um, brant. good luck. we know that you are very short on sleep and that you're very committed to trying to get a handle on this. brant pasqua with cal fire. thank you. you're welcome. and you heard brant there. it's these fierce, tornado like winds. i mean, 80 to 90mph last night that's fueling the fires. so dangerous planes carrying a flame retardant. just haven't even been able to get up in the air. the winds just totally thundered past that fire. >> and exploded in size. barely even hold the phone straight. >> you can hear just how strong the gusts are in that video. and officials say they expect conditions to worsen. let's get the latest from cnn meteorologist allison chinchar, who's in the weather center. allison, what can you tell us? >> right. so there is some good news, and that is that we do expect these winds to start coming back down in the next 24 hours. but as that gentleman pointed out, it's all relative. you look at some of these numbers 80, 90, 100 mile per hour winds. even if you cut those

brant. one of the things that's unusual about this fire, it's truly it's been happening in the last couple of years, but i've never seen it happen so much. there is a lot of bs out there. one of the reasons why we cover these press conferences is to get as much detailed information as we can from actual officials, and hold them to account by having reporters ask them questions. but there's a lot of disinformation and a lot of misinformation, which complicates things, because when people are trying to make decisions about staying, leaving, getting back what they take, what they do, what's actually happening, what the causes are, how how do you process this right now? i mean, i know in your job at your commanders and your firefighters, you don't have time to process disinformation. you've got to actually fight fires. but what do you make of this, this new thing that we're having to deal with, like you said, we're lucky. >> our main priority is life safety, right? so that's what we're thinking

this winds subside. >> brant pasqua, thanks for all you're doing. please thank all the men and women who are working with you. we really appreciate it. and just stay safe over there. i know this is an extremely dangerous situation. thanks for joining us. >> will do. thank you. wolf. >> and just ahead, we'll have more breaking news coverage of these fires are with our cnn teams live on the ground in southern california. we'll also talk live with the head of the l.a. school district. and we're following other breaking news as well, news that's unfolding right now up on capitol hill. donald trump meeting with republican lawmakers. texas congressman tony gonzalez is on capitol hill, and he's standing by live. >> kobe believed in himself at the youngest possible age. >> it's one of the most remarkable stories in sports history. i don't want to be remembered as just a basketball player. kobe premieres january 25th on cnn. >> so what are you thinking? >> i'm thinking about our honeymoon. what about africa safari? hot air balloon ride. swim with elephants.

and that includes brant and tasha. callum.ere's what they saw when they returned to their neighborhood. this. >> okay baby, it's okay. it's just our house. mr. charles. oh, he did all that? oh, no. he saved it. >> brant and tasha callum are with us now. thank you both for joining us this morning. you know you're from altadena. both sides of your family members are from altadena. i just want to go back to that video and tasha get here. you know, you in the background crying there. i mean, what was it like to watch your home go up in flames like that? >> um, it like unreal. it was like, literally a nightmare. um, i was hoping that there would our house would still be standing. and just to pull up, to see our house just fully engulfed in flames is heartbreaking. you know, all the work we put in and just gone. >> yeah. i read that you this is your first home. you put a lot of work into making this house a home for your family. you were you were not at home when the fire started. tell us about the evacuation process and then the ab

joining me now is brant pascua. he's a cal fire battalion chief who's down in southern california right now. thank you for being with me. so tell me a little bit me a little bit more about these conditions. now, how unusual is it that you're caught like this? i mean, fire season now seems to go year round. and how bad are you expecting it to o get?ight. you're you're absolutely correct. fire season is year round. it's a fire year. so down in southern california we get these santa ana's. we haven't got much rain or precipitation. so now we're sitting in a dangerous spot when the santa ana's come the temperatures warm, the humidities are low and the winds, you know, like you said, they're predicted up to 90 miles an hour. that can create a very dangerous predicament. very, very dangerous. so i know you guys are gearing up, and then you have crews coming from our area to help. what do you do exactly to prepare for something like this? are you just staging people in different areas so that you're ready? if s somethig do

let's bring in cal fire battalion chief brent pascua brant, thanks for joining us once again. we spoke yesterday. i want you to update us. do you have any sense of how many people, first of all, are unaccounted for? >> i do not have an exact number. >> i've been speaking to homeowners and people that live in the area, and i have not heard or they've not asked me about where to report missing persons. >> so i'm hoping it's not a high number, if any at all. >> we know winds have made it very, very difficult, if not impossible, to contain the flames. specifically yesterday that was the case. what have conditions been like today? how much progress. and we hope there's progress is being made. >> yeah wolf today was great. >> we were actually able to catch our breath. we didn't have smoke and ash and the sand off the beach blowing in our face. >> the winds have been relatively calm today, which is nice. >> we've hunkered in. hopefully we'll get some containment on this we ow there's winds coming back, so we're putting as much water resources on this fire as we can. >> the winds are

i want to bring in cal fire battalion chief brent pascua brant, thanks for joining us.you've been with me almost every single day. how can you what can you tell us, first of all, about the palisades fire and your crews containment efforts? >> right. well, it was a very productive weekend for firefighters out here on the palisades fire. we were able to attack this fire from the ground and the air, which really helped in aiding containment on this fire another strong wind event will impact southern california this week. >> potentially big time. again. how is your team bracing for these really difficult conditions? >> right. we're out there hustling, making sure that we get all the hidden fire that may be under the ground put out. we're making sure there's no hotspots near the line. we're putting an abundance of extra engines in the communities near the fire line. we're not taking any chances with this wind event. it's all hands on deck. >> but, brant, are you concerned that the progress you and your teams have made over the weekend, for example, it could potentially, god

and brant. you have been bringing us updates on the firefighting efforts ever since this started. thanks for coming back on how much progress has been made since we spoke 24 hours ago. >> well, yesterday we were very hopeful that we could turn a corner on this fire and we did. we gained some containment, not a lot. it's going to take a lot more work to to see that number grow. but we're headed in the right direction. and again, we see the winds calmer today. they're still here. but these are the winds we're used to battling and dealing with during these fires. nothing like we saw the first two days. >> so you think the tide has turned? you think that now you'll be seeing as long as conditions don't pop up and and get worse, that that you guys will be able to start making some real progress. i mean, how much containment could you expect to see to be able to pull off today? >> we're at 6% now with the winds predicted later today. um, i believe we'll still be able to use our aircraft with our ground troops. we'll see that 6% get into the double digits. i believe at least, which is st

. >> joining us now for the third night is the cal fire battalion chief, brant pasqua.fic palisades. chief, thanks for being with us. you know, as a firefighter, what that woman just said. and that is that for all the devastation and for all the apocalyptic scenes, this is about people and their lives. some lives lost, some lives literally forever changed. at the moment, the job of the firefighters is to put the fires out. but there's a lot more to come. >> that's right. i just saw it on the faces of the firefighters today up in the palisades, realizing just how much destruction is starting to set in. and we're humans, too. >> and i could just tell the look on their faces. they feel like, you know, in some way they've failed just because of how much devastation is around that town. but they're also motivated to not give up and stay engaged in this fire. >> yeah. look, it's something we have to remember. and you as firefighters know this all the time that you can show up to what might look like the worst fire you've ever seen. or in this particular case, our reporter, al

joining us right now is joining us right now is brant pascoe a battalion chief with cal fire. thanks so much for jumping on the phone. talk to me. what does pacific palisades look like from your perspective this morning? >> yeah, right now i'm sitting in an area that looks really apocalyptic. it's a whole neighborhood. i don't even see a house standing. it's really. it's really hard to see right now. it's still windy. there's still a lot of fire all around us. so we're not out of out of this by any means. >> i was told last hour containment efforts are still on pause because of the winds. we see the winds whenever we talk to one of our correspondents on the ground, as we just did with stephanie elam. what is the most important thing for your teams right now? is it getting the aircraft back up in the air right now? >> the most important thing is still life safety. >> if there's anyone in the way of this fire that may not have evacuated on time or needs help, that is our highest priority. and then property as well. so after that, yes, once we can get those aircraft up, if the wi

at the houses on the streets, preplanned, pre-positioned, ready to go. >> cal fire battalion chief brantn tonight. >> you're welcome. >> and for those who are following my coverage last week, i can tell you that my house is still there. it is inside the evacuation zone. so no one has been allowed. no one who lives on my street or near my street has been allowed back to their houses there. those people are all very much living on edge because they are. we are literally our houses are on the edge of what is the dangerous fire zone. those people had a couple of days of feeling like it might be over, but it's not over. we'll be right back. >> lumify it's kind of amazing. wow. my go to is lumify eye drops lumify dramatically reduces redness in one minute. and look at the difference. my eyes look brighter and whiter eyes look brighter and whiter for up i was stuck. unresolved depression symptoms were in my way. i needed more from my antidepressant. vraylar helped give it a lift. adding vraylar to an antidepressant is clinically proven to help relieve overall depression symptoms better than an

>> cal fire battalion chief brant pasqua. >> if that dog could talk, he. >> he would have a story to national best seller. >> had he not knocked down that door, both dogs would have been trapped inside. >> casey, where do you want to say to brant? >> when i first met you, i was in the middle of crisis. >> i was in the middle of a firestorm. >> my dogs would have died if not for you. >> absolutely. beautiful story there. and still ahead, we've got more on those devastating wildfires in los angeles. congresswoman sydney kamlager of california will join us with an update on the relief efforts and the republican push to potentially condition federal aid for her state. way too early is coming right back with that. >> my experience with empire was amazing. the price that i got along with the service, the special attention, the one on special attention, the one on one you can't beat that. [coughing] copd is an ugly reality. do you have his medical history? i watch as his world just keeps getting smaller. but then, trelegy helped us see things a little differently. with 3 medicines in 1 inha

at the houses on the streets, preplanned, pre-positioned, ready to go. >> cal fire battalion chief brantng us again tonight. >> you're welcome. >> and for those who are following my coverage last week, i can tell you that my house is still there. it is inside the evacuation zone. so no one has been allowed. no one who lives on my street or near my street has been allowed back to their houses there. those people are all very much living on edge because they are. we are literally our houses are on the edge of what is the dangerous fire zone. there are. those people had a couple of days of people had a couple of days of feeling like it might be ♪ who knows what tomorrow will bring ♪ (dog whines) ♪ but as for me ♪ (knock at door) ♪ i'll wait and see ♪ ♪ and maybe it'll bring my love to me ♪ ♪ who knows ♪ ♪ who knows ♪ if you have generalized myasthenia gravis, picture what life could look like with... vyvgart hytrulo, a subcutaneous injection that takes about 30 to 90 seconds. for one thing, could it mean more time for you? vyvgart hytrulo can improve daily abilities and reduce muscle weakne

the a's designated hitter, brant rooker, is coming off his best season of his career, and the green andd awarded him one of the largest contracts in their franchise history. rooker and the athletics have reached an agreement on a five year contract extension, with a club option for 2030. sources say the deal is reportedly worth $60 million in 2024. all star campaign he had 39 home runs, 112 rbis and was the first a's player to win the silver slugger since 2002. to some college hoops now. tonight was stanford's first ever acc game at maples pavilion, and the legend tara vanderveer in attendance to see the cardinal host virginia tech. it was a struggle for the stanford in the first ten minutes of the half. since they only scored four points, they scratched and clawed their way back into this one. then in the second half, maxime reno gets that layup right off the glass to give the cardinal their first lead in the game and then later in the half virginia tech up by one, but ryan agarwal passes it to donovan young. and there he goes and comes down with the dunk. stanford went on to secure th

joining me right now is brant pascoe, a battalion chief with cal fire.great to see you again, chief. thank you for coming back on. you and i spoke. i think it was 9 a.m. eastern yesterday morning, and you were really in the thick of it in pacific palisades. at that point, you told me that where you were, it was fire all around you. apocalyptic. how are things looking today? >> it's night and day to day. i'm standing next to a metal pole that blew over in the 80 mile. an hour gusts, and it's right next to a palm tree that i'm looking at right now. and it's not even moving. um, what a welcome sight. uh, what this fire is so desperately needed was a break in these winds so that we can actually get some containment now on this fire that is great news. >> all over the place. the water situation is. you heard there. some firefighters have talked to our colleagues on the ground that they've been dealing with water pressure issues. given the demand on the supply, maybe in just specific neighborhoods, hydrants running dry was a topic at a press conference of offi

brant, thanks so much. we're going to go back to the bourbon street attack in a moment. we're getting new surveillance video showing moments right before the attack. plus, former new orleans mayor mitch landrieu will join me next with his reaction to this horrific day in his beloved city. stay with us. >> s. e. cupp luther. never too much. >> tonight at eight on in our family, there was a passion for glass making that's passed down through the generations. >> on ancestry, i was able to actually put together our family tree. each person is a glass worker. >> we stood on some pretty broad shoulders to get to where we're at today. >> hank used to suffer from what felt like a cold and flu medicine hangover in the morning. then he switched to mucinex nightshift. mucinex is uniquely formulated to leave your system faster, so you wake up ready to go. hank? dry mucinex nightshift and feel the difference. watch your step. >> oh, that's why visionworks makes it simple to schedule an eye exam that works for you. even if you have a big trip to plan around. thanks, meghan. see you ri

will, to brant's point, hamas looking at the overall calculation in the region after upsetting the entireion to october 7th, that the situation is only going to get worse for us because to his point, look at what is happening in lebanon. look at what is happening in syria. iran will be on its back for the next four years with trump coming in. hamas thinks it's next best chance to get a deal and survive. i'm not sure israel will allow that to happen. >> watching all of this you have to ask the question whether or not this israel. if it is a real, is it at the end of the war or a pause in fighting like we have seen 14 months ago? ultimately, if there is a deal, who govern gaza? how long does israel stay. i the irony of the moment is 20 years ago this year, the former prime minister of israel, ariel sharon made the decision to take down israeli settlements and move the israelis out of gaza. after that happened, hamas took over. they won a war against competing factions. they won in election and starting 2006, hamas has ruled the gaza strip for 19 years. what do the people in gaza get for tha

well, the brant spence bridge, i believe, is what we were showing. there is a win for mitch mcconnell and it's a win for his state of kentucky. so it's interesting when you talk about infrastructure and in the trump administration and remember there was infrastructure week and that into infrastructure month and then infrastructure a year and it became kind of a running joke. and most republicans or democrats agree that we all have bridges. we all have airports, we all have infrastructure. and so and it's crumbling in many places. so why not get the money to fix it? how effective was senator mcconnell in bringing money home to his state of kentucky? he was extremely effective in doing that. and again, it cuts against some of the other strains in the party where people want to cut government spending is the joke, he told me, said, you know, i consider pork a project in indiana and if it comes back to kentucky, it's wisely spent taxpayer dollars. moving on to foreign policy, the ukraine war remains a huge issue on capitol hill and here's what mitch mcco

and of course, our core team, which consists of julie kirschbaum, brant jones, lita ibarra, sorry, lupita ibarra, i'm sorry, lupita, sean kennedy, diana desantis, kristen holland and teresa scism. so now that we've met our dedicated team, let's dive into the work we're doing to enhance the customer experience. next slide please. so what is customer experience? customer experience is defined as the sum of all interactions that our customers have with us at every stage of their journey, whether they're planning their trip, waiting at a stop, or riding our system and arriving at their destination. but each of these moments contributes to how they feel about our service. if you can kindly direct your attention to the transit rider journey diagram displayed on the screen, and i just invite you to think about how our customers or what our customers experience at each stage of their journey, what they are seeing, what they're hearing, what they're smelling and how they're feeling. so by understanding their pain points at these stages, we can identify opportunities to enhance their journey and cr

payne will be greatly missed and she is left behind a great legacy, husband craig, laura, brant and your amazing family. to all the students you taught and the lives you continue to inspire, we wish you the best, mrs. payne. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from virgin islands seek recognition? ms. plaskett: i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. plaskett: i rise today to congratulate the new governor of puerto rico, my caribbean sister and former, jennifer gone dale eases kolone. i would like to reflect on her remarkable work while a member here in this body. as co-chairs of the rum caucus, the first caucus to dedicate the rum industry we legislated to incrows tax revenue generated from the virgin islands and puerto rico and rum that was sold. i am grateful to improve security in the caribbean ensuring that federal agencies are properly equipped to hold traffickers accountable and our work together to change the stafford