The Evening: Firefighters race to control L.A. blazes

Also, Jimmy Carter was remembered as a humanitarian and public servant.

View in browser|nytimes.com January 9, 2025 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Thursday. Efforts to contain the L.A. fires Jimmy Carter's funeral Plus, the importance of 70-year-old roadies The charred coastline of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, today. Loren Elliott for The New York Times Firefighters rushed to control the blazes surrounding L.A. Fast-moving wildfires raged across large swaths of Los Angeles for a third day, burning down neighborhoods, killing at least five people and upending the lives hundreds of thousands of residents. The county's sheriff said some areas "look like a bomb was dropped in them," adding that he expected the death toll to rise. The photographs from the area are devastating. These maps show the current state of the blazes. Officials expressed hope this afternoon that decreased winds would finally give firefighters a chance to try to gain control of the roaring wildfires. Helicopters and planes dropped water from the sky. However, forecasters warned that winds — which have fueled the fires and made them challenging to contain — were expected to pick up this evening, and that heavy winds could return over the weekend or next week. Read more on the latest forecast. President Biden said that the federal government would pay for 100 percent of the firefighting needs in the Los Angeles area for the next 180 days. He urged victims to begin contacting federal officials to request funds to help cover essentials like shelter, prescription drugs and food. For more: Many residents blamed Mayor Karen Bass for failing to sufficiently prepare. She defended the city's response. On the ground: Several of the deaths caused by the wildfires occurred in Altadena, a neighborhood known for its racial diversity and bohemian history. Jimmy Carter's funeral service in Washington, today. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times Carter was remembered as a humanitarian and public servant The nation bade farewell today to former President Jimmy Carter at a pomp-filed state funeral in Washington. His coffin was then flown back to his hometown, Plains, Ga., for a final private service at the church where he taught Sunday school deep into his 90s. He will be buried outside the modest ranch house where he lived most of his life and died last week. The five living presidents and a broad array of other leaders attended the Washington service in a rare moment of unity. In a eulogy, President Biden described Carter as a man who was driven by a relentless desire to make the lives of other people better. Read his remarks. One by one, the attendees paid tribute. Carter's grandson Jason described a humble man he called Pawpaw who kept his fishing trophies, and hung used Ziploc bags to dry. He also stressed his grandfather's unending love of his fellow humans. For more: Here is Jimmy Carter's life in 17 objects. Eric Lee/The New York Times Trump looks for a health threat to justify his border crackdown Donald Trump is likely to justify his plans to seal off the border with Mexico by citing a public health emergency from immigrants bringing a deadly disease into the U.S. He invoked the restriction, known as Title 42, in the early days of the pandemic in 2020. He just has to find an illness to blame. The president-elect's advisers have spent months trying to find the right disease to build their case. They have looked at tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases, and have asked former immigration officials and allies in the Border Patrol for illnesses being detected among migrants. In related news, a bill to deport unauthorized immigrants charged with minor crimes cleared a critical hurdle in the Senate, indicating that it could soon become law. President Biden in Washington on Sunday. Valerie Plesch for The New York Times A judge scrapped Biden's Title IX protections for trans students A federal judge in Kentucky struck down President Biden's effort to expand protections for transgender students and make other changes through the law known as Title IX, which governs sex discrimination in schools. The rule change would have generally prohibited schools and their staff from rejecting a student's gender identity in most everyday contexts. In the opinion, the judge said that the Education Department could not lawfully expand Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. More top news Housing: The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rose to 6.93 percent, the highest since July. Weather: A stretch of the South from Texas through Arkansas faces ice and heavy snow today and tomorrow. Venezuela: The country's popular opposition leader, María Corina Machado, was detained during an antigovernment protest in Caracas, her party said. Lebanon: After two years of gridlock, the fractured Parliament chose Gen. Joseph Aoun, the commander of the military, as president. Congress: Rebuking its move to charge top Israeli leaders with war crimes, the House passed a bill that would sanction officials at the International Criminal Court. Politics: Susie Wiles, Trump's incoming White House chief of staff, will be first woman in the position. Her intention is to last four years, but the post was a precarious job in his first term. Tibet: Hundreds of thousands of Tibetan children are being separated from their families and placed in boarding schools by the Chinese government. Climate: After staying flat for nearly two decades, electricity use started to rise again, and America's efforts to cut its climate change pollution stalled in 2024. TIME TO UNWIND Pamela Anderson in "The Last Showgirl." Roadside Attractions, via Associated Press An ode to a disappearing Las Vegas Gia Coppola's new film, "The Last Showgirl," is a generous ode to a fast-disappearing Las Vegas and to the women who helped build that gaudy oasis. It arrived in theaters this week, and it's a Times Critic's Pick. The star of the movie is Pamela Anderson, playing the kind of woman who, once upon a time, would have been relegated to the background. "Her ability to be wholly vulnerable onscreen is rare and wonderful," our critic Manohla Dargis writes. Christie's Images Ltd. 2024 As art sales fall, auction houses pivot Over the last two years, interest in buying and selling eight- and nine-figure artworks has slumped. That has prompted the world's two biggest auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, to make major bets on selling luxury items. That includes holding auctions for classic cars, dinosaur fossils, designer handbags, jewelry, fine wines and game-worn N.B.A. jerseys. Sotheby's has also begun selling niche experiences to wealthy buyers who are buying vacations rather than paintings. Daniel Harding, the renowned conductor. Benjamin Malapris for The New York Times Dinner table topics The Flying Maestro: Daniel Harding is one of the world's top orchestral conductors. He also moonlights as a pilot for Air France. Hot or not: Are New Balance's "Snoafers" — not quite sneakers, not quite loafers — cool, ugly or not ugly enough? Common quandary: Archivists are helping the family of Dr. Ruth determine how much of her stuff they should keep. The value of fame: A modest Albuquerque house is listed for $4 million because it was featured on "Breaking Bad." WHAT TO DO TONIGHT David Malosh for The New York Times Cook: Make sausage and peppers even better by adding gnocchi. Read: In "The Motherload," an art-world mom dishes about her messy life. Wear: Hand-painted clothes are growing more popular. Snack: We asked health experts for advice. They said we should eat more legumes. Hunt: Which Moroccan home would you buy with a $500,000 budget? Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here. ONE LAST THING Bob Czaykowski, 74, worked as a sound man last week in Manhattan. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times Live music runs on seniors It sometimes appears that the music business devours the young and ignores the old. But there's a fascinating exception: Many of the industry's most respected and consistently employed roadies, instrument techs and live sound people are well into their 60s and even 70s. Many of them have been on the job for half a century, experience that typically makes them preferable to their younger colleagues. "I'll do this until I can't crawl in there," said Betty Cantor-Jackson, 76, who first worked a soundboard for the Grateful Dead in 1968. Have a smooth-sounding evening. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew Sean Kawasaki-Culligan was our photo editor today. We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times. To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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