What to expect: Another mild day with partly cloudy skies.
What about the temperatures: In Orange County, coastal areas will see highs around 62 degrees. Meanwhile, in L.A. County, the beaches will be a bit warmer with highs around 70 degrees, and in the mid-70s for the valleys.
Read on ... for more details.
We're in for another mild day with partly to mostly cloudy skies. The National Weather Service forecasts that come Thursday, temperatures will rise more and the Santa Ana winds will return.
Coastal communities in the L.A. area will see highs mostly around 70 degrees today. Meanwhile, the Orange County coast will stay cooler with high temperatures around 62 degrees.
More inland, the valleys and the Inland Empire will see highs from 69 to 75 degrees, up to 76 degrees in Coachella Valley. In the Antelope Valley, highs will be mostly in the low 60s.
Topline:
East Los Angeles pastor Carlos Rincon stood outside a Minneapolis church on Friday, in below-zero temperatures, livestreaming what he was witnessing on the ground in the face of violence by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the region.
More details: “The persecution in Minneapolis is terrible, more cruel than what’s happened in Los Angeles,” the pastor said in his video. Federal agents “are going against anyone,” Rincon, who pastors the Assemblies of God church Centro de Vida Victoriosa in East LA, told Boyle Heights Beat.
Why now: Rincon, who has attended vigils and protests against immigration raids in LA, was in Minneapolis for three days. He witnessed clergy getting arrested at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in an anti-ICE protest. He marched with tens of thousands of Minnesotans amid the state’s general strike against ICE.
Read on... for more of Rincon's visit.
This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Jan. 27, 2026.
East Los Angeles pastor Carlos Rincon stood outside a Minneapolis church on Friday, in below-zero temperatures, livestreaming what he was witnessing on the ground in the face of violence by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the region.
In a matter of weeks, he said, “an army of people” at Dios Habla Hoy Church in Minneapolis managed to distribute food packages to thousands of families — including green card holders and U.S. citizens — who were too afraid to leave their homes for food and worship.
“The persecution in Minneapolis is terrible, more cruel than what’s happened in Los Angeles,” the pastor said in his video. Federal agents “are going against anyone,” Rincon, who pastors the Assemblies of God church Centro de Vida Victoriosa in East L.A., told Boyle Heights Beat.
Rincon, who has attended vigils and protests against immigration raids in LA, was in Minneapolis for three days. He witnessed clergy getting arrested at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in an anti-ICE protest. He marched with tens of thousands of Minnesotans amid the state’s general strike against ICE.
Since Rincon’s visit, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said some federal agents will begin to leave Tuesday amid outrage over the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents.
In Minneapolis, Rincon was struck by the number of white Americans showing up in defense of immigrants. He recalled elderly American women “battling the snow” as they kept watch for agents. He also saw as many as 500 or more people sorting food inside the church for distribution.
Rincon spent time with Dios Habla Hoy pastor Sergio Amezcua, who has denounced ICE as “acting like narco cartels back in Mexico.” Amezcua’s church set up a system — involving volunteers of all religious and ethnic backgrounds — to deliver food to thousands of families in the area.
“I got citizens, permanent residents, they avoid coming to church. … We preach to the world religious freedom and Minnesota people cannot go to church,” Amezcua said in a video on the nonprofit news site Mother Jones.
“And if they come to church, there’s ICE agents outside of churches waiting for them,” he said. “It’s really evil what’s going on.”
A board member of the Latino Christian and National Network, Rincon said he went to Minneapolis to gauge the needs of Latino churches in the area. He said Dios Habla Hoy Church had to implement added security measures before letting anyone inside the church.
“I’m impressed by the city, people of Minneapolis, how selflessly they serve,” Rincon said. “They’re willing to risk their own lives.”
Rincon, who is part of the LA-based Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, wants more religious Latino leaders to denounce ICE violence.
His denomination, the fast-growing Assemblies of God, is made up of about 180,000 adherents in its Southern California network, many of whom are immigrants. Rincon said a fellow LA pastor is currently at risk of deportation. It’s a conservative denomination, he said, “that has been captivated by the Republican Party.”
“Although we are targets, the evangelical Pentecostal churches, they’re not speaking on this issue,” said Rincon, who is Mexican American. “I’m trying to change that.”
“I’m taking a risk because I wasn’t born in this country. I’m a naturalized American, but I believe in what I do,” he added.
In LA, Rincon and his largely immigrant church, which he has led for nearly 40 years, have helped provide funds to immigrant families in need during the raids. While not all congregants agree on everything, “they see me as their spiritual leader,” he said.
Rincon returned to LA on Saturday, just in time to attend a downtown interfaith vigil outside of the federal building, where he addressed clergy and others.
“I come in love with the beloved community of Minneapolis,” he said in Spanish. “They are rising up. They are fighting. “Thank you, Lord, for Minneapolis, because they have opened their doors and protected the vulnerable.”
“They are saving lives when others have built walls,” Rincon continued.
Topline:
L.A. voters could be asked this year — in elections in June and November — to raise taxes in a number of ways to help fund city services.
What measures are up for discussion? There are seven! On Tuesday, the L.A. City Council directed the city attorney to draft two options for a hotel tax. The first is a 4% increase that falls to 2% after the Olympics; the second is a 2% increase that drops to 1% after the Games. The council will choose one of those options to put before voters. Another ballot measure ordinance will be drafted to start taxing unlicensed cannabis shops.
Wait, aren’t unlicensed cannabis shops illegal? Yes, but they do exist across L.A. Licensed cannabis shops are responsible for a 9.75% sales tax, 10% business tax and 19% state cannabis excise tax. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez voted against taxing the illegal businesses. “You're setting up, unintentionally, a false expectation that you're going to be able to hold these guys accountable,” Rodriguez said, adding that the city attorney should instead be shutting those shops down.
What about the other measures? A 5% increase in the parking tax was sent back to the budget and finance committee for further discussion.
The council also directed the city attorney to look into additional tax measures for the November ballot.
Is raising taxes the only solution for the city’s budget? Rodriguez — who voted against the tax ballot measures — said the city needs to think about tightening its belt. “If we're not having a full conversation around where we're going to cut back, but we're going to talk to taxpayers about increasing more, it's a really big problem,” Rodriguez said.
What’s next? The city attorney’s office has until Feb. 11 to draft any measures that will appear on the June primary ballot.
Dig deeper … into L.A.’s budget woes.
Topline:
The state wants to hear from people who live near the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility in the hills above Porter Ranch about how to spend $14 million awarded through a legal settlement.
The background: The Southern California Gas-owned storage reservoir in the San Fernando Valley was the source of the largest known methane leak in U.S. history in 2015. Thousands of residents in Porter Ranch, Chatsworth and Granada Hills were forced to evacuate. Ten years on, many residents are still concerned about the health effects and ongoing pollution from the site. As part of a settlement with SoCalGas, California received $71 million as part of a legal settlement with SoCal Gas reached in 2018. The gas utility and its parent company, Sempra Energy, paid more than $2 billion in settlements and fines for the leak.
What’s next: The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation is looking to invest $14 million from the Aliso Canyon gas leak legal settlement. They’ll host listening sessions throughout the year to hear from residents on how they’d like to see those funds used.
How to get involved: The sessions are open to residents who were affected by the Aliso Canyon disaster or who live or work in the communities of Porter Ranch, Granada Hills, Northridge, Chatsworth, North Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Winnetka, West Hills, Van Nuys and Lake Balboa. Here’s the info for upcoming listening sessions:
Go deeper: Inside the aftermath of the largest methane leak in US history
Topline:
A bill that would make it easier for Californians to sue immigration agents and other federal officials for civil rights violations sailed through the state Senate on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Senate Bill 747, dubbed the No Kings Act, would create a first-in-the-nation legal pathway for residents to seek financial damages in state court for excessive force, false arrest and other violations of constitutional rights committed by federal officers.
Why now: The bill was written by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. If state or local law enforcement officers had shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two people recently killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, they could be held financially liable, he said.
How we got here: The measure passed the state Senate on a 30-10 party-line vote, with Republicans arguing the bill could expose local police to more lawsuits.
Read on ... for more on the bill and the larger national context.
A bill that would make it easier for Californians to sue immigration agents and other federal officials for civil rights violations sailed through the state Senate on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 747, dubbed the No Kings Act, would create a first-in-the-nation legal pathway for residents to seek financial damages in state court for excessive force, false arrest and other violations of constitutional rights committed by federal officers.
The bill was written by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. If state or local law enforcement officers had shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two people recently killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, they could be held financially liable, he said.
“But under current law, it’s almost impossible to file that same lawsuit against a federal agent who does the same thing,” Wiener said. “If the federal government won’t hold these agents accountable for violating the Constitution, we will.”
The measure passed the state Senate on a 30-10 party-line vote, with Republicans arguing the bill could expose local police to more lawsuits.
Tuesday’s vote is the latest move by Democrats in the state Legislature to create a bulwark against the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown.
Last year, lawmakers set aside $25 million for legal nonprofits to defend residents facing detention or deportation. They also approved a bill, written by Wiener, to prohibit local and federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks on duty — which is currently facing a legal challenge from the Trump administration.
SB 747’s supporters said it would give Californians a chance to hold federal officials accountable in a way that can be difficult under current law.
“Today we are deliberating an issue to try to solve and also remedy the fear that folks are living with,” said Senate President pro Tem Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara. “In combination with the fact that we have not seen due process.”
Wiener argued that existing law makes it difficult for victims to receive damages in federal court. For example, the Federal Tort Claims Act protects the government from liability arising from decisions made by individual officers and requires plaintiffs to first file an administrative claim.
Supporters of SB 747 include the Prosecutors Alliance, a coalition of progressive district attorneys, and Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, which advocates for immigrants in California’s Inland Empire.
The bill is opposed by organizations representing California police officers, sheriffs and Highway Patrol officers.
They argued the change will undercut an existing state law, known as the Bane Act, which requires Californians who sue law enforcement officials to show that a civil rights violation was accomplished through “threats, intimidation, or coercion.”
“The question before you is not whether accountability should exist, but what creating a second, overlapping state system actually adds — other than more litigation and more risk for those on the front lines,” said Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Santa Clarita.
During debate on the Senate floor, Wiener said local police officers and sheriffs can already be sued under federal law for violating constitutional rights.
“The liability that local and state police officers face will be the same after this is signed into law as before,” Wiener said. “It doesn’t change that.”
Senate Bill 747 now heads to the state Assembly.
In an analysis of SB 747, staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote, “the bill is very likely to be challenged by the federal government if signed into law.”
