Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization have agreed to a cease-fire deal, mediators announced on Wednesday, pausing a devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip.

President-elect Donald Trump's choice for attorney general, Pam Bondi, vowed not to use the Justice Department to target people based on their politics when she appeared at her Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 15.

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley has reminded residents evacuating their homes due to the wildfires to stay safe, saying the danger has not yet passed.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone warned on Monday that high winds are returning to California. He said severe fire weather conditions will continue through Wednesday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that there has been progress in negotiating a hostage release deal.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 struck the Kyushu region of southern Japan on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. A tsunami warning was later lifted.

President-elect Donald Trump said during his New York sentencing on Friday that the case has been a "terrible experience." Justice Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to unconditional discharge for 34 counts of falsifying business records. Appearing virtually from Florida, Trump said he was innocent and did nothing wrong.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said firefighters have extinguished fires in Pacoima, Hollywood, Studio City, and other places. She said President Joe Biden and FEMA have pledged to reimburse disaster relief expenses. Evacuation orders remain for approximately 153,000 residents across Los Angeles County.

Supreme Court justices posed tough questions to the lawyer representing TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, over a law that would force a sale or ban of the widely used short-video app in the United States by Jan. 19.

Four massive wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force. L.A. County fire chief Anthony Marrone says the Eaton Fire has killed at least 2 people and injured many more. The Palisades Fire has burned over 5,000 acres and is 0% contained. The cause of the fire is unknown.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland does not plan to publicly release a portion of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigative report related to President-elect Donald Trump's retention of classified records, the Justice Department revealed in a court filing on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trump and Republican colleagues in Congress will begin trying to chart a path to enacting more tax cuts, border controls and fossil fuel production through the Congress.

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a $20 billion new investment to build data centers across the United State. At a news conference at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said the investor is Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani, chairman of DAMAC properties.

Social media giant Meta scrapped its U.S. fact-checking program for a community-based system similar to X and reduced the curbs on discussions around contentious topics.

A strong earthquake struck the foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet's holiest cities, killing at least 126 people and flattening hundreds of houses.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberals after nine years in office but will stay on in his post until the party chooses a replacement.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump asked a New York judge to delay his Jan. 10 sentencing on his criminal conviction on charges in the campaign financing case.

The first major winter storm of the new year swept into the U.S. Middle Atlantic state, closing down federal offices and public schools in Washington D.C.. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the severe weather will not keep Congress from certifying Trump's election victory.

President Joe Biden on Friday followed through on his pledge to block Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel, citing concerns the deal could hurt national security.

A Manhattan federal judge will consider a request by two Georgia election workers to hold former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in civil contempt for refusing to turn over property as payment toward a $148 million defamation award.

Republicans will face a first test of their control of both chambers of Congress when they decide whether to keep Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) in the role of Speaker of the House.

The New Orleans truck attack “was an act of terrorism,” Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, said at a news conference on Thursday. He said the suspect had no known accomplices and that no definitive link between the New Orleans attack and the Las Vegas attack has yet been found. Meanwhile, the FBI confirmed that 14 people, not 15, were killed in the terror attack.

Ten people were injured in a shooting outside a New York City nightclub late on New Year's Day, according to NYPD Chief Philip Rivera. The injured include six women and four men, all of whom are expected to recover, Rivera said.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a strong critic of President-elect Donald Trump and several of his allies, will be one of the 20 people awarded by President Joe Biden on Thursday with the Presidential Citizens Medal, one of the country's highest civilian honors.

The FBI said that the suspect who drove a truck into a large crowd in New Orleans' French Quarter early on Wednesday has been confirmed dead. At least 10 people were killed and 26 injured in the incident.

Ukraine has halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network after a prewar transit deal expired at the end of 2024.

Sydney welcomed 2025 with the city’s biggest-ever fireworks display, which featured a golden waterfall effect falling from the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

A blackout hit nearly all of Puerto Rico early on Tuesday as the U.S. territory prepared to celebrate New Year’s Eve, leaving more than 1.3 million customers in the dark. Officials said it could take up to two days to restore power.

Jan. 9, 2025, will be a national day of mourning for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The White House issued this proclamation following Carter's death on Sunday. President Joe Biden called on the American people to gather in places of worship on Jan. 9 to honor Carter.

A federal appeals court has upheld a $5 million verdict that E. Jean Carroll won against President-elect Donald Trump. Trump's lawyers argued the verdict should be thrown out because the trial judge should not have let jurors hear testimony from two other women who had accused Trump of sexual misconduct.

The families of the passengers killed in South Korea's Jeju Air crash are hoping the remains of their loved ones can be identified soon as investigators race to determine the cause of one of the worst aviation disasters in the country’s history.