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The most important stories for you to know today
  • How moving in sync creates bonds with others
    A blurry photos of a dance floor.
    Dancers participate in a salsa class at the The Victorian.

    Topline:

    Through the stories of people who found connections through group sports, dance classes and other physical joint activities, the How To LA team learns how moving in sync with others — particularly in adulthood when forming friendships can be more challenging — helps create strong connections and soothe feelings of loneliness.

    Why it matters: At a time when more and more people say they're experiencing feelings of loneliness — particularly in a huge, fast-moving city like Los Angeles — many struggle with feelings of isolation and yearn to make meaningful connections with others. Scientists have found that moving in sync triggers the endorphin system, which enhances good feelings more strongly than the effects of the activity itself.

    Why now: There are many places around L.A. — from group pickleball matches to open salsa classes — where you can get physical with a group and make connections with others, and yourself.

    Go deeper:

    Want To Stay Active And Make New Friends? Here’s Our List Of LA Sports Groups

    Loneliness In Cities Is Real. Four Ways To Work Through It.

    From A ‘Lonely Road’ To An Artist Haven: How This Music Community Helps Angelenos Feel Less Alone

    Men Are Lonely. We Explore Some Reasons Why, And What Can Be Done About It

    Around five years ago, when Micah Mumper relocated from New York to Long Beach where he knew no one besides his wife, he found himself, as he puts it, in a funk.

    “Depression would be the emotion,” said Mumper, 33, who moved to the area for a job. “It was kind of a dark place — not a very fun place.”

    While he had a brother he saw occasionally nearly 40 miles away in Orange County, he and his wife fell into a rough pattern that would last for several years.

    They hardly left the house or interacted with anyone besides each other, he said, and generally lacked motivation to do basic things like clean up after themselves.

    “We were just sort of going through the motions,” Mumper said. “It would cause friction between us.”

    He desperately needed to find community, he added, but couldn’t quite get himself to take the first step.

    It wasn't until last year at his brother’s 40th birthday party in Orange County that he noticed his brother had something he was missing: a large group of friends.

    And there was a trend: most of them, it seemed, met by playing pickleball. Sure, it feels like everyone — and their literal mother — has embraced the sport as of late. But as it turns out, pickleball would be the catalyst for Mumper to get out of his funk.

    The pickleball prescription

    His brother’s friends were all quite welcoming and encouraged him to start playing, Mumper recalled. “I thought, OK, I want what they have, why not.”

    He found a local league in Long Beach, and forced himself to show up to a pickup game one Wednesday afternoon. It pretty quickly turned things around.

    A pickleball court with turquoise, purple, and green squares. Various people stand on either side playing a game with neon yellow plastic balls. Two people bump their paddles.
    Plckelball players Ryan Benson and Maile Sterling bump each other in support while playing at the Santa Monica Pickleball Center.
    (
    Brian Feinzimer
    /
    LAist
    )

    “It gets me out of the house, it gets me around other people," he said. “I'm really hitting my stride and pickleball has been a really big part of that.”

    At a time when more and more people say they are experiencing feelings of loneliness — particularly in a huge, fast-moving city like Los Angeles — many like Mumper struggle with feelings of isolation and yearn to make meaningful connections with others.

    Through the whacking of a ball that sorta resembles a wiffle ball, hundreds of thousands of people have found fulfilling friendships and an overall sense of community through the sport that’s blown up in recent years.

    “Basically 90% of my friends are through pickleball,” said Sona Kim Davis, the marketing director at Santa Monica Pickleball Center. “It’s really crazy, like people really do come together for this sport.”

    Where to find group pickleball classes in LA

    1. Santa Monica Pickleball Center: Website, 2505 Wilshire Blvd. 90403
    2. Arroyo Seco Racquet Club: Website920 Lohman Lane 91030
    3. Beverly Hills Tennis Pickleball Program: Website325 S La Cienega Blvd. 90211
    4. Encino Community Center: Website, 4935 Balboa Blvd. 91316
    5. Westchester Pickleball: Website, 7000 W. Manchester Ave. 90045

    If you looking for additional courts to play in around L.A. County, check this website.

    The power of moving in sync

    It’s not just pickleball that can pave the way for community building. Group physical movement in general, like sports leagues and dance classes — particularly in adulthood, when there are less natural opportunities to make friends — offer an especially effective route to make strong connections and soothe feelings of loneliness.

    “We have pretty good data to suggest that behavioral synchrony can lead to feelings of higher closeness and trust with the people we're in sync with,” said Jamie Krems, an assistant professor of psychology at UCLA who specializes in human friendship. “That’s particularly the case when you’re in sync in larger groups.”

    While most group activities boost one’s sense of belonging, studies show that moving in sync can build even stronger social ties and promote a deeper sense of well-being.

    To understand why moving in unison with others promotes closeness, Krems said we must look to our evolutionary past. Doing hard work in coordination together, for example, would have been imperative for survival and protection against outside threats, she said. Moving in sync also creates a similarity in how those within the same group perceive and respond to the world, leading to feelings of closeness and rapport.

    “That feeling of rhythm and coordination and synchrony might be one of the best ways to engender these feelings of closeness and pro social behavior,” she said.

    Part of it has to do with endorphins, which some researchers have called the “neurochemical glue” of human relationships. Scientists have found that moving in sync triggers the endorphin system, which enhances good feelings, more strongly than the effects of the activity itself.

    As for Micah Mumper, finding such an activity flipped his entire world upside down, for the better, he said.

    “I feel a hundred percent better than I did before I started playing pickleball,” he added. “I feel not as depressed. I feel a whole different view of my abilities to go out and socialize. It's given me this new confidence.”

    A pickleball court with turquoise, purple, and green squares. Various people stand on either side playing a game with neon yellow plastic balls.
    Patrons play pickleball at the Santa Monica Pickleball Center.
    (
    Brian Feinzimer
    /
    LAist
    )

    Dancing and the 'feel good' hormone

    On a recent Thursday night at The Victorian in Santa Monica, dozens of patrons with wristbands filed into an oblong-shaped room with a disco ball hanging from the center of the ceiling, salsa music blasted from the speakers.

    Nicole Gil, a dance teacher and founder of Dancer University, walked to the middle of the room, a pop-star microphone strapped around her head.

    “We’re gonna make two circles, ladies on the inside, gentlemen on the outside,” she said as those in the crowd, a bit timid, took their places.

    A dance instructor with medium-light skin tone wearing a black tank top and beige pants stands in the center of a wooden dance floor with a large crowd behind her as she holds her arms out showing a dance step.
    Instructor Nicole Gil leads in a salsa class at the The Victorian.
    (
    Brian Feinzimer
    /
    LAist
    )

    Each week on Thursdays at The Victorian — and most other nights at various clubs around L.A. — Gil teaches salsa and bachata classes to groups of mostly beginners.

    While she’s passionate about these forms of dance for their artistry, she said what’s most special about it is the community that’s corralled around it.

    “Everyone's laughing about it together, feeling silly together, out of place and out of their comfort zone,” said Gil, who also met her fiancé through dance. “I think that is something that really helps you connect with people.”

    And researchers agree. Studies show that dancing in sync — more so than just dancing alongside others — boosts the production of endorphins and leads to social closeness and bonding.

    Patrick Padilla, a 27-year-old engineer who recently moved from Saint Louis to Lawndale, attends class as a way to meet people in a new city.

    “I like the energy,” he said. “Getting to meet a bunch of new people outside of work. It's really a great way to stay active and then also meet new faces.”

    As a bonus, he said he gets to channel his “inner child.”

    “As a little kid I liked getting onto the dance floor and just doing my stuff,” he said. “When I grew up, I'm like, what if I could put a little bit of form to all that energy?”

    A feminine presenting person with dark skin tone wearing a pink and black dress holds their hands up to their dance partner who is masculine presenting with medium-light skin tone and wearing a dark blue button up.
    Dancers participate in a salsa class at the The Victorian.
    (
    Brian Feinzimer
    /
    LAist
    )

    While the classes are meant for beginners, many come week after week. Each class starts with a lesson, followed by “social dancing,” or freestyle dancing with a partner (which is the standard format for salsa and bachata classes anywhere).

    “I've definitely made friends here,” said Joseph Blakey, who lives in Venice and has attended the class several times. “It’s something that requires a partner, so you're always looking for more people to do it with. People want to talk. People want to hang out with you. There's just something about going out dancing with people. And there's something very welcoming about this space.”

    Aside from the social engagement, Blakey said learning a new form of dance is sort of like a meditative practice, helping him to stay present.

    “You’re engaged in this activity and you’re just enjoying it, the moment,” he said. “It gets me out of my head.”

    Gil emphasized that it's not unusual to come solo — many of the attendees did show up alone. In fact, she recommends it.

    “You might actually have a better time, so you can focus on your partner and being musical for the duration of the song,” she said.

    And for those who feel daunted by the idea of dancing with or in front of others, Gil urges people to just show up — once — even if you have no intention of dancing.

    “You might build it up in your head like ‘Oh I’ve got to look for parking, then I’ve got to walk there and it’s cold,” she said. “But once you do it, once you realize that it really wasn’t that bad, I think that helps you get off the couch. And after that you’ll be hooked.”

    Where to dance salsa

    1. The Victorian: Website, 2640 Main St., Santa Monica 90405 (Thursdays, 8 p.m.)
    2. Third Street Dance: Website, 8558 W. 3rd St., L.A., 90048 (Nightly, check schedule) 
    3. Social State House: Website, 8782 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 90069, (Saturdays, 8:30 p.m.)
    4. Rain Bar & Lounge: Website, 12215 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 91604, (Thursdays, 8 p.m.)
    5. Stevens Steakhouse: Website, 5332 Stevens Pl., Commerce, 90040, (Multiple nights, check schedule)

    The magic of a studio

    Through a breezeway lined with a melange of palms and desert plants at Hyperion Arts in Silver Lake, a small, eccentric studio tucked in the back of the building is filling up dancers for Intermediate Ballet.

    They're in their 20s, in their 60s, in leotards and classic pink tights, or leg warmers and sweatshirts. They are mostly women (one man). Some were once professional ballet dancers, others have only started dancing here.

    There’s a whimsical feel about this room, one of the two studios that make up Studio A Dance. It's old — the building was constructed in the 1920s — and quiet, with stained glass windows and string lights lining the ceiling.

    In the middle of one of the busiest enclaves of L.A., it’s like you’re entering a place where time stands still.

    “Nothing else matters when we’re in there,” said Cat Moore, who is the director of belonging at the University of Southern California and took ballet classes at Studio A for several years. “It’s just you and your body. And by just being there, the other dancers give you this strength and support in just really powerful ways.”

    About 10 years ago, in the middle of a “shocking, terrifying” divorce, Moore said she was barely able to eat, sleep or otherwise function in her day to day life, now a single parent to her young son.

    She said she was living in survival mode, and felt like her life was slipping through her fingers.

    Then, randomly, she stumbled upon a dance studio on a walk home from her local coffee shop and “felt a pull” to sign up for a ballet class: “The last thing I wanted to do was move or exercise, but I sort of knew if I didn’t take a first step, things would get really, really bad,” she added.

    The studio, which has gone through several iterations since it was established 41 years ago, offers a variety of classes for adults and kids throughout the week, from ballet to hip hop to contemporary dance.

    Throughout this time and no matter the type of class, the mission behind Studio A, as established by its owner Bill Brown, has remained the same: to be a safe haven for Angelenos to not just dance, but to find happiness, as Brown states in a mini film about the studio.

    Moore recalled walking into her first class never having danced ballet before and immediately feeling at ease. She said it was the welcoming atmosphere, and how the other dancers were eager to help her with the basics like how to stand at the barre and encouraged her to follow their footwork.

    But she said there was also something about the teacher, Cati Jean: “It was like she just had magic coming out of her, is the only way I can describe it. She just had this presence that is so full of life.”

    Jean, who is originally from France and has lived in Silver Lake for 25 years, said that's intentional.

    “When you bring this aliveness, this openness, it has a ripple effect,” she said, “And that’s what dance does anyway. The artistry, the physicality, the emotion. It brings you alive.”

    Moore said that during this traumatic time in her life, Jean’s classes helped her build strength — physically, of course, but more so emotionally.

    “I can say for sure that it’s one of the main things that kept me alive during that time,” she said. “Getting back into your body is one of the most fundamental ways to reconnect to yourself.”

    Since the publication of the New York Times best seller The Body Keeps the Score in 2014, the idea that our bodies store emotions and trauma has become somewhat mainstream. Dance therapy and other forms of physical or “somatic” techniques have been established as effective tools to help unlock, process and release these difficult emotions that are stored in the body.

    Yet the power of dance classes to create a sense of community is perhaps the most healing part.

    “I had just such a profound experience of feeling connected to this group of women, and we were hyper focused on doing these moves,” Moore said. “It gave me something to focus on during the worst period of my life.”

    COVID made the effect of the community aspect particularly apparent, when Jean continued to teach classes over Zoom so her dancers could at least work on their technique at home. But it was missing “la magie,” she said in French. The magic.

    “We need to feel each other’s energy, in the same room, focused on the same thing, together,” Jean said. “It’s like a nutrient. We can’t live without it.”

    Find a cool dance studio in LA

    1. Studio A: Website, 2306 Hyperion Ave, Los Angeles 90027
    2. Westside Ballet: Website, 1709 Stewart St, Santa Monica 90404
    3. Align Ballet Method: Website, 6085 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles 90035 (multiple locations)
    4. ABC’s of Dance: Website, 8505 Santa Monica Blvd #5 West Hollywood 90069
    5. Debbie Allen Dance Academy: Website, 1850 S Manhattan Pl, L.A. 90019

  • Those at LAX and Disneyland may be exposed
    Multiple vials of measles vaccines.
    This view shows empty vials containing doses of the measles vaccine.

    Topline:

    A second case of measles has been confirmed in Los Angeles County. The infected person also traveled to Orange County.

    Why it matters: Measles has been on the rise in other parts of the country like South Carolina, Arizona and Utah. 588 measles cases have been reported this year, the most cases reported in January since the year 2000. Two cases have been detected in LA County and two in Orange County.

    Read more on information public health officials has released regarding potential exposure.

    A second case of measles has been confirmed in Los Angeles County.

    L.A. County Department of Public Health officials announced on Saturday the virus was detected in an international traveler who arrived at the Tom Bradley International Terminal — or Terminal B — at LAX on Monday, Jan. 26, through Gate 201A on Viva Aerobus Flight 518.

    Public Health said anyone at Terminal B from 10:45 p.m. on Jan. 26 to 1 a.m. on Jan. 27 may have been exposed.

    The traveler also spent a day in Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park in Anaheim on Jan. 28 from 12:30 to 10 p.m. On Jan. 30, they visited a Dunkin’ Donuts in Woodland Hills from 3 to 4:45 p.m.

    Health officials say people who visited the above locations during those time periods may also be at risk of developing measles.

    Symptoms typically appear one to three weeks after exposure.

    Public Health recommends these individuals check if they are already protected against measles and advise getting a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine if they aren't.

    Symptoms include a fever above 101 degrees; cough; runny nose; red, watery eyes; and a rash that typically starts on the face.

    • For those exposed at LAX, the last day to monitor for symptoms is Feb. 16.
    • For those exposed at Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park, the last day to monitor for symptoms is Feb. 18.
    • For those exposed at Dunkin’ Donuts, the last day to monitor for symptoms is Feb. 20.

    Saturday's announcement comes one day after L.A. County public health officials confirmed the first case of measles in the county. More information about that case here.

    Orange County has reported two other measles cases this year, one in a young adult who recently traveled internationally and the second in an unvaccinated toddler who had no known exposure to the virus.

    Transmission, prevention and more

    Measles spreads easily through the air and can stay on surfaces for many hours. Those infected can spread the virus before showing symptoms, which can take weeks to appear.

    So far, 588 measles cases of measles have been reported in the U.S. this year, the highest number of cases in a January since the U.S. eliminated measles in 2000. Most of these cases are linked to outbreaks in South Carolina, Arizona and Utah.

    The L.A. County Department of Public Health is encouraging Angelenos to check their immunization status for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to determine if they’re protected against the virus.

    If symptoms develop, contact a health care provider via phone as soon as possible. L.A. Public Health advises people not to go physically into a health care facility before notifying them of measles symptoms.

  • Sponsored message
  • US may lose status as nation that eliminated it

    Topline:

    South Carolina now has confirmed 847 cases since the first case was reported in October, making the outbreak bigger than the one in Texas, which started just over a year ago.

    Why it matters: This latest outbreak, as well as the speed at which it is spreading, is another test of the United States' ability to contain measles. It comes as the Trump administration has taken multiple steps to undermine overall confidence in vaccines.

    What's next: The U.S. is already in danger of losing its status as a country that has eliminated measles. That's a technical designation. It's given to countries that have gone a year without a continuous chain of transmission. For the U.S., the clock started in January 2025 with the Texas outbreak.

    In Southern California: The first measles cases of 2026 were just reported in L.A. and Orange counties.

    The measles outbreak in South Carolina is showing little sign of slowing down. The state has confirmed 847 cases since the first case was reported in October, making the outbreak bigger than the one in Texas, which started just over a year ago.

    Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina's state epidemiologist, points out that in Texas, measles cases grew over the course of seven months, while in South Carolina it has taken just 16 weeks to surpass the Texas case count.

    "This is a milestone that we have reached in a relatively short period of time, very unfortunately," she said at a press briefing Wednesday. "And it's just disconcerting to consider what our final trajectory will look like for measles in South Carolina."

    The state on Friday reported 58 new cases since Tuesday.

    This latest outbreak, as well as the speed at which it is spreading, is another test of the United States' ability to contain measles. It comes as the Trump administration has taken multiple steps to undermine overall confidence in vaccines.

    And it is happening as the U.S. is already in danger of losing its status as a country that has eliminated measles. That's a technical designation. It's given to countries that have gone a year without a continuous chain of transmission. For the U.S., the clock started in January 2025 with the Texas outbreak.

    Who makes the call?

    Measles elimination status is granted — and taken away — by a special verification commission set up by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). It reviews extensive evidence to determine whether the outbreaks in the U.S. are all part of a continuous chain of transmission that began with the outbreak in Texas in January 2025. Gathering the necessary epidemiological data, genomic analyses and surveillance reports takes time.

    But even if PAHO determines that the outbreaks are separate, the U.S. could still lose its elimination status if it fails to prove that it can interrupt the spread of measles quickly and consistently, says Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, an infectious disease specialist and former top official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And so far, he says, the U.S. is failing on this front.

    "We do not have the capability to actually control measles, whether or not this is demonstrated through continuous measles transmission for 12 months," Daskalakis said in a press briefing this month. "So I'm going to say that elimination is already lost."

    PAHO has said it plans to review the United States' measles elimination status this spring.

    "Health freedom"

    When asked whether the potential loss of measles elimination status was significant during a press call this month, Dr. Ralph Abraham, the principal deputy director of the CDC, said, "Not really."

    Abraham said losing elimination status would not impact how the administration tackles measles. He said the administration supports the measles vaccine, but "You know, the president, Secretary [Kennedy], we talk all the time about religious freedom, health freedom, personal freedom. And I think we have to respect those communities that choose to go a somewhat of a different route."

    But infectious disease experts and epidemiologists say the choice not to vaccinate is what's driving these outbreaks. Daskalakis says the resurgence of measles is being fueled by misinformation that undermines trust in vaccines.

    And public health experts say losing elimination status is more than just symbolic. "I think it's really a comment on the state of the public health system," says Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "We maintained elimination for 25 years. And so now, to be facing its loss, it really points to the cycle of panic and neglect, where I think that we have forgotten what it's like to face widespread measles."

    And as measles cases rise, that will lead to more hospitalizations, more deaths and a greater toll on the public health system as a whole, says Dr. William Moss of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He points to estimates suggesting that the average cost for a measles outbreak is $43,000 per case, with costs escalating to well over $1 million total for outbreaks of 50 cases or more. And fighting measles also takes resources away from other public health priorities.

    Elimination vs. eradication

    In 2000, PAHO declared measles eliminated from the U.S. because there had been no continuous domestic spread for more than 12 months. But the virus is still endemic in many parts of the world, and every year, there are U.S. cases brought in from abroad. So the virus has not been eradicated. 

    Compare that with the smallpox virus, which has not been reported anywhere in the world since the World Health Organization declared it eradicated in 1980

    Across state lines

    Similar to Texas, the vast majority of cases in South Carolina have been in children and teens who are unvaccinated, leading to quarantines in about two dozen schools. Clemson University and Anderson University also have recently reported cases. And the virus has crossed state lines. North Carolina has confirmed several cases linked to the South Carolina outbreak. Across the country in Washington state, officials in Snohomish County told NPR they've linked six measles cases in unvaccinated children there to a family visiting from South Carolina.

    Dr. Anna-Kathryn Burch, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with Prisma Health in Columbia, S.C., says it breaks her heart to see her state have such a large outbreak.

    "I'm from here, born and raised — this is my state. And I think that we are going to see those numbers continue to grow over the next several months," she says.

    Measles is dangerous. Here's how to protect yourself.

    Measles is one of the most contagious diseases on Earth — more than Ebola, smallpox or just about any other infectious disease.

    A person infected with measles can be contagious from four days before the telltale measles rash appears, until four days after. So the person could be spreading measles before they know they're infected. And when they cough, sneeze, talk or even just breathe, they emit infectious particles that can linger in the air for up to two hours, long after the infected person has left the room. On average, one infected person can go on to sicken up to 18 other unvaccinated people.

    The best way to protect yourself is vaccination. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is very safe, and two doses is 97% effective — which means 97% of people will develop lifelong immunity against the disease. When vaccination rates are high in a community — 95% or more is considered ideal — that helps prevent measles outbreaks because there aren't enough vulnerable people for the virus to keep spreading. In Spartanburg County, S.C., the schoolwide vaccination rate for required immunizations is 90%.

    Vaccination rates have been dropping in the United States. Nationwide, 92.5% of kindergartners had received the measles vaccine in the 2024-2025 school year, according to the CDC. In many communities across the country, those figures are much lower, creating the conditions needed for measles outbreaks to spread. Experts say all that's needed is one spark to ignite it.
    Copyright 2026 NPR

  • Trump tells Noem not to intervene unless asked

    Topline:

    President Donald Trump said today that he has instructed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem not to intervene in protests occurring in cities led by Democrats unless local authorities ask for federal help amid mounting criticism of his administration's immigration crackdown.

    What he said: On his social media site, Trump posted that "under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help."

    What's next: He provided no further details on how his order would affect operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and DHS personnel, or other federal agencies, but added: "We will, however, guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid Lunatics, Agitators, and Insurrectionists."

    ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has instructed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem not to intervene in protests occurring in cities led by Democrats unless local authorities ask for federal help amid mounting criticism of his administration's immigration crackdown.

    On his social media site, Trump posted that "under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help."

    He provided no further details on how his order would affect operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and DHS personnel, or other federal agencies, but added: "We will, however, guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid Lunatics, Agitators, and Insurrectionists."

    Trump said that in addition to his instructions to Noem he had directed "ICE and/or Border Patrol to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property."

    Later Saturday night, Trump said to reporters as he flew to Florida for the weekend that he felt Democratic cities are "always complaining."

    "If they want help, they have to ask for it. Because if we go in, all they do is complain," Trump said.

    He predicted that those cities would need help, but said if the leaders of those cities seek it from the federal government, "They have to say, 'Please.'"

    The Trump administration has already deployed the National Guard, or federal law enforcement officials, in a number of Democratic areas, including Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon. But Saturday's order comes as opposition to such tactics has grown, particularly in Minnesota's Twin Cities region.

    Trump said Saturday night that protesters who "do anything bad" to immigration officers and other federal law enforcement, "will have to suffer" and "will get taken care of in at least an equal way."

    "You see it, the way they treat our people. And I said, you're allowed, if somebody does that, you can do something back. You're not going to stand there and take it if somebody spits in your face," Trump said.

    Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul have challenged a federal immigration enforcement surge in those cities, arguing that DHS is violating constitutional protections.

    A federal judge says she won't halt enforcement operations as the lawsuit proceeds. State and local officials had sought a quick order to halt the enforcement action or limit its scope. Justice Department lawyers have called the lawsuit "legally frivolous."

    The state, particularly Minneapolis, has been on edge after federal officers fatally shot two people in the city: Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest the federal action in Minnesota and across the country.

    Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has suggested the administration could reduce the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota — but only if state and local officials cooperate. Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis following the killings of Good and Pretti, seeming to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minnesota.

    The president on Saturday night said he intended to speak to Homan and Noem on Sunday and he seemed to endorse the idea of immigration agents wearing body cameras or having their interactions filmed.

    Trump was asked by a reporter if he thought it was a good thing having lots of cameras capturing incidents with law enforcement.

    "I think it would help law enforcement but I'd have to talk to them," Trump said.

    He went on and added: "That works both ways. But overall, I think it's 80% in favor of law enforcement."
    Copyright 2026 NPR

  • A potential ballot measure to fund health care
    A man holds a stethoscope to a white woman's chest.
    A newly formed coalition, Restore Healthcare for Angelenos, is asking the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to place a five-year, half-cent sales tax measure on the June ballot in Los Angeles County.

    Topline:

    A newly formed coalition is asking the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to place a five-year, half-cent sales tax measure on the June ballot in Los Angeles County.

    Why now: Facing federal funding cuts that could strip health coverage from hundreds of thousands of Angelenos, clinic leaders, union members and patients gathered in Inglewood last to boost a stop-gap proposal they want to put in front of voters: a county sales tax to stave off service cuts and keep more sick people from seeking primary care in emergency rooms.


    Facing federal funding cuts that could strip health coverage from hundreds of thousands of Angelenos, clinic leaders, union members and patients gathered in Inglewood last Wednesday to boost a stop-gap proposal they want to put in front of voters: a county sales tax to stave off service cuts and keep more sick people from seeking primary care in emergency rooms.

    A newly formed coalition, Restore Healthcare for Angelenos, is asking the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to place a five-year, half-cent sales tax measure on the June ballot in Los Angeles County.

    “The ballot measure that we are proposing is an urgent and necessary step to stop the damage, to protect access to life-saving care,” said Louise McCarthy, president and CEO of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, one of the organizations in the coalition. “The stakes right now could not be higher.”

    As the federal spending plan, H.R. 1, starts to take effect, Medi-Cal cuts and eligibility changes will affect millions of Californians. The state estimates it could lose tens of billions of dollars a year in federal funding.

    According to the coalition, their proposal would raise about $1 billion annually for health care in Los Angeles County. The revenue would help create a local coverage program that would pay for primary and emergency care as well as behavioral health needs for people who fall off their Medi-Cal insurance and have no other coverage options, according to the coalition. When people are uninsured, uncompensated care at clinics and hospitals grow, threatening the availability of services for everyone, coalition leaders say.

    The coalition is working with Supervisor Holly Mitchell, whose office on Wednesday presented the motion to the county — an initial step before public debate. The board is expected to vote next month; the deadline for placing a board-sponsored measure on the June ballot is March 6.

    “I do not take lightly asking fellow residents to consider imposing a ½ percent retail tax,” Mitchell said in an emailed statement. “This option is on the table because what’s at stake are safety net services unraveling for millions of residents — which would come at an even greater cost for the largest county in the nation.”

    She added that if the measure passed it would sunset on Oct. 1, 2031 and would be subject to public oversight and audits. “This is a last resort option for the times we’re facing and for voters to make the final call on,” Mitchell said.

    If the board of supervisors does not approve the measure for a June vote, the coalition will gather signatures toward qualifying the initiative for the November ballot, said Jim Mangia, CEO of St. John’s Community Health, another coalition member.

    Efforts to shore up health care access for poor Californians aren’t unique to Los Angeles. Pressure is building for state and county leaders to find new revenue streams to make up at least in part for the federal losses. In a legislative hearing Tuesday, health providers and advocates also urged state lawmakers to seek creative funding solutions.

    Last November, voters in Santa Clara County approved a tax similar to the one proposed in Los Angeles County. Santa Clara’s Measure A will raise the local sales tax by five-eights of a cent for five years. The county projects that it will provide $330 million annually for local hospitals and clinics.

    Both local proposals are separate from the push led by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West for a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of the state’s approximately 200 billionaires, which would generate an estimated $100 billion to fund  medical care and other social services at the state level. Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the initiative, arguing that such a tax would drive wealthy people — who pay a significant portion of the state’s income taxes — from the state. That measure has not yet qualified for the November ballot.

    Local and state tax proposals could seemingly compete for the attention of voters, since both are responses to the issue of federal funding cuts. And in L.A., voters may have to consider a number of other tax measures this election year from a city hotel tax in June to a sales tax to support the Los Angeles Fire Department in November.

    Mangia sees the tax initiatives to fund health care as complementary. He said the state tax on billionaires would help restore some of federal cuts to Medi-Cal at the state level, while the L.A County measure would help shore up the local safety net.

    “We’re doing this to make sure that no matter what happens federally, statewide, residents of L.A. County will have access to health care,” Mangia said.

    Among the most prominent changes and cuts made in Trump’s major budget reconciliation law are a new requirement for enrollees to log 80 hours per month of school, work or volunteering starting in 2027; a rule that requires people to renew coverage every six months rather than annually; restrictions on taxes that the state places on insurers to help pay for the Medi-Cal program; and a reduction in how much the feds will pay for the emergency care of non-citizens.

    State health officials estimate 2 million Californians could lose their Medi-Cal coverage over the next several years.

    Under its own growing budget pressures, the state has also rolled back coverage for certain groups. Starting earlier this month state health officials froze Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented people — the state foots most of the cost for this group because with the exception of emergency care, federal dollars cannot be used to cover individuals who are in the country illegally. This summer the state will also cut non-emergency dental care for undocumented adults already enrolled in the program.