California joins GOP-led states in raising US flags for Trump inauguration
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is joining Republican-led states in raising American flags to full height for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony. Flags have been ordered at half-staff across the U.S. to honor the late President Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29.
The standard period for lowering flags in honor of a deceased president is 30 days, under an Eisenhower-era proclamation setting the length of the honor. However, Trump expressed his desire to have flags raised for the inauguration, and fellow Republicans supported the move.
Trump posted on Truth Social, writing, “The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my inauguration. They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our country … Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it.”
Newsom’s office confirmed that flags will be raised to full height on Monday, Jan. 20, making California the first Democrat-led state to do so.
States raising American flag to full height for Inauguration Day:
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also announced that flags at the U.S. Capitol will fly at full staff on Monday, Jan. 20, and be lowered Tuesday, Jan. 21, to continue honoring former President Carter.
They said even though the law is meant to keep kids from accessing sexually explicit content online, it’s vague and “imposes significant burdens on adults’ access to constitutionally protected expression.” Opponents also said it also presents privacy and security concerns because adults are forced to share personally identifying information to access the sites.
The law, signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, requires porn sites to verify official documentation like government-issued IDs or face large fines. The law says any website that contains “one-third” sexual material is considered a site that requires age verification, though social media sites are exempt.
The Texas law also requires sites to display health notices on their landing page that says viewing pornography is potentially addictive, weakens brain function and is associated with low self-esteem and body image, among other issues.
A U.S. district judge temporarily blocked the law in September 2024, but then the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals undid that, saying requiring age verification does not violate the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court’s ruling will impact more than just Texas. Multiple other states have passed laws mandating age-verification for porn sites including Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Organization sues McDonald’s over college scholarships for Latinos
The American Alliance for Equal Rights is suing restaurant chain McDonald’s for alleged discrimination. The organization, led by Edward Blum, who successfully argued against affirmative action in colleges before the U.S. Supreme Court, is now targeting the golden arches and its scholarship program for Latino and Hispanic students.
The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s Hacer National Scholarship discriminates against non-Hispanics and racial minorities, such as Black people, Arab people and Native Americans. It claims those groups are barred from receiving the scholarship based on their ethnic heritage and that discrimination is unlawful.
The lawsuit was filed in Nashville, Tennessee, where the program is administered by a company named International Scholarship and Tuition Service.
Hacer is one of the biggest corporate awards for high school seniors in the country. Those scholarships range from $5,000 to $100,000. The scholarships are limited to students with at least one parent who is of Latino or Hispanic heritage.
Since the mid-1980s, McDonald’s says it has awarded more than $33 million to more than 17,000 Hispanic and Latino students. The company selects recipients based on their academic achievement, community involvement, personal statement and financial need.
The American Alliance for Equal Rights is seeking an injunction because the deadline to apply is less than one month away on Feb. 6. The suit notes that an unnamed high school student from Arkansas, who is not Latino or Hispanic, wants to apply for a scholarship.
Blum wants McDonald’s to put the program on hold “so it can be opened to all under-resourced high-school students, regardless of their ethnic heritage.”
McDonald’s says it is now reviewing the lawsuit. It comes at a time when big companies, including McDonald’s, have begun to roll back their diversity initiatives.
Titans have top pick in 2025 NFL draft, fire general manager
The Tennessee Titans wrapped up the number one overall pick in April’s NFL draft after losing to the Houston Texans on the final day of the regular season. They fired General Manager Ran Carthon 48 hours later, who likely would have made that pick.
Carthon lost his job after posting a 9-25 record over his two seasons in charge.
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement, “I’ve loved the time I’ve spent with Ran –– he’s a talented football mind, a great man, and friend to everyone along his path. It’s impossible to ignore that our football team hasn’t improved over the past two years. I am deeply disappointed in our poor win-loss record during this period, of course, but my decision also speaks to my concern about our long-term future should we stay the course. I love this team more than you can imagine. To our fans: We know this level of performance isn’t acceptable. We’re humbled by your support as we continue to work towards building the team you expect and deserve.”
The draft order from pick 18 to 32 will be decided by 14 teams in the playoffs, with the Super Bowl champion making the 32nd pick in the first round.
Several teams that finished near the .500 mark for the season will look to retool after many of the top picks are off the board.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said they’ll immediately get to work preparing for the draft.
“The silver lining of being in this situation and the opportunity that you’re presented is that you do have a head start on the rest of the league to a certain extent. So this is something we really have to take advantage of. This is a position we don’t want to be in ever again, so hopefully, make the most of it and springboarding into creating those opportunities,” Macdonald said.
In Las Vegas, one day after the Raiders let interim head coach Antonio Pierce speak to the media about the season and the state of the team, they fired him. Six teams are now looking for new head coaches, and two teams are looking for new general managers.
Coaches brace for change as NFL’s ‘Black Monday’ approaches
The day after the NFL’s regular season ends is known as “Black Monday,” when struggling teams inform coaches their services are no longer needed. This year, it falls on Monday, Jan. 6, and there is plenty of speculation surrounding what could be more than half a dozen moves.
Three job searches are already underway, as the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints fired their coaches during the season.
Current NFL job openings
Chicago Bears –– Thomas Brown (interim)
New York Jets –– Jeff Ulbricht (interim)
New Orleans Saints –– Darren Rizzi (interim)
Those teams currently have interim head coaches, all of whom will reportedly interview for the head job with their respective teams. But there will also be multiple outside candidates brought in.
Three teams have made it clear they will give their coaches at least one more season in charge. New England’s first-year coach, Jerod Mayo, is the shakiest on this list; he has posted a 3-14 record. Right now, the Patriots are in line for the number one pick in April’s draft.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan has seen good and bad reports concerning his tenure.
“I don’t really pay much attention to those reports. I just try to come in and do my job as best I can and do it as long as they allow me to do it,” said Callahan. “If for some reason, and hopefully it’s years from now, they say your services are no longer needed, then that’s how it goes.”
Coaches in the ‘hot seat’
Las Vegas Raiders –– Antonio Pierce
Jacksonville Jaguars –– Doug Pederson
New York Giants –– Brian Daboll
Indianapolis Colts –– Shane Steichen
Dallas Cowboys –– Mike McCarthy
Although it’s pure guesswork, these five coaches are most mentioned in the debate about whether the teams need a change.
For those like Doug Pederson and Brian Daboll, it would not be a surprise if they were let go Monday.
For Mike McCarthy of the Dallas Cowboys, the jury truly is still out. He has heard both praise and criticism from team owner Jerry Jones. On New Year’s Eve, Jones talked about the possibility of retaining McCarthy on a local Dallas radio station, saying he’s been thinking about the issue for weeks.
“What I’m not gonna do this morning is get into any indication one way or the other that I’m not interested in having Mike back. I don’t want that to be the case at all,” Jones said.
Not exactly a vote of confidence. In any case, McCarthy is in a different situation. His contract expires Jan. 14, so he‘ll be free to sign with any team –– whether he’s officially fired or not. There are also reports that other teams could be interested in McCarthy.
Preview: 12-team College Football Playoff set to kick off
It’s a fantastic weekend to be a college football fan. A new era of the post-season kicks off Friday, Dec. 20, with the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
In one month, football fans will have a new national champion and no matter which of the 12 teams comes out victorious, they will have earned it. Here’s a quick break down of the first-round games.
No. 7 Indiana vs. No. 10 Notre Dame
The first matchup comes Friday night between the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the No. 10 seed Indiana Hoosiers.
There’s a possibility of snow in the forecast in South Bend, Indiana, so the ground game might be key. Notre Dame ranks 10th in the nation running the football. Meanwhile, Indiana’s defense under first-year coach Curt Cignetti is the best in the country at stopping the run. The team only allowing just 70 yards per game.
Irish quarterback said Reilly Leonard feels like his team is ready for whatever comes their way.
“Definitely the biggest game of my career. had a lot of time to prepare and I won’t take it for granted. really cool experience, to get to where we are now is kinda why I came to Notre Dame,” Leonard said.
No. 11 SMU vs. No. 6 Penn State
A Saturday, Dec. 21, triple-header begins with underdog SMU, the No. 11 seed, taking on the Big Ten Conference runner-up Penn State, the No. 6 seed, in frigid State College, Pennsylvania. Temperatures are expected to be in the 20s. Both teams have high powered offenses that can score with any player.
The Mustangs made it into the playoff even though their comeback against Clemson in the ACC championship game fell just short. They may need to put up at least 30 points to hang with Penn State. The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, have just two losses. Both of them to were playoff teams, but head coach James Franklin’s record against top-10 opponents stands at three wins and 19 losses.
His counterpart on the Mustangs, Rhett Lashlee isn’t buying that, he just wants a fast start.
“The first quarter is big because starting fast is important in football anyways, but we’re on the road 106,000 plus, the atmosphere will be electric, they will have all the momentum and adrenaline on their side. It’s going to be important, yes to start fast but also just to hang in there,” Lashlee said.
With a win over the Nittany Lions, Lashlee and the Mustangs can silence a lot of the critics that said they shouldn’t be in the playoff. Some believe that three-loss Alabama from the powerful SEC conference had a better resume. Pollers put SMU just one spot ahead of Bama in the College Football Playoff final poll.
No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 5 Texas
On the other side of the bracket, the second game on Saturday, Dec. 21 is a big-time matchup in Austin, Texas, between the ACC champions, No. 12 Clemson, and the No. 5 Texas, who finished second in the SEC.
The Tigers would likely not be in the dance had they not hung on to beat SMU in the final seconds of the ACC title game. Quarterback Cade Klubnik will need to be play a great game against the Longhorns defense. The unit is currently ranked second in the nation allowing just 12 points per game.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is well aware that Texas is a 10-point betting favorite over his Tigers.
“I mean we’re the 12 seed, happy to have a chance, I mean, we’re in there, anything can happen,” Swinney said. “The players know not a lot of people don’t give us an opportunity to win. That’s their mentality, they believe in themselves and that’s all that matters.”
No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Ohio State
The nightcap Saturday features the two closest seeds in the first round, The No. 9 seed Tennessee Volunteers travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the No. 8 seed, Ohio State.
The Vols have had a balanced attack all season. However, the question of whether their freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava will be able to handle the pressure the top ranked defense in the nation will bring remains.
The Buckeyes allow just 11 points per game and are second in the Big Ten in sacks, with 35.
However, Ryan Day’s Ohio State gang lost to bitter rival Michigan in their last game. Day said he believes the team has moved on and will focus on the task at hand.
“Once you get into the playoffs it’s a brand-new start,” Day said. “Our guys have recognized that now. They’ve earned the right to play in the playoffs and that’s it. We have two top five wins and 10 wins. A lot of teams in the country are not in the playoffs the bottom line is we’re in the playoffs.”
They’re in, but how long will each team last? Day added one more thought when asked how he approaches the tournament.
“Look, we all have our issues and deficiencies, the team that can address those the best is going to win this thing,” Day said.
Tenn. bill would send undocumented migrants to sanctuary cities
A Tennessee Republican state lawmaker proposed a bill aimed at sending undocumented migrants accused of committing minor crimes to sanctuary cities, rather than having them deported. State Rep. Todd Warner’s Tennessee Illegal Immigration Act would also require local law enforcement to notify federal immigration authorities about a migrant’s immigration status.
If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents do not respond within 48 hours after an undocumented immigrant is charged with a crime, that immigrant would be sent to a sanctuary city.
Warner argues that his proposal would be a more cost-effective approach for the state when it comes to deportations.
“It seeks to make Tennessee safer,” Warner told Fox 17. “It seeks to make the federal government, you know, hold their feet to the fire and enforce immigration law, and it seeks the state to recoup some costs back out of it.”
Warner also plans to amend the bill to ensure that it applies only to those charged with minor, victimless crimes. Undocumented migrants who commit violent crimes would still go through the judicial process and remain subject to deportation.
Immigration advocates with Tennessee’s Justice for Our Neighbors disagree with Warner’s proposal.
“The mere act of being transported away from your family is damaging,” said Hannah Smalley, the advocacy and education manager at Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors. “This means that people, including people who have not been charged with crimes, are going to be facing these really punitive consequences just on the basis of their immigration status.”
Warner told Fox 17 that his plan still needs further adjustments.
House Republicans block release of Matt Gaetz ethics report
Republicans block efforts by their Democratic colleagues to release the House Ethics Committee’s report on its investigation into former Congressman Matt Gaetz. And the manhunt continues for the gunman in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.
House Republicans block release of Matt Gaetz ethics report
The House Ethics Committee’s report on its investigation into former Congressman Matt Gaetz will not be made public — at least for now. Thursday, Dec. 5, House Republicans blocked two separate Democratic resolutions to release the report, voting to refer the matter back to the committee.
Lawmakers voted along almost entirely party lines to table an effort from Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) to force the report’s immediate release, saying the former Florida congressman is no longer under the House’s jurisdiction because he resigned.
Gaetz left Congress last month after President-elect Donald Trump announced he was nominating the Republican lawmaker to become the nation’s next attorney general. That all happened just days before the ethics report was supposed to be released.
Gaetz later withdrew from consideration for the job after it became clear he would not get the Senate support needed to win confirmation, amid allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor and illicit drug use. He’s also denied those allegations.
Another effort by Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee was also blocked.
Casten blasted the House’s decision in a statement after the vote, saying, “Today, the majority of the House of Representatives took the easy way out. They could have ensured a vote on whether or not former members should be held accountable when they face serious and credible allegations of sexual misconduct — including having sex with minors. Instead, the House voted to sweep these allegations under the rug and set an unfortunate precedent that, if you are ever facing scrutiny, resigning from Congress can make your problems go away.”
Casten added he will continue to try to get the report released.
Tonight the House of Representatives voted to sweep credible allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug.
I retain options to pursue the release of the Gaetz Report.
Congressman Michael Guest (R-MS), the committee chairman, said there no longer is the same urgency to release the report because Gaetz has left Congress and stepped aside as Trump’s choice to head the Justice Department.
Elon Musk spent more than $250 million getting Trump re-elected
Billionaire Elon Musk spent almost a quarter of a billion dollars in supporting Donald Trump’s reelection, according to Federal Election Commission filings released late Thursday, Dec. 5. While that accounts for just a fraction of Musk’s wealth as the richest man in the world, it’s a massive amount to come from just one single donor.
Musk donated most of that money to his America PAC, making three donations of $25 million each in the final weeks of the race. Over the course of the campaign, he gave America PAC a total of $239 million in cash and in-kind contributions.
Musk also spent more than $40 million on checks to voters in swing states who signed a petition in support of the Constitution.
According to the filings, Musk also put $20 million into a PAC named after the late liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. That PAC was behind political ads claiming Trump does not support a federal abortion ban and he and Ginsburg had that in common.
New images released as manhunt continues in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
Police have released new information about the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as the manhunt continues for the gunman. Investigators released new images Thursday of a hooded man who they say is “a person of interest” wanted for questioning in the slaying of the health insurance executive.
Police sources confirmed to multiple news outlets the images were taken from a surveillance camera inside a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Officials said the man used a fake New Jersey ID to check into the hostel.
The sources said the suspect is believed to have traveled from Atlanta to New York City on a Greyhound bus the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, then later checked in to the hostel. Greyhound is reportedly cooperating with the investigation.
The gunman shot Thompson multiple times at point-blank range as he was walking into a New York City Hilton hotel. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities said the shooting was “premeditated” and a “brazen, targeted attack.”
According to multiple reports, the bullet casings located at the scene had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them. The gun used in the shooting has not been recovered.
Police are still searching for a motive in the deadly shooting.
Aftershocks rock California after magnitude 7 earthquake
Dozens of aftershocks have been reported in California after a powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake rattled a large part of the west coast Thursday. The epicenter of the earthquake was around 50 miles southwest of the northern port city Eureka in the Pacific Ocean.
A tsunami warning briefly went into effect from Oregon down to central California, but that has since been canceled. Evacuation orders have also been lifted.
California’s governor signed a state of emergency and said damage assessments are underway. So far, only minor damage and no injuries have been reported.
NASA delays next two manned moon missions
We’ve waited decades to see an astronaut walk on the moon again, and now, we’ll have to wait a little longer.
NASA announced Thursday it is delaying its next two Artemis moon missions to address an issue with the Orion crew capsule that will be housing the astronauts and its heat shield. The agency said the Artemis II mission that will fly a crew around the moon has been pushed from September of this year to no earlier than April of 2026.
The Artemis III mission, which will see the first moon landing in more than 50 years, set for 2026 will now happen no earlier than mid-2027.
Taylor Swift’s recording-breaking Eras tour ends this weekend
The tour kicked off in March of last year with Swift putting on the 3.5-hour concert more than 150 times in front of sold-out crowds across five continents.
SCOTUS hears case on Tennessee transgender care ban for minors
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday, Dec. 4, on a Tennessee law that bans the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors. The Tennessee law, known as SB1, states there is a compelling interest to protect children.
“These procedures can lead to the minor becoming irreversibly sterile, having increased risk of disease and illness, or suffering from adverse and sometimes fatal psychological consequences,” SB1 reads.
“Its application turns entirely on medical purpose, not a patient’s sex. That is not sex discrimination,” James Mathew Rice, Office of Tennessee Attorney General told the justices.
“Just as using morphine to manage pain differs from using it to assist suicide, using hormones and puberty blockers to address a physical condition is far different from using it to address psychological distress associated with one’s body,” Rice continued.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Biden administration argued against the law’s categorical ban on children who identify differently than their birth sex.
“It doesn’t matter what parents decide is best for their children, it doesn’t matter what patients would choose for themselves, and it doesn’t matter if doctors believe this treatment is essential for individual patients,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said.
Justice Samuel Alito asked the ACLU attorney, who is transgender, about minors who transition and then change their mind.
“Are there not such people?” Alito asked.
“There are such people, I agree with that,” attorney Chase Strangio replied.
“So it’s not an immutable characteristic is it?”
“Well, I think people’s understanding of it shifts,” Strangio said. “I think the normative reason for that particular consideration is whether or not this is something that someone should or could change and whether they would have to change it in order to receive constitutional protections, and I think transgender status clearly fits within that.”
That was one of Tennessee’s main points: the changes to the body are permanent, but the child may one day seek to reverse them.
“They cannot eliminate the risk of detransitioners, so it becomes a pure exercise of weighing benefits versus risk,” Rice said. “And the question of how many minors have to have their bodies irreparably harmed for unproven benefits is one that is best left to the legislature.”
That’s when Justice Sonia Sotomayor jumped in.
“I’m sorry counselor, every medical treatment has a risk, even taking aspirin,” Sotomayor told Rice. “There’s always going to be a percentage of the population under any medical treatment that’s going to suffer a harm.”
Sotomayor said the case is really about sex-based differences. The law allows certain drugs to be used for children who have medical conditions like early puberty or delayed puberty but not those who want to change gender.
It could be months before the justices release a final decision, as they are still in the first half of their term, which won’t end until approximately June 2025.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal argue it discriminates by banning those forms of care only as treatment for gender dysphoria.
Under the law, minors who need the treatments for other reasons can still get them. One example is puberty blockers being used to treat children who experience early puberty.
While an appeals court had already ruled to uphold Tennessee’s law, the Supreme Court granted the Biden administration’s appeal. The Supreme Court will not consider the part of the law that bans surgery because the lower court’s injunction didn’t cover it.
Tennessee’s attorney general argues the law doesn’t discriminate based on sex. He says it “draws a line between minors seeking drugs for gender transition and minors seeking drugs for other medical purposes,” adding “boys and girls fall on both sides of that line.”
Currently, 26 states have laws restricting gender-affirming care for youth, but they’re not all uniform. If the Supreme Court lets Tennessee’s law stand, it’ll effectively leave the decision up to states. As a result, different states would still be offering various levels of access to care for trans minors.