The Brief

As the Palisades Fire roared to life a year ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was nowhere to be found in the city.

She was on a diplomatic trip to Ghana, the guest of the Biden Administration, when the wind-whipped flames swept into the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2025. After her return to Los Angeles the next day, she stared stone faced and silent when a reporter from the British outlet Sky News quizzed her at LAX about why she had left the city amid warnings of historic winds and fire danger.

Later, she said the fire chief, whom she terminated six weeks after the fire, did not properly warn her of the impending extreme and dangerous conditions. Bass later called it a “mistake” to have left the city.

From day one of the Palisades Fire, which burned nearly 7,000 homes and killed 12 people, Bass has been under intense scrutiny for her response to the disaster.

And it will likely be a big issue in her reelection campaign this year.

The mayor is politically vulnerable when it comes to fire response, said Fernando Guerra, who directs the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.

“The fires are the major issue in this election,” Guerra said.

Among the criticisms: The mayor introduced a plan to waive new building permit fees for Palisades residents, an effort to help fast-track rebuilding, but it is languishing in the City Council. Some residents say the rebuilding process has gone too slow and blame the mayor.

Additionally, The Los Angeles Times reported last month that an after-action report by the L.A. Fire Department, which the mayor oversees, was toned down to avoid being too critical of the agency’s response. The Times reviewed multiple drafts of the report and learned that the revisions amounted to “an effort to downplay the failures of city and LAFD leadership.”

The fumbles have left many in the Palisades frustrated. Some in the Palisades have called on her to resign.

Larry Vein of Pali Strong, a fire survivors group, acknowledges the anger some in the Palisades have expressed toward Bass, but he is careful about criticizing the mayor.

“I have a saying which is I don’t do politics, I do Palisades,” he said. “ But “certainly mistakes were made.”

“As of today, there is a lot of anger and there is a lot of upset at the mayor, thinking that she should have done more,” he continued. “She has been making strides with trying to get the rebuild done, but there have been the standard hurdles that happen in any bureaucracy.”

The mayor has defended her administration’s response to the fire, saying debris cleanup and the issuing of permits to rebuild have happened at “lightning speed” and that thousands of people have used the city’s one-stop centers that provide relief. She has urged banks to extend forbearance of mortgage payments to residents who lost their homes, and banned projects that split lots zoned for single-family homes — an effort to retain community character in the Palisades.

In an interview with LAist, Bass acknowledged the criticism.

“You certainly have Palisadians who say that it's going too slow. But it's going too slow for a variety of reasons,” she said. “It might be financial, it might be insurance. If it's the city process — and it might be — and we find out about it, we jump on it and move whatever obstacle that’s in the way out of the way.

“We have a long ways to go, but I am hoping that progress will even speed up more, and more homes will be under construction,” Bass said.

Fire Department report criticized

Much the criticism has focused on the fire department, which Bass oversees.

The Times has reported the department downplayed some of the problems in the response, including the agency’s failure to fully extinguish the Lachman Fire a week before the Palisades Fire. It is believed that high winds reignited the Lachman Fire and caused the Palisades Fire.

“There was an effort to minimize errors in judgment that were made,” City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez told LAist.

Maryam Zar, founder of the Palisades Recovery Coalition, echoed the sentiment.

“The lack of accountability, the lack of ability to say, ‘Hey Pacific Palisades we really got this wrong’...that leads to this community’s inability to let go,” Zar added.

Bass wouldn’t say if there was a cover-up by the fire department. She said another report ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom is due out later this month.

“That is an independent report,” she said. “ It had nothing to do with the Fire Department. And you can judge at that point.”

According to the Mayor’s Office, more than 1,400 construction permits have been issued for more than 680 addresses in the Palisades as of this week. At least 417 projects are confirmed to have started construction

The office says Palisades rebuilding plans are being approved in half the time compared to single-family home projects citywide before the wildfires.

In April, Bass introduced a proposal to waive construction permit fees for people who wanted to rebuild in the Palisades. But the proposal needs approval from the City Council, which has delayed any action citing concerns about the effect it would have on the cash-strapped city.

The cost will run into the tens of millions of dollars. The council approved a $13 billion budget in June that included little wiggle room for additional spending.

The council is scheduled to take up the issue again this month.

Some blame Bass for not pushing the council hard enough.

“We think she’s lost that sense of urgency — that this is an important part of L.A. city that has burned down and been completely devastated,” said Zar, from the Palisades Recovery Coalition.

Vein, from the fire survivors group, said knowing whether the city will waive potentially tens of thousands of dollars in permit fees per home is important because many residents are still on the fence about whether to rebuild.

And the delays have been frustrating to many.

“A year later, we’re still waiting on permit fee waivers,” said Jessica Rogers, vice chair of the Palisades Long Term Recovery Group.

Back to square one

The city also still has no overall plan to rebuild city infrastructure. The mayor hired one firm to develop a plan then switched to another, AECOM, which is conducting listening sessions with residents, according to Zar.

“We think there’s been enough of a listening tour and too little output,” said Zar. “Over and over again we feel like we’re back to square one.”

Rodriguez said it's important to move things faster for the residents of the Palisades.

“With every false start, you’re delaying a plan for the families that were affected to be able to recover,” the council member said.

At the same time, Zar said she thinks some of the criticism of the mayor has been overblown. Zar said she isn’t convinced it’s such a big deal that Bass was out of town the day the fire started.

“The mayor being in town would not have meant that she would have shown up with a hose in her hand,” she said.

Some in the Palisades say any mayor would have struggled to respond to such a large-scale wildfire.

“For a disaster of our size, it would be hard for anybody to do a very good job at assisting with recovery,” Rogers said.

Bass faces reelection bid

Bass announced her reelection bid Dec.13, touting on her website that L.A.’s fire cleanup was the fastest in U.S. history.

Former Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent and investment banker Austin Beutner is among those challenging her. He’s also a Palisades resident whose home was badly damaged by smoke.

“She keeps announcing recovery strategies only for them to get bogged down in details or abandoned altogether,” Beutner said.

Guerra, from Loyola Marymount, said many voters perceived that Bass had “underperformed” during and after the fires.

“I think we’re picking that up not only in the public narrative but also in public opinion polls,” he said.

According to a UCLA/Luskin School Quality of Life Index survey conducted in February and March of last year, her total unfavorable rating was 49% compared to 23% during her first year in office.

Still, she commands a strong coalition that includes labor unions and business groups like the Valley Industry Commerce Association, said Guerra. He predicted Bass would “probably win in the June primary.”

Guerra said Bass will be tough to topple, despite her missteps on fire recovery.

One of the outstanding questions is whether billionaire businessman Rick Caruso will enter the race. Caruso, who ran against Bass in 2022, has been a sharp critic of the mayor’s recovery response.

He spent more than $100 million trying to defeat Bass the first time.

Caruso won’t say whether he plans to mount a challenge to Bass.

The filing deadline is Feb. 7.

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.

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

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

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.