On today’s show: Peter Baker of The New York Times joins to discuss the state of America as President Biden leaves and President-elect Trump is inaugurated. The latest from Gaza, where three hostages were released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire deal. The BBC explains who they are. Israel also released the first wave of Palestinian prisoners. NBC News has the details. Plus, President-elect Trump promised to save TikTok after it briefly went offline over the weekend; a polar vortex is bringing extremely cold weather to a big swath of the county, while dangerous winds threaten fire efforts in L.A.; and on MLK Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s son has a message for Trump.
Full Episode
Good morning. It's Monday, January 20th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Hamas and Israel exchange hostages for captives in the first phase of the ceasefire deal. TikTok is back after a weekend of confusion. And MLK Day and Inauguration Day collide. But first to Washington, where Donald Trump will be formally sworn in as president today for the second time. J.D.
Vance will become the third youngest vice president. Some notable attendees include former presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush and former Vice President Mike Pence. Several tech CEOs are also reportedly attending, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, and TikTok CEO Sho Chu, according to Axios.
Sub-freezing temperatures are forcing today's ceremony indoors to the Capitol Rotunda instead of out on the National Mall. Still, thousands of Trump supporters traveled to the nation's capital to celebrate the event. Some spoke to the local CBS affiliate.
I think this is a pivotal point in America and the world, as a matter of fact, because the people are actually in control now again. And this is actually amazing.
And unlike eight years ago, the counter-protest movement was fairly tame. CNN spoke to people rallying out on the mall.
Have people given up? Is the resistance dead?
It's not dead.
I think that it's taken a beat down, though, because, I mean, with the whole thing with Roe being turned over, it's just been like a gut punch.
Meanwhile, in President Biden's final hours in office, he issued a slew of pardons to preemptively protect people who might face prosecution from Trump, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and members of the January 6th Congressional Committee. In a statement, Biden called them public servants who haven't engaged in any wrongdoing.
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