Sound: 3-2-1 (cheers)
New Year Celebrations » Crowds in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia welcomed the arrival of 2025. It was one of the many cities to see everything from the spectacular light show in Mumbai in the coming year.
Sound: (Mumbai fireworks)
…to the ice fall in Holland and, of course, the famous ball drop in Times Square.
Sound: (sound of ball falling in Times Square)
The Times Square Alliance, which organizes the annual event in Manhattan, announced this morning that it had removed the old six-ton crystal ball. It will be replaced by a new ball with “further additional features”.
Speaker Johnson » House Speaker Mike Johnson won’t be on vacation this week. He is working overtime to win support from skeptical House Republicans.
Members will vote Friday to elect the speaker of the 119th Congress. And Congressman Andy Biggs said he didn’t believe Mr. Johnson had the votes needed to take the gavel.
Biggs: I talk to different people from different factions at conferences. We all want at least procedural changes.
But South Carolina Rep. Russell Frey pointed out that President-elect Trump supports Johnson…
FRY: We should honor President Trump’s request, elect Mike Johnson as Speaker, and get to work enacting an America First policy.
Mr. Johnson has been speaker since October 2023 after then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted by a small number of Republicans, including the same lawmaker who had previously withheld support from Mr. Johnson. is also included.
Danone condemns Israeli hostages » The calendar has turned again, with many Israeli hostages still in the hands of Hamas terrorists. And Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said he was hopeful that with support from the incoming Trump administration, he would finally be able to return home in the new year.
Danone: I think President-elect Trump’s statement that he wants to meet them as soon as possible is very helpful, but you know, in the Middle East, the only language that those evil animals understand is power and strength.
President-elect Trump has vowed “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on January 20. He did not explain what that meant.
Woman burnt to death on New York City subway has been identified » The New York City Police Department has announced that they have identified the woman who died after being set on fire in a New York subway car on December 22nd. The victim is 57-year-old Debrina Khawam.
Mayor Eric Adams told reporters:
ADAMS: She lived in New Jersey. She had a brief stay in our homeless, uh, shelter system, our shelter system. And, you know, her home is exposed to the family and it’s a horrible incident that they have to live with.
Authorities previously said they were using forensics and video surveillance to identify the victims.
The suspect who allegedly set her on fire, Sebastian Zapeta, is a Guatemalan citizen who is in the country illegally.
South Korea to investigate Boeing plane involved in crash » A U.S. investigation team, including Boeing representatives, investigated the scene of a plane crash that killed about 200 people in South Korea on Sunday. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has even more.
Kristen Flavin: South Korea’s aviation policy chief, Choo Jeong-wan, said eight U.S. officials have joined the 11 South Korean government safety investigators investigating the crash.
Meanwhile, authorities are carrying out safety inspections of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines.
The plane was confirmed to be suffering from engine trouble, and preliminary inspections said the pilot issued a distress signal after receiving a bird strike warning from the ground control center.
However, many experts believe that problems with the landing gear were likely the main cause of the crash.
In charge of WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.
Power outage in Puerto Rico » Last night, nearly everyone in Puerto Rico ushered in the New Year in darkness.
Tuesday’s widespread power outage left more than 1.3 million homes and businesses without power. And service may not be restored until tomorrow.
Officials said a faulty underground power line appeared to have triggered the outage.
Puerto Rico continues to suffer chronic power outages due to a collapsed power grid that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
I’m Kent Covington.
Ahead: Top political news of the year – Washington Wednesday. Plus, Cal Thomas shares a personal story about Jimmy Carter.
This is the world and everything in it.
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