More than 30 people were killed in the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles in January. As many residents still try to rebuild, the first official review of the emergency response was released Thursday.

Los Angeles

An independent report has found that the emergency response to recent wildfires in Los Angeles was inadequate and unprepared. The review highlighted failures in a decades-old communication network, which led to unclear and sometimes contradictory evacuation warnings. Additional factors included grounded firefighting aircraft due to strong winds, a lack of centralized interagency communication, staffing shortages, and unreliable cell service. Local officials acknowledged the need for investment in new technology to improve real-time evacuation alerts and committed to making improvements. The cause of the fires remains under investigation.

New report blasts California wildfire response

Now to Los Angeles where people are still trying to rebuild after devastating wildfires killed more than 30 people in January. The first official review of the emergency response shows what went wrong in the hours after the fires began. Carter Evans has the story. After the chaotic Palisades and Eaton wildfires incinerated more than 16,000 structures, a new report suggests the emergency response was inadequate and ill-prepared. The independent report found breakdowns in a 38-year-old communication network contributed to unclear and contradictory evacuation warnings. L.A. County Supervisor Catherine Barger represents Altadena. When you read the report, what was your first reaction? There's no one thing that caused the lack of evacuation warning and the notices going out. It was a combination of a lot. Barger says approaching flames couldn't be seen because hurricane-force winds grounded firefighting aircraft. So they did not know that it was moving over to the west. By the time they figured out it was coming down, it had hit. In West Altadena, where 18 people died, many said they never received evacuation alerts. How do we get those warnings out on time? So we invested in an infrastructure system with a new technology that actually in real time can notify our OEM to issue evacuation notices. Technology's there. We need to invest. The report also cites a lack of centralized interagency communication, an emergency management staffing shortage, and unreliable cell service as contributors to the botched response. There are steps we can take to ensure we do better and we will do exactly that. The cause of the fires is still under investigation. For CBS Mornings, I'm Carter Evans in Los Angeles.

A court on Thursday (September 25) sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison over a scheme for late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential run.

Paris

Former French president Sarkozy sentenced to five years in prison

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Washington

Former FBI chief James Comey charged

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Global Tariffs

U.S. to impose new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, some furniture, trucks

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Istanbul

Trump hosts Erdogan as U.S. considers lifting ban on F-35 sales

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Copenhagen

Russia denies involvement in drone flyovers at Danish airports

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Quantico

Hegseth calls rare meeting of hundreds of senior military officers

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Madrid

Middle East Conflict

Spain, Italy send navies to escort Gaza aid flotilla

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Centralia

Feds seize 50,000 pills laced with drug 100 times stronger than fentanyl

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Mahmoud Abbas promises no Hamas in post-war Gaza government

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D.C. midair collision victim's family sues airline, FAA and Army

China led several countries in announcing new climate plans on Wednesday and offered a veiled rebuke of the U.S. president's anti-climate rhetoric a day earlier at the U.N. General Assembly.

Beijing

China sets new emissions goals after Trump rejects climate change

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New York

Leaders at the U.N. push reforms to counter authoritarian rise

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Manhattan

Ukraine Invasion

Rubio meets Russia's Lavrov after Trump shifts tone on Ukraine war

The family of one of the 67 people killed earlier this year when an American Airlines plane and a  U.S. Army helicopter collided over Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against the government and the airline.

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The new Paramount+ documentary "Bodyguard of Lies" highlights the efforts across four presidential administrations to conceal the challenges the U.S. faced during the Afghanistan

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Putin wants to expand war beyond Ukraine, Zelenskyy warns U.N.

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Trump administration rehires hundreds laid off during DOGE cuts

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison if a Paris court convicts him of secretly using funds from the Libyan government of late dictator Moammar Gadhafi to finance his presidential campaign in 2007.

Ex-French President Sarkozy awaits verdict in trial

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Italy sends navy ship to help Gaza aid flotilla after drone attack

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Dallas

Three people shot at ICE facility in Dallas, officials say

The U.S. has long argued China should give up the developing-country status because it is the world’s second-largest economy.

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Trump reverses stance on Ukraine after meeting with Zelenskyy

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Jimmy Kimmel makes emotional return with monologue about free speech

Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year, struck the southern Chinese city of Yangjiang on Wednesday after lashing Taiwan and Hong Kong with ferocious winds and heavy rains.

Yangjiang

Typhoon Ragasa lashes Hong Kong, Taiwan, southern China

Mainland China is bracing for Super Typhoon Ragasa, after the powerful storm caused widespread destruction across the region. In Taiwan, at least 14 people have died in flooding triggered by the cyclone.

Kowloon

Typhoon Ragasa sweeping towards China, 14 killed in Taiwan

A jury has convicted Ryan Routh of attempting to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump on his Florida golf course last year. He was found guilty of all five charges, which included attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer.

West Palm Beach

Ryan Routh found guilty of trying to assassinate Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (September 23) spoke with reporters while meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Trump takes questions during meeting with Zelenskyy

Chipmaker Nvidia said it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, as part of a strategic partnership. CBS MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O'Grady has more details.

Santa Clara

Rise of AI

Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI

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Houston

NASA prepares to send astronauts around the moon

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Breakdown