Start your week smart: LA fires, hush money sentencing, TikTok’s future, special counsel resigns, Rudy Giuliani in contempt
CNN
CNN’s 5 Things Sunday brings you all the news you need to start your week smart.
The wildfires ravaging Los Angeles County have forced tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes, only to return later to find piles of smoldering debris. Learn how you can help the evacuees and firefighters impacted by this unprecedented disaster. Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart. • Firefighters are preparing for a return of gusty winds as their battle against deadly Los Angeles wildfires enters its sixth day. Crews are reporting some progress, but dangerous Santa Ana wind conditions may pick up on Monday. Follow live updates. Meanwhile a cut to the fire department’s 2025 budget and its commitment to recruiting a more diverse force have come under attack.• Donald Trump was sentenced without penalty in the New York hush money case after a symbolic — and historic and unprecedented — hearing following the first felony conviction of a former and soon-to-be sitting president. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records.• A majority of the Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold a controversial ban on TikTok over concerns about its ties to China, with justices lobbing pointed questions at lawyers for the social media app and a group of its content creators. The ban is set to take effect on January 19.• Special counsel Jack Smith resigned from the Justice Department. The filing comes amid a legal fight to stop Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing the special counsel’s report of his investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the alleged mishandling of classified documents.• Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt of court for the second time in a week, as the former New York mayor and top Trump lawyer’s fall from grace continues because of the false information he spread after the 2020 election. The judge called his behavior “outrageous and shameful.” MondaySpaceX is aiming to launch Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, on its seventh test flight from its facility in South Texas. SpaceX plans to eventually use Starship to carry convoys of people to the moon and Mars. It’s also the vehicle that NASA selected to land American astronauts on the lunar surface as soon as 2026. TuesdayThe Senate Armed Services Committee is set to hold a confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for secretary of defense. Last month, a group of Democrats on the committee sent a letter to Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, arguing that allegations related to Hegseth’s workplace behavior and treatment of women should disqualify him from leading the Pentagon. Hegseth has denied wrongdoing. There will also be a confirmation hearing for former congressman Doug Collins, Trump’s pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who campaigned on a promise to tackle the affordability crisis in one of America’s most expensive cities, was sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor early Thursday.
Champagne and caviar? Anyone can do it.
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he’s withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland but left the door open to sending federal forces “in a much different and stronger form.”
US military strikes against alleged drug boats have killed at least eight people over the past two days – the latest salvos in the United States’ escalating actions against what it says are drug traffickers.
The CIA has assessed Ukraine was not targeting a residence used by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a recent drone attack in the north of his country, according to US officials, undercutting an assertion the Russian president had made to Trump in a Monday phone call.
The following is a deep look at contemporary Venezuela, its history, its riches, its alliances and its delicate internal balance of power amid growing tensions with the US.
The CIA has assessed Ukraine was not targeting a residence used by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a recent drone attack in the north of his country, according to US officials, undercutting an assertion the Russian president had made to Trump in a Monday phone call.