24/7 News: The Latest
The Latest: 01/24/2025 10:59pm ET
This is your 24/7 News Update, the latest news this hour in just four minutes. Vice President J.D. Vance is confirming Pete Haggseth as the Secretary of Defense. A tense vote in the Senate Friday night ended in a 50/50 tie after three Republicans voted against his confirmation. Vice President Vance had to act as a tiebreaker and voted Haggseth in. This is only the second time in history that a Vice President has had to act as a nomination tiebreaker. President Trump is telling LA's Mayor Karen Bass that there will be no delays when it comes to granting permits to rebuild from the wildfires. "We absolutely need your help, your bill." "You've got it. I told you. You will have no permit problem. It will be zero delay." During a briefing Friday, there was a testy exchange when Trump told Bass that he heard crews could not start rebuilding for 18 months. Bass vowed that that will not be the case and Trump replied "I just hope you're right" and they should be able to start tonight. Trump also said he plans to come back to Los Angeles to celebrate when disaster areas are cleaned up and rebuilt. Free Dec's Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio is speaking out days since arriving home after being pardoned by President Trump. While not condoning the violence against police on January 6, 2021, Tarrio says fellow convicted J-6ers deserve to be free, "The process was flawed. The process was corrupted. Therefore, there was no other option but to pardon and commute the sentences of those that did those actions." He maintains he, the Proud Boys, and American Patriots did nothing wrong, but some might have been violent. I'm Lisa Taylor. A historic snowstorm hit this South this week, breaking records that stood more than a century. At least 11 people were killed because of the cold and wintry conditions that stretched from Alabama to North Carolina. In Florida, 9 inches of snow fell earlier this week in parts of the panhandle, beating out Anchorage, Alaska's total snowfall this winter. I'm Brian Schucht. Nearly two dozen House Republicans are backing a bill that would repeal the Face Act. The act makes it a federal crime to block the entrances to clinics that offer reproductive health care services. Texas Congressman Chip Roy says it was weaponized by the Biden administration. Disproportionately targeting pro-life Americans while simultaneously failing to protect pregnancy resource facilities. Roy says a repeal is not enough. He wants the Trump administration to pardon pro-life activists who were arrested over the last four years. Ten defendants received prison sentences ranging from 10 months to 57 months for their participation in a 2020 block cave in abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. I'm Tammy Trujillo. A federal judge is rejecting former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez's latest bid for a retrial. Kristen Marks has the details. Menendez's lawyers argue that his conviction on federal corruption charges should be dismissed because the jury was given a laptop that contained material that was supposed to be excluded from trial. The judge said the defense either chose not to inspect the laptop or did review it and failed to call attention to the evidence. Menendez was found guilty last summer of accepting cash and gold bars and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt. Two businessmen were also convicted and Menendez's wife is awaiting trial on similar charges. Kristen Marks reporting. Tom Brady may be considering the sale of his mansion on Florida's Indian Creek Island. According to Bloomberg, Brady's home located in the exclusive enclave known as Billionaire Bunker is not listed but is receiving offers. Property values have soared since Jeff Bezos arrived on the island and now Brady's newly finished bachelor pad has reportedly received bids valuing it at more than $150 million. The record for the most expensive home ever sold in Miami belongs to Ken Griffin who paid nearly $107 million for a coconut grove estate in 2022. I'm Brian Schook.