Good evening. It’s Thursday, January 9.

Important note: cf.org is rebranding to thefrank.com. Soon you’ll find us under our new name.

1. DEI Kills LA

2. Gay Choirs, Trans Cafes and Social Justice Art: What LA Spent Money on While Cutting Its Fire Budget

3. How LA Ran Out of Water Amid Devastating Wildfires

4. Leo Terrell Is Leaving Fox News to Join Trump Admin

5. WATCH: DeSantis Blasts Reporter for Questioning Trump’s Criticism of Newsom

6. Biden Rewards California Dems’ Incompetence with Bailout for Fire Costs

7. ‘Pizzagate’ Gunman Fatally Shot by Police Outside Charlotte in Traffic Stop

8. Trump Invites Fetterman to Mar-a-Lago 

1. DEI Kills LA

As fires rage through the Los Angeles area, Kristin M. Crowley, the first woman and lesbian to become Los Angeles Fire Department Chief, is facing harsh criticism for her focus on DEI initiatives instead of a pure meritocracy.

Crowley, who was appointed fire chief by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2022, launched a diversity, equity, and inclusion bureau in January 2023, and prepared to implement a three-year plan committing the LAFD to an organization embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

According to the LAFD, DEI is a top priority for Crowley.

2. Gay Choirs, Trans Cafes and Social Justice Art: What LA Spent Money on While Cutting Its Fire Budget

The City of Los Angeles cut funding for its fire department and allocated thousands of dollars to various progressive programs, including a “Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe” and a Gay Men’s Chorus.

Fires swept through Southern California on Wednesday, destroying hundreds of homes in Los Angeles County, and high winds only fueled the destruction. The Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, was slammed for slashing the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) budget by $17.6 million for fiscal year 2024 to 2025, Fox 11 reported, citing LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

Bass claimed in a press conference that none of the reductions made “would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days.” She added that the city is “in tough budgetary times.”

3. How LA Ran Out of Water Amid Devastating Wildfires

As Los Angeles firefighters faced down the most destructive blaze in the city’s history, they ran out of water.

“The hydrants are down,” a firefighter said over the radio, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Another chipped in: “Water supply just dropped.”

4. Leo Terrell Is Leaving Fox News to Join Trump Admin

Leo Terrell took to social media Thursday to announce his departure from Fox News to accept a new role within the Trump administration.

In a post on X, previously known as Twitter, Terrell said that, effective immediately, he will serve as a senior counsel to the assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. This marks an end of his four-year stint as a Fox News contributor.

In his new role, Terrell said he will work closely with Trump, Pam Bondi, and other key officials to address civil rights issues and ensure fairness in the enforcement of laws across the country.

5. WATCH: DeSantis Blasts Reporter for Questioning Trump’s Criticism of Newsom

The badass Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, unloaded on the media tonight when they attacked President-elect Trump for criticizing Governor Newsom over the wildfires in Los Angeles.

DeSantis cut off the reporter and said:

“Is it appropriate for people in your industry to try to create division and try to create narratives anytime these things happen? Now you’re not as interested in doing that because Newsom is a ‘D’. If Newsom was a Republican, you guys would have him nailed to the wall for what they’re doing over there.”

6. Biden Rewards California Dems’ Incompetence with Bailout for Fire Costs

President Joe Biden boosted disaster assistance to California on Thursday, announcing the federal government will cover “100 percent of all the costs” to fight the fires ravaging the Los Angeles area.

But he was less certain that President-elect Trump would be similarly generous with assistance for the series of fires, which are poised to be the most expensive in U.S. history.

“I’m not in a position to answer that question,” Biden said when asked if he was confident that the incoming administration would make California whole. “I pray to God they will,” Biden said.

7. ‘Pizzagate’ Gunman Fatally Shot by Police Outside Charlotte in Traffic Stop

The Salisbury man who died Monday after he was shot by two Kannapolis police officers over the weekend was the ‘Pizzagate’ gunman arrested in Washington, D.C., in 2016 after he terrified people with a loaded AR-15 inside a restaurant.

Edgar Maddison Welch, the man killed, made national headlines in 2016 when he entered Comet Ping Pong, a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., armed with rifle and loaded revolver. He drove from Salisbury to the nation’s capital in search of an alleged child sex ring linked to Hillary Clinton — something he learned about from a fake news story, The Washington Post reported.

Around 10 p.m. Saturday, Welch was sitting in the passenger seat of a gray 2001 GMC Yukon when an officer pulled it over near Cannon Boulevard, a Kannapolis Police Department press release said Thursday.

8. Trump Invites Fetterman to Mar-a-Lago

In a move to extend a hand across the aisle, President Donald Trump has invited Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to meet with him at Mar-a Lago.

Fetterman told CBS News, “That is the plan. Yes, we are going to have a conversation.”

The trip will mark the first known time a sitting Democratic U.S. senator is meeting with Trump at his Palm Beach residence since the election.