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Pete Hegseth heads to Capitol Hill for fiery hearing on his record, plans to shake up Pentagon

Pete Hegseth is set to take the hot seat before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday in a hearing that is sure to break out into fireworks. 

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Hegseth to shake up the Pentagon as his defense secretary, but the former Fox News host has been entangled in controversies that Democrats on the committee can be expected to question him about. 

"Democrats certainly aren’t going to make this a walk in the park by any means," one Republican aide said. 

"You'll see Democrats are pretty organized, they're thinking strategically to make sure everything is covered, and it's not a hearing that gets overly repetitive," one senior Democrat aide told Fox News Digital. 

HOW THE SUPREME COURT CONFIRMATION PROCESS WORKS

"I don't think it's going to be particularly hostile, but I do think it will be very tough. It's going to focus a lot just on what we should expect of a nominee for this job and where he falls short," the aide went on. "There are questions about the things he's done, his character and his leadership." 

Hegseth will be the first of Trump’s controversial change agent picks to face questioning from lawmakers.

Republicans can be expected to play defense, framing Hegseth as a decorated combat veteran who will hold the military accountable after years of failed audits and DEI initiatives. 

With little hope of winning any Democrat votes, Hegseth will have to woo moderate Republicans who have previously expressed skepticism about his nomination. 

Democrats are expected to hammer him over his past conduct and his qualifications to lead the government’s largest agency, which employs 3 million people.

HUNDREDS OF VETERANS TO DESCEND ON DC TO MARCH IN SUPPORT OF PETE HEGSETH'S CONFIRMATION

The 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran, who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is relatively young and inexperienced compared to defense secretaries past, having retired as a major. But Republicans say they don’t want someone who made it to the top brass, who’s become entrenched in the Pentagon establishment. 

Hegseth is sure to face questions about a sexual assault accusation from 2017. He’s acknowledged paying his accuser an undisclosed sum to keep quiet at the time for fear of losing his job, but he denies any non-consensual sex took place.

Former employees at veterans’ groups Hegseth used to run have accused him of financial mismanagement and excessive drinking, according to a New Yorker report, and NBC News reported that his drinking "concerned" colleagues at Fox News. 

Hegseth denies the accusations and said he would not drink "a drop of alcohol" if confirmed to lead the Defense Department. 

The hearing, which kicks off at 9:30 a.m., will be packed with veterans who traveled to Washington, D.C., to support Hegseth in the face of attacks.

For weeks, Hegseth has been visiting Capitol Hill to meet with senators, including those who are skeptical of him. Last Wednesday, he met with the top Armed Services Committee Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and the meeting apparently didn’t go well. 

"Today’s meeting did not relieve my concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s lack of qualifications and raised more questions than answers," Reed said in a statement.

Hegseth must first win a majority in a vote of the Armed Services Committee, made up of 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats, meaning one Republican defection could tank the vote.

He then needs to win a simple majority on the Senate floor, meaning he can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes. 

"I think he kind of knows that all he needs is Republican votes to get from now into the job," said a Democrat aide. "His job is to just keep his head down and not say something that would create an opening for these [Republicans], many of whom I really don't think want to vote for him, to have a reason to revisit that. So I expect that he's going to try to say very little and say it very calmly and politely."

In committee, all eyes will be on Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a veteran herself who at first seemed hesitant about Hegseth. After two meetings with the nominee, Ernst said she would support him through the confirmation process and looked forward to a fair hearing. She didn’t commit to voting for him. 

Senators will also take a fine-toothed comb to Hegseth’s lengthy record of public comments on TV and across the five books he’s written. 

One such belief is that women should not fight in combat roles. 

"Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially not in combat units," he wrote in his most recent book, "The War on Warriors," published in 2024.

"Men are, gasp, biologically stronger, faster and bigger. Dare I say, physically superior," Hegseth added.

PETE HEGSETH SAYS HE HASN'T HEARD FROM WEST POINT SINCE EMPLOYEE 'ERROR' DENYING HIS ACCEPTANCE

On a Nov. 7 episode of the Shawn Ryan podcast, which aired mere days before Hegseth was tapped to serve as Defense Secretary, the nominee said, "I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles."

Hegseth later told Fox News in December that women are some of the U.S.’ "greatest warriors." 

"I also want an opportunity here to clarify comments that have been misconstrued, that I somehow don't support women in the military; some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women," he said.

Female service members "love our nation, want to defend that flag, and they do it every single day around the globe. I'm not presuming anything," he added.

Pedophiles could see death penalty under new House GOP bill: 'Taken off the streets permanently'

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is unveiling a new set of bills that could have child sexual predators facing the death penalty.

"If you are raping someone, if you're molesting someone, you are essentially murdering their soul. Those people never actually fully recover. I've actually sat on a committee with a very prominent [female House Democrat] who actually talked about the fact that she was molested as a child. And so you can see that it impacts and really hurts people," Luna said.

Two of her three bills, all of which are being introduced in the 119th Congress on Tuesday, would require sentences of death or at least life imprisonment for those charged with a wide range of crimes related to children. 

JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS 'DISHONEST'

A third bill would require guilty verdicts of rape and sexual abuse against adults to carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years to life in prison.

Luna told Fox News Digital she broached the topic with President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend, who she suggested was enthusiastic about the idea.

"I got the impression that he absolutely is supportive of anything in this sector," Luna said.

The Florida congresswoman was among the members of the House Freedom Caucus who met with Trump over the weekend at Mar-a-Lago. 

REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE'S MUSK, RAMASWAMY

She said they also discussed Trump potentially signing an executive order levying the death penalty for pedophilia-related crimes but that it would likely be impossible to accomplish that way.

"He would be willing to sign an [executive order]. But the fact is, is that it has to go through Congress first. So it would have to come to his desk that way," she said.

Luna first introduced the bills in the last Congress when Democrats controlled half of Congress as well as the White House. They failed to get much traction, however, and ultimately never saw a House-wide vote.

She suggested that the death penalty aspect could have put some people off of an issue that otherwise could get wide bipartisan support, but she argued that child predators "cannot be rehabilitated."

"If you are going to continue to push forward in a moral society, [then] you need to ensure that people like this, that are predators, are taken off the streets permanently," Luna said.

Planned Parenthood chapter provided Harris campaign workspace, breaking tax law: IRS complaint

A Planned Parenthood chapter in Florida allegedly violated its tax-exempt status by providing workspace for the Harris-Walz presidential campaign, according to an IRS complaint filed by a pro-life organization.

40 Days for Life, one of the country's leading pro-life organizations, filed the IRS complaint in December. It claims to have information about "potentially prohibited political activities that may impact the tax-exempt status" of Planned Parenthood Florida. 

"This is one of the many violations we've seen Planned Parenthood do, because we're physically at these abortion facilities, holding peaceful vigils and offering medical alternatives to abortion. And so because we're out there, you know, at over 1700 locations, we see a lot of things that Planned Parenthood does," 40 Days for Life CEO Shawn Carney told Fox News Digital. 

Fox News Digital reached out several times to Planned Parenthood Florida, but did not hear back by the publication deadline.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD OFFERING FREE ABORTIONS, VASECTOMIES AT DNC

"This was clearly noticeable. They were giving out flyers that said Tim Walz Tuesdays, which doesn't sound like the greatest time in the world, but nevertheless, they were promoting all these events of hosting Walt Harris campaign events and providing their space to do that, which, of course, they did not do for the Republicans. And you just can't do that as a 501c3. This is very, very basic."

Last summer, Carney's group filed a separate complaint about Planned Parenthood's mobile abortion bus that was operating a few miles from where the Democratic National Convention was taking place. On day one of the DNC, abortion took center stage. Several speakers spoke at length about it being one of the central issues of the Democratic Party's 2024 platform.

MASSACHUSETTS LAUNCHES $1 MILLION TAXPAYER-FUNDED CAMPAIGN WARNING OF 'DANGERS' OF PRO-LIFE PREGNANCY CENTERS 

"The pro-abortion angle of running on celebrating abortion was a dismal failure for the Harris-Waltz campaign, but when we filed that, we did get a response that they had received it, and we are hoping and pushing the Trump administration to take up that investigation, because now we have two violations, both of which were obviously against the Trump administration and were heavily politically partisan towards the Democrats, which, of course, as nonprofits, you just can't do," Carney said.

The 42-page  IRS complaint also alleges "Planned Parenthood’s activities, in this case, are starkly different from permissible lobbying." 

MISSOURI LAW BANNING GENDER-CHANGING TREATMENTS FOR MINORS TAKES EFFECT

"The provision of office space juxtaposes its tax-exempt privilege against a politically charged environment, serving as a clear indicator of political endorsement or opposition of particular candidates and parties," the complaint reads.

Included in the complaint are photographs of campaign staffers walking inside what appears to be the Planned Parenthood office in Sarasota, Florida.

These TikTok alternatives could help you fill the void if the app is banned

Supporters of TikTok listen during a news conference in front of the U.S. Capitol on March 22, 2023 in Washington, DC. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee tomorrow on whether the video-sharing app is safeguarding user data on the platform.
TikTok's ethos and community are unique. But the short-form video field is crowded.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

  • As a TikTok ban looks more likely, several apps are vying for its crown.
  • Sister app Lemon8 has soared in popularity, but would likely get the ax, too.
  • Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat have been competing in short-form video for years.

As TikTok inches toward potential extinction in the US, creators are trying to transition viewers to other platforms, while some viewers are already in a state of mourning.

The Chinese-owned platform is set to be yanked from US app stores on January 19. That's unless it's tossed a last-minute life raft by the Supreme Court or President-elect Donald Trump, who has asked the court to pause an enforcement deadline.

The former scenario is looking increasingly unlikely, however, as legal experts tell Business Insider that the Supreme Court appears to be leaning toward upholding the divest-or-ban law.

If the app goes dark, US users will have to look elsewhere for a short-form video fix. TikTok's ethos and community are unique, but competing formats exist on the world's biggest social-media apps, and are also offered by emerging competitors.

Here's who is — and who's not — in the running.

Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat have been competing in short-form video for years
Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels

CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images

Data shows that new apps often struggle to gain long-term traction when they have well-established rivals. And Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat have all been competing in the short-form space for years.

Meta launched Instagram reels in 2020 to great success — even chipping away at TikTok usage, according to two studies from last year.

YouTube, the original video giant, added short-form video in 2021, which has paid off handsomely. More recently, the Google-owned platform has used the prospect of a ban as a selling point for its ad team.

Snapchat, for its part, launched a TikTok counterpart called Spotlight in 2020, offering payouts to get creators to post.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn has more recently targeted TikTok by encouraging influencers to post short-form content. Some have told Business Insider that they've seen engagement boosts as a result.

TikTok sister app Lemon8 would likely get the ax, too
Lemon8 new app from Bytedance

Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images

TikTok sister app, Lemon8, has soared to the top of the app charts in recent weeks. Lemon8 is reminiscent of Pinterest and contains a mix of photos and videos.

However, given that the law specifically mentions ByteDance, the parent company of the two apps, Lemon8 would likely be banned along with TikTok.

Christopher Krepich, the communications director for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, previously told Forbes the bill would ban Lemon8 unless ByteDance divested.

Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, another Chinese social app — which functions like Instagram but with more commerce features — has recently surged in popularity. It could, however, also be subject to the same divest-or-ban law as TikTok if the US government chose to target it.

Triller has long positioned itself as a TikTok rival
tiktok triller

Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Triller has long sought to position itself as an alternative to TikTok — and currently offers a tool to help creators save their videos ahead of a potential ban.

Triller has gone through a series of strategy shifts over the years. After several false starts, it went public late last year through a reverse merger with a Hong Kong-based company called AGBA Group Holding Limited.

It recently hired former TikTok product head Sean Kim to run its video app, as well as several other subsidiaries.

Apps like Whatnot could fill a shopping void
Whatnot app

Whatnot

TikTok helped social shopping break through in the US in a major way in 2024. The app drove $100 million in US sales on Black Friday alone, for example.

It's not the only one in the space, however. Some of its competitors include Flip and Complex Shop, formerly known as NTWRK. Flip, which raised $144 million last April at a $1 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg, launched in 2019 and enables users to post short, shoppable reviews.

Whatnot also made headlines after closing a $265 million funding round earlier this month at a $5 billion valuation. The app hosts livestreams across categories like fashion, collectibles, and storage unit finds.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Medvedev smashes net camera, avoids huge upset

Daniil Medvedev used his racket to smash a tiny camera attached to the net at the Australian Open while he was trailing someone ranked 418th before eventually avoiding a monumental upset and winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the first round Tuesday.

Xander on 'Bunk'd' 'Memba Him?!

American actor Kevin Quinn was 17 years old when he first started playing Xander -- the camp counselor who loves writing poems and playing guitar -- on Disney Channel's "Bunk'd" back in 2015. Kevin was part of an ensemble cast like Peyton List as…

OnlyFans' Bonnie Blue Says She Had Sex With 1,057 Men in 12 Hours

ISIMG-BonnieBlue.jpeg
Bonnie Blue. Bonnie Blue/Instagram

OnlyFans influencer Bonnie Blue claims that she’s broken the world record for having sex with the most men in a time space of 12 hours.

Blue, who hails from England, allegedly slept with 1,057 people within a 12-hour period over the weekend, her publicist told The Sun in a story published on Monday, January 13. 

The sex worker has since surfaced on Instagram expressing gratitude toward her clientele and ensuring that she is doing OK.

“I don’t need a wheelchair. I’m fine,” she promised. “Just feels like I’ve had a heavy day in the bedroom. Which is exactly what I’ve had.”

OnlyFans’ Lily Phillips Is 'Excited’ to Sleep With 1,000 Men in 24 Hours

On Sunday, January 12, Blue also posted a clip via TikTok in which she showed off her glowing complexion, telling her followers, “This is what my face looks like after taking 1,000 men less than 12 hours ago.”

In another TikTok video, she triumphantly held up a sign that read “1,000” and recalled the experience as being a series of group sex sessions in the beginning.

“The room was absolutely full,” Blue recalled. “Then we did groups of five. Like, one after the other. … I wanted to give people more time, so then it went down to, like, one on ones. So, like, one person would watch when I was with somebody” and then “it would rotate in a circle like that.”

Blue also shared the news via her Instagram, where her followers urged her to take care of herself. 

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“I can’t even comprehend the mental and physical stamina required for this. Are you sure you’re not a robot? 🤔” someone remarked, while another said, “Oh bonnie love. I just want to give you a cuddle. Hope you got out of it all you wanted, take time for yourself girl. ❤.”

Blue isn’t the only OF user who has been participating in this latest trend. Influencer Lily Phillips completed her challenge to sleep with 100 men in 24 hours and set a new goal for January 2025 is to have sex with 1,000 guys in one day.

“My parents knew straight from the start what I was doing,” Phillips, 23, said in the YouTube documentary I Slept With 100 Men in One Day via The Mirror. “I was very upfront about it. Obviously, at the start, they were a bit apprehensive because they wanted me to be safe and they wanted me to make good decisions and stuff like that. I just think I can’t hold myself back because I’m scared of what other people might think.”

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