sanction one person, then someone else is likely to take over.
As for levying sanctions on the smuggling leaders in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Albania and beyond – well, good luck.
Image: An inflatable dinghy carrying migrants makes its way towards England in the English Channel. Pic: Reuters
What it does is to draw that distinction between the recent past, when the Rwanda plan was the main ambition, and Keir Starmer’s reliance on focusing on criminality and working together with partners.
And one other note. For years, the government has talked about people crossing the Channel as illegal migrants, even though there is a dispute between UK and international law about whether these people are actually breaking the law.
Now the Foreign Office is using the term “irregular migration”. Is this a change of tone, or just a stylistic whim? Just as with the sanctions, we will wait and see.
A Firefighter fights the flames from the Palisades Fire burning the Theatre Palisades during a powerful windstorm on Wednesday in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Apu Gomes/Getty Images
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Apu Gomes/Getty Images
A Firefighter fights the flames from the Palisades Fire burning the Theatre Palisades during a powerful windstorm on Wednesday in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Apu Gomes/Getty Images
Extremely dry conditions coupled with high winds have led to an explosive wildfire situation in southern California.
Multiple fires have erupted across the Los Angeles area since Tuesday. Tens of thousands of people have had to evacuate, and firefighters are struggling to contain the flames.
Adria Kloke is one of the of people who has had to flee. She packed up her belongings, along with her cat, and left her home in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday. Kloke shares her story with NPR.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org
New satellite images help to form a clearer timeline of the chaos as three major blazes erupted: the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires.
11 a.m. Tuesday — Palisades fire is visible from space
(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Los Angeles Fire Department officials first put out word of a brush fire in Pacific Palisades on X at 10:41 a.m. A little more than two hours later, the fire had ballooned in size and was visible from space.
The video below from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (CIRRA and NOAA) shows the fire growing and sending a plume of smoke out over the Pacific Ocean.
The Palisades Fire ignites in the Pacific Palisades, just west of Los Angeles.
Southern California is experiencing strong Santa Ana winds and is under critical fire weather conditions today. pic.twitter.com/WrwydoJaov
4 p.m. Tuesday — Palisades fire expands as the sun sets
(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
As the sun began to set over Los Angeles on Tuesday, a trail of smoke from the Palisades fire was visible over the Pacific.
Evacuation orders throughout the Palisades had been in effect for several hours.
7 p.m. Tuesday — Eaton fire is visible from space
The Palisades and Eaton fires are shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Angeles National Forest officials announced that the service’s firefighters were responding along with Los Angeles County Fire to a brush fire near Eaton Canyon in Altadena at 6:38 p.m.
The outbreak of multiple major fires would stretch first responders: At 6:26 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department announced that all off-duty members should call in with their availability to be recalled.
By 7 p.m., the Eaton fire was visible from space. At 7:25, evacuation orders went out on X.
As the night continued, CIRA video showed the two fires expanding.
A dire situation is unfolding tonight as wildfires rage in Southern California.
Communities continue to be significantly impacted by the Palisades and Eaton Fires. pic.twitter.com/75nPVo24l6
(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
With officials already scrambling to handle two major fires, a third blaze erupted near Sylmar as winds howled.
The Los Angeles Fire Department sent out an alert at 10:31 p.m. about a brush fire in Sylmar. It would be renamed the Hurst fire shortly thereafter.
The three fires were first seen from space at 11 Tuesday night, and would all be visible until morning.
9 a.m. Wednesday — Palisades and Eaton fires rage on in daylight
(Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
By daybreak, the two bigger fires — Palisades and Eaton — had grown significantly, fueled by high wind gusts throughout the night.
They cast smoke over much of Los Angeles, worsening air quality across a broad swath of the city, and the smoke trail could be seen out over the Pacific Ocean.
1 p.m. Wednesday — Smoke blows out over the Pacific
Satellite image shows smoke from fires in Los Angeles blowing out over the Pacific Ocean at 1 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2025
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the Hurst fire had burned 505 acres, the Eaton fire 10,600 acres and the Palisades fire 15,832 acres.
With high winds expected to continue into the evening, officials warned that the emergency was not yet under control.
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VICE’s ‘Dark Side’ series of TV shows started in 2019 with ‘Dark Side of the Ring’ and quickly became a hit due to its unflinching willingness to delve into some of the seedier stories in pro wrestling that weren’t being retold by anyone in any official capacity. Several series later and we finally have ‘Dark Side of the Cage,’ which premieres tonight (Wed. Jan. 8th) at 10 p.m. on VICE TV (watch a sneak preview here).
MMAMania.com got to sit down with executive producer Tim Healy to discuss the ten episode first season, which came about after his production company Railsplitter Pictures did a two-parter on the UFC for ‘Dark Side of the Nineties.’ This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Historically, the UFC hasn’t exactly been happy when it comes to exposés that might be, you know, less than glowing. Can you tell me what it was like working in the MMA space and if you had the UFC’s support in this new series.
Dana White, I think he’s everything you want when you have someone at the helm of your company. He’s an amazing businessman and an amazing advocate and very outspoken and protective of his promotion, as he should be. But it’s not ‘Dark Side of the UFC’ that we’re doing with ‘Dark Side of the Cage.
I mean, these are really stories. They’re human stories. They’re stories about these individual fighters. Obviously, there’s gonna be crossover with the UFC because of who the UFC is. But the point of this series isn’t to get into issues like CTE or fighter pay or those overarching issues that the UFC has been criticized for in the past. It’s really to dedicate an hour to tell these individual stories about these individual fighters.
So we did not reach out to the UFC or to Dana White to ask for their participation in the series. What we did was we went directly to the fighters that we’re profiling, and obviously trainers, other fighters, people that had experience with these subject matters. Our goal with the series was not to populate it with journalists and MMA experts to provide the story. What we really wanted to do was to get the right bookings and the right people in the interview chair to tell these stories.
Is there pushback that you guys get when you’re when you’re looking into a story or into a person and you reach out to talk to somebody and and they say, ‘I don’t wanna help put put something up that could be seen as negative?’
‘Dark Side of’ is a tough title when you’re trying to get people to sit and be interviewed. It’s a scary title, but you gotta keep in mind, like, darkness takes different forms. You take an episode like War Machine, and you know exactly what the darkness is gonna be. That’s an absolutely dreadful story that is just violent and tragic and as dark as it can get.
But if you look at a story like Evan Tanner, for example, that’s a guy that was a really smart guy that obviously had issues outside of the cage with substance abuse and with alcohol. So there’s there’s darkness that way. Diego Sanchez, his experience with Joshua Fabia, that’s dark, allowing one individual to kinda get into your life and kinda take control.
We’re fans of the sport. We’re fans of these athletes. The goal is to tell these stories and to be authentic and true, to tell the stories warts at all. These are complicated stories and our goal is to really be accurate and authentic in the way that we tell these stories.
There’s certainly fertile ground for a lot of episodes. How did the your team go about picking the stories that ended up being told?
It’s very easy to make a show just for the fans, that is gonna be really fulfilling for an MMA fan, but maybe not as appealing to someone who’s not an MMA fan. Someone who’s kinda joining the series out of curiosity. So we kinda went for stories that had an appeal both ways.
I mean, if you’re of a certain age, there’s no way that you don’t know who Kimbo Slice is … Obviously Ronda Rousey, what she did, she’s a household name, the crossover with WWE, she shattered the glass ceiling. Everyone knows Ronda. War Machine, I think most people have heard of War Machine. And if they don’t remember, they’re gonna remember pretty quickly because it was kinda everywhere when that happened.
PRIDE FC, we did a two-parter on PRIDE. That could very easily be a story that appeals solely to the core MMA fan. But when you get into the story and the Yakuza and organized crime, there’s elements that I think cross over. So in answering your question, we picked ten stories that hopefully had broad appeal.
Is there already talk of a season two, and is there already a whiteboard somewhere with a list of potential stories for that?
VICE can answer that question about a season 2. I mean, obviously, I was talking to some of the producers earlier today. We had a blast making this series and we’d love to do more. But we haven’t heard anything from VICE yet regarding a second season. And, yes, there’s a notebook filled with with names. To your earlier point, I think one of the the things about this series is, there’s no shortage of potential stories, to do.
The first episode of ‘Dark Side of the Cage,’ ‘Kimbo Slice: Rise of a Backyard Brawler’ airs at 10 p.m. tonight (Wed. Jan. 8th) on VICE TV. January 15th features ‘Diego Sanchez: The Fighter and The Guru,’ and ‘The Final Days of Evan Tanner’ airs on January 22nd.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in response to a recent bird flu outbreak among dairy cows.
Since August, officials have identified the virus in 645 dairy herds across California—more than in any other state.
Find out more below.
Updates on Bird Flu Cases in the U.S.
Since bird flu was first detected in dairy farms in the United States in 2022, it has spread to hundreds of cattle herds across 16 states and caused mild infections in some dairy farm workers.
ITHACA, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 11: A sample of milk is taken from a cow from a non-suspect herd to be tested at the Cornell Teaching Dairy Barn at Cornell University on December 11, 2024 in Ithaca, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The H5N1 strain of the virus was first identified in the U.S. in March of this year. Since then, 61 people across seven states have been reported to have contracted the virus. The country’s first severe case of H5N1 was confirmed in Louisiana. The CDC reported, on X, formerly known as Twitter, “CDC confirms first severe case of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. While an investigation into the source of the infection is ongoing, it has been determined that the patient had exposure to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks.”
The Louisiana resident, who was over the age of 65 and contracted the virus, has died, according to several reports, including CNN.
H5N1 is considered the most pathogenic of bird flu strains, meaning it is particularly deadly, with a fatality rate of approximately 60% in humans.
ITHACA, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 10: Milk samples are seen as a lab manager in the molecular diagnostic lab prepares them for testing at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University on December 10, 2024 in Ithaca, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Why Did Newsom Declare a State of Emergency?
Of the 61 reported cases of bird flu in the U.S. this year, 34 have been in California.
In response to the outbreak, Governor Newsom issued a statement regarding the state of emergency: “This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak. Building on California’s testing and monitoring system — the largest in the nation — we are committed to further protecting public health, supporting our agriculture industry, and ensuring that Californians have access to accurate, up-to-date information. While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus.”
What Is a State of Emergency?
A state of emergency is a formal declaration by a governor or government that temporarily expands its authority to address a crisis or emergency situation. It is invoked when local resources are insufficient to manage the scope of the crisis, and state intervention is needed to prevent or mitigate damage, loss, or suffering.
This declaration allows the governor to expedite assistance from state agencies to affected communities, providing immediate access to essential resources such as rescue operations, evacuations, shelters, and supplies (e.g., heating fuel, food, etc.). It also enables the state to take action to control disturbances and maintain order in impacted areas.
Additionally, a state of emergency can help position the state to request federal aid if the magnitude of the situation exceeds the capacity of state resources.
What Is Bird Flu?
Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, is a viral infection primarily affecting birds but can also spread to humans and other animals in certain circumstances. The virus is typically spread through direct contact with infected birds, their droppings, or contaminated surfaces.
According to the CDC, people should avoid touching surfaces that are contaminated with infected materials from birds or other animals that are suspected to have avian influenza.
What Are the Symptoms of Bird Flu?
In humans, bird flu symptoms can range from mild to severe and may include:
Fever
Cough
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Muscle aches
Fatigue
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Difficulty breathing (in severe cases)
In some cases, the virus can lead to serious respiratory illness or even death, particularly in individuals with weakened immune systems or underlying health conditions.
Looking for London’s best growth stocks to buy? Here are two whose earnings are tipped to take off in the New Year.
Serabi Gold
Last year, a 26% rise in gold prices drove profits at Serabi Gold (LSE:SRB) through the roof. City analysts are expecting another sharp bottom-line rise in 2025 too — a 62% increase in earnings per share is currently tipped.
I’m not surprised at such bullishness give the high levels of economic and political uncertainty persisting in the New Year.
The World Gold Council (WGC) notes that “gold volatility has continued to reduce since the outcome of the election, but this may change in the run up to President Trump’s inauguration on 20 January, which may reignite investor interest“.
If the last couple of days are any guide, gold could be in for another landmark year (it posted 40 new record highs during the course of 2024).
Comments from the US President-elect on trade tariffs, Greenland, and Canada have pushed bullion prices to multi-week highs around $2,770 an ounce today.
Other factors that could drive gold even higher in 2025 include worsening conflict in Europe and the Middle East, enduring concerns over China’s economy, and interest rate cuts in response to dropping inflation and weak economic conditions.
It’s quite possible that Serabi could miss these growth forecasts. Production issues could strike the company’s Brazilian assets, undermining its output goals. The company is looking to ramp annual production up to 60,000 ounces by 2026.
Gold prices might also reverse if central banks fail to cut interest rates as rapidly as the market hopes, denting profits growth.
But on balance, I think the gold miner can look forward to another year of strong profits growth in 2025. Besides, I believe these dangers are more than reflected in Serabi’s rock-bottom valuation.
A bright outlook for precious metals prices bodes well for Hochschild Mining (LSE:HOC) too.
City brokers think earnings here will rise 54% year on year in 2025. This also leaves it looking dirt cheap at current prices as well.
As well as having a P/E ratio of 5.7 times, the gold and silver producer trades on a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of 0.1. Any reading below one implies that a share is undervalued.
This FTSE 250 company could allow investors to effectively hedge their bets with precious metals this year.
While gold and silver may continue to rise on continued safe-haven investment, the latter could similarly rise on signs of improving economic momentum that boosts demand for riskier assets. In this scenario, demand for silver — a heavily used material in industrial applications — might rise strongly.
Like Serabi Gold, Hochschild’s production improvements — in this case, at its flagship Inmaculada project in Peru and Mara Rosa asset in Brazil — could also help it deliver further impressive earnings growth this year.
Analysts expect £83.6bn in dividends from the FTSE 100 in 2025, according to AJ Bell, a 6.5% increase over last year. That translates into a forecast forward dividend yield of 3.9%.
Of course, this is an index-wide snapshot. Some individual stocks offer much more, including M&G (LSE: MNG) and Phoenix Group, which are both yielding over 10%!
Here, I’ll look at three FTSE 100 financial stocks that could make it rain dividends in my investing account.
10%+ yield
To start, I can’t ignore M&G. Shares of the wealth management and investment firm are currently offering an eye-popping 10.4% yield.
Better still, City analysts see the payout edging up another 3% this year, to 20.7p per share. Were this to come to fruition (bearing in mind that dividends aren’t assured), it places the forward yield at 10.8%.
In other words, investors could hope to receive nearly 21p back off every share they buy at today’s price of 190p. Just writing that makes me want to shut the laptop and reach for my phone to buy some shares!
Steady on though, there are risks to bear in mind. As an asset manager, M&G is exposed to the vagaries of financial markets, while competition is stiff. Also, the rise of passive investing continues to offer long-term challenges to the asset management industry, at least for active managers.
However, the bearish sentiment towards many FTSE 100 financial stocks looks overdone to me. M&G is due to publish last year’s earnings in March. If there isn’t anything to be alarmed about in the report, I may add some shares to my portfolio to target the otherworldly income.
8% yield
Next is Aviva (LSE: AV.). The company is already a UK insurance giant, yet is set to get even bigger after agreeing a deal to buy rival Direct Line for £3.7bn. If approved, this would significantly strengthen Aviva’s position in motor insurance.
Mind you, it would also add risk, as sizeable acquisitions like this don’t always work out. The share price has gone nowhere since the announcement, suggesting investors are lukewarm.
Looking ahead however, Aviva is forecast to hike its dividend by 7% to 38p per share this year. That translates into an attractive 8% dividend yield.
Meanwhile, the stock looks cheap, trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of 9.8. I’m happy to keep holding my Aviva shares for now
6.6%
Finally, there’s HSBC (LSE: HSBA). The Asia-focused bank has enjoyed a strong rally, with its shares now trading at a multi-year high of 790p. Yet the forecast yield for 2025 is still 6.6%, well above the FTSE 100 average.
Meanwhile, the company has been buying back a load of its shares. In October, it announced a new $3bn buyback, following on from the last one worth $3bn. Indeed, by the end of September, it had already forked out $18.4bn on dividends and buybacks for the year. So the bank is in a good place right now.
That said, HSBC makes the bulk of its profits in Asia. Were these markets, particularly China, to suffer during a new trade war under Donald Trump, that could cause volatility in earnings.
Yet, with the shares still trading cheaply and offering a 6.6% yield, I like the risk/reward setup here.
