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The Sunset fire began burning in the Hollywood Hills between Runyon Canyon and Wattles Park on Wednesday evening, Jan. 8.The fire, one of several that have been devasating large swaths of Los Angeles County since Tuesday amid strong winds, erupted at around 5:30 p.m. and has burned more than 19 acres as of 6:30 p.m., according to ABC7. The Los Angeles Fire Department is responding with 20 fire engines.• Also see: This map shows where the Sunset fire is burning in the Hollywood HillsA mandatory evacuation order is now in effect for Laurel Canyon Boulevard (western boundary), to Mulholland Drive…

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and COLLEEN LONG, Associated PressLOS ANGELES (AP) — President Joe Biden added a new title on Wednesday: great-grandfather.His granddaughter, Naomi Biden Neal, gave birth to her first child, a boy, with husband Peter Neal at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The baby’s name is William Brannon Neal IV, according to an Instagram post from the first lady that included a photo of her and the president with their new great-grandson.Biden, who was in Los Angeles and saw the baby at the hospital, announced the birth at the end of an official briefing on wildfires in Southern…

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports WriterDANIA BEACH, Fla. — It’s been a long time since either Notre Dame or Penn State reached college football’s mountaintop as national champions. It was 1988 for the Fighting Irish, 1986 for the Nittany Lions. There have been good seasons and bad seasons in the three-plus decades that have followed, coaching changes and a complete overhaul of what the sport looks like.Yet here they are – back again, on the doorstep of a title shot.The loss to Northern Illinois is no longer relevant to Notre Dame. The losses to Ohio State and Oregon don’t matter…

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS boosted taxpayer services through Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act but still faces processing claims from a coronavirus pandemic-era tax credit program and is slow to resolve certain identity theft cases, according to an independent watchdog report released Wednesday.“For the first time since I became the National Taxpayer Advocate in 2020, I can begin this report with good news: The taxpayer experience has noticeably improved,” Erin M. Collins wrote in her 2024 annual report to Congress.She said “the IRS has made major strides” with the help of the billions of dollars in multiyear…

A brush fire that ignited Wednesday evening forced evacuations in the Hollywood Hills between Runyon Canyon and Wattles Park. Sunset fire quickly endangers Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon /*! This file is auto-generated */!function(d,l){“use strict”;l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&”undefined”!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll(‘iframe[data-secret=”‘+t.secret+'”]’),o=l.querySelectorAll(‘blockquote[data-secret=”‘+t.secret+'”]’),c=new RegExp(“^https?:$”,”i”),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Palisades, Eaton fires damaged or destroyed these businesses, landmarks in LA County Crime and Public Safety | Swanson: Firestorm vs. L.A., and we’re all in this together Crime and Public Safety | NFL announces contingency plan for Rams-Vikings game in wake of wildfires Crime and Public Safety | Live web cams…

By JOSHUA GOODMANMIAMI (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will be sworn in for a third term Friday while hundreds of government opponents arrested since his disputed reelection last summer languish in the country’s packed prisons.Sharing cells with them are as many as 10 Americans.One is David Estrella, who was last heard from in September, when the 62-year-old native New Yorker was about to take a taxi from Colombia to Venezuela with a bag of perfume, clothes and shoes to gift to friends he made on a previous trip.“It’s like mourning someone in life,” said Margarita Estrella, his ex-wife and…

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard flew home to Los Angeles on Wednesday to be with family members who have been impacted by the devastating wildfires in the area, according to multiple reports. His family members reportedly have been evacuated from their homes. The Clippers are in Denver, where they are slated to play the Nuggets on Wednesday night, the second game of a two-game trip. Leonard, who bought a house in Pacific Palisades in 2021, recently returned to the lineup after missing the first 34 games of the season because of lingering issues with his surgically repaired knee. He has played…

By JOSH BOAKWASHINGTON (AP) — The Service Employees International Union is returning to the AFL-CIO after 20 years, betting that a united labor movement will do more to help workers overcome legal challenges to organize and join unions.The union groups’ executive boards each unanimously approved the combination on Wednesday, with plans to formally announce the affiliation at a Thursday roundtable discussion in Austin, Texas, with workers who are attempting to become union members. There are roughly 2 million SEIU workers in the health care, janitorial and food services sectors, among others. Their addition would bring the total number of AFL-CIO…

Wildfires driven by the worst windstorm in 10 years have blanketed Southern California, wreaking widespread destruction and misery.In the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, the Palisades fire has destroyed more than 1,000 buildings. In the San Gabriel Valley, hundreds of buildings have been damaged or destroyed by the Eaton fire with the communities of Altadena and Sierra Madre particularly impacted. In each area, the fires have left communities decimated.Three dangerous and rapidly spreading wildfires in Los Angeles County started on Tuesday, Jan 7. The flames have been propelled by a dynamic Santa Ana windstorm with powerful gusts ranging from 40 mph…

By LINDSAY WHITEHURSTWASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito spoke with President-elect Donald Trump about a former law clerk the day before Trump went to the high court in a push to delay the sentencing in his New York hush-money case, the justice said Wednesday.Alito said he took the call Tuesday afternoon from Trump at the request of his former law clerk, William Levi, to recommend him for a job in the upcoming administration. The two did not discuss the upcoming emergency motion, or any other court matters, Alito said.“I was not even aware at the time of our…