The Brief

NASA should play a "prominent role" in the federal government's ongoing study of unidentified flying objects, aka UFOs.

That's the advice from a panel of outside advisors that urged NASA to use its scientific expertise, as well as its existing and planned instruments that observe space and the Earth, to better gather data related to what's now often called "unidentified anomalous phenomena," or UAP.

"We want to shift the conversation about UAPs from sensationalism to science," says NASA administrator Bill Nelson, a former senator from Florida who once flew in the space shuttle Columbia.

While emphasizing that "the NASA independent study team did not find any evidence that UAP have an extraterrestrial origin," Nelson noted that "we don't know what these UAP are. The mission of NASA is to find out the unknown."

NASA has actively looked for potential signs of life on other planets and moons in the solar system and beyond, but it hasn't traditionally spent much time thinking about "little green men" closer to home.

The new report offers a roadmap for how NASA could contribute to this area of research, and officials embraced the idea, announcing that the agency had created a new position, a director for UAP research, to help guide and coordinate NASA's efforts.

They declined to name the person appointed to that position, however. Dan Evans, assistant deputy associate administrator for research at NASA's science mission directorate, said their unwillingness to reveal the name was partly to protect that person from being hassled by people with strong feelings about UFOs.

"Some of the threats and the harassment have been beyond the pale, quite frankly, towards some of our panelists," says Evans. "That's in part why we are not splashing the name of our new director out there."

While unearthly-seeming sightings in the sky aren't uncommon, the report says that the "vast majority" can be attributed to mundane airborne objects like airplanes, drones, and weather balloons.

Still, not all can be easily explained, and the NASA advisors say that any sightings that appear to deviate from known technology's constraints on velocities and accelerations "are scientifically interesting."

The Department of Defense now has a special office to look into mysterious sightings, and UFOs have gotten recent attention in Congress. Earlier this year, for example, a former government worker made headlines when he told lawmakers that officials had recovered alien "biologics" from crash sites, but a Pentagon spokesperson said such claims could not be substantiated.

In the past, NASA has emphasized that the space agency "has not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial life," and it has no evidence that any UFO sightings are extraterrestrial.

The 16 researchers and other advisors who drafted recommendations to NASA weren't asked to weigh in on the nature of previous unidentifiable observations, but rather to tell the agency what kind of data was currently available or could be collected for objective study.

For example, the new report notes that while NASA's Earth-observing satellites can't detect small objects, they could help establish whether certain environmental conditions tend to coincide with strange sightings.

Already-planned large-sky surveys by telescopes such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory could look for unusual objects beyond the Earth's atmosphere, the report says. And programs to look for near-Earth objects, such as potentially dangerous asteroids, collect a lot of information about phenomena close to the Earth's atmosphere.

The report did identify some data gaps, such as the lack of a standardized system that would allow civilian pilots to make reports of unusual sightings. Currently, civilians get advised to contact local law enforcement or other organizations. "As a result, the collection of data is sparse, unsystematic, and lacks any curation or vetting protocols," the report notes, adding that NASA could offer guidance to other government agencies on the best ways to collect such data.

Also, smartphone-based apps might offer a way to crowdsource observations from the public, the panel noted, saying that NASA should explore the viability of this kind of public engagement and data collection.

"The language of scientists is data," notes Nicola Fox, the associate administrator of NASA's science mission directorate, who called UAP "one of our planet's greatest mysteries."

Finally, the advisors say that NASA has an established record of openness and public trust that could benefit the study of UFOs, and the agency could help destigmatize the reporting of these sightings so that they can be studied more robustly.

"We're going to be open about this," vowed Nelson, stressing that the agency makes its activities and data transparent.

David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation and chair of NASA's UAP independent study team, says it's important for scientists to fully understand "normal" conditions and objects in the sky, so they can tell when something is truly odd, and having a solid foundation based on data is essential.

"Most events are going to turn out to be conventional things, balloons, airplanes, and so on," says Spergel.

He compared the search for something truly unusual to looking for a needle in a haystack —without knowing what the "needle" will look like.

"If you want to find something strange in a haystack," says Spergel, "you'd better know exactly what hay looks like."

More on this topic from LAist

Our newsroom's AirTalk show, which airs on LAist 89.3, discussed the latest findings Thursday with John Crassidis, who directs a space cyber security center at University of Buffalo and previously worked at NASA.

And they followed up that conversation, with an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson about his new book, co-written with science journalist Lindsey Nyx Walker titled “To Infinity And Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery.”

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority told its employees Friday to stop work, shut down their computers and stay off agency systems while it looked into “a potential security issue affecting our systems,” its chief executive confirmed to LAist.

That shutdown order was still in place Monday evening, according to a LAHSA official not authorized to speak on the record.

Gita O'Neill, the agency’s interim CEO, told LAist on Friday evening that the agency did not “yet have enough information to say definitively whether any sensitive or confidential personal information was accessed.”

She has not answered questions about whether or not services for unhoused people are disrupted.

Gita O’Neill, interim CEO of LAHSA, speaks ahead of the annual homeless count on Jan. 20, 2026.

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Jordan Rynning

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LAist

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LAHSA holds highly sensitive information collected from people experiencing homelessness in the region. The agency oversees the Homeless Management Information System, or HMIS, which includes unhoused people’s names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and disabilities, as well as self-reported mental health and substance abuse history, income sources and domestic violence history.

In a statement Monday, LAHSA said it had taken its internal computer systems offline “as a precaution” and “engaged outside cybersecurity specialists to investigate the nature and scope of the incident.” The statement, sent on O'Neill's behalf by outside public relations strategist Trevor Daley, continued to call it “a potential cybersecurity incident.”

The agency is “taking steps to maintain essential operations,” the statement added, saying LAHSA “remains open” while the investigation continues. It said the agency is working with its technical and legal teams.

What staff were told

Friday’s email to "Team LAHSA" carried the subject line "URGENT: Log Off and Shut Down for the Week." LAist obtained a copy, and O'Neill confirmed by text message that she had sent it.

“As a precaution while we look into a potential security issue affecting our systems, we're asking all staff to stop work and take their machines offline for the remainder of today and through the weekend,” the email said.

It told employees to “Log off and shut down your LAHSA computer” and not to log back in or connect to LAHSA systems, including email, “until you receive an all-clear from us.”

The email also told staff to report anything “unusual” before shutting down, such as “files renaming on their own, unexpected pop-ups or messages.”

What LAHSA leadership has said

In a texted response to LAist on Friday evening, O'Neill said she asked staff to take their computers offline “out of an abundance of caution” while the agency’s IT team assessed the situation.

“Our IT team is actively reviewing the situation now and working to understand exactly what occurred and whether any information was affected,” she wrote. “Protecting people’s personal and confidential information is a top priority in that review.”

Leaders of three LAHSA-funded service providers told LAist on Monday afternoon that they had not received any communications from LAHSA about the potential cybersecurity issue. All three use the HMIS system that holds unhoused people’s personal details.

Previous attacks against another LA housing agency

Another L.A. housing agency was previously hit by cyberattacks. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles — a separate agency known as HACLA — has said hackers got inside its network in 2022 and may have accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, financial accounts numbers and medical information.

Two years later, HACLA was breached again, according to an official notice, with hackers potentially accessing names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and phone numbers.

LAist reporter Aaron Schrank contributed reporting to this story.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath announced Monday that she is running to be the county’s first elected chief executive. Horvath is the only candidate so far to enter the race, which is set for 2028.

The new executive post will take the place of the county’s appointed CEO and implement key priorities of the county Board of Supervisors. The executive will oversee the county budget, which is currently roughly $50 billion, and labor relations with more than 100,000 employees.

Horvath was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022 and was re-elected in June to another four-year term. She represents the county’s 3rd District, which covers the San Fernando Valley and parts of the Westside and Central Los Angeles. She is a former mayor of West Hollywood.

The supervisor made her announcement Monday via social media and her campaign website. She called the race a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

The backstory

Voters created the position in 2024 when they approved Measure G, which was proposed by Supervisors Horvath and Janice Hahn.

Among other changes, the measure allowed the Board of Supervisors to expand from five to nine members by 2030 and established an independent Ethics Commission, which held its first meeting last month.

The pushback

On Monday, Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement saying she believed it was “premature” to campaign for the new county executive position when it remained unclear whether “the office itself is constitutional.”

Barger pointed to questions raised by former federal judge Stephen Larson about whether California’s Constitution allows an elected county executive to veto board decisions, control county contracts and take on powers state law currently gives the Board of Supervisors.

“Moving forward with an office that would fundamentally change how Los Angeles County is governed, without first resolving these questions, is putting the cart before the horse,” Barger said in her statement. “We need clarity.”

The primary election is scheduled for March 7, 2028.

The Los Angeles Unified School District said it’s reviewing how to proceed after Google’s announcement last week that it will not allow schools to use its search engine unless they opt in to using artificial intelligence.

Google said that in the coming months, access to products like Gemini and Google Search would be turned off by default until schools turn them on, saying it believes “schools should have control over AI in their classroom.” But Google Search, by default, includes an AI chatbot and uses AI to summarize search results — meaning that schools that restrict AI would not have access to Google Search.

Earlier this school year, LAUSD implemented a moratorium on students using generative AI on district-issued devices.

“We are reviewing Google’s announcement and its potential implications for schools, educators and students,” said a spokesperson for LAUSD. “Los Angeles Unified believes emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, have the potential to enhance teaching and learning when introduced thoughtfully, responsibly and with clear safeguards.”

“Search and A.I. are deeply integrated,” Chris Phillips, vice president for education at Google, said to The New York Times. He told the outlet that if a school bans AI, students “will not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available.”

What are schools doing now?

Currently, students in LAUSD can still use Google to search for information, a district spokesperson said, but the AI mode — in which students can converse with the company’s chatbot, Gemini — is turned off. Some searches may still show an AI-generated summary or overview. The district has asked Google for a modification to allow the summaries to be turned off.

If a school does opt in to artificial intelligence, Google said it will offer a “guided learning” tool in its chatbot for student accounts “to help them work through problems without skipping straight to answers.”

The announcement has prompted outcry from advocates. "Google forced its AI products into classrooms, and parents fought back," said Lila Byock, founder of Schools Beyond Screens, the group that pushed for LAUSD’s AI moratorium, as well as the district’s screen time limit. "Now Google is refusing to take no for an answer. … Schools Beyond Screens calls on district leaders to reclaim their authority from corporate interests and divest from Google."

The district’s ad hoc committee on generative AI is scheduled to have its next meeting on Nov. 13.