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Good Wednesday afternoon. An explosive wildfire is forcing new evacuations in Los Angeles County, the Deep South is paralyzed today after a historic snowstorm, and a shooting at a high school in Nashville has left one student dead.

Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown.

Explosive wildfire forces new mandatory evacuations in Los Angeles County

Mandatory evacuations and warnings have been issued for a wildfire spreading rapidly in Southern California, officials said.

The Hughes Fire broke out this morning, and grew to 5,054 acres in a matter of hours near the community of Castaic, according to Cal Fire. There is currently zero containment.

Farther south in San Diego, the Center Fire is forcing evacuations and threatening structures in the community of Rancho Bernardo.

Also today, there are growing questions about Los Angeles County’s emergency alert system, after residents in one area of the Eaton Fire were not alerted until hours after the fire started.

Deep freeze in the South after once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm breaks records

Tens of millions of Americans are in the grip of brutal cold after a historic winter storm crippled much of the South, breaking records in areas that rarely receive snow.

In Georgia, drivers in the Atlanta area abandoned their vehicles after the snow and ice made the roads impassable, and DeKalb County has declared a state of emergency.

New Orleans received 10 inches of snow, shattering the city’s previous daily record. The state of Florida broke its all-time record with 9.8 inches in Milton, located in the Panhandle.

This storm was the largest on record for Pensacola (7.6 inches), and Mobile, Alabama (7.5 inches), where the domed roof of the Mobile Civic Center, a facility being demolished, collapsed under the weight of the snow, officials said.

School shooting in Nashville leaves one student dead, another injured

One student is dead and another is hospitalized with a gunshot wound following a shooting today at a Nashville high school cafeteria.

The shooter, a 17-year-old male student, fired multiple shots with a pistol at Antioch High School, then fatally shot himself, police said.

A female student suffered a graze wound to the arm and is in stable condition at the hospital, and a male student was treated for a facial injury, but was not shot, according to police.

A SWAT team has cleared the school, police said.

Justice Department threatens to criminally probe officials who resist Trump immigration crackdown

The Justice Department has directed federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially prosecute state and local officials who refuse to comply with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, according to a memo sent by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.

In the memo, Bove wrote, “Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing or otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests.”

Officials in some Democratically-led states and cities, such as Chicago, have said they will not comply with Trump’s mass deportation operations.

As Trump’s moves forward with his immigration plans, as many as 1,500 active duty troops will be sent to the southern border, U.S. officials told the Associated Press.

More on Trump’s first 100 days:

Trump has ordered all federal diversity, equity and inclusion employees placed on paid leave starting today.

On social media, Trump threatened to impose “high levels” of sanctions on Russia and tariffs on the country’s imports if it didn’t “MAKE A DEAL” to end the war with Ukraine soon.

Trump adviser Elon Musk has criticized a deal the president announced yesterday with OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank to build $500 billion in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure.

What else we're watching:

Prince Harry has settled his yearslong lawsuit with Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids over claims they improperly intruded into his private life, after receiving a substantial payout and a rare apology.

An Illinois deputy was killed by a stray bullet while vacationing in Turks and Caicos with her family over the weekend, authorities said.

Some Olympians say their gold, silver, and bronze medals from the Paris Games are literally tarnished.

Netflix is raising the cost of its streaming plans.

Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app.

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