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LA Firefighters Race Against Winds

LA Firefighters Race Against Winds

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
January 13, 2025

Good Monday morning. Can you read cursive? The National Archives would like to speak with you. Have a great start to your week!

In Today’s Brief

New York: Congestion pricing
Africa: Diplomatic renewal
Trump: Unconditional discharge
Jobs report: Markets tumble
Shrek 5: Pushed back

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Critical stage

Fire crews made progress against the Los Angeles wildfires over the weekend, but the threat remains "very high."

The news: Firefighters have been able to achieve some containment with the various blazes thanks in large part to calm conditions in recent days. But the Santa Ana winds are expected to pick back up in the coming days and potentially exacerbate the flames' spread, so crews are battling the clock and weather.
The numbers: Over 105K people remain under evacuation orders, but officials hope to begin allowing residents to return to communities by the end of the week. At least 24 people have been killed, but the exact death toll remains unknown. Thousands of structures and over 37K acres have been destroyed. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the fires could become the worst natural disaster in national history in terms of cost, surpassing the $200B in damages generated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Finger pointing: Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said city's government failed her agency, specifically with the empty Santa Ynez Reservoir. The Democrats that run the city and state continue to be in a war of words with President-elect Donald Trump and his allies. Looting is also becoming an issue for authorities, and landlords are being accused of price gouging on rental properties.

2) Coup claims

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a third term, but the strongman is straining to maintain legitimacy.

The news: Maduro had a small inauguration ceremony on Friday at the National Assembly, a far cry from more elaborate events during his past swearings-in. China, Cuba and Russia had representatives in attendance, as did a slew of Central and South American nations.
In dispute: Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez -- who voting data suggests defeated Maduro in a landslide during the controversial July election -- did not return from exile for security reasons. But he gave a speech from an undisclosed location calling Maduro a dictator and accusing him of executing a coup. Maduro's forces briefly detained opposition leader Maria Corina Machado during a protest before the inauguration.
Big picture: The U.S. recognizes Gonzalez as Venezuela's president-elect and announced a $25M reward for information that leads to Maduro's arrest, along with new sanctions. But Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico all sent ambassadors to the swearing-in despite expressing past concerns about the vote's legitimacy, signaling that efforts to remove Maduro may not go far.

3) Super road

The NFL playoffs are in full swing.

In the AFC: All three home teams posted decisive victories in the wild-card round; the Houston Texans scored a modest surprise with a lopsided victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. They will now face the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round; the Buffalo Bills will host the Baltimore Ravens in the other divisional game.
In the NFC: The Washington Commanders won their first playoff game in 19 years, kicking a last-second field goal to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road. They will play the top-seeded Detroit Lions next week. The Philadelphia Eagles handled the Green Bay Packers and await the winner of the Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings contest.
One more game: The Rams and Vikings will close out the first round tonight (8 p.m., ABC/ESPN) at the Arizona Cardinals' State Farm Stadium. The league moved the game due to the Los Angeles wildfires. The winner goes to Philly.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

Several New York Republicans said President-elect Trump intends to reverse congestion pricing tolls in Manhattan. The lawmakers did not specify how he would potentially overturn the controversial measure (More)
The Justice Department concluded its probe of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots. Officials said there are no longer an avenues for prosecution, but establishing a historical record of the atrocities in its final report was important (More)
Alaska's Seward Highway was briefly closed due to bridge debris. The roof and side fencing of a pedestrian bridge fell in strong winds south of Anchorage; no injuries were reported (More)

World News

Ethiopia and Somalia agreed to renew diplomatic ties. The African nations were in a row for a year after Ethiopia, which is land-locked, agreed to a sea access deal with the breakaway Somaliland region (More)
Croatia's opposition-backed president won re-election in a landslide. Zoran Milanovic is critical of the European Union and NATO; his first term was marked by consistent sparring with pro-Western Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic (More)
Over a dozen European and Middle Eastern nations met to discuss Syria following dictator Bashar al-Assad's fall. Saudi Arabia has urged EU nations to lift sanctions against the transitional Syrian government to boost its economy and rebuilding process (More)

Political News

President-elect Trump received an unconditional discharge in his New York hush-money case. The sentence upholds his felony conviction while shielding him from any punishment; he is expected to appeal (More | More)
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said people who committed violence on Jan. 6 should not be pardoned, but those who "protested peacefully" at the Capitol riot deserve clemency. Trump has been coy about his plans; Vance conceded there will be "a gray area" in some cases (More)
Two suspected burglars were arrested outside Vice President Kamala Harris' Los Angeles home. She was not there; the men were charged for violating a curfew order amid the wildfires in the region, but cops said they could not prove intention to break in (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes tumbled lower on Friday. A stronger-than-expected new jobs report cast doubt on future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Dow -1.63%, Nasdaq -1.63%, S&P 500 -1.54% | More).
The Supreme Court is expected to uphold a federal law prohibiting TikTok on national security grounds after hearing an appeal in the case. The social media platform will be banned in six days unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divests its U.S. business; President-elect Trump has asked the court to delay the law's implementation (More)
The Venu Sports streaming platform is kaput. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on the joint venture after FuboTV merged with Hulu and dropped its antitrust lawsuit against the tie-up (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Shrek 5's release date was pushed back roughly six months. Universal Pictures will now release the animated fantasy comedy on Dec. 23, 2026 after moving up Minions 3, which was supposed to come out in 2027 (More)
The NBA's Philadelphia 76ers abandoned plans for a controversial new arena. The team had planned its own building near the city's Chinatown district, but will now pivot to a future venue shared with the NHL's Flyers near their current home (More)
Live Nation will hold a benefit concert for Los Angeles wildfire victims. The "FireAid" event will be Jan. 30 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood; organizers will reveal the performer lineup in the coming days (More)

Quick Hitters

Feel Good: A Nashville fan stumbled upon a dumpster filled with flowers. He salvaged a few bouquets and brought them to a nursing home, eventually launching an organization that serves dozens of similar facilities.
Be Ready: It never hurts to be prepared if the unexpected happens. Here is a checklist to assemble a go-bag if you ever need to evacuate your home quickly.
Go Deep: International intelligence services have used animals in espionage operations for decades. Creatures as small as pigeons and as large as whales have worked as spies.
Take Note: Want to be a good parent? A new psychological study concluded humor may be the key to successfully raising children.
Life Hack: Get a head start on spring cleaning. Here are over 50 ways to declutter your kitchen and organize the space.

Watch This

A look at the traditions of Inauguration Day, one week before President-elect Trump returns to office.