Weather forecasters have only more bad news for firefighters battling the Los Angeles area fires.
Threat level: The National Weather Service's LA forecast office Sunday evening issued a rare "Particularly Dangerous Situation" Red Flag Warning lasting until Wednesday at noon for parts of LA and Ventura counties, warning that high winds could cause "explosive fire growth."
The weather service advises residents "to have multiple ways to receive evacuation information" and to "not do anything that could spark a fire."
Areas under this warning don't include the Eaton Fire but cover western Santa Monica, Simi Valley, Porter Ranch, Ventura and other parts of the hard-hit region.
Zoom in: Winds during this event will be closer to a typical strong Santa Ana, at 50 mph to 70 mph instead of up to 100 mph as seen last week.
But the east-to-west air flow will likely target areas that didn't have such strong winds last week, particularly in Ventura County.
"THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION (PDS) FOR PORTIONS OF LOS ANGELES AND VENTURA COUNTIES!" the NWS said in all caps.
Much of Southern California is under some type of Red Flag Warning, with areas of "Extremely Critical" fire weather risk — the highest category from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), from today through Wednesday.
Image showing the criteria for ordering a Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning. Image: NWS
According to SPC, which issues fire weather outlooks nationally, about 740,000 people are included in the extremely critical area on Monday.
About 8.1 million are located in the "critical" fire weather risk classification, which is just below the maximum alert level.
Between the lines: According to the NWS LA office, before this season, the "PDS" classification had only been used twice before. Both were in 2020.
However, the warning type has only been in existence for about half a decade.
The product is supposed to indicate rare events, but the extraordinarily dry start to the winter wet season this year has meant that the fire season has stretched much deeper into the winter than usual.
This means it overlaps with more high wind events, which is something that climate studies show occurring with greater regularity in coming decades.
Yes, but: The Eaton and Palisades Fires aren't included in the particularly dangerous situation portions of the warnings, according to the NWS, but nearby areas are and the heightened concerns relate to new fire starts as well.
The big picture: The region is suffering from hydroclimate whiplash worsened by human-caused climate change.
Much of Southern California has received virtually no rain in the past eight months.
And seven-day precipitation forecasts don't show measurable rain during the next week, despite January being well into the typical rainy season.
Some ofPresident-elect Trump's highest profile Cabinet picks will be under fresh scrutiny this week as they brace for tough Senate confirmation hearings that could make or break their nominations.
Why it matters: With Democrats looking to create fireworks and the Republican party deeply divided, the hearings are sure to escalate clashes over Trump's most controversial nominees.
Many of Trump's picks have already met with senators individually, but the high-stakes confirmation hearings will offer them the chance to shine.
For some, they could also be forced to address lingering questions about their past actions and relevant experience.
What to watch: Hegseth's confirmation hearing is slated for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Kristi Noem
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is Trump's pick for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, where she'd play a crucial role in implementing Trump's immigration agenda.
A source close to the governor previously told Axios that her experiences dealing with immigration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have prepared her for the role.
What to watch: Noem's confirmation hearing will take place before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Marco Rubio
Trump's nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to serve as the next secretary of state is one of his surest bets, with the senator enjoying bipartisan support in the run-up to his formal evaluation.
Rubio, who has a reputation as a foreign policy hawk, will have his work cut out for him implementing Trump's foreign policy agenda, which includes swift ends to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
What to watch: Rubio's confirmation hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee.
Pam Bondi
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is Trump's pick to serve as attorney general.
Bondi's appointment would install a Trump loyalist at the head of the Department of Justice if Trump were to pursue his threats to go after his political enemies.
Bondi was Trump's second public pick for the position, after his initial selection, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration facing . The former Florida lawmaker faced sexual misconduct allegations, which he has repeatedly denied.
What to watch: Bondi's hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee will be split across two days, beginning Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and Thursday at 10:15 a.m.
Upcoming
Some of the most potentially contentious hearings are still to come and haven't yet been set. Still in the awning are:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of health and human services. Kennedy is well known for his history of spreading vaccine misinformation.
Hardline Trump loyalist Kash Patel — who helped push Trump's 2020 election lies — for FBI director. Patel will replace current FBI head Chris Wray, who announced last month that he would resign ahead of Trump's inauguration rather than complete his term.
Linda McMahon as secretary of education. McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive, has been accused of being complicit in the grooming and sexual exploitation of children. She has denied the allegations.
Tulsi Gabbard's nomination as the next director of national intelligence has raised alarm bells in the intelligence community. In 2017, the former Democratic representative for Hawaii met with then Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and subsequently declared him "not the enemy."
Israel and mediators from Egypt, the U.S. and Qatar have given Hamas a final draft agreement for the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza,two senior Israeli officials and a source familiar with the details said.
Why it matters: The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas have reached a critical point a week before President-elect Trump is sworn into office.
President-elect Trump has threatened there would be "hell to pay in the Middle East" if Hamas didn't release the hostages by the time he is inaugurated.
About 98 hostages are still being held in Gaza, among them seven Americans. Roughly half of the hostages, including three Americans, are believed to be still alive, according to Israeli intelligence.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Driving the news: The sources said Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. mediators are awaiting Hamas' response to the draft. An Israeli official said the person who will make the decision is the leader of Hamas's military wing in Gaza, Mohammed Sinwar.
Two Israeli officials said Hamas' response is expected in the next 24 hours.
Israeli officials said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to make new concessions about the Palestinian prisoners who would be released as part of the deal and about the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors in Gaza.
"It seems that we are headed for a deal," an Israeli official said, adding that they are waiting for Hamas' response and "only then will we know for sure."
The other side: A Hamas official told Reuters on Monday that "the negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are working to conclude what remains soon."
CNN on Monday cited a Hamas official who said several sticking points remain, including around Israel's withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor and whether the ceasefire would be permanent or temporarily stop Israeli military operations in Gaza.
The latest: White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a Bloomberg event in Washington, DC on Monday that there's been "considerable" pressure on Hamas to come to an agreement.
"Israel is in a place where it wants a deal. There is a distinct possibility we can get this deal done this week," Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he spoke on Monday morning with Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, who has been in Doha for a week negotiating terms for the deal, and with the prime minister of Qatar and Israeli negotiators.
"There is a general sense that this is moving in the right direction. It is there for the taking. The question is if we can get everyone to say yes," Sullivan said.
Zoom out: Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff also arrived in Doha in recent days. On Saturday, he visited Netanyahu in Israel before traveling back to Doha.
Israeli Mossad Director David Barnea, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar and IDF general Nitzan Alon also traveled to Doha on Saturday in order to push forward the hostage and ceasefire deal.
Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for details.
Why it matters: The push is the latest sign of the party's efforts to rebrand and bring in new audiences after a disappointing 2024 cycle.
Driving the news: The new rapid response @FactPostNews initiative will try to combat online misinformation and respond to Trump administration actions by pushing out memes, videos and graphics.
The account will be run by many of the same people who led the @KamalaHQ social media account during the 2024 campaign.
@FactPostNews will start on X, Threads, and Bluesky and will eventually expand to TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
"The Republican disinformation machine is powerful, but we believe a stronger weapon is giving people the facts about how Trump and his administration are screwing over the American people," DNC chief mobilization officer Shelby Cole said in a statement.
Between the lines: The account will also take a branding cue from social media accounts that have huge, loyal followings, such as PopCrave and PopBase.
The war room relaunch is the latest example of the Democratic Party trying to sharpen its online presence — particularly on alternative media platforms — after the election revealed that Trump's media strategy broke through.
Zoom out: The DNC is also teeing up fresh economic attacks on Trump as he takes office, per a memo obtained by Axios.
Over the next several weeks of confirmation hearings, the DNC will try to spotlight the personal wealth of many of Trump's picks for key government positions, per the memo.
The DNC will also warn that Trump's proposed policies will walk back some of the economic progress made under President Biden.
"Trump's MAGA loyalists in Congress are gearing up to push through these unfit billionaire picks and Trump's anti-working families agenda," the memo reads.
Zoom out: The economy — and Trump's repeated focus on it on the campaign trail — was a major reason for his victory in November.
As the candidate associated with the incumbency, Vice President Harris struggled to make a compelling economic pitch to voters.
The bottom line: It's never too early to start messaging for 2028 (and 2026).
With their new initiatives out this week, the DNC is signaling where its priorities will lie, at least in the beginning days of the new Trump administration: Economic messaging and refining their digital outreach.
A non-profit closely aligned with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is preparing its first major investment in the 2026 election with a campaign aimed at dinging Republicans on the economy.
Why it matters: The effort comes as President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans are preparing a hulking fiscal policy package that could define the 119th Congress.
Driving the news: House Majority Forward, the issue advocacy arm of House Majority PAC, is launching a $10 million "economic accountability" campaign.
The campaign will include TV and digital ads to "hold Republicans accountable for refusing to lower costs," according to a press release first shared with Axios.
It will also involve research and polling to "develop a deeper understanding of how Republican policies are hurting American wallets."
HMF president Mike Smith said: "Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans have only just been sworn in, but they're already breaking their promises by failing to lower costs. It's time to stop playing games, and start working for the American people."
Between the lines: The plan represents something of a shift in strategy for Democrats after an abortion-centered message of "freedom" failed to carry them to victory last year.
Top Democrats told Axios in the aftermath of the Nov. 5 election that a difficult political environment driven by years of inflation ultimately doomed Vice President Harris.
Trump successfully pitched himself as a change candidate, promising to upend the national and global economic order with an agenda of immigration restrictions, trade barriers and dismantling regulations.
The other side: "The failed Biden administration and their allies in Congress decimated our economy with a far-left agenda of reckless spending and extreme America-last policies," said Courtney Parella, a spokesperson for GOP-aligned non-profit American Action Network.
"That's why Americans chose and trust Republican leadership — to restore the economy, lower costs, and deliver for families," she said.
A historic Black community that grew out of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s is among the communities wiped away by devastating wildfires charring through Los Angeles County.
The big picture: The Eaton Fire has all but flatted the many Black-owned homes and businesses in the unincorporated area of Altadena, California, in San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions.
Zoom in: The community of 42,000 residents — 18% are Black — has been among the hardest hit by wildfires that so far have claimed 24 lives and burned away over 12,000 structures across the county.
The Eaton Fire alone charred more than 1,000 structures and killed at least five people in Altadena, per the Los Angeles Times.
Octavia E. Butler, the late-pioneering Black science fiction novelist who wrote about a wildfire from climate change starting on February 1, 2025, in her novel "Parable of the Sower," is buried in an Altadena cemetery.
The cemetery caught fire, the LA Times reports.
Zoom out: Satellite images of burning buildings in Altadena examined by Axios show that last week, a large portion of the community was in flames or burned to ash.
The images give clues to how quickly the fire moved to long-protected communities because of high winds and drought conditions.
The whole community was ordered to evacuate when the Eaton Fire began last week and has since claimed many of the community's churches, landmarks and much of its downtown.
Maxar shortwave infrared closer satellite image of burning buildings in Altadena, California. Photo: Maxar Technologies via Getty Images
State of play: Much attention on the wildfires has focused on the destruction of homes in wealthy areas and of celebrities, but Altadena's devastation shows how middle-class areas and communities of color were also hit.
In the days after the Eaton Fire started, Black residents returned to homes passed down by family members only to see them gone as the fire burned block.
The community, where 58% of residents are people of color, also saw many Latino and Asian American residents return to rubble.
Danny Robinson and Sharon Beckford sift through the rubble of their family's home that the Eaton Fire in Altadena destroyed. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Among those returning to ash in Altadena was Shawn Brown, a Black homeowner. She told The Associated Press she lost her home and a charter school she founded.
She had a message for fellow Black homeowners in the wake of despair: "I would tell them to stand strong, rebuild, continue the generational progress of African-Americans."
Flashback: In 1960, 95% of Altadena's residents were white, according to Altadena Heritage, a nonprofit organization that seeks to preserve the community's history.
After President Lyndon Johnson signed several civil rights bills, including The Fair Housing Act of 1968, Altadena's Black population grew from 4% in 1960 to 27% in 1970.
Altadena was one of the few communities offering housing and loans to Black Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. As a result, it became a popular community for a growing Black middle class seeking to escape discrimination elsewhere.
Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver (1935 – 1998) and wife, professor and activist Kathleen Cleaver, play with their children Ahmad and Joju in front of Eldridge Cleaver's mother's home in Altadena in 1977. Photo: Nik Wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images
Stunning stat: Before the fire, the Black homeownership rate stood at 81.5% — nearly double the national rate for Black homeowners, per the AP.
What we're watching: Recovering and rebuilding efforts typically overlook communities of color, who struggle amid the maze of insurance bureaucracies and federal disaster relief programs.
Communities like Altadena near wildfire-prone areas may consider building fire-prevention walls or barriers, as Octavia E. Butler foresaw in her futuristic novels.
What he's saying: "I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day" on Jan. 20, Bannon told the Italian outlet, per excerpts from the interview published in English by Bannon's former employer Breitbart over the weekend.
"He will not have full access to the White House. He will be like any other person," Bannon said.
"He is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy. I made it my personal thing to take this guy down."
Driving the news: The MAGA-world division emerged last month over the H-1B visa scheme that's designed to attract skilled foreign workers to the U.S. and which the South African-born naturalized U.S. citizen Musk has said he held.
Some in MAGA world want to restrict immigration and promote U.S. workers, but Axios' Ben Berkowitz and Zachary Basu note others want to cut costs and increase efficiency, regardless of who does the work.
Musk branded Republicans opposed to the scheme "hateful, unrepentant racists" following anti-Indian rhetoric online in relation to the scheme, and Trump publicly backed the world's richest person over the visas.
"This thing of the H-1B visas, it's about the entire immigration system is gamed by the tech overlords, they use it to their advantage, the people are furious," said Bannon in his interview, adding that Musk's "sole objective is to become a trillionaire."
Bannon said Musk "should go back" to South Africa. "Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on earth, white South Africans, we have them making any comments at all on what goes on in the United States?" he said.
Musk has said he voted for Democrats Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in previous presidential elections.
Bannon cast doubt on Musk's intentions during his interview.
"He will do anything to make sure that any one of his companies is protected or has a better deal or he makes more money," he said. His aggregation of wealth, and then — through wealth — power: that's what he's focused on."
Between the lines: Trump fired Bannon during his first administration. However, the "War Room" podcast host remains an influential figure in MAGA world.
Bannon was released from prison in October after serving a four-month sentence on contempt of Congress charges for refusing to comply with a subpoena related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Representatives for Musk's companies, Bannon and Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment in the evening.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a "60 Minutes" interview airing Sunday he's retiring early because he didn't want to thrust the Bureau "deeper into the fray" after facing intense criticism from President-elect Trump.
During the "60 Minutes" interview, Wray addressed being criticized over FBI investigations by both a Republican and a Democratic president.
Context: The president said after issuing a presidential pardon for his son Hunter Biden following his conviction on felony gun charges and guilty plea on felony tax charges that he believed "raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice."
What he's saying: "This is a hard job. You're inevitably going to make different people angry, often very powerful people," Wray said on "60 Minutes."
"But part of the essence of the rule of law is to make sure that facts, and the law, and proper predication drive investigations, not who's in power, not who wants it to be so or not so," he told CBS' Scott Pelley.
On his relationship with Trump souring after the FBI investigated alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, Wray said an investigator's job was to "follow the facts wherever they lead, no matter who likes it."
Zoom in: Wray was criticized following the FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in 2022 in an investigation into the storage of classified documents, which resulted in one of two since-dismissed federal criminal cases the president-elct.
Wray told Pelley the FBI strived to follow the rules throughout their investigation, and he believed they did this.
A search warrant is "not anybody's first choice" and investigators always try less intrusive means, like receiving information voluntarily or if not via a subpoena, said Wray, who described himself during the interview as a "conservative Republican."
"Only if, after all that, we learn that the agents haven't been given all of the classified material and in fact those efforts have been frustrated, even obstructed, then our agents are left with no choice but to go to a federal judge, make a probable cause showing, and get a search warrant," he said. "That's what happened here."
Wray said he hadn't had "any interaction with the Biden White House about investigations into the former president and neither to his knowledge had anyone else from the FBI.
The bottom line: Wray said in his 7.5 years of experience as FBI chief he'd seen "people often claim to be very interested in independence and objectivity until independence and objectivity lead to an outcome they don't like."
He added: "Truth is truth, not necessarily what either side wants it to be. And ultimately all we can do at the FBI is make sure that we stay focused on doing the work in the right way. Following our rules and not letting preferences, partisan or otherwise drive or taint the approach."
Threat level: Wray told Pelley that China's government targeting U.S. civilian critical infrastructure was the biggest threat the incoming Trump administration faced.
Meanwhile, "the most challenging type of terrorist threat we face" is online radicalization from extremist groups.
Wray noted the FBI's investigation into the New Orleans New Year's Day terrorist attack indicated the suspect was "radicalized online" and he "appears to have been inspired — from afar — by ISIS."
Los Angeles County is facing "critical fire conditions" after firefighters have for days battled deadly wildfires that have razed entire neighborhoods, and the situation is expected to worsen this week.
Threat level: The National Weather Service issued a rare "Particularly Dangerous Situation" Red Flag Warning that's due to start early Tuesday into Wednesday for parts of L.A. County and Ventura County, warning that winds will be high enough to cause "explosive fire growth.
The areas under this warning do not include the Eaton Fire, but do include western Santa Monica, Simi Valley, Porter Ranch, Ventura and other parts of the hard hit region.
The winds will not be as strong as the previous event but strong enough to meet the high-end criteria.
The big picture: The death toll rose to at least 24, per the L.A. County medical examiner's Sunday evening update. Another 16 have been reported as missing, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said during a Sunday briefing.
More than 100,000 residents remain under evacuation orders and over 12,000 structures have been destroyed.
Situation report: The Kenneth, Sunset and Lidia fires have been 100% contained,Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Sunday update.
The Hurst Fire was at 89% containment Sunday evening, per Cal Fire.
Sixteen of the reported deaths have been attributed to the Eaton Fire, while the remaining eight have been categorized with the Palisades Fire.
Newsom announced he's deployed a further 1,000 California National Guard personnel to the Los Angeles area, taking the number assisting in firefighting efforts to 2,500.
State of play: Red flag warnings for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties are set to remain in place until Wednesday as gusty winds and low relative humidity persist, the National Weather Service's L.A. office said Sunday evening.
NWS expects the offshore Santa Ana winds that have been making fighting the fires extremely difficult to pick back up after a brief reprieve, which could complicate firefighters' efforts to contain the flames.
Dry vegetation coupled with "prolonged extreme fire conditions" will support "rapid spread and erratic behavior" of new or existing fires, per NWS. The Eaton Fire may be less affected by strong winds than the other blazes.
By the numbers: Over 35,000 customers in Los Angeles County were without power about 12:30am Monday ET, per PowerOutage.us.
Context: Parts of Southern California are experiencing their driest start on record.
An overlap of rare climate factors is in part to blame for the rapidly spreading blazes, as the bone-dry region grapples with the worst high wind event in Southern California since 2011, per Axios' Andrew Freedman.
While the fires are not the largest wildfires the state has faced, they are among the most destructive on record.
Vice President-elect JD Vance said Sunday those day-one actions should send a message to "illegal immigrants all over the world: You are not welcome in this country illegally."
Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, January 12.
1. Vance: "America is closed to illegal immigration"
Vice President-elect JD Vance visits "Fox News Sunday" with anchor Shannon Bream at FOX News D.C. Bureau on Jan. 11. Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images
Vance said in an interview aired Sunday that the Trump administration will release "dozens of executive orders" on day one signaling that "America is closed to illegal immigration."
The big picture: He dismissed questions about the humanitarian concerns surrounding Trump's mass deportation promises, arguing that family separation is a "dishonest term."
"If you say, for example, in the United States we have a guy who's convicted of a violent crime and has to go to prison, we want that guy to go to prison," he said. "But yes, it does mean that that guy is going to be separated from his family."
Vance argued Democrats "hide behind" raising alarms about a lack of compassion for families at the border.
"It is not compassion to allow the drug cartels to traffic small children," he argued. "It is not compassionate to allow the worst people in the world to send minor children, some of them victims of sex trafficking, into our country. That is the real humanitarian crisis at the border."
Fox News' Shannon Bream pushed back, noting that violent criminals are a small slice of the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.
Vance replied that law enforcement action is necessary to end the border crisis, saying the country can't buy into "the lie ... from the extreme left" that "law enforcement at the American southern border is somehow not compassionate to families who want to cross illegally."
Flashback: A federal judge in 2023 banned the separation of families at the U.S. southern border until 2031 to deter migrants from crossing.
That ruling could prevent the return of the first Trump administration's controversial policy that saw thousands of children separated from their parents.
Tom Homan, Trump's incoming "border czar," played a key role in crafting the policy.
Trump has suggested he'll use the military for immigration raids and has said he'd be open to detaining immigrants in camps.
2. Newsom taking Trump's threats to withhold California aid seriously
Gavin Newsom speaks with NBC's Jacob Soboroff during a "Meet the Press" interview aired Jan. 12.
Trump has threatened to withhold federal aid from California on severaloccasions — both during and after his first White House stay.
And amid the catastrophic fires tearing through Los Angeles County, Trump has repeatedly heaped blame on California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
It's not immediately clear how Trump would handle the fires if they're still blazing when he takes over the White House.
Driving the news: "That's his style," Newsom said on NBC's "Meet the Press," highlighting a slate of times Trump delayed or threatened to block aid to the Golden State and others.
He said he takes the threats "seriously to the extent that in the past it's taken a little bit more time" to deliver federal aid during political tension with Trump.
Zoom out: Vance, asked in a "Fox News Sunday" interview aired Sunday if Trump would withhold aid to Californians, said Trump "is the president for all Americans."
But he blamed the fires' rampant spread in part on a "serious lack of competent" California officials.
Reality check: The fires ignited amid a rare overlap of climate factors: the worst high wind event in Southern California in over a decade, and extremely dry conditions.
What they're saying: Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that he's ready to work with Trump to make sure there is "no gap, no air between us" when rebuilding and helping victims heal after the deadly fires.
"I've been in Congress a long time, approving aid after disasters. I never once even considered, is this hurricane hitting a red state or a blue state?" Schiff said.
He added: "We need the incoming president to view it that way."
3. Lankford flips on Tulsi
Sen. James Lankford speaks during an interview aired Jan. 12 on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) made former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's path to confirmation a bit easier Sunday when he said he would vote yes for her as director of national intelligence.
Why it matters: With the GOP's Senate majority so small, all of Trump's Cabinet appointees can only risk losing a few Republican votes, and several in the party have seemed reluctant to vote for Gabbard.
Between the lines: Lankford previously said he wanted Gabbard to explain where she stands on Section 702, which allows the U.S. to engage in targeted surveillance of foreign nationals living outside the United States, which Gabbard opposed while in Congress.
Last week, Gabbard said she supports Section 702 and that she would "uphold Americans' Fourth Amendment right" if confirmed as the nation's top spy.
What they're saying: "[Section 702] was a very important piece for me," Lankford said on NBC News' "Meet the Press."
He added that Section 702 is a key part of the DNI job, "to make sure we're actually watching for people to come attack us and stopping them before they do."
State of play: 13 proposed members of Trump's Cabinet will sit for confirmation hearings this week, including Pete Hegseth (Sec. of Defense) on Jan. 14 and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (Sec. of Homeland Security) on Jan. 15.
A date for Gabbard's confirmation hearing has not been set.
A CNN graphic displays the dates for this week's Senate confirmation hearings.
President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the efforts to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal by Jan. 20 — when Biden's term ends — according to U.S. and Israeli officials.
Why it matters: The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas have reached a critical point eight days before President-elect Trump is sworn into office.
Biden's team is closely coordinated with Trump's team and both sides are working together to push for a deal, officials said.
"We are very very close [to a Gaza deal] and yet far because we are not there. It is possible to get it done before January 20 - but I can't be sure", White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union".
What they're saying: The Israeli Prime Minister's office said Netanyahu briefed Biden on the progress in the negotiations and on the mandate he gave Israeli negotiators to reach a deal.
Biden stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages, as well as a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting, the White House said
Between the lines: Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk has negotiating deal terms in Doha for a week.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff also arrived in Doha in recent days. On Saturday he visited Netanyahu in Israel before traveling back to Doha.
Israeli Mossad Director David Barnea, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar and IDF general Nitzan Alon also traveled to Doha on Saturday in order to push forward the hostage and ceasefire deal.
Vice President-elect JD Vance said in an interview aired Sunday that "there's a deal to be made in Greenland" amid President-elect Trump's indication that he wants the U.S. to own the world's largest island.
Why it matters: Trump's refusal to rule out military force to acquire Greenland, currently defended by NATO member Denmark, or the Panama Canal sent shockwaves through the U.S. and its ally nations.
Vance said on "Fox News Sunday" that military force isn't needed in Greenland, and that the U.S. already has troops stationed on the island.
Trump has repeatedly said that controlling Greenland is critical for U.S. national security, a talking point that Vance echoed on Sunday.
Danish officials, in private messages sent to Trump's team, expressed willingness to boost security in Greenland or increase U.S. military presence there, Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler report.
Driving the news: Greenland is "really important for America strategically" and has "a lot of great natural resources," Vance said.
Vance added that people Donald Trump Jr. met in Greenland last week told him they "want to be empowered to develop" those resources. Vance also argued that the Danish government has not done a sufficient job of securing the island.
Context: As climate change reshapes the Arctic, it's ignited heightened competition among global superpowers in the region.
During the Cold War, Greenland played a key role in U.S. defense as part of an early warning system. Trump has argued that it's critical to secure the island as Russia and China also search for footholds in the Arctic.
The effects of a changing climate may also make it easier to tap Greenland's critical minerals. But Greenlandic and Danish officials have made clear that the island is not for sale.
Zoom out: Vance's comments were echoed by Trump's pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who said the president-elect "is always going to leave all options on the table" when pressed if the incoming administration would use military force to achieve its goals in Greenland or Panama.
"President Trump is ready to take big, bold steps to ensure the United States is well-defended," he said on ABC's "This Week," pointing to mineral resources and the emergence of new shipping lanes in the region.
While he did not rule out the use of military action, Waltz suggested "existing agreements" could also be amended, adding that Greenland is "pushing for independence, which would allow all types of other avenues."
Yes, but: Not all Republicans think military intervention is a viable option.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the U.S. is "not going to invade another country."
"That's not who we are," he continued. "The president speaks very boldly on a lot of things."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a "Meet the Press" interview that the wildfires that have destroyed entire neighborhoods across Los Angeles could be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history "in terms of just the costs associated with it."
That would mean eclipsing Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the Mississippi coastline in 2005 and caused over $200 billion in damage.
The big picture: The fires, which have now killed at least 16, are not the biggest ever recorded in the state — but they are among the most destructive.
Thousands of homes and businesses have been razed and tens of thousands of acres have burned.
Risk experts believe the insured losses from the fires will be greater than $20 billion, surpassing the 2018 Camp Fire's record for the biggest insured wildfire loss ever.
Context: While the LA County fires rank among the most expensive wildfires in U.S. history, they currently fall far behind other disasters.
Hurricane Katrina killed over 1800 people and remains the most expensive natural disaster to hit the United States.
Hurricane Harvey caused over $160 billion in damage in 2017. Over 100 people died in the storm across four states, as well as one death in Guyana.
What he's saying: Newsom said he expects there to be "a lot more" deaths counted.
Eleven of the 16 deaths currently recorded were attributed to the Eaton fire, according to the Los Angeles medical examiner's Saturday evening update. Five were attributed to the Palisades fire.
The catastrophic fires occurred as Los Angeles prepares to play a key role in what experts are calling the U.S.' "mega decade" of sports: In upcoming years, the city will host the Super Bowl in 2027, World Cup games in 2026 and the 2028 Olympics.
"[T]hat only reinforces the imperative in moving quickly, doing it in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation," Newsom said.
He said the state is organizing a Marshall Plan to rebuild the region ahead of the events.
Zoom out: Beyond rebuilding communities, Newsom said he wants an independent investigation to answer questions about water supply issues highlighted by the disaster.
Reports that firefighters found dry fire hydrants while combatting the flames sparked outrage — and an onslaught of political jabs from President-elect Trump, who claimed without evidence that the governor blocked supply to the south of the state because of fish conservation efforts.
"This is not about finger-pointing," Newsom said. "It's about answering the questions you and everybody want answered," he said.
Three of President-elect Trump's most provocative Cabinet picks have reversed key positions ahead of next week's confirmation hearings, softening their edges for an establishment they've been charged with tearing down.
Why it matters: For as powerful as MAGA has become, the Senate's confirmation process remains a significant obstacle — at least nominally — to injecting fringe beliefs directly into the heart of government.
The big picture: In the initial weeks after Trump unveiled his Cabinet picks, some establishment-minded Republicans raised red flags in the records of three picks:
Tulsi Gabbard, tapped to lead the U.S. intelligence community, was deeply suspicious of the national security apparatus and publicly opposed Section 702 foreign surveillance authorities as a member of Congress.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,chosen to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, falsely claimed in 2023 that the polio vaccine caused cancer that killed "many more people than polio ever did."
Flash forward: All three lightning-rod picks have spent weeks meeting with senators on Capitol Hill in an effort to secure 50 votes. The results are head-spinning:
Gabbard told Punchbowl News on Friday that she now supports the Section 702 surveillance program thanks to updated whistleblower and civil liberty protections. Just days earlier, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) suggested reversing that one policy position could help her get confirmed.
RFK Jr. told reporters on Capitol Hill last month: "I'm all for the polio vaccine." He also assured conservative senators that he will pursue anti-abortion policies at HHS, despite his past support for reproductive rights.
Hegseth, after an early clash with Army veteran Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), said he supports "all women serving in our military today," including in combat roles. Hegseth also promised to stop drinking if confirmed, amid sordid allegations about his history with alcohol.
Reality check: Their maximalist impulses may have been tamed, but that doesn't mean Gabbard, Kennedy and Hegseth won't be able to radically transform their agencies in the way MAGA envisions.
There's also been no indication yet that Trump's most controversial choice, Kash Patel for FBI director, will walk away from his incendiary promises to exact revenge on the president-elect's enemies.
Between the lines: Today's Republican coalition is diverse and unwieldy, and Trump's Cabinet reflects that reality.
While some have been playing nice with senators to win confirmation, others have had to harmonize with Trump himself.
Secretary of State pick Marco Rubio, for example, has long been a fierce critic of TikTok — but now appears to be deferring to Trump's interest in preserving the Chinese-owned app, according to Punchbowl.
Treasury Secretary pick Scott Bessent — a former George Soros adviser who warned against the inflationary effects of tariffs just last year — will now be a key member of the economic team tasked with carrying out Trump's protectionist agenda.
What to watch: Senate Democrats are salivating at the chance to create fireworks and exploit divisions at the blockbuster confirmation hearings, which begin with Hegseth on Jan. 14.
Entire neighborhoods in Southern California have been destroyed by deadlywildfires, displacing communities that don't know what — if anything — they'll have to return to.
The big picture: Researchers have linked wildfires to long-lasting anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in survivors, in addition to the well-documented physical toll.
Both the loss and uncertainty surrounding wildfires are traumatic, Jeff Katzman, a Connecticut-based psychiatrist who grew up in Pacific Palisades, California, told Axios.
"There is the lingering, not knowing status of what happened," he said. "There's the experience of loss of an entire community that has generations of meaning."
Between the lines: Like other modern tragedies, destruction in California is being shared immediately on social media.
"There's something potentially positive about it that people who have suffered together or are in this together can connect and can share resources and can share experiences," said Katzman, director of education at Silver Hill Hospital.
On another level, he added, it can be "difficult to integrate" seeing so much relatable, devastating information, leading to a sense of helplessness.
Context: Research published last year found a link between wildfires and worsened mental health by analyzing psychotropic prescription data on 7 million people over an eight-year period following 25 large fires on the West Coast.
People exposed to California's deadliest wildfire, the 2018 Camp Fire, showed greater chronic symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression, according to research published in 2023.
"These findings dovetail with significant psychological impacts noted after extreme climate events," researchers wrote. "Warming temperatures have been further linked to greater suicide rates."
Another study from last year found that wildfires are associated with increased emergency room visits for anxiety disorders in the western U.S.
State of play: Sometimes pragmatism comes before grief during a disaster like the urban wildfires, Katzman said. People might first prioritize figuring out what a return to work or school will could like, before processing the loss.
"Like when we lose our loved ones, there's stuff to do that often shields or distracts us from the underlying experience of loss," he said. "That can be a really tender experience."
Surviving can help people rationalize their situation, too, he said. Material objects might become secondary, but memories and all existing notions of the future are still tainted.
Zoom out: Survivors in Californiacould even grapple with feelings that they have to move out of their home state to stay protected from future extreme weather events — which could bring upon loneliness and further instability.
"Solastalgia" has been used to describe the chronic distress of seeing negative environmental change in one's home environment.
"With this increase in the pace of these events, which one would imagine will keep growing, anxiety and all mental health issues will increase," Katzman said. "Mental health issues following a single event are nothing compared to an exposure to multiple events."
Case in point: Los Angeles families calling into Parents Anonymous' California Parent & Youth Helplinehave been expressing extreme overwhelm this week, said Lisa Pion-Berlin, CEO of Parents Anonymous.
For those whose houses were destroyed, "it's not just the things in the building you lost, you lost a home," she said. "And that's a safe place where you're raising a family, where you go to relax, where you go to cry, where you go to celebrate, where you have birthday parties."
"A home is much more than a building, a home is part of your heart, and that's been totally cut out."
Climate change — particularly whiplash between two wet winters followed by a bone-dry, unusually hot spring, summer and fall — set the stage for Los Angeles' deadly and devastating fires, scientists say.
The firestorm was the product of what climate researchers refer to as "hydroclimate whiplash."
Other factors include one of the worst Santa Ana wind events of the past two decades; land use patterns; and sparks set off by power lines, car engines, suspected arsonists and other potential ignition sources.
Why it matters: Whatever the source, it's clear a changing climate made the fires more ferocious, long-lasting and destructive, as has been the trend across the West in recent decades.
Threat level: Though winds are no longer as strong, the overall conditions that led to the extraordinary rates of fire spread haven't abated.
That may only come with significant rainfall, which currently isn't in sight.
Zoom in: Hydroclimate whiplash occurs when one extreme precipitation regime is replaced by another.
In this case, extremely wet conditions are followed almost immediately by parched weather patterns, typically accompanied by above average temperatures.
This leads to a green up of vegetation that then dries out through evaporation, leading to ample "fuels" for a blaze to burn.
The strong winds — which reached 99 mph in some locations — acted as an "atmospheric blow dryer" on trees and other vegetation, further drying out the landscape and ensuring any fire wouldn't stay small for long, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in an online video briefing.
Stunning stat: In downtown Los Angeles, just 0.16 inches of rain has fallen since May 6, compared to the average of greater than 4 inches, per the National Weather Service.
This is the city's second-driest May 6 to Dec 31 period on record, according to the National Weather Service's Los Angeles forecast office.
No rain is in the forecast through early next week, with one Santa Ana event diminishing this morning, and another potentially strong one forecast for early in the coming week.
Zoom out: The see-saw pattern between wet and dry periods isn't new for Californians. But these swings are becoming acute — and not just in the Golden State.
A new study published last week shows these swings are becoming more of a trigger for wildfires, floods and drought globally.
In the study, scientists refer to an increasingly "expanding atmospheric sponge," since the atmosphere is able to evaporate, absorb and release 7% more water vapor for every 1°C (1.8°F) that the temperature increases.
In other words, the atmosphere gets more thirsty as the climate warms, drawing more moisture from plants, and leading to more days with extreme fire weather conditions.
This analogy captures the atmosphere's ability to absorb a larger and larger amount of water vapor as temperatures increase, and wring out more and more water due to such temperature changes.
Data shows this whiplash effect has increased by between 31% to 66% globally since the mid-20th century, and that the rate of increase is speeding up.
Between the lines: If global average temperatures increase by about 3°C (5.4°F) — which is currently likely — then the whiplash effect will more than double in its intensity.
"Increasing hydroclimate whiplash may turn out to be one of the more universal global changes on a warming Earth," Swain said in a statement.
Though the rare, powerful winds are fanning the blazes, it's the whiplash-driven lack of rain that has trapped Southern California in a seemingly never-ending fire season.
In addition to the increased thirstiness of the atmosphere and see-sawing from floods to droughts and back again, studies show that climate change is increasing the odds that windy periods occurring deeper into the traditional "rainy season" will overlap with extreme dryness.
The intrigue: Land management, the use of prescribed burns and expanding building in fire-prone areas have also contributed to this wildfire nightmare. But climate change is a large, and growing factor.
"Whether we like it or not, the nature of wildfire in Southern California is changing and we must adapt accordingly," said UCLA climate scientist Alex Hall in a statement.
"That will involve some frank conversations about the tradeoffs involved in improving our strategies to reduce ignitions, improve stewardship of our unique chaparral landscapes to reduce impacts, and protect human life and property."
The bottom line: Climate change didn't provide the spark that caused each of these catastrophic fires in LA County. But it's making such fires worse.
Why it matters: Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in Nov. 2022,spearheaded two federal criminal cases against Trump, but the future of both cases was imperiled by Trump's election victory.
With Trump's victory, Smith's cases — over the 2020 election and classified documents — were imperiled and weeks after the election, he requested the former to be dropped and his appeal in the latter to be dismissed.
However, a federal appeals court said this week that Smith's final report on his investigations into Trump can be released despite the president-elect's strenuous objections.
The New York Times first reported on Nov. 13, that Smith planned to resign once the report was complete.
State of play: Since Trump's re-election, Smith was in discussions with Justice Department officials about how to wind down his two federal prosecutions of Trump.
The Justice Department has a longstanding policy that a sitting president can't be prosecuted.
Trump also vowed on the campaign trail to fire Smith "within two seconds" of returning to office.
Zoom out: The Justice Department has faced criticism from some Democrats that it moved too slowly in its investigations of Trump.
In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Smith dug in on the Jan. 6 case, unsealing a new indictment in light of the Supreme Court's immunity ruling and unveiling new evidence.
As devastating wildfires raged across Los Angeles County this week, firefighters battling the blazes encountered fire hydrants that had no water.
Why it matters: The dry fire hydrants sparked political outrage and illustrated just how unprepared municipal water systems are to combat the sorts of large-scale urban wildfires that have become more frequent with climate change.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday ordered an independent investigation into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), the nation's largest municipal utility, over hydrants and water supply issues. DWP provides water for more than four million L.A. residents and serves Pacific Palisades, a wealthy area of Los Angeles where much of the destruction took place.
"While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors," Newsom said. "We need answers to how that happened."
President-elect Trump has suggested Newsom was to blame for the dry hydrants — claiming without evidence that he blocked water supply to the south of the state with the state's fish conservation efforts. The governor and other experts have sharply rejected the claims.
"We are looking at a situation that is just completely not part of any domestic water system design," Marty Adams, a former DWP general manager and engineer, told The New York Times.
The big picture: Fire hydrants running out of water isn't unheard of during severe wildfires, said Faith Kearns, a water and wildfire expert with the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University. Similar instances were reported during wildfires in Maui, Colorado and Oregon,
"It's something that we have definitely started to see as, essentially, these wildland fires move into urban areas and become urban conflagrations," Kearns said.
"Our urban water supply is meant to deal more with things like a single house being on fire," she added.
Why did the fire hydrants run dry?
Firefighters battling the Palisades Fire earlier this week encountered swaths of fire hydrants with no water after the three water tanks supplying the Pacific Palisades ran dry by 3 a.m. Wednesday, Janisse Quiñones, chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said at a press briefing later that day.
The area's water system had been pushed "to the extreme," she said. "Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure."
The problem persisted for hours while wildfires ravaged the area, the New York Times reported.
Musk wrote on X Wednesday: "These fires are easily avoidable, but nonsense regulations in California prevent action being taken, so year after year homes burn down and more people die."
Trumpclaimed on Truth Social Wednesday that Newsom, a longtime foe, had "refused to sign" a water restoration declaration "that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California" including areas impacted by wildfires.
Newsom in an X post Wednesday called Trump's claim "that a water restoration declaration" exists "pure fiction."
He said — though not mentioning Trump — during a briefing Friday with President Biden that there have been "hurricane force winds of mis and disinformation, lies."
"And it breaks my heart as people are suffering and struggling that we're up against those hurricane forces as well," the governor added.
Newsom also in a letter to Trump Friday invited him to visit and see the damage in L.A.
Would more water have helped?
Even if the water hydrants hadn't run dry, it wouldn't have changed the fact that urban water systems aren't designed to combat multiple, expansive and fast-moving wildfires all at once.
While every bit of water helps, using fire hydrants and water hoses isn't an effective method of battling "multiple onslaughts of fire under high wind conditions,' she said.
"Is it going to save a whole neighborhood under those kinds of ... high wind conditions? Probably not."
Fighting wildland fires in urban areas also limits the methods that can be used, like aerial drops, which could damage structures below, she noted.
High winds can also ground planes, which was the case when a civilian drone hit a Super Scooper aircraft used in the Palisades Fire on Thursday, per an X post from Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Erik Scott.
That fire was only 11% contained as of Saturday morning.
What we're watching: Kearns said cities need, among other things, high-volume pipes and more backup power to pump waters to higher elevations.
"Now we face the question of whether and how there would be enough funding, for example, to actually develop urban water systems that were equipped to deal with these kinds of wildfires," she said.
Tesla has pocketed $11 billion from the sale of regulatory credits to rival automakers needing help to hit tough emissions targets — easy money that could dry up if President-elect Trump rolls back Biden-era regulations.
Why it matters: Tesla's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, is spearheading Trump's effort to cut government red tape.
In this case, reversing Biden's environmental policy would significantly hurt his own company's bottom line.
Follow the money: In the nine months through September 2024, 43% of Tesla's $4.8 billion in net income came from selling regulatory credits to other carmakers.
Since 2012, 34% of Tesla's total $32 billion in profits have come from such credit sales.
Where it stands: Absent a change in policy, that revenue stream is likely to soar in coming years as legacy carmakers scramble to buy emissions credits from Tesla, which generates such credits with every vehicle it produces.
But if those credit revenues disappear, Tesla — facing falling vehicle sales — would see its profit margin lag that of GM.
The big picture: Transportation is the leading source of climate-changing carbon emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency under President Biden has enacted ever-stricter limits on tailpipe emissions.
Starting with the 2023 model year, automakers' fleet-wide emissions must decrease an average of 8% a year through 2026, compared with a typical 2% annual improvement in the past.
The rules get even more stringent starting with the 2027 model year. From that point on, fleet-wide emissions must fall by about 11% per year through 2032.
Between the lines: While selling hybrid vehicles and more efficient gas cars and trucks certainly helps, lots more EVs are essential to hitting such targets.
The EPA estimates that compliance would mean 56 percent of new cars sold will be electric by 2032.
The other side: Trump claims Biden's policies are akin to an "EV mandate" and has said he'd relax EPA standards, as he did during his first term.
Friction point: In the meantime, EV sales aren't increasing as fast as expected, which means carmakers face substantial penalties for noncompliance.
One way to avoid such fines is to purchase tradeable emissions credits from companies that have exceeded the standards by selling lots of electric cars, primarily Tesla.
As long as EPA standards keep rising and EV sales lag, demand for credits will increase, driving up the costs of compliance for most automakers — and fattening Tesla's coffers.
State of play: It's already happening.
In 2023, the first model year that Biden's higher standards went into effect, Tesla sold $1.8 billion worth of credits, including 34 million federal greenhouse gas credits, to other automakers.
Through the first nine months of 2024, it's already taken in $2.1 billion in credit revenue, with year-end figures expected Jan. 29.
Tesla said the 53% increase over the prior nine months was "driven by demand for credits in North America as other automobile manufacturers scale back on their battery electric vehicle plans."
Zoom in: Ford Motor is among the companies trying to scoop up emissions credits to ensure compliance while it reins in its EV plans in favor of more hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
Ford disclosed in July that it had contracts to purchase about $3.8 billion of regulatory compliance credits for use in North America and Europe for current and future model years, including $100 million it spent during the second quarter of 2024.
In October, Tesla said it has long-term contracts to sell $4.7 billion of credits, including $683 million in sales expected in the next 12 months.
Of note: Credits are also traded to comply with other state and federal regulations, including California's zero-emission vehicle program.
In Europe, Tesla could collect more than $1 billion in compensation from Stellantis, Toyota, Ford, Subaru and Mazda, which are pooling emissions with Tesla to avoid big fines, according to UBS analysts.
The intrigue: No company wants to pay a competitor for help complying with the law, but for most automakers, purchasing regulatory credits — just like buying steel or rubber — is now a cost of doing business.
There is no central marketplace. Instead, credit transactions are handled privately between firms, sometimes under long-term contracts.
How it works: The EPA sets an increasingly-stringent emissions standard, measured in grams of carbon dioxide per mile, for each manufacturer's car and truck fleet.
The permitted level of emissions is a sales-weighted target based on the average "footprint" (the area between the four tires) of the vehicles each automaker produces. The larger the footprint, the greater the emissions any given vehicle is allowed to produce.
If a carmaker's fleet-wide performance comes in below the EPA limit, they earn credits for that model year. If it is above the limit, they generate a deficit.
Manufacturers have lots of flexibility to comply, including banking credits from year to year or trading with other companies.
Between the lines: EVs, plug-in hybrids and other alternative-fuel vehicles are incentivized with credit "multipliers," which is why Tesla, a pure EV manufacturer, earns the most credits every year.
Other EV makers, including Rivian and Lucid, as well as hybrid leaders such as Honda and Toyota, also earn extra credits but nowhere near as many as Tesla.
The perennial biggest seller of credits is Tesla. The biggest buyer has often been Stellantis, maker of Ram pickups and Jeep SUVs, which is starting to add hybrid and electric powertrains.
The bottom line: Trading emissions credits is big money, and Tesla is the clear winner, as long as Trump doesn't pull the rug out from under his First Buddy.
The National Weather Service plans to issue a red flag warning of critical fire weather conditionsincluding gusty winds and low relative humidity, effective Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon, for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the agency's LA office stated Saturday morning.
The big picture: Historic California wildfires have severely impacted these areas, and the NWS expects offshore Santa Ana winds to pick back up, with another strong offshore event occurring early next week and no rain in sight.
Wildfires have seared more than 30,000 acres in Los Angeles County this week, leaving at least 11 people dead, per an update Friday from the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.
Threat level: With no rain in the forecast, these winds will challenge firefighters battling the ongoing blazes and any new fire starts.
Parts of Southern California are experiencing their driest start to the winter "rainy season" on record, after two wet winters encouraged plant growth that has led to ample dry vegetation for fires to burn.
What they're saying: "With continued dry conditions, Red Flag Warnings are likely. While a brief reprieve from the winds are expected Sunday Night, they will form again Monday through Wednesday, with a peak around Tuesday of gusts between 40 and 60 mph," the NWS said.
"With humidities plummeting to 5 to 15 percent, there is a high risk for Red Flag Warnings."
