World News: The deadliest US apartment building fire in four decades

Monday, January 10

Firefighters work outside an apartment building after a deadly fire in the Bronx, on January 9, 2022, in New York.

The deadliest US apartment building fire in four decades

Multiple people are in critical condition after deadly Bronx fire, U.S. and Russian officials meet and more news you need to know Monday.

NFT auction: USA TODAY and iconic artist Peter Tunney are teaming up to benefit charity – and you can get involved.

Good morning, Daily Briefing readers. At least 19 people are dead and multiple people are in the hospital following the deadliest residential fire in the United States since 1982. The tragedy came four days after 12 people died in a fire at a rowhouse converted to apartments in Philadelphia. And, a string of meetings between American and Russian officials has launched in Switzerland with ties between the two nations at a low point over Russia's military buildup near Ukraine.

It's Jane, with Monday's news.

📺 Comedian Bob Saget, the star of TV's "Full House" and host of "America's Funniest Home Videos," has died. He was 65.

Comedian Bob Saget has died at age 65.

Phillip Faraone, Getty Images

🎾 An Australian judge reinstated tennis star Novak Djokovic's visa, which was canceled after his arrival last week because he is unvaccinated.

🚨 Brazil cliff collapse: At least 10 people died and dozens were injured when a rock formation tore away from a cliff and slammed onto boats packed with tourists.

🏆 2022 Golden Globes: If a typically major awards show happens, but it's not televised or live-streamed, no stars attend and few people even know about it – does it really happen?

🏈 NFL playoff picture after Week 18: Raiders seal wild-card spot, push Steelers into field with OT win vs. Chargers.

🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, education reporter Alia Wong talks about COVID-19 testing in childcare. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.

Here's what's happening today:

Dozens hospitalized, at least 19 dead after Bronx apartment building fire

Hospitals worked Monday to save the lives of multiple people gravely injured by smoke in a fire that killed 19 people , including nine children, in a Bronx apartment building. Dozens of people were hospitalized, and as many as 13 were in critical condition after Sunday's blaze, the deadliest in New York City in four decades. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pledged to provide as much support as possible at the federal level, including housing and tax assistance as well as immigration assistance for those in need. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to establish a victim's compensation fund aimed at providing new housing and covering burial costs for affected families. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the fire "started in a malfunctioning electric space heater" in a bedroom of a duplex apartment on the second and third floors of the 19-story Twin Parks North West complex in New York City's West Bronx.

🚨U.S. residential fires have declined over the decades. The Bronx blaze is a reminder how dangerous they can be.

Tensions over Ukraine high as US, Russia officials meet

Representatives from the United States and Russia began strategic talks Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, that could shape the strained relations between the two countries as well as the ties between the U.S. and its NATO allies. While a threatened Russian invasion of Ukraine is the most urgent issue, other disputes include arms control, cybercrime, and Russia's deployment of troops in Kazakhstan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday he doesn't expect any breakthroughs on Ukraine in the coming week. U.S. officials said Russia will be hit hard with economic sanctions if it intervenes.

Just for subscribers:

🚨 "The most intense violation of my life": Researchers have found at least one in six men have experienced sexual abuse or assault, and the impact of that abuse can ripple across a lifetime.

💵 This firm helps companies get rich with "questionable" tax refunds and tactics that exhaust officials.

🏥 Health workers: Nurses get spit on, kicked, assaulted. Stop hurting us. We are here to help you.

🦠 The pandemic is changing. Will omicron bring a "new normal" for COVID-19?

🤝 What is a platonic life partnership? These couples are breaking societal relationship norms.

These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Here is all of our subscriber content.

Alabama and Georgia face off in College Football Playoff championship

No. 1 Alabama is one win away from claiming its second straight national championship. It would make the Crimson Tide the first team in the College Football Playoff era to earn back-to-back titles. The Crimson Tide last won consecutive titles in 2011-12. Under coach Nick Saban, Alabama has won six national championships in 14 years. No. 3 Georgia, meanwhile, is trying to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Tide, to win the school's first title in 41 years and swing the SEC's balance of power east. Monday's game, which airs on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, will be played at Indianapolis — the first time Alabama and Georgia will meet outside their respective states.

Chicago fight with teachers union stretches into second week

Students in Chicago public schools are out of school for a fourth day Monday , as city and district leaders negotiate with the teachers union over the safety of in-person schooling in the nation's third-largest district. Kids and families have been stuck in the middle since Wednesday, when teachers voted to go remote after two days of in-person instruction. Then the city said that wasn't an option, and cut off remote schooling altogether. Negotiations continued over the weekend, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement. "There has not been sufficient progress for us to predict a return to class tomorrow," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted Sunday night.

ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday:

🥩 More than 28,000 pounds of ground beef, including packages sold at some Walmart stores, are being recalled for possible E. coli contamination.

⛷ Tragic mystery solved: The body of missing skier Rory Angelotta was found a few miles from a California ski resort where he disappeared in a blizzard two weeks ago.

🎂 Duchess Kate turns 40: Kensington Palace released three new portraits of Kate the evening before her 40th birthday.

Duchess Kate is celebrating her 40th birthday on Sunday with three new photo portraits.

Paolo Roversi/Kensington Palace via AP

Plea deal hearing for man charged with buying gun for Kyle Rittenhouse

Dominick Black, a friend of Kyle Rittenhouse who bought him an assault-style rifle when he was 17, will have a hearing Monday . In August 2020, Rittenhouse used the rifle to kill two people and wound a third during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In November, a jury found him not guilty on the five charges against him, based on his claim of self-defense. Charges against Black were up in the air after Judge Bruce Schroeder agreed to throw out one of the charges against Rittenhouse — that he unlawfully possessed a firearm as a minor. On Friday, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger filed a proposed plea agreement that suggested Black would plead no contest to a pair of citations, and pay a $2,000 fine, and the felony counts would be dismissed. Schroeder could reject the deal at Monday's hearing, or dismiss the original felony counts based on his ruling about the minors-with-firearms law in the Rittenhouse case.

📸 Best of the 2022 US figure skating championships 📸

Madison Chock and Evan Bates complete their rhythm dance.

John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports

They've been neck-and-neck for nearly a decade, so why would this time be any different? The ice dance teams of Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue and Madison Chock and Evan Bates once again came down to the wire at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. And this time, it was Chock and Bates who came out on top.

Buoyed by their strong rhythm dance, Chock and Bates held on to claim their third national title Saturday, beating Hubbell and Donohue by just 1.78 points.

Seem them in action in our gallery of photos from the U.S. figure skating championships.

Contributing: The Associated Press