In the Pacific Palisades and Altadena today, families of fire victims, survivors, elected officials and others gathered to mark the one-year anniversary of the fires that killed 31 people and reduced L.A. neighborhoods to ash and rubble.
Altadena: Survivors called for more support — from SoCal Edison, from insurance companies and from the federal government — at a news conference.
Read on ... for details about the events and photos.
In the Pacific Palisades and Altadena today, families of fire victims, survivors, elected officials and others gathered to mark the one-year anniversary of the fires that killed 31 people and reduced L.A. neighborhoods to ash and rubble.
At American Legion Post 283 in the heart of the Palisades, more than 100 fire survivors gathered Wednesday morning for a private ceremony for the families who lost loved ones in the fire. After the memorial, Los Angeles police officers on horseback led a procession, followed by bagpipers, then families of those who lost their lives in the fire a year ago.
Then in a ceremony on the Palisades Village Green, a bell was rung 12 times for the 12 people who died in the fire.
“No community should have to endure this level of devastation and loss and trauma,” said Jessica Rogers, executive director of the Palisades Long Term Recovery Group, which organized the memorial. “This past year has tested us beyond measure — physically, emotionally and spiritually. And yet, here we stand together.”
Outside the American Legion post, where the vigil procession began, Lina Onofre couldn’t hold back tears as she reflected on how her life changed a year ago.
“ I came from Peru, from the mountains, and I worked so hard here,” Onofre said, her voice cracking.
She lost her home of 40 years in the Palisades.
Her neighbors, Carol and Peter, who requested their surnames not be used, lived across the street from her for more than 30 years. They also lost their home. They hugged Onofre as she cried.
" I miss my neighbors. I miss the peacefulness that we had,” Carol said. “And I'm sad that it was taken from us."
Meanwhile, in Altadena, survivors and elected officials held a news conference to raise concerns about their recovery experience so far and to call for action.
They said survivors have been wrongfully denied the support they need to stay housed in the wake of losing their homes — by the utility company whose equipment is believed to have started the fire, by key insurance companies and by the federal government.
Southern California Edison has acknowledged that its equipment likely started the fire, speakers Wednesday said. But they added that the compensation offered by the utility is inadequate.
State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, who represents Altadena, said she had sent a letter to SoCal Edison leadership urging the company to provide urgent housing relief to the community.
“Part of them taking responsibility is providing the financial resources that this community needs to thrive,” Perez said to applause from the crowd. “We will not allow this community to fall into homelessness. Edison, you need to step it up.”
That was a worry for fire survivor Ada Hernandez, who said her family is at risk of having to live in their car when their housing support runs out next week.
Community groups have warned about the risk of homelessness to survivors.
An Edison spokesperson responded by pointing to the utility’s existing compensation program, saying it’s the fastest way for survivors to get support.
Other speakers called out their home insurers, some of whom, they said, have illegally delayed and denied coverage. A particular focus was State Farm. A spokesperson for the insurer said they couldn't discuss individual customers' cases, but that the company is "committed to continuing being a partner with our customers throughout their recovery."
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the area, also called on President Donald Trump to approve California’s request for tens of billions in relief to help people rebuild.
The events were just two among many held or planned for this week and in coming weeks — marking the tragedy, honoring victims, creating art and building community.
A key figure missing from the Palisades event, which transitioned to a planned protest as the morning progressed, was L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. Her office told LAist the mayor was attending private vigils and directed flags at City Hall to fly at half-staff.
Anger about her role in the early days of the fire response remains fresh for many Palisades Fire survivors, as evidenced by a sign at the memorial calling on her to resign.
At a protest after the vigil, dozens of Palisadians gathered to share their frustration and demand accountability and action, including officials taking responsibility for the cause of the fire, waiving rebuild permit fees and improving responses in the case of the next disaster.
Jennifer Herges, attended the protest, which organizers called "They Let Us Burn." She held a sign that read: "My grandma lost everything at 100. Not to age. Not to war. To your lack of preparedness. 60 years in the Palisades gone."
Her 100-year-old grandmother is now living in an apartment in Playa Vista, Herges said.
"Her wish to was to be able to die in her home, and the fire took everything," Herges said. "It's just been a very devastating experience for her."
Bass said on LAist’s AirTalk with Larry Mantle on Wednesday that the anniversary is a difficult day of remembrance and mourning, but she also said that it’s “a day to recommit and be hopeful and to forge on.” She added that she was encouraged to see so much rebuilding underway on recent trips to fire areas.
Bass also responded to a news report that the Mayor’s Office asked for “refinements” to the L.A. Fire Department’s after-action report on its handling of the firefight.
Bass said she did not make changes to the report.
“I did not have a hand in writing the report, in editing the report, or, frankly, in reading the reports, the various versions,” Bass said on AirTalk. “I had no idea there were so many versions of the report.”
Bass said she requested that the City Administrative Officer review the report’s characterization of the Fire Department budget: “I just said, ‘Get accurate information,’ and that’s what I assume they did.”
Matt Szabo holds that role. LAist has reached out to him for comment.
Topline:
The Trump administration will withdraw from dozens of international organizations, including the U.N.'s population agency and the U.N. treaty that establishes international climate negotiations, as the U.S. further retreats from global cooperation.
Why now: President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending U.S. support for 66 organizations, agencies, and commissions, following his administration's review of participation in and funding for all international organizations, including those affiliated with the United Nations, according to a White House release.
What were these organizations? Most of the targets are U.N.-related agencies, commissions and advisory panels that focus on climate, labor, migration and other issues the Trump administration has categorized as catering to diversity and "woke" initiatives.
Read on... for more about the organizations and what this means.
The Trump administration will withdraw from dozens of international organizations, including the U.N.'s population agency and the U.N. treaty that establishes international climate negotiations, as the U.S. further retreats from global cooperation.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending U.S. support for 66 organizations, agencies, and commissions, following his administration's review of participation in and funding for all international organizations, including those affiliated with the United Nations, according to a White House release.
Most of the targets are U.N.-related agencies, commissions and advisory panels that focus on climate, labor, migration and other issues the Trump administration has categorized as catering to diversity and "woke" initiatives. Other non-U.N. organizations on the list include the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and Global Counterterrorism Forum.
"The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation's sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Trump's decision to withdraw from organizations that foster cooperation among nations to address global challenges comes as his administration has launched military efforts or issued threats that have rattled allies and adversaries alike, including capturing autocratic Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and indicating an intention to take over Greenland.
The administration previously suspended support from agencies like the World Health Organization, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, the U.N. Human Rights Council and the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. It has taken a larger, a-la-carte approach to paying its dues to the world body, picking which operations and agencies it believes align with Trump's agenda and those that no longer serve U.S. interests.
"I think what we're seeing is the crystallization of the U.S. approach to multilateralism, which is 'my way or the highway,'" said Daniel Forti, head of U.N. affairs at the International Crisis Group. "It's a very clear vision of wanting international cooperation on Washington's own terms."
It has marked a major shift from how previous administrations — both Republican and Democratic — have dealt with the U.N., and it has forced the world body, already undergoing its own internal reckoning, to respond with a series of staffing and program cuts.
Many independent nongovernmental agencies — some that work with the United Nations — have cited many project closures because of the U.S. administration's decision last year to slash foreign assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.
Despite the massive shift, the U.S. officials, including Trump himself, say they have seen the potential of the U.N. and want to instead focus taxpayer money on expanding American influence in many of the standard-setting U.N. initiatives where there is competition with China, like the International Telecommunications Union, the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization.
The withdrawal from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, is the latest effort by Trump and his allies to distance the U.S. from international organizations focused on climate and addressing climate change.
UNFCC, the 1992 agreement between 198 countries to financially support climate change activities in developing countries, is the underlying treaty for the landmark Paris climate agreement. Trump — who calls climate change a hoax — withdrew from that agreement soon after reclaiming the White House.
Gina McCarthy, former White House National Climate Adviser, said being the only country in the world not part of the treaty is "shortsighted, embarrassing, and a foolish decision."
"This Administration is forfeiting our country's ability to influence trillions of dollars in investments, policies, and decisions that would have advanced our economy and protected us from costly disasters wreaking havoc on our country," McCarthy, who co-chairs America Is All In, a coalition of climate-concerned U.S. states and cities, said in a statement.
Mainstream scientists say climate change is behind increasing instances of deadly and costly extreme weather, including flooding, droughts, wildfires, intense rainfall events and dangerous heat.
The U.S. withdrawal could hinder global efforts to curb greenhouse gases because it "gives other nations the excuse to delay their own actions and commitments," said Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, a group of scientists that tracks countries' carbon dioxide emissions.
It will also be difficult to achieve meaningful progress on climate change without cooperation from the U.S., one of the world's largest emitters and economies, experts said.
The U.N. Population Fund, the agency providing sexual and reproductive health worldwide, has long been a lightning rod for Republican opposition, and Trump cut funding for it during his first term. He and other GOP officials have accused the agency of participating in "coercive abortion practices" in countries like China.
When President Biden took office in January 2021, he restored funding for the agency. A State Department review conducted the following year found no evidence to support GOP claims.
Other organizations and agencies that the U.S. will quit include the Carbon Free Energy Compact, the United Nations University, the International Cotton Advisory Committee, the International Tropical Timber Organization, the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the Pan-American Institute for Geography and History, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies and the International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Topline:
Gov. Gavin Newsom promoted California as an antidote to the Trump agenda on Thursday, telling lawmakers during a wide-ranging State of the State address that California still leads in a host of critical areas such as manufacturing, technology, education and agriculture.
State of the State highlights: The address is his first State of the State to lawmakers in the Assembly chambers since 2020. He used it as an opportunity to highlight progress on some of his most ambitious promises on housing affordability, expanded health care coverage, universal pre-kindergarten and going fossil fuel-free. Some haven’t yet been met. He targeted the Trump administration on a range of issues, including excessive policing and immigration raids, saying the state “faces an assault on our values unlike anything I have seen in my lifetime.”
California's budget: The address was also a preview of Newsom’s last budget proposal, to be released Friday. Though the state began the year facing an estimated $18 billion deficit and remains threatened by federal cuts, Newsom said revenues have come in $42 billion higher than expected — a “windfall” officials mostly attribute to stock market gains and the artificial intelligence boom.
What's next? The "windfall" could allow Newsom to avoid difficult fights with Democratic lawmakers over major cuts to programs in his final year in office, while maintaining funding for banner Newsom administration priorities like expanding public school to include all four-year-olds and providing more funding for community colleges.
Gov. Gavin Newsom promoted California as an antidote to the Trump agenda on Thursday, telling lawmakers during a wide-ranging State of the State address that California still leads in a host of critical areas such as manufacturing, technology, education and agriculture.
“Every year, the declinists, the pundits and critics suffering from California derangement syndrome look at this state and try to tear down our progress,” he said, instead pointing to technological advancements and engineering talent as a metric of his administration’s success.
“California’s success is not by chance — it’s by design. We’ve created the conditions where dreamers and doers and misfits and marvelers with grit and ingenuity get to build and do the impossible.”
He touted a 9% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, cheaper insulin and increased clean energy use in California as among his accomplishments, in a speech delivered with an eye toward higher office.
The address is his first State of the State to lawmakers in the Assembly chambers since 2020. He used it as an opportunity to highlight progress on some of his most ambitious promises on housing affordability, expanded health care coverage, universal pre-kindergarten and going fossil fuel-free. Some haven’t yet been met.
He targeted the Trump administration on a range of issues, including excessive policing and immigration raids, saying the state “faces an assault on our values unlike anything I have seen in my lifetime.” And in a common talking point for Newsom recently, he indirectly criticized the president for deprioritizing clean energy as China dominates electric vehicle production, and pointed to his own visits to international climate conferences.
“In California, we are not silent. We are not hunkering down. We are not retreating. We are a beacon. This state is providing a different narrative,” he said.
On homelessness, the reduction in the number of Californians sleeping on the street, in vehicles and in other places not meant for habitation is an important figure for the governor as he seeks to show improvement on one of California’s most stubborn challenges in his final year in office.
A humanitarian and public health crisis and the most visible consequence of California’s housing shortage, Newsom is sure to face national criticism on homelessness should he make an expected presidential run in 2028.
But the reduction came after years of increases in homelessness despite Newsom’s campaign promises to address the issue and his administration pouring over $24 billion into it during his two terms. In 2024, the year before the announced reduction, homelessness in California hit a record high: 123,974 were unsheltered while 63,110 were sheltered. That year, homelessness also spiked nationally.
Newsom did not announce the number who were homeless overall in 2025. The federal government in the coming weeks is expected to release the results of the 2025 homeless census for each state, including California. In the meantime, many California counties have already released their individual results. Several, including Contra Costa, San Diego and Los Angeles, indeed are showing progress.
He touted his administration’s focus on sweeping street encampments and building new mental health facilities paid for with Prop. 1, a $6.3 billion bond he promoted and which voters approved in 2024.
He also spoke about making the state more affordable, an issue over which Democrats and Republicans nationally are jockeying for credit after the 2024 presidential election showed voters were heavily motivated by the high cost of living.
He plans to seek out policies in his final year in office to crack down on large-scale investors buying up houses, forcing would-be homebuyers to compete — a day after Trump also announced a similar effort. It’s a new area for him in housing policy, after years seeking to boost construction. Newsom ran on a promise of building 3.5 million new housing units; the state has fallen far short of that.
Newsom also ran on a promise of a universal public health care system; he has since shifted to expanding access to Medi-Cal, the state health program for low-income residents that faces punishing federal cuts under Trump. On Thursday, he will tout the state’s production of $11 insulin as one way his administration has tackled health care costs.
The address was also a preview of Newsom’s last budget proposal, to be released Friday.
Though the state began the year facing an estimated $18 billion deficit and remains threatened by federal cuts, Newsom said revenues have come in $42 billion higher than expected — a “windfall” officials mostly attribute to stock market gains and the artificial intelligence boom.
That could allow him to avoid difficult fights with Democratic lawmakers over major cuts to programs in his final year in office, while maintaining funding for banner Newsom administration priorities like expanding public school to include all four-year-olds and providing more funding for community colleges.
With a rosier-than-expected financial picture, Democrats will be sure to jockey for additional funding for their favored programs or to reverse scheduled cuts to Medi-Cal coverage for low-income undocumented immigrant adults they made last year. But Newsom will propose instead to put $7 billion into reserves and $11 billion toward pension obligations.
And as Democrats debate a proposal to tax the wealthiest Californians to generate more revenue (an idea Newsom opposes), the governor instead will propose to renew a business development tax credit that has been often used by the technology and manufacturing sectors.
CalMatters' Marisa Kendall contributed to this report.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
The hiking trails surrounding Mt. Baldy reopened to visitors on Wednesday after being closed last week due to unsafe winter storm conditions and three deaths.
Why were the trails closed? Officials closed all hiking trails in and around Mt. Baldy on Dec. 29 after three people were found dead. At the time, officials said the closures were "being implemented to prevent further loss of life ... due to extreme environmental hazards and the current risk to hikers.”
Read on … for what you should know before hitting the trails.
The hiking trails surrounding Mt. Baldy reopened to visitors on Wednesday after being closed last week due to unsafe winter storm conditions and three deaths.
The trails were closed on Dec. 29 during a series of powerful winter storms and after three hikers were found dead. Officials said the closures were “to prevent further loss of life ... due to extreme environmental hazards and the current risk to hikers.”
Keila Vizcarra, public affairs specialist at the Angeles National Forest, said that at this time, there is no cause to extend the closure.
A search-and-rescue crew last Monday found the body of missing hiker Marcus Alexander Muench Casanova, 19, of Seal Beach.
In their search for Casanova, they also discovered two more bodies identified as Juan Sarat Lopez, 37, and Bayron Pedro Ramos Garcia, 36, both Guatemalan nationals living in Los Angeles. Authorities believe the men fell from the Devil’s Backbone Trail.
Visitors should beware that even though the closures have been lifted, there's still a high safety risk in the area because of winter conditions.
The trails are not recommended for people with no mountain or winter weather hiking experience, or if you don’t have the right equipment for safe climbing.
Trail conditions can change very quickly, Vizcarra added. Before heading to the trails, visitors are encouraged to check for updates online and call the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument office at (626) 335-1251.
Topline:
The California Privacy Protection Agency kicked off 2026 by launching a tool that state residents can use to make data brokers delete and stop selling their personal information.
The context: The system, known as the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, or DROP, has been in the works for years, mandated by a 2023 law known as the Delete Act. Under it and previous laws, data brokers must register with the state and enable consumers to tell brokers to stop tracking them and selling their information. Until now, those instructions had to be delivered to each data broker individually — not an easy feat, given that more than 500 brokers were registered in the state as of the end of last year.
What's new? The new system delivers privacy instructions to every registered broker at once. Launched on Jan. 1, it is open to all California residents. By law, the hundreds of data brokers registered with the state must begin processing those requests in August.
Read on ... for instructions on how to take advantage of it.
The California Privacy Protection Agency kicked off 2026 by launching a tool that state residents can use to make data brokers delete and stop selling their personal information.
This story was originally published by LAist partner CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. This article was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
The system, known as the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, or DROP, has been in the works for years, mandated by a 2023 law known as the Delete Act. Under it and previous laws, data brokers must register with the state and enable consumers to tell brokers to stop tracking them and selling their information.
Until now, those instructions had to be delivered to each data broker individually — not an easy feat, given that more than 500 brokers were registered in the state as of the end of last year. Making things even more difficult, some brokers obscured their opt-out forms from search results, as the Markup and CalMatters revealed in August.
The new system delivers privacy instructions to every registered broker at once. Launched on Jan. 1, it is open to all California residents. By law, the hundreds of data brokers registered with the state must begin processing those requests in August.
Here’s how to take advantage of it.
DROP asks you to provide some basic information — your name, email address, phone number, and ZIP code — so data brokers can find you in their systems. You can submit the form with just this information, but if you’d like a more thorough deletion, you can also provide your mobile advertising IDs from your phones, smart TVs, and vehicles. Including these IDs can help brokers match more of your data, but you have to take the time to collect them.
Click here to jump ahead if you want to provide basic information only, or continue reading for instructions on providing mobile advertising IDs for:
The steps below may vary slightly depending on your device and operating system version, but the general process is the same:
Open Settings.
Apple doesn’t provide a way for iOS users to see their mobile advertising ID, which it calls the Identifier for Advertisers, or IDFA. But it does provide a way for users to prevent trackers from accessing these IDs.
To turn off tracking, first, adjust your Screen Time settings:
Then, adjust your Tracking settings:
Apple has its own ads system that doesn’t use an IDFA. To disable that:
A quick note for our technically savvy readers: If you’ve already turned tracking off, you might be tempted to turn it back on to look up your advertising ID using a third-party app, but it’s unnecessary. Re-enabling tracking will reset the ID, limiting its usefulness to data brokers — they can’t continue tracking data or delivering personalized ads using a device ID that no longer exists.
Vehicles can track their owners in surprisingly invasive ways, and you can provide a vehicle’s identification number, or VIN, in case data brokers have that information. Where your VIN is will depend on the vehicle, but common places include on the dash on the driver’s side, or on a sticker in the jamb of the front passenger door. Your vehicle registration documents should also have your VIN listed.
Smart TVs also use advertising IDs. Here’s a guide that provides some settings for common brands. If the guide doesn’t cover your smart TV, try checking under its privacy or advertising settings. But be aware that this is different from numbers like the model code and serial number.
Laptop and desktop computers use unique identifiers to share data, but these are harder to find than mobile advertising IDs. Instead, you can turn off tracking, which will delete those IDs. (Turning tracking on again will generally reset the IDs.)
The California Privacy Protection Agency also provides some of its own guidance on finding advertising IDs.
Go to the DROP website. You’ll be asked to accept the terms of use and be directed to a page that asks you to prove you’re a California resident. There are two ways to do so, and you can’t change methods once you’ve selected one of them.
The system allows you to verify your identity using personal information through a system called the California Identity Gateway.
If you select this option, you’ll be asked to provide some basic personal information, like a phone number, email address, California address, or your Social Security number. The gateway will use this information to attempt to verify your residency directly with the state. This option should be quick if you have an email address and phone number.
Alternatively, you can verify your identity to DROP using login.gov, a system that some federal and state agencies in the United States have adopted to allow residents to interact with government services.
To sign up for a login.gov account, you’ll be asked to provide an email address, create a password, and provide photos of government-issued identification. After signing up and verifying your identity, you should be able to move on to the next step. This option might take a little more effort than the first option, since ID is required, but might be faster if you’ve already signed up for an account for other purposes.
After verifying your identity, you’ll get to a form where you can submit multiple versions of your name, up to three ZIP codes, up to three email addresses, up to three phone numbers, advertising IDs from your mobile devices and smart TVs, and VINs for your vehicles. You’ll be asked to verify your email addresses and phone numbers with single-use codes before submitting. (The agency notes there may be delays with some verification codes due to high volume.)
