
News Wrap: Wildfire in Los Angeles hills explodes in size
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 6m 29sVideo has Closed Captions
News Wrap: Wildfire in hills of Los Angeles rapidly explodes in size
In our news wrap Tuesday, residents are fleeing the hills of Los Angeles after the Palisades Fire exploded in size to more than 700 acres, a so-called polar vortex is bringing freezing temperatures as far south as the Gulf Coast, a devastating earthquake in Tibet killed at least 126 and two people were found dead in the landing gear compartment of a Jetblue plane in Florida.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Major corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by...

News Wrap: Wildfire in Los Angeles hills explodes in size
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 6m 29sVideo has Closed Captions
In our news wrap Tuesday, residents are fleeing the hills of Los Angeles after the Palisades Fire exploded in size to more than 700 acres, a so-called polar vortex is bringing freezing temperatures as far south as the Gulf Coast, a devastating earthquake in Tibet killed at least 126 and two people were found dead in the landing gear compartment of a Jetblue plane in Florida.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch PBS News Hour
PBS News Hour is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipAMNA NAWAZ: We start the day's other headlines in Southern California, where residents are fleeing a fast-moving wildfire in the hills of Los Angeles.
Fire crews are trying to contain the Palisades Fire, which has exploded in size to more than 700 acres.
Smoke from the blaze can be seen from miles, with traffic jammed up as locals try to flee the area.
The National Weather Service is warning of life-threatening, destructive gusts of wind in the coming days that could whip up such wildfires even further.
Forecasters say the windstorms could be the worst in a decade.
In the meantime, a so-called polar vortex is bringing below-freezing temperatures as far south as the Gulf Coast.
The frigid air comes as millions in Central and Eastern parts of the country dig out from a winter storm that snarled roads and toppled trees.
Washington, D.C.'s most significant snowstorm in six years shut down the federal government for a second straight day.
And more than 175,000 people are still without power across the Midwest and Tennessee Valley.
Forecasters say they may not see relief for days.
DAN DEPODWIN, AccuWeather: Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, those places aren't going to get about freezing until this coming weekend.
So you have about five days or so or more of below freezing temperatures, and that means the ice and snow will not melt.
AMNA NAWAZ: And there's another major winter storm brewing that could bring more snow and ice to the Central and Eastern U.S. and as far south as Texas.
In Western China, a devastating earthquake has killed at least 126 people.
The 7.1-magnitude quake struck shortly after 9:00 a.m. local time in Tibet near the border with Nepal.
Emergency responders rushed to isolated villages to search for survivors.
The closest city to the epicenter is Xigaze, where streets are now littered with debris from crumbled buildings.
City officials say they activated the highest level of emergency response.
LIU HUAZHONG, Deputy Mayor of Xigaze, China (through translator): Moving forward, we will fully implement the important instructions given by General Secretary Xi Jinping.
We will spare no efforts to conduct thorough searches for trapped people, provide medical care, offer essential relief, and ensure the basic needs of affected residents.
AMNA NAWAZ: Chinese state TV says that more than 1,000 homes were damaged in the remote region and nearly 200 people were injured on the Chinese side of the border, in addition to those killed.
In Florida, authorities say that two bodies were found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue aircraft.
The airline says they were discovered last night during routine postflight maintenance at Fort Lauderdale Airport following a flight from New York.
Police say both individuals are believed to be men, but provided no further details.
JetBlue says it's working with authorities to understand what happened.
It comes just weeks after another body was discovered in the wheel well of a plane, that time on a United Airlines flight from Maui to Chicago.
The man accused of burning a woman to death last month in a New York City subway car pleaded not guilty to murder and arson charges today.
Sebastian Zapeta appeared for his arraignment in a Brooklyn court this morning.
A police transcript shows Zapeta told officers he has no recollection of the attack and said he was -- quote -- "very sorry" when he saw himself in the footage.
Zapeta said he had been drinking heavily throughout the night.
Prosecutors are seeking the maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
The Biden administration announced today that unpaid medical bills will no longer appear on credit reports.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the change will remove $49 billion from the reports of some 15 million Americans.
That's estimated to raise credit scores by an average of 20 points, which could help thousands of people secure loans and mortgages each year.
In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris said: "No one should be denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency."
On Wall Street today, stocks slipped amid new worries about the pace of Fed rate cuts this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 180 points on the day.
The Nasdaq sank 375 points, or nearly 2 percent.
The S&P 500 also ended firmly in negative territory.
The late President Jimmy Carter is lying in state tonight at the U.S. Capitol following a journey from his beloved home state of Georgia.
To the tune of "Amazing Grace," Carter's casket left his presidential center in Atlanta for the journey back to Washington.
Once there, his motorcade stopped at the U.S. Navy Memorial, where it was transferred to a horse-drawn carriage.
Carter was the nation's only Naval Academy graduate to rise to commander in chief.
Then, it was on to the U.S. Capitol, where members of Congress and Vice President Kamala Harris paid their respects this afternoon.
The public can visit starting tonight.
Carter will remain there until his state funeral at Washington's National Cathedral on Thursday.
And singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow of the folk music group Peter, Paul and Mary has died.
Yarrow co-wrote the group's best-known song, "Puff, the Magic Dragon."
In the early 1960s, he joined forces and harmonies with Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers.
Together, they created hit versions of Bob Dylan's "Blowin in the Wind" and Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer," among others.
A social activist on and off the stage, Yarrow was involved in the civil rights movement and campaigned against the war in Vietnam.
Peter Yarrow suffered from bladder cancer in his later years.
He was 86 years old.
Still to come on the "News Hour": the U.S. says Sudan's rebel forces have committed genocide; Minneapolis agrees to more oversight of its police department four years after George Floyd's murder; and we examine how U.S. foreign aid does and does not make an impact around the world.
Activists in Iran describe threats they face for protesting
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 5m 47s | Activists in Iran describe the threats and oppression they face for protesting (5m 47s)
Artist uses elements of natural world to see it in new ways
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 5m 36s | Artist uses elements of the natural world to see it in new ways (5m 36s)
Meta drops fact-checking, critics fear misinformation spike
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 5m 44s | As Meta drops fact-checking, critics fear it could pave the way for a misinformation spike (5m 44s)
Minneapolis agrees to federal oversight of its police
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 6m 17s | Minneapolis agrees to federal oversight of its police 4 years after George Floyd murder (6m 17s)
Trump expresses desire to expanding U.S. territory
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 4m 30s | Trump expresses desire to expand U.S. territory, use economic force to pressure Canada (4m 30s)
U.S. accuses Sudan's rebel forces of committing genocide
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 8m 19s | U.S. accuses Sudan's rebel forces of committing genocide (8m 19s)
Where does U.S. foreign aid go and does it make an impact?
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/7/2025 | 8m 41s | Where does U.S. foreign aid go and does it make an impact? (8m 41s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- News and Public Affairs
FRONTLINE is investigative journalism that questions, explains and changes our world.
- News and Public Affairs
Amanpour and Company features conversations with leaders and decision makers.
Support for PBS provided by:
Major corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by...