Digital Dispatches

Forget catching big air on the ski slope or staying upright on an ice rink. If there’s any such thing as a winter superpower, it’s knowing how to dress to stay warm. “When we dress appropriately, it allows us to enjoy the outside weather,” says Dr. Cheyenne Falat, assistant medical director of the adult emergency department at the University of Maryland Medical Center, who specializes in environmental emergency medicine.

While authorities still don’t know what sparked the deadly fires in the Los Angeles area, they do know one clear way the flames have spread: embers. At least 24 people have died in the fires that have destroyed more than 12,000 structures since starting last Tuesday. The flames have been fueled by strong winds, which not only aid combustion by increasing the oxygen supply but carry embers to unburned areas. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Contrary to popular belief, experts say most homes destroyed by wildfires aren’t overcome by a racing wall of flames, but rather burn after being ignited by airborne embers. Here’s a look at what embers are and the role they play in wildfires. Read More: How to Help Victims of the Los Angeles Wildfires What is an ember? An ember is a piece of burning debris.

I was two hours into hosting a brunch playdate with a few other couples and our respective first babies, cleaning up the remnants of our unwieldy everything bagels, when I realized that I had not been asked a single question all morning. It was New York at the height of the Lean-In era, and we were a bunch of ambitious 30-somethings, so the conversation naturally centered around everyone’s jobs.

President Joe Biden will leave the White House, presumably for the last time, on Jan. 20. And while his successor, Donald Trump, has promised to implement a raft of policies on Day One of his new term, Biden isn’t leaving before pushing through a few of his own. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In December, Biden announced nearly $2.5 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, commuted death-row sentences, and granted clemency to a record number of prisoners.

PRAYAGRAJ, India — Tens of thousands of naked Hindu ascetics and millions of pilgrims took dips in freezing water at the confluence of sacred rivers in northern India on Tuesday, in the first of a series of major baths in the Maha Kumbh festival, the largest religious congregation on Earth. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Holding tridents, swords, spears and small two-headed drums, ash-smeared Hindu holy men marched and rode chariots at sunrise toward the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers in the northern city of Prayagraj.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 18 people overnight, including six women and four children, health officials said Tuesday, as Israel and Hamas appeared to be narrowing in on a ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war and release dozens of hostages. Officials have expressed mounting optimism that they can conclude an agreement in the coming days after more than a year of talks that have repeatedly stalled. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels meanwhile fired a missile at central Israel, setting off sirens and sending people fleeing to shelters without causing any casualties.