24/7 News: The Latest
The Latest: 01/23/2025 07:59am ET
This is your 24/7 news update, the latest views this hour in just four minutes. President Trump is defending the almost 1,500 pardons given to defendants charged in connection to the January 6 Capitol attack. In an interview with Fox News, Trump claimed that most of the rioters were absolutely innocent. He went on to add that it would be cumbersome to go through all those charges when prompted about concerns. Some were violent with police officers, Garrett Hake, with more. The move encompassing those convicted of violent crimes, including electro-shocking police officers, dragging them through the Capitol, and assaulting them with chemical spray, metal barriers, and their own equipment. President Trump has partnered a man serving a life sentence for creating a website that was used to sell drugs. Mark Mayfield explains. Ross Ulbricht was a cryptocurrency pioneer who created Silk Road, a website that became an international drug marketplace on the dark web, which can only be accessed by using special software. In 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On Truth Social, Trump called the federal prosecutors who convicted Ulbricht scum and said they were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the weaponization of the government against me. I'm Mark Mayfield. The House has passed the Lake and Riley Act named after a murdered Georgia nursing student, the legislation was passed Wednesday, aiming to clamp down on illegal immigrants who commit non-violent crimes like theft. A new wildfire in Southern California has residents on edge again in California, Liz Croitz. A new fast-moving wildfire torching the hills north of Los Angeles, forcing evacuations in the town of Castiac, including homes on both sides of Interstate 5, jails and schools, sending students running. The Hughes fire, igniting just after 11 and quickly exploding in size. The last check just over 10,000 acres had burned. I'm Michael Casner. U.S. Senator Alex Padilla says President Trump is in for a fight if he takes a hard line on immigration in California, Lisa Taylor reports. If it's a battle that President Trump wants and the battle that he's going to get from California. Padilla says California is the most diverse state in the nation and home to more immigrants than any other state. He says the vast majority of immigrants living in California have been doing so for years, working, paying taxes and raising families. He adds that the Trump administration's depiction of criminals freely flowing over the border is a small number and a problem Democrats agree should be dealt with. Trump and his borders are, Tom Homan, have said mass deportations will begin soon and officials who aid or encourage illegal immigration will be held accountable to federal law. All refugee flights into the U.S. have come to a halt after President Trump suspended the State Department's refugee program. Advocacy groups say this leaves thousands of Afghan refugees at risk, including many who have already been vetted. We handed them our weapons and we said, hey, will you fight alongside us? And they sure did. That's Sean Van Diver, president of Afghan Evac, a group created to assist Afghan nationals who help the U.S. and their families get out now that the Taliban is back in power. Other refugees who were already en route to the U.S. are now stuck in limbo with the pause set to be in place for at least 90 days. A trial is underway for three men accused of drugging and robbing men in New York City gay bars leading to the deaths of two of them. Scott Pringle reports. Chiquan Hamilton, Robert Tamayo and Jacob Baroso are fighting murder and other charges for five robberies in two fatal overdoses. This was between March of 2021 and July of 2022. Proskiers alleged the trio used drugs after targeting drunk victims as they were leaving gay nightclubs, leaving them unconscious before taking their phones and credit cards. Defense attorneys say there's no proof of the allegations, but Proskiers say they have of evidence, including video text and social media. - I'm Michael Casner.