NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Deadly fire: Two children and a woman died in a house fire Friday in Baton Rouge, La., where a neighbor watched in horror as another young woman ran from the home with her clothes on fire. A 19-yearold woman and a 5-year-old boy were taken to a hospital in critical condition, fire officials said. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known. Louisiana is experiencing a surge in fire-related deaths — some of which are likely due to the use of space heaters during the recent spate of cold weather, the state fire marshal’s office said. Since December, fire officials have responded to more than six residential fires that resulted in more than 10 deaths.
2 Homeless eviction: Orange County officials are planning to clear an extensive homeless encampment on a riverbed trail within weeks. Authorities will post notices Tuesday that the hundreds of people living in tents on the 2-mile stretch near Angel Stadium in Anaheim will need to move. Supervisor Todd Spitzer said the county will clear the encampment on Jan. 22. The county has long said it eventually planned to clear the encampment that has ballooned in recent years along with a rise in homelessness. Homeless advocates say the plan will simply shuffle homeless people elsewhere due to a lack of housing.
3 Border wall: The Trump administration has proposed spending $18 billion over 10 years to significantly extend the border wall with Mexico, providing one of its most detailed blueprints of how the president hopes to carry out a signature campaign pledge. The proposal by Customs and Border Protection calls for 316 miles of additional barrier by September 2027, bringing total coverage to 970 miles, or nearly half the border, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter. It also calls for 407 miles of replacement or secondary fencing, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.
4 Sexual harassment: A civil lawsuit filed in New York City charging Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis with raping a publicist has prompted three additional women to come forward with their own misconduct accusations, including another publicist who says he forced her to perform oral sex, then raped her. Christine Lepera, an attorney for the 64-year-old screenwriter of “Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash,” said, “He didn’t rape anybody.” Haggis has denied the original rape allegation in a countercomplaint to the lawsuit and said the accuser and her lawyer had demanded a $9 million payment to avoid legal action, which he characterized as extortion. 5 Costly coins: When is a penny worth $300,000? When it’s one of the first copper coins struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1793. The annual Florida United Numismatists convention is being held in Tampa this week, and the historic coin went up for auction Thursday night. Mark Borckardt, a senior numismatist with Heritage Auctions, said the George Washington-era penny is one of only 500 in existence.