Today’s Big Story

California Fires Rage

New blazes add to wildfire chaos, evacuations and damage

The images are heartbreaking. I lived in Los Angeles for the better part of a decade and I recognize a lot of areas being shown smoldering. And with the strength of the Santa Ana winds, new blazes are breaking out in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City (indelibly associated with the American film industry), as emergency crews struggled against several other devastating blazes that have been raging out of control and forcing desperate evacuations for the past 48 hours.

Already, the rapidly spreading flames have destroyed roughly 2,000 structures and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Four of the biggest blazes remain zero percent contained as of this morning. According to the Associated Press, the Sunset Fire started at around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday as officials were holding a news conference to update residents on efforts to fight massive blazes in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena and to warn that fire danger remained high. Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley made a hasty exit after announcing the new fire and soon after an evacuation order was issued. A large brush fire was burning in the popular Runyon Canyon hiking trail near the Hollywood sign—right above the heart of the city. A day earlier, hurricane-force winds blew embers through the air, igniting block after block in the Los Angeles coastline neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. Still the largest blaze, it’s already consumed approximately 15,832 acres between Malibu and Santa Monica.

Axios reports that there has been a “high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate” from the fast-moving Palisades fire. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said Wednesday that the state's National Guard had been deployed to help respond to the fires. Janisse Quiñones, chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said high winds made it impossible for firefighters to combat the blazes from the air, forcing them to rely on hydrants that are typically used to combat single-home blazes. There was so much pull on the system for hours on end that many hydrants eventually ran dry for a while. The causes of the fires are still unknown and under investigation.

Many celebrities have come forward, sharing that they’ve lost their homes. Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton and Eugene Levy … and many of them were able to watch the destruction in real time thanks to Ring camera and other security footage. We are now at the stage in life to be able to watch live, and up close, as natural disasters engulf our homes with the help of home-security technology. As Curbed points out, “It’s a particular kind of torture to witness the exact moment when your home is no more.”

Obamacare Enrollment Hits Record

Almost 24 million Americans have signed up for plans offered under the Affordable Care Act

A record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s landmark health legislation, as the program awaits an uncertain future under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. Never have so many people enrolled in health care coverage through the government marketplace—a point of pride for many Democrats but a red flag to some Republicans.

The increased enrollment is “no coincidence,” President Biden said in a statement. “When I took office, I made a promise to the American people that I would bring down the cost of health care and prescription drugs, make signing up for coverage easier, and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid.” But incoming President-elect Donald Trump has maligned “Obamacare” for years. He unsuccessfully tried to dismantle it during his first term, and has promised changes—without offering a concrete plan—during his second term.

The Congressional Budget Office last month estimated that premiums would spike without a permanent extension of the enhanced subsidies, and the number of uninsured Americans would go up by more than two million in 2026, 3.7 million in 2027 and then 3.8 million each year on average through 2034.

Trump Tests Limits Before Return

His recent territorial ambitions rattle a weary world

On Wednesday, news broke that President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on the phone just hours before his lawyers filed an emergency request with the justices asking them to block a New York judge from moving forward with sentencing Trump tomorrow in his criminal hush money case. Alito said that the call was simply in support of a former law clerk who is seeking a job in the incoming administration, but it obviously raised suspicions.

Even before taking office, Trump, with his recent off-the-cuff comments, has stirred up “here we go again” commentary from across the globe. Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Trump vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” He also said he could use “economic force” to turn Canada into the 51st state as a matter of American national security. And then later declined to rule out the use of force in a potential land grab for Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Germany and France both criticized the latter comments, with German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit telling DW that “as always, the firm principle applies... that borders must not be moved by force,” highlighting international agreements such as the UN Charter. As the New York Times points out, “for those eager to parse substance from bluster, it looked like another performance of scattershot bravado: Trump II, the sequel, more unrestrained.”

More National Parks Now Require Reservations

Book ahead if you want to catch the sunrise at Maui’s highest peak

With more than 325 million visitors a year and rivetingly silly social media accounts, the U.S.’s national parks are more popular than ever. So much so, that said popularity has led to substantial overcrowding. And that’s not great. To combat the congestion, the NPS has announced that even more parks will be requiring timed entry reservations in 2025, which means the time to book is probably right now.

According to Outside, these mandatory timed-entry reservations in national parks have become a hot topic over the last few years. During the pandemic, when visitation to national parks soared, a few parks—starting with Arches in 2022—responded by implementing the reservation systems, which require all visitors to get permits for specific entry times during the busy season. Since then, other park units have implemented similar systems.

Thrillist outlines the parks that now require the new reservations, which include Hawaii’s Haleakalā National Park, Gateway Arch, Acadia, Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Arches.

Store & Wear Your Cologne Like a Pro

How to spritz and layer to smell great all day

It’s something most of us do daily. It's one of the last steps of a morning routine before heading out for the day. Putting on cologne is simply—pop the cap, spritz and you're done. But wearing a fragrance well—like a gentleman—requires a little more skill and finesse. When not done properly, the scent won't last as long or smell as nice. So make sure you're doing things the right way.

We spoke with some experts in the fragrance and perfume business to get their professional intel on the proper ways to store and wear your cologne. Some of these will be reminders of what you might already know and others might surprise you.

Speak less, listen more.