Families in shock begin to visit their charred homes in the Los Angeles area
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Some Los Angeles area residents have begun returning to their still smoldering neighborhoods to search for memories even as the threat of new fires persists. For many it has been a first look at the staggering reality of what was lost. Southern California faces a gargantuan challenge of overcoming the disaster and rebuilding. The blazes have killed at least 11 people, obliterated neighborhoods and left the nation’s second-largest city on edge. Firefighters were making gains Friday. But new flareups continued to pop up. Winds were also forecast to strengthen over the coming days, adding to concerns.
Trump gets no-penalty sentence in his hush money case, while calling it ‘despicable’
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced to no punishment in his historic hush money case, a judgment that lets him return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine. Appearing by video from his Florida estate, a calm but insistent Trump called the case “a weaponization of government” and “an embarrassment to New York.” He maintained that he did not commit any crime. Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan could have sentenced the 78-year-old to up to four years in prison. Instead, Merchan chose a sentence that effectively ended the case but assured that Trump will become the first president to take office with a felony conviction on his record.
Supreme Court seems likely to uphold a federal law that could force TikTok to shut down on Jan. 19
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seems likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning Jan. 19 unless the popular social media program is sold by its China-based parent company. Hearing arguments Friday in a momentous clash of free speech and national security concerns, the justices seemed persuaded by arguments that the national security threat posed by the company’s connections to China override concerns about restricting the speech, either of TikTok or its 170 million users in the United States. Early in arguments that lasted more than two and a half hours, Chief Justice John Roberts identified as the “main concern” in the case TikTok’s ownership by China-based ByteDance and the parent company’s ties to Chinese government’s intelligence operations.
Biden extends time in US for 800,000 Venezuelans, Salvadorans as Trump readies immigration crackdown
MIAMI (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security says about 600,000 Venezuelans and more than 200,000 El Salvadorans already living in the United States can legally remain another 18 months. Friday’s announcement comes barely a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office with promises of hardline immigration policies. The TPS designation gives people the legal authority to be in the U.S., but it doesn’t provide them a long-term path to citizenship. Victor Macedo is a Venezuelan with TPS who works remodeling houses in Florida. He fled his home country because of political death threats, and said the extension is “a very big relief. I was afraid.”
Venezuela latest: Maduro sworn in for third term as global backlash and sanctions mount
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term after a reelection widely viewed as illegitimate and as his administration grows increasingly brazen in cracking down on its opponents. On Friday, the European Union imposed sanctions on 15 top Venezuelan officials who had a role in the country’s 2024 election, including the president and vice president of Venezuela’s Supreme Court. The U.S. and Canada also slapped a new round of sanctions on Venezuelan officials.
Earth breaks yearly heat record and lurches past dangerous warming threshold
Global temperatures in 2024 soared to yet another record level, but this time it was such a big jump that Earth temporarily passed a major symbolic climate threshold. Three government climate agencies in Europe and Japan say last year’s global average temperature easily passed 2023’s record heat and then went past the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s that was set as a target by the 2015 Paris climate pact. Scientists say if Earth stays above the threshold long-term, it will mean increased deaths, destruction, species loss and sea level rise from the extreme weather that accompanies warming.
Judge holds Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for continued lies about Georgia election workers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rudy Giuliani has been found in contempt of court for continuing to spread lies about two former Georgia election workers after a jury awarded the women a $148 million defamation judgment. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., is the second federal judge this week to find the former New York City mayor in contempt of court. Howell found Giuliani violated court orders barring him from defaming Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman. She ordered him to review trial testimony and other materials from the case, and warned him that future violations could result in possible jail time.
Prosecutors seek 15 years in prison for former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez after bribery conviction
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez should be imprisoned for 15 years after the Democrat became the first to be convicted of abusing a Senate committee leadership position and the first public official to be convicted of serving as a foreign agent. Prosecutors called for the lengthy prison term for the 71-year-old New Jersey Democrat in papers filed in Manhattan federal court late Thursday. Menendez was convicted in July of 16 corruption charges. When he was charged in fall 2023, Menendez was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was forced out of that position and gave up his Senate seat in August.
Biden levies new sanctions against Russian energy sector, but it’s up to Trump whether to keep them
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration says it’s expanding sanctions against Russia’s critically important energy sector over its war in Ukraine. The Biden administration bills the sanctions announced Friday as the most significant to date against Moscow’s oil and liquefied natural gas sectors, the driver of Russia’s economy. British officials are announcing complementary sanctions against Russia’s energy sector. Administration officials say it’s up to the incoming administration what to do next. The sanctions punish entities that do business with the Russians and target 183 oil-carrying vessels suspected to be part of a shadow fleet utilized by the Kremlin to evade oil sanctions. The Kremlin dismissed the sanctions ahead of their anticipated announcement.
Powerful winter storm dumps heavy snow, causing flight delays, slick roads and school closings
ATLANTA (AP) — A powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma has lumbered eastward into the Deep South and elsewhere. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders mobilized the National Guard to help stranded motorists. School was canceled for millions of children across a wide tract of southern states from Texas to Georgia and as far east as South Carolina. Meanwhile, four passengers were injured after a Delta Air Lines plane bound for Minneapolis aborted takeoff at Atlanta’s international airport. Delta said it was unclear whether the weather had anything to do with the flight being aborted after takeoff.
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