US President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated ending federal disaster relief and leaving states to fend for themselves during emergencies in his first Oval Office interview since returning to power.With Los Angeles scorched by wildfires and the eastern United States still recovering from two devastating hurricanes, Trump falsely accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of turning its back on victims.”FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had Alabama tornados,” Trump told Fox News.”But unless you have certain types of leadership, it gets in the way. And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems.”Trump’s remarks came as an explosive new wildfire erupted north of Los Angeles, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and setting nerves jangling in an area still reeling from two deadly blazes.Trump and Republicans in Congress have said that help for California should be conditioned on the actions of the state’s Democratic leaders, despite making no such suggestion when storms killed more than 100 people and caused destructive flooding across the US southeast.Trump’s freewheeling press conferences and interviews distinguish him from previous presidents, particularly Joe Biden, who almost never agreed to sit down for detailed conversations with journalists.The Republican was praised during his campaign for his embrace of podcasts, YouTube and other new media, but he went with tradition for the pre-taped primetime appearance, sitting down with Fox News star and staunch loyalist Sean Hannity.Trump, who has more than a dozen ex-Fox News employees in his administration, discussed his barrage of executive orders and his plans for the first 100 days — the third day in a row he has spoken directly to the press.But while the Republican president gets credit from the press for being more accessible, it’s not clear that the American public is hanging on every word.The TV viewing figures for his second inauguration were significantly lower than in previous years, with a peak of 34.4 million people tuning in, according to The New York Times — four million down from his first inaugural speech.Hannity — an unapologetic mouthpiece for Republican talking points who became known as Trump’s “unofficial chief of staff” — has the highest rated cable show for the 9:00 pm hour, pulling in an average of 2.8 million viewers.Trump again defended his blanket pardons for hundreds of violent criminals who stormed the Capitol in 2021, dismissed security concerns over Chinese-owned app TikTok and discussed the possibility of cutting off federal funds to so-called “sanctuary cities” that shield undocumented migrants from federal detention requests.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday deployment of an extra 1,500 US troops to the Mexican border, as he stepped up a crackdown against illegal immigration and diversity programs in a whirlwind start to his second term.The 78-year-old Republican — who has pledged a “golden age” for America — halted refugee arrivals and threatened to prosecute local authorities that fail to deport migrants.As part of his blitz of right-wing measures on returning to office, the billionaire also ordered that US government employees in diversity programs — conceived as ways to combat racism and sexism — be put on paid leave immediately.Trump held what was reportedly his first phone call with a foreign leader since taking office Monday, talking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who promised increased trade to the United States, according to the kingdom’s foreign ministry.And in the latest round of appointments, Trump announced that fast food executive Andrew Puzder — who has previously faced questions over his business and private conduct — will be the new US ambassador to the European Union.He named his longtime Secret Service bodyguard Sean Curran — who was at his side when an assassin opened fire and grazed his ear during a presidential campaign rally last July — as director of the security agency, which protects the president and other top officials.But while Trump is steamrolling through Washington, there have been surprise speedbumps.Close advisor and world’s richest man Elon Musk revealed budding tensions when he bashed an AI investment mega project that Trump himself publicly touted at a televised White House event, flanked by top Silicon Valley tycoons.And Trump prompted questions when he threatened Russia with sanctions if it doesn’t accept an unspecified Ukraine peace deal — something he previously had claimed he would broker within 24 hours.His predecessor Joe Biden had left him a “lot of work,” Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in his first television interview since taking office.As Los Angeles continues to be scorched by wildfires, he also floated the idea of ending federal disaster aid and disbanding FEMA, the government agency that manages disasters.”I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” he told Hannity.- Migrants and diversity fight -Trump, who has more than a dozen ex-Fox News employees in his adminstration, discussed his barrage of executive orders and his plans for the first 100 days.But it was a typically divisive conversation, with Trump — investigated for leading unprecedented efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss — calling Democrats “stupid” and claiming that “the only thing they’re good at, really, is cheating.”Since reentering the White House, Trump has focused heavily on harsh migration measures.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump was dispatching 1,500 troops to add to the 2,000-plus contingent already at the Mexican border.He likewise halted arrivals of refugees already cleared to enter the United States as part of the crackdown, according to a State Department memo.Trump’s other main target has been on anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.He ordered related government websites and social media accounts to go offline and federal workers involved to put on paid leave.Trump also ended what he called “radical” affirmative action in awarding federal contracts, revoking an order crafted to combat racism that dates back to the civil rights era of the 1960s.One of Trump’s first acts as president on Monday was to pardon more than 1,000 supporters who stormed the US Capitol, attacking police and vandalizing the seat of US democracy, after he lost in 2020.A row between Trump and the bishop at the National Cathedral, who asked him during her sermon at a service he attended Tuesday to show “mercy” to “scared” migrants and LGBTQ people, simmered on.Trump called Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde “nasty” and she later told The New York Times that she felt compelled to speak up.”Was anyone going to say anything about the turn the country’s taking?”

An explosive new wildfire erupted north of Los Angeles on Wednesday, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and setting nerves jangling in an area still reeling from two deadly blazes.Ferocious flames devoured hillsides near Castaic Lake, spreading rapidly to cover more than 9,400 acres (3,800 hectares) in just a few hours.The fire was fanned by strong, dry Santa Ana winds racing through the area, pushing a vast pall of smoke and embers ahead of the firefront.Evacuations were ordered for 31,000 people around the lake, which sits 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, and close to the city of Santa Clarita.”I’m just praying that our house doesn’t burn down,” one man told broadcaster KTLA as he packed his car.The Hughes Fire came as the greater Los Angeles area was on edge after two enormous fires tore through America’s second largest metropolis, killing more than two dozen people and wreaking billions of dollars of devastation.As California faces a massive rebuild, President Donald Trump repeated his false claim that the state was improperly diverting water away from the site of the emergency, threatening to withhold federal funds as a result.”I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down into their system” from the north of the state, Trump said in an interview on Fox News aired Wednesday evening.Los Angeles’s water supplies are mainly fed via aqueducts and canals originating from entirely separate river basins further east.- ‘Dynamic’ situation – Around 4,000 firefighting personnel, backed up by aircraft and bulldozers, surged to the new blaze, a massive response that Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said was paying dividends.”The situation remains dynamic, and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand,” he told an evening press conference.”We are going to be on scene all night long, gaining more perimeter control, making sure that we can put out the hot spots, and then have enough resources and staging so that if we do have a flare up, we can move those resources to the fire line.”The hopeful tone came after a nervous day for the region, where many people remained glued to television coverage of the aerial firefight — scenes that became common during lengthy battles to contain the Eaton and Palisades Fires.Helicopters dropped water and planes dumped tens of thousands of fire retardant, laying down lines of red intended to corral the flames and pinch the firefront.The fleet included two Super Scoopers — enormous amphibious planes that can carry hundreds of gallons (liters) of water — as well as DC-10 jets and dual rotor helicopters.Crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Angeles National Forest also attacked the blaze from the ground.- Inmates evacuated -Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic was under an evacuation order, and about 500 inmates had been moved to a neighboring facility.Around 4,600 inmates held at other jails in the area were sheltering in place, but buses were on hand in case conditions changed and they needed to be moved, he said.California Highway Patrol shuttered the I5 freeway for several hours, severing a major artery that runs the length of the US west coast.The freeway re-opened during rush hour, but had bumper-to-bumper traffic, as thousands of drivers inched home.Cal Fire’s Brent Pascua said conditions had come together to make the fire especially volatile.”We’re getting the winds, we’re getting the low humidities, and this brush hasn’t seen any moisture in so long,” he said.”That all combined together is just making this fire spread extremely fast.”Winds were expected to continue overnight and into Thursday.Human activity, including the unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is changing Earth’s climate, increasing average global temperatures and altering weather patterns.Even though January is the middle of the region’s rainy season, Southern California has not seen any significant precipitation in around eight months, leaving the countryside tinder dry.