Dan Ronan

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan.

A state of emergency has been declared in six Southern California counties because of relentless rains and high winds that are pounding the region.

The declaration will free up resources for first responders and other emergency teams.

Across much of the region, it is being devastated by the impact of the downpours fueled by atmospheric rivers.

Alameda resident Michael Burdick says he's trying to prepare for that flooding.

The high water has made portions of Interstate 5 and the Ventura Freeway in the Los Angeles area impossible.

Markets will be closed on Thursday for the Christmas holiday.

Trading resumes Friday morning at 9.30 Eastern Time.

On Wednesday, the holiday trading was shortened because on Wall Street, the indexes, though, closed up.

The Dow, the S&P, and the Nasdaq finished fractionally higher.

The markets will be closed Thursday for Christmas.

The Dow gained six-tenths of a point.

The Nasdaq edged two-tenths of a point.

The S&P added three-tenths of a point as well.

Millions of Americans will be flying this holiday season.

NPR's Joel Rose reports the airlines are hoping to avoid a repeat of IT meltdowns that have disrupted the aviation industry.

The Justice Department says it is finishing the release of all of the files concerning Jeffrey Epstein, but it could take a few more weeks further delaying the compliance with a December 19th deadline that was set by Congress.

The department did say Wednesday that the U.S.

Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, as well as the FBI, found additional documents, one million documents, they say, that could be relevant to the Epstein case.

DOD should not say when it was informed, but when it got those documents.