I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-chief John Bikley. It's Monday, January first. Happy New Year. And this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.

At least two people are believed dead after a powerful earthquake hit the West Coast of Central Japan on Monday, around 04:00 PM local time. The US Geological Survey says the quake measured 7.5 magnitude. 30,000 people are without power and others are trapped under collapsed buildings. But officials in Isikawa, Prefecture, where the quake struck said there is no major damage to important facilities. A tsunami warning has been issued and residents have been told to move to higher ground. The first waves have been around 10 feet high. Despite the tsunami warning, some experts say the shallow nature of the quake is more of a concern on land.

As rescue teams get into the area, we may well find that the major impact of this earthquake is on land and would collapse buildings and perhaps have people trapped and dying in that situation.

Israel announced Monday that it will withdraw some troops from Gaza. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the offensive against Hamas will continue. Thousands of Israeli forces, reservists from two Brigades are expected to return to Israel and their jobs in the country. The Israeli military says they are close to having operational control in Northern Gaza.

A high surf advisory is still in effect for the Coast of California, but waves are not expected to be as big as they were last week. Monster waves hammered several beach cities in Northern and Southern California over the weekend. The piers in Manhattan Beach and Ventura will remain closed today due to the danger of high surf. Eight people were treated at a local hospital when a rogue wave crashed over the seawall and flooded streets and businesses. And days of heavy rains caused a road collapse in Santa Cruz, trapping several hundred people in the small northern town. Another storm is set to hit California later in the week with light rain and the coldest temperatures of the season.

North Korea's leader Kim-Jong-un, vowed to launch three more spy satellites in 2024 and to give up on reunification with South Korea. The report came from North Korean state media after the country's five-day party meeting last week. Kim also said he will step up development of nuclear materials and develop attack drones. The communist country launched its first successful spy satellite in November of last year. Kim says his country needs to be ready for war based on increased US confrontations. He also said his military should thoroughly annihilate the US and South Korea if they're provoked.

China's President, Xi Jinping, said reunification with Taiwan is inevitable. Speaking in his New Year's address on Sunday, the Chinese leader did not make any military threats, but did take a more forceful tone regarding reunification than he did last year. Taiwan will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on January 13th. Both candidates for President have campaigned on peaceful relations with China.

Paula Abdul has filed a lawsuit against American idol executive producer Nigel Litko, alleging that he sexually assaulted her twice over a nearly two-decade relationship. In the lawsuit filed on Friday in Los Angeles, Abdul claims Litko assaulted her in an elevator in the early days of when she was a judge on the popular show. She says he assaulted her again in his home in 2015 when she was a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. Litko vehemently denies the accusations, saying in a statement, quote, While Paula's history of erratic behavior is well-known, I can't pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue, but I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.

Almost five months since a fire destroyed large swaths of Lehina, Hawaii, thousands of residents are still living in temporary housing. The American Red Cross says they are currently housing 6,200 people in condos and hotels, which would usually be used for tourists. That's down from 8,000 in September. Governor Josh Green is encouraging short term rental owners to allow long term leases for locals, but many Lehenna residents have already left the area and say they are unlikely to return.

And Wahnka continued to dominate in the box office over the weekend. The prequels to the beloved classic Willy Wanka and the Chocolate Factory pulled in around 32 million over the four day weekend. That surpasses the Aquaman sequel's 26 million, the animated film, Migrations, 22 million, the musical Color, Purples, 18 million, and the $12 million earned by the George Clooney directed film, Boys in the Boat. The 2023 box office closed out with an impressive nine billion dollar total haul. The biggest earners for the year were Barbie and Super Mario Brothers, both pulling in over half a billion in the US. Both earned more than 1.3 billion globally.

All right, those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire. Com and for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to our latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.