President Trump's tariff flip-flop, escalating tensions with Panama, and a controversial pause on aid to Ukraine dominated headlines this week.

Here's our recap of key developments.

Trump tariffs sweep

Trump's shifting position on tariffs rattled U.S. markets this week and incited a global trade war.

• By some estimates, the president's tariffs on America's closest trading partners could cost the average U.S. household $830 a year. And that's before factoring in the cost of anticipated retaliatory tariffs.

The president on Tuesday imposed 25% tariffs on most imports from Mexico and Canada. He increased tariffs on China from 10% to 20%.

• By Thursday, he reversed himself and paused tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports covered by a North American trade agreement until April 2.

Go deeper: Trump stares down early economic potholes

Trump's many words to Congress

Trump's first congressional address on Tuesday lasted nearly 100 minutes, making it the longest of its kind in recent history.

• It felt like a typical stump speech from the president. He boasted about the executive order blitz that's upended American life and the nation's position on the world stage and touched on immigration, sports, DEI and foreign policy.
• Elon Musk, current and former Supreme Court justices and members of Trump's Cabinet attended.

The Democrats' response to the speech sparked its own mini-news cycle.

• Democratic Rep. Al Green (Texas) was ejected from the chamber early in the evening for heckling Trump. Other House members either walked out, held signs or wore pink. House leadership and Democrats didn't widely embrace the moves.
• Axios' Hill team scooped that Democratic leadership privately scolded some members who defied orders not to make themselves the story. Ten Democrats joined every House Republican in a Thursday vote to censure Green.
• Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) delivered her party's rebuttal,

Go deeper: Behind the Curtain: Trump, on steroids

Trump pauses aid to Ukraine

The caustic relationship between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky entered the next phase of volatility this week after a tense and televised meeting between the two last Friday.

• Trump on Monday halted—at least temporarily—military assistance the U.S. pledged to Ukraine until a date is set for peace negotiations with Russia.
• Zelensky agreed to a partial ceasefire on Tuesday, and Trump during his address to Congress, softened his tone on the Ukrainian president.

Negotiating with Hamas

The Trump administration is, for the first time, in direct talks with Hamas about the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and a wider deal to end the war, Axios' Barak Ravid reported exclusively on Wednesday.

• Israel announced on Sunday it is halting humanitarian aid and fuel deliveries to Gaza after a ceasefire agreement with Hamas ended.
• Trump told Hamas he would authorize additional Israeli military strikes on Gaza unless the group releases its remaining hostages.

Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled "Catch and Revoke" effort to cancel the visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups, senior State Department officials told Axios' Marc Caputo.

Trump on Panama Canal

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino accused Trump of "lying again" when he claimed Tuesday his administration will be "reclaiming" the Panama Canal.

• "I reject in the name of Panama and all Panamanians this new affront to the truth and our dignity as a nation," Mulino said Wednesday in a post on X translated from Spanish.
• The U.S. president's comments follow BlackRock's agreement to acquire two ports serving the canal from a Chinese group, CK Hutchison, as part of a larger $22.8 billion deal.

Go deeper: BlackRock buying two Panama Canal ports from China's Hutchinson

More from Axios:

• White House firings continue despite speed bumps
• White House now says firing probationary workers up to agencies
• Tracking Trump: Press pool takeover, Zelensky and the Musk effect

President Trump's clash with legacy media, his spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and influence over the House GOP's budget deal were among the biggest news events out of his administration this week.

Here's our recap of key developments the past week:

White House takes over press pool coverage

The White House upended decades-old protocols Tuesday by announcing it would decide which news outlets can access the president at meetings and events when space is limited, also known as the press pool.

• Historically, the independent White House Correspondents' Association has determined which outlets make up the pool, ensuring that outlets with diverse perspectives have access to the president.
• The move "suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president," Eugene Daniels, president of the WHCA and Politico reporter, said in a statement. (The WHCA said Wednesday it will no longer coordinate pool coverage.)

Zoom out: The Associated Press is suing White House officials for banning its reporters from the Oval Office and Air Force One over its use of Gulf of Mexico instead of Trump's preferred Gulf of America.

• Since AP mentioned its role in the press pool 52 times in its initial 18-page lawsuit, the White House decided to take over the function of picking the outlets in it, one White House adviser told Axios' Marc Caputo.

Canada and Mexico tariffs still on

The White House remains committed to imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports next week, despite earlier comments from Trump that hinted at a possible delay.

• A 10% tariff took effect on Feb. 4 for China, with another 10% on the way March 4, Axios reported.
• Tariffs for Canada and Mexico, at 25%, are delayed until March 4, and reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect April 2.
• "The tariffs could jolt the global trading system and stoke tensions with allies and adversaries," Axios' Courtenay Brown writes.

Go deeper: A timeline of Trump's tariff proposals

House passes Trump-approved budget

Speaker Mike Johnson's Trump-backed budget bill narrowly cleared the House 217-215 on Tuesday, overcoming a brief Republican rebellion earlier in the day.

• Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a fiscal hawk, cast the lone GOP dissenting vote, while Democrats united in opposition.
• The passage sets the stage for advancing Trump's domestic policy agenda, including tax cuts, border security measures and potential energy cuts.

Go deeper: Behind the Curtain: The hard truths about Trump tax cuts

Trump backs Musk's progress-or-else email

Federal workers who failed to respond to an emailed request last weekend to report their progress "are on the bubble," Trump said during his first Cabinet meeting this term on Wednesday. He added, "Maybe they're gonna be gone." Federal workers had been warned their failure to respond to his email would be treated as a resignation.

• The email rattled D.C. throughout the week and showed a misalignment between the administration, government agency heads and Cabinet officials.

Musk on Wednesday described the email, which many agency heads told their staff to ignore, as a "pulse check review."

• Workers later claimed in a lawsuit filed and amended on their behalf that Musk's DOGE doesn't have the power to make good on the threat.

What to watch: The White House has already directed federal agencies to plan for large-scale layoffs in its promise to reduce federal bureaucracy and return power to the states, Axios' Emily Peck writes.

Trump and Zelensky meet at the White House

Zelensky made his first visit to the White House Friday since President Trump took office. The meeting's purpose was to improve relations and get a minerals deal signed, after a public squabble last week between the two leaders.

• But it devolved into a public shouting match including a tense exchange where Vice President Vance accused Zelensky of disrespecting Trump by "trying to litigate" U.S. policy on Ukraine in front of the media.
• Throughout the exchange, Zelensky became visibly uncomfortable and upset. He pointed out that Vance hadn't been to war-torn Ukraine, conceding that every country in their situation has problems.

Zoom out: The minerals deal would allow the U.S. to tap into Ukraine's minerals and other natural resources. It would also establish a joint fund for rebuilding Ukraine.

• As of Friday afternoon, it wasn't signed.
• "He can come back when he is ready for Peace," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
• A U.S. official told Axios Trump is considering retaliation including stopping military assistance to Ukraine.

Go deeper: U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal faces long, uncertain road

More from Axios:

• Trump's loyalty-first FBI
• Tracking Trump: Zelensky friction, the power grab and IVF access
• Trump ousts top U.S. Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown and other leaders
• Tracking Trump: 5 moves this week with lasting impact

Editor's note: This story has been updated with developments after Trump and Zelensky's meeting.

President Trump has unleashed a torrent of policy changes and executive actions, rapidly reshaping the political landscape.

• Here's our recap of key developments the past week.

Trump and Zelensky tension escalates

By all evidence, Trump was putting it mildly when he said Friday at a White House meeting with U.S. governors that he's "had not such good talks with Ukraine."

• Trump falsely suggested Ukraine started the war with Russia on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump called President Volodymyr Zelensky "a dictator without elections," leaving the Ukraine leader out of hours-long talks with Saudi Arabia on ending the conflict with Russia.

Reality check: "Zelensky was democratically elected in a fair and free election," Axios' Barak Ravid writes.

The Ukrainian president said on Wednesday Trump "lives in a disinformation space" the Kremlin created.

Trump's war of words against media

The Trump administration sent a memo on Friday closing the Pentagon briefing room to media taping, writing or recording when a briefing isn't happening.

• The memo penned by Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot is the latest administrative action restricting media access. Previously, Trump banned the Associated Press from the Oval Office over its stylebook, which still uses the Gulf of Mexico instead of his preferred Gulf of America.
• The White House Correspondents' Association condemned the decision last week as an "outrageous and a deeply disappointing escalation" restricting constitutionally protected press freedoms.
• The Associated Press filed suit over the ban Friday afternoon.

Trump asserts authority

Trump has claimed in an executive order he has direct authority over several federal agencies that have historically been independent.

• The order Trump signed Tuesday expands his control over the SEC, CFTC and FDIC, as well as the Federal Reserve's banking regulation role, but it explicitly excludes monetary policy decisions.
• The order maintains that the Office of Management and Budget director will set performance standards for independent agency heads and control budgets, including restricting spending.
• That essentially "turns the OMB director into a kind of uber-regulator, with power over agency heads across the government, including those who historically operated with little White House meddling," Axios' Neil Irwin writes.

Widening IVF access

Trump put a call out via executive order Tuesday for more ideas to reduce the costs of in vitro fertilization because, as the president put it campaigning last year, "we want more babies."

• IVF can range between $12,000 and $25,000 a cycle and is "often not fully covered by health insurance," the White House said in a fact sheet.
• About a quarter of employers offer some coverage for the procedure, per the White House.

Trump axes cop misconduct database

Trump shut down the first national database tracking misconduct among federal law enforcement officers — an idea the president initially supported after the police murder of George Floyd in 2020.

• The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database was created as part of an executive order by former President Biden, and now the site has an update atop it explaining: "User agencies can no longer query or add data to the NLEAD."
• The closure, first reported by the Washington Post on Thursday, ends a defining moment of earlier Black Lives Matter demonstrations, Axios' Russell Contreras writes.

Trump picks confirmed this week

Trump's Cabinet and West Wing nominees are steadily clearing Senate confirmation, solidifying this administration's leadership team.

• Howard Lutnick, the billionaire former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO, was confirmed as Commerce secretary in a 51-45 vote on Tuesday.
• The Senate confirmed MAGA ally Kash Patel as FBI director on Thursday in a 51-49 vote.

More from Axios:

• Trump ousts top U.S. Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown and other leaders
• Tracking Trump: 5 moves this week with lasting impact
• Trump moves you might have missed this week

President Trump fired Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, Jr. and other top military leaders on Friday.

The big picture: The terminations, also reaching Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife, come amid the Trump administration's mass firings and pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

• Brown, a four-star fighter pilot, is the first Black chief of staff of the Air Force and the second Black general to serve as chairman, following Colin Powell.
• Franchetti is the first woman to serve as the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. Navy.
• Brown, Franchetti and Slife were all nominated to their roles by former President Biden.

Context: The Pentagon will also fire about 5,400 probationary workers next week and impose a hiring freeze as part of the Trump administration's federal workforce overhaul.

• "As we take these important steps to reshape the workforce to meet the President's priorities, the Department will treat our workers with dignity and respect as it always does," the Defense Department said in a news release Friday.

Catch up quick: Trump has claimed the military's leadership is too heavily focused on diversity issues, and he signed an executive order on January 27 directing the Defense Department to ax DEI programs.

Zoom in: Trump thanked Brown for more than 40 years of service to the United States, calling him "a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader" in a Truth Social post.

• The president also nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine for Joint Chief of Staffs chair, claiming he "was passed over for promotion" by Biden.
• Caine, a career F-16 pilot served on active duty and in the National Guard, and was the CIA's associate director for military affairs.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Franchetti and Slife's terminations by saying he was seeking nominations for their positions in a statement Friday.

• The Defense secretary has also described Brown's DEI work in the military as "woke," using the term as criticism.
• "Under President Trump," Hegseth said, "we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional terminations and context.

President Trump and his administration have initiated a flurry of policy changes and executive actions since assuming office.

• For those finding it hard to keep up with the rapid pace, here's a summary of key developments this past week.

Trump staffing cuts begin

Trump began promised federal staff cuts with an executive order and an email to fired employees on Tuesday.

• With his sights set on "eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity," the president detailed in the order a goal of optimizing the federal workforce through the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
• Legal experts question the legality of the mass layoffs, which workers criticize as poorly handled and potentially damaging to critical federal government operations, Axios' Emily Peck writes.
• Thousands of workers had been fired as of Friday, in addition to the 75,000 who accepted Trump's deferred resignation offer.

DOJ resignation drama

A dramatic battle played out in Trump's Department of Justice, with at least half-a-dozen prosecutors resigning in refusal to comply with an order to dismiss corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

• Amid the resignation drama, Adams appeared on "Fox & Friends" alongside Trump's border czar Tom Homan on Friday and promised to collaborate with new immigration enforcement policies.

Trump threatens switch to retaliation mode with trade partners

Trump signed a trade memorandum on Thursday to launch trade measures that go beyond increasing tariffs and threaten to upend any agreement with trade partners the White House believes to undermine work of U.S. exporters.

• The memo, dubbed the "fair and reciprocal" plan, challenges global trade norms while targeting perceived imbalances. It also allows for potential deal-making to avert implementation, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes.

Trump and Putin in talks to negotiate end of war in Ukraine

Trump has started talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, he told the New York Post in a story published last Saturday.

• Trump and Putin spoke on Wednesday in their first publicly announced call since Trump took office.
• Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky told Trump in a subsequent call on Wednesday that Putin is faking willingness to hammer out a peace deal because he is "afraid of you," a Ukrainian official and three other sources told Axios' Barak Ravid.

Cabinet confirmations of the week

Some of Trump's most contentious Cabinet picks were confirmed by the Senate this week.

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard were each narrowly cleared the Senate, largely along party lines, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and National Intelligence, respectively.
• Brooke Rollins was also confirmed as the next agriculture secretary.

Trump accused of blocking media access

The Associated Press said Tuesday one of its reporters was blocked from the Oval Office after the White House threatened to do so for its editorial standards in coverage of the president's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

• It's the latest allegation of the Trump administration making a target of the media, but few accusations have alarmed press freedom advocates like Tuesday's incident, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.
• The White House hasn't responded to Axios' request for comment.

Trump sanctions International Criminal Court prosecutor

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Ahmad on Thursday, the administration's first move to carry out sanctions promised in an earlier executive order.

• The president said the ICC has "further abused its power" by issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who were accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.

More from Axios:

• Tracking Trump: 5 moves this week with lasting impact
• Trump moves you might have missed this week
• Trump 2.0: Confirmed Cabinet so far

For many Black women, Trump's presidency isn't just a political reckoning — it's a wake-up call to turn inward, prioritize self-care, and build movements rooted in their own needs and empowerment.

The big picture: After overwhelmingly backing Democrats, many Black women are now stepping away from politics to focus on themselves and their communities.

State of play: "Our well-being, the well-being of our children and our communities, cannot be based on the whimsical nature of white folks or a particular political party," LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, told Axios on Friday.

• She said just as Black people realized during the Reconstruction era that they would have to take hold of their futures, building their own cities, churches, homesteads and banks, Black people have to do the same today.
• "I can't afford just to respond. I've got to reimagine," Brown said. "I can't afford just to fight. I've got to build."

Win With Black Women, a group that raised over $3 million for the Harris-Walz ticket in 2024, now aims to protect former Vice President Harris' legacy by "advancing Black women into leadership roles."

• "No matter who is in the White House, Black women will continue to champion the progress that Vice President Harris has led whether in our own neighborhoods, communities, or in Washington, D.C.," said Holli Holliday, a WWBW partner and president of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote.

As Nikki Frenney, a political influencer, put it, "Rest is resistance."

• She campaigned for Harris and created the viral AI graphic "92%" inspired by artist Navi' Robins — an image featuring an American flag and a woman in a 92% t-shirt, symbolizing the percentage of Black women who voted for Harris.
• Now, she's launching a 92% movement focused on wellness, economic empowerment, and cultural connections for Black people.
• "I believe we have to prepare ourselves for chaos that could be coming down the pipe, simply based on the previous four years that we had in the Trump administration," Frenney said before Trump's inauguration.

Then-Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt (now the White House press secretary) told Axios Trump "will unify the country through success."

Catch up quick: Since then, Trump rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion and affirmative action programs.

• In response, corporations such as Target, Amazon and Boeing began rolling back DEI work that helped propel Black women and business owners into spaces predominantly occupied by white entrepreneurs.

What they're saying: Republicans control all three branches of the federal government, and "Now the guard rails are off," Frenney said.

Robins said "maybe they know what they're doing, whatever it may be, but in my mind, it's like at this point, we need to stop being martyred."

• He said it's time for America to see itself for what it is, with Black people having long been scapegoats for the country.
• "We're not the reason why any of this is happening," he said.

Zoom in: Brooke Floyd, director of programs for the Jackson, Mississippi-based nonprofit People's Advocacy Institute, told Axios the idea of turning inward to build your own community is one that has always been at the heart of her organization.

• People want to see Medicaid expansions, more comprehensive healthcare coverage, criminal justice reform and clean water, especially in Jackson following a water crisis, Floyd said.
• They have real concerns about public education funding reaching Black children.
• "We fight the issues and not the people," Floyd said.

Zoom out: Cicley Gay, a Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation board member and philanthropic strategist with more than 20 years of experience, told Axios before the inauguration a lot of people are "reactive to what they believe a Trump administration will look like."

• "And as an organization, we're not going to obsess over him," she said.
• Gay canvassed for Harris and has been tasked with helping rebrand the Black Lives Matter nonprofit mired in financial controversy and division.
• "We are going to look far beyond this presidency," she said.
• She detailed her vision for "a future fully divested from policing and prisons and punishment paradigms, a future for BLM in particular that invests in justice, joy and culture."

More from Axios:

• Harris puts Democratic Party's "backbone" front and center: Black women
• Democratic activists shaken — and say they need a new plan

Thousands attended the People's March on Saturday in Washington, D.C., to protest President-elect Trump's agenda ahead of his inauguration, per multiple outlets.

Why it matters: The event, some eight years after the earlier Women's March that attracted hundreds of thousands of participants, was crafted with a slightly different approach this year to target Trump policies versus Trumpism as a whole, Axios' Sareen Habeshian writes.

• The president-elect has promised mass deportations will be top of his agenda when he takes office on Monday, leaving sanctuary cities such as Chicago bracing for impact.

Zoom in: Trump's deportation plan is one of many issues demonstrators zeroed in on Saturday as they marched from Farragut Square, McPherson Square and Franklin Park to the Lincoln Memorial.

See some of the moments from the march:

More from Axios:

• What to know about Trump's inauguration
• Tech CEOs flock to Trump's inauguration
• Trump inauguration will move indoors over frigid weather

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.

Political finger-pointing as a result

Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk skewered California Democrats, and in Trump's case Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), over the wildfires.

• 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."
• Trump claimed 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.

More from Axios:

• Wildfire tech investor on what comes next
• LA County fires among most destructive ever recorded in California

The National Weather Service plans to issue a red flag warning of critical fire weather conditions including 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."

More from Axios:

• L.A. fire losses will set records, but that's only the beginning
• No reprieve for California inferno, with high winds continuing into next week

The Justice Department in a report released Friday concluded "no avenue for prosecution exists" for the crimes carried out during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the deadliest series of murders in U.S. history.

The big picture: The findings come roughly three months after the DOJ launched its first-ever federal probe into the coordinated attack that left an estimated 300 Black residents dead and decimated the thriving Greenwood community, also known as "Black Wall Street."

• The event is widely regarded as the worst race massacre in U.S. history.
• The DOJ noted in its report — which corroborates survivor testimonies and existing research — that its conclusion was "despite the gravity of the department's findings." It was also the federal government's first comprehensive acknowledgment of the massacre.
• The report confirms that the massacre was not just mob violence but a coordinated military-style attack that involved systematic arson, looting, and killings carried out by white residents, some of whom were deputized by the Tulsa police.

What they're saying: Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division called the massacre "a civil rights crime unique in its magnitude, barbarity, racist hostility and its utter annihilation of a thriving Black community."

• "Until this day, the Justice Department has not spoken publicly about this race massacre or officially accounted for the horrific events that transpired in Tulsa," she said.
• "This report breaks that silence by rigorous examination and a full accounting of one of the darkest episodes of our nation's past."

Zoom out: The DOJ report says prosecution is no longer feasible because the youngest potential defendants would now be over 115 years old and relevant statutes of limitations "expired decades ago," leaving no legal avenue for federal charges.

The DOJ report found:

• Coordinated Attack: The DOJ found that — depending on how you define participation — up to 10,000 white residents of Tulsa devastated Greenwood.
• Government Complicity: Local law enforcement disarmed Black residents, detained survivors in camps, and participated in arson and murder. Tulsa hindered recovery by imposing restrictive fire codes, rejecting aid, and resisting rebuilding efforts.
• Legal Failures: The DOJ acknowledged that civil rights laws could have allowed hate crime prosecutions, but in 1921, no such protections existed and federal laws were unenforced, leaving survivors and descendants without justice.

Between the lines: While the report recognizes its historical significance and documents the trauma and loss suffered by Greenwood's residents, Rev. William Barber of the Repairers of the Breach expressed frustration at the limitations imposed by expired laws.

• "Isn't it a tragedy that we have a statute of limitations on the murdering of an entire community?"
• "If the Justice Department says the statute of limitations is a law, then there ought to be a campaign for new legislation that says, when the government has participated in political murder, this country will not allow a statute of limitation to prevent justice."

The bottom line: Barber stressed the need to reframe such events in historical narratives, because we "can't let these stories be told incorrectly."

• "We must not use the language of 'riot.' Whether it was Springfield, Illinois; Wilmington, North Carolina; or Tulsa—they weren't riots. They were murders, bombings, and insurrections."
• "The Justice Department's findings must be built upon, and this moment must stir action, even if the results take time. Sometimes what you do in one moment has an impact in another."

More from Axios:

• 1st Tulsa Race Massacre victim identified in mass grave honored with memorial
• Uncovering the Tulsa Race Massacre after 100 years
• 100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, last living survivors urge U.S. to not forget

Six days of funeral services for former President Jimmy Carter, who died at home Sunday at 100 years old, began on Saturday with a procession in Georgia.

The big picture: Carter is the country's longest-living former president and the first to reach 100 years old.

State of play: Memorial events include a departure ceremony at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia followed by a trip to Carter's childhood home in Plains, a motorcade to Atlanta and moment of silence at Georgia's State Capitol, per the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region.

• An arrival ceremony and service at the Carter Presidential Center follows with Carter lying in repose from 7pm Saturday to 6am Sunday.

President Biden named former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, actor Denzel Washington, billionaire George Soros and Bono, lead singer of the rock band U2, among 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Saturday.

Why it matters: The award is the nation's highest civilian honor.

What they're saying: President Biden thanked the awardees at a White House ceremony on Saturday and said they embody the nation's creed "e pluribus unum, out of many one."

• "As cultural icons [...] dignified statesmen, humanitarians, rock stars, sports stars, you feed the hungry," he said.
• "You give hope to those who are hurting, and you craft the signs and sounds of our movements and our memories."

Zoom in: This year's recipients posthumously include activist Fannie Lou Hamer, whose work fighting racial injustice of the Jim Crow era helped pave the way for the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Other awardees include: Basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, conservationist Jane Goodall, designer Ralph Lauren, chef José Andrés, actor Michael J. Fox and entrepreneur Tim Gill.

Also on the recipient list, are Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, soccer player Lionel Messi, Bill Nye of the popular 90s TV show "Bill Nye the Science Guy," writer George Stevens, Jr. and David Rubenstein, co-chairman of The Carlyle Group.

Biden posthumously awarded the honor to the 25th secretary of defense Ashton Baldwin Carter, former attorney general Robert Francis Kennedy and businessman George Romney.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the president's remarks.

President-elect Trump on Saturday praised a federal judge's decision to block the Biden administration from disposing of materials used for Trump's promised southern border wall before his inauguration.

Why it matters: Trump's political identity has rested heavily on a promised crackdown on illegal immigration, earmarked with campaign vows of mass deportations and a completed border wall.

What they're saying: The president-elect called the decision Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office announced on Friday "a major, crucial WIN for America" in a Truth Social post.

• The attorney general's office said in a news release Paxton asked for a probe "to uncover potential legal violations committed by the Biden Administration after recent reports that segments of the border wall were auctioned off for pennies on the dollar."
• "The Biden Administration confirmed to the court today that it will agree to an order preventing the outgoing administration from disposing of any further border wall materials over the next 30 days—allowing President Trump to use those materials as he sees fit," officials said in the release.
• "This will be adopted as an order of the court, making it enforceable if any violations occur."

The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday he apologized after the Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed en route to Grozny, Chechnya, killing 38 people and injuring 29 others on Christmas Day.

The big picture: Putin apologized in a phone call with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev "for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace," but the Russian president did not accept responsibility for the crash itself in a translated government news release.

• The crash happened in Kazakhstan as flight J2-8243 was diverted en route from Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.

The latest: "During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was strictly on schedule, repeatedly attempted to land at the Grozny airport," Russian officials said in the release.

• "At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks."
• Russia has opened an investigation into the crash and is "closely cooperating at the site of the disaster in the Aktau region," the government said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress on Friday that "extraordinary measures" will be necessary as early as Jan. 14 unless Congress acts to raise or otherwise suspend the debt ceiling.

Why it matters: President-elect Trump has voiced support to abolish the debt limit despite some of his supporters historically opposing action to raise the debt ceiling during Democratic administrations.

Driving the news: The debt limit, which reflects the amount the U.S. government is allowed to borrow to pay for services including Social Security and Medicare benefits, was suspended through Jan. 1, 2025, when the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 went into effect.

• Outstanding debt is set to decrease by approximately $54 billion on Jan. 2 due to "a scheduled redemption of nonmarketable securities held by a federal trust fund related to Medicare payments," Yellen wrote in a letter addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Yes, but: The Treasury "expects to reach the new limit between January 14 and January 23, at which time it will be necessary for Treasury to start taking extraordinary measures," Yellen wrote.

• "I respectfully urge Congress to act to protect the full faith and credit of the United States," Yellen added.

Eliminating the debt limit would likely require Democratic support, Axios earlier reported.

Go deeper: Scoop: Jeffries' plan to kill the debt ceiling forever

President-elect Trump boasts a "productive meeting" with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after earlier threatening tariffs on the country, China and Mexico.

Why it matters: Trump earlier promised to implement tariffs immediately, triggering fears of inflation and a trade war.

The latest: He said in a Truth Social post Saturday that he covered in his recent talk with Trudeau the drug crisis as well as "Fair Trade Deals that do not jeopardize American Workers, and the massive Trade Deficit the U.S. has with Canada."

• Of the drug crisis, Trump said: "Prime Minister Trudeau has made a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation of U.S. Families."
• "We also spoke about many other important topics like Energy, Trade, and the Arctic," Trump said. "All are vital issues that I will be addressing on my first days back in Office, and before."

Zoom in: Neither Trump nor Trudeau detailed specific plans resulting from the meeting.

• Trudeau said in an X post, "I look forward to the work we can do together, again."

Catch up quick: Having parted with Trump on trade in the past, Trudeau said in January that his government was getting ready for the "uncertainty" Trump's return would bring.

Go deeper: World leaders who clashed with Trump brace for an awkward reunion

President-elect Trump tapped his son-in-law Jared Kushner's father Charles Kushner on Saturday to serve as U.S. ambassador to France.

Why it matters: The elder Kushner is one of several Trump allies convicted of crimes.

• Trump pardoned the real estate developer in 2020 after he pleaded guilty in 2004 to filing false tax returns, retaliating against a witness and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, Axios reported.

The latest: In his administration announcement, Trump noted Charles Kushner's business acumen as founder of the real estate firm Kushner Companies and his service on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and as commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

• "He is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests," the president-elect said.
• Trump has faced criticism for seemingly prioritizing loyalty and not necessarily experience in his picks for Cabinet and administration positions.

Catch up quick: Jared Kushner, who served as Trump's senior adviser during his first administration, said earlier this year in an interview at the Axios BFD that he plans to sit out a second Trump administration, opting instead to focus on work with his investment firm, Affinity Partners.

• Senate Democrats launched an investigation into the business this summer.

Go deeper:

• Axios BFD: Kushner says he's not looking to return to White House
• Trump pardons Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Charles Kushner
• Trump builds his "central casting" Cabinet
• Trump picks linked to sexual misconduct allegations