The Brief

It may be cold in Los Angeles these days. But as every Angeleno knows, this place gets hot — even life-threateningly hot for some residents.

This week, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors took a step toward requiring cooling measures in rental housing.

Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis put forward a motion to begin crafting regulations and reaching out to tenants, landlords and public health experts about plans to establish a legal maximum indoor temperature in rental housing.

The plans are still in early stages, and it’s not yet clear what exact cooling devices would be required when temperatures rise above the max. The motion passed on a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger casting the lone "no" vote against the plan.

In a statement following Tuesday’s vote, Horvath said extreme heat is one of the deadliest consequences of climate change currently facing L.A. residents.

“More frequent, longer and hotter heat waves in L.A. County are a public health emergency,” said Horvath, the board’s only renter . “Setting a maximum temperature for rental units will protect our most vulnerable Angelenos, including older adults and families with young children, who deserve safety and comfort in their own home.”

The county’s Department of Public Health issued a report last year recommending that L.A.’s building code be amended to require indoor temperatures of less than 82 degrees Fahrenheit in housing outfitted with air conditioning.

Currently, L.A. landlords are required to provide their renters with adequate heat . But no such requirement exists for air conditioning.

Final votes months away

Any final vote on requiring air conditioning is still months away, and many questions on implementation have yet to be decided. But local landlord groups have started fighting the idea, saying it would be prohibitively expensive to adapt buildings for new cooling measures.

During the Tuesday meeting’s public comment period, Jesus Rojas with the Apartment Association of Greater L.A. said air conditioning “can easily triple [a household’s] existing electricity bill, in addition to the cost of the AC units themselves."

“At a time when both mom-and-pop owners and renters are still struggling financially to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, this motion seems particularly callous and tone-deaf to the needs of L.A. County residents,” Rojas said.

County leaders are considering enacting the cooling measures as a public health requirement, meaning that the final rules would apply to most of L.A. County (excluding cities that maintain their own public health departments, such as Pasadena and Long Beach).

Phoenix and Las Vegas already mandate cool air 

Other lawmakers in California are exploring similar requirements. One proposal is being considered by the L.A. City Council. State lawmakers are expecting recommendations from the California Department of Housing and Community Development by Jan. 1, 2025.

Policy makers say cooling is an urgent concern in a state transformed by climate change. With temperatures steadily rising, state researchers have estimated that extreme heat could kill up to 4,300 Californians per year starting in 2025.

In a letter supporting L.A.’s plans, Jonathan Parfrey with the group Climate Resolve said many L.A. homes “are unprepared for extreme heat.”

If the county’s plans move forward, L.A. would not be the first part of the country to require air conditioning in apartments. Renters in cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas are covered by legal cooling standards.

As a kid growing up in Las Vegas, Cleto Escobedo and his best friend delighted in playing pranks together.

"We kind of had the same sense of humor," he recalled in a 2022 oral history interview with Texas Tech University . "We'd mess with people on the Strip, and if it'd rain, maybe we'd go splash people with puddles in my car when I was a teenager."

And they watched a lot of comedy. "We were big David Letterman fans when we were kids," he said.

Just like their idol, his friend, Jimmy Kimmel, grew up to host a late-night TV show. And Kimmel delivered a heartfelt monologue Tuesday night paying tribute to Escobedo.

"Late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special, who was much too young to go," Kimmel said, near tears. He did not disclose the cause of Escobedo's death, but thanked doctors and nurses at UCLA Medical Center for taking care of his friend.

"Cleto was a phenomenal saxophone player from a very young age," Kimmel said. "He was a child prodigy. He would get standing ovations in junior high school, if you can imagine that."

Escobedo grew up in a musical household. His father worked for years as a professional musician, and the younger Escobedo first started studying saxophone in sixth grade, because his father already had an instrument at home. He enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, played in bar bands — "anything from country to Phil Collins," he said in the oral history — and in 1990, successfully auditioned to tour with superstar Paul Abdul.

"Through her, I got a record deal with Virgin Records," he said. "It was kind of a Latin-y, pop, R&B record. It was kind of like the Latin Explosion record a little too early. I did some stuff in Spanglish, but it was more like a pop, funk-y kind of stuff."

Although the album did not lead to a solo career, Escobedo worked steadily, performing with musicians such as Luis Miguel and Marc Anthony. Kimmel hired Escobedo's band, Cleto and the Cletones, to back him up when ABC launched Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2003. The band included Escobedo's father, and the two, Kimmel said, were particularly proud to be what they believed to be the only father-son team performing together on late night television.

"Everyone loves Cleto," Kimmel said in his monologue. "Everyone here in this show is devastated by this. It's just not fair. He was the nicest, most humble, kind and always funny person."

Kimmel expressed sympathy for Escobedo's surviving family members, including his parents, wife and two children. He signed off with the words: "Cherish your friends."
Copyright 2025 NPR

Long Beach will look for ways to boost police presence in Belmont Shore and better regulate alcohol-sellers citywide, but officials will not seek to impose a yearlong midnight curfew on Second Street bars.

The decision came after a lengthy discussion at a City Council meeting Tuesday night, where Belmont Shore residents said something must be done about intoxicated, unruly crowds that spill over into their neighborhood.

In the past two years, resident Mike Anderson said, a drunk driver crashed through the brick wall guarding his front yard, and both of his adult children had their parked cars damaged by hit-and-run drivers.

In another case, Anderson said he walked out to a car parked in front of his house that was blaring music, and when he asked the two men in the car if they could lower the volume, one flashed a gun and told Anderson to mind his own business.

He was one of more than 20 neighbors and business owners who demanded action from the City Council. The push for a crackdown came after the killing of 32-year-old Jeremy Spears , who police said was in an altercation at a bar before his death. It was the third killing in two years on or near Second Street.

Brandon Webb is seated next to a memorial on La Verne Avenue for his cousin, Jermey Spears, who was shot and killed near Second Street over the weekend in Long Beach, on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025.

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In response, the area’s City Councilmember, Kristina Duggan, proposed exploring a temporary midnight curfew for bars, boosting DUI enforcement, studying the cost of reestablishing a Belmont Shore police substation, and targeting public drinking and street vending, which she said encourages people to linger after last call.

Duggan said she was on Second Street from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. last Friday and saw “at least 20” people with open alcohol containers. She pressed Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish on why his officers didn’t cite people for public drinking that night.

Hebeish promised to look into it, but said officers cite at their own discretion.

Duggan said the widespread pubic drinking, unregulated street vending and prevalence of people blaring loud music have led to “unmanaged crowds of intoxicated people in public spaces for extended periods, creating opportunities for conflict.”

She proposed a yearlong curfew for any businesses that sell alcohol along Second Street while the city works out a longer-term plan, but she agreed to scrap that idea when it received pushback. City staff, she said, told her it would take months to implement, and several City Council members said any plan needed to apply citywide, not just on Second Street.

“You’re right — and your residents have shared here — Belmont shore is a special place, but the truth is our entire city is also a special place,” District 8 Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk said.

She said gun violence was not isolated to Belmont Shore, pointing out that there have been 11 homicides in the city’s northern police division this year compared to one in its eastern division.

“Our response to this can’t be piecemeal,” she said. “We can not be siloed in how we respond.”

Ultimately, the City Council voted unanimously, directing City Manager Tom Modica to report back to the City Council in 45 days on the feasibility of increased DUI patrols, adding more police officers during high-traffic hours and increased enforcement against public drinking and unpermitted street vendors.

Modica will also return in 90 days with the findings of how the city can better regulate alcohol-related establishments and smoke shops citywide.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Duggan said she was “disappointed” by the changes; she hoped to focus on the specific issues along Second Street, which presents a unique regulatory challenge because many of its longstanding bars are grandfathered in under old rules that give them more leeway.

Meanwhile, the four bars in Belmont Shore that currently stay open until 2 a.m. — Shannon’s Bayshore Saloon, Dogz Bar & Grill, Legends Restaurant & Sports Bar and Panama Joe’s — have agreed to voluntarily close each night at midnight.

The bars plan to resume “normal operations” after Dec. 7, said John Edmond, a spokesman hired by the bars. Their owners are exploring implementing universal safety measures and staggered closing times to mitigate some of the safety concerns, Edmond said.

The House of Representatives is expected to approve a funding bill on Wednesday that would bring an end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The measure, which extends funding levels for much of the government through Jan. 30, also includes a trio of appropriation bills that would fully fund some federal programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through Sept. 30, 2026. Payments for SNAP, which provides food assistance to nearly 42 million people, have been locked in a court fight as a result of the shutdown.

The Senate approved the legislation late Monday , with seven Democrats and one Independent joining most Republicans. The bill includes a provision to reverse the layoffs the Trump administration imposed during the shutdown.

Most Democrats on Capitol Hill angrily denounced the deal because it failed to address the central issue prompting the standoff — how to address health care subsidies that are expiring at the end of the year.

As part of the compromise, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to hold a vote by mid-December on legislation Democrats will craft to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Some Republicans agree Congress needs to do something to head off steep premium increases for those relying on the subsidies, but it's unclear there are enough GOP votes to pass a bill through the chamber. Even if a deal comes together in the next few weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has declined to guarantee a vote.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attends a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday.

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New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a moderate who helped broker the deal with Thune, told reporters on Monday that the shutdown increased political pressure on the GOP to negotiate some solution on health care.

"If the Republicans don't come to the table, if Donald Trump, who claims he can make a deal, is not willing to say to Speaker Johnson, 'you need to have a vote, you need to get something done,' then come next election, in the midterms, the American people are going to hold them accountable and we are going to continue to make this an issue."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., panned the deal shortly before the Senate passed it, and urged House Democrats to vote no.

"We're not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people," Jeffries said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries,D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference Monday on Capitol Hill.

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Jeffries and other opponents of the deal argue the results of last week's elections , which featured big Democratic wins in gubernatorial contests and other local elections, sent a signal that voters backed the shutdown strategy, and wanted action on health care.

Hill Republicans maintain that flight delays due to staffing shortages and disruption in government services over several weeks will harm Democrats who blocked bills to reopen the government. But President Trump suggested after GOP candidates were defeated last week that the shutdown harmed the party.

With the midterm elections a year away it's unclear just how far the longest shutdown on record will factor into voters' decisions, especially if concerns about the economy persist.
Copyright 2025 NPR

The competition schedule for the Olympics is out, more than two years ahead of the 2028 Games.

The extensive program, released by Olympics organizing committee LA28 this morning, lays out the dates, times and locations of all competitions for 51 sports taking place across Southern California (and as far as Oklahoma City).

The first Olympic winner will be named at the women's triathlon in Venice Beach on the morning of July 15 — the first day of the Games and the day after the opening ceremony. The last will be more than two weeks later, July 30, when the men's and women's medley relay finals and other swimming finals will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The closing ceremonies will take place the same day at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park.

The 2028 Games have flipped the traditional Olympic schedule to start with track and field and end with swimming. On a press call, LA28 executive Shana Ferguson said that's because SoFi Stadium is one of the venues hosting the Opening Ceremonies, and the site of all swimming competitions.

"In order to transition from opening ceremonies to swimming, we just couldn't do it," Ferguson said.

Olympics schedulers considered summer weather

Ferguson called developing the competition schedule a "painstaking process" that took months of coordinating with the International Olympic Committee and 36 international sports federations, which manage individual sports.

The Games will come to Los Angeles in the middle of summer, and Ferguson said LA28 considered heat and sunshine when it laid out the schedule.

" Some of the timings were made based on having a little bit later session in the evenings for cooling for fans and for athletes, as well as sun position, water tides, water quality," she said. "When we're having a diving competition outside, we have to think about the position of the sun so as to not distract the athletes."

Diving will take place at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center in Pasadena . Those competitions are scheduled either in the morning or afternoon, with a gap between 12:30 and 2 p.m.

Equestrian competition also has been scheduled with the summer heat in mind.

Those competitions will take place at the Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, either in the morning or late afternoon. Ferguson said that's for the horses — and also the fans.

" We are also thinking about, quite frankly, how quickly we can get 'em into the venue, right?" she said. "We don't want them necessarily standing outside in long lines for too long. Let's get them inside where it's shaded."

Schedule highlights

July 29, will be the busiest day of Olympic Competition, with 26 finals in marathon, boxing, swimming, table tennis and many more.

The first day of competition will have the most women's finals, including the triathlon and 100-meter and women's rugby sevens.

You can find the detailed competition schedule here . The Paralympic schedule hasn't been released yet.

When can I get tickets? And how much will they cost?

Fans will be able to register for tickets starting in January . They'll cost as little as $28.