After the initial crush of personnel announcements for President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration, now the nominations process officially begins.

Senate hearings are scheduled this coming week for several of Trump's picks for the Cabinet. Many have met with senators individually. Now, they will go before the committees overseeing the agencies that Trump wants them to run.

Here's a look at the schedule for Senate hearings set so far, in Eastern time:

Tuesday

9 a.m.: Doug Collins, Department of Veterans Affairs

The former Georgia congressman is up first, before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. Collins is a Baptist minister, former U.S. Navy chaplain and Air Force Reserve colonel. The VA provides health care to former members of the U.S. armed forces.

9:30 a.m.: Pete Hegseth, Department of Defense

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The former Fox & Friends weekend host and Army National Guard combat veteran goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee after weeks of meetings during which some senators have questioned his fitness for the role amid allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. The Pentagon chief's authority over the U.S. military is second only to that of the president's.

10 a.m.: Doug Burgum, Interior Department

The former governor of North Dakota and businessman appears before members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who will consider his nomination as interior secretary, the chief steward of U.S. public lands. Burgum, who endorsed Trump after ending his own 2024 presidential bid and campaigned for Trump, has also been tapped to lead the National Energy Council. Trump has said the council will seek to establish U.S. energy dominance around the world.

Wednesday

9 a.m.: Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Department

The South Dakota governor will appear before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The rancher and former congresswoman is in line to head one of the government's biggest agencies, integral to Trump's pledge to secure the border and carry out a massive deportation operation.

9:30 a.m.: Pam Bondi, Justice Department

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The former Florida attorney general makes the first of two scheduled appearances before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was Trump's pick for attorney general hours after his first choice, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration. Gaetz was facing questions about a federal sex trafficking investigation and a House Ethics Committee inquiry into allegations that he paid for sex, including with a 17-year-old girl.

Bondi is a longtime fixture in Trump's orbit. The attorney general will be one of the most closely watched Cabinet members, given the concern among Democrats that Trump will look to bend the Justice Department to his will.

10 a.m.: Sean Duffy, Transportation Department

The former Wisconsin congressman who was also a co-host on Fox Business will be questioned by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The department oversees pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks, airlines and mass transit systems, as well as funding for highways.

10 a.m.: John Ratcliffe, CIA

Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence for the final months of Trumps first term, goes before Senate Intelligence Committee. The former Texas congressman is in line to lead the nation's premier spy agency, responsible for foreign covert operations and collecting data on U.S. adversaries.

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10 a.m.: Marco Rubio, State Department

The Florida senator has served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is considering his nomination to be secretary of state. As head of the State Department, job, Rubio would oversee the U.S. foreign service, advise Trump on diplomatic appointments and conduct negotiations with foreign leaders on behalf of the administration.

10 a.m.: Chris Wright, Energy Department

The fossil fuel executive, who has been one of the industrys loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, appears before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The secretary oversees energy generation and use in the United States as well as the nation's nuclear weapon stockpile. Wright would also join Burgum on the National Energy Council.

1 p.m.: Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget

Vought, OMB director during Trump's first term, goes before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trumps second term that the Republican nominee tried to distance himself from during the campaign. The budget director oversee the building of the presidents budget and review of proposed regulations.

Thursday

10 a.m.: Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development Department

The former NFL player who ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in Trump's first term appears at a hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Turner is a professional mentor, pastor and former Texas House member. HUD is charged with addressing the nations housing needs and fair housing laws, and oversees housing for the poorest Americans.

10 a.m.: Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency

The former New York congressman appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The agency is tasked with matters pertaining to environmental protection, conducting assessments, research, education and maintaining and enforcing national standards.

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10:15 a.m.: Bondi, Day 2 before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

10:30 a.m.: Scott Bessent, Treasury Department

The billionaire money manager from South Carolina takes questions from members of the Senate Finance Committee. Bessent would be the first openly LGBTQ Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration. The treasury chief helps formulate financial, economic, and tax policy, and manage the public debt.

Dates not yet confirmed

Hearings are not yet scheduled for all of Trump's choices, including some of the most contentious:

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Department

Tulsi Gabbard, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Department

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Howard Lutnick, Commerce Department

Linda McMahon, Education Department

Kash Patel, FBI

Brooke Rollins, Agriculture Department

Elise Stefanik, U.N. ambassador

Firefighters scrambled Sunday to make further progress against wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed 16 people in the Los Angeles area as forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week. At least 16 people were missing, and authorities said that number was expected to rise.

The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of 50 mph and gusts in the mountains reaching 70 mph. The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, said weather service meteorologist Rich Thompson.

Youre going to have really strong gusty Santa Ana winds, a very dry atmosphere and still very dry brush, so we still have some very critical fire weather conditions out there, Thompson said at a community meeting Saturday night.

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Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said 70 additional water trucks arrived to help crews fend off flames spread by renewed gusts. We are prepared for the upcoming wind event, he said.

Fierce Santa Anas have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires sparked last week into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around the city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.

Twelve people were missing within the Eaton Fire zone and four were missing from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Luna added that dozens more reports might have come in Sunday morning and investigators were reconciling whether some of the missing might be among the dead. There are no children among those reported missing, he said.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 16 over the weekend. Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County coroners office said in a statement Saturday evening.

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The previous number of confirmed fatalities before Saturday was 11, but officials said they expected that figure to increase as teams with cadaver dogs conduct systematic grid searches in leveled neighborhoods. Authorities have established a center where people can report the missing.

Officials were building an online database to allow evacuated residents to see if their homes were damaged or destroyed. In the meantime, LA city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley urged people to stay away from scorched neighborhoods.

There are still active fires that are burning within the Palisades area, making it extremely, extremely dangerous for the public," Crowley said at a Sunday briefing. "Theres no power, theres no water, theres broken gas lines, and we have unstable structures. The first responders are working as quickly as possible to ensure that it is safe for you to return into your communities.

Officials warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

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About 150,000 people in Los Angeles County remained under evacuation orders, with more than 700 residents taking refuge in nine shelters, Luna said.

By Sunday morning, Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed more than 62 square miles, an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades Fire was 11% contained and containment on the Eaton Fire reached 27%. Those two blazes accounted for 59 square miles.

Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.

Special counsel Jack Smith has resigned from the Justice Department after submitting his investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump, an expected move that comes amid legal wrangling over how much of that document can be made public in the days ahead.

The department disclosed Smith's departure in a court filing Saturday, saying he had resigned one day earlier. The resignation, 10 days before Trump is inaugurated, follows the conclusion of two unsuccessful criminal prosecutions against Trump that were withdrawn following Trump's White House win in November.

At issue now is the fate of a two-volume report that Smith and his team had prepared about their twin investigations into Trump's efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 election and his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

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The Justice Department had been expected to make the document public in the final days of the Biden administration, but the Trump-appointed judge who presided over the classified documents case granted a defense request to at least temporarily halt its release. Two of Trump's co-defendants in that case, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, had argued that the release of the report would be unfairly prejudicial, an argument that the Trump legal team joined in.

The department responded by saying that it would withhold from public release the classified documents volume as long as criminal proceedings against Nauta and De Oliveira remain pending. Though U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had dismissed the case last July, a Smith team appeal of that decision related to the two co-defendants remained pending.

But prosecutors said they intended to proceed with the release of the election interference volume.

In an emergency motion late Friday, they asked the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to swiftly lift an injunction from Cannon that had barred them from releasing any portion of the report. They separately told Cannon on Saturday that she had no authority to halt the release of the report, but she responded with an order directing prosecutors to file an additional brief by Sunday.

The appeals court on Thursday night denied an emergency defense bid to block the release of the election interference report, which covers Trump's efforts before Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, to undo the results of the 2020 election. But it left in place Cannon's injunction that said none of the findings could be released until three days after the matter was resolved by the appeals court.

The Justice Department told the appeals court in its emergency motion that Cannon's order was plainly erroneous.

The Attorney General is the Senate-confirmed head of the Department of Justice and is vested with the authority to supervise all officers and employees of the Department," the Justice Department said. "The Attorney General thus has authority to decide whether to release an investigative report prepared by his subordinates."

Justice Department regulations call for special counsels to produce reports at the conclusion of their work, and its customary for such documents to be made public no matter the subject.

William Barr, attorney general during Trump's first term, released a special counsel report examining Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential ties to the Trump campaign.

Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, has also released special counsel reports, including about Bidens handling of classified information before Biden became president.

Dunkin' dropped the Donuts from its brand name years ago. Now at least across Nebraska, New Mexico and some other states it doesnt have doughnuts on the shelves either.

Dunkin' stores in Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island in Nebraska all had no doughnuts in their cases Thursday and Friday and put up signs on their doors and drive-thru kiosks informing customers that the pastries were unavailable due to a manufacturing error. Some locations did offer Munchkins, or doughnut holes, on Friday.

Tyler Raikar, of Omaha, stopped by a Dunkin' in west Omaha early Friday after an overnight shift as a phlebotomist, seeking coffee and a chocolate cake doughnut.

What? No doughnuts! she exclaimed when told the location had none. That's tragic!

The trip wasn't a total loss, she said, as she was more interested in the coffee. Still, she was a little disappointed that she couldn't get a doughnut.

Hopefully they have them soon, she said.

Throughout Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the surrounding suburbs, store after store confirmed theres a doughnut drought. Some employees chalked it up to a supply chain issue and others said simply that delivery trucks had been arriving without the cargo that the chain is most famous for. Employees said they hoped stocks would be replenished by next week.

A manager at the west Omaha Dunkin' location said Friday that she could not give more information on the cause of the shortage, citing orders from Dunkin's corporate headquarters. The manager, who did not give her name, said the shortage was a national problem.

But checks of locations in other regions, including St. Joseph, Missouri, and Boston where Dunkin' has a near cult-like following found no shortage of the sweet treats.

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Dunkin is one of the worlds largest coffee and doughnut brands, with more than 13,200 restaurants. The company, which was founded in Massachusetts in 1950, was purchased for $11.3 billion in 2020 by Atlanta private equity firm Inspire Brands, which also owns Arbys and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Jack DAmato, a spokesperson for Inspire Brands, said there was an issue with doughnuts from a single supplier that impacted stores in Nebraska and some other states, although he did not name the other states. About 4% of Dunkins U.S. stores were impacted, he said. Dunkin has more than 9,500 stores nationwide.

DAmato said the company was still looking into what the issue was and exactly how many stores were affected. But he said the company has already begun restocking some affected stores.

Previously known as Dunkin' Donuts, the company announced in 2018 that it was dropping Donuts from its name as part of a rebranding effort to increase focus on its coffee and other drinks, which made up of a majority of its sales.

Phone and email messages to Bryce Bares, who owns several Dunkin' franchises in Nebraska, were not immediately returned.

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Bares told the Omaha World-Herald that some Dunkin stores received products from suppliers that were not up to standard and that he would not serve them to customers. He told the newspaper that the supply partners had corrected the problem and that his Nebraska locations should be offering doughnuts again soon.

Earth recorded its hottest year ever in 2024, with such a big jump that the planet temporarily passed a major climate threshold, weather monitoring agencies announced Friday.

It's the first time in recorded history that the planet was above a hoped-for limit to warming for an entire year, according to measurements from four of the six teams. Scientists say if Earth stays above the threshold long-term, it will mean increased deaths, destruction, species loss and sea level rise from the extreme weather that accompanies warming.

And that would come on top of a year of deadly climate catastrophes 27 billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. alone in 2024 and as 2025 begins with devastating wildfires in southern California.

Last year's global average temperature easily passed 2023's record heat and kept going. It surpassed the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit ) since the late 1800s that was called for by the 2015 Paris climate pact, according to the European Commission's Copernicus Climate Service, the United Kingdom's Meteorology Office, Japan's weather agency and the private Berkeley Earth team.

Only two U.S. government agencies had Earth below that 1.5 mark. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA had last yea r at 1.46 degrees Celsius (2.63 degrees Fahrenheit) and 1.47 degrees Celsius (2.65 degrees Fahrenheit).

The Copernicus team calculated 1.6 degrees Celsius of warming, Japan 1.57 and the British 1.53. Berkeley Earth founded by a climate change skeptic came in the hottest at 1.62 degrees.

Much of the differences, which are small, stem from which ocean temperature tools are used. The World Meteorological Organization crunched the six estimates into a composite of 1.55 degrees, which NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt called a reasonable assessment.

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The primary reason for these record temperatures is the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from the burning of coal, oil and gas, said Samantha Burgess, strategic climate lead at Copernicus. As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, temperatures continue to increase, including in the ocean, sea levels continue to rise, and glaciers and ice sheets continue to melt.

Last year was the hottest year for the United States, NOAA said. It was not only the hottest in recordkeeping that goes back to 1850, but likely the hottest for the planet in 125,000 years, Burgess said.

There's nothing to indicate that it won't continue, NOAA monitoring chief Russ Vose said Friday. When there's more heat in the system that has a cascading effect on other parts of the system. Sea level goes up. Warmer air can hold more moisture which tends to equate to more extreme storms. There's a lot of impacts that go along with a warmer world.

By far the biggest contributor to record warming is the burning of fossil fuels, several scientists said. Schmidt said the El Nino that started the year probably added a tenth of a degree Celsius to this year's figures.

Alarm bells are ringing

"Climate-change-related alarm bells have been ringing almost constantly, which may be causing the public to become numb to the urgency, like police sirens in New York City," Woodwell Climate Research Center scientist Jennifer Francis said. "In the case of the climate, though, the alarms are getting louder, and the emergencies are now way beyond just temperature.

Comparing it to a cars dashboard warning light, University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd said, Hurricane Helene, floods in Spain and the weather whiplash fueling wildfires in California are symptoms of this unfortunate climate gear shift.

There were 27 weather disasters in the United States that caused at least $1 billion in damage, just one fewer than the record set in 2023, according to NOAA. The U.S. cost of those disasters was $182.7 billion. Hurricane Helene was the costliest and deadliest of the year with at least 219 deaths and $79.6 billion in damage.

In the 1980s, Americans experienced one billion-plus weather and climate disaster on average every four months, Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe said in an email about NOAA's inflation-adjusted figures. Now, theres one every three weeks and we already have the first of 2025 even though were only 9 days into the year.

World breaches major threshold

Scientists were quick to point out that the 1.5 goal is for long-term warming, now defined as a 20-year average. Warming since pre-industrial times over the long term is now at 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit).

The 1.5 degree C threshold isnt just a number its a red flag. Surpassing it even for a single year shows how perilously close we are to breaching the limits set by the Paris Agreement, Northern Illinois University climate scientist Victor Gensini said in an email. A 2018 massive United Nations study found that keeping Earth's temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius could save coral reefs from going extinct, keep massive ice sheet loss in Antarctica at bay and prevent many people's death and suffering.

Francis called the threshold dead in the water.

More warming is likely

Scientists say with a cooling La Nina instead of last year's El Nino, 2025 is likely to be not quite as hot as 2024. Several predict it will turn out to be the third-warmest. However, the first six days of January despite frigid temperatures in the U.S. East averaged slightly warmer and are the hottest start to a year yet, according to Copernicus data.

Scientists remain split on whether global warming is accelerating.

There's not enough data to see an acceleration in atmospheric warming, but the heat content of the oceans seem to be not just rising but going up at a faster rate, said Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus' director.

This is all like watching the end of a dystopian sci-fi film, said University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann. We are now reaping what we've sown.

Rudy Giuliani was found in contempt of court Friday for the second time this week by a second federal judge for continuing to spread lies about two former Georgia election workers after a jury awarded the women a $148 million defamation judgment.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., found Giuliani violated court orders barring him from defaming Wandrea Shaye Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman. She ordered him to review trial testimony and other materials from the case, and warned him that future violations could result in possible jail time.

Moss and Freeman sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation for falsely accusing them of committing election fraud in connection with the 2020 election. His lies upended their lives with racist threats and harassment.

Shortly before the hearing began, Giuliani slammed the judge in a social media post, calling her bloodthirsty and biased against him and the proceeding a hypocritical waste of time.

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Giuliani smiled and chuckled as the judge explained why she was holding him in contempt of court. Howell said it is outrageous and shameful for Giuliani to suggest that he is the one who has been treated unfairly in this case.

This takes real chutzpah, Mr. Giuliani, she said.

After the judge finished reading her decision from the bench, Giuliani asked her when she wrote it. He asked her why he had to travel to Washington to attend the hearing if she had already reached a decision in advance.

Remarkable, he said.

It is remarkable, the judge replied.

Remarkable that you can do that in three or four minutes, Giuliani added.

Giuliani continued to complain about the judge as he left the courtroom.

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It was a farce, he said, describing the judge as completely biased and prejudiced.

Giuliani briefly testified during Friday's hearing, only to authenticate records about his personal finances.

The judge didn't fine Giuliani for his most recent defamatory comments about the case, but she said would impose daily fines of $200 if he doesn't certify within 10 days that he has complied with her order to review trial testimony and other case-related material.

I dont care what she did. She is a completely farcical judge, he said outside the courtroom. She didnt consider a damn thing I said. She wrote it beforehand.

A jury sided with the mother and daughter, who are Black, in December 2023 and awarded them $75 million in punitive damages plus roughly $73 million in other damages.

"Mr. Giuliani started lying about Plaintiffs in December of 2020, and refused to stop after repeatedly being told that his election-rigging conspiracy theory about Plaintiffs was baseless, malicious, and dangerous," the plaintiffs' lawyers wrote.

Giuliani's attorneys argued that the plaintiffs haven't presented clear and convincing evidence that he violated a court order in the defamation case in comments that he made on November podcasts about alleged ballot counting irregularities in Georgia.

Giuliani acted with the good faith belief that his comments did not violate the (judgment) and he should not be subject to contempt sanctions, his lawyers wrote.

On Monday in New York, Judge Lewis Liman found Giuliani in contempt of court for related claims that he failed to turn over evidence to help the judge decide whether he can keep a Palm Beach, Florida, condominium.

Giuliani, who testified in Limans Manhattan courtroom Jan. 3, said he didn't turn over everything because he believed the requests were overly broad, inappropriate or even a trap set by plaintiffs' lawyers.

Giuliani, 80, said in a court filing that he will attend Friday's hearing before Howell despite having travel-related concerns about his health and safety. He said he gets death threats and has been told to be careful about traveling.

"I had hoped the Court would understand and accommodate my needs. However, it appears I was mistaken," he said in the filing.

On the witness stand, Moss and Freeman described fearing for their lives after becoming the target of a false conspiracy theory that Giuliani and other Republicans spread as they tried to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. Moss told jurors she tried to change her appearance, seldom leaves her home and suffers from panic attacks.

Money will never solve all my problems, Freeman told reporters after the jury's verdict. I can never move back into the house that I call home. I will always have to be careful about where I go and who I choose to share my name with. I miss my home. I miss my neighbors, and I miss my name.

The Islamic State group-inspired attacker who killed 14 people in a truck rampage on New Years Day in New Orleans fired at police from inside his vehicle before officers fatally shot him, police bodycam footage released Friday shows.

They killed the terrorist. ... They are national heroes, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said of the officers at a news conference.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar had driven his white F-150 around a police car blockading the entrance of Bourbon Street, the citys most famous thoroughfare, and plowed into revelers about 3:15 a.m. New Year's Day, killing 14 and injuring dozens.

After the vehicle crashes, officer Christian Beyer stands beside the trucks open drivers side door with his gun raised, bodycam footage from approaching officer Luis Robles shows. Officer Jacobie Jordan is also seen standing by the driver's side. He too had his gun drawn, officials said.

Beyer identifies himself and asks Jabbar to get out of the truck, said Sgt. Mike Guasco with the Public Integrity Bureaus Force Investigation Team. The team is responsible for reviewing all police shootings.

Jabbar then shoots from behind an airbag at close range and the flash of the muzzle is visible. Robles and at least two unidentified officers turn, run a few steps away and dive onto the ground as a succession of shots rings out.

Beyer and Jordan both fired their weapons, Guasco said. A third officer not visible in the footage, Sgt. Nigel Daggs, was standing by the truck's front passenger door and also fired.

Officers are trained for shoot scenarios like that theyre highly trained, and thats what you saw. These are split-second decisions, Kirkpatrick said.

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Citing the ongoing investigation and pending litigation, Kirkpatrick said police won't yet disclose how many shots Jabbar fired. But she stressed that the officers had followed protocol and had been allowed to return to full duty.

All officers are faced with shoot, dont shoot. And this was clearly within the law and clearly, solidly within policy, Kirkpatrick said.

The three officers who shot at Jabbar were Daggs, a 21-year veteran of the department, and Beyer and Jordan, each of whom has been with the department nearly two years, police officials said. Jordan and nine-year veteran officer Joseph Rodrigue, who did not fire his weapon, were both wounded in the thighs and Rodrigue's shoulder was fractured. Kirkpatrick declined to comment on whether any officers or bystanders were hit by friendly fire.

The officers involved have provided statements to investigators about their thinking and understanding of the events that took place, Kirkpatrick said, declining to elaborate because it is part of an FBI investigation. She said the officers would not be available for comment.

She also refused to answer questions about the security measures in place or state how many officers were in the area at the time of the attack. A group of victims sued the city and two of its contractors on Thursday, claiming they failed to implement security measures that could have prevented the attack.

I will answer any and all questions through the investigations and then the results of that will be made public, Kirkpatrick said. She indicated that police will eventually release more bodycam footage.

A federal judge in New York City on Monday said that Rudy Giuliani was in contempt of court for failing to properly respond to requests for information as he turned over assets to satisfy a $148 million defamation judgment granted to two Georgia election workers.

Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled after hearing Giuliani testify for a second day at a contempt hearing called after lawyers for the election workers said the former New York City mayor had failed to properly comply with evidence production requests over the last few months.

On Friday, Giuliani testified for about three hours in Liman's Manhattan courtroom, but the judge permitted him to finish testifying remotely on Monday from his condominium in Palm Beach, Florida.

At the start of the hearing Monday, Giuliani had an American flag backdrop, which he said he uses for a program he conducts over the internet, but the judge told him to change it to a plain background.

Giuliani conceded during Mondays testimony that he sometimes did not turn over everything requested because he believed the requests were overly broad or inappropriate or even a trap set by lawyers for the plaintiffs.

He also said he sometimes had trouble turning over information regarding his assets because of numerous criminal and civil court cases requiring him to produce factual information.

Giuliani, 80, said the demands to turn over materials made it impossible to function in an official way about 30% to 40% of the time.

The election workers lawyers say Giuliani has displayed a consistent pattern of willful defiance of Limans October order to give up assets after he was found liable in 2023 for defaming their clients by falsely accusing them of tampering with ballots during the 2020 presidential election.

They said in court papers that he has turned over a Mercedes-Benz and his New York apartment but not the paperwork necessary to monetize the assets. And they said he has failed to surrender watches and sports memorabilia, including a Joe DiMaggio jersey, and has not turned over a single dollar from his nonexempt cash accounts.

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Giuliani said Monday that he was investigating what happened to the DiMaggio jersey and that he currently doesnt know where it is or who has it.

Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for the election workers, asked the judge to make inferences about what Giuliani had not turned over such as the list of his doctors over the last four years that would make it more likely the court would conclude that the Palm Beach property was not Giulianis primary residence and thus is not protected from seizure.

Joseph Cammarata, Giulianis attorney, said reaching such a conclusion would be like a civil death penalty and would cause Giuliani to lose the Florida property even before a trial in mid-January, when the judge is supposed to hear testimony and view evidence before deciding the disposition of the condominium and World Series rings.

Giuliani has insisted that the Palm Beach property is his personal residence now and should be shielded from the judgment.

His lawyers have predicted that he will eventually win custody of the items on appeal.

Incoming first lady Melania Trump will be the subject of a new documentary directed by Brett Ratner and distributed by Amazon Prime Video. The streaming arm of the tech giant got exclusive licensing rights for a streaming and theatrical release later this year, the company said Sunday.

Filming is already underway on the documentary. The company said in a statement that the film will give viewers an "unprecedented behind-the-scenes look" at Melania Trump and also promised a "truly unique story."

The former and now future first lady also released a self-titled memoir late last year. Her husband takes office on Jan. 20.

The film is the latest connection between Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump. The company in December announced plans to donate $1 million to the President-elect's inauguration fund and said that it would also stream Trump's inauguration on its Prime Video service, a separate in-kind donation worth another $1 million.

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The two men had been at odds in the past. During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which Bezos owns. But he's struck a more conciliatory tone recently as Amazon and other tech companies seek to improve their relationship with the incoming president.

In December, Bezos expressed some excitement about potential regulatory cutbacks in the coming years and said he was "optimistic" about Trump's second term.

Bezos in October did not allow the Post to endorse a presidential candidate, a move that led to tens of thousands of people canceling their subscriptions and to protests from journalists with a deep history at the newspaper. This weekend, a cartoonist quit her job after an editor rejected her sketch of the newspaper's owner and other media executives bowing before the president-elect.

The film also marks the first project that Ratner has directed since he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including actor Olivia Munn, in the early days of the #MeToo reckoning in November 2017. Ratner, whose lawyer denied the allegations, directed the "Rush Hour" film series, "Red Dragon" and ''X-Men: The Last Stand."

Fernando Sulichin, an Argentine filmmaker, is executive producing the film, which began shooting in December.

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Melania Trump, Donald Trump's third wife, has been an enigmatic figure since her husband announced he was running in the 2016 election. She had sought to maintain her privacy even as she served as first lady, focusing on raising their son, Barron, and promoting her "Be Best" initiative to support the "social, emotional, and physical health of children."

While she appeared at her husband's campaign launch event for 2024 and attended the closing night of the Republican National Convention this summer, she has otherwise stayed off the campaign trail, though the demands of again being first lady may dictate a higher public profile after Inauguration Day.

A woman who worked as a hairstylist for Fox Sports alleges in a lawsuit that former host Skip Bayless made repeated, unwanted advances toward her including an offer of $1.5 million to have sex with him.

Attorneys for Noushin Faraji, who was a hair stylist at Fox for more than a decade, are seeking unspecified damages from Bayless, Fox Sports and its parent company, Fox Corporation, according to a copy of the lawsuit filed Friday in California Superior Court in Los Angeles.

The complaint claims Fox executives fostered a hostile work environment that allowed senior managers and on-air personalities including Bayless to abuse workers without fear of punishment.

The Associated Press does not generally identify, in text or images, those who say they have been sexually assaulted or subjected to abuse unless they have publicly identified themselves as Faraji has in filing the lawsuit.

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An attorney for Bayless, Jared Levine, did not immediately respond to AP's telephone and text messages seeking comment. Email and phone messages left at Bayless's talent company were not immediately returned.

Bayless could not be reached directly for comment.

Fox Sports said in a statement that it takes the allegations seriously but had no further comment given the pending lawsuit.

Faraji claimed that the advances by Bayless, which began in 2017 and continued until last year included lingering hugs, kisses on the cheek and comments from Bayless that he could change Faraji's life if she had sex with him.

In 2021, she claims in the suit, Bayless offered Faraji $1.5 million for sex and, after she refused, later threatened her job.

Ms. Faraji knew that he was trying to pressure her into having sex with him, but she kept repeating that she was a professional that had to be kind to all talent, the lawsuit says.

RELATED STORY | Paula Abdul settles sexual assault lawsuit against 'American Idol' producer Nigel Lythgoe

Bayless worked for Fox Sports until 2024 when his show was canceled after its ratings plummeted with the departure of his co-host, Shannon Sharpe.

Faraji said she was fired in 2024 based on fabricated" reasons. The lawsuit said she initially remained quiet about her treatment at Fox, believing she could be in danger if she went public.

The suit also claims Fox employees were not paid their full wages or overtime. It seeks class-action status on behalf of other workers who allegedly were impacted.

In 2017 Fox Sports fired its head of programming amid a probe of sexual harassment allegations.

President Joe Biden on Sunday plans to sign into law a measure that boosts Social Security payments for current and former public employees, affecting nearly 3 million people who receive pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and in other public service jobs.

Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decades-old disparity, though it will also put strain on Social Security Trust Funds, which face a looming insolvency crisis.

RELATED STORY | Senate approves bill to bolster Social Security benefits for millions of public service workers

The bill rescinds two provisions the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset that limit Social Security benefits for recipients if they get retirement payments from other sources, including public retirement programs from a state or local government.

The Congressional Research Service estimated that in December 2023, there were 745,679 people, about 1% of all Social Security beneficiaries, who had their benefits reduced by the Government Pension Offset. About 2.1 million people, or about 3% of all beneficiaries, were affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated in September that eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision would boost monthly payments to the affected beneficiaries by an average of $360 by December 2025. Ending the Government Pension Offset would increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by an average of $700 for 380,000 recipients getting benefits based on living spouses, according to the CBO. The increase would be an average of $1,190 for 390,000 or surviving spouses getting a widow or widower benefit.

Those amounts would increase over time with Social Securitys regular cost-of-living adjustments.

RELATED STORY | Truth Be Told: Trump vows not to cut Social Security, Medicare

The change is to payments from January 2024 and beyond, meaning the Social Security Administration would owe back-dated payments. The measure as passed by Congress says the Social Security commissioner "shall adjust primary insurance amounts to the extent necessary to take into account changes in the law. It's not immediately clear how this will happen or whether people affected will have to take any action.

Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said firefighters across the country are excited to see the change we've righted a 40-year wrong. Kelly said the policy was far more egregious for surviving spouses of firefighters who paid their own quotas into Social Security but were victimized by the government pension system.

The IAFF has roughly 320,000 members, which does not include hundreds of thousands of retirees who will benefit from the change.

Now firefighters who get paid very little can now afford to actually retire," Kelly said.

Sherrod Brown, who as an Ohio senator pushed for the proposal for years, lost his reelection bid in November. Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees labor union, thanked Brown for his advocacy.

Over two million public service workers will finally be able to access the Social Security benefits they spent their careers paying into," Saunders said in a statement. "Many will finally be able to enjoy retirement after a lifetime of service.

RELATED STORY | Social Security Administration announces cost-of-living increase for 2025

National Education Association President Becky Pringle said the law is a historic victory that will improve the lives of educators, first responders, postal workers and others who dedicate their lives to public service in their communities.

And while some Republicans such as Maine Sen. Susan Collins supported the legislation, others, including Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, voted against it. We caved to the pressure of the moment instead of doing this on a sustainable basis, Tillis told The Associated Press last month.

Still, Republican supporters of the bill said there was a rare opportunity to address what they described as an unfair section of federal law that hurts public service retirees.

The future of Social Security has become a top political issue and was a major point of contention in the 2024 election. About 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, receive Social Security benefits.

The policy changes from the new law will heap more administrative work on the Social Security Administration, which is already at its lowest staffing level in decades. The agency, currently under a hiring freeze, has a staff of about 56,645 the lowest level in over 50 years even as it serves more people than ever.

The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released last May said the programs trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035. The new law will hasten the programs insolvency date by about half a year.

Hollywood is getting dressed up as the Golden Globes are returning for their annual champagne-soaked celebration of film and television that serves as the ceremonial start to awards season.

Here's what you need to know about the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards, including how to watch, stream and follow along live with Sunday's happenings from the show at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser.

When does the Golden Globes start and how can I watch?

CBS is airing the Golden Globes live across the country for the second year. The show starts at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific on Sunday. CBS is available with an antenna or through cable and satellite providers.

The network's NFL football coverage will be the lead-in and could last until near showtime. 60 Minutes will be pre-empted, but the news show will return Jan. 12.

RELATED STORY | 'Wicked,' 'Emilia Prez,' and 'The Brutalist' score Golden Globe nominations

How do I stream the Golden Globes?

Paramount+ users with the Showtime add-on can stream the Golden Globes live. Other Paramount+ subscribers can stream the show the next day.

The Globes can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV or FuboTV.

How can I watch the red carpet?

Variety and Entertainment Tonight are teaming up for the official red carpet pre-show, which will air on the outlets' websites, www.goldenglobes.com, and Paramount+. Their show, hosted by Variety's Marc Malkin and E.T.'s" Rachel Smith, begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

And after taking a year off, E! will return to covering the fashion fiesta of the Globes red carpet, with a show starting at 6 p.m.

Backstage once the show starts, The Associated Press will livestream Globe winners speaking to reporters backstage at the show, beginning at 8:15 p.m. Eastern.

Who's nominated for the Globes?

"Emilia Perez," director Jacques Audiards audacious musical about a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirming surgery, is the leading nominee.

It's nominated for best picture, musical or comedy, along with Wicked and Anora, and its stars Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofa Gascn and Selena Gomez are nominated in the acting categories.

Nominees for best picture, drama, include The Brutalist and A Complete Unknown. Their stars, Adrien Brody and Timothe Chalamet are nominated for best actor in a drama.

The Bear led all nominees on the TV side with five, followed closely by Shogun with four.

And Viola Davis and Ted Danson will get lifetime achievement awards.

For the full list of nominees, click here.

A major, disruptive winter storm was sweeping across the central U.S. on Sunday, forecasters said, bringing with it a dreaded combination of snow, ice and plunging temperatures.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri where blizzard conditions are expected to New Jersey.

In the two states where blizzard warnings were in effect, travel "could be very difficult to impossible, with snow whipped around by high winds reducing visibility, the NWS said. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches.

Do not travel unless necessary! the NWS said.

RELATED STORY | Parts of the Midwest could have most snow in a decade, forecasters warn

The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually stays penned up around the North Pole, spinning like a top. But sometimes it escapes or stretches down to the U.S., Europe or Asia and thats when large numbers of people experience intense doses of cold.

Studies show a fast-warming Arctic gets some of the blame for the increase in polar vortex stretching or wandering.

Snow and ice in the forecast

By Saturday evening, widespread heavy snow was likely between central Kansas and Indiana, especially along and north of Interstate 70. Part of the interstate was closed in central Kansas by the afternoon. Total snow and sleet accumulations for parts of Kansas and northern Missouri were predicted to be as high as 14 inches.

The storm was forecast to move then into the Ohio Valley, with severe travel disruptions expected. It will reach the Mid-Atlantic states on Sunday into Monday, with a hard freeze even expected as far south as Florida.

RELATED STORY | NOAA expects La Nia to develop; what that means for winter weather

Severe thunderstorms, with the possibility of tornadoes and hail, were also possible ahead of the storm systems cold front as it crosses the Lower Mississippi Valley, the National Weather Service warned.

Parts of upstate New York saw 3 feet or more of snow from a lake effect event expected to last until late Sunday afternoon.

Car wrecks start as storm hits

A fire truck, several tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles overturned west of Salina, Kansas. Rigs also jackknifed and went into ditches, state Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner said.

He posted a video showing his boots sliding across the highway blacktop like an ice-skating rink.

We are in it now," Gardner said as he drove to the scene of an accident. Online, he begged for prayers and warned that some roadways were nearly impassable.

Freezing rain in Wichita, Kansas, sent authorities to multiple crashes in the morning, and police urged drivers to stay home if possible and watch out for emergency vehicles.

RELATED STORY | What you need to know about frostbite and its effects on your body

Governors in neighboring Missouri and nearby Arkansas declared states of emergency. Whiteout conditions threatened to make driving dangerous to impossible, forecasters warned, and heighten the risk of becoming stranded.

Please stay off the roads. Crews are seeing too many vehicles out and sliding off, Missouri's transportation department said on the social platform X.

Air travel also was snarled

The Kansas City International Airport temporarily halted flight operations in the afternoon due to ice. Dozens of flights were delayed, including a charter jet transporting the Kansas City Chiefs, before the runways reopened.

Work will continue overnight to keep the airfield clear, Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a message on X.

Getting ready to ride out the storm

Stores in Wichita were filled with shoppers stocking up on groceries in advance of the storm, and warming centers opened in churches and libraries.

Several businesses closed across the Kansas City area, and the school district in suburban Independence, Missouri, said it might need to cancel classes for one or more days.

Get where youre going now & stay put. If you must travel, consider packing a bag & staying where youre headed," the Missouri Department of Transportation said in a message on X.

The agency warned Friday that a shortage of workers could hamper the ability to clear roads.

In Columbus, Ohio, crews treated major roadways with anti-icing liquids.

It will be a major headache, said Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather. The storm not only has the snow threat to it but the ice threat.

Power outages could be significant particularly south of the Kansas City area, Kines said.

Temperatures dip, though no records break

Starting Monday the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerous, bone-chilling cold and wind chills, forecasters said. Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees below normal as the polar vortex stretches down from the high Arctic.

RELATED STORY | There will no longer be Wind Chill Advisories, Watches, or Warnings this winter

In Chicago on Saturday, temperatures hovered in the teens and around zero in Minneapolis (minus 18 C), while dropping to 14 below in International Falls, Minnesota, on the Canadian border.

Disruptions extend southward

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Friday evening ahead of the storm and encouraged residents to vote early on Saturday ahead of the state's special elections Tuesday in a statement on X.

Similar declarations were issued in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and multiple cities in central Illinois.

This is the real deal, meteorologist John Gordon said at a press conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Are the weather people blowing this out of proportion? No.

Officials in Annapolis asked residents to remove vehicles from emergency snow routes. The historic state capital near the Chesapeake Bay also announced plans to open several garages Sunday for free parking.

The National Weather Service predicted 8 to 12 inches of snow for the Annapolis area, with temperatures remaining below freezing throughout the weekend.

In Baltimore, an extreme weather alert was issued instructing agencies to provide shelter and assistance for those in need. City officials said wind chills were expected to dip to 13 degrees Fahrenheit overnight Saturday and remain in the teens through Tuesday.

In Louisiana, crews were racing to find a manatee that was spotted in Lake Pontchartrain before the cold temperatures hit. The manatee was first seen New Years Eve in the Mandeville area.

While manatees are common in the area during the summer, winter sightings are a concern since they can begin to experience cold stress symptoms when the temperature falls below 68 degrees.

We are doing everything we can to get our hands on this animal, said Gabriella Harlamert, stranding and rehab coordinator for Audubon Aquarium Rescue in New Orleans.

Indie filmmaker Jeff Baena, who was married to his frequent creative collaborator Aubrey Plaza, has died. He was 47.

Baena was found dead Friday at a Los Angeles home, according to medical examiner's records. The circumstances were unclear Saturday. The records indicated that the medical examiner's office was investigating and did not include any information on where specifically his body was discovered or the cause of death.

The medical examiner's office said in an email to The Associated Press on Saturday that Baena was pronounced dead at 10:39 a.m. A full report won't be available until the case is closed, the office said.

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A representative for Plaza responded to a request for comment with a link to a story about Baena's death on the entertainment industry news site Deadline.

Baena co-wrote David O. Russell's 2004 film I Heart Huckabees and wrote and directed five of his own films, mostly dark comedies. Plaza starred in his directorial debut, the 2014 zombie comedy Life After Beth, and appeared in two of his other films: The Little Hours and Spin Me Round.

Plaza, 40, rose to fame playing April Ludgate on the television series Parks and Recreation" and was nominated for an Emmy for her role on The White Lotus. The couple married in 2021.

The congressional joint session to count electoral votes on Monday is expected to be much less eventful than the certification four years ago that was interrupted by a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump who tried to stop the count and overturn the results of an election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

This time, Trump is returning to office after winning the 2024 election that began with Biden as his party's nominee and ended with Vice President Kamala Harris atop the ticket. She will preside over the certification of her own loss, fulfilling the constitutional role in the same way that Trump's vice president, Mike Pence, did after the violence subsided on Jan. 6, 2021.

Usually a routine affair, the congressional joint session on Jan. 6 every four years is the final step in reaffirming a presidential election after the Electoral College officially elects the winner in December. The meeting is required by the Constitution and includes several distinct steps.

A look at the joint session:

What happens when Congress meets?

Under federal law, Congress must meet Jan. 6 to open sealed certificates from each state that contain a record of their electoral votes. The votes are brought into the chamber in special mahogany boxes that are used for the occasion.

Bipartisan representatives of both chambers read the results out loud and do an official count. The vice president, as president of the Senate, presides over the session and declares the winner.

The Constitution requires Congress to meet and count the electoral votes. If there is a tie, then the House decides the presidency, with each congressional delegation having one vote. That hasnt happened since the 1800s, and won't happen this time because Trumps electoral win over Harris was decisive, 312-226.

RELATED STORY | Why January might be one of the busiest months ever for US politics

How has it changed since the last time?

Congress tightened the rules for the certification after the violence of 2021 and Trumps attempts to usurp the process.

In particular, the revised Electoral Count Act passed in 2022 more explicitly defines the role of the vice president after Trump aggressively pushed Pence to try and object to the Republican's defeat an action that would have gone far beyond Pence's ceremonial role. Pence rebuffed Trump and ultimately gaveled down his own defeat. Harris will do the same.

The updated law clarifies that the vice president does not have the power to determine the results on Jan. 6.

Harris and Pence were not the first vice presidents to be put in the uncomfortable position of presiding over their own defeats. In 2001, Vice President Al Gore presided over the counting of the 2000 presidential election that he narrowly lost to Republican George W. Bush. Gore had to gavel several Democrats objections out of order.

In 2017, Biden as vice president presided over the count that declared Trump the winner. Biden also shot down objections from House Democrats that did not have any Senate support.

How does the session unfold?

The presiding officer opens and presents the certificates of the electoral votes in alphabetical order of the states.

The appointed tellers from the House and Senate, members of both parties, then read each certificate out loud and record and count the votes. At the end, the presiding officer announces who has won the majority votes for both president and vice president.

RELATED STORY | Judge sets Trump's sentencing in hush money case for Jan. 10, but signals no jail time

What if there's an objection?

After a teller reads the certificate from any state, a lawmaker can stand up and object to that states vote on any grounds. But the presiding officer will not hear the objection unless it is in writing and signed by one-fifth of each chamber.

That threshold is significantly higher than what came before. Previously, a successful objection only required support from one member of the Senate and one member of the House. Lawmakers raised the threshold in the 2022 law to make objections more difficult.

If any objection reaches the threshold something not expected this time the joint session suspends and the House and Senate go into separate sessions to consider it. For the objection to be sustained, both chambers must uphold it by a simple majority vote. If they do not agree, the original electoral votes are counted with no changes.

In 2021, both the House and Senate rejected challenges to the electoral votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Before 2021, the last time that such an objection was considered had been 2005, when Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, both Democrats, objected to Ohios electoral votes, claiming there were voting irregularities. Both the House and Senate debated the objection and easily rejected it. It was only the second time such a vote had occurred.

Once Congress counts the votes, what's next?

After Congress certifies the vote, the president is inaugurated on the west front of the Capitol on Jan. 20.

The joint session is the last official chance for objections, beyond any challenges in court. Harris has conceded and never disputed Trumps win.

Your car is spying on you.

That is one takeaway from the fast, detailed data that Tesla collected on the driver of one of its Cybertrucks that exploded in Las Vegas earlier this week. Privacy data experts say the deep dive by Elon Musks company was impressive, but also shines a spotlight on a difficult question as vehicles become less like cars and more like computers on wheels.

Is your car company violating your privacy rights?

You might want law enforcement to have the data to crack down on criminals, but can anyone have access to it? said Jodi Daniels, CEO of privacy consulting firm Red Clover Advisors. Where is the line?

RELATED STORY | Advanced technology used to gain information about Las Vegas Cybertruck blast

Many of the latest cars not only know where youve been and where you are going, but also often have access to your contacts, your call logs, your texts and other sensitive information thanks to cell phone syncing.

The data collected by Musks electric car company after the Cybertruck packed with fireworks burst into flames in front of the Trump International Hotel Wednesday proved valuable to police in helping track the drivers movements.

Within hours of the New Years Day explosion that burned the driver beyond recognition and injured seven, Tesla was able to track Matthew Livelsbergers movements in detail from Denver to Las Vegas, and also confirm that the problem was explosives in the truck, not the truck itself. Tesla used data collected from charging stations and from onboard software -- and to great acclaim.

I have to thank Elon Musk, specifically, said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill to reporters. He gave us quite a bit of additional information.

Some privacy experts were less enthusiastic.

It reveals the kind of sweeping surveillance going on, said David Choffnes, executive director of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute at Northeastern University in Boston. When something bad happens, its helpful, but its a double-edged sword. Companies that collect this data can abuse it.

General Motors, for instance, was sued in August by the Texas attorney general for allegedly selling data from 1.8 million drivers to insurance companies without their consent.

Cars equipped with cameras to enable self-driving features have added a new security risk. Tesla itself came under fire after Reuters reported how employees from 2019 through 2022 shared drivers sensitive videos and recordings with each other, including videos of road rage incidents and, in one case, nudity.

RELATED STORY | What's Turo, the app used to rent trucks in New Orleans attack, Las Vegas blast?

Tesla did not respond to emailed questions about its privacy policy. On its website, Tesla says it follows strict rules for keeping names and information private.

No one but you would have knowledge of your activities, location, or a history of where youve been, according to a statement. "Your information is kept private and secure.

Auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid at Telemetry Insight, said he doesn't think Tesla is especially worse than other auto companies in handling customer data, but he is still concerned.

This is one of the biggest ethical issues we have around modern vehicles. They're connected, he said. Consumers need to have control over their data.

Tensions were high when the Cybertruck parked at the front doors of Trumps hotel began smoking, then burst into flames. Just hours earlier a driver in another vehicle using the same peer-to-peer car rental service, Turo, had killed 15 people after slamming into a crowd in New Orleans in what law enforcement is calling a terrorist attack.

Shortly before 1 p.m., the Las Vegas police announced they were investigating a second incident.

The fire is out, the police announced on the social media platform X, one of Musks other companies. Please avoid the area.

Tesla shortly thereafter swung into action.

The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now, Musk wrote on X. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything.

Over the next few hours, Tesla was able to piece together Livelsbergers journey over five days and four states by tracking, among other things, his recharging stops in various locations, including Monument, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Flagstaff, Arizona.

There are no federal laws regulating car data similar to those that restrict information collection and sharing by banks and health care providers. And state laws are a grab-bag of various rules, mostly focused on data privacy in general.

Daniels, the privacy consultant, thinks that new national laws are needed because rules have not kept up with technology.

I think law enforcement should have access to data that can help them solve things quickly, she said. But we have a right to privacy.

Six days of funeral observances for former President Jimmy Carter begin Saturday in Georgia, where he died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

The first events reflect Carters climb up the political ladder, from the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, to decades on the global stage as a humanitarian and advocate for democracy.

Here is what to know about the initial ceremonies and what happens next:

The start honors Carter's deep roots in rural south Georgia

The proceedings are scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. EST Saturday with the Carter family arriving at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus.

Former Secret Service agents who protected Carter will serve as pallbearers, walking alongside the hearse as it exits the campus on its way to Plains.

James Earl Carter Jr. lived more than 80 of his 100 years in and around the town, which still has fewer than 700 people, not much more than when he was born on Oct. 1, 1924. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton also grew up in rural settings, but Carter stands out for returning and remaining in his birthplace for his long post-presidency.

RELATED STORY | Scripps News Special: A full look at Jimmy Carter's life and legacy

The motorcade will move through downtown Plains, which spans just a few blocks, passing near the girlhood home of first lady Rosalynn Smith Carter, who died in November 2023 at the age of 96, and near where the couple operated the family peanut warehouses. The route also includes the old train depot that served as Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign headquarters and the gas station once run by Carter's younger brother Billy.

The motorcade will then pass by the Methodist church where the Carters married in 1946, and the home where they lived and died. The former president will be buried there alongside Rosalynn.

The Carters built the one-story house, now surrounded by Secret Service fencing, before his first state Senate campaign in 1962 and lived out their lives there with the exception of four years in the Governor's Mansion and four more in the White House.

A stop at Carter's boyhood home a blend of privilege, hard work

The military-run schedule calls for a 10:50 a.m. stop in front of Carter's family farm and boyhood home in Archery, outside Plains, after passing the cemetery where the former president's parents, James Earl Carter Sr. and Lillian Carter, are buried.

The farm now is part of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. The National Park Service will ring the old farm bell 39 times to honor the 39th president.

RELATED STORY | How Rosalynn Carter shaped Jimmy Carter's presidency, volunteerism

Carter was the first president born in a hospital. But the home had no electricity or running water when he was born, and he worked his father's land during the Great Depression. Still, the Carters had relative privilege and status. Earl employed Black tenant farming families. The elder Carter also owned a store in Plains and was a local civic and political leader. Lillian was a nurse and she delivered Rosalynn. The property still includes a tennis court Earl had built for the family.

It was Earl's death in 1953 that set Jimmy on course toward the Oval Office. The younger Carters had left Plains after he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. But Jimmy abandoned a promising career as a submarine officer and early participant in the Pentagon's nuclear program to take over the family's peanut business after his father's death. Within a decade, he was elected to the Georgia state Senate.

Lying in repose in Atlanta, where Carter was a politician and global figure

From Archery, the motorcade will head north to Atlanta and will stop at 3 p.m. outside at the Georgia Capitol, where he served as a state senator from 1963 to 1967 and governor from 1971 to 1975. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens will lead a moment of silence. While former governors are honored with state-run funerals, presidents even if they served as governors are memorialized with national rites run by the federal government.

The motorcade then is scheduled to arrive at the Carter Presidential Center at 3:45 p.m., with a private service at 4 p.m. The campus includes Carters presidential library and The Carter Center, established by the former president and first lady in 1982.

RELATED STORY | Political science professor weighs in on Jimmy Carter's biggest 'Achilles' heel'

From 7 p.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Monday, Carter will lie in repose for the public to pay respects around the clock.

The ceremony is expected to include some of The Carter Center's global staff of 3,000, whose work concentrating on international diplomacy and mediation, election monitoring and fighting disease in the developing world continues to set a standard for what former presidents can accomplish.

Jimmy Carter, who delivered its annual reports until 2019, won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize in part for this post-presidential work. His grandson Jason Carter now chairs the board.

What's next: A return to Washington

Carter's remains will travel next to Washington, where he will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until his funeral at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral. All the living presidents have been invited, and Joe Biden, a Carter ally, will deliver a eulogy.

The Carter family then will return to bury its patriarch in Plains after a private hometown funeral at 3:45 p.m. at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Carter, a devout evangelical, taught Sunday School for decades.

Carter will be buried afterward in a private graveside service, in a plot visible from the front porch of his home.

The New Orleans coroner's office has identified all but one of the 14 people killed when the driver of a white pickup truck sped down Bourbon Street packed with holiday revelers early on New Year's Day. The cause of death for all of the victims was blunt force injuries," the coroner said in an email Friday.

The 14 victims of the New Orleans truck attack all suffered fatal injuries on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the coroner's office said. Two new names not previously reported were Brandon Taylor, 43, of Harvey, Louisiana and Elliot Wilkinson, 40, of Slidell, Louisiana.

The youngest victim was 18 years old and the oldest 63. Most victims were in their 20s. They came from from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey and Great Britain.

The name of the British citizen who was killed was withheld at the familys request, and the 14th person, a Black female, has not been identified, but efforts are ongoing, the email said.

About 30 people were injured and 16 remain hospitalized, half in the Intensive Care Unit.

Elliot Wilkinson

Cecil Wilkinson said in a message to his little brother, Elliot Wilkinson, on Facebook that he was loved and you will truly be missed.

I know life was hard for you at times. But I wasnt expecting to get the phone call this morning you was one of them that got hit in New Orleans in the French Quarter, Wilkinson said in the post.

Terrence Terry Kennedy

After years working in the service industry and maintenance, New Orleans native Terrence Kennedy spent his retirement doing what he loved: strolling down to catch the ever-present party in the French Quarter.

Bourbon is like a free party," his niece, Monisha James, told The Associated Press. He was enjoying his city that he enjoyed for 63 years.

James said her uncle liked to people-watch around the French Quarter and often sparked conversations with strangers. That was what he was doing to enjoy his retirement, she said.

Kennedy had told his sister on New Years Eve that he was going out. When he didnt answer the phone the next morning, the family spent a frantic day searching until the coroner confirmed he died in the New Years Day attack.

The family still doesnt know if he died from the cars impact or gunshot wounds; all they were told is that he was still alive when he got to the hospital.

James, 43, described her uncle as a humble helper and a handyman. Whether it was fixing up a house or playing with his nieces and nephews, he was always eager to serve others.

Just a sweet, kind, loving, helpful person that would not harm anyone, James said.

Sadly, illness had affected his family in recent years. Four of Kennedys siblings died before him, including a sister who had passed away a month earlier. The violent nature of Kennedys death stunned the family, on top of everything theyve been through lately. Right now, said James, theyre supporting each other.

Thats such a shock to our family because never in a million years would you be able to tell me thats what happened to him, she said.

Kennedys younger sister Jacqueline Kennedy, 59, said her brother was known for his big heart and his love of sports.

My brother had a kind heart. He was loving and caring and giving and he loved the Pittsburgh Steelers, she said.

William Billy DiMaio

Billy DiMaio, 25, of Holmdel, New Jersey, was humble and gentled-hearted, so devoted to family that he had a tattoo featuring all of his cousins names, his parents told NOLA.com.

A New York City-based account executive for the media company Audacy, DiMaio was in New Orleans to celebrate New Years Eve and see friends who planned to go to the Sugar Bowl, Tracie and Bill DiMaio, of Holmdel, New Jersey, told the news site. His friends escaped injury.

He was a good, humble kid, Bill DiMaio said. He loved life.

Billy DiMaio grew up on Long Island, New York, before the family moved to New Jersey. He graduated in 2022 from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, where he was on the lacrosse team and earned a masters degree.

He was a pure, gentle-hearted soul," his mother said. He will be truly missed.

He had worked for Audacy since 2023.

Beyond his professional achievements, Billy will be fondly remembered for his unwavering work ethic, positive attitude, and kindness," Audacy said in an emailed statement.

Hubert Gauthreaux

Hurbert Gauthreaux, 21, of Gretna, Louisiana, was among the victims, the coroner's office said.

Archbishop Shaw High School, in Marrero, Louisiana, posted on Facebook that Gauthreaux was from the class of 2021.

Gauthreaux was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter. He was 21 years old, the Catholic boys school posted Wednesday. We are asking the entire Archbishop Shaw family to pray for the repose of Huberts soul, his family and friends during this difficult time, and all those affected by this tragedy.

Kareem Badawi

Kareem Badawi, 23, was a University of Alabama freshman when he was killed in the attack. A native of Louisiana and a graduate of the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, Badawi had started at the Alabama university this fall.

My son was full of life, his father Belal Badawi said in an interview.

Back home in Baton Rouge for winter break, Badawi had gone to New Orleans with friends to celebrate the new year, his father said. After they saw the news of the truck attack, they tried to reach Kareem, but he didn't answer.

Then I saw his phone when I tracked it was in the area that it happened, belal Badawi said. So, then we knew thats something wrong. Hes not answering. We drove to New Orleans. We live in Baton Rouge, we went to the hospital and we waited a few hours and the FBI came with the list of all the casualties.

Badawi said he was a lovely boy.

I lost my son. Hes a good boy, he said of his son. Unfortunately, his life ended that quick and with no reason. Just nothing he did to deserve for somebody to come and kill him.

Andrew Drew Dauphin

Andrew Dauphin, 26, of Montgomery, Alabama, did in the attack.

Christopher B. Roberts, president of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, said on the social platform X that Dauphin was 2023 graduate.

Words cannot convey the sorrow the Auburn Family feels for Drews family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time, Roberts said. Our thoughts are with the Dauphin family and the families of all the victims of this senseless tragedy.

Dauphin was a supplier process engineer at the American Honda Motor Company in Birmingham, Alabama, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Matthew Tenedorio

Matthew Tenedorio of Picayune, Mississippi, was killed in the truck attack, the coroner's office said.

He was 25 years old. He was just starting life. He had the job of his dreams, his mother, Cathy Tenedorio, told NBC News. Its just very sad.

A GoFundMe page created by a cousin says he was an audiovisual technician at the Superdome.

He was a wonderful kid, Louis Tenedorio added. He loved people. He loved animals. He always had a smile. So many friends. He had so many friends.

Cathy Tenedorio said she had spent New Years Eve with Matthew and another one of her sons.

We had dinner and we did fireworks outside, and just laughing and hugging each other and telling each other we loved each other, she said. She added that they had tried to dissuade him from going into the city.

They dont think about risk, she said.

Nikyra Dedeaux

Zion Parsons, of Gulfport, Mississippi, had been celebrating New Years Eve at his first night on Bourbon Street when a vehicle appeared and plowed into his friend, Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, who he said had dreamed of becoming a nurse.

A truck hit the corner and comes barreling through throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air, Parsons told The Associated Press. It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive."

As the crowd scattered in the chaos he ran through a gruesome aftermath of bleeding and maimed victims, hearing gunshots and explosive sounds.

Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering Parsons said. People crying on the floor, like brain matter all over the ground. It was just insane, like the closest thing to a war zone that Ive ever seen.

Dedeaux had a job at a hospital and was set to start college and begin working towards her goal of becoming a registered nurse.

She had her mindset she didnt have everything figured out but she had the plan laid down, Parsons said.

Reggie Hunter

A 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge, Reggie Hunter had just left work and headed to celebrate New Years with a cousin when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.

Hunter died and his cousin was injured, Jackson said. The coroner's office said he was from Prairieville, Louisiana.

Martin Tiger Bech

Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old former high school and college football player from Louisiana was among those killed, the coroner's office said.

Kim Broussard, athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, told NOLA.com that Bech attended the high school, where he played wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defensive back. Bech played football at Princeton University before graduating in 2021.

Marty Cannon, STM principal and former coach of Bech, said he was charismatic, intelligent and an incredibly talented football player. He regularly returned home to visit his tight-knit family, close friends and people at the school. He was home over Christmas.

We live in a relatively small community here where not a lot of people leave but many do," Cannon said. I'm not surprised at all that Tiger could take off from south Louisiana and go off and get an amazing education at a place like Princeton and then lock himself into a community up there and just flourish. Hes that kind of guy.

Bech has been working at Seaport Global. He was extremely well regarded by everybody who knew him," said company spokesperson Lisa Lieberman.

Nicole Perez

Nicole Perez was a single mother to a 4-year-old son working hard to make life better for her family when she was killed, according to her employer.

Perez, 27, was recently promoted to manager at Kimmys Deli in Metairie, Louisiana, and was really excited about it, deli owner Kimberly Usher said in an interview with the AP. Usher confirmed Perezs death through her sister, who also works for her.

Usher said Perez would walk in the morning to the deli, which opened at breakfast time, and ask lots of questions about the business side of the operations. She also was permitted to bring her son, Melo, to work.

She was a really good mom, said Usher, who started a GoFundMe account to cover Perezs burial costs and to help with expenses for her son that he will need to transition into a new living situation, the donation request says.

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Injured in the Attack

Heaven Sensky-Kirsch said her father, Jeremi Sensky, endured 10 hours of surgery for injuries that included two broken legs. He was taken off a ventilator Thursday.

Jeremi Sensky was ejected from the wheelchair he was using and had bruises to his face and head, Sensky-Kirsch said in a phone interview from a hospital intensive care unit.

Hes talking right now, Sensky-Kirsch said late Thursday morning.

Sensky, 51, who works in the familys tree service business, had driven from his home in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, to New Orleans to celebrate the holiday.

Before the attack, Sensky and the two friends had been having pizza, his daughter said. Sensky left them to return to his hotel on Canal Street because he felt cold, she said.

Sensky-Kirsch said others could see the attacker coming and were able to run out of the way, but her father was stuck on the road. His wheelchair can be seen in some images lodged against a crane.

When he didnt return to the hotel, they went to look for him, she said.

We thought he was dead, Sensky-Kirsch said. We cant believe hes alive.

Ryan Quigley, who was a teammate of Bechs at Princeton, was with him when they were struck by the truck. Quigley was injured, according to family and friends.

Ryan is doing okay. He is stable and resting in the company of his family and friends, the Quigleys said in an update on a GoFundMe page set up by his friends. Ryan loves you all. Please keep the Bech family, the other families, and all of those affected by this tragedy in your prayers. Thank you all.

University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead said on X that a student was critically injured in the attack and is receiving medical treatment. He did not name the student.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that two Israeli citizens were injured in the attack.

University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce said Thursday that one of the universitys students was critically injured in New Orleans. Boyce did not identify the student.

In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case for Jan. 10 little over a week before he's due to return to the White House but indicated he wouldn't be jailed.

The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes.

Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trumps trial, signaled in a written decision that he'd sentence the former and future president to what's known as a conditional discharge, in which a case gets dismissed if a defendant avoids rearrest.

Merchan rejected Trumps push to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds and because of his impending return to the White House. The judge said he found no legal impediment to sentencing Trump and that it was incumbent on him to sentence Trump prior to his swearing in on Jan. 20.

Only by bringing finality to this matter will the interests of justice be served, Merchan wrote.

"Todays order by the deeply conflicted, acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA witch hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Courts immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence. This lawless case should have never been brought and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed," Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement on the ruling. "President Trump must be allowed to continue the presidential transition process and to execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the witch hunts. There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead."

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Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records. They involved an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of Trumps first campaign in 2016. The payout was made to keep her from publicizing claims shed had sex with the married Trump years earlier. He says that her story is false and that he did nothing wrong.

After Trumps Nov. 5 election, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.

Trumps lawyers urged Merchan to toss it. They said it would otherwise pose unconstitutional disruptions to the incoming presidents ability to run the country.

Prosecutors acknowledged there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insisted the conviction should stand.

They suggested various options, such as freezing the case during his term or guaranteeing him a no-jail sentence. They also proposed closing the case while formally noting both his conviction and his undecided appeal a novel idea drawn from what some state courts do when criminal defendants die while appealing their cases.

Trump takes office Jan. 20 as the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.

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His conviction left the 78-year-old facing the possibility of punishment ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison.

The case centered on how Trump accounted for reimbursing his personal attorney for the Daniels payment.

The lawyer, Michael Cohen, fronted the money. He later recouped it through a series of payments that Trumps company logged as legal expenses. Trump, by then in the White House, signed most of the checks himself.

Prosecutors said the designation was meant to cloak the true purpose of the payments and help cover up a broader effort to keep voters from hearing unflattering claims about the Republican during his first campaign.

Trump said that Cohen was legitimately paid for legal services, and that Daniels story was suppressed to avoid embarrassing Trumps family, not to influence the electorate.

Trump was a private citizen campaigning for president, but neither elected nor sworn in when Cohen paid Daniels in October 2016. He was president when Cohen was reimbursed, and Cohen testified that they discussed the repayment arrangement in the Oval Office.

Trump, a Republican, has decried the verdict as the rigged, disgraceful result of a witch hunt pursued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.

Before Trumps November election, his lawyers sought to reverse his conviction for a different reason: a U.S. Supreme Court decision in July that gave presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution. That request was still pending when the election raised new issues.

While urging Merchan to nix the conviction, Trump also sought to move the case to federal court, where he could also assert immunity. A federal judge repeatedly said no, but Trump appealed.

The hush money case was the only one of Trumps four criminal indictments to go to trial.

Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases. One pertained to Trumps efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss; the other alleged he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

A separate, state-level election interference case in Georgia is largely on hold.