Transcript of LIVE: ABC News Live - Thursday, January 16 | ABC News

Well-addressed to the nation, his warning about the influence of tech billionaires and the future of democracy.

California fire victims demanded they be allowed back into their neighborhoods this morning an up-close look at the dangers in the fire zone and the new legal battle over what started 1 of the biggest fires. Plus, kids back in class at different schools. 1 third grader's message about the fire disaster's impact on her life.

The clock ticking down to a ban on TikTok set to take effect Sunday. Well, we're learning about a last ditch effort to save the app.

Landmark launch, Jeff Bezos scores a victory overnight in the space race against Elon Musk.

An airline pilot under arrest accused of being drunk before takeoff. How passengers found out.

Paying up, a big change in college sports when it comes to paying women's teams.

And later, why more young people are taking up hobbies their grandmother used to enjoy.

From ABC News, This is Good Morning America, First Look.

Good Thursday morning everyone, I'm Rianna Nally.

I'm Andrew Dimberg. We begin with the ceasefire deal in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

Some of the hostages, including Americans, could be released this weekend. But we learned overnight that final details are still being determined.

President Biden, who helped broker the deal, gave his farewell address last night, also speaking about domestic issues, warning about the rise of the ultra-wealthy. ABC's Nicole D'Antonio begins our coverage, starting with that ceasefire deal. Nicole.

Well, that's right. Good morning to you. And this deal could end 15 months of war. But some are questioning whether the ceasefire can survive beyond the first phase. Jubilation in the streets of Gaza after an apparent ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

But overnight Israel already claiming Hamas has reneged on parts of the deal. The Netanyahu government demanding more details on the release of Palestinian prisoners before finalizing the deal.

We are so hopeful and optimistic. We need to remember this has to be rolled out until the very end. So there can't be true celebration until everyone is where they're supposed to be.

The deal is split into 3 phases. The first involves a 6 week pause in fighting along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether. Over those 6 weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages held by Hamas would be released, including 2 Americans.

I'm happy that they actually managed to pass it over the finish line. I hope the nightmare is over.

Palestinian prisoners would also be released. The second phase involves the release of all remaining living hostages, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase would initiate reconstruction of Gaza. The deal on the table for months was brokered by leaders from across the Middle East, along with President Biden's team and the incoming Trump administration. Trump recently pledged all hell would break out if Hamas didn't promise to release hostages by the time he takes office.

The question is what has changed and what has the Trump team told the different countries involved that made them actually bring this about?

Our fellow Americans.

President Biden hailing the deal last night during his farewell address to the nation. Biden also spoke about the U.S. Economy, warning about a concentration of power in the hands of a wealthy few.

Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms. I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.

And back to that ceasefire deal, if the details are approved in Israel, we could see the first hostages released as early as this Sunday. Just huge news for those families. Rhiannon.

Absolutely. We will be following it every step of the way. Nicole, thank you for that. Pam Bondi is on track to become the next Attorney General. During her Senate confirmation hearing, Bondi vowed to keep the Justice Department independent, saying there would be no enemies list under her watch.

But Bondi would not say if she would disobey an unlawful order from President Trump. And she refused to acknowledge Trump lost the 2020 election.

Now to Los Angeles. The winds are finally dying down, but the legal battle over this historic fire disaster is just ramping up. This morning, more federal aid is headed to the California fire victims who desperately need it.

We never imagined something like this happening.

FEMA says it's received 53, 000 applications for its individual assistance program, A one-time payment to cover costs for things like water, food, and infant formula. FEMA also activating a program paying for hotel rooms. And a major insurance company, State Farm, now says it will offer renewals, even to some homeowners it previously planned to drop. Crews are making progress fighting the 2 biggest fires. The Palisades fire was 21% contained overnight.

The Eaton fire up to 45% contained. Many residents are frustrated they're not being allowed back to their neighborhoods. But we saw why. The fire zone is still so dangerous.

We have open gas lines. We have exposed water lines. And so they're evaluating each property to determine if it's safe to enter.

Along the Pacific Coast Highway, crews searching the rubble for remains. Today, the family of Evelyn McClendon, who died trying to evacuate from the Eaton fire, is expected to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Her family, suing Southern California Edison, claiming the power company failed to turn off utilities despite the high wind warning. Another lawsuit cites witnesses and video claiming to show a fire at the base of a transmission tower. Southern California Edison not commenting on the lawsuit but saying our hearts remain with our communities during the devastating fires.

We are talking to individuals about not just what they saw

but what they smelled and they heard. The cause of each fire remains under investigation. Authorities say more than 150 leads have been generated from tips.

We have conducted interviews with individuals that initiated the 911 calls and the first responders to this January 7th fire as well as the fire that was started and put out on January 1st.

Many elementary school students impacted by the fires are now back in class as other schools around LA welcome them in. Each of the kids with a story to tell.

Nightmares of no house and all my stuff being gone. My childhood memories might be gone.

Meanwhile, dozens of additional restaurants are now stepping up to offer free meals to evacuees.

The clock is ticking down to a ban on TikTok set to take effect Sunday. An effort to postpone the ban has failed in Congress. The question now, is there any hope left for TikTok fans?

This morning, time running out for TikTok fans. The app appears to be on track to be banned in the U.S. This Sunday. The Supreme Court yesterday passed up a chance to intervene. In Arkansas, Senator Tom Cotton has now blocked an attempt by Democrats to postpone the ban, saying there will be no extensions, no concessions, and no compromises for TikTok.

Cotton citing national security concerns due to the app's Chinese owner.

Guys, it's official. TikTok will be getting banned.

A law passed by Congress last year requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to find a buyer not controlled by a foreign adversary. But with no sale apparently imminent, Reuters reports TikTok is preparing to shut down U.S. Operations, saying users attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban. There could be 1 last hope for TikTok fans. President-elect Trump, who takes office Monday, is reportedly considering an executive order that would give TikTok's owner up to 90 more days to find a buyer.

The New York Times reports TikTok's CEO plans to attend Trump's inauguration. Trump's nominee for attorney general on Capitol Hill yesterday declined to say whether the Justice Department would enforce the ban.

Will you commit to enforce that law on your first day when you are, if you are confirmed?

Senator, as I discussed with you during our meeting, that is pending litigation within the Department of Justice.

Well, it's pending litigation, but will you enforce that law?

I can't discuss pending litigation.

The Supreme Court still has time to intervene. Meanwhile, many TikTok users are now turning to other apps, like RedNote, but that, too, is owned by China.

Blue Origin, The space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos launched a massive new rocket overnight, sending a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth. The rocket is called New Glenn. It's 32 stories high. It marks the first major competitor to the Elon Musk company SpaceX and its rocket, which has carried satellites to space for more than a decade. The new Glenn Pock rocket packs twice the power.

Well it is time now for your Thursday weather.

Good morning. We have a cold and snowy morning on our hands in places like Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. AccuWeather real field temperatures below 0 in those areas, closer to New York City and Scranton, PA. AccuWeather real field temperatures will be in the single digits this morning. Here comes a band of snow.

It will hold on to areas near the west slopes of the mountains longest but there will also be some snow that survives to areas along I-95. According to an inch in Philadelphia a small fraction of an inch in New York City but 1 to 3 inches for many in the interior. For AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish for ABC News.

Coming up a major airline sued over flight delays.

But first, passengers speak out after an airline pilot is arrested for allegedly being drunk before takeoff.

And should it be harder to get onto porn sites online? What the Supreme Court is suggesting.

Reporting from Lewiston, Maine.

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In Rolling Fork, this tornado tore through this little town.

From the most devastating disaster in Hawaii

from Charleston South Carolina on the 2024 campaign trail

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Messy romances.

It's come to my attention that you 2 are betting on your rookies.

To be clear, we didn't put any money on it.

I'm worried about him. He's spinning out over Jason.

I need 2 units sent to my house.

Who's out there?

I can't find Nolan anywhere.

♪♪

begging you, asking for your assistance.

This is the strangest case I've ever seen.

Now, follow the clues to solve a deadly, mysterious true crime.

Let's just say the phrase, over my dead body, takes on a new meaning. And Just when you think

you know where the story is headed, things take a turn.

The new 2020 Friday Night on ABC. Donald Trump, Inauguration Day, and America Turns to David Muir and ABC News. Live all across the day, right there as history is made. Monday on ABC.

The government is suing Southwest Airlines over what it calls persistent flight delays. The Transportation Department is seeking fines into the 6 figures accusing Southwest of illegally operating chronically delayed flights. In response, Southwest said it leads the industry in the number of flights without cancelation. The government is also fining Frontier Airlines for similar violations.

A Southwest pilot has been arrested charged with being drunk before a flight. Police say David Alsop was at the airport in Savannah, Georgia before a flight to Chicago and was arrested for DUI. Passengers were already in their seats when flight attendants told them there was an issue and then they were delayed.

If I have to take my shoes off still before I get on a plane it seems a little weird that I seem to kind of have to wonder if my pilot is sober.

Passengers had to wait nearly 5 hours for another pilot.

We turn now to the Supreme Court and the debate over accessing pornography sites. This morning the Supreme Court signaling it's ready to roll back First Amendment protection for Internet pornography. The justices yesterday heard a challenge to a Texas law that would require visitors to porn sites to go through an age verification process to prove they're 18 or older. That process could include a government issued ID, a facial scan, or commercial verification methods. Critics say the law violates the First Amendment because it unfairly burdens adults' access to protected content.

But many of the justices appear to suggest it's worth the risk to protect kids.

It's very difficult for 15 year olds, whatever, to get access to the type of things that is available with the push of a button today.

The porn industry argues there are less restrictive options to protect kids, like parental controls and content filtering software. Some justices not buying that argument.

Come on, be real. There's a huge volume of evidence that filtering doesn't work.

I think that the explosion of addiction to online porn has shown that content filtering isn't working.

Supporters of the Texas law also addressed concern that age verification measures threaten privacy and could expose people's personal information to hackers.

1 of the important parts of modern age verification technology is that you can do it without identification at all. There's no ID or anything like that. It's just a face scan.

Any decision could have wide-ranging implications. 18 other states have passed similar laws, and an estimated 37% of all Internet traffic is for porn sites. Justice Alito, seemingly unaware of that statistic, asking if people log on to the popular website Pornhub for the articles.

Is it like the old Playboy magazine? You have essays there by the modern day equivalent of Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.

The court's ruling is expected by summer.

Coming up, a big change for women's sports when it comes to getting paid.

Also ahead, the FDA bans a controversial dye found in popular foods. So what happens next?

Amanda Riley was a mother, wife. Everybody loved her. I heard the

words, you have stage 3 blood cancer.

We gave our hearts, our prayers. We thought she was God's gift, but she was a liar.

Why would somebody fake cancer?

There's all these pictures of her in the hospital with IVs, tubing. It was only a matter of time until Amanda's whole world came tumbling down. Oh, my God!

Scamanda premieres January 30th on ABC and stream on Hulu.

Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw. We're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City. Getting you behind the stories

as they happen. ABC News Live Prime. We'll take you there.

Only on ABC News Live.

He's pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The Gilgo Beach Murders. Now, 1 woman who believes she got away and lived to tell.

He scared the crap out of me. And nobody's ever made me scared or uncomfortable like that.

Gilgo Beach Murders, Now streaming on Hulu.

Bingo.

Our killer's name is Dubois.

Did you just Google who's the killer on your phone, Morgan?

No, I did not do that.

The news never stops.

From Tampa, we are here tonight as Hurricane Milton has just made landfall.

The surge just keeps coming up.

Right on the border between Ukraine

and Russia. Downtown Tel Aviv, rockets or missiles coming in. ♪ For you...

♪

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We're not far from where this rally took place, so just stick with us here.

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We are back now with a new show at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Look at this, the Kilauea Volcano erupting again, spewing lava 200 feet into the air. No homes were threatened.

The FDA is expanding its ban on red dye number 3 after outlawing its use in cosmetics years ago. The agency now wants it gone from all food products saying tests have shown it causes cancer in rats. Some food industry groups are pushing back though saying the FDA admits it has no evidence linking the dye to cancer in humans. Food companies have until January of 2027 to remove the dye. The FDA also wants to cut nicotine levels in cigarettes to make smoking less addictive.

The agency is taking public comments before moving forward. The new Trump administration could abandon the plan.

Now to a major development in college sports. The women's teams will now be paid in the March Madness tournament, just like the men. Here's ABC's Andrea Fugii.

This morning, a big win for women's college basketball. After years of discussion, the NCAA has unanimously decided to pay women's teams in the March Madness tournament, just like men's teams have been paid for years.

Finally, for the first time ever, the women's tournament is going to start to reap some of the financial rewards that it has deserved for a long time, but has never been allowed to have.

In 2021, video of the women's basketball weight room during the Division 1 playoffs, compared to the men's, sparked a debate over disparity. Since then, women's basketball has exploded in popularity. The women's NCAA tournament last year was its most successful ever, with a title game bringing in a record audience of nearly 19 million viewers, about 4 million more than the men's title game.

The sexism was there and it was truly unfair for our female athletes compared to our male athletes.

Payments will be in effect for the upcoming tournament. Participating schools will share in the revenue with winning teams receiving more money. The pot will begin at 15 million dollars this year and will progressively grow. Next year up to 20 million. Still not as much as the men but analysts say it's a step in the right direction.

It's all come together now at a key moment, a real watershed moment for women's sports, because as basketball goes often, so goes the rest of women's sports.

Just like the men, the money women's conferences will earn will be invested back into the schools and its programs and not go directly to the players. Andrew, Rhiannon, a very positive change.

Yes it is, Andrea, thank you. Coming up, why more young people are taking up hobbies their grandmothers used to enjoy.

Plus, an unexpected visitor on the court during a game.

World news tonight with David Muir America's number 1 most watched newscast across all of television.

I'm in. I'm in.

I'm in. I'm in too.

I am in. I'm in.

I'm in too.

I'm in here.

The news never stops. We are here in Israel, a nation at war.

We heard what appeared to be gunfire. The former president rushed off the stage. Hurricane Helene ravaging the coastline of Florida. It's moving really fast, screaming across the state.

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Taking you to the center of the story. As news breaks live.

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ABC News Live is there for you at the start of your day

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ABC News Live Prime going there, wherever the story is.

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gonna build it back up?

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A lot to watch

for tonight. ABC News Live. Because the news never stops.

For the record, your name is Xavier Collins.

Yes.

You have 2 children.

Yes.

When was the last time you saw Cal Bradford alive? Adrian Collins.

Have a seat.

I walked the president to his room

at 2204. When did you discover the body?

At 801. That's when I found him lying next to his bed.

Did you kill him? No. Is a part of you happy that Cal is dead? No. No.

No.

No. No. No. No. No.

No. No. No.

Reporting from Taylor Swift's World Tour in London, I'm Will Gant. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there.

You're streaming ABC News Live.

♪♪

Time to check the polls, and We begin with young people picking up some old ways.

They call it grandma core. More women in their 20s and 30s are taking up knitting, baking, gardening and other hobbies that are commonly associated with grandmas.

Why? They say to slow down and take a breather from today's fast-paced life. And we're getting an early look at what the Oscars may look like.

Yeah, the potential preview comes from the British Academy Film Awards, better known as the BAFTAs. And the big winner, the papal thriller Conclave with 12 nominations including Best Picture. The US Academy Award nominations will be announced next Thursday. Next, a kid who gives new meaning to storming the court.

This little guy ran onto the court during the game between Gardner Webb and Radford last night. He enjoyed some exercise before finally being picked up by a player.

From 1 court to another, here's a different way to watch the Australian Open. They're using an animated livestream to show the matches on YouTube to get around the broadcast restrictions. It's similar to what's being done recently with NFL games. Next, a biotech startup has now raised $200 million to bring back the wooly mammoth.

The startup is called Colosso biosciences. The plan is to create a calf using DNA cells from ancient samples taken from a frozen tundra, then implant them into a mother elephant to give birth. And it could happen in just 3 years.

Didn't anyone see Jurassic Park?

I've seen all of them. This doesn't sound like the brightest idea.

What could possibly go wrong? What could

possibly go wrong? Top hat, thanks, man.

Why do so many people start their day here? From ABC News, This is Start Here.

To be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories.

A lot of news today, so let's get into it.

Listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with 4 Edward R. Murrow awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to. Start Here, ABC News. Make it your daily first listen.

Now, that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming.

Wherever you get your podcasts,

start here. I only have 1 rule. Stay out of the basement. What do you got in the basement?

Something down there will destroy the world.

We're talking about a real monster. No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No!

Jason's escape puts my wife's life in danger.

I need Bailey Zacks back in prison.

I need to focus on my career, so

no more messy romances.

It's come to my attention that you 2 are betting on your rookies.

To be clear, we didn't put any money on it.

I'm worried about him. He's spinning out over Jason.

I need 2 units sent to my house.

Who's out there?

I can't find Nolan anywhere.

♪♪♪♪

turn here than any other newscast. ABC News, World News Tonight with David Muir. America's number 1 most watched newscast across all of television.

You have 2 children?

Yes.

When was the last time you saw Cal Bradford alive? Adrian Carlins. Have a seat.

I walked the president to his room at 2204.

When did you discover the body?

At 801. That's when I found him lying next to his bed.

Did you kill him? No.

Is the

part of you happy that Cal is dead?

Donald Trump, historic, taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration Day, America turns to ABC News. Starting with a special Good Morning America, then live all across the day. David Muir, right there as history is made. Monday on ABC.

Checking more top stories now. New questions about the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas this morning. Prime Minister Netanyahu said his cabinet will not meet to approve the deal until it gets more clarification from Hamas on the release of Palestinian prisoners. If approved, The first phase of the deal will begin Sunday and calls for the release of 33 hostages.

Cuba has begun releasing prisoners arrested during protests in 2021. The move comes after the Biden administration took Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Stocks opened this morning after their best day in 2 months. Yesterday's rally was driven in part by bank profits on the rise.

Norovirus levels are hitting record highs with the most confirmed cases in 6 years. Nearly 30% of the tests conducted for the virus are coming back positive, frequent hand washing is recommended to reduce the spread.

Today's weather, diminishing winds and rising humidity is good news for fire crews in California, snow in the northern Rockies and around the Great Lakes.

And finally, the couple who unknowingly adopted dog sisters.

Here's Danny Neu with this story.

Good girl.

As you can see on Jazz's face, that is the look of a dog who just had a revelation. Did it ever occur to you that could be your sister? Potentially, Yeah. Amanda and Daniel here of Santa Clara, California adopted 2 dogs almost 3 years apart and just learned a few weeks ago that they are actually siblings.

First time meet and greet.

What are you playing? What are you playing?

First, they got Jazz, a husky Malinois mix in 2022 and were perfectly content with 1 dog. That is until this past October when County of Santa Clara Animal Services posted this photo on Facebook of a stray who had just been brought in.

I told my husband like we can't leave little Jazz in the shelter that's what it felt like.

They named her Zoe and when they first brought Zoe home,

good girl,

she didn't really want to leave her crate. Understandably, Zoe had been through a lot, so they made sure to keep her and Jazz separated for a few weeks. However, they

were crying for each other, they were staring at each other on the other side of the glass.

Play, Yeah, there you go.

And then they had that backyard meeting you saw earlier. When it looked like Zoe and Jazz just put it all together. A few weeks ago, Amanda and Daniel got the official word with this DNA test result that confirmed that they are indeed sisters. Since then, they say Jazz and Zoe have become inseparable.

They're constantly playing or constantly sleeping next to each other.

Amanda also recently shared their story on Instagram which immediately went viral. It now has more than 4 million views with 1 commenter writing, crying over dog sisters on the internet. But for Amanda and Daniel they say this feels like it was meant to happen because they can't imagine that 1 shy little puppy going to any other home.

We think that Jazz really showed her how to be a dog and made her feel comfortable in a home like this.

So I should clarify Jazz is estimated to be 4 years old and Zoe is about 1 year old so they would have to be from separate letters but that makes the story even more unlikely right guys? Pretty crazy coincidence there. That's a Good Morning America

first look.

Have a great day.

America's number 1 news ABC News now streaming 24 7 on Disney plus.

Right now on Good Morning America, first look, the historic ceasefire deal in the Middle East when the American hostages could come home.

President Biden's farewell address to the nation his warning about the influence of tech billionaires and the future of democracy.

California fire victims demanded they be allowed back into their neighborhoods this morning an up-close look at the dangers in the fire zone and the new legal battle over what started 1 of the biggest fires. Plus, kids back in class at different schools. 1 third grader's message about the fire disaster's impact on her life.

The clock ticking down to a ban on TikTok set to take effect Sunday. What we're learning about a last ditch effort to save the app.

Landmark launch, Jeff Bezos scores a victory overnight in the space race against Elon Musk.

An airline pilot under arrest accused of being drunk before takeoff. How passengers found out.

Paying up, a big change in college sports when it comes to paying women's teams.

And later, why more young people are taking up hobbies their grandmother used to enjoy.

From ABC News, This is Good Morning America, First Look.

Good Thursday morning everyone, I'm Rianna Nally.

I'm Andrew Dimbert. We begin with the ceasefire deal in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

Some of the hostages, including Americans, could be released this weekend. But we learned overnight that final details are still being determined.

President Biden, who helped broker the deal, gave his farewell address last night, also speaking about domestic issues, warning about the rise of the ultra-wealthy. ABC's Nicole D'Antonio begins our coverage, starting with that ceasefire deal. Nicole.

Well, that's right. Good morning to you. And this deal could end 15 months of war. But some are questioning whether the ceasefire can survive beyond the first phase.

No, no, no. No, no, no.

Jubilation in the streets of Gaza after an apparent ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. But overnight Israel already claiming Hamas has reneged on parts of the deal. The Netanyahu government demanding more details on the release of Palestinian prisoners before finalizing the deal.

We are so hopeful and optimistic. We need to remember this has to be rolled out until the very end. So there can't be true celebration until everyone Is where they're

supposed to be.

The deal is split into 3 phases. The first involves a 6 week pause in fighting along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether. Over those 6 weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages held by Hamas would be released, including 2 Americans.

I'm happy that they actually managed to pass it over the finish line. I hope the nightmare is over.

Palestinian prisoners would also be released. The second phase involves the release of all remaining living hostages, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase would initiate reconstruction of Gaza. The deal on the table for months was brokered by leaders from across the Middle East, along with President Biden's team and the incoming Trump administration. Trump recently pledged all hell would break out if Hamas didn't promise to release hostages by the time he takes office.

The question is what has changed and what has the Trump team told the different countries involved that made them actually bring this about?

My fellow Americans.

President Biden hailing the deal last night during his farewell address to the nation. Biden also spoke about the U.S. Economy, warning about a concentration of power in the hands of a wealthy few.

Today an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms. I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.

And back to that ceasefire deal, if the details are approved in Israel we could see the first hostages released as early as this Sunday. Just huge news for those families. Rhiannon.

Absolutely we will be following it every step of the way. Nicole, thank you for that. Pam Bondi is on track to become the next Attorney General. During her Senate confirmation hearing, Bondi vowed to keep the Justice Department independent, saying there would be no enemies list under her watch. But Bondi would not say if she would disobey an unlawful order from President Trump.

And she refused to acknowledge Trump lost the 2020 election.

Now to Los Angeles. The winds are finally dying down, but the legal battle over this historic fire disaster is just ramping up. This morning, more federal aid is headed to the California fire victims who desperately need it.

We never imagined something like this happening.

FEMA says it's received 53, 000 applications for its individual assistance program, A one-time payment to cover costs for things like water, food, and infant formula. FEMA also activating a program paying for hotel rooms. And a major insurance company, State Farm, now says it will offer renewals, even to some homeowners it previously planned to drop. Crews are making progress fighting the 2 biggest fires. The Palisades fire was 21% contained overnight.

The Eaton fire up to 45% contained. Many residents are frustrated they're not being allowed back to their neighborhoods. But we saw why. The fire zone is still so dangerous.

We have open gas lines. We have exposed water lines. And so they're evaluating each property to determine if it's safe to enter.

Along the Pacific Coast Highway, crews searching the rubble for remains. Today, the family of Evelyn McClendon, who died trying to evacuate from the Eaton fire, is expected to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Her family, suing Southern California Edison, claiming the power company failed to turn off utilities despite the high wind warning. Another lawsuit cites witnesses and video claiming to show a fire at the base of a transmission tower. Southern California Edison not commenting on the lawsuit but saying our hearts remain with our communities during the devastating fires.

We are talking to individuals about not just what they saw but what they smelled and they heard.

The cause of each fire remains under investigation. Authorities say more than 150 leads have been generated from tips.

We have conducted interviews with individuals that initiated the 911 calls and the first responders to this January 7th fire as well as the fire that was started and put out on January 1st.

Many elementary school students impacted by the fires are now back in class as other schools around LA welcome them in. Each of the kids with a story to tell.

Nightmares of a note house and all my stuff being gone. My childhood memories would be gone.

Meanwhile, dozens of additional restaurants are now stepping up to offer free meals to evacuees.

The clock is ticking down to a ban on TikTok set to take effect Sunday. An effort to postpone the ban has failed in Congress. The question now, is there any hope left for TikTok fans?

This morning, time running out for TikTok fans. The app appears to be on track to be banned in the U.S. This Sunday. The Supreme Court yesterday passed up a chance to intervene. And Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton has now blocked an attempt by Democrats to postpone the ban, saying there will be no extensions, no concessions, and no compromises for TikTok.

Cotton citing national security concerns due to the app's Chinese owner.

Guys, it's official. TikTok will be getting banned.

A law passed by Congress last year requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to find a buyer not controlled by a foreign adversary. But with no sale apparently imminent, Reuters reports TikTok is preparing to shut down U.S. Operations, saying users attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban. There could be 1 last hope for TikTok fans. President-elect Trump, who takes office Monday, is reportedly considering an executive order that would give TikTok's owner up to 90 more days to find a buyer.

The New York Times reports TikTok's CEO plans to attend Trump's inauguration. Trump's nominee for attorney general on Capitol Hill yesterday declined to say whether the Justice Department would enforce the ban.

Will you commit to enforce that law on your first day, when you are, if you are confirmed?

Senator, as I discussed with you during our meeting, that is pending litigation within the Department of Justice.

Well, it's pending litigation, but will you enforce that law?

I can't discuss pending litigation.

The Supreme Court still has time to intervene. Meanwhile, many TikTok users are now turning to other apps, like RedNote, but that, too, is owned by China.

Blue Origin, The space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos launched a massive new rocket overnight, sending a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth. The rocket is called New Glenn. It's 32 stories high. It marks the first major competitor to the Elon Musk company SpaceX and its rocket, which has carried satellites to space for more than a decade. The new Glenn Pock rocket packs twice the power.

Well it is time now for your Thursday weather.

Good morning. We have a cold and snowy morning on our hands in places like Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. AccuWeather real field temperatures below 0 in those areas, closer to New York City and Scranton, PA. AccuWeather real field temperatures will be in the single digits this morning. Here comes a band of snow.

It will hold on to areas near the west slopes of the mountains longest but there will also be some snow that survives to areas along I-95. According to an inch in Philadelphia a small fraction of an inch in New York City but 1 to 3 inches for many in the interior. For AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish for ABC News.

Coming up a major airline sued over flight delays.

But first, passengers speak out after an airline pilot is arrested for allegedly being drunk before takeoff.

And should it be harder to get onto porn sites online? What the Supreme Court is suggesting.

Friday, 2020 is all new. Beloved father who went missing and evidently told his best friends not to come looking for him.

My family and I are begging you, asking for your assistance.

This is the strangest case I've ever seen. Now, follow the clues to solve a deadly, mysterious true crime.

Let's just say the phrase, over my dead body, takes on a new meaning.

And Just when you think you know where the story is headed, things take a turn.

The new 2020 Friday Night on

ABC. Hey! Good morning, America. Good morning, America.

Good morning, America. Are you ready? They

are ready. Covering

the biggest events in the country right now. There's a lot going on here.

You don't just see it, you feel it.

I'm in. I'm in.

I'm in.

I'm in too.

I am

here and so happy.

I'm in.

I'm in too.

Michael's Pledge. Where? Ginger is real. It's real.

Whenever, wherever news breaks, it's so important to always remember that lives are changed. Here in London, in Buffalo, Uvalde, Texas, Edinburgh, Scotland. Reporting from Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw. We're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City.

Getting you behind the stories

as they happen. ABC News Live Prime. We'll take you there.

Alive. Agent Collins, why don't you have a seat?

I walked the president to his room at 2204.

When did you discover the body? At

801. That's when I found him lying next to his bed.

Did you kill him? No. Is a part of you happy that Cal is dead? No.

No. No. No. No. No.

No. No.

I'm Bridget Clennett on board a destroyer, the USS Gravely, on the Red Sea. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

The government is suing Southwest Airlines over what it calls persistent flight delays. The transportation department is seeking fines into the 6 figures accusing Southwest of illegally operating chronically delayed flights. In response, Southwest said it leads the industry in the number of flights without cancelation. The government is also fining Frontier Airlines for similar violations.

A Southwest pilot has been arrested charged with being drunk before a flight. Police say David Alsop was at the airport in Savannah, Georgia before a flight to Chicago and was arrested for DUI. Passengers were already in their seats when flight attendants told them there was an issue and then they were delayed.

If I have to take my shoes off still before I get on a plane it seems a little weird that I seem to kind of have to wonder if my pilot is sober.

Passengers had to wait nearly 5 hours for another pilot.

We turn now to the Supreme Court and the debate over accessing pornography sites. This morning the Supreme Court signaling it's ready to roll back First Amendment protection for Internet pornography. The justices yesterday heard a challenge to a Texas law that would require visitors to porn sites to go through an age verification process to prove they're 18 or older. That process could include a government issued ID, a facial scan, or commercial verification methods. Critics say the law violates the First Amendment because it unfairly burdens adults' access to protected content.

But many of the justices appear to suggest it's worth the risk to protect kids.

It's very difficult for 15 year olds, whatever, to get access to the type of things that is available with the push of a button today.

The porn industry argues there are less restrictive options to protect kids, like parental controls and content filtering software. Some justices not buying that argument.

Come on, be real. There's a huge volume of evidence that filtering doesn't work.

I think that the explosion of addiction to online porn has shown that content filtering isn't working.

Supporters of the Texas law also addressed concern that age verification measures threaten privacy and could expose people's personal information to hackers.

1 of the important parts of modern age verification technology is that you can do it without identification at all. There's no ID or anything like that. It's just a face scan.

Any decision could have wide-ranging implications. 18 other states have passed similar laws, and an estimated 37% of all Internet traffic is for porn sites. Justice Alito, seemingly unaware of that statistic, asking if people log on to the popular website Pornhub for the articles.

Is it like the old Playboy magazine? You have essays there by the modern-day equivalent of Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.

The court's ruling is expected by summer.

Coming up, a big change for women's sports when it comes to getting paid.

Also ahead, the FDA bans a controversial dye found in popular foods. So what happens next?

Donald Trump, historic, taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration Day, America turns to ABC News, starting with a special Good Morning America,

♪♪

is made Monday on ABC.

I only have 1 rule. Stay out of the basement.

What do

you got in the basement?

Something down there will destroy the world.

We're talking about a real monster. Ah! Ah!

Ah! Oh. Ah! Ah! Ah!

Jason's escape puts my wife's life in danger.

I need Bailey's ex back in prison.

I need to focus on my career, so

no more messy romances.

It's come to my attention that you 2 are betting on your rookies.

To be clear, we didn't put any money on it

I'm worried about him he's spinning out over Jason

I need 2 units sent to my house

who's out there

I can't find Nolan anywhere

What does it take to be the most watched newscast in America?

We are part of an operation.

This is our combat operations center.

We're approaching the gate. Militants came in from different directions. Nuclear reactor.

So you have a couple loaded and ready to go.

The house is destroyed, but the flag is

not a pair, is it?

How important it made to USA. Great

work. Hi. Bruce, you?

Thank you.

Ismael? David. David. I'm

David Muir. I know you are. I watch you every night. ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is is America's most-watched newscast.

We're getting to a small community outside of Mexico City. Getting you behind the stories

as they happen. ABC News Live Prime. We'll take you there.

Stream ABC News Live weeknights wherever you stream your news. Only on ABC News Live.

He's pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The Gilgo Beach Murders. Now, 1 woman who believes she got away and lived to tell.

He scared the crap out of me. And nobody's ever made me scared or uncomfortable like that.

Gilgo Beach Murders. Now streaming on Hulu.

We are back now with a new show at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Look at this, the Kilauea Volcano erupting again. Spewing lava 200 feet into the air. No homes were threatened.

The FDA is expanding its ban on red dye number 3 after outlawing its use in cosmetics years ago. The agency now wants it gone from all food products saying tests have shown it causes cancer in rats. Some food industry groups are pushing back though saying the FDA admits it has no evidence linking the dye to cancer in humans. Food companies have until January of 2027 to remove the dye. The FDA also wants to cut nicotine levels in cigarettes to make smoking less addictive.

The agency is taking public comments before moving forward. The new Trump administration could abandon the plan.

Now to a major development in college sports. The women's teams will now be paid in the March Madness tournament, just like the men. Here's ABC's Andrea Fugge.

This morning, a big win for women's college basketball. After years of discussion, the NCAA has unanimously decided to pay women's teams in the March Madness Tournament, just like men's teams have been paid for years. Finally,

for the first time ever, the women's tournament is going to start to reap some of the financial rewards that it has deserved for a long time, but has never been allowed to have.

In 2021, video of the women's basketball weight room during the Division 1 playoffs, compared to the men's, sparked a debate over disparity. Since then, women's basketball has exploded in popularity. The women's NCAA tournament last year was its most successful ever, with a title game bringing in a record audience of nearly 19 million viewers, about 4 million more than the men's title game.

The sexism was there and it was truly unfair for our female athletes compared to our male athletes.

Payments will be in effect for the upcoming tournament. Participating schools will share in the revenue with winning teams receiving more money. The pot will begin at 15 million dollars this year and will progressively grow. Next year up to 20 million. Still not as much as the men but analysts say it's a step in the right direction.

It's all come together now at a key moment, a real watershed moment for women's sports, because as basketball goes often, so goes the rest of women's sports.

Just like the men, the money women's conferences will earn will be invested back into the schools and its programs and not go directly to the players. Andrew, Rhiannon. A very positive change.

Yes it is, Andrea, thank you. Coming up, why more young people are taking up hobbies their grandmothers used to enjoy.

Plus, an unexpected visitor on the court during a game.

On the day's top stories.

A lot of news today, so let's get into it.

Listen now to the Daily News Podcast honored with 4 Edward R. Murrow awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to. Start here, ABC News. Make it your daily first listen.

Now, that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming.

Wherever you get your podcasts, start here.

World News Tonight with David Muir, America's number 1 most watched newscast across all of television.

Jason's escape puts my wife's life in danger.

I need Bailey Zacks back in prison.

I need to focus on my career So

no more messy romances.

It's come to my attention that you 2 are betting on your rookies. To be clear,

we didn't put any money on it.

I'm worried about him. He's spinning out over Jason.

I need 2 units sent to

my house.

Who's out there?

I can't find Nolan anywhere. I can't find Nolan anywhere.

♪♪

Celebrity Buzz, Deals and Steals, and the coolest lifestyle

tips from GMA.

I love that so much.

Streaming weekends on ABC News Live.

That you miss.

♪

I can't stop it, it's just how I do it

♪

Let's solve this case. ♪ I can't stop it, it's

just how I do it

♪

Bingo. ♪ I'm down, I'm down, I'm down, I'm down, I'm down

♪

Our killer's name is Dubois.

Did you just Google, who's the killer on your phone, Morgan?

No, I did not do that. You. You.

Reporting from the Normandy coast for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, I'm David Buor. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

Time to check the pulse. We begin with young people picking up some old ways.

They call it Grandma Corps. More women in their 20s and 30s are taking up knitting, baking, gardening, and other hobbies that are commonly associated with grandmas.

Why? They say to slow down and take a breather from today's fast-paced life. And we're getting an early look at what the Oscars may look like.

Yeah, the potential preview comes from the British Academy Film Awards, better known as the BAFTAs. And the big winner, the papal thriller Conclave with 12 nominations including Best Picture. The US Academy Award nominations will be announced next Thursday. Next, a kid who gives new meaning to storming the court.

This little guy ran onto the court during the game between Gardner Webb and Radford last night. He enjoyed some exercise before finally being picked up by a player.

From 1 court to another here's a different way to watch the Australian Open. They're using an animated live stream to show the matches on YouTube to get around the broadcast restrictions. It's similar to what's being done recently with NFL games. Next, a biotech startup has now raised $200 million to bring back the wooly mammoth.

The startup is called Colosso biosciences. The plan is to create a calf using DNA cells from ancient samples taken from a frozen tundra, then implant them into a mother elephant to give birth. And it could happen in just 3 years.

Didn't anyone see Jurassic Park?

I've seen all of them. This doesn't sound like the brightest idea.

What could possibly go wrong top headlines next

Friday 2020 is all new Beloved father who went missing and evidently told his best friends not to come looking for him.

My family and I are begging you, asking for your assistance.

This is the strangest case I've ever seen.

Now, follow the clues to solve a deadly, mysterious true crime.

Let's Just say the phrase, over my dead body, takes on a new meaning. And just when you think

you know where the story is headed, things take a turn.

The new 2020 Friday Night on ABC. With so much at stake, so much on the line, more Americans turn here than any other newscast. ABC News World News Tonight with David Muir, America's number 1 most-watched newscast across all of television.

Why do so many people start their day here? From ABC News, This is Start Here.

To be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories.

A lot of news today, so let's get into it.

Listen now to the Daily News Podcast honored with 4 Edward R. Murrow awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to. Start Here, ABC News. Make it your daily first listen.

Now, that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming.

Wherever you get your podcasts,

start here. I only have 1 rule. Stay out of the basement.

What do

you got in the basement?

Something down there will destroy the world.

We're talking about a real monster. Ahh! Ah! Ahh! Ahh!

Ahh!

Ahh! Freeze, Morgan Guillory, major crimes.

Where did you get this?

Check out

at the dollar store. Yeah! You hired me because I noticed things that you miss.

Let's solve this case.

Bingo.

Our killer's name is Dubois.

Did you just Google who's the killer on your phone, Morgan?

No, I did not do that.

Donald Trump, historic, taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration Day, America turns to ABC News. Starting with a special Good Morning America, then live all across the day, David Muir, right there as history is made, Monday on ABC.

♪♪ Checking more top stories now, New questions about the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas this morning. Prime Minister Netanyahu said his cabinet will not meet to approve the deal until it gets more clarification from Hamas on the release of Palestinian prisoners. If approved, The first phase of the deal will begin Sunday and calls for the release of 33 hostages.

Cuba has begun releasing prisoners arrested during protests in 2021. The move comes after the Biden administration took Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Stocks opened this morning after their best day in 2 months. Yesterday's rally was driven in part by bank profits on the rise.

Norovirus levels are hitting record highs with the most confirmed cases in 6 years. Nearly 30% of the tests conducted for the virus are coming back positive, frequent hand washing is recommended to reduce the spread.

Today's weather, diminishing winds and rising humidity is good news for fire crews in California, snow in the northern Rockies and around the Great Lakes.

And finally, the couple who unknowingly adopted dog sisters.

Here's Danny New with this story.

Good girl.

As you can see on Jazz's face, that is the look of a dog who just had a revelation. Did it ever occur to you that could be your sister? Potentially, Yeah. Amanda and Daniel here of Santa Clara, California adopted 2 dogs almost 3 years apart and just learned a few weeks ago that they are actually siblings.

First time meet and greet.

What are you playing? What did you find?

First, they got Jazz, a husky Malinois mix in 2022 and were perfectly content with 1 dog. That is until this past October when County of Santa Clara Animal Services posted this photo on Facebook of a stray who had just been brought in.

I told my husband like we can't leave little Jazz in the shelter that's what it felt like.

They named her Zoe and when they first brought Zoe home,

Good girl.

She didn't really want to leave her crate. Understandably, Zoe had been through a lot, so they made sure to keep her and Jazz separated for a few weeks. However,

They were crying for each other. They were staring at each other on the other side of the glass.

Play, Yeah, there you go.

And then they had that backyard meeting you saw earlier. When it looked like Zoe and Jazz just put it all together. A few weeks ago, Amanda and Daniel got the official word with this DNA test result that confirmed that they are indeed sisters. Since then, they say Jazz and Zoe have become inseparable.

They're constantly playing or constantly sleeping next to each other.

Amanda also recently shared their story on Instagram which immediately went viral. It now has more than 4 million views with 1 commenter writing, crying over dog sisters on the internet. But for Amanda and Daniel they say this feels like it was meant to happen, because they can't imagine that 1 shy little puppy going to any other home.

We think that Jazz really showed her how to be a dog and made her feel comfortable in a home like this.

So I should clarify, Jazz is estimated to be 4 years old, and Zoe is about 1 year old. So they would have to be from separate letters but that makes the story even more unlikely right guys pretty crazy incidents there that's a good morning America

first look have

a great day

America's number 1 news ABC news now streaming 24 7 on Disney Plus

right now on Good Morning America first look the historic ceasefire deal in the Middle East when the American hostages could come home.

President Biden's farewell address to the nation his warning about the influence of tech billionaires and the future of democracy.

California fire victims demanded they be allowed back into their neighborhoods this morning an up-close look at the dangers in the fire zone and the new legal battle over what started 1 of the biggest fires. Plus, kids back in class at different schools, 1 third-grader's message about the fire disaster's impact on her life.

The clock ticking down to a ban on TikTok set to take effect Sunday. What we're learning about a last ditch effort to save the app.

Landmark launch, Jeff Bezos scores a victory overnight in the space race against Elon Musk.

An airline pilot under arrest accused of being drunk before takeoff. How passengers found out.

Paying up, a big change in college sports when it comes to paying women's teams.

And later, why more young people are taking up hobbies their grandmother used to enjoy.

From ABC News, This is Good Morning America, First Look.

Good Thursday morning everyone, I'm Rianna Nally.

I'm Andrew Dimberg. We begin with the ceasefire deal in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

Some of the hostages, including Americans, could be released this weekend. But we learned overnight that final details are still being determined.

President Biden, who helped broker the deal, gave his farewell address last night, also speaking about domestic issues, warning about the rise of the ultra-wealthy. ABC's Nicole D'Antonio begins our coverage, starting with that ceasefire deal. Nicole.

Well, that's right. Good morning to you. And this deal could end 15 months of war. But some are questioning whether the ceasefire can survive beyond the first phase.

No, no, no. No, no, no.

Jubilation in the streets of Gaza after an apparent ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. But overnight Israel already claiming Hamas has reneged on parts of the deal. The Netanyahu government demanding more details on the release of Palestinian prisoners before finalizing the deal.

We are so hopeful and optimistic. We need to remember this has to be rolled out until the very end. So there can't be true celebration until everyone is where they're supposed to be.

The deal is split into 3 phases. The first involves a 6 week pause in fighting, along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether. Over those 6 weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages held by Hamas would be released, including 2 Americans.

I'm happy that they actually managed to pass it over the finish line. I hope the nightmare is over.

Palestinian prisoners would also be released. The second phase involves the release of all remaining living hostages and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase would initiate reconstruction of Gaza. The deal on the table for months was brokered by leaders from across the Middle East, along with President Biden's team and the incoming Trump administration. Trump recently pledged all hell would break out if Hamas didn't promise to release hostages by the time he takes office.

The question is what has changed and what has the Trump team told the different countries involved that made them actually bring this about?

My fellow Americans.

President Biden hailing the deal last night during his farewell address to the nation. Biden also spoke about the U.S. Economy, warning about a concentration of power in the hands of a wealthy few.

Today an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms. I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.

And back to that ceasefire deal, if the details are approved in Israel, we could see the first hostages released as early as this Sunday. Just huge news for those families. Rhiannon.

Absolutely. We will be following it every step of the way. Nicole, thank you for that. Pam Bondi is on track to become the next Attorney General. During her Senate confirmation hearing, Bondi vowed to keep the Justice Department independent, saying there would be no enemies list under her watch.

But Bondi would not say if she would disobey an unlawful order from President Trump. And she refused to acknowledge Trump lost the 2020 election.

Now to Los Angeles. The winds are finally dying down, but the legal battle over this historic fire disaster is just ramping up. This morning, more federal aid is headed to the California fire victims who desperately need it.

We never imagined something like this happening.

FEMA says it's received 53, 000 applications for its individual assistance program, A one-time payment to cover costs for things like water, food, and infant formula. FEMA also activating a program paying for hotel rooms. And a major insurance company, State Farm, now says it will offer renewals, even to some homeowners it previously planned to drop. Crews are making progress fighting the 2 biggest fires. The Palisades fire was 21% contained overnight.

The Eaton fire up to 45% contained. Many residents are frustrated they're not being allowed back to their neighborhoods. But we saw why. The fire zone is still so dangerous.

We have open gas lines. We have exposed water lines. And so they're evaluating each property to determine if it's safe to enter.

Along the Pacific Coast Highway, crews searching the rubble for remains. Today, the family of Evelyn McClendon, who died trying to evacuate from the Eaton fire, is expected to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Her family, suing Southern California Edison, claiming the power company failed to turn off utilities despite the high wind warning. Another lawsuit cites witnesses and video claiming to show a fire at the base of a transmission tower. Southern California Edison not commenting on the lawsuit but saying our hearts remain with our communities during the devastating fires.

We are talking to individuals about not just what they saw but what they smelled and they heard.

The cause of each fire remains under investigation. Authorities say more than 150 leads have been generated from tips.

We have conducted interviews with individuals that initiated the 911 calls and the first responders to this January 7th fire as well as the fire that was started and put out on January 1st.

Many elementary school students impacted by the fires are now back in class as other schools around LA welcome them in. Each of the kids with a story to tell.

Nightmares of no house, and all my stuff being gone. My childhood memories would be gone.

Meanwhile, dozens of additional restaurants are now stepping up to offer free meals to evacuees.

The clock is ticking down to a ban on TikTok set to take effect Sunday. An effort to postpone the ban has failed in Congress. The question now is there any hope left for TikTok fans?

This morning, time running out for TikTok fans. The app appears to be on track to be banned in the U.S. This Sunday. The Supreme Court yesterday passed up a chance to intervene. And Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton has now blocked an attempt by Democrats to postpone the ban, saying there will be no extensions, no concessions, and no compromises for TikTok.

Cotton, citing national security concerns due to the app's Chinese owner.

Guys, it's official. TikTok will be getting banned.

A law passed by Congress last year requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to find a buyer not controlled by a foreign adversary. But with no sale apparently imminent, Reuters reports TikTok is preparing to shut down U.S. Operations, saying users attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban. There could be 1 last hope for TikTok fans. President-elect Trump, who takes office Monday, is reportedly considering an executive order that would give TikTok's owner up to 90 more days to find a buyer.

The New York Times reports TikTok's CEO plans to attend Trump's inauguration. Trump's nominee for attorney general on Capitol Hill yesterday declined to say whether the Justice Department would enforce the ban.

Will you commit to enforce that law on your first day when you are, if you are confirmed?

Senator, as I discussed with you during our meeting, that is pending litigation within the Department of Justice.

Well, it's pending litigation, but will you enforce that law?

I can't discuss pending litigation.

The Supreme Court still has time to intervene. Meanwhile, many TikTok users are now turning to other apps, like RedNote, but that, too, is owned by China.

Blue Origin, The space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos launched a massive new rocket overnight, sending a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth. The rocket is called New Glenn. It's 32 stories high. It marks the first major competitor to the Elon Musk company SpaceX and its rocket, which has carried satellites to space for more than a decade. The new Glenn Pock rocket packs twice the power.

Well it is time now for your Thursday weather.

Good morning. We have a cold and snowy morning on our hands in places like Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. AccuWeather real field temperatures below 0 in those areas, closer to New York City and Scranton, PA. AccuWeather real field temperatures will be in the single digits this morning. Here comes a band of snow.

It will hold on to areas near the west slopes of the mountains longest but there will also be some snow that survives to areas along I-95. According to an inch in Philadelphia, a small fraction of an inch in New York City but 1 to 3 inches for many in the interior. For AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish for ABC News.

Coming up, a major airline sued over flight delays.

But first, passengers speak out after an airline pilot is arrested for allegedly being drunk before takeoff.

And should it be harder to get onto porn sites online? What the Supreme Court is suggesting.

What does it take to be the most watched newscast in America?

An operation to capture ISIS fighters.

This is Sir Comet Operation Center.

We're approaching the gate now. Militants came in from 4 or 5 different directions. Operational nuclear reactor. So you have

a couple loaded and ready to go.

The house is destroyed, but the flag, there's not a tear in it. Not a tear in it.

How important is this label right here, Made in the USA? Look at your smile, you're proud of this.

I love it. Great work. Hi. Where are you? Where are you?

Appreciate you.

Thank you, David.

It's my pleasure.

Ismael? David.

David! Yes! Yes!

I'm David Muir. I know you are. You do? I watch you every night.

ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is America's most-watched newscast. Donald Trump, historic, taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration Day, America turns to ABC News, starting with a special Good Morning America, then live all across the day. David Muir, right there as history is made. Monday on ABC.

The world is on the brink of war.

I need Captain America. Who do you think you're talking about? On my mark.

Hurry up, hurry up, Run!

You want me? Come and get me!

Get tickets now. I only have 1 rule.

Stay out of the basement.

What do

you got in the basement? I can't talk about it quite yet.

There's something down there... That will destroy the world.

We're talking about a monster, a real monster.

You are in danger. Kids are disappearing. No! No!

Ah!

I'm Jacqueline Lee reporting from the devastating fires in Los Angeles. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

The government is suing Southwest Airlines over what it calls persistent flight delays. The Transportation Department is seeking fines into the 6 figures accusing Southwest of illegally operating chronically delayed flights. In response, Southwest said it leads the industry in the number of flights without cancelation. The government is also fining Frontier Airlines for similar violations.

A Southwest pilot has been arrested charged with being drunk before a flight. Police say David Alsop was at the airport in Savannah, Georgia before a flight to Chicago and was arrested for DUI. Passengers were already in their seats when flight attendants told them there was an issue and then they were delayed.

If I have to take my shoes off still before I get on a plane it seems a little weird that I seem to kind of have to wonder if my pilot is sober.

Passengers had to wait nearly 5 hours for another pilot.

We turn now to the Supreme Court and the debate over accessing pornography sites. This morning the Supreme Court signaling it's ready to roll back First Amendment protection for Internet pornography. The justices yesterday heard a challenge to a Texas law that would require visitors to porn sites to go through an age verification process to prove they're 18 or older. That process could include a government issued ID, a facial scan, or commercial verification methods. Critics say the law violates the First Amendment because it unfairly burdens adults' access to protected content.

But many of the justices appear to suggest it's worth the risk to protect kids.

It's very difficult for 15 year olds, whatever, to get access to the type of things that is available with the push of a button today.

The porn industry argues there are less restrictive options to protect kids like parental controls and content filtering software. Some justices not buying that argument.

Come on, be real. There's a huge volume of evidence that filtering doesn't work.

I think that the explosion of addiction to online porn has shown that content filtering isn't working.

Supporters of the Texas law also addressed concern that age verification measures threaten privacy and could expose people's personal information to hackers.

1 of the important parts of modern age verification technology is that you can do it without identification at all. There's no ID or anything like that. It's just a face scan.

Any decision could have wide-ranging implications. 18 other states have passed similar laws, and an estimated 37% of all Internet traffic is for porn sites. Justice Alito, seemingly unaware of that statistic, asking if people log on to the popular website Pornhub for the articles.

It's like the old Playboy magazine. You have essays there by the modern day equivalent of Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.

The court's ruling is expected by summer.

Coming up, a big change for women's sports when it comes to getting paid.

Also ahead, the FDA bans a controversial dye found in popular foods. So what happens next?

The news never stops. We are here in Israel, a nation at war.

We heard what appeared to be gunfire. The former president rushed off the stage. Hurricane Helene ravaging the coastline of Florida. It's moving really fast, screaming across the state.

And that's why ABC News Live never stops.

Taking you to the center of the story as news breaks live.

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You know something serious about to happen? I

have an idea.

You guys have eyes on your targets.

Shouldn't we strategize?

Come on,

we're gonna improvise. Freestyle.

No.

Jason's escape puts my wife's life in danger.

I need Bailey Zacks back in prison.

I need to focus on my career, so

no more messy romances.

It's come to my attention that you 2 are betting on your rookies.

To be clear, we didn't put any money on it.

I'm worried about him. He's spinning out over Jason.

I need 2 units sent to my house.

Who's out there?

I can't find Nolan anywhere.

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We are back now with a new show at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Look at this, the Kilauea volcano erupting again, spewing lava 200 feet into the air. No homes were threatened.

The FDA is expanding its ban on red dye number 3 after outlawing its use in cosmetics years ago. The agency now wants it gone from all food products saying tests have shown it causes cancer in rats. Some food industry groups are pushing back though saying the FDA admits it has no evidence linking the dye to cancer in humans. Food companies have until January of 2027 to remove the dye. The FDA also wants to cut nicotine levels in cigarettes to make smoking less addictive.

The agency is taking public comments before moving forward. The new Trump administration could abandon the plan.

Now to a major development in college sports. The women's teams will now be paid in the March Madness tournament, just like the men. Here's ABC's Andrea Fugge.

This morning, a big win for women's college basketball. After years of discussion, the NCAA has unanimously decided to pay women's teams in the March Madness Tournament, just like men's teams

have been paid for years. Finally, for the first time ever, the women's tournament is going to start to reap some of the financial rewards that it has deserved for a long time, but has never been allowed to have.

In 2021, video of the women's basketball weight room during the Division 1 playoffs, compared to the men's, sparked a debate over disparity. Since then, women's basketball has exploded in popularity. The women's NCAA tournament last year was its most successful ever, with a title game bringing in a record audience of nearly 19 million viewers, about 4 million more than the men's title game.

The sexism was there and it was truly unfair for our female athletes compared to our male athletes.

Payments will be in effect for the upcoming tournament. Participating schools will share in the revenue with winning teams receiving more money. The pot will begin at 15 million dollars this year and will progressively grow. Next year up to 20 million. Still not as much as the men but analysts say it's a step in the right direction.

It's all come together now at a key moment, a real watershed moment for women's sports, because as basketball goes, often so goes the rest of women's sports.

Just like the men, the money women's conferences will earn will be invested back into the schools and its programs and not go directly to the players. Andrew, Rhiannon, a very positive change.

Yes it is, Andrea, thank you. Coming up, why more young people are taking up hobbies their grandmothers used to enjoy.

Plus, an unexpected visitor on the court during a game.

On the day's top stories.

A lot of news today, so let's get into it.

Listen now to the Daily News Podcast honored with 4 Edward R. Murrow awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to. Start here, ABC News. Make it your daily first listen.

Now, that's a part of the story I

bet you didn't see coming. Wherever you get your podcasts, start here.

You all heard it here first.

I love

it. I'm there for it.

Hot topics, political views. That's what we're about. Voices that matter. It all goes down right here.

That's why it's called the what? The View. I love it. I'm all in. I second that.

It's a beautiful. This is going to be

must-see TV, and so much could happen.

This is not just any killer.

There was 11 skulls. Drawn using a finger in blood.

All of these victims' souls belong to him. They're mine.

I'm more sane than most Americans.

This guy is an evil genius. He's the best serial killer that ever existed. He compared himself to Ted Bundy.

Wild Crime 11 skulls only on Hulu.

All I want is to find our way home.

I'll get you home.

But a crew

of murderous bounty hunters is coming after us. We have to move fast.

We have no idea who he is.

You can't trust me.

You're a Jedi, right?

Of course.

What just happened? Watch this.

Skeleton Crew, new episodes Tuesdays only on Disney+.

Reporting from Madison, Wisconsin on Election Day, I'm Debra Roberts. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. We're streaming ABC News Live.

Time to check the pulse. We begin with young people picking up some old ways.

They call it grandma core. More women in their 20s and 30s are taking up knitting, baking, gardening and other hobbies that are commonly associated with grandmas.

Why? They say to slow down and take a breather from today's fast-paced life. And we're getting an early look at what the Oscars may look like.

Yeah, the potential preview comes from the British Academy Film Awards, better known as the BAFTAs. And the big winner, the papal thriller Conclave with 12 nominations including Best Picture. The US Academy Award nominations will be announced next Thursday. Next, a kid who gives new meaning to storming the court.

This little guy ran onto the court during the game between Gardner Webb and Radford last night. He enjoyed some exercise before finally being picked up by a player.

From 1 court to another, here's a different way to watch the Australian Open. They're using an animated livestream to show the matches on YouTube to get around the broadcast restrictions. It's similar to what's being done recently with NFL games. Next, a biotech startup has now raised $200 million to bring back the wooly mammoth.

The startup is called Colosso biosciences. The plan is to create a calf using DNA cells from ancient samples taken from a frozen tundra, then implant them into a mother elephant to give birth. And it could happen in just 3 years.

Didn't anyone see Jurassic Park?

I've seen all of them. This doesn't sound like the brightest right

what could possibly go wrong

possibly go wrong top-heavy. Thanks, man

Hey good morning America Good morning America Good morning, America.

Good morning, America. Good morning, America.

Good morning. Are you ready? They are ready.

Covering the biggest events in the country right now.

There's a lot going on.

It's always a good time. That's what the show's about.

That's good. Really good. Coming in hot. Coming in hot.

It's fall from elementary. Good morning, America. I'm not going to try to strut like Michael

or anything.

I haven't known George a long, long time.

Have you ever

gotten him

to dance?

Of course he's a dancer.

Look at that face.

You don't just see it, you feel it.

I'm in.

I'm in. I'm in.

I'm in too. I'm in here.

I am here and so happy. I'm

in. I need you!

I'm in.

That tells you something, what's this dog here? Woo! Michael, George, where are you? You're not crazy!

To come looking for him.

Let's just say the phrase, over my dead body, takes on a new meaning.

Just when you think you know where the story is headed, things take a turn.

2020, Friday night on ABC.

This family is suffocating. We are all here to help them. We're going to make this happen. We have 96 hours to build a house.

Come on, guys. Let's move in, Jay. Let's go.

It can't be real.

This was more than just Extreme Home Makeover. This was Extreme Life Makeover.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Thursday on ABC and stream on Hulu.

Donald Trump, historic, taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration day, America turns to ABC News, starting with a special good morning America, then live all across the day, David Muir, right there as history is made, Monday on ABC.

Tonight, President Biden's farewell address to the nation, plus Trump cabinet picks face tough questions and LA communities brace for more wildfires. World News Tonight with David Muir is America's most watched newscast.

Checking More top stories now. New questions about the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas this morning. Prime Minister Netanyahu said his cabinet will not meet to approve the deal until it gets more clarification from Hamas on the release of Palestinian prisoners. If approved, The first phase of the deal will begin Sunday and calls for the release of 33 hostages.

Cuba has begun releasing prisoners arrested during protests in 2021. The move comes after the Biden administration took Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Stocks opened this morning after their best day in 2 months. Yesterday's rally was driven in part by bank profits on the rise.

Norovirus levels are hitting record highs with the most confirmed cases in 6 years. Nearly 30% of the tests conducted for the virus are coming back positive, frequent hand washing is recommended to reduce the spread.

Today's weather, diminishing winds and rising humidity is good news for fire crews in California, snow in the northern Rockies and around the Great Lakes.

And finally, the couple who unknowingly adopted dog sisters.

Here's Danny New with this story.

Thank you.

As you can see on Jazz's face, that is the look of a dog who just had a revelation. Did it ever occur to you that could be your sister? Potentially, Yeah. Amanda and Daniel here of Santa Clara, California adopted 2 dogs almost 3 years apart and just learned a few weeks ago that they are actually siblings.

First time meet and greet.

Oh, you're fine. What'd you find?

First, they got Jazz, a husky Malinois mix in 2022, and were perfectly content with 1 dog. That is, until this past October, when County of Santa Clara Animal Services posted this photo on Facebook of a stray who had just been brought in.

I told my husband, like, we can't leave little Jazz in the shelter. That's what it felt like.

They named her Zoe, and when they first brought Zoe home,

Good girl.

She didn't really want to leave her crate. Understandably, Zoe had been through a lot, so they made sure to keep her and Jazz separated for a few weeks. However,

They were crying for each other. They were staring at each other on the other side of the glass.

Play, Yeah, there you go.

And then they had that backyard meeting you saw earlier. When it looked like Zoe and Jazz just put it all together. A few weeks ago, Amanda and Daniel got the official word with this DNA test result that confirmed that they are indeed sisters. Since then, they say Jazz and Zoe have become inseparable.

They're constantly playing or constantly sleeping next to each other.

Amanda also recently shared their story on Instagram which immediately went viral. It now has more than 4 million views with 1 commenter writing crying over dog sisters on the internet. But for Amanda and Daniel they say this feels like it was meant to happen because they can't imagine that 1 shy little puppy going to any other home.

We think that Jazz really showed her how to be a dog and made her feel comfortable in a home like this.

So I should clarify Jazz is estimated to be 4 years old and Zoe is about 1 year old so they would have to be from separate letters but that makes the story even more unlikely right guys? Pretty crazy coincidence there.

That's a

good morning America.

Have a great day.

ABC's David Muir the most watched newscast in America. Watched newscast in America.

It's Thursday, January 16th, and it's over, they hope. We start here.

After more than a year of war, Israel and Hamas strike a landmark ceasefire deal.

There's 1 word on everyone's lips to explain why now, what changed, and That word is Trump.

Survivors of war might not care who is behind these negotiations, but the answer could determine next steps in the Middle East. Donald Trump's choice for attorney general refuses to rule out the idea of prosecuting the prosecutor.

How about Liz Cheney? Senator? How about Merrick Garland?

I am not going to answer hypotheticals.

We'll walk you through a big day of hearings on the Hill. And Americans have been eating it for years, but now it's getting the red light.

It's found in candy, cereals, certain cherries that may be in fruit drinks.

So just how dangerous is red food dye? From ABC News, this is Start Here. I'm Brad Milkey. On October 7th of 2023, thousands of Hamas militants stormed across the border from Gaza into Israel. They murdered more than 1, 200 people, including children.

That was all in cold blood. But their next step was even more calculated. They began dragging people, kicking and screaming, into their trucks, onto the back of their motorbikes. Those people, close to 250 of them, became hostages, bargaining ships held in tunnels deep underground. Since that day, Israel has been at war.

This is a war that's included raids on civilian neighborhoods, airstrikes hitting schools and apartment buildings and hospitals. Israel says Hamas burrows into communities so cynically that there's no other way, though many international aid groups say these are indiscriminate attacks, nothing short of war crimes. 1 thing is sure, though. While that first day of war claimed 1, 200 lives, the next 465 have killed far more. The current count from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which the UN has described as reliable, is more than 46, 000 Palestinian deaths.

More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed. But yesterday, both sides announced that the killing will stop. For now, at least.

That was

the sound of a diplomat in the country of Qatar saying that a ceasefire deal appears to have finally been brokered. ABC's chief foreign correspondent, Ian Pannel, starts us off from Tel Aviv after this landmark deal. Ian, what can you tell us about it?

Yeah, I mean, it was a monumental day yesterday and everyone's still coming to terms with the new reality and hoping it's true. So, to put it simply, there are basically 3 key phases. Phase 1 is 42 days, 6 weeks long. In that period, we will see over the 6 weeks, not all at once, the release of 33 hostages. We don't know their condition.

We believe most of them are alive, but there will tragically be bodies that are returned to loved ones.

In phase 1, Hamas will be releasing 33 Israeli captives, including civilian women and female recruits as well as children, elderly people, as well as civilian people.

In exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Hamas is talking about more than a thousand prisoners being held by Israel. There will be a withdrawal of Israeli military forces eastwards away from urban areas in Gaza. They'll still stay in Gaza itself and there will be the opening of borders to allow much needed humanitarian aid to get in there. More than 90% of the population has been displaced. The hospital system has practically collapsed.

Many people homeless, death, destruction, and disease.

Hospitals should always be protected, a place of healing. And yet I'm standing around in the midst of utter devastation.

Everywhere across Gaza we're seeing cases of newborn babies dying because there aren't the facilities to keep them warm, to keep them healthy. So it's a really desperate situation inside there. So while Phase 1 is working its way through. Negotiations to agree on phase 2 then begin and then eventually move on to phase 3. So at the end of all this, what you're looking at hopefully will be a complete withdrawal.

When phase 2 begins, there will be an exchange for release of the remaining living hostages including male soldiers and all remaining Israeli forces will be withdrawn from Gaza and the temporary ceasefire will become permanent.

But There's lots of devil in the detail there, it's very fragile, it's going to be monitored by the United States, by Qatar and by Egypt to check that both sides comply with their obligations but there are clearly many, many risks and the biggest question of all, what comes after phase 3? Who runs Gaza is still unresolved.

Right now we have 1 thing to do and that is to win the war.

And the Israelis have been very clear, they've told us, Prime Minister Netanyahu told David Muir that this is a red line, that Hamas cannot exist inside Gaza. Well clearly it is going to exist but remember it's not just a military organization it's also a political party they were the legitimate elected governments inside Gaza and so it remains to be seen how you're going to try and get around that very obvious hurdle.

You said there were more hostages, right? I mean, how many more after that first exchange?

We believe something around 60. We also believe at least half are dead. We haven't got full details on exactly who and the names of those who are going to be released. There may well be 2 Israeli-Americans in that list, may well be in phase 1. But yes, the other releases and return of bodies takes place through the following 2 phases.

We saw limited celebration, if you can call it that, in Gaza. Limited what? Well, the bombing is still going on and of course people have been through so much. There's nobody who hasn't been affected. Here in Israel, again, we had the nightly gathering of families of the hostages and their supporters.

They're saying, again, it's a bittersweet moment for them. They've had to endure so much in a very public forum.

These are our children, parents, brothers and sisters, individuals with dreams, hopes and loved ones longing for their return.

They are hedging their bets. They want to believe this is true but they've had false dawns before. So I think it's only, and this is what we're hearing, only once they start to see that hostages are being released that they can afford to be hopeful. Of course, they all say we want the release of all of the hostages. But there is a portion of Israeli society who's totally against the ceasefire deal, the kind of hard right-wing elements within the government also opposed to a ceasefire in any kind of deal any situation that allows Hamas to continue to exist so so there is opposition there and Today Prime Minister Netanyahu will have a security cabinet meeting and then the proposal then goes to the full cabinet and then there's a two-day period for any legal challenges at the Israeli Supreme Court and then as announced by the Qatari Prime Minister yesterday, January the 19th, this coming Sunday, is the day when we should see the first hostages being released.

Hey, why now? I mean, it's been 15 months of fighting, right? So I mean, what changed that made this happen yesterday? Because you got to think, like, what was it all for?

Yeah, a very, very good question. 1 that is really the talk of the town certainly here in Tel Aviv not just because the fighting's gone for 15 months but President Biden when he addressed the nation yesterday made it clear that this is the deal that's being announced was basically the same deal that he proposed back in May 2024 so it's been lying on the desk there for many many months. If you talk to people here there's 1 word on everyone's lips to explain why now what changed and that word is Trump.

I think Trump was the X factor in bringing this deal to life.

Trump's team have talked about, He's talked about strength through peace. We know that when Trump met with Netanyahu, he told Netanyahu to wrap this thing up by inauguration day.

If the deal isn't done before I take office, which is now going to be 2 weeks, all hell will break out in the Middle East.

We also know that President-elect Trump talked about there would be hell to pay if a deal wasn't done. Now this was seen as a threat towards Hamas but in some senses Hamas hasn't really changed its position. It's Israelis who have changed their position. You're seeing Netanyahu agreeing to a deal that he didn't really want. And again, the answer to this seems to be the attitude and the wrangling that's come from the Trump team.

Now, clearly, huge amounts of credit to the Biden administration because they've been doggedly trying to pursue this but everyone here is convinced that the different element was the strength and the pressure from the incoming Trump administration.

I was

going to say Ian, usually we talk about 1 president at a time, you don't conduct foreign policy until you're in the Oval Office. You're saying the Trump team it sounds like had a very direct line to the Israelis and to the negotiators here.

Yeah and not least because Netanyahu's government warmly welcomed the re-election of Donald Trump. They felt that

he was going to be

a great friend of Israel, that he would be a bit soft on them maybe, but actually the language and the tone has been quite tough on the Israelis, telling them they have to wrap this up.

I knew this deal would have to be implemented by the next team, So I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we're all speaking with the same voice.

And there was no real light between the Biden team and the Trump team on this. They sang from the same hymn sheet. Albeit, I think the Trump team, towards the end, were much louder. But then there'll be questions about, so what happens with West Bank? What happens with settlements?

What happens in terms of a two-state solution? Is there going to be any pressure on Israel to moderate or to agree to certain things. We know that discussions with Saudi Arabia about normalizing relations, people are keen to get that going again. It's something that Donald Trump regards as 1 of his first-term successes. So There's still plenty to be haggled over.

But, you know, we bumped into this 1 man in the market today, and he asked who we were and what we were doing, and as he walked away, he said, thank God for Trump.

Wow, which really lays the groundwork for where we're going to be in the Middle East politically. But again, you look back at these months of fighting is not even just Gaza like this sparked so much of what we have seen around the region around the world. Ian panel reporting on it all. Thank you so much.

Thanks, Brad.

The thing to remember about confirmation hearings this month is they're generally in front of Senate committees. Donald Trump's choice for Treasury Secretary would go in front of the Finance Committee, the pick for Attorney General would go in front of Judiciary. What this means is that all these committees can theoretically set hearings on the same day, even at the same time. That's what happened yesterday. 6 different committees set hearings with prospective Trump appointees, leading to this confirmapalooza that required a split screen if you wanted to watch them all.

But what did these moments tell us about these pics and were any of these nominees fates altered let's take it to the Capitol right now ABC's J O'Brien covers Congress J several hearings at once even more to come later today can you just walk us through the highlights in your eyes

yeah 14 confirmation hearings set for this week on Capitol Hill, Brad. Remember we had that contentious confirmation hearing earlier in the week with Trump's pick to run the Department of Defense Pete Hegseth and then just yesterday we had this rapid series of confirmation hearings. Everybody from Marco Rubio, who's Donald Trump's pick to be the Secretary of State.

I think the 21st century will be defined by what happens between the United States and China. The Chinese have basically concluded that America is sort of a tired, great power in decline.

In fact, that news of that ceasefire deal breaking during Rubio's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I would argue that if Israel had not been firm and strong in its response in this endeavor, most recently, they may very well have faced an existential threat, as they continue to in many ways.

Then you had a guy named Russell Vaught, who's Donald Trump's pick to run the Office of Management and Budget.

If the president says to you, I don't care what the law says, I don't like California, And I'm not going to give them the disaster aid they need. You're going to stand up to the president and say, sir, that's not appropriate.

Senator, I don't engage in hypotheticals, but the president would never ask me to do something along those lines.

He's going to be in square focus because of Donald Trump's thought to revamp the federal government and the various machinations of the federal government and the staffing of the federal government. Then you also had John Ratcliffe, who Donald Trump's picked to run the CIA.

Collecting the truth, intelligence, critical information, so that American people can be free, their freedom and liberty are dependent on the CIA doing that job and doing it in an apolitical way.

But really, everybody centered yesterday on what was the main event of the confirmation hearings that day, which was Pam Bondi.

Yeah, tell me about Pam Bondi, because she's up for attorney general, and that was already going to be this huge fireworks thing when Matt Gaetz was supposed to be attorney general. He's no longer there, but it's not as if she's just like a clear consensus from everyone on the Hill.

Right, we're all old enough to remember when Matt Gaetz was the 1 that Donald Trump had picked to sit in that chair and testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. But Matt Gaetz never got the support he needed amongst Republicans to become the next Attorney General, so he bows out. That's why Pam Bondi was sitting before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday.

We have got to come together. We have got to work together to make America safe again. And that, in turn, will make America great again. And I don't know where that phrase has become a bad word, because I think that's a great 1, making America great again.

And I talked to Democrats on this committee and they acknowledged they don't have concerns about Pam Bondi's qualifications to be the nation's top prosecutor the way they did for Matt Gaetz, for instance, amongst other concerns that they have. Remember, Brad, she was the attorney general of the state of Florida for quite some time. She cracked down on pill mills. She was instrumental in other large law enforcement operations in that state. She was also a local prosecutor.

She was, for a time, remember, Donald Trump's personal attorney defending him during his first impeachment trial. Then she was a kind of a campaign surrogate in 2020. She even pushed false claims of election fraud in the aftermath of the 2020 election. And so with that latter part of her bio in mind, that's what Democrats say they were concerned with. Can she be independent of President-elect Trump if she were to be in charge of the Department of Justice?

As Attorney General, if confirmed, who would be your client?

My oath would be to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The people of America would be my client. Now it is also my job to advise the president. My client is the, are the people of America.

She was pressed for instance by Maisie Hirono is a good example. She's a Democratic senator from Hawaii on Pam Bondi's pledge that she's made in various interviews and such to crack down on what she calls quote-unquote bad prosecutors in the Department of Justice.

I'm just asking whether you would consider Jack Smith senator to be 1 of the people. How about Liz Cheney? Senator? How about Merrick Garland?

I am not going to answer hypotheticals. No 1 has been prejudged or nor will anyone be prejudged if I am confirmed. These are

in fact the people that you would prosecute.

Then there was another area of questioning. Will the Department of Justice, writ large, be independent if Pam Bondi is at the top?

So you will provide an insurance to every member of this committee that the Justice Department will only follow the facts and the law and the White House will play no role in cases investigated or brought?

Senator, it will be my job, if confirmed, as Attorney General to make those decisions. Politics will not play a part.

She says she wants to restore faith in the Department of Justice. She bashed the way that Merrick Garland handled the Department of Justice.

They targeted Donald Trump. They went after him. Actually starting back in 2016, they targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him. That will not be the case if I am Attorney General.

I will not politicize that office.

She does say that quote no 1 will be prosecuted and she goes on to say no 1 will be investigated solely because they're political opponents of Donald Trump. And that's a key point because Donald Trump is mused on the campaign trail as have his allies of investigating his political opponents. He's even mused about jailing his political opponents. He's talked about jailing Liz Cheney and the members of the January 6th Committee. So there's always been this open question, how much would Trump's Department of Justice follow suit in those musings of his on the campaign trail?

I'm asking you, sitting here today, whether you are aware of a factual predicate to investigate Liz Cheney.

Senator, no 1 has asked me to investigate Liz Cheney. That is a hypothetical.

The president has called for it publicly. You are aware of that, aren't you?

No 1 has asked me to investigate Liz. We're also worried

about Liz

Cheney, Senator.

You know what we should

be worried about? The primate in California right now

is the 1

with the roof.

We didn't get a clear answer to that question in Pam Bonny's confirmation hearing, but certainly Democrats pressed that matter repeatedly.

Well, and so when you walked away from a lot of these hearings, the sense was clearly most, if not all of these folks are going through, right? Like Marco Rubio, it seemed very clear that senators were like, yeah, he's super qualified. Pam Bondi even, It didn't seem like there were any Republicans, at least, who were going to vote against her. Is that the sense you're getting? And I guess, what's the schedule for today?

So today, Brad, you've got Lee Zeldin in the hot seat, Trump's pick to run the EPA. You've also got Doug Burgum, Trump's pick to run the Department of the Interior. And those are considered, as we've talked about, you know, not necessarily amongst the most quote-unquote controversial of Donald Trump's Cabinet picks. While they will face some tough questioning, there are others who are going to face even more tough questioning. And they are not on the schedule as of yet.

RFK Jr., for example, Trump's picked to run the Department of Health and Human Services. He has not had a confirmation hearing yet. Neither has Tulsi Gabbard. Trump's picked to be the director of national intelligence. Those are considered some of the most closely watched, controversial, as Trump's critics would say, of his cabinet picks.

Kash Patel, Trump's pick to run the FBI, who has openly talked about using the federal government to go after Trump's political opponents, He has not had a confirmation hearing yet, although his name was brought up repeatedly in Pam Bondi's confirmation hearing.

I have known Cash and I believe that Cash is the right person at this time for this job. You'll have the ability to question Mr. Patel.

And I'm questioning you right now about whether you will enforce an enemies list that he announced publicly on television.

Oh, Senator, I'm sorry. There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.

Thank you.

Point being, while things are looking good at the moment for Donald Trump's cabinet picks and no serious Republican opposition. We've also heard from senators who say they want to watch this process play out over the next few days and weeks. So Donald Trump not fully out of the woods yet.

All right, another full day coming up. And like you said, more on Friday as well. Jay O'Brien there at the Capitol. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Brad.

You ever talk to someone who just came back from Europe recently and they're like, oh my gosh, it's just so different there. Like people don't rely on their air conditioning as much. They leave work right at 5. They don't leave lights on all the time in their flats, and you're like, okay, it's still an apartment, okay? You live here, calm down, and things are different because they're different places.

They have different weather, they're different cultures. It doesn't mean any place is better or worse. But 1 thing the Europhiles will often talk about are food regulations. There are several ingredients that are permitted here that have been banned for years over there. And stuff that goes in your body does seem much higher stakes, right?

It makes you think, well, 1 of them has to be right. Either they're too risk-averse or we're being unsafe. Well, yesterday, decades after it was banned in Europe, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that Red Dye No. 3, the food dye found in thousands of products, will no longer be allowed in American food.

Let's go to Dr. Stephanie Widmer, a medical toxicologist and an ABC News contributor. Dr. Widmer, first off, what is red dye number 3? Because it's super widespread, right?

Where is it found?

It is widespread. Red dye 3 is an artificial synthetic dye. It's found in candy, cereals, certain cherries that may be in fruit drinks. It's fairly common, actually.

Yeah, I'm just looking at a list, right? Like anything from cookie frosting to jelly bellies to fruit by the foot and maraschino cherries. Like you named something that like your kid might like to get as a treat and it very well might be in there. What is this new rule then?

So the new rule that really won't fully take effect until 2027 is that the FDA plans to eliminate red 3 in our food. There have been studies that have linked RED3 to certain cancers, particularly thyroid cancers in rats. These studies have been done in rats, in animal studies. There really have not been human studies that have linked RED3 to cancer in humans, but nevertheless, that's part of the concern, that's part of the possible risk. There are other concerns such as possible links to hyperactivity and maybe that it has some link to endocrine and hormone disruption.

Nothing that has been confirmed unsafe or proven to be unsafe, but that's what the risk is, that's what the concern is. And the idea is that if we can't prove that something's safe, we kind of want to limit our exposure to it where we can.

That's what I'm trying to figure out is because on 1 hand, we're being told this is concerning enough to ban. On the other hand, it's not so concerning that we're going to rush it like we're giving food companies a year to kind of rejigger their recipes, right? So how worried are you? You're a parent, you're a doctor, how worried should we be?

Right, so my advice to anyone after these headlines have come out is the same that it would have been, you know, a couple of days ago, a couple of weeks ago. So what we wanna do is try to avoid things where we can. We can't make ourselves crazy, right? Because even sometimes just looking at an ingredient list itself can be overwhelming. To look at every single ingredient list as you're going throughout, you know, the grocery store and Googling things, it can be really, really, It can be a lot, you know.

So what the most basic thing and really the best thing that we can do is variety in our diet. So not to eat the same thing over and over and over again. This is not something for all of us to freak out about. This is something that has been in our food for quite some time now, but again, limit where we can. Variety in our diet, not being exposed to the same ingredients and the same thing over and over again is really the best thing that we can do.

The first thing I do isn't going to cost you anything because I'm just going to tell the cereal companies to take all the dyes out of their food.

Well, and the timing of all this is so interesting, because this originally came from a petition to the FDA back in 2022. ABC News actually spoke to 1 of the doctors behind that petition yesterday.

It's always served as cosmetic function and never a nutritional 1. We're not gonna miss this product, nor are we gonna miss the risk of cancer that it always conveyed.

But

it's also just tough to ignore that we are about to have this change of administrations. We know that RFK Jr. Has been tapped to lead health and human services. He's long said that food additives and things like Red 3 should be banned. He told Fox News he would just outlaw several dyes.

So this is clearly going to be talked about more, not less, even without that proof that you had described earlier. Dr. Stephanie Widmer, thank you.

Thank you.

And 1 last thing. A few months ago in Australia, something mysterious started washing up on the shores of Sydney.

9 beaches in Sydney's north are closed tonight with more mysterious ball-shaped debris washing up.

There were these little balls about the size of a marble. Some were a bit larger, some were smaller, but there were hundreds of them, and they were this white-grayish color. If you smooshed them, they turned kind of gunky. This month, it happened again. And since the Environmental Protection Agency there had tested the old ones, this time they knew what they were, small, hardened pieces of sewage known as fatbergs.

A fatberg is like an iceberg, but it's made mainly out of fats and oils that aren't easily dissolved by water. That includes things like cooking oils, but also grease, motor oil, and disgustingly, human waste. It's why this time, they shut down these Sydney beaches, and it's also why fat bergs routinely clog up sewage drains. The longer they sit there, the more these other fatty acids come by and sick to them. They become a major problem in cities like London where fatbergs can reach hundreds of pounds.

Well, this week in Scotland, scientists say they have figured out a way to turn some of these into beauty products. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh say they've developed a way to more efficiently break these things down, which is creating bacteria that eat them up. Some of these modified bacteria even emit this chemical called pinene, which smells like pine needles. This chemical is actually very sought after in the beauty world by perfume makers, which is why I'm not making this up. These scientists say they could start transforming the gunk you find in the sewer into perfume.

Call it eau de toilette. Even if you don't fancy the idea of spritzing yourself with a former fatberg, the bigger idea here is scientists think you could use bacteria to transform deposits like these into lots of different stuff, fuel, fertilizer, or even if it's just liquid, that would flow through pipes more easily. The question will be whether genetically modified bacteria create risks of their own and whether the public will buy into any of this, even if something just smells off about it.

So now I'm just picturing 1

of these poor people in Australia grabbing 1 of these things on the beach and showing their friend like, look what I found. Look, you can smush it. Now, 3 months later, you're like, wait, I was holding what? More on all these stories on abcnews.com or the ABC News app. I'm Brad Milkie.

See you tomorrow.

It's incredible how many lives idols change.

It proves that dreams really do come true.

This is the place where it

all started for me.

You never forget that moment. It changed everything. If you're dreaming out there, please keep dreaming.

Is our next American Idol among us today? Ladies

and gentlemen, the Commodores!

The winner is... Carrie Underwood!

American Idol's next chapter begins March

9th on ABC. Bring it.

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How you feel. How you look. Being happy. Really happy. The secrets and tips you want, you need to live in your best.

Mornings this January on GMA. Come on.

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Do I finish with this?

Your inner circle's been compromised. Either you can't see that or you don't want to.

Watch yourself. You're not Steve Rogers. You're right. I'm not.

Stand by for proof of death.

You want me? Come and get me!

Captain America, Brave New World. Get tickets now. What don't you know about the man?

Rex Huriman was living a very compartmentalized double life.

Accused of being...

A monster. It's like 2 different people. Jekyll and Hyde is a real monster.

He's pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The Gilgo Beach Murders. Now, 1 woman who believes she got away and lived to tell.

He scared the crap out of me. And nobody's ever made me scared or uncomfortable like that.

Gilko Beach Murders. Now streaming on Hulu. You're watching America's number 1 streaming news. Keep streaming with ABC News Live.

Reporting from the picket line of the dock workers' union strike in New Jersey, I'm Elizabeth Schultz. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

Right now on Good Morning America First Look, the historic ceasefire deal in the Middle East. When the American hostages could come home.

President Biden's farewell address to the nation. His warning about the influence of tech billionaires and the future of democracy.

California fire victims demanded they be allowed back into their neighborhoods this morning an up-close look at the dangers in the fire zone and the new legal battle over what started 1 of the biggest fires. Plus, kids back in class at different schools, 1 third grader's message about the fire disaster's impact on her life.

The clock ticking down to a ban on TikTok set to take effect Sunday. What we're learning about a last ditch effort to save the app.

Landmark launch, Jeff Bezos scores a victory overnight in the space race against Elon Musk.

An airline pilot under arrest accused of being drunk before takeoff. How passengers found out.

Paying up, a big change in college sports when it comes to paying women's teams.

And later why more young people are taking up hobbies their grandmother used to enjoy.

From ABC News this is Good Morning America First Look.

Good Thursday morning everyone I'm Rianna Nally.

I'm Andrew Dimberg We begin with the ceasefire deal in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

Some of the hostages, including Americans, could be released this weekend. But we learned overnight that final details are still being determined.

President Biden, who helped broker the deal, gave his farewell address last night, also speaking about domestic issues, warning about the rise of the ultra-wealthy. ABC's Nicole D'Antonio begins our coverage, starting with that ceasefire deal. Nicole.

Well, that's right. Good morning to you. And this deal could end 15 months of war. But some are questioning whether the ceasefire can survive beyond the first phase.

No, no, no. No, no, no.

Jubilation in the streets of Gaza after an apparent ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. But overnight Israel already claiming Hamas has reneged on parts of the deal. The Netanyahu government demanding more details on the release of Palestinian prisoners before finalizing the deal.

We are so hopeful and optimistic. We need to remember this has to be rolled out until the very end. So there can't be true celebration until everyone

is

where

they're supposed

to be. The deal is split into 3 phases. The first involves a 6 week pause in fighting, along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether. Over those 6 weeks, 33 of the

nearly 100 hostages held by Hamas would be released, including 2 Americans. I'm happy that they actually managed to pass it over the finish line. I hope the nightmare is over.

Palestinian prisoners would also be released. The second phase involves the release of all remaining living hostages, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase would initiate reconstruction of Gaza. The deal on the table for months was brokered by leaders from across the Middle East, along with President Biden's team and the incoming Trump administration. Trump recently pledged all hell would break out if Hamas didn't promise to release hostages by the time he takes office.

The question is what has changed and what has the Trump team told the different countries involved that made them actually bring this about?

My fellow Americans.

President Biden hailing the deal last night during his farewell address to the nation. Biden also spoke about the U.S. Economy, warning about a concentration of power in the hands of a wealthy few.

Today an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms. I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.

And back to that ceasefire deal, if the details are approved in Israel we could see the first hostages released as early as this Sunday. Just huge news for those families. Rhiannon.

Absolutely we will be following it every step of the way. Nicole, thank you for that. Pam Bondi is on track to become the next Attorney General. During her Senate confirmation hearing, Bondi vowed to keep the Justice Department independent, saying there would be no enemies list under her watch. But Bondi would not say if she would disobey an unlawful order from President Trump.

And she refused to acknowledge Trump lost the 2020 election.

Now to Los Angeles. The winds are finally dying down, but the legal battle over this historic fire disaster is just ramping up. This morning, more federal aid is headed to the California fire victims who desperately need it.

We never imagined something like this happening.

FEMA says it's received 53, 000 applications for its individual assistance program, a one-time payment to cover costs for things like water, food, and infant formula. FEMA also activating a program paying for hotel rooms and a major insurance company State Farm now says it will offer renewals even to some homeowners it previously planned to drop. Crews are making progress fighting the 2 biggest fires. The Palisades fire was 21% contained overnight. The Eaton fire up to 45% contained.

Many residents are frustrated they're not being allowed back to their neighborhoods. But we saw why. The fire zone is still so dangerous.

We have open gas lines. We have exposed water lines. And so they're evaluating each property to determine if it's safe to enter.

Along the Pacific Coast Highway, crews searching the rubble for remains. Today, the family of Evelyn McClendon, who died trying to evacuate from the Eaton fire, is expected to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Her family, suing Southern California Edison, claiming the power company failed to turn off utilities despite the high wind warning. Another lawsuit cites witnesses and video claiming to show a fire at the base of a transmission tower. Southern California Edison not commenting on the lawsuit but saying our hearts remain with our communities during the devastating fires.

We are talking to individuals about not just what they saw but what they smelled and they heard the cause of

each fire remains under investigation. Authorities say more than 150 leads have been generated from tips.

We have conducted interviews with individuals that initiated the 911 calls and the first responders to this January 7th fire as well as the fire that was started and put out on January 1st.

Many elementary school students impacted by the fires are now back in class as other schools around LA welcome them in. Each of the kids with a story to tell.

Nightmares of no house, and all my stuff being gone. My childhood memories might be gone.

Meanwhile, dozens of additional restaurants are now stepping up to offer free meals to evacuees.

The clock is ticking down to a ban on TikTok set to take effect Sunday. An effort to postpone the ban has failed in Congress. The question now, is there any hope left for TikTok fans?

This morning, time running out for TikTok fans. The app appears to be on track to be banned in the US this Sunday. The Supreme Court yesterday passed up a chance to intervene. In Arkansas, Senator Tom Cotton has now blocked an attempt by Democrats to postpone the ban, saying there will be no extensions, no concessions, and no compromises for TikTok. Cotton, citing national security concerns due to the app's Chinese owner.

Guys, it's official. TikTok will be getting banned.

A law passed by Congress last year requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to find a buyer not controlled by a foreign adversary. But with no sale apparently imminent, Reuters reports TikTok is preparing to shut down U.S. Operations, saying users attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban. There could be 1 last hope for TikTok fans. President-elect Trump, who takes office Monday, is reportedly considering an executive order that would give TikTok's owner up to 90 more days to find a buyer.

The New York Times reports TikTok's CEO plans to attend Trump's inauguration. Trump's nominee for attorney general on Capitol Hill yesterday declined to say whether the Justice Department would enforce the ban.

Will you commit to enforce that law on your first day when you are confirm... If you are confirmed?

Senator, as I discussed with you during our meeting, that is pending litigation within the Department of Justice.

Well, it's pending litigation, but will you enforce that law?

I can't discuss pending litigation.

The Supreme Court still has time to intervene. Meanwhile, many TikTok users are now turning to other apps, like RedNote, but that, too, is owned by China.

Blue Origin, the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos launched a massive new rocket overnight sending a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above earth. The rocket is called New Glenn. It's 32 stories high. It marks the first major competitor to the Elon Musk company SpaceX and its rocket which has carried satellites to space for more than a decade. The new Glenn Pock rocket packs twice the power.

Well, it is time now for your Thursday weather.

Good morning. We have a cold and snowy morning on our hands in places like Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. AccuWeather real field temperatures below 0 in those areas, closer to New York City and Scranton, PA. AccuWeather real field temperatures will be in the single digits this morning. Here comes a band of snow.

It will hold on to areas near the west slopes of the mountains longest but there will also be some snow that survives to areas along I-95. According to an inch in Philadelphia, a small fraction of an inch in New York City but 1 to 3 inches for many in the interior. For AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish for ABC News.

Coming up, a major airline sued over flight delays.

But first, passengers speak out after an airline pilot is arrested for allegedly being drunk before takeoff.

And should it be harder to get onto porn sites online? What the Supreme Court is suggesting.

An operation to capture ISIS fighters.

This is Sir Comet Operation Center.

We're approaching the gate now. Militants came in from 4 or 5 different directions. Operational nuclear reactor. So you have

a couple loaded and ready to go.

The house is destroyed, but the flag, there's not a tear in it. Not a tear in it.

How important is this label right here, Made in the USA? Look at your smile, you're proud of this.

I love it.

Great work. Hi.

Where are you? Where are you? Appreciate you. Thank

you, David.

Good to

meet you.

Ismael. David. David.

Yes! Yes!

I'm David Muir. I know you are. You do? I watch you every night.

ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is America's most-watched newscast. Start here. Now, that's

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Make it your daily first listen, wherever you get your podcasts.

Donald Trump, historic, taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration day, America turns to ABC News, starting with a special Good Morning America, then live all across the day. David Muir, right there as history is made. Monday on ABC.

I only have 1 rule. Stay out of the basement. What do you got in the basement? I can't talk about it quite yet.

There's something down there that will destroy the world.

We're talking about a monster, a real monster.

You are in danger. Kids are disappearing. No! No!

Ah!

Reporting from San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the path of Tropical Storm Ernesto, I'm Ike Adachi. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're now streaming ABC News Live.

The government is suing Southwest Airlines over what it calls persistent flight delays. The transportation department is seeking fines for these figures, accusing Southwest of illegally operating chronically delayed flights. In response, Southwest said it leads the industry in the number of flights without cancelation. The government is also fining Frontier Airlines for similar violations.

A Southwest pilot has been arrested charged with being drunk before a flight. Police say David Alsop was at the airport in Savannah, Georgia before a flight to Chicago and was arrested for DUI. Passengers were already in their seats when flight attendants told them there was an issue and then they were delayed.

If I have to take my shoes off still before I get on a plane it seems a little weird that I seem to kind of have to wonder if my pilot is sober.

Passengers had to wait nearly 5 hours for another pilot.

We turn now to the Supreme Court and the debate over accessing pornography sites. This morning the Supreme Court signaling it's ready to roll back First Amendment protection for Internet pornography. The justices yesterday heard a challenge to a Texas law that would require visitors to porn sites to go through an age verification process to prove they're 18 or older. That process could include a government issued ID, a facial scan, or commercial verification methods. Critics say the law violates the First Amendment because it unfairly burdens adults' access to protected content.

But many of the justices appear to suggest it's worth the risk to protect kids.

It's very difficult for 15 year olds, whatever, to get access to the type of things that is available with the push of a button today.

The porn industry argues there are less restrictive options to protect kids, like parental controls and content filtering software. Some justices not buying that argument.

Come

on, be real. There's a huge volume of evidence that filtering doesn't work.

I think that the explosion of addiction to online porn has shown that content filtering isn't working.

Supporters of the Texas law also addressed concern that age verification measures threaten privacy and could expose people's personal information to hackers.

1 of the important parts of modern age verification technology is that you can do it without identification at all. There's no ID or anything like that. It's just a face scan.

Any decision could have wide-ranging implications. 18 other states have passed similar laws, and an estimated 37% of all Internet traffic is for porn sites. Justice Alito, seemingly unaware of that statistic, asking if people log on to the popular website Pornhub for the articles.

Is it like the old Playboy magazine? You have essays there by the modern day equivalent of Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.

The court's ruling is expected by summer.

Coming up, a big change for women's sports when it comes to getting paid.

Also ahead, the FDA bans a controversial dye found in popular foods. So what happens next?

The news never stops. We are here in Israel, a nation at war.

We heard what appeared to be gunfire. The former president rushed off the stage. Hurricane Helene ravaging the coastline of Florida. It's moving really fast, Screaming across the state.

And that's why ABC News Live never stops.

Taking you to the center of the story. As news breaks live.

We hear the small arms fire around us.

We're right on the border between Ukraine and Russia.

ABC News Live is there for you at the start of your day

or morning live. ABC News Live, right there. As events unfold across the day. ABC News Live breaking down the day's top stories.

Lyle and Eric Menendez there is new evidence in this case.

ABC News Live Prime going there wherever the story is.

Are you

gonna build it back up?

And ABC News Live, lighting up the weekend.

With breaking news and all the latest pop headlines.

Happy Oscar Sunday.

A lot to watch for tonight. ABC News Live. Because the news never stops.

You know something serious about to happen?

I have an idea.

You guys have eyes on your targets.

Shouldn't we strategize?

Come on,

we're gonna improvise. Freestyle.

No.

Donald Trump, historic, taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration Day, America turns to ABC News. Starting with a special Good Morning America, then live all across the day. David Muir, right there as history is made Monday on ABC.

Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw. We're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City. Getting you behind the stories

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Love is in the air, and GMA's looking for lovebirds who are thinking about popping the big question and getting married. Scan this QR code and tell us your love story, and you may be part of a giant proposal live on GMA this Valentine's Day.

We are back now with a new show at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Look at this, the Kilauea Volcano erupting again, spewing lava 200 feet into the air. No homes were threatened.

The FDA is expanding its ban on red dye number 3 after outlawing its use in cosmetics years ago. The agency now wants it gone from all food products saying tests have shown it causes cancer in rats. Some food industry groups are pushing back though saying the FDA admits it has no evidence linking the dye to cancer in humans. Food companies have until January of 2027 to remove the dye. The FDA also wants to cut nicotine levels in cigarettes to make smoking less addictive.

The agency is taking public comments before moving forward. The new Trump administration could abandon the plan.

Now to a major development in college sports. The women's teams will now be paid in the March Madness tournament, just like the men. Here's ABC's Andrea Fugge.

This morning, a big win for women's college basketball. After years of discussion, the NCAA has unanimously decided to pay women's teams in the March Madness Tournament, just like men's teams have been paid for years.

Finally, for the first time ever, the women's tournament is going to start to reap some of the financial rewards that it has deserved for a long time, but has never been allowed to have.

In 2021, video of the women's basketball weight room during the Division 1 playoffs, compared to the men's, sparked a debate over disparity. Since then, women's basketball has exploded in popularity. The women's NCAA tournament last year was its most successful ever with a title game bringing in a record audience of nearly 19 million viewers, about 4 million more than the men's title game.

The sexism was was there and it was truly unfair for our female athletes compared to our male athletes.

Payments will be in effect for the upcoming tournament. Participating schools will share in the revenue with winning teams receiving more money. The pot will begin at 15 million dollars this year and will progressively grow. Next year up to 20 million. Still not as much as the men but analysts say It's a step in the right direction.

It's all come together now at a key moment, a real watershed moment for women's sports because as basketball goes often, so goes the rest of women's sports.

Just like the men, the money women's conferences will earn will be invested back into the schools and its programs and not go directly to the players. Andrew, Rhiannon, a very positive change.

Yes it is, Andrea, thank you. Coming up, why more young people are taking up hobbies their grandmothers used to enjoy.

Plus, an unexpected visitor on the court during a game.

On the day's top stories.

A lot of news today, so let's get into it.

Listen now to the Daily News Podcast honored with 4 Edward R. Murrow awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to. Start here, ABC News. Make it your daily first listen.

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You all heard it here first.

I love it. I'm there for it.

Hot topics, political views. That's what we're about. Voices that matter. It all goes down right here.

That's why it's called the what? The View. I love it. I'm all in. Second that.

This is going to be

must-see TV, and so much could happen.

This is not just any killer.

There was 11 skulls. Drawn using a finger in blood.

All of these victims' souls belong to him. They're mine.

I'm more sane than most Americans.

This guy is an evil genius. He's the best serial killer that ever existed. He compared himself to Ted Bundy.

Wild Crime 11 skulls only on Hulu.

All I want is to find our way home.

I'll get you home.

But a crew

of murderous bounty hunters is coming after us. We have to move fast.

We have no idea who he is.

You can't trust me.

You're a Jedi, right?

Of course.

What just happened? Watch this.

Skeleton Crew, new episodes Tuesdays only on Disney+.

Reporting from the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County, I'm Alex Bershe. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

Time to check the polls. We begin with young people picking up some old ways.

They call it grandma core. More women in their 20s and 30s are taking up knitting, baking, gardening and other hobbies that are commonly associated with grandmas.

Why? They say to slow down and take a breather from today's fast-paced life. And we're getting an early look at what the Oscars may look like.

Yeah, the potential preview comes from the British Academy Film Awards, better known as the BAFTAs. And the big winner, the papal thriller Conclave with 12 nominations including Best Picture. The US Academy Award nominations will be announced next Thursday. Next, a kid who gives new meaning to storming the court.

This little guy ran onto the court during the game between Gardner Webb and Radford last night. He enjoyed some exercise before finally being picked up by a player.

From 1 court to another here's a different way to watch the Australian Open. They're using an animated live stream to show the matches on YouTube to get around the broadcast restrictions. It's similar to what's being done recently with NFL games. Next, a biotech startup has now raised $200 million to bring back the wooly mammoth.

The startup is called Colosso biosciences. The plan is to create a calf using DNA cells from ancient samples taken from a frozen tundra, then implant them into a mother elephant to give birth. And it could happen in just 3 years.

Didn't anyone see Jurassic Park?

I've seen all of them. This doesn't sound like the brightest idea.

What could possibly go wrong? What could

possibly go wrong? Top 10 Plants next.

Hey! Good morning America!

Hey! Good morning America! Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!

Good morning America! Good morning America!

Good morning America!

Good morning!

Are you ready? They are ready!

We're covering the biggest events in the country right now. There's a lot

going on. That's what the show's about.

That's good. Really good. Coming in hot. Coming in hot.

It's fall from elementary. Good morning America. I'm not going to try to strut like Michael or anything.

I haven't known George a long, long time.

Have you ever

gotten him to dance?

Sure, it's his favorite.

Look at that face. Every day I'm good.

You don't just see it, you feel it.

I'm in.

I'm in. I'm in.

I'm in too.

I'm in here.

I am here and so happy. I'm

in. I'm in too!

I'm in.

That tells you something when Snoop Dogg's in. Woo! Michael, George, Lara. Everything is perfect!

Day America turns to ABC News starting with a special good morning America then live all across the day David Muir right there as history is made Monday on ABC

tonight President Biden's farewell address to the nation plus Trump cabinet picks face tough questions and LA communities brace for more wildfires. World News Tonight with David Muir is America's most watched newscast.

Go, Devos! Go, Devos!

This family is suffocating. We are all here to help them. We're going to make this happen. We have 96 hours to build a house.

Come on, guys. It's move-in day. Let's go.

It can't be real.

This was more than just Extreme Home Makeover. This was Extreme Life Makeover.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Thursday on ABC and stream on Hulu.

Friday. A loved father who went missing and evidently told his best friends not to come looking for him.

Let's just say the phrase over my dead body takes

on a new meaning. Just when you think you know where the story is headed, things take a turn.

2020 Friday night on ABC.

Checking more top stories now. New questions about the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas this morning. Prime Minister Netanyahu said his cabinet will not meet to approve the deal until it gets more clarification from Hamas on the release of Palestinian prisoners. If approved The first phase of the deal will begin Sunday and calls for the release of 33 hostages.

Cuba has begun releasing prisoners arrested during protests in 2021. The move comes after the Biden administration took Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Stocks opened this morning after their best day in 2 months. Yesterday's rally was driven in part by bank profits on the rise.

Norovirus levels are hitting record highs with the most confirmed cases in 6 years. Nearly 30% of the tests conducted for the virus are coming back positive, frequent hand washing is recommended to reduce the spread.

Today's weather, diminishing winds and rising humidity is good news for fire crews in California, snow in the northern Rockies and around the Great Lakes.

And finally, the couple who unknowingly adopted dog sisters.

Here's Danny Neu with this story.

Hey girl.

As you can see on Jazz's face, that is the look of a dog who just had a revelation. Did it ever occur to you that could be your sister? Potentially, yeah. Amanda and Daniel here of Santa Clara, California adopted 2 dogs almost 3 years apart and just learned a few weeks ago that they are actually siblings.

First time meet and greet.

First they got Jazz, a Husky Malinois mix in 2022 and were perfectly content with 1 dog. That is until this past October when County of Santa Clara Animal Services posted this photo on Facebook of a stray who had just been brought in.

I told my husband like we can't leave little Jazz in the shelter that's what it felt like.

They named her Zoe and when they first brought Zoe home,

good girl,

she didn't really want to leave her crate. Understandably, Zoe had been through a lot, so they made sure to keep her and Jazz separated for a few weeks. However,

they were crying for each other, they were staring at each other on the other side of the glass.

Play, Yeah, there you go.

And then they had that backyard meeting you saw earlier. When it looked like Zoe and Jazz just put it all together. A few weeks ago, Amanda and Daniel got the official word with this DNA test result that confirmed that they are indeed sisters. Since then, they say Jazz and Zoe have become inseparable.

They're constantly playing or constantly sleeping next to each other.

Amanda also recently shared their story on Instagram which immediately went viral. It now has more than 4 million views with 1 commenter writing, crying over dog sisters on the internet. But for Amanda and Daniel they say this feels like it was meant to happen because they can't imagine that 1 shy little puppy going to any other home.

We think that Jazz really showed her how to be a dog and made her feel comfortable in a home like this.

So I should clarify Jazz is estimated to be 4 years old and Zoe is about 1 year old so they would have to be from separate letters but that makes the story even more unlikely right guys pretty crazy incidents there that's warning America first

look have a great day

ABC's David Muir the most watched newscast in America Watched newscast in America.

It's Thursday, January 16th, and it's over, they hope. We start here.

After more than a year of war, Israel and Hamas strike a landmark ceasefire deal.

There's 1 word on everyone's lips to explain why now, what changed, and that word is Trump.

Survivors of war might not care who is behind these negotiations, but the answer could determine next steps in the Middle East. Donald Trump's choice for attorney general refuses to rule out the idea of prosecuting the prosecutor.

How about Liz Cheney? Senator? How about Merrick Garland?

I am not going to answer hypotheticals.

We'll

walk you through a big day of hearings on the Hill. And Americans have been eating it for years, but now it's getting the red light.

It's found in candy, cereals, certain cherries that may be in fruit drinks.

So just how dangerous is red food dye? From ABC News, this is Start Here. I'm Brad Milkey. On October 7th of 2023, thousands of Hamas militants stormed across the border from Gaza into Israel. They murdered more than 1, 200 people, including children.

That was all in cold blood. But their next step was even more calculated. They began dragging people, kicking and screaming, into their trucks, onto the back of their motorbikes. Those people, close to 250 of them, became hostages, bargaining ships held in tunnels deep underground. Since that day, Israel has been at war.

This is a war that's included raids on civilian neighborhoods, airstrikes hitting schools and apartment buildings and hospitals. Israel says Hamas burrows into communities so cynically that there's no other way, though many international aid groups say these are indiscriminate attacks, nothing short of war crimes. 1 thing is sure, though. While that first day of war claimed 1, 200 lives, the next 465 have killed far more. The current count from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which the UN has described as reliable, is more than 46, 000 Palestinian deaths.

More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed. But yesterday, both sides announced that the killing will stop, for now at least. That was the sound of a diplomat in the country of Qatar saying that a ceasefire deal appears to have finally been brokered. ABC's chief foreign correspondent Ian Pannel starts us off from Tel Aviv after this landmark deal. Ian, what can you tell us about it?

Yeah, I mean it was a monumental day yesterday and everyone's still coming to terms with the new reality and hoping it's true. So, to put it simply, there are basically 3 key phases. Phase 1 is 42 days, 6 weeks long. In that period, we will see over the 6 weeks, not all at once, the release of 33 hostages. We don't know their condition.

We believe most of them are alive, but there will tragically be bodies that are returned to loved ones.

In phase 1, Hamas will be releasing 33 Israeli captives, including civilian women and female recruits as well as children, elderly people, as well as civilian people.

In exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Hamas is talking about more than a thousand prisoners being held by Israel. There will be a withdrawal of Israeli military forces eastwards away from urban areas in Gaza. They'll still stay in Gaza itself and there will be the opening of borders to allow much-needed humanitarian aid to get in there. More than 90% of the population has been displaced. The hospital system has practically collapsed.

Many people homeless, death, destruction, and disease.

Hospitals should always be protected, a place of healing. And yet I'm standing around in the midst of utter devastation.

Everywhere across Gaza we're seeing cases of newborn babies dying because there aren't the facilities to keep them warm, to keep them healthy. So it's a really desperate situation inside there. So while Phase 1 is working its way through. Negotiations to agree on phase 2 then begin and then eventually move on to phase 3. So at the end of all this, what you're looking at hopefully will be a complete withdrawal.

When phase 2 begins, there will be an exchange for release of the remaining living hostages including male soldiers and all remaining Israeli forces will be withdrawn from Gaza and the temporary ceasefire will become permanent.

But there's lots of devil in the detail there it's very fragile it's gonna be monitored by the United States by Qatar and by Egypt to check that both sides comply with their obligations. But there are clearly many, many risks. And the biggest question of all, what comes after Phase 3? Who runs Gaza is still unresolved.

Right now we have 1 thing to do, and that is to win the war.

And the Israelis have been very clear, they've told us, Prime Minister Netanyahu told David Muir that this is a red line, that Hamas cannot exist inside Gaza. Well clearly it is going to exist, but remember it's not just a military organization, it's also a political party, They were the legitimate elected governments inside Gaza. And so it remains to be seen how you're going to try and get around that very obvious hurdle.

You said there were more hostages, right? I mean, how many more after that first exchange?

We believe something around 60. We also believe at least half are dead. We haven't got full details on exactly who and the names of those who are going to be released. There may well be 2 Israeli-Americans in that list, may well be in phase 1. But yes, the other releases and return of bodies takes place through the following 2 phases.

We saw limited celebration, if you can call it that, in Gaza. Limited what? Well, the bombing is still going on and of course people have been through so much. There's nobody who hasn't been affected. Here in Israel, again, we had the nightly gathering of families of the hostages and their supporters.

They're saying, again, it's a bittersweet moment for them. They've had to endure so much in a very public forum.

These are our children, parents, brothers and sisters, individuals with dreams, hopes and loved ones longing for their return.

They are hedging their bets. They want to believe this is true but they've had false dawns before. So I think it's only, and this is what we're hearing, only once they start to see that hostages are being released that they can afford to be hopeful. Of course they all say we want the release of all of the hostages, but there is a portion of Israeli society who's totally against the ceasefire deal, the kind of hard right-wing elements within the government also opposed to a ceasefire in any kind of deal any situation that allows Hamas to continue to exist so so there is opposition there and Today Prime Minister Netanyahu will have a security cabinet meeting, and then the proposal then goes to the full cabinet, and then there's a two-day period for any legal challenges at the Israeli Supreme Court. And then as announced by the Qatari Prime Minister yesterday, January the 19th, this coming Sunday, is the day when we should see the first hostages being released.

Hey, why now? I mean, it's been 15 months of fighting, right? So I mean, what changed that made this happen yesterday? Because you got to think, like, what was it all for?

Yeah, a very, very good question. 1 that is really the talk of the town certainly here in Tel Aviv not just because the fighting's gone for 15 months but President Biden when he addressed the nation yesterday made it clear that this is the deal that's being announced was basically the same deal that he proposed back in May 2024 so it's been lying on the desk there for many many months. If you talk to people here there's 1 word on everyone's lips to explain why now what changed and that word is Trump.

I think

Trump was the X factor in bringing this deal to life.

Trump's team have talked about, He's talked about strength through peace. We know that when Trump met with Netanyahu, he told Netanyahu to wrap this thing up by inauguration day.

If the deal isn't done before I take office, which is now going to be 2 weeks, all hell will break out in the Middle East.

We also know that President-elect Trump talked about there would be hell to pay if a deal wasn't done. Now this was seen as a threat towards Hamas but in some senses Hamas hasn't really changed its position. It's Israelis who have changed their position. You're seeing Netanyahu agreeing to a deal that he didn't really want. And again, the answer to this seems to be the attitude and the wrangling that's come from the Trump team.

Now, clearly, huge amounts of credit to the Biden administration because they've been doggedly trying to pursue this but everyone here is convinced that the different element was the strength and the pressure from the incoming Trump administration.

I was

going to say Ian, usually we talk about 1 president at a time, you don't conduct foreign policy until you're in the Oval Office. You're saying the Trump team, it sounds like, had a very direct line to the Israelis and to the negotiators here.

Yeah, and not least because Netanyahu's government warmly welcomed the re-election of Donald Trump. They felt that he was going to be a great friend of Israel, that he would be a bit soft on them maybe, but actually the language and the tone has been quite tough on the Israelis, telling them they have to wrap this up.

I knew this deal would have to be implemented by the next team, So I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we're all speaking with the same voice.

And there was no real light between the Biden team and the Trump team on this. They sang from the same hymn sheet. Obvious, I think the Trump team, towards the end, were much louder. But then there'll be questions about, so what happens with West Bank? What happens with settlements?

What happens in terms of a two-state solution? Is there going to be any pressure on Israel to moderate or to agree to certain things. We know that discussions with Saudi Arabia about normalizing relations, people are keen to get that going again. It's something that Donald Trump regards as 1 of his first term successes. So There's still plenty to be haggled over.

But, you know, we bumped into this 1 man in the market today, and he asked who we were and what we were doing, and as he walked away, he said, thank God for Trump.

Wow, which really lays the groundwork for where we're going to be in the Middle East politically. But again, you look back at these months of fighting is not even just Gaza like this sparked so much of what we have seen around the region around the world. Ian panel reporting on it all. Thank you so much.

Thanks, Brad.

The thing to remember about confirmation hearings this month is they're generally in front of Senate committees. Donald Trump's choice for Treasury Secretary would go in front of the Finance Committee, the pick for Attorney General would go in front of Judiciary. What this means is that all these committees can theoretically set hearings on the same day, even at the same time. That's what happened yesterday. 6 different committees set hearings with prospective Trump appointees, leading to this confirmapalooza that required a split screen if you wanted to watch them all.

But what did these moments tell us about these picks and were any of these nominees fates altered let's take it to the Capitol right now ABC's J O'Brien covers Congress J several hearings at once even more to come later today can use walk us through the highlights in your eyes.

Yeah, 14 confirmation hearings set for this week on Capitol Hill, Brad. Remember we had that contentious confirmation hearing earlier in the week with Trump's pick to run the Department of Defense Pete Hegseth and then just yesterday we had this rapid series of confirmation hearings. Everybody from Marco Rubio, who's Donald Trump's pick to be the secretary of state.

I think the 21st century will be defined by what happens between the United States and China. The Chinese have basically concluded that America is sort of a tired, great power in decline.

In fact, that news of that ceasefire deal breaking during Rubio's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I would argue that if Israel had not been firm and strong in its response in this endeavor, Most recently, they may very well have faced an existential threat, as they continue to in many ways.

Then you had a guy named Russell Vaught, who's Donald Trump's pick to run the Office of Management and Budget.

If the president says to you, I don't care what the law says, I don't like California, and I'm not going to give them the disaster aid they need. You're gonna stand up to the president and say, sir, that's not appropriate.

Senator, I don't engage in hypotheticals, but the president would never ask me to do something along those lines.

He's gonna be in square focus because of Donald Trump's thought to revamp the federal government and the various machinations of the federal government and the staffing of the federal government. Then you also had John Ratcliffe, who Donald Trump's picked to run the CIA.

Collecting the truth, intelligence, critical information, so that American people can be free, their freedom and liberty are dependent on the CIA doing that job and doing it in an apolitical way.

But really, everybody centered yesterday on what was the main event of the confirmation hearings that day, which was Pam Bondi.

Yeah, tell me about Pam Bondi, because she's up for attorney general, and that was already going to be this huge fireworks thing when Matt Gaetz was supposed to be attorney general. He's no longer there, but it's not as if she's just like a clear consensus from everyone on the Hill.

Right, we're all old enough to remember when Matt Gaetz was the 1 that Donald Trump had picked to sit in that chair and testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. But Matt Gaetz never got the support he needed amongst Republicans to become the next attorney general, so he bows out. That's why Pam Bondi was sitting before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday.

We have got to come together. We have got to work together to make America safe again. And that, in turn, will make America great again. And I don't know where that phrase has become a bad word, because I think that's a great 1, making America great again.

And I talked to Democrats on this committee, and they acknowledged they don't have concerns about Pam Bondi's qualifications to be the nation's top prosecutor, the way they did for Matt Gaetz, for instance, amongst other concerns that they had. Remember Brad, she was the attorney general of the state of Florida for quite some time. She cracked down on pill mills. She was instrumental in other large law enforcement operations in that state. She was also a local prosecutor.

She was for a time, remember Donald Trump's personal attorney defending him during his first impeachment trial. Then she was a kind of a campaign surrogate in 2020. She even pushed false claims of election fraud in the aftermath of the 2020 election. And so with that latter part of her bio in mind, that's what Democrats say they were concerned with. Can she be independent of President-elect Trump if she were to be in charge of the Department of Justice?

As Attorney General, if confirmed, who would be your client?

My oath would be to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The people of America would be my client. Ned, it is also my job to advise the president. My client is the, are the people of America.

She was pressed for instance by Maisie Hirono as a good example. She's a democratic senator from Hawaii on Pam Bondi's pledge that she's made in various interviews and such to crack down on what she calls quote unquote bad prosecutors in the Department of Justice.

I'm just asking whether you would consider Jack Smith to be 1 of the people. How about Liz Cheney? How about Merrick Garland?

I am not going to answer hypotheticals. No 1 has been prejudged or nor will anyone be prejudged if I am confirmed. These are in fact

the people that you would prosecute.

Then there was another area of questioning. Will the Department of Justice, writ large, be independent if Pam Bondi is at the top?

So you will provide an insurance to every member of this committee that the Justice Department will only follow the facts and the law and the White House will play no role in cases investigated or brought? Senator,

it will be my job, if confirmed, as Attorney General, to make those decisions. Politics will not play a part.

She says she wants to restore faith in the Department of Justice. She bashed the way that Merrick Garland handled the Department of Justice.

They targeted Donald Trump. They went after him. Actually starting back in 2016, they targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him. That will not be the case if I am Attorney General.

I will not politicize that office. She does say that, quote, no 1 will be prosecuted. And she goes on

to say no 1 will be investigated solely because they're political opponents of Donald Trump. And that's a key point because Donald Trump is mused on the campaign trail, as have his allies, of investigating his political opponents. He's even mused about jailing his political opponents. He's talked about jailing Liz Cheney and the members of the January 6th Committee. So there's always been this open question, how much would Trump's Department of Justice follow suit in those musings of his on the campaign trail?

I'm asking you, sitting here today, whether you are aware of a factual predicate to investigate Liz Cheney.

Senator, no 1 has asked me to investigate Liz Cheney. That is a hypothetical.

The president has called for it publicly. You are aware of that, aren't you?

No 1 has asked me to investigate Liz. We're also worried about Liz Cheney, Senator. You know what we should be worried about?

Ms. Bonny, please answer my questions.

The crime rate in California right now

is through

the roof. You are

aware, Ms.

Bonny... We didn't get a clear answer to that question in Pam Bonny's confirmation hearing, but certainly Democrats pressed that matter repeatedly.

Well, and so when you walked away from a lot of these hearings, the sense was clearly most, if not all, of these folks are going through, right? Like Marco Rubio, it seemed very clear that senators were like, yeah, he's super qualified. Pam Bondi even, It didn't seem like there were any Republicans, at least, who were gonna vote against her. Is that the sense you're getting? And I guess, what's the schedule for today?

So today, Brad,

you've got Lee Zeldin in the hot seat, Trump's pick to run the EPA. You've also got Doug Burgum, Trump's pick to run the Department of the Interior. And those are considered, as we've talked about, you know, not necessarily amongst the most quote-unquote controversial of Donald Trump's Cabinet picks. While they will face some tough questioning, there are others who are going to face even more tough questioning. And they are not on the schedule as of yet.

RFK Jr., for example, Trump's picked to run the Department of Health and Human Services. He has not had a confirmation hearing yet. Neither has Tulsi Gabbard. Trump's picked to be the director of national intelligence. Those are considered some of the most closely watched, controversial, as Trump's critics would say, of his cabinet picks.

Kash Patel, Trump's pick to run the FBI, who has openly talked about using the federal government to go after Trump's political opponents, he has not had a confirmation hearing yet, although his name was brought up repeatedly in Pam Bondi's confirmation hearing.

I have known Cash, and I believe that Cash is the right person at this time for this job. You'll have the ability to question Mr. Patel when you

do.

And I'm questioning you right now about whether you will enforce an enemies list that he announced publicly on television.

Oh, Senator, I'm sorry. There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.

Thank

you. Point being, while things are looking good at the moment for Donald Trump's cabinet picks and no serious Republican opposition. We've also heard from senators who say they want to watch this process play out over the next few days and weeks. So Donald Trump not fully out of the woods yet.

All right, another full day coming up, and like you said, more on Friday as well. Jay O'Brien there at the Capitol. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Brad. Have you

ever talked to someone who just came back from Europe recently, and they're like, oh my gosh, it's just so different there? Like, people don't rely on their air conditioning as much. They leave work right at 5. They don't leave lights on all the time in their flats, and you're like, okay, it's still an apartment, okay? You live here, calm down, and things are different because they're different places.

They have different weather, they're different cultures. It doesn't mean any place is better or worse. But 1 thing the Europhiles will often talk about are food regulations. There are several ingredients that are permitted here that have been banned for years over there. And stuff that goes in your body does seem much higher stakes, right?

It makes you think, well, 1 of them has to be right. Either they're too risk-averse or we're being unsafe. Well, yesterday, decades after it was banned in Europe, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that Red Dye No. 3, the food dye found in thousands of products, will no longer be allowed in American food.

Let's go to Dr. Stephanie Widmer, a medical toxicologist and an ABC News contributor. Dr. Widmer, first off, what is red dye number 3? Because it's super widespread, right?

Where is it found?

It is widespread. Red dye 3 is an artificial synthetic dye. It's found in candy, cereals, certain cherries that may be in fruit drinks. It's fairly common, actually.

Yeah, I'm just looking at a list, right? Like anything from cookie frosting to jelly bellies to fruit by the foot and maraschino cherries. Like you named something that like your kid might like to get as a treat and it very well might be in there. What is this new rule then?

So the new rule that really won't fully take effect until 2027 is that the FDA plans to eliminate red 3 in our food. There have been studies that have linked RED3 to certain cancers, particularly thyroid cancers in rats. These studies have been done in rats in animal studies. There really have not been human studies that have linked RET3 to cancer in humans, but nevertheless that's part of the concern, that's part of the possible risk. There are other concerns such as possible links to hyperactivity and Maybe that it has some link to endocrine and hormone disruption.

Nothing that has been confirmed unsafe or proven to be unsafe, but that's what the risk is, that's what the concern is. And the idea is that if we can't prove that something's safe, we kind of want to limit our exposure to it where we can.

That's what I'm trying to figure out, is because on 1 hand, we're being told this is concerning enough to ban. On the other hand, it's not so concerning that we're going to rush it. Like, we're giving food companies a year to kind of rejigger their recipes right so how worried are you're a parent you're a doctor how worried should we be

right so my advice to anyone after these headlines have come out would is the same that it would have been you know a couple of days ago a couple of weeks ago So what we want to do is try to avoid things where we can. We can't make ourselves crazy, right? Because even sometimes just looking at an ingredient list itself can be overwhelming. To look at every single ingredient list as you're going throughout the grocery store and Googling things, it can be really, really, It can be a lot, you know, so what the most basic thing and really the best thing that we can do is variety in our diet. So not to eat the same thing over and over and over again.

This is not something for all of us to freak out about. This is something that has been in our food for quite some time now, but again, limit where we can. Variety in our diet, not being exposed to the same ingredients and the same thing over and over again is really the best thing that we can do.

The first thing I do isn't going to cost you anything because I'm just going to tell the cereal companies to take all the dyes out of their food.

Well, and the timing of all this is so interesting, because this originally came from a petition to the FDA back in 2022. ABC News actually spoke to 1 of the doctors behind that petition yesterday.

It's always served as cosmetic function and never a nutritional 1. We're not gonna miss this product, nor are we gonna miss the risk of cancer that it always conveyed.

But it's also just tough to ignore that we are about to have this change of administrations. We know that RFK Jr. Has been tapped to lead health and human services. He's long said that food additives and things like Red 3 should be banned. He told Fox News he would just outlaw several dyes.

So this is clearly going to be talked about more, not less, even without that proof that you had described earlier. Dr. Stephanie Widmer, thank you.

Thank you.

And 1 last thing. A few months ago in Australia, something mysterious started washing up on the shores of Sydney.

9 beaches in Sydney's north are closed tonight with more mysterious ball-shaped debris washing up.

There were these little balls about the size of a marble. Some were a bit larger, some were smaller, but there were hundreds of them, and they were this white-grayish color. If you smooshed them, they turned kind of gunky. This month, it happened again. And since the Environmental Protection Agency there had tested the old ones, this time they knew what they were, small, hardened pieces of sewage known as fatbergs.

A fatberg is like an iceberg, but it's made mainly out of fats and oils that aren't easily dissolved by water. That includes things like cooking oils, but also grease, motor oil, and disgustingly, human waste. It's why, this time, they shut down these Sydney beaches, and it's also why fat bergs routinely clog up sewage drains. The longer they sit there, the more these other fatty acids come by and sick to them. They become a major problem in cities like London where fatbergs can reach hundreds of pounds.

Well, this week in Scotland, scientists say they have figured out a way to turn some of these into beauty products. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh say they've developed a way to more efficiently break these things down, which is creating bacteria that eat them up. Some of these modified bacteria even emit this chemical called pinene, which smells like pine needles. This chemical is actually very sought after in the beauty world by perfume makers. Which is why, I'm not making this up, these scientists say they could start transforming the gunk you find in the sewer into perfume.

Call it eau de toilette. Even if you don't fancy the idea of spritzing yourself with a former Fatberg, the bigger idea here is scientists think you could use bacteria to transform deposits like these into lots of different stuff, fuel, fertilizer, or even if it's just liquid, that would flow through pipes more easily. The question will be whether genetically modified bacteria create risks of their own and whether the public will buy into any of this even if something just smells off about it.

Now I'm just

picturing 1 of these poor people in Australia grabbing 1 of these things on the beach and showing their friend, like, look what I found. Look, you can smush it. Now, 3 months later, you're like, wait, I was holding what? More on all these stories on abcnews.com or the ABC News app. I'm Brad Milkey.

See you tomorrow.

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Hi, I'm Diane Macedo. Today on ABC News Live First, the countdown to a ceasefire in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu now says the agreement is facing a quote last-minute crisis. The new details being negotiated and how Hamas is responding as the deal awaits approval from the Israeli cabinet. The celebrations in the streets, crowds of Palestinians rejoice after the ceasefire announcement.

What's next for the people of Gaza and how aid organizations are getting ready to help. Plus the hostages set to be released. Hamas says it will free 33 hostages, including some Americans still being held, when they could come home and what their families are saying.

And the

new strikes launched after that deal was announced. The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 72 Palestinians are dead. Why experts say Israel will escalate its attacks before that ceasefire goes into effect. Our team coverage starts right now. But first, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire deal with Hamas is facing a quote, last minute crisis.

The Israeli cabinet is preparing to meet to approve the agreement. Now Netanyahu's office says Hamas is trying to renege on parts of the deal while Hamas says it is committed to the ceasefire agreement. ABC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannel joins me from Tel Aviv with more on that. Ian, good morning.

Yeah, good morning Diane. We're in hostage square in Tel Aviv. This is the square that was set up to remind Israelis and the world about the names, the faces of those who were taken on October the 7th 2023. You can see the faces on the posters here of the people who were taken. Some have been returned, tragically some have been killed and of course many people are hoping that others are about to be released.

We know that this deal has been, has got to the point where it's really close. I mean there's been heartache and hope for the families of those taken. But Israeli government, Benjamin Netanyahu's government, accusing Hamas, as you say, of reneging on the agreement, but they're offering no detail or evidence on how that has happened. Meanwhile, Hamas insisting that nothing has changed and the deal still stands.

Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!

Celebrations on the streets of Gaza and mixed emotions in Israel after that breakthrough ceasefire and hostage agreement. Gazans rejoicing at the prospect of reprieve from a brutal war that's decimated much of the Gazan landscape, killing more than 46, 000 Palestinians. Israelis also relieved, but many reluctant to trust Netanyahu's government after so many false dawns. Prime Minister Netanyahu delaying cabinet approval, accusing Hamas of reneging on part of the agreement, but for its part, Hamas saying it remains committed to the deal. Both President Biden and President-elect Trump claiming credit for the deal, but in his farewell address last night, President Biden touting cooperation to get it across the finish line.

This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That's why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed if that's how it should be, working together as Americans.

The deal in 3 phases. The first set to begin this Sunday, lasting 42 days and including the release of 33 hostages, starting with women, children and the elderly. It's expected to include 2 of the 7 Americans captured and believed to still be alive. Sagi Dekokhen, who was injured, the father of 3, could be meeting his youngest daughter for the first time. She was born 2 months after he was taken.

And Keith Siegel, who was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Azza. We spoke to his brother Lee this morning.

I can't allow myself to raise expectations until I'm giving Keith a hug. An agreement is fine. We need an agreement. Apparently we need phases, it will take time, I understand that. But until Keith has been delivered to Israel, I have to keep my expectations real.

In exchange for the hostages, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will also be freed. Israeli forces will pull back and more desperately needed aid will flow into Gaza. Negotiations for the rest of the deal will also begin during phase 1, which, if successful, could mean the end of a long and devastating war beginning 15 months ago when Hamas invaded southern Israel and massacred 1, 200 Israelis and others and took more than 250 hostages into the Gaza Strip. Well despite the hope for peace the bombing and killing continues since the ceasefire was announced more than 70 Palestinians have been killed in strikes across Gaza. And of course, there are fears that that could escalate as a deal gets closer.

This is certainly what we saw in Lebanon as the peace deal was agreed with Hezbollah and the final few days there was an escalation in the bombing. It's hoped the latest objections from Netanyahu's government aren't enough to scupper the deal, but it's a reminder of how fragile this agreement is. The security cabinet, if it doesn't meet today and the wider cabinet to ratify this deal, then there are real risks that January the 19th Sunday deadline for the ceasefire to be implemented and for the hostages to start to be released will slip. But We're still waiting. There is a lot of expectation here, a lot of pressure on the Netanyahu government, but still talks underway.

Diane?

Ian, what's the latest on this Israeli cabinet meeting? And what happens now with that, now that Netanyahu is saying they have these last-minute snags in the deal.

Yeah, I mean it's interesting that we've got so little detail on what these snags actually are. There's been suggestions certainly in the Israeli press that this is perhaps down to the names of those Palestinian prisoners who are to be released. A suggestion from some quarters that there are people on that list that Israel doesn't approve, but we know that that list has been out there for months and months now. These are names that have been part of the discussion, the negotiations that have been taking place in Qatar. But Remember, Prime Minister Netanyahu leads a coalition government.

There are members of that government who are adamant, set against any kind of ceasefire, any kind of peace deal. They want to see Hamas completely crushed. And for them, I think many people here feel that the hostages aren't a priority. There's obviously been a lot of pressure put on by the Trump administration and the Biden administration but appears there could still be political difficulties. But to stress, if those meetings don't happen today, if the ratification doesn't happen today, there then has to be a two-day period to allow for any legal objections which just seems to be almost administrative but if that doesn't happen then it means those expectations that this whole thing could start on Sunday January the 19th will not happen.

And a source tells ABC News the IDF will stay in Gaza's Philadelphia corridor through phase 1. How significant is that?

Again, I think there's a lot of politics being played here. This is part of Netanyahu trying to appease the hardline right-wing members of his cabinet who are opposed to a withdrawal. We know that there is going to be a phase pullout. That was laid out by the Qatari Prime Minister and others yesterday. Certainly in the first stages they're going to be pulling towards the east of Gaza, then closer to the border with Israel.

The Philadelphia corridor has been a sticking point. Remember, this is the strip of land that runs between Gaza and Egypt. And the Israelis, or certainly members of the cabinet, have been insisting that they maintain a presence there. But the truth of the matter is, if this deal goes through, from phase 1 to 2 to 3, it envisages a complete Israeli pullout from those areas. But there's so much devil in the detail here.

Not least, who governs Gaza afterwards? Again, Prime Minister Netanyahu and others within his cabinet have made it clear that any kind of Hamas representation in government is totally unacceptable for the Israelis. Hamas as well as being this military organization was elected by a majority of Gazans in parliamentary elections. So there are real problems about who governs it and they haven't hammered out those details yet.

All right, ABC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannel in Tel Aviv. Ian, thank you. And let's bring in former senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council, Javed Ali, for more. Javed, thanks for coming on. How concerned are you about this so-called last-minute crisis, or is this par for a course in a deal like this?

So Diane, I speak with you this morning, and I wouldn't, or I am not that concerned that the deal is somehow going to fall apart because so much effort has gone in to creating it and getting both sides to make most of the agreements up until this morning. This is perhaps more posturing, perhaps on both sides, maybe some on the Israeli and some on the Hamas side, but in a worst case scenario, if the deal does fall through, this would be a disaster for everybody involved. And from a US perspective, both President Biden and now President Trump have put their own credibility on the line by announcing the deal. So I would have to think from the U.S. Perspective, they're trying to put as much pressure as they can for both of the administrations, outgoing and incoming, to finalize the deal and start with the implementation.

Now, 1 of the major issues in the negotiations, as Ian just mentioned, has been the Philadelphia corridor between Gaza and Egypt. Why is that such a point of contention?

So that corridor is an important 1 because it is up against the Egyptian border and that is 1 of the main smuggling routes that Hamas had used for years, if not decades, to funnel weapons, supplies, material into the Gaza Strip. And in the post-October 7th Israeli military campaign, they put a lot of effort into conducting operations in that part of the Gaza Strip and sort of closing off those tunnel networks and choking off those supply lines. So this is a way for Israel going forward, if they're going to station troops along that stretch in the Gaza Strip, either in it or just across the border to make sure that Hamas doesn't have the ability to resupply and regenerate through that corridor. But I also think Hamas was willing to give that up as a concession, knowing that they have other ways to get material into the Gaza Strip. Now it's going to be a lot harder with everything else that has happened in the region and certainly the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and all the damage done to Hezbollah and Iran's sort of weaker posture but I think they're still probably from a Hamas perspective they believe there are still other networks and other routes for them to accomplish that resupply.

The White House National Security Advisor told George Stephanopoulos this morning that he thinks this deal will hold. But in the meantime, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli strikes have killed 72 people since midday yesterday, essentially since this agreement was made, even though it's not finalized. Why keep striking if you've just agreed to a ceasefire deal and are on the verge of finalizing it?

Yeah, this is 1 of the tragic aspects of the negotiation is that it is not finalized from the Israeli government side and it still has to go through this ratification process with the cabinet and Ian's piece before talked about all these sort of delicate political maneuvers Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to have to go through just to get the ratification. And in the meantime, The IDF is going to continue its military operations against Hamas and there is I said on a segment yesterday with Kara Phillips There's still a sizable element of Hamas is fighting capability that still exists and Prime Minister Netanyahu is vowed to Destroy and eliminate Hamas So as the hours go by until that Israeli ratification of the deal, which I think will happen, that this gives Israel time and space to continue striking Hamas. And unfortunately, that probably also means Palestinian civilians have been killed in the crossfire.

All right, former senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council, Javed Al-Di, we appreciate your time, Javed. Thank you.

Thank you.

And families are celebrating the ceasefire deal as Hamas plans to free 33 hostages including some Americans still being held in Gaza. Liz Navtali, the great aunt of former hostage Abigail Eden joins me live now for more on how families are reacting to this. Liz, thank you for coming on. I'm curious to hear just your experience here. Where were you when you first heard the news about this pending deal and what was your first reaction to hearing that Israel and Hamas are finally on the verge of a ceasefire?

Well first thank you for having me and I was I was at home and I was just carrying on with the day, doing everything that 1 would do, that we have been doing as hostage advocates, reaching out and trying to make sure that we have done everything to get to this day of having a ceasefire deal. And there it was, it was announced on the TV. And, you know, it was this moment of excitement and then that fear of like, okay, is it gonna actually happen? What can go wrong? And I cried And I just thought about all these people who, 98 people who are waiting to be rescued, waiting to be freed, and their families, and the work that I've done with them since Abigail was released.

And just knowing that every minute for them is daunting and is devastating, and they just are waiting and hoping for good news.

And Liz, Abigail just turned 5. So I still cannot imagine what this must have been like. But she was taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7th attacks. They also killed her parents in front of her and her siblings and then finally released her almost 2 months later How much has she been able to tell you about what she's been through and how is she doing now?

Well first, thank you for the question Abigail knows exactly where she was. She knows she was a hostage. A month and a half ago, when running to a safe room, she asked her aunt, who is now her, is taking care of her, are the,

are the, are the, are the,

are we gonna be taken from this safe room? And you know, for a child to have to run to a safe room and think that the terrorists are going to then take her is just beyond reason. But at the same time, she is back in school. She has friends. She just celebrated, like you said, her fifth birthday.

And after her fourth birthday being celebrated as a hostage, it was beautiful. She was able to be that little girl enjoying the moment. And that was an amazing memory that we will all hold very near and dear. But you know, we don't know where things will go, and we don't know how things will be because she and her sister and brother watched their parents both be murdered by Hamas terrorists.

Now knowing what Abigail and her siblings endured, how worried are you about these remaining hostages more than a year later?

Look I am worried. Every day I'm worried, because what we have seen in the months, these last months, is that hostages have either been killed or have died. You know, we saw Hirsch Goldberg Poland at the end of the summer very much on a list to get out, and then he was executed with 5 other young people in Israel. Every day, we've seen other hostages be killed by friendly fire. And every day that they are there is another day that everyone should worry.

And it is the imperative of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to make this deal and start to bring home these people. That is what we as Jewish people, that is what we as humans need to do. We don't leave our people behind.

And on that note Liz, Abigail's home but you have not stopped in advocating for the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Why has that been so important to you to continue in this fight even when your family was finally safe and what do you want people watching to know about this war and its impact?

Well thank you. It's so full that question. First I'm still doing this because on October 7th, these people, all the hostage families, all the families of people who were murdered, 1, 247 Americans, they become like a family. And the 1 thing that I know about looking at Abigail and playing with Abigail and seeing Abigail is knowing that we have to make this better. You have children.

You understand that we need to do everything as adults and as leaders to make this world better for the children. And for me, this is about staying in it, 1, to make sure that these families are able to move forward as ours did. Even with the tragedy of my niece and her husband being murdered, Abigail coming home was our light. And with that light and with her, It is like sort of this, for all of us in our family, this important message to keep saying we're in this. Even with the greatest tragedy, we are going to keep fighting, fighting for the other hostages, fighting for peace, fighting for the region, but really fighting for the children.

And I think that's why I'm still in this. And I will still be in this until all the hostages are home and then keep fighting to make sure that we make this world a better place for Abigail, your children and all the children.

All right, Liz Novtali, we appreciate you coming on. Glad Abigail is home and hope you get to celebrate many more homecomings in the next few days and weeks. Thank you.

Thank you.

And with only a few days left in the White House, President Biden is issuing a dire warning to the country. In an address to the nation last night, the president warned that oligarchy is taking shape in America. He's criticizing the tech industrial complex and social media and urging Americans to continue confronting climate change. ABC news chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce has the latest on that. Hi Mary.

Well Diane, last night's speech was a chance for the president to tout his accomplishments and try to define his own legacy. He did acknowledge that many of his policies haven't resonated with Americans yet, saying though that he has planted the seeds and that it will take time. But what stood out most was how the president used these remarks to underscore the importance of American democracy and the need to protect it. The president had a dire, stark warning about unchecked power, saying an oligarchy is now taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that he says literally threatens our entire democracy. The president then issuing a plea to protect democratic institutions like a free press and warning of the dangers of misinformation.

As his own political career now winds down after more than 50 years, the president is urging Americans to stay engaged, to keep up his fight, saying now it's your turn to stand guard. His final message, I love America, I know you love it too. Diane.

Chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce, thank you. Coming up, new clues in the investigation into the deadly California wildfires. What investigators are looking for and how conditions may finally help firefighters in that fight.

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As firefighters gain the upper hand on the wildfires that savaged Southern California last week. The investigation into what caused those catastrophic fires is intensifying. Multiple neighbors publishing images of what was possibly the start of the Eaton fire.

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She asked us to show his picture.

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Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman, thank you. Coming up, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi's hearing enters day 2 on Capitol Hill. What she said about the 2020 election that members of the committee called disturbing.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi appears to be on her way to confirmation after being grilled by senators on Capitol Hill. Now lawmakers are getting ready to question President-elect Trump's nominees to lead the EPA, the Treasury Department and the Interior Department. ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott has the latest.

Capitol Hill preparing for another marathon day of confirmation hearings after Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi was pressed on her loyalty to President-elect Donald Trump and whether she could act independently.

I will not politicize that office. I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation.

The former Florida State Attorney General represented Trump during his first impeachment trial and she's pushed false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. Grilled by Democrats, she still refused to say that Trump lost that election.

Who won the 2020 presidential election?

Joe Biden is the President of the United States.

Ms. Bondi, you know that there is a difference between acknowledging it and you know I can say that Donald Trump won the 2024 election. I may not like it but I can say it.

Democrats also asking about Trump's vow for retribution and FBI director nominee Kash Patel's promise to go after the president-elect's political enemies.

I believe that Kash is the right person at this time for this job. You'll have the ability to question Mr. Patel.

And I'm questioning you right now about whether you will enforce an enemies list that he announced publicly on television?

Oh, Senator, I'm sorry. There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.

Bondi was asked repeatedly if she would investigate former special counsel Jack Smith or former congresswoman Liz Cheney, who Trump has said should go to jail.

Are you aware of any factual predicate to investigate Jack Smith sitting here today? Yes or no?

Senator, I will look at the facts and the circumstances.

You can't answer that question?

Bondi is on a clear path to being confirmed, Republicans on the committee praising her qualifications.

I have the greatest deal of respect for you personally and professionally. This is a great pick by President Trump. You're going to do a great job.

And over in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a rare moment of bipartisan praise for Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio.

What you've seen is a nominee who is extremely well prepared.

Your extensive foreign policy experience and your deep understanding of international relations I think makes you a perfect choice for the position.

And Diane, the confirmation hearings of course continued today for Trump's picks for the EPA, Interior and Treasury. Diane.

ABC News Senior Professional Correspondent Rachel Scott. Rachel, thank you. Coming up, the countdown to a ceasefire in Gaza. Why Israel's Prime Minister is warning of a last minute crisis and what it means for the future of Gaza. Also ahead, victims of the California wildfire turn to GoFundMe for help.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Thanks for streaming with us. You are looking at Khan Younis in Gaza on this Thursday as the region counts down to the ceasefire expected to go into effect on Sunday. But Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that ceasefire deal with Hamas is facing a quote last minute crisis. The Israeli cabinet is preparing to meet to approve the agreement.

Now Netanyahu's office says Hamas is trying to renege on parts of the deal while Hamas says it's committed to the ceasefire agreement. ABC's foreign correspondent Tom Sufi Burrage joins me from Tel Aviv along with ABC News State Department reporter Shannon Kingston for more. Tom Netanyahu hasn't provided much detail on what exactly the snags are in these last minute portions of this negotiation. So how serious is this?

I think it shouldn't be underestimated, but at the same time Diane I think at this point in time after the deal has been announced by President Biden by President-elect Trump by the Qataris I think it's unlikely right now most I think is the consensus that this will completely derail the deal but clearly it's so complicated there are so many little moving parts and the 2 sides Hamas and the Israeli government are clearly bickering over at least 1 of those and and we got a clue I think this morning with the Israeli government doubling down on 1 crucial area saying its troops will remain in the Philadelphia corridor that's the strip of land across Gaza's southern border with Egypt and you know that is has been a crucial red line for the Israeli government throughout the negotiating process even months ago when a deal didn't materialize. But I still think at this point in time the deal will happen. And just to mention, I mean, look, even though we had this very, very important announcement last night, we're seeing since yesterday evening when that announcement came in through to lunchtime today here in Israel about nearly 80 killed in Gaza according to Gaza officials and more than nearly 50 of those casualties are women and children so you know yes there's a deal on the table in principle, but the Israeli military's campaign in Gaza against Hamas and the devastating impact that's having on the civilian population is still very much ongoing right now.

Shannon, 2 Americans are reportedly expected to be among the 33 hostages in Gaza released as part of the first phase of this ceasefire deal. What else are you hearing about that, the hostages coming home?

That's right, Diane. There's Keith Siegel and Samuel Dekolcheng, 2 American citizens who were kidnapped on October 7th. They are expected to be released during phase 1 of the deal when it's finally implemented. But beyond that, US officials don't know too much about their condition or about what day they expect they might be able to walk out of Gaza. And we do know there is 1 other American who is thought to be alive, Eden Alexander, but because he was a member of the IDF when he was kidnapped and brought into Gaza, he's not eligible for a lease until phase 2 of the deal.

We know U.S. Officials have been talking to his family and reassuring them that they're going to continue to fight for him.

Tom, what are you hearing from the families of these hostages?

Yeah, we spoke to loads of them last night when the news came in and actually I was on a briefing this morning with another relative of a hostage, Udi Gorin. His cousin Tal Haimi was killed on October 7th, a father of 4 in a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip and his body is still in Gaza. So Udi and the family are still fighting to get his body back and that is the case for sadly a Large number of the hostages. I mean many of them are still alive. We hope but this Negotiation is also about dead bodies.

Sadly. I mean he says that he believes it when he'll see it, he'll believe the deal when he sees it and that's why we're hearing that the Israeli government and Hamas are still trying to hammer out fine details of this deal and therefore there is some skepticism not only about the pitfalls of this six-week initial ceasefire and all the complexities around that but also then moving forward about whether that six-week ceasefire really will transition into a longer ceasefire and phases 2 and 3 of the deal and ultimately the release of all of the hostages because Udi Goran in his briefing this morning was effectively saying look, all of the families of the hostages are my extended family now. And he was also interesting about saying that although he very clearly sees Hamas as the enemy and a terrorist organization. He does not believe the Israeli government's stated war aim of being able to destroy Hamas militarily is achievable. In his mind he says that's a fancy, although it's an important caveat, he does agree with the notion that Hamas should not be the governing body in Gaza after the war and he fully backs that and believes that is obtainable and that is something he he backs in terms of the Israeli government's position going forward.

So Shannon, the Biden and Trump administrations right the president the president-elect both announced this deal they both talked about obviously playing a crucial role in it. So what's their role now in trying to actually get it across the finish line?

Well, Diane, both the incoming administration and the outgoing administration, they knew this was going to be a fight every step of the way. They're saying they're not letting up any pressure on either Israel or Hamas to implement this, to get it done. But really, you know, that They know that this is going to be something they have to continue working on, keep going. There have been times in the past where they have come out and released some public details as a kind of tactic to keep the sides to something they've agreed on behind closed doors. But they're saying that's not what this is.

They would not have come out yesterday and had their big mission accomplished moment unless they had every confidence that at least phase 1 of this agreement was going to eventually be implemented. But as you heard Tom point out earlier, this isn't just a procedural delay, there are lives on the line.

All right, Tom Sufie Burrage, Shannon Kingston, thank you both. And let's bring in ABC News contributor, former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Elizabeth Newman for more on that angle. Elizabeth, how likely is it that this ceasefire actually goes into effect on Sunday as planned?

Oh man, I really hope so. I hope it does. The families of the hostages have been waiting for so long. The people of Gaza have been enduring a brutal war for 15 months and there's a you know a little bit of hope here that we could find a path out of this and and I hope that the Israeli government is able to to address whatever hiccups they they seem to have identified today to make that path forward. Because to be honest, the hardest part is that second phase.

This first phase, as hard as it was to get to it, hopefully they can at least start the process. Look, Israel experienced a really devastating moment on October 7th, and they have every right to want the terrorist group Hamas to not be on their borders. But the world really has changed over the last 6 months, and Israel's security is much stronger than it was even 6 months ago. So I would hope that that would factor into their thinking, that they would take this deal and get some of those hostages home.

So what potential issues are you looking out for that would jeopardize this deal altogether?

You know, the domestic politics of Israel, just like the domestic politics of the United States, are a very real thing. You have a number of factions. There's a lot of pressure to get the hostages home. There's also a lot of pressure from what you would describe as the far-right political part of the Israeli government that don't want to compromise with Hamas at all. And so the challenge with that stance is that it almost seems like there's no way out until every last member of Hamas is killed.

And that's just in a practical sense from a security stance, it's a little infeasible to see how you achieve that objective. So when you're dealing in the world of national security, you really need to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. So I do hope that they are able to persuade that faction of the Israeli government, the Israeli populace, that this is a, I wouldn't say it's a great deal, but it's a decent deal. And it can set the stage for more options in the future to help Israel achieve some of those security objectives of trying to make sure that they are never attacked again like they were on October 7th.

President Biden says this is the same deal he's been pushing since May. So why now? What changed to bring these sides finally together if these are the same terms they were talking about months ago?

Yeah, it's a really great question. I do think there's been a lot of commentary about, Oh, it's the Trump election that's changed. That might influence certain parts of the domestic politics that we were talking about in Israel. Trump is seen as a friend of Israel by some parts of the Israeli domestic politics. So perhaps that creates some opening for Netanyahu to take this deal.

I really think the bigger picture, though, that we might be overlooking is the way in which the security perimeter around Israel has changed. So you had the offer in May, but it wasn't until July that the assassination of the Hamas political leader in Iran occurred. And then later in October, Sinwar, who is the Hamas leader who planned the October 7th attacks, he was killed in Gaza. You also had the takedown of the Hezbollah leadership in September with those rather infamous Pager and walkie-talkie attacks. And then Just last month, we had the fall of the Assad regime.

So you had all of these Iranian proxies that had been surrounding Israel for years now and creating very difficult security situations. And now all of Those Iranian proxies have been decimated or defeated. So it's a very different chessboard, if you will, in the Middle East today. And that creates some space, some breathing room for Netanyahu to be able to make this deal. I think when we look back, I'm not suggesting that there isn't a role that Trump may have played in the psychology of making this deal, but the facts on the ground from a security standpoint.

It really is all of these other things that occurred and that is the credit to the Israel military and intelligence who really pushed back Iran.

All right, ABC News contributor, former Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Elizabeth Newman, thank you. And humanitarian aid groups around the world are now watching for Israel's next move. Senior Vice President of International Programs at the International Rescue Committee, Siaran Donnelly, joins me now for more. Siaran, thank you for coming on. Can you talk to me about just over the last few months we've talked about this humanitarian crisis worsening in Gaza.

So What's your reaction to finally being on the cusp of a ceasefire deal?

I think we are hugely optimistic that this deal can come through. Obviously, we're seeing some last-minute issues that need to be ironed out. But we've been advocating for a ceasefire since the breakdown of the previous 1 over a year ago. It's a horrendous humanitarian situation inside Gaza, as you know, with 1.9 million people displaced, many of those facing real shortages of food, hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine. So with the ceasefire agreement, we're on the brink of being able to finally scale up aid to the level that it's needed.

And as you know, trucks and aid agencies are waiting and ready to go in with aid workers. And I do have to say a ceasefire alone won't be sufficient to get aid to people in Gaza at the level and the speed that's needed. We also need authorities on the ground, in particular the Israeli authorities, to remove the other barriers, administrative and bureaucratic obstacles to getting aid in and to moving it around. And we need donors to come in with funding rapidly to be able to fund the scale-up that's needed.

Now since the announcement of the agreement, a spokesperson for the Gaza civil defense says at least 72 Palestinians have been killed in an IDF strike. What do you make of that? And what do you think happens with the fighting until the agreement actually takes effect?

Look, it shows exactly what the people of Gaza have been suffering over these past 15 months, with 46, 000 people having been killed. It's beyond tragic that, with a ceasefire deal on the table pending final stages of ratification, an additional 70 or more people have been killed. It shows what's at stake, and it shows the necessity of getting the deal finalized and getting it implemented on the ground immediately to give some respite to people who've been suffering through this war. And then, as I said, to allow the space and the conditions for aid agencies to be able to scale up their operations.

And you say that need for aid in Gaza is massive with roughly 90% of the population displaced. So how do you think this agreement will help get more aid to those in need? And what happens now to all of those displaced people?

Well, we haven't seen the full text of the agreement, but I understand that it allows for hundreds of trucks to be able to enter Gaza. Remember, the pre-war level was 500 trucks a day entering Gaza to be able to provide both commercial and aid supplies. And we've been nowhere near that level. We've been at a significantly lower level throughout the duration of this conflict. So getting hundreds of trucks in per day will allow people to be able to access food, to be able to access fuel, shelter materials, obviously we're in the middle of winter, medical supplies and so on.

For the people who've been displaced, many of them don't have places to go back to. 90%, 91% of the housing supply in Gaza has been either destroyed or damaged as a result of the conflict. Hopefully the ceasefire deal will lay the conditions both for a transition to a more sustainable peace arrangement and then for the conditions for reconstruction and recovery. But right now our focus has to be on getting the ceasefire deal implemented, making sure it sticks and making sure that those other conditions that are necessary for the delivery of aid are put in place as well.

All right, Senior Vice President of International Programs at the International Rescue Committee, Kiran Donnelly, we appreciate your time today. Thank you.

Thank you.

Coming up, How to help the victims of the California wildfires, what to look out for if you're planning to donate money, and how GoFundMe is helping weed out scammers.

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♪♪ ♪♪

Welcome back to ABC News Live First. The wildfires in California are leading to an outpouring of donations through the company GoFundMe. Now, the company is speaking out, trying to clarify how it handles fees and where your money goes. ABC News correspondent Matt Rivers is in Pacific Palisades with more on that.

A staggering amount of GoFundMe pages helping fire victims get ready to rebuild. People just like the Bailey family, 3 generations, lived in this house in Altadena. A lifetime of memories ripped away in a single night when the Eaton fire raced down the ridge.

Our neighbor, she said, Sandra, it says 0.5 Miles away. Get your mom and get out.

It wasn't until the next day that they learned their house was gone.

We have lost everything all of our history for each generation. There's pictures and they're all gone.

The Bailey's GoFundMe page, a crucial start to rebuilding, is just 1 of more than 1, 500 set up in the fire's aftermath.

In the last week, about $100 million has been raised on GoFundMe.

A tremendous tool, but 1 that has sparked some confusion over suspected fees. When completing a donation, there is also an option to tip the company directly.

Sometimes people don't realize they're optional because they're automatically tipped. There is the option to move that donation all the way down to 0 if you don't want to donate anything at all.

GoFundMe says the only mandatory fees associated with a donation are transactional fees.

The fees on GoFundMe are transactional fees that are related to running a credit card and those are 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per donation.

And for many worried about where they're donating their money, GoFundMe says they go through a rigorous verification process.

We set up a centralized hub. This page houses all of the fundraisers that have been verified by our trust and safety team, meaning they've been reviewed.

People like the Bailey family say GoFundMe is a huge lifeline for them. It's not just a neighborhood. It's not just a city. It's really like a legacy. And Diane, GoFundMe says that they have a lot of checks and balances in place already to make sure that there is no fraud, but they also suggest carefully reviewing the page that you want to donate to, check to see if there are clear photos on that page.

Look at the relationship between the organizer of the page and the beneficiary of the page and also look to see who's commenting. Is it friends of the beneficiary? Is it family of the beneficiary? A lot of these things sound like common sense but it's good to keep in your back pocket when you want to make these desperately needed donations. Thank you.

All right, Matt Rivers, thank you. Coming up, Drake is suing his own music label over Kendrick Lamar's diss track, Not Like Us. Brian Buckmeyer is here to break down what it could mean for Kendrick's Super Bowl performance.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Drake is suing his own music label, Universal Music Group, for defamation. The suit centers around Kendrick Lamar's hit, Not Like Us. Drake's lawyers argue the song falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violence against him. ABC's Morgan Norwood has the details.

They not like us. They not like us.

It's the scathing diss track turned Grammy nominated hit. Just weeks before he takes the main stage at the Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar's 2024 summer anthem Not Like Us is the focus of a defamation lawsuit from the rapper on the receiving end of his lyrical jabs. Fellow music superstar Drake.

I feel good sometimes I don't.

Drake now suing Universal Music Group where Kendrick is also his label mate over Lamar's number 1 song and the lawsuit Drake alleging that UMG knowingly approved, published and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track which was intended to convey the specific, unmistakable and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile. The lawsuit citing provocative bars and not like us like this. Though Kendrick's lyrics are at the center of the lawsuit and a statement Drake's lawyers telling ABC News, this lawsuit is not brought against Kendrick Lamar. This lawsuit reveals the human and business consequences to UMG's elevations of profits over the safety and well-being of its artists. The music company firing back, calling the claims illogical, adding that Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth rap battles to express his feelings about other artists.

He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist's creative expression.

This is unprecedented when it comes to a rap beef being settled in the courtroom. Rap beef is usually settled on the airwaves. You are oftentimes going for the most creative, lyrical statement you can make to really add lyrical and verbal injury, not physical, but verbal injury.

The lawsuit coming just 3 weeks before Kendrick set to headline the halftime show at this year's Super Bowl.

You know there's only 1 opportunity to win a championship. No round tools. Let's get it. ♪ Me on

boom, sit down low, me on boom, sit down low

♪

The Los Angeles-based artist has 5 number 1 hits

remember when you tried to write

me up

Remember when you thought I'd take a loss?

Well, Drake has topped the charts 13 times.

Kiki, you only love me. Are you riding? Say you'll never ever leave from beside me, because I want you.

All right, so these 2 started off as occasional collaborators, right? But over the past decade, they've traded subliminal bars up until this latest battle. But this lawsuit, definitely not bringing them any closer to a truce. Now, we did reach out to Kendrick Lamar's team for comment. No word back yet.

Diane?

All right, ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmeyer joins me now for more on this. Brian, we have seen rap lyrics used in court before, so how do you think this one's going to play out?

Yeah, I think for the lyrics in Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us, they're going to be the center focus of this lawsuit, where Drake is alleging not only damages in the sense of his house being shot at, people trying to burglarize it, even that his son had to be taken out of elementary school, but that UMG was reckless in its use of these lyrics and promoting Not Like Us that caused these harms to him. And So I think whether or not Drake is arguing that he's a pedophile or a certified pedophile or whatever the A minor lyrics that you get from Kendrick's song are truthful and whether or not UMG should have been publishing them.

Now, Drake is a public figure, Brian, And that means the bar for defamation is higher than if he was just an average citizen. So how hard does that make this case for him against UMG?

It makes it a little difficult. As you noted, people like yourself, Diane, are what's called public figures, people who have a certain level of notoriety or fame or achievement. And so if you're filing a defamation lawsuit, you have to actually show actual malice. You have to show that a person knew the statements to be false or they were reckless in the publishing. And that's kind of baked into Drake's argument here that UMG was at the very least reckless in terms of promoting this false statement of him being a certified pedophile or his having conviction for sexual assault of young minors and so while it's harder it's kind of built into his lawsuit already.

Now Universal is the defendant in this case not Kendrick Lamar But could Kendrick end up having to testify in this case?

So definitely possible. If I were Drake, I probably would try to avoid that. And the reason why I say that is it's a bit speculative. But this is what I'd see. UMG is the only name defended in this case.

Kendrick Lamar is not. Drake, at least the heart of his argument, is that UMG was reckless in putting out a statement that he believes is untrue, but that UMG did not know whether or not it's true. If Kelland-Duke Lamar takes the stand, it might become a battle as to whether or not that statement is actually true and Kendrick Lamar may let some cats out of the bag, so to speak, and testify in a way that might hurt or further damage Drake's reputation, what we've already seen in social media. So could Kendrick Lamar end up on the witness stand? Yes.

Do I think it would benefit Drake? Probably not.

Now, the lawsuit also brings up that Kendrick is set to perform at the Grammys and the Super Bowl, which is watched by more than 100 million people. Could this prevent him from being able to perform Not Like Us?

So I would tell people who are expecting and hoping to see Kendrick Lamar perform at the Super Bowl in what 24, 25 some odd days probably still wouldn't likely hear that song. It might even further the rap beef or even further sales and the reason why I say that is in this lawsuit there is no what's called an injunction there's no request from Drake to say that the court should stop Kendrick from performing the song today or in the future Kendrick may have another lawsuit filed against him or UMG whoever it may be or even the Super Bowl if he does perform but I don't think this lawsuit prevents that from happening.

Alright ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmeyer thank you. And I'm Diane Messeta the news never stops And neither do we we have a lot more news right after the break stay with us

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Dia Messedo today on ABC News Live. First, The countdown to a ceasefire in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu now says the agreement is facing a last-minute crisis. The new details being negotiated and how Hamas is responding as the deal awaits approval from the Israeli cabinet. The celebrations in the streets.

Crowds of Palestinians rejoice after the ceasefire announcement. What's next for the people of Gaza and how aid organizations are getting ready to help? Plus, the hostage is set to be released. Hamas says it will free 33 hostages, including 2 Americans still being held, when they could come home and what their families are saying. And the new strikes launched after that deal was announced.

The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 72 Palestinians are dead. Why experts say Israel will escalate its attacks before that ceasefire goes into effect. Our team coverage starts right now. The first, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire deal with Hamas is facing a quote last-minute crisis. The Israeli cabinet is preparing to meet to approve the agreement.

Now Netanyahu's office says Hamas is trying to renege on parts of the deal while Hamas says it's committed to the ceasefire agreement. ABC's foreign correspondent Tom Sufi-Burridge joins me from Tel Aviv with the latest. Tom, how serious is this? Netanyahu's saying that there's this last-minute crisis.

I think the sense right now, Diane, from everyone is this isn't probably going to completely derail the deal. I mean, look, you know, President Biden, President-elect Donald Trump, the Qatari Prime Minister have announced this in front of the world. So I think at this point in time, and it's hard to imagine this completely collapsing altogether, at the same time I think this reflects the complexity of phase 1 of the deal, right? I mean the negotiations up until now are only really banging out the details on phase 1. The initial 6 weeks ceasefire, the 33 hostages coming out, I mean that is still, the fine detail on it is still being worked out.

I mean we've had a clue about what 1 of the sticking points could be at this point in time with the Israeli government doubling down on its commitment to keep Israeli troops inside this strip of land separating southern Gaza and Egypt along that borderline effectively the Philadelphia Corridor And so that might be the sort of sticking point. But again, they're still working out and they still don't have clarity, for example, the Israeli government over exactly how many hostages are alive. And in a way from the framework deal we've seen, that won't become clear until the actual ceasefire itself comes into effect. So look, the hope is that this can be worked out and that by Sunday the first hostages will still be released and a ceasefire will take place.

So Tom, what are you hearing from the families of these hostages?

Well, I mean we're getting a mix of reactions. I think most people we've spoken to, we spoke to a few down in central Tel Aviv last night as the news came in. I was on a briefing with a cousin of a hostage who was killed in captivity this morning. And look, that cousin was basically saying, you know, he's very happy there's a deal, but he'll believe it when he sees it. I.e., you know, until there is actually a deal implemented and hostages begin to be released, That's the moment that he and his extended family, as he put it, and by that he means all of the families of the hostages who have become so close over the last year and a bit since October 7th, will actually feel that this is happening.

So there is skepticism. It's not just about Hamas and the Israeli government haggling over the data, but it's also about domestic Israeli politics too. The complexities of that within the Israeli government, that coalition that Netanyahu at the moment holds together, and the dissenting voices, hardliners within that coalition government who are opposed to the deal. It's highly complex, the deal itself, the political situation around it is also complicated too.

All right, ABC News foreign correspondent Tom Sufie Burridge, thank you. And freelance journalist and teacher in Gaza, Rueda Amir joins me now for more on this. Rueda, thank you for coming on. I know you live in Gaza, you've been covering this war for the last 15 months and even sending ABC News video, some video of what you've seen there. What's your reaction and how big of a deal do you think this is for Israel and Hamas to now have reached this agreement and be on the verge of a ceasefire deal?

Yes, the people are very excited and so happy because it's finally a ceasefire in Gaza after a long time of war, more than 13 months of bombing, hunger, and this is—effectivation from all the areas of Gaza Strip. So the people are very happy about this agreement. Finally, they say there is ceasefire in Gaza on Sunday. There is mixed feelings for the people, because We are still under the bombing today, on Friday and Saturday, because the ceasefire will be on Sunday. The people forced are just back to their homes in the north.

They want to go to their homes. They want to see their families in the north and back to their areas they never had. And they are trying to be careful, because the bombing itself in Gaza, but we are so happy, The people are so happy, because they're waiting this moment to say they're inspiring Gaza, the war will stop. And maybe the people in the Last time, they will, like, lose their hope to stop this war, because it takes a long time. But there is fire in Gaza, so that maybe back the hope or the life for the people in Gaza.

So until now, there's some people's liberation because they were back to the north. They are free during more than 1 year and 2 months to go back to their homes, and they will do that during ceasefire in Gaza.

And Rueda, you've been under constant bombardment you say, so what's it been like for you and your family living in Gaza during this war?

Yes, still there is bombing. Yes, still, there is bombing. We are hearing some bombings around many areas in the south and in the north. But the families have very careful because they want to be safe, and they want to be—to not lose anyone more. So, that makes them very careful.

They say, we will not move too much in the streets, in the cities, OK, to be—go there to be alive, to go to their homes, to their areas in the north. And about me, about my family, how we are so happy because we live in like so bad situation during this war, it was the worst war, nothing else in the world but finally we will take rest from this on Sunday.

All right, freelance journalist and teacher in Gaza, Rueda Amir. Rueda, wishing you safety. Thank you.

Thank you.

And let's go to ABC's contributor, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, Mick Mulroy, for more on the security implications of this deal. Mick, thanks for coming on. You know, negotiators have been working toward this deal for over a year. So why now? And what are the big challenges, you think, to getting it across the finish line?

So, Diana, it looks like

it was a combination of pressures, both against Hamas. We've seen Iran have several strategic setbacks, both in Iran and in Syria with the fall of the Assad regime, the serious degradation of Hezbollah by Israel, and of course, directly against themselves, their leadership, their fighters, and their capacity to wage terrorist attacks. They are under a lot of pressure. They're very isolated. And of course, we're seeing both the current administration, the Biden administration, putting pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the incoming Trump administration doing the same, wanting to see this agreement started before they take office on Monday.

So the pressure I think was there that really caused this to get to where it is right now and hopefully it'll get fully across the finish line soon and it'll be implemented started on Sunday.

Mick, on the flip side of that, do you think there are pressures at play trying to break this deal apart in the last minute?

Yes, unfortunately, and I think this is a very fragile time. Both the political issues inside the coalition government, Prime Minister Netanyahu, the far right, not liking any basic ceasefire agreement, and apparently Hamas adding new conditions onto the agreement now. I don't know if that's true, but that's what the Israeli side is saying. That's likely to be known by the mediator. So the United States probably knows whether there's any additional factors that's being put on the table by Hamas.

But let's hope that this is fixed and the Security Cabinet votes on it today in a positive way and we start moving toward this beginning again on Sunday with the hostages, the first group of hostages being released.

The start of this war, Netanyahu said the mission was to destroy Hamas. Now Secretary of State Blinken says since October 7th, Hamas has recruited as many fighters as it has lost in this war. So what does that mean for Israel and Hamas going forward?

Well, first of all, it's very difficult to defeat an ideology. That's something that we learned in the global war on terrorism. You can defeat, you certainly can kill its leadership, you can kill its foot soldiers, if you will. But the ideology needs to be defeated by the people who would potentially join it in the future. And I think that is what we have to see about how the future of Hamas.

They will gain new fighters, but Israel has seriously degraded their capacity to wage war, both their tunnels, their arsenals, their leadership and their seasoned fighters. So they will, of course, recruit others, but I do think Israel has made marked steps toward defeating them as a viable threat to Israel.

All right, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of defense for the Middle East, Mick Mulroy. Mick, thank you. And President-elect Trump is taking credit for this deal, but President Biden says it's the same framework he proposed last May. ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers joins me now for more on that. Karen, what did President Biden and President-elect Trump contribute to this deal and what role do you think they'll play moving forward as they try to get it finalized?

Well, Diane, you heard the President say yesterday that this was a framework that he proposed back in May of last year, that this has been on the table since then. And now in these last couple of days, there was that furious effort to try and get it across the finish line. And the Biden administration brought in the incoming Trump team to the table in those conversations in Doha so they could be a part of this because as President Biden said yesterday while this was developed and implemented during his administration it's going to be played out during the Trump administration so we felt that it was very important that the outgoing team and the incoming team were speaking with 1 voice and that that was going to be critical to getting this done. Diane, we heard the national security spokesman John Kirby say today on Good Morning America that when President-elect Trump said that he was supporting this deal, that that sent a strong signal to all of the players in the region, including Hamas, and that that was a big part then of getting this done. So giving them credit there for the role that they played, the Trump team coming in, but still the Biden administration is saying this was their plan all along and it was just a matter of getting it done.

Meanwhile Karen in his address to the nation last night the president warned that oligarchy is taking shape in America. He had a more ominous tone than he's normally known for. What does that tell you about how he's feeling leaving office and the kind of legacy he's trying to leave behind.

Diane, this was a surprising speech from President Biden last night, his farewell address from the Oval Office, not just a look back and a reflecting on his 4 years as president and a more than 50 year career in public service. He did talk about his signature achievements, things like the infrastructure law and investment in climate action, but it was also a warning to the American people and that was really notable because as you say he's an optimistic president he likes to talk about how he always believes America's best days are ahead but last night he said he is concerned about what he called the concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra wealthy people And he said there could be dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Diane, he called out the social media platforms for what he says is not doing fact-checking and putting smothering lies told for power and for profit. He didn't mention anybody by name but it was very clear he was sending a message to some of these tech CEOs who have certainly been embraced by the incoming Trump administration, many of whom Diane will be here in Washington next week for Donald Trump's inauguration.

All right,

ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers. Karen, thank you. Coming up, new clues in the investigation into the deadly California wildfires. What investigators are looking for and how conditions may finally help firefighters contain those flames.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Several of President-elect Trump's picks for key positions are in the hot seat today for confirmation hearings. Senators are set to grill nominees for EPA Administrator, HUD Secretary, Treasury Secretary, and more. ABC's Jay O'Brien joins me from Capitol Hill with the latest on that. So Jay, what do lawmakers want to hear from these nominees?

And what are you watching for today?

Well, it varies per the hearing, Diane, but for EPA Administrator, for example, Trump's pick to run that agency, Lee Zeldin, has no real experience in environmental protection or environmental law or anything really of the like, so expect Democrats to bring that up in the hearing. And I'd also expect Democrats to bring up what Donald Trump's plans for the EPA would be. We know that Donald Trump and his allies have been clear that they want to limit the agency's scope, possibly even just shrink the agency writ large. There's also Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, as you mentioned, expect him to be talking about tax cuts. The Donald Trump incoming Trump administration has a sizable plan for tax cuts that they're going to have to champion and they're going to have to get through Congress.

Also, you've got day

2 of Pam

Bondi's confirmation hearing before

the Senate Judiciary Committee. She's not going to be in front of the panel, but witnesses testifying to her character will be in front of that panel, including some Democrats from Florida that will say that they have respect for Pam Bondi and what she did in that state. None of these Trump nominees and really none of the Trump nominees that we've seen, stand before various committees this week. That includes Pete Hegseth before Armed Services and Pam Bondi before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, have any real vocal Republican opposition at this hour. No Republicans have come out and said that there are no votes and if that holds and there are no Republican no votes, it puts these nominees on track to be confirmed, Diane.

Jay O'Brien for us on Capitol Hill. Jay, thank you. And firefighters in California are getting a much-needed break from the Santa Ana winds. Now state officials are focusing on finding what caused those massive wildfires. ABC's Melissa Adonis in Altadena, California with the latest.

Melissa, investigators say they've gathered 150 leads on what the cause of that fire could be. Multiple neighbors are also posting images of what was possibly the start of the Eaton fire. What's the latest on the investigation?

Yes, Diane. It is quite an investigation that we have going on as far as

for the eat and fire. There's a

lot of images that have come out basically

from that mountain

that hillside there of where this

transmission tower is worth a lot of people saw flames. So that is part

of that investigation. And they're looking

into that because essentially some photos and videos captured something erupting there, and that's where that transmission center is, however, SoCal Edison. That is their transmission center. They've been part of this investigation, but they say that There is no evidence that it was their equipment that started up that that flame so that's still being looked into. Then meantime, we also have the Palisades fire as far as that investigation goes there. ATF agents are working on this 1, and They've zeroed in on essentially the Palisades Highlands area on a hillside.

They're saying that on New Year's Day, there was a fire after midnight, possibly either someone was there with fireworks or something of that matter, and there was a fire that got reported. Well, they're saying maybe that smoldered and was in connection to then the January 7th start date of the Palisades fire. So obviously we're still early on, but these are causes that they're looking into to see basically Diane, what was the initial spark?

And so many people wondering that the answer to that question I know investigators will be working hard on that and and what about rebuilding Melissa what a resident saying about that

yes Diane so look at it it's thousands and thousands of people you know I was just chatting with the homeowner here of what her plan is and for how long that she's lived here. And it is heartbreaking, right? So many families were telling me they had plans either to do remodeling their homes, looking at things that they wanted to do. And now all of that is gone. Now they're looking at how can they possibly file for assistance.

It is a long road ahead. FEMA has already gotten 53, 000 applications. That's for federal assistance for this one-time payment that they can get that, right? But then after that, they're looking for temporary housing. The government has also added a temporary housing relief shelter program.

But that also takes some time then to look for as people get into some housing that has been very challenging with the rental market. Even the local officials here talking about people that have been price gouging and our local DA sharing that that is illegal and telling people to not do that but residents we have thousands of people that are displaced so it's a long process then as of course folks wait to follow their insurance claims a way to see how they can possibly either rebuild or just make plans to move out, which is something that some folks are telling me might have to be the reality for them and it hurts, Diane.

Melissa Adan, thank you. And tomorrow, ABC News will feature stories of local heroes and people impacted by the wildfires as recovery efforts ramp up. We'll also have information about how you can help. Special coverage of SoCal Strong begins tomorrow morning right here on ABC News Live. Coming up, the FDA is banning red dye number 3.

Dr. Lok Patel is here to tell us why the agency is taking action now.

♪♪

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I love this person of mine...

♪

America's number 1 most-watched daytime talk show is ABC's The View.

You all

heard it here first.

This is gonna be

must-see TV, and so much could happen.

That's why it's called The What? The View.

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There's something down there that will destroy the world.

We're talking about a monster. A real monster.

You are in danger. Kids are disappearing. No! No!

Ahh! Ahh!

Ahh! Reporting from the Kennedy Space Center, where we just watched a rocket launch, I'm Gio Benitez. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, The American Cancer Society says cases of certain types of cancer are on the rise among women and younger adults. For the first time, cancer diagnoses in women ages 50 to 64 have surpassed men, according to the report. ABC News medical contributor Dr. Lok Patel joins me now for more on this.

Dr. Patel, cancer death rates have dropped 34% since 1991, but this report also shows some concerning statistics. So what stood out to you overall?

Well foremost, Diane, I think we should highlight the fact that those cancer deaths have gone down since the early 90s and that equals about 4.5 million lives saved. Those are deaths that we don't have to have but there are concerning points here and 1 of them notably is that women under the age of 50 are about 80% more likely to develop cancer than men. 6 of the 10 common cancers are actually rising more so in women. We're not seeing much change when it comes to the incidence or the death rate in pancreatic cancer and there is still inequity in cancer treatment and screening with black and Native Americans being 2 to 3 times more likely to die from cancer than white Americans are. And I think notably what people are really looking at is this statistic about women because there's many factors that may be contributing with this rise in women and in young individuals.

Now according to this report 50% of cancer deaths in the US are related to modifiable behaviors like smoking for example. So what do you think people need to take away from this?

I think people should feel empowered actually by this statistic. We cannot say this enough that there are many modifiable risk factors that things that you can do related to your lifestyle to reduce your risk of developing cancer. Today you mentioned cigarette smoking, there's also alcohol consumption, Making sure you're eating a variety of good whole grain whole foods, including plenty of fiber. You're sleeping. You're working out enough.

And you're also paying attention to UV radiation such as from the sun or indoor tanning. And I want to mention how important cancer screening is as well. When we're talking about cancers such as breast, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer, which are rising in young individuals, we have screening tests available. But right now, only about 70 percent of Americans are getting screened for those 3 specific cancers. So awareness, equity, and having this conversation is extremely important.

And meanwhile, the FDA has now banned red dye number 3 over cancer concerns. So what do we need to be aware of on that front and why now?

You know, this is a really important history lesson about where we are when it comes to artificial food diet regulation. Diane, in the late 50s, early 60s, We passed the Delaney Clause, which basically said that any foods that may cause cancer in animals or humans have to be banned by the FDA. And then in the 80s, there was a study in rats. Now, to be clear, they ate a large amount of red dye every single day, and it led to an increase in thyroid cancer, which led to the FDA banning red dye in cosmetics. And today we're talking about banning it from thousands of foods.

If you go to a grocery store, you will see red dye number 3 in cakes, candies, gummies, brightly colored beverages, even foods that are labeled as healthy, such as certain protein shakes or meat substitutes. So it's important for people out there to be an aware consumer, look at those ingredients, but not just at Red Dye, look at all the ingredients and choose minimally processed foods. This is a good step forward when it comes to transparency and creating healthier foods for everyone.

ABC News medical contributor Dr. Lok Patel, thank you.

Thank you.

And

I'm Diane Macedo. The news never stops and neither do we. We have a lot

more news right after the break.

An operation to capture ISIS fighters.

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boy.

Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Thanks for streaming with us. You're looking at Khan Younis in Gaza on this Thursday as the region counts down to the ceasefire expected to go into effect on Sunday. But Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that ceasefire deal with Hamas is facing a, quote, last minute crisis. The Israeli cabinet is preparing to meet to approve the agreement.

Netanyahu's office says Hamas is trying to renege on parts of the deal, while Hamas says it's committed to the ceasefire agreement. ABC's foreign correspondent Tom Sufi-Burridge joins me from Tel Aviv along with ABC News State Department reporter Shannon Kingston for more. Tom, Netanyahu hasn't provided much detail on what exactly the snags are in these last minute portions of this negotiation. So, how serious is this?

I think it shouldn't be underestimated, but at the same time, Diane, I think at this point in time after the deal has been announced by President Biden by President-elect Trump by the Qataris I think it's unlikely right now most I think is the consensus that this will completely derail the deal but clearly it's so complicated there are so many little moving parts and the 2 sides Hamas and the Israeli government are clearly bickering over at least 1 of those and and we got a clue I think this morning with the Israeli government doubling down on 1 crucial area saying its troops will remain in the Philadelphia corridor, that's the strip of land across Gaza's southern border with Egypt. And you know that has been a crucial red line for the Israeli government throughout the negotiating process even months ago when a deal didn't materialize. But I still think at this point in time the deal will happen and just to mention I mean look even though we had this very very important announcement last night we're seeing since yesterday evening when that announcement came in through to lunchtime today here in Israel about nearly 80 killed in Gaza according to Gaza officials and more than nearly 50 of those casualties are women and children.

So you know yes there's a deal on the table in principle but is the Israeli military's campaign in Gaza against Hamas and the devastating impact that's having on the civilian population is still very much ongoing right now.

Shannon, 2 Americans are reportedly expected to be among the 33 hostages in Gaza released as part of the first phase of this ceasefire deal. What else are you hearing about that? The hostages coming home.

That's right, Diane. There are 2 Americans who are expected to come out during phase 1 of this deal. They are Keith Siegel and Segi Dekulcen, 2 American men who were kidnapped during the October 7th attacks. But beyond that, the U.S. Officials really don't know that much about their condition or about what day they might actually be allowed to walk out of Gaza.

And we do know there is at least 1 other American citizen who is thought to be alive who won't be coming out during phase 1. He's Eden Alexander, and because he was a member of the IDF when he was kidnapped, he can't be released until at least phase 2 of the agreement when that's reached. But We do know that U.S. Officials have been in contact with his family, and they're assuring them that they're going to continue to fight to get him back home.

Tom, what are you hearing from the families of these hostages?

Yeah, we spoke to loads of them last night when the news came in, and actually I was on a briefing this morning with another relative of a hostage Udi Goran his his cousin Tal Haimi was killed on October the 7th a father of 4 in a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip and his body is still in Gaza so Udi and the family is still fighting to get his body back and that is the case for sadly a large number of the hostages I mean many of them are still alive we hope but this negotiation is also about dead bodies sadly I mean he says that he believes it when he'll see it, he'll believe the deal when he sees it and that's why you know we're hearing that the Israeli government and Hamas are still you know trying to hammer out fine details of this deal and therefore there is some skepticism not only about the pitfalls of this six-week initial ceasefire and all the complexities around that but also then moving forward about whether that six-week ceasefire really will transition into a longer ceasefire and phases 2 and 3 of the deal and ultimately the release of all of the hostages because Udi Goran in his briefing this morning was effectively saying, look, all of the families of the hostages are my extended family now.

And he was also interesting about saying that although he very clearly sees Hamas as the enemy and a terrorist organization, he does not believe the Israeli government's stated war aim of being able to destroy Hamas militarily is achievable. In his mind, He says that's a fancy, although it's an important caveat, he does agree with the notion that Hamas should not be the governing body in Gaza after the war. And he fully backs that and believes that is obtainable and that is something he backs in terms of the Israeli government's position going forward.

So Shannon, the Biden and Trump administrations, right, the president and the president-elect both announced this deal, they both talk about obviously playing a crucial role in it, so what's their role now in trying to actually get it across the finish line?

Well Diane, both the incoming administration, the outgoing administration, they knew this was going to be a fight every step of the way. They're saying they're not letting up any pressure on either Israel or Hamas to implement this to get it done. But really, you know, they know that this is going to be something they have to continue working on, keep going. There have been times in the past where they have come out and released some public details as a kind of tactic to keep the sides to something they've agreed on behind closed doors but they're saying that's not what this is. They would not have come out yesterday and had their big mission accomplished moment unless they had every confidence that at least phase 1 of this agreement was going to eventually be implemented But as you heard Tom point out earlier, this isn't just a procedural delay, there are lives on the line.

All right, Tom Sufie Burrage, Shannon Kingston, thank you both. And let's bring in ABC News contributor, former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Elizabeth Newman, for more on that angle. Elizabeth, how likely is it that this ceasefire actually goes into effect on Sunday as planned?

Oh man, I really hope so. I hope it does. The families of the hostages have been waiting for so long. The people of Gaza have been enduring a brutal war for 15 months. And there's a little bit of hope here that we could find a path out of this.

And I hope that the Israeli government is able to address whatever hiccups they seem to have identified today to make that path forward because to be honest the hardest part is that second phase. This first phase as hard as it was to get to it. Hopefully they can at least start the process. Look, Israel experienced a really devastating moment on October 7th, and they have every right to want the terrorist group Hamas to not be on their borders. But the world really has changed over the last 6 months.

And Israel's security is much stronger than it was even 6 months ago. So I would hope that that would factor into their thinking, that they would take this deal and get some of those hostages home.

So what potential issues are you looking out for that would jeopardize this deal altogether?

You know, the domestic politics of Israel, just like the domestic politics of the United States, are a very real thing. You have a number of factions, so there's a lot of pressure to get the hostages home. There's also a lot of pressure from what you would describe as the far-right political part of the Israeli government that don't want to compromise with Hamas at all. And so the challenge with that stance is that it almost seems like there's no way out until every last member of Hamas is killed. And that's just in a practical sense from a security stance, it's a little infeasible to see how you achieve that objective.

So when you're dealing in the world of national security, you really need to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. So I do hope that they are able to persuade that faction of the Israeli government, the Israeli populace, that this is a, I wouldn't say it's a great deal, but it's a decent deal. And it can set the stage for more options in the future to help Israel achieve some of those security objectives of trying to make sure that they are never attacked again, like they were on October 7th.

Now, President Biden says this is the same deal he's been pushing since May. So why now? What changed to bring these sides finally together if these are the same terms they were talking about months ago?

Yeah it's a really great question. I do think there's a lot been a lot of commentary about oh it's the Trump election that's changed. That might influence certain parts of the domestic politics that we were talking about in Israel. Trump is seen as a friend of Israel by some parts of the Israeli domestic politics. So perhaps that creates some opening for Netanyahu to take this deal.

I really think the bigger picture, though, that we might be overlooking is the way in which the security perimeter around Israel has changed. So you had the offer in May, but it wasn't until July that the assassination of the Hamas political leader in Iran occurred. And then later in October, Sinwar, who was the Hamas leader who planned the October 7th attacks, he was killed in Gaza. You also had the takedown of the Hezbollah leadership in September with those rather infamous Pager and walkie-talkie attacks. And then just last month, we had the fall of the Assad regime.

So you had all of these Iranian proxies that had been surrounding Israel for years now and creating very difficult security situations. And now all of those Iranian proxies have been decimated or defeated. So it's a very different chessboard, if you will, in the Middle East today. And that creates some space, some breathing room for Netanyahu to be able to make this deal. I think when we look back, I'm not suggesting that there isn't a role that Trump may have played in the psychology of making this deal, but the facts on the ground from a security standpoint, it really is all of these other things that occurred.

And that is the credit to the Israel military and intelligence who really pushed back Iran.

All right, ABC News contributor, former Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Elizabeth Newman, thank you. And now humanitarian aid groups around the world are watching for Israel's next move. Senior Vice President of International Programs at the International Rescue Committee, Kieran Donnelly, joins me now for more on that part. Kieran, thanks for coming on. I know we've spoken multiple times over the last few months about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

So, what's your reaction to finally being on the cusp of a ceasefire deal?

I think we are hugely optimistic that this deal can come through. Obviously we're seeing some last-minute issues that need to be ironed out. But we've been advocating for a ceasefire since the breakdown of the previous 1 over a year ago. It's a horrendous humanitarian situation inside Gaza, as you know, with 1.9 million people displaced, many of those facing real shortages of food, hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine. So with the ceasefire agreement, we're on the brink of being able to finally scale up aid to the level that it's needed.

And as you know, trucks and aid agencies are waiting and ready to go in with aid workers. But I do have to say a ceasefire alone won't be sufficient to get aid to people in Gaza at the level and the speed that's needed. And we also need authorities on the ground, in particular the Israeli authorities, to remove the other barriers, administrative and bureaucratic obstacles to getting aid in and to moving it around. And we need donors to come in with funding rapidly to be able to fund the scale-up that's needed.

Now since the announcement of the agreement, a spokesperson for the Gaza civil defense says at least 72 Palestinians have been killed in an IDF strike. What do you make of that and what do you think happens with the fighting until the agreement actually takes effect?

Look it shows exactly what the people of Gaza have been suffering over these past 15 months, with 46, 000 people having been killed. It's beyond tragic that with a ceasefire deal on the table, pending final stages of ratification, an additional 70 or more people have been killed. It shows what's at stake, and it shows the necessity of getting the deal finalized and getting it implemented on the ground immediately to give some respite to people who've been suffering through this war. And then, as I said, to allow the space and the conditions for aid agencies to be able to scale up their operations.

And you say that need for aid in Gaza is massive, with roughly 90 percent of the population displaced. So how do you think this agreement will help get more aid to those in need and what happens now to all of those displaced people?

Well we haven't seen the full text of the agreement but I understand that it allows for hundreds of trucks to be able to enter Gaza. Remember the pre-war level was 500 trucks a day entering Gaza to be able to provide both commercial and aid supplies. And we've been nowhere near that level. We've been at a significantly lower level throughout the duration of this conflict. So getting hundreds of trucks in per day will allow people to be able to access food, to be able to access fuel, shelter materials, obviously we're in the middle of winter, medical supplies, and so on.

For the people who've been displaced, many of them don't have places to go back to. 90%, 91% of the housing supply in Gaza has been either destroyed or damaged as a result of the conflict. Hopefully, the ceasefire deal will lay the conditions both for a transition to a more sustainable peace arrangement and then for the conditions for reconstruction and recovery. But right now our focus has to be on getting the ceasefire deal implemented, making sure it sticks and making sure that those other conditions that are necessary for the delivery of aid are put in place as well.

All right, Senior Vice President of International Programs at the International Rescue Committee, Kiran Donnelly, we appreciate your time today. Thank you.

Thank you.

Coming up, how to help the victims of the California wildfires, What to look out for if you're planning to donate money and how GoFundMe is helping weed out scammers.

♪♪

The show's about to happen. Ooh! Shh, shh, shh.

I have an idea.

You guys have eyes on your targets.

Shouldn't we strategize?

Come on,

we're gonna improvise. Freestyle.

No.

♪♪

Hey! Good morning, America.

Good morning, America. Good morning America! Good morning America!

Good morning America! Good morning America! Everything you could!

America, then live all across the day. David Muir, right there as history is made. Monday on ABC. America's number 1 news, ABC News, now streaming 24-7 on Disney+.

Welcome back to ABC News Live First. The wildfires in California are leading to an outpouring of donations through the company GoFundMe. Now, the company is speaking out, trying to clarify how it handles fees and where your money goes. ABC News correspondent Matt Rivers is in Pacific Palisades with more on that.

A staggering amount of GoFundMe pages helping fire victims get ready to rebuild. People just like the Bailey family, 3 generations lived in this house in Altadena. A lifetime of memories ripped away in a single night when the Eaton fire raced down the ridge.

Our neighbor she said Sandra it says 0.5 miles away Get your mom and get out.

It wasn't until the next day that they learned their house was gone.

We have lost everything. All of our history for each generation, there's pictures and they're all gone.

The Bailey's GoFundMe page, a crucial start to rebuilding, is just 1 of more than 1, 500 set up in the fire's aftermath.

In the last week about a hundred million dollars has been raised on GoFundMe.

A tremendous tool, but 1 that has sparked some confusion over suspected fees. When completing a donation, there is also an option to tip the company directly.

Sometimes people don't realize they're optional because they're automatically tipped. There is the option to move that donation all the way down to 0 if you

don't want to donate anything at all. GoFundMe says the only mandatory fees associated with a donation are transactional fees.

The fees on GoFundMe are transactional fees that are related to running a credit card. And those are 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation.

And for many worried about where they're donating their money, GoFundMe says they go through a rigorous verification process.

We set up a centralized hub. This page houses all of the fundraisers that have been verified by our trust and safety team, meaning they've been reviewed.

People like the Bailey family say GoFundMe is a huge lifeline for them. It's not just a neighborhood, it's not just a city, it's it's a really like a legacy. Diane, GoFundMe says they have a lot of checks and balances in place to prevent fraud, but also they suggest really reviewing the pages that you want to donate to. Look to see if the pictures on the page are clear. Look at the relationship between the organizer of the page and the beneficiary of the page.

And also look who's commenting. Is it people associated with the beneficiary, friends, family? All of these things are common sense things that we can do when we want to donate this aid that is so crucially needed at this point. Diane?

All right, Matt Rivers, thank you. Coming up, Drake is suing his own music label over Kendrick Lamar's diss track, Not Like Us. Brian Buckmeyer's here to break down what it could mean for Kendrick's Super Bowl performance.

♪♪

This is the strangest case I've ever seen.

Now, follow the clues to solve a deadly, mysterious true crime.

Let's just say the phrase, over my dead body, takes on a new meaning. And just when you think you

know where the story is headed, Things take a turn.

The new 2020 Friday night on ABC.

We're approaching the gate. Militants came in from... Hi.

Appreciate you. Thank you. Ismael. David. David.

ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is America's most-watched newscast. You're watching America's number-one streaming news. Keep streaming with ABC News Live.

Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Drake is suing his own music label, Universal Music Group, for defamation. The suit centers around Kendrick Lamar's hit, Not Like Us. Drake's lawyers argue the song falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violence against him. ABC's Morgan Norwood has the details.

It's the scathing diss track turned Grammy nominated hit. Just weeks before he takes the main stage at the Super Bowl. Kendrick Lamar's 2024 summer anthem. Not like us is the focus of a defamation lawsuit from the rapper on the receiving end of his lyrical jabs. Fellow music superstar, Drake.

♪

I hold back sometimes I won't, yeah ♪ ♪ I feel good sometimes I don't, hey

♪

Drake now suing Universal Music Group where Kendrick is also his label mate over Lamar's number 1 song. In the lawsuit, Drake alleging that UMG knowingly approved, published and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track which was intended to convey the specific, unmistakable and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile. The lawsuit citing provocative bars and not like us like this. Though Kendrick's lyrics are at the center of the lawsuit and a statement Drake's lawyers telling ABC News this lawsuit is not brought against Kendrick Lamar. This lawsuit reveals the human and business consequences to UMG's elevations of profits over the safety and wellbeing of its artists.

The music company firing back, calling the claims illogical, adding that Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth rap battles to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist's creative expression.

This is unprecedented when it comes to a rat beef being settled in the courtroom. Rat beef is usually settled on the airwaves. You are oftentimes going for the most creative, lyrical statement you can make to really add lyrical and verbal injury, not physical, but verbal injury.

The lawsuit coming just 3 weeks before Kendrick set to headline the halftime show at this year's Super Bowl.

You know there's only 1 opportunity to win a championship. No round tools. Let's get it. Me humble.

Holla, holla, holla. Sit down. Low, holla, low.

Me humble. Holla,

holla, holla. Sit down.

The Los Angeles-based artist has 5 number 1 hits. While Drake has topped the charts 13

times. All

right, so these 2 started off as occasional collaborators, right? But over the past decade, they've traded subliminal bars up until this latest battle. But this lawsuit, definitely not bringing them any closer to a truce. Now we did reach out to Kendrick Lamar's team for comment. No word back yet.

Diane?

All right ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmeyer joins me now for more on this. Brian we have seen rap lyrics used in court before So how do you think this one's gonna play out?

Yeah I think for the lyrics in Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us, they're gonna be the center focus of this lawsuit where Drake is alleging not only damages in the sense of his house being shot at, people trying to burglarize it, even that his son had to be taken out of elementary school, but that UMG was reckless in its use of these lyrics and promoting Not Like Us that caused these harms to him. And so I think whether or not Drake is arguing that he's a pedophile or a certified pedophile or whatever the A minor lyrics that you get from Kendrick's song are truthful and whether or not UMG should have been publishing them.

Now Drake is a public figure, Brian, and that means the bar for defamation is higher than if he was just an average citizen. So how hard does that make this case for him against UMG?

It makes it a little difficult. As you noted, people like yourself, Diana, are what's called public figures, people who have a certain level of notoriety or fame or achievement. And so if you're filing a defamation lawsuit, you have to actually show actual malice. You have to show that a person knew the statements to be false or they were reckless in the publishing. And that's kind of baked into Drake's argument here that UMG was at the very least reckless in terms of promoting this false statement of him being a certified pedophile or his having conviction for sexual assault of young minors.

And so while it's harder, it's kind of built into his lawsuit already.

Now, Universal is the defendant in this case, not Kendrick Lamar. But could Kendrick end up having to testify in this case?

So, definitely possible. If I were Drake, I probably would try to avoid that. And the reason why I say that is it's a bit speculative, but this is what I see. UMG is the only name defendant in this case. Kendrick Lamar is not.

Drake, at least the heart of his argument, is that UMG was reckless in putting out a statement that he believes is untrue, but that UMG did not know whether or not it's true. If Kelton Drake Lamar takes the stand, it might become a battle as to whether or not that statement is actually true. And Kendrick Lamar may let some cats out of the bag, so to speak, and testify in a way that might hurt or further damage Drake's reputation, what we've already seen in social media. So could Kendrick Lamar end up on the witness stand? Yes.

Do I think it would benefit Drake? Probably not.

Now, The lawsuit also brings up that Kendrick is set to perform at the Grammys and the Super Bowl, which is watched by more than 100 million people. Could this prevent him from being able to perform Not Like Us?

So I would tell people who are expecting and hoping to see Kendrick Lamar perform at the Super Bowl in what, 24, 25 some odd days, probably still would likely hear that song. It might even further the rap beef or even further sales. And the reason why I say that is in this lawsuit, there is no what's called an injunction. There's no request from Drake to say that the court should stop Kendrick from performing the song today or in the future. Kendrick may have another lawsuit filed against him or UMG whoever it may be or even the Super Bowl if he does perform but I don't think this lawsuit prevents that from happening.

All right, ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmeyer, thank you. And I'm Diane Macedo. The news never stops and neither do we. We have a lot more news right after the break. Stay with us.

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Can we try to talk to each other like rational adults?

Have you watched the news lately? That's not a thing anymore.

You could go back to law school. That's always been your dream.

Actually, that was your dream for me.

You like to argue.

You do love to argue.

We could get paid

for it. Get paid for it. 0000000000.

This family is suffocating. We are all here to help them.

We're going

to make this happen. We have 96 hours to build a house.

Come on guys, it's move-in day. Let's go.

It can't be real.

This was more than just Extreme Home Makeover. This was Extreme Life Makeover.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Thursday on ABC and stream on Hulu.

Reporting from Joint Base Andrews, I'm Gio Benitez. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

Hi, I'm Diane Macedo. Today on ABC News Live First, the countdown to a ceasefire in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu now says the agreement is facing a last minute crisis. The new details being negotiated and how Hamas is responding as the deal awaits approval from the Israeli cabinet. The celebrations in the streets.

Crowds of Palestinians rejoice after the ceasefire announcement. What's next for the people of Gaza and how aid organizations are getting ready to help. Plus the hostages set to be released. Hamas says it'll free 33 hostages, including some Americans still being held, when they could come home and what their families are saying. And the new strikes launched after the deal was announced.

The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 72 Palestinians are dead. Why experts say Israel will escalate its attacks before the ceasefire goes into effect. Our team coverage starts right now. But first, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire deal with Hamas is facing a quote, last minute crisis. The Israeli cabinet is preparing to meet to approve the agreement.

Now Netanyahu's office says Hamas is trying to renege on parts of the deal, while Hamas says it's committed to the ceasefire agreement. ABC's foreign correspondent Tom Sufie Burrage joins me from Tel Aviv with the latest. Tom, what's happening with this back and forth now between Israel and Hamas? And is the deal in jeopardy?

I think the last bit of your question, Diane, is hard to answer right now. My gut instinct is no broadly speaking. Look, the Israeli government is saying that Hamas is making new demands. But remember, President Biden has announced this. President-elect Donald Trump has announced this.

The Prime Minister of Qatar has announced this to the world, that there is a deal and that it has been signed off on in general, the framework, and yes, it is true that some of the finer detail is still being haggled over. The Israeli government, you know, some officials within the Israeli government are saying that, you know, Hamas is making demands which they cannot basically accept. And the last comment we're getting from an official is suggesting that 1 of the disagreements comes down to Palestinian prisoners who would be released in return for the 33 hostages as part of this initial six-week ceasefire deal. But you know again this is just how many moving parts there are. There are the hostages, the type of hostages, some of them are not alive, they're dead.

You've got the Palestinian prisoners, some of them convicted of terrorism offenses by Israeli courts in the past. And then you've got, you know, what happens to Israeli troops. Will they fully withdraw from Gaza or will they, as the Israeli government is doubling down on, still remain in this key strip of land along the southern border of Gaza with Egypt. So that is how complex things are right now, and it is why, even running up to the deadline of Sunday, when we hope the first hostages will come out, we're still not clear on exactly what this deal looks like in terms of the finer detail.

And, Tom, what does it look like in terms of the Philadelphia corridor, that part between Egypt and Gaza that's always in such conflict?

Yeah I mean that is a key sticking point and it seems that the Israeli government have not budged on that but it does seem from a draft framework we saw earlier in the week from an official in the region passing us that, that you know the Israeli government have moved on potentially moving Israeli troops out of the Netzarim corridor. That is another corridor running right across Gaza in central Gaza where up until now during the war the Israeli military have completely controlled whether or not people and goods can move from north to south in Gaza and as part of this deal 1 of the key conditions for Hamas is that Palestinians can move freely unarmed through the Gaza Strip, potentially during the ceasefire from north to south and potentially move back to their homes in the north. What is not clear, but again this is you know getting to how complex this deal is, is how that will be enforced. How will and who will enforce that Palestinians moving from south to north through that Netzerim corridor will you know be checked and and and they can actually enforce that people will not be carrying arms because of course there will be a ceasefire in place while hopefully hostages are exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

And Tom, what are you hearing from the families of these hostages?

Yeah, I mean, mixed reactions. They're anxious for the reasons I've just spelled out about whether or not this deal will go through and whether it could lead to a lasting ceasefire and all of the hostages could come out. I mean also mixed emotions for you know the family of Hirsch Goldberg-Pollin. Remember he was murdered by Hamas in captivity back in September and our Lindsay Davis speaking to his mother and his father John and Rachel. You know have a listen because they're very brave and courageous people even though they lost their son in captivity.

They're campaigning for the release of the remaining hostages.

Obviously it is tragically horribly too late for our only son, Hirsch, but we have become like family for so many of the 98 remaining hostages. They're families and friends, and we are so hopeful and optimistic. We need to remember this has to be rolled out until the very end and each and every person comes home. So there can't be true celebration until everyone is where they're supposed to be.

And Diane, I've spoken to Rachel in the past and it's important to know that she doesn't just want all of the hostages home, but she also wants the suffering of Palestinian civilians to end. And you know, we're actually seeing since the deal was announced by President Biden and others late last night. We've actually seen, according to Gaza officials linked to Hamas, about 80 people killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, including dozens of children. So the fighting, Israeli attacks, trying to take out Hamas but coming at A real cost for the civilian population there continue even now. Diane.

All right, ABC News foreign correspondent Tom Soufi-Burge. Tom, thank you. And let's bring in former senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council, Javed Ali, for more. Javed, 1 of the main sticking points here seems to be that Philadelphia corridor. So why do you think that strip of land has become such a point of contention here?

So Diane, nice to be with you and picking up on some of what Tom said just a couple minutes ago. That corridor in the past has been 1 of the key access points for Hamas to smuggle in weapons and materiel and other supplies that allowed it to be such a large terrorist organization. So now in the post-October 7th landscape with the IDF having conducted a whole series of operations against targets along that corridor and under the terms of the ceasefire, apparently now will control it at some level or have troops stationed on either side of that corridor. This is a really important thing that Israel wants to put in place to make sure Hamas can't rearm and rebuild and pose the pre-October 7th threat to Israel. So it still remains to be seen how the technical details of that will be worked out, but at a strategic level, this is a really important part of the ceasefire agreement for Israel.

And Israel and Saudi Arabia had been working toward a diplomatic alliance. That stopped after the October 7th attack. Do you think we could see that rekindle if this war ends? And how important would Palestinian territories be in those discussions?

So I, this is just complete speculation on my part, but I have to imagine that getting Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords, at least from the incoming Trump administration's perspective, is sort of the crown jewel to sort of solving the Israel-Palestine conflict. And if Saudi Arabia comes into the Abraham Accords, that unlocks all these other possibilities that up until now have been frozen. But 1 of the key conditions for Saudi Arabia on the flip side is that there has to be a viable and permanent two-state solution between the Palestinians and the Israeli government. And obviously that has not happened now for decades. So the ceasefire, if it comes to fruition, I believe it does, like, or it will, like Tom, that is step 1 to then this potential two-state solution that then brings Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords.

And that will take months, if not longer, for all those things to play out. But I do believe from the Trump administration's perspective, just speculation on my part, this is probably the most important part of peace in the Middle East.

And given the changes underway in the Middle East, Also a new administration coming into the White House in just a few days. Do you expect to see any major shifts in US policy in the region?

That'll be an interesting thing to see. President Trump has said repeatedly on the campaign trail that he wants to wind down the still relatively small military, U.S. Military deployments in places like Iraq and Syria and Jordan combined. There's probably 5, 000 to 6, 000 active duty troops scattered across those 3 countries. And that might be something that happens in a phased withdrawal period.

There's also thousands of troops and sailors and airmen who are in different parts of the region because they're there to help defend Israel in the post October 7th landscape. That's probably something else that President Trump wants to see wind down to. So I have to believe that those are all things that will be on the table, but then how they happen, when they happen, and then the risks of making those decisions that will yet to be determined. But President Trump seems intent on following up on some of these campaign promises, and this is 1 of them, sort of ending these longstanding US military deployments to the region.

All right, former senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council, Javad Ali, we appreciate your time today, Javad, thank you.

Thank you, Diane.

And while President-elect Trump is taking credit for the deal, President Biden says it's the same framework he proposed last May. ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers joins me along with ABC News investigative reporter Olivia Rubin for more on how this came together. So Karen, White House press secretary Corrine Jean-Pierre responded to Trump taking credit for this deal, saying everybody is going to want some credit. What can I say? The president got it done.

So what do we know about how this came together and what role the U.S. Current and future administrations in the White House played? They worked together on this.

The Biden administration, Diane, brought the incoming Trump administration into the negotiations in the last couple of days, gave them a seat at the table in these conversations taking place in Doha, recognizing that it will be important for them to have a voice in this because they're going to be the ones who will see this play out after next Monday. The president said that the ceasefire and hostage release deal that was agreed to is the exact same three-phase proposal that he had put out last May. And it took months, of course, to get to this point and get it across the finish line. So President Biden says while it was developed and implemented under his administration, the terms will now be carried out in the Trump administration. Diane, we heard from the national security spokesman today, John Kirby, who said that When President-elect Trump said he supported this deal, it sent a strong signal to the region, especially Hamas, and he gave Trump credit for playing a role and helping get this across the finish line.

...To these last-minute snags, the so-called last-minute crisis that Netanyahu's talking about now.

You say that again Diane.

Sorry can you, sorry Diane I cut out for 1 side.

That's okay Olivia can you hear me?

Yeah I

got you now. I'm wondering if you've heard any reaction from Trump's team about Netanyahu and the Israel now saying that there's this sort of last-minute crisis and and that the deal may not Be moving forward as smoothly as as maybe once thought

I have truth social refreshing here we haven't heard much yet today but we're going to certainly be watching for that because I think that Karen just hit on the critical aspect of this plan is that it's going to be up to the Trump administration to carry it out So the fact that we're waking up the next morning and Netanyahu is potentially raising warning signs is certainly not what you'd like to hear. I think what's also extremely interesting about this is that 1 of the key players in carrying this out is going to be Secretary of State incoming, potentially Marco Rubio, who seems like he is indeed going to be confirmed. He's going to be the new Blinken there and he spoke about this during his confirmation hearing hinting at sort of broader possibilities in the region because of the ceasefire. So clearly they are banking on it happening.

All

right Karen Travers, Olivia Rubin, thank you both. And we have breaking news. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is giving remarks about that pending ceasefire in Gaza. Let's listen in.

I'd like to point out, I spoke about how the work that we do to keep the American people and the world informed through you, with you, could not be more important. Most of us have traveled well more than a million miles now together. We've done it with a remarkable press corps, people that I've gotten to know as colleagues. If I said friends, that might actually create problems for you, but let me simply say how much I appreciate the partnership, the professionalism, the work that we've done. I have even greater respect, even greater appreciation for you asking the tough questions, for you holding us to account, being on the receiving end.

Sometimes that's not always the most comfortable thing, not always the most enjoyable thing, but it is the most necessary thing in our democracy.

Reporter in Gaza were on the receiving end of your bombs.

Why did you keep the bombs flowing when

we had a deal?

I'm happy to address questions.

Everyone in this room knows we had a deal, Tony, and you

kept the bombs flowing.

I'm happy to address questions when we get a chance. Thank you.

Why did you send a peaceful

peace-based order on the mantle of North Korean designers? Did you want to finish? Why did

you allow my friends to be massacred? Why did you

allow my friends to be massacred? I'm happy to address your questions when we get to questions.

Thank you.

In May,

you helped destroy our religion, Tony, as advised. Did you want

to finish?

Yeah, I have a statement to make.

Thank you.

You waved the white flag before Netanyahu. You waved the white flag before Israeli fascists.

I look forward to taking questions when I get a chance to finish my statement. Thank you.

Are you compromised by Israel? Why did you allow the holocaust of our time to happen? How does it feel to have your legacy be genocide? How does it feel to have your legacy be genocide? You too, Matt.

You smirk through the whole thing, every day. You smirk through a genocide.

Thank

you. And thank you, Matt. Now, I've got a few more things to say, and then I'm happy to take any question about anything as we've done these past 4 years. And indeed, I'll talk a little bit about the developments the last few days as well. But I first really wanted to say thank you to each and every 1 of you.

And also thank you to – But maybe not everyone. Well, okay. I was – there's an asterisk, and yes, thank you, Matt Lee. But also to a remarkable press team here led by Matt Miller, who do the work every day of trying to make sure that you're informed, the American people are informed. Let me also just take a step back before diving into the developments of this week, these last days, just to consider how far we've come over these past 4 years.

And also to think a little bit about where we might be going from here. When President Biden took office, The United States faced the worst public health crisis in more than a century. It faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and unprecedented breaches with allies and partners around the world. Our adversaries saw a historic opportunity to work together to challenge our interests, to challenge our global standing, to challenge the international system of rules and principles on which our security and prosperity depend. First time I had an opportunity to speak at length in this role, I laid out how we would work to leverage American diplomacy to safeguard and accelerate America's renewal, how we would reimagine and revitalize our greatest strategic asset, our unmatched network of allies and partners, to deliver on issues that actually matter in the lives of our fellow citizens, matter in their livelihoods, matter in their futures, and to defend against increasingly assertive and aggressive revisionist authoritarian powers.

And also, how we modernize our own diplomacy to try to deliver on these priorities to ensure that this department is ready to meet the tests of a more contested, more complicated, a more combustible world. As President Biden emphasized when he was here on Monday, thanks to historic investments at home and around the world, the United States can now operate from a position of greater strength to tackle all of these challenges. Our adversaries and competitors are weaker. Our strategy of renewal has set the stage for America to win the fierce competition, to shape a new era of international affairs, to the benefit of our people, to the benefit of people around the world. And I think this week was another reminder, both of the power and the purpose of American leadership and American diplomacy.

Over 15 months of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas, we've worked to broker a deal that would bring hostages home, that would stop the fighting, that would surge humanitarian aid to people who so desperately need it, that would create the space to conclude a permanent ceasefire. We now have that, and we expect implementation of the agreement to begin on Sunday. As President Biden said yesterday, after more than 400 days of struggle, a day of success has arrived. I want to thank our fellow mediators, Qatar and Egypt, for their extraordinary partnership. And I want to thank my colleagues, in particular, Jake Sullivan, Bill Burns, Brett McGurk, for their remarkable skill, tireless dedication over these many months of negotiation.

Will you recognize the Geneva Conventions applied to the Palestinians?

And again, I'm happy to address questions when we have a chance. I'm happy to address questions in a moment. Thank you. This is a moment of tremendous relief for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The daughter of 1 hostage spoke for many when she said, I can't wait to see them come back to their families.

I'm so desperate to see them. A mother of 5 displaced from Gaza City said simply, we are being reborn. It's also a moment of historic possibility for the region and well beyond. It's going to take tremendous effort, political courage, compromise to realize that possibility, to try to ensure that the gains that have been achieved over the past 15 months at enormous, excruciating cost are actually enduring, To manage the still profound risks, to deliver on the promise of a more integrated Middle East. And simply put, to forge this reality, there are 2 immediate imperatives.

First, to fully implement the ceasefire deal. And then second, to finalize a plan, an effective plan, as I spelled out earlier this week, that provides for Gaza's transitional governance, its security, its reconstruction, and that can make the halt in fighting endure. Delivering on these 2 priorities will in turn create the conditions for Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations between them, which will require a credible pathway to a Palestinian state. On each of these imperatives, we've delivered concrete progress and we've laid a foundation for success, which we will hand over to the incoming administration. Together, they represent a historic opportunity to advance the long-term interests of the United States, our partners in the region, and around the Middle East.

In Ukraine as well, we've seen the results of steadfast American leadership. We rallied and kept together some 50 countries to help Ukraine defend itself from Putin's war of aggression. Through Ukrainian courage and also Western resolve and firepower, Ukraine repelled Russia's invasion and took back half the territory it originally seized. We've marshaled commitments from countries around the world that will help Ukraine deter and defend against future attacks and stand on its own feet militarily, economically, democratically. We've also imposed the most ambitious sanctions and export controls ever on Russia, cutting off its biggest banks, reducing dramatically Europe's reliance on Russian energy, oil and gas, almost to 0 at this point.

As a result of some of our latest sanctions, Russian oil tankers are piling up along the Chinese coast, unable to offload. Ukraine will continue to stand as an independent, democratic nation anchored in the West with the freedom to choose its own future. If we sustain our support for Ukraine, If we continue to exacerbate Putin's growing manpower and economic dilemmas, we can continue to help Ukrainians gain leverage to negotiate a just and secure peace. Now, I got back from what was my 21st trip to the Indo-Pacific in this job just a short while ago, a region where the United States is now competing from a position of strength. We brought our regional allies together, our partners together, around a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, where goods and ideas and people flow freely, where rules are applied fairly and transparently, where countries are free to choose both their own path and their own partners.

We enhanced bilateral relationships with our core treaty allies, with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines. We forged a new era of trilateral cooperation with Japan and Korea, with Japan and the Philippines as well. We reenergized the quad with Japan, India, Australia, strengthened our relationships with ASEAN, the Pacific island countries, elevated partnerships with Vietnam and Indonesia. As the DPRK and the PRC continue to fuel Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine, underscoring how European and Asian security are indivisible, we've also built enduring bridges between our Pacific and Atlantic allies and partners. Australia, Japan and South Korea provided important support to Ukraine.

In 2021, European allies were on the verge of signing a massive trade agreement with China. Now they're coordinating with us on everything from investment screening mechanisms to supply chain resilience to pushing back on China's overcapacity and unfair trade practices. At the same time, we've managed our competition with China responsibly so it doesn't veer into conflict, while also cooperating on challenges where the world expects great powers to lead and where it's clearly in the interest of the American people, from climate change to fentanyl. We've also demonstrated that other countries can rely on the United States to tackle some of our biggest shared challenges and deliver on their own national aspirations. Preventing disease outbreaks, enhancing food security, celebrating the clean energy transition, bringing together a global coalition of more than 160 countries to address the synthetic opioid crisis.

As we celebrate the return of hostages in Gaza, including Americans, as we look to relief for the people of Gaza. I'm also thinking of all those U.S. Citizens who are held wrongfully, who are hostage in countries around the world. I carry with me...

Miller says he doesn't know about the Hannibal direction.

Again, I'm happy to address questions in just a few more minutes. I look forward answering questions if you want minutes. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

I look forward answering questions. Thank you. Thank you. I look forward answering questions in a minute. Thank you.

I'm not a potted plant.

Everyone will have an opportunity to ask a question in just a minute. Thank you.

Miller has explicitly told me he

will not answer my questions. I'm justified in what I'm doing.

I have no greater pleasure in this job than crossing off a list I carry in my pocket the names of those who had been arbitrarily detained and unfairly held hostage unjustly held hostage and bringing them home returning them to their families returning their loved ones finally I just wanted to show this morning I look forward to answering questions

I'm being manhandled by 2 or 3 people. You pontificate about a free press. You pontificate about a free press. You are hurting me. You are hurting me.

You are hurting me. I am asking questions after being told by Matt Miller that he will not answer my questions until I ask them.

Please sir, respect the process. We'll have an opportunity to take questions in

a few minutes.

What's at the point of the May 31st statement to block the ICJ orders? He blocked the ICJ orders?

Please sir, respect the process. Thank you.

Respect the process. Respect the process while everybody from Amnesty International to the ICJ is saying that Israel is doing genocide and extermination and you're telling me to respect the process. Criminal! Why aren't you in the hay? Why aren't you in the hay?

Why aren't you in the hay?

Finally, We've worked to modernize our diplomacy so that we're more agile, we're more effective, we're more prepared for the challenges of a new era. We've reorganized this department to lead on issues that increasingly animate our diplomacy, whether it's emerging technology, public health, strategic competition, economic statecraft. We've embraced new tools and approaches from integrating data and AI into the work that we do, strengthening our capacity to anticipate, to plan for risks, as well as opportunities in this more volatile world. Maybe most important, we've invested in our people, improving our hiring and retention practices, diversifying our workforce, strengthening our training, providing more support to employees throughout their careers. We've hired the largest foreign service officer class in more than a decade and we've grown our civil service corps at the fastest rate in more than 20 years.

It was gratifying to me and I think to everyone in this department that among the first and last stops President Biden made in his tenure was right here at the State Department. I think that is powerful evidence of the trust that he placed in us to carry out this country's foreign policy. Our diplomats represent this country with exceptional skill, with professionalism, with heart. They often do so at great personal sacrifice, little fanfare, in some of the world's most challenging environments. It has been, simply put, the greatest of honors to be able to work shoulder to shoulder with them.

These past 4 years, there have also been moments of disappointment, of hardship, of heartbreak. But I leave this job knowing that we spent every day thinking about and working toward what we believe is best for our people, the citizens we have the immense privilege of representing. And I'm confident we leave office with our country and with this department in a much stronger position than we found it. Now, with that, 1 last time, I look forward to taking some questions. Mr.

Miller.

Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, and thank you for your very opening comments about the work, the cooperation with us, the press corps. Even when We haven't always been satisfied with the answers. We do certainly appreciate your willingness to engage with us, so thank you for that. I want to start, I actually only have 1 question.

Exactly 16 years ago today, January 16, 2009, former outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had her final press briefing here. And all of the questions she got were about Israel and Gaza. Every single 1. And she said, we were working on an enduring ceasefire. You know, She was about to sign an agreement with then Foreign Minister Livni that would move forward that way.

She was working with international partners. Names have changed, but the country's pretty much the same, Egypt, the Europeans, the Gulf Arab states. And so 16 years ago, we were in the same situation that we're in now, particularly because the ceasefire, current 1, still seems to be in limbo. I'm wondering if you can point to any progress that has been made over the course of those Bush administration, the Obama administration, you know, has there been anything that has changed or given you hope because we're basically back in the same position we were 16 years ago. Yeah, thank you, Matt.

This is a long story. It's an enduring story. It's a story that is not likely to end anytime soon. And if you go back over the course of many administrations, not only Secretary Rice, but so many of our predecessors, and so many of her successors, and now me. This is a story that we've been engaged in 1 way or another.

And I think each of us has probably brought the conviction to it that we could and should do everything possible to try to get to and write a better conclusion, a good conclusion for the story. And so many of us for many years have labored to do just that. I think 1 of the lessons that we have to take away is that as resourceful and as powerful as we are, At the end of the day, we can't make decisions for others. They have to make them. They have to make hard choices.

They have to take chances. We can do everything possible to push, to prod, to encourage, to support, but ultimately the decision lies with those most directly concerned. That's 1 thing. But the second thing is, and I believe this strongly, there's also no substitute for our engagement, for the efforts that we make in trying to move this forward and get to a better place. And yes, we have absolutely seen both progress and promise.

And the question is whether leaders on all sides, with the people behind them, will find a way to seize on those opportunities. So As I laid out in some detail just the other day When we took office we were very focused on pursuing greater integration in the region as the the real answer To creating more security more peace more opportunity for people not change Not trying to change individual countries, governments, societies, but bringing them closer together. And before October 7th, we'd done a lot of work on this integration, building on the Abraham Accords of the first Trump administration, pointing toward the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. And as you all know, we were all planning to go to Saudi Arabia and Israel because we'd made so much progress on the normalization accords on October 10th, a trip that of course didn't happen, to do 2 things. To try to help finalize agreements that were necessary to get to normalization.

And as part of that, to find a clearer way forward, a pathway to a Palestinian state, vital to Saudi Arabia, very important to us as well. Even with everything that's happened since October 7th, I believe strongly, including from my many conversations with leaders in the region, whether it's

in

Israel, in Saudi Arabia or beyond, that the desire to pursue integration, the desire to bring countries together remains strong, remains powerful, and can be a driving force for finally resolving some of these other questions, including the Palestinian question. Israel's deepest desire from day 1 of its founding was to be treated like any other country in the region, to have normal relations. And it's been demonstrated that that's possible and desired. But it requires, among other things, ending the conflict in Gaza, which we are now on the verge of doing as a result of everything that we have put into this. An agreement that President Biden put forward, put forward before the world in May, got the entire world to endorse.

And in the months since, we've been working to negotiate the final details and get it implemented. And that's where we are now. So, end Gaza is 1. And then, yes, a credible pathway to a Palestinian state is 2. And leaders will have to summon the vision and the courage to do that.

I laid out some ideas for how you can get there just the other day, but I believe that is possible. I believe the driving desire for integration is something that can carry this forward. Finally, I'll say this. We've also seen, as a result of so much of the work that we've done, what the possibilities are. For Israel, when it was attacked in an unprecedented way by Iraq, by Iran, excuse me, a direct attack with hundreds of missiles, hundreds of drones, not only did we come to Israel's active defense for the first time ever, We brought other countries along to do that, including countries in the region.

And Israel now sees powerfully what it stands to gain from greater integration in the region, including in a common security architecture. All can see that this is a way to effectively isolate the troublemaker in the region, Iran. So all of that is there. All of that is possible. And I think for the incoming administration, it'll be important to continue to show here's 1 path and what can be achieved by following that path.

And then there's another, which is perpetual violence, destruction, terrorism, despair for people. That's the choice. I think we've now put in place and done the work that handing it off can be used to build a strong foundation and move down that much more positive path.

You're watching Secretary of State Antony Blinken now speaking about that ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Blinken touted the Biden administration's work to help broker the deal, calling it a moment of tremendous relief for Israelis and Palestinians alike. And while Prime Minister Netanyahu says a last-minute crisis has delayed the Israeli cabinet from approving the deal. Blinken says the U.S. Expects implementation of the agreement to begin on Sunday as planned.

The secretary of state was also interrupted several times by attendees shouting questions which he promised to answer after his statement. I want to bring in ABC's foreign correspondent, Tom Soufi-Burridge in Tel Aviv and ABC's Karen Travers at the White House. Tom, a senior Israeli official spoke a little while ago saying Hamas is making new demands that Israel will never agree to. What do you make of that?

I think it reflects right now, Diane, the complexities at hand, right? I mean, I think the broad deal is definitely there. It was announced by President Biden, it was announced by President-elect Trump, other world leaders, the Qataris, key in all this too. But, I think this is the caveat right now, this is not straightforward. There are multiple moving parts, and although yes, the broad deal is there, Hamas clearly seems to be, in the words of Israeli officials, trying to move the goalposts on certain issues and that is causing some potential problems.

I don't think at the moment we're getting the sense this will derail the deal, but I don't think we can rule that out. I mean, clearly what we just heard from Secretary of State Antony Blinken right there is that he is adamant that the deal has to be implemented and that has to happen ahead of Sunday when we hope the ceasefire can take effect and the first hostages can get out.

Karen, how are the 2 administrations working together to ensure that this deal is implemented as planned as Blinken just said they expect.

Yeah Diane, President Biden said yesterday that while this deal was developed and implemented during his administration it will be the Trump administration that will have to see the terms carried out. So they have been working very closely with the incoming Trump team to make sure this got across the finish line. President Biden said it was very important that the United States was speaking with 1 voice when it came to these negotiations, and they brought the Trump team into those conversations in Doha. National Security Spokesman John Kirby said today that the president-elect's team does get some credit for this because when Trump gave his support to this deal, it sent a very strong signal to the region, including Hamas. Diane.

All right, Karen Travers and Tom Soufi-Burridge, thank you. And leaders and lawmakers are also responding to that ceasefire deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson says the terms have to be right for Israel's government to approve the agreement.

We're watching that very carefully and with great interest. I have a very close relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu and a lot of sympathy for what he's having to go through. It's a very difficult thing. The terms have to be right for Israel. It cannot be a one-sided deal.

And we were encouraged yesterday to hear that hostages would be released and there would be a ceasefire but the conditions of course have to be right and you can't empower terrorists and so I think that he's navigating through a very difficult situation so he's in my prayers.

Meanwhile Democratic Congressman Greg Lansman of Ohio posted on X praying for the safe return of all hostages, the end of this war, and the start of a new chapter leading to sustained peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas must be done. The international community must work to rebuild Gaza, sideline Iran, and end terror in the region. And Congressman Lansman joins me now for more on all of this. Congressman, thank you for coming on.

How concerned are you about Netanyahu now saying that there's this last-minute crisis with these final negotiations?

Yeah, I mean, it's concerning and frustrating. This is what Hamas has done since November of last year, when there was a ceasefire agreement, and hostages were released. And they were returned safely to their families. And this is really on Hamas. It's been on Hamas to agree to a hostage deal and a ceasefire.

The question is do they want to see this war end? Obviously Gazans do, Israelis do, Americans do. I don't know if Hamas does. Hopefully this sticks and we see people returned on Sunday.

Hamas is saying that they agreed to the ceasefire, they're still committed to the ceasefire, they're still agreeing to the terms that they came to yesterday. So what do you make of that response?

I mean these are people who took, you know, innocent people, hostages, including toddlers and infants, so, among other horrific things. So, I don't really take much or put much value in anything they say. What has happened is that Hamas leaders outside of Gaza sit down with Israeli leaders in Qatar or in Cairo and they reach a deal. And then it gets sent to folks in Gaza and those Hamas leaders reject it or they say we're gonna sign on to it which is the case here and then they issue new demands according to the Israelis. So My hope is that those new demands are either rejected or ignored or are irrelevant and we can get to a place where we're back to the original deal.

The hostages in this first phase are returned home and the beginning of the end of this war is, you know, is going to materialize.

Now you've traveled to the region more than a dozen times, so what does sustained peace and security for Israel and Palestinians look like to you?

Yeah, I

mean, first and foremost, you've got to get Iran out of the way. I mean, Israel has made peace with a ton of its neighbors. They made peace with Egypt, they made peace with the Jordanians, they made peace just recently with Bahrain and UAE. I think they would make peace with lebanon but for has below and iran they are on the path to making peace that peace with saudi arabia And I believe that they would be on the path to making peace with Palestinians, but again for Iran funding Hamas and Islamic Jihad and others. So the key is you got to get Iran out of the mix and you got to start bringing all of these countries together, which the Abraham Accords does.

Hopefully the Saudis will join the Abraham Accords, normalize relations with Israel, and start to sideline Iran and these terror proxies break them up and get legitimate governing authorities in both Gaza and the West Bank and you'll be on the path to a sustained peace and security for both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Now, Speaker Johnson criticized the Biden administration saying they appeased Iran, they emboldened its proxies, and they hindered Israel in this whole conflict. What's your response to that?

Yeah, I hate the

politics around this. Israel, national security in general, all of that should be non-political. So you know, I just, the back and forth and who's to blame or who's going to get credit, like I have no patience or interest in any of this. I just, I want to see this get done, and I want to see the United States be shoulder to shoulder with our ally in Israel and to get these hostages back, including Americans. Americans have been in, you know, in Gaza being held in these horrific conditions for well over 400 days.

It's got to end.

All right, Democratic Congressman Greg Lansman, we appreciate your time today, Congressman. Thank you.

Thank you.

And we

will have much more on that ceasefire deal and what's next for the Middle East when we come back stay with us

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Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Several of President-elect Trump's picks for key positions are in the hot seat today for confirmation hearings. Senators are set to grill nominees for EPA Administrator, HUD Secretary, Treasury Secretary, and more. ABC's Jay O'Brien joins me from Capitol Hill with the latest on that. So Jay, what do lawmakers want to hear from these nominees and what are you watching for today?

Well, it varies per the hearing, Diane, but for EPA Administrator, for example, Trump's pick to run that agency, Lee Zeldin, has no real experience in environmental protection or environmental law or anything really of the like. So expect Democrats to bring that up in the hearing. And I'd also expect Democrats to bring up what Donald Trump's plans for the EPA would be. We know that Donald Trump and his allies have been clear that they want to limit the agency's scope, possibly even just shrink the agency writ large. There's also Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, as you mentioned.

Expect him to be talking about tax cuts. The Donald Trump, incoming Trump administration has a sizable plan for tax cuts that they're going to have to champion and they're going to have to get through Congress. Also you've got day 2 of Pam Bondi's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She's not going to be in front of the panel, but witnesses testifying to her character will be in front of that panel, including some Democrats from Florida that will say that they have respect for Pam Bondi and what she did in that state. None of these Trump nominees, and really none of the Trump nominees that we've seen, stand before various committees this week.

That includes Pete Hegson before armed services and Pam Bondi before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday have any real vocal Republican opposition at this hour. No Republicans have come out and said that there are no votes and if that holds and there are no Republican no votes, it puts these nominees on track to be confirmed, Diane.

Jay O'Brien for us on Capitol Hill. Jay, thank you.

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And firefighters in California are getting a much needed break from the Santa Ana winds. Now state officials are focusing on finding what caused those massive wildfires. ABC's Melissa Adan is in Altadena, California with the latest. Melissa, investigators say they've gathered 150 leads on what the cause of that fire could be. Multiple neighbors are also posting images of what was possibly the start of the Eaton fire.

What's the latest on the investigation?

Yes, Diane, it is quite an investigation that we have going on. As far as for the Eaton fire, there's a lot of images that have come out basically from that mountain, that hillside there, of where this transmission tower is, where a lot of people saw flames. So that is part of that investigation. And they're looking into that because essentially some photos and videos captured something erupting there. And that's where that transmission center is.

However SoCal Edison that is their transmission center. They've been part of this investigation, but they say that there is no evidence that it was their equipment that started up that flame. So that's still being looked into. Then meantime, we also have the Palisades fire as far as that investigation goes there. ATF agents are working on this 1 and they've zeroed in on essentially the Palisades Highlands area on a hillside.

They're saying that on New Year's Day, there was a fire after midnight, possibly either someone was there with fireworks or something of that matter and there was a fire that got reported well they're saying maybe that's Mulder and was in connection to then the January 7th start day of the Palisades fire So obviously we're still early on but these are causes that they're looking into to see basically Diane what was the initial spark.

And so many people wondering that the answer to that question I know investigators will be working hard on that and and what about rebuilding? Melissa What are residents saying about that?

Yes, Diane, so look at it. It's thousands and thousands of people. You know, I was just chatting with the homeowner here of what her plan is and for how long that she's lived here. And it is heartbreaking, right? So many families were telling me they had plans either to do remodeling their homes, looking at things that they wanted to do.

And now all of that is gone. Now they're looking at to how can they possibly file for assistance? It is a long road ahead. FEMA has already gotten 53, 000 applications. That's for Federal assistance for this one-time payment that they can get that right.

But then after that, they're looking for temporary housing. The government has also added a temporary housing relief shelter program. But that also takes some time then to look for as people get into some housing that has been very challenging with the rental market. Even the local officials here talking about people that have been price gouging and our local DA sharing that that is illegal and telling people to not do that. But residents, we have thousands of people that are displaced.

So it's a long process then as of course folks wait to follow their insurance claims, wait to see how they can possibly either rebuild or just make plans to move out, which is something that some folks are telling me might have to be the reality for them and it hurts, Diane.

Melissa, Adan, thank you and tomorrow ABC News will feature stories of local heroes and people impacted by the wildfires as recovery efforts ramp up. We'll also have information about how you can help. Special coverage of SoCal Strong begins tomorrow morning right here on ABC News Live. Coming up, the FDA is banning red dye number 3. Dr.

Lok Patel is here to tell us why the agency is taking action now.

♪♪

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Historic, taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration Day, America turns to ABC News. Starting with a special Good Morning America, then live all across the day. David Muir, right there as history is made. Monday on ABC.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, the American Cancer Society says cases of certain types of cancer are on the rise among women and younger adults. For the first time, cancer diagnoses in women ages 50 to 64 have surpassed men, according to the report. ABC News medical contributor, Dr. Lok Patel, joins me now for more on this.

Dr. Patel, cancer death rates have dropped 34% since 1991, but this report also shows some concerning statistics. So what stood out to you overall?

Well foremost, Diane, I think we should highlight the fact that those cancer deaths have gone down since the early 90s and that equals about 4.5 million lives saved. Those are deaths that we don't have to have, but there are concerning points here. And 1 of them notably is that women under the age of 50 are about 80% more likely to develop cancer than men. 6 of the 10 common cancers are actually rising more so in women. We're not seeing much change when it comes to the incidence or the death rate in pancreatic cancer.

And there is still inequity in cancer treatment and screening with black and Native Americans being 2 to 3 times more likely to die from cancer than white Americans are. And I think notably what people are really looking at is this statistic about women because there's many factors that may be contributing with this rise in women and in young individuals.

Now according to this report 50% of cancer deaths in the US are related to modifiable behaviors like smoking for example. So what do you think people need to take away from this?

I think people should feel empowered actually by this statistic. We cannot say this enough that there are many modifiable risk factors that things that you can do related to your lifestyle to reduce your risk of developing cancer. Today you mentioned cigarette smoking is also alcohol consumption making sure you're eating a variety of good whole grain whole foods including plenty of fiber, You're sleeping, you're working out enough, and you're also paying attention to UV radiation, such as from the sun or indoor tanning. And Diane, I want to mention how important cancer screening is as well. When we're talking about cancers such as breast, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer which are rising in young individuals, we have screening tests available but right now only about 70% of Americans are getting screened for those 3 specific cancers.

So awareness, equity and having this conversation is extremely important.

And meanwhile the FDA has now banned a red dye number 3 over cancer concerns. So what do we need to be aware of on that front and why now?

You know

this is a really important history lesson

about where we are when it comes to artificial food diet regulation.

In the late 50's early 60's. We passed the Delaney clause, which basically said that any foods that may cause cancer in animals or humans have to be banned by the FDA. And then in the 80's, there was a study in rats. Now, to be clear, they ate a large amount of red dye every single day, and it led to an increase in thyroid cancer, which led to the FDA banning red dye in cosmetics. And today, we're talking about banning it from thousands of foods.

If you go to a grocery store, you will see red dye number 3 in cakes, candies, gummies, brightly covered, brightly colored beverages, even foods that are labeled

as healthy, such as certain probiotics, such as vitamin C, which are potentially harmful to the body. And then there's also the FDA banning red dye in cosmetics. And today, we're talking about banning it from thousands of foods. If you go to a grocery store, you will see red dye number 3 in cakes, candies, gummies, brightly colored beverages,

even foods that are labeled as healthy, such as certain protein shakes or meat substitutes. So it's important people out there to be an aware consumer. Look at those ingredients but not just at Red Dye. Look at all the ingredients and choose minimally processed foods. This is a good step forward when it comes to transparency and creating healthier foods for everyone.

ABC News Medical Contributor, Dr. Lok Patel, thank you.

Thank you.

And I'm Diane Macedo. The news never stops and neither do we. We have a lot more news right after the break.

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Hi, I'm Diane Macedo. Today on ABC News Live First, let's get right to our top story. The Israeli cabinet is set to meet tomorrow to discuss and potentially ratify the ceasefire deal with Hamas. Netanyahu's office had said Hamas was trying to renege on parts of the deal while Hamas said it is committed to the ceasefire agreement. Now Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S.

Still expects the deal to move forward as planned. ABC's foreign correspondent Tom Sufi-Burridge has the latest from Tel Aviv. Tom, what's happening with this back and forth now between Israel and Hamas, and is the deal in jeopardy?

I think the last bit of your question, Diane, is hard to answer right now. My gut instinct is no broadly speaking. Look, the Israeli government is saying that Hamas is making new demands. But remember, President Biden has announced this. President-elect Donald Trump has announced this.

The Prime Minister of Qatar has announced this to the world. That there is a deal and that it has been signed off on in general, the framework. And yes, it is true that some of the finer detail is still being haggled over. The Israeli government, you know, some officials within the Israeli government are saying that, you know, Hamas is making demands which they cannot basically accept. And the last comment we're getting from an official is suggesting that 1 of the disagreements comes down to Palestinian prisoners who would be released in return for the 33 hostages as part of this initial six-week ceasefire deal.

But, you know, again, this is just how many moving parts there are. There are the hostages, the type of hostages, some of them are not alive, they're dead. You've got the Palestinian prisoners, some of them have been convicted of terrorism offenses by Israeli courts in the past. And then you've got what happens to Israeli troops. Will they fully withdraw from Gaza or will they, as the Israeli government is doubling down on, still remain in this key strip of land along the southern border of Gaza with Egypt?

So that is how complex things are right now And it is why even running up to the deadline of Sunday when we hope the first hostages will come out, we're still not clear on exactly what this deal looks like in terms of the finer detail.

And Tom, what does it look like in terms of the Philadelphia corridor, that part between Egypt and Gaza that's always in such conflict?

Yeah, I mean, that is a key sticking point and it seems that the Israeli government have not budged on that, but it does seem from a draft framework we saw earlier in the week from an official in the region passing us that, that the Israeli government have moved on potentially moving Israeli troops out of the Netzarim corridor, that is another corridor running right across Gaza in central Gaza where up until now during the war the Israeli military have completely controlled whether or not people and goods can move from north to south in Gaza. And as part of this deal 1 of the key conditions for Hamas is that Palestinians can move freely unarmed through the Gaza Strip potentially during the ceasefire from north to south and potentially move back to their homes in the north. What is not clear, but again this is getting to how complex this deal is, is how that will be enforced. How will and who will enforce that Palestinians moving from south to north through that Netzerim corridor will be checked and they can actually enforce that people will not be carrying arms because of course there will be a ceasefire in place while hopefully hostages are exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

And Tom what are you hearing from the families of these hostages?

Yeah I mean mixed reactions, you know they're anxious for the reasons I've just spelled out about whether or not this deal will go through and whether it could lead to a lasting ceasefire and all of the hostages could come out. I mean also mixed emotions for you know the family of Hirsch Goldberg Pollin, remember he was murdered by Hamas in captivity back in September. And our Lindsay Davis speaking to his mother and his father, John and Rachel. You know, have a listen because they're very brave and courageous people, even though they lost their son in captivity, they're campaigning for the release of the remaining hostages.

Obviously it is tragically, horribly too late for our only son, Hirsch, but we have become like family for so many of the 98 remaining hostages. They're families and friends and we are so hopeful and optimistic. We need to remember this has to be rolled out until the very end and each and every person comes home. So there can't be true celebration until everyone is where they're supposed to be.

And Diane, I've spoken to Rachel in the past, and it's important to know that she doesn't just want all of the hostages home but she also wants the suffering of Palestinian civilians to end and you know we're actually seeing since the deal was announced by President Biden and others late last night we've actually seen according to Gaza officials linked to Hamas About 80 people killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, including dozens of children. So the fighting, Israeli attacks, trying to take out Hamas but coming at a real cost for the civilian population there continue even now. Diane?

Alright, ABC News foreign correspondent Tom Soufi-Burridge. Tom, thank you. And we have some breaking news on that deal now. Let's bring in ABC News radio correspondent Jordana Miller in Jerusalem now. Jordana, what's the latest on these negotiations and this deal moving forward?

Well, it appears that the disputes which had held up this deal have now been resolved. And we're hearing from a senior Israeli source that Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will convene his security cabinet tomorrow on Friday to approve this deal. He does have the votes in his security cabinet. He'll then go to the larger government, his coalition. He has the votes there as well, even though There are parts of his coalition that oppose this deal.

So he is expected, Israel is expected to be able to approve this deal by tomorrow. Then there will be a window where the names of the Palestinian prisoners that Israel will release will be published, and anyone who wants to contest that will have a right to go to the Supreme Court. Usually it's a 24-hour window in this case, because all of this is happening on Friday and the Sabbath here starts

at sundown. We understand that window will be shortened. And allow for Israel to legally open that window, but then it will be able if nobody can test it before the Sabbath, then as as many thought on Sunday, the deal will begin and we will

see the ceasefire begin and the first 3 Israeli hostages come out of Gaza.

So

Jordana,

does it

seem fairly certain at this point, or could this deal still fall apart?

It seems fairly certain. I mean, if the security cabinet has been told as we understand that there's going to be a security cabinet meeting, then the only reason that would happen is to really approve this deal. So it does appear that we have moved through this last snag. I do anticipate we will hear from the Israeli prime minister or his office in the coming hours. The prime minister could also give a national address tonight to talk about this deal and defend it.

Remember this is a deal that President Biden put on the table back in May. Netanyahu failed certain parts of this deal and said he could never sign it. Now months later he is signing it. So he will need to go to the public really and defend his reasons now for committing to this deal. Here in Israel, very mixed reactions to this deal.

All right, ABC's Jordana Miller in Jerusalem for us. Jordana, thank you.

Thank you.

And humanitarian aid groups around the world are watching for Israel's next move. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder joins me now for more on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. James, thanks so much for coming on. I know UNICEF released a statement saying that this is long overdue for the children and the families of Gaza and for the hostages in Gaza and their families in Israel. So how significant is this deal for all of those families?

Diane, it's an absolute game changer. I mean, as you say, this is so, so overdue. If you go back even 2 weeks ago, we've seen around 10 children killed every single day in the since the start of this year. These hostages should have been at home a long, long time ago. Now we've got children not only dying from the bombardment, Sian, we've got children dying from hypothermia, because the aid supply that got through to Gaza in the last 3 months of 2024 is the lowest since the horrors of the 7th of October.

So hypothermia, disease, children dying from malnutrition, still as your correspondent said, 1920 children killed overnight. So look,

it's

a moment of respite, it's a beacon of hope. It has to be extended, it has to turn into a lasting ceasefire. All the hostages have to go home and aid has to flood the Gaza Strip because Diane, people are on their knees, they've been on their knees physically and psychologically uncharted territory when it comes to trauma for many, many months.

So according to UNICEF, the conflict has left nearly a million people displaced. So what happens to all those people once the fighting ends?

It's a great question. I've been speaking to people in Gaza all day today, and 1 of them said, and she's a medical student, almost verbatim, Diane, that she said that... ..That they're very happy because the killing will stop, but we're living in a tent now, and if we choose to go home, we go home to a tent. So you are talking about hundreds of thousands of people whose family home, whose apartment has been destroyed. You know, I saw when I

was last in Gaza in November, many, many fathers in absolute tears because

they spent 20, 30 years saving to buy their home, to build their home, and then in a flash it's been destroyed. That is the story across the Gaza Strip. So there's an enormous amount that needs to be done. It's going to take years and not months, which is why we need this deal now. And then we need the deal to last across the course of this year and going forward.

And we said from the start, you know, that the security of children in Israel, in Gaza, in the West Bank, across the region, will not be gained by the devastation of Gaza and the killing of so many children. So peace, a peace deal was only ever going to be the way. We finally seem to be getting there, but there's a long way to go for the long, long suffering civilians and hostages.

So what are you watching for now as this plays out?

I think most critically for us because for UNICEF, Diane, it's about getting medicines in there, it's about food, it's about you know fuel for hospitals, fuel for the water, the desalination plants,

you know, Garzons right now there's infectious diseases, 95% of people don't have enough food. We need medical evacuation. So we have trucks and trucks lined up

to get in. So what we're watching for is what we call that enabling environment to make sure that the restrictions are removed, that the roads are fine, that the security is fine, to make sure that the stroke of a pen does not suddenly make this an easier and safe place to deliver aid. It doesn't suddenly remove horrendous record malnutrition on people or thousands of thousands of people who need prosthetics. So we're looking for both parties to finally to show some empathy and compassion for those people on the ground and to allow us as the United Nations and commercial goods to flood aid, medicines, food, water, blankets, tents across the Gaza Strip. It's a start.

That would be a start.

All right, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder. James, we appreciate you coming on and the work you're doing. Thank you. And let's bring in Danny Gilbert, assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University, who studies the consequences of hostage-taking in international security. Danny, thank you for coming on.

The Israeli cabinet is now set to meet tomorrow to potentially ratify this deal and this first phase is said to include releasing 33 hostages including women, children, elderly and the sick or injured. What do you make of that?

So if you think back to November 2023, about a month after October 7th, when there was the first round of hostage and prisoner release. Those were the same kinds of prisoners that Hamas was willing to trade right in the beginning. It's extremely rare for armed groups to hold hostages of that type, women, children, the elderly. They are in some ways the hardest for hostages to hold and for hostage takers to hold and they have the least amount of leverage in some way with the state. So the government of Israel is determined to first bring home these women, children, and the elderly in hopes that they can then negotiate for the men and the soldiers who remain in captivity.

Generally speaking, what happens once hostages are home? What does that rehabilitation process look like?

It's extremely difficult. I think when hostages are released and they come home, it's of course a wonderful moment for them, for their families, that they are coming out of captivity, that they are able to resume their lives. But their lives are never normal again. Hostages suffer extreme amounts of trauma for the rest of their lives. They experience post-traumatic stress.

It's a huge adjustment coming back to their family. And we know from the hostages who were released in late November 2023 that they came home with all different kinds of wounds, both physical, emotional, mental, that will take a lifetime to heal.

And Dani, the U.S. Says we don't negotiate with terrorists. Israel and the U.S. Consider Hamas a terrorist organization. So could these negotiations reaching this deal embolden them?

So lots of governments claim to have a policy of not negotiating with terrorists. So when push comes to shove, governments often do what it takes to bring their citizens home. I think for Hamas that the events of October 7th did not result in what they hoped it would. They hoped that their regional allies would all join in and that this would serve as massive destruction of Israel. And that has not come to pass.

Israel looks militarily quite strong, despite and maybe because of the devastation in Gaza. And so I think for the leaders of Hamas at this point, less than emboldening themselves, they can really just be hoping that they get to survive, that those remaining in the organization make it out of this crisis alive and maybe even remain in power in Gaza.

All

right, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University, Danny Gilbert, thank you.

Thanks for having me.

And 1 of the American hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza is Eden Alexander. The New Jersey native was 19 and on patrol on the Gaza border when Hamas took him. He is not expected to be 1 of the first hostages released in this ceasefire deal. And ABC News spoke with Idan's father earlier today.

Mixed feelings. You know, our son's name is not on the list of the first releases. The first phase of releases is purely humanitarian. Our understanding that the last hostage supposed to come out between now and 42 days from now. So we are really hopeful that it will happen for our family as well.

We've been there. So we've been so close before even back in November of 2023 and so many times between then and now. Our story it's not over yet. We have to see that the next round of negotiations is starting as soon as possible and not after 16 days of waiting. And everybody is coming out.

So we have to sit tight and just be patient. Right now it feels like it's happening and we I mean we are happy. Happy for everybody and let's see. All

right, Alexander, thank you. And while President-elect Trump is taking credit for this deal, President Biden says it's the same framework he proposed last May. ABC's White House correspondent Karen Travers joins me now for more on how this deal came together. So, Karen, what do we know about how the administration's worked together on this and how they're still working together on it to try to get it finalized?

Diane, President Biden said yesterday that this was the exact same three-phase proposal that he had put forward last May, but it took many months, of course, to get to this point and get it across the finish line. The White House said that they believe that the conditions were changed in the last couple of days and weeks because Hamas had taken so many losses, that the Israeli military had achieved significant successes in Gaza, and that is a big part of changing the calculation. The administration brought the incoming Trump team into this conversation. President-elect Trump's envoy Steve Whitkoff for the Middle East, he was a part of the conversations in Doha. He had a seat at the table with President Biden's Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk.

And those conversations were very intense over the past couple of days to get to this point. President Biden said yesterday that this was an agreement that was developed and implemented during his administration, but the terms of it will now have to be carried out during the Trump administration after next week. So he said it was very important for his team to be speaking in 1 voice, that the United States was all working together and sending that message to allies and partners in the region. Diane we also heard today from the White House that with the president-elect Donald Trump sending a strong sign of support for this agreement that sent a very big message to the region especially to Hamas.

All right Karen Travers thank you. Coming up confirmation hearings for Trump's cabinet nominees. We're live on Capitol Hill with a look at the biggest moments and what's next for the key players in the Trump administration.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, Several of President-elect Trump's picks for key positions are in the hot seat today for confirmation hearings. Senators are set to grill nominees for EPA Administrator, HUD Secretary, Treasury Secretary and more. ABC's Jay O'Brien is on Capitol Hill right now with the latest. So Jay, what stands out to you from these hearings so far?

Well so far when it comes to Treasury Secretary for instance Scott Bessen, we heard him tout what we expect to be Donald Trump's economic agenda and in large part it would hinge on a large promise tax cut that Donald Trump would have to get through this Congress and it's not a done deal he'll be able to get it through this Congress although things look good for him if he can keep Republicans together on that because he's got control of both the Senate and the House but we heard Trump's pick for Treasury touting that treasuring the it's touting the impacts he says it would have although Democrats are already saying that Trump is lining up a tax cut for the wealthiest. Expect that argument to play out for the coming weeks and months, really. And then on the flip side, we also saw Lee Zeldin, who's Trump's pick, to run the EPA. He is also testifying before a committee on which Bernie Sanders is the top Democrat and Bernie Sanders asked Zeldin directly Do you believe that climate change is a quote-unquote hoax as the president-elect has said in the past Lee Zeldin says he believes climate change is real and then went on to say that when Trump was saying that he was criticizing policies that Zeldin viewed as overreaching and the goal of those policies obviously to promote more clean energy and to try to take a whack at combating climate change, but Zeldin, Trump's pick for EPA, saying that he believes climate change is real.

He sidestepped the specifics beyond that on climate change, but a noteworthy exchange there. The EPA is another place to watch because Donald Trump has promised to refashion the federal government, and agencies like the EPA are where he's expected to start, shrinking potentially its size and scope, maybe even shrinking the agency itself, Diane. But these are 2 nominees amongst all the nominees up here on the Hill today that are expected to get broad Republican support, even potentially the support from some Democrats, putting them on track to be confirmed. They're not amongst the most controversial of Trump's nominees like Tulsi Gabbard or RFK Jr. And things like that.

Now, Jay, Florida Governor Rhonda Santus is naming a Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate. So what can you tell us about her?

Well, she's someone who's got deep ties to Florida, who's got respect from Republicans and Democrats in that state that I talked to for her role as the state's top prosecutor. She's a close ally of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who's taken great pains to really lock arms with her and do several initiatives with her, whether it's in the aftermath of hurricanes cracking down on price gouging or things of that nature. So she's a close ally of DeSantis's. But don't rule out the fact, Diane, that ultimately if she were to run for that Senate seat when it comes time for the next election, when that seat is ultimately due, there are some further right Republicans who are Trump allies who also potentially have their eyes on that seat. So you might be setting up a potential clash with various sections of the Republican Party and some further right Republicans, maybe even those in the House, for instance, who would seek to challenge Moody.

All right, J.R. Bryan on Capitol Hill, thank you. Coming up, new clues in the investigation into the deadly California wildfires. What investigators are looking for and how conditions may finally help firefighters contain the flames.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Firefighters in California are getting a much needed break from those Santa Ana winds, but a home that survived the Palisades fire has now been damaged by a landslide in the burn area. Meanwhile the Eaton fire which destroyed blocks of homes in Altadena is now 55% contained. ABC's Melissa Adan is in Altadena with the latest on that. Melissa the conditions are getting better it seems and not only for the firefighters but also for investigators.

Talk to me about that.

Absolutely. So Diane just right now we have some of those Cal Fire investigators that are coming home by home. This is an important task. They're about 60% done with the grid searches here in the Eaton fire. That has been a really long journey here to go basically home by home with search crews looking for some human remains because there's still about a dozen people reported missing.

So that's been a task. They've also been making sure that once they clear each property then they'll be able to once every area is assessed then that's when residents are gonna be able to go see their own homes and see what's left of this rubble up close and personal. Maybe go through find any precious mementos that they might find laying around and then move forward with their insurance claims. So it is such a long process but really as far as the firefight that has been major, major progress. Of course, Diane, which is welcome sight because we want to make sure that this gets under control.

But then again, we're hearing about a threat next week, Diane.

All right, Melissa Adan in Altadena, California. Melissa, Thank you. And tomorrow, ABC News will feature stories of local heroes and people impacted by those wildfires as recovery efforts ramp up. And we will have a lot more information on how you can help. Special coverage of SoCal Strong starts tomorrow morning right here on ABC News Live.

I'm Diane Macedo. The news never stops and neither do we. We have a lot more news for you right after the break. Stay with us.

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Hi, I'm Diane Macedo. Today on ABC News Live First, let's get right to our top story. The Israeli cabinet is set to meet tomorrow to discuss and potentially ratify the ceasefire deal with Hamas. Netanyahu's office had said Hamas was trying to renege on parts of the deal while Hamas said it is committed to the ceasefire agreement. Now Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S.

Still expects the deal to move forward as planned.

And we

have some breaking news on that deal now. Let's bring in ABC News radio correspondent Jordana Miller in Jerusalem now. Jordana, what's the latest on these negotiations and this deal moving forward?

Well it appears that the disputes which had held up this deal have now been resolved and we're hearing from a senior Israeli source that Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will convene his security cabinet tomorrow on Friday to approve this deal. He does have the votes in his security cabinet. He'll then go to the larger government, his coalition. He has the votes there as well, even though there are parts of his coalition that oppose this deal. So he is expected, Israel is expected to be able to approve this deal by tomorrow.

Then there will be a window where the names of the Palestinian prisoners that Israel will release will be published. And anyone who wants to contest that will have a right to go to the Supreme Court. Usually it's a 24-hour window in this case because all of this is happening on Friday and the Sabbath here starts at sundown. We understand that window will be shortened and allow for Israel to legally open that window, but then it will be able if nobody can test

it before the fabric,

then as as many thought on Sunday, the deal will begin and we will see the ceasefire begin and the first 3 Israeli hostages come out of Gaza.

So Jordana does it seem fairly certain at this point or could this deal still fall apart?

It seems fairly certain I mean if the Security Cabinet has been told, as we understand, that there's going to be a Security Cabinet meeting, then the only reason that would happen is to really approve this deal. So it does appear that we have moved through this last snag. I do anticipate we will hear from the Israeli prime minister or his office in the coming hours. The prime minister could also give a national address tonight to talk about this deal and defend it. Remember this is a deal that President Biden put on the table back in May.

Netanyahu assailed certain parts of this deal and said he could never sign it. Now months later he is signing it. So we will he will need to go to the public really and defend his reasons now for committing to this deal. Here in Israel, very mixed reactions to this deal.

All right, ABC's Jordana Miller in Jerusalem for us. Jordana, thank you. Thank you. And humanitarian aid groups around the world are watching for Israel's next move. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder joins me now for more on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

James, thanks so much for coming on. I know UNICEF released a statement saying that this is long overdue for the children and the families of Gaza and for the hostages in Gaza and their families in Israel. So how significant is this deal for all of those families?

Diane, it's an absolute game-changer. I mean as you say, this is so, so overdue. If you go back even 2 weeks ago, we've seen around 10 children killed every single day since the start of this year. These hostages should have been at home a long, long time ago. Now we've got children not only dying from the bombardment, Sam, we've got children dying from hypothermia, because the aid supply that got through to Gaza in the last 3 months of 2024 is the lowest since the horrors of the 7th of October.

So, hypothermia, disease, children dying from malnutrition, still as your correspondent said, 1920 children killed overnight. So look, it's a moment of respite. It's a beacon of hope. It has to be extended. It has to turn into a lasting ceasefire.

All the hostages have to go home and aid has to flood the Gaza Strip because, Diane, people are on their knees. They've been on their knees physically and psychologically uncharted territory when it comes to trauma for many, many months.

So according to UNICEF, the conflict has left nearly a million people displaced. So what happens to all those people once the fighting ends?

It's a great question. I've been speaking to people in Gaza all day today and 1 of them said, and she's a medical student, almost verbatim, Diane, that she said that they're very happy because the killing will stop, but we're living in a tent now, and if we choose to go home, we go home to a tent. So you are talking about hundreds of thousands of people whose family home, whose apartment has been destroyed. You know, I saw when I

was last in Gaza in November, many, many fathers in absolute tears because

they spent 20, 30 years saving to buy their home, to build their home, and then in a flash it's been destroyed. That is the story across the Gaza Strip. So there's an enormous amount that needs to be done. It's going to take years and not months, which is why we need this deal now. And then we need the deal to last across the course of this year and going forward.

And we said from the start, you know, that the security of children in Israel, in Gaza, in the West Bank, across the region will not be gained by the devastation of Gaza and the killing of so many children. So a peace deal was only ever going to be the way. We finally seem to be getting there, but there's a long way to go for the long long suffering civilians and hostages.

So what are you watching for now as this plays out?

I think most critically for us because for UNICEF Diane it's about getting medicines in there, it's about food, it's about fuel for hospitals, fuel for the water, the desalination plants. You know, the

Gazans right now, there's infectious diseases, 95% of people don't have enough food, we need medical evacuation. So we have trucks

and trucks lined up to get in. So what we're watching for is what we call that enabling environment, to make sure that the restrictions are removed, that the roads are fine, that the security's fine, to make sure that, you know, the stroke of a pen does not suddenly make this an easier, a safe place to deliver aid. It doesn't suddenly remove horrendous record malnutrition on people or thousands of thousands of people who need prosthetics. So we're looking for both parties to finally show some empathy and compassion for those people on the ground and to allow us as the United Nations and commercial goods to flood aid, medicines, food, water, blankets, tents across the Gaza Strip. It's a start.

That would be a start.

All right, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder. James, we appreciate you coming on and the work you're doing. Thank you. And let's bring in Dani Gilbert, assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University who studies the consequences of hostage taking in international security. Dani, Thank you for coming on.

The Israeli cabinet is now set to meet tomorrow to potentially ratify this deal. And this first phase is set to include releasing 33 hostages, including women, children, elderly, and the sick or injured. What do you make of that?

So if you think back to November 2023, about a month after October 7th, when there was the first round of hostage and prisoner release, those were the same kinds of prisoners that Hamas was willing to trade right in the beginning. It's extremely rare for armed groups to hold hostages of that type, women, children, the elderly. They are in some ways the hardest for hostages to hold, for hostage takers to hold, and they have the least amount of leverage in some way with the state. And so the government of Israel is determined to first bring home these women, children and the elderly in hopes that they can then negotiate for the men and the soldiers who remain in captivity.

Generally speaking, what happens once hostages are home?

What does that rehabilitation process look like? It's extremely difficult. I think when hostages are released and they come home, it's of course a wonderful moment for them, for their families, that they are coming out of captivity, that they are able to resume their lives. But their lives are never normal again. Hostages suffer extreme amounts of trauma for the rest of their lives.

They experience post-traumatic stress. It's a huge adjustment coming back to their family. And we know from the hostages who were released in late November 2023 that they came home with all different kinds of wounds, both physical, emotional, mental, that will take a lifetime to heal.

And Dani, the U.S. Says we don't negotiate with terrorists. Israel and the U.S. Consider Hamas a terrorist organization. So Could these negotiations reaching this deal embolden them?

So lots of governments claim to have a policy of not negotiating with terrorists. So when push comes to shove, governments often do what it takes to bring their citizens home. I think for Hamas that the events of October 7th did not result in what they hoped it would. They hoped that their regional allies would all join in and that this would serve as massive destruction of Israel. And that has not come to pass.

Israel looks militarily quite strong despite and maybe because of the devastation in Gaza. And so I think for the leaders of Hamas at this point, less than emboldening themselves, they can really just be hoping that they get to survive, that those remaining in the organization make it out of this crisis alive and maybe even remain in power in Gaza.

All right, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University, Dani Gilbert, thank you.

Thanks for having me.

And 1 of the American hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza is Eden Alexander. The New Jersey native was 19 and on patrol on the Gaza border when Hamas took him. He is not expected to be 1 of the first hostages released in this ceasefire deal. And ABC News spoke with Eden's father earlier today.

It's mixed feelings. You know, our son's name is not on the list of the first releases. The first phase of releases is purely humanitarian. Our understanding that the last hostage is supposed to come out between now and 42 days from now. So we are really hopeful that it will happen for our family as well.

We've been there, so we've been so close before, even back in November of 2023 and so many times between then and now. Our story it's not over yet. We have to we have to see that's the next round of negotiating Negotiations is starting as soon as possible and not after 16 days of waiting and everybody is coming out. So we have to sit tight and just be patient. Right now it feels like it's happening and we, I mean, we are happy.

Happy for everybody and let's see.

All right, Adi Alexander, thank you. And while President-elect Trump is taking credit for this deal, President Biden says it's the same framework he proposed last May. ABC's White House correspondent Karen Travers joins me now for more on how this deal came together. So Karen, what do we know about how the administration's worked together on this and how they're still working together on it to try to get it finalized.

Diane, President Biden said yesterday that this was the exact same three-phase proposal that he had put forward last May, but it took many months, of course, to get to this point and get it across the finish line. The White House said that they believe that the conditions were changed in the last couple of days and weeks because Hamas had taken so many losses that the Israeli military had achieved significant successes in Gaza and that is a big part of changing the calculation. The administration brought the incoming Trump team into this conversation. President-elect Trump's envoy Steve Whitkoff for the Middle East, he was a part of the conversations in Doha. He had a seat at the table with President Biden's Middle East envoy Brett McGurk And those conversations were very intense over the past couple of days to get to this point.

President Biden said yesterday that this was an agreement that was developed and implemented during his administration, but the terms of it will now have to be carried out during the Trump administration after next week. So he said it was very important for his team to be speaking in 1 voice, that the United States was all working together and sending that message to allies and partners in the region. Diane, we also heard today from the White House that With the president-elect Donald Trump sending a strong sign of support for this agreement that sent a very big message to the region, especially to Hamas.

All right, Karen Travers, thank you. Coming up, confirmation hearings for Trump's cabinet nominees. We're live on Capitol Hill with a look at the biggest moments and what's next for the key players in the Trump administration.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Several of President-elect Trump's picks for key positions are in the hot seat for confirmation hearings. Senators are set to grill nominees for EPA Administrator, HUD Secretary, Treasury Secretary and more. ABC's Jay O'Brien is on Capitol Hill right now with the latest. So, Jay, what stands out to you from these hearings so far?

Well, so far when it comes to Treasury Secretary, for instance, Scott Bessen, we heard him tout what we expect to be Donald Trump's economic agenda. In large part, it would hinge on a large promised tax cut that Donald Trump would have to get through this Congress. And it's not a done deal he'll be able to get it through this Congress, although things look good for him if he can keep Republicans together on that, because He's got control of both the Senate and the House. But we heard Trump's pick for Treasury touting that, touting the impacts he says it would have, although Democrats are already saying that Trump is lining up a tax cut for the wealthiest. Expect that argument to play out for the coming weeks and months really.

And then on the flip side, we also saw Lee Zeldin, who's Trump's pick to run the EPA. He is also testifying before a committee on which Bernie Sanders is the top Democrat. And Bernie Sanders asked Zeldin directly, do you believe that climate change is a quote-unquote hoax, as the president-elect has said in the past. Lee Zeldin says he believes climate change is real and then went on to say that when Trump was saying that he was criticizing policies that Zeldin viewed as overreaching and the goal of those policies obviously to promote more clean energy and to try to take a whack at combating climate change. But Zeldin, Trump's pick for EPA, saying that he believes climate change is real.

He sidestepped the specifics beyond that on climate change, but a noteworthy exchange there. The EPA is another place to watch because Donald Trump has promised to refashion the federal government, and agencies like the EPA are where he's expected to start, shrinking potentially its size and scope, maybe even shrinking the agency itself, Diane. But these are 2 nominees amongst all the nominees up here on the Hill today that are expected to get broad Republican support, even potentially the support from some Democrats, putting them on track to be confirmed. They're not amongst the most controversial of Trump's nominees like Tulsi Gabbard or RFK Jr. And things like that.

Now, Jay, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is naming a Florida Attorney General, Ashley Moody, to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate. So what can you tell us about her?

Well, she's someone who's got deep ties to Florida, who's got respect from Republicans and Democrats in that state that I talked to for her role as the state's top prosecutor. She's a close ally of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who's taken great pains to really lock arms with her and do several initiatives with her, whether it's in the aftermath of hurricanes cracking down on price gouging or things of that nature. So she's a close ally of DeSantis's. But don't rule out the fact, Diane, that ultimately if she were to run for that Senate seat when it comes time for the next election, when that seat is ultimately due, there are some further right Republicans who are Trump allies who also potentially have their eyes on that seat. So you might be setting up a potential clash with various sections of the Republican Party and some further right Republicans, maybe even those in the House for instance, who would seek to challenge Moody.

All right, J.R. Bryan on Capitol Hill, thank you. Coming up, new clues in the investigation into the deadly California wildfires. What investigators are looking for and how conditions may finally help firefighters contain the flames.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live First. Firefighters in California are getting a much needed break from those Santa Ana winds, but a home that survived the Palisades fire has now been damaged by a landslide in the burn area. Meanwhile, the Eaton fire, which destroyed blocks of homes in Altadena, is now 55 percent contained. ABC's Melissa Adan is in Altadena with the latest on that. Melissa, the conditions are getting better it seems and not only for the firefighters but also for investigators.

Talk to me about that.

Absolutely. So Diane, just right now we have some of those Cal Fire investigators that are coming home by home. This is an important task. They're about 60% done with the grid searches here in the Eaton fire. That has been a really long journey here to go basically home by home with search crews looking for some human remains because there's still about a dozen people reported missing.

So that's been a task. They've also been making sure that once they clear each property. Then they'll be able to once every areas assessed, then that's when residents are going to be able to go see their own homes and see what's left of this rubble up close and personal, maybe go through, find any precious mementos that they might find laying around and then move forward with their insurance claims. So it is such a long process but really as far as the firefight that has been major, major progress. Of course Diane, which is welcome sight because we want to make sure that this gets under control but then again we're hearing about a threat next week Diane.

All right Melissa Adan and Altadena California. Melissa thank you. And tomorrow ABC News will feature stories of local heroes and people impacted by those wildfires as recovery efforts ramp up and we will have a lot more information on how you can help. Special coverage of SoCal Strong starts tomorrow morning right here on ABC News Live. I'm Diane Macedo.

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A holdup in the historic ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Keira Phillips, a senior Israeli official. Now telling us Hamas is making new conditions that Israel will never agree to. But the terror group says it's sticking to the terms of the deal announced by the mediators yesterday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with his Security Cabinet tomorrow to discuss and ratify the agreement, which is still set to take effect on Sunday. Foreign correspondent Tom Soupy-Burridge, join me now from Tel Aviv with more. So, Tom, Netanyahu says the deal is facing a last-minute crisis. How fragile is the deal right now, and what's happening?

Well, I think the smoke is beginning to clear, Kira. I mean look, there's been confusion all day. We've had multiple comments coming out from Israeli officials, some a tribute to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office suggesting that Hamas was up against demands on some of the detail of the deal. But I think that's the critical thing here right now. It's a hugely complicated deal with lots of moving parts.

The overall framework was, I think, broadly speaking, never in question. And what we're now getting from Israeli officials is that, yes, the Israeli security cabinet will meet tomorrow as we believe it to ratify and approve the deal and then we'll be into the kind of legal process there will be the opportunity for people in Israel to challenge it launch a petition via the Supreme court but we expect that to be a formality and we expect the Supreme Court to effectively reject any of those petitions and then we're looking forward to Sunday when the first hostages could potentially be released and the ceasefire come into effect.

So at least 78 people have been killed by the IDF in these attacks in Gaza. Why keep striking if you just agreed to a ceasefire deal?

It's a very good question. I think we've seen this in previous, in other types of conflicts where sides know that a ceasefire is coming and effectively they are trying to basically hammer home what they believe are their aims in the war right up until that ceasefire. And actually when you think back to November 2023, the last time there was a truce in Gaza, you know, right at the end, in the run-up to that effectively, there was quite intense bombardments by the Israeli military. I mean, look, the Israeli government hasn't walked back from its war aims and 1 of them is to militarily degrade Hamas and they they seem still committed to try and do that and look remember this this ceasefire deal is an initial six-week ceasefire 33 hostages out aid flooding into Gaza IDF soldiers withdrawing from most areas of the Gaza Strip, potentially though still remaining along the border of Gaza with Egypt. But look, you know, it is not necessarily going to lead to phase 2 and 3 of the deal and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

That still needs to be negotiated once the initial ceasefire is in place.

Got it. All right, Tom Soufi-Burge, thank you so much. We'll be talking a lot this afternoon. As the world watches to see if indeed this ceasefire actually sticks, the humanitarian crisis continues. In 15 months, Hospitals, homes, schools, shelters have all been decimated.

At least 45, 000 Palestinians have died. But within all this hell has definitely come some angels. Doctors like Syed Syed is 1 of them. He volunteers with the nonprofit group MedGlobal and has been to Gaza multiple times since the start of this war. Matter of fact, he was just working in a hospital there as recently as a few days ago.

Dr. Saeed, it is so great to have you back.

Thank you for having me on the show.

Tell, it's a pleasure. Tell me what you were doing just a few days ago and also how you feel about this truce that is more fragile than we thought.

So I just returned not this Friday but the Friday prior. I spent New Year's Day in Gaza City. I was at Akhli Hospital, which is north of the dividing line between the south and the north of Gaza. I spent a number of days there operating as a plastic surgeon, supporting the local plastic surgeon who was actually in retirement prior to October of 2023 and came out of retirement to help his people as the only plastic surgeon serving that northern portion of Gaza. I performed a number of operations assisting him and teaching him some of the complex reconstructive procedures that are needed for the patients there.

Tell me, give me some more details if you don't mind, the type of reconstruction surgeries you had to do. I don't think folks realize how so many people have been clinging to their lives in these hospital rooms and with the gift of what you do, what you were able to accomplish in the operating room?

I can set this stage for you to get an idea of what I saw going in. So I was primarily stationed at the Ahly Baptist Hospital, which is a hospital supported by the Christian community internationally. It's in Gaza City. And when you walk in, there are a number of buildings on the campus. 1 of them is a building which has some blue windows, which are blown out from the attack on the compound earlier on in the conflict.

And this building was actually supported by the Americans and U.S. Aid. The bottom of this building contains a CAT scanner and the top buildings are, the top floors are actually uninhabited because of the damage. There's a smaller building that contains an operating room and a few floors where there's some makeshift wards. There's a church on the campus also, which has been converted into an internal medicine ward where when you walk in, there are curtains dividing the room into multiple smaller rooms and their patients and their family members behind these curtains.

There's also a library, which was converted into a wing for surgical patients and patients with other injuries. When you walk into these wards, they try to give the patients as much privacy as they can, but just imagine walking into a large room with not really curtains but makeshift curtains with bed sheets and whatever people can get hung up and their patients behind here. There are flies constantly in the environment. There are people trying to carry on their daily life behind these curtains, so their family members eating their food. The conditions are not sterile at all.

And when you walk through the campus, you see people walking around with extensive injuries who are coming back and forth from wherever they're residing, whether it be a tent or a building or a structure that's partially damaged. And they're walking around with these large injuries, getting outpatient care in some of the outpatient buildings. There are some tents also set up on the campus that are trying to provide care for patients. And remember, there has been no outside electricity coming into Gaza since October, 2023. The only electricity they have and some of the images you put up, they show lights.

These lights are only available if the institution or the building has solar panels with battery backup or they have generators that are run by fuel. So I think the public should be aware that there's been absolutely no outside electricity coming into Gaza and the Gaza power plants which were destroyed are unable to provide electricity that's much needed.

Well clearly you just

you just laid out exactly everything that needs to be done once this ceasefire takes effect. I know a lot of people are holding out hope that something will happen. And then, through your example, I think we see exactly what the medical community is going to need immediately. Dr. Saeed, I know you're going to go back.

I hope it is during better circumstances. I hope you will join us again to give us an update, hopefully, on what has improved. Really appreciate what you're doing.

Thank you for having me.

Of course. So what will happen when the Israeli cabinet meets tomorrow and how much power do far-right politicians really have in the country right now? Our next guest can give us that inside perspective. Retired IDF General Yorah Aylan joins me now for more. General, let me just ask you, point-blank, Do you think this deal is going to go through?

I guess that the answer is yes. It is not that this is a good deal. It is a very bad deal from the Israeli point of view for many, many reasons. 1 of them that we are going to get back only 33 hostages, but many of them are not going to be alive. Actually, we are going to get bodies.

And in this time, we don't even know how many alive people would be among the 33. So there is a lot of, let's say, ambiguity around this deal, and about 60 and more Israeli, other Israelis will remain in Gaza in terrible conditions. You just spoke about the very bad conditions in the Gaza city, but I guess that you will agree with me that the conditions that the Israeli hostages live in and suffer in the past 15 months is by far much worse than anything else that you can describe that is happening above the ground in Gaza. So this is 1 thing. And of course, there are a lot of other disadvantages of this deal.

But in the end of the day, we came to a point where This deal is probably better than not to have a deal. And it is not a secret that 1 of the reasons that pushed the Israeli government to accept this deal is the pressure from the new American administration. And Israel does not want to be in the confrontation with the President Trump just as we begin his new term. So the answer is yes, there will be, this deal will be approved by the Israeli cabinet and I guess that it will, the implementation will commence really soon, probably on Sunday, Monday next week.

So Netanyahu's popularity has tanked during this war and he's faced major protests, as you know. Do you think the end of this war could mark the end of his time in power?

There is a chance that the disappointment in Israel from the performance of the Israeli government in the past 15 months will create a lot of pressure. And this is not the only Israeli domestic matter that might create a lot of difficulties to the government. But there's a good chance that the answer is yes. Netanyahu actually failed to fulfill what he promised to the Israeli public. He promised a total victory that has never been achieved.

He promised many other things. He promised that he would never agree to a deal of this kind, and now he is actually forced to accept it and there is a lot of criticism against him especially from his own camp so Netanyahu might face a real difficult political, let's say, challenge. Yes.

Well Speaking of challenges and promises, part of this agreement is a path to reconstruction for Gaza. You know, more than 45, 000 people are dead, much of that region in rubble. Is there hope to rebuild? And what role should the U.S. And Israel play together?

I think that 1 of the important matters for any future plan to rebuild Gaza and to resume, let's say, significant projects of reconstructions might be or should be strongly linked to another element. And this is the standard to make sure that Gaza is fully demilitarized. And anyone, whether it is the Saudis, the Emirates, the Americans, or others, who would like to inject billions of dollars in order to rebuild Gaza, have to make sure that Gaza is demilitarized. And I think that this is something that is within the American interest. But the question is to what extent the United States will be able to force all others, whether it is Arab countries or others, to accept this condition.

And I think this is an important method that Israel will insist that no reconstructions of Gaza will begin unless it is strongly linked to this another element of the demilitarization of this area.

Bottom line, you can't rebuild unless the area is secure. Security is going to be a huge part of this and it will be interesting to see how many allies jump in and help with that. General Giora Island, sure, appreciate your perspective and your time. Thank you.

You know what?

Well, a much needed break from severe winds on the West Coast. Crews finally getting an upper hand on the Palisades and Eaton fires that are ravaging Southern California. Red flag warnings have expired for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, opening a window for fire personnel to now try and get these blazes under control. Right now the Palisades fire is 22% contained while the Eaton fire is now 55% contained. State officials focusing on finding what caused the catastrophic wildfires as a new lawsuit accusing power company Southern California Edison of having faulty equipment that sparked the Eaton fire is adding to the long list of lawsuits.

Both wildfires causing unprecedented destruction around LA. At least 25 lives lost so far. Rescue crews still combing through the rubble and at least 12, 000 structures have been damaged. Many of those just burned to the ground. And if losing everything wasn't bad enough, residents say price gouging has now become a major problem.

Let's bring in our Melissa Dunn. She's there in Altadena. So let's first start by what you're seeing on the ground there, Melissa.

Yes, Kira, there's so much going on all across Southern California, but here in the Altadena community it is of course all of the damage that they've experienced. Well, they're about 60% completed with their grid search because that is first and foremost. This is where we've been seeing these urban search and rescue crews going home by home and making sure as they search it saying seeing if there's any human remains because there's still about a dozen people reported missing between here and over at the Palisades fire and now that has been a taxiing process, but 1 that is just so important and so critical. We've seen that going on of course the winds easing have been huge help as we've seen those containment levels go up that is welcome news but then again of course so many residents now have questions about what is next People either have been staying at their friends' home, at hotels, but now they're waiting for those funds from federal assistance so they can look into temporary housing and then look into what the process and what phases are rolling out by the local government here of rebuilding looks like.

Well, and while we're building, there's now a number of lawsuits that have been filed against Southern California Edison that includes a family of a victim within the Eaton fire. What can you tell us about this particular suit?

Yes So that latest lawsuit involves a family that says that they lost the 2 family members from the Eton fire. This is from specifically here in Al Jadina, 1 of the historically black neighborhoods. That they said was just so critical and so important for their life that now because of that they're also partnering up with Ben Crump. He's going to be speaking about this later today and his lawsuit that they're presenting is similar to what we've seen other people presenting in their lawsuit saying that basically SoCal Edison failed to de-energize all of their electrical equipment. They didn't turn it off despite knowing there was these red flag warnings.

Now at this point, that is under investigation, right? The cause as to whether or not was it something that sparked with the transmission center area. SoCal Edison says they're participating in that investigation but at this point they say that there's no evidence that their equipment started the fire. Kira?

All right Melissa Dahn from Altadena there. Melissa thank you. Coming up cabinet picks and confirmation hearings plus we now know who Florida's next senator will be. Stay with us.

The news never stops. We are here in Israel, a nation at war.

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The wildfires. The destruction. The heroes. And hope. Now tomorrow morning, the GMA family is in LA, helping families in need.

GMA. SoCal Strong.

Donald Trump. Historic. Taking the oath of office for the second time. Inauguration Day. America turns to ABC News.

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4 days away from inauguration, President-elect

Donald Trump has made his Cabinet picks and now it's up to the nominees to get themselves over the

finish line. Their confirmation hearings Lawmakers grilling the nominees for EPA Administrator, HUD Secretary, Treasury Secretary and more. RJ O'Brien is on Capitol Hill. So Jay, multiple hearings happening on the Hill right now. What's the latest?

Yeah and so the 2 headlines that have come out of 2 of these hearings are 1 from Scott Bessett who's Donald Trump's pick to run the Treasury Department. He touted a number of things in Donald Trump's economic agenda but chief among them was this ambitious tax cut that Donald Trump really wants to get through this Congress and he probably can get it through this Congress because he's got control of both the House and the Senate so if he keeps Republicans in line he could pass it, although Democrats were critical of that, critical of that in this hearing and will continue to be. In terms of Lee Zeldin, Lee Zeldin was asked by Bernie Sanders, who's the top Democrat on the Senate panel that he's testifying before, does he believe climate change is a quote-unquote hoax, the way that President-elect Trump has previously described it. Zeldin went on to say he does believe climate change is real, but he was vague on other aspects of climate change policy, but that's noteworthy. Nonetheless, look at Donald Trump and his allies trying to take potentially pruning shears to the EPA because they believe it's overstepped its bounds in recent years.

These are some of the least controversial of Donald Trump's cabinet picks. They're expected to get widespread Republican support. But even some of those cabinet picks, Kira, that are considered quote-unquote controversial, like Pete Hegseth, for instance, they haven't seen any kind of Republican opposition at this hour. Republicans still trying to watch this process play out, but even Pete Hegseth was able to pick up votes after his confirmation hearing earlier this week. He got the support notably of Joni Ernst, who's a sexual assault survivor and a combat veteran, so things looking good on his end.

Well, Florida governor has chosen Florida's Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill Marco Rubio's Senate seat. What more do we know?

Yeah, Ashley Moody, a close ally of Governor Ron DeSantis, someone who is going to be in close touch with him most likely when she takes this job for Marco Rubio but she's got a run for re-election if she would want to hold on to that job in a special election in 2026 and look for her to potentially get a little bit of a challenge from the further right. There are already Trump allies in the House who have expressed interest in running for that seat. So currently Ron DeSantis filling that seat with an ally but Moody could get a challenger come 2026, Kara.

All right, J. O'Brien, thank you so much. Straight ahead it's TikTok for TikTok. The looming ban set to take effect on Sunday. Now its users are flocking to a new Chinese app.

Why do so many people start their day here? From ABC News, this is Start Here.

To be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories.

A lot of news today, so let's get into it.