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In the Los Angeles area, a number of large wildfires are causing death and destruction. Due to strong winds and dry weather, a few wildfires that began to spread on Tuesday had grown significantly in size. By Friday afternoon, almost 180,000 people had been evacuated and 10 individuals had been murdered. Go here to watch live broadcast. The fires' sizes and conditions are depicted on the maps below. They will be regularly updated.

SAN YSIDRO, Calif. — In a one-on-one interview at the U.S. southern border on Thursday, incoming border czar Tom Homan stated that the Trump administration would close the Darien Gap, the perilous Panamanian jungle that hundreds of thousands of migrants traverse year on their route north. "It must happen," he stated. Closing the Darien Gap will safeguard our national security. Thousands of lives will be saved by it. Watch NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT and read more about this story at NBCNews.com. In recent years, Panama has been under pressure to tighten its immigration laws. This month, the country's immigration officials reported that the number of crossings via the usually lawless 70-mile jungle area had decreased by 42% from the previous year....

Global temperatures have broken records for the second consecutive year, and several government agencies said Friday that last year was the hottest on record. 2024 was hotter than any year since at least 1880, according to scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. 2023 was previously dubbed the warmest year on record for the world. According to NOAA, average land and ocean surface temperatures last year exceeded the 2023 standard by less than two tenths of a degree Fahrenheit. The consecutive shattered records are a part of a continuing warming trend that was forecast by several climate models and about which climate experts have long warned. The temperature record has been broken once more. According to a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson,...

While one person remained with his son who had cerebral palsy and was unable to leave, at least two of the victims died in the Southern California wildfire attempted to defend the homes where they had spent decades raising families. Destructive wildfires driven by dry weather and strong windserupted Tuesday, resulting in ten confirmed deaths so far in the Los Angeles area. Approximately 180,000 people have been displaced from their homes, and thousands of buildings have been destroyed. According to officials, the actual number of fatalities is unknown because communities are still being destroyed by the fires. What we currently know about the victims is as follows: Anthony and Justin Mitchell According to Anthony Mitchell, his father was a "protector" who would stop at nothing to keep h...

Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's second term in office, Metaon informed staff on Friday that it intends to discontinue several internal initiatives aimed at increasing the company's hiring of diverse applicants. The announcement was posted on Meta's Workplace internal communications forum by Janelle Gale, vice president of people. One of the adjustments is the termination of Meta's Diverse Slate Approach, which involved selecting competent applicants from underrepresented groups for available positions. Additionally, the corporation is ending its equity and inclusion training programs as well as its diversity supplier program. The company's diversity, equality, and inclusion, or DEI, team will no longer exist, according to Gale, who also stated that Meta Chief Diversity Officer Maxi...

Asian American scientist Franklin Tao is suing his former employer, the University of Kansas, alleging he was subjected to cruel, unrelenting harassment after being falsely accused of spying for China. In a complaint filed last week, Tao, a professor of chemistry, claimed that his tenured post had been unjustly and unfairly terminated and is now requesting reinstatement. In 2019, Tao became the first professor to be arrested and imprisoned under the controversial Trump-era China Initiative after being wrongly accused of economic espionage. The now-defunct national security program drew harsh criticism for targeting Asian American professors and engaging in racial profiling. Tao, who was acquitted last year, claims in the complaint that the institution worked with the Justice Department to ...

You can save a lot of money at Amazon all year long, even though Amazon Prime Day is months away. Discounts are available in all purchasing categories, including home, beauty, wellness, and technology, during the brand's current Winter Sale. I discovered fantastic discounts on both more expensive things, like a Dyson vacuum, which you might want to purchase while it's on sale, and more commonplace necessities, like dental care. I regularly report on sales for big-box stores like Amazon and Target. All of the products I've highlighted below are 20% off or more, and they're all recommended by NBC Select personnel, NBC Select award winners, or highly regarded choices from companies we often cover. Although it's unclear how long the sales will last, both Prime members and non-Prime customers c...

In the Los Angeles area, a number of large wildfires are causing death and destruction. Due to strong winds and dry weather, a few wildfires that started on Tuesday have grown significantly in size. By Friday afternoon, almost 180,000 people had been evacuated and 10 individuals had been murdered. Go here to watch live broadcast. The fires' sizes and conditions are depicted on the maps below. They will be regularly updated.

An underground cable that had been out of commission for a long time failed, causing the islandwide blackout on New Year's Eve, according to a statement released on Friday by Luma Energy, the firm responsible for Puerto Rico's power transmission and distribution system. According to the Puerto Rican national newspaper El Nuevo D'a, Juan Rodriguez, vice president of capital projects at Luma Energy, stated that the cable is so old that the business that made it shut down 25 years ago. They are currently looking into how precisely that cable caused the blackout, he continued. Residents of Puerto Rico expressed their annoyance and anger as half of the island remained without power on New Year's Day, coinciding with a recent spike in electricity prices linked to growing fuel prices. Because of ...

Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's second term in office, Metaon informed staff on Friday that it intends to discontinue several internal initiatives aimed at increasing the company's hiring of diverse applicants. The announcement was posted on Meta's Workplace internal communications forum by Janelle Gale, vice president of people. One of the adjustments is the termination of Meta's Diverse Slate Approach, which involved selecting competent applicants from underrepresented groups for available positions. Additionally, the corporation is ending its equity and inclusion training programs as well as its diversity supplier program. Gale added that Meta Chief Diversity Officer Maxine Williams will take on a new position centered on accessibility and engagement, and that the company's dive...