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Shea Stevens (0:20)
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The state firefighting authority Cal Fire is reporting some progress in containing at least two of the major fires burning in Los Angeles Angeles County. The two largest blazes have consumed nearly 31,000 acres and at least 10 deaths have been confirmed. NPR's Liz Baker reports that much of the region remains in critical fire danger through Friday.
Liz Baker (0:46)
The Kenneth fire spread rapidly right at the end of a day that saw a slight lull in the ferocious Santa Ana winds that have had Los Angeles on edge since Tuesday morning, contributing to the collective frayed nerves. An evacuation push notification erroneously sent to cell phones county wide. Still, reduced wind gave firefighters a small advantage Thursday, stopping the forward progress on the Kenneth and other fires and allowing some evacuation orders to lift, including in Sylmar in the Hollywood Hills. Cal Fire also reported some containment on the deadly Palisades fire, which has been raging for three days through communities on the coast. Liz Baker, NPR News, Los Angeles.
Shea Stevens (1:22)
President elect Donald Trump will be sentenced today for his conviction of falsifying business records in 2016, allegedly to hide a past extramarital affair. New York Judge Juan Merchan refused to delay the sentencing, but has indicated he will not pose jail time. Meanwhile, Trump has reacted to the US Supreme Court's refusal to delay today's proceeding.
Donald Trump (1:44)
Well, they called for an appeal, and as you know, they acknowledge what the judge said about no penalty. And there is really there's no penalty, but we're going to appeal anyway, just psychologically, because frankly, it's a disgrace.
Shea Stevens (1:59)
Speaking at a transition dinner in Washington Thursday, Trump maintained that he did nothing wrong. Former President Jimmy Carter has been laid to rest in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, following a funeral in Washington. Carter was buried next to his wife, Rosalynn. Pope Francis has identified as intensified his criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza. The pontiff calls the humanitarian situation there shameful. More from NPR's Ruth Sherlock in Rome.
Ruth Sherlock (2:26)
In his yearly gathering with diplomats, Pope Francis asked an aide to read his speech because he's recovering from a cold. The address focused on the pope's hopes that this will be the year that sees an end to the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza. He called the humanitarian situation in Gaza very serious and shameful. And elsewhere in his speech. He wrote, we cannot accept that children are freezing to death or the bombing of civilians. Every night, the pope speaks by phone with parishioners in Gaza. In recent months, Pope Francis has been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Hamas there and said jurists and international experts should investigate whether Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide. The Israeli government responded angrily, saying the pontiff had ignored the wider context of the war and Israel's security concerns.