The Brief

If you feel like you blinked and now it's Wednesday, you're not alone. Today's forecast will be cool and mostly cloudy.

Today's highs won't surpass 64 degrees across the Southland — the beaches will average out at 62 degrees, 64 for the inland coast, and back to 62 for inland and valley areas.

Tonight's lows will be in the low 50s, down to 46 degrees in San Fernando and Santa Clarita.

Taking a look ahead — there's a short warming trend starting tomorrow where the rest of the week will see highs in the low to mid 70s.

Ventura County beaches will see more high surf today through 4 p.m. Friday — large breaking waves of 5 to 8 feet and local sets up to 10 feet is possible during high tide.

This day in history

On this day in 2021, a funnel cloud was observed over Coronado.

Things to do

Looking to fulfill that one New Year's Resolutions of trying new things? Then this event is for you:

• Game Night at Truly LA: Mark your calendars and join Truly LA for a fun-filled evening of games and competition! Invite your friends and connect with fellow gamers.

Check out our full list of things to do this week.

California’s graduation rates reached a decade high last school year, while chronic absenteeism and suspensions continued to decline, according to the California School Dashboard released Thursday.

But progress remained uneven. Chronic absenteeism is still higher than before the pandemic, suspension rates have fallen only minimally and substantial disparities persist among student groups.

“At a time when California continues to focus on accelerating learning and closing opportunity gaps, these results provide important evidence that our sustained investments are making a difference,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement.

The California Department of Education’s dashboard tracks student success across several measures, including chronic absenteeism, suspensions, English learner progress, graduation rates and college and career readiness.

This is the first year the dashboard has been released alongside the state’s Smarter Balanced Assessment scores in English language arts, math and, now, science, giving educators and families a broader view of student outcomes.

“That’s a smart thing to do,” said Tyrone Howard, a professor of education at UCLA. “I think that way we kind of get as holistic of a picture as we can from multiple standpoints.”

The 2025-26 data comes amid a significant, ongoing decline in California student enrollment. Since the 2016-17 academic year, the state has lost 496,975 students — an 8% enrollment decrease.

Over the past decade, the state has also seen significant changes in the student population, with more students identifying as Asian, two or more races and not reported. There has also been an increase in students with disabilities and in homeless youths.

Chronic absenteeism remains above prepandemic levels 

Chronic absenteeism continued to decline in California during the 2025-26 school year, falling 1.1% from the previous year to 18.3% among students in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade. The rate reached 30% during the pandemic-era spike in 2021-22. Students who are chronically absent have missed at least 18 instructional days, or 10% or more of the school year.

“The fact that we’re seeing drops, but not huge drops, is not too different from what you’re seeing across the country,” said Hedy Chang, CEO and president of Attendance Works, a nonprofit that works with school districts to reduce absenteeism.

The persistence of a high percentage of students chronically absent “points to the need for us to even deepen our work to reduce chronic absence to be even more strategic,” she added.

Downey Unified School District is among the districts that lowered its TK-8 chronic absenteeism rate from 19.2% last year to 18.4% in 2025-26. Its TK-12 rate also declined, from 20.4% to 19.9%.

Roger Brossmer, Downey Unified’s superintendent, attributes the progress to new schedules tailored to students’ needs. The district plans to “double down,” on its efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism, which remains higher than the state average, with a special focus on English learners.

Brossmer said Downey’s strong improvement in test scores – among the highest in the state – has reinforced his belief in the connection between student achievement and attendance.

“If they weren’t progressing, the number one thing they had in common was they weren’t coming to school,” Brossmer said. “And so we’ve shifted from a punitive model to more of a ‘we miss you, we need you here’ model.”

Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska native, African American and Hispanic or Latino students continued to experience chronic absenteeism at higher rates than the statewide average. The same was true for foster youths, homeless youths, students with disabilities, socioeconomically disadvantaged students and English learners.

Migrant students had a lower rate of chronic absenteeism than the state average, however.

Chang said that migrant student rates may be lower because students are leaving the state, or being detained, before they reach the 30-day attendance requirement to be counted toward chronic absenteeism data.

“It is possible that migrant youth are moving too far. You’d have to look at mobility issues at the same time,” Chang said.

Suspensions decrease minimally 

California’s suspension rate measures the number of students who were suspended for at least one day. It fell by 0.1 percentage points between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, to 2.8%.

That is part of a several-year trend of falling suspension rates since 2022-23, when the rate was 3.6%.

“It’s encouraging that suspensions are going down, but the racial disparities are still pretty noticeable and pretty significant,” Howard said.

African American students had the highest suspension rates among racial and ethnic groups, followed by American Indian/Alaska Native and Pacific Islander students. Hispanic or Latino students were close to the statewide rate.

Foster youths had a much higher suspension rate of 13%, while homeless youths, students with disabilities, migrant youths, socioeconomically disadvantaged students and English learners also exceeded the statewide rate.

Howard said the state should provide more comprehensive data that includes both in-school and out-of-school suspensions.

“I’ve seen in other states (cases) where their out-of-school suspension rates have gone down, which is what they lead with,” Howard said. “But then, when you do a deeper dive looking at the in-school suspension rates, they have gone up.”

Graduation rates: the highest in a decade 

California’s graduation rate reached 87.9% in 2025-26, the highest in a decade, according to the dashboard.

Graduation rates among Filipino, Asian and students identifying as two or more races exceeded the statewide average. Migrant students also graduated at a higher rate than the state average.

It’s likely that graduation rates are even higher in the state. The California average was skewed downward by two schools — Highlands Community Charter and California Innovative Career Academy.

Going deeper

Highlands Community Charter, an adult school, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month after an audit found it owed the state $180 million for funds it was not eligible to receive.

The school’s enrollment plummeted from 11,713 in 2024-25 to 487 in 2025-26. Its four-year graduation rate was 6.6%, according to Dataquest.

Statewide, Highlands lowered the graduation rate among Asian students by 2.8 percentage points and among white students by 4.7 percentage points.

The California Innovative Career Academy, one of the Highlands Community Charter schools, had a four-year graduation rate of 8.3%. Its enrollment fell from 1,729 students in 2024-25 to 800 in 2025-26.

College readiness also improved. Nearly 55% of graduates met the basic minimum requirements for the CSU and UC systems, a 0.9 percentage point increase from the previous year.

Meanwhile, 17.1% earned the State Seal of Biliteracy, a special designation on a student’s diploma showing a high rate of proficiency in a second language. And 33.8% received the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma, which shows mastery in at least six subject areas, marking a 0.8 and a 1.5 percentage point increase, respectively.

Troy Flint, spokesperson for the California School Boards Association, said graduation rates and college readiness are moving in the right direction, but more students need to meet standards in English language and math.

“A certain percentage of students are being pushed through without gaining the knowledge and skills that signify they’ve achieved a truly meaningful high school education and are prepared for their next step, whether that’s college or career,” Flint said.

This story was originally published by EdSource.

The star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers, so used to winning year after year, find themselves in unfamiliar territory lately — on the brink of playoff elimination.

The two-time defending World Series champions are aiming to become the first National League team to win a third straight title and the first club to three-peat since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000.

But that seems increasingly unlikely.

The Dodgers are facing a 3-0 deficit against Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series after losing 6-2 on Wednesday. They’ll need to win four games in a row to advance, starting Thursday in Game 4 at Dodger Stadium.

“It looks like we’re going to have to make a little more history along the way if we want to accomplish that,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “We still have the pitching staff to be able to do it. We just have to get some hits.”

Offense has been sparse in the postseason. The Dodgers are 3 for 32 with runners in scoring position overall and 1 for 14 against the Brewers. Los Angeles cranked out 204 homers in the regular season — seventh in MLB — but have none so far in the NLCS.

“It’s just this whole series they’ve outslugged us, outhit us,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ve got to get a lead and find a way to tack on.”

The Dodgers scored twice in the sixth inning to take a 2-1 lead in Game 3 before pinch-hitter Kiké Hernández came up with runners on second and third and one out. But he struck out swinging, and Tommy Edman took a called third strike to end the inning.

“That was the game right there,” Hernández said. “We need to put the ball in play. I struck out and gave Tommy a way harder job with two outs. I have had two of the biggest at-bats in the series for our team and I haven’t been able to come through. I just need to do my job.”

Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to pitch Thursday for the Dodgers, who are 44-42 in postseason elimination games. If they can find a way to win, they would host Game 5 on Friday.

“We’ve never been in this big of a hole,” Hernández said, “but we’ve had our backs against the wall plenty of times before, and we’ve come out of it. We’re just trying to do it one more time.”

Except none of the Dodgers’ hitters are doing much of anything. Kyle Tucker, who struggled mightily in the regular season, has been a bright spot. He’s batting .304 after going 1 for 3 on Wednesday.

But the top of the lineup — Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández — was a combined 1 for 11 in Game 3, when the Dodgers totaled five hits.

The deepest slumps involve four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani and catcher Will Smith. Ohtani was 1 for 2, raising his average to .182 a year after being MVP of the NLCS sweep against the Brewers. Smith was 1 for 4 with a two-run double, but his average is far south of the Mendoza Line at .074.

In Game 2, the Dodgers mustered just three hits in a 7-4 loss.

The only team in major league history to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven postseason series was the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who got a gutsy stolen base from Roberts to spark their comeback against the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.

Roberts was asked if he might reminisce with his Dodgers players about that before Thursday’s game.

“I don’t think so. I think they’ve seen the documentary. They know it can happen,” he said.

This is a developing story. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:

• Cal Fire incident page
• Latest evacuation map
• L.A. County Fire Department on X

Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued near a brush fire north of San Gabriel Canyon Road in Azusa. The Peak Fire has burned about 22 acres since igniting on Thursday afternoon. Authorities warn that structures are threatened to the northeast of the fire.

Southern California is under a red flag warning because of heat, low humidity and Santa Ana winds. Those conditions will continue through Saturday, according to National Weather Service forecasters.

The basics

• Acreage: 22 acres as of Thursday afternoon
• Containment: 0%
• Structures destroyed: None reported, but several are threatened.
• Deaths: None
• Injuries: None
  

Evacuation map and orders

Evacuation orders have been issued by the Azusa Police Department for the following areas:

• AZU-MC01

Evacuation warnings

Authorities say those who require additional time to evacuate and those with pets and livestock should leave immediately. Details here.

• AZU-ABC01
• AZU-CYN01-A
• AZU-NOB01
• AZU-QRY01
• LAC-E168-A
• LAC-E168-B
• LAC-E170-A
• LAC-E170-B

Listen to our Big Burn podcast

Fire resources and tips

Check out LAist's wildfire recovery guide

If you have to evacuate:

• Why fire officials don't want you to stay and defend your home
• How to get packed up
• How to leave your house
• What evacuation terms mean and how to sign up for alerts

Navigating fire conditions:

• How to drive in high winds and fire danger
• How to prep for power outages
• How to navigate poor air quality

How to help yourself and others:

• Resources for fire victims, evacuees and first responders
• If you want to help fire victims, resist the urge to volunteer
• How to help find lost pets

How to start the recovery process:

• What to do — and not do — when you get home after a wildfire
• How to make an insurance claim
• How to safely clean up wildfire ash

What to do for your kids:

• How to talk to children about wildfires and losing a home
• What parents should know about wildfire air quality

Prepare for the next disaster:

• Fire season is here. Make sure you're signed up for these alerts
• Every day is now fire season. Let's get you ready for the next wildfire
• Yes, wildfires are getting worse. The history that got us to this moment

The Los Angeles County Ethics Commission meeting on Friday is a milestone in a couple of ways.

It’s the first time the largest county in the nation has had an independent watchdog commission to oversee campaign financing, lobbying, conflicts of interest and governmental ethics. The city of L.A. has had one since 1991.

It’s also the first in a bundle of county reforms approved by voters through Measure G in 2024, which include expanding the Board of Supervisors from five to nine members, creating an elected county executive role and a legislative analyst position.

“Ethics commissions aren't that sexy,” said Rob Quan, an organizer with Unrig LA, a watchdog group focused on money and politics.

But, he says, they’re crucial for making the relationship between money and elective offices transparent, which is often the root of political corruption.

“It's really important to have these kinds of resources to be able to make connections, follow money, and hold people accountable,” he said.

But Quan says having the first meeting is an important basic step, to establish “a centralized place where people can turn to, whether that's with a whistleblower [complaint] or just trying to get stuff changed,” he said.

A diverse makeup

The Friday meeting underlines the extent to which the commission is in its infancy, as not all seven members of the commission have been appointed.

So far three have been chosen, one each by the chair of the county Board of Supervisors, by the county assessor and by the Governance Reform Task Force, the body that’s guiding the implementation of Measure G. Members will serve staggered five-year terms. They include:

• Wilma Franco, head of community development group Southeast Los Angeles Collaborative (SELA)
• Amanda Susskind, former Anti-Defamation League Regional Director
• Michael Woo, former L.A. City Councilmember
  

The remaining four seats are still to be filled. They’ll be picked by those commissioners from a pool of members of the public who applied to be on the commission in July. That application window is now closed.

It’s an important change, a nod to taking influence away from elected officials, who are often in the position of appointing people to oversee their own ethical compliance. For example, elected officials pick all five members of the city of L.A.’s Ethics Commission.

The governance task force has forwarded 376 applications to the three commissioners. At Friday's meeting, they'll be discussing the best way to pick the remaining four members to ensure a wide range of backgrounds.

Members of the public can weigh in with their views either in person or online. You can find the agenda here.

Constraints

Despite all these steps taken to create the new ethics oversight agency, some people have concerns.

“I am doubtful that the ethics commission is going to have a lot of power," said Henrik Minassians, a professor in the department of urban studies and planning at California State University, Northridge. "The reason is because [of] the funding sources, and there are serious constraints with that.”

Both those issues may be helped by the Nov. 3 election. Measure E on the L.A. County ballot would guarantee $14.3 million in annual funding for the commission, adjusted for inflation, and give the commission the power to compel officials to testify through subpoenas and issue fines of up to $15,000 per violation.

A study out last month from the Rose Institute of State and Local Government said the reforms in Measure G are a “high-stakes experiment” whose success is far from guaranteed. But others say the reforms may bring a model of representative government that’s only been talked about so far.