News Wrap: California crews battling new fires in Los Angeles area

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• Amna Nawaz:

  We begin the day's other headlines in California, where firefighters are battling new fires in the Los Angeles area.

  The Laguna Fire sprang up today in Ventura County, west of L.A., prompting evacuations. Meantime in the mountains north of Los Angeles, the fast-moving Hughes Fire has grown to nearly 16 square miles. It's currently less than 20 percent contained. No homes or structures have been reported burned, but more than 50,000 people remain under evacuation orders and warnings.

  Weather officials say high winds and low humidity will keep the risk of fire critical through tomorrow morning, although firefighters have expressed some optimism.

• Anthony Marrone, Los Angeles County, California, Fire Chief:

  The situation remains dynamic and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Los Angeles is still reeling from two other blazes, the Palisades and Eaton fires. Those erupted earlier this month, killing at least 28 people. The Eaton Fire is now nearly contained.

  Today, California lawmakers passed a $2.5 billion aid package to help the city recover from the fires.

  OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and the family who owns it will pay up to $7.4 billion to settle lawsuits stemming from the opioid crisis. In today's deal, Purdue agreed to pay nearly $900 million. The Sackler family itself will pay upwards of $6.5 billion and give up ownership of the company. That is $500 million more than a previous deal, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.

  But unlike the previous deal, this one does not make the Sacklers immune from future lawsuits. The new settlement still needs court approval.

  In the U.K., a judge sentenced a teenager today to more than 50 years in prison for stabbing three girls to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last summer. Video shown in court captured Axel Rudakubana approaching the studio in Southport, England, where he killed the girls ages 6, 7, and 9. He also injured 10 other people.

  The judge said Rudakubana wanted to — quote — "carry out mass murder of innocent, happy young girls." But he couldn't impose life without parole because Rudakubana was a minor at the time of the attack.

  The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders over the repression of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban has cracked down on women's rights since taking back control of the country in 2021. Laws there bar women from jobs, most public spaces and education beyond the sixth grade.

  Today, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said gender-based persecution by the Taliban's supreme leader and the head of Afghanistan's Supreme Court amount to crimes against humanity.

• Karim Khan, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court:

  Our action signals the status quo for women and girls in Afghanistan is not acceptable. Afghan survivors, in particular, women and girls, deserve accountability before a court of law.

• Amna Nawaz:

  The application for the arrest warrants still needs a judge's approval to take effect.

  In Thailand, marriage equality is now the law of the land. A historic bill took effect today granting LGBTQ+ people the same marital rights as heterosexual couples. By the end of the day, some 1,800 same-sex couples across Thailand had tied the knot. That includes nearly 200 who registered their unions during a day-long celebration at a Bangkok shopping mall.

  Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage and the third place in all of Asia after Taiwan and Nepal.

  On Wall Street, stocks rose after those comments from President Trump about lower interest rates and oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 400 points, or nearly 1 percent. The Nasdaq added 44 points on the day. The S&P 500 closed at a new all-time high.

  And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and sciences announced its Oscar nominations this morning.

• Woman:

  "Emilia Perez."

• Amna Nawaz:

  The musical "Emilia Perez" about transgender identity leads with 13 nominations. That's the most ever for a non-English language film and includes a best actress nomination for Karla Sofia Gascon, making her the first openly trans actor ever nominated.

  Another musical, "Wicked," followed with 10 nominations, as did postwar epic "The Brutalist." This year's announcement had been delayed twice due to the fires ravaging Los Angeles. The 97th Academy Awards ceremony is set to air in early March.