Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen in the early hours of Tuesday in Aberdeen city centre
Police are searching for two sisters in Aberdeen who were last seen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32 and who live in Aberdeen city centre, were last seen in Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 02:12 GMT on Tuesday.
They then crossed the bridge and turned into a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Police Scotland said they are carrying "extensive enquires" and searches to find the sisters, including the use of police dogs and the marine unit.
Family handout
The Huszti sisters were last seen on CCTV in Aberdeen's Market Street at Victoria Bridge
Both Eliza and Henrietta are described as being white, slim build with long, brown hair.
Police said the side of Victoria Bridge in the Torry area, where they were last seen, contained many commercial and industrial units and searches are ongoing there.
It added it was urging businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday and dashcam footage.
Ch Insp Darren Bruce said: "We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101 quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday, 7 January, 2025."
A 4x4 makes its way through a snow covered road in Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Commuters are being warned of icy roads and travel disruption, as temperatures plummeted again overnight across the UK.
Fresh weather warnings have been issued, with snow, ice and fog forecast across southern England, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland on Thursday.
It will be mainly dry elsewhere with winter sunshine, but temperatures could fall again to as low as -16C on Thursday night.
The cold snap has already brought heavy snowfall to some areas, and dozens of flood alerts and warnings are in place due to either heavy rain or melting snow.
On Wednesday the lowest temperature recorded was -8.4C (16F) in Shap, Cumbria, according to the Met Office.
It comes as an amber cold health alert remains in place for all of England until Sunday, meaning the forecast weather is expected to have significant impacts across health - including a rise in deaths.
The Hills/BBC Weather Watcher
A sheep walks in snow in Huddersfield
The Met Office says travel disruption to road and rail services is likely on Thursday in areas covered by warnings, as well potential for accidents in icy places.
There are five warnings in place:
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until midnight on Thursday
A yellow warning for ice has been issued until 10:30 across southern England and south-east Wales
Two yellow warnings for snow and ice are in force until 11:00 GMT - one across western Wales and north-west England, and south-west England; and another for Northern Ireland
A yellow warning for fog until 09:00 in Northern Ireland
Sue B/BBC Weather Watchers
A teenager made a snow sculpture of Venus in her garden in Leeds
On Wednesday snow caused some roads to close and motorists to be stationary for "long periods of time" in Devon and Cornwall, according to authorities there.
Gritters working into Thursday morning have been fitted with ploughs to clear routes in the area.
Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.
"Cold conditions will last until at least the weekend, so we urge drivers to remain vigilant of the risks posed by ice and, in some locations, snow," said RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson.
National Rail have also advised passengers to check before they travel, as ice and snow can mean speed restrictions and line closures.
On Wednesday evening, poor weather was affecting Northern and Great Western Railway.
Buses are also replacing trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog until Monday.
A car covered in snow on a road in Buxton, Derbyshire
The wintry conditions have caused significant disruption across the UK since snow swept many parts of the country at the weekend.
Hundreds of schools were closed in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including schools in Yorkshire, Merseyside, the Midlands and Aberdeenshire.
The country has also been hit by widespread flooding in recent days. Currently there are 68 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - in England and three in Wales.
The weather is expected to be less cold over the weekend.
Mel Gibson has revealed his home has been destroyed in the Los Angeles wildfires while he was away recording Joe Rogan's podcast.
The Oscar-winning film star said his Malibu property was "completely toasted" and criticised California Governor Gavin Newsom over the crisis.
At least 10 people have died in the wildfires, which have burned down thousands of buildings and prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.
A host of celebrities have told how they have lost their properties, while officials have warned more high winds could further fan the flames of the wildfires.
Gibson said he felt "ill at ease" during his visit to Austin, Texas, to appear as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, because he knew his neighbourhood was "on fire".
"It's kind of devastating, it's emotional," Gibson said on NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas Reports.
"I've been relieved from the burden of my stuff because it's all in cinders."
The Braveheart star said he had lived at his property for about 15 years and the homes of some of his neighbours had also "gone", including one belonging to actor Ed Harris.
Gibson said his family had followed an evacuation order and they were safe.
In the podcast with Rogan, Gibson criticised the California governor, saying Newsom claimed he was "going to take care of the forests" but "didn't do anything".
"I think all our tax dollars probably went for Gavin's hair gel," the actor said.
Los Angeles is facing the worst wildfires in its history, which have consumed 31,000 acres (12,500 hectares) of land and led to the evacuation of 180,000 people.
Five wildfires are still burning across the LA areas of Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Hurst and Lidia.
California fire chief David Acuna told Radio 4's Today programme that 10,000 structures are likely to have been destroyed. He also warned that winds over the coming days could lead to further destruction in the area.
Republican President-elect Donald Trump has called for Newsom, a Democrat, to resign over his handling of the crisis, saying "one of the best and most beautiful" parts of the US is "burning down to the ground".
Newsom has defended the response and said state authorities were "throwing everything at our disposal" to protect communities.
The governor's spokeswoman accused Trump of politicising the disaster and said Newsom was focused on protecting people and making sure firefighters have the resources they need.
US President Joe Biden said he had pledged extra federal resources to help California after "the most widespread, devastating fire" in the state's history.
Getty Images
A firefighter battles flames at a property in Palisades, Los Angeles
Celebrities who have lost homes
Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal are among the celebrities whose homes have been destroyed in the wildfires.
Hilton, the hotel heiress and reality TV star, shared a video of the remains of her property on social media and said "the heartbreak is truly indescribable".
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Actor Crystal said in a statement that he and his wife Janice were "heartbroken" by the loss of their Pacific Palisades home where they had lived since 1979.
TV host Ricki Lake said she had lost her "dream home", adding: "I grieve along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event."
The US Office star Rainn Wilson shared a video of his burnt-out home and said there was a "valuable lesson" to learn from the wildfires.
Actors Sir Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman, Anna Faris and Cary Elwes also reportedly lost their homes.
Meanwhile, actor Steve Guttenberg, a Pacific Palisades resident, helped to move parked cars to make way for fire engines.
"This is not a parking lot," he told KTLA. "I have friends up there and they can't evacuate."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live in California, are understood to have invited into their home friends and loved ones who had been forced to evacuate.
In a statement on their website, Harry and Meghan said: "If a friend, loved one, or pet has to evacuate, and you are able to offer them a safe haven in your home, please do."
The accused mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks on the US will no longer plead guilty on Friday, after the US government moved to block plea deals reached last year from going ahead.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, often referred to as KSM, was due to deliver his pleas at a war court on the Guantanamo Bay naval base in south-eastern Cuba, where he has been held in a military prison for almost two decades.
Mohammed is Guantanamo's most notorious detainee and one of the last held at the base.
But a federal appeals court on Thursday evening halted the scheduled proceedings to consider requests from the government to abandon the plea deals for Mohammed and two co-defendants, which it said would cause "irreparable" harm to both it and the public.
A three-judge panel said the delay "should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits", but was aimed at giving the court time to receive a full briefing and hear arguments "on an expedited basis".
The delay means that the matter will now fall into the incoming Trump administration.
What was scheduled to happen this week?
At a hearing beginning on Friday morning, Mohammed was scheduled to plead guilty to his role in the 11 September 2001 attacks, when hijackers seized passenger planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside of Washington. Another plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back.
Mohammed has been charged with offences including conspiracy and murder, with 2,976 victims listed on the charge sheet.
He has previously said that he planned the "9/11 operation from A-to-Z" - conceiving the idea of training pilots to fly commercial planes into buildings and taking those plans to Osama bin Laden, leader of the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda, in the mid 1990s.
Friday's hearing was set to happen in a courtroom on the base, where family members of those killed and the press would have been seated in a viewing gallery behind thick glass.
Photo courtesy of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s legal team
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Why is this all happening 23 years after 9/11?
Pre-trial hearings, held at a military court on the naval base, have been going on for more than a decade, complicated by questions over whether torture Mohammed and other defendants faced while in US custody taints the evidence.
Following his arrest in Pakistan in 2003, Mohammed spent three years at secret CIA prisons known as "black sites" where he was subjected to simulated drowning, or "waterboarding", 183 times, among other so-called "advanced interrogation techniques" that included sleep deprivation and forced nudity.
Karen Greenberg, author of The Least Worst Place: How Guantanamo Became the World's Most Notorious Prison, says the use of torture has made it "virtually impossible to bring these cases to trial in a way that honors the rule of law and American jurisprudence".
"It's apparently impossible to present evidence in these cases without the use of evidence derived from torture. Moreover, the fact that these individuals were tortured adds another level of complexity to the prosecutions," she says.
The case also falls under the military commissions, which operate under different rules than the traditional US criminal justice system and slow the process down.
The plea deal was struck last summer, following some two years of negotiations.
What does the plea deal include?
The full details of the deals reached with Mohammed and two of his co-defendants have not been released.
We do know that a deal means he would not face a death penalty trial.
In a court hearing on Wednesday, his legal team confirmed that he had agreed to plead guilty to all charges. Mohammed did not address the court personally, but engaged with his team as they went over the agreement, making small corrections and changes to wording with the prosecution and the judge.
If the deals are upheld and the pleas are accepted by the court, the next steps would be appointing a military jury, known as a panel, to hear evidence at a sentencing hearing.
In court on Wednesday, this was described by lawyers as a form of public trial, where survivors and family members of those killed would be given the opportunity to give statements.
Under the agreement, the families would also be able to pose questions to Mohammed, who would be required to "answer their questions fully and truthfully", lawyers say.
Central to the prosecution agreeing to the deals was a guarantee "that we could present all of the evidence that we thought was necessary to establish a historical record of the accused's involvement in what happened on September 11th," prosecutor, Clayton G. Trivett Jr., said in court on Wednesday.
Even if the pleas go ahead, it would be many months before these proceedings would begin and a sentence ultimately delivered.
Reuters
The case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, shown here during a 2012 pre-trial hearing, has been ongoing for two decades at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay.
Why is the US government trying to block the pleas?
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appointed the senior official who signed the deal. But he was travelling at the time it was signed and was reportedly caught by surprise, according to the New York Times.
Days later, he attempted to revoke it, saying in a memo: "Responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior authority."
However, both a military judge and a military appeals panel ruled that the deal was valid, and that Mr Austin had acted too late.
In another bid to block the deal, the government this week asked a federal appeals court to intervene.
In a legal filing, it said Mohammed and the two other men were charged with "perpetrating the most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history" and that enforcing the agreements would "deprive the government and the American people of a public trial as to the respondents' guilt and the possibility of capital punishment, despite the fact that the Secretary of Defense has lawfully withdrawn those agreements".
Following the announcement of the deal last summer, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, then the party's leader in the chamber, released a statement describing it as "a revolting abdication of the government's responsibility to defend America and provide justice".
What have the victims' families said?
Some families of those killed in the attacks have also criticised the deal, saying it is too lenient or lacks transparency.
Speaking to the BBC's Today Programme last summer, Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was killed in the attacks, described the deal as "giving the detainees in Guantanamo Bay what they want".
Ms Strada, the national chair of the campaign group 9/11 Families United, said: "This is a victory for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other two, it's a victory for them."
Other families see the agreements as a path towards convictions in the complex and long-running proceedings and were disappointed by the government's latest intervention.
Stephan Gerhardt, whose younger brother Ralph was killed in the attacks, had flown to Guantanamo Bay to watch Mohammed plead guilty.
"What is the end goal for the Biden administration? So they get the stay and this drags into the next administration. To what end? Think about the families. Why are you prolonging this saga?" he said.
Mr Gerhardt told the BBC the deals were "not a victory" for the families, but that it was "time to find a way to close this, to convict these men".
Families on the base were meeting with the press when news of the delay was made public.
"It was supposed to be a time of healing. We'll board that plane still with that deep sense of pain – there's just no end to it," one said.
Why are the proceedings happening in Guantanamo?
Mohammed has been held in a military prison in Guantanamo Bay since 2006.
The prison was opened 23 years ago - on 11 January 2002 - during the "war on terror" that followed the 9/11 attacks, as a place to hold terror suspects and "illegal enemy combatants".
Most of those held here were never charged and the military prison has faced criticism from rights groups and the United Nations over its treatment of detainees. The majority have now been repatriated or resettled in other countries.
The prison currently holds 15 - the smallest number at any point in its history. All but six of them have been charged with or convicted of war crimes.
A 4x4 makes its way through a snow covered road in Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Commuters are being warned of icy roads and travel disruption, as temperatures plummeted again overnight across the UK.
Fresh weather warnings have been issued, with snow, ice and fog forecast across southern England, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland on Thursday.
It will be mainly dry elsewhere with winter sunshine, but temperatures could fall again to as low as -16C on Thursday night.
The cold snap has already brought heavy snowfall to some areas, and dozens of flood alerts and warnings are in place due to either heavy rain or melting snow.
On Wednesday the lowest temperature recorded was -8.4C (16F) in Shap, Cumbria, according to the Met Office.
It comes as an amber cold health alert remains in place for all of England until Sunday, meaning the forecast weather is expected to have significant impacts across health - including a rise in deaths.
The Hills/BBC Weather Watcher
A sheep walks in snow in Huddersfield
The Met Office says travel disruption to road and rail services is likely on Thursday in areas covered by warnings, as well potential for accidents in icy places.
There are five warnings in place:
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until midnight on Thursday
A yellow warning for ice has been issued until 10:30 across southern England and south-east Wales
Two yellow warnings for snow and ice are in force until 11:00 GMT - one across western Wales and north-west England, and south-west England; and another for Northern Ireland
A yellow warning for fog until 09:00 in Northern Ireland
Sue B/BBC Weather Watchers
A teenager made a snow sculpture of Venus in her garden in Leeds
On Wednesday snow caused some roads to close and motorists to be stationary for "long periods of time" in Devon and Cornwall, according to authorities there.
Gritters working into Thursday morning have been fitted with ploughs to clear routes in the area.
Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.
"Cold conditions will last until at least the weekend, so we urge drivers to remain vigilant of the risks posed by ice and, in some locations, snow," said RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson.
National Rail have also advised passengers to check before they travel, as ice and snow can mean speed restrictions and line closures.
On Wednesday evening, poor weather was affecting Northern and Great Western Railway.
Buses are also replacing trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog until Monday.
A car covered in snow on a road in Buxton, Derbyshire
The wintry conditions have caused significant disruption across the UK since snow swept many parts of the country at the weekend.
Hundreds of schools were closed in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including schools in Yorkshire, Merseyside, the Midlands and Aberdeenshire.
The country has also been hit by widespread flooding in recent days. Currently there are 68 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - in England and three in Wales.
The weather is expected to be less cold over the weekend.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen in the early hours of Tuesday in Aberdeen city centre
Police are searching for two sisters in Aberdeen who were last seen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32 and who live in Aberdeen city centre, were last seen in Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 02:12 GMT on Tuesday.
They then crossed the bridge and turned into a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Police Scotland said they are carrying "extensive enquires" and searches to find the sisters, including the use of police dogs and the marine unit.
Family handout
The Huszti sisters were last seen on CCTV in Aberdeen's Market Street at Victoria Bridge
Both Eliza and Henrietta are described as being white, slim build with long, brown hair.
Police said the side of Victoria Bridge in the Torry area, where they were last seen, contained many commercial and industrial units and searches are ongoing there.
It added it was urging businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday and dashcam footage.
Ch Insp Darren Bruce said: "We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101 quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday, 7 January, 2025."
Moment house collapses in Studio City as LA wildfires rage on
Out-of-control wildfires are ripping across parts of Los Angeles, leading to at least five deaths, burning down hundreds of buildings, and prompting more than 130,000 people to flee their homes in America's second-largest city.
Despite the efforts of firefighters, the biggest blazes remain totally uncontained - with weather conditions and the underlying impact of climate change expected to continue fanning the flames for days to come.
What's the latest?
More than 137,000 people have been forced to leave their homes - many of them simply carrying whatever belongings they can.
Police say at least five people have died, and their bodies found near the Eaton Fire - but their cause of death is not yet known.
Like the even larger Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire remains totally uncontained. Meanwhile, the new Sunset Fire is menacing the well-known Hollywood Hills area.
More than 1,000 structures are known to have been destroyed - including houses, schools and businesses on the iconic Sunset Boulevard. A fire ecologist has told the BBC that "entire neighbourhoods... have been wiped out".
Among the celebrities who have lost their homes are Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, who attended the Golden Globes just days ago, and Paris Hilton.
There is a glimmer of hope for firefighters, as the fire weather outlook for southern California has been downgraded from "extremely critical" to "critical".
But BBC weather forecaster Sarah Keith-Lucas says there is no rain forecast in the area for at least the next week, meaning conditions remain ripe for fire.
Mass disruption has been reported due to traffic buildup. A number of schools and the the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have been forced to close.
A political row about the city's preparedness has erupted after it emerged that some firefighters' hoses have run dry - an issue seized upon by US President-elect Donald Trump.
There are at least five fires raging in the wider area, according to California fire officials early on Thursday:
Palisades: The first fire to erupt on Tuesday and the biggest fire in the region, which could become the most destructive fire in state history. It has scorched a sizable part of land, covering more than 17,200 acres, including the upscale Pacific Palisades neighbourhood
Eaton: It has struck the northern part of Los Angeles, blazing through cities such as Altadena. It's the second biggest fire in the area, burning around 10,600 acres
Hurst: Located just north of San Fernando, it began burning on Tuesday night and has grown to 855 acres, though firefighters have had some successlimited in containing it
Lidia: It broke out on Wednesday afternoon in the mountainous Acton area north of Los Angeles and grew to cover almost 350 acres. Authorities say it has been 40% contained
Sunset: It broke out Wednesday evening in Hollywood Hills, growing to about 20 acres in less than an hour. It now covers around 43 acres
The earlier Woodley and Olivas fires have now been contained, according to local fire authorities.
Officials have pointed to high winds and drought in the area, which has made vegetation very dry and easy to burn.
The likely impact of climate change has also been cited been blamed - although the exact circumstances remain unclear.
Some 95% of wildfires in the area are started by humans, according to David Acuna, a battalion chief at the Californian Fire Service, although officials are yet to state how they think the current fires started.
An important factor that has been cited in the spread of the blazes is the Santa Ana winds, which blow from inland towards the coast. With speeds of more than 60mph (97 km/h), these are believed to have fanned the flames.
Although strong winds and lack of rain are driving the blazes, experts say climate change is altering the background conditions and increasing the likelihood of such fires.
US government research is unequivocal in linking climate change to larger and more severe wildfires in the western United States.
"Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.
And following a very warm summer and lack of rain in recent months, California is particularly vulnerable.
Fire season in southern California is generally thought to stretch from May to October - but the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, has pointed out earlier that blazes had become a perennial issue. "There's no fire season," he said. "It's fire year."
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Acuna said the Palisades Fire represented only the third occasion in the past 30 years that a major fire had broken out in January.
Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has been tasked with providing the national response to Trump's threat
Copenhagen's gloomy January weather matches the mood among Denmark's politicians and business leaders.
"We take this situation very, very seriously," said Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen of Donald Trump's threats to acquire Greenland – and punish Denmark with high tariffs if it stands in the way.
But, he added, the government had "no ambition whatsoever to escalate some war of words."
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen downplayed Trump's own suggestion that the US might use military force to seize Greenland. "I don't have the fantasy to imagine that it'll ever get to that," she told Danish TV.
And Lars Sandahl Sorensen, CEO of Danish Industry, also said there was "every reason to stay calm... no-one has any interest in a trade war."
But behind the scenes, hastily organised high-level meetings have been taking place in Copenhagen all week, a reflection of the shock caused by Trump's remarks.
Greenland PM Mute Egede flew in to meet both the prime minister and King Frederik X on Wednesday.
And on Thursday night, party leaders from across the political spectrum gathered for an extraordinary meeting on the crisis with Mette Frederiksen in Denmark's parliament.
Faced with what many in Denmark are calling Trump's "provocation," Frederiksen has broadly attempted to strike a conciliatory tone, repeatedly referring to the US as "Denmark's closest partner".
AFP
Greenland's leader Mute B Egede has met Denmark's leaders on a trip to Copenhagen this week
It was "only natural" that the US was preoccupied by the Arctic and Greenland, she added.
Yet she also said that any decision on Greenland's future should be up to its people alone: "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders... and it's the Greenlanders themselves who have to define their future."
Her cautious approach is twofold.
On the one hand, Frederiksen is keen to avoid escalating the situation. She's been burned before, in 2019, when Trump cancelled a trip to Denmark after she said his proposal to buy Greenland was "absurd".
"Back then he only had one more year in office, then things went back to normal," veteran political journalist Erik Holstein told the BBC . "But maybe this is the new normal."
But Frederiksen's comments also speak to the Danish resolve not to meddle in the internal affairs of Greenland – an autonomous territory with its own parliament and whose population is increasingly leaning towards independence.
"She should've been much clearer in rejecting the idea," said opposition MP Rasmus Jarlov.
"This level of disrespect from the coming US president towards very, very loyal allies and friends is record-setting," he told the BBC, although he admitted Trump's forcefulness had "surprised everybody."
The conservative MP believed Frederiksen's insistence that "only Greenland... can decide and define Greenland's future" placed too much pressure on the island's inhabitants. "It would've been prudent and clever to stand behind Greenland and just clearly state that Denmark doesn't want [a US takeover]."
AFP
Donald Trump Jr flew to Greenland this week to press his father's point
The Greenland question is a delicate one for Denmark, whose prime minister officially apologised only recently for spearheading a 1950s social experiment which saw Inuit children removed from their families to be re-educated as "model Danes".
Last week, Greenland's leader said the territory should free itself from "the shackles of colonialism."
By doing so he tapped into growing nationalist sentiment, fuelled by interest among Greenland's younger generations in the indigenous culture and history of the Inuit.
Most commentators now expect a successful independence referendum in the near future. While for many it would be seen as a victory, it could also usher in a new set of problems, as 60% of Greenland's economy is dependent on Denmark.
An independent Greenland "would need to make choices," said Karsten Honge. The Social Democrat MP now fears his preferred option of a new Commonwealth-style pact "based on equality and democracy" is unlikely to come about.
Sitting in his parliamentary office decorated with poems and drawings depicting scenes of Inuit life, Honge said Greenland would need to decide "how much it values independence". It could sever ties with Denmark and turn to the US, Honge said, "but if you treasure independence then that doesn't make sense."
Opposition MP Jarlov argues that while there is no point in forcing Greenland to be part of Denmark, "it is very close to being an independent country already".
Its capital Nuuk is self-governed, but relies on Copenhagen for management of currency, foreign relations and defence - as well as substantial subsidies.
"Greenland today has more independence than Denmark has from the EU," Jarlov added. "So I hope they think things through."
As Mette Frederiksen has the awkward task of responding firmly while not offending Greenland or the US, the staunchest rebuttal to Trump's comments so far has come from outside Denmark.
The principle of the inviolability of borders "applies to every country... no matter whether it's a very small one or a very powerful one," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned, while French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the EU would not let other nations "attack its sovereign borders".
Their comments gave away the deep concern within the EU about how to handle the upcoming Trump presidency. "This is not just very serious for Greenland and Denmark – it is serious to the whole world and to Europe as a whole," MP Karsten Honge said.
"Imagine a world – which we may be facing in just a few weeks – where international agreements don't exist. That would shake everything up, and Denmark would just be a small part of it."
The Danish trade sector has similarly been engulfed by deep nervousness after Trump said he would "tariff Denmark at a very high level" if it refused to give up Greenland to the US.
A 2024 Danish Industry study showed that Denmark's GDP would fall by three points if the US imposed 10% tariffs on imports from the EU to the US as part of a global trade war.
Singling out Danish products from the influx of EU goods would be near-impossible for the US, and would almost certainly result in retaliatory measures from the EU. But trade industry professionals are taking few chances, and in Denmark as elsewhere on the continent huge amounts of resources are being spent internally to plan for potential outcomes of Donald Trump's second term in the White House.
As his inauguration approaches, Danes are preparing as they can to weather the storm. There is guarded hope that the president-elect could soon shift his focus to grievances towards other EU partners, and that the Greenland question could be temporarily shelved.
But the disquiet brought on by Trump's refusal to rule out military intervention to seize Greenland remains.
Karsten Honge said Denmark would have suffer whatever decision the US takes.
"They just need to send a small battleship to travel down the Greenland coast and send a polite letter to Denmark," he said, only partly in jest.
"The last sentence would be: well, Denmark, what you gonna do about it?
A 4x4 makes its way through a snow covered road in Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Commuters are being warned of icy roads and travel disruption, as temperatures plummeted again overnight across the UK.
Fresh weather warnings have been issued, with snow, ice and fog forecast across southern England, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland on Thursday.
It will be mainly dry elsewhere with winter sunshine, but temperatures could fall again to as low as -16C on Thursday night.
The cold snap has already brought heavy snowfall to some areas, and dozens of flood alerts and warnings are in place due to either heavy rain or melting snow.
On Wednesday the lowest temperature recorded was -8.4C (16F) in Shap, Cumbria, according to the Met Office.
It comes as an amber cold health alert remains in place for all of England until Sunday, meaning the forecast weather is expected to have significant impacts across health - including a rise in deaths.
The Hills/BBC Weather Watcher
A sheep walks in snow in Huddersfield
The Met Office says travel disruption to road and rail services is likely on Thursday in areas covered by warnings, as well potential for accidents in icy places.
There are five warnings in place:
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until midnight on Thursday
A yellow warning for ice has been issued until 10:30 across southern England and south-east Wales
Two yellow warnings for snow and ice are in force until 11:00 GMT - one across western Wales and north-west England, and south-west England; and another for Northern Ireland
A yellow warning for fog until 09:00 in Northern Ireland
Sue B/BBC Weather Watchers
A teenager made a snow sculpture of Venus in her garden in Leeds
On Wednesday snow caused some roads to close and motorists to be stationary for "long periods of time" in Devon and Cornwall, according to authorities there.
Gritters working into Thursday morning have been fitted with ploughs to clear routes in the area.
Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.
"Cold conditions will last until at least the weekend, so we urge drivers to remain vigilant of the risks posed by ice and, in some locations, snow," said RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson.
National Rail have also advised passengers to check before they travel, as ice and snow can mean speed restrictions and line closures.
On Wednesday evening, poor weather was affecting Northern and Great Western Railway.
Buses are also replacing trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog until Monday.
A car covered in snow on a road in Buxton, Derbyshire
The wintry conditions have caused significant disruption across the UK since snow swept many parts of the country at the weekend.
Hundreds of schools were closed in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including schools in Yorkshire, Merseyside, the Midlands and Aberdeenshire.
The country has also been hit by widespread flooding in recent days. Currently there are 68 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - in England and three in Wales.
The weather is expected to be less cold over the weekend.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves is travelling to China in a bid to boost trade and economic ties, as she faces pressure over government borrowing costs hitting their highest level in years.
The three day-visit has been criticised by some Conservatives who claim she should have cancelled the trip to prioritise dealing with economic issues at home.
Government borrowing costs have hit their highest levels for several years, meaning that uses up more tax revenue, leaving less money to spend on other things.
Economists have warned this could mean spending cuts affecting public services or tax rises that could hit people's pay or businesses' ability to grow.
Travelling to China with the chancellor are senior financial figures, including the governor of the Bank of England and the chair of HSBC.
There she will meet China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing before flying to Shanghai for discussion with UK firms operating in China.
The government is looking to revive an annual economic dialogue with China that has not been held since the pandemic.
Ties have been strained in recent years by growing concerns about the actions of China's Communist leaders, allegations of Chinese hacking and spying and its jailing of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong.
The Conservatives have criticised the chancellor for proceeding with the planned trip rather than staying in the UK to address the cost of government borrowing and slide in the value of the pound.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused Reeves of being "missing in action" and said she should have stayed in the UK.
But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, standing in for Reeves in the Commons on Thursday, said the trip was "important" for UK trade and there was "no need for an emergency intervention".
Former chancellor Philip Hammond also told the World at One programme on Thursday that he "wouldn't personally recommend the chancellor cancels her trip to China. This can wait until she gets back next week".
Governments generally spend more than they raise in tax so they borrow money to fill the gap, usually by selling bonds to investors.
Interest rates - known as the yield - on government bonds have been going up since around August, a rise that has also affected government bonds in the US and other countries.
The yield on a 10-year bond has surged to its highest level since 2008, while the yield on a 30-year bond is at its highest since 1998, meaning it costs the government more to borrow over the long term.
Reeves has previously committed only to make significant tax and spend announcements once a year at the autumn Budget.
But if higher borrowing costs persist, there is the possibility of cuts to spending before that or at least lower spending increases than would otherwise happen.
Any further spending cuts could be announced in the chancellor's planned fiscal statement on 26 March , ahead of a spending review that has already asked government departments to find efficiency savings worth 5% of their budgets.
Police say two more lynx have been spotted in the same area where a pair of the wild cats were captured on Thursday.
They were seen near Kingussie in the Cairngorms National Park.
Police Scotland have warned members of the public not to approach the animals and said officers are working with specially-trained personnel to capture them.
A spokesperson said: "Members of the public are asked not to approach the animals and officers are working with specially trained personnel to capture them."
The latest lynx were spotted at about 07:10 on Friday.
The two animals captured earlier this week have been taken into the care of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).
It has condemned the illegal release of the animals as "highly irresponsible".
Experts from the charity worked with police to humanely trap the cats overnight.
They are now being cared for in quarantine facilities at Highland Wildlife Park before they are transferred to Edinburgh Zoo.
UK officials are monitoring social media posts by Elon Musk and others as a possible security risk.
The monitoring is being carried out by a team in the Home Office's Homeland Security group, which is responsible for reducing national security risks and, according to a government website, "focuses on the highest harm risks to the homeland".
They are looking at the reach of posts and who is engaging with them.
The Home Office declined to comment.
But a source told the BBC said it was being done to make sure they were on top of whatever challenges were being posed by "non-state actors".
The monitoring of Musk's social media output, first revealed by the Daily Mirror, is understood to have begun after he made comments about Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips.
The US tech billionaire, who renamed Twitter X when he bought the company, called Phillips a "rape genocide apologist" and said she should be jailed.
The Labour minister, who ran a domestic abuse refuge before becoming an MP and has long campaigned to tackle violence against women, told the BBC threats to her had increased as a result of the post.
The BBC has confirmed that officials in the Home Office are monitoring the social media posts of Musk, who is an adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump, along with other accounts that also have large numbers of followers.
Over the past week, Musk has been attacking the UK government over rejecting a fresh inquiry into grooming gangs, with the PM insisting victims need "action" not more inquiries.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which lasted seven years and made 20 recommendations, reported in 2022 under the Conservative government but none of the recommendations have yet been implemented.
On Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper set out action she would be taking on three recommendations.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has criticised what he described "lies and misinformation" around historic child sex abuse investigations.
He has also robustly defended his record as Director of Public Prosecutions on his work to tackle child abuse and sexual exploitation, which included bringing the first prosecution of an "Asian grooming gang" in Rochdale and prosecuting the highest number of child sexual abuse cases on record.
Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, who has been praised by Musk, has asked the Home Office for the cost of the reported probe to taxpayers by the counter-extremism unit.
He said: "I have asked the Home Office how many of Musk's posts have been investigated, for what reason, by how many officers and at what cost to the taxpayer.
"They will spy on Musk's online activity, but no inquiry into thousands of foreign rapists. Pathetic."
Watch: Residents return to burned homes as LA fires rage on
Residents were already on edge as more fires erupted across the Los Angeles region, traumatising millions of people who feel that after four days there's no end in sight.
Then on Thursday afternoon came another jolt in the form of a text alert.
This one was mistakenly sent to every cell phone in the county - home to about 10 million people - warning them the blaze was close and they should prepare to evacuate.
Rebecca Alvarez-Petit was on a video work call when her phone started blaring.
"An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area," the text message said.
The sound echoed around her as each of her colleagues received the same startling message.
"It was like a massive panic that I was watching in real-time," she said.
She and colleagues started researching and trying to see whether they were in imminent danger.
Instant relief came in the form of a corrected alert telling them to disregard the warning but this soon gave way to newfound anger, she said.
"We're all on pins and needles and have been anxiously sitting by our phones, staring at the TV, having the radio going - trying to stay as informed as possible because there wasn't a good system in place," said Ms Alvarez-Petit, who lives in West Los Angeles.
"And then this. It's like - you have got to be kidding me."
The death toll from the wildfires has continued to climb with at least 10 people known to have died and that toll may grow.
For many, the anxiety about saving lives and property has turned into a sense of frustration over the handling of the fires.
A mayor's frustration
Officials have acknowledged some of the complaints, from hydrants running dry that hindered firefighting efforts to questions about preparedness and fire mitigation investment.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass returned to the city from a pre-planned trip to Africa to find it on fire. She faced intense questions on Thursday about the region's preparedness, her leadership in this crisis and the water issues that failed firefighters.
"Was I frustrated by this? Of course," Mayor Bass said, answering a question about water issues and whether the area was prepared enough. She noted that is an "unprecedented event".
Like other officials, she stressed the fires were able to spread on Tuesday because of strong winds - the same winds that prevented aircraft from dropping water or fire retardant on the blazes. She said urban water systems and neighbourhood fire hydrants are not built to handle dousing thousands of acres of fire.
She noted there will be reviews of how the incident unfolded that will examine how officials and agencies handled it.
"When lives have been saved and homes have been saved, we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, what didn't work, and to correct or to hold accountable any body, department, individual," she said.
"My focus right now is on the lives and on the homes."
Larry Villescas
Water shortage questions
The evolving disaster has turned into a need to understand why this happened and how it escalated into the most destructive fire in the history of Los Angeles.
As one of the now five fires burning in Los Angeles County approached Larry Villescas' home on Tuesday, he grabbed the only tool he could - a garden hose.
He and his neighbour made quick work of the embers falling on their homes from the Eaton Fire and igniting grass.
Then the hose ran dry.
He watched his neighbours' home in Altadena ignite. Then there was a boom - a nearby home was ablaze and sounded as though it exploded. He had to leave.
As he drove away, he watched the fire take hold of his garage.
"If we had water pressure, we would have been able to fight it," Mr Villescas said, standing in front of the charred remains of his home.
He remembered seeing firefighters that night - as the community burned - sitting in their trucks, unable to help.
"I remember my rage. It was like 'do something,' but they can't - there's no water pressure," he said. "It's just infuriating. How could this happen?"
Some experts have said the water shortage is due to unprecedented demand not mismanagement.
"The problem is that the scope of the disaster is so vast that there are thousands of firefighters and hundred of fire engines drawing upon water," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources, told the BBC.
"Ultimately only so much water can flow through pipes at a time."
Other neighbours shared their sense the state was not prepared despite routinely seeing destructive fires.
Hipolito Cisneros, who was surveying the remains of his now-destroyed home, said the public utilities in the area have needed upgrades for years.
"We've lived here for 26 years and we've never seen it tested," he says about the fire hydrant at the end of his block that failed to draw water when it was needed most.
Down the street, Fernando Gonzalez helped his brother sift through the rubble of his home of 15 years.
He noted that his own home in Santa Clarita - about 45 minutes away in Los Angeles County - was also being threatened by a different set of wildfires.
"We've just been on high alert," he said. "It's all around us, you know."
In December 2023, Andrea was barely able to open her eyes and suffered swelling around her cheeks following face fillers at a cosmetics clinic in Hull
A former tattooist who left a woman "looking like a gargoyle" after giving her botched face fillers had been posing as a doctor at his aesthetics clinic, a BBC investigation has revealed. It comes as a leading practitioner warns of more "death and disfigurement" as plans to regulate the industry continue to be delayed.
Andrea covers her face when she leaves the house, because she worries people will laugh at her, two years after having cosmetic procedures.
"I see a gargoyle... something horrible, disgusting," she tells the BBC.
"I live a nightmare every single day."
The 60-year-old initially visited Reshape U cosmetics clinic in Hull in December 2021 for breast fillers.
She says she did "all the right things" to check the clinic's reputation and felt further reassured reading on its website that it had "won Best Aesthetics Clinic in Yorkshire in 2022 at the England Business Awards".
She was seen at the clinic by Sean Scott. Posts on social media pages for Reshape U and Faces by Sean at the time referred to him as Dr Sean Scott, Clinical Director. Videos posted by the same accounts in January and April 2023 show a plaque on his door in the clinic saying Dr Sean Scott, hPhd, Clinical Director.
However, the BBC has discovered Mr Scott is not medically trained. He said he "naively and regretfully" bought an honorary doctorate in business consultancy online and displayed the certificate in his clinic.
He says he did not portray himself as a medical doctor and claimed he informed clients who asked that he was not medically qualified. He says he stopped using the fake title on advice from Hull City Council (HCC) in 2024, with the authority telling him it was "misleading".
When Andrea goes out, she covers her face with a mask because she worries people will laugh at what she looks like since she had fillers
Andrea claims Mr Scott gave her antibiotics to take after her first breast filler procedure in December 2021. She says he gave her antibiotics again when she returned the following month for a second breast filler procedure.
"I trusted in everything that he said to me... because he knew what he was on about - he was the doctor," Andrea admits.
The General Medical Council, which regulates doctors, says only "medical professionals" can prescribe antibiotics and Botox and they should only do so if they have "adequate knowledge" of the patient.
Mr Scott has told the BBC he did not prescribe the antibiotics or Botox, and instead used a "registered prescriber with an authorised pharmacy" to obtain the medicine online.
Two months after receiving breast fillers, Andrea says Mr Scott encouraged her to have facial fillers.
Dermal fillers are injections of hyaluronic acid, which are used to fill wrinkles and add volume to tissue.
Andrea claims Mr Scott told her he thought her cheeks were "uneven" and he could help "harmonise" her face.
Andrea had filler in her cheeks, chin and jaw but says her face started swelling and dark marks appeared. From there, she says the supposedly "simple procedure" turned into a catalogue of botched treatments.
Andrea claims Mr Scott told her the swellings were caused by an insect bite and says she was encouraged to have further treatments.
Mr Scott strongly denies the allegations, adding: "Never once did we perform any treatments while the client was showing any signs of swelling, bruising or any other side effect."
He said the only complaints Andrea initially made were that she "wasn't quite happy" with the treatments, and that was the reason she had "so many" follow-up appointments.
Sean Scott
Sean Scott says his clinic "may have made mistakes" and has "learnt valuable lessons" since a council investigation
Mr Scott also claimed Andrea had visited other clinics for treatment during this period, including one which damaged her skin, and that his clinic treated this damage. Andrea says she only had one dermal filler treatment elsewhere, which she was happy with, three years before visiting Mr Scott.
Mr Scott was a tattooist for 33 years before opening Reshape U in 2019. He also runs an aesthetics training business, the Yorkshire Aesthetics Training Academy.
Over the course of 10 months, Andrea had more than 30 appointments with Mr Scott, including for fillers, Botox and threads. Mr Scott said he only carried out procedures at some of these appointments.
Andrea sold jewellery and borrowed money to pay for the treatments, which added up to thousands of pounds, but says the reaction got worse.
In October 2022, she says she went to hospital, barely able to open her eyes. In letters from plastic surgeons seen by the BBC, Andrea was told her reactions were caused by the cosmetic procedures.
Handout
Andrea before and, right, two years on from her treatments. She says her face still hurts
A cosmetics expert who has since examined Andrea said her scarring was likely caused by an infection, which can occur from cosmetic procedures but is rare in a clean environment with good techniques.
The BBC is aware of at least three other complaints made about Mr Scott and the use of a fake qualification.
Two of those were made to registered practitioner service Save Face.
Director Ashton Collins said the people who reported "bad practice" by Mr Scott had chosen him because they were under the impression he was a doctor.
Health and safety officers from HCC visited Mr Scott's premises in 2024 after concerns were raised about his credentials.
The council said it had found a number of issues requiring improvement but no formal action was taken because the business was receptive to its requests.
'Learnt valuable lessons'
Mr Scott told the BBC the clinic had taken advice and "totally reviewed all our procedures" since then.
He added: "While we may have made mistakes in the beginning, we have always given 100% of our ability to our clients. We have learnt valuable lessons and progressed with ongoing training and development already."
Warnings about the aesthetics industry have been made for years.
Dr Paul Charlson says the government needs to "get on with legislation" to improve the aesthetics industry
In 2022, the Health and Care Act gave the government powers to introduce licensing for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England. This is yet to be enacted.
Dr Paul Charlson, who is an aesthetics doctor in East Yorkshire and member of the Joint Council for Cosmetics Practitioners (JCCP), warns there will be "more deaths and more disfigurement" unless the government "gets on with" enacting the legislation he helped to draw up alongside others across the industry.
"If the government said 'we want this in in six months', it could be done," he said.
The JCCP said it had dealt with an "explosion in complaints" from local councils about poor practice in the sector. In 2023, it was aware of complaints from two local authorities, compared with 65 by the end of 2024.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson did not comment on Dr Charlson's criticisms, but said it was "unacceptable" that people's lives were at risk from "inadequately trained operators in the cosmetic sector", and it was "urgently exploring options for further regulation".
They urged anyone considering cosmetic procedures to find a reputable, insured and qualified practitioner.
Andrea says she has been scarred both mentally and physically, suffering regularly with pain in her face and says she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"I would never do it again and I would never advise anyone to do it," she says.
Share your experience of getting fillers with reporter Caroline Bilton caroline.bilton@bbc.co.uk. Please leave a contact number if you are happy for Caroline or the team to get in touch.
Chappell Roan was born Kayleigh Amstutz and took her stage name from her late grandfather
Pop star Chappell Roan has won BBC Radio 1's Sound of 2025 – the station's annual poll to identify music's biggest rising stars.
Her win caps a wild 12 months in which she rocketed from relative obscurity to the top of the charts, thanks to her colourful, 80s-influenced brand of synth-pop.
She was named winner by a panel of more than 180 musicians and experts, including Sir Elton John, Dua Lipa and Sound of 2014 winner Sam Smith.
Jack Saunders, who hosts Radio 1's New Music show, said: "No one deserves this accolade more than Chappell Roan. She was the most exciting artist of the last 12 months and is now set to be the artist of the next 12 months."
An exclusive interview with the singer will be published by Radio 1 and BBC News in the coming weeks.
The singer was presented with her award by Radio 1's Jack Saunders
The 26-year-old has had a long path to success.
Born Kayleigh Amstutz, she was brought up in the conservative city of Willard, Missouri, where she attended church three times a week and was taught that being gay was a sin.
She signed her first record deal in 2017, based on the strength of a song she had uploaded to YouTube called Die Young.
Cast as a singer-songwriter in mould of Lorde and Lana Del Rey, she failed to make much of an impact, and was dropped by her label during the pandemic.
But by that stage, she had already recorded a song that would become her calling card.
Titled Pink Pony Club, it was inspired by a visit to an LA gay club, and helped her define a new sound - camp, liberated and packed with singalong choruses.
The experience also spawned her campy stage persona, which she has described as a "larger-than-life, drag queen version of myself".
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After finding a new record label, she released her debut album, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, in September 2023.
A slow-burning success, it only sold a few thousand copies in its first week of release. But word began to spread - and when she played California's Coachella Festival last April, the crowd that turned up for her mid-afternoon set was huge.
More importantly, the show was broadcast on YouTube - going viral after Roan leaned into the TV cameras and declared: "I'm your favourite artist's favourite artist." The performance has subsequently been watched more than a million times.
Around the same time, she released a stand-alone single called Good Luck, Babe, that talked about her experience of falling in love with her best friend.
"It's very common in queer relationships, when someone is still coming to terms with their queerness, [that] they'll kiss 100 boys to 'stop the feeling', as the song says.
"And it's like, 'Sure, OK. Your time will come.'"
The single eventually reached number two in the UK charts, and The Rise And Fall Of The Midwest Princess became a number one album after it was re-released on vinyl last summer.
Since then, Roan has been nominated for six Grammy awards, including album of the year, and won best new artist at the Billboard Music Awards in December.
She has also experienced the downside of her sudden fame, and spoke out about the "creepy behaviour" of certain fans who "yelled" and "harassed" her at private moments; and who had approached her family and friends.
The singer has taken time off at the start of 2025 to work on new music, but will headline the Reading & Leeds festival this summer.
Previous winners of the BBC's Sound of list include Adele, Ellie Goulding, 50 Cent, PinkPantheress and girl group Flo.
Art-rock group The Last Dinner Party took the title last year, and went on to top the charts with their debut album, Prelude To Ecstasy.
Runners-up for this year's prize included jazz outfit Ezra Collective and dance producer Barry Can't Swim.
To qualify, artists could not have had more than two UK top 10 albums or two UK top 10 singles by 30 September 2024.
The rules were relaxed this year to recognise the challenges of achieving crossover success in the streaming era - when an artist can reach number one without becoming a household name.
U.S. flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken January 8, 2025.
TikTok will appear before the US Supreme Court on Friday in a last-ditch effort to overturn a ban, in a case testing the limits of national security and free speech.
The popular social media platform is challenging a law passed last year ordering the firm to be split from its Chinese owner or be blocked from the US by 19 January.
The US government is arguing that without a sale, TikTok could be used by China as a tool for spying and political manipulation.
But TikTok rejects that claim, arguing it has been unfairly targeted and the measure violates the free speech of its some 170 million American users.
Lower courts have sided with the government, but the case was complicated last month when President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the dispute and asked for the enforcement of the law to be paused to grant him time to work out a deal.
Analysts have said it was not clear what the Supreme Court will decide, but that reversing the prior ruling - even with a future president's blessing - would be unusual.
"When you have a real government interest pitted against a real constitutional value, it ends up being a very close case," said Cardozo School of Law professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat.
"But in such close cases, the government often gets the benefit of the doubt."
A decision by Supreme Court could be made within days.
Congress passed the law against TikTok last year with support from both the Democratic and Republican parties. The moment marked the culmination of years of concern about the wildly popular platform, which is known for its viral videos and traction among young people.
The legislation does not forbid use of the app, but would require tech giants such as Apple and Google to stop offering it and inhibit updates, which analysts suggest would kill it over time.
TikTok is already banned from government devices in many countries, including in the UK. It faces more complete bans in some countries, including India.
The US argues that TikTok is a "grave" threat because the Chinese government could coerce its owner, ByteDance, to turn over user data or manipulate what it shows users to serve Chinese interests.
Last December, a three-judge appeals court decision upheld the law, noting China's record of acting through private companies and saying the measure was justified as "part of a broader effort to counter a well-substantiated national security threat posed" by the country.
TikTok has repeatedly denied any potential influence by the Chinese Communist Party and has said the law violates the First Amendment free speech rights of its users.
It has asked the Supreme Court to strike down the law as unconstitutional, or order its enforcement to be halted to enable a review of the legislation, which it said was based on "inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information".
Trump is set to take office the day after the law would come into force.
He had called for banning the app in the US during his first term, but changed his tune on the campaign trail.
The brief that Trump's lawyers filed late last month did not take a position on legal dispute, but said the case presented "unprecedented, novel, and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side, and foreign policy and national-security concerns on the other".
Noting his election win, it said Trump "opposes banning TikTok" and "seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office".
The filing came less than two weeks after Trump met TikTok's boss at Mar-a-Lago.
One of the president-elect's major donors, Jeff Yass of Susequehanna International Group, is a big stakeholder in the company.
However, Trump's nominee to serve as secretary of state, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, is in favour of banning the platform.
Investors who have expressed interest in buying the TikTok include Trump's former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
Attorney Peter Choharis, who is part of a group that filed its own brief supporting the US government's case, said it was hard to predict what the court - which has a conservative majority - would do, noting that several recent court decisions have overturned longstanding precedent.
But he said even if Trump was granted the opportunity to try to work out a deal, he expected a ban eventually.
"I don't see any president, including future President Trump, being able to resolve this in a way that's satisfactory for US national security because I don't think ByteDance will agree to it," he said.
The prospect of losing TikTok in the US has prompted outcry from many users, some of whom filed their own legal action last year.
In their filing they said the decision that TikTok could be shuttered "because ideas on that platform might persuade Americans of one thing or another - even of something potentially harmful to our democracy - is utterly antithetical to the First Amendment".
Other groups weighing in on the dispute include the American Civil Liberties Union and Freedom of the Press Foundation, which argued that the US had failed to present "credible evidence of ongoing or imminent harm" caused by the social media app.
Mr Choharis said the government had a right to take measures to defend itself, arguing that the fight was not "about speech" or "content" but about the Chinese government's role.
"It's about control and how the Chinese Communist Party specifically, and the Chinese government more generally, pursue strategic aims using many internet firms and especially social media companies - specifically including TikTok," he said.
The Los Angeles wildfires are on track to be among the costliest in US history, with losses already expected to exceed more than $50bn (£40bn).
In a preliminary estimate, private forecaster Accuweather said it expected losses of between $52bn and $57bn as the blazes rip through an area that is home to some of the most expensive property in the US.
The insurance industry is also bracing for a major hit, with analysts from firms such as Morningstar and JP Morgan forecasting insured losses more than $8bn.
Nearly 2,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the fires, which has also claimed at least five lives.
With authorities still working to contain the fires, the scope of the losses is still unfolding.
"This is a terrible disaster," said Accuweather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter.
The 2018 fire that broke out in northern California near the town of Paradise currently ranks as the disaster with highest insured costs, at roughly $12.5bn, according to insurance giant Aon.
That blaze, known as the Camp fire, killed 85 people and displaced more than 50,000.
The high property values in this case mean it is likely to end up as one of the top five costliest wildfires in the US, said Aon, which looks at insured losses.
Nearly 200,000 people in the Los Angeles area are under evacuation orders, with another 180,000 facing warnings.
Even after the situation is under control, Mr Porter said the events could have long-term affects on health and tourism.
It also spells trouble for the insurance industry, which was already in crisis.
Homeowners in the US with mortgages are typically required by banks to have property insurance.
As companies stop offering coverage, people are turning in surging numbers to home insurance plans offered by state governments, which are typically more expensive while offering less protection.
In California, the number of policies offered through the state's Fair plan has more than doubled since 2020, from about 200,000 to more than 450,000 in September of last year.
Areas hit by the fires rank as some of the places with highest take-up, according to data from the programme, which was already warning of risks to its financial stability.
Denise Rappmund, a senior analyst at Moody's Ratings, said the fires would have "widespread, negative impacts for the state's broader insurance market".
"Increased recovery costs will likely drive up premiums and may reduce property insurance availability," she said, adding that the state was also facing potential long-term damage to property values and strain to public finances.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves is travelling to China in a bid to boost trade and economic ties, as she faces pressure over government borrowing costs hitting their highest level in years.
The three day-visit has been criticised by some Conservatives who claim she should have cancelled the trip to prioritise dealing with economic issues at home.
Government borrowing costs have hit their highest levels for several years, meaning that uses up more tax revenue, leaving less money to spend on other things.
Economists have warned this could mean spending cuts affecting public services or tax rises that could hit people's pay or businesses' ability to grow.
Travelling to China with the chancellor are senior financial figures, including the governor of the Bank of England and the chair of HSBC.
There she will meet China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing before flying to Shanghai for discussion with UK firms operating in China.
The government is looking to revive an annual economic dialogue with China that has not been held since the pandemic.
Ties have been strained in recent years by growing concerns about the actions of China's Communist leaders, allegations of Chinese hacking and spying and its jailing of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong.
The Conservatives have criticised the chancellor for proceeding with the planned trip rather than staying in the UK to address the cost of government borrowing and slide in the value of the pound.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused Reeves of being "missing in action" and said she should have stayed in the UK.
But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, standing in for Reeves in the Commons on Thursday, said the trip was "important" for UK trade and there was "no need for an emergency intervention".
Former chancellor Philip Hammond also told the World at One programme on Thursday that he "wouldn't personally recommend the chancellor cancels her trip to China. This can wait until she gets back next week".
Governments generally spend more than they raise in tax so they borrow money to fill the gap, usually by selling bonds to investors.
Interest rates - known as the yield - on government bonds have been going up since around August, a rise that has also affected government bonds in the US and other countries.
The yield on a 10-year bond has surged to its highest level since 2008, while the yield on a 30-year bond is at its highest since 1998, meaning it costs the government more to borrow over the long term.
Reeves has previously committed only to make significant tax and spend announcements once a year at the autumn Budget.
But if higher borrowing costs persist, there is the possibility of cuts to spending before that or at least lower spending increases than would otherwise happen.
Any further spending cuts could be announced in the chancellor's planned fiscal statement on 26 March , ahead of a spending review that has already asked government departments to find efficiency savings worth 5% of their budgets.
Israel continues to build settlements in the occupied West Bank
On a clear day, the skyscrapers of Tel Aviv are visible from the hill above Karnei Shomron, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
"I do feel different from Tel Aviv," said Sondra Baras, who has lived in Karnei Shomron for almost 40 years. "I'm living in a place where my ancestors lived thousands of years ago. I do not live in occupied territory; I live in Biblical Judea and Samaria."
For many settlers here, the line between the State of Israel, and the territory it captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war, has been erased from their narrative.
The visitors' audio-guide at the hill-top viewpoint describes the West Bank as "a region of Israel" and the Palestinian city of Nablus as the place where God promised the land to the Jews.
But formal annexation of this territory has so far remained a dream for settlers like Sondra, even while settlements - viewed as illegal by the UN's top court and most other countries - have mushroomed year after year.
Now many see an opportunity to go further, with the election of Donald Trump as the next US president.
"I was thrilled that Trump won," Sondra told me. "I very much want to extend sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. And I feel that's something Trump could support."
Settler leader Sondra Baras has lived in the West Bank for nearly four decades
There are signs that some in his incoming administration might agree with her.
Mike Huckabee, nominated as Trump's new ambassador to Israel, signalled his support for Israeli claims on the West Bank in an interview last year.
"When people use the term 'occupied', I say: 'Yes, Israel is occupying the land, but it's the occupation of a land that God gave them 3,500 years ago. It is their land,'" he said.
Reuters
Mike Huckabee, seen with Donald Trump on the campaign trail last year, is the president-elect's nominee for US Ambassador to Israel
Yisrael Gantz, head of the regional settlement council that oversees Karnei Shomron, says he has already noticed a change in tone from the incoming Trump administration as a result of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, which triggered the war on Gaza.
"Both here in Israel and in the US, they understand that we must apply sovereignty here," he told me. "It's a process. I can't tell you it will be tomorrow. But in my eyes, the dream of a two-state solution is dead."
US President Joe Biden has always maintained the US position in support of a future Palestinian state alongside Israel. Asked whether he was hearing something different from the incoming Trump administration, Mr Gantz replied, "Of course, yes."
But there are also signs that Israelis lobbying for annexation of the West Bank - some of them in cabinet positions - might be disappointed in Trump's decisions.
Their hopes have been fuelled by memories of his first term as president, during which he broke with decades of US policy - and international consensus - by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, which were captured from Syria in 1967.
EPA
Many Israelis welcomed Donald Trump's election win in November
But supporting annexation of the West Bank would be a much bigger and thornier issue for Trump.
It would likely alienate Washington's other key ally, Saudi Arabia, complicating Trump's chances for a wider regional deal.
It could also alienate some moderate Republicans in the US Congress, concerned about the impact on West Bank Palestinians, and their future status under Israeli rule.
Settler leader Sondra Baras told me that West Bank Palestinians who did not want to live in Israel could "go wherever they want".
Challenged on why they should leave their homeland, she said: "I'm not kicking them out, but things change. How many wars did they start? And they lost."
"If sovereignty were to go forward, there would be a lot of yelling and screaming, absolutely," she continued. "But at some point, you create a fact that's irreversible."
Shortly after Trump's election victory last November, Israel's far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, publicly called for annexing the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
"2025 must be the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria," he said.
Mohaib Salameh's home on the outskirts of Nablus has been demolished
Whether or not the new US president agrees, many Palestinians say discussion of formal annexation misses the point - that Israel is, in practice, already annexing territory here.
One of them is Mohaib Salameh. He leads me across the rubble of his family home, built on private Palestinian land, on the outskirts of Nablus. The building was ruled illegal by an Israeli court last year and demolished.
Israel has full control over security and planning in 60% of the West Bank on an interim basis, as outlined in the Oslo peace accords three decades ago.
While settlements are expanding, permits for Palestinian homes are almost never granted. And lawyers say demolitions like this are increasing.
Mohaib Salameh says his now-demolished home posed no threat to the Israelis
"This is all part of policies to force us to leave," Mohaib said. "It's a policy of forced migration. What difference does it make to them [Israelis] if I build here or not? We pose no threat to them."
Palestinians are also increasingly being forced off their land by violent Israeli settlers - who have been sanctioned by the US and UK, but largely left unchallenged by Israeli courts at home.
B’Tselem
This image, provided by an Israeli human rights organisation, shows what they describe as teenage settlers attacking Palestinian homes in the southern West Bank
Activists say more than 20 Palestinian communities in the West Bank have been expelled over the past few years by increasingly violent attacks, and that settlers are now encroaching into new areas outside Israel's interim civil control.
Mohaib told me that no US president had ever protected Palestinians, and that he doesn't believe Donald Trump will either.
America's next president is widely seen as a friend of Israel.
But he's also a man who also likes closing deals - and avoiding conflicts.
Donald Trump has said that a meeting is being arranged between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US president-elect gave no timeline for when the meeting might take place.
"He wants to meet and we are setting it up," he said in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Trump has promised to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine soon after he takes office on 20 January and has expressed scepticism about US military and financial support for Kyiv.
The planet has moved a major step closer to warming more than 1.5C, new data shows, despite world leaders vowing a decade ago they would try to avoid this.
The European Copernicus climate service, one of the main global data providers, said on Friday that 2024 was the first calendar year to pass the symbolic threshold, as well as the world's hottest on record.
This does not mean the international 1.5C target has been broken, because that refers to a long-term average over decades, but does bring us nearer to doing so as fossil fuel emissions continue to heat the atmosphere.
Last week UN chief António Guterres described the recent run of temperature records as "climate breakdown".
"We must exit this road to ruin - and we have no time to lose," he said in his New Year message, calling for countries to slash emissions of planet-warming gases in 2025.
Global average temperatures for 2024 were around 1.6C above those of the pre-industrial period - the time before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels - according to Copernicus data.
This breaks the record set in 2023 by just over 0.1C, and means the last 10 years are now the 10 warmest years on record.
The Met Office, Nasa and other climate groups are due to release their own data later on Friday. All are expected to agree that 2024 was the warmest on record, although precise figures vary slightly.
Last year's heat is predominantly due to humanity's emissions of planet-warming gases, such as carbon dioxide, which are still at record highs.
Natural weather patterns such as El Niño - where surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean become unusually warm - played a smaller role.
"By far and away the largest contribution impacting our climate is greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere," Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, tells the BBC.
The 1.5C figure has become a powerful symbol in international climate negotiations ever since it was agreed in Paris in 2015, with many of the most vulnerable countries considering it a matter of survival.
The risks from climate change, such as intense heatwaves, rising sea-levels and loss of wildlife, would be much higher at 2C of warming than at 1.5C, according to a landmark UN report from 2018.
Yet the world has been moving closer and closer to breaching the 1.5C barrier.
"When exactly we will cross the long-term 1.5C threshold is hard to predict, but we're obviously very close now," says Myles Allen of the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford, and an author of the UN report.
The current trajectory would likely see the world pass 1.5C of long-term warming by the early 2030s. This would be politically significant, but it wouldn't mean game over for climate action.
"It's not like 1.49C is fine, and 1.51C is the apocalypse - every tenth of a degree matters and climate impacts get progressively worse the more warming we have," explains Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth, a research group in the US.
Even fractions of a degree of global warming can bring more frequent and intense extreme weather, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall.
That the world is breaking new records is not a surprise: 2024 was always expected to be hot, because of the effect of the El Niño weather pattern - which ended around April last year - on top of human-caused warming.
But the margin of several records in recent years has been less expected, with some scientists fearing it could represent an acceleration of warming.
"I think it's safe to say that both 2023 and 2024 temperatures surprised most climate scientists - we didn't think we'd be seeing a year above 1.5C this early," says Dr Hausfather.
"Since 2023 we've had around 0.2C of extra warming that we can't fully explain, on top of what we had expected from climate change and El Niño," agrees Helge Gößling, a climate physicist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany
Various theories have been suggested to explain this 'extra' warmth, such as an apparent reduction in the low-level cloud cover that tends to cool the planet, and prolonged ocean heat following the end of El Niño.
"The question is whether this acceleration is something persistent linked to human activities that means we will have steeper warming in the future, or whether it is a part of natural variability," Dr Gößling adds.
"At the moment it's very hard to say."
Despite this uncertainty, scientists stress that humans still have control over the future climate, and sharp reductions in emissions can lessen the consequences of warming.
"Even if 1.5 degrees is out the window, we still can probably limit warming to 1.6C, 1.7C or 1.8C this century," says Dr Hausfather.
"That's going to be far, far better than if we keep burning coal, oil and gas unabated and end up at 3C or 4C - it still really matters."
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves is travelling to China in a bid to boost trade and economic ties, as she faces pressure over government borrowing costs hitting their highest level in years.
The three day-visit has been criticised by some Conservatives who claim she should have cancelled the trip to prioritise dealing with economic issues at home.
Government borrowing costs have hit their highest levels for several years, meaning that uses up more tax revenue, leaving less money to spend on other things.
Economists have warned this could mean spending cuts affecting public services or tax rises that could hit people's pay or businesses' ability to grow.
Travelling to China with the chancellor are senior financial figures, including the governor of the Bank of England and the chair of HSBC.
There she will meet China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing before flying to Shanghai for discussion with UK firms operating in China.
The government is looking to revive an annual economic dialogue with China that has not been held since the pandemic.
Ties have been strained in recent years by growing concerns about the actions of China's Communist leaders, allegations of Chinese hacking and spying and its jailing of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong.
The Conservatives have criticised the chancellor for proceeding with the planned trip rather than staying in the UK to address the cost of government borrowing and slide in the value of the pound.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused Reeves of being "missing in action" and said she should have stayed in the UK.
But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, standing in for Reeves in the Commons on Thursday, said the trip was "important" for UK trade and there was "no need for an emergency intervention".
Former chancellor Philip Hammond also told the World at One programme on Thursday that he "wouldn't personally recommend the chancellor cancels her trip to China. This can wait until she gets back next week".
Governments generally spend more than they raise in tax so they borrow money to fill the gap, usually by selling bonds to investors.
Interest rates - known as the yield - on government bonds have been going up since around August, a rise that has also affected government bonds in the US and other countries.
The yield on a 10-year bond has surged to its highest level since 2008, while the yield on a 30-year bond is at its highest since 1998, meaning it costs the government more to borrow over the long term.
Reeves has previously committed only to make significant tax and spend announcements once a year at the autumn Budget.
But if higher borrowing costs persist, there is the possibility of cuts to spending before that or at least lower spending increases than would otherwise happen.
Any further spending cuts could be announced in the chancellor's planned fiscal statement on 26 March , ahead of a spending review that has already asked government departments to find efficiency savings worth 5% of their budgets.
In one verified video, a policeman is seen beating a protester with a baton
The death of a teenage boy sparked violent protests in a city in north-west China, the BBC has confirmed through verified video.
In the videos shared on social media, protesters can be seen hurling objects at police and officers beating some demonstrators in Pucheng in Shaanxi province.
Authorities said the teenager fell to his death on 2 January in an accident at his school dormitory. But following his death allegations began spreading on social media that there had been a cover-up.
Protests erupted soon after and lasted several days, before they were apparently quelled earlier this week. The BBC has seen no further evidence of protest in Pucheng since then.
Public demonstrations are not uncommon in China, but authorities have been particularly sensitive about them since the 2022 White Paper protests against Covid policies, which saw rare criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping.
One clip shows a protester wiping blood from his head
State media has been silent on the protests in Pucheng. Any clips or mention of the demonstrations have been largely censored from Chinese social media, as is usually the case for incidents deemed sensitive by authorities.
But several videos have been leaked out of China and posted on X.
The BBC has confirmed these videos were filmed at the Pucheng Vocational Education Centre, and found no earlier versions online prior to the reported outbreak of the protests over the past few days.
When contacted by the BBC, a representative from the publicity department of the Pucheng government denied there had been protests. There was no answer when we rang an official handling media queries.
In a statement released earlier this week, local authorities said that the teenager surnamed Dang was a third-year student at the education centre in Pucheng.
Prior to his death, Dang had been woken up in the night by other students chatting in his dormitory, their statement said. He got into an argument and altercation with a boy, which was resolved by a school official.
Later that night, his body was found by another student at the foot of the dormitory block.
The statement described it as "an accident where a student fell from a height at school". It added that the police had conducted investigations and an autopsy, and "at present exclude it as a criminal case".
But allegations have swirled online for days that there was more to the story and that the school and authorities were hiding the truth. One account claimed, without proof, that Dang killed himself after he was bullied by the boy he'd fought with earlier.
Unverified remarks from his family have been circulating, alleging that the injuries on Dang's body were inconsistent with the authorities' version of events and that they were not allowed to examine his body for long.
The allegations appeared to have incensed many in Pucheng, sparking protests that drew at least hundreds of people.
Bullying has become a highly sensitive topic in China in recent years, with past cases of student deaths triggering protests. Last month, a Chinese court handed out lengthy jail sentences to two teenagers who murdered a classmate.
Protesters were also seen hurling objects at police officers holding shields
There are also videos posted on X on Monday, which the BBC has confirmed were filmed at the Pucheng Vocational Education Centre, showing people mourning the teenager's death. They placed flowers and offerings at the entrance of the school, and conducted a traditional mourning ritual by throwing pieces of paper from the rooftop of a school building.
Other videos circulating online appear to show demonstrators, many of them young, storming a building and clashing with police while shouting "give us the truth".
One verified clip shows a school official confronted by shouting protesters who shove him around. Others show destroyed offices in the compound, and protesters pushing down a barricade at the school entrance.
Another show protesters hurling objects such as traffic cones at groups of retreating police; and officers tackling and detaining people while beating them with batons. Some protesters are seen with blood on their heads and faces.
There is little information on what happened next, but reports on social media suggest a much larger police presence in Pucheng in recent days with no more reports of demonstrations.
Authorities have also urged the public not to "create rumours, believe in rumours, or spread rumours".
A 4x4 makes its way through a snow covered road in Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Commuters are being warned of icy roads and travel disruption, as temperatures plummeted again overnight across the UK.
Fresh weather warnings have been issued, with snow, ice and fog forecast across southern England, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland on Thursday.
It will be mainly dry elsewhere with winter sunshine, but temperatures could fall again to as low as -16C on Thursday night.
The cold snap has already brought heavy snowfall to some areas, and dozens of flood alerts and warnings are in place due to either heavy rain or melting snow.
On Wednesday the lowest temperature recorded was -8.4C (16F) in Shap, Cumbria, according to the Met Office.
It comes as an amber cold health alert remains in place for all of England until Sunday, meaning the forecast weather is expected to have significant impacts across health - including a rise in deaths.
The Hills/BBC Weather Watcher
A sheep walks in snow in Huddersfield
The Met Office says travel disruption to road and rail services is likely on Thursday in areas covered by warnings, as well potential for accidents in icy places.
There are five warnings in place:
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until midnight on Thursday
A yellow warning for ice has been issued until 10:30 across southern England and south-east Wales
Two yellow warnings for snow and ice are in force until 11:00 GMT - one across western Wales and north-west England, and south-west England; and another for Northern Ireland
A yellow warning for fog until 09:00 in Northern Ireland
Sue B/BBC Weather Watchers
A teenager made a snow sculpture of Venus in her garden in Leeds
On Wednesday snow caused some roads to close and motorists to be stationary for "long periods of time" in Devon and Cornwall, according to authorities there.
Gritters working into Thursday morning have been fitted with ploughs to clear routes in the area.
Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.
"Cold conditions will last until at least the weekend, so we urge drivers to remain vigilant of the risks posed by ice and, in some locations, snow," said RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson.
National Rail have also advised passengers to check before they travel, as ice and snow can mean speed restrictions and line closures.
On Wednesday evening, poor weather was affecting Northern and Great Western Railway.
Buses are also replacing trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog until Monday.
A car covered in snow on a road in Buxton, Derbyshire
The wintry conditions have caused significant disruption across the UK since snow swept many parts of the country at the weekend.
Hundreds of schools were closed in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including schools in Yorkshire, Merseyside, the Midlands and Aberdeenshire.
The country has also been hit by widespread flooding in recent days. Currently there are 68 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - in England and three in Wales.
The weather is expected to be less cold over the weekend.
The plane maker has joined the growing list of firms making donations to the fund
US aviation giant Boeing has told BBC News it is donating $1m (£812,600) to an inauguration fund for President-elect Donald Trump.
Google has also confirmed that it has made a similar donation as the two firms join a growing list of major American companies contributing to the fund.
The list also includes oil producer Chevron and technology giants Meta, Amazon and Uber.
Trump's inauguration, marking the start of his second term in the White House, is set to take place on 20 January.
"We are pleased to continue Boeing's bipartisan tradition of supporting US Presidential Inaugural Committees," Boeing said.
The company added that it has made similar donations to each of the past three presidential inauguration funds.
Boeing is working to recover from a safety and quality control crisis, as well as dealing with the losses from a strike last year.
The company is also building the next presidential aircraft, known as Air Force One. The two jets are expected to come into service as early as next year.
During his first term as president, Trump forced the plane maker to renegotiate its contract, calling the initial deal too expensive.
Google became the latest big tech firm to donate to the fund, following similar announcements by Meta and Amazon. It also said it will stream the event around the world.
"Google is pleased to support the 2025 inauguration, with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage," said Karan Bhatia, Google's global head of government affairs and public policy.
Car companies Ford, General Motors and Toyota have also donated a $1m each to the inaugural committee.
In the energy industry, Chevron confirmed that it has made a donation to the fund but declined to say how much.
"Chevron has a long tradition of celebrating democracy by supporting the inaugural committees of both parties. We are proud to be doing so again this year," said Bill Turene, Chevron's manager of global media relations.
The accused mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks on the US will no longer plead guilty on Friday, after the US government moved to block plea deals reached last year from going ahead.
In a filing with a federal appeals court, the justice department argued that the government would be irreparably harmed if the pleas were accepted.
In its decision, the court said it needed more time to weigh the case and put the proceedings on hold. It has not yet ruled on whether Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has the power to walk back the plea deal.
The ruling comes after a military judge and appeals panel rejected a previous move by Austin to revoke the agreements, which had been signed by a senior official he appointed.
Families of some of those killed in the 9/11 attacks had criticised the deals, while others saw them as a way of moving the complex and long-running case forward.
In its filing, the government said going ahead with the deals would mean it was denied 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".
"A short delay to allow this Court to weigh the merits of the government's request in this momentous case will not materially harm the respondents," it said.
Almost 3,000 people were killed in the 11 September 2001 attacks, when hijackers seized passenger planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside of Washington. Another plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back.
The three men have been in US custody for over 20 years and the pre-trial hearings in the case have lasted for more than a decade.
Arguments have focused on whether evidence has been tainted by torture the defendants faced in CIA custody after their arrests.
Getty Images
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged 'ringleader' of the 9/11 plot
Mohammed was subjected to simulated drowning, or "waterboarding", 183 times while held in secret CIA prisons following his arrest in 2003. Other so-called "advanced interrogation techniques" included sleep deprivation and forced nudity.
Several family members of victims had criticised the deal struck last year as being too lenient.
Speaking to the BBC's Today Programme last summer, Terry Strada, whose husband, Tom, died in the attacks, described the deals as "giving the detainees in Guantanamo Bay what they want".
Others said they were disappointed by further delays to the case.
Stephan Gerhardt, whose younger brother Ralph was killed in the attacks, flew to Guantanamo Bay to watch Mohammed plead guilty.
He said that while the deals were "not a victory" for the families, he had accepted them as a way of moving forward.
"It's not the conclusion to this case that anyone wanted… [But] it is time to find a way to close this, to convict these men because they're not getting younger, they're not in great health," he said.
"Let's convict them so they don't die innocent because that would be the bigger moral tragedy that they die innocent and the families don't even have a conviction."
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen in the early hours of Tuesday in Aberdeen city centre
Police are searching for two sisters in Aberdeen who were last seen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32 and who live in Aberdeen city centre, were last seen in Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 02:12 GMT on Tuesday.
They then crossed the bridge and turned into a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Police Scotland said they are carrying "extensive enquires" and searches to find the sisters, including the use of police dogs and the marine unit.
Family handout
The Huszti sisters were last seen on CCTV in Aberdeen's Market Street at Victoria Bridge
Both Eliza and Henrietta are described as being white, slim build with long, brown hair.
Police said the side of Victoria Bridge in the Torry area, where they were last seen, contained many commercial and industrial units and searches are ongoing there.
It added it was urging businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday and dashcam footage.
Ch Insp Darren Bruce said: "We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101 quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday, 7 January, 2025."
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