AP-Newswatch

Firefighters battle devastating Los Angeles wildfires as winds calm somewhat

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters are battling to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes. Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful Thursday. That could provide an opportunity for firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region, including massive ones in Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The latest flames broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, putting densely populated neighborhoods on edge. Within a few hours, firefighters had made major progress on the fire.

Harrowing escapes from Los Angeles wildfires were made by foot, by car or by the grace of strangers

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of residents made harrowing escapes as devastating wildfires bore down on the Los Angeles area. Some fled by foot, some by car and some by the grace of good Samaritans. Aaron Samson said strangers twice picked up him and his 83-year-old father-in-law as they fled from Pacific Palisades on Tuesday. The second time came as he was helping his father-in-law shuffle down the street with a walker, with flames burning on both sides. Sheriece Wallace is another Pacific Palisades resident who had to flee. She said was prepared to jump into a pool to try to save herself when a neighbor offered her a ride to safety. The fires killed at least five people.

Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore among those who lost homes in Los Angeles fires

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week’s Oscar nominations have been delayed. And tens of thousands of Angelenos are displaced and awaiting word Thursday on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city’s most famous denizens. Late Wednesday, a fire in the Hollywood Hills was scorching the hills near the famed Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre, which is the home of the Academy Awards.

More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza’s Health Ministry says the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has climbed above 46,000. The ministry updated its toll from the ongoing 15-month conflict on Thursday. It says 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. The ministry has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because the militants operate in residential areas. It also accuses Hamas fighters of hiding among civilians in shelters and hospitals.

Trump, the ‘America First’ candidate, has a new preoccupation: Imperialism

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump ran on a return to his “America First” foreign policy platform. But since winning a second term, the president-elect has been embracing a new imperialist agenda. He’s talking about seizing the Panama Canal and Greenland — perhaps by military force — and saying he will use economic coercion to pressure Canada to become the nation’s 51st state. Such talk about undermining sovereign borders and using military force against allies, even if said lightly, is a stunning departure from decades-old norms about territorial integrity. Analysts say it could embolden America’s enemies at a time when Russia is pressing forward with its invasion of Ukraine and China is threatening Taiwan.

Italy’s Meloni hopes to attend Trump inauguration as she downplays his Greenland and Panama comments

ROME (AP) — Premier Giorgia Meloni says she doesn’t believe President-elect Donald Trump actually intends to use military force to seize control of Greenland or the Panama Canal. She says she reads his comments more as a warning to China and other global players to keep their hands off such strategically important interests. Meloni travelled last weekend to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate. She was speaking Thursday at an annual press conference during which she was peppered with questions about her relations with Trump and his ally Elon Musk. Meloni confirmed she hoped to attend Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20, but was checking her agenda first.

Lawyers for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed battle to let his guilty plea go forward

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for the accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed are urging a federal appeals panel to let his scheduled guilty plea in the attacks go forward. That comes as the Biden administration and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attempt to throw out a plea deal in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that his own military had negotiated and approved. Mohammed is due to enter his plea Friday in a military courtroom in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The plea deal for Mohammed and two co-defendants spares them the risk of the death penalty in the attacks. Military prosecution in the 9/11 case has remained stuck in pretrial hearings for more than a decade.

Schools cancel classes across the Southern US as another burst of winter storms move in

DALLAS (AP) — Schools and cities from Texas to Georgia are shutting down in anticipation of freezing rain and snow forecast for much of the Southern U.S. The severe weather is expected across a stretch from New Mexico to Alabama starting Wednesday night and early Thursday. The National Weather Service says the heaviest snowfall is likely in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Classes have been canceled for more than 1 million students in northern Texas, and other closures are reported in Arkansas and Kansas. Virginia’s capital, Richmond, remains under a weather-related water-boil advisory.

Jimmy Carter will be honored at Washington funeral before burial in Georgia hometown

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will be honored with the pageantry of a funeral in the nation’s capital and second service in his tiny Georgia hometown that launched a Depression-era farm boy to the world stage. The dual funerals Thursday conclude six days of national funeral rites for the 39th president who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. President Joe Biden will eulogize Carter in Washington. Carter’s other living successors are expected to attend, along with other dignitaries. His afternoon funeral in Plains, Georgia, is a small affair limited to family, friends and members of Maranatha Baptist Church. Carter will be buried alongside his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, in the same town where they were born, lived most of their lives and died.