At least 10 dead, 180,000 forced to flee their homes as L.A. wildfires rage
Clarissa-Jan Lim – January 10, 2025
Aaron Lubeley hugs a family member and cries while viewing the remains of his home burned in the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county on Jan. 9, 2025.
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A series of wildfires have sparked since Tuesday because of extreme dry conditions and powerful Santa Ana winds. Three of the biggest blazes — the Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire and the Hurst Fire — have destroyed a total of 33,700 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
Officials have said the true death toll remains unknown, as the L.A. County medical examiner’s office said Thursday night that at least 10 people have died in the fires.
Here are the latest numbers from Cal Fire:
The Palisades Fire has consumed more than 20,000 acres and damaged almost 5,300 structures, L.A. officials said in updates Thursday evening. It is 8% contained. City Fire Chief Kristin M. Crowley has called it “one of the most destructive fires in the history of Los Angeles.”
The Eaton Fire has burned through 13,690 acres and is 3% contained. L.A. County Fire Chief Deputy Jon O’Brien said more than 5,000 structures are estimated to have been destroyed.
The Hurst Fire has destroyed 771 acres and is 37% contained.
Further north, the Lidia Fire, near Acton, has swept through 394 acres and is 75% contained.
The Kenneth Fire, which began Thursday afternoon in the Woodland Hills area near Calabasas, has burned through 960 acres so far. It is 35% contained.
The National Weather Service has said that critical fire weather conditions will continue through Friday morning. The Santa Ana winds is expected to recede later Friday and into Saturday and to pick back up on Sunday through mid-week.
A tale of two presidents: How L.A. fires show the difference between Biden and Trump
Taryn Luna, Liam Dillon, Alex Wigglesworth – January 8, 2025
President Biden, Gov. Gavin Newsom, middle, and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla attend a briefing in Santa Monica on the L.A. County fires on Jan. 8, 2025. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
As communities across Los Angeles County burned Wednesday in a spate of wildfires, the crisis highlighted the stark difference between the incoming and outgoing presidents and their relationships with California.
President Biden stood next to Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fellow Democrat, at a fire station in Santa Monica and pledged to provide full federal support to the state.
“We’re prepared to do anything and everything for as long as it takes to contain these fires,” Biden said.
Hours earlier, Republican President-elect Donald Trump, just days away from being sworn in on Jan. 20, blamed “Newscum and his Los Angeles crew” for the unfolding calamity.
In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump said the Democratic governor “refused to sign a water restoration declaration,” which he alleged would have allowed millions of gallons of rain and snowmelt to flow south to the areas on fire.
“Now the ultimate price is being paid,” Trump wrote. “I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!”
The morning missive from the president-elect, as communities burned and thousands of people fled their homes, echoed his prior threats to withhold wildfire funding if Newsom declined to go along with Trump’s water policy for California. Water experts have said, however, that Trump’s water proposals probably will encounter substantial obstacles, and that his claims attempting to link water deliveries to the firefighting response were inaccurate.
Though Newsom praised Trump during his first term for approving federal disaster funding for wildfires, the governor has since said he had to “kiss the ring” to convince Trump to help.
Newsom has commended Biden for not playing political games during disasters.
“It’s impossible for me to express the level of appreciation and cooperation we’ve received from the White House and this administration,” Newsom said in Santa Monica on Wednesday.
California is grateful to @POTUS & his Administration's support fighting the LA wildfires.
Presidents have wide discretion when it comes to disaster aid, which could be in jeopardy in the future if Trump follows through with his threats after his inauguration.
California and other states receive most federal wildfire aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including direct payments and services to homeowners and renters whose properties were damaged, and public assistance for things such as search-and-rescue teams, debris removal and infrastructure repair.
States need to show that an incident is of such a severity and magnitude that a response is beyond the state’s capability in order to qualify. The governor must request, and the president must declare, a major disaster and then approve any aid the governor requests.
FEMA decides whether a federal disaster declaration is warranted and issues a recommendation to the president. In the past, presidents have followed that recommendation, but there’s nothing in the law that requires them to do so.
Trump initially refused to approve federal aid to California for wildfires in 2018 until a National Security Council staffer showed him that Orange County had a dense concentration of voters who supported him, according to Politico.
State Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat who lives and grew up in Santa Monica, attended Wednesday’s briefing with the president and governor. Allen said it was obvious from Newsom’s remarks since the fires began that the governor was worried about federal support for disasters under the Trump administration. Allen said Biden’s response was remarkably quick and thorough. But he said he couldn’t imagine that Trump would ignore Californians in any time of need.
“I have every expectation that the new administration will assist fellow Americans in moments of vulnerability,” Allen said. “That’s what every White House has done, whether Democrat or Republican, throughout history. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t continue to provide the same level of assistance and service that previous presidents have.”
Despite Trump’s feisty rhetoric, he did travel to California as president to survey fire damage and meet with Newsom. Trump toured Paradise in 2018 in the aftermath of the state’s deadliest wildfire. And he met with Newsom in Sacramento after a spate of wildfires in 2020.
Newsom and Trump traded blows on social media, in the news media and in the courts during the president-elect’s first term, but remained cordial in texts, calls and even in person. But that relationship appears to have soured during Biden’s presidency.
Newsom has said Trump did not return a call he made in November to congratulate the incoming president on winning the election. An aide to Newsom said the two men have still not spoken.
The president-elect continued to blame Newsom on Truth Social for the blazes on Wednesday: “As of this moment, Gavin Newscum and his Los Angeles crew have contained exactly ZERO percent of the fire. It is burning at levels that even surpass last night. This is not government.”
Trump also took shots at Biden.
“NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA,” he posted. “THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!”
Peter Gleick, a hydroclimatologist and senior fellow of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, said Trump’s comments attempting to link California water policy with the water-supply problems facing firefighters in Southern California were “blatantly false, irresponsible and politically self-serving.”
“There is no water shortage in Southern California — the state’s reservoirs are all at, or above, levels normally expected for this time of year. The problem with water supply for the fires is entirely the result of the massive immediate demands for firefighting water, broken or damaged pipes and pumps, and homeowners leaving hoses and sprinklers running in hopes of saving property.”
Staff writer Ian James contributed to this report.
So you can imagine my delight when my hero, President-elect Trump, gave a news conference Tuesday and strongly addressed those crucial subjects, along with other things that matter deeply to REAL AMERICANS like me, including shower water pressure and making Canada part of the United States.
I voted for Trump for 1 reason: American invasion of Greenland
President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 7, 2025.
Refusing to rule out using the military to take control of Greenland, Trump, who I voted for because I knew he would keep us out of wars, said: “Well, we need Greenland for national security purposes. … People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up.”
YES! I was predominantly a one-issue voter, and that issue was the exorbitant cost of seal meat. By threatening our ally Denmark and using military force if necessary, the Trump administration can proudly claim Greenland as a U.S. territory, dramatically lowering the cost of seal meat for American consumers like myself. That will allow me and my fellow MAGA supporters to affordably make Suaasat, a Greenlandic soup, AS IS OUR RIGHT AS AMERICANS!
Some voters were concerned about egg prices. TRUE PATRIOTS were concerned about seal-meat prices.
And Trump is on the case.
I am very worried about the name ‘Gulf of Mexico’
The soon-to-be president also announced a change that has been talked about for years in the rural diners I frequent with my fellow forgotten American men and women.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” Trump said. “Gulf of America – what a beautiful name.”
President-elect Donald Trump announces the Gulf of Mexico will get a new name: the Gulf of America.
SO BEAUTIFUL! And also, so directly impactful on the quality of my day-to-day life.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to miss work because I was feeling down about having to give Mexico credit for that 218,0000-square-mile, semienclosed oceanic basin that I know was BUILT BY AMERICANS.
America for sure owns the Gulf of AMERICA, people!
As Trump said Tuesday: “We’re going to change, because we do most of the work there, and it’s ours.”
Finally, a president who hates windmills as much as I do
The greatest president in history, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort, went on to bless us with this: “We’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built.”
Praise the Lord! I know some in the MAGA community are more concerned about the economy, immigration and making life terrible for transgender people, but many of us picked Trump again because we abso-freakin’-lutely despise windmills.
See Don Quixote’s La Mancha
They are distracting and can easily be mistaken for giants, leading innocent Americans to tilt at them like the late, great Don Quixote used to do. (Hopefully, Trump will also soon announce that Don Quixote will be renamed “Don America.”)
MAGA voters wanted a president unafraid of Big Shower
Trump also addressed America’s shower-water-pressure crisis, saying: “When you buy a faucet, no water comes out because they want to preserve, even in areas that have so much water you don’t know what to do, it’s called rain, it comes down from heaven. … No water comes out of the shower. It goes drip, drip, drip.”
Finally, we will have a president with the meteorological knowledge to identify that rain correctly comes from heaven. This is clearly the man best suited to handle America’s nuclear codes.
Sure, Canadians will welcome us taking control of their country
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Avoiding This Type Of Drink Could Help Prevent Dementia—Plus, 13 Other Ways To Lower Your Risk, According To Doctors
Korin Miller – January 3, 2025
14 Things You Can Do To Lower Your Dementia Risk Maria Korneeva – Getty Images
Dementia is a devastating condition that can affect everything from your thinking to your personality. And while you can’t always control your risk of developing the disease, new research finds there are at least 14 things you can do now to lower your chances down the road.
These “modifiable factors” were spelled out in an August 2024 report published in The Lancet, and doctors say they’re worth paying attention to.
“Simple switches in lifestyle can make a big difference in dementia risk,” says Amit Sachdev, MD, MS, medical director in the Department of Neurology at Michigan State University.
Here’s what you should know, according to doctors.
Meet the experts: Amit Sachdev, MD, medical director in the Department of Neurology at Michigan State University; Heshan J. Fernando, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist for Corewell Health in Michigan; Verna Porter, MD, a neurologist and director of the Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurocognitive Disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
What can you do now to lower your dementia risk?
These are the biggest lifestyle tweaks you can make now to lower your dementia risk, according to the report.
Take it easy with alcohol
Research finds that so-called “heavy” drinkers are more likely to develop dementia than “moderate” ones. But there’s good news: Even dropping your drinking levels from “heavy” to “moderate” will decrease your risk, a 2023 study found.
Avoid smoking
Smoking has been linked to dementia because it can increase the risk of problems with the heart and blood vessels, the Alzheimer’s Society says. Toxins in cigarettes also cause inflammation, which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Manage diabetes
“A growing body of research has implicated a strong link between metabolic disorders like diabetes and impaired nerve signaling in the brain,” says Verna Porter, MD, a neurologist and director of the Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurocognitive Disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
By managing your diabetes, you could by reduce “inflammation in the brain, which in turn helps to protect” it, she says.
Try to maintain a healthy weight
Several studies have linked obesity with a higher risk of dementia—in fact, a scientific analysis published in JAMAin 2022 named obesity as one of the top modifiable causes of it.
Stay on top of your blood pressure
Research has found that lowering blood pressure in people with hypertension can lower the risk of dementia by about 15 percent.
Try to minimize air pollution exposure
Studies have suggested that people consistently exposed to a type of air pollution called fine particulate matter are more likely to develop dementia than those who aren’t exposed to it. These can come from construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires, or can be the result of complex reactions of pollutants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Protect yourself from head injury
Research finds that a history of a single prior head injury was associated with a 1.25 times increased risk of dementia compared to people with no history of head injury. A history of two or more prior head injuries was associated with over two times increased risk of dementia.
Be physically active
Studies show that being physically active can help lower your risk of dementia. “Daily physical exercise—such as 20-30 minutes of light aerobic activity—can include activities such as walking, biking or aquatic pool exercises,” says Heshan J. Fernando, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist for Corewell Health in Michigan.
Try to manage your mental health
A 2023 study found that people diagnosed with depression were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia later in life. Medication, therapy, and healthy habits like eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep can all play a role in treating mental health issues.
Be socially active
“Staying socially engaged may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in later life,” Dr. Porter says, adding that it’s crucial to maintain a strong network of family and friends. “Social connections may also be enhanced through volunteer organizations, joining various clubs or social group, taking a group classes, or getting out into the community.”
Treat hearing loss
A 2024 study found that hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of developing dementia. However, hearing aid users were less likely to develop dementia than non-users.
Keep learning
Research has linked higher dementia risk to lower education levels. However, one study found that the odds of developing dementia fall in people who continue to learn.
“Education at any age may protect against cognitive decline,” Dr. Porter says.
Manage your cholesterol
Studies show that high cholesterol is linked with a higher risk of developing dementia and that the risk increases with age. Fernando recommends following a heart healthy diet like the Mediterranean diet that emphasizes fruits and vegetables, lean meats like chicken and fish, whole grains and healthy fats.
This “can help optimize blood flow to the brain,” he says.
Stay on top of your vision
Research has found that untreated vision loss increases the risk of dementia by about 50 percent, so go to the eye doctor when you can.
Biden to visit Coachella Valley Tuesday, expected to create Chuckwalla National Monument
Janet Wilson and Tom Coulter – January 3, 2025
(This story was updated to add new information.)
President Joe Biden will designate vast, ecologically rich swaths of southern California desert and of northern California woodlands as a pair of new national monuments in a visit to the state early next week, sources tell The Desert Sun.
One will be the Chuckwalla National Monument, encompassing more than 620,000 acres of desert woodlands and washes that provide critical habitat for millions of migrating birds, endangered desert tortoise, iconic chuckwalla lizards and other wildlife. It will stretch from south of Joshua Tree National Park and north of Interstate 10 across a confluence of two ecosystems, where the Mojave Desert meets the Colorado and the Sonoran Desert, a veteran conservationist with direct knowledge of the decision said.
A view of the sunset from the Painted Canyon/Ladder Canyon Trail in Mecca, a popular outdoor recreational area that’s part of more than 620,000 acres of desert land President Joe Biden is expected to protect by designating it all as the new Chuckwalla National Monument.
The designation, which will also protect sacred tribal sites used for thousands of years and broaden recreation opportunities for Latino farmworkers and other area residents, was achieved after a deal was struck with major solar industry groups last spring. Biden will visit the eastern Coachella Valley at the doorstep of the monument on Tuesday, a person familiar with planning for the visit who was not authorized to speak on the record confirmed to The Desert Sun.
The White House said Friday that Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit Los Angeles on Monday and the eastern Coachella Valley on Tuesday, but would not confirm the reason.
“We are guardedly optimistic that it will happen,” said Donald Madart, Jr., a councilmember with the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian tribe in eastern Riverside County, which would see portions of its ancestral homelands near the Colorado River protected, including active worship sites and thousands of sacred relics.
He said several new monuments either created or being considered by Biden “all provide us an opportunity to continue religious freedoms of the native people of this land … It’s a lot bigger than just the protection of a landscape for beauty purposes, it is for being able to continue … to practice that religious freedom by going out into the desert and still partaking in ceremonies that have been with us since time immemorial.”
The second new monument will be the 200,000-acre Sáttítla National Monument in northern California near the Oregon border, the person familiar with Biden’s visit confirmed. The designations were first reported by The Washington Post. A spiritual center for the Pit River and Modoc Tribes, the Sattlitla monument footprint also encompasses mountain woodlands, rare meadows and serpentine seeps that are home to rare flowers and wildlife.
Biden has been pushing to cement his environmental legacy before he leaves office, including by protecting public lands and designating hefty federal funds for conservation and maintenance of open space.
By preserving sites of extreme importance to California tribes, Biden will be fulfilling the original intent of the 1906 Antiquities Act. New mining, drilling, renewables and other industrial activity all would be banned.
Passed by Congress and signed into law by then President Teddy Roosevelt in June 1906, the Antiquities Act was the first U.S. law to provide broad legal protection of archeological, cultural and natural resources in an era when looting of tribal lands had become common.
Since then, it has also been used nearly 300 times by U.S. presidents to set aside public lands and protect their archeological resources. Many iconic national parks first were designated as monuments, including Grand Canyon National Park in 1908 and Joshua Tree National Park in 1936. In recent decades many presidents have created new monuments in the closing days of their presidencies, often over loud objections from state leaders and industry officials.
Trump’s first administration sharply reduced the footprint of Bears Ears National Monument, among others, and sought unsuccessfully to sharply modify or eliminate the Antiquities Act. Biden in turn restored Bears Ears and other monuments that shrunk under Trump. With Republican majorities in both houses, he could have more luck in his second term, though scores of national monuments enjoy wide popularity.
“We know for sure that the designation is just the very tip of the iceberg,” said Madart, when asked about what Trump might try to do. “We know that the real work begins after the designation happens, and we’re very, very well prepared to engage with all the other tribes, as well as the coalition involved with getting this Chuckwalla initiative over the finish line.”
Biden’s latest actions will cap a lengthy and broad-based battle to protect the lands. In April, a petition with more than 800,000 signatures supporting the proposed two monuments and others was presented to the White House and unveiled in front of the U.S. Capitol. Members of Congress, led by Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California, also a Democrat, and former U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler of California pushed hard but unsuccessfully to pass bipartisan legislation to create the Chuckwalla monument.
Ruiz had no comment on the designations, simply saying in an email, “I’m thrilled to welcome President Biden to (the) Coachella Valley next week. His visit is a testament to the great people of California’s 25th district.”
But in an interview last year with The Desert Sun, Ruiz spoke about his ties to the Chuckwalla area, particularly Painted Canyon in the east Coachella Valley, where he proposed to his wife. He also led Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and others on tours through areas proposed for the designation.
He, like many residents at the edges of the monument, grew up hiking in area slot canyons on the Mecca Hills northeast of the Salton Sea.
Having those lands and far more designated as uninterrupted wilderness in a monument will protect and widen recreational opportunities for working-class and-low-income farmworkers and others in the Coachella Valley and eastern Riverside County, according to environmental justice groups and others.
Some of this land south of Eagle Mountain, near Desert Center, could be incorporated into the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument.
Scores of area tribal leaders, agencies, environmental justice and conservation groups and area elected officials strongly supported the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla efforts.
Responding to the news reports of Biden’s expected action, Joseph Mirelez, brand-new tribal chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, said in an email, “For thousands of years, the Torres Martinez Desert Indians have called the lands in the Chuckwalla National Monument home. We are happy to see the designation to protect this area that contains thousands of cultural places and objects of vital importance to (our) history and identity.”
Mirelez, who took office on New Year’s Day, said he had not received official confirmation from federal officials. The tribe is one of the nine nations of Cahuilla Indians, which include the first known inhabitants of the Coachella Valley as well as Riverside and San Diego counties and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountain areas.
Two exceptions to the broad support were the city of Blythe, whose officials said it could interfere with economic development, and the Coachella Valley Water District, which said in a Nov. 15, 2023, letter to Padilla and Butler that the boundaries as drawn could interfere with the agency’s ability to maintain the large Coachella Canal and to construct new facilities to serve future developments. After buffers were included, the agency chose to remain neutral.
Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Bird Singers sing as women dance following a 2023 press conference in Coachella to announce the collaborative efforts of tribal community leaders and local elected officials to push for the designation of Chuckwalla National Monument.
In an email in April, Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, gave his blessing to the revised plan, saying “Achieving California’s decarbonization goals by 2045 requires rapidly expanding the energy grid to connect solar, wind and other renewables. The Chuckwalla National Monument will protect environmental resources and tribal lands while creating an energy corridor for the electric power lines essential for the state’s clean energy future.”
It is unclear if Biden will approve a related request to expand Joshua Tree National Park, which continues to surge in popularity.
Trip will be Biden’s first reported visit to desert as president
While Biden has visited many regions of the Golden State during his time in office, the visit on Tuesday will mark his first reported trip to the California desert since he was sworn into office in January 2021.
The president’s trip to the valley comes just a few months after Trump held an October campaign rally near Coachella, where he bashed California’s policies and its leading elected officials.
Biden’s visit to the desert also comes nearly a year after his wife, first lady Jill Biden, was the headlining speaker for a private Democratic fundraiser in Rancho Mirage. At the time, in March 2024, Biden was still several months away from announcing he wouldn’t seek re-election in the presidential election.
Biden’s upcoming visit will be yet another moment in a long history of visits to the valley from commanders-in-chief. Several presidents — both Democrats and Republicans — have vacationed in the valley, dating back to the late former President Dwight Eisenhower, while former President Gerald Ford lived in Rancho Mirage for decades after his presidency until his death in 2006.
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama stayed at a private Thunderbird home in Rancho Mirage several times, both during and after Obama’s presidency.
Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun, and co-authors USA Today Climate Point, a weekly newsletter on climate, energy and the environment.
Biden to create two new California national monuments protecting tribal lands
Clara Harter – January 3, 2025
In one of his final acts as head of state, President Biden is set to declare two new national monuments in California honoring tribal lands. The sites are in the rocky, mountainous desert near Joshua Tree and amid dense forests and pristine lakes near the Oregon border.
In the coming days, Biden will sign proclamations creating the 644,000-acre Chuckwalla National Monument in Southern California and the 200,000-acre Sáttítla National Monument in Northern California, a source who requested anonymity confirmed to The Times. The news was earlier reported by the Washington Post.
In taking this action, the president will be fulfilling the wishes of tribal members and environmentalists who have fought for generations to protect these sacred Indigenous lands and their rich natural resources from industrialization, development and degradation.
“It gives you new faith that the process is working and that people are listening to Indigenous voices,” said Brandy McDaniels, a member of the Pit River Tribe who helped lead the effort to establish the Sáttítla National Monument. “We’ve spent a lifetime fighting to protect this area, and it’s hard to put into words how important this is to us.”
The efforts have not been without criticism, however. Biden’s upcoming actions could upset groups who want to use the Chuckwalla monument area for mining and off-roading and those who want to use the Sáttítla area for geothermal energy, mining and timber. He will also be frustrating conservatives who believe that presidents have abused their authority in creating monuments.
The Blythe City Council, which represents a community of 18,000 people near Joshua Tree, stated its position over the summer that it opposed restrictions that the monument would place on the development of solar farms, which provides economic opportunity to the city and bolsters their sustainability goals.
However, the main solar energy industry groups working in the region — Solar Energy Industries Assn. and Large-scale Solar Assn. — decided to support the designation after the conservation groups worked with them to craft the monument boundaries to suit their needs.
Those in support of the monuments, can now breathe a sigh of relief after winning what may have seemed like a race against the clock to protect these lands.
Although Biden has already used his executive authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to create six national monuments and expanded several others — including two expansions in California — Trump has shown far less enthusiasm for the program. During his first term, Trump created no new national monuments and slashed almost 2 million acres in total from two national monuments in Utah.
Three California Democrats, Sens. Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler and Rep. Raul Ruiz, introduced legislation to Congress in April to designate the Chuckwalla National Monument. Then in September, Padilla and Butler introduced legislation to establish the Sáttítla National Monument. Neither bill advanced in a a divided Congress, prompting Biden’s executive action.
The Chuckwalla National Monument will be located southeast of Joshua Tree National Park. The push to protect the site was led by the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, who have lived in the desert regions of Southern California, including the Coachella Valley near Joshua Tree, for thousands of years.
Thomas Tortez, chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Tribal Council, stands near the entrance to the Painted Canyon, a sacred cultural site for Indigenous Californians. (Tyrone Beason / Los Angeles Times)
The monument’s name comes from the stocky Chuckwalla lizards that frequent the area, which is also home to bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, kangaroo rats, burrowing owls and jackrabbits.
“For thousands of years, the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians have called the lands in the Chuckwalla National Monument home,” said Joseph DL Mirelez, chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. “We are happy to see the designation protect this area that contains thousands of cultural places and objects of vital importance to the history and identity of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians.”
The monument will begin at Painted Canyon near the eastern edge of the Coachella Valley, where rocky hills and canyon walls are washed in light pink, red, gray, brown and green hues. To the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, the red color of the hills represents the bleeding heart of their creator god Mukat, who was exiled in this land and whose remains became the native vegetation that nourished his people.
Some 750 miles to the north, the newly created Sáttítla National Monument will also protect a land linked to an Indigenous creation story. The 11 bands of the Pit River Tribe consider the Medicine Lake Highlands area near Mount Shasta as their ancestral homeland.
“For the Pit River people, it’s the actual place of our creation and is a very sacred place for us in the narrative of our peoples,” said McDaniels. “In addition to that, it is a very unique and spectacular biodiverse area that supports habitats, ecosystems and fisheries.”
The monument extends over a landscape of jaw-dropping natural beauty in parts of the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath and Modoc national forests. There are rich, green forests, abundant wildflowers, intricate cave systems and drinking water that can be sipped on site.
It is often referred to as the headwaters of California because its lakes and aquifers help provide clean drinking water to the rest of the state.
The Pit River Tribe has long been involved in litigation to prevent the development of geothermal energy systems in the area. The new landmark designation will help prevent similar efforts from moving forward in the future, McDaniels said.
“We’ve spent a lifetime fighting to protect this area being a tribe and a socially, economically suppressed community that doesn’t have a lot of resources,” said McDaniels. “It’s really important to protect this area for future generations so that they can heal without constantly having to defend our natural resources from the ongoing threats.”
Some renewable-energy advocates say the monument will result in the loss of an important clean-energy source that would advance the Biden administration’s agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The place where Trump can do the most permanent damage
Rob Schofield – January 3, 2025
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, speaks to attendees during a Sept. 25, 2024, campaign rally in Mint Hill, North Carolina. Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s election could set the stage for wide-ranging changes to policy. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Donald Trump’s second administration is poised to soon do a great deal of damage in several important areas. Whether it’s health care, education, the federal courts, reproductive freedom, immigration, foreign policy or the economy, millions of people will suffer needlessly if Trump follows through on all of his campaign promises.
That said, when it comes to the damage that will be truly irreparable, no pledge looms darker or more ominous than Trump’s plan to scuttle efforts to combat climate change.
As Katharine Hayhoe – a scientist and lead author of the National Climate Assessment under the last Trump administration – put it in a recent interview, quote “the situation is dire… on many fronts [and… it’s] already getting worse.”
In other words, there’s absolutely no time to waste. Even a mere four years of backtracking will greatly worsen results for our children and grandchildren.
The bottom line: No problem poses a greater threat to the near and long-term wellbeing of Americans than climate change. And no matter what he’s said previously, Trump simply must listen to the experts and act.
Multiple Arctic outbreaks to affect more than 250 million in central, eastern US into mid-January
Alex Sosnowski – January 1, 2025
Multiple Arctic outbreaks to affect more than 250 million in central, eastern US into mid-January
Round after round after round of Arctic air is poised to plunge into the central and eastern United States. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that each outbreak of Arctic air has the potential to bring colder air farther south than the previous round and will lead to a major surge in energy demands and the risk of freeze-related damage in the Southern states.
The magnitude and extent of the Arctic air will build into the first full week of January and linger through the middle of the month and will, at times, affect more than 250 million people living in more than 40 states in the Central and Eastern regions.
“At this time, it looks like there will be at least three major blasts of Arctic air that will affect the Southern states,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva said. “The first outbreak will linger into Jan. 4, the second on Jan. 7-8 and then the third round on Jan. 11-12.” Additional rounds of Arctic air may follow but be directed more toward the Midwest and Northeast.
Each wave will bring a reinforcing shot of cool air, keeping air temperatures well below the norm for the first month of the year.
Even though each layer of cold coming in may stop short of the most extreme conditions in the past 10-15 years, the number of days spent below the historical average will add up in dozens of states from just east of the Rockies to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
“This is not record-setting cold, but the longevity of these cold waves, combined with snow on the ground in the Upper Midwest and northern Plains, will lead to a prolonged surge in heating demand,” AccuWeather Long-Range Expert Joe Lundberg said.
The prolonged nature of the cold, as a result, could end up making a splash on the record books, making it the coldest January in over a decade.
“This could end up being the coldest January since 2011 for the U.S. as a whole,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok said.
Another key factor as to how far to the south and east the extreme cold will be able to penetrate is that multiple storms are forecast to produce extensive swaths of snow and ice from the Great Plains to the Midwest, East and even well into the Southern states. Snow cover minimizes the warming effects of the ground and acts as a tundralike surface for the cold air to expand upon.
In the southern U.S., exposed or poorly insulated homes and buildings are at high risk of frozen and bursting pipes with the potential for major water damage. The persistence and magnitude of the cold can be enough to cause heat pump systems to struggle to keep up. As energy demands increase, the strain on the electric grid could force rolling blackouts.
Due to the magnitude and duration of freezing temperatures, cold-sensitive crops in the Gulf Coast states will be at risk from damage.
“At this time, the areas that are likely to be most vulnerable for crop-damaging freezes will be in central and northern Florida, southern Louisiana and parts of central Texas,” DaSilva said. “We are closely watching South Texas and South Florida for any indication of lower temperatures that could be damaging to agriculture.”
Much of the Great Lakes has little ice cover, leaving the exposed water to warm the Arctic air somewhat. However, persistent cold air will cause the ice cover to increase substantially. As the ice coverage increases, the warming effects of the Great Lakes will be reduced, opening up the Northeast to more exposure to extreme cold.
Commuters brave the wind and snow in frigid weather on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Periods of stiff winds will accompany the cold blasts. In some cases, the combination of frigid air, wind and precipitation will push AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures to well below zero for extended periods from the northern Plains to the Great Lakes and middle Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
Over time, the subzero RealFeel Temperatures will reach east of the Appalachians and into the Gulf Coast region.
The storms will vary in intensity and cover, but at least a couple of them can be so extensive and heavy as to result in major travel disruptions. Snow and ice will occur in parts of the Southern states, and with limited winter storm fighting equipment, extended periods of dangerous travel and school closings could result.
But even in the Midwest and Northeast, as the cold and snowy pattern intensifies, disruptions to travel and the potential for school closings will increase.
How extreme car dependency is driving Americans to unhappiness
Oliver Milman in New York – December 29, 2024
A new study has found there is a tipping point at which more driving leads to deeper unhappiness.Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/Alamy
The United States, with its enormous highways, sprawling suburbs and neglected public transport systems, is one of the most car-dependent countries in the world. But this arrangement of obligatory driving is making many Americans actively unhappy, new research has found.
The car is firmly entrenched as the default, and often only, mode of transport for the vast majority of Americans, with more than nine in 10 households having at least one vehicle and 87% of people using their cars daily. Last year, a record 290m vehicles were operated on US streets and highways.
However, this extreme car dependence is affecting Americans’ quality of life, with a new study finding there is a tipping point at which more driving leads to deeper unhappiness. It found that while having a car is better than not for overall life satisfaction, having to drive for more than 50% of the time for out-of-home activities is linked to a decrease in life satisfaction.
“Car dependency has a threshold effect – using a car just sometimes increases life satisfaction but if you have to drive much more than this people start reporting lower levels of happiness,” said Rababe Saadaoui, an urban planning expert at Arizona State University and lead author of the study. “Extreme car dependence comes at a cost, to the point that the downsides outweigh the benefits.”
The new research, conducted via a survey of a representative group of people across the US, analyzed people’s responses to questions about driving habits and life satisfaction and sought to find the link between the two via a statistical model that factored in other variables of general contentment, such as income, family situation, race and disability.
The results were “surprising”, Saadaoui said, and could be the result of a number of negative impacts of driving, such as the stress of continually navigating roads and traffic, the loss of physical activity from not walking anywhere, a reduced engagement with other people and the growing financial burden of owning and maintaining a vehicle.
“Some people drive a lot and feel fine with it but others feel a real burden,” she said. “The study doesn’t call for people to completely stop using cars but the solution could be in finding a balance. For many people driving isn’t a choice, so diversifying choices is important.”
Decades of national and state interventions have provided the US with an extensive system of highways, many of which cut deep into the heart of its cities, fracturing communities and bringing congestion and air pollution to nearby residents, particularly those of color.
Planning policies and mandatory car parking construction have encouraged suburban sprawl, strip malls with more space for cars than people and the erosion of shared “third places” where Americans can congregate. As a result, even very short journeys outside the house require a car, with half of all car trips being under three miles.
Most of the decisions driving this are made at a state level, although Joe Biden’s administration vowed to help rebuild public transit networks beleaguered by the Covid pandemic and to tear down certain divisive highways. However, the federal government has continued pouring far more money into building and expanding roads than in any alternatives to driving. Next year, more than $60bn in federal funding is planned for roads and bridges.
A small sliver of the American public actively chooses to live without a car because they are able to live in the few remaining walkable communities in the US, but for most of those without a car it is a forced deprivation due to poverty or disability.
Being without a car can itself be expensive and isolating, according to Anna Zivarts, who was born with a neurological condition that prevents her from driving. Zivarts, based in Seattle, is the author of the book When Driving Is Not an Option and advocates on behalf of those unable to drive.
“Seattle has a solid bus system but everyone who can afford a car has a car. I’m often the only parent going to any sort of event without a car. Everything is built around cars,” she said.
“We are just locked into a system of driving that is meant to be more enjoyable but isn’t. I walk five minutes with my kid to the school bus stop and yet other parents make that journey to the stop by car. Is this really how you want to spend your life?”
A long-term effort is required to make communities more walkable and bolster public transport and biking options, Zivarts said, but an immediate step would be simply to consider the existence of people without cars.
Germany calls for new sanctions on Russia’s dark fleet that is ‘damaging major undersea cables’ nearly every month
Huileng Tan – December 30, 2024
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said ships are damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea nearly every month.Florian Gaertner/Photothek/Getty Images
Germany’s foreign minister urged new European Union sanctions on Russia’s dark fleet.
As part of a probe into a cut cable, Finland said last week it detained a ship that may be from the dark fleet.
The case is being investigated as “aggravated criminal mischief,” Finnish police said.
Germany’s foreign minister has called for further sanctions against Russia’s dark fleet of oil tankers following damage to an underwater cable linking Finland and Estonia last week.
“Ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea almost every month,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the Funke media group.
“Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometers along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up,” Baerbock said, per an AFP translation.
“It’s more than difficult to still believe in coincidences. This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us,” she added.
Baerbock urged new European Union sanctions against Russia’s dark — or shadow — fleet of oil tankers that transport sanctioned Russian oil and energy products.
The EU has also sanctioned 79 vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet. These ships are banned from accessing EU ports and services.
Many of these vessels are aging, operating under opaque ownership, and sailing without adequate insurance coverage. They pose environmental and financial risks to coastal countries. A heavy storm earlier this month caused two tankers to spill thousands of tons of low-grade fuel oil into the Kerch Strait, between the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia.
Baerbock’s comments came after Finnish authorities detained the Eagle S oil tanker on Thursday as part of an investigation into the cutting of an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea. The cable transmits electricity from Finland to Estonia.
The case is being investigated as “aggravated criminal mischief,” Finnish police said in a press release.
Finnish customs authorities and the European Union’s executive commission said the tanker might be part of Russia’s dark fleet of tankers.
The Kremlin declined to comment on Finland’s seizure of the oil tanker on Friday.
“I cannot say anything for sure, for this is a highly specialized issue that the presidential administration is hardly in a position to comment on,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question on the Finnish move.
