| Thousands of volunteers are needed to join the 2026 homeless count in LA County – Daily News |
| With about two weeks before the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority conducts its annual homeless count, officials are encouraging people to volunteer across the county for the count.
The point-in-time count is scheduled for Jan. 20-22. In October, LAHSA began registration of volunteers with the goal of recruiting 6,500 people — and, as of Monday, there were 1,500 people registered. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-06 |
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| L.A. homicide rate lowest in decades; the reason why is up for debate |
| The city of Los Angeles just recorded its lowest homicide total in more than half a century, mirroring precipitous drops in many other large cities nationwide last year — and sparking a range of theories about what’s going on.
According to tentative numbers reported by the LAPD through Dec. 31, the city tallied 230 homicides in 2025 — a nearly 19% decrease from the year before. Police investigators are still reviewing the circumstances of several deaths, but if the current figure holds up, it would be the fewest killings since 1966, when the population was almost 30% smaller.
Measuring per capita, it was the city’s safest year since 1959.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the reduction in homicides is “not the result of any single action, but the collective work of our first responders and follow-up investigators, our community partners, and the residents who continue to step forward and engage with us.”
The numbers might come as a surprise to those who visit the LAPD’s website. Since switching to a new federal reporting system, the department includes more than just violent killings in its count.
Department officials said the website data now include some traffic deaths that weren’t counted under the old reporting system, such as suspected cases of vehicular manslaughter or crashes in which the driver was found to have been drunk or otherwise criminally negligent. With these “vehicular homicides” included, the total number of killings recorded citywide last year grows to 313 — a discrepancy that has some residents concerned the department isn’t giving a full crime picture.
Experts have long cautioned against putting too much stock in year-to-year crime statistics, which can fluctuate based on complex, intertwined factors — including how authorities classify and count certain offenses. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-06 |
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| Port of LA advances plans for Wilmington waterfront, USS Iowa, cruise terminal – Daily News |
| The Port of Los Angeles moved key visitor-serving development plans forward — including awarding contracts for work needed for a new Outer Harbor cruise terminal in San Pedro and a pedestrian bridge link for the Wilmington Waterfront — during its harbor commission meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-06 |
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| Trump admin plans to freeze billions in childcare funding to California | LAist |
| The Trump administration says it’s planning to freeze about $10 billion in federal support for needy families in California and four other Democrat-run states, as the president announced an investigation into unspecified fraud in California.
The plans come on the heels of the Trump administration announcing a freeze on all federal payments for child care in Minnesota, citing fraud allegations against daycare centers in the state. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-06 |
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| KTLA |
| The latest round of construction at LAX will see a pedestrian bridge demolished, and lane closures associated with the work may cause delays when picking up or dropping off passengers.
The pedestrian bridge between Parking Structure 5 and Terminal 5 is set to be torn down beginning Tuesday, airport officials said in a statement. Terminal 5 itself was closed for major demolition and reconstruction this past October; it is anticipated to reopen in 2028. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-06 |
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| Wolf attack in Lassen County kills horse, alarms sheriff | Sacramento Bee |
| A bloody New Year’s Day wolf attack that killed a family horse and a newly weaned calf in Lassen County has left community members shaken and prompted the local sheriff to send a strongly worded letter to Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot warning of public safety risks.
The attack that killed Smoke, a beloved 20-year-old horse who had spent his later years giving rides to Wyatt Hanson’s children and nieces, marked the latest example of wolves moving closer to homes and ranches as the apex predators rebuild their populations after a century of local extinction in California. [Article] |
| by , Sacramento Bee. 2026-01-06 |
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| Six stories of loss and resilience, a year after the LA fires | LAist |
| It’s been a year since the most destructive fires in L.A. County history killed at least 31 people, reduced neighborhoods to ash and instantly changed the lives of tens of thousands of Angelenos.
Most survivors remain displaced. Temporary housing insurance funds are dwindling. Many whose homes still stand continue to fight to get the structures properly cleaned. And the majority of residents, underinsured or not insured at all, face a wide gap in the funds needed to rebuild. Survivors are digging into savings and taking out new loans. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-06 |
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| Bill would ban ICE arrests at California state courthouses – Daily News |
| Immigrants worried about being arrested by federal agents outside California state courtrooms could be helped by an Inland Empire state senator’s bill announced Tuesday, Jan. 6.
SB 873 from San Bernardino Democrat Eloise Gómez Reyes “aims to prevent federal immigration agents from disrupting regularly scheduled court appearances with unannounced and indiscriminate arrests,” a news release from the senator’s office states. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-06 |
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| LAFD chief admits Palisades fire report was watered down, says it won't happen again - Los Angeles Times |
| Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore admitted Tuesday that his department’s after-action report on the Palisades fire was watered down to shield top brass from scrutiny.
Moore’s admission comes more than two weeks after The Times found that the report was edited to downplay the failures of city and Los Angeles Fire Department leaders in preparing for and fighting the Jan. 7, 2025, fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
“It is now clear that multiple drafts were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of department leadership in that final report,” Moore said Tuesday during remarks before the city’s Board of Fire Commissioners. “This editing occurred prior to my appointment as fire chief. And I can assure you that nothing of this sort will ever again happen while I am fire chief.”
Moore, who was appointed fire chief in November, did not say who was responsible for the changes to the report.
The report’s author, LAFD Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, declined to endorse it because of substantial deletions that altered his findings. Cook said in an Oct. 8 email to then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva and other LAFD officials that the edited version was “highly unprofessional and inconsistent with our established standards.” [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-06 |
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| New lawsuits blame suicide, terminal illness deaths on Palisades fire – Daily News |
| The wife of a man who killed himself after his home burned down in the Palisades fire is among more than a dozen plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits blaming the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and other defendants for causing or hastening the deaths of their relatives.
The lawsuits — the first death-related litigation in the Palisades fire — were brought last month under a pilot law, state Senate Bill 447, that expired Dec. 31 and allowed plaintiffs to sue for the pain, suffering and disfigurement experienced by their deceased relatives. Normally, heirs filing wrongful death suits can claim only their own loss.
The death-related suits were added to an existing complaint against LADWP, the state parks department, Southern California Gas and other defendants. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2026-01-06 |
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| One year after Eaton Fire, Altadena's small businesses fight to survive |
| When the land where her Altadena martial arts studio once stood went up for sale in November, Shelene Hearring jumped at the opportunity to buy it. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-06 |
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| New tool allows Californians to request data brokers to delete personal details | California | The Guardian |
| Californians can now use a government website to request that certain companies stop selling their personal information online. The Drop website, which stands for the “Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform”, launched on New Year’s Day as part of a state law aimed at enhancing data privacy.
The Drop tool sends a mass deletion request to 500 data brokers, the term for companies which collect and sell personal information gleaned from public records, phone data, online web browsing and a host of other activities. The information, which can be highly detailed and can be taken without user consent, is widely available for purchase on data brokers’ sites. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-06 |
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| Immigrant who survived Altadena's Eaton fire now faces deportation - Los Angeles Times |
| There were no stars in the October sky. No moon that 64-year-old Masuma Khan could see from the narrow window of the California City Immigration Processing Center.
“No planes,” she said, recalling her confinement.
Once a prison, the facility in the Mojave Desert, located 67 miles east of Bakersfield, reopened in April to hold people in removal proceedings, including Khan.
It was not the kind of place where she imagined ending up — not after living in the country for 28 years, caring for her daughter and surviving one of California’s deadliest wildfires, the Eaton fire.
Khan was fortunate not to have lost her west Altadena home to the Jan. 7 fire, which destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed 19 people.
But in the months that followed, Khan faced another threat — deportation.
As fire recovery efforts were underway in Los Angeles, the Trump administration launched immigration raids in the city, hampering recovery efforts and creating more distress for immigrants after the fires. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-06 |
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| House committee report questions distribution of FireAid's $100 million for L.A. wildfire relief - Los Angeles Times |
| The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday released a report after its own investigation into FireAid, the charity founded by Clippers executives that raised $100 million for wildfire relief efforts in Los Angeles last January.
The investigation — led by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) under committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — began in August when Kiley “sent a letter to FireAid requesting a detailed breakdown of all non-profits that received money from FireAid.” Kiley expressed concern that the money had gone toward local nonprofits rather than as more direct aid to affected residents.
FireAid promptly released a comprehensive document detailing its fundraising and grant dispersals. After reaching out to every named nonprofit in the document, The Times reported that the groups who successfully applied for grants were quickly given money to spend in their areas of expertise, as outlined in FireAid’s public mission statements. A review conducted by an outside law firm confirmed the same. [Article] |
| by , Los Angeles Times. 2026-01-06 |
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| The LA wildfire victims still living in toxic homes: ‘We have nowhere else to go’ | California wildfires | The Guardian |
| One year on from the Eaton fire, long after the vicious winds that sent embers cascading from the San Gabriel mountains and the flames that swallowed entire streets, a shadow still hangs over Altadena.
Construction on new properties is under way, and families whose homes survived the fire have begun to return. But many are grappling with an urgent question: is it safe to be here? [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-06 |
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| California is banning masks for federal agents; Here’s why it could lose in court |
| A series of immigration raids across California in 2025 had one thing in common: Most of the federal agents detaining people wore masks over their faces. [Article] |
| by , . 2026-01-06 |
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| Trump freezes $10B in child care funding, California impact |
| The Trump administration is halting more than $10 billion in federal funding for child care and social services programs in five Democratic-led states, including California, citing concerns that benefits were improperly directed to noncitizens.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed the freeze Monday, impacting programs that serve millions of low-income families, a first reported by the New York Post. [Article] |
| by , Desert Sun. 2026-01-06 |
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| Nipsey Hussle Understood Cities Better than You. Why Didn't You Know Who He Was? - Streetsblog Los Angeles |
| “Age fourteen on up - my whole life took place on these four corners,” rapper, artist, entrepreneur, innovator, and urban visionary Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom mused as he surveyed the street from the parking lot of the strip mall at Crenshaw and Slauson during a 2010 interview with Current TV (below). “This really was my foundation.” [Article] |
| by , LA Streetsblog. 2026-01-06 |
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| Following Los Angeles fires, Governor Newsom extends key provision to fast‑track wildfire safety window, protecting more communities across the state - PublicCEO |
| Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that California will continue moving faster than ever to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk by extending a key provision allowing for wildfire safety projects to qualify for the state’s fast‑track forest management program through May 1, 2026. This targeted action keeps a proven emergency tool focused on one goal: using the full rainy season to safely complete more fuels reduction and beneficial fire projects that protect communities, forests, and critical infrastructure. [Article] |
| by , Public CEO. 2026-01-06 |
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| UCLA Study Finds Metro Transit Ambassador Program Is Benefitting Metro Riders - Streetsblog Los Angeles |
| The UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies recently published a study evaluating the results of Metro's Transit Ambassador program. A Path Forward for Transit Rider Experience and Safety: Lessons from the L.A. Metro Ambassador Pilot Program [full ~80-page report, 3-page policy brief] found that Ambassadors "advance a community safety approach towards meeting riders’ needs" and "mak[e] a positive contribution to the system." Per the report, "Overall, ambassadors contribute to improved passenger experiences and play a needed role not well-served by other existing staff or system design features." [Article] |
| by , LA Streetsblog. 2026-01-06 |
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