Governor declared emergency in several counties, with near white-out snow conditions in parts of the Sierra Nevada

A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rain and gusty winds leading to evacuation warnings for mudslides in parts of the southern part of the state, bringing near white-out snow conditions in the mountains and hazardous travel for millions of holiday drivers.

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Los Angeles.

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© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

From front-page news to powerful moments you may have missed, this gallery showcases today’s top photos chosen by Associated Press photo editors.

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

The Justice Department said Wednesday that finishing the release of all of the Jeffrey Epstein files could take a “few more weeks,” further delaying compliance with a Dec. 19 deadline set by Congress

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From Bethlehem to Beijing, people around the world are celebrating the Christmas season. A polar bear mascot boards an elevator during holiday revelry. Swimmers plunge into frigid waters off Northern Ireland for a charity event. Singers fill a stadium in Indonesia.

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

A private jet carrying Libya’s military chief, four other officers, and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after takeoff from Turkey’s capital, killing everyone on board.

Critics say deployment is unwarranted and could cause fear in the city, which has seen a decrease in violent crime rates

The Trump administration is deploying 350 national guard troops to New Orleans ahead of the new year, launching another federal deployment in the city at the same time that an immigration crackdown led by border patrol is under way.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Tuesday that guard members, as they have in other deployments in large cities, will be tasked with supporting federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Parnell added that the national guard troops will be deployed through February.

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© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

Dec. 17–23, 2025

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The lawyers said that Combs was treated harshly at sentencing by a federal judge who let evidence surrounding charges he was acquitted of unjustly influence the punishment.

In a motion to dismiss made public on Tuesday, Rozier’s lawyers argued that the government’s theory of the case — that he prevented sportsbooks from making informed decisions about accepting certain bets — runs afoul of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the federal wire fraud statute.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, praised President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for coordinating the deployment and predicted the Guard’s presence would have a positive impact.

Ben Sasse, a former U.S. Senator for Nebraska, has announced he has been diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer.

© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Powerball jackpot has jumped to an eye-popping $1.7 billion, after the 46th drawing passed without a big winner.

Bourbon maker Jim Beam is halting production at one of its distilleries in Kentucky for at least a year as the whiskey industry navigates tariffs from the Trump administration and slumping demand for a product that needs years of aging before it is ready.

Mexican Navy plane crashes near Galveston, killing at least 2.

Three inmates — including one who was being held on a murder charge — have escaped from a county jail just east of Atlanta, authorities said.

Kansas has suspended men's basketball assistant coach Joe Dooley after he was arrested late Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence and failure to stop at an accident, the school said in a statement Sunday.

Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff, died from his injuries.

Drake Maye helped the Patriots defeat the Ravens on Sunday behind a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.