The Brief

As of Monday afternoon, around 6,700 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers were without power as the utility worked to restore service disrupted by a week long heatwave. The communities with the most number of impacted customers are Lincoln Heights, Arlington Heights, and Pacoima.

LADWP reported that the number of customers without power in any given neighborhood is "relatively low." However, the hottest neighborhoods, including areas with fewer trees and green space that help cool concrete, have been hit with the most outages.

Meanwhile, about 2,047 SoCalEdison customers are without power across the system due to 55outages as of Monday morning.

SCE serves about 15 million people, while LADWP has roughly 1.5 million customers.

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It's a matter of heat

On Friday, LADWP's power load was 6,300 megawatts, which almost hit an all-time record. People blasting their air conditioners isn't the only thing stressing the power grid. LADWP CEO and chief engineer Janisse Quiñones told LAist that sustained high temperatures over multiple days.

"The easiest way to explain this is, when you have your iPhone and it gets super hot, and then it sends you a message like, 'I'm overheating, I'm shutting down to cool down' — that's exactly the same thing that's happening to our equipment," Quiñones said. "It gets to a level of temperature that it's dangerous for it."

The concentration of outages in the San Fernando Valley is not a coincidence — temperatures there have been in the 100s and even 110s for much of this week, with nighttime lows in the high 80s or 90s.

"Our transformers have been loaded with high temperatures, and they have not been able to restore or rest at night," Quiñones said. "We need our equipment to cool down at night, and the temperatures have been sustained through the night."

Quiñones said the outages aren't related to a power generation problem — Quiñones said the utility has enough solar, wind and gas-fired electricity to meet demand — but rather the main issue is that many aspects of the electricity distribution system need upgrading.

The high temperatures led to failures in distribution components of the power grid like transformers, circuit breakers and cables. Even though LADWP officials say they had been working to update equipment since last year — and the upgraded equipment has held up — the severity of the current heat wave caught them off guard.

"We saw where our areas of interest were based on last year's performance, and we started replacing transformers," Quiñones said. "But this temperature has been unprecedented in the Valley."

"We're starting to see a trend of hotter summers and heat waves," Quiñones added. "I think that this heat wave has been longer sustained. I'm telling my team we gotta get ready for the new normal. These temperatures are gonna be here every summer."

What to do if you're without power

To report an outage, Quiñones requested that you call LADWP at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (that's 1-800-342-5397) or submit a report on their website, especially if you've been without power for longer than 24 hours. (SCE customers can report here.)

"I think the biggest challenge is just the sheer amount of outages. We have more outages than we have crews," Quiñones said. "The equipment is constantly failing, so we're chasing failures."

Reporting outages that last longer than 24 hours will help LADWP officials prioritize longer power shutoffs, since the estimated response time to arrive on site is between 12 and 24 hours.

"It's challenging in L.A. because a lot of our infrastructure, especially downtown L.A., it's underground and the conduits where the cables are were designed 100 years ago and they're small," Quiñones said. "So expanding the system will require huge investment in the underground infrastructure to upgrade that system."

Quiñones said now that LADWP is aware of more areas that are prone to outages, they will work on identifying more equipment that needs to be replaced for future heat waves.

If you have power, conserve it

While we can't do anything about today's extreme weather, customers who still have power can help do their part to reduce overall power usage. Unfortunately, that does mean you should only run your air conditioner when you have to.

"It helps everybody. It definitely helps us," Quiñones said "It helps the customers that are experiencing outages. It helps California, right? Like, the heat wave is not just L.A."

Relief in sight

Even with LADWP crews working around the clock to restore power, they may not go away entirely until the underlying problem (i.e. the heat wave) is gone.

Luckily, the National Weather Service predicts that Monday will be the last day of excessive heat in most areas of Southern California. Temperatures are expected to drop 10 degrees on Tuesday and even further on Wednesday and into the rest of the week.

Read more about the forecast here.

The Justice Department has published additional Epstein files related to allegations that President Donald Trump sexually abused a minor after an NPR investigation found dozens of pages were withheld.

They include 16 new pages that cover three additional FBI interview summaries with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago when she was a minor. Also included are two pages of an intake form documenting the initial call to the FBI from a friend who relayed the claims.

NPR's investigation previously found 53 pages that appeared to be missing from the public database.

Now that these documents are published, there are still 37 pages of records missing from the public database, including notes from the interviews, a law enforcement report and license records.

The Justice Department has repeatedly told NPR that any documents withheld were "privileged, are duplicates or relate to an ongoing federal investigation."

Last week, after NPR's initial story, the Justice Department said it was determining if records had been mistakenly tagged as duplicates and if any were found, "the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law."

More detail, but less context

The interview documents are part of more than 1,000 new pages published to the Epstein files public database Thursday that also include what appears to be the complete case file from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell initiated in 2006.

The new documents go into more detail about the allegations made against both Trump and Epstein when the woman was between 13 to 15 years old.

An FBI email summarizing the claims and a Justice Department PowerPoint slide deck note the woman claimed that around 1983, when she was around 13 years old, Epstein introduced her to Trump, "who subsequently forced her head down to his exposed penis which she subsequently bit. In response, Trump punched her in the head and kicked her out."

In the newly-published documents, the woman's described how Trump allegedly put her head "down to his penis" and she "bit the s*** out of it." She alleged that Trump struck her and said something to the effect of "get this little b**** the hell out of here."

During the final interview the woman had with the FBI in 2019, when asked whether she "felt comfortable detailing her contacts with Trump," she reportedly asked "what the point would be of providing the information at this point in her life when there was a strong possibility nothing could be done about it."

The new files do not shed any more light on how credible federal investigators viewed her claims or how they were resolved. Still unanswered, too, is why the allegations were included in a Justice Department slide presentation last year summarizing the cases against Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. The White House and Justice Department have warned that the raw files released to the public include "untrue and sensationalist claims."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to NPR Friday that Trump has been "totally exonerated by the release of the Epstein files."

"These are completely baseless accusations, backed by zero credible evidence, from a sadly disturbed woman who has an extensive criminal history," Leavitt wrote. "The total baselessness of these accusations is also supported by the obvious fact that Joe Biden's department of justice knew about them for four years and did nothing with them — because they knew President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong. As we have said countless times, President Trump has been totally exonerated by the release of the Epstein Files."

The White House also noted a Justice Department statement posted Thursday on X that said there were 15 documents it discovered were "incorrectly coded as duplicative" and there were five prosecution memos that the Southern District of Florida determined could be published while protecting privileged materials.

Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have demanded answers from the Justice Department regarding the missing files and the department's handling of the release of Epstein documents. This week, the committee voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions about the files.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Have information to share about the Epstein files? Reach out to Stephen Fowler through encrypted communications on Signal at stphnfwlr.25. Please use a nonwork device.
Copyright 2026 NPR

For live updates of Rev. Jesse Jackson's service, head to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun Times' live blog.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson's loved ones will celebrate his life in Chicago on Friday, as his family hosts a memorial homegoing service that's open to the public, but will also be attended by dignitaries and celebrities.

Former Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton are scheduled to speak at the service at the House of Hope, a megachurch on Chicago's South Side. Former Vice President Kamala Harris will also speak.

The service will also feature performances by Chicago native Jennifer Hudson, along with gospel singers Bebe Winans and Pastor Marvin Winans.

The event is slated to begin at noon ET and is expected to run for several hours. You can watch streaming video of the service here, along with live coverage from WBEZ in Chicago.

Other speakers include Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, along with the Rev. Al Sharpton and former NBA star Isiah Thomas.

The service — and another, private service on Saturday — will be officiated by faith leaders Pastor Charles Jenkins and Rev. James T. Meeks.

Program for Friday's memorial

Below is the order of service, as planned:
 
Musical Prelude: Legacy Mass Choir 
 
Call to Order: Officiants Rev. James T. Meeks, pastor emeritus of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago, and Pastor Charles Jenkins, pastor emeritus of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church of Chicago
 
Scripture: Matthias Jackson, Old Testament; Atticus Jackson, New Testament
 
Acknowledgements & Resolutions
 
Prayers: Rev. Michael I. Pfleger, pastor emeritus of Faith Community of St. Sabina (Chicago); Rabbi Sharon Brous, founder of IKAR (Los Angeles); Rev. Otis Moss III, Trinity United Church of Christ (Chicago)
 
Musical Selection: Hezekiah Walker, "Every Praise"
 
Expressions: Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Progressive Faith Foundation; Pastor Steve Munsey, Family Christian Center; Judge Greg Mathis
 
Opening: Yusef Jackson; Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
 
Musical Selection: Opal Staples
 
Expressions: James Reynolds, Jr., chairman and CEO, Loop Capital; C.K. Hoffler, board chair, Rainbow PUSH Coalition; Thomas S. Ricketts, chairman, Chicago Cubs; Isiah Thomas, NBA Hall of Famer; former President Barack Obama
 
Musical Selection: Jennifer Hudson, "A Change Gonna Come"
 
Expressions: Rev. Al Sharpton, founder, National Action Network; James Zogby, founder, Arab American Institute; Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, president of the Republic of Colombia; former President Bill Clinton

Video Tribute: Amadou Janaeh (Gambia); Andre Ramirez (former POW)

Musical Selection: Le'Andria Johnson, "We Shall Overcome"

Family Expression: Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

Expressions: John Nichols; Rep. Chuy Garcia (IL-04); Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-35); Pastor Jamal Bryant, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church (Stonecrest, Ga.)
 
Musical Selection: Marvin Sapp, "Never Would Have Made It"

Expressions: Former Vice President Kamala Harris; former President Joe Biden

Musical Selection: Bebe Winans, "Stand"

Family Expressions: Jacqueline Jackson; Ashley Jackson

Musical selection: Santita Jackson, "To God Be The Glory"

Family Expression: Rep. Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01)

Musical Selection: Marvin Winans, "Let the Church Say Amen"

Benediction: Charles Jenkins

Recessional

Civil rights leader fought segregation in his home state

Jackson died on Feb. 17 at age 84. His death has brought an outpouring of tributes to the civil rights leader and politician who devoted his life to pushing for equality and change. His early efforts to fight segregation included insisting on access to the "white library" in his hometown of Greenville, S.C., in 1960.

Dorris Wright, a former classmate of Jackson's who was one of the "Greenville Eight" along with him, told Here & Now that after their action, "the library was shut down, I think, for about a week or ten days. And then when they reopened, they reopened it to everybody."

Five years later, Jackson marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and others in Selma, Ala. His advocacy continued in the decades that followed, leading Jackson to run for president in 1984 and 1988.

The Chicago ceremonies bookend a week that began with Jackson's body lying in state at the South Carolina Capitol on Monday. There, he was honored in events that drew luminaries such as Rep. Jim Clyburn, former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, and University of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley.

Last week, Jackson's body lay in repose at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Chicago-based civil rights organization he founded. His body will return to the group's headquarters on Saturday, for a celebration that will be private, but streamed online.

Jackson will be laid to rest in Chicago's venerable Oak Woods Cemetery. There, as WBEZ reports, Jackson will join civil rights icons such as journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who died in 1931, and Olympian Jesse Owens, who died in 1980.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Don't forget to moisturize because the Santa Ana winds are here for the weekend.

Today we're looking at highs in the upper 60s to mid-70s for the beaches, valleys and the Inland Empire. Meanwhile in Coachella Valley, expect temperatures to reach 74 to 78 degrees.

Wind advisories are in effect for most of the valleys and mountains, including the Malibu Coast where gusts could reach up to 45 mph.

Looking ahead, it's going to warm up this weekend with highs from the coasts to the valleys potentially reaching the mid-80s.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

A stretch of Pico Boulevard near the Convention Center has been closed for months as the site goes through a major expansion ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. The construction has rerouted traffic and limited access into a busy area for the neighborhood.

While the city touts the construction as a potential job generator, it’s also a closure that has been affecting small business owners and neighbors in Pico Union.

For many businesses, there are few answers about where they fit into the plans for the Convention Center’s expansion.

Flor Osorio at Salvadoran restaurant “Taco Bravo” on Pico and Albany Street, said they’ve seen a drop in customers since Metro buses no longer stop on Pico and Figueroa Street.

Customers coming from near California Hospital Medical Center at Grand Avenue and Venice Boulevard are also no longer making the walk over.

“We used to have a lot of seniors as customers. Business has gone down significantly. But I’m not sure we can do anything about it,” Osorio said, who has been at the restaurant for 34 years and continues to work after her niece took over.

At a nearby Subway, employee Julio Vasquez has been making sandwiches in the same strip mall for the past four years and also noticed a dip in foot traffic.

Pico Boulevard, a major artery around the Los Angeles Convention Center, will remain closed through spring 2029 as the city undertakes a multi-billion project.

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Marina Peña

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The LA Local

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“There’s a lot of people not coming anymore because they don’t want to go all the way to Olympic or some other street just to get here,” he said. “By the time they’re trying to get here, they say they already found tacos or something else, so they don’t come anymore.”

Since the closure began in December, Aurora Corona, a longtime Pico Union resident, explained the road shutdown has especially impacted Metro’s 30 Bus line because it now has to detour down Union Avenue. That forces more cars and the DASH bus into a bottleneck.

“It’s a big mess. There’s congestion and a traffic jam in the morning and afternoon because of two schools’ drop-off and pick-up on Union and 11th and Union and Pico,” Corona said.

Miguel Garcia with the Pico Union Neighborhood Council encourages local businesses to advertise that they’re still open during the construction. He added there’s little a neighborhood council can do to help ailing businesses in this situation.

Representatives for the Los Angeles Convention Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the impact to local businesses.

The Los Angeles Tourism Department says the expansion is projected to create more than 15,000 jobs, generate $652 million in general tax revenue for the city over the next 30 years and bring in more than $150 million in additional visitor spending each year.

Others don’t share the same positive outlook.

City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s office said it will take more than five decades for the city to truly break even on the project.

While the expansion project is estimated to cost $2.7 billion, the total cost to taxpayers will be closer to $5.9 billion with borrowing and other costs, according to Mejia’s office, who recommended the city not take on the project.

Pico Boulevard between LA Live Way and S. Figueroa Street is expected to remain closed until March 2028.

Construction crews will work throughout the week, specifically Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This will include demolition, underground utility upgrades, as well as street and sidewalk improvements, according to the project description.

Crews have demolished and cleared parts of the existing structure around the center. Foundation and grading work are set to begin along Pico Boulevard in between the West and South Halls.

Construction will temporarily pause during the 2028 Summer Olympics, then pick back up afterward, with the project expected to wrap up by spring 2029.