LA Post: California residents recall harrowing escape from fires

(CNN) — The wildfires ravaging Los Angeles County have forced tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes, only to return later to find piles of smoldering debris. Learn how you can help the evacuees and firefighters impacted by this unprecedented disaster.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• Firefighters are preparing for a return of gusty winds as their battle against deadly Los Angeles wildfires enters its sixth day. Crews are reporting some progress, but dangerous Santa Ana wind conditions may pick up on Monday. Follow live updates. Meanwhile a cut to the fire department’s 2025 budget and its commitment to recruiting a more diverse force have come under attack.
• Donald Trump was sentenced without penalty in the New York hush money case after a symbolic — and historic and unprecedented — hearing following the first felony conviction of a former and soon-to-be sitting president. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
• A majority of the Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold a controversial ban on TikTok over concerns about its ties to China, with justices lobbing pointed questions at lawyers for the social media app and a group of its content creators. The ban is set to take effect on January 19.
• Special counsel Jack Smith resigned from the Justice Department. The filing comes amid a legal fight to stop Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing the special counsel’s report of his investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the alleged mishandling of classified documents.
• Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt of court for the second time in a week, as the former New York mayor and top Trump lawyer’s fall from grace continues because of the false information he spread after the 2020 election. The judge called his behavior “outrageous and shameful.”

The week ahead

Monday
SpaceX is aiming to launch Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, on its seventh test flight from its facility in South Texas. SpaceX plans to eventually use Starship to carry convoys of people to the moon and Mars. It’s also the vehicle that NASA selected to land American astronauts on the lunar surface as soon as 2026.

Tuesday
The Senate Armed Services Committee is set to hold a confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for secretary of defense. Last month, a group of Democrats on the committee sent a letter to Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, arguing that allegations related to Hegseth’s workplace behavior and treatment of women should disqualify him from leading the Pentagon. Hegseth has denied wrongdoing.

There will also be a confirmation hearing for former congressman Doug Collins, Trump’s pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Wednesday
Additional Senate hearings for several of Trump’s other Cabinet picks — including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Pam Bondi as attorney general — are scheduled on Capitol Hill.

On the economic front, we’ll get the last reading of inflation for 2024 when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Consumer Price Index for December. That snapshot of the month and the full year lands two weeks before the Federal Reserve is scheduled to hold its next meeting on interest rates. Policymakers cut rates by a quarter point when they met in December.

President Joe Biden will deliver a farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. ET. The last time Biden delivered remarks from there was on July 24, when he explained why he was dropping out of the presidential race.

Thursday
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for billionaire hedge fund executive Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary.

Listen in

One Thing: 🎧 Fires and family
In this episode of the “One Thing” podcast, CNN’s David Rind speaks to two Los Angeles residents about what comes next after their homes burned down in the raging wildfires. Listen here.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
2025 will be packed with new seasons of returning shows and a few prequels sprinkled in with some impressive DNA. Check out CNN’s selection of some of the most-anticipated titles on TV and streaming this year.

In theaters
“September 5” chronicles the terrorist attack on the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics and the ABC Sports team on site that broadcast the tragic events in real time to a worldwide audience.

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
After 272 regular season games, the NFL is in the midst of its wild-card playoff round. On Saturday, the Houston Texans overcame a slow start to rout the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Baltimore Ravens dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers. Today, the Denver Broncos face the Buffalo Bills, the Green Bay Packers play the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The final wild-card matchup takes place Monday night, when the Minnesota Vikings battle the Los Angeles Rams.

In college football, the final two teams have punched their tickets to the national championship game on January 20 after Notre Dame edged Penn State and Ohio State beat Texas.

Major League Baseball banned two fans who interfered with Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts during a World Series game at Yankee Stadium from attending any games at big league ballparks.

The Australian Open tennis tournament — the first grand slam of 2025 — is underway in Melbourne.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s weekly news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was!

Play me off …

‘Down Under’
The start of the Australian Open is a great excuse to resurface this video from the 1980s, which is a near-perfect marriage of song lyrics and video exposition. (Click here to view)