Category: National

(LOS ANGELES) — At least 24 people have died and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, rage across the Los Angeles area.

Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. About 92,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 89,000 are under evacuation warnings.

Red flag warnings in place through Wednesday evening

The “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warnings are in effect through noon on Wednesday as the high winds, low humidity and dry fuel cause a major risk for fires. The regular red flag warnings last until 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The dangerous, gusty winds will die down slightly Tuesday evening before picking up again overnight and Wednesday morning.

Gusts may climb to 45 to 70 mph, which could spark new fires, spread existing fires and topple trees and power lines.

-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin

Air quality alerts remain in effect

Air quality alerts remain in effect in Southern California as the wind-blown dust and ash from the Palisades and Eaton fires cause harmful pollution levels from Santa Monica and LA south to Newport Beach and inland to San Bernardino.

The poor air quality is expected to continue through at least Wednesday night.

Status of Palisades, Eaton fires

The Palisades Fire, which began in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, has destroyed about 5,000 structures. It’s covered more than 23,000 acres and is at 17% containment.

The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena also began on Jan. 7 and has destroyed or damaged around 7,000 structures. It’s burned over 14,000 acres and is at 35% containment.

Super scooper damaged by drone ready to be back in the air

The super scooper firefighting plane that was damaged by a drone last week has been repaired and will be available to respond to fires as of 11 a.m. local time Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

Firefighters had ‘never seen destruction like this’

LA City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said she and LA Mayor Karen Bass went on an aerial survey of the devastated areas to see the size, scope and complexity of the fires.

The “massive, massive destruction is unimaginable until you actually see it,” Bass said. “I think of the families … we are going to continue to stand with you.”

Bass said after the aerial tour she spoke to firefighters who’ve been on the job for decades. She said the firefighters told her they’d “never seen destruction like this” or winds this fierce.

As the fire danger continues, the mayor said residents looking to help first responders can do so by being prepared.

Bass said residents under evacuation warnings, not evacuation orders, should consider leaving their homes when the warning is issued to avoid the traffic jams so many experienced last week.

Next 24 hours will be very dangerous, sheriff warns

The next 24 hours will be very dangerous as high winds blow through the Los Angeles area, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna warned.

He urged residents to follow evacuation orders, noting that many people who waited until the last minute to evacuate last week suffered significant burns.

“We don’t want you to impact your own life or the life or your loved ones,” Luna said.

The sheriff’s department is following 24 missing persons cases, all adults, Luna said. The LAPD said it has 13 active missing persons cases, two of whom are believed to be dead.

No more remains were found when crews searched the hard-hit Altadena area on Monday, the sheriff said.

Wind gusts reach 72 mph overnight

Dangerously high winds that could fuel wildfires are impacting the Los Angeles area Tuesday and Wednesday.

The highest wind gust recorded so far was 72 mph in the western San Gabriel Mountains, which is in northern LA County.

A 50 mph wind gust was recorded in Malibu Hills.

The gusty winds will spread from the mountains into the valleys and the canyons by Tuesday afternoon.

A slight break in the wind is expected Tuesday evening before the rough winds pick back up Wednesday morning.

The winds will stay strong into Wednesday afternoon and then finally begin to relax Wednesday night into Thursday.

‘Dangerous’ winds to pick up across Los Angeles, Ventura counties

A “particularly dangerous situation” with a red flag warning will go into effect in western Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County on Tuesday, weather officials said, with winds threatening to further fuel historic Southern California wildfires.

The warning begins at 4 a.m. local time. Winds are forecast to gust between 45 mph to 70 mph, with relative humidity as low as 8%.

Winds overnight and early on Tuesday have been gusting up to 67 mph in the mountains near Los Angeles. The West San Gabriel Mountains have seen gusts up to 67 mph, with the Central Ventura County Valley hit about 66 mph.

The strongest gusts are expected Tuesday morning and early afternoon, which will then be followed by a break in the evening. More gusty winds are expected Wednesday morning.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

Firefighters stop forward progress of Auto Fire

Firefighters stopped forward progress of the Auto Fire in Ventura County late Monday night, the Ventura County Fire Department said, with the blaze mapped at 55.7 acres with 0% containment.

Firefighting teams “remain on scene mopping up hotspots and working to increase containment,” the department said. “The fire was confined to the river bottom and no structures were threatened. The cause of the fire Is under investigation.”

-ABC News’ Marilyn Heck

LA mayor issues executive order to expedite rebuilding

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order late Monday that her office said “will expedite the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities” devastated by local wildfires.

“This order is the first step in clearing away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion,” Bass said in a statement. “We will do everything we can to get Angelenos back home.”

The order was issued as dangerous wind conditions threatened additional homes across the Southern California area.

“This unprecedented natural disaster warrants an unprecedented response,” Bass said.

A mayor’s office press release said the executive order will coordinate debris removal from all impacted areas, expedite all building permit activity and take immediate action to make 1,400 units of housing available.

The order also set a one-week deadline for all city departments to list relief needed from state and federal authorities.

-ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog

More firefighting resources being deployed ahead of extreme fire weather

Additional firefighting resources will be allocated in advance of the extreme fire weather forecast this week in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Monday.

That includes more than 300 additional firefighting personnel and 135 engines — making for more than 15,000 personnel total and 1,900 fire engines, water tenders, aircraft and bulldozers combined in the ongoing fire response, the office said.

How the Palisades Village managed to survive the firestorm

The Palisades Village is largely unscathed amid the devastating Palisades Fire, even as buildings across the street burned to the ground.

That’s because the owners of the outdoor mall hired private tankers to fend off the flames as the fire encroached, ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman reports.

Tankers could be seen on Monday preparing for the next Santa Ana wind event forecast for this week.

Newsom proposes additional $2.5B in firestorm response

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed that the state provide an additional $2.5 billion in funding for its firestorm response and recovery efforts.

Newsom signed a proclamation on Monday that expands the scope of the state legislature’s current special session “to further boost response and initial recovery efforts for Los Angeles,” his office said in a press release.

The governor is requesting $1 billion to go toward the emergency response, cleanup and recovery in the Los Angeles wildfires, as well as $1.5 billion in funding to prepare for the threats of firestorms and other natural disasters, according to the proclamation.

Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas said in a statement that the assembly members “are listening to their residents and will bring feedback to the discussion as we consider the Governor’s proposal.”

9 people charged with looting in Palisades, Eaton fires: DA

Nine people have been charged with looting in connection with the Palisades and Eaton fires, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Monday.

“There have been certain people that we have given a warning to because we anticipated that this was half was going to happen, and these are the criminals,” Hochman said during a press briefing. “These are the people who are seeking to exploit this tragedy for their own benefit.”

Among those charged are three people accused of stealing more than $200,000 in property in a burglary last week at a house in Mandeville Canyon during an “evacuation situation,” Hochman said.

A man has also been charged with arson in a fire that occurred in the city of Azusa on Friday, Hochman said.

Homeowners, renters sue utility company over Eaton Fire

Four separate lawsuits were filed Monday against Southern California Edison, a utility company in California, by homeowners and renters who lost their homes in the Eaton Fire. The lawsuits each allege the company failed to de-energize all of its electrical equipment despite red flag warnings issued by the National Weather Service.

-ABC News’ Laura Romero

Biden: ‘Our hearts ache for the 24 innocent souls we have lost’

President Joe Biden said in a new statement, “Our hearts ache for the 24 innocent souls we have lost in the wildfires.”

Biden said he continues to be “frequently briefed” on updates. He said he’s “directed our team to respond promptly to any request for additional federal firefighting assistance,” adding that his team is “laser-focused on helping survivors and we will continue to use every tool available to support the urgent firefight as the winds are projected to increase.”

“To the brave firefighters and first responders working day and night to suppress these fires and save lives: our nation is grateful,” Biden said. “You represent the best of America and we are in your debt.”

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Areas for worst wind conditions this week

The National Weather Service has highlighted these three areas where officials believe there’s the highest chance for explosive fire growth this week. The Hurst Fire is in the highlighted area and the Palisades Fire is near the highlighted area.

The extreme fire risk will last from 4 a.m. Tuesday to noon Wednesday.

Winds could climb as high as 45 to 70 mph and humidity could be as low as 8 to 15%.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

Crews finding remains in Altadena: Sheriff

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said he knows displaced residents want to return to their neighborhoods, but he warned, “we are in the third day of grid searching” in Altadena.

“It is a very grim task,” he said, noting that every day crews are finding people’s remains.

Twenty-three people have been reported missing: 17 from the Eaton Fire and six in the Malibu area, the sheriff said. 

Severe fire conditions to continue through Wednesday

Severe fire weather conditions — high winds with low humidity — will continue through Wednesday, keeping the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County critical, LA Fire Chief Anthony Marrone warned at a news conference.

Amid the “unprecedented disaster,” Marrone shared positive news that the Eaton Fire in Altadena didn’t grow at all on Sunday.

The Eaton Fire has damaged or destroyed over 7,000 structures, Marrone said. He said damage inspections for dwellings are 26% completed.

The super scooper firefighting plane damaged by a drone last week has been repaired, Marrone said. Crews are waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration to give the OK to send the plane back in the air.

Ukraine offers aid

Ukraine may send rescuers to help fight the devastating fires in California, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“The situation there is extremely difficult, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “This is currently being coordinated, and we have offered our assistance to the American side through the relevant channels. 150 of our firefighters are already prepared.”

Firefighters from Mexico and Canada have also been deployed to California.

Edison International can’t rule out equipment role in wildfires, CEO says

Pedro Pizarro, the president and CEO of Edison International, told “Good Morning America” on Monday that the company cannot yet rule the possibility that its energy infrastructure played a role in sparking wildfires now raging around Los Angeles.

Fire agencies are investigating whether Southern California Edison — a subsidiary of Edison International — infrastructure sites caused fires in areas devastated by the Eaton and Hurst wildfires.

“You can’t rule out anything ever until you can get your eyes on the equipment,” Pizarro said.

“Typically, when there’s a spark created by equipment, we will see the electrical anomaly — we haven’t seen that,” Pizarro said of a possible incident involving Edison infrastructure and the Hurst Fire burning outside of San Fernando.

“That said, we have not been able to get close to the equipment,” he continued. “As soon as we can get close to it, we’ll inspect and be transparent with the public.”

“We may find something different,” Pizarro added.

Pizarro said Edison also recorded damage to equipment at the site of the Eaton Fire in the mountains north of Pasadena. “We don’t know whether the damage happened before or after the start of the fire,” he said.

Pizarro said that Edison International will be shutting off power to some California residents as a precaution amid red flag warnings.

“We have about 450,000 customers who we’ve warned they may need to have their power shut off,” Pizarro said.

High winds threaten explosive fire growth

Weather officials have issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning for western Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County beginning on Tuesday at 4 a.m. into Wednesday at noon.

Winds are forecast to be strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth.

A new Santa Ana wind event is forecast Monday through Wednesday with the strongest winds Tuesday into Wednesday.

On Monday morning and the rest of the day, winds will begin to pick up in the mountains and higher elevations, gusting 20 to 30 mph, locally as high as 50 mph.

By Tuesday morning at 4 a.m., when the “PDS” conditions begin, gusts in the mountains are expected to near 70 mph possibly and humidity could be as low as 8% for some of the area.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

68 arrested, many for burglary, in fire evacuation zones, police say

At least 68 people have been arrested in fire evacuation zones, according to law enforcement officials, as police work to secure devastated parts of Los Angeles and firefighters continue to battle wildfires.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it recorded 29 arrests — 25 in the Eaton Fire area north of Pasadena and four in the Palisades Fire area in western Los Angeles.

The Santa Monica Police Department reported 39 arrests in evacuated areas in its jurisdiction on Saturday night, including 10 for burglary and six for possession of burglary tools. None of those arrested lived in the area, the department said.

-ABC News’ Marilyn Heck

Forecast calls for ‘Particularly Dangerous Situation’ for fires, Newsom warns

Gov. Gavin Newsom warned late Sunday that the week was beginning with a forecast for a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” for new wildfires, even as the firefight against the several fires still burning continued.

“Emergency responders are ready tonight. Pre-positioned firefighters and engines are spread around Southern California,” he said on social media. “Stay safe. Be ready to evacuate if you get the order.”

The warning, which comes from the National Weather Service, says that the fire risk is high in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties amid strong winds, a lack of recent rainfall and relatively low humidities. The warning begins Monday night and runs through Wednesday morning, the service said.

It’s is the fourth of its kind in three months, Newsom said. The first came ahead of the Mountain Fire in Ventura, which destroyed 243 structures. The second preceded the Franklin Fire in Malibu, which destroyed 20 structures.

And the third preceded the Palisades and Eaton Fires, which have now destroyed thousands of homes and structures, he said.

Death toll in Los Angeles fires rises to 24

There have been at least 24 fire-related deaths in the Palisades and Eaton Fires, according to the latest tally from the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner.

The number of fatalities is expected to rise as officials continue to battle the dual fires.

According to the medical examiner, there have been 16 confirmed deaths linked to the Eaton Fire and eight fatalities due to the Palisades Fire.

Los Angeles Unified School District reopening some schools Monday

Los Angeles Unified School District announced some schools are reopening Monday, depending on the location of the institution and the weather conditions.

LAUSD said school principals will contact communities directly.

ABC News confirmed that some community members received calls on Sunday about schools reopening.

The district has over 1,500 schools serving roughly 600,000 students in grades K–12. Schools across the district have been closed due to fires since Thursday.

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(COOPERSBURG, Pa.) — A man has been arrested in the murder of a New Jersey woman whose body was found in a Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, dumpster over the weekend.

Rolando Corte, 42, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Lucrecia Jadan Sumba, 39, from Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.

Sumba was reported missing by friends and family on Jan. 9 to the Elizabeth Police Department. Sumba was killed last Wednesday, according to prosecutors.

Corte was identified and arrested on Sunday. He is being held at the Union County Jail in New Jersey and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

If found guilty, he could face up to life in prison.

It’s unclear if the suspect and victim had any connection or what led police to identify Corte as a suspect.

The woman was found in a dumpster on S. 3rd Street in Coopersburg just before 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to police.

Coopersburg, a suburb of Allentown, is about 80 miles west of Elizabeth.

An autopsy revealed Sumba’s cause of death was sharp force injuries and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the county coroner.

“A joint investigation conducted by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force, Elizabeth Police Department, Coopersburg Police Department, and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office led to the identification and arrest of Corte,” according to the prosecutor’s office.

Coopersburg Police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

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(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — Across the Pacific Palisades, where the current Los Angeles wildfires began on Jan. 7, homes and buildings have been reduced to rubble, the once-bucolic neighborhood left ashen and desolate.

But standing tall among the wreckage — almost entirely unscathed — remains Palisades Village, the outdoor mall owned by Rick Caruso, billionaire real estate developer and former Republican mayoral candidate.

To protect the high-end shopping center, several private water tankers, equipped with 3,000 gallons of water in each, were brought in to fend off the encroaching blaze, ABC News has reported.

“Our property is standing,” Caruso told The New York Times on Wednesday. “Everything around us is gone. It is like a war zone.”

Caruso did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News. On Sunday, he posted on X that he was committing $5 million to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.

Amid the devastation of the fires, in which thousands of Californians have lost their homes, private firefighting companies have provoked controversy and ire, a symbol of the gaping disparity between the lives of the city’s wealthiest residents and those left struggling to rebuild.

The majority of private firefighters don’t actually work to serve individual customers, experts told ABC News. In most cases, they’re contracted by the government, aiding local firefighting crews, or by insurance companies, typically working to avert damage.

But some private firefighters offer their services to individuals, a practice that has shocked and infuriated many as its existence has entered the public eye. In 2018, so-called “concierge” firefighters saved Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s Hidden Hills mansion — along with several neighbors’ homes — during the Woolsey wildfire, according to reports at the time.

On Tuesday, real estate investor Keith Wasserman sparked widespread anger after posting to X about it.

“Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home? Need to act fast here. All neighbors houses burning. Will pay any amount,” he wrote in a now-deleted post.

Wasserman’s post inspired backlash, with users slamming the businessman as out of touch. He later deleted his account. Wasserman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Due to the private nature of these services, it’s not yet clear how widespread the use of private firefighters has been in battling the Los Angeles fires. Prices are not openly listed, and can vary widely, likely costing several thousand a day, The New York Times reported.

“I’ll be honest with you, we get a lot of calls in circumstances like this from private landowners who are interested in hiring some private resources to help mitigate fire risk,” Deborah Miley, executive director of National Wildfire Suppression Association, an organization representing over 300 private firefighting companies, told ABC News.

Though most private firefighting companies focus solely on work for the government and insurance companies, some openly offer their services to individual customers. Allied Disaster Defense, which the Los Angeles Times reported had sent staff to fight the recent fires, has a page on its website advertising “private client services.” The company offers to sign non-disclosure agreements for providing their services, which they recommend for “high-net worth individuals, and even celebrities.”

Aside from public backlash, the employment of private firefighters during such serious wildfires can be “extremely dangerous,” Cal Fire battalion chief David Acuña told ABC News.

“Where it becomes a problem is they don’t fall under our chain of command. We don’t know what personal protective equipment they have, and we don’t have radio contact,” Acuña said.

Acuña said he has no problems with private firefighters working in advance to prevent fire damage — but during a disaster like the one that’s ongoing, they can get in the way of official firefighters doing their jobs.

“All of those people are folks that we are going to have to come in and rescue if they stay in the area too long, and that takes away from us being able to attack the fire,” he said.

As the wildfires continue their brutal rampage, Acuña emphasized that local fire departments will remain on the ground working to battle the flames.

“We have a responsibility to the public — not to a customer,” he said.

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(COOPERSBURG, Pa.) — A man has been arrested in the murder of a New Jersey woman whose body was found in a Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, dumpster over the weekend.

Rolando Corte, 42, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Lucrecia Jadan Sumba, 39, from Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.

Sumba was reported missing by friends and family on Jan. 9 to the Elizabeth Police Department. Sumba was killed last Wednesday, according to prosecutors.

Corte was identified and arrested on Sunday. He is being held at the Union County Jail in New Jersey and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

If found guilty, he could face up to life in prison.

It’s unclear if the suspect and victim had any connection or what led police to identify Corte as a suspect.

The woman was found in a dumpster on S. 3rd Street in Coopersburg just before 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to police.

Coopersburg, a suburb of Allentown, is about 80 miles west of Elizabeth.

An autopsy revealed Sumba’s cause of death was sharp force injuries and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the county coroner.

“A joint investigation conducted by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force, Elizabeth Police Department, Coopersburg Police Department, and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office led to the identification and arrest of Corte,” according to the prosecutor’s office.

Coopersburg Police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

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(NEW ORLEANS) — The man who is suspected of committing the New Years Day vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans searched online for information about the Christmas market car-ramming attack in Germany, just hours before carrying out his own attack on Bourbon Street, according to the FBI.

In a report released Tuesday, the FBI said a search of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s “electronics” showed that he “conducted many online searches” related to the New Orleans attack “as late as mid-November,” including “how to access a balcony on Bourbon Street” and information about Mardi Gras, which occurs in March.

“Just hours before the attack on Bourbon Street, he also searched for information about the car that rammed into innocent victims in a Christmas market in Germany just ten days before,” the FBI report said.

On Dec. 21, 2024, a man drove into a crowded German Christmas market, killing five and injuring 200, according to German authorities.

In the early hours of New Years Day, Jabbar, whom the FBI previously said had recorded videos “proclaiming his support for ISIS” and mentioning he had joined the terrorist group earlier in the year, drove a rented truck down Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring 57. He died in a shootout with police while he was reaching to detonate coolers filled with explosives, according to investigators.

“A total of 136 victims have been identified, including two businesses that suffered damages,” the FBI’s report said, updating the official number of victims.

The FBI report also provided more detail about Jabbar’s visits to the city prior to the attack.

“On November 10, 2024, Jabbar took a train from Houston, Texas to New Orleans and returned to Texas that evening on a bus,” the report said. “While in the city, Jabbar looked at an apartment for rent on Orleans Street. Just days after his travel he applied to rent the apartment but later told the landlord he changed his mind.”

Jabbar at the time lived in Houston, Texas. The FBI on Tuesday also released an image they said is of Jabbar in New Orleans on November 10.

“Thanks to the overwhelming response from the public, the FBI is closer to getting answers for those families who lost loved ones and the other victims of the New Year’s Day attack,” the FBI report said.

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(NEW YORK) — Rudy Giuliani’s New York Yankees World Series rings must be stored in a closet in his son’s apartment until a judge decides whether the former New York mayor must relinquish them as part of a defamation judgment he owes to two Georgia election workers, the judge ordered Tuesday.

“The point was to ensure the security of the rings,” Judge Lewis Liman said during the final hearing before trial begins Thursday.

The trial will determine whether Giuliani, 80, must turn over three World Series rings and his Florida condominium to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who won a $148 million defamation award against him.

The former mayor’s son, Andrew, has possession of the rings and agreed to keep them “secreted in a bedroom closet” pending the outcome. Giuliani has asserted the Florida condo is his permanent residence and exempt from the judgment.

Giuliani, once Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, has already given up a New York City apartment, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by actress Lauren Bacall and several luxury watches. He has been disbarred and held in contempt in New York and in Washington.

Freeman and Moss sued Giuliani in 2021 after he repeatedly made false claims they corrupted the 2020 Georgia vote.

On Tuesday, Giuliani’s attorney sought unsuccessfully to call as witnesses Giuliani’s spokesman, Ted Goodman, and Monsignor Alan Placa, a retired priest. Both men have “intimate knowledge of his intent and the homestead,” Giuliani’s attorney said.

Placa “answers to a higher power than this court,” defense attorney Joseph Cammarata added.

“What do you mean?” Judge Liman interjected.

“He answers to God, your honor,” Cammarata responded.

Liman denied the defense request to reconsider allowing the priest to testify.

Giuliani himself is the primary witness at trial and is expected to testify first.

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(NEW YORK) — Steve Bannon must appear in court next week to explain why he switched lawyers so close to trial, a judge in New York ordered.

Bannon, once a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 25 on charges he defrauded donors of “We Build the Wall,” an online fundraising campaign to support a wall along the U.S. southern border.

Bannon hired Arthur Aidala after his prior attorneys moved to withdraw from the case and Judge April Newbauer said she wanted to “make an inquiry of the defendant” before she decided whether to allow it.

Aidala asked the judge to delay the trial’s start to give him time to read up on the case, insisting Bannon was “not looking to intentionally delay anything.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office saw it differently, arguing Bannon was “trying to make a substitution of counsel for the purpose of delay.”

Bannon’s money laundering and conspiracy case was originally scheduled for trial in 2023 but has been repeatedly delayed.

When trial does begin, prosecutors said they would ask for an anonymous jury.

A six-count indictment in 2022 charged Bannon and “We Build the Wall” itself with two counts of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison. There are additional felony counts of conspiracy and scheme to defraud along with one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to defraud.

Bannon has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump is asking a federal appeals court to reconsider overturning a jury’s verdict that found he sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and awarded her $5 million in damages.

After the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined last month that Trump failed to prove he deserved a new trial, lawyers for Trump on Tuesday requested an en banc hearing, in which the full court would hear the case rather than a select panel.

A New York jury in 2023 awarding Carroll $5 million in damages after it found Trump liable for sexually abusing her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s, and for defaming her in 2022 when he denied the allegations.

Last year, another jury ordered Trump to pay an additional $83 million in damages for his defamatory statements about Carroll.

Trump argued the trial court in 2023 erred when it allowed two women to testify about Trump allegedly assaulting them, as well as permitting Carroll’s lawyers to show the jury part of the now-infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump boasted about grabbing women.

“To have any chance of persuading a jury, Carroll’s implausible, unsubstantiated allegations had to be — and repeatedly were — propped up by the erroneous admission of highly inflammatory propensity evidence,” wrote Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, and D. John Sauder, who have all been picked by Trump for top Justice Department posts in his incoming adminstration.

Trump’s lawyers argued that the trial court’s decisions, if left uncorrected, could set a damaging precedent of allowing “inflammatory propensity evidence in a wide range of future cases.”

Trump’s request for an en banc hearing is his final appellate option before possibly turning to the Supreme Court.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Fires are continuing to burn in Southern California, with further weather-related threats expected to increase as another Santa Ana wind event picks up this week.

While the end to the fire danger is not yet in sight, the hazards that will remain in its wake will be severe, especially due to the urban nature of many of the burn zones, experts told ABC News.

The fires burning in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties are occurring on the urban-wildland interface — areas where wildland landscapes meet with urban dwellings, Costas Synolakis, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Southern California who has studied how urban fires exacerbate post-fire related hazards, told ABC News. The further away from wildland, the less chance of ignition, which is why heavy winds were able to spark house-to-house spread quickly.

But these wildfires are so severe that they have penetrated into more urban areas, Scott Stephens, professor of fire science at the University of California, Berkeley, told ABC News.

The fires will have unprecedented environmental impacts, Synolakis said.

Landslides will be of great concern once the fires subside

Once the fires are out, landslides from burn scars will be a big concern when rain returns to Southern California and could be an issue for years to come. Post-fire debris flows are particularly hazardous because they can occur with little warning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Post-wildfire landslides can exert great loads on objects in their paths, strip vegetation, block drainage ways, damage structures and endanger human life, according to the USGS. Additionally, wildfires could destabilize pre-existing, deep-seated landslides over long periods. Flows generated over longer periods could be accompanied by root decay and loss of soil strength, according to the USGS.

Landslides already historically occur in California. But conditions are currently extreme enough to warrant concern for increased threat, Edith de Guzman, a water equity and adaptation policy cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told ABC News

The wildfires are incinerating the shrub cover, so when a rain event does occur, the precipitation hits a ground surface that could be bare minerals and unable to soak it up, Stephens said.

“You’re going to get flows of soil, rock and debris,” Stephens said.

In Los Angeles, debris basins designed to catch some of the materials sliding down the mountain to lessen the threat of landslide hazards have been built in Mount Wilson and near Eaton Canyon.

The landslide danger will be especially dangerous in the Pacific Palisades, the neighborhood nestled in the lower hills of the Santa Monica mountain range on the Westside of Los Angeles that was decimated by the Palisades fire, because there is no debris basin there, Synolakis said.

“Palisades is going to be an area that people need to be on the watchout for landslides because the valley walls are steep,” Synolakis said.

The houses that did survive the wildfire in the Palisades could also be in great danger of a severe rainstorm undercutting the foundation, Synolakis added.

Homes near creeks and steep hills could also contribute a lot of debris to landslides, Stephens said.

An average of 25 to 50 people are killed by landslides each year in the U.S., according to the USGS.

Long-term pollution could impact the region, experts say

An even bigger concern than potential landslides is the environmental impact of the fires, Synolakis said. In the near future, these burned-out communities will be filled with cleanup crews dressed in hazmat suits, Hugh Safford, a research fire ecologist at the University of California, Davis, told ABC News.

Since the fires are burning down manmade structures, the materials used to construct homes and cars are depositing toxins into the air and ground as they combust, the experts said.

“This is going into the local creek systems and in the local soils,” Safford said, adding that many of the homes built before the 1980s likely are filled with asbestos.

Debris from the scorched homes near Malibu’s Big Rock will end up in the ocean as well — by wind and sea — due to the proximity to the coastline, Synolakis said.

In Altadena, homes that were destroyed near the San Gabriel Valley Groundwater Basin could contribute pollutants to the water system, De Guzman said.

Researchers are already monitoring soil to see what kinds of heavy metals and other toxins have seeped in during the combustion process. It won’t be long before the toxins end up in the ocean through the watershed, Synolakis said.

The environmental impact of a series of wildfires this big is yet to be seen, Synolakis said. And the cleanup process will be long and arduous, Safford said.

Fire danger expected to persist

On Monday afternoon, winds will begin to pick up in the mountains and higher elevations gusting 20 to 30 mph, locally 50 mph.

There is very little rain relief for the fires in sight for the Los Angeles area in the near future, forecasts show.

While there is a 20% chance for a sprinkle on Saturday, that precipitation is expected to occur closer to San Diego.

Dry conditions are expected in the long term as well. Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared that La Nina conditions are expected to persist through April 2025, with Southern Californian expected to be very close to drier than normal.

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(LOS ANGELES) — At least 24 people have died and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, rage across the Los Angeles area.

Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. About 92,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 89,000 are under evacuation warnings.

Status of Palisades, Eaton fires

The Palisades Fire, which began in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, has destroyed about 5,000 structures. It’s covered more than 23,000 acres and is at 17% containment.

The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena also began on Jan. 7 and has destroyed or damaged around 7,000 structures. It’s burned over 14,000 acres and is at 35% containment.

Wind gusts reach 72 mph overnight

Dangerously high winds that could fuel wildfires are impacting the Los Angeles area Tuesday and Wednesday.

The highest wind gust recorded so far was 72 mph in the western San Gabriel Mountains, which is in northern LA County.

A 50 mph wind gust was recorded in Malibu Hills.

The gusty winds will spread from the mountains into the valleys and the canyons by Tuesday afternoon.

A slight break in the wind is expected Tuesday evening before the rough winds pick back up Wednesday morning.

The winds will stay strong into Wednesday afternoon and then finally begin to relax Wednesday night into Thursday.

‘Dangerous’ winds to pick up across Los Angeles, Ventura counties

A “particularly dangerous situation” with a red flag warning will go into effect in western Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County on Tuesday, weather officials said, with winds threatening to further fuel historic Southern California wildfires.

The warning begins at 4 a.m. local time. Winds are forecast to gust between 45 mph to 70 mph, with relative humidity as low as 8%.

Winds overnight and early on Tuesday have been gusting up to 67 mph in the mountains near Los Angeles. The West San Gabriel Mountains have seen gusts up to 67 mph, with the Central Ventura County Valley hit about 66 mph.

The strongest gusts are expected Tuesday morning and early afternoon, which will then be followed by a break in the evening. More gusty winds are expected Wednesday morning.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

Firefighters stop forward progress of Auto Fire

Firefighters stopped forward progress of the Auto Fire in Ventura County late Monday night, the Ventura County Fire Department said, with the blaze mapped at 55.7 acres with 0% containment.

Firefighting teams “remain on scene mopping up hotspots and working to increase containment,” the department said. “The fire was confined to the river bottom and no structures were threatened. The cause of the fire Is under investigation.”

-ABC News’ Marilyn Heck

LA mayor issues executive order to expedite rebuilding

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order late Monday that her office said “will expedite the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities” devastated by local wildfires.

“This order is the first step in clearing away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion,” Bass said in a statement. “We will do everything we can to get Angelenos back home.”

The order was issued as dangerous wind conditions threatened additional homes across the Southern California area.

“This unprecedented natural disaster warrants an unprecedented response,” Bass said.

A mayor’s office press release said the executive order will coordinate debris removal from all impacted areas, expedite all building permit activity and take immediate action to make 1,400 units of housing available.

The order also set a one-week deadline for all city departments to list relief needed from state and federal authorities.

-ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog

More firefighting resources being deployed ahead of extreme fire weather

Additional firefighting resources will be allocated in advance of the extreme fire weather forecast this week in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Monday.

That includes more than 300 additional firefighting personnel and 135 engines — making for more than 15,000 personnel total and 1,900 fire engines, water tenders, aircraft and bulldozers combined in the ongoing fire response, the office said.

How the Palisades Village managed to survive the firestorm

The Palisades Village is largely unscathed amid the devastating Palisades Fire, even as buildings across the street burned to the ground.

That’s because the owners of the outdoor mall hired private tankers to fend off the flames as the fire encroached, ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman reports.

Tankers could be seen on Monday preparing for the next Santa Ana wind event forecast for this week.

Newsom proposes additional $2.5B in firestorm response

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed that the state provide an additional $2.5 billion in funding for its firestorm response and recovery efforts.

Newsom signed a proclamation on Monday that expands the scope of the state legislature’s current special session “to further boost response and initial recovery efforts for Los Angeles,” his office said in a press release.

The governor is requesting $1 billion to go toward the emergency response, cleanup and recovery in the Los Angeles wildfires, as well as $1.5 billion in funding to prepare for the threats of firestorms and other natural disasters, according to the proclamation.

Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas said in a statement that the assembly members “are listening to their residents and will bring feedback to the discussion as we consider the Governor’s proposal.”

9 people charged with looting in Palisades, Eaton fires: DA

Nine people have been charged with looting in connection with the Palisades and Eaton fires, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Monday.

“There have been certain people that we have given a warning to because we anticipated that this was half was going to happen, and these are the criminals,” Hochman said during a press briefing. “These are the people who are seeking to exploit this tragedy for their own benefit.”

Among those charged are three people accused of stealing more than $200,000 in property in a burglary last week at a house in Mandeville Canyon during an “evacuation situation,” Hochman said.

A man has also been charged with arson in a fire that occurred in the city of Azusa on Friday, Hochman said.

Homeowners, renters sue utility company over Eaton Fire

Four separate lawsuits were filed Monday against Southern California Edison, a utility company in California, by homeowners and renters who lost their homes in the Eaton Fire. The lawsuits each allege the company failed to de-energize all of its electrical equipment despite red flag warnings issued by the National Weather Service.

-ABC News’ Laura Romero

Biden: ‘Our hearts ache for the 24 innocent souls we have lost’

President Joe Biden said in a new statement, “Our hearts ache for the 24 innocent souls we have lost in the wildfires.”

Biden said he continues to be “frequently briefed” on updates. He said he’s “directed our team to respond promptly to any request for additional federal firefighting assistance,” adding that his team is “laser-focused on helping survivors and we will continue to use every tool available to support the urgent firefight as the winds are projected to increase.”

“To the brave firefighters and first responders working day and night to suppress these fires and save lives: our nation is grateful,” Biden said. “You represent the best of America and we are in your debt.”

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Areas for worst wind conditions this week

The National Weather Service has highlighted these three areas where officials believe there’s the highest chance for explosive fire growth this week. The Hurst Fire is in the highlighted area and the Palisades Fire is near the highlighted area.

The extreme fire risk will last from 4 a.m. Tuesday to noon Wednesday.

Winds could climb as high as 45 to 70 mph and humidity could be as low as 8 to 15%.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

Crews finding remains in Altadena: Sheriff

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said he knows displaced residents want to return to their neighborhoods, but he warned, “we are in the third day of grid searching” in Altadena.

“It is a very grim task,” he said, noting that every day crews are finding people’s remains.

Twenty-three people have been reported missing: 17 from the Eaton Fire and six in the Malibu area, the sheriff said. 

Severe fire conditions to continue through Wednesday

Severe fire weather conditions — high winds with low humidity — will continue through Wednesday, keeping the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County critical, LA Fire Chief Anthony Marrone warned at a news conference.

Amid the “unprecedented disaster,” Marrone shared positive news that the Eaton Fire in Altadena didn’t grow at all on Sunday.

The Eaton Fire has damaged or destroyed over 7,000 structures, Marrone said. He said damage inspections for dwellings are 26% completed.

The super scooper firefighting plane damaged by a drone last week has been repaired, Marrone said. Crews are waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration to give the OK to send the plane back in the air.

Ukraine offers aid

Ukraine may send rescuers to help fight the devastating fires in California, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“The situation there is extremely difficult, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “This is currently being coordinated, and we have offered our assistance to the American side through the relevant channels. 150 of our firefighters are already prepared.”

Firefighters from Mexico and Canada have also been deployed to California.

Edison International can’t rule out equipment role in wildfires, CEO says

Pedro Pizarro, the president and CEO of Edison International, told “Good Morning America” on Monday that the company cannot yet rule the possibility that its energy infrastructure played a role in sparking wildfires now raging around Los Angeles.

Fire agencies are investigating whether Southern California Edison — a subsidiary of Edison International — infrastructure sites caused fires in areas devastated by the Eaton and Hurst wildfires.

“You can’t rule out anything ever until you can get your eyes on the equipment,” Pizarro said.

“Typically, when there’s a spark created by equipment, we will see the electrical anomaly — we haven’t seen that,” Pizarro said of a possible incident involving Edison infrastructure and the Hurst Fire burning outside of San Fernando.

“That said, we have not been able to get close to the equipment,” he continued. “As soon as we can get close to it, we’ll inspect and be transparent with the public.”

“We may find something different,” Pizarro added.

Pizarro said Edison also recorded damage to equipment at the site of the Eaton Fire in the mountains north of Pasadena. “We don’t know whether the damage happened before or after the start of the fire,” he said.

Pizarro said that Edison International will be shutting off power to some California residents as a precaution amid red flag warnings.

“We have about 450,000 customers who we’ve warned they may need to have their power shut off,” Pizarro said.

High winds threaten explosive fire growth

Weather officials have issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning for western Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County beginning on Tuesday at 4 a.m. into Wednesday at noon.

Winds are forecast to be strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth.

A new Santa Ana wind event is forecast Monday through Wednesday with the strongest winds Tuesday into Wednesday.

On Monday morning and the rest of the day, winds will begin to pick up in the mountains and higher elevations, gusting 20 to 30 mph, locally as high as 50 mph.

By Tuesday morning at 4 a.m., when the “PDS” conditions begin, gusts in the mountains are expected to near 70 mph possibly and humidity could be as low as 8% for some of the area.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

68 arrested, many for burglary, in fire evacuation zones, police say

At least 68 people have been arrested in fire evacuation zones, according to law enforcement officials, as police work to secure devastated parts of Los Angeles and firefighters continue to battle wildfires.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it recorded 29 arrests — 25 in the Eaton Fire area north of Pasadena and four in the Palisades Fire area in western Los Angeles.

The Santa Monica Police Department reported 39 arrests in evacuated areas in its jurisdiction on Saturday night, including 10 for burglary and six for possession of burglary tools. None of those arrested lived in the area, the department said.

-ABC News’ Marilyn Heck

Forecast calls for ‘Particularly Dangerous Situation’ for fires, Newsom warns

Gov. Gavin Newsom warned late Sunday that the week was beginning with a forecast for a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” for new wildfires, even as the firefight against the several fires still burning continued.

“Emergency responders are ready tonight. Pre-positioned firefighters and engines are spread around Southern California,” he said on social media. “Stay safe. Be ready to evacuate if you get the order.”

The warning, which comes from the National Weather Service, says that the fire risk is high in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties amid strong winds, a lack of recent rainfall and relatively low humidities. The warning begins Monday night and runs through Wednesday morning, the service said.

It’s is the fourth of its kind in three months, Newsom said. The first came ahead of the Mountain Fire in Ventura, which destroyed 243 structures. The second preceded the Franklin Fire in Malibu, which destroyed 20 structures.

And the third preceded the Palisades and Eaton Fires, which have now destroyed thousands of homes and structures, he said.

Death toll in Los Angeles fires rises to 24

There have been at least 24 fire-related deaths in the Palisades and Eaton Fires, according to the latest tally from the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner.

The number of fatalities is expected to rise as officials continue to battle the dual fires.

According to the medical examiner, there have been 16 confirmed deaths linked to the Eaton Fire and eight fatalities due to the Palisades Fire.

Los Angeles Unified School District reopening some schools Monday

Los Angeles Unified School District announced some schools are reopening Monday, depending on the location of the institution and the weather conditions.

LAUSD said school principals will contact communities directly.

ABC News confirmed that some community members received calls on Sunday about schools reopening.

The district has over 1,500 schools serving roughly 600,000 students in grades K–12. Schools across the district have been closed due to fires since Thursday.

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