24/7 News: The Latest
The Latest: 01/25/2025 12:59pm ET
This is your 24/7 news update, the latest views this hour in just four minutes. Former Fox News host Pete Hankseth is now in charge at the Pentagon. Hankseth was officially sworn in as Defense Secretary this morning by Vice President J.D. Vance. I want to thank the President of the United States, our Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump. We could not have a better Commander-in-Chief than him. The ceremony took place just 12 hours after Vance was forced to cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate. Three Republicans voted against his confirmation as did all 47 Democrats. It's only the second time in history that a Vice President has had to act as a nomination tie-breaker. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is now the head of the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate voted to confirm Noem for Homeland Security Secretary by a vote of 59-34 today. Six Democratic Senators joined Republicans in voting to approve President Trump's nomination. Noem was one of a handful of nominees to be voted out of committee on President Trump's first day in office. Four Israeli soldiers are being treated at a hospital after being released under a ceasefire deal with Hamas. The Israeli military says the four women were flown by helicopter to a medical center in southern Israel for evaluation after being reunited with their parents. A battery of tests for their physical health, but also ongoing support for their mental health for their psychological well-being. Raf Sanchez in Israel. In return, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners. Seven hostages have been set free since the start of the latest ceasefire agreement that went into effect last weekend. Mexico has denied a deportation flight from the U.S. Two U.S. military planes flew deported migrants to Guatemala Thursday night, but a third flight bound for Mexico never took off. It's not clear why Mexico, a longtime U.S. ally, blocked the flight but tensions between the two countries have been growing since Trump won the election in November. The Mexican government has said it opposes Trump taking unilateral action to implement his immigration laws. I'm Lisa Carton. Schools in northern California are reminding families and their students of their rights amid President Trump's immigration orders. A San Jose Unified School District letter sent to parents breaks down student rights and campus guidelines to help ease concerns. Alumrock Union Elementary School District is also seeing concern among students. Very concerning because unfortunately, as adults, we're able to process information, but our children, when they hear something, they think of the worst. As fears of immigration raids rise, the SJUSD letter aims to assure parents that every child has the right to a free public education, and that immigration officers can only enter schools if the law requires it. If a student is approached by immigration agents, the school will quickly notify parents and guardians. An AI-based weapons detection system is being questioned following this week's deadly shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, Brian Schook reports. The Omni Alert Network was installed at schools across the district last year and uses cameras to detect weapons. WZ-TV reports it didn't alert when 17-year-old Solomon Henderson opened fire in the cafeteria, killing 16-year-old Jozling Korea Escalante. However, it did go off when school resource officers brandished their guns after the shooting was already over. The Gulf of Mexico is now called the Gulf of America. The federal government is implementing name changes under a directive from President Trump. That includes reversing an Obama-era decision to rename Mount McKinley in Alaska to Denali. Denali is the indigenous name for the mountain. The Interior Department says the name changes are effective immediately for federal use. American Madison Keys is the 2025 Australian Open Women's Tennis champ. The #19 seed from Illinois outlasted top-seated and two-time defending champion Arena Sabalenka on 3Set Saturday at Rod Labor Arena in Melbourne. She's the first American champion since 2020. I'm Lisa Carton.