On today’s show: Pete Hegseth faced grilling from Democrats at his confirmation hearing as GOP senators voiced support, CBS News reports. And NBC News breaks down the major takeaways from the hearing. Publishers are taking OpenAI to court over copyright-infringement claims. The suit may have serious repercussions for the future of AI. NPR explains. Xochitl Gonzalez with The Atlantic looks at what was lost when the Eaton Fire tore through middle-class Altadena, California. Plus, South Korea’s impeached president is detained, how you can help animals affected by the L.A. fires, and Kate Middleton says her cancer is in remission. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Full Episode
Good morning. It's Wednesday, January 15th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, chat GPT goes to court over copyright infringement. How one middle class majority minority community in Southern California has been hit hard by the fires. And some good news for the Princess of Wales.
But first, to Capitol Hill, where Pete Hexeth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense, faced tough questions from senators on the Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing. It was also a test of loyalty to Trump, not just for the nominee, but for the Republican lawmakers questioning him.
In his opening statement, Hegseth, a military veteran and former Fox News host, acknowledged criticisms from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that he lacks the qualifications to lead the Pentagon and one of the world's largest military forces.
Now, it is true and has been acknowledged that I don't have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years. But as President Trump also told me, we've repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly the right credentials.
Heading into this hearing, a number of Republican senators seemed to be on the fence about his nomination, but NBC senior political reporter Sahil Kapoor watched from Capitol Hill yesterday as, one by one, they seemed to fall in line.
I think Hegseth is one step closer to becoming Secretary of Defense after this hearing for the simple reason that watching the Republican senators on the Armed Services Committee, I did not see a single one of them seriously challenge him, have a contentious back and forth with him, dig into the myriad allegations in his past, the questions about his qualifications or financial mismanagement claims.
Several Democratic senators did bring up his past, including allegations of excessive drinking and an incident in 2017 where a woman accused Hegseth of sexual assault. He paid her an undisclosed amount of money to settle, and he's described the encounter as consensual, but he was married at the time.
Some Republican senators defended Hegseth, like Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, a Republican from Oklahoma.
How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don't tell me you haven't seen it because I know you have. And then how many senators do you know have got a divorce before cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down?
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