Seven Stories. One Truth.

FULL TRANSCRIPT: HonorNewsNow Episode 6 • January 13, 2026

00:00 Shall we begin? All right, today's going to be the 13th of January, 2026. It's 9:37 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. These are going to be your stories. If we're at Honor News Now, or like some people like to joke Honor New Snow dot com. But you can get the headlines there.

00:16 We talk about this every day. Left or right, depending on what side you're on. And I think it's important because a lot of the news seems to be weighted in some way, shape or form. So I try not to do that. Now some things, to me, seem ridiculous. And then when I start looking at the other side of things, what they say is ridiculous. And then, you know, none of us can agree. So let's get into this.

00:45 All right. So this is the top seven national headlines. 2026 midterm engine revs up. With the holidays behind us, the political machine for the November midterms has officially turned on. The map looks brutal. Republicans are defending a slim House majority while Democrats are banking on the blue wave fueled by suburban turnout. It will be interesting if it does change, seeing how that's going to change things with the powers that be currently.

01:05 The right says the GOP has a structural advantage to this cycle, particularly with the Senate map. They argue that voters are tired of woke culture wars and looking for economic stability, Border security and return to traditional values. The focus is on holding the line against what they see as a radical progressive agenda that is out of touch with the working class America.

01:27 The left says Democrats are energized. Pointing toward recent special election victories as proof that the red wave is a myth. They argue that the GOP is chaotic and unable to govern citing internal fractures and gridlock. Their platform is built on Reproductive Rights, Expanding Health Care, and Holding the Previous Administration Accountable.

01:43 Story number two, the Fed versus the White House. Supreme Court Showdown, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments this month on whether the president can fire Federal Reserve Governors, this is a massive separation of powers issue. The right says the executive branch should have more control over monetary policy if the voters elect a president to fix the economy. The president shouldn't be handcuffed by unelected bureaucrats at the Fed who may be working against the administration's goals. Accountability lies with the elected leader.

02:16 The left says the independence of the Federal Reserve is the only thing stopping hyperinflation. I think we're there. If a president can fire fed governors at will, they will force interest rates down artificially to boost short-term poll numbers which would wreck the dollar in the economy in the long run. Hands off the fed.

02:36 Story No. 3 California's Phone Free Schools goes National. California's New Law Mandating the School Districts Limit Cell Phone Use has taken effect and other states are watching closely to see if they should copy it. The right says it's about time, phones and classrooms have destroyed attention spans and exposed kids to harmful content during school hours. This is a common sense, back to basics approach that restores parental authority and teacher control in the classroom.

03:05 The left side says while limiting distraction is good, Blanket Bans are a Safety Risk. In an era of school emergencies, parents want a direct line to their children, they argue that there should be a local school board decision, not a state mandate and this should be teaching digital literacy, not prohibition. Oh, I bet. Interesting.

03:21 The end of stay or pay contracts. A major Labor shift has occurred in the new ban on stay or pay training contracts where you have to pay back your employer for training if you quit. LAPD had that. I don't know if they still do. But you go to the academy, if you wipe out and quit early and then go to another agency. They said they come after you.

03:45 The right says this is government overreach under private contracts. Companies spent thousands training employees. If those employees leave immediately for a competitor, the business loses money. The law will discourage companies from investing in their workforce because they have no way to recoup the investment. The left says these contracts were just indentured servitude with a modern name. Workers were being trapped in bad jobs because they couldn't afford the $5,000 exit fee for training. They often didn't even want. This restores worker mobility and forces companies to retain staff by treating them well, not by threatening them with debt. Hmm. Yeah, interesting.

04:30 Number five, the bot disclaimer law. Another 2026 tech law, AI chatbots in California must explicitly disclose that they are not human, especially with interactive with minors. The right says on this one, generally supportive. But wary of the implementation, they worry this will create a bureaucracy of disclaimers. And hampers innovations for U.S. tech companies while Chinese competitors race ahead without these hurdles. The left said this is a critical concern and protection. People, especially kids, are forming parasocial relationships with AI. We need clear labeling just like nutrition facts on Food, so people know when they are being influenced by an algorithm rather than a person.

05:09 What's interesting about that if I may? We've already given up most all of our rights whenever we buy a smart TV. If you read the agreement that you have to agree to to be able to use the smart TV, there's a lot in there stating what rights you're giving up. Same thing with a phone. You get a phone, you have to sign that large document talking about the things you're giving up. If you're going to be signing on to any kind of company. Typically, there is some kind of document that you're signing as well. This is just another phase in that. Now, I think we should all run forward with the Assumption that we need to understand and you need to train your kids this way. But you don't know who you're talking to, even this video, not that anybody would want to clone me. Even this video though, you don't know whether it's true, you don't know why I'm saying the things I'm saying if I'm trying to influence or trying to modify your belief system, you don't know. I think that's maybe a better place. It's cool that people want to try to control and regulate things. That's great. Sometimes we're our own worst enemy. But I don't know, I think that comes at a cost in some cases.

06:44 Story six. Insulin at $35 that cap takes effect. New mandates capping insulin co pays at $35 for state regulated plans. The right says price controls never work while cheap insulin sounds good. Insurance companies will raise premiums everywhere to cover the loss. The real solution is deregulation to allow more competitors to enter the market, driving prices down naturally. The left says this is a victory for human rights, life safety medications shouldn't bankrupt you. This cap stops corporate price gouging and ensures that diabetics don't have to ration their insulin to pay rent. It's a model for how we should handle all essential drugs.

07:21 Lot to say there. Umm, you know, what's gonna happen in the next few months when artificial intelligence becomes a better doctor than current doctors. What does that look like when artificial intelligence is smarter than us? Solves some of these big issues out there, like diabetes, like cancer, and then insulin. It's all in. If they're talking just about insulin, so that's a much more global thought, but if they're just talking about insulin. Isn't there a way to reverse type two diabetes by not eating foods that cause insulin to Go Up, I think. But again, I'm not a doctor, so do your own study. But I think that there is a way to manage it without needing insulin. And I don't know if it's the same, but I've heard this analogy. Let's say I'm an alcoholic, and I drink alcohol. Will I stop drinking alcohol? What happens? I have problems. Especially if I'm a stone cold alcoholic. Once I stop drinking, it's only a matter of time. I may get shakes, tremors, and literally could probably die. So, what do they do? Will they come to me and say, here have a half a glass of vodka. That'll make you feel better. So then that's what they give me. I don't know if insulin is the same thing or not, but I've heard that analogy put forward, watch out for yourselves, please. Pay attention to what's happening.

09:02 Number seven, the stubborn 6%. Despite the fed cutting short-term rates, Mortgage rates are sticking stubbornly around 6.1 for a 30-year fixed, we'll see what happens. The center reality, the spread is wide. The 10-year treasury Yield is rising because the bond market is worried about long-term U.S. debt. The days of 3% are gone. The days of 7 are hopefully gone. We're at a new normal 5 to 6. If you're waiting for a crash to buy. You're probably going to be renting for a while. If they were to bring these rates into the 4s and 5s, this market would go crazy. And that's been opined for many months now. I believe that to be true. It would kick off both ends. But, you know, there's that sticking point and maybe the left doesn't think that's a Good idea. Maybe the right does think it's a good idea or vice versa. But this is something I love and I'm watching these rates being in the sixes is causing a lot of people to pause. The sellers that are locked into a current mortgage of maybe three and four potential sellers. A lot of them aren't moving because those rates are so low. If they could take that rate with them, maybe that's a solution. 1031 Exchange type deal. They might be able to take that rate with them and then if that's the case, oh my gosh. I think we would see a lot of movement in the resale market. You couple that with lowering of interest rates and then you're not going to have a massive decline in the pricing of housing, the pricing of real estate, everything's gonna stay pretty steady. Sellers gonna be selling, it would really be amazing, I think.

10:48 Alright, so Real Estate deep dive, we've officially, we're officially now, at least in Santa Clarita, in a stabilized market. The chaotic bidding wars of the early 20s are history, but the crash everyone predicted never happened. Inventory is up slightly, we're seeing more homes on the market in Santa Clarita compared to this time last year. Days on market timeframes stretch 50 to 60 days. This is healthy. It means buyers have time to think, inspect and negotiate. Santa Clarita median prices are holding firm in the 780 to 825 range. That's because builders can't build fast enough to meet the demands of millennials hitting their peak buying years. What this means for you Sellers, you have to buy your buyer. This means in some cases offering rate buy downs. Consider offering a 2 to 1 buy-down concession. Basically meaning you'll buy down their interest rate for a particular period of time of their new loan. It is a successful marketing tool. For buyers, you have to leverage on terms not price. You might not get that price down 50 grand, but you can ask the seller to pay for closing costs or maybe a new roof or ask for repairs. The answer is no longer an automatic No.

12:39 Looking at that Fat Loss and Muscle building, the maingaining protocol. If you're over 40, 50, 55, like me, there's traditional bulking eating everything in sight and cutting starving yourself. That cycle is a recipe for disaster. It wreaks havoc on your hormones and skin elasticity. I had a discussion yesterday with a friend of mine. He had mentioned to me that he got up to 215. And he's not a big fella. So his good weight is around 160, 165. So 215 for him was very big and very uncomfortable and he told me that he started looking at his kids as his main reason for changing his life views many years ago. And now that his kids are early teens, 16, 17, he has noticed that they have a really good eating cycle. They drink water, they don't drink soda. They'll have friends come over and they'll have candy at the house and their kids aren't interested in candy. They have a friend over, and they're two boys, I guess it was gummy bears, and this kid came over in two days he's finished an entire box, just because they don't eat it. It's just not attractive to them. What a great place to be, right? Would that be awesome to be that person that go have maybe a sip or just hold a glass of alcohol, not having to do anything, even if that was a requirement. Try to do that with food. It's even worse. "You're not eating. Are you sick?" That's where it goes.

14:50 All right so the math of maintenance. There's a lot of ways to do this. I did a lot of my changes with my body by doing lots of longer term fasting. And it worked and it still works. So when I'm doing the tooth extraction, thank God I know how to fast because I'm not worried about getting rid of that clot that's in there because I'm eating pizza and licorice. So I have a take a few days off from eating, and then I'll resume with a nice protein refeed here in the next couple days. So, it works out well.

15:25 Alright, so as far as what's going on with AI and CES 2026, the Agentic Shift. So this year, if you're in one of those AI folks looking at this entire world, you're gonna go to SantaClaritaArtificialIntelligence.com, I have some videos there. You can also go to HonorElevate.com to get an education if you happen to be born before 1975. I think that was probably a good place to start. But you can go there, you can learn about artificial intelligence, and then kind of structured around your life. I think that's an important thing to get into. And if you're looking at the consumer electronic show, just finished up in Vegas. The theme was invisible AI. Smart mirror, new mirror displayed at CES. Just doesn't show reflection. It shows your posture and suggests stretches for your back pain before you even brush your teeth. Smart home agent by LG, a small two-legged robot that roams your house, identifies issues like a window left open, or a pet making a mess. And sends a video report to your phone, not just a camera, it's a mobile house manager.

16:33 Moving from chat bots that just talk to Agents that actually do things. I think that will be 2026 instead of you having a conversation you'll be able to say: "Go to my inbox and go through my emails and let me know what you think is important for me to answer." And giving it access. The access thing, at the beginning of the internet when people were wondering whether it was a good idea to give a credit card to a company to be able to ship you something. That changed and didn't take long to change where we were very comfortable with going to Amazon or wherever and putting a credit card online. You'll even go to kind of sketchy sites to buy stuff if it's a good deal. We're gonna see that this year giving AI systems permission to get into our stuff, our YouTube channels, our Facebook, our social media. Yeah, that's going to be something that I think is going to be something that might be hard to do at the beginning, but after a while, we'll hand it the credit card, the keys to the kingdom and say: "Get out there. Book me a trip."

17:41 Alright, everybody. I hope you're well. We'll see you tomorrow in the next video. I'm Connor with Honor, Honor News Now. Be well. We'll see you tomorrow. Take care.