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.
The newly constituted board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has elected President Donald Trump as its chairman.
Health influencer Calley Means helped orchestrate the shotgun marriage of MAGA and MAHA supporters.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reemphasized Canada’s independence during a press conference in Brussels as he wrapped up his visit with world leaders in Europe.
Two transgender girls who attend high school in New Hampshire challenged the Trump administration’s recent executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ sports, according to a court filing.
President Donald Trump said negotiations to end the Ukraine war will start immediately after holding a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning.
The Senate voted Wednesday, to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
Elon Musk acknowledged Tuesday that there might not have been a federal plan to spend $50 million on condoms for Gaza – two weeks after the White House press secretary told the false story at an official briefing and more than a week after the president baselessly doubled the phony figure to $100 million.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the war between Ukraine and Russia “must end,” that Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic, and that the US will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security as the Trump administration shifts its attention to securing the US’ own borders and deterring war with China.
The phrase “El que se enoja, pierde,” (“he who gets angry, loses”) is a popular refrain in Mexico.
Officials in Sangamon County, Illinois, have agreed to a $10 million settlement with the family of Sonya Massey –– a Black woman who was shot and killed by law enforcement in her home last year.
The inspector general of the US Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East is leaving Russia with Marc Fogel, an American teacher who was jailed in Russia and deemed “wrongfully detained” by the United States, according to a statement from National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
The novelist Salman Rushdie showed a jury his blinded right eye on Tuesday as he testified against the man charged with trying to murder him at a talk at a rural New York venue in 2022.