The Brief

Officials have announced the new leader of the L.A. county's first-ever department on homelessness.

The Board of Supervisors has named Sarah Mahin, head of the county’s existing Housing for Health program, as inaugural director of the Department of Homeless Services and Housing.

The board officially appointed Mahin Tuesday after voting for her in closed session last week.

Mahin will help lead the county’s overhaul of the homeless services delivery system after officials moved to pull nearly $350 million in funding from the region's top homeless services agency, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA. The new department shifts those taxpayer dollars to the county’s direct oversight and control.

County supervisors say one of their goals with the new department is to increase transparency and accountability.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who led the county’s move away from LAHSA along with Supervisor Kathryn Barger, said in a statement that Mahin is ready to hit the ground running.

“Sarah knows the County, she knows LAHSA, and she knows how to get things done,” Horvath said. “Sarah is a collaborative leader who will bring service providers and all of our city partners together in this vital effort."

What we know 

Mahin is the director of Housing for Health, an existing county effort that is the model for the department she’ll be taking over. The program provides homes and support to people with serious physical or behavioral conditions. Last year, Housing for Health served 57,000 people with a budget of $875 million and more than 600 staff.

Mahin told LAist that creating the new department is a bold and exciting move that could help make processes easier for service providers and people seeking those services.

Sarah Mahin, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing.

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Courtesy of L.A. County's Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors

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" We have the opportunity to really simplify things, really understand what's working well, and investing our resources in the things that are showing the greatest results," she said.

Mahin has more than 20 years of experience with housing and homelessness, according to county documents, including as the former director of policy and systems at LAHSA. Her responsibilities there included coordinating services across hundreds of organizations, as well as multiple city and county departments.

She previously worked with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, leading programs and services focused on ending veteran homelessness in Southern California as regional coordinator of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, according to her resume.

Mahin said she has led with an approach of “doing whatever it takes, for as long as it takes,” a saying borrowed from the late Mollie Lowery, a well-known L.A. advocate for people experiencing homelessness and mental illness.

Mahin said she plans to carry that philosophy over to the new job.

“It's really not allowing administrative bureaucratic barriers to get in the way of ensuring that people have access to the healthcare, to the housing, to the social services that they need,” she said.

Mahin has a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Georgetown University.

She was selected after a month-long nationwide search that included input from county staff, residents and service providers.

And Mahin has a big job ahead of her.

She’ll be responsible for a range of responsibilities throughout the transition and beyond, including coming up with a strategic plan for the department, managing its budget and helping integrate staff and funding from LAHSA by next summer.

Her annual salary is listed as $375,000. For comparison, county supervisors are paid a little more than $232,000 a year.

What officials say

Barger said in a statement that she’s optimistic about the future of the county’s homelessness response with Mahin leading the new department and that she’s uniquely qualified to spearhead the effort from day one.

“Sarah’s forward-thinking strategies to address past system challenges and her ability to scale programs and forge cross-agency collaboration are aligned with my commitment to bold, accountable action,” Barger said. “This is the type of leadership we need to deliver results.”

Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement that she is confident Mahin
will "advance comprehensive, person-centered solutions to homelessness" and help strengthen partnerships with other cities across the county.

Horvath said Mahin is exactly who is needed for the job.

“Her deep experience with contract management, data integration, and creating a culture of innovation and progress will be instrumental in charting a new way forward for homeless services in LA County,” Horvath said in a statement.

Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement that Mahin will bring the knowledge, authority and grace the department needs.

“It’s time to tackle our homelessness crisis in a new way and I think Sarah has what it takes,” Hahn said.

LAist has reached out to Supervisor Holly Mitchell for comment.

How we got here

In April, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to strip funding from LAHSA — jointly overseen by the city and county of L.A. since it was created in 1993 — to develop its own department on homelessness instead.

The change followed a series of harsh audits that highlighted major issues at the agency, including an inability to properly account for billions in taxpayer dollars and failing to track whether contracts were followed. Those findings also prompted a federal fraud investigation.

Hovarth has said moving away from LAHSA was necessary to fix a broken system and to make it more transparent and accountable.

“I want to be clear that this is not more government, it is better government,” she said at an April board meeting.

Mahin said accountability and transparency are top priorities. The new department will mirror some of the structure from Housing for Health, including closely managing contracts with service providers, for example.

“Every single month we go through our data and we make sure that those care plans are updated, that the assessments have been updated and that the minimum levels of services are delivered,” Mahin said. “And if they're not, we issue contractor discrepancy reports and we ultimately recoup the funds.”

What’s next

The Department of Homeless Services and Housing is expected to be officially established by the beginning of next year and fully operational by next July. It’ll help serve the more than 75,300 people experiencing homelessness across L.A. County, according to last year’s point-in-time count.

The department will combine the existing Housing for Health program and the Homeless Initiative, bringing county homeless services under one umbrella while taking on many of the responsibilities currently managed by LAHSA.

How to get involved

Mahin and county officials want your feedback.

The participation process “ will lay the groundwork for how we will be engaging with the community moving forward,” Mahin said. “We want input on not just how should we set up this department, but how do we keep on working together.”

You can submit questions and comments about the transition here and learn more about the process here.

President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress tonight for his first State of the Union address since returning to the White House just over one year ago.

It's an opportunity for the president to tout his agenda and shape his party's messaging ahead of this year's midterm elections.

But the prime-time address comes at a moment when the president has seen his agenda complicated on multiple fronts. That includes trade, where his tariff policies were dealt a rebuke last week by the U.S. Supreme Court, and immigration, where Trump and congressional Democrats are deadlocked over funding the Department of Homeland Security.

Plus, Americans are divided on whether Trump's first year has been a success. Six in 10 believe the country is worse off than last year, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, and a majority think the state of the union is not strong.

Here's what you need to know ahead of tonight's speech.

What time is the address?

The president is expected to begin at 6 p.m. PT., and if history is any indication, prepare for a long night. Last year, in what was technically not a State of the Union speech, Trump addressed Congress for over 90 minutes, breaking records as the longest joint address in at least 60 years.

NPR will be covering all of it with live special coverage and analysis. You can listen on NPR.org, on many public radio stations, in the NPR app or by telling your Alexa device to "Ask NPR to play Special Coverage" starting at 6 p.m.

Why does this happen every year? 

This is part of the gig for every president. The Constitution requires that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union." It's intended to be a recap of sorts of their previous year in office.

So it's a formality, yes, but there are political stakes. Trump's speech comes at the start of a crucial election year, and his party is on the defensive. GOP lawmakers are fighting to maintain control of the Senate, where they currently hold a 53 to 47 majority, and the House, where their margin is even smaller, 218 to 214. Trump is battling low approval numbers, which are often seen as a warning sign, given that since World War II the party controlling the White House historically loses an average of 27 House seats in the midterms and four in the Senate.

What will Trump talk about?

Expect a big focus on immigration, which has been a key pillar of Trump's second term. The administration has defended its enforcement agenda, arguing it's aimed at removing people living in the country illegally who have committed dangerous crimes. However, lawmakers have raised concerns about the tactics used by federal immigration agents in cities around the country, especially after two U.S. citizens were killed in Minneapolis last month.

It will also be worth watching how Trump talks about tariffs. He has long defended imposing import taxes on foreign goods as a way to strengthen American manufacturing, but in a major ruling last Friday, the Supreme Court struck down the main lever the president has used to carry out this policy.

The tariff ruling is part of a broader economic messaging challenge facing the White House. A majority of Americans already say they think tariffs are more likely to hurt than help the economy. Trump has also dismissed affordability concerns as a Democratic "hoax," even though voters report struggling to keep up with the cost of living.

Tonight's address is also happening at a crucial moment in U.S. foreign policy. Trump is pressuring Iran to disband its nuclear program, and he has not ruled out using force to make that happen. In recent days, the American military has expanded its presence in the Middle East, sending additional fighter jets and a second aircraft carrier to the region.

It's the latest move by Trump in what has been a more muscular approach to foreign policy compared to his first term. The president has approved strikes on countries around the world, announced the U.S. will "run" Venezuela after arresting the country's leader and has threatened to buy Greenland. At the same time, Trump has repeatedly labeled himself a peacemaker, despite facing steep challenges in achieving his goals of rebuilding Gaza and brokering an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

What will the response from Democrats look like?

Newly sworn-in Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is slated to provide the party's official rebuttal. Spanberger was one of several Democrats who won their races last November, delivering some of the most high-profile victories since the party's bruising losses across the country in 2024.

She may also provide a potential preview of how Democrats may approach their own midterm messaging. On the campaign trail, Spanberger centered her message on affordability concerns and criticized the administration's treatment of federal workers through mass layoffs and the longest government shutdown in history.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks after being sworn in to office at the Virginia State Capitol in January. Spanberger will deliver the official Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union address.

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Win McNamee

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Getty Images

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California Sen. Alex Padilla is tapped to deliver the Spanish-language response for Democrats. It's another notable pick for Democrats as they refine their election message, particularly on immigration. Padilla has been an outspoken critic of Trump's immigration agenda and was forcibly removed from a Homeland Security press conference over the summer.

There's also a group of roughly a dozen House and Senate Democrats who plan to boycott Trump's speech and instead hold a counter-rally dubbed the "People's State of the Union." It comes as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has urged lawmakers to either "attend with silent defiance" or skip the event.

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Last month, Colleen Fagan was observing an immigration enforcement operation at an apartment complex in Portland, Maine, when federal agents scanned her face with a smartphone and appeared to record her car license plate number.

In a social media video she recorded, Fagan can be heard asking why the agent was taking her information. What the agent said next made the video go viral.

"Cause we have a nice little database," the masked agent said. "And now you're considered a domestic terrorist."

Fagan, who is a social worker, has now joined a federal class action lawsuit that argues the Department of Homeland Security and a number of its sub-agencies are violating the First Amendment and are taking actions "designed to chill, suppress, and control speech that they do not like."

"A federal agent called me a domestic terrorist just because I recorded agents operating in public in my community. But I have a right to do that, and so do others," Fagan said in a statement. "I want people to know how important it is to use our First Amendment rights to observe and document what is happening. Peaceful dissent is not a crime."

Though Fagan's video went viral, her full name had not been widely publicized until this lawsuit.

The suit, filed by the legal nonprofit Protect Democracy and the law firms Dunn Isaacson Rhee and Drummond Woodsum, alleges federal agents are unconstitutionally retaliating against people who are lawfully observing and recording federal immigration enforcement operations by gathering their personal information and labeling them domestic terrorists.

"Plaintiffs must either abandon their constitutional rights or accept being cataloged and branded as 'domestic terrorists,'" reads the lawsuit, which was filed in federal district court in Maine on Monday. "That is a choice the Constitution does not require Plaintiffs, or anyone, to make."

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DHS officials have denied the existence of a database of alleged domestic terrorists since Fagan's video was widely shared.

"There is NO database of 'domestic terrorists' run by DHS," the agency's spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin (who has recently departed) told CNN last month about the video. "We do of course monitor and investigate and refer all threats, assaults and obstruction of our officers to the appropriate law enforcement. Obstructing and assaulting law enforcement is a felony and a federal crime."

After federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota last month, DHS officials labeled both of them domestic terrorists in the immediate aftermath.

Federal agents have access to facial recognition tools that can be used to identify people in the field, as well as the mobile app Mobile Companion, which allows agents to use a smartphone to scan license plates.

These kinds of surveillance tools have allowed federal agents to intimidate observers and protesters by revealing they know their names and addresses, the lawsuit says. Several Minnesota observers who have followed federal agents in their cars have described the experience of agents leading them to their own homes to show they know where they live. The lawsuit names other Maine observers who have had the same experience.

It is legal for observers to film and follow federal agents at a safe distance, Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, told NPR earlier this month. But dozens of people in Minnesota said in declarations collected by the ACLU that they were observing federal agents but were told they were impeding, interfering or acting illegally.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a press conference in July that violence against DHS agents "is anything that threatens them and their safety," and went on to say that included "doxing them" and "videotaping them where they're at when they're out on operations."

DHS has crafted a wide definition of doxing. McLaughlin told The American Prospect in September that "videotaping ICE law enforcement and posting photos and videos of them online is doxing our agents."

A memo issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi in December lists "doxing" law enforcement as domestic terrorism.

Elinor Hilton, another resident of Portland, Maine, is also listed as a plaintiff in the new lawsuit. Federal agents captured her face and license plate with their phones on Jan. 21, after she began recording them conducting an immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot, the lawsuit says.

She says one told her, "I hope you know that if you keep coming to things like this, you are going to be on a domestic terrorist watchlist. Then we're going to come to your house later tonight," according to the lawsuit.

Hilton did not stay at her home that night for fear the agent would make good on the threat, the lawsuit says. She has reduced how often she observes federal agents and no longer uses her own car when she observes. She now parks her car several blocks away from her home and those of family members "out of concern that federal agents might recognize her car and trace it to her home." She says on a recent trip she left her personal phone at home out of concern that if she was placed on a government list, federal agents might detain her and search her phone.

Fagan is concerned about being placed on a "no-fly" or similar list, the lawsuit says, and worries her current or future employment could be affected by any labels DHS gives her.

Less than a week before Hilton's interaction with federal agents, Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's immigration adviser, told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that he wanted to create a "database" of people who impede ICE.

"These people who want to say follow ICE and film ICE, you know what, you can protest, they have that right." Then he added that for those who cross a legal line, "We're going to create a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding, and assault, we're going to make them famous," Homan said. "We're going to put their face on TV. We're going to let their employers, in their neighborhoods, in their schools, know who these people are."

But in other public appearances, federal officials have denied a database of protesters exists.

At a congressional hearing earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) asked Todd Lyons, acting director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to respond to what the federal agent in Maine said about "a little database" in the video Fagan recorded.

"I can't speak for that individual, sir," Lyons said. "But I can assure you that there is no database that's tracking United States citizens."

The lawsuit says, "If Defendants' denials are true—and the actions captured on video simply involved federal agents pretending to add observers to a database—then they are deliberately lying about domestic terrorist watchlists or databases to unlawfully intimidate observers."

The lawsuit is asking a federal judge to stop DHS from collecting records on people and from "threatening, harassing, and otherwise retaliating against" them for exercising their protected first amendment rights, and to expunge records that have already been collected.

JoAnna Suriani, counsel at Protect Democracy, said the lawsuit will "ensure that the federal government can no longer use unconstitutional surveillance tactics to silence its critics and sideline the observers who protect our communities."
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Gavin Newsom is in his final year as governor of California, but lately, he's been touring the country to energize voters ahead of the midterm elections.

"I think it's really important for the Democratic Party not to give up on red states and rural parts of the country," he told NPR at an event organized by local Democrats in the town of Manning, South Carolina. Newsom is also widely considered a potential presidential candidate for 2028 — a possibility he has not ruled out — and he sees himself as a leader of Democratic opposition to President Donald Trump, often mocking his brash style on social media.

"I'm putting a mirror up to President Trump and I'm fighting fire with fire and I am punching a bully back in the mouth," he told NPR.

At the same time, Newsom has embraced conversations with major right-wing figures such as Steve Bannon and Ben Shapiro on his podcast, drawing criticism from members of his own party. The governor sat down with All Things Considered for an interview ahead of the release of his memoir, Young Man in a Hurry. He discusses how his struggles with dyslexia shaped his childhood and career, his strategy for dealing with President Trump, and how he thinks the Democratic party should meet this political moment.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Stop us if you've heard this one before...but it's going to feel a lot like summer this week as temperatures soar into the mid 80s.

At the beaches, we're looking at high temperatures in the mid 70s. Meanwhile, downtown L.A. will see temperatures from the mid 70s up to 80 degrees.

Similarly, the valleys and Inland Empire will be toasty, with highs from 75 to 82 degrees. Coachella Valley will be the warmest, with highs reaching up to 89 degrees.

If you're planning for a hike, bring plenty of water — the Santa Monica Mountains will get into the low 80s.