The Headlines - Gaza Cease-Fire ‘Right on the Brink,’ and the S.E.C. Sues Elon Musk

Episode Date: January 15, 2025

Plus, who gets a quinceañera?   On Today’s Episode:What We Know About the Proposed Gaza Cease-Fire Agreement, by The New York TimesBiden to Deliver Farewell Address, Capping a 5-Decade Political Career, by Erica L. GreenFour Takeaways From Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing, by Sharon LaFraniereS.E.C. Sues Elon Musk Over Twitter-Related Securities Violations, by Matthew Goldstein and Kate CongerSouth Korea’s President Is Detained for Questioning, by Choe Sang-Hun, Jin Yu Young and Victoria KimMeet the Latino Boys Decked Out for Their Version of the Quinceañera, by Christina Morales Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Wednesday, January 15th. Here's what we're covering. Israel and Hamas are right on the brink of a ceasefire deal in Gaza, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. And officials in the Israeli government and Hamas have both suggested they're ready to move forward if the other side signs off. Given the fragile nature of the negotiations,

officials haven't laid out all of the details, but one diplomat told the Times the deal is similar to what's been floated for months, a multi-stage ceasefire in which Israel would gradually withdraw from Gaza as Hamas releases hostages and as Israel releases Palestinian prisoners. Previous attempts at a deal have repeatedly collapsed so the mood at the moment is cautious optimism. But a spokesman for Qatar, which has helped mediate the talks, said yesterday, quote, we believe that we are at the final stage. As Blinken was discussing the ceasefire yesterday, he stressed the need for a post-war plan

for how Gaza will be governed, how it will be rebuilt once the fighting stops. Each time Israel completes its military operations and pulls back, Hamas militants regroup and reemerge because there's nothing else to fill the void. That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war. Blinken said that since October 7th, Hamas has recruited almost as many new fighters as have been killed in the war.

Tonight, at 8 p.m. Eastern, President Biden's expected to deliver his farewell address to the country, sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. The speech is a tradition that dates back to George Washington and will be a chance for Biden to try and frame his legacy. He'll be leaving the White House as a deeply unpopular president, but in the last few months, he's been working to highlight his record as the leader who steered the country out of the pandemic and made landmark investments in infrastructure and green energy. When asked about what he'll do next, after his

50-year career in politics, Biden recently told Democratic donors he plans to stay involved, saying, quote, I'm not going to be out of sight or out of mind. For four hours on Capitol Hill yesterday, one of Donald Trump's most controversial cabinet picks, Pete Hegseth, fielded questions from senators about whether he's qualified to lead the Pentagon. I'm not a perfect person, as has been acknowledged, but redemption is real. And God forged me in ways that I know I'm prepared for.

The former Fox News host and Army veteran tried to paint his story as a redemption arc, as he fended off questions about excessive drinking, infidelity, and a sexual assault accusation. But some of the toughest questions of the day were about previous comments he's made saying women should not serve in combat roles. We have hundreds, hundreds of women who are currently in the infantry, lethal members of our military serving in the infantry.

But you degrade them. You say, we need moms, but not in the military. HEDGESETH HEDGESETH, HEDGESETH Democratic senators pushed him on the issue and accused him of only tempering his views on the topic now in order to get confirmed. Despite the grilling from Democrats, Hedgeseth seems to have the support he needs from Republicans to move forward with the process. Meanwhile, confirmation hearings will continue today for more of Trump's picks. Marco Rubio, who's up for Secretary of State,

will be at the Capitol. He's actually a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will be questioning him, which could help him make the case that he's qualified to be the country's top diplomat. Also with a hearing today is Pam Bondi, Trump's pick for Attorney General. She's the former Attorney General of Florida, and she's Trump's second choice for the role after

Matt Gaetz bowed out following an uproar over allegations of sexual misconduct. Her hearing may not end up being particularly contentious but if confirmed her tenure running the Justice Department almost certainly will be. Trump has made clear he wants the federal prosecutors who investigated him to be investigated themselves. Bondi has echoed that idea. The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Elon Musk, saying he broke the law by failing to disclose how much Twitter stock he was buying before he moved to take over the company in 2022. The SEC says that by not making his purchases public, Musk was able to effectively get a $150 million

discount since the value of the company's shares shot up after he finally did announce how many he'd bought. This is one of several federal investigations into Musk and his businesses that could be shelved once Trump takes office next week. Musk has been one of Trump's biggest supporters. In South Korea today, police moved in on the presidential compound, climbing over barricades and detaining the country's leader, Yoon Suk-yul, to bring him in for questioning. and detaining the country's leader, Yoon Suk-yul, to bring him in for questioning. Officials are investigating whether Yoon committed insurrection when he declared martial law last month, plunging the country into political turmoil.

Yoon's been suspended from power, but is still technically in office, and the country's constitutional court is considering whether to formally remove him. Times reporter Choi Sang-hun says its decision could push an already polarized country to the edge. There are some people worrying, what if either side of political crisis will not accept the decision that's going to be made

by the Constitutional Court in coming weeks? Depending on how the court is going to rule, there could be more uncertainty and tension. And finally, Quinceañeras have been around for centuries. It's one of the most important Latin American traditions for women. And the party has always been known as a very girly type of affair. I mean there's big poofy dresses, tiaras, a girl being introduced by her father and doing a first dance. But recently voices started getting into this tradition. My colleague Christina Morales has been covering the evolution of the quinceanera into the

quinceanero. She says that the coming of age parties, which happened when you turned 15, have been adapted over time from a formal Catholic right into what can now be over the top parties that can even rival weddings in terms of the scale and the cost coming in at tens of thousands of dollars. I had a chance to go to a Quinceanero for a boy in Corpus Christi, Texas. This was huge. This was the first in the family that was happening. He was telling me that he was just really excited to see all his friends and family

and it kind of became a way of reuniting everybody. But even as boys have been asking to have their own parties, these celebrations are still fairly contentious in the Latino community. In the community, gender roles are very strict. At the quinceanero that I went to, there were several friends that were not showing up because they felt that quinceaneras were only for girls, and so they had chosen to boycott. But for others, the party is a way to push these gender rules. Some men told me that this was their way of their sons,

their grandsons, becoming a man, in the same way that the quinceanera party was a way for girls to become women. Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, more on Pete Hegcess' heated confirmation hearing. That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.