You're listening to KFI AM six forty wake Up Call with me Amy King on demand on the iHeartRadio.
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It's time for your morning wake up call.
Here's Amy King. It is five o'clock, straight up. This is your wake up call for Wednesday, January fifteenth. I'm Amy King. Once again. We're under those red flag warnings for high fire danger. We're going to be talking to you and getting you all the information you need to know about that, plus everything else going on around southern California. So much happening, so let's get right to it. Here's
what's ahead on wake up call. Much of La County is under a red flag warning for critical fire danger until three pm. That warning is also for much of Ventura County. The warning continues till tomorrow afternoon in the western San Gabriel Mountains and the five and fourteen freeway corridors. A seventeenth person has been confirmed killed in the fire burning in Altadina and Pasadena. Eight have died in the
Palisades fire. Twenty five deaths now confirmed, with more expected as recovery crews continue their search of burned out neighborhoods. As of yesterday morning, La County Fire Chief Anthony Moroney said about thirty five percent of properties have been searched and assessed. The state and federal tax filing deadline for all residents of La County has been pushed back because of the wildfires. The IRS and the Governor's office say the deadline for La County residents and businesses will now
be October fifteenth instead of April fifteenth. The irsays this also applies to twenty twenty four estimated quarterly tax payments through September. Let's get started with some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. The National Weather Services particularly dangerous situation red flag warnings are in effect across much of southern California. They were delayed by a day as Sanna Anna winds developed more slowly
and weren't as strong as expected yesterday. Meteorologist Rich Thompson's's critical fire weather conditions are now in effect.
Now by Wednesday evening Wednesday, and I expect the critical conditions to diminish and then for Thursday into the weekend, we're actually get back to a more normal weather powder here for this part of the country.
Normal, Doesn't that sound nice? He said? Starting tomorrow, we should get cooler temperatures with higher humidity levels. That'll help efforts to control the fires in the LA area. The high winds have prompted preparations across the region.
Residents in Thousand Oaks know all too well how quickly they have to go when a wildfire comes to their door, like it did in twenty eighteen. City spokeswoman Alexandra South says city workers are poised to respond if today's winds get out of hand.
Our top praiorite is always clearing roadways to make sure that emergency vehicles can get through and so they're all throughout the city.
She says the city has also taken proactive measures as well, and that residents have been encouraged to stay updated on the latest forecast and any fire developments. Michael Monks KFI News.
Some people who live in the Pacific or the Palisades Highland area say they believe the fire was caused by the reignition of a fire that started on New Year's Day. That fire burned less than ten acres. Retired ATF Senior executive Scott Sweeto says there will be a distinct mark in the spots where each fire started.
It may have a different appearance because it's burned down, it's been tromped on more.
The ashes have largely disappeared because it literally burned down to just dirt.
One local says the fire on January first was largely ignored and flared back up last week. The man lives south of the Skull Rock trailhead, where ATF agents have been investigating since Monday. The man claims there was negligence in monitoring the first fire to make sure it was completely out. Another resident says that January first fire was
caused by fireworks. The DA in LA and Orange County want Governor Newsom to convene a special Legislative stace to pass a law that would allow state prison sentences for looting during a local emergency. The proposed legislation calls for punishment to be increased to between two and four years, rather than a sentence as low as sixteen months in county jail. Some LA School District students are going back
to class, just not their class. Students from Palisades Charter Elementary School will attend classes at Brentwood Science Magnet Elementary School. Students from Marquees Charter Elementary will have classes at Nora Steerry Elementary Laura Stay. Students at seven other schools will also temporarily relocate to other schools. Classes in the Pasadena
School District are canceled through Friday. If you are looking to make a donation, because right now, with the fires the way that they are, we want to know how do we help, what can we do? That's where dream Center LA comes in. The Dreams Center LA and iHeartMedia have teamed up. Actually we've been partners for like ten years now. Are taking donations to help fire victims. And if you would like to make a donation, you can drop off items at the Dream Center. It's an Echo
park at twenty three oh one Bellevue Avenue. That's right in La nine zero zero two six. Just stick that into ways and it'll get you right there. They are doing They're doing God's work, is what they're doing. They are taking so many donations in I got to go down there yesterday. We're gonna go out and about and show you some of what we saw and what they are doing. That's coming up tomorrow, but just so you
know now you can make those donations. And what they're really focusing on now is non perishable food, bottled water, sports drinks. It was amazing to see the palettes of water and sports drinks and other La Croix water and that kind of thing just piled up waiting for people to come pick them up. Of course, they need hygiene products. These people ran out of their houses and drove out of their neighborhoods with a moment's notice and basically lost everything.
So things like as simple as toothpaste and so feminine products, shampoo. Of course, baby supplies always needed diapers, baby formula, wipes, baby food, air purifiers, and masks because the air quality is still not very good, especially in the burn areas. And then other emergency supplies things like flashlights and batteries and portable phone chargers. They need it all and you can help, and you again can drop it off at the Dream Center at two three zero one Bellevue Avenue
in Los Angeles. It's right there in Echo Park. Okay, do we have Jordana now? Okay, great, let's say good morning now to ABC's Jordana Miller. Jordana, after what we've been talking about this for a couple of years. Now it looks like we may finally be close to a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. What's the latest.
Well, you know, we are really on the brink of a deal between Israel and Hamas, two sources telling ABC News just a few minutes ago that Hamas has agreed to the Seafire proposal. We are very close, is what the sources told us, and that they expect a deal to be announced today or tomorrow. This is obviously incredibly good news for you know, everybody in Gaza. There's been so much uncertainty and death and destruction, and it's been
a horror show for the people of Gaza. God willing, next week they will wake up and they won't have to worry about being killed because Hamas operative is near them. They will be able to get more aid into the Gaza strip. And remember Hamas is holding almost one hundred hostages. This deal will secure the release at least in the first phase of thirty three of those hostages that are
considered humanitarian cases. That is all the women, that includes the young Israeli soldiers who there has been so much grave concern that they have been sexually assaulted. Those women will come out. A few of the women who are over the age of fifty will come out, and the sick and injured, and that will include two Americans that we've been talking to their families from almost the first day of the war, Keith Siegel, who's sixty five, and Saggi Decohen who is thirty six. His parents have been
very vocal on the scene. Keith Siegel's wife, a Viva, was in captivity.
She was released.
She's been on the international scene and spoken to ABC several times about the plight to get the hostages out. We're going to see those hostages come out. Israel's going to pay a steep prime. They're going to release hundreds of jailed Palestinians, some who've committed murder, who are serving life sentences, and that is a big concession for Israel to see those people out again. And who knows the quote unquote trouble they could cause down the road. Nonetheless,
they will be released. Some the most dangerous among them will not go to the West Bank or East Ruthwam or Gaza. They'll go to countries in the region. And then we will see up to six hundred trucks of eid get in per day, and that is that is a great news again for the people of Gaza who've been suffering. Hunger has been widespread in some places. You know that they've been suffering. You know, starvation and famine has loomed in some parts of northern Gaza. Food will
get in, bakeries will start, you know, making bread. This is a good day. Let's say that.
Okay, Jordana, Now what has changed?
I mean, the most critical change has been the election of President Trump. Like him, don't like him. He has come in, he's not even in office yet, and he made it known to the Israelis and Hamas and Iran that if they didn't soften their positions and get a deal and this war, there would be real consequences. And everybody believed him, and so everybody moved to the middle. That includes the Israeli Prime Minister who was dragging his feet.
I will remind our listeners that the deal we're about to see announced God willing, is not very different from the deal that was put on the table in May months ago, months ago. You can think about the lives lost in between the gods and lives lost and the soldiers right, and the hostages who died in between, including Hersch Goldberg Pollin, that young American who died killed in a tunnel. So, Natanielle, you know, finally, you know, relinquished
and softened his positions, and Hamas did the same. Hamas was also dragging their feet and very stubborn. They've also made certain changes to make this deal happen. So I would say the main thing that changed is really President Trump. You know, President Biden deserves a lot of credit for the framework, but forgetting the parties to the finish line that belongs, the credit should be given to President Trump. That's he is due that credit.
All right. Jordana Miller, ABC News correspondent, thank you, finally some good news. I know we've been talking for a very long time. Let's hope that this happens. All right, we'll talk again soon, Thank you, Jordana, Yes, yea bye. Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. A Santa Monica police officer has been hurt by a person trying to
illegally enter the Palisades fire burn area. Kfi's Daniel Martindale says the driver was arrested last night on suspicion of hit and run.
Please say the driver ran over the officer's foot while trying to drive into a restricted area. Witnesses say the man was following National Guard vehicles on the wrong side of the road that ignored the officer, who was manning a checkpoint and had ordered him to stop.
The officer was treated at the hospital. The co founder of the Grossman Burne Foundation has won a legal fight related to a crash that killed two young brothers.
Rebecca Grossman was convicted last year for running down two young boys while they tried to cross the street with their family in Westlake Village in late September twenty twenty. Now, in June last year, Grossman got fifteen years to life in prison, but on Tuesday in Van Nights, she won in court when the judge denied a motion by the young boy's family to expedite a civil suit trial for
negligence and wrongful death. Now that trial will include Grossman and her then boyfriend during the time of the crime, former Dodger Pitcher Scott Ericson. That civil suit is slated for December first. Andrew Caravella KFI News.
Senate Majority leader John thuns As President Elect Trump's choice for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth as handed him handled himself very well during his confirmation hearing, Retired Colonel Steve Ganyard says, there's a good bit of theater going on.
At the end of the day, the person that's going to be making the decisions and the major decisions, the major policy decision, is the guy that's going to be sitting in the Oval office.
He says. Hegseth will be charged with taking out and carrying out Trump's directives. President Biden has signed a proclamation to prevent drilling on hundreds of thousands of acres of land in California considered sacred by tribal leaders. He says the proclamation has increased the list of historic sites ready families.
Joe and I made a tradition to take our children and grandchildren of national parks and monuments every year.
Want them to see, feel, smell, taste, look at just what has been preserved. The Chekwala National Monument is near Joshua Tree. The Satikla Monument is close to Mount Shasta. President Biden is getting ready to deliver his farewell address to the nation. It'll happen in primetime tonight, just days before he leaves the White House. He'll speak from the Obel Office at five o'clock this evening. He's expected to reflect on his time in office and talk to the
country about the future. The Cat Cafe Lounge in West la is offering free thirty and seventy minute cat therapy sessions to people who've had to evacuate their homes and first responders too. The nonprofit Cat Rescue is also asking people who live outside the fire zones and who have a cat carrier to sign up to foster with its rescue partner. You can get more information at Catcafe Lounge dot com. I think that's a wonderful idea, cuddle up with a cat for an hour and just kind of
calm down. Have you ever done to one of those places?
They're great?
I have not, but we might have to go out and about there you go. I like that idea. Red flag warnings for high fire danger now in effect until three this afternoon, when gus expected to be as strong as fifty or miles per hour or higher for much of La in Ventura Counties. Red flag warnings continue for the western San Gabriel Mountains, the Santa Susanna Mountains, and the I five quarter or until tomorrow afternoon. Govinor Newsom is issued an executive order to help schools and students
impacted by wildfires in southern California. The order will let displaced students go outside their district and will make it easier for schools to operate in temporary facilities until they rebuild. Two La City Council members have proposed a moratorium on evictions and rent increases for people affected by the wildfires. The council members have cited a twenty nineteen MIT study that found viction rates can be nearly double after natural disasters.
Let's say good morning now to the host of Rich on Tech on KFI. It's Rich DeMuro.
Rich.
We've been talking a lot about watch Duty and what a great app that has been such a good resource for people who are in the Los Angeles area and want to know what's going on with the fires. But there's some other ones that might be good or even better for you.
Yeah, that app really really got a lot of downloads during this time, spent a lifeline for so many people. So I wanted to know, like, what are some of the other apps that people are using? I asked on my Instagram and Facebook, and one of them is called Pulse Point. This is kind of like a think nine to one one connected app, so it's got real time updates directly from the various first responders, so it's connected
to them. And the whole trick of this app is that it's also got a CPR response feature, so if you know CPR, you can actually help someone in need. It'll ping you if there's a CPR call nearby, so that's interesting. Frontline frontline, wildfire defense. This app is kind of similar to Watch Duty. I don't think it's as thorough. But what's interesting and unique about this one is the
dashboard that it shows. So you put your address in or your you know, your address to your parents or whoever you want to keep a tab on their home or several homes, and it will give you a dashboard of all the information you need about that home, so whether there are any warnings, what the weather's like, you know, fire evacuation notices. It's really really thorough in that aspect. And then finally there's one called aug Your Risk. Now, this one is kind of looking forward.
Amy.
This is not just about wildfires. It's really a tool for like assessing all the risk at your home address. So all the natural disasters earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hopefully we don't have those here, but all these different things that you can see in one place about your home.
Okay. So, and as we know, I mean, wildfires aren't the only thing that are a concern, Like now after the wildfires, the rains are going to be a concern because of all these burn areas and mudslides and debris flows, and of course there's always the ongoing thread of earthquakes. So it might be good to just have those things handy.
Yes, And yeah, just like watch Judy, everyone kind of discovered it. Now it's better to have these things beforehand.
Okay. And speaking of things to have handy, there are some little tech things that are good to have on hand for natural disasters. We thought it might be a good idea to remind have you remind people of those things right now?
Yeah, So this was also you know, after watching this and talking to you know a lot of people that were affected by this, I said, oh my gosh, there's a lot of tech that I now want to have at the ready for anything that may happen in the future. And this is stuff you kind of take for granted, you kind of know you need. But I put it all in one list on my Instagram and people were kind of chiming in with other things they would add to this list. But let me just go through it.
Portable power station. So this is, you know, one of those like Giant. We're not talking one for your smartphone. We're talking one that like you could plug a lamp into, you can plug you know, it's a big power station. Companies like JACKERI make them Eco Flow. They're not cheap, you know, they could be like one hundred and fifty to one thousands of dollars, but if you got that thing charged up, you'll feel a lot better, especially people. It comes with like a plug to charge it in.
That's one way once you're in a situation with no power. They actually a lot of them have solar panels you can attach to them, so that's another way. But again that's the next thing, solar panels. So there's a company named Goal zero. They kind of pioneered this whole idea of solar panels for charging stations get those as well. Again not cheap Starlink satellite internet. So you know, people were without internet for in these places where the infrastructure
was impacted. Starlink has been a lifeline. Amazon is going to activate their satellite internet later this year. I got to look at it at CS. It's going to be faster and cheaper, so we're gonna have more options for satellite internet. That's gonna be a really good thing. Phone battery packs. A lot of people were left either with these things not charged or they just didn't have one. Go on Amazon search for a phone battery pack. I like the ones from Anchor and Belkan. Just get one
of those. I have them everywhere in my car and my backpack at home. This I thought was interesting.
Amy.
I kind of made this as a joke at CS. I know we didn't get to talk while I was there, but now I'm like, this is the smartest thing ever. It's a solar charging hat. So this looks like imagine like a imagine yeah, a floppy hat you know that you'd wear like almost like a straw hat that it has solar panels on it and it charges your phone. So you can walk around and have this thing charge up your phone the whole time.
That's amazing that and that was actually my next question for you is I have a little solar charger at home. I'm gonna have to get an adapter because it doesn't have that universal port and it's got an older connector. But are the little solar chargers for your phones aside from the hat or do those generally work or no.
They will work. Just the one thing to know about solar is very slow, So it is not something where you can just jump outside, put your put your solar charger panel in the sun for a minute and have power. Doesn't work that way. It takes a little bit longer to charge up. It's something that you know you'd put
out there for a while. But the good news is in a situation like this where people have been without power now for a week, you know it's it's definitely it could be a life saver just to have that. The other thing, and I know you're you're on the radio. Oh I hand crank radio. We pulled this thing out of the closet. I'm not kidding, Amy. My kid was so cute. He started like going through the stations and he knows him on the radio, so he knows there's
talk radio out there, but I kid you not. He went through the stations and he started hearing music and he's like, Dad, are we stealing music right now? I said, no, this is called radio. It's like you know music over the you know radio. He goes, Oh my gosh, you can get music for free, and I just thought that was like the cutest thing ever. He had no no concept of that. He's ten.
Yeah, so if you don't have power, you can hand crank it. And does it last for a while or do you have to constantly crank it?
Well, usually they have a battery inside as well, so mine's really old, so that battery is kind of dead. But typically there's a battery that the hand crank will sort of recharge as well. But these have like a flashlight on them. They have all the different bands, the weather bands, the TV bands, so that's a great thing. One brand name is called eton et o N. But again, go on Amazon and just look for a emergency radio.
There's plenty of them out there. It's the stuff that you just you don't think you need it until you need it. And believe me, I know people who have been without power for days now, days on end, and they need this stuff.
Yeah, such great tips and we're going to get lots more with rich on Tech. You can hear them every Saturday eleven to two right here on KFI. And as Rich mentioned, all the things he just talked about are also on his Instagram at rich on Tech. You can also find things on his website richon Tech dot tv. Rich demiro Ktla. Thank you so much, appreciate it as always, thanks Amy, appreciate it.
I hope you're saying safe.
Oh, yeah, you got it. Take care. The fire that started in Pacific Palisades now eighteen percent surrounded, as crews have focus their efforts on protecting homes in the Mandevil Canyon area and putting out hotspots. The fires burned nearly twenty four thousand acres since last week. LA City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said yesterday the agency has maximized its resources in anticipation of the next round of Santa Ana wins,
which are expected to be blowing through today. The more than fourteen thousand acre wildfire that burned thousands of homes and other buildings in Altadena and pasadenas thirty five percent surrounded. Fire official say containment efforts are steadily progressing and contingency resources are positioned throughout communities along the fire's western edge. Due to the Santa anawin conditions, hand crews have been actively clearing brush and building lines and critical areas of
blocking yat at Flint Ridge. Some people who survived the fire in Pacific Palisades are suing LADWP. Kfi's Daniel Martindale says they blame the utility for the water issues last week that hindered firefighters' efforts to stop the fire.
Attorney Roger Bailey, who represents one of the plaintiffs, says the water supply system servicing Pacific Palisades failed miserably. Firefighters reported little to no water pressure coming from fire hydrants while the fire tore through neighborhoods.
The lawsuit also claims the DWP chose to save money by not repairing the one hundred and seventeen million gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir above Palisades, which had been for nearly a year. About eighty eight thousand LA County residents are still under mandatory evacuation orders in areas around the Palisades and eaten fires. Some residents of Altadina were allowed to return home yesterday, a week after being evacuated because of
the Eaten fire. Some people who live in the Palisades Highlands area say the massive fire was caused by the ignition of a fire that may have been started by fireworks on New Year's Day. Animal shelters in la And are asking for your help to care for animals displaced by the fires. They're asking people to consider fostering a
pet to help relieve overcrowding in the shelters. They're also offering free adoptions for dogs and cats through this month to make room in the shelters for fire displaced pets. Let's say good morning to Todd Hall with the National Weather Service. Todd, we got to stop meeting like this.
I know area, I mean where our hearts go out to all the people are that are affected by this tragedy.
Yeah, and we've got winds coming in again today. We were supposed to have them yesterday, but they didn't quite materialize like we thought, so you pushed the red flag warning back, but it's now in effect.
Correct, That is correct. We were We got a little less upper level support yesterday, so that allowed the winds to weaken a little bit faster than anticipated, So we're we're looking here pretty closely. I mean, we're seeing generally between twenty five and forty miles prior across our valleys.
Those winds are starting to crease. They look a bit stronger than yesterday, this time yesterday morning, so we're seeing we're already seeing red flag conditions and these critical fire weather conditions already developing this morning.
Okay, And are we expecting the burn areas to be affected as much or is it like we were talking yesterday it was a little further north in the La and Ventura County, in the Santa Clarita Valley area.
All the projections suggest that it should affect mainly the Santa Rita and Ventura County areas. However, we are you know, we have seen throughout the night the western end of the Palisades being affected by the critical fire weather conditions. But fortunately it looks like they have things in good hands, so that's good news at this point. And just looking still right now, just currently, just taking a look at
the Eating fire. There is a little bit of some wind on the north end of that fire, so we'll have to we're going to be mine that closely here the next to the next several hours.
Okay, And how long are the winds going to keep blowing? When are they going to start dying down?
So we should see the peak shortly after sunrise this morning through late morning hours, and then we'll start to see the wind slowly decreased through the afternoon. Some areas may still see some winds tonight, so mainly the mountain areas, so the upper elevations the eating fire could still be affected, but you know, we're going to keep an eye on that.
Winds should generally be decreasing here the next twenty four to thirty six hours, and then we'll start to see a return of onshore flow and maybe bring in some of that sea breeze and start to modify the fire weather conditions.
Okay. Great Todd Hall with the National Weather Service is always thank you for this important information. We appreciated a ton You're welcome, okay, and we'll keep you up to date here on KFI. Let you know when the winds pick up when they start dying down, and we'd heard that we're also going to have increased humidity levels as we head toward the weekend, cooler temperatures, So hopefully that's going to work in firefighters favor and keep more fires
from starting. Right now, let's take a step away from the weather. Am on it? As on it? What am I on? Well, I'm on streaming on TV shows and movies and documentaries kind of all things that are all over the stream. And what's old is new is coming back to Apple TV And sort of like when we were talking last week about squid Games new season, the last season was three years ago for Squid Games, and I was like, I forgot what happened, and so with Severance, it's been like two years. So I wanted to go
and revisit that. So when I needed an escape from the fire coverage over the last week, I went and watched episodes here and there and rewatched the season. It's only like, I think it's eight or nine episodes, so it's not a super long stream, but I think that it is a very interesting show. And again it drops
on Friday. The new season. Adam Smith plays Mark R. Of course, Adam not Adam Smith, Adam Scott, who is from Parks and rec He plays Mark R. And he is a guy who gets severed and what that is is you get a brain implant that basically severs part of your life from a different part of your life.
So when you're at work, you don't know anything about your life outside of work, and when you're not at work, your personal life is completely separate, like you have no knowledge of anything that goes on in that other part of your life. It starts off kind of like a quirky, funny show, and I remember going, oh, this is kind of weird and campy and kind of cute. It makes you kind of think about what it would be like if you would really be able to completely separate your
work life from your personal life. And I think a lot of us, I know I have thought about I need to, you know, delineate these things. But this is this is a hard line. But then the dilemma of the separation becomes more pronounced and a little bit ominous and kind of sinister as you untangle the possibility of having no memory of eight of the twenty four hours of your daily life, or on the flip side, no
memory of what your personal life is like. And there were some things that I question watching the series, like if you're not happy with your life, like mark S is not what you find out in the first episode. Why would you cut eight hours of your life out each day? I mean, how's that going to make you happier? So but aside from that, you can kind of see why people would want to do the sever There's a big mystery about what the Severed people do at work and why they do it.
It.
Like I said, it's very quirky and weird, and you're like, well, that doesn't make sense, but it's just part of the show, and the people who only know work start to question what goes on outside of work. I will tell you the last two episodes amazing. It really picks up steam. And I kind of was watching it initially because a lot of my friends had said, oh, Severance is on. Severance is on, and it had a lot of buzz, and I was kind of like, it's okay, but I'll
keep watching it. But the last two episodes really pick up and there's a lot going on, and it's really fascinating as things come together, they all start to fall apart. I can't wait to watch the new season. So severnth season one, I would say it's worth a watch again because it's been two years. And there are a lot of things that you go, oh, yeah, I forgot that happened. I forgot that happened. So if you have the time, watch that season two drops this weekend. I'm on it.
I think you should be two. Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Law enforcement agencies say they are still running search operations in the fire zones in La County. Sheriff's Incident Commander Christine Cole says because of that, it's not known when people will be allowed to go back into the evacuation areas around Pacific Palisades.
There is damage to roads and guard brails and large debris blocking the roadways. Thorough searching must be conducted to render these areas safe and to provide conclusion for those that have been reported missing.
Cole says, at the moment, there is no firm date as to when affected areas will be reopened. A series of emergency motions adopted by the La City Council of targeted recovery and rebuilding in the Palisades.
The city has directed the LEDWP to report each week to the La City Fire Department on the status of critical infrastructure. It's also demanded prosecution by the city attorney of all misdemeanors related to the fires. City Councilwoman Tracy Park says she has a message for her constituents in the Palisades.
I want them to know we are going to rise from this tragedy stronger and more united than ever.
Park's motions also seek to make rebuilding easier by putting a permit office on the west side. Michael Monks KFI news.
Governor Newsom assigned an executive order aimed at cracking down on land speculators making what he calls aggressive and unsolicited cash offers to buy properties in the fire areas. He says he's heard firsthand from community members and victims that offers have been made far below market value while homes were still burning.
This predatory behavior is disgusting in the best of times.
And of course here in the midst of this tragedy at scale, it's disgraceful.
So we're going to hold those folks accountable. Newsom's order bar's unsolicited undervalued purchase offers for land in select zip codes for the next three months. It also instructs the State Department of Real Estate and other state agencies to reach out to the public about their legal rights and available resources. US Attorney Martine Estrada says he is resigning his position as Chief Prosecutor for the Central District of California.
He has served as the top federal law enforcement officer in the LA based district since September of twenty twenty two. As Strata gave his resignation to President Biden yesterday. His last day will be Friday. The California Air Resources Board has withdrawn its request for federal approval to put stricter emission rules in place for diesel trains and big rigs. The EPA hasn't approved the requests yet, and California is
anticipating pushback from the incoming Trump administration. The Rams are gearing up for their NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Eagles on Sunday. Head coach Sean McVay says their regular season loss to Philadelphia was a turning point, especially for the defense.
The first thing is, let's put together a good plan in terms of how we want to make sure that we turn over we're ready to go.
It's going to be a cross country trip for us. The Rams earned their trip to Philadelphia with a twenty seven to nine win against the Vikings on Monday night in the wild card game. LA Mayor Bass has issued an executive order to streamline processes for rebuilding homes. The order we'll call for debris removal to be coordinated, mitigating risks from rainstorms, expediting building permit reviews and inspections, and
will also speed approval for fourteen hundred housing units. A group of survivors of the Palisades fires sued the LADWP over water delivery problems they claim hampered the fire fighting efforts in the deadly win Whipped fire that started last Tuesday morning. The lawsuit claims the one hundred and seventeen million gallons Santa Ynez Reservoir sat empty for nearly a year. Palisades Charter High School is looking for a large space
that it can use as a temporary campus. A large portion of the school was destroyed by the wildfire last week, with many students and staff losing their homes. School officials want to keep students and staff together in one place, rather than seeing them move to other schools and school districts. We're just minutes away from Handle on the news this morning. More than six million people are on edge as the winds pick up, creating critical fire conditions. Let's say good
morning now to ABC's Stephen Portnoy. First up on the hot seat for Senate confirmation hearings yesterday was Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth. Tell us what happened?
Sure, and before I do, I just say, I've been thinking a lot about you, guys. Amy, I'm glad to be back with you. Yes, look, look, heg sith yesterday had to face fierce questioning from Democrats who alleged that he is simply unqualified for the post, and they wanted to know more about the allegations of public drunkenness and sexual assault, which heg Seth shrugged off as the product
of smear campaigns and false accusations. He vowed he would bring an end to what he called the recruiting, retention, and readiness crises in the military, which he says are fueled by the diversity initiatives of the Biden era. Democrats really wanted to dig into some of the views that heg Seth has expressed about women in combat roles, and
they tried to suggest that he has reversed himself. Heg Seth explained that his views for years have been based on what he sees as a declining set of standards to accommodate more women in these infantry positions.
Okay, well, and the comments that I was watching when I saw it was he said that women are okay, but they have to meet the standards that men have in order to keep that military readiness available. I think his explanation was, we're not looking for equity, We're looking for equality.
That's right.
Look, this is a dispute between the two sides that I'm not prepared to settle because Democrats say there has not been a reduction in the standards to accommodate women, and Hegseth insists that there has been. So leave it to someone more expert in the operations of the armed services to explain exactly what's going on. Defense officials insist to us that the Democrats are right on this and
he Seth is wrong. But Hegseth says that he spent years interviewing men and women in the service who and he served in the service and has his own views as to how this is going. The key takeaway from yesterday is that Hegseth didn't do anything that would tend to derail his nomination and that, with the support of Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst, herself a female combat veteran, that he's on a glide path to a successful confirmation
vote on the floor of the Senate. But what we don't yet know is where Susan Collins and Lisa Rakowski are on this. But enough because there probably are fifty one votes in favor of Heseath.
Okay, and Jody Ernst spent some time questioning him yesterday and then afterwards she came out in support.
Right, that's right.
Look, Ernst's you know, curiosity that she wanted to kind of sort of hone in on was hex Seth's views
on women in combat. Again, it's nuanced. He has said things such as, you know, women should not be serving in combat roles straight up, but he also has said in those same interviews that he believes that it's the way of war fighting today that women are and forward support roles, helping the infantry men who are going, for example, house to house in some of these urban settings, and women are part of the supply chain and the logistics,
and therefore they have to be exposed to combat. And those are the kind of roles that for example, Tammy Duckworth and and she's a Democrat from Illinois, and Jony Ernst were in over the last couple of decades in the wars. And Hegseth says that he is not disparaging the service of women and would not see to it that those two particular women would have done anything differently.
But what he's talking about is this notion that somehow the physicals fitness standards for women have been lower than for men, and those we've heard from it the Pentagon insists that's not the case. Again, this is a dispute between the parties that I'm not prepared to settle.
Okay, and he just needs a simple majority win. Is a vote going to happen, that's a good question.
Technically, the nomination isn't formalized until the President elect is sworn in at noon on Monday, and one of the first things he will do after he's sworn in is Trump will go into an anti room off the Senate Chamber and sign a bunch of documents. At least one of those documents will have Pete Hegseth's name on it that formalizes his nomination. It's possible the Senate could vote on Hegseth's nomination and others on Monday.
Evening, okay, and then today who's up today?
There are half a dozen Trump nominees across the wide spectrum of important government posts, but I think the highest profile nominee is Pam Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General who's up to lead the Department of Justice. She's sure to face intense questioning from Democrats over two days today and tomorrow about whether she would be the agent of retribution in the Trump administration. According to reports, she's going to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that the era of
weaponization of the Justice Department is over. But what does that mean? Does that mean that she's going to balance out what the Trump people see as weaponization directed toward him by investigating some of Trump's political opponents, or does it mean that that will not happen.
Well, well, we're going to have to watch, and I can imagine it's going to get a little fiery again today. Steven Portnoy, thank you again, appreciate the information and insight as always. You bet, all right, Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Much of La County is under a red flag warning for critical fire danger until three pm
at least. The warning will continue until tomorrow afternoon for the western San Gabriel Mountains in the five and fourteen freeway corridors, the National Weather Service has issued a particularly Dangerous situation red flag warning. It was expected to take effect at four am yesterday, but the winds didn't materialize as much as expected, so now it's in effect from now until three pm. Forecasters say strong gusts could present a danger in many areas before the Santa Ana winds
roll out later tonight. More remains have been found in the Eton Canyon fire area. That's the fire that started in the Angels National Forest above Alta Dina. Kfi's Mark Mayfield says officials confirmed the latest death yesterday, but the medical examiner says those remains were not human.
Search teams have been cooling through thousands of acres trying to assess the damage in areas where the fires have died out.
La County Sheriff Luna announced yesterday, the more than one thousand properties had been searched. The La City Councils approved a package of emergency motions to help with recovery and rebuilding in Pacific Palisades. Councilwoman Tracy Park says the city we'll soon have to address critical issues facing the fire department.
We also have to find a way to get our fire department all the resources it needs, not just to manage the day to day, but to ensure that they have what they need during a major event like this.
Spark's motions, approved by the council yesterday include an assurance that all misdemeanors related to the fires are prosecuted and that the LADWP reports weekly to the fire department about the status of its infrastructure. They also call for a third party review of the Palisades fire and the city's response to it. A man with a weapon has been arrested at the DWP building in downtown LA.
The LAPD was told the man was carrying a gun described as a rifle and a white bag. According to authorities, supervisors for the Department of Water and Power who were inside the building Tuesday night at around seven o'clock when the guy showed up made contact with him before officers got there and arrested him. Now it's not clear the man's motive or where specifically the man was arrested, but no one was hurt in the incident. Police did not disclose if the man is an employee with DWP.
Andrew Caravella k if I News.
The Federal government has put a new rule in place that limits how much advanced artificial technology can be distributed to competitors like Russia and China. The rule, which came into effect on Monday, aims to make sure AI technology and specifically chips critical for AI, stay under US control. The FED say there aren't any restrictions on chip sales to allies of the US. And Bob Dylan fans could get a piece of history from the iconic singer and songwriter.
ABC's Michelle friends And says there's going to be an auction on Saturday.
Mister Tom Julian's Auctions, as fifty items connected to the iconic singer songwriter will be up for sale, including early handwritten drafts of Mister Tambourine Man, Dylan's first number one hit.
She says the items come from the personal collection of journalists Al Aronowitz, known as the godfather of rock journalism. This is KFI and kost HD two Los Angeles, Orange County, Southland Weather from KFI. As we've been talking about, those Santa Ana wins, are expected to be the strongest from now through this afternoon at three, with wind gusts up to about fifty miles per hour higher in some areas.
Sunny Sky's highs in the lod to mid seventies at the beaches Metro La and in Lando c right around seventy in the Valley's low seventies in the ie fifties for the Antelope Valley about five degrees cooler with calmer winds. Tomorrow it's forty three and data point forty five in Long Beach, twenty seven in Lancaster, forty one in Torrance. We lead local live from the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. I'm Amy King. This has been your wake up call, and if you missed any wake up call, you can
listen anytime. It's on the iHeartRadio app.
You've been listening to wake Up Call with me, Amy King. You can always hear Wakeup Call five to six am Monday through Friday. On KFI, AMC, and any time on demand on the iHeartRadio app.