Everything Elon Touches Dies

1.16.25

Ally Sammarco Jan 17

Credit: Getty Images

Welcome back to Today’s American News, your source for news and analysis on the circus that is American politics and entertainment.

Elon’s SpaceX rocket fails, explodes, falls to Earth in pieces, causes flight disruptions… As if his self-driving cars causing traffic deaths were not enough, Elon’s rockets are also blowing up in space. “SpaceX said Thursday that its Starship spacecraft — which was meant to lap Earth and splash down in the Indian Ocean — exploded not long after its 7th test flight took off from South Texas. The disintegration over the Caribbean delayed some commercial flights in Florida.” According to CNN, “the Federal Aviation Administration typically investigates when launches don’t go as planned.” LOL. Here’s hoping that investigation gets going before Monday’s inauguration!

Did Elon’s X get paid as part of Kremlin’s effort to spread wildfire disinformation??? This one is maddening for a multitude of reasons and surprising for none. NPR reports that Russia joined MAGA Republicans in spreading wildfire disinformation. Where? On Elon’s X. Did X make any money from it? “Pro-Kremlin social media accounts and outlets have been spreading a baseless narrative that mansions belonging to Ukrainian military officers burned down in the Los Angeles wildfires. The claim has been viewed more than one million times on X, the social media platform once known as Twitter.” Russia, now three years into its three-day “special military operation,” is more desperate than we realized.

Israel delays ceasefire vote after “last-minute crisis,” now scheduled for tomorrow… Well, we celebrated this one yesterday and, well, the good news is that the vote was only set back one day. But can we talk about how NOT helpful and NOT necessary it was for the Netanyahu aide to say that a “last-minute crisis” caused the delay? NBC reports, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not elaborate on what the issue was. Hamas said it was “committed” to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.” Read NBC’s latest updates here.

Marco Rubio on track for Monday confirmation as Secretary of State… As far as Trump’s cabinet nominees are concerned, the man he called “Little Marco” and mocked for wearing boots is about as normal as they come. The good news: Senator Rubio is a mainstream Republican on the foreign policy issues that will cross his desk as secretary of state. His no-drama confirmation hearing this week makes clear he is the nominee best positioned for swift inauguration and he may win the votes of his Democratic colleagues. Important: Rubio is a strong supporter of Ukraine and has voted for aid packages opposed by many of his Republican colleagues.

Credit: AFP

Today’s Buzz

The stars are turning out at benefit concert for wildfire victims. The Hollywood Reporter revealed an all-star cast of artists who will perform at FireAid, a benefit concert for California wildfire victims. That list includes Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Jelly Roll, Lil Baby, Tate McRae, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, and other artists to be announced. Wow! Organizers of the concert announced the event without having tickets for sale, but we are hopeful the money will come pouring in quickly.

Thanks once again for reading. Join us again tomorrow evening for another edition of Today’s American News.