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At least five people are dead and several injured as multiple fires burn, including most destructive in city's history

City's supply completely filled before fire, but within hours three 1m-gallon tanks serving Palisades depletedAs firefighters battled three wildfires raging across Los Angeles in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the water tanks supplying Pacific Palisades - where the largest of the fires broke out - ran dry.Janisse Quinones, chief engineer and CEO of the Los Angeles department of water and power, told reporters that by 3am Wednesday, the three 1m-gallon tanks serving the Palisades had been depleted. Continue reading...

Sebastian Gorka says letting people in prison camps return to Britain would benefit the special relationship' with USBritish nationals being held in Syrian prison camps for fighting on behalf of Islamic State should be allowed to return to the UK, Donald Trump's incoming counter-terrorism chief has said.Any country that wants to be a serious ally" to the United States should commit to the international fight against the extremist group by repatriating its citizens, according to Sebastian Gorka. Continue reading...

As officials urge people to stay indoors, those experiencing homelessness struggle to shield themselves from toxic airThick, noxious clouds of smoke engulfed Los Angeles as several wildfires rage across the region, creating heightened hazards for the tens of thousands of unhoused people living on the streets in the county.As authorities ordered evacuations for more than 82,000 people in various parts of LA and urged others to remain indoors to shield themselves from the gray smoke, unhoused Angelenos were struggling to protect themselves from the pollution. Continue reading...

Progressive is the only Black woman to be elected to the US House from California's regions north of LABarbara Lee, California's former Democratic representative in Congress, has officially announced her mayoral campaign for Oakland, with pledges to tackle homelessness, improve public safety and boost better-paying jobs and small businesses.As the only Black woman to be voted into the House of Representatives from California's regions north of Los Angeles, Lee, 78, served as Congress's representative for San Francisco's Bay Area from 1998 up until last week. Continue reading...

Three knives also found in bag as X-ray machine screened people going into building to pay respects to Jimmy CarterA man was arrested on Wednesday for trying to bring a machete and knives into the US Capitol visitor center, police said.US Capitol police said officers spotted the machete in the man's bag as it went through the X-ray machine, and found three knives in the bag. Continue reading...

Watchdog files complaint after Trump nominee cast vote from address court ruled was not his place of residenceRobert F Kennedy Jr has been accused of committing voter fraud in November's presidential election by casting his ballot from a New York address that a court had previously ruled was not his place of residence.The complaint, filed by Accountable.US, a left-leaning watchdog group, could complicate Kennedy's confirmation as Donald Trump's nominee to be health and human services secretary, when he is expected to be subject to rigorous questioning at a Senate hearing. Continue reading...

Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, pointed to a map from 1607 as she jokingly suggested North America could be renamed 'Mexican America' in response to Donald Trump's pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico the 'Gulf of America'. Her comments came after the US president-elect talked about a broad expansionist agenda that he said could include taking control of the Panama canal, Greenland and Canada

Loosening already limited safeguards on social media platforms is not just damaging. It could ultimately prove deadlyMark Zuckerberg famously boasted that Facebook had a saying: Move fast and break things". His product has not just destroyed industry models but also social mores and expectations of the reliability of information and, in the global south, has upended people's lives. The technology writer Kara Swisher described him as not just a technologist; he's a social engineer".Meta's Tuesday announcement shows that it still moves at speed. Having previously been pressured into insufficient improvements in moderation, it is abruptly scrapping factcheckers on platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, starting in the US, and loosening other content restrictions. This purportedly addresses overreach by moderators. Other controls remain. But the signal is clear. Its new guidelines will allow users to call others mentally ill on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity. Meta will also recommend more political content based on ... personalized signals" - which sounds a lot like buttressing echo chambers.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The fast-fashion retailer's reluctance to disclose information about its supply chain in China won't washIt is not unusual" for UK-listed companies to carry legal risks around the world, Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, told the FT last month. The boss of the regulatory body that ultimately decides which companies can list their shares in London added: What's important is that they disclose it, the investors understand it and they can price that risk."Rathi's remarks were inevitably read as aimed at Shein, the Chinese-founded but Singapore-headquartered fast-fashion retailer whose possible listing in London has been a running story since the company filed preliminary paperwork seven months ago. Continue reading...

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Justice department intends to release special counsel Jack Smith's findings from investigationAttorney general Merrick Garland intends to release the first part of the highly-anticipated special counsel report into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election but will withhold the second part about Trump's retention of classified documents, the justice department said on Wednesday.The full report by the special counsel, Jack Smith, will also be made available to the top Democrat and Republican on the House and Senate judiciary committees as long as they agree to keep the contents of the second part confidential, the department also said. Continue reading...

When revolutionary students seized the US embassy in Tehran they initiated a 444-day ordeal that had a huge impact on Carter in both political and human termsIsolated, incommunicado and blindfolded for much of their captivity, the newly released American hostages had mixed feelings at best about the US president who had presided - seemingly impotent and powerless - over their 444 days of misery.Some blamed him for failing to extricate them from the Iranian revolutionaries who held them against their will and subjected them to ill-treatment, including beatings and mock executions. Others blamed him for the presidential decision that prompted their incarceration. Continue reading...

Move would allow president-elect to implement broad tariffs after threatening Panama, Greenland and CanadaDonald Trump is mulling over the idea to declare a national economic emergency to impose widespread tariffs, CNN reports, as the president-elect escalates threats to seize the Panama Canal, acquire Greenland and force Canada into becoming a US state.The emergency powers move would allow Trump to implement broad tariff measures against both allies and adversaries through the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, according to four sources familiar with the discussions. Continue reading...

President-elect turns to nation's top court after New York appeals court denied bid to pause criminal proceedingsDonald Trump has asked the US supreme court to pause criminal proceedings in his New York hush-money case, according to a filing released on Wednesday.This followed a New York appeals court denying his bid to halt sentencing on Friday in his hush-money case, Reuters reported, in which he became a felon last summer. Continue reading...

The former Barcelona teammates getting together for one last hurrah in MLS would draw in the fans. But injuries have taken their toll on the BrazilianLionel Messi's Florida sanctuary for former Barcelona players could soon have another resident. Comments made by Neymar on Tuesday hinted at a possible reunion with his former Barca teammates, Messi and Luis Suarez, at Inter Miami seven years after the trio formed arguably the most formidable forward line in soccer history. The prospect of the MSN' reunited in MLS is tantalising.But just because the signing of Neymar is a compelling idea, that doesn't make it a good one. Neymar is a shadow of the player who scored 105 goals in 186 games for Barca. Injuries have taken their toll on the 32-year-old, sidelining him for much of the last year. He has only played seven games for Al-Hilal since joining the Saudi Arabian club in August 2023. There may not be much soccer left in him. Continue reading...

Plans to stretch the law to favor Trump and drive out dissenting voices are expected to begin immediatelyDespite disavowing Project 2025 on the campaign trail and the people involved with creating it, Donald Trump has now tapped numerous people tied to the project for key roles in his administration as he prepares to advance some of its main goals.He acknowledged in December that he agreed with some parts of the project, but didn't say which, claiming he didn't read it and didn't have any part in it. They have some things that are very conservative and very good. They have other things that I don't like," he told Time magazine. He also said he thought it was inappropriate" that the project was released ahead of the election and could have derailed his win because they had some pretty ridiculous things in there". Continue reading...

Unlike previous generations of workers, young people are prioritising stability over chaos and community over churnFor decades, we've been told that the modern workplace is a playground of freedom and choice. Flexibility, agility and autonomy have become buzz words in an employment marketplace saturated with an endless choice of job opportunities.But the reality for most workers, especially younger ones who have recently joined the job market, is that jobs vanish as quickly as they appear, benefits are slashed, exploitation is rife and career paths once paved with middle-class respectability have crumbled under the relentless march of automation and the ubiquity of the platform economy.Oli Mould is professor in human geography at Royal Holloway, University of London

The far-right leader leaves behind a less welcoming, less tolerant France - that is perhaps ready to elect Marine Le Pen as presidentI once asked Jean-Marie Le Pen, during 1992 regional elections, about the National Front's (FN) slogan Quand nous arriverons, ils partiront, which roughly translates as When we get in, they'll get out". Who, I asked Le Pen, did he mean by they"? He would not answer directly but drew complicit laughter from supporters by saying: Everyone here but you knows what that means."The extreme-right rabble rouser may finally be dead at 96 after a long, incendiary political career, but those nationalist anti-immigration ideas are alive and kicking in 21st-century France.Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy CentreDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

It's possible that the 2024-25 Rangers haven't quite bottomed out, but it feels like they're close. Barring an unprecedented turnaround, a painful rebuild loomsOn 25 November, the New York Rangers had a 12-6-1 record. With 25 points, the Rangers sat in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, holding a playoff wildcard place. The team had just completed a swing through the Pacific Division, where they won against San Jose and Seattle before dropping two in a row to Calgary and Edmonton. As the Rangers headed back to New York City from their western road trip, there were rumblings of trouble, for at some point during that week, Rangers general manager Chris Drury had sent a memo to all NHL teams in which he said he was open to a trade to shake up his roster. And he made clear that the changes could be big. The two names he floated to the other teams were Jacob Trouba, the team's captain, and Chris Kreider, a Ranger since 2011.We'll never know whether the Rangers were always at that point on the cusp of a terrible month, or if it was the memo that spun the team into a downward spiral. The vibes have certainly been off ever since. But it's also worth noting that, even at the time, while the team's overall record was a winning one, most agreed that the Rangers didn't look like the team that had come within just two wins of the Stanley Cup final a few months prior. Their winning record concealed the fact that many of those victories had come against weak teams. And one loss - a 6-1 drubbing from the lowly Buffalo Sabres in early November - saw the team's all-star goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, give up five goals on just 12 shots. Behind the scenes, there were hints of things amiss, including an awkward episode in the offseason, when the team gave forward Barclay Goodrow only 15 minutes' warning before making him available for a trade. Continue reading...

By the time Jon Oei's family drove toward the ocean, it was dark and the power was out: There were no lights, and everything was on fire'

Some swear that sleeping separately from their partner improves their relationship. Personally, I'm in team same bed'Forgive me, I know it's judgmental, but when I first came across the internet's latest buzz phrase, sleep divorce", the name for happy couples sleeping in separate beds - with no drama; they just want a good night's rest - I couldn't help but think: Well, well, well, sounds like somebody has a big house."And who am I to snark when sleep divorce appears to be helping many couples? It makes sense: sleep is the foundation of health, it affects our mood, our physical wellness, our energy levels, and in turn our ability to be there for one another. If we know good sleep at night makes the parent of an infant more present and engaged during the day, then why not the same for a partner?Coco Khan is a freelance writer and co-host of the politics podcast Pod Save the UK Continue reading...

A toppled reindeer? A window of pink balloons? These images explore Dana Stirling's depression - and remind us how beauty and sorrow walk together' Continue reading...

After years of politicians and media figures normalising far-right ideas, the billionaire's meddling is falling on fertile groundWhen Elon Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland on X as the only party that could save Germany", followed by an opinion article in Die Welt promoting the AfD in the forthcoming federal elections the backlash was swift. Germany must not tolerate Musk's transgressions," declared the publisher of the liberal newspaper Tagesspiegel. How did Elon Musk's election propaganda for the AfD make it into Welt?" asked another commentator, accusing Welt's publisher, Axel Springer, of betraying its own principles. The Spiegel columnist Marina Kormbaki labelled Musk's intervention the breaking of a taboo".The outrage was justified. Musk's apocalyptic rhetoric and alignment with forces often labelled extremist are deeply unsettling in a country still grappling with the weight of its 20th-century atrocities. His political meddling - from the US to the UK and now Germany - follows a disturbing pattern of self-aggrandisement cloaked in dangerous ideology.Hanno Hauenstein is a Berlin-based journalist and authorDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

By jumping on Elon Musk's passing bandwagon and echoing the far right, the Conservative leader has shown she doesn't understand her responsibilitiesThe House of Commons is built for confrontation, with rows of benches facing each other across an aisle. When the original Victorian chamber was blitzed to ashes during the second world war, Winston Churchill was adamant that the antagonistic geometry be preserved in the restoration. He spoke dismissively of the foreign, semi-circular assembly, which enables every individual or every group to move round the centre, adopting various shades of pink according as the weather changes."Churchill was leading a national unity government, but that was a wartime expedient. Normal democratic hostilities resumed as soon as Germany surrendered. MPs might rebel against their whips, or even defect, but it takes a national calamity or international crisis for Labour and Tory leaders to declare themselves on the same side.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The fierce winds are created by high pressure over the Great Basin - the vast desert interior of the west

Homes evacuated in Los Angeles neighbourhood as blaze spreads amid intense Santa Ana winds in Southern California Continue reading...

This blog has now closed, thanks for following along. You can read all our coverage of US politics hereContinuing his expansionist streak, Donald Trump said the Gulf of Mexico should instead be called the Gulf of America".We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory," the president-elect said at his ongoing press conference in Mar-a-Lago. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate."Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them. And we're going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada too, and the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers, record numbers. So we're going to make up for that by putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada, substantial tariffs. Continue reading...

Fifth circuit, seen as primed for the Maga era, hears arguments challenging state's newly created mapsA federal appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could further erode voting rights protecting minority voters or solidify that Louisiana's legislative maps diluted Black voters' power.The fifth circuit court of appeals, which hears cases brought for appeal from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, will weigh in on Nairne v Landry, a case in which a federal judge in Louisiana ruled the Republican-controlled legislature had violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act with its newly created maps. Continue reading...

Remarks likely to set off alarm bells around the world as Trump prepares to return to the White House this monthDonald Trump is refusing to rule out using American military force to retake control of the Panama Canal and seize Greenland, citing economic security as a driving factor.Speaking at a Tuesday press conference at Mar-a-Lago, the incoming US president explicitly declined to give assurances against using military or economic coercion when pressed about his plans regarding Panama and Greenland. Continue reading...

Deployed twice to Afghanistan, the Green Beret searched the AI platform for information on explosives and ammoThe soldier who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI including ChatGPT to help plan the attack, Las Vegas police said on Tuesday.A laptop, cellphone and watch are still under review nearly a week after 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger fatally shot himself just before the truck blew up. Continue reading...

US treasury accuses Antal Rogan, a close aide of leader Viktor Orban, as key to system of corruption'The United States has imposed sanctions on a senior member of the Hungarian government for alleged corruption, in a move which Budapest said it would challenge as soon as Donald Trump takes office.The US treasury accused Antal Rogan, a close aide of the prime minister, Viktor Orban, of using his role to secure financial benefits for himself and his political allies. Continue reading...

Trump's repeated threats to US allies mark a new and alarming departure, indicating he'll top his first term by going more extremeHollywood actors at Sunday's Golden Globe awards did not make their usual jokes or protests. Silicon Valley titans are falling over each other to donate to his inauguration fund. In Washington, some Democrats who boycotted his first inauguration have signalled their intention to attend this time.There is no doubt the resistance to Donald Trump feels muted second time around. The word fascist" has disappeared from political discourse as quickly as it appeared. The meeker tone gives the impression that Trump 2.0 will be more conventional, moderate and palatable than the first version. Continue reading...

Men charged with felonies after skit leads to third-degree burns over 16% percent of pledge's body, prosecutors sayFour fraternity members at San Diego State University are facing felony charges in connection with a skit performed at a party last year during which a pledge was set on fire, causing third-degree burns that covered more than 16% of his body, prosecutors said.Caden Cooper, 22; Lucas Cowling, 20; Christopher Serrano, 20; and Lars Larsen, 19, were all charged with at least one felony Monday in San Diego superior court. All pleaded not guilty. Continue reading...

Donald Trump is refusing to rule out using US military force to retake control of the Panama Canal and seize Greenland, citing economic security as a driving factor. The incoming US president explicitly declined to give assurances against using military or economic coercion when pressed about his plans regarding Panama and Greenland. Trump also cited taking control of Canada under 'economic force'. The remarks are likely to set off diplomatic alarm bells around the world as Trump prepares to return to the White House later this month.

With infants dying of exposure and desperation growing, a ceasefire and hostage release deal have never been more necessaryThe new year has commenced as bleakly as the last one concluded in Gaza. As December came to an end, the UN announced that the healthcare system was on the brink of outright collapse due to Israel's attacks. Withindays of the new year beginning, an official with Unrwa warned that social order will collapse if Israel ends all cooperation with the aid agency for Palestinians later this month, as scheduled. In between, scores of people were killed in intensified Israeli strikes, including in an area designated as a safezone. Gaza's health ministry said on Monday that at least 45,854 have now died there in the 15 months since the Hamas attacks in southern Israel.The crisis is so familiar and relentless now that international attention has flagged. And yet it is so desperate that the facts must be reiterated. At least seven infants have died from the cold in recent weeks. Almost the entire 1.9m population has been displaced, in most cases repeatedly. They are exhausted and traumatised. An estimated 91% face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the UN.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

With an outgoing PM, suspended parliament and promised harsh tariffs, Canada scrambles to find a new leaderPresident-elect Donald Trump has said the US will use economic force" against its close ally Canada, doubling down on threats to impose protectionist tariffs on one of the US's biggest trading partners.The remarks are likely to further fuel political turmoil in Canada after the resignation of its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the suspension of parliament until late March. Continue reading...

The imprisoned Native American is long overdue for clemency. Joe Biden is probably the last president who can give it to himAs Joe Biden prepares to leave office, he has a chance to do something singularly honorable in the name of American justice and basic human rights. With a grant of clemency to Leonard Peltier, Biden could ameliorate a half-century-old injustice not just against Peltier but, in effect, against Native peoples everywhere, many of whom consider Peltier an enduring symbol of racism and state-sponsored oppression in the US.For those Americans who may not have heard of him, Leonard Peltier is known around the world as the US government's number one political prisoner. A member of the Chippewa and Lakota Nations, Peltier was convicted in 1976 for the deaths, the year before, of two FBI agents killed during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. While he was in the area at the time of the shootout, Peltier, who maintains his innocence, has served nearly 50 years and counting for a murder he was never proved to have committed - or even to have aided and abetted.Rose Styron is a poet and longtime human rights activist with Amnesty International. Alex Matthiessen is an environmental advocate and former Clinton administration political appointee. His father, Peter Matthiessen, wrote the definitive account of the Peltier case, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse Continue reading...

Judge Aileen Cannon issued a temporary injunction until an appeals court rules on Trump's arguments

Routine inspection led to discovery of bodies after flight from New York to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airportTwo people have been found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane that landed in Florida, the airline said.The grim discovery was made on Monday night. The bodies were found during a routine inspection after the plane had landed. Continue reading...

The US has been for sale to the highest bidder for some time, while democracy dies in plain sight. The difference now? How shamelessly transactional the incoming president isReader, I was wrong. So terribly wrong. It pains me to admit this but, back in the distant past (last year), I wrote some very nasty things about Donald Trump and his family. Now that I am older and wiser I realise how misguided this was. So let me set the record straight: the incoming president is an exceptionally handsome man with an incredibly high IQ. We are all blessed that this very stable genius has taken time out of his busy golfing schedule to lead the free world to prosperity.What do you reckon ... was I sycophantic enough or do I need to lay the flattery on even thicker? I'm asking because, as you've no doubt noticed, genuflecting to the uber-transactional Trump is ramping up now that inauguration day is approaching. Business leaders are breaking records with the amount of money they're dumping into Trump's inaugural fund. EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in December.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Kamala Harris announces removal of billions in medical debt from credit reports of 15 million AmericansLenders will no longer be able to see whether American borrowers have unpaid medical debt in their credit history, according to a new rule from the outgoing Biden administration.The vice-president, Kamala Harris, announced early on Tuesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was removing $49bn of existing unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of 15 million Americans and will ban the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports. Continue reading...

The Plot Against the King, a thinly veiled take on the stolen' 2020 election, has a few hits and lots of missesYou don't have to agree with someone's politics to appreciate their writing. Roald Dahl was a terrible, antisemitic man, but he came up with a story about four grandparents who stay in bed 24/7 that gives us all something to aspire to.So I was intrigued to find out that Donald Trump's choice for FBI director, Kash Patel, wrote a trilogy of thinly veiled political children's books called The Plot Against the King. The King is - you guessed it - Trump. And the plot? Well, we'll get there. Continue reading...