Southern California Edison reported on Monday that a "fault" on a line elsewhere in the region's transmission network caused a brief spike in electrical current in high-voltage power cables in the area where the catastrophic Eaton Fire is thought to have begun. The utility stated in a report with state public utilities regulators that the fault, or disturbance, was discovered at 6:11 p.m. on January 7 even though it happened miles away on a power line that does not cross Eaton Canyon. Just a few minutes later, at 6:18 p.m., authorities got the first reports of a wind-fueled fire that started in the canyon. "The fault on this geographically distant line caused a momentary and expected increase in current on SCE's transmission system, including on the four energized lines" in Eaton Canyon, t...

On Tuesday, Starbucks announced a new phase in its leadership transition, with CEO Brian Niccol splitting important leadership positions and adding two more executives who worked for his previous job, Taco Bell. "We need a new operating model for our retail team as we focus on our Back to Starbucks plan, with clear ownership and accountability and an appropriate scope for each role," Niccol stated in a statement to employees that was posted on the company's website. Niccol was CEO of Yum Brands Taco Bell prior to working at Chipotle for six years. He has already recruited several of his former coworkers to assist him in his overhaul of the coffee behemoth since he began working at Starbucks in September. For instance, in the fall, he appointed Tressie Lieberman, a former employee of Yum Br...

Washington The Trump administration's sudden announcement Monday night of a block on almost all federal grants and loans has caused a great deal of consternation among Congress, the government, state programs, and nonprofits that depend on federal financing. All government agencies received a two-page, ambiguously written directive from the Office of Management and Budget on Monday night instructing them to temporarily halt any operations pertaining to the obligation or distribution of any federal financial assistance. Although the precise programs that would be discontinued are unknown, OMB also sent a supplementary paper requesting information on over 2,600 programs from federal departments that provide funding, including: School meals for low-income students The WIC nutrition...

Washington President Donald Trump's administration imposed a surprise halt on almost all federal grants and loans Monday night, which has caused confusion among Congress, the government, state programs, and non-profits that depend on federal financing. A two-page, ambiguously worded memo was distributed to all federal agencies Monday night by the Office of Management and Budget, instructing them to "temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance." Additionally, the agency requested information on a variety of programs from federal departments that offer financial help in an 836-page spreadsheet that NBC News was able to receive. School meals for low-income students The WIC nutrition program for pregnant women and infant...

Immigration enforcement actions have begun to spread throughout major U.S. cities since President Donald Trump returned to office. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 956 persons were taken into custody on Sunday. However, according to an NBC News investigation, immigration officials made around 1,200 arrests that day, with only 613 of those arrests—or roughly 52%—being classified as criminal charges. The remaining individuals seemed to be either nonviolent criminals or those who had only crossed the border illegally. Being undocumented is not a criminal; rather, it is a civil offense. The bureau reported that 1,179 arrests and 853 detainers were made on Monday, and the number of arrests increased once more the next day. There has been worry that law-abiding migran...

Speaking candidly about his life, billionaire Bill Gates cites the dissolution of his 27-year marriage to Melinda French Gates as his greatest error. The Times of London interviewed the Microsoft tycoon before to the publication of his autobiography, "Source Code." Gates stated in the interview that his divorce was "the mistake I most regret." "There is a certain wonderfulness to spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and depth of things you have done and having kids together," Gates stated. "I was reasonably successful when Melinda and I first met, but not particularly so during our time together. She thereby helped me get through a lot. Declaring their love irretrievably damaged, the pair announced their separation in 2021. In the subsequent year, he stat...

Three people involved with the strategy told NBC News that federal law enforcement is focusing on three U.S. cities each week for mass immigration arrests, with Aurora, Colorado, to follow. Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement agencies have concentrated their arrests thus far this week in Chicago, where they started an operation on Sunday, and New York City, where they started an operation on Tuesday. According to the sources, those operations would next move to Aurora, Colorado, for an operation that starts early Thursday morning. During his presidential campaign, President Donald Trump made a point of claiming that Aurora, which is roughly 40 minutes outside of Denver, was infected by Venezuela. He made reference to accusations of criminal act...

It provided the backdrop for Emmanuel Macron's speech following his election as president in 2017. After a leaked email sparked concerns about the catastrophic health of the most visited museum in the world, he returned to the Louvre on Tuesday to try to repair some of the damage. Macron declared that the Mona Lisa will be placed in a unique area that is open separately from the museum's other exhibits, which he claimed would undergo a significant expansion and renovation. Speaking in the room containing Leonardo da Vinci's masterwork, Macron announced plans to build underground rooms and a new museum entry close to the Seine River. He did not reveal the price, but it is thought to be in the hundreds of millions of euros. According to him, increasing the cost of admission for non-EU touris...

Southern California Edison reported on Monday that a "fault" on a line elsewhere in the region's transmission network caused a brief spike in electrical current in high-voltage power cables in the area where the catastrophic Eaton Fire is thought to have begun. The utility stated in a report with state public utilities regulators that the fault, or disturbance, was discovered at 6:11 p.m. on January 7 even though it happened miles away on a power line that does not cross Eaton Canyon. Just a few minutes later, at 6:18 p.m., authorities got the first reports of a wind-fueled fire that started in the canyon. "The fault on this geographically distant line caused a momentary and expected increase in current on SCE's transmission system, including on the four energized lines" in Eaton Canyon, t...