U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada announces charges against former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, who agreed to plead guilty and resign from his supervisor seat today.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Topline:
Federal officials called it "Robin Hood in reverse" in announcing that Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do had agreed to plead guilty to a bribery charge and will resign effective today.
Federal officials said Do and his family received more than $700,000 in bribes. Of the $9.3 million in COVID relief money directed by Do, United States Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said just 15% went for the purpose it was intended, feeding needy people during the pandemic.
The backstory: Last November, an LAist investigation uncovered millions of unaccounted for taxpayer dollars Supervisor Do directed to his daughter’s nonprofit without disclosing the family relationship. That story was the first of several investigative pieces examining what happened to the taxpayer funds. The practice of directing money to a group run by an elected official's adult daughter was not illegal at the time — but those laws are now changing under recently signed legislation introduced in response to LAist’s reporting on Do’s awarding of the funds.
Keep reading... for details about Do's plea deal, what federal investigators say happened and more on LAist's nearly yearlong investigation.
Andrew Do has resigned as Orange County supervisor and agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy to steal millions of dollars meant to feed needy seniors, following a months-long LAist investigation and federal probe.
The criminal charges and plea deal were announced Tuesday morning by U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada at a news conference in downtown Santa Ana. Out of $9.3 million in taxpayer dollars that were supposed to feed people, only 15% went to people in need, Estrada said.
“Mr. Do and his co-conspirators stole money from the poor,” said Estrada, who called the conspiracy “Robin Hood in reverse.”
Do agreed to plead guilty and signed a plea agreement to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and faces a possible five year prison term. He accepted over $550,000 in bribes for directing and voting in favor of more than $10 million in COVID funds to a charity affiliated with his daughter Rhiannon Do, according to aU.S. attorney's office news release.
In what that office described as a “package deal,” Rhiannon Do admitted to filing a falsified mortgage application that disguised her use of taxpayer dollars in the purchase of a house in Tustin. The deal calls for Rhiannon Do, a 23-year-old law student, to be placed on three years’ probation through a pretrial diversion program. Do admitted in his plea agreement that $381,500 in public funds were transferred to an escrow company and used by his daughter Rhiannon Do to purchase the home in Tustin for $1,035,000.
Through the investigation, Estrada said, investigators seized more than “$2.4 million in illicit proceeds generated in the scheme.” Andrew Do, he said, has agreed to forfeit his rights to any of that as well as “forfeit two properties, one in Santa Ana and one in Tustin, related to the scheme to purchase using proceeds from the scheme.”
Andrew Do will also forfeit his pension accrued from June 2020 when the scheme began.
O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do at the county Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 23, 2024.
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Nick Gerda
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LAist
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'Media reports' led to federal investigation
Estrada said the U.S. attorney’s office began their investigation when they saw media reports about how then-Supervisor Do had directed money to Viet America Society. LAist was the first to report on how Andrew Do directed the money to the nonprofit, without disclosing his familial ties. That report last November has been followed by a series of exclusive investigative pieces into alleged misuse of public funds in Orange County.
“We take action when we see those reports," Estrada said. "We brought our federal partners into the case to fully investigate, and we discovered this extensive and very troubling bribery."
Orange County DA Todd Spitzer echoed the seriousness of the findings.
The money “was literally stolen out of the mouths of our most vulnerable residents,” Spitzer said.
Spitzer said the charges marked the first time in 50 years that an O.C. supervisor faced criminal conviction.
Following the money: Credit card payments, property taxes
According to Spitzer, Rhiannon Do received around $8,000 a month in taxpayer money while Andrew Do’s other daughter, who was not named at the news conference, received over $100,000 funneled through COVID federal funds.
“The monies were used to pay off American Express cards, Mr. Do's American Express card, pay the property taxes of their home in Westminster and the home in North Tustin,” Spitzer said.
Spitzer was also sharply critical of the Orange County Board of Supervisors for allowing the allocation of tens of millions of dollars in COVID relief money to be distributed outside of public view. That lack of transparency, Spitzer said, allowed Andrew Do to "fill the pockets of insiders, himself and his loved ones — his family members” instead of helping the public.
"This was while Do was bragging about [providing] 2,700 meals a week, meanwhile the elderly were dying," Spitzer said.
Attorneys Paul S. Meyer and Craig Wilke, who represented former Anaheim Mayor Sidhu on federal corruption charges, are now representing Andrew Do.
Meyer said in the statement Tuesday: “Out of respect for the legal process, no statement is appropriate at this time. However, it is appropriate to convey Andrew Do’s sincere apology and deep sadness to his family, to his constituents in District One and to his colleagues.”
They previously said that the former supervisor looked "forward to a thorough and fair investigation.”
David Wiechert, an attorney for Rhiannon Do, reached Tuesday said they have no comment.
Andrew Do’s wife is O.C. Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham. Spitzer said she is entitled to a thorough investigation and she’s “entitled to a presumption of innocence.”
Chris Wangsaporn, chief of staff to O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do, at the O.C. Board of Supervisors meeting on Dec. 19, 2023.
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Nick Gerda / LAist
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“I can only say that there's an ongoing investigation with respect to Mr. Wangsaporn and his wife,” Spitzer said.
LAist reported earlier this month that Wangsaporn’s then-girlfriend, now wife, Josie Batres, was hired by a nonprofit, Mind OC, to carry out a $275,000 mental health contract funded by the county. County officials told LAist the county paid out the full contract, but none of the required work turned in to the county. Batres and Wangsaporn got married about one year into the two-year contract.
“This is like a spiderweb of involvement and so it's going to take time. We know a lot,” Spitzer said. “We obviously have a lot of documents, we've seized a lot of information from homes, we have a lot of electronic data that's being analyzed that we do not have all the results.”
Do submitted his resignation on Tuesday to O.C. Supervisors Board Chair Don Wagner, according to a county spokesperson who provided the resignation letter to LAist. Wagner will oversee District 1 duties until a new supervisor is elected in the upcoming elections, according to a county spokesperson.
LAist's investigation
The former supervisor's funding of Viet America Society — and the lack of answers about what happened with the funds — has been the focus of nearly a year of investigative articles by LAist.
Starting last November, LAist reporting uncovered millions of taxpayer dollars then-Supervisor Do directed to his daughter’s nonprofit without disclosing the family relationship, and that have gone unaccounted for.
In all, LAist’s investigation reported Andrew Do directed more than $13 million to the group using a process outside of public view, which was not illegal at the time. (Those laws are now changing, under recently signed legislation introduced in response to LAist’s reporting on Do’s awarding of the funds.)
LAist also revealed in December that the group failed to submit required audits showing whether the money was spent appropriately.
Read the U.S. Attorney's allegations
Read Andrew Do's plea agreement
Listen
Listen
38:22
Go deeper: The backstory on LAist's investigation
Antonia Cereijido, host of LAist's podcast Imperfect Paradise, talks with Nick Gerda about how his investigation into the alleged misuse of millions in public funds in Orange County began and where the reporting led him.
What do other supervisors say now?
In a joint statement, the four remaining board members reacted separately to their colleague's resignation and plea agreement.
Board Chairman Donald P. Wagner thanked federal investigators and added that the county's lawsuits remain active.
"The County remains committed to continuing its civil lawsuits in order to hold all responsible parties accountable and to recover misused public funds," Wagner said.
Supervisor Doug Chaffee called it "a troubling moment for our County. It's disheartening to witness a betrayal of public trust by someone in a position of responsibility. This highlights the critical need for ethical leadership. The Board remains dedicated to serving the people with integrity."
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento underscored that investigations must continue.
"The unsealing of the indictments demonstrates years of unethical and illegal acts that directly harmed the most vulnerable in our County," he said. "We must not discontinue the investigations until all parties involved are brought to justice, and the systemic problems that led to these abuses are reformed."
And Supervisor Katrina Foley expressed disgust at what she called "the staggering level of corruption, greed, and deception described in the unsealed federal indictment."
"Andrew Do and his associates carried out an overt scheme to enrich themselves off our hard-earned tax dollars, "Foley said. "Andrew Do must pay for his crimes. This Board is united in continuing to do the people's business of governing and moving forward from this dark day in Orange County."
The backstory
Law enforcement searched the Tustin home of Rhiannon Do, on Aug. 22, 2024.
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Jason Armond
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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FBI agents outside of Andrew Do and Cheri Pham's home in Orange County on Aug. 22, 2024.
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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
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LAist
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In August, federal agents searched homes owned by Andrew Do and his wife — Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham of O.C. Superior Court — and their daughter, Rhiannon Do. That same day, agents also searched a home owned by Viet America Society founder Peter Pham, a restaurant that received millions from VAS and another home associated with Peter Pham.
From left supervisors: Don Wagner, Doug Chafee, Andrew Do, Vicente Sarmiento and Katrina Foley.
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Yusra Farzan
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LAist
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For almost a decade, Do had been one of the most powerful government officials in Orange County. For years during his time on the Board of Supervisors, he’s had a key role in overseeing how billions of dollars in funding were spent to address homelessness and mental health.
He’d been one of the five elected county supervisors since winning a 2015 special election by a razor thin margin of 43 votes, and ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2022. Prior to resigning, Do already was termed out of office this December.
He was also one of the highest ranking Vietnamese American officials in Orange County, home to one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the United States.
The week before the federal searches in August, county officials sued the nonprofit Viet America Society (VAS) and its leaders, including Rhiannon Do — accusing them of an “illegal and fraudulent scheme” to divert federal COVID dollars then-Supervisor Do directed to the group. The nonprofit’s leaders also were accused by the county of using the money to purchase homes in Orange County and converting the taxpayer dollars to cash through “voluminous, unaccounted for” ATM withdrawals.
Andrew Do has not returned dozens of requests for comment from LAist since last November asking about his funding of his daughter’s group. In a Vietnamese-language radio broadcast in August, a few hours after the county sued his daughter, Do defended his family and Viet America Society from accusations of wrongdoing. He said the nonprofit was complying with the law, and that allegations otherwise are “slander.”
Rhiannon Do’s attorney, David Wiechert, previously told LAist she’s a "very honest, law-abiding, hardworking young woman" before declining to comment Tuesday.
"It’s our intention to demonstrate to the government the error of their ways if they think she’s done something wrong,” he said.
Judge Pham has previously declined to comment through the court’s spokesperson, citing a statewide ethics rule barring judges from commenting on cases or issues that are likely to come before the courts.
FBI agents carry material out of a home owned by Supervisor Andrew Do and his wife Orange County Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham during searches in August.
Two weeks later, all four of his colleagues voted to publicly condemn Supervisor Do with a censure. It cites “reckless judgment and favoritism he has demonstrated in directing millions of dollars” to “organizations with no proven track record,” while not disclosing his family ties.
Catch up on LAist’s investigation so far
In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist obtained and reported public records showing more than $13 million in public money that was approved to a little-known nonprofit that was led on and off by Rhiannon Do, the now 23-year-old daughter of former Supervisor Do.
Most of that money was directed to the group by Andrew Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties. The law at the time didn’t require it. Much of the known funding came from federal coronavirus relief money.
LAist also reported that VAS was two years overdue in completing a required audit into whether the meal funds were spent appropriately.
And LAist reported, based on county records we obtained, that the amount of taxpayer money directed to the nonprofit was much larger than what appeared on public agendas.. It totals at least $13.5 million in county funding — tallied from government records obtained and published by LAist.
After our reporting, O.C. officials wrote demand letters to the nonprofit saying millions in funding were unaccounted for. They warned it could be forced to repay the funds.
On Aug. 2, LAist reported O.C. officials were demanding the refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
Six days later, LAist reported Orange County officials had expanded demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars from the nonprofits and threatened legal action.
Then, on Aug. 19, LAist reported O.C. officials had announced a second lawsuit against Hand to Hand and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Andrew Do.
LAist broke the news on Aug. 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do's home in Tustin. Later that day, Andrew Do's home, and other properties, were also searched by the FBI and IRS.
On Sept. 10, the O.C. Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to remove then-Supervisor Do from his committee assignments, including his role as a board member for the Orange County Transportation Authority.
Do you have questions or know of something we should look into?
We are here to investigate abuse of power, misconduct and negligence in government, business, and any venue where the public is affected.
How to watchdog local government
One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.
Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.
An LAist investigation uncovered more than $13 million in public funds directed by Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do to Viet America Society (VAS) without disclosing his daughter was a leader at the nonprofit. County officials now allege that money was “brazenly plundered” for personal gain. Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido speaks with LAist correspondent Nick Gerda, who broke the story, about the ongoing investigation.
OC Supervisor Andrew Do to plead guilty to corruption charge following LAist investigation
An LAist investigation uncovered more than $13 million in public funds directed by Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do to Viet America Society (VAS) without disclosing his daughter was a leader at the nonprofit. County officials now allege that money was “brazenly plundered” for personal gain. Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido speaks with LAist correspondent Nick Gerda, who broke the story, about the ongoing investigation.
David Wagner
has covered news in Southern California for more than a decade.
Published February 16, 2026 3:42 PM
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents transfer an immigrant after an early morning raid in Duarte.
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Damian Dovarganes
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AP Photo
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Topline:
Following reports of local police assisting federal immigration agents with raids and detentions of citizen observers across Southern California, state lawmakers have introduced a bill seeking to outlaw such collaboration.
The details: State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) announced Monday that she has introduced SB 1105, dubbed the Protect California Rights Act. The bill would ban local law enforcement from helping federal agents with operations based on racial profiling, efforts to stop First Amendment speech or actions involving unauthorized military weapons.
Why proponents say it’s needed: At a news conference, Pérez said: “Californians deserve to feel safe. They deserve to trust that the officers sworn to protect them will not be used to intimidate them. And they deserve a state government that stands firmly on the side of civil rights and constitutional protections.”
How enforcement would work: The bill is co-sponsored by ACLU California Action. Executive Director David Trujillo said if the bill passes, Californians who’ve been subject to illegal activity by local law enforcement could take their case to court. “The courts will be able to then step in and order local law enforcement to comply with our laws here in California,” Trujillo said.
Community voices: The news conference featured speakers who have been detained by local police in incidents related to federal immigration actions. Jose Madera, director of the Pasadena Community Job Center, said he was arrested last month by Pasadena police while tracking the movements of an alleged ICE agent. “The perception of the community,” Madera said, “is that local police were protecting ICE agents and not protecting us, the residents, legal observers.”
White House position: The Trump Administration and top officials at the Department of Homeland Security have consistently pushed back on efforts to curtail their aggressive enforcement of immigration policies. White House border czar Tom Homan on Sunday, for example, rejected Democrats calls for ICE officers to stop wearing masks, saying that while he didn't "like the masks either" officers said they were needed to protect from doxxing.
Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman has died. The celebrated documentarian started making documentaries that captured the weirdness and wonder of everyday life in the mid 1960s and did not stop until2023.
About his career: The prolific, pioneering filmmaker made dozens of documentaries and chronicled the inner workings of institutions. His 1967 film, Titicut Follies, revealed appalling conditions at a prison facility.
Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman has died. The celebrated documentarian started making documentaries that captured the weirdness and wonder of everyday life in the mid 1960s and did not stop until2023.
Wiseman died Monday. His family issued a joint statement withZipporah Films. He was 96.
Making movies was always an adventure, Wiseman said in 2016, during a speech at the Academy Awards when he won an honorary Oscar.
"I usually know nothing about the subject before I start," he said at the black-tie ceremony. "And I know there are those that feel I know nothing about it when it's finished!"
Wiseman was extremely prolific. He made roughly 50 documentaries, many of which chronicled the inner workings of institutions as diverse as the Idaho state legislature (State Legislature, 2007), the New York Public Library (Ex Libris, 2017), and a high school in Philadelphia (High School, 1968).
"I wish I could be more like him," said Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris in an interview with NPR about Wiseman before the elder filmmaker died.
Morris said Wiseman's super-charged yet subtle way of interpreting everyday life had more in common with the Theater of the Absurd than documentary filmmaking. (Indeed, Wiseman also had a career as a theater director in the U.S. and Europe, helming plays by the likes of Samuel Beckett and Luigi Pirandello.)
"He has a way of finding in reality some of the most surreal, absurd moments that I've ever seen anywhere," Morris said.
By way of example, Morris points to a scene in Wiseman's 1993 documentary Zoo, in which an all-women surgical team at Miami zoo castrates a wolf.
"And it seems like the entire scene is populated by women except for the janitor standing by the exit door, looking nervously on with his hands folded over his crotch," Morris said. "To me, this is really almost as good as it gets."
Morris added Wiseman was a mentor to him and a close friend. After Morris lost both his father and brother to heart disease, and was worried about his own fate, the filmmaker said Wiseman organized medical help for him. "I can even credit Fred with saving my life," Morris said.
Frederick Wiseman was born in Boston in 1930. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and living in Paris during the 1950s, he taught law at Boston University.
Frederick Wiseman poses with his Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival in August 2014.
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Pascal Le Segretain
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Getty Images
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It was taking his students on field trips to Bridgewater State Hospital, a Massachusetts prison facility for the criminally insane, that compelled the then law professor to direct his first, and most famous, film. Made in 1967, Titicut Follies gets its title from a stage show put on by the inmates at the institution.
After its seemingly benign opening, the movie captures the appalling conditions under which the inmates are kept, with unblinking scenes of bullying, force feeding, strip searches and squalor.
Titicut Follies was so shocking, the state of Massachusetts managed to get it banned from public screenings for more than two decades.
"In order for anyone to see that film, for years you had to sign a declaration saying that you were a professional in one of the following fields, like criminology, law or film studies," said film scholar Barry Keith Grant, author ofVoyages of Discovery: The Cinema of Frederick Wiseman.
Still, Grant said the movie sealed Wiseman's future.
"It gave him a lot of notoriety and it helped establish his career," Grant said.
Over the years, Wiseman became known for his meticulous, hands-on process. He directed, produced and edited his movies. In a 2014 interview with NPR, the filmmaker described making National Gallery, his documentary about the famed London art museum.
"I was there for three months, every day for twelve weeks, probably twelve, fourteen hours a day," Wiseman said of the shoot, adding he amassed 170 hours of footage. "So the ratio between film shot and film used is about 60 to one."
Wiseman's films were also known for their prodigious length, running for as long as six hours. "I don't tailor the length to meet any commercial needs," Wiseman said. "I assume if people are interested, they'll watch it, whether it's 75 minutes or three hours."
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Conditions in Southern California Monday, Feb. 15, as heavy storms hit the state.
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Courtesy CIRA
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Topline:
A series of severe weather advisories ranging from extreme marine conditions to severe thunderstorms and the possibility of hail and weather spouts have peppered Southern California on Monday.
Where things stand: The wet start to the week is expected to continue, with concerns high about possible mudslides and debris flows in areas hard hit by recent fires.
Keep reading... for details on current conditions and the forecast.
This story will be updated. Check back for details.
A series of severe weather advisories — ranging from extreme marine conditions to severe thunderstorms and the possibility of hail and water spouts — have peppered Southern California on Monday. The wet start to the week is expected to continue, with concerns about possible mudslides and debris flows in areas hard hit by recent fires.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass issued an evacuation warning for the Palisades, Sunset and Hurst burn scar areas ahead of the rain Monday. That warning went into effect at 9 p.m. on Sunday and will be in place until 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
Most of L.A. County is under a flood watch as a powerful rainstorm hits the region, that's in effect until midnight Monday. Areas that include much of Central and Southern L.A. County are additionally under a flash flood warning until 2 p.m. Monday. That's due to an observed rainfall rate that's between 0.5 to 0.75 inches in 15 minutes.
Some mountain communities are also under a winter storm warning through Thursday where up to a foot or two of snow is possible for elevations above 6,000 feet.
Forecasters are also warning that it's going to be windy along mountain passes where gusts could reach up to 70 mph Monday afternoon.
Rainfall totals
Weather forecast this week for Southern California.
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Courtesy NWS
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Widespread rain began to fall on Southern California overnight, as of 11 a.m. Monday here are preliminary rainfall totals over the last 24 hours, reported by the National Weather Service:
Agoura: 1.66 inches
Bel Air: .78 inches
Canoga Park: 1.25 inches
Downtown L.A. .11 inches
Eaton Dam: .50 inches
Evacuations and closures
We will update as needed.
According to the National Weather Service, locations that will experience flash flooding include Monday afternoon: Long Beach, West Covina, Glendora, San Dimas, Pomona, Whittier, La Verne, Covina, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Diamond Bar, Hacienda Heights, Monrovia, Claremont, Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk, Cerritos, Artesia, Bellflower and Walnut.
Traffic conditions
Rancho Palos Verdes
As of Monday afternoon: Rancho Palos Verdes Drive South is closed in both directions from Wayfarers Chapel to Peppertree Drive due to flooding. Please use an alternate route if you must drive at this time. It is unknown when the road will reopen.
San Fernando Valley
As of Monday afternoon: The 5 Freeway north is closed in Sun Valley from Tuxford Street and Lankershim Boulevard because of flooding.
Orange County
As of Monday afternoon: All lanes Northbound and Southbound at PCH from Seapoint Street to Warner Avenue are closed until further notice.
Meteorologists for the National Weather Service have warned that a powerful storm system will move through the region Monday "bringing the potential for severe thunderstorms, burn-scar debris flows, flash flooding with rock and mud slides, damaging winds, heavy mountain snow, and high surf with coastal flooding."
They say Southern Californians should expect "cold and blustery conditions with periodic rain" through "at least the middle of the week."
The expected rainfall is significant enough that they're warning people near vulnerable areas, which include recent burn scars from last January's fires and other recent fires, to take precautions immediately and be ready to leave if evacuation orders are issued.
Severe weather could include:
Small tornadoes
60 mph or higher winds
Rainfall rates that hit 1 inch per hour or more
Understanding National Weather Service warnings
Here’s an excerpt from our guide to understanding flood warnings, if any are issued:
Flood advisories are how the NWS begins to raise the alarm. The goal is to give people enough time to take action.
Flood watches are your indicators to get prepared to move.
Aflood warning is issued when a hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. When one is issued for your area, you need to get to higher ground immediately.
A flash flood warning is issued when a flash flood is coming or in progress. Flash floods are sudden and violent floods that can start within minutes.
If you're in L.A. County and need sand bags, you can find some at local fire houses.
Staying safe when the winds are high
Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops.
Make sure you have a battery-operated radio and flashlights. Check the batteries to make sure they are fresh. Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage; do not use candles because they may pose a fire hazard.
If you’re in a vehicle with a fallen power line on it, stay in the vehicle and remain calm until help arrives. It is OK to use your cellphone to call 911. If you must leave the vehicle, exit away from downed power lines and jump from the vehicle, landing with both feet together. You must not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Then proceed away from the vehicle by shuffling and not picking up your feet until you are several yards away.
Water and electricity don’t mix. Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Do not step in or enter any water that a downed power line may be touching.
Do not use any equipment indoors that is designed for outdoor heating or cooking. Such equipment can emit carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into it, using a heavy-duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair crews.
Leave the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed to keep food as fresh as possible. Place blocks of ice inside to help keep food cold. Check food carefully for signs of spoilage.
Check on your neighbors to make sure everyone is safe.
Tips on staying warm
State law requires residential units to have heating systems that can keep indoor temperatures at a minimum of 70 degrees. That means every dwelling unit and guest room offered for rent or lease should offer heating equipment.
Use heat smartly to save money: Cranking heaters can be expensive. If money is tight, be judicious about how and when you use your utilities. For example, only use heaters at night or only set the thermostat to around 70 degrees.
Open and close those vents: If you have central A/C, look at where the vents are around your home. Are any open in places where you don’t stay long? Practice opening and closing those so warm air only goes where you need it (most vents should have a small toggle lever). Humidifiers can also help you warm things up — and it’s useful to add moisture into our dry air.
Adjust your wall heaters: If you have a wall heater, you can change the output by adjusting the knob (usually at the bottom). Since wall heaters can only warm the areas where they’re placed, it’s essential to close doors to rooms you won’t be in so hot air doesn’t get wasted.
Turn on your ceiling fan (really): If you have a ceiling fan, try turning it on. This sounds counterintuitive, but there’s science behind it. Since hot air floats up, your fan can help move it around. For warming, your fan should spin clockwise to create an updraft. Not all fans will have this option.
This is a developing story. We fact check everything and rely only on information from credible sources (think fire, police, government officials and reporters on the ground). Sometimes, however, we make mistakes or initial reports turn out to be wrong. In all cases, we strive to bring you the most accurate information in real time and will update this story as new information becomes available.
Robert Duvall, who brought a wide range of characters to life, from tough Marines to wistful, tender-hearted cowboys over a long career, has died at 95.
His career: Duvall appeared in over 90 films over the course of his career, imbuing stock Hollywood types — cowboys, cops, soldiers — with a nuanced sense of vulnerability.
What we know about his death: Duvall died on Sunday. His wife Luciana posted on Facebook on Monday, "Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort."
Over his long career, Robert Duvall brought a wide range of characters to life, from tough Marines to wistful, tender-hearted cowboys.
Duvall died on Sunday. His wife Luciana posted on Facebook on Monday, "Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort."
He was 95 years old.
In his first major movie role, in 1962, Robert Duvall appeared in only a handful of scenes. He didn't have a single word of dialogue. Yet the actor managed to make an indelible, star-making impression. The film was To Kill a Mockingbird. The role was Boo Radley.
Boo is the small town's recluse; he spends the movie as little more than a mysterious shape, cloaked in shadows. But in the film's final moments, he steps out nervously, into the light.
Duvall's features soften, he smiles slightly — and the menacing presence of Boo Radley transforms before our eyes into a figure radiating kindness and concern. The pure, elegantly nuanced physicality of that moment launched his career.
"I was at a small college in the Midwest," he said. "It was the end of the Korean war. I did go in the army eventually but [only] to get through college, to find something that would give me a sense of worth, where I got my first 'A'. It was my parents I had to thank for that."
As a young actor, he ended up in New York City, where he palled around with Gene Hackman, James Caan and his roommate Dustin Hoffman. It was over many coffees and conversations with them at Cromwell's Drug Store on 50th and 6th Avenue that he struck upon his personal philosophy of acting. His approach was direct and unpretentious, as he explained to the TV series Oprah's Masterclass in 2015: "Basically just talk and listen, and keep it simple. And however it goes, it goes."
After Mockingbird, his parts grew bigger: Films like Bullitt, True Grit, and M*A*S*H, in which he originated the role of the uptight Major Frank Burns.
But it was his role in 1972's The Godfather, as Tom Hagen, the Corleone family lawyer, that changed everything. Amid the film's operatic swirl of emotion, Tom Hagen was an island of calmness and restraint, so it might seem odd that Duvall often said it was one of his favorite roles of his career.
But his strength as an actor was always how unforced he seemed, how true. Others around him emoted, showily and outwardly — he always directed his energy inward, to find a character's heart. This was true even when he played roles with a harder edge.
In two films that came out in 1979 — The Great Santini and Apocalypse Now, both of which earned him Oscar nominations — Duvall played military men. In Santini, he was a bluff, belligerent Marine who bullied his sensitive son in an attempt to harden him into a man.
In Francis Ford Coppola's epically trippy Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now, Duvall was all charismatic swagger as Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore, who calls down an airstrike and delivers one of the most quotable lines in film history: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning. ... It smells like ... victory."
As he told Terry Gross on Fresh Air in 1996, the words followed him for the rest of his life.
"Yeah, that was a wonderful line," he said. "People come up to me and quote it to me like it's this in thing between me and them. Like they're the only ones who ever thought of it, but it happens with everyone in the same way."
He finally won the Oscar for 1983's Tender Mercies. He played a recovering alcoholic country singer trying to start his life over. Duvall did his own singing in that film.
He directed 1997's The Apostle, which he also wrote, produced and starred in, as an evangelical preacher on the outs with God. It earned him his fifth Oscar nomination for acting.
Over the course of an acting career that spanned decades, Duvall appeared in over 90 films. He took traditional, old Hollywood archetypes of masculinity — soldiers, cops and cowboys — and imbued them with notes of melancholy, a vulnerability that made them come alive onscreen.
