What's going on up there?

On Wednesday morning, President-elect Trump weighed in on the fires raging through Los Angeles County, blaming California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) for the disaster. Later during Inside Politics, CNN’s Nia-Malika Henderson accused Trump of having “no sense that Californians are Americans” and lacking empathy because of his feuds with “Democrat[s] in general.”  Host Dana Bash first turned to NPR’s Tamara Keith to get to the bottom of Trump’s accusation. However, the reporter offered a weak excuse in response, stating that “trying to explain water politics in California is almost impossible.”  Keith further claimed the “larger issue” was a future president “seemingly trying to start a feud with the governor of a state in the middle of a crisis,” which she boiled down to Santa Ana winds and “it hasn't rained. It's been very dry in California.”     Incoming Puck reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell drew a little closer to an explanation on water control in California and the southwest, but drew back and settled on postulating about what would have been an appropriate response from Trump: “Usually what happens, as we all know, when there is a national and natural disaster, is that you reach out to the leaders of the state, you offer them public support and assistance, you say good things about them.” Caldwell then pointed to reports that alleged Trump “would ask his team how many people supported him in that state and what else they could do for him in order to receive federal funds and federal assistance,” but, naturally, also failed to shed any light on an explanation for the president-elect’s post. In a thread on X, longtime California resident Joel Pollak of Breitbart discussed a variety of factors tied into the disastrous fires, including poor forest and water management, a shortage of emergency response due to law enforcement and budget cuts*, and fire insurance rates capped by “Democrats us[ing] socialist price controls.” A brief, factual thread about the POLICY issues around the Palisades fire. I will stick to what I know personally. I am covering for @BreitbartNews and available to help @FoxNews, @MSNBC, or anyone needing information and ideas, including the incoming Trump administration. (1/9) — Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) January 8, 2025     *Law enforcement budgets had been cut in 2020 in response to the BLM riots and Governor Newsom proposed a $185 million cut in 2024. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cut the Fire Department budget by over $17 million. Evidently, none of these factors mattered to the CNN panel or occurred to them. In any case, Henderson decided it was “sad that this is the same president we're getting again” and absurdly declared that with Trump’s re-election, “there are no lessons learned, there's no sense that Californians are Americans.” According to her interpretation of the matter, Trump “doesn't have any sort of empathy and understanding about, you know, over what these folks are going through.” It was strange that Henderson was so caught up in deciding for the president-elect what he felt about Californians, since she made no mention of the fact that Mayor Bass was absent on a trip to Ghana for no apparent reason. Yet, the left isn’t often too keen on implicating one of their own. Instead, they would have their viewers distracted from the real problems that led to the disaster in California, diverting their attention with petty discussions and incomplete information. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CNN’s Inside Politics with Dana Bash 1/8/2025 12:28:52 PM EST DANA BASH: Donald Trump is now weighing in on the horrific fires in Los Angeles County and he's laying the blame on California's Democratic governor. He said on Truth Social, quote, “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water from excess rain and snowmelt from the North to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in virtually apocalyptic way,” and saying, quote, “He is the blame for this.” I want to bring in an exceptional group of reporters here. Tamara Keith of NPR, Leigh Ann Caldwell of the Washington Post, and Nia-Malika Henderson of Bloomberg, and of course, CNN. What a day. Um, I want to start with you, Tamara, because you cover the White House, the outgoing and the–and the incoming, obviously. And it's not–there's no surprise here that Donald Trump's response to–to these fires, which are still very out of control, is to blame the Democratic governor.  We saw when he was in office the first time around, there were–when there were fires, he blamed him for different aspects and–or the other governor for different aspects, including not raking the–the, um–the forests and so forth. Can you just kind of, knowing a little bit about this, put into context–never mind the sort of–the politics and the questions of the timing of it–but the substance of his accusation? TAMARA KEITH: Yeah. So what he's talking about is an endangered fish that is at the center of a very long water war in California, about how much water can flow out of the delta in northern California and go to southern California. It–like, trying to explain water politics in California… BASH: Yeah. KEITH: …is almost impossible. It goes back generations… BASH: Sure. KEITH: …and this tiny smelt is part of it. Uh, I think that the larger issue here is that the future president is seemingly trying to start a feud with the governor of a state in the middle of a crisis, uh, a crisis that is being driven by Santa Ana winds and… BASH: And the fact that it hasn't rained. KEITH: And it hasn't rained. It's been very dry in California. Um, the–this is a dynamic that has existed in this state for ever. Um, and, it's why, um, you know, it is a beautiful state and it is also a state of tragedy, repeatedly. I should say I grew up there, too. LEIGH ANN CALDWELL: So, getting to the water component, absolutely. It's not just a California thing, it's an entire southwest thing. BASH: We have a California girl here. We have a Nevada…native. CALDWELL: Um, so, um, yes, there are absolutely politics involved in–in water control and how this water is used in California and elsewhere in the States that are–are thirsty, are very thirsty. But usually what happens, as we all know, when there is a national and natural disaster, is that you reach out to the leaders of the state, you offer them public support and assistance, you say good things about them. Now is usually not the time for politics.  But as we all know, we have lived through this once. That is not usually how Donald Trump operates. There had been reporting, even recent reporting, that said that, um, during past natural disasters, when Donald Trump was in office, that he would ask his team how many people supported him in that state and what else they could do for him in order to receive federal funds and federal assistance, so. BASH: And–and I just want to say, I did reach out to Governor Newsom's office to see if he wants to respond. It would not be surprising if he didn't. He has a huge crisis on his hands. He was at a press conference last night talking about the gratitude he has from President Biden, still the current president, who has offered federal assistance as much as he needs. NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON: Yeah, and the question is, you know, on the campaign trail, I think it was in October of 2024, Donald Trump was saying that if he got elected–reelected, that he could withhold federal funds from California. Obviously, he has a sort of a feud with Gavin Newsom, a feud with almost every Democrat governor, and senator, and Democrat in general.  And I think the question going forward is, could that happen? Is this something he's going to actually do when he assumes office? Because he does kind of see the federal government, and the budget, and the monies as his own, as to dole out as he wishes to his friends. And so I think that's the real question going forward. But it is sort of sad that this is the same president we're getting again, that there are no lessons learned, there's no sense that Californians are Americans, right, that they are struggling in these areas.  Two people have lost their lives. These fires haven't been contained at all. It looks like they're probably going to get worse before they get better, and that he doesn't have any sort of empathy and understanding about, you know, over what these folks are going through. People have families there, not only, you know, you might have families still there. I have family there and friends as well. So it's just–it's just sad and still shocking. BASH: Literally as you're speaking, we're looking at our live pictures of neighborhoods in L.A. County, burning. I mean, the roof there is–is literally on fire. And as we heard from local officials, L.A. Officials, in the last hour, they just can't contain it. You can see the wind there. You can see how aggressive the wind there. I mean, just talking to people–you've probably been talking to your family there. Um, it's–the winds are s–the Santa Ana winds are so strong and they're so hot that it's impossible for them to contain now. At this point, it is just about, uh, taking cover and staying as safe as possible and as far away from that as possible. KEITH: Right. And hoping that the coastal layer blows back in eventually. Um, yeah, certainly in fires like this, they are–they are trying to draw lines, but the lines are being crossed by the fire. BASH: Alright. Well, I assume we'll hear from President Biden at some point. It is, um, definitely odd timing that he is there as–as he said to Susan Page, our friend, he is awaiting the birth of his first great-grandchild somewhere in that area. (...)

Monday’s PBS News Hour featured an interview on the current meltdown at the Washington Post with blunt-talking liberal journalist Kara Swisher, the class-conscious nemesis of Elon Musk and now of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of the Post. In Swisher’s eyes, he used to be one of the good billionaires. At least until he belatedly realized his paper was slanted and is now making some moves to recalibrate -- though that's not how Swisher phrased it. Co-host Geoff Bennett: Staff at The Washington Post are bracing for a wave of layoffs that are expected to be announced this week. It's the latest hit for The Post, coming just days after a longtime editorial cartoonist, Ann Telnaes, resigned in protest. Her editor rejected her latest cartoon, which depicted Post owner Jeff Bezos and other media leaders on bended knee before president-elect Trump. The Post said the cartoon was rejected because it had been repetitive of a recent column and another that was set to be published. Her editor in the statement said, in part: "Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force." To many observers, though [i.e., "liberals"], it's the latest in a series of events that are raising questions about Bezos and the leadership of The Post…. (Telnaes's work has a knee-jerk left-wing sensibility remindful of the Washington Post’s overpraised former cartoonist known as Herblock, though Telnaes’s style is more refined than Herblock’s crudity.) Swisher was obliged to disclose a burgeoning conflict of interest when talking about Bezos: Bennett: And we should mention that you are putting together an investor group to buy The Washington Post. Swisher clarified that she was “thinking about it” and “talking to a lot of people because I'm just disturbed by what's happening there.” Asked to explain why, she rambled about her career in journalism, which began in the Post’s mailroom, then took a cynical view of Bezos making nice with Trump without mentioning the paper’s liberal ideological slant. Swisher: ….But he was doing a very good job, and it's just recently that his business interests are not aligned with The Post….some of his selections have been bad, including pulling the endorsement of Kamala Harris at the last minute. She went on to say that Bezos “never really figured out what to do post the first Trump era….now he's doing things that are making it worse. And I'm not sure why, right? I'm not sure what's happening with him. And I think he's -- again, he's been a very good owner until recently…." Hmm. What's happened recently? Bezos trying to prod his paper toward objectivity? Invited by Bennett to “redesign the current media ecosystem,” given the “limited reach and limited influence” of the mainstream press (insight at last!), Swisher bragged about her perspicacity again, then took shots at billionaires as a class. Swisher: …. being at the mercy and kindness of billionaires, good luck with that. I'm sorry. Maybe a lot of billionaires, so none of them have control, but a single billionaire? I don't care how you slice it. And I don't know how nice that billionaire is. It's never going to end well. It just isn't. Apparently Post readers should be at the mercy and kindness of Swisher, who will call you “sort of anti-American” for opposing pro-Hamas protesters on college campus, and who advised Joe Biden (when he was running) to “get in there very hard and go ‘rapist, racist, fascist’ over and over and over again” against Donald Trump. This segment was brought to you in part by American Cruise Lines. A transcript is available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 1/6/25 7:42:37 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: Staff at The Washington Post are bracing for a wave of layoffs that are expected to be announced this week. It's the latest hit for The Post, coming just days after a longtime editorial cartoonist, Ann Telnaes, resigned in protest. Her editor rejected her latest cartoon, which depicted Post owner Jeff Bezos and other media leaders on bended knee before president-elect Trump. The Post said the cartoon was rejected because it had been repetitive of a recent column and another that was set to be published. Her editor in the statement said, in part: "Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force." To many observers, though, it's the latest in a series of events that are raising questions about Bezos and the leadership of The Post, including a series of high-profile staff departures and a wave of reader backlash. For more on that, we're joined now by Kara Swisher, multiplatform journalist, entrepreneur, and author of "Burn Book: A Tech Love Story." Thanks so much for being with us. Kara Swisher, Author, "Burn Book: A Tech Love Story": Thank you for having me. Geoff Bennett: And we should mention that you are putting together an investor group to buy The Washington Post. Jeff Bezos has… Kara Swisher: I'm thinking about it, yes. Geoff Bennett: Thinking about it. Kara Swisher: Yes, I have been talking — I'm talking to a lot of people because I'm just disturbed by what's happening there. I'm sure other people are too. The question is if he wants to sell it. He hasn't indicated any interest whatsoever, but I wanted to raise the idea because I think it needs new leadership and new management. Geoff Bennett: And — right, I was going to say he's given no indication that he intends to sell it. Kara Swisher: Yes. Geoff Bennett: But what's the vision? Why are you in the hunt? Kara Swisher: Well, I started off at The Washington Post in the newsroom — in the mailroom. Excuse me. That's where I started my career when I was at college at Georgetown University. And so that was my first job. And I worked there for many years. I started covering the Internet there, which is my big area. I went on to work at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times and did a whole bunch of different things, including a very famous tech conference that was pretty good. And so I have been watching what's happening at The Post for a long time. And I was quite heartened when the Grahams, family which had owned it for so many years, sold it to Jeff Bezos. And in the initial years, he did a very good job. He got it for a very low amount of money, by the way. But he was doing a very good job. And it's just recently that his business interests are not aligned with The Post. And everything he's done so far over the past, I don't know, year or so has been pretty questionable, I would say, not because necessarily it's malign. I don't — I mean, bringing in malign forces, it sort of takes it to a new level. I think he has business interests that are not aligned with The Post. And some of his selections have been bad, including pulling the endorsement of Kamala Harris at the last minute. There's always some excuse. He didn't see it. He didn't read it. It doesn't really matter. He's involving himself in ways that are aren't working for The Post, which is also in distress as a business at this moment. Geoff Bennett: Well, on that point, I mean, strong journalistic ethics prioritize independence. Kara Swisher: Sure. Geoff Bennett: And Jeff Bezos obviously isn't a journalist. He's a businessman. Kara Swisher: No, of course. Geoff Bennett: And you can make the argument that he has a fiduciary responsibility to minimize any scrutiny or retaliation that could affect The Post or his broader media empire. Kara Swisher: Yes. Geoff Bennett: I mean, what do you say to that argument? Kara Swisher: Well, there's only one shareholder here, and that's Jeff Bezos. So he can do whatever he wants. So it's not like it's a public company, and there's other things. But other public companies have been very explicit that they're going to do fair and accountability coverage of the things. And I think some of the actions he's taken, including with Ann, who's an amazing Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, I don't think Jeff had anything to do with this decision. I think it was done by David Shipley. But it's in this mood of not poking the bear, I think, the bear being Trump or Jeff Bezos. I don't know which one they're not trying to poke. But what happened to The Post was, Jeff bought it in 2013 and did a lot of stuff that improved it, but they never really figured out what to do post the first Trump era, which gave a bump to a lot of people. And so, in many ways, it's his fault of where it is. And now he's doing things that are making it worse. And I'm not sure why, right? I'm not sure what's happening with him. And I think he's — again, he's been a very good owner until recently, I would say. And now he just doesn't — I'd like to know why he wants to own it, what his plans are. The plans that they have outlined seem preposterous, really. I don't know what else to say. He's a very good businessperson, but a lot of these ideas are really an antithesis of what an independent newspaper should be. And I don't mean to stay in the past. And The Post has a storied history. I'm a journalist who's blown up a lot of things. I believe in changing and shifting. But you have to come up with something that preserves the integrity of The Post and at the same time makes it into a pretty good business. Geoff Bennett: Are there lessons The Post could learn from The New York Times' multimedia diversification or from the rise of digital native outlets like Axios or Substack or Semafor? The list goes on. Kara Swisher:  Well, I don't mean to be rude, but I did the first one, which was called AllThingsD at The Wall Street… Geoff Bennett: That's right. Yes. Kara Swisher: We — Walt and I — Walt Mossberg were the O.G. of all this stuff. It's funny when it's like, oh, this is new. I'm like, no, we did it a long time ago, because we did see what was coming and the importance of digitization of media and how the consumer had changed really drastically. And we also supplemented it by having a conference that was highly lucrative that could pay the bills too, because news is hard. Advertising is tougher. Some people have done subscriptions really well. Like, The Information does great journalism and does subscriptions. Other things rely on advertising, like we did at AllThingsD, or sponsorship like we did at the Code Conferences. There's all kinds of things you could look at, and The New York Times is one way of doing it. They do everything, they cook everything internally, right? But they did an important diversification. News is not the driver of the growth of The New York Times right now. It's Wordle. It's cooking. It's sports. It's all kinds of things. And that's important, for a news organization to have multiple revenue streams around it, especially as people, especially young people, go off and get things from TikTok or Instagram or wherever they happen — or YouTube, for example, has become critically important in the TV watching space. And so The Post hasn't really done anything. They don't have a podcast division to speak of. Other companies have done a really good job at that, and it can be very lucrative. I have some ideas, which I will outline if I get a meeting with Jeff. I have known him for — I knew — I met Jeff before he was a billionaire, when he first started Amazon. He's a wonderful entrepreneur. And I think he has to understand that maybe where he is today is not where he was and that he may not be the correct owner for this thing. That's all. I just want to talk to you about it and understand why he wants to own it if he continues to do these things that are causing a huge amount of people to leave, very — a huge amount of talent. And that's not — that's hard to get back. So I have some ideas of different structures, financial structures, the way you could do it, and I'm sure other people do. Geoff Bennett: Well, if you could redesign the current media ecosystem to better serve the public in this polarized, fractured and fast-paced era, what would you prioritize, especially since, after this last election, we learned to the degree to which legacy media has limited reach and limited influence? Kara Swisher: Yes. Well, that's been happening for a long time. It's something I warned of in my book and many — for years and years, I wrote this column. I'm like, everything that — the thing I said over and over again is, everything that can be digitized will be digitized and it was, right? This was at the beginning of my career. And I think one of the things they have to recognize is, where is the audience? The audience has taken control of the media. And it's not giving it back any time soon. So you go where they are going, you try to create things they want to consume. It doesn't have to be light. It doesn't have to — there's a terrible word in media, make it snackable. I think that's the worst thing I have ever heard in my life. But make it interesting. I mean, I have a million ideas of what you can do and how you could structure it so it's more protected. But being at the mercy and kindness of billionaires, good luck with that. I'm sorry. It's — maybe a lot of billionaires, so none of them have control, but a single billionaire? I don't care how you slice it. And I don't know how nice that billionaire is. It's never going to end well. It just isn't.

A Missouri school district has allegedly set race-based hiring quotas, according to a Thursday complaint from Parents Defending Education obtained by Blaze News.PDE accused Kansas City Public Schools of "alter[ing] their hiring practices to hire educators based on race," citing the district's website and its Blueprint 2030 Strategic Plan.'Despicable pathway of prioritizing race over merit.'The district's 17-page document outlined its various commitments, listing its top goal for its workforce as "increas[ing] our teachers of color to 40% by 2025 and achiev[ing] a goal of 45% teachers of color by 2030."KCPS stated that it would achieve this target through five strategies:1. Develop diverse and robust career pathways for non-certified staff and provide increased guidance and resources for equitable access.2. Build and strengthen the KCPS student pipeline of future educators through programs and pathways by establishing a "Grow Your Own" student pipeline, providing tutoring and scholarship opportunities for teacher certification programs/assessments.3. Maintain diversity recruiting partnerships, and establish targeted recruiting initiatives with Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Servicing Institutions (HSIs) and the Historic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACUs).4. Evaluate and adjust the hiring process with a core focus on improving equitable and diverse hiring practices. Create a culturally responsive, equity-based interview tool.5. Deploy intuitive and adaptable engagement strategies and supports to increase teacher retention on a continuous basis.KCPS' website states that the district is committed to "identifying inherent biases in our employment and promotion processes and protocols" and "providing implicit bias and other equity-focused trainings for staff." The district boasts that more than 1,200 of its employees have participated in "our implicit bias training.""Equity is at the center of our mission and vision of success for all. We will flourish when all of our students, staff and stakeholders authentically operate with equity at the core of our vision for success for all," KCPS' website reads.PDE filed a complaint with the Kansas City Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requesting that the agency open an investigation into the district "for employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.""Kansas City Public Schools outlines four commitments in their long-term strategic plan, one of which is solely dedicated to 'people-talented workforce and strong relationships,'" PDE wrote in a letter to the commission. "However, many of the mechanisms by which the District intends to meet these goals includes implementing hiring quotas directly related to an educator's race, as opposed to their merit."Caroline Moore, the vice president of PDE, told Blaze News, "Kansas City Public Schools is following the despicable pathway of prioritizing race over merit in their hiring and retention practices.""How unfortunate that teachers in the district are promoted based on their race, at the expense of all students and their future endeavors," Moore continued. "It's demoralizing to watch from afar. No student or teacher should face discrimination in a public school."Blaze News reached out to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to confirm receipt of PDE's request.Andrea Baran, the regional attorney for the commission's St. Louis District, responded, "Pursuant to federal statute and regulations, the Commission may not make public any information it receives pursuant to its investigative authority.""Therefore we cannot confirm or deny receipt of any complaint or information from Parents Defending Education or any other entity," Baran concluded.KCPS did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

OMG-LOL! David Muir REKT by Jack Osbourne (and ALL of X) for Being SVELTE While Reporting on Fires -Watch

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Thursday Morning Minute

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