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Three major wildfires rage in Southern California, killing two and destroying homes

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Three major wildfires are tearing through Southern California while firefighters struggle to contain them with major Santa Ana winds getting up to 100 mph.

As of Wednesday morning, two people have been killed and over 1,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have been destroyed in Los Angeles County.

“Last night was one of the most devastating and terrifying nights that we’ve seen in any part of our city in any part of our history,” Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said during a Wednesday morning news conference.

The City of Los Angeles has declared a state of emergency and the national guard has been deployed to assist the hundreds of firefighters tackling the fires.

The fire in the Pacific Palisades was the first wildfire to break out after the weather alert warnings, burning over 11,000 acres in 24 hours and tens of thousands of local residents having been evacuated. The Pacific Palisades is home to some of the most expensive homes in the state and now thousands of these multi-million-dollar homes have burned to the ground.

A second fire broke out Tuesday evening in Eaton Canyon near Pasadena and has burned over 10,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, forcing tens of thousands of individuals to evacuate and burning numerous buildings.

The other major fire – the Hurst fire – has burned around 700 acres. The wildfire located in San Fernando was discovered late Tuesday night and continued to spread, forcing the evacuation of those living in the Sylmar neighborhood.

During Wednesday morning’s press conference, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone emphasized the importance of evacuating when the orders are in place, reporting a “high number of significant injuries” to those who didn’t evacuate.

None of the fires have been contained with firefighters being stretched thin, working 48-hour shifts. A combination of increased vegetation, dry conditions and extreme winds created a perfect storm for weather that the National Weather Service said is “as bad as it gets.”

“The preconditions for a January fire in Southern California couldn’t be much worse. After two years of generous moisture (especially in 2022-23), the state’s 2024-25 wet season has gotten off to an intensely bifurcated start: unusually wet in NoCal and near-record dry in SoCal,” wrote meteorologist Bob Henson in Yale Climate Connections. “On top of the unusually dry conditions for early January, we’re now in the heart of the Santa Ana wind season. These notorious and dangerous downslope winds, which occur when higher-level winds are forced over the coastal mountains and toward the coast, typically plague coastal Southern California a few times each year.”

Approximately 10% of Los Angeles County schools have been closed including the entire Pasadena Unified School District and numerous roads including much of the Pacific Coast Highway, 10 Freeway going westbound, Topanga Canyon Boulevard, parts of Angeles Crest Highway and the 210 Freeway going westbound.

Gov. Gavin Newsom urges all of those near evacuation zones to stay vigilant as the worst still may be yet to come as the Los Angeles Fire Department has issued a red flag warning to last through Thursday evening in some areas.

“This is a highly dangerous windstorm that’s creating extreme fire risk – and we’re not out of the woods,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes.”

Newsom announced Tuesday that he was able to secure fire management assistance grants from FEMA for both the Palisades and Eaton fires.

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International

Germany launches first permanent foreign troop deployment since WW2

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Germany activated a 5,000-strong armored brigade in Lithuania — marking its first permanent foreign military deployment since World War II. The move strengthens NATO’s eastern flank amid Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia.

Key Details:

  • The 45th Armored Brigade was formally launched outside Vilnius on Tuesday.
  • Germany plans for the brigade to be fully operational by 2027 in Rūdninkai, near the Belarus border.
  • The deployment marks a major policy shift for Berlin and a boost for NATO’s deterrence posture.

Diving Deeper:

Germany has officially entered a new era of military engagement, launching its first permanent foreign troop deployment since the end of World War II. The move, announced Tuesday, sees the activation of a 5,000-strong armored brigade in Lithuania as part of a broader NATO strategy to counter the perceived threat from Russia.

The newly formed 45th Armored Brigade was ceremonially inaugurated outside the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. German Brigadier General Christoph Huber assumed command, overseeing the establishment of a temporary headquarters and unveiling the unit’s crest. “We have a clear mission: to ensure the protection, freedom and security of our Lithuanian allies on NATO’s eastern flank,” Huber said, adding that the unit’s presence also directly contributes to the defense of Germany and NATO as a whole.

The deployment follows a pledge made by Berlin in 2023 — a decision that broke with decades of postwar defense policy rooted in military restraint. German officials had long avoided permanently stationing combat troops abroad. That posture has changed in response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, which has turned the Baltic region into one of NATO’s most vulnerable frontlines.

Germany’s commitment includes more than just fighting forces. The brigade will also feature key support elements, such as a medical center, communications specialists, and command support units dispersed across multiple Lithuanian locations. Troops will initially operate out of temporary facilities, with a permanent base under construction in Rūdninkai, located roughly 30 kilometers south of Vilnius.

Currently, 150 German soldiers are already on the ground in Lithuania. That figure is expected to rise to 500 by the end of the year as the new brigade scales up operations.

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Censorship Industrial Complex

China announces “improvements” to social credit system

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Beijing released new guidelines Monday to revamp its social credit system, promising stronger information controls while deepening the system’s reach across China’s economy and society. Critics say the move reinforces the Communist Party’s grip under the banner of “market efficiency.”

Key Details:

  • The guideline was issued by top Chinese government and Communist Party offices, listing 23 measures to expand and standardize the social credit system.
  • It aims to integrate the credit system across all sectors of China’s economy to support what Beijing calls “high-quality development.”
  • Officials claim the new framework will respect information security and individual rights—despite growing global concerns over surveillance and state overreach.

Diving Deeper:

China is doubling down on its social credit system with a newly issued guideline meant to “improve” and expand the controversial surveillance-driven program. Released by both the Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council, the document outlines 23 specific measures aimed at building a unified national credit system that will touch nearly every corner of Chinese society.

Framed as a tool for “high-quality development,” the guideline declares that credit assessments will increasingly shape the rules of engagement for businesses, government agencies, and individual citizens. The system, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has already played a role in shaping China’s financial services, government efficiency, and business environment.

Critics of the social credit system have long warned that it serves as an instrument of authoritarian control—monitoring citizens’ behavior, punishing dissent, and rewarding obedience to the Communist Party. By integrating credit data across all sectors and enforcing a “shared benefits” model, the new guideline appears to entrench, not ease, the Party’s involvement in everyday life.

Still, Beijing is attempting to temper foreign and domestic concerns over privacy. The NDRC emphasized that the system is being built on the “fundamental principle” of protecting personal data. Officials pledged to avoid excessive data collection and crack down on any unlawful use of information.

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