It's Been Reported

LA Mayor's Office Silent On Deputy Who Was In Charge Of Fire Dept., Placed On Leave For Alleged Bomb Threat (Fox News) — As wildfires wreaked devastation across Los Angeles, the city official in charge of the fire department was out of the picture – placed on administrative leave in December while he remains under investigation for an alleged bomb threat against City Hall earlier this year. LA Deputy Mayor Brian Williams’ Pasadena, California home was raided by the FBI last month in connection to the investigation of a bomb threat which was made against City Hall in September. The Los Angeles Police Department referred the case to the FBI after it determined Williams was likely the "source of the threat," FOX 11 Los Angeles reported. "Due to the department’s working relationship with Mr. Williams, the investigation was referred to the FBI," the LAPD said in a statement at the time. "The FBI remains the investigating agency." Embattled Mayor Karen Bass' office said Williams was placed on administrative leave immediately after the FBI notified the mayor of the search. That happened three weeks before the fires erupted in Los Angeles County, scorching nearly four square miles of urban area, according to the AP. See full story.	CNN Mulls Exiling Jim Acosta To 'Siberia Of Television News' To 'Throw A Bone To Trump' (Amer Wire News) — CNN is making moves to prepare for the new reality of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s return to office, reportedly including the banishment of antagonistic gadfly Jim Acosta to the midnight time slot. According to a scoop from former CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy, the cable “news” network’s chairman and CEO Mark Thompson put in a “peculiar telephone call” to the reporter in which he floated moving Acosta’s 10:00 a.m. show to the midnight hour, effectively exiling him to the “Siberia of television news” in what was suggested could be an olive branch extended to the new president. “They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump,” a media insider told Darcy. “Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.” “The offer caught Acosta off guard. He had no reason to believe that his current show would be on the chopping block. In fact, his ratings have historically been some of the network’s strongest, both when he was anchoring on the weekends and now at 10am during the weekdays,” the ex-CNN censorship cheerleader wrote in The Status newsletter on Thursday. See full story
Biden Reportedly Alarmed Donors By Using Teleprompters In Private Homes (Fox News) — The New York Times published a report that President Biden used teleprompters for small fundraisers hosted at private homes, which alarmed his donors. According to the four Times reporters on Friday, the president's inner circle "had Mr. Biden use a teleprompter for even small fund-raisers in private homes, alarming donors, who were asked to provide questions beforehand." Biden has made headlines throughout his presidency for blunders related to his use of teleprompters. In April 2024, Biden, reading off a teleprompter, appeared to incorporate script instructions in the middle of his speech, resulting in an awkward applause line. The moment came during a section of his remarks straight out of a campaign stump speech. "I see an America where we defend democracy, not diminish it. I see an America where we protect freedoms, not take them away," Biden said. See full story	Staffer Busted For Scrubbing Pics Of Karen Bass At A Cocktail Party While LA Burned (Amer Wire Nws) — The controversial images of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass at a cocktail party as the California wildfires spread have been taken down by the staffer who posted them. But days after the photos of the Democrat enjoying her time overseas in Ghana had circulated online and earned her scathing backlash, taking them down seemed a strange afterthought. “Karen Bass’s Director of Community Engagement, who posted the photos of the Mayor at a cocktail party while the Palisades burned, deleted her entire Instagram account and took the photos down from her LinkedIn,” wrote Eric Spiegelman in a post on X. Bass was attending the inauguration of Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama even after she had pledged not to travel internationally as mayor. The images set off heated criticism and Bass attempted to defend herself upon her return home. See full story
Cruz Reintroduces Bill Exempting Tips From Federal Taxes (The Hill) — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reintroduced legislation to exempt federal taxes on tips in an effort to support service industry workers. “American workers in many industries rely on tipped wages to make ends meet. Today, I’m introducing my bipartisan No Tax on Tips Act – legislation I authored to fulfill President Trump’s promise to end the wrongful practice of taxing voluntary tips,” Cruz said in a Thursday statement. “I’ve long believed the GOP should be the party of bartenders, of waiters and waitresses, and this bill is an important step to ensure we are addressing the economic needs of working Americans.” Republicans captured working class citizens in the last election cycle, which contributed to their majority in the House and Senate. The new bill co-sponsored by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) aims to capitalize on the demographic’s support. See full story	Blinken Repeatedly Heckled Over U.S. Support For Israel In Wake Of Ceasefire Deal (ABC News) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken's farewell news conference on Thursday was eclipsed by chaos after he was interrupted multiple times by outbursts from two attendees, one of whom was forcibly removed from the State Department's briefing room as Blinken tried to speak. Several times during Blinken's opening remarks, two members of the audience repeatedly interjected with shouted questions about U.S. support for Israel and conditions in Gaza, and, at times, personal attacks aimed at Blinken and other State Department officials. Blinken tried to quiet the room, repeatedly saying he looked forward to answering questions once he completed his prepared speech. "We'll have an opportunity to take questions in just a few minutes," he said. But when the hecklers continued shouting, State Department employees intervened. See full story
New Obesity Definition Sidelines BMI To Focus On Health (Nature) — Amid the rising buzz around Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs, a group of 58 researchers is challenging the way obesity is defined and diagnosed, arguing that current methods fail to capture the complexity of the condition. They offer a more nuanced approach. The group’s revised definition, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology1 on 14 January, focuses on how excess body fat, a measure called adiposity, affects the body, rather than relying only on body mass index (BMI), which links a person’s weight to their height. They propose two categories: preclinical obesity, when a person has extra body fat but their organs work normally, and clinical obesity, when excess fat harms the body’s organs and tissues. This shift could improve clinical care, public-health policies and societal attitudes toward obesity, says Elisabeth van Rossum, an endocrinologist at the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands. See full story	Melania Trump Takes Vicious Jab At Obamas, Claiming They 'Withheld' Information During Transition In Donald's First Presidency (NY Post) — Melania Trump has accused the Obamas of trying to hijack her husband Donald Trump’s first term in the White House. The incoming first lady made a cutting dig while saying she feels more confident of her husband’s fast-approaching second term now former President Barack Obama is not there to make things difficult. “The first time was challenging, we didn’t have much of the information,” the incoming first lady told “Fox & Friends” of when her husband was first sworn into office in 2017. “The information was withheld from us by the previous administration,” she said of Obama – whose wife, Michelle Obama, has turned heads by saying she will skip Trump’s second inauguration Monday. See full story
Popular Frozen Meal Sold At Aldi Recalled Across 31 States For Metal Contamination: 'Discard It Immediately' (Fox Business) — ALDI is recalling some frozen taquitos after reports emerged of the product containing "potential foreign material," the company said this week. The discount supermarket chain announced the recall on Monday. In a statement, ALDI said that the product, Casa Mamita Chicken & Cheese Taquitos, may contain metal. The recall affects the 20 oz. boxes of Casa Mamita Chicken & Cheese Taquitos that have a UPC code of 4061459337471. The best-by dates of the recalled products are 07/02/25 and 9/25/25. The product was distributed to ALDI locations in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia. See full story	Turkish Woman Establishes World Record For Watermelons Crushed With Thighs (UPI) — A Turkish woman who squashed five watermelons within a 60-second timeframe, using only her thighs, has set a world record. Guiness World Records shared a video Friday of Gozde Dogan completing the challenge. The clip shows Dogan sitting between two rows of watermelons, grabbing them one at a time, crushing them, and then cleaning the mess before continuing. She is handed a plaque and told she is "officially amazing," becoming the first person to earn the distinction of using the thighs to smash the most watermelons in 60 seconds, in the female category. Dogan broke the record in February. In 2017, an Iranian man made history for smashing three watermelons quicker than anyone ever had. See full story