David Willis
Appearances
Global News Podcast
First deaths as wildfires wreak havoc in LA
I'm on the coast road in Pacific Palisades, Alex, and the ridge in front of me... is completely burnt out. And to my right, where a mobile home park once stood, there is now nothing really but charred brush. And beyond that ridge are hundreds of multi-million dollar homes that have been completely destroyed. And the fire is still raging here.
Global News Podcast
First deaths as wildfires wreak havoc in LA
It expanded, I should say, overnight to an area of around... 5 000 acres in total and we're told that 37 000 people have been evacuated from their homes some chose not to leave and officials report that a high number of what they call significant injuries have been sustained amongst those who decided not to evacuate and david you live in hollywood don't you
Global News Podcast
First deaths as wildfires wreak havoc in LA
I do, Alex, and I've lived in the Hollywood area for about 25 years. And this was one of the most devastating nights in the history of the city of Los Angeles. I mean, people woke up to the sound of ferocious winds buffeting all around them, the horizon covered in a thick black smoke. And there was a thin patina of ash cloaking everywhere.
Global News Podcast
First deaths as wildfires wreak havoc in LA
The cars in my neighbourhood, I'm 30 kilometres from the biggest fire, this one in the Pacific, Palisades. There were some harrowing television pictures, Alex, showing flames engulfing these cars. Oceanside mansions here, and one resident who escaped likened the situation to a scene from a disaster movie. The word apocalyptic is often misused, isn't it?
Global News Podcast
First deaths as wildfires wreak havoc in LA
But in my view, it is entirely applicable here. And part of the reason for that, David, is just the speed of the winds.
Global News Podcast
First deaths as wildfires wreak havoc in LA
That's right. And the danger, Alex, is that these unusually high winds are expected to continue for the rest of the week. One crumb, I suppose, of good news is that the winds here anyway now appear to be blowing towards the coast rather than inland. But the fire is still burning ferociously and out of control. And the air around me here is thick with acrid smoke.
Global News Podcast
First deaths as wildfires wreak havoc in LA
That's right. Zero percent contained at the moment, Alex. And they are calling... on additional resources from out of state, from neighbouring states, and they have also called on all off-duty firefighters to report for duty because the fire lines are so stretched.
Global News Podcast
Trump and Netanyahu meet at the White House
Those with criminal records will be held in tented facilities separate from the Guantanamo Bay Military Prison, which acquired a reputation amongst human rights groups for conditions that were deemed degrading and inhumane. Fifteen suspects are still being held at the prison in connection with terrorist-related offences.
Up First from NPR
USAID Programs Halted, Netanyahu in Washington, Rubio Visits Panama, Cannabis Safety
I think the strength of support, Alex, will depend really on the impact that these tariffs have on the United States economy. And economists are predicting that they could drive up prices here and thereby fuel inflation. And if that happens, then support could evaporate very quickly indeed. President Trump has warned that there might be, as you mentioned, some temporary economic pain.
Up First from NPR
USAID Programs Halted, Netanyahu in Washington, Rubio Visits Panama, Cannabis Safety
But he believes that the American people will deal with it. And that it will be worth the price in the long run, as it were. But today, as news of the impending trade war was reverberating around the world, Mr. Trump took to his truth social social media platform to hail the dawn of what he called a golden age of America.
Up First from NPR
USAID Programs Halted, Netanyahu in Washington, Rubio Visits Panama, Cannabis Safety
And he believes these tariffs will keep jobs in this country, will ease the trade deficits and will boost revenue, potentially bringing in, he said before, hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury, enough to fund his promised tax cuts for the American people.
Up First from NPR
USAID Programs Halted, Netanyahu in Washington, Rubio Visits Panama, Cannabis Safety
And he maintained as well today, as he has before, that there is nothing that the United States' neighbours produce that the US itself couldn't make. That, Alex, despite the fact that around 60% of America's oil comes from Canada and some of it from Mexico as well.
Up First from NPR
USAID Programs Halted, Netanyahu in Washington, Rubio Visits Panama, Cannabis Safety
That's right. Canada and Mexico have both promised to impose retaliatory taxes on American imports. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his government would impose 25% tariffs on more than $150 billion worth of exports from Tuesday. and extend them to cover additional goods in the weeks ahead.
Up First from NPR
USAID Programs Halted, Netanyahu in Washington, Rubio Visits Panama, Cannabis Safety
And he's urging Canadians to buy local and to forego any vacations they might have been planning in the United States. He said they should travel somewhere else instead. Mexico's tariffs are expected to affect supplies of fruit and beer, amongst other things. And it's estimated, Alex, that 80% of both countries' exports go to the United States.
Up First from NPR
USAID Programs Halted, Netanyahu in Washington, Rubio Visits Panama, Cannabis Safety
So the impact of these tariffs could be devastating for America's near neighbors. Crucial to all this is how long will Donald Trump hold? maintain this battle? And what will it take for him to change course? Economists are predicting here that prices will rise in the US as a result of all this.
Up First from NPR
USAID Programs Halted, Netanyahu in Washington, Rubio Visits Panama, Cannabis Safety
And as a president who campaigned on a potential cut in the cost of living, that could ultimately be enough for him to change course. But as I say, in the meantime, the economic implications for all concerned could be quite significant.