At least 30,000 residents in Southern California were forced to evacuate due to multiple devastating wildfires that have destroyed thousands of acres in the area. 

Tesla sales fell last year for the first time in more than a decade, as demand faltered and rivals gained pace.

The company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, delivered almost 1.79 million cars last year, down about 1% from 1.8 million in 2023.

Tesla reported its first decline in annual deliveries on Thursday, as the automaker handed over fewer-than-expected electric vehicles in the fourth quarter and incentives failed to boost demand for its aging line-up of models.

Shares of the company closed down 6.1%, indicating investor worries over the challenges facing CEO Elon Musk, who expected promotions including zero-interest financing to power a “slight growth” in deliveries in 2024.

Automakers closed 2024 with strong sales in the United States in the final three months of the year, helped by a surge in demand for electric models.

The gains were led by General Motors, which said on Friday that its fourth-quarter sales rose 21 percent from a year earlier, to more than 755,000 cars and light trucks. Its electric-vehicle sales in the quarter more than doubled, to nearly 44,000, making G.M. the second-largest E.V. seller after Tesla.

The White House on Thursday announced a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 61% to 66% below 2005 levels in the next decade. The incoming Trump administration isn’t likely to honor the commitment. 

“The Biden Administration may be about to leave office, but we’re confident in America’s ability to rally around this goal,” John Podesta, senior adviser to the president for international climate policy, said in a call with reporters. 

In the final days of his administration, President Biden has set a new climate goal for slashing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. However, it comes as his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, has signaled he is not interested in global climate negotiations.

The U.S. formally submitted its new goal Thursday to the United Nations. It calls for a 61% to 66% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 compared to 2005 levels, the White House said, with an overarching goal of achieving net zero emissions by no later than 2050. 

President Biden announced an audacious goal for America to reduce its carbon emissions by two thirds with barely weeks left in his administration.Biden's White House announced the new goal in a public statement. It calls for the U.S. to massively reduce its carbon emissions by 2035, invoking the Paris Agreement."Today, as the United States continues to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, President Biden is announcing a new climate target for the United States: a 61-66 percent reduction in 2035 from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas...

This year is now almost certain to be the hottest year on record, data shows. It will also be the first to have an average temperature of more than 1.5C above preindustrial levels, marking a further escalation of the climate crisis.

November was Earth’s second-warmest month in 175 years of record-keeping, and the year is all but certain to be the warmest on record, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Average worldwide land and ocean surface temperatures for the month were 2.41 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 55.2-degree average in the 20th century. Only last November, which was 0.14 degrees warmer, surpassed this year.

Earth just experienced its second-warmest November on record — second only to 2023 — making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured, according to a report Monday by European climate service Copernicus.