NATIONAL NEWS

What life looks like a year after the deadly Los Angeles wildfires in photos

Jan 4, 2026, 9:17 PM

A tattered U.S. flag flaps in the wind over the remains of a mobile home park that was destroyed in...

A tattered U.S. flag flaps in the wind over the remains of a mobile home park that was destroyed in the Palisades Fire along the Pacific Ocean, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In an empty lot in Altadena, California, the ground is covered by a soft blanket of small white wildflowers. But before the blooms, there was toxic ash and melted metal, as well as the remnants of family heirlooms and a home that once stood. One year after the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles, communities are starting to rebuild. Some lucky residents already have constructed new homes.

The two fires that broke out Jan. 7, 2025, killed more than 30 people and destroyed over 17,000 homes and buildings in Los Angeles County. The Palisades Fire scorched LA’s coastal Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The Eaton Fire razed the town of Altadena northeast of LA. Many hope to create something new as they mourn what was lost.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

National News

French Air and Space Force Rafale fighter jets fly over the snow-covered mountains of Alaska, durin...

Associated Press

French military jets launch a 40-day global flight to project power and strengthen alliances

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AP) — Four fighter jets rose into the air over a French military base and settled into formation at the start of a 40-day flight taking them through the icy Arctic and steamy tropics before ending in a desert. The aircraft left Istres air base in southern France on Tuesday […]

6 minutes ago

FILE - A student wipes his face while his mother takes a photo of him with a sign on the first day ...

Associated Press

In an age of instant answers, educators say there’s a case for letting kids struggle a little

When children forget their lunch, can’t solve a math problem or don’t know how to get somewhere, the instinct for parents can be to step in immediately. But sometimes, the problem is an opportunity. Developmental experts and educators say children need chances to struggle with everyday problems because figuring them out is a skill that […]

35 minutes ago

FILE- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, is seen shortly after his capture du...

Associated Press

Trial remains elusive for purported mastermind accused of plotting 9/11 attacks

NEW YORK (AP) — Two decades after U.S. authorities locked Khalid Sheikh Mohammed away at a military detention center in Cuba, the purported mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks sometimes seems barely any closer to being put on trial than the day he arrived. A judge recently set a 2028 date for Mohammed to finally […]

7 hours ago

An American flag flies, with the lower Manhattan skyline in background, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, i...

Associated Press

US marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, ‘moments that divide time’

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11, remembering the shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaida attacks on symbols of U.S. might and prosperity. Friday’s milestone anniversary will bring memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims’ names — and volunteer projects […]

7 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before he boards Air Force One at Dallas Fort Worth Inte...

Associated Press

Trump to commemorate 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to observe Friday’s 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by attending a ceremony at the Pentagon commemorating the lives lost when al-Qaida militants hijacked planes and killed nearly 3,000 people in three locations, upending American foreign policy and national security. It’s the second year in a […]

8 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP...

Associated Press

Analysis: Trump’s solution to Republicans’ midterm troubles is more Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — During his first address to a Republican convention in 2016, Donald Trump had an audacious message to a nation yearning for change: “I alone can fix it.” A decade later and nearing the midpoint of his final term, Trump is still pitching himself as America’s essential repairman. It’s a strategy that’s helped […]

8 hours ago

What life looks like a year after the deadly Los Angeles wildfires in photos