January 15 2025

1. Armed Residents Guard Fire-Ravaged Parts of LA as Trust in Authorities Wanes
2. Trump Team Weighs Gradual Monthly Tariff Increases Using Emergency Powers
3. House Passes Ban on Trans Athletes in Women's Sports
4. Study: US Dementia Cases to Double by 2060
5. US Tightens Global AI Chip Controls to Counter China
January 15, 2001: Wikipedia launches

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FLASH….South Korea arrests president…LA fire containment…Palisades Fire: 18% contained…Eaton Fire: 35% contained…Hurst Fire: 97% contained…

1. Armed Residents Guard Fire-Ravaged Parts of LA as Trust in Authorities Wanes

In the still-smoldering neighborhoods of Altadena, where fires destroyed more than 2,700 structures, about 80 people have defied orders to evacuate, staying behind to protect what is left of their properties from looters and more fires after losing faith in authorities. Residents patrol streets and interrogate strangers, living in a Hobbesian world without electricity or clean drinking water. Some are armed. They are hemmed in by yellow caution tape at neighborhood entrances flanked by National Guard troops, Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies and California Highway Patrol officers. “We do feel like we’re in the Wild West,” said Aaron Lubeley, a 53-year-old lawyer who is one of the holdouts and serves as an unofficial emissary with police and fire representatives.

Article Source: WSJ

2. Trump Team Weighs Gradual Monthly Tariff Increases Using Emergency Powers

Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming economic team are discussing slowly ramping up tariffs month by month, a gradual approach aimed at boosting negotiating leverage while helping avoid a spike in inflation, according to people familiar with the matter. One idea involves a schedule of graduated tariffs increasing by about 2% to 5% a month, and would rely on executive authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the people said. The proposal is in its early stages and has not yet been presented to Trump, the people said — a sign that a monthly stepped approach is early in the deliberation process.  

My take on tariffs

Article Source: Bloomberg

3. House Passes Ban on Trans Athletes in Women's Sports

The House on Tuesday passed legislation banning transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports in elementary school through college, elevating a top GOP campaign issue to one of the first priorities in the new Congress. The bill passed 218-206, with all Republicans present voting yes and all but two Democrats voting no. If the measure becomes law, schools that allow trans girls or women to compete could lose federal education funding. The measure was last debated in 2023, when not a single Democrat voted yes. Since then, Republicans have repeatedly pressed the matter as a threat to girls’ and women’s sports, spending at least $111 million on political ads making the case last year. Two Democrats joined Republicans in backing the bill: Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, who both represent swing districts in Texas.

Article Source: WaPo

4. Study: US Dementia Cases to Double by 2060

New cases of dementia will double by 2060, when 1 million U.S. adults are projected to develop the memory-robbing condition each year, according to a sobering new study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine. The new analysis shows that the risk a person faces over their lifetime is higher than some previous estimates: After age 55, 4 in 10 adults are likely to develop some form of dementia. That’s in part because the new analysis is based on decades of close follow-up, including regular cognitive assessments

Article Source: WaPo

5. US Tightens Global AI Chip Controls to Counter China

The Biden administration on Monday announced unprecedented new export controls on computer chips and other technology crucial to advanced artificial intelligence projects. The restrictions are intended to slow China’s development of AI and tighten U.S. government control over the fast-growing industry. The new policy imposes quotas on sales of powerful chips known as GPUs to most countries in the world, in an attempt to block Chinese efforts to circumvent earlier export controls imposed over the past two years.  It also limits American companies from sharing the full technical details of the most advanced AI models, software that underpins tools like ChatGPT, to all but a handful of close U.S. allies.

Article Source: WaPo

January 15, 2001: Wikipedia launches

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Sources

1. https://www.fire.ca.gov/

2. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/fires-armed-homeowners-hunt-looters-a40de302?st=sztxtV&reflink=article_copyURL_share

3. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-13/trump-team-studies-gradual-tariff-hikes-under-emergency-powers

4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/01/14/transgender-students-sports-bill-house/

5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/01/13/dementia-cases-double-by-2060/

6. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/01/13/ai-export-controls-chips-china/