The Daily Signal - California Deactivated a Firefighting Force, Rubio’s Senate Seat Filled, Hostage Deal | Jan. 16

Starting point is 00:00:00 California disbanded, a group of firefighters that could have potentially provided critical assistance during the wildfires. I'm Virginia Allen, and this is the Daily Signal's top news in 10 for Thursday, January 16th. Firefighters in Los Angeles have made a lot of progress putting out the wildfires and getting them under control. But AccuWeather estimates that fires have caused about $250 billion in damages and lost revenue in California. and the fires have also taken the lives of 25 people. But authorities warn today that the risk is not over, as winds are still strong and threatened to spread embers that could create the risk of starting new fires.

Starting point is 00:00:49 If you've been listening to the show this week, you know that The Daily Signal's Elizabeth Mitchell was out in California recently covering those wildfires. She's continued to cover the situation and look into what California did and did not do to prepare for the threat of wildfires. fires. Elizabeth, joins us now. Elizabeth, great to have you on the other side of the mic. Thanks, Virginia. Elizabeth, you have an exclusive out today that is titled under Newsom,

Starting point is 00:01:14 far-left general deactivated firefighting disaster response force. You spoke with a retired commanding general of the California State Guard, Major General J. Cogan. And Major General Cogan told you that a high-ranking military officer named Matthew Beavers actually disbanded, the state's firefighter emergency response teams. Beaver's was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom. So what exactly do we know about this group of volunteer firefighters that Beavers disbanded? When Beavers was appointed to be Agent General, he disbanded this force in a way. What he did is he reassigned members of Team Blaze. He cut the team, he made them lose their autonomy, and he put them under a different team called Team Rattlesnake that's part of the National Guard.

Starting point is 00:02:06 And then Team Shield, people on that team were told to just find other teams to serve on. And so these were volunteers who were only paid if they were deployed. They were highly trained training four days a month, not being paid for their trainings. So they weren't costing this date very much, but they were very helpful support in times of extreme need. So you explaining your piece that Beavers has a record of being pretty far left, He's attended these LGBTQ parades over the years. The big question here to ask is why did Beavers disband this group of volunteer firefighters in a state that is very susceptible to wildfires? Well, I spoke to a senior enlisted leader in the California State Guard, and he said the reason is likely that Beavers was feeling pressure from the firefighters' unions who didn't like these volunteers who were very well trained and were doing a very good.

Starting point is 00:03:02 job taking jobs away from them. In reality, that wasn't really the case because these people were just in reinforcement if absolutely needed. But the source I spoke to said that he just caved to the pressure from the unions and disbanded the forces. Also, General Kogan told me that it's well known that Beavers has a distaste for the state guard, preferring the National Guard. This is evidenced by several things he's done, like demoting their uniform, getting rid of opportunities for leadership. So it seems like he has a problem with the State Guard and he didn't like that this firefighting force that was part of the State Guard was doing such a wonderful job. Interesting. Okay. Well, I mean, Elizabeth, looking at this situation practically, this was obviously a huge wildfire

Starting point is 00:03:47 still burning in some places. Is there much that Major General Kogan believes that Team Shield and Team Blaze could have done if they were still in existence? Absolutely. So a big part of what Team Shield could have done is that Team Shield was largely retired police officers or even current police officers. And so you might have seen the images of the extreme traffic in the palisades when people were told to evacuate. The cars were just absolutely gridlocked. People were told to abandon their cars and run to safety. And then those cars were later bulldozed away. Had those officers from Team Shield been out there helping and reinforcing where police officers with the state just didn't have time to be there, those people could have driven away instead of running away. They're

Starting point is 00:04:31 There could have been a less chaotic traffic situation, and overall a lot less property and likely even life could have been lost if Team Shield could have been there. And of course, Team Blaze would have been very helpful, just more people out there putting out fires, especially people who know what they're doing. Another thing is that Team Blaze had five fire engines that were especially suited for fighting wildfires, and Beavers returned those to the state who loaned them to Team Blaze. And so all of those things could have been used to fight these wildfires, but were out of commission. Well, Elizabeth, thank you for your coverage for more. Check out today's show notes for a link

Starting point is 00:05:05 to Elizabeth's full piece. Elizabeth Mitchell, reporter for the daily signal. Thanks for your time. Thank you. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has tapped the state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, to take Marco Rubio's seat in the Senate. President-elect Donald Trump tapped Senator Rubio to serve as his secretary of the State Department. Well, that left Rubio's Florida Senate seat open. DeSantis pick Moody to fill the Senate seat because he said that he knew she would work with President Trump to deliver on the mandate he earned from the American people. During a press conference today, Moody joked with Governor DeSantis that considering the bureaucracy and the deadlock in Washington, D.C., she probably won't like serving in Congress, but is doing so for the sake

Starting point is 00:05:51 of bringing about needed reforms. I probably won't like it. But I'm ready to show me. up and fight for this nation and fight for President Trump to deliver the American First agenda on day one. Moody will hold that Senate seat until a special election in 2026, at which time she can choose to run for re-election if she would like to. DeSantis is expected to promote his current chief of staff, James Uthmere, to fill Moody's spot as Florida's Attorney General. The ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is expected to be successful. signed and take effect on Sunday. But the deal is not done until signed by all parties involved. And right now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to give final approval on that deal.

Starting point is 00:06:44 The Jerusalem Post reports that the delay was caused by disagreements among Israel's top leaders over the identities of several prisoners Hamas demanded to be released. But the Post reports that Israel's cabinet is now expected to convene on Friday to approve the ceasefire and hostage deal. Agreeing to the deal has reportedly been an incredibly tough decision for Netanyahu. The deal involves the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including some terrorists in exchange for the hostages that are being held in Gaza. Netanyahu is also facing pressure from the right flank of his government that seems to view

Starting point is 00:07:22 the deal as too favorable for Hamas. But if all goes according to plan, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today that the ceasefire will go into effect on Sunday. President Biden said yesterday, after more than 400 days of struggle, a day of success has arrived. If the plan does indeed take effect on Sunday, 33 hostages will be released over the next six-week period. Three female hostages are expected to be released in the first days of the ceasefire, followed by another four several days later and the remaining 26 hostages over the following five weeks. Phase two would begin negotiating.

Starting point is 00:08:00 and include the release of the remaining hostages that are still in Gaza. The deal will be implemented in three phases, but even if details for phase two have not been fully agreed upon by the end of the six weeks of phase one, the ceasefire will continue as long as negotiations continue. We'll jump in today's news flash in just a moment, but first I'm excited to tell you all about the newest show from the Daily Signal's podcast network, The Signal Sit Down. It's where top leaders, thinkers, and newsmakers dive deep into the stories shaping our world. And this week's show on The Signal Sit Down is a must listen. Bradley Devlin,

Starting point is 00:08:41 the host of the show this week, sits down with South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman to discuss why Norman initially voted against re-electing Mike Johnson to Speaker of the House. Norman describes a pretty wild and interesting 90-minute of discussion that involved himself, Johnson, and a phone call with Trump. You can catch that full conversation on the signal sit down wherever you listen to podcasts. We'll be right back with our newsflash after this. Now for today's news flash, confirmation hearings continued today in the Senate for Trump's top cabinet picks. Today, the lineup included Scott Turner's hearing to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Doug Bergam's hearing to head the Interior Department, and Lee Zeldon to head the Environmental Protection

Starting point is 00:09:26 agency. Much of the attention tomorrow will be on Christy Noem's hearing to head the Department of Homeland Security. Speaking of people, Trump has tapped for top positions. The New York Post broke the news today on who will serve as the chief of Border Patrol under the Trump administration. Trump has tapped Texas border czar Mike Banks to be the next head of Border Patrol. Banks will be working closely with Trump's Borderzar Tom Homan. And Homan is actually going to be joining the show tomorrow morning for an exclusive bonus episode on The DailySicle Podcast. So check that out Friday morning. With that, that's going to do it for today's episode of Top News in 10. Today's show was edited and produced by John Pop and Tyler O'Neill. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on any of our

Starting point is 00:10:14 shows from the Daily Signal podcast. And again, make sure you catch that conversation with incoming borders are Tom Holman on the Daily Signal's bonus edition tomorrow morning. Have a great rest of your night.

The Daily Signal - California Deactivated a Firefighting Force, Rubio’s Senate Seat Filled, Hostage Deal | Jan. 16

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