24/7 News: The Latest
The Latest: 01/25/2025 07:59am ET
This is your 24/7 news update, the latest views this hour at just four minutes. Vice President J.D. Vance is confirming Pete Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense. Jim Forbes has more. A tense vote in the Senate Friday night ended in a tie after three Republicans voted against his confirmation. Vice President Vance had to act as a tiebreaker and voted Hegseth in. On this vote, the yeas are 50 and the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the Vice President votes in the affirmative, and the nomination is confirmed. This is only the second time in history that a Vice President has had to act as a nomination tiebreaker, Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Mitch McConnell voted against the former Fox News host. Four Israeli soldiers who have been held captive by Hamas for 15 months are now back in Israel. CNN says 20-year-old soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Nami Levy, a 19-year-old soldier Liri Albag, were handed over to a Red Cross team in Gaza this morning and then taken to a rendezvous point with the Israeli military. President Trump says the deadly palisades fire would not have been as devastating if firefighters had better access to water. During a conference with public officials and wildfires survivors on Friday, Trump said he'll help bring more water from Northern California to Southern California. I'm signing an executive order to open up the pumps and valves in the north. We want to get that water pouring down here as quickly as possible. Hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow down into Southern California. He also discussed keeping reservoirs filled at all times to fight future fires. The separation of church and state could be weakened by a new Supreme Court decision. On Friday, the High Court agreed to hear a bid to approve a publicly funded religious school. Justices will rule on a dispute over the proposed Catholic school in Oklahoma, which would be paid for by public tax dollars. Currently, the Oklahoma Supreme Court says the proposal violates the U.S. Constitution's rule on separation of church and state. I'm Rob Bartier. Monday marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Survival Michael Bornstein, who is returning to Auschwitz for the anniversary, was just four years old when he was held there. I remember going out looking at trash cans to find moldy potato skins to eat to survive. More than a million people, including Bornstein's father and brother, lost their lives at Auschwitz. 50 survivors, along with delegations from dozens of countries, are expected to attend the commemoration ceremony. The Department of Justice says it will largely stop prosecuting people who stop women from accessing reproductive healthcare. It's currently illegal for protesters to block entrances, damage property, or threaten patients in front of a reproductive health clinic. On Friday, the DOJ said it will now reflect President Trump's position on abortion access. Trump has already pardoned protesters who injured a nurse and harassed patients at a female healthcare clinic in 2023. The DOJ said it will only consider cases under "extraordinary circumstances" or in cases involving significant aggravating factors like death or serious bodily harm. The MTA is touting some positive statistics about congestion pricing. MTA Chairman John O'Libber says congestion pricing is working on not only reducing traffic but keeping people safe. Everybody's lived experience is the same. Traffic in midtown is dramatically down. And it's a much calmer environment. We actually got data yesterday that there are fewer traffic collisions. Fewer people are being injured. O'Libber would not speculate if President Trump would try to fulfill his campaign promise to end congestion pricing using the Federal Highway Administration. The NFL's Championship Sunday will determine which teams will face off in Super Bowl 59. At 3 p.m. Eastern, the Washington commanders will take on the Eagles for the NFC Championship. Then the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Buffalo Bills for the AFC Championship at 6.30 p.m. Eastern. I'm Rob Martier.