INTRO:

• Firestorms swept by near hurricane-force winds set more than 1,000 homes and structures ablaze and residents fleeing for their lives in Southern California, and President-elect Trump says it all could have been averted, if not for one politician’s policies.
• Multiple homeowners whose properties have been destroyed in the blaze say their insurance companies canceled their fire insurance just weeks before the massive wildfire engulfed their homes.
• Liberals within the LGBTQ community are arming themselves in record numbers. We’ll explain why.
• China adds another record gold purchase to its already hefty store of the precious metal.
• And Congress passes the Laken Riley Act. 

All these stories and more when the Worldview Report begins, right now!

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Good evening and welcome to the Worldview Report.

At least five people were reported dead in Los Angeles County on Wednesday as multiple life-threatening wildfires burned across the region, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

More than 1,000 structures have been destroyed by the fires, which have been fueled by strong Santa Ana winds, low humidity and ongoing drought conditions.

The fires have scorched more than 3,000 acres and forced 70,000 people to evacuate their homes.

The National Weather Service warned of widespread damaging wind through Wednesday afternoon, with wind gusts of 50-80 mph, and isolated 80-100 mph winds in the mountains and foothills. Power outages have affected at least 1.5 million residents.

All of this combined for an apocalyptic sunrise Wednesday morning, captured in this video.

WATCH VIDEO

https://rumble.com/embed/v64yzum/?pub=rze3r

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, there are four wildfires scorching Los Angeles County: the Palisades Fire, at nearly 3,000 acres; the Eaton Fire, over 2,000 acres; the Hurst Fire, about 500 acres; and the Woodley Fire, at 75 acres.

The New York Post noted that the Los Angeles Fire Department had its budget cut by a staggering $17.6 million this financial year, as fire crews continue to battle out-of-control blazes ravaging the city.

The drastic decrease in funding for the fire department was the second-largest cut to come out of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ 2024-25 budget, according to city figures.

The police budget, meanwhile, increased by $126 million, a graphic shared by LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia shows.

Bass had initially wanted to cut the fire department by even more, a staggering $23 million.

The details on Bass’ budget slashing resurfaced as the mayor faced fierce backlash Wednesday after it was revealed she was away in Africa for the Ghana president’s inauguration, even as wind-whipped wildfires turned parts of her city into an apocalyptic hellscape.

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President-elect Trump blasted California Governor Gavin Newsom as responsible for the tragic wildfires.

He said Newsom’s refusal to sign a water restoration declaration in order to protect an endangered fish led to the situation where citizens are now fleeing a massive inferno.

California, under Newsom’s leadership, has been releasing fresh water back into the ocean, leaving insufficient amounts to fight the wildfires.

Here’s what Trump said in a post to Truth Social:

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way. He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!”

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A woman speaking to ABC 7 amid the ongoing Palisades fire disaster revealed her parents’ home recently had its fire coverage removed by an insurance company after living at the home for 75 years. The woman said her 90-year-old parents “got canceled from their fire insurance,” blaming the state of California for leaving taxpaying citizens without coverage.

Legendary Hollywood actor James Woods, whose home was destroyed in the fires, also stated a major insurance company canceled all policies in his neighborhood “about four months ago.”

WATCH VIDEO

https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1876906497914896697

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HR29, also called the Laken Riley Act, passed through the House Tuesday with a vote of 264 to 159 after lawmakers gave floor speeches to voice their support of or opposition to the bill. 

The legislation amends the Immigration and Nationality 8 Act to “require the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens who have been charged in the United States with theft” in addition to other purposes.

All 159 NO votes came from Democrats. This comes at the tail end of President Joe Biden's term, which has seen record numbers in illegal immigration and many stories highlighting crimes committed against Americans by illegal immigrants in the news. It shows that very few Democrats have learned anything from their historic 2024 election loss.

WATCH VIDEO

https://x.com/TPostMillennial/status/1876700143434518903

Laken Riley was murdered by Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan illegal immigrant with suspected connections to Tren de Aragua. Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison in November after being convicted of the crime.

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Dr. Robert Malone reports in a post to his Substack account that a group of 14 attorneys general have sent a letter to the Secretary of HHS (also cc'ing nominee HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.), demanding answers to the government’s malfeasance and mistreatment of the COVID-19 vaccine injured and the dead.

Malone writes;

“If your state attorney general didn’t sign the letter, please let the governor of your state as well as your state attorney general, know of your displeasure via an email or telephone call. Maybe it is even worth writing something about this on their X page. It is up to all of us to speak up and put pressure on our government where and when we can to help those suffering from vaccine injuries.”

For instance, according to Malone, the Attorney General of Virginia, Jason Miyares, who calls himself a Republican, did not sign the letter. 

Malone writes:

“As a Virginian, a Republican and as a vaccine injured person, I find this both disheartening and disturbing. It isn’t as if Mr. Mijares doesn’t know. I met with him and discussed the C-19 vaccine risks in 2022.”

As documented by the letter, there are still thousands of injured people who aren’t receiving any help or compensation.

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Reuters reports that Germany has taken note of President-elect Donald Trump's statements about Greenland and Canada, and stands by the international principle that borders must not be moved by force, said a government spokesperson on Wednesday.

A spokesperson at a regular news conference said:

“As always, the honorable principle of the United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Accords applies, namely that borders must not be moved by force.”

The spokesperson declined to comment when asked about how seriously Germany was taking Trump's statements.

Trump refused on Tuesday to rule out using military or economic action to pursue an acquisition of the Panama Canal and Greenland and also floated the idea of turning Canada into a U.S. state.

Meanwhile, the Danish Foreign Ministry believes that Greenland could become independent, but not a U.S. state, according to Reuters.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lykke Rasmusse told the news outlet:

“We fully acknowledge that Greenland has its ambitions. If they are realized, Greenland will become independent, although it is unlikely to have the ambition to become a federal state in the United States.”

Yet, he added that Greenland, while against any U.S. annexation, is open to negotiations on how it can increase its already friendly ties with the U.S.

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The drive to make human beings extinct as a valuable source of labor just got a jolt from legendary farm equipment manufacturer John Deere.

Breitbart reports that John Deere has announced plans to introduce a range of self-driving farm and work vehicles, including tractors, dump trucks, and even a robotic lawnmower. The company plans a fully-autonomous corn and soybean farming system by 2030.

Quartz reports that John Deere is doubling down on its commitment to autonomous technology in much the same way as the auto industry is doing.

The company, which first introduced a driverless tractor in 2022, believes that self-driving machines will play a crucial role in the future of farming and help alleviate the industry’s perceived ongoing labor challenges.

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company’s chief technology officer, Jahmy Hindman, emphasized the company’s focus, stating:

“When we talk about autonomy, we mean full autonomy. No one’s in the machine.” 

This commitment to developing vehicles that can operate independently in the field to perform complex tasks is at the core of John Deere’s strategy.

The company’s first autonomous tractor model is already being utilized by farmers across America to prepare soil for planting in the upcoming year. Building on this success, John Deere plans to expand its lineup of self-driving vehicles in the near future.

That includes a dump truck capable of carrying more than 92,000 pounds at a time. The company is emphasizing the truck’s ability to make decisions and operate safely on its own without supervision.

John Deere is also developing driverless tractors specifically designed to spray nut orchards with pesticides, growth regulators, and nutrients. These tractors are expected to be particularly beneficial to the California nut farming industry, which has been grappling with labor shortages in recent years. 

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Bloomberg reports that China’s central bank expanded its gold reserves for a second month in December, signaling renewed appetite after temporarily pausing purchases last year as prices soared.

Bullion held by the People’s Bank of China rose to 73.29 million fine troy ounces in December, from 72.96 million in the previous month, according to data released Tuesday. The central bank resumed adding to its gold reserves in November after a 6-month pause.

The purchase shows the PBOC is still keen to diversify its reserves even with gold at historically expensive levels. The metal’s rally to a record in 2024 was supported by monetary easing in the U.S., safe-haven demand, and sustained buying by global central banks.

Still, the rally cooled after Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory buoyed the dollar. Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. pushed back a forecast for when gold was seen hitting $3,000 an ounce, citing the expectation of fewer rate cuts by the Fed in 2025.

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The Visual Capitalist reports that the United States has more guns than people, with nearly 400 million firearms in civilian possession.

The outlet recently came out with an interesting map in which it ranks states by the highest percentage of gun ownership for adults. It’s based on data from the Pew Research Center compiled by Data Pandas as of 2024.

SHOW MAP GRAPHIC OF US GUN OWNERSHIP

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-u-s-states-with-the-most-guns/

Montana tops the ranking of the states with the highest percentage of gun ownership, with 66.3% of the adult population owning firearms. The state has some of the most relaxed gun control laws in America. No state permit is required to purchase or possess a rifle, shotgun, or handgun.

The state is followed on the list by its neighbor, Wyoming, where 66.2% of adults own a firearm. Alaska comes in third, with 64.5%, followed by Idaho (60.1%), West Virginia (58.5%) and Arkansas (57.2%).

The top 10 is rounded out by Mississippi, Alabama, South Dakota and North Dakota.

On the other side of the spectrum, New Jersey and Massachusetts share the lowest gun ownership rate in the country, both at 14.7%.

Two other states with very low ownership rates include Hawaii (14.9%) and Rhode Island (14.8%).

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And here’s an interesting twist on the firearms story. Some of those blue states are seeing significant increases in gun ownership. It’s happening in spite of all of the laws these states pass that are aimed at discouraging people from being able to defend themselves.

But it’s not just conservatives who now see the need to arm up.

You can agree or disagree with their motive, but according to the Philadelphia Inquirer LGBT liberals are reportedly buying firearms out of fears they’ll be rounded up and placed in concentration camps under the incoming Trump administration.

I kid you not.

The new gun-toting groups, including the Liberal Gun Club, the Socialist Rifle Association, and Pink Pistols, claimed they’ve received thousands of firearm training requests since Trump won the 2024 election.

“Three months before the election, that’s when the alarm bells started to ring,” a 24-year-old transgender activist told the outlet, adding that armed leftists will now be able to fight back “in the event of hate crimes or terrorist attacks.”

The activist added minorities should also take their Second Amendment rights seriously, since “minorities that are armed are more difficult to legally oppress.”

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Time now for our nightly Worldview Report commentary.

As California burns, Joe Biden’s administration announced a final $500 million will be sent to Ukraine.

This $500 million marks the end of the $65 billion in so-called security assistance to Ukraine since 2022.

Trump will get about $3.8 billion more to give away to Ukraine if he chooses to do so.

Let’s hope he ends the Ukrainian gravy train, which independent experts have estimated winds up largely in the hands of scammers and profiteers, with another portion coming back to Democrat political campaigns in a massive money laundering scheme.

Rudy Guiliani and others have said this is what’s happening, and it will continue to happen if Trump allows it.

We know the current Speaker of the House, endorsed by Trump himself, will enthusiastically support throwing more money and military aid at Ukraine, so it will take a strong NO from Donald Trump to end this charade. 

And make no mistake, the American people will be watching.

Especially those in Maui, western North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, Florida, and now Southern California. 

That does it for this edition of the Worldview Report.

Thanks for tuning in and supporting this broadcast.

Until next time…