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The 2025 Sundance Film Festival will have not one but two events potentially drawing eyeballs away from the programming. The festival, running from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, will begin just days after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Then there will also be much anticipation and expectation around the upcoming announcement of where the festival will be moving beginning with its 2027 edition. The program for the 2025 festival, which was announced on Wednesday, should provide a relief from the uncertainty: the usual mix of fresh talent and provocative subject matter. “I think the program will do the work of putting aside for a moment the conversation about the long-term home,” said Eugene Hernandez, director of the festival, noting that a decision is expected to be announced after the festival concludes, in late winter or early spring. “This program really just underscores what Sundance is and has been for these 40-plus years. And that is just an incredible place for discovery.” Among the films in the U.S. dramatic competition are Hailey Gates’ “Atropia” starring Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner and Chloë Sevigny, Evan Twohy’s “Bubble

Firefighters worked overnight to gain control over a dangerous fire that burned homes in Malibu and forced thousands to evacuate. The Franklin fire continued to menace the coastal city, growing by 39% overnight and burning close to some residential neighborhoods and an RV park. At least seven homes have been destroyed and nine damaged, but officials said that number could rise as they do more complete assessments. The fire had burned more than 3,900 acres and was 7% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “Crews are working tirelessly around the clock to establish containment lines and defend structures,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a Wednesday morning news conference. The blaze was reported a few minutes before 11 p.m. Monday along Malibu Canyon Road in the hills north of Pepperdine University and grew quickly, fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, Cal Fire said. Overnight, the fire’s western edge became more active, backing down into Corral Canyon toward the Malibu RV park community, Marrone said. Despite the challenges overnight, crews improved containment lines by

Troubled aerospace giant Boeing has announced more than 500 layoffs across California, including 115 workers in Long Beach and 144 in El Segundo, who are learning Wednesday they will be out of work. According to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, notices filed with the state Employment Development Department last month, the company also plans to lay off nearly 180 people from a pair of Seal Beach facilities, and 57 more in Huntington Beach. Additional cuts are planned from facilities in San Diego. “As we announced in early October, we are adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities,” according to a company statement released Tuesday and reported by Long Beach Watchdog. The Watchdog reported that most of the affected workers will leave within two months of being notified, and eligible workers will receive severance pay, job-search assistance and three months of subsidized health care. The Seattle Times reported that about 3,500 workers nationally were being impacted by layoffs at the Arlington, Virginia-based company. The company has been reeling since a panel fell off of

Tom Sandoval is now acting as his own attorney in a revenge porn lawsuit filed by former “Vanderpump Rules” cast member Rachel Leviss against him and Ariana Madix. Leviss alleges in her lawsuit that 42-year-old Tom Sandoval and the 39-year-old Madix, both still cast members on the show, produced and disseminated sexually explicit images of the plaintiff. On Dec. 6, Sandoval’s former attorney, Varand Gourjian, filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Crowley stating that Sandoval has chosen to represent himself. No reason was given in the court papers for the change. Leviss maintains in her suit filed Feb. 29 that she was “a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated and discussed publicly by a scorned woman (Madix) seeking vengeance” against the plaintiff. Sandoval and Madix were in a relationship for nearly 10 years before Madix discovered Sandoval’s affair with Leviss in March 2023. Madix’s lawyers maintain in their court papers that Leviss’ complaint is “an abuse of the legal

Trump picks Kimberly Guilfoyle for ambassador to Greece – CBS News Watch CBS News President-elect Donald Trump has announced a number of new Cabinet picks and other appointments, including Kimberly Guilfoyle for ambassador to Greece. CBS News political reporter Libby Cathy has more on that and other news on Capitol Hill. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Front lines of America’s fentanyl crisis On the front lines of America’s fentanyl crisis 04:24 Drug overdose deaths in the United States fell 17% between July 2023 and July 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report released Wednesday.  Since 2021 , over 100,000 people have died of overdoses each year in the United States. A record number of overdose deaths — over 108,000 — were recorded in 2022 . The numbers dipped in 2023 and have continued to drop monthly throughout 2024.  While overdose deaths for 2024 have not been calculated yet, and will not be until after the end of the year, the CDC said that deaths fell 17% in a one-year period. It’s the largest decrease in deaths ever seen in the United States, White House Domestic Policy Council Advisor Neera Tanden said Wednesday.  White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Dr. Rahul Gupta said the decrease shows that the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce overdose deaths are working.  Narcan and fentanyl test strips. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images “For far too many

Former White House chef Sam Kass on foods threatened by climate change – CBS News Watch CBS News From coffee to chocolate, Sam Kass talks about how climate change threatens some of the world’s most beloved foods. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Israel to continue strikes on Syrian military assets – CBS News Watch CBS News The Israeli military says it has been targeting weapons stockpiles in Syria with hundreds of strikes since the fall of the Assad regime in an effort to keep the weapons away from extremists. CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie D’Agata has more on the strikes. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), one of the Senate’s most prominent progressives, says he likely won’t run again for the Senate after his fourth term expires in 2030. Asked in an interview with Politico whether this would be his last term in Congress, Sanders replied: “I’m 83 now. I’ll be 89 when I get out of here. You can do the figuring. I don’t know, but I would assume, probably, yes.” Sanders won re-election last month, defeating Republican Gerald Malloy 63 percent to 32 percent. Sanders has served in Congress since 1991, spending 16 years in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2006. He finished in second place in the 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential primaries and currently serves as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing to examine the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf) Sanders, who caucuses with Senate Democrats, recently criticized the Democratic Party for not putting enough emphasis on bread-and-butter

ZURICH (AP) — Saudi Arabia was officially confirmed Wednesday by FIFA as host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for massive spending on global sports driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations. They took part remotely in an online meeting hosted in Zurich by the soccer body’s president Gianni Infantino. “The vote of the congress is loud and clear,” said Infantino, who had asked officials on a bank of screens to clap their hands at head level to show their support. The decision was combined with approving the only candidate to host the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host in a six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 games. The South American connection will mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930. The decisions complete a mostly opaque 15-month bid process which Infantino helped steer toward Saudi Arabia without a rival candidate

Albertsons is giving up on its merger with Kroger, and it is suing the grocery chain, saying it didn’t do enough to secure regulatory approval for the $24.6 billion agreement. The move came the day after two judges halted the merger in separate court cases. U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the merger Tuesday after holding a three-week hearing in Portland, Oregon. An hour later, Judge Marshall Ferguson in Seattle issued a permanent injunction barring the merger in Washington after concluding it would lessen competition in the state and violate consumer-protection laws. Kroger and Albertsons in 2022 proposed what would be the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history. The companies said a merger would help them better compete with big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon. Prices at these fast food chains increased the most in 10 years Under the merger agreement, Kroger and Albertsons — who compete in 22 states — agreed to sell 579 stores in places where their locations overlap to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire-based supplier to independent supermarkets that also owns the Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly store brands. But the Federal Trade Commission

Dick Van Dyke and his wife, Arlene Silver, were forced to flee for safety in the face of the devastating Franklin Fire raging in Malibu. The legendary entertainer, who is just days from his 99th birthday, revealed in a post to Facebook on Tuesday that the two had escaped their home ahead of the flames. “Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except Bobo escaped as we were leaving,” Van Dyke explained. “We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.” Jamie Foxx opens up about ‘medical complication’ in new comedy special Bobo is the couple’s cat. In another post to the platform, the award-winning actor posted a video of the feline. The “Mary Poppins” star wasn’t the only one in harm’s way. Cher’s publicist, Liz Rosenberg, told The New York Times that the singer and her pets evacuated to a hotel on Monday night. Other stars like Barbra Streisand and Jonah Hill live in the mandatory evacuation zones but haven’t clarified if they’ve left. As of Wednesday morning, the Franklin Fire has burned 3,983