Nominations will now be announced on Jan 23. They were first supposed to have been made public Jan. 9, but were pushed back to Monday. The fires continue burning and are expected to pick up speed early Tuesday when high winds blow through Los Angeles County.

“We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community,” the Academy said in a statement telling voters they now have until Jan. 17 to make their selections.

Voting for the 97th Oscars was initially set to end Jan. 12. A Feb. 12 luncheon for nominees was canceled, but the March 2 award ceremony at the Dolby Theatre is expected to happen as planned.

Performers Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Kieran Culkin, Cynthia Erivo, Demi Moore and Ariana Grande are among the favorites to get a nod from Academy voters.

Brody is one of many stars who lost a home to the wildfires. Billy Crystal, James Woods, Mel Gibson, Mandy Moore and John Goodman were also reportedly impacted as well.

Four fires had damaged more than 62 square miles of land and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area by Monday. The Palisades Fire, which was the largest of the blazes, was only 14% contained going its seventh straight day of destruction.

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“The investigation revealed that Amira T. White, a bank manager, stole $54,648 from cash boxes located at the bank and maintained by her,” the Bergen County prosecutors’ office announced on Friday. “Additionally, White withdrew approximately $15,000 from a customer’s account and diverted those funds to her own cash box balance in order to conceal the ongoing theft.”

White surrendered to authorities last week and was charged with two counts of theft by deception, prosecutors said.

The name and location of the bank where White worked was not disclosed, nor was the name of the customer whose account was ripped off to cover White’s crimes.

Lucrecia Jadan Sumba was pronounced dead late Saturday afternoon after her remains were recovered from a trash receptacle near a bank in the small town of Coopersburg, according to Lehigh Valley Live.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan reportedly said no crime had been committed in Lehigh County, but stated that law enforcement in another state apprehended a person of interest. NJ.com said Sumba’s death is being investigated as a homicide.

A fundraising page set up to help the victim’s family describes her as a married mother of four who came to the U.S. from Ecuador in 2021. Colleagues at the nail salon where she worked became concerned when Sumba didn’t show up for work Thursday after having off the previous day.

The victim was said to have come to the United States “looking for a better future for her family” and was working toward her GED.

Coopersburg is located just south of Allentown near Pennsylvania’s border with New Jersey. It’s home to roughly 2,500 people.

Carter, the nation’s 39th President, died Dec. 29 and was buried in his hometown of Plains, Ga., last week. President Biden ordered a 30-day mourning period for the Democrat, who lived to be 100 years old. That means flags will be at half-staff when Trump is inaugurated Jan. 20.

The president-elect has expressed frustration that his day of celebration will coincide with the mourning of a former president.

“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” he posted to social media Jan. 3. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that he, too, is ready to take a break from mourning Carter to begin celebrating Trump.

“As we unite our country and usher in this new era of leadership, I ordered all flags to be raised to full-staff at the Texas Capitol and all state buildings for the inauguration of President Trump,” the Republican governor said in a statement

Flying flags at half-staff for 30 days after a president dies is U.S. policy, though there are no clear consequences for breaking with that tradition. Flags are lowered for 10 days to mourn the death of a vice president, speaker of the House and an active or retired Supreme Court chief justice.

Carter served a single term in the White House before leaving office in 1981. No U.S. president lived longer. All five living presidents attended his funeral in Washington on Thursday. They are Trump, Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Details for Trump’s inauguration continued to take shape Monday with musicians Carrie Underwood and the Village People announcing they’ll sing for the 47th president.

“We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics,” the Village People posted on Facebook.

Their 1978 song “YMCA” frequently plays at Trump events. The president-elect told podcasters the Nelk Boys in 2022 that’s one of the songs he plays when hosting parties at Mar-a-Lago.

According to an internal investigation report obtained by the Smoking Gun on Friday, 28-year-old Lake County Deputy Sheriff Tristan Macomber rear-ended a 63-year-old woman’s Toyota Corolla, then claimed his brakes malfunctioned.

When investigators discovered that Macomber’s bodycam footage showed him operating a cellphone in the moments before the crash, the officer said he’d been texting with colleagues.

But after it was learned he was viewing “inappropriate pictures” rather than text messages, he confessed to be looking at “boobs or whatnot.”

The November crash, which caused the officer’s airbag to deploy, caused $10,000 worth of damage to his squad car and another $5,000 of damage to the vehicle he struck. No one appeared to have been injured.

While facing termination, the three-year veteran resigned from the force after admitting to “lying by omission,” Florida station WESH reported. He was also admonished for improper use of an electronic device and driving without a seatbelt.

The nearly $4 million beachfront property owned by Edwin Castro was destroyed by the Palisades Fire, according to TMZ. The blaze has also claimed the homes of better known Californians including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal and John Goodman.

The gossip site said Castro still owns other properties in the L.A. area, including a home in the California town of Altadena, where the Eaton Fire is burning, and a Hollywood Hills mansion he purchased for more than $25 million after six ping pong balls bounced his gross worth to just over $2 billion.

The 31-year-old lottery winner collected a lump sum totaling $628.5 million after taxes on Valentine’s Day 2023, according to USA Today.

In addition to buying at least three homes with his winnings, the newly minted billionaire is also said to have purchased several vintage cars.

A series of fires that began on Tuesday and continue to rage have so far been blamed for at least 10 deaths and billions of dollars in damage in Los Angeles County. Six fires actively burning early Friday evening had consumed over 37,000 acres of land.

“I’m standing here in what used to be our home, and the heartbreak is truly indescribable,” the 43-year-old influencer posted along with a video showing a close-up look at the destruction caused by the Palisades Fire.

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“This house wasn’t just a place to live — it was where we dreamed, laughed, and created the most beautiful memories as a family,” Hilton wrote, referring to her husband, Carter Reum, and their two young kids, Phoenix and London. “To see it reduced to ashes… it’s devastating beyond words.”

Hilton acknowledged that despite the devastation to her property, she was fortunate her family and pets weren’t harmed. She also lamented the fact so many Californians were dealing with the same feelings of loss.

“To everyone going through this pain, please know you’re not alone,” Hilton said. “We’re in this together. We will rebuild, we will heal, and we will rise stronger than before.”

Multiple wildfires combined throughout the week to destroy over 37,000 acres of land and kill at least 10 people in Los Angeles County. Celebrities including Billy Crystal, James Woods, Mandy Moore and John Goodman joined Hilton on a long list of famous names who lost homes to the blazes that continued raging Friday night.

TMZ reported the Malibu house Hilton lost is one of several properties she owns, and it is not her primary residence.

Jermaine Adams faces charges including aggravated sexual assault, home invasion burglary, aggravated arson, criminal restraint and making terroristic threats against the woman whose home he broke into around 5 p.m. Sunday, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday.

“Responding officers located a female victim who reported an unknown male entered her residence through a window before physically and sexually assaulting her,” prosecutors said. “The female victim was treated at a local hospital for multiple injuries.”

The horrific incident lasted for nearly two hours. After breaking into the home, Jermaine allegedly choked the victim multiple times with a clothesline and and threatened to kill her before she managed to escape and call police shortly before 7 p.m.

Adams is also accused of soaking the woman’s sweater in rum and trying to light it on fire, according to NJ.com. Investigating officers reportedly found a sweater in the victim’s home that had a burn mark on one of its arms.

Adam’s issues with the law date back to 1999, and he’s been arrested at least 11 times, according to electronic court records. His 25-year criminal history includes charges of animal cruelty, robbery and drug crimes. He’s twice been sentenced to prison, NJ.com reported.

Most recently, Adams was accused of beating a woman nearly beyond recognition over the course of three days last October. He was also charged with hitting a woman in the face in late 2023.

Prosecutors said Adams was being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility on a warrant for an unrelated matter when he was charged with Sunday’s attack. According to NJ.com, a new DNA lab has been credited with his swift arrest.

Mitchell White, a 67-year-old amputee, died last week along with the disabled son he stayed behind to care for.

“He was not going to leave his son behind. No matter what,” Mitchell White’s daughter told the Washington Post.

White’s son, Justin, was in his early 20s and had cerebral palsy. Both men died waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Mitchell White was found by the side of his son’s bed inside their home in Altadena.

Victor Shaw, 66, died with a garden hose in his hand outside the home that had been in his family for nearly 55 years. His body was discovered alongside an Altadena-area road on Wednesday, according to Los Angeles station KTLA.

Shaw lived in the home with his younger sister, Shari, who said she tried to get her brother to evacuate but he chose to fight the Eaton Fire rather than flee.

“When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn’t reply back, and I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm — I had to save myself,” Shari Shaw said. “I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave.”

Rodney Nickerson, 82, died in his bed at the Altadena home he purchased with a $5 down payment in 1968, according to his daughter.

“He said that he felt this was going to pass over and that he would be here,” Kimiko Nickerson said of her dad’s final moments, adding that he’d lived through his fair share of fires through the years.

Retired Rite Aid pharmacy technician Erliene Kelley died in her home not far from where Shaw and Nickerson were killed in the Eaton Fire, according to the New York Times.

Her neighbors said people in the area thought they were out of harm’s way until they suddenly smelled smoke and received emergency alerts.

“It was panic,” Terry Pyburn said. “Everyone took off and no one thought to check on anybody.”

Annette Rossilli, 85, stayed behind in her her Pacific Palisades home to stay with her dog, canary, two parrots and turtle, according to Luxe Homecare, the in-home care company which she used. Her body was found in her car on Wednesday.

Erliene Kelley chose not to evacuate her Altadeena home, even after several family members did. The Eaton fire destroyed the family’s home by Wednesday and they learned on Friday that Kelley had died.

Rory Callum Sykes, 32, died when the fire ripped through his family’s Malibu estate. The Australian actor had appeared on the 1998 British TV series “Kiddy Kapers.”

Randy Miod also died at his Malibu home, his mother, Carol Smith, told CNN.

“That’s the one and only house he ever owned,” Smith said. “He just felt so blessed to be able to live in Malibu. That was his dream come true because he’d been surfing since he was a teenager.”

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Charles Mortimer, 84, as another victim of the Palisades blaze. He died at hospital on Jan. 8 from acute myocardial infarction, effects of smoke inhalation, thermal injuries, and coronary artery atherosclerosis.

Dalyce Curry, 95, had her remains discovered in the ruins of the Altadena fire. A former actor, she had appeared as an extra in classic films like “The Ten Commandments” and “Blues Brothers” according to KABC.

The Eaton Fire has ravaged nearly 14,000 acres of the Altadena area.

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“I was kind of ill at ease while we were talking because I knew my neighborhood was on fire,” the polarizing filmmaker told NewsNation on Thursday.

When Gibson returned home, he found his place “looked like Dresden.”

Despite the tragedy, the 69-year-old showbiz vet was in relatively good spirits because his family and the chickens in his yard were mostly unharmed.

Gibson said he’d lived in the home for about 15 years and lost photographs and other personal items of sentimental value.

“You know, it’s emotional,” Gibson confessed. “It was home to me.”

The “Mad Max” star said the fires in his neighborhood seemed to strike at random, but his home was “perfectly burnt.” The gruff New York native claimed his house was so thoroughly destroyed it almost appeared to have been intentionally set on fire.

Gibson seemed uncertain to what extent his place was insured while considering what to do next. He’s unsure if he’ll rebuild in the same spot.

Among the neighbors he believed to have also been in the line of fire was fellow Oscar winner Ed Harris. The pair reportedly teamed up to oppose the installation of 5G towers in their Malibu neighborhood. In a letter posted online by the Environmental Health Trust, Harris wondered what would happen if such towers sparked a fire in that community.

The cause of the wildfires that have ripped through Malibu and other parts of Los Angeles County remains unknown. Their rapid spread has been blamed on heavy winds and dry conditions.