The Brief

For years, advocates for a more democratic Los Angeles have called for expanding the size of the City Council beyond the current 15 members.

The idea gained momentum in 2022, after the release of secretly recorded audio that came to be known as the City Hall tapes scandal. Two former and one current member of the council were caught engaging in a conversation that included racist and derogatory remarks.

Many proponents of council expansion hoped it would be placed on the November ballot, while the fervor for reform remained strong.

That’s not going to happen.

Council President Paul Krekorian, who created an Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Reform and promised to take up the issue, said last week that he plans to refer the idea of expanding the size of the panel to a yet-to-be-created charter commission.

The move would indefinitely delay any plan to increase the size of what many believe to be a council too small to represent a sprawling city of nearly 4 million people.

Advocates of the idea said increasing the size of the 15-member City Council would make the panel better reflect the diversity of L.A. and allow residents more access to council members. They pointed to New York, with its 51 council members and Chicago with 50.

The size of the L.A. council has remained the same for 100 years, even as the city has grown dramatically.

The ad hoc committee has had a year-and-a-half to consider the idea.

“This ongoing discussion will require more public input and analysis than can be completed in time for the November ballot,” Krekorian said in a statement to LAist.

The council would have had to act by early July to place any measure on the ballot.

Supporters of council expansion expressed disappointment at the delay.

“It's frustrating to see it get punted,” said David Levitus, who heads LA Forward, a group that works on strengthening democracy.

He cited a poll that showed two-thirds of Angelenos supported expansion, a possible shift in voter sentiment. In past decades, L.A. voters have turned down proposals on three previous occasions to increase the council size.

Jeremy Payne of Catalyst California, which advocates for racial justice, said the time was ripe for expansion.

“We are at a pivotal point following the audio leak, and I want to make sure we seize the opportunity for change,” he said in an interview. “Our council districts are too large for residents to feel truly represented.”

L.A. City Council members represent about 265,000 residents each, the largest local council districts in the country. In New York, each council member represents about 173,000 residents. In Chicago, council members are called aldermen and represent about 55,000 residents each.

Krekorian said he supports expanding the council to 23 members “in order to create greater responsiveness, more potential for inclusiveness, and reduced influence of political campaign funds.”

He has touted progress on other reforms in the wake of the tapes scandal, which involved three members of the City Council and a labor leader secretly discussing how to redraw the council’s district boundaries to maintain their own power. The conversation led to the resignations of Council President Nury Martinez and the head of the L.A. County Federation of Labor, Ron Herrera. Former Councilmember Gil Cedillo was voted out of office before the tapes were released.

The only participant in the conversation to have survived the scandal was Councilmember Kevin de León, who faces reelection in November. Earlier this month, Krekorian reinstated De León to his committee assignments after removing him in the wake of the scandal.

To address the type of backroom dealing that played out on the audio tapes, the council has placed on the November ballot a measure that would create an independent redistricting commission to draw City Council district boundaries, taking the decision out of the hands of the council itself.

Council members have been split on whether to increase the size of the government body, which would dilute their individual power.

“I’m just not convinced that more politicians makes for better government,” said Councilmember Traci Park, who represents an area that stretches from Venice to Brentwood.

“I have yet to see any evidence that constituents in city’s with larger councils are any more satisfied with their local elected representatives than our constituents in Los Angeles are with us,” she said.

She argued a bigger budget for her council office would help her improve services to constituents.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents the western San Fernando Valley, said of expansion: “You may have less ability to come to compromises.”

Still, he supports adding council members “to have more diversity.”

Levitus of LA Forward suspects opposition is more likely tied to the change in power council expansion would produce. “Expanding the council is going to mean each individual council member is less powerful and the council as a whole is less powerful in relation to the mayor,” he said.

Levitus’ group favors increasing the size of the council to 29.

He said “we need the threat that voters will do this themselves,” by gathering signatures to place a measure on the ballot.

The L.A. Governance Reform Project, a group of leading local scholars, has urged the council to place on the ballot a measure to expand its size and another that would increase the number of school board members at the L.A. Unified School District.

In a December report titled “Toward a Better Governed City of Los Angeles,” the group said the council should increase to 25 members, with 20 members elected by districts and five elected from regional seats that are larger than individual council seats.

It also recommended increasing the size of the LAUSD board from seven to 11 members.

Both would require changes to the city charter, which require a vote of the people.

Last week, the council asked the city attorney to draw up language for an ordinance that would create a charter reform commission, which the council president said was “the most appropriate place” to continue the discussion about expansion..

Krekorian has said new the commission would be able to ask the City Council to place both council and school board expansion on the ballot in 2026.

The ultimate decision for placing a measure on the ballot falls with the City Council.

“A Charter amendment for expanding the Council drafted by such a commission, rather than the Council itself, might well attract more public support, and I believe that approach now offers the best chance for achieving this important goal," he added.

The council also voted last week to place a series of ethics reforms on the ballot, including one that would triple the fines the Ethics Commission could impose on council members and others who violate city ethics rules, including campaign finance laws.

House Republicans rushed to approve legislation on Wednesday that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections, a long shot Trump administration priority that faces sharp blowback in the Senate.

The bill, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, would require Americans to prove they are citizens when they register to vote, mostly through a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate. It would also require a valid photo identification before voters can cast ballots, which some states already demand. It was approved on a mostly party-line vote, 218-213.

Republicans said the legislation is needed to prevent voter fraud, but Democrats warn it will disenfranchise millions of Americans by making it harder to vote. Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be U.S. citizens, but there's no requirement to provide documentary proof. Experts said voter fraud is extremely rare, and very few noncitizens ever slip through the cracks. Fewer than one in 10 Americans don't have paperwork proving they are citizens.

"Some of my colleagues will call this voter suppression or Jim Crow 2.0," said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., presenting the package at a committee hearing.

But he said "those allegations are false," and he argued the bill is needed to enforce existing laws, particularly those that bar immigrants who are not citizens from voting. "The current law is not strong enough," he said.

Election turmoil shadows the vote

The GOP's sudden push to change voting rules at the start of the midterm election season is raising red flags, particularly because President Donald Trump has suggested he wants to nationalize U.S. elections, which, under the Constitution, are designed to be run by individual states.

The Trump administration recently seized ballots in Georgia from the 2020 election, which the president insists he won despite his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. The Department of Justice is demanding voter rolls from states, including Michigan, where a federal judge this week dismissed the department's lawsuit seeking the voter files. Secretaries of state have raised concerns that voters' personal data may be shared with Homeland Security to verify citizenship and could result in people being unlawfully purged from the rolls.

"Let me be clear what this is about: It's about Republicans trying to rig the next election," said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, during a hearing ahead of the floor vote. "Republicans are pushing the Save America Act because they want fewer Americans to vote. It's that simple."

The legislation is actually a do-over of a similar bill the House approved last year, which also sought to clamp down on fraudulent voting, particularly among noncitizens. It won the support of four House Democrats, but stalled in the Republican-led Senate. Only one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, voted for the revised bill.

This version toughens some of the requirements further, while creating a process for those whose names may have changed, particularly during marriage, to provide the paperwork necessary and further attest to their identity.

It also requires states to share their voter information with the Department of Homeland Security, as a way to verify the citizenship of the names on the voter rolls. That has drawn pushback from elections officials as potentially intrusive on people's privacy.

Warnings from state election officials

The new rules in the bill would take effect immediately, if the bill is passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law.

But with primary elections getting underway next month, critics said the sudden shift would be difficult for state election officials to implement and potentially confuse voters.

Voting experts have warned that more than 20 million U.S. citizens of voting age do not have proof of their citizenship readily available. Almost half of Americans do not have a U.S. passport.

"Election Day is fast approaching," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new policies likely without the necessary resources."

The fight ahead in the Senate

In the Senate, where Republicans also have majority control, there does not appear to be enough support to push the bill past the chamber's filibuster rules, which largely require 60 votes to advance legislation.

That frustration has led some Republicans, led by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, to push for a process that would skip the 60-vote threshold in this case, and allow the bill to be debated through a so-called standing filibuster — a process that would open the door to potentially endless debate.

Lee made the case to GOP senators at a closed-door lunch this week, and some said afterward they are mulling the concept.

"I think most people's minds are open," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., "My mind's certainly open."

But Murkowski of Alaska said she is flat out against the legislation.

"Not only does the U.S. Constitution clearly provide states the authority to regulate the 'times, places, and manner' of holding federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington, D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska," she said.

Karen Brinson Bell of Advance Elections, a nonpartisan consulting firm, said the bill adds numerous requirements for state and local election officials with no additional funding.

"Election officials have a simple request of Congress — that you help share their burdens not add to them," she said.
Copyright 2026 NPR

This story was originally published by The LA Local on Feb. 11, 2026.

The Los Angeles Police Commission unanimously approved a $2.1 million donation on Tuesday to significantly expand its Drone as First Responder program, allowing the department to deploy dozens more drones to certain calls for service across the city.

Several commissioners raised concerns about how the footage and other data captured by the drones would be stored and secured.

“You hear drones and it’s a polarizing conversation,” Commissioner Jeffrey Skobin said. “Do we have full control of the data?”

“We are in complete control of that data,” Police Officer Darren Castro responded.

Several people who attended the meeting said during public comment that they feared the drones could be used by the department for unauthorized surveillance.

“It’s not just mission creep, it’s creepy,” one public commenter said.

Public trust in police has recently wavered as many have questioned how the LAPD is protecting residents amid widespread immigration sweeps. And scrutiny has recently intensified after reports of how police collect, use and share data.

The latest donation comes from the Los Angeles Police Foundation. LAPD contracted with drone manufacturer Skydio to purchase the drones and related software. Skydio also provided LAPD with a public website that allows residents to track drone flights.

“Skydio has no rights in this period for trial and moving forward to control those data captures and what goes into the cloud,” Castro said. “We have complete control and they have an extensive audit log of who goes in and any changes to those data captures.”

Castro said that drone pilots activate cameras only after an aircraft arrives at the scene of the call. Once a drone returns to its docking station, flight data — including video recordings — are automatically uploaded and sent directly to the department’s evidence database.

The department launched the Drone as First Responder pilot program in June 2025. As of Tuesday’s meeting, nine officers and two supervisors had been trained to operate the drones, with plans to train additional personnel.

Commander Bryan Lium, who presented an update on the pilot program, said the drones often arrived at scenes faster than patrol officers in vehicles. The aircraft is equipped with high-definition video and thermal imaging, allowing officers to assess whether people were armed or if other safety threats were present before officers arrived.

The department plans to install the docking stations at eight police facilities, as well as at Palisades Village, The Grove LA, Vineyards Porter Ranch and Avenue of the Stars. Lium said that those locations were selected because the program relied in part on $1.8 million in grant funding intended to curb retail theft and because the sites expanded the drone’s operational range.

Los Angeles Documenter, Martin Romero, contributed reporting for this story from the Feb. 10 Board of Police Commissioners meeting. The LA Documenters program trains and pays community members to document proceedings at public meetings. Learn more about the program here.

The woman who helped re-energize Olympic-level cross country skiing in the U.S. has done it again. Jessie Diggins, age 34, powered through the pain of injured ribs to capture a bronze medal on a bluebird day at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium.

Diggins crossed the finish line in third place the 10 kilometer interval start freestyle late, with a late, agonizing surge at the end. The pain and passion were visible on her face before she collapsed to the snow.

"I knew it was going to be a really painful day. I was excited to have the opportunity to race," she said in a press conference after the medal ceremony.

One of her teammates, Hailey Swirbul, was the first to reach Diggins. "She's so tough, she digs deep," Swirbul said. "I worked as an EMT last winter and I saw some people in pain for broken bones and Jessie looked comparable, but she's okay."

Hailey Swirbul of Team United States, Jessie Diggins of Team United States celebrate on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium on February 12, 2026 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

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Diggins injured her ribs when she crashed hard in her first race, a combined classic and freestyle "skiathlon." Speaking to reporters, she said an MRI showed that no ribs were broken. "There was blunt forced trauma. It's been hard to sleep," she said.

Swedish star skier Frida Karlsson took gold in dominant fashion, crossing the finish line 46 seconds ahead of of silver place finisher Ebba Andersson, also of Sweden. Diggins edged out fourth place finisher Astrid Oyre Slind of Norway by 3.3 seconds.

This was the third straight Olympics where Diggins medaled. At the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea, she and fellow U.S. skier Kikkan Randall snapped a decades-long medal drought by winning a gold medal in the team sprint freestyle. That was America's first-ever Olympic gold in the sport, and only the second ever, following Bill Koch's silver in Innsbruck in 1976. Four years later, Diggins won silver and bronze at the Beijing Olympics.

Speaking with NPR before the Olympics, Diggins talked about her ability to power through pain and fatigue.

"I've almost never failed to mentally find the will to dig for it," Diggins said. "Basically I ask myself one very simple question. 'How do I want to feel at the finish line?' I don't like living with regrets. I don't want to ever look back and think 'What if?"

Diggins is currently scheduled to compete in three more events during the Milan Cortina Games and said on Thursday she will continue to race despite her injury. She's announced that these will be her final Olympics and she will retire from competitive skiing this spring.

Gold medalist Frida Karlsson of Team Sweden, Silver medalist Ebba Andersson of Team Sweden and Bronze medalist Jessie Diggins of Team United States pose for a photo on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women's 10km Interval Start Free on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium on February 12, 2026 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

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Alex Slitz

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Copyright 2026 NPR

The immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota is ending, said Tom Homan, the border czar for President Donald Trump.

“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said. “A significant draw down has already been underway this week and will continue through the next week.”

Homan addressed reporters Thursday morning at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, the base for the ongoing federal immigration operation in Minnesota. It also houses a facility that the Department of Homeland Security has been using to detain people being held by ICE.

"A small footprint of personnel will remain for a period of time to close out and transition full command and control back to the field office,” Homan said. “I will also remain on the ground for a little longer to oversee the drawdown of this operation and ensure its success.”

“This surge operation and our work here with state and local officials to improve coordination and achieve mutual goals, as well as our efforts to address issues of concern here on the ground, have yielded the successful results we have came here for in the Twin Cities, Minnesota in general,” Homan said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was set to speak at a previously scheduled news conference later Thursday, to propose a federal surge response package to support Minnesota businesses affected by the immigration operation.

“The long road to recovery starts now,” Walz said on social media ahead of that news conference, reacting to Homan’s announcement. “The impact on our economy, our schools, and people’s lives won’t be reversed overnight. That work starts today.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also released a statement after Homan’s announcement: “They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation… This operation has been catastrophic for our neighbors and businesses, and now it’s time for a great comeback.”

Last week, Homan announced a drawdown of about a quarter of the immigration agents in the state, but that still left about 2,000 agents in Minnesota. Local elected officials have said they’re not seeing much change in their communities so far. Homan said there are normally about 150 federal officers in Minnesota.

Homan previously said that further reductions in the number of federal agents in Minnesota would come if state and local officials provide more assistance in transferring undocumented immigrants with criminal records from jail custody to federal authorities. He also said further drawdowns would be quicker if protesters stop “impeding and interfering” with federal agents.

Walz said earlier this week that recent conversations with White House officials had led him to believe the surge of federal immigration agents to the state could end soon. He said Minnesota is gearing up to move into the “recovery” phase following an end to the federal operation that’s gone on for more than two months.

MPR News editor Andrew Krueger and digital editor Anna Haecherl contributed to this story.

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