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Luke Vargas (0:33)
Tech leaders pledge up to a half a trillion dollars in US AI investments during Trump's term. Plus Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth faces new accusations over his drinking and an update on the state of the Gaza ceasefire four days on.
Marcus Walker (0:49)
So far, there is indeed a pause in the fighting. Aid agencies have also taken the chance to rush in more aid, but of course the big question is how long will this pause continue and will it turn into a winding down of the war?
Luke Vargas (1:02)
It's Wednesday, January 22nd. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal and here is the AM edition of what's news, the top headlines and business stories moving your world Today. President Trump's Defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth is facing new allegations from an ex relative who told US Lawmakers that he regularly abused alcohol leading to erratic and aggressive behavior. That sworn statement by Hegseth's former sister in law resurfaces allegations about his drinking, which Hegseth brushed off during his confirmation hearing last week, calling them a smear campaign coming from anonymous sources, even while telling senators that he would abstain from consuming alcohol if tapped to lead the Pentagon. It's not clear if the new allegations will have any effect on Hegseth's confirmation, which the Republican controlled Senate is expected to vote on later this week. The leaders of OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank and Emirati investor MGX are pledging to invest up to a half a trillion dollars in AI infrastructure in the US including data centers over the next four years. The joint venture known as Stargate is the latest high profile initiative timed with the start of the Trump administration. And in remarks at the White House, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi sun sought to tie its unveiling to political change in Washington.
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Luke Vargas (2:48)
People familiar with the matter say the initial hundred billion dollars committed to Stargate includes projects already announced and initiated under the Biden administration, including a data center In Texas, where construction be last year, Softbank shares closed today up more than 10%. In Tokyo, Oracle is rising in off hours trading, as are Nvidia, Microsoft and ARM holdings, who were named as technology partners for the Stargate project. We report that President Trump's threat of imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports is part of a strategy to push for an early renegotiation of the U S Mexico Canada Trade Agreement, which is up for review in 2020. That is according to people familiar with the matter, who say that Trump is particularly focused on changing automotive rules under the pact and forcing car plants to move from Canada and Mexico back to the U.S. both countries have threatened to retaliate against U.S. tariffs, with Canada considering an export tax on oil that could make gasoline more expensive for Americans. Trump said this week he aims to impose tariffs on the two countries on February 1. He also said yesterday that he's weighing slapping tariffs on the European Union as well as an additional 10% levy on Chinese goods, triggering a fall in stocks in China and Hong Kong today. And in other market news, shares of Netflix are up more than 14% in off hours trading after the streaming service beat Q4 revenue and profit projections. And it's shaping up to be a busy earnings morning with Procter & Gamble, JJ and Abbott Laboratories all reporting results before the opening bell, while pipeline operator Kinder Morgan and lender Discover Financial Services will post results this afternoo. Coming up, reporter Marcus Walker joins us from Israel to discuss whether the Gaza ceasefire could pave the way for lasting peace. And we'll take a look at the winners and losers from the Journal's latest ranking of US Airlines. That's after the break. Let's turn our focus now to the Middle east, where a six week Gaza ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is now in its fourth day. The deal had been a long time coming, but does it actually put the two sides any closer to formally ending their war? To consider that and many other questions about the current state of play, I'm joined now by Wall Street Journal reporter Marcus Walker, who's in Israel this morning. Marcus, you and your colleagues are reporting that fighting has paused since the deal came into effect and that much needed aid is indeed rushing into Gaza. So some positive early indications there. But we've also seen how fragile this deal has been. And if Israel hopes to recover all 33 hostages in Gaza that were meant to be freed in the first phase of this deal, the situation is going to need to hold. And in fact, for another five plus.