On today’s show: The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas appears to be moving forward. Reuters has the details. President Biden is leaving office the same way he entered, by signing a flurry of executive orders. The Washington Post reports the moves could be hard for Trump to undo. Leslie Kaufman, a climate reporter with Bloomberg News, explains how wildfires upended California’s insurance market. Alexa Philippou of ESPN tells us why 2025 will be a big year for women’s professional basketball. Plus, Rudy Giuliani reached a settlement with two women he defamed, how visionary director David Lynch is being remembered and we go behind the scenes of ‘Severance’ season 2, out today, with director Ben Stiller and star Adam Scott in this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Full Episode
Good morning. It's Friday, January 17th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how the L.A. fires threaten to wipe out California's home insurance industry. The biggest stars in women's basketball are launching a new league. And a behind-the-scenes conversation with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott about Severance Season 2.
But first, a quick check-in on the state of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a deal has been struck to return hostages held in Gaza and move forward with a negotiated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The deal was on shaky ground as of yesterday when Israel claimed Hamas had reneged on details of the ceasefire.
Hamas leadership disputed that and said they were still committed to it. Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday projected confidence that the agreement will go into effect starting as planned on Sunday.
Look, it's not exactly surprising that in a process, in a negotiation that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end.
Both sides have so far agreed to an initial six-week ceasefire, with later phases of the deal not yet fleshed out. This story is sure to keep moving quickly today and through the weekend. You can find the latest in the Apple News app. President Biden is leaving the Oval Office the same way he entered, in a blaze of executive actions.
The outgoing president is putting his pen to a whole slate of orders, from clemency to conservation to canceling student loans. The Washington Post reports that even as many White House staffers are packing up their offices and getting ready to leave, many are still working on last-minute executive actions. Officials say this will likely continue up until the final hours of his presidency.
This morning, Biden announced he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent offenses, setting the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued. Some of his other last actions as president include blocking oil drilling in more than 625 million acres of U.S.
ocean, designating new national monuments in California, removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and just last night signing a new order on cybersecurity. Ann Newberg, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, told NPR about the purpose of that order.
The goal is to make it costlier and harder for China, Russia, Iran and ransomware criminals to hack and to also signal that America means business when it comes to protecting our businesses and our citizens.
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