Officials were warned of the water system failing before the Palisades fire. Fixes never happened. That is the explosive report from the Los Angeles Times this morning. The Times says officials "missed dozens of opportunities" to fix water infrastructure, some of which would have helped combat the raging wildfires. L.A. officials are denying this, but the evidence weighs against them. This report could be a flashpoint as Trump visits the region today, having already signed an executive order aimed at freeing water for California wildfires. Read more.
- Deportation flights have begun. The White House announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had sent a plane to Guatemala with 80 illegal immigrants on it. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested another 530 illegal immigrants on Thursday, most of whom have lengthy and violent criminal histories. Read more.
- The House has 19 work days until a government shutdown. The date for the next government shutdown is March 14, and Congress is already fretting about missing that deadline. Negotiators have yet to decide on a "top-line number" for the budget, and some are already calling to punt any shutdown to later in the year to get more negotiation time. Read more.
- Pete Hegseth clears a Senate procedural vote 51-49, advancing to a full floor vote. So far, Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine are the only defections. Based on those numbers, Hegseth can only afford to lose one more Senator. If the floor vote ties 50-50, Vice President J.D. Vance will get brought in to break the tie. Read more.
U.S. News:
- Trump pardoned "peaceful pro-life" protestors who were arrested during the Biden administration. Read more.
- Liberal wildfire relief charity funnels millions to left-wing groups—explosive reporting from the Washington Free Beacon. Read more.
- A judge blocked Donald Trump's birthright citizenship order. Eventually, the Supreme Court will end up hearing this case. The Justices will likely strike it down. Read more.
- Former Politico reporters admitted their outlets quashed negative Biden stories. Orders from "on high" stopped Hunter Biden and other negative stories. Read more.
- Trump has declassified JFK, MLK, and RFK files. The nation waits to learn what is in those documents. Read more.
Pop Culture News
- Norah O'Donnell is out at CBS News. The network plans to retool the entire program to win back viewers and format it to look like "local news." Read more.
- "Captain America: Brave New World" is projected to a $95M box office. Marvel is closely watching the movie as it has struggled with its parent company, Disney. Read more.
What I'm reading...
- How Trump could make Greenland an offer they can't refuse. It's time to expand America. Read more.
- Trump is winning on the immigration argument. CNN's Harry Enten lays out the data showing a "massive shift" on immigration in America. Read more.
- What I saw at the National Prayer Service was disturbing. An account by Representative Josh Brecheen. Read it here.
