In the news today: California fires have caused staggering losses; a strategy shift for Senate Democrats; and Earth records its hottest year ever in 2024. Also, Japanese women are defying decades-long taboos by brewing sake. |
Wildfires rage across Southern California. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, Chris Pizzello, Mark J. Terrill, Nic Coury, Jae C. Hong)
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LA's devastating fires have killed 10 people and burned more than 10,000 structures |
The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have burned thousands of homes, buildings, and other structures, officials said. At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders. Firefighters were able to establish the first bit of containment Thursday but a new blaze, the Kenneth Fire, also started in the San Fernando Valley and spread into neighboring Ventura County. Read more.
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The region’s devastating wildfires have killed 10 people so far. Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.
The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that has grown used to massive wildfires. At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries were burned. So too were the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s.
At least 20 arrests have been made for looting. The city of Santa Monica, which is next to Pacific Palisades, declared a curfew because of the lawlessness, officials said. National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. They’ll be stationed near fire-ravaged areas to protect property.
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Senate Democrats join Republicans in voting to advance bill to detain migrants accused of crimes |
Newly in the minority, Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to advance legislation that would require federal authorities to detain unauthorized immigrants who have been accused of certain crimes — signaling that they will try and find spots to work with President-elect Donald Trump while simultaneously trying to block much of his agenda. Read more.
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The new Democratic strategy is a shift from Trump’s first term, when Democrats openly and aggressively fought Trump on most issues. It’s evidence of the delicate balance that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is trying to strike after Republicans dominated last year’s elections and as some of the more moderate members of his caucus are trying to show they can work with the new president.
Beyond the immigration bill, some Democrats are showing their willingness to work with Trump by supporting some of his nominees.
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Earth records hottest year ever in 2024, breaching a key threshold
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It was such a big jump that the planet temporarily passed a major symbolic climate threshold, several weather monitoring agencies announced Friday. Read more. |
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Last year’s global average temperature surpassed the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s that was called for by the 2015 Paris climate pact. It eclipsed 2023’s temperature in the European database by an eighth of a degree Celsius (more than a fifth of a degree Fahrenheit). Until the last couple of super-hot years, global temperature records were exceeded only by hundredths of a degree, scientists said.
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Sake brewer Mie Takahashi at her Koten sake brewery in Okaya, Japan, in November. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
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Once taboo, more Japanese women are brewing sake
Mie Takahashi is one of a small group of female toji, or master Japanese sake brewers. Only 33 female toji are registered in Japan’s Toji Guild Association out of more than a thousand breweries nationwide. That’s more than several decades ago when women were largely excluded from sake production until after World War II. |
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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