WASHINGTON — The Justice Department can publicly release its investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case, a federal judge said Monday — the latest ruling in a court dispute over the highly anticipated document days before Trump is set to take office again.

But a temporary injunction barring the immediate release of the report remains in effect until Tuesday, and it’s unlikely Judge Aileen Cannon’s order will be the last word on the matter. Defense lawyers may seek to challenge it all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Cannon had earlier temporarily blocked the department from releasing the entire report on former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump that led to two separate criminal cases. Cannon’s latest order on Monday cleared the way for the release of the volume on Trump’s 2020 election interference case.

She set a hearing for Friday on whether the department can release to lawmakers the volume on Trump’s classified documents case. The department has said it will not publicly disclose that volume as long as criminal proceedings against two of Trump’s co-defendants remain pending.

Smith resigned his position on Friday after transmitting his report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Justice Department revealed in a footnote in a court filing over the weekend.

The ruling, if it stands, could open the door for the public to learn additional details in the coming days about Trump’s frantic but ultimately failed effort to cling to power in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.

But even as Cannon permitted the release of the volume on election interference, she halted the Justice Department from immediately sharing with congressional officials a separate volume related to Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Lawyers for the Republican president-elect’s two co-defendants, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, had argued that the release of the report would prejudice them given that criminal proceedings remain ongoing against them in the form of a Justice Department appeal of Cannon’s dismissal of charges.

As a compromise, the Justice Department said that it would not make that document public but would instead share it with select congressional officials for their private review. But Cannon halted those plans and instead scheduled a hearing for Friday afternoon.

“All parties agree that Volume II expressly and directly concerns this criminal proceeding,” she wrote. “All parties also appear to agree that public release of Volume II would be inconsistent with the fair trial rights of Defendants Nauta and De Oliveira and with Department of Justice Policy governing the release of information during the pendency of criminal proceedings.”
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Firefighters in southern California are battling to bring multiple major Los Angeles area wildfires under control Monday as forecasters warn of renewed strong winds that could cause “explosive fire growth.”

The new wind threat, with the biggest concern happening Tuesday, is expected to bring sustained winds of 80 kph and gusts up to about 110 kph, the National Weather Service warned.

Strong winds and dry conditions in an area that has not received significant rainfall for more than eight months helped fuel the fires that have already killed at least 24 people and caused billions of dollars in damage since they began a week ago.

A brief reprieve in the winds in recent days allowed firefighters aided by air drops of water and fire retardant to make some progress in bringing the blazes under control.

Of the three major fires still burning in the Los Angeles area, Cal Fire said late Sunday the Palisades Fire was 13% contained and has burned 96 square kilometers.

Eight of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area, officials said.

Sixteen deaths were from the Eaton Fire, located farther inland in North Pasadena and Altadena, which was 27% contained and has burned nearly 60 square kilometers.

Another blaze, the Hurst Fire in the Sylmar area, was 89% contained, Cal Fire said, after burning more than three square kilometers.

The fires together have destroyed more than 12,000 structures.

About 100,000 people remained under evacuation orders late Sunday, with officials saying people would not be allowed back in fire risk areas while the new wind warnings were still in place.

Some schools that had canceled classes last week were resuming operations Monday.  The National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers were also set to resume home games Monday after canceling games due to the fires.

Local officials expressed fears that as the fires spread, they could endanger more highly populated areas and threaten some of the city’s key landmarks, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, which houses renowned art works, and the University of California, Los Angeles, one of the top public U.S. universities. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the wildfires could be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, “in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope.”  

A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion. The damages are so high in part because much of the housing that has burned to the ground is among the costliest in the country.  

Newsom called for an independent review of how the fires raged on, with firefighters at times facing a shortage of water to fight the blazes as they quickly spread out of control. 

The governor said he is asking the same questions “that people out on the streets are asking, yelling about, ‘What the hell happened? What happened to the water system?’ 

Newsom said he wants to know whether the water supply was simply overwhelmed, “Or were 99 mile-an-hour winds determinative and there was really no firefight that could’ve been more meaningful?” 

Firefighting 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. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday he told officials to prepare for the possibility of sending 150 Ukrainian firefighters to help the effort in California.

“The situation there is extremely difficult, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives,” Zelenskyy said.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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President-elect Donald Trump pledges to reduce government spending when he takes office. He has tasked billionaire businessman Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who’s worth an estimated $950 million, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a proposed presidential advisory commission. It’s not a new concept. U.S. leaders have tried to reduce the role of government since the founding of the republic.
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New York — On a quiet weekend in movie theaters, while much of Hollywood’s attention was on the wildfires that continue to rage in Los Angeles, Lionsgate’s “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” debuted atop the box office with $15.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Mid-January is often a slow moviegoing period, and that was slightly exacerbated by the closures of about 10 theaters in Los Angeles, the country’s top box-office market.

A sequel to the Gerard Butler 2018 heist thriller, “Den of Thieves 2” performed similarly to the original. The first installment, released by STX, opened with $15.2 million seven years ago. O’Shea Jackson Jr. co-stars in the sequel, which debuted in 3,008 North American theaters.

Butler’s films are becoming something of a regular feature in January. He also starred in “Plane,” which managed $32.1 million after launching on Jan. 13 in 2023.

“Den of Thieves 2,” made for about $40 million, was a bit more costly to make. Audiences liked it well enough, giving it a “B+” CinemaScore. Reviews (58% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) weren’t particularly good. But it counted as Lionsgate’s first No.1 opening since “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” in November 2023.

Also entering wide release over the weekend was the Robbie Williams movie “Better Man,” one of the more audacious spins on the music biopic in recent years. Rather than going the more tradition routes of Elton John (“Rocketman”) or Elvis Presley (“Elvis”), the British popstar is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee in Michael Gracey’s film.

The Paramount Pictures release, produced for $110 million and acquired by Paramount for $25 million, didn’t catch on much better than Williams’ previous forays into the United States. It tanked, with $1.1 million in ticket sales from 1,291 locations. Gracey’s previous feature, 2017’s “The Greatest Showman” ($459 million worldwide), fared far better in theaters. Reviews, however, have been very good for “Better Man.”

It was bested by “The Last Showgirl,” the Las Vegas drama starring Pamela Anderson. The Roadside Attractions release expanded to 870 theaters and collected $1.5 million.

Also outdoing “Better Man” was Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist.” Coming off winning best drama at the Golden Globes, the A24 postwar epic grossed a hefty $1.4 million from just 68 locations. It will expand wider in the coming weeks.

The weekend’s lion share of business went to holiday holdovers, including “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” “Nosferatu” and “Moana 2.”

In its fourth week of release, Barry Jenkins “Mufasa” continued to do well, adding $13.2 million to bring its total to $539.7 million worldwide. Also on its fourth weekend, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” padded its $384.8 million global total with $11 million. Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” the surprise hit of the Christmas period, collected $6.8 million in ticket sales, bringing the vampire tale to $81.1 million domestically.

The Walt Disney Co.’s “Moana 2,” in its seventh week of release, added $6.5 million to bring its global tally to $989.8 million. In the coming days, it will become the third Disney film released in 2024 to notch $1 billion, joining “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.”

Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,” $15.5 million.

2. “Mufasa: The Lion King,” $13.2 million.

3. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” $11 million.

4. “Nosferatu,” $6.8 million.

5. “Moana 2,” $6.5 million.

6. “A Complete Unknown,” $5 million.

7. “Wicked,” $5 million.

8. “Babygirl,” $3.1 million.

9. “Game Changer,” $1.9 million.

10. “The Last Showgirl,” $1.5 million.
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SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO — The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday struck down abortion restrictions by conservative cities and counties, helping to ensure the state remains a go-to destination for people from other states with bans.

The unanimous opinion, in response to a request from state Attorney General Raúl Torrez, reinforces the state’s position as having some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country.

Attorneys representing the cities of Hobbs and Clovis and Lea and Roosevelt counties had argued that provisions of a federal “anti-vice” law known as the Comstock Act block courts from striking down local abortion ordinances.

But Justice C. Shannon Bacon, writing for the majority opinion, said state law precludes cities and counties from restricting abortion or regulating abortion clinics.

“The ordinances violate this core precept and invade the Legislature’s authority to regulate access to and provision of reproductive healthcare,” she wrote. “We hold the ordinances are preempted in their entirety.”

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez praised the court’s ruling Thursday, saying that the core of the argument was that state laws preempted any action by local governments to engage in activities that would infringe on the constitutional rights of citizens.

“The bottom line is simply this: Abortion access is safe and secure in New Mexico,” he said. “It’s enshrined in law by the recent ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court and thanks to the work of the New Mexico Legislature.”

New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez called access to health care a basic fundamental right in New Mexico.

“It doesn’t take a genius to understand the statutory framework that we have. Local governments don’t regulate health care in New Mexico. It is up to the state,” the Albuquerque Democrat said.

Opposition to abortion runs deep in New Mexico communities along the border with Texas, which has one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S.

But Democrats, who control every statewide elected office in New Mexico and hold majorities in the state House and Senate, have moved to shore up access to abortion — before and after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, eliminating the nationwide right to abortion.

In 2021, the New Mexico Legislature repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring access to abortion even after the Roe v. Wade reversal.

And in 2023, Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill that overrides local ordinances aimed at limiting abortion access and enacted a shield law that protects abortion providers from investigations by other states.

In September, construction began on a state-funded reproductive health and abortion clinic in southern New Mexico that will cater to local residents and people who travel from neighboring states.

The new clinic is scheduled for completion by early 2026 to provide services ranging from medical and procedural abortions to contraception, cervical cancer screenings and education about adoptions.

In Thursday’s opinion, justices said they “strongly admonish” Roosevelt County, in particular, for an ordinance that would have allowed individuals to file lawsuits demanding damages of more than $100,000 for violations of the county’s abortion ordinance.

The provision would have created “a private right of action and damages award that is clearly intended to punish protected conduct,” the court said in its opinion.

Erin Hawley, a vice president at Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based Christian legal advocacy group, is an attorney who argued on behalf of Roosevelt County in the case. On Thursday, she criticized the court’s decision and emphasized its limitations.

“Roosevelt County and other New Mexico localities should be able to enforce ordinances that comply with federal law and protect the lives of their citizens,” said Hawley, the wife of U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. “We’re grateful that the New Mexico Supreme Court did not abandon common sense and find a so-called right to abortion in the state constitution.”

It was not immediately clear whether the ruling can be appealed in federal court or influence broader efforts to apply Comstock Act restrictions on abortion. The New Mexico Supreme Court opinion explicitly declined to address conflicts with federal law, basing its decision solely on state provisions.

Austin, Texas-based attorney Jonathan Mitchell, a former Texas solicitor general and architect of that state’s strict abortion ban, said he looked forward “to litigating these issues in other states and bringing the meaning of the federal Comstock Act to the Supreme Court of the United States.” 
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