The Brief

On a brisk January morning, physician assistant Brett Feldman searched the streets of Los Angeles for patients, knocking on car windows and peering into tents. It was the day after a winter storm had doused the city, and many of the unhoused people Feldman usually treats had moved to find somewhere dry.

Feldman leads the street medicine team at the USC Keck School of Medicine, providing primary care to thousands of L.A.’s homeless individuals. Many have chronic conditions, mental health disorders, wounds or other medical issues; they need health care desperately.

But Feldman and other street medicine providers across the state are worried that changes made to Medi-Cal eligibility by President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” will cause a majority of unhoused people to lose insurance, limiting their options for care.

“It’s very possible over 90% of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness will lose insurance,” Feldman said of his L.A. patients.

Medi-Cal, also known as Medicaid federally, provides health insurance for low-income people and those with disabilities. The new law requires states starting in 2027 to verify that able-bodied adults younger than 65 without dependent children are performing 80 hours or more of work each month in order to qualify for Medicaid. It also requires states to verify income and other eligibility criteria every six months as opposed to once per year.

State officials estimate up to 2 million people – about 14% of the state’s 14 million Medi-Cal recipients – will lose coverage, either because they don’t meet the work requirements or because they get overwhelmed by the paperwork.

Meeting those requirements will be particularly challenging for the state’s roughly 180,000 homeless people. They often have no phones or internet to complete a job application. They have limited access to meals, showers or clean clothes. They commonly struggle with addiction or mental health conditions and often don’t have the ability to work. Research shows that homeless individuals have far worse health outcomes and a lifespan nearly 20 years shorter than the general population.

Often those who need health care the most are the ones who are least able to work, Feldman said.

Physician’s assistant Brett Feldman checks his patient Gary Dela Cruz on the side of the road near his homeless encampment in downtown Los Angeles in November.

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Larry Valenzuela

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Without insurance, people who are unhoused won’t be able to pick up medications or find primary care providers. Their health conditions will worsen, and they’ll rely on emergency rooms more.

“This is going to be a huge issue for the unhoused,” said Kelly Bruno-Nelson, an executive director with CalOptima, an Orange County Medi-Cal plan that provides health insurance for an estimated 11,000 members with unstable housing.

Work exemptions

The law carves out exemptions for people who can’t work: those with substance use disorders, disabling mental health conditions, complex medical conditions and other disabilities. Children, people who are pregnant, foster youth and those with disabilities are also exempt from working, though they will be required to renew their Medi-Cal eligibility every six months.

On paper, many homeless Californians likely qualify for work exemptions. Nearly half of homeless Californians have a complex behavioral health need, including regular drug or heavy alcohol use, hallucinations or recent psychiatric hospitalization, according to recent reports from the UCSF Benioff Housing and Homelessness Initiative. About 60% report at least one chronic condition, and roughly a third have conditions that make bathing, dressing or eating difficult.

But to claim an exemption, a patient needs a doctor to certify it. Only half of insured and unhoused Californians regularly get care and only 39% have a primary care provider, Benioff data shows.

In L.A., even fewer unhoused people have a primary care provider. Just 7% of the population had seen a provider in the past year between 2022 and 2023, according to a study published by the USC Street Medicine program, meaning very few people would have medical exemptions certified under the new law.

That means many eligible people could lose Medi-Cal: people like Samantha Randolph.

The 37-year-old has lived the streets of L.A. for more than five years. She wouldn’t even know where to begin finding a job if she had to, she said. Her ID cracked in half, so she threw it away. Someone stole her phone months ago, and she has no recent work experience.

“I’m on my own. I’m doing this by myself,” Randolph said on that same January morning.

Randolph, who is seven months pregnant, would qualify for an exemption from the work requirements come 2027. Feldman’s team also checks on her regularly to monitor the baby and could certify an exemption if necessary. But even that’s no guarantee that Randolph wouldn’t inadvertently lose Medi-Cal.

Her health insurance expired six weeks prior to Feldman’s visit because the county enrollment office mailed the paperwork to an address where Randolph doesn’t live. Without Medi-Cal, which pays for maternity housing in the city, Feldman can’t get her inside.

“I’d love to get you out of here as soon as possible,” Feldman said to Randolph as he listened to her breathing and examined a bump on her head. “I’d love to get you somewhere safe and cozy.”

His benefits team has been working diligently in the background to re-enroll Randolph in Medi-Cal. Without identification and other documents, it has been a slow process.

State tries to automate eligibility checks

State Medi-Cal officials are working to launch an eligibility verification system that will automatically check for work requirement compliance and exemptions. They hope to spare the estimated 3.5 million Californians like Randolph who will need to comply with the law’s new requirements the headache of having to prove their qualifications on paper.

“This is a top priority for us in the department, really seeking to minimize the harm to members to the greatest extent that we can,” said Tyler Sadwith, state Medicaid director at the Department of Health Care Services.

The department is looking to purchase workforce data that will capture gig workers and more timely information about income than tax returns. The state already uses IRS data and information from other welfare programs like food stamps and cash assistance programs to verify Medi-Cal eligibility.

To exempt income-eligible students, the department wants to pull information from the state’s universities and colleges. And it is working to identify medical diagnosis codes that could be used to exempt people with disabilities or other qualifying conditions like mental health or substance use disorders.

If the state can link all of the data together, some qualifying and exempt Medi-Cal recipients won’t need to provide additional information.

“They won’t have to take action. They will receive a notification that they have been successfully renewed,” Sadwith said.

But there are gaps that will be difficult for the state to fill with automated data and questions left unanswered by the federal government. Evidence of volunteer work, for example, doesn’t exist in a large database, and it’s unclear if the federal government will require the medical diagnosis codes that could signal a qualifying exemption be reverified by a provider every six months. If they do, many unhoused Californians who don’t see a provider in time could still get kicked off of Medi-Cal.

Department officials also acknowledge that in states that have previously tried to implement work requirements, eligible people always fall through the cracks.

Matt Beare, a street medicine physician in Kern County, said falling through the cracks is the norm for people who are unhoused. Already, people like Randolph lose Medi-Cal all the time.

The law’s new requirements will only make that more likely.

Not even street medicine providers who work daily to find and follow up with unhoused patients can guarantee that they can locate them. Encampment sweeps, violent crime and weather force people to move frequently.

“The cost of falling through the cracks is likely human life,” Beare said.

Homeless could lose access, housing

California has invested significantly in street medicine teams over the past five years.

Street teams deliver comprehensive primary care services wherever unhoused people are: under bridges, on the side of the road, in encampments. They administer antipsychotic injections and contraceptives, provide wound care, deliver medications and help with substance use disorder treatment. Perhaps most importantly, they often travel with benefits counselors, social workers and housing specialists.

That and other Medi-Cal investments have helped the state chip away at its homelessness problem.

But with droves of patients expected to fall off of Medi-Cal, some providers predict that street medicine teams may also disappear, worsening the chance that unhoused Californians have a provider who can certify their work requirement exemptions.

“It's going to be very fiscally difficult for those programs to be able to sustain themselves,” Bruno-Nelson with CalOptima said.

Without Medi-Cal, unhoused people won’t be able to see specialists, get diagnostic testing or obtain most medications. They’ll rely more on emergency rooms. And because California policymakers have tied some housing and other social services to Medi-Cal, many experts worry members of this vulnerable population will lose their best chance at stability.

“These people are spinning through — some with 50 emergency room visits a year because they’re so sick — a vortex,” said Gray Miller, chief executive of Titanium Healthcare, a case management company that helps Medi-Cal recipients coordinate health appointments, find housing and manage chronic conditions.

Back in L.A. hours after he found Randolph again, Feldman takes a call and smiles. The county has finally approved her Medi-Cal application, which means Randolph now qualifies for maternity housing. He sends a colleague to pick her up.

“I’m so happy we got Sam inside.”

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

The Los Angeles County fires last year drove up insurance costs for many Californians. Now, a proposed settlement means some State Farm policyholders whose premiums rose won’t see additional increases, and others should even get refunds.

State Farm, the largest insurer in the state with about 20% market share, received approval for unprecedented emergency insurance rate increases in California last May. The company told the state that the billions of dollars it expected to pay out after the deadly fires placed it in financial peril.

The proposed deal among the state Insurance Department, consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog and State Farm, disclosed late last week, comes after months of public hearings convened by the insurance department and settlement talks.

Consumer Watchdog, which questioned the rate increases State Farm asked for, says the settlement saves the company’s California policyholders a total of $530 million. From the proposed settlement:

• Homeowners’ rate hikes will stay at the previously approved interim rate of 17% instead of the 30% the company sought.
• Condo owners who saw interim rate hikes of 15% will see their rates drop to an increase of 5.8%, and get refunds with interest dating back to June 1, 2025.
• Rental unit owners with interim rate hikes of 38% will see those increases drop to 32.8%, and receive refunds with interest. 
• Renter policyholders will see an increase of 15.65% vs. the interim rate hike of 15%.

In addition, State Farm has agreed not to cancel any new policies this year, and it won’t be canceling some policies it had planned not to renew in wildfire-affected areas. The insurance department characterized those provisions as important to the continued stability of the state’s insurance market, which has been beset with availability and affordability issues.

“When consumer advocates are able to challenge the data and present their own analysis, excessive requests are reduced and consumers are protected,” said Harvey Rosenfield in a statement. Rosenfield founded Consumer Watchdog and wrote Proposition 103, the voter-approved law that governs insurance in California.

State Farm has paid out more than $5 billion in claims from the L.A.-area fires so far, said spokesperson Tom Hartmann.

After consumer complaints and lawsuits, the insurance department is investigating the company’s handling of claims from the fires and expects results from that examination later this spring.

The agreement, which must be approved by an administrative law judge, also requires State Farm to undergo additional review of its rates in 2027. The company will be required to make a one time 2.5% premium discount available to renewing policyholders if its ratio of premiums to available cash reaches a certain level; Consumer Watchdog litigation director Will Pletcher said the deal will give the group more timely access to the company’s annual financial statements to help keep it accountable.

The insurance department expects the judge to decide on the settlement by April 7. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will then review the judge’s decision and have the final say.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Iran's state media issued what it said was a statement by Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and keep up attacks on U.S. bases in the region, as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran entered its 13th day.

It was purported to be the new leader's first statement since he succeeded his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war.

The statement said Iran will avenge the blood of its "martyrs," including the victims of a March 1 attack on a girls school in the city of Minab, which Iranian officials say killed at least 165 people, many of them children. NPR has confirmed the U.S. military is investigating how it could have targeted the school.

The Iranian statement said the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for a fifth of the world's oil supply, should remain closed. It said Iran continues to believe in friendship with its neighbors but will continue targeting U.S. bases in the region.

"The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must undoubtedly continue to be used.," the statement said, according to an English version published by Tasnim News Agency, run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

It's unclear if the statement was from Mojtaba Khamenei himself. Another person was heard reading out the remarks on Iranian state media, with a photo of Khamenei posted on the TV screen, as it was broadcast around the world.

There's been speculation about the leader's current condition and whereabouts. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, told NPR that Khamenei was lightly injured early in the war.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Here are other major updates about the conflict.

To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:

Attacks on vessels | Oil stockpiles | Strikes across the Gulf | Israel-Hezbollah escalation | Iranian school attack

Two oil tankers hit in Iraqi waters

Two oil tankers were hit in Iraqi territorial waters near the southern port area of Basra, Iraqi officials said Thursday. It is the first oil-related strike reported in Iraq's waters during more than a week of war, in another sign of the conflict's escalation.

Iran, a critical ally of Iraq, took responsibility for attacking one of the tankers, which it said was owned by the U.S.

A port official said the attack targeted vessels near Basra's port approaches, and Iraq's security spokesman described it as sabotage.

Iraqi officials said one person was killed, and 38 crew members were rescued, with search operations continuing.

Iran has stepped up attacks on energy infrastructure and commercial shipping in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes, warning that the world should brace for oil prices to double.

— Jane Arraf

U.S. and allies to release record oil stockpiles  

The U.S. confirmed it will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated International Energy Agency (IEA) release of 400 million barrels from emergency stockpiles.

The U.S. contribution amounts to roughly 40% of the total, to be released gradually over about four months.

The IEA's executive director, Fatih Birol, said the goal is to keep the supply of oil flowing as the conflict disrupts shipping routes and energy infrastructure. But analysts warn stockpile releases can only partially offset prolonged disruption in the Gulf, where roughly a fifth of global oil consumption normally transits the Strait of Hormuz.

On Wednesday, President Trump said the price spike is temporary and said the reserve release would push prices down.

According to the popular app Gas Buddy, the current average cost of regular unleaded is now up to $3.61 a gallon.

- Camila Domonoske

Iran continues attacks on Gulf States

Countries in the Gulf reported new incoming threats and interceptions Thursday, as Iran continued firing drones and missiles across the region – including at U.S. military bases.

The UAE's defense ministry said air defenses were responding to Iranian missile and drone attacks, and that sounds heard in parts of the country were from intercepts.

Kuwait's defense ministry said its air defenses intercepted ballistic missiles and drones that penetrated the northern and southern parts of the country's airspace.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed drones headed toward the Shaybah oil field.

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday condemning Iran for recent attacks across the Persian Gulf region, calling them a "breach of international law" and "a serious threat to international peace and security."

- Rebecca Rosman

Israel launches large strikes on Hezbollah sites in Beirut after rocket fire into Israel

People inspect homes damaged by a projectile launched from Lebanon, in Haniel central Israel, on Thursday.

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Baz Ratner

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The militant group Hezbollah launched its biggest rocket attack against Israel since the start of the war with Iran. The Israeli military said the Iranian-backed group fired heavy volleys toward northern Israel overnight into Thursday, triggering interceptions and sending residents repeatedly into shelters.

The Israeli military responded by launching more attacks against what it said were Hezbollah launch sites and command infrastructure.

Huge booms were heard across the capital and large black smoke billowed from the Dahieh neighborhood in south Beirut, while an attack in central Beirut – where thousands of people are displaced – killed 8 people and injured 31, according to Lebanese officials.

Wide evacuation orders for south Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs have displaced at least 800,000 people so far, according to the Lebanese government.

Lebanon, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has unusually called for direct talks with Israel to end the escalating fighting with Hezbollah. Israel has not officially responded.

Israeli strikes on Iran have continued, with Iran firing missiles at Israel intermittently, including overnight.

Israeli military officials say about half of the missiles Iran has launched at Israel have carried cluster warheads, which spread out into smaller bombs over a wider area – increasing the risk to civilians.

- Daniel Estrin, Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Rebecca Rosman

Pentagon: Preliminary assessment suggests U.S. likely responsible for strike on Iranian school

The Pentagon has opened a formal investigation into the missile strike on an Iranian girls school that killed at least 165 civilians, many of them children, after a preliminary assessment suggested the U.S. was at fault, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The investigation is expected to take months and will include interviews with all those involved, from planners and commanders to those who carried out the strike.

If a U.S. role in the attack is confirmed, it would rank among the military's most deadly incidents involving civilians in decades. Congress created a special Pentagon office to prevent the accidental targeting of civilians but it was dramatically scaled back by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth soon after he took office last year.

"This investigation is ongoing. As we have said, unlike the terrorist Iranian regime, the United States does not target civilians," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

NPR previously reported — based on commercial satellite imagery and independent expert analysis — that the strike was more extensive than initially reported and appeared consistent with a precision strike on a nearby military complex, raising questions about whether outdated targeting information contributed to the tragedy.

- Tom Bowman, Kat Lonsdorf, Geoff Brumfiel

Rebecca Rosman contributed to this report from Paris, Jane Arraf from Erbil, Iraq, Hadeel Al-Shalchi from Beirut, Daniel Estrin from Tel Aviv and Camila Domonoske, Tom Bowman, Kat Lonsdorf and Geoff Brumfiel from Washington.
Copyright 2026 NPR

The story first appeared on The LA Local.

If you’re a soccer fan — or just a fan of South Korean phenom Son Heung-min — you may have heard that the Los Angeles Football Club planned to put up a larger-than-life mural of the footballer in Koreatown last month. But the mural has yet to appear. 

LAFC planned to reveal the mural during the launch of their 2026/2027 jersey at The LINE Hotel. Now the reveal has been pushed back to sometime in June. 

The delay stems from issues with the city’s mural approval process, at least according to city officials. 

Gabriel Cifarelli, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, said they received a mural registration application for the site. But the department said it could not issue a notice to proceed because the application was “ineligible and incomplete” under the city’s mural ordinance and administrative rules.

“DCA staff offered the applicant advice and further guidance, and remains available for questions,” Cifarelli said. 

If a mural includes a team logo it is considered an advertisement and not original artwork, according to the city department. In that case, the permit must be issued through the city’s Building and Safety Department.

A new application has not been submitted through the mural program, Cifarelli said, and it was not immediately clear whether LAFC applied for a permit through the Building and Safety Department. 

LAFC spokesperson Danny Sanchez didn’t confirm if a new permit has been submitted.

“The mural unveil was rescheduled to June to better align with World Cup festivities,” Sanchez said. 

Dave Young Kim was commissioned to paint the mural and previously painted a Son mural on the side of the Crosby building in Koreatown in October, but that was only up for a few weeks.

He still plans to paint the mural on The LINE Hotel in June.

“I’m assuming at this point, LAFC is likely trying to line it up for a more opportune time,” said Kim. “The mural was originally supposed to line up with the launch of the new jersey so something similar.”

Leo Hernandez, 35, said he hopes the mural goes up before the World Cup.

“I didn’t know it was pushed back all the way to June,” he said. “I’ll be in Mexico for the World Cup.”

Hernandez, who goes by “El Soccer Guy” on Instagram and has nearly 50,000 followers, has been attending LAFC games since 2018. He said Son’s arrival to L.A. has brought a new wave of fans to the club.

“I’ve never seen so many Koreans,” he said. “He’s bringing a whole new community to LAFC. I don’t know if they love soccer or they love Son or both, but it’s amazing to see.”

“Son is starting to be my favorite on the team,” he added. “He’s so good. He wants the team to shine. And I love his positivity and energy.” 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about people with superpowers living in a world very much like our own.

And there’s a lot of real Los Angeles mixed into the recent MCU series “Wonder Man,” now on Disney+, which makes for a version of the MCU that feels a little more grounded in reality, especially for Angelenos.

It's an action-comedy about two struggling actors also dealing with superhuman forces and secret government agencies. Think The Studio meets Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Sir Ben Kingsley reprises his Iron Man 3 character Trevor Slattery, the messy British actor hired to play a bad guy called The Mandarin. And Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man.

Through their adventures trying to book the gig-of-a-lifetime while surviving the perils of the MCU, L.A. landmarks and cultural references abound, and ground the series in a relatability for many Angelenos, including lots of inside jokes for those working in the entertainment industry.

3 cultural references that make Wonder Man feel like real Los Angeles

Historic places, some we’ve had to part with

There’s a series of roughly 100-year-old small, independent movie houses used as locations in Wonder Man — the Eagle Theatre now home to Vidiots, Westwood's Village Theater now operated by American Cinematheque (with views of The Bruin Theater across the street), and the Highland Theatre which closed in 2024.

A scene from 'Wonder Man' on Disney +.

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Speaking of iconic L.A. spots breaking local hearts, the vintage bar within Echo Park’s Taix French Restaurant was used as an interior location for the series. Taix is closing at the end of the month to make way for new development.

“Taix, the Highland Park Theatre — these places that it was only three years ago were there,” Wonder Man showrunner Andrew Guest told LAist, “a lot of these establishments sadly, are not surviving. And this town is in a rough, rough place.”

(Though actor/director Kristen Stewart recently said in an interview with Architectural Digest that she bought The Highland Theatre and is restoring the building.)

L.A. traffic (especially around the Hollywood Bowl on a performance night)

Traffic is part of life in Los Angeles and with so many scenes shot in Hollywood, even the main characters of Wonder Man must experience that bumper-to-bumper frustration.

Though, because it is a TV show, they were able to indulge in the fantasy of beating that traffic in a way that in reality would be highly dangerous (and illegal).

“We got to shut down Sunset Boulevard for a little while to shoot a car going onto the sidewalk in front of the Palladium,” said Guest. And surprisingly, he explained, they didn’t have to shoot in the middle of the night to make the shot happen: “That was Friday night…. We didn't close all lanes of traffic. The street was open. We were shooting while Los Angeles was still going strong.”

The scene also references the frequent traffic back up during big shows at the Hollywood Bowl, even earning the show a social media repost of the scene from Chaka Khan.

Having family and friends 45 minutes away, who you rarely visit

Wonder Man includes an episode titled Pacoima where the main character visits his family and childhood home.

“My wife grew up in Chatsworth, and one of the things I found fascinating about her experience growing up there was that many of her friends and their families never went to Los Angeles,” said Guest.

“The idea that Simon grew up close to, but far enough away that Hollywood and Los Angeles did not feel like they were part of his life…so when he moved to the city, Pacoima is not a place he goes to a lot. And I feel like that's a part of L.A. that is true to this city. That doesn't get explored a lot and felt like it was another detail that we got to sort of throw into the show.”

There’s lots of other Southern California. references to enjoy from the Talmadge Apartments, an historic renaissance revival building on Wilshire Blvd., a mural of Danny Trejo, and even a cameo from Gisellle Fernandes, real-life L.A. broadcaster for Spectrum 1 News.

Should you get lost in the multi-verse, at least this L.A will be pretty familiar.

BONUS: Could there be a Season 2 of Wonder Man? And would it still be set in L.A.?

Guest couldn’t confirm anything about a possible Season 2, but told LAist, “It’s still on the table as an option, potentially."

As for whether a potential Season 2 would also film in Los Angeles and continue to highlight the city in new ways, Guest said it’s occurred to him that one of the best ways to write about Hollywood could be “ to send our show somewhere else because everybody in this town who's working has to move — whether it be Budapest or London or Ireland or Vancouver — very little is actually happening in this town. And that’s a story that I don’t think is being told right now about L.A.”

Season 1 of ‘Wonder Man’ is now streaming on Disney+.

Watch Julia Paskin's interview with actor/comedian X Mayo, who plays Simon Williams' agent in 'Wonder Man':