Trump’s defense nomination faced divisive Senate hearings
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, faced several hours of questioning during his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday. A vote on whether he will lead the Pentagon, which has 3 million employees and an $849 billion budget, could take place as early as Monday. read more.
Republicans largely defended Hegseth. Democrats questioned him about allegations of sexual misconduct (Hegseth was accused of rape in 2017) and his drinking habits. He also said she was unfit to lead the Pentagon and criticized former Fox News host Hegseth for her long history of making derogatory comments about women in the military.
Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa), a leading Republican, is a military veteran and sexual assault survivor who seemed satisfied with the answers to questions about the role of women in the military and sexual assault prevention. Mr. Ernst, whose chances of confirmation are weighted to Mr. Hegseth, spent much of his time agreeing that the Pentagon should be audited.
Quotable: Hegseth described himself as a changed man and a story of redemption, and dismissed the accusations against him as a “smear campaign”.
“Have you overcome your personal problems or are you the target of a smear campaign?” asked Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. “You can’t be both.”
What’s next: It is unclear whether Hegseth left the hearing with the votes needed for confirmation. If all Senate Democrats oppose it, Hegseth would need to secure the support of at least 50 of the 53 Republicans in the chamber.
Related: Yesterday, a report detailing the special counsel’s investigation into President Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election was released. Here are four points.
Strong winds threaten to spread new fires in Los Angeles
Officials urged Los Angeles County residents to prepare for evacuations in case of possible power outages, saying gusty winds and drying vegetation could create conditions for new fires across Southern California. At least 24 people have been killed, about 24 others are missing, and thousands have been evacuated. Follow the live broadcast.
Firefighters were already fighting fires and extinguished a new bushfire yesterday, but authorities feared the blaze could reignite in windy conditions. The largest fire, the Palisades Fire, was still far from being extinguished. The Eaton Fire, which caused multiple deaths, could not be extinguished. Follow the fire trail here.
Cultural loss: The extent of the valuables destroyed in the fire is only beginning to take shape. A resident lost about 30 works by Andy Warhol and dozens of works by other artists when his Pacific Palisades home was destroyed. “It’s garbage at this point,” he said.
Seeking safe haven: Tens of thousands of evacuees are scrambling for temporary shelter, exacerbating the housing shortage in one of the nation’s cheapest cities.
Israel and Hamas appear to be nearing a cease-fire agreement
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that Israel and Hamas are “on the brink” of agreeing to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held there.
Neither Israeli nor Hamas officials have publicly confirmed their positions on the proposal. Hamas officials said Monday that a deal within days is possible unless Israel changes its position, and Israeli officials said yesterday that Israel is ready to conclude a deal and is waiting for Hamas. Ta. Mediators including Qatar, Egypt and the United States warned that negotiations could break down at any time, as they have many times in the past.
Gaza tolls: According to the study, the number of deaths from bombs and other trauma during the first nine months of the war may have been underestimated by more than 40 percent. Analysis published in The Lancet.
India’s Maha Kumbh Mela festival begins this week, with up to 400 million Hindu pilgrims flocking to the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, expected to be the world’s largest. The ritual, held every 12 years, centers on a series of sacred baths and is also an important political event.
This is the first festival since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party came to power. It’s a chance for him to promote his right-wing party.
Life lived: Oliviero Toscani broke the boundaries of advertising with a campaign for Benetton that explored AIDS and racial and sexual diversity activism. He died at the age of 82.
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“Lord of the Rings” mapping
Cartographer Karen Wynn Fonstad was so involved in the world depicted in The Lord of the Rings that she called JRR Tolkien’s publisher in 1977 and pitched her dream job. Surprisingly, one editor agreed.
The result is the Atlas of Middle-earth, a tome containing 172 maps depicting Tolkien’s world in astonishing detail, including the rock formations of the Shire, the settlement patterns of Gondor, and the plate tectonics of Mordor. . Looking closely at her work, one contemporary cartographer said, “you feel like you’re getting dirt under your fingernails as you explore a place.”
