AP News Digest 6 p.m.

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST. Find the AP’s top photos of the day in Today’s Photo Collection. For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan in AP Newsroom.

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NEW/DEVELOPING

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JIMMY-CARTER-BIDEN-EULOGY; EDUCATION-TRANSGENDER-RIGHTS; IRAN-SWITZERLAND; CONGRESS-IMMIGRATION; ISRAEL-IRAQ-MISSING-WOMAN; CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-TRUMP; GIRLS-STABBING-PLOT, CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-MOOD.

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TOP STORIES

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CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — Firefighters are making progress slowing the major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and caused thousands of people to flee their homes. Ferocious winds that drove the flames and prompted chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat, but major gusts remain a threat. Roughly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders in the Los Angeles area. By Christopher Weber, Julie Watson and John Seewar. SENT: 1,020 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-THE LATEST; CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-THINGS-TO-KNOW. Find a selection of related wildfire photos in AP Newsroom.

CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-ESCAPING-THE-FLAMES — Thousands of residents made harrowing escapes as devastating wildfires bore down on the Los Angeles area. Some fled by foot, some by car and some by the grace of good Samaritans. Aaron Samson said strangers twice picked up him and his 83-year-old father-in-law as they fled from Pacific Palisades. The second time came as he was helping his father-in-law shuffle down the street with a walker, with flames burning on both sides. By Jaimie Ding, Beatrice Dupuy, Heather Hollingsworth, Gene Johnson and Claire Rush. SENT: 1,260 words, photos. WITH: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES-PHOTO GALLERY — Photos capture how wildfires ravaged through Southern California.

JIMMY-CARTER-FUNERAL — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is being honored with the pageantry of a funeral in the nation’s capital before a second service in his tiny Georgia hometown that launched a Depression-era farm boy to the world stage. The dual funerals conclude six days of national funeral rites for the 39th president who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. President Joe Biden eulogized Carter in Washington. Carter’s other living successors attended along with other dignitaries. By Bill Barrow and Chris Megerian. SENT: 1,060 words, photos. WITH: JIMMY-CARTER-FUNERAL-THE-LATEST; JIMMY-CARTER-BIDEN-EULOGY — Text of Biden's eulogy; JIMMY-CARTER-FUNERAL-FIVE-PRESIDENTS — From Carter’s funeral, an American snapshot: A singular image, five presidents, 379 years of history; JIMMY-CARTER-FUNERAL-MICHELLE-OBAMA — Michelle Obama doesn’t attend the funeral; JIMMY-CARTER-FUNERAL-JASON-CARTER — Transcript: Jason Carter remembers his grandfather's life, achievements and frugality; JIMMY-CARTER-FUNERAL-QUOTES. Find a selection of related Carter funeral photos in AP Newsroom.

VENEZUELA — Aides to Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado say she was detained, but they’ve been contradicted by authorities who accuse government opponents of trying to spark an international crisis. The confusing episode has capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power. By Regina Garcia Cano and Joshua Goodman. SENT: 940 words, photos, video.

MIDEAST-WARS — More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry said, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict. The ministry said 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. It has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. By Wafaa Shurafa and Fatma Khaled. SENT: 720 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: ISRAEL-IRAQ-MISSING-WOMAN — Israel rallies global support to win release of a woman believed kidnapped in Iraq.

TRUMP-IMPERIALISM — Donald Trump is talking about seizing the Panama Canal and Greenland — perhaps by military force — and saying he will use economic coercion to pressure Canada to become the nation’s 51st state. Such talk about undermining sovereign borders and using military force against allies, even if said lightly, is a stunning departure from decades-old norms about territorial integrity. By Jill Colvin and Rob Gillies. SENT: 1,210 words, photos. WITH: ITALY-MELONI — Italy’s Meloni hopes to attend Trump inauguration as she downplays his Greenland and Panama comments.

SUPREME COURT-TIK-TOK — In a collision between free speech and national security, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the fate of TikTok, a digital age cultural phenomenon that roughly half the U.S. population uses for entertainment and information. TikTok says it plans to shut down the social media platform in the U.S. by Jan. 19 unless the Supreme Court strikes down or otherwise delays the effective date of a law aimed at forcing TikTok’s sale by its Chinese parent company. By Mark Sherman. SENT: 820 words, photos.

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CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

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CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-ENTERTAINMENT — Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. SENT: 950 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-EVACUATION-TIPS — Evacuating a wildfire area can be scary, but experts say people can significantly improve their own safety with a little preparation and situational awareness. SENT: 950 words, photo.

CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-TRUMP — As the cataclysmic wildfires rage across Los Angeles, President-elect Donald Trump isn’t offering much sympathy. Instead, he’s claiming he could do a better job managing the crisis, spewing falsehoods and casting blame on state’s Democratic governor. SENT 870 words, photos, video.

CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-MOOD — Like any morning in Los Angeles, pedestrians strode by the famed Chateau Marmont hotel, customers lined up at Starbucks on Sunset Boulevard and horns bleated from cars tangled in gridlocked intersections. But overhead was a thick dome of wildfire smoke that turned daybreak into an eerie dusk. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 7 p.m. With CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-HOW-TO-HELP.

CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-AIR-POLLUTION — All across Southern California, people are wearing masks. Air pollution from the wildfires presents huge risks, both short-term and long-term, for people who are breathing it in. SENT: 600 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES-LANDMARKS — The high school where Brian De Palma brough Stephen King’s “Carrie” to life, Will Rogers’ ranch house and a motel owned by William Randolph Hearst are among some of the famous structures that have been damaged or destroyed by the California wildfires. SENT: 640 words, photos.

You can find the AP’s California Wildfires coverage plan here.

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MIDEAST WARS

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LEBANON-PRESIDENT — Lebanon’s parliament has voted to elect army commander Joseph Aoun as the head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum. SENT: 990 words, photos, audio.

SYRIA-TURKEY-TISHRIN-DAM — A key dam in northern Syria has become a flash point in the conflict between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups, which has intensified in the weeks since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive. SENT: 590 words, photos.

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MORE NEWS

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TITANS-WYCHECK-CTE — Researchers confirm NFL tight end Frank Wycheck, the “Music City Miracle” star, had CTE. SENT: 550 words, photos.

MERCURY-FLYBY — A spacecraft has beamed back some of the best close-up photos yet of Mercury’s north pole. SENT: 210 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS

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TRUMP-HUSH-MONEY — New York’s highest court declined to block Donald Trump’s upcoming sentencing in his hush money case, leaving the U.S. Supreme Court as the president-elect’s likely last option to prevent the hearing from taking place Friday. SENT: 480 words, photos, audio.

GUANTANAMO-9/11-FAMILIES — Sept. 11 survivors and victims’ relatives have mixed feelings about a planned plea deal for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. SENT: 990 words, photos. WITH: GUANTANAMO-9/11 — Lawyers for Mohammed press to let his guilty plea go forward. (sent).

CONGRESS-IMMIGRATION — Senate Democrats vote with Republicans to advance legislation that would require federal authorities to detain unauthorized immigrants who have been accused of certain crimes. SENT: 480 words, photo.

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NATIONAL

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EDUCATION-TRANSGENDER-RIGHTS — The Biden administration’s Title IX rules expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students have been struck down nationwide after a federal judge in Kentucky found that they overstepped the president’s authority. SENT: 650 words; photo.

WINTER-BLASTS — Snow and icy conditions threatened to paralyze parts of the U.S. South from Texas to Alabama, as officials closed schools, canceled or delayed flights and warned residents in some of the worst-hit areas to stay off roads as a winter storm moves east. SENT: 750 words, photos, video, audio.

GIRLS-STABBING-PLOT — A judge has ruled that a Wisconsin woman who stabbed her sixth grade classmate to please horror character Slender Man can be released from a psychiatric hospital. SENT: 270 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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GERMANY-MUSK — Tech billionaire Elon Musk live-streamed his chat on his social media platform X with a leader of Germany’s far-right party, amplifying its message ahead of an upcoming national election and raising concerns across Europe about potential meddling by the world’s richest man. SENT: 650 words, photos.

IRAN-ANALYSIS — Iran is reeling from a cratering economy and stinging military setbacks across its sphere of influence in the Middle East. SENT: 1,150 words, photos. WITH: IRAN-SWITZERLAND — Iran says Swiss national held on espionage charges kills himself in prison.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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UKRAINE-MILITARY-AID — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin used their final meeting in Germany to press the incoming Trump administration to not give up on Kyiv’s fight. SENT: 880 words, photos.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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CLIMATE-OLD-ICE-CORE — An international team of scientists say they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, penetrating nearly 2 miles to Antarctic bedrock to reach ice that’s at least 1.2 million years old. SENT: 480 words, photos, video, audio.

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WELLNESS

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BE-WELL-WORKING-SETTING-BOUNDARIES — Setting boundaries at work can be tricky. Many people find it difficult to say no, especially to a manager. But experts say learning to turn down a request or an invitation is essential for protecting our health. SENT: 1,070 words, photo.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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MUSIC-SESAME STREET — The 55th season of “Sesame Street” features a star-studded lineup: SZA, Chris Stapleton, Noah Kahan, Reneé Rapp and Samara Joy. By Music Writer Maria Sherman. SENT: 740 words, photos, video.

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SPORTS

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CFP-ORANGE-BOWL — In a battle of two storied programs seeking the national title, Penn State takes on Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts at 7:30 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Randy Herschaft and Jerome Minerva can be reached at 800-845-8450, ext. 1600. For photos, ext. 1900. For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.

This image provided by European Space Agency shows close-up photos of Mercury showing northern plains taken by the European-Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo. (European Space Agency via AP)

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Firefighters protect what is left of homes from the Palisades Fire, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Lebanese cabinet ministers applaud the newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, standing at the top, as gives his first speech at Parliament after being sworn in as president in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Children walk across a snowy meadow near Wernigerode, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

A joint services military body bearer team carries the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter from the U.S. Capitol on the way to a state funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The ruins of a burned property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro display a Venezuelan flag during a protest the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez waves a Venezuelan flag during a meeting with supporters in Panama City, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera)

Guests pay their respects as the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter lies in state at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Washington. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump pause at the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter as he lies in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Residents are evacuated from a senior living facility as the Eaton Fire approaches Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, only first game given, return to Mantia's fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through the area, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters work from a deck as the Palisades Fire burns a beach front property Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Firefighters team up to battle the Eaton Fire Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is dropped by helicopter on the burning Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The Palisades Fire burns a beach front property Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has succeeded in temporarily blocking a plea deal for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that would spare him the risk of the death penalty for al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia federal appeals court follows an unusual request by the government to postpone a deal reached by the Defense Department’s own officials.

It stalls an attempt to wrap up more than two decades of military prosecution — beset by legal challenges — in one of the deadliest attacks in U.S. history.

It was a last-ditch government request to prevent Mohammed from entering a guilty plea Friday. Family members of some of the nearly 3,000 people killed in al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks already were gathered at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hear it.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration doubled down Thursday on its unusual court battle to derail a plea deal that the government itself had reached with accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

It urged a federal appeals panel to block Mohammed's guilty plea from going forward as scheduled Friday at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Defense lawyers described the attempts to throw out the agreement as the latest in two decades of “fitful” and “negligent” mishandling of the case by the U.S. military and successive administrations.

The fight has put the Biden administration at odds with the U.S. military officials it had appointed to oversee justice in al-Qaida's attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people. It was the latest tumult and uncertainty in two decades of troubled prosecution tied to one of the deadliest attacks on American soil.

A new filing Thursday from Justice Department lawyers argued that the gravity of the “extraordinarily important case” warranted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin intervening to throw out the plea deal.

Asked about the appeal Thursday after a meeting in Germany with allies about military support for Ukraine, Austin told reporters he had not changed his mind on the matter and cited the court challenge in declining further comment.

The deal, negotiated over two years and approved by military prosecutors and the Pentagon's senior official for Guantanamo in late July, would spare Mohammed and two co-defendants the risk of the death penalty. It also obligates them to answer any lingering questions that families of the victims have about the attacks.

Defense attorneys say the plea agreements are already in effect and that Austin has no legal authority to throw them out after the fact.

At Guantanamo, preparations have moved ahead for Friday's proceedings, and family members of some of the victims already have gathered. If the hearing goes forward, Mohammed would swear an oath in the military courtroom and then defense attorney Gary Sowards would enter pleas on his behalf to 2,976 counts of murder, along with other charges.

Pleas by co-defendants Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al Hawsawi would follow later this month. Attorneys say months of sentencing hearings to follow would give the government an opportunity to outline its case and allow families to speak of their loss.

The federal appeals panel appears on track to rule Thursday on the emergency request by the Biden administration.

Legal and logistical challenges have bogged down the 9/11 case in the 17 years since charges were filed against Mohammed, who prosecutors say conceived the idea of using hijacked planes in the attacks. The case remains in pretrial hearings, with no trial date set.

Years of defense and prosecution testimony have dragged on about how much the torture of Mohammed and other defendants in CIA custody renders their later statements unusable in court.

With that in mind, military prosecutors notified families of the victims this summer that the senior Pentagon official overseeing Guantanamo had approved a plea deal. They called it “the best path to finality and justice.”

Austin unexpectedly announced Aug. 2 that he was scrapping the agreement. He argued that a decision on death penalties in an attack as grave as Sept. 11 should only be made by the defense secretary.

The Biden administration went to the District of Columbia federal appeals court this week after the Guantanamo judge and a military review panel rejected Austin’s intervention.

Mohammed’s attorneys argued that Austin’s “extraordinary intervention in this case is solely a product of his lack of oversight over his own duly appointed delegate,” meaning the senior Pentagon official overseeing Guantanamo.

The Justice Department said the government would be irreparably harmed if the guilty pleas were accepted.

It said the government would be denied a chance for a public trial and the opportunity to “seek capital punishment against three men charged with a heinous act of mass murder that caused the death of thousands of people and shocked the nation and the world.”

AP reporter Tara Copp contributed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

FILE - In this April 17, 2019, photo, reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin makes a speech at Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

FILE - This Monday, Dec. 8, 2008 courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin and reviewed by the U.S. military, shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, center, and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash, left, attending a pre-trial session at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool, File)