Topline:
Containment of the Eaton Fire has risen to 89% as firefighter take advantage of a slight break from Santa Ana wind conditions. Meanwhile, the death toll attributed to the fire has risen to 17, according to the L.A. County medical examiner.
What we know so far: According to authorities, the fire started near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive, and quickly grew. The cause is under investigation.
Keep reading... for more on evacuations, damage and fire conditions.
This is a developing story and will be updated. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:
Containment of the Eaton Fire has risen to 89% as firefighter take advantage of a slight break from Santa Ana wind conditions. Meanwhile, the death toll attributed to the fire has risen to 17, according to the L.A. County medical examiner.
As of Thursday morning, sheriff's officials said in areas they patrol they are still investigating 24 missing person reports related to the fire.
Pasadena also declared a public health emergency, banning the use of power air blowers, including leaf blowers, until further notice because the devices stir up ash and particulate matter, worsening air quality.
As of Tuesday, 14,021 acres have burned. Meanwhile, officials are mapping where homes and businesses have been lost. About 9,400 structures have been destroyed, more than 1,000 damaged.
L.A. County's medical examiner has confirmed 17 deaths in the Eaton Fire, all at addresses in Altadena.
The fire sparked Jan. 7 in Eaton Canyon and quickly spread out of control — making it one of the deadliest fires in state history. The wildfire has injured many others, including five firefighters, and destroyed whole neighborhoods.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday morning that 17 people have been reported missing. That number could change as more people were encouraged to make reports this weekend. Sheriff's deputies now have grid searches of the area underway, going door to door to determine damage and search for additional victims.
"It looks like a war zone. I’ve never seen anything like it," L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said of the Altadena burn area.
The L.A. County Fire Department has confirmed more than 9,600 structures have been damaged or destroyed, but that number could go up or down as mapping continues.
At one point earlier this week, flames reached Mt. Wilson — which houses many antennas for broadcasters throughout the region, including LAist 89.3. Officials said Friday that no structures had been damaged or destroyed there.
A curfew is in place from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for evacuation zones. Sheriff's deputies are patrolling those areas.
We know that Southern California Edison is concerned that its transmission lines may be blamed for starting the Eaton Fire. Lawyers representing insurance companies have already asked the utility to preserve evidence related to the fire, according to a filing with the California Public Utilities Commission.
And Pasadena Now interviewed a couple who took photos of a fire breaking out beneath an SCE transmission line near Eaton Canyon.
SoCal Edison has already done its own preliminary investigation and says it did not cause the fire. The company says it de-energized its power lines in the area "well before the reported start time of the fire," according to a press release. And the company told the CPUC that it detected "no interruptions or electrical or operational anomalies" on its transmission lines in the 12 hours before the Eaton Fire began.
Multiple lawsuits have already been filed against the company.
Some parts of Pasadena are still being warned to not drink tap water or use it in cooking. You can check if your address is impacted here. All other areas are safe.
The city warns that boiling, freezing, filtering or treating tap water in any way would not make it any safer. Instead, bottled water should be used for all drinking — including baby formula and juice, teeth brushing, dish washing, making ice, and for any food preparation.
The tap water advisory also applies to pets.
Pasadena and Altadena residents can pick up bottled water from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at 450 North Lake Ave.
The city of Glendale, which had some parts under evacuation orders earlier this week, said their water was safe to drink as their water facilities are covered.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their homes and even their lives,” said Gordo, Pasadena's mayor. “We have experienced a tremendous tragedy.”
“This is an opportunity for us as a community, as a people, to band together to work to support one another,” he said.
Here are just some of the known losses:
Schools: Five schools in the Pasadena Unified School District suffered substantial damage, according to Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco. Eighty percent of Franklin Elementary burned, she said.
Nature Center: The Los Angeles County Parks Department issued a statement saying staff was “unable to activate our evacuation plan for the reptiles and valuable items at Eaton Canyon Nature Center.”
“We are devastated by the overwhelming impacts of these fires. Sadly, our beloved Eaton Canyon Nature Center, Farnsworth Park — Davies Community Center — on the National Historic Register, and the Altadena Golf Course Club House and adjacent buildings were destroyed in the Eaton fire. Currently, Charles White and Loma Alta parks in Altadena have fire damage,” according to the statement.
Pasadena City Manager Miguel Márquez promised this week that the city will rebuild.
“In this community we may get knocked down but we always get up,” he said. “We will heal.”
President Joe Biden approved a Presidential Major Emergency Declaration on Wednesday to support the response to the wildfires. He said on social media that he’s directed the Department of Defense to provide additional personnel, and 10 Navy helicopters with water buckets are on the way.
“To the residents of Southern California: We are with you,” Biden wrote on X.
Evacuation orders and warnings are changing fast, so check out the most up to date, interactive map here.
Residents are able to reenter some communities as of 3 p.m. Monday, including parts of Kinneloa Mesa. Officials warned that this process will take time, as all agencies have to be on board before an area is opened back up.
The city of Pasadena said on social media that it's receiving requests to check on family and friends who’ve been evacuated. You can call the Pasadena Police non-emergency line at 626-744-4241 — but only after you’ve tried to reach them in other ways.
You can also contact the Red Cross at 800-675-5799 or fill out an inquiry form.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger warned looters to stay out of the evacuation area. “To those who want to loot, the full weight of the county will come down on you,” she said.
Large animals:
Small animals:
Note: The Pasadena Humane Society said they had received more than 250 pets to shelter and said they were at near-capacity. It's also been collecting small animals who have to be sheltered elsewhere.
The organization said Thursday evening that it's received an "overwhelming" number of supplies, but now they need monetary donations most.
Pasadena Unified School District will be closed until at least January 17, Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco said in a statement Friday.
Most other districts in the area have also been shut down for days, due to a combination of bad air quality and a lack of staffing, as district employees themselves evacuate.
You can find a full list of school closures here.
Road closures are changing constantly, but Los Angeles County Public Works maintains an ongoing map: Here are all the road closures.
The Rose Bowl Stadium is currently being used by fire and police departments and other regional agencies for emergency response efforts, according to the city of Pasadena
All donations should be dropped off at:
Santa Anita Mall
400 S. Baldwin Ave, Arcadia
South Side, Lot B
Patricia Gerpheide evacuated from the Monte Cedric retirement community in Altadena early Wednesday morning with 200 other people.
She said when she woke up at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, the wind was blowing "dramatically hard" and she knew there would be problems.
"I looked out my window and across the street, there were two small fires burning and I thought it's so covered with smoke that no one will find them, so I thought I better get ready," she said. "By the time I had my things packed and ready to walk out the door, which was very quick, I looked out again and there were fires all over the place."
Michelle Zvonec, who lives in Sierra Madre, said the evacuation orders came quickly. She managed to take with her things of sentimental value, but said she didn't get as much clothes or even a jacket.
"I packed like I was going to go to a hotel room and come back and get more stuff tomorrow," she said. "It was really weird."
Part of Katie Fulford’s home was destroyed while her neighbors “lost everything.” She’s lived near West Grandview and Auburn Avenue for about a decade, but said she hasn’t been through a wildfire like this before.
“ That was my art studio, that was just about finished, and all my art for years and years and years is now pretty much gone,” she said. “ We all survived, that's the important part. I'll remind myself that when I'm feeling all the sadness.”
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If you have to evacuate
If you have more time:
Things to consider
Navigating fire conditions
How to help yourself and others
Understanding how it got this bad
Topline:
Flu season is off to a rough start this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the virus arrived as expected, cases are rising faster, compared with previous years.
Why now? Last week, more than 19,000 patients with influenza were admitted to hospitals, up about 10,000 from the previous week, according to new CDC data. To date, the CDC estimates at least 7.5 million people have been sickened, and over 3,100 people have died from the flu. The surge seems to be driven primarily by a new strain of the virus — subclade K of influenza A(H3N2) — that emerged in Australia over the summer.
Any good news? So far, there's no indication that this new strain is more severe, or even more contagious than previous years, says Florian Krammer, a virologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Read on ... for the latest guidance on flu shots and other steps you can take to avoid getting sick.
Flu season is off to a rough start this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the virus arrived as expected, cases are rising faster, compared with previous years.
Last week, more than 19,000 patients with influenza were admitted to hospitals, up about 10,000 from the previous week, according to new CDC data. To date, the CDC estimates at least 7.5 million people have been sickened, and over 3,100 people have died from the flu.
The surge seems to be driven primarily by a new strain of the virus — subclade K of influenza A(H3N2) — that emerged in Australia over the summer.
"Anywhere we detect this virus, you can see a large surge of influenza cases coming afterwards," says Andrew Pekosz, a virologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In the U.S., "the timing is not that much different from other flu seasons, but the number of cases, and how quickly those cases are increasing is something that is not usually seen this time of year."
New York has been hit especially hard, with state health officials announcing over 71,000 cases last week — the most cases ever recorded in a single week in the state. But other states are seeing high levels of flu activity, particularly in the northeast, midwest and south.
"The map is mostly red," says Pekosz, indicating high levels of disease that will likely increase over the coming weeks.
"When you're in the middle of seeing the curve start to go up, we just don't have any sense of where it's going to stop," he says. "That's the big concern in most of the medical communities right now."
So far, there's no indication that this new strain is more severe, or even more contagious than previous years, says Florian Krammer, a virologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
But there have been changes to the virus that may allow it to get around our immune defenses, he says. "There's less immunity to it, and that's allowing the virus to spread very quickly and extensively."
There are some concerns that this season's flu vaccine may not be a perfect match to the new strain, given it emerged after the formulation was decided last February. "I think we're going to have a mismatch between the strain circulating and the vaccine," says Demetre Daskalakis, who led the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC until he resigned in August. "But the vaccine is still the best protection we have, even if it's imperfect protection."
Preliminary data from the United Kingdom, which saw an early surge of flu this year, suggests the vaccine is about 30 to 40% effective at preventing hospitalization in adults. "Those numbers are in line with what you would typically see," says Krammer, though he stresses those are preliminary estimates.
Flu vaccines only offer protection if people get them and in the U.S., only 42% of adults have gotten a flu shot this year. That leaves many people unprotected in face of a likely bad flu season, says Daskalakis. He'd like to see the CDC do more to encourage vaccination.
"You're not seeing the robust communication that you would expect," he says. "Usually you'd expect to see more alerts coming out of CDC, more recommendations to be vaccinated."
In response to that criticism, a CDC spokesperson said, "the CDC is strongly committed to keeping Americans healthy during flu season. CDC launched a new national outreach campaign designed to raise awareness and empower Americans with the tools they need to stay healthy during the respiratory illness season," adding "the decision to vaccinate is a personal one. People should consult with their healthcare provider to understand their options to get a vaccine and should be informed about the potential risks and benefits associated with vaccines."
In an interview with NPR, Lisa Grohskopf, a medical officer in the CDC's influenza division emphasized the importance of vaccination. "It's definitely not too late to get a flu vaccine if you haven't done it already," she says.
"If you're using public transportation, if you're in the room with a lot of other people, if you're in a healthcare setting, it's really smart to wear a mask," says Krammer, especially higher-quality masks. "I was taking the subway yesterday in New York City. I was wearing an N95 mask."
Social distancing, especially when you or someone in your household is infected, can help minimize the spread too.
If you get infected, there are effective treatment options, especially when started with 48 hours of infection. "If you get an infection with influenza, that's really a reason to see a physician, get diagnosed, and then take next steps," says Krammer. "It's not an infection that you should take lightly."
Copyright 2025 NPR
Topline:
A federal district court judge ruled yesterday that the Trump administration must continue to seek funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, a watchdog agency the administration has been trying to dismantle through staffing and funding cuts.
Why now: The administration recently made a legal argument that because the agency gets its funding from the Federal Reserve, and since the Fed is technically operating at a loss, there are no valid funds for the CFPB.
Where things stand: Separately, last week a coalition of 21 states, including California, and the District of Columbia joined together for a lawsuit to prevent the defunding of the agency. They argue that the administration is too narrowly interpreting which Fed funds can be used to support the agency — that they don't have to be profits.
A federal district court judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration must continue to seek funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, a watchdog agency the administration has been trying to dismantle through staffing and funding cuts.
The administration recently made a legal argument that because the agency gets its funding from the Federal Reserve, and since the Fed is technically operating at a loss, there are no valid funds for the CFPB.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected the argument, writing that this "would be tantamount to closing what is left of the Bureau." This upholds an earlier injunction from Jackson to ensure the agency would continue to exist as congressionally mandated, and to stop efforts to shutter the CFPB, including through layoffs.
Separately, last week a coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia joined together for a lawsuit to prevent the defunding of the agency. They argue that the administration is too narrowly interpreting which Fed funds can be used to support the agency — that they don't have to be profits.
Representatives from the White House and the CFPB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The CFPB was created after the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers against fraud and predatory practices; among its many duties, it collects people's complaints against businesses. It has long been a target of conservatives who say it's too aggressive in enforcing consumer protection laws.
President Donald Trump installed Russell Vought as the acting director of the agency, who has mirrored the president's desire to close the bureau. Vought ordered a stop to all work at the agency within the first few weeks of Trump's second inauguration.
In April, layoff notices were sent to about 1,400 of the bureau's workers. The National Treasury Employees Union sued to stop the staff reductions. Judge Jackson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the layoffs, but in August an appeals court panel vacated that ruling, saying that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia lacked jurisdiction in the case. In December, that panel decision was itself vacated, meaning that the layoffs currently remain blocked.
In today's order, Jackson wrote that the administration was "actively and unabashedly trying to shut the agency down again, through different means."
"Notably, though, not one penny of the funding needed to run the agency that has returned over $21 billion to American consumers comes from taxpayer dollars," she wrote. "Today, the agency is hanging by a thread."
Copyright 2025 NPR
Topline:
New Year's resolutions are a key part of how many people observe the holiday, as much of an annual tradition as the Times Square ball drop or a midnight champagne toast.
The context: The concept of taking stock and vowing to do better in the new year actually dates back centuries, though there wasn't always a pithy name for it.
The background: One of the first appearances of the phrase "new year resolutions" was in a Boston newspaper in 1813, according to Merriam-Webster. But diary entries show that people had been practicing the concept well before then — like English writer Anne Halkett, who wrote a list of Bible-inspired pledges on Jan. 2, 1671, titled "Resolutions."
The long history: Historians trace the phenomenon even farther back: to 2000 B.C., when Babylonians celebrated the new year with a 12-day springtime festival called Akitu. They marked the arrival of the farming season by crowning a new king, thanking deities for a bountiful harvest and, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac, resolving to return neighbors' borrowed agricultural equipment.
Read on... for more on how resolutions came to be associated with Jan. 1.
Are you aiming to sleep better, eat healthier, scroll less and/or generally upgrade your life starting on Jan. 1?
Join the club — it's several thousand years old.
New Year's resolutions are a key part of how many people observe the holiday, as much of an annual tradition as the Times Square ball drop or a midnight champagne toast.
The concept of taking stock and vowing to do better in the new year actually dates back centuries, though there wasn't always a pithy name for it.
The word "resolution" entered English from Latin in the late 14th century, originally defined as the STEM-coded "process of reducing things into simpler forms." Over time, it broadened to more figurative meanings, like solving conflicts and remaining steadfast. By the 19th century, it had also come to signify an expression of intent — including for the year ahead.
One of the first appearances of the phrase "new year resolutions" was in a Boston newspaper in 1813, according to Merriam-Webster.
But diary entries show that people had been practicing the concept well before then — like English writer Anne Halkett, who wrote a list of Bible-inspired pledges on Jan. 2, 1671, titled "Resolutions."
Historians trace the phenomenon even farther back: to 2000 B.C., when Babylonians celebrated the new year with a 12-day springtime festival called Akitu. They marked the arrival of the farming season by crowning a new king, thanking deities for a bountiful harvest and, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac, resolving to return neighbors' borrowed agricultural equipment.
Alexis McCrossen, a history professor at Southern Methodist University whose research focuses on New Year's observances, says it was ancient Romans who first associated Jan. 1 with New Year's resolutions.
They celebrated the start of January by giving offerings to the month's namesake, Janus — the two-faced god of beginnings and endings — and auspicious gifts (like twigs from sacred trees) to their loved ones.
"It was a day to make promises and offerings," McCrossen says. "I think that's the origin of our New Year's resolution, because a resolution is a kind of promise."
Other cultures and countries came to view the new year as a time for self-reflection and goal-setting, especially from a religious perspective.
There was the medieval "Vow of the Peacock," an end-of-Christmas-season feast where knights renewed their vows of chivalry by placing their hands on (you guessed it) a peacock. In well-documented diary entries from the early 1800s, John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. president, detailed spiritual reflections from the past year and wishes for the next one.
But it wasn't until the 20th century that Americans en masse began celebrating New Year's as a holiday, and making secular resolutions a part of it.
This installment of NPR's Word of the Week explores the evolution of New Year's resolutions — and what we can learn from that history as we set our intentions for the future.
As McCrossen explains, Jan. 1 didn't hold special significance to most Americans until relatively recently.
That's partially because England and its colonies didn't start treating that day as the new year until they adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752. Before that, under the Julian calendar, the year began on March 25.
Even in ensuing decades, McCrossen says Jan. 1 was essentially "like any other day of the week," notable mostly because it was the beginning of the fiscal year. In hindsight, she says that was arguably its own kind of New Year's resolution: paying off debts and resolving to avoid them in the future.
Indeed, Robert Thomas, who founded The Old Farmer's Almanac in 1792, called the new year a time of "leisure to farmers … to settle accounts with your neighbors" after the frenzy of the fall harvest and winter holidays.
Jan. 1 was an increasingly popular day to do so. In the antebellum South, it came to be known as "Hiring Day" or "Heartbreak Day," a busy day for renewing contracts — including those of enslaved people — and tallying debts. Printers began to heavily advertise products like ledgers and account books specifically ahead of the new year.
"It's like buying the running shoes before you make the commitment that you're going to train for a marathon," McCrossen says. "There's an emphasis on preparing for the new year and doing it better than you had been."
By the early 19th century, more Americans were embracing the new year as a moment to take stock and set spiritual goals, which McCrossen attributes in large part to the growth of capitalism and Evangelicalism.
While the new year was largely still a "non-event," McCrossen says, people increasingly treated Jan. 1 as a day of visiting and socializing. New Yorkers held open houses; People in D.C. went to the White House to shake the president's hand.
It was around this time that Americans started becoming "more oriented toward festivities" like Christmas (first recognized as a federal holiday in 1870) and New Year's in general, McCrossen says.
"But I think if it had just remained a holiday for the first of the year … I don't know if we would have gotten resolutions," she adds. "I think the resolutions come with the emphasis on midnight … on the moment of the new year's arrival."
She traces that shift to two main contributors.
One is the "Watch Night" services that Baptist, Methodist and other evangelical churches began to hold late on New Year's Eve, which tended to focus on shortcomings from the past year and promises for the next one. The preacher would announce the arrival of midnight, McCrossen says, "and there would be shouts of joy and gladness … and a sense of transformation."
The other is the influx of German immigrants, who brought with them "Silvesterabend" (or "Sylvester's Abend"), the tradition — named for an early pope and the German word for "evening" — of celebrating Dec. 31 with song, dance and midnight toasts. The practice was so unusual at the time that it warranted coverage in mainstream U.S. newspapers, she says — and inspired many non-evangelicals to follow suit.
"By the 20th century, we've got electricity, we've got the ball dropping in Times Square, we've got bells ringing, we've got midnight galore, and we have a lot of commercial forces that are trying to make money out of New Year's Eve," McCrossen says.
The Times Square ball dropped for the first time in 1907 (though it wasn't accompanied by a countdown until many decades later) . Mentions of New Year's resolutions started appearing in U.S. newspapers around the same time.
In 1900, Georgia's Columbus Daily Enquirer spotlighted the "novel New Year's resolution" of an unnamed Columbus woman who "had resolved to stay at home more, and to go out more." A 1914 piece in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram surveyed several Texans about attempting New Year's resolutions.
"I don't remember keeping any one of a dozen I recall making," said one, Howard Higby.
"Never before until today. This is my last cigarette for a year," said another, Billie Moore. "See me Jan. 1, 1916 and ask me."
A 1918 piece in Michigan's Jackson City Patriot says World War I "has brought New Year resolutions back into fashion," and "not the old-style kinds that were readily made and readily broken." It urged Americans to resolve to help win the war by doing things like buying Liberty bonds and rationing food.
New Year's resolutions have largely lost their religious overtones, a development McCrossen says is in line with broader cultural trends. In recent decades, goals have turned more towards self-improvement.
A 1947 Gallup poll shared with NPR asked if people planned to make New Year's resolutions. For those who did, some of the most common answers will be recognizable to readers today: "improve my character, live [a] better life, be more independent," "be more efficient and prompt," "stop smoking" and "save more money."
But "get thin," "stop eating candy," and "get more sleep, take care of my health, not work so hard" ranked at the bottom of the list, in a sign of how times have changed.
These days, McCrossen believes everyone should try to make at least some New Year's reflections and resolutions, ideally informed by generations past. She especially likes the idea of bringing back Jan. 1 as a day to reconnect with others, whether that's through an in-person get together, a phone call or a handwritten note.
And she notes that — as has been the case throughout history — resolutions don't only have to be made on the eve of a new year.
"Each day, one could do that," she says. "It's just that the 1st provides us with a lot of energy and community, all of us together trying to start out on a new foot."
Copyright 2025 NPR
Topline:
Gavin Newsom’s year: L.A. fires, budget cuts, Trump battles and a Prop. 50 win. What’s next for California’s governor in his final year?
The backstory: All eyes were on Los Angeles as wildfires tore through the city in January. Newsom, having just responded to President Donald Trump’s reelection by calling a special legislative session to fund lawsuits against him, was suddenly forced into a more conciliatory stance as he sought federal aid for fire recovery that has still not materialized.
What's next: The next year will continue to be challenging for the state budget as officials predict more deficits.
Read on... for more on what to expect for the California governor.
It’s been a year of highs, lows and an ever-brighter national spotlight for Gov. Gavin Newsom.
All eyes were on Los Angeles as wildfires tore through the city in January. Newsom, having just responded to President Donald Trump’s reelection by calling a special legislative session to fund lawsuits against him, was suddenly forced into a more conciliatory stance as he sought federal aid for fire recovery that has still not materialized. To close a tough budget deficit exacerbated by the prospect of steep federal cuts, he angered some in his own party with cuts to the state health coverage of undocumented immigrants. To explore Democrats’ losses in 2024, he alienated progressives while courting right-wing activists on his podcast.
He found his way back as Trump resister-in-chief — and national Democratic darling — again when the president sent aggressive immigration raids and the National Guard to Los Angeles this summer. Then he successfully converted the anti-Trump fervor of that moment into a campaign for Proposition 50, the Democratic gerrymandering effort to counter the president’s attempt to gain new GOP seats in Congress.
Newsom also won big with the Legislature along the way, using his considerable influence over the state budget to strong-arm lawmakers into passing significant carveouts to environmental law in an effort to boost construction of housing and infrastructure. He negotiated several major climate and energy policies that mostly ended up the way he wanted. Those efforts will allow Newsom to say to a national audience that he took voters’ concerns over affordability seriously and worked to lower housing and energy costs. But he will likely receive some blowback for backing away from a more aggressive and environmentally-minded stance toward the oil industry to achieve it — especially as he increasingly uses California’s strict emissions regulations and climate advocacy as a proxy for national leadership.
But the mostly victorious year for the governor’s political profile has also been touched by scandal in recent weeks amid campaign corruption charges filed against his former top aide. He has not been accused of wrongdoing, but it’s possible the association could taint his reputation regardless as he looks for his next political move.
The next year will continue to be challenging for the state budget as officials predict more deficits. That would limit the governor’s ability to propose any ambitious new programs in his final year in office, a time he’ll need to try to make more inroads on some of California’s most entrenched problems. A persistent housing shortage, homelessness and the high cost of living are all likely to become baggage for Newsom if he does pursue an expected presidential run after he leaves office.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
