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January 16, 2025
Samantha Rose Baldwin is leaving no feline behind.
Amid the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, the actress—who appeared on season two of the Gossip Girl reboot—braved the flames to rescue her 10-year-old tortoiseshell cat, Kitty.
“It was an immediate spring into action and an amalgamation of questions racing through my head,” Samantha told DailyMail.com Jan. 8. “Can I get my cat out?”
After being forced to abandon her car in a sea of people trying to evacuate the area, the 26-year-old detailed how she ran 15 minutes home and did everything she could to save her fur baby.
“It took 20 minutes for me to find her,” Samantha recalled. “She had gone into her best hiding spot which was inside the couch. I grabbed her and wrapped her up in a blanket and put her inside my cat carrier backpack.”
“Once we got outside,” she continued, “the fire had gotten closer to us and the path going back to my car was now no longer an option.”
Jennie Garth Tearfully Thanks Ex Husband Peter Facinelli for Taking Her in During L.A. Fires
JoJo Siwa isn’t messing around amid the Los Angeles wildfires.
The Dance Moms alum shared which of her belongings she was planning to save in the event the ongoing natural disaster forced her to evacuate her home, including costumes from her 2024 music video “Karma” and 2016 clip “Boomerang.”
“It’s not work,” she explained in an Instagram Stories video posted by girlfriend Kath Ebbs, who questioned the items she was packing. “It’s just that it’s not replaceable.”
The 21-year-old further emphasized just how much sentimental value the wardrobe pieces carried.
“This is my entire life,” she continued. “If I lost this, I would be so devastated.”
Other stars have also shared which of their prized possessions they grabbed as they fled their homes. In an interview, Melissa Rivers said she was able to take a few irreplaceable items that belonged to her late parents, comedian Joan Rivers and producer Edgar Rosenberg.
“I grabbed my mom’s Emmy, a photo of my dad and a drawing my mother had done of me and my son,” she told CNN Jan. 8. “I went for a drawing of hers, rather than a photo. I know I can find the photos, but a drawing I can’t replace.”
Bill Hader briefly took on a different kind of TV role.
Amid the wildfires impacting the Los Angeles area, the Saturday Night Live alum surprised a local news crew covering the aftermath of the natural disaster.
“Resident trying to gain access came up to news van as if he was part of our team, wanted to help cover, ride with us,” ABC7 reporter Josh Haskell wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Jan. 10. “Then, he pulled down his mask, smiled and it was Bill Hader!”
The journalist also shared a photo of the Emmy winner—who is dating Beef star Ali Wong—flashing a peace sign while donning a protective face mask, adding that Bill “couldn’t have been nicer” and describing the encounter as an “only in LA moment.”
Amid the ongoing crisis, more stars are finding ways to offer support. In a statement on their website, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave a list of resources to help those affected by the fires and encouraged others to lend a hand in any way they can.
“If a friend, loved one or pet has to evacuate and you are able to offer them a safe haven in your home, please do,” the statement read. “And be sure to check in with any disabled or elderly neighbors to see if they need help evacuating.”
A man was arrested on suspicion of arson on Thursday afternoon in the Woodland Hills near the Kenneth Fire, which had started earlier in the afternoon.
On X (formerly Twitter), the Los Angeles Police Department’s official Public Information Officer account announced: “At 4:32 p.m., a radio call was generated on the 21700 block of Ybarra Road for a possible arson suspect. A male was heard stating a suspect was ‘attempting to light a fire.’ The suspect is in custody and was transported to Topanga Station.”
Ybarra Road is located in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, near the west San Fernando Valley, where the Kenneth Fire continues to blaze.
According to local news station KTLA, citizens in the area held down the suspect until the police arrived.
“What we know right now is that the incident occurred here and about 20 to 30 minutes later, a suspect was detained by citizens,” Sean Dinse of the LAPD’s Topanga Division is quoted as telling KTLA.
In a social media update post, the LAPD PIO stated that they could not confirm that the arsonist is in connection with the Kenneth Fire.
The LAPD had no further updates to share when contacted by TIME.
In a news conference on Thursday evening, Los Angeles Fire chief Kristin Crowley stated that the Kenneth Fire “shows we are absolutely not out of this extreme weather event.”
The blazes that are ravaging Los Angeles County have killed at least 10 people, according to a Jan. 9 update from the Los Angeles County’s Medical examiner, with officials warning that the actual toll won’t be clear until it’s safe for investigators to access damaged areas.
The Kenneth Fire grew rapidly to 1,000 acres within hours. As of 6 a.m. on Jan. 10, the blaze is at 960 acres, with 35% contained. Evacuation warnings are currently in place for Vanowen south to Burbank Boulevard and County Lane road east to E. Valley Circle Boulevard, though mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted.
But, things may change fast as the “challenging terrain and persistent winds complicate suppression activity,” according to Cal Fire. Citizens are advised to stay vigilant.
“This is the moment to reach out to anyone who lives in Los Angeles, who you think might be in some sort of traumatic shock and grief about losing their homes and the devastation of their neighborhoods and communities and offer your hand, home and resources,” Jamie wrote in a Jan. 8 post alongside a photo of a neighborhood block completely burned down. “We are going to have to come together, as we may never have done before, in the City of Angels and help each other. AND WE WILL!”
The Oscar winner also appeared on The Tonight Show amid the fires and used her time chatting with host Jimmy Fallon to spread awareness on the devastation.
“The entire city of the Pacific Palisades is burning,” she said during her Jan. 8 appearance. “It’s f–king gnarly. It’s just a catastrophe. In California, obviously there have been horrific fires in many places, this is literally where I live—everything. The market I shop in, the schools my kids go to, friends—many, many, many friends now—have lost their homes.”
IGNATIUS OKOROCHA, Abuja
Top shots in the executive arm of government, like the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, the Director General of National Orientation Agency ( NOA) Mallam Lanre Issa – Onilu and his counterpart in the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) , Ali Mohammed Ali , were separately put under fire in the Senate during 2025 budget defence sessions.
While the Minister of Finance , Wale Edun and the Minister of Budget and Economic planning , Senator Atiku Bagudu were put on hot seats by the Senate Committee on Appropriation, the DG of NOA and that of NAN , had very tough encounters with the Senate committee on Information and National Orientation .
Trouble came the way of the Minister of Finance when barrage of questions was fired at him by some members of the Appropriation committee on state of implementation of the country’s 2024 budget, particularly the capital component.
Specifically , Senator Abdul Ningi ( PDP Bauchi Central) , in the barrage of questions fired at the Minister , asked him to explain how proceeds from fuel subsidy removal were expended in the 2024 fiscal year .
” What is the budget performance achieved so far, for 2024 fiscal year, particularly in terms of capital expenditure?
We haven’t heard from the Minister how much has been saved from the removal of fuel subsidy and how much has been expended.
“We also haven’t heard from the Ministers about the debt servicing. How much have we actually used to service our debt in 2004?
” How much are we expecting to service the debt in 2005? Finally, will the Minister of Finance guarantee that the extension of the capital component of the 2024 budget to June 30, 2025 will give the desired results in terms of implementation that has a very low percentage now? ”
Apparently unsettled by the question, the Minister hurriedly requested the committee to accord him a close door session for detailed response to the questions .
” Are we in a closed door session ? If we are not in a closed door session , i will humbly seek for that for detailed explanations on the questions asked “, he said .
The Committee Chairman, Senator Solomon Olamilekan ( APC Ogun West ) , accordingly asked journalists to excuse them for the closed door session.
Earlier at the budget defence session the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation had with agencies under its purview , the Director General of the National Orientation Agency ( NOA) , Mallam Issa – Onilu and his counterpart in the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) Ali Mohammed Ali , were ordered to re – draft and re – present their budgetary proposals for 2025 fiscal year .
The committee chaired by Senator Kenneth Eze ( APC Ebonyi Central), tackled the NOA DG on the National Identity Project being implemented by the Agency by saying the project is not known to Nigerians, particularly, those residing at the grassroots.
But the NOA DG , held his ground by telling the committee members that the project is very necessary in putting in place , the right value system.
” The challenge we have about value system is about National Identity which is very necessary at galvanising Nigerians for Nation building , national development and growth “, he said.
The Committee however insisted that he should go back for re – drafting programmes of the agency to be captured and appropriated for , in the 2025 fiscal year.
Similar fate also befell the Director General of News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) , who was told to go and reconcile disnointed figures presented in the 2024 budget implementation before coming for appropriation of projected figures for 2025 fiscal years .
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As wildfires spread across Los Angeles, authorities are struggling to contain the blazes, which the public can track via CAL FIRE, a web service provided by the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
As of late Thursday, the Sunset fire in Hollywood Hills, which broke out on Wednesday, has been fully contained, while five other fires—including the first and largest Palisades fire as well as the Eaton, Hurst, Kenneth, and Lidia fires—remain active and uncontrolled (threatening to destroy life, property, and natural resources).
But what does it mean for a fire to be 0% contained—as is the case currently for the Eaton and Kenneth fires—or 6% contained like the Palisades fire, 10% contained like the Hurst fire, or 60% contained like the Lidia fire?
Read More: Your Questions About Wildfire Smoke and Health, Answered
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWGC) defines wildfire containment as “the status of a wildfire suppression action signifying that a control line has been completed around the fire, and any associated spot fires, which can reasonably be expected to stop the fire’s spread.”
These control lines, according to a CAL FIRE factsheet on the 2021 Caldor fire, can be natural like rivers or man-made like dug-out firebreaks. “Containment is a measure of the amount of line around a wildfire.” For example, if officials state that a fire is 30% contained, that means barriers have been placed around 30% of its perimeter. “It’s as much a measure of linear footage as it is confidence,” the factsheet says.
But 100% containment does not mean the fire is controlled or extinguished. The CAL FIRE factsheet says a 100% contained fire continues to burn in the interior of the control line—“Under predicted circumstances, a fire can be expected to burn to the line, but not beyond”—and that several factors need to be considered, including necessary fire suppression repair work, before closures can safely be lifted.
Read More: How to Help Victims of the Los Angeles Wildfires
Northwest Public Broadcasting explained in 2014 that even fires that are deemed 100% contained could still spread, as strong winds may help the blaze breach control lines. A fire is considered “contained,” according to the non-profit organization Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA), if fire officials are confident—albeit not guaranteed—that the flames won’t breach these barriers.
After containing a fire, the next step is to bring it under control, which means that it “has been extinguished along the interior of the control line, with any remaining hot spots cooled down,” according to the WFCA. The NWGC defines “controlled” as “the completion of control line around a fire, any spot fires therefrom, and any interior islands to be saved; burned out any unburned area adjacent to the fire side of the control lines; and cool down all hotspots that are immediate threats to the control line, until the lines can reasonably be expected to hold under the foreseeable conditions.”
Jennie Garth is feeling gratitude for her ex.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 actress shared that her former husband Peter Facinelli welcomed her to his home amid the devastating fires in Los Angeles, which have burned over 20,000 acres since Jan. 7.
“I wanted to let you know that we are safe,” Garth wrote on Instagram Jan. 9. “Peter and his family took us in and have been so kind.”
Garth—who shares kids Luca, 27, Lola, 22, and Fiona, 18, with the Twilight actor—brought all three of their daughters, as well as her husband Dave Abrams, to stay with Facinelli, who shares son Jack, 2, with Lily Anne Harrison.
“So grateful for Peter for letting us stay at his house, me and all the girls and the dogs and Dave,” Garth noted in a video. “Our home made it through the night and we are feeling so blessed and so fortunate and so lucky.”
Milo Ventimiglia is sharing his unfathomable loss.
The This Is Us star—whose wife, Jarah Mariano, is pregnant with the couple’s first baby—confirmed he was among those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires as he returned to his home to find it destroyed by the blaze.
“Oh man,” he told CBS News Jan. 9 while driving up to what remained of his Malibu property. “Toast.”
The 47-year-old described the sight of the destruction of the Palisades Fire as “heavy” while fighting back tears.
“You start thinking about all the memories and the different parts of the house and whatnot,” he continued, “and then you see your neighbors’ houses and everything around and your heart just breaks.”
Milo—who revealed that he and his wife had prepared a nursery for their unborn child before the fire—said he watched the flames overtake his home on security cameras before resigning to the reality of the situation.
The historic home of late actor Will Rogers was lost in the Los Angeles fires.
As the fire in the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood—one of several wildfires engulfing Southern California—spread over 17,000 acres, exacerbated by hurricane-speed winds, more than 2,000 structures have burned in its wake. And among those lost in the wake of the devastation include the American vaudeville performer’s 31-room ranch house among other historic buildings at the Will Rogers State Historic Park.
“California State Parks mourns the loss of these treasured natural and cultural resources, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area,” State Parks Director Armando Quintero said in a Jan. 8 release. “Since yesterday afternoon, we are directing all available resources into the emergency response effort and working to secure and protect as much as we can at affected nearby state parks.”
Rogers was one of the most popular actors of the mid-1930s after his vaudeville performances launched him to stardom. He then became known as a radio personality, movie star and avid lover of aviation. And the Hollywood icon—who died in a plane crash in 1935 at age 55—had come to build a ranch that spanned 359 acres in Pacific Palisades, consisting of a massive ranch house, riding trails, stables and even a golf course.
All My Children’s Cameron Mathison Shares Devastating Video of Los Angeles Fire Destroying His Home
The Los Angeles wildfires have claimed Cameron Mathison’s home.
The All My Children alum shared that his Pacific Palisades residence was destroyed by the fire ravaging Southern California as he posted video footage of the blaze’s aftermath. Thankfully, he noted that he and his family were not harmed in the disaster.
“We are safe,” Cameron wrote on Instagram Jan. 8 alongside a video of his property, which showed several flames still burning. “But this is what’s left of our beautiful home.”
In the clip, the 55-year-old—who shares kids Lucas, 21, and Leila, 18, with estranged wife Vanessa Arevalo—showed the charred structure and heaps of debris that remained following the devastating fire.
“Our home where our kids were raised,” his caption continued, “and where they wanted to raise their own someday.”
The soap actor thanked his followers for their well-wishes, adding that he was “sending so many prayers to everyone being affected by these fires.”
After evacuating from his Malibu home, the Star Wars actor detailed his experience with a “personal fire update” on behalf of himself, wife Marilou York and pup Trixie.
“7pm—Evacuated Malibu so last-minute,” the 73-year-old wrote in his Instagram post, “small fires on both sides of the road as we approached PCH.”
“8:15pm—Marilou, Trixie & I arrive at Chelsea’s house in Hollywood,” he said. “Most horrific fire since ’93, STAY SAFE!”
And in hindsight, Mark realized he may have underplayed the size of the fires he witnessed on his way to safety.
“There [were] small fires,” he wrote in the caption of his follow-up, adding, “gimme a break- we were fleeing for our lives. Stay Safe Everyone.”
ADF STAFF
After a recent battle between the allies of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fighters found a cache of unexpected documents. Among them were the passport, driver’s license and other documents belonging to a Colombian mercenary.
In a video posted to the social platform X, formerly Twitter, a man in military fatigues speaks in Arabic as he records each document, all of them belonging to a 33-year-old Colombian corporal born in the Palestinian territories.
“These are the people who are killing us,” one man says in the video.
About 160 Colombian fighters were part of a caravan traveling from Libya into Sudan in mid-November when they were attacked by the SAF-aligned Joint Force of Armed Movements of Darfur. The fighting injured the corporal, whose documents Joint Force fighters released through their video.
The Colombian fighters who were attacked had traveled eight days across the desert from Benghazi, Libya, to support the RSF, according to Colombia-based La Silla Vacía, a news website.
The SAF and RSF spent much of 2024 locked in combat over control of the city of el-Fasher and North Darfur, the only part of the Darfur region to remain out of the RSF’s hands since war broke out in April 2023.
La Silla Vacía acquired additional video and audio recordings from the Colombian mercenaries and spoke directly with some. The fighters reported that they had been sent to Sudan against their will. They said they had been hired by a Colombian company, International Services Agency A4SI (Academy for Security Instruction), to be security guards at oil fields in the United Arab Emirates. After arriving in the UAE, they learned that they would be shipped to Libya. From there, they were sent to Sudan to join the RSF.
One group of Colombian mercenaries was attacked in October a short distance from el-Fasher. Among the dead was Diego Edison Hernández, whose family told the Colombian publication Semana that a private military contractor had recruited him to be a drone pilot. They had little more information about how he died or when his body would be returned to Colombia.
According to Military Watch magazine, the Colombian contractors were financed by the UAE, which remains allied with the RSF and, according to the United Nations, continues to supply it with weapons and support despite official statements to the contrary.
The documents discovered by Joint Force fighters confirmed that the Colombian mercenaries arrived in the UAE in October. In early December, the SAF reported that suicide drones had killed more than 20 Colombians in the Darfur region.
Sudan is the latest war zone in which Colombian mercenaries have come under attack. They also have fought in Ukraine, Yemen and Haiti, where they participated in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
The Colombian mercenaries are just the latest guns for hire to join the brutal battle for Sudan. Other mercenaries have come from the Central African Republic, Chad and Niger. Russia’s Wagner Group, now known as Africa Corps, supplied the RSF with weapons across the Libyan border early in the war.
Mercenary recruitment experts told Spain’s El País newspaper that the Colombians’ experience is typical among a new breed of small organizations that often portray themselves as security companies rather than military contractors.
“The last link in the chain are almost always those known in the industry as ‘third-country nationals,’ who come from Colombia, Perú, El Salvador, Somalia, or Nigeria,” Ulrich Petersohn, an expert in mercenary recruitment at the University of Liverpool told El País. “Without solid passports or money for plane tickets, they are entirely dependent on what the agencies want to do with them.”
For retired Colombian Soldiers, contracts can represent as much as five times their retirement pay, making the offer tempting.
Columbian leaders decried the presence of Colombian mercenaries in Sudan. Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo promised Sudanese officials that Colombia would guarantee the return of its citizens fighting in Sudan.
Colombia recently signed onto the United Nations’ 1989 convention banning the recruitment and training of mercenaries, making it only one of 30 countries to do so. Colombia’s Congress recently passed a measure outlawing organizations that exploit retired military personnel.
Mario Urueña, an expert in global security at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, told El País that the U.N. convention, while lacking widespread support, “goes in the right direction, which is to criminalize the leaders who exploit people.”
The post Colombian Mercenaries, Hired for UAE Security, Face Fire in Sudan first appeared on Africa Defense Forum.
The post Colombian Mercenaries, Hired for UAE Security, Face Fire in Sudan appeared first on Africa Defense Forum.
The Chairman of the Board of the Niger Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Chiedu Ebie, has expressed sadness over sudden death of some persons who were victims of the Sunday tanker fire incident caused by a fallen diesel tanker in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of the state.
The diesel tanker going by reports suffered a brake failure, fell at a traffic light junction and exploded into a ball of fire that burnt four persons to death. Three other persons suffered various degrees of injury in the explosion and the resultant inferno.
In a statement on Sunday January 5, 2025, Mr Ebie condoled with the families of the victims, saying that he was saddened by the occurrence.
The Former Secretary to the Delta state Government also consoled those that lost businesses and means of livelihood to the occurrence, noting that “the damage arising from this ugly development has no doubt worsened the economic hardship of the victims. This is not the best way to begin the year” he said.
Speaking further, Mr Ebie, a former Secretary to the State Government in Delta State, called on Agbor residents to be more cautious and informed.
He advised residents to desist from any act that would endanger the lives of others or put their businesses in unfavourable or difficult positions.
While he consoled the entire Ika nation for this tragic occurrence, Mr. Ebie hopes that a thorough assessment will be conducted by the Local Government Council to determine the exact extent of the damage and losses caused by the inferno.
He finally prayed for the peaceful repose of the departed and that God grants their loved ones the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
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