The Brief

Los Angeles authorities appeared Tuesday at a federal court hearing where a judge is considering whether to hold the city in contempt.

It’s the latest step in a long-running legal saga focused on the city's response to the region’s homelessness crisis.

The hearing was ordered by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing a settlement in a lawsuit brought against the city by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a group of downtown business and property owners.

L.A. Alliance sued the city and county in 2020, accusing both of failing to adequately address homelessness by providing enough shelter and housing for thousands of unhoused people.

The contempt-of-court hearing started nearly two weeks ago but was paused until Tuesday, after the Thanksgiving holiday and when more witnesses could appear in person.

Two witnesses testified during Tuesday’s hours-long hearing: a deputy chief with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and a former policy advisor for the L.A. Alliance. They largely fielded detailed questions about the settlement, their respective responsibilities in each organization, data reporting and the definitions of relevant terms such as "encampment" and "offer of shelter."

Other witnesses are expected to testify throughout the hearing, including Matt Szabo, the L.A. city administrative officer, who may be called to the stand Thursday.

How we got here

The contempt hearing is expected to cover whether the city has complied with court orders and provided regular updates to the court under the settlement agreement reached in 2022.

Carter said in a Nov. 14 order that he’s concerned “the city has demonstrated a continuous pattern of delay” in meeting its obligations under court orders. He said he’s concerned the “delay continues to this day.”

Attorneys for the city have pushed back against the hearing, filing objections with the judge and making an unsuccessful emergency request with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last month to block it from happening. City authorities also asked the appeals court to press pause on the judge’s order to appoint a monitor in the case to make sure the city stays on track with the settlement.

The appeals court allowed the contempt-of-court hearing to move forward Nov. 19 but agreed to pause the appointment of Daniel Garrie as monitor.

What's next

The hearing is expected to resume Thursday, according to court documents. Another date is set for Dec. 15, when Garrie is expected to testify.

The city of Los Angeles has been working on major changes to its charter, which is basically the city’s constitution. The changes could bring sweeping reform to how the city works.

The Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission has been meeting for several months on a wide range of topics, including City Council expansion, ranked-choice voting systems and land-use planning changes.

“It is weedy. It is academic. But the charter touches Angelenos’ everyday lives,” said Raymond Meza, who chairs the commission.

This week, the commission will host a town hall meeting in Echo Park in an effort to get more people involved in the process. It will take place outside on the northeast lawn of the park — weather permitting.

Despite getting a slow start, the commission is hosting multiple meetings in an effort to meet an April 2 deadline to submit proposals to the City Council. It’ll be up to the council to decide whether to place reform proposals on the ballot next November.

The commission has broken reform down into four subject areas, with committees for each.

They are:

• planning and infrastructure
• government structure
• better government
• personnel and budget

“We’re in an exciting moment,” said David Levitus of L.A. Forward, an advocacy group.

“Looking at the charter for reform is long overdue”

Reform Commission

The L.A. City Council created the commission last year after a series of scandals rocked City Hall. Former Councilmember Jose Huizar went to prison on federal corruption charges and secret audio tapes revealed backroom dealing on redistricting.

The panel is made up of four appointees by Mayor Karen Bass, two by the council president and two by the president pro tempore. Those eight selected an additional five through an open application process.

On Thursday, the full commission is expected to take up proposals for a two-year budget cycle and an expedited city hiring process. Advocates of the changes say extending budget planning from one to two years will allow city leaders to better anticipate spending and revenue.

They say the city hiring process is slow and byzantine.

Meza said the Echo Park meeting Saturday is an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about the process and speak at length with commissioners.

“We absolutely want to hear from people what is important to them as residents of the city of Los Angeles when it comes to their expectations of their city government," he said.

How to get involved

For a list of all upcoming meetings, go here.

To submit a public comment, you can email reformLAcharter@lacity.org.

There’s also a survey on the commission’s website at reformlacharter.lacity.gov.

A bright full moon. One of the year’s best meteor showers. Even a chance to see Jupiter at its most striking.

Winter 2025–26 will bring a range of exciting space events for skygazers to enjoy, starting this week. Keep reading for what to mark on your calendar as the nights grow long.

A full moon at its closest point to Earth

When to see: Thursday

December opens this week with a full moon, dubbed the “Cold Moon,” that also happens to be near perigee: the point in the moon’s elliptical orbit when it’s closest to Earth.

That proximity on Dec. 4 makes the moon appear slightly larger and brighter. But should we be calling it a “supermoon” too?

“That’s a very misleading term,” said Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer and professor at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute — one of the astronomers who rolls their eyes at this particular label.

This is because the average stargazer “cannot tell the difference between full moons that are regular or super: a complaint people sometimes have about cheap burger places, too,” Fraknoi said.

Still, whatever you want to call this event, this week brings a good excuse to appreciate our nearest celestial neighbor.

Day-to-night time-lapse panorama of downtown San Francisco with full moon.

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The Geminids meteor shower, with a moon-free show

When to see: Dec. 13 and 14

The Geminids meteor shower is considered one of the most reliable meteor displays of the year — and sometimes, it’s the most spectacular too.

This winter, conditions are nearly perfect to view the Geminids, since the shower peaks overnight around midnight on Dec. 13 and 14, but the moon won’t rise until around 2 a.m., according to the American Meteor Society. That means the skies will be wonderfully dark during the evening and just past midnight.

Long exposure of the sky taken during a past Geminids meteor shower.

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Courtesy of Asim Patel

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The Geminids are fragments shed from an asteroid-like object called 3200 Phaeton, which often produces bright, colorful meteors. And with the peak happening on a weekend this year, families can bundle up, find a dark spot away from city lights and look up without worrying about school the next morning.

Another reason to stay up for the Geminids: The next major meteor shower, the Quandratids on Jan. 3 and 4, are predicted to be largely washed out by a full moon.

The winter solstice

When to see: Dec. 21

This one may be less something to “see,” but the solstice is still a momentous milestone for winter: marking the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Astronomers believe that billions of years ago, Earth collided with a mini planet called Theia, which caused our planet to tilt by 23 degrees — giving our globe its seasons. “The Earth was in a traffic accident and has never been able to straighten out,” Fraknoi said.

After Dec. 21, daylight slowly begins its long climb back toward summer — good news for anyone who doesn’t enjoy the deep, dark nights of winter.

A teenage girl uses the astronomy telescope to observe the stars on a cold winter night.

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Getty Images

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Earth at perihelion

When to see: Jan. 3

On Day 3 of 2026, at around 9:15 a.m. PST, our planet will be at “perihelion” — that is, at its closest to the sun.

To many who aren’t on the lookout, the sun may just look the same as any other day. But it will actually appear slightly larger than any other day in the year.

A fun fact: At perihelion, the Earth receives 7% more solar energy than when the planet is at its farthest from the sun.

Jupiter at opposition

When to see: Throughout January

Just after the New Year, Jupiter reaches opposition — the moment when the giant planet sits directly opposite the sun in our sky. As the sun sets, Jupiter rises and stays visible all night long, making the planet exceptionally bright in January.

NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of Jupiter’s southern hemisphere during the spacecraft’s 39th close flyby of the planet on Jan. 12, 2022.

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Courtesy of NASA

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Since Jupiter reflects sunlight well, “it will be a brilliant point in the sky, easy to find with the naked eye,” Fraknoi said.

And with a small telescope, you can even try to spot Jupiter’s moons. “Galileo’s first small telescope revealed four big moons orbiting Jupiter, forever destroying the notion that everything has to go around the Earth,” Fraknoi said. And this winter, these moons will be widely spaced and easy for you to see.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from Huntington Beach challenging the state’s sanctuary law. That law prohibits local law enforcement from assisting with federal immigration enforcement, except in the case of serious crimes.

The decision marks Huntington Beach’s second failed attempt to sue California over the sanctuary law, SB 54, known as the California Values Act. This time, the city had legal help from America First Legal, a conservative law firm founded by Steven Miller, the architect of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy.

Shortly before Trump took office in January, taking office, America First Legal sent letters to hundreds of elected officials in cities and states with sanctuary laws, warning them that they could face legal consequences for allegedly impeding federal immigration enforcement.

What did the city argue?

The city argued that SB 54 is unconstitutional and that prohibiting the city from cooperating with federal immigration authorities inhibits its ability to combat crime.

The city was joined in the lawsuit by Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff and 2026 gubernatorial candidate.

What did the judge rule?

U.S. District Court Judge Sunshine S. Sykes ruled that, based on precedent, the city lacks standing to sue the state on constitutional grounds in federal court.

Read the judge's ruling.

What’s next?

The complaint was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the city could try again to challenge the sanctuary law in court. No word yet on whether the city will do that.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to move forward with a proposed ordinance that prohibits law enforcement officers from concealing their identities while interacting with the public in unincorporated areas of the county.

The proposal would require all officers and agents — local, state or federal — to refrain from wearing masks or other facial coverings. It also mandates that they display visible identification, including their agency name along with either their last name or badge number.

Supervisor Janice Hahn said the concealment of officers’ identities during these raids undermines public trust and creates unnecessary fear.

"We need to declare in no uncertain terms that in Los Angeles County, police do not hide their faces," said Hahn, who sponsored and co-authored the ordinance. "That is our expectation, and this ordinance will now make it a local law."

In a statement to LAist, federal immigration officials defended officers wearing masks. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said L.A. County's ordinance is unconstitutional.

“Our officers wear masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, “ McLaughlin said in the statement. “Criminal rings, murderers, and rapists who attempt to go after the officers and their families."

She also noted a provision of the U.S. Constitution that says federal law prevails over conflicting state law.

McLaughlin said L.A. County’s proposed ordinance would “violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which makes it clear that Los Angeles does not control federal law enforcement.”

The supervisors approved the first reading of the proposed ordinance in a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstaining.

They are expected to vote a second time on Dec. 9 to adopt the ordinance. If adopted, the new law would go into effect 30 days later.

Enforcement questions

According to county officials, violations would be punishable as infractions or misdemeanors. But it’s uncertain how L.A. County will enforce the new ordinance. It mirrors California’s first-in-the-nation state law passed in September.

The Trump administration has said its agents will not comply with California’s mask ban. And the Department of Justice sued California in November, challenging it.

Hahn said L.A. County will wait to see the outcome of that lawsuit before determining how to enforce the new ordinance.

“We’re going to wait until it plays out in court,” she said.

County officials said the ordinance was prompted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps that began in June.

Federal agents wearing plainclothes, tactical gear and masks conducted what county supervisors describe in the motion as “violent and indiscriminate operations in immigrant communities.”

“ These agents hide their faces and refuse to wear badges,” Hahn said. “They pull people into unmarked vans at gunpoint, and then they wonder why people resist arrest.”

“This is how authoritarian secret police behave, not legitimate law enforcement in a democracy,” she added.

Between June and August, the Department of Homeland Security arrested at least 5,000 people in Los Angeles County, including people who had not committed crimes, those with pending legal status and visa holders.

Exemptions

The Board of Supervisors originally approved a motion on July 29 directing County Counsel to draft the ordinance.

County officials said that when officers conceal their faces, it becomes difficult for residents to distinguish actual law enforcement from imposters, increasing the risk of criminal impersonation.

“It’s not public safety, it’s intimidation, plain and simple,” said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. “Los Angeles County is not going to tolerate it. When the public cannot tell who a real officer is, everyone is at risk.”

Several immigrants’ rights activists showed up at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday to support the county’s move.

“It’s good that it's recognized that this is a problem, but the only way we're gonna actually do anything about it is to keep relying on the community to come out and support,” said Quetzal Ceja, an organizer for South Bay day laborers.

The ordinance includes several exemptions where law enforcement authorities can wear face coverings, including undercover and SWAT operations. They can also wear helmets and other equipment for health reasons or protection against environmental hazards.