Tuesday Briefing: Death toll rises in L.A. fires

January 14, 2025

	By Emmett Lindner

Good morning. We’re covering a forecast of more wind in the Los Angeles wildfires and the fate of South Korea’s impeached president.

Plus, what’s going on with TV credits?

A basketball hoop and a completely burned car are among the remains left behind by a fire in a residential area.

Destruction in the Pacific Palisades yesterday. Loren Elliott for The New York Times

L.A. is braced for dangerous winds

A forecast of rising winds yesterday threatened the progress that firefighters had made to contain the destructive wildfires in Los Angeles. At least 24 people were reported to have died, and at least 16 people were missing in the areas of two of the blazes. Follow our live coverage here.

A rare fire danger alert was put in place through tomorrow, the same warning that was issued last week when strong winds stoked some of the deadliest fires in California’s history. Fire crews were being deployed to at-risk areas in anticipation of the winds, which may not be as powerful as last week’s. Still, the gusts’ duration could pose a problem.

An investigation into what started the fires was underway, with officials looking into nearby power lines as a possible cause, but arson has not been ruled out.

There were some signs of a return to normalcy. Some local schools reopened after campuses across the city were closed last week, and the production of some television shows resumed.

Disparities: As local and state fire crews struggled against the flames in entire neighborhoods, private firefighters hired by wealthy residents for thousands of dollars a day kept watch on individual homes.

People dressed in black gathered behind a banner and held up protest signs

Protesters in Seoul demanding the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press

Deciding the fate of South Korea’s president

South Korea’s Constitutional Court is beginning deliberations today on whether President Yoon Suk Yeol should be removed or reinstated after his impeachment. Last month, Yoon declared a short-lived martial law that launched the country into its worst political crisis in decades.

Rival groups of citizens have protested for weeks for both outcomes, with some hard-liners warning that a civil war could break out if the court does not rule in their favor.

What’s next: If Yoon is removed, he will be the third conservative president in a row to be ousted, imprisoned or both before or after the term of office ended. A reinstatement could set a precedent for future leaders to use martial law as a political tool.

A man pushing a wheel toward a military vehicle as a soldier walks by.

Ukrainian soldiers repairing a vehicle near the border with Russia. Finbarr O’Reilly for The New York Times

A territorial bargaining chip behind Russian lines

In the Kursk region of Russia, the Russian and Ukrainian militaries are fighting some of the most intense battles of the war so far. The area, pivotal to both sides, could play a key role in any potential cease-fire talks: Ukraine hopes to use it as a bargaining chip.

On the ground: With the aid of North Korean reinforcements, Russia has managed to recover some of the territory that it lost over the summer. Ukrainian soldiers say the North Koreans are part of the reason the fighting has been so ferocious.

“They are pressuring our fronts en masse, finding weak points and breaking through them,” Jr. Sgt. Oleksii, a platoon leader, said.

Related: A video of captured North Korean soldiers being interrogated seemed to reveal that they knew very little about the war they were fighting in.

MORE TOP NEWS

A person in a hooded jacket walking through the dusty rubble of destroyed buildings.

Destruction from Israeli airstrikes at the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Eyad Baba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Gaza: Cease-fire talks appeared to be gaining new momentum as mediators pressed for a halt in the fighting and the release of hostages before Trump takes office.
Tech: The Biden administration debuted new rules that aimed to keep advanced technology out of China and to ensure that cutting-edge A.I. is developed by the U.S. and its allies.
Politics: Senate confirmation hearings this week for Trump’s cabinet picks will test his grip on the party.
Japan: A strong, 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the country’s southern coast, according to the United States Geological Survey.
China: Beijing announced that its trade surplus reached almost $1 trillion last year as its exports swamped the globe.
Trump: A judge cleared the way for the Justice Department to release a portion of a special counsel’s report on Trump’s election case.
U.S.: The number of Americans who develop dementia each year will double over the next 35 years, a study estimates.
Media: Reporters and editors at national newspapers are taking steps to prepare for what they fear will be a legal and political onslaught from the Trump administration.

Sports

A portrait of a man wearing a vest and gray hoodie.

Jonathan Morgan. Morgan Harlow/Getty Images

Soccer: Jonathan Morgan, the manager at the center of the Football Association’s inquiry into the suicide of the former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack, agreed to give evidence.
Tennis: Nick Kyrgios said that his Australian Open loss may have been his last singles match in Melbourne.
Boxing: Tyson Fury has released a video cryptically announcing his retirement from boxing.

MORNING READ

A man stands in the middle of an art studio, with paint-splattered pieces of paper, paints and brushes around.

Nicholas Santore. Aaron Richter for The New York Times

When the beloved illustrator Charles Santore died in 2019, he was in the middle of bringing a children’s book to life — and there was still an enormous amount of blank space on the canvas. Santore’s daughter suggested to an agent that her brother Nicky take over.

Santore had wanted his son to take his talent more seriously, but Nicky, who had a painting degree from Yale, had moved away from the medium. Was this a chance for reconciliation?

Lives lived: Shiu Ka-chun was a pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong who devoted his last years to helping imprisoned protesters. He is dead at 55.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Author, write thyself: For the award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, writing about fantasy came much easier than writing about reality — especially when it came to her own life story.
Stage moms: Broadway has always enjoyed a nice, juicy perversion of motherhood. But there’s reason to hope that these characters are getting a multidimensional makeover.
Hype or healthy: Here are the top health benefits of citrus fruits, plus recipes from our Cooking team to help you make the most of them.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

A .gif showing a few frames of the opening credits for HBO’s “The Last of Us.”

The opening titles for “The Last of Us.”

Why do TV title sequences have so much stuff?

The average prestige TV drama nowadays probably has a lot going on in the opening credits. “Game of Thrones” took viewers across a map of its fictional landscapes; “The Last of Us” uses the fungi that turns humankind into zombies to create onscreen images of the characters. But TV credits weren’t always this heavy-handed with a metaphor.

Opening credits have come a long way since “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Today’s sequences try to show you that you’re not sitting down for the same old TV, but the best of them tell their own story and build on the narrative.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Sheet-Pan Gnocchi with Sausages and Peppers

David Malosh for The New York Times

Cook: This savory one-pan roasted gnocchi with sausages and peppers riffs on a classic sandwich.

Plan: Here are some tips for traveling on the cheap this year.

Decorate: Your wireless router wasn’t designed with aesthetics in mind. But there are ways to hide it.

Improve: The experts we consulted swear by these 35 health tips.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Emmett

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