The Brief

Self-driving cars seem to be taking over the streets of Los Angeles as Waymo continues to expand throughout the county, including in Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Culver City.

More than 150,000 people signed up for the waitlist this past March for a chance to catch one of the autonomous rides, according to Waymo. The app is still invite only, so you’ll need to secure a special code from the company to cut in line. Otherwise, you’ll be notified when they’re ready to welcome new riders.

According to Waymo, the cars have more than 20 billion miles of simulated driving experience, using detailed custom maps and its advanced suite of sensors to get you to your destination. But there are reports noting the self-driving cars sometimes run into issues with unprotected left turns and rain-soaked roads.

The current Waymo operating area as of September 5, 2024.

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Screenshot from Waymo website

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So is the unique, futuristic concept all it's cracked up to be? Well, my colleague Kevin Tidmarsh and I put it to the test — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The set-up

We teamed up to go roundtrip from downtown L.A. to Koreatown using Waymo. The idea was to give the cars relatively challenging routes full of potential obstacles — one-way streets, unprotected lefts and all, right during rush hour.

The first ride was called shortly after 3 p.m. on a Friday from South Spring Street to Hobart Boulevard. The Waymo took about 17 minutes to arrive and cost us just under $20. That was about the same price as other rideshare options, but a much longer wait.

We jumped in the second ride back to downtown shortly after 4 p.m. This one took five minutes to arrive, mostly because it was the exact same car, and also cost us about $20. That was about $6 cheaper than Uber or Lyft.

The positives

Both the pick-ups and drop-offs were convenient. We were able to find the cars, and the cars were able to find us — in public parking lots that were mostly empty. For our first ride, that meant we had to walk a bit farther than originally intended, but the car accounted for the distance and gave us a few extra minutes to get there.

The door handles are only accessible after you hit an unlock button in the app, which can be a bit confusing for first-time riders, but is helpful from a safety standpoint.

Now, the car was quite nice. It was spotless, there were two easily accessible charging ports, a pair of screens in the back and front, as well as several curated playlists to choose from for the roughly 15 minute ride.

Waymo uses a fleet of Jaguar electric cars, so yes, compared to my hand-me-down Honda CR-V, it’s a big upgrade.

As you approach your Waymo for a ride, your initials are displayed on the rotating object on top of the car.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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A robotic voice welcomed us as we slid in the seats, and Kevin, my partner in crime, said it “smells like a Macy’s.” The crisp, clean, and noticeably inoffensive business casual clothes section though, not the mid-priced perfume department.

While the driving wasn’t always so smooth (we’ll get to this, trust me) there were a few notable positives.

The Waymo always used its blinker, which is better than some drivers in the city.

It also stopped slowly and gently at most stop lights, leaving an appropriate amount of space between us and the crosswalk.

The screens mapped every single vehicle, scooter, bike, and person in the car’s immediate vicinity, tracking them like little video game characters so we knew what was going on around us.

It was very responsive to obstacles, almost too responsive, and it would regularly readjust the wheel to avoid anything even remotely in our way, making for an occasionally rough ride.

The negatives

The car was comfortable, but the driving didn’t start out strong. Let’s just say it did things the DMV wouldn’t want a human driver to do.

As we were leaving the downtown L.A. area, we almost immediately ran a stop light. To the car’s credit, it was yellow when we entered the intersection, but it clearly didn’t intend to slow down or stop. It also didn’t speed up from our consistent 25 mph cruise to try and beat the yellow.

“It was, like, barely legal, if it was legal,” Kevin said as we passed.

“That definitely felt ticket worthy,” I replied.

Kevin Tidmarsh taps the "start ride" button in a self-driving Waymo car in Koreatown on Friday, August 30.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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While Waymo did use its blinker, we noticed that it sometimes was signaling in the wrong direction. The car also seemed to prefer to change lanes in the middle of an intersection, which isn’t illegal, but also isn’t recommended.

It regularly drove in dedicated bus lanes and struggled to respond to someone attempting to parallel park, inching closer and closer to the car while they tried to reverse into the spot. It also casually drove down the middle of two lanes at one point.

Again, the car was responsive to potential obstacles, which meant we had some jarring and sudden stops along the way. If a pedestrian stepped into the street on the opposite end of traffic, or a mail delivery vehicle was parked slightly in the lane, the Waymo seemed to slam on the brakes.

And it did feel a little strange to be in the backseat of a car that so many people were staring at. We got enthusiastic waves from small children and many lingering looks from people around us. But we’ll never really know whether they were annoyed with, or amused by, the self-driving set-up.

A driver looks at a Waymo autonomous self-driving Jaguar driving along a street near Venice Beach on March 14, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

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Mario Tama

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Getty Images North America

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Final thoughts

Overall, although the driving was occasionally questionable, it did feel safe.

Neither of us felt completely at ease during the first trip, analyzing the Waymo’s every move for signs of trouble.

“I’m watching every car that passes with bated breath, just like how is it going to handle it,” Kevin said. “To be honest, sometimes it handles it well, sometimes it doesn’t.”

“I’m watching more intently than I would if it was a human driver,” I said. “Part of it is curiosity, but part of it is [being] scared.”

What the Waymo screens show when you're taking a ride, including a detailed map of every vehicle, person, bike, and scooter around you.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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But we calmed down by the second round, at least enough to enjoy a Sabrina Carpenter song on the pop preset station (the driverless cars are great for karaoke with EDM, Disney hits, and Bollywood stations — here’s an idea for another late-night talk show segment).

Our verdict: We’d consider calling one of the self-driving cars if we weren’t in a rush to get home and they continued to be a cheaper option. But a share of your payment (plus tips) won’t be going to human drivers, as with most ride-hailing apps.

“There were a couple points that were a little bit hairy,” Kevin said. “There were some decisions it made that I wouldn’t have made as a driver … but there were lots of parts of the experience that definitely did make me feel comfortable.”

However, there’s a notable knock against the service now — Waymo doesn’t have as many cars on the road as other rideshare options, and its routes are limited to nearly 80 square miles of L.A. County.

At least we know our fears were mostly unfounded, Waymo can handle one-way streets or unprotected left turns pretty dang well.

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.