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  • What we know (and what we don’t) about the Epstein files’ release

    What we know (and what we don’t) about the Epstein files’ release

    The Justice Department released a second wave of files related to Jeffrey Epstein this week, providing a window into federal investigators’ examination of sexual abuse allegations lodged against the deceased financier by women and girls over the course of decades.

    The tranche of files released by the Justice Department on Monday includes wide-ranging references to President Donald Trump and a revelation that U.S. authorities sought to interview Prince Andrew in connection with two separate criminal investigations. The department had released the initial batch just ahead of last Friday’s deadline that was established in the law passed by Congress.

    Despite the deadline to release the full trove of files about Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, many files have yet to be made public. The Justice Department’s releases have faced issues, including the latest tranche being briefly taken offline before being uploaded again. The department, which traditionally has been regarded as being independent from partisan influence, released statements saying documents in the latest batch contained what it called “untrue and sensationalist claims” about Trump.

    Here is what we have learned so far from the latest release:

    Trump is mentioned much more in the latest batch of files

    The batch of files released this week produced more documents mentioning Trump than the first one. It includes a 2021 subpoena sent to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s club in Palm Beach, Fla., for records that pertained to the government’s case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice in sex trafficking. The full reason for the subpoena to Mar-a-Lago was not immediately clear, but an assistant U.S. attorney had been seeking past employment records from Trump’s club that were relevant in the case against Maxwell.

    The new batch includes notes from an assistant U.S. attorney in New York about the number of times Trump flew on Epstein’s plane, including one flight that included just Trump, Epstein, and a 20-year-old woman, according to the notes.

    The latest drop also includes several tips that were collected by the FBI about Trump’s involvement with Epstein and parties at their properties in the early 2000s. The documents do not show whether any follow-up investigations took place or whether any of the tips were corroborated.

    Being mentioned in a mass trove of investigatory documents does not demonstrate criminal wrongdoing. Trump has not been accused of being involved in Epstein’s criminal activities and has denied knowing about Epstein’s abuse of young women and girls. His spokesperson previously said Trump kicked Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago Club for being a “creep.”

    In a statement Tuesday morning, the Justice Department said: “Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump.”

    “Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims,” the statement said.

    In a social media post on Wednesday, the Justice Department said that the “US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI” informed DOJ that “over a million more documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case” had been uncovered.

    “The DOJ has received these documents from SDNY and the FBI to review. … Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks,” the department added.

    When asked for comment Wednesday, the White House referred the Washington Post to the DOJ’s statement on X.

    U.S. authorities wanted to interview Prince Andrew, documents show

    The new set of public documents includes emails and court filings by U.S. authorities seeking to interview Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in connection with two separate criminal investigations: one relating to Epstein and another involving Peter Nygard, the Canadian fashion tycoon accused of sexually assaulting multiple women and girls.

    The newly released material also contains an email sent from “A,” who writes that he is at the royal residence of Balmoral in Scotland and asks Maxwell whether she had found him some “new inappropriate friends.”

    While it had been known that prosecutors wanted to speak to Andrew about Epstein, their desire to engage on Nygard was newly revealed by the recently released documents.

    The document regarding Nygard stressed that Andrew was not a target of the investigations and that U.S. authorities had not gathered evidence that he had committed any crime under U.S. law.

    U.S. authorities stated that Andrew was not a target of the Epstein investigation and that there is “evidence that Prince Andrew engaged in sexual conduct involving one of Epstein’s victims.” The document noted that U.S. authorities had not concluded he had committed a crime under U.S. law.

    Andrew, who was stripped of his royal title, has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing. The former prince’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

    Justice Department struggles with releasing files

    The second wave of files on Epstein was available for several hours Monday afternoon and evening on the Justice Department website, but the documents were taken down around 8 p.m. The department reposted the files on its website shortly before midnight Monday.

    The department did not respond to questions about why the documents had been posted and then apparently removed.

    Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and Epstein’s accusers have criticized the DOJ for releasing only some of the files by the Dec. 19 deadline. The House members who wrote the law setting that date said they would seek to find Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress over the partial release.

    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that the Justice Department has “about a million or so pages of documents” related to Epstein and that “virtually all of them contain victim information.” Based on internal estimates, it appears that hundreds of thousands of pages of additional Epstein-related documents have yet to be publicly released.

    The Justice Department has said that some documents made public, including a purported letter from Epstein to Larry Nassar, a doctor convicted of sexually abusing athletes, are fake.

    Along with the Justice Department’s statements challenging the veracity of claims made about Trump, Blanche has defended his agency’s procedures for releasing documents related to Epstein.

    “We produce documents, and sometimes this can result in releasing fake or false documents because they simply are in our possession because the law requires this. … We will continue to produce every document required by law. Let’s not let internet rumor engines outrun the facts,” Blanche wrote on X.

    The latest batch of documents included emails describing how federal investigators faced data-processing delays and issues organizing the large collection of files they had obtained while investigating Epstein.

    An assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York wrote in one February 2020 email released this week that it was “basically impossible for us to keep track of what we’re getting, and what has been completed, without some kind of identification or labeling system.”

    A follow-up message in the email chain later that month states that investigators received access to “well over a million documents, and we don’t have any idea what we’re looking at.”

    Victims’ rights advocates want specific info from files — and aren’t likely to get it

    A group of women who have accused Epstein of abuse said in a statement on Monday that valuable information was missing from Friday’s initial wave of documents released by the Justice Department.

    The women, in their statement, claimed that numerous victim identities were left unredacted in the initial release and specifically criticized the lack of financial documents and unredacted grand jury minutes. The second batch of documents was similarly devoid of such information.

    The Justice Department said its review process was focused on keeping victims’ identities shielded. While compiling records, the department sought the names of people victimized by Epstein and found “over 1,200 names being identified as victims or their relatives,” Blanche said in a letter to Congress.

    Blanche also said the department had withheld some files that it claimed were covered by legal privileges that the new law did not specifically waive. Among those were documents that would reveal internal deliberations at the Justice Department.

  • Jimmy Kimmel jokes about fascism in an ‘alternative Christmas message’ for Britain

    Jimmy Kimmel jokes about fascism in an ‘alternative Christmas message’ for Britain

    LONDON — Talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel took aim at President Donald Trump as he warned Thursday about the rise of fascism in an address to U.K. viewers dubbed “The Alternative Christmas Message.”

    The message, aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day, reflected on the impact of the second term in office for Trump, who Kimmel said acts like a king.

    “From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year,” he said. “Tyranny is booming over here.”

    The channel began a tradition of airing an alternative Christmas message in 1993, as a counterpart to the British monarch’s annual televised address to the nation. Channel 4 said the message is often a thought-provoking and personal reflection pertinent to the events of the year.

    The comedian has skewered Trump since returning to the air after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! in September amid criticism of comments the host made after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

    Kimmel had made remarks in reference to the reaction to Kirk’s shooting suggesting that many Trump supporters were trying to capitalize on the death.

    Trump celebrated the suspension of the veteran late-night comic and his frequent critic, calling it “great news for America.” He also called for other late-night hosts to be fired.

    The incident, one of Trump’s many disputes and legal battles waged with the media, sparked widespread concerns about freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

    Hundreds of leading Hollywood stars and others in the entertainment industry urged Americans in an open letter to “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.” The show returned to the air less than a week later.

    Kimmel told the U.K. audience that a Christmas miracle had happened in September when millions of people — some who hated his show — had spoken up for free speech.

    “We won, the president lost, and now I’m back on the air every night giving the most powerful politician on Earth a right and richly deserved bollocking,” he said.

    Channel 4 previously invited whistleblower Edward Snowden and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to deliver the alternative Christmas message.

    Kimmel, who said he didn’t expect Brits to know who he was, warned that silencing critics is not something that happens only in Russia or North Korea.

    Despite the split that led to the American Revolution 250 years ago, he said, the two nations still share a special relationship, and he urged the U.K. not to give up on the U.S. as it was “going through a bit of a wobble.”

    “Here in the United States right now, we are both figuratively and literally tearing down the structures of our democracy, from the free press to science to medicine to judicial independence to the actual White House itself‚” Kimmel said, in reference to demolition of the building’s East Wing. “We are a right mess, and we know this is also affecting you, and I just wanted to say sorry.”

  • King Charles III calls for kindness and unity in Christmas message amid global conflicts

    King Charles III calls for kindness and unity in Christmas message amid global conflicts

    LONDON — On a Christmas Day when the war in Ukraine casts a shadow over Europe, concerns over immigration divide societies, and some politicians fan anger and resentment, Britain’s King Charles III called on people to focus on kindness instead of conflict.

    Delivering his annual holiday address from Westminster Abbey, Charles said Thursday the Christmas story of wise men and shepherds traveling through the night to find their savior shows how we can find strength in the “companionship and kindness of others.”

    “To this day, in times of uncertainty, these ways of living are treasured by all the great faiths and provide us with deep wells of hope, of resilience in the face of adversity,” Charles said. “Peace through forgiveness, simply getting to know our neighbors, and by showing respect to one another, creating new friendships.”

    “In this, with the great diversity of our communities, we can find the strength to ensure that right triumphs over wrong,” he added.

    The speech, which concluded with a Christmas carol sung by a Ukrainian choir, came as European leaders have been rallying support for Ukraine amid signs that President Donald Trump is losing patience with America’s traditional European allies. At home, British politics have become increasingly bitter as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government struggles to control unauthorized migration and bolster creaking public services.

    Charles, the titular head of the Church of England, chose Westminster Abbey as the site of his Christmas Day broadcast to underscore the theme of pilgrimage that ran through the speech. The abbey, known as the site of coronations and royal weddings, is also the focus of an annual pilgrimage honoring Edward the Confessor, an early king of England who was canonized as a saint in 1161.

    “Pilgrimage is a word less used today, but it is of particular significance for our modern world, and especially at Christmas,” he said. “This is about journeying forward into the future, while also journeying back to remember the past and learn from its lessons.”

    Charles and his family made their own pilgrimage on foot earlier in the day to St. Mary Magdalene Church on the king’s private Sandringham Estate, about 100 miles north of London.

    Charles and Queen Camilla, along with Prince William and his wife, Kate, and their children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, and their extended family, walked to the church and greeted the crowds of people after the service.

    Events earlier this year marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II underscored the need to learn from the past, Charles said. While there are fewer and fewer living veterans of that conflict, we must remember the courage and sacrifice of those who fought the war and the way communities came together “in the face of such great challenge,” he said.

    “These are the values which have shaped our country and the Commonwealth,” he said. “As we hear of division, both at home and abroad, they are the values of which we must never lose sight.”

    The monarch’s annual holiday message is watched by millions of people in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 independent nations, most of which have historic ties to Britain. The prerecorded speech is broadcast at 3 p.m. London time, when many families are enjoying their traditional Christmas lunch.

    The speech is one of the rare occasions when Charles, 77, is able to voice his own views and does not seek guidance from the government.

    This year’s address came just two weeks after Charles made a deeply personal television appearance in which he said “good news” from his doctors meant that he would be able to reduce his treatment for cancer in the new year.

    The king was diagnosed with a still-undisclosed form of cancer in early 2024. Buckingham Palace says his treatment is now moving to a “precautionary phase” and his condition will be monitored to ensure his continued recovery.

    The speech was accompanied by a video of members of the royal family, from the king to grandchildren George, Louis, and Charlotte, meeting with the public and carrying out their royal duties.

    That included scenes from the king’s historic trip to the Vatican as he works to forge closer relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.

    The event was the first time since King Henry VIII severed ties with Rome that the leaders of the two Christian churches, divided for centuries over issues that now include the ordination of female priests in the Church of England, had prayed together.

    The king’s message was clear: Even if some years had passed, there is always hope to start over. Peace is possible.

  • Mohammad Bakri, renowned and controversial Palestinian actor and filmmaker, dies at 72

    Mohammad Bakri, renowned and controversial Palestinian actor and filmmaker, dies at 72

    TEL AVIV, Israel — Mohammad Bakri, 72, a Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, has died, his family announced.

    Mr. Bakri was best known for Jenin, Jenin, a 2003 documentary he directed about an Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank city the previous year during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. The film, focusing on the heavy destruction and heartbreak of its Palestinian residents, was banned by Israel.

    Mr. Bakri also acted in the 2025 film All That’s Left of You, a drama about a Palestinian family through more than 76 years, alongside his sons, Adam and Saleh Bakri, who are also actors. The film has been shortlisted by the Academy Awards for the best international feature film.

    Over the years, he made several films that spanned the spectrum of Palestinian experiences. He also acted in Hebrew, including at Israel’s national theater in Tel Aviv, and appeared in a number of famous Israeli films in the 1980s and 1990s. He studied at Tel Aviv University.

    Mr. Bakri, who was born in northern Israel and held Israeli citizenship, dabbled in both film and theater. His best-known one-man show from 1986, The Pessoptimist, based on the writings of the Palestinian author Emile Habiby, focused on the intricacies and emotions of someone who has both Israeli and Palestinian identities.

    During the 1980s, Mr. Bakri played characters in mainstream Israeli films that humanized the Palestinian identity, including Beyond the Walls, a seminal film about incarcerated Israelis and Palestinians, said Raya Morag, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who specializes in cinema and trauma.

    “He broke stereotypes about how Israelis looked at Palestinians, and allowing someone Palestinian to be regarded as a hero in Israeli society,” she said.

    “He was a very brave person, and he was brave by standing to his ideals, choosing not to be conformist in any way, and paying the price in both societies,” Morag said.

    Mr. Bakri faced some pushback within Palestinian society for his cooperation with Israelis. After Jenin, Jenin, he was plagued by almost two decades of court cases in Israel, where the film was seen as unbalanced and inciting.

    In 2022, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld a ban on the documentary, saying it defamed Israeli soldiers, and ordered Mr. Bakri to pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages to an Israeli military officer for defamation.

    Jenin, Jenin was a turning point in Mr. Bakri’s career. In Israel, he became a polarizing figure and he never worked with mainstream Israeli cinema again, Morag said. “He was loyal to himself despite all the pressures from inside and outside,” she added. “He was a firm voice that did not change during the years.”

    Local media quoted Mr. Bakri’s family as saying he died Wednesday after suffering from heart and lung problems. A cousin, Rafic, told the Arabic news site Al-Jarmaq that Mr. Bakri was a tenacious advocate for the Palestinians who used his works to express support for his people.

    “I am certain that Abu Saleh will remain in the memory of Palestinian people everywhere and all people of the free world,” he said, using Mr. Bakri’s nickname.

  • Pope Leo XIV urges the faithful on Christmas to shed indifference in the face of suffering

    Pope Leo XIV urges the faithful on Christmas to shed indifference in the face of suffering

    VATICAN CITY — In his first Christmas Day message, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to shed indifference in the face of those who have lost everything, such as in Gaza; those who are impoverished, such as in Yemen; and the many migrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea and the American continent for a better future.

    The first U.S. pontiff addressed about 26,000 people from the loggia overlooking St. Peter’s Square for the traditional papal Urbi et Orbi address, Latin for “to the city and to the world,” which serves as a summary of the woes facing the world.

    Though the crowd had gathered under a steady downpour during the papal Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, the rain had subsided by the time Leo took a brief tour of the square in the popemobile, then spoke from the loggia.

    Leo revived the tradition of offering Christmas greetings in multiple languages abandoned by his predecessor, Pope Francis. He received especially warm cheers when he made his greetings in his native English and in Spanish, the language of his adopted country of Peru, where he served first as a missionary and then as archbishop.

    Someone in the crowd shouted out “Viva il papa!” or ”Long live the pope!” before he retreated into the basilica. Leo took off his glasses for a final wave.

    Leo surveys the world’s distress

    During the traditional address, the pope emphasized that everyone could contribute to peace by acting with humility and responsibility.

    “If he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and the oppressed, then the world would change,” the pope said.

    Leo called for “justice, peace, and stability” in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Israel, and Syria; prayers for “the tormented people of Ukraine”; and “peace and consolation” for victims of wars, injustice, political instability, religious persecution, and terrorism, citing Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Congo.

    The pope also urged dialogue to address “numerous challenges” in Latin America, reconciliation in Myanmar, the restoration of “the ancient friendship between Thailand and Cambodia,” and assistance for the suffering of those hit by natural disasters in South Asia and Oceania.

    “In becoming man, Jesus took upon himself our fragility, identifying with each one of us: with those who have nothing left and have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza; with those who are prey to hunger and poverty, like the Yemeni people; with those who are fleeing their homeland to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent,” the pontiff said.

    He also remembered those who have lost their jobs or are seeking work, especially young people, underpaid workers, and those in prison.

    Peace through dialogue

    Earlier, Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar beneath the balustrade of St. Peter’s Basilica, which was adorned with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias. White flowers were set at the feet of a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day.

    In his homily, Leo underlined that peace can emerge only through dialogue.

    “There will be peace when our monologues are interrupted and, enriched by listening, we fall to our knees before the humanity of the other,” he said.

    He remembered the people of Gaza, “exposed for weeks to rain, wind, and cold” and the fragility of “defenseless populations, tried by so many wars,” and of “young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them, and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths.”

    Thousands of people packed the basilica for the pope’s first Christmas Day Mass, holding aloft their smartphones to capture images of the opening procession.

    This Christmas season marks the winding down of the Holy Year celebrations, which will close on Jan. 6, the Catholic Epiphany holiday marking the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

  • Christmas Eve winner in Arkansas lands a $1.817 billion Powerball lottery jackpot

    Christmas Eve winner in Arkansas lands a $1.817 billion Powerball lottery jackpot

    A Powerball ticket purchased outside Little Rock, Ark., won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.

    The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52, and 59, with the Powerball number being 19. The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA store in Cabot, lottery officials in Arkansas said Thursday. No one answered the phone Thursday at the location, which was closed for Christmas. Cabot, a community of roughly 27,000 people, is 26 miles northeast of Little Rock.

    Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previously expected, making it the second-largest in U.S. history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump-sum cash payment option of $834.9 million.

    “Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the website. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak — every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”

    Lottery officials said they won’t know who won until at least Monday because winners must contact a claims center, which is closed for the holidays until then, according to Karen Reynolds, a spokesperson for the Arkansas lottery.

    The prize followed 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.

    The last drawing with a jackpot winner was Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion.

    Organizers said it is the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.

    The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.

    Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes.

    “With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.

    Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

  • Powerful holiday storm lashes Southern California and brings flash floods, mudslides

    Powerful holiday storm lashes Southern California and brings flash floods, mudslides

    LOS ANGELES — A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing mudslides and debris flows that has led to some water rescues and evacuation orders.

    Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding and mudslides. Areas scorched by January’s wildfires were under evacuation warnings, and Los Angeles County officials said the previous day that they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homes.

    San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in their cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear how many were rescued.

    Firefighters also went door to door to check on residents, and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains, was under evacuation orders in the afternoon as rains continued to pummel the area.

    Debris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officials. Another video showed fast-moving water rushing through the front porch of several homes.

    The storm stranded Dillan Brown with his wife and 14-month-old daughter at a rented cabin in Wrightwood with almost no food and only enough diapers for about another day. By the morning, roads leading off the mountain and to a grocery store were blocked by rocks and debris, Brown said.

    “I came across [a road] where there was a car sucked away by the water and realized we were trapped here,” he said.

    A resident learned of his situation and posted a call for help in a Facebook group, and in less than an hour, neighbors showed up with more than enough supplies to ride out the storm, including bread, vegetables, milk, diapers and wipes.

    “I think we’re a little sad and upset that we’re not going to be home with our families,” Brown said, but the “kindness shown is definitely an overwhelming feeling.”

    Janice Quick, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce and a resident of the mountain town for 45 years, said a wildfire in 2024 left much of the terrain without tree coverage and “all this rain is bringing down a lot of debris and a lot of mud from the mountain area.”

    Residents around the burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuate.

    Areas along the coast including Malibu were under flood warnings until the evening, and much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were also under wind and flood advisories.

    Heavy rain douses Southern California

    The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a man trapped in a drainage tunnel in northwest LA. No injuries were reported, but the man was being evaluated.

    Several roadways including a part of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport were closed due to flooding.

    Conditions could worsen with multiple atmospheric rivers during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm in Los Angeles was expected to strengthen into the afternoon before tapering off later in the evening.

    James Dangerfield, an 84-year-old resident of Altadena, said his family and neighbor helped place sandbags in his backyard earlier this week. A flash flood warning was issued for the neighborhood, but he wasn’t too worried because his house is on a hill.

    He and his wife, Stephanie, planned to remain there and spend Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildren.

    “We’re just going to stay put, and everybody will have to come to us,” Dangerfield said. “We’re not going to go anywhere.”

    Mike Burdick, who takes care of his parents in Altadena near burn scars from the Eaton Fire, ran out to buy more sandbags in the morning when he saw that the pool was overflowing.

    “I literally woke up to just downpour,” he said.

    The family was prepared to evacuate with a week’s worth of essentials including for their dog and cat. They planned to attend a nearby holiday party in the evening.

    “We’re just going to make an appearance and get back safe to our animals,” Burdick said.

    Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.

    Much of California under weather warnings

    Forecasters said heavy snow and gusts were expected to create “near white-out conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make travel “nearly impossible” through mountain passes. There was also a “considerable” avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center.

    The National Weather Service said a winter storm warning would be in effect for the greater Tahoe region until Friday morning.

    Power was knocked out to more than 125,000 due to a damaged power pole, according to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility.

    The California Highway Patrol was investigating a seemingly weather-related fatal crash south of Sacramento. A driver who was apparently traveling at an unsafe speed lost control on a wet road and crashed into a power pole, Officer Michael Harper said via email.

    San Francisco and Los Angeles airports reported some minor morning flight delays.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response.

    Flash flooding in Northern California has led to water rescues and at least one death, authorities said.

    The state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.

    Atmospheric rivers transport moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes in long, narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean.

  • Bari Weiss defends held ‘60 Minutes’ story in email to CBS News staff

    Bari Weiss defends held ‘60 Minutes’ story in email to CBS News staff

    Bari Weiss explained her decision to hold a 60 Minutes segment earlier this week in an email to CBS News staff Wednesday, saying she is working to win back the trust of American viewers.

    “Right now, the majority of Americans say they do not trust the press. It isn’t because they’re crazy,” she began. “To win back their trust, we have to work hard. Sometimes that means doing more legwork. Sometimes it means telling unexpected stories. Sometimes it means training our attention on topics that have been overlooked or misconstrued. And sometimes it means holding a piece about an important subject to make sure it is comprehensive and fair.”

    The new CBS News editor in chief continued: “In our upside-down moment, this may seem radical. Such editorial decisions can cause a firestorm, particularly on a slow news week. And the standards for fairness we are holding ourselves to, particularly on contentious subjects, will surely feel controversial to those used to doing things one way. But to fulfill our mission, it’s necessary.”

    The postponed segment was set to cover the Trump administration’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison and had been heavily promoted by CBS before its scheduled Sunday air date.

    On Sunday, the correspondent for the segment, Sharyn Alfonsi, wrote to colleagues that Weiss had “spiked” the story. While she did not share the explicit reason, she suggested that Weiss was dissatisfied that the Trump administration did not participate in the story.

    “If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient,” Alfonsi wrote Sunday. “If the standard for airing a story becomes ‘the government must agree to be interviewed,’ then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast.”

    In a Monday morning meeting, Weiss told colleagues she “held that story because it wasn’t ready,” according to a person who attended the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share nonpublic comments. “We need to be able to make every effort to get the principals on the record and on camera.”

    CBS News did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but in a previous statement a spokeswoman said, “The 60 Minutes report on ‘Inside CECOT’ will air in a future broadcast.”

    Weiss joined CBS News as editor in chief in October after newly formed parent company Paramount Skydance bought her website, the Free Press, for $150 million. Paramount Skydance is run by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle cofounder and Trump ally Larry Ellison.

    Critics have echoed Alfonsi’s concerns. “This is what government censorship looks like,” Sen. Edward J. Markey (D., Mass.) wrote in a social media post. “Trump approved the Paramount-Skydance merger. A few months later, CBS’s new editor-in-chief kills a deeply reported story critical of Trump.”

    To get its deal approved by the Trump administration, Paramount Skydance made concessions, including appointing an ombudsman with Republican Party ties to police bias in news, and it vowed to eliminate diversity initiatives, a focus of the Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr.

    Weiss’ defenders have blasted the show’s staff as insubordinate and misdirected. “Every one of those producers at 60 Minutes engaged in this revolt, fire them. Clean house,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said in a video posted on X.

    Tanya Simon, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, told staff in a private meeting Monday that she stood by the segment, which was approved by the network’s standards department and lawyers, according to a partial transcript of the meeting obtained by the Washington Post.

    “In the end, our editor-in-chief had a different vision for how the piece should be, and it came late in the process, and we were not in a position to address the notes,” Simon said. “We pushed back, we defended our story, but she wanted changes, and I ultimately had to comply.”

    Even though the segment never aired in the United States, it was briefly made available in Canada. In that version, Alfonsi said the Department of Homeland Security had declined an interview request and referred questions to the government of El Salvador, which she said didn’t reply. It also included clips of President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

    Weiss’ Wednesday email to staff was cosigned by CBS News President Tom Cibrowski, as well as two of Weiss’s recently appointed deputies: Charles Forelle, the managing editor, and Adam Rubenstein, the deputy editor.

    “No amount of outrage — whether from activist organizations or the White House — will derail us,” the email concluded. “We are not out to score points with one side of the political spectrum or to win followers on social media. We are out to inform the American public and to get the story right. Restoring the integrity of the news is a difficult task. We can’t think of a more important one. Merry Christmas — and thank you, especially, to everyone who is working over this holiday.”

  • Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura declared winner of Honduras’ presidential vote

    Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura declared winner of Honduras’ presidential vote

    TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura won Honduras’ presidential election, the country’s electoral authorities said Wednesday afternoon, ending a weeks-long count that has whittled away at the credibility of the Central American nation’s fragile electoral system.

    The election continued Latin America’s swing to the right, coming just a week after Chile chose the far-right politician José Antonio Kast as its next president.

    Asfura, of the conservative National Party received 40.27% of the vote in the Nov. 30, edging out four-time candidate Salvador Nasralla of the conservative Liberal Party, who finished with 39.39% of the vote.

    Asfura, the former mayor of Honduras’ capital Tegucigalpa, won in his second bid for the presidency, after he and Nasralla were neck-and-neck during a weeks-long vote count that fueled international concern.

    On Tuesday night a number of electoral officials and candidates were already fighting and contesting the results of the election. Meanwhile, followers in Asfura’s campaign headquarters erupted into cheers.

    “Honduras: I am prepared to govern,” wrote Asfura in a post on X shortly after the results were released. “I will not let you down.”

    The results were a rebuke of the current leftist leader, and her governing democratic socialist Liberty and Re-foundation Party, known as LIBRE, whose candidate finished in a distant third place with 19.19% of the vote.

    Asfura ran as a pragmatic politician, pointing to his popular infrastructure projects in the capital. Trump endorsed the 67-year-old conservative just days before the vote, saying he was the only Honduran candidate the U.S. administration would work with.

    Nasralla has maintained that the election was fraudulent and called for a recount of all the votes just hours before the official results were announced.

    On Tuesday night, he addressed Trump in a post on X, writing: “Mr. President, your endorsed candidate in Honduras is complicit in silencing the votes of our citizens. If he is truly worthy of your backing, if his hands are clean, if he has nothing to fear, then why doesn’t he allow for every vote to be counted?”

    He and others opponents of Asfura have maintained that Trump’s last-minute endorsement was an act of electoral interference that ultimately swung the results of the vote.

    The unexpectedly tumultuous election was also marred by a sluggish vote count, which fueled even more accusations.

    The Central American nation was stuck in limbo for more than three weeks as vote counting by electoral authorities lagged, and at one point was paralyzed after a special count of final vote tallies was called, fueling warnings by international leaders.

    Ahead of the announcement, Organization of American States Secretary General Albert Rambin on Monday made an “urgent call” to Honduran authorities to wrap up a special count of the final votes before a deadline of Dec. 30. The Trump administration warned that any attempts to obstruct or delay the electoral count would be met with “consequences.”

    For the incumbent, progressive President Xiomara Castro, the election marked a political reckoning. She was elected in 2021 on a promise to reduce violence and root out corruption.

    She was among a group of progressive leaders in Latin American who were elected on a hopeful message of change in around five years ago but are now being cast out after failing to deliver on their vision. Castro said last week that she would accept the results of the elections even after she claimed that Trump’s actions in the election amounted to an “electoral coup.”

    But Eric Olson, an independent international observer during the Honduran election with the Seattle International Foundation, and other observers said that the rejection of Castro and her party was so definitive that they had little room to contest the results.

    “Very few people, even within LIBRE, believe they won the election. What they will say is there’s been fraud, that there has been intervention by Donald Trump, that we we should tear up the elections and vote again,” Olson said. “But they’re not saying ‘we won the elections.’ It’s pretty clear they did not.”

  • Wage garnishment for defaulted student loans to resume early next year

    Wage garnishment for defaulted student loans to resume early next year

    The Trump administration will begin seizing the pay of people in default on their student loans early next year, marking the first wave of new wage garnishments since the pandemic, the Education Department confirmed this week.

    Starting the week of Jan. 7, the department told the Washington Post, it will notify about 1,000 defaulted borrowers of plans to withhold a portion of their wages to pay down their past-due debt. After that, the department said, notices will be sent to larger numbers of borrowers each month.

    There were about 5.3 million borrowers who had not made a payment on their federal student loans for at least 360 days as of June 30, according to the latest available data from the Education Department. Many of them were in default before the federal government stopped collecting defaulted loans because of the pandemic nearly six years ago.

    In May, the Trump administration resumed seizing tax refunds and Social Security benefits to recoup past-due student loan debt. At the time, the administration said wage garnishments would restart in the summer.

    While the Education Department started the process over the summer, department spokesperson Ellen Keast said turning on the system after it was dormant for five years took more time than expected. She said the record-long government shutdown further delayed the process.

    There are several steps involved in wage garnishment, including identifying and verifying a borrower’s employer, who is ultimately responsible for withholding the money. By law, the Education Department must notify people in default 30 days before garnishing their wages. During that time, borrowers can request a hearing to challenge the order, pay the balance, or negotiate repayment terms to avoid garnishment.

    The department can withhold up to 15% of a borrower’s disposable, or after-tax, income. The garnishment continues until the defaulted loans are paid off in full or the borrower takes action to get out of default.

    Roughly 6 million people were at least 60 days late on their student loan payments as of August, according to an analysis of credit reporting data by the think tank Urban Institute.

    The rise in delinquencies corresponds with the end of a 12-month grace period, known as the on-ramp, that allowed borrowers to ease their way back into repayment after a pandemic-related pause that lasted more than three years. Since the Biden administration’s policy ended Sept. 30, millions of borrowers have fallen behind on payments. And many of them could wind up in default.

    Student loan borrowers have been spared from the most severe consequences of default since the early days of the pandemic. Back then, President Donald Trump instituted a moratorium on the collection of defaulted student loans that Congress later codified and extended in the 2020 stimulus package.

    President Joe Biden’s administration extended the moratorium several times as part of the broader suspension of student loan payments. Under pressure from liberal lawmakers and student advocates, Biden allowed anyone in default on a federal loan held by the Education Department to rehabilitate the debt through an initiative called Fresh Start. While a portion of borrowers resolved their debt through the initiative, many remained in default.

    Education Secretary Linda McMahon has called Biden’s policies irresponsible and blamed his administration for giving borrowers false hope of loan forgiveness that led to a rise in delinquencies.

    When the Education Department announced the resumption of involuntary collection in April, McMahon said in a statement that “the Biden Administration misled borrowers: the executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear.”

    Instead of promoting debt cancellation, McMahon said, the Trump administration will help borrowers return to repayment — “both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook.”