Month: February 2025

Evacuation orders were in effect Thursday for thousands of residents in areas of Los Angeles as forecasters warned that California’s most powerful winter storm this season may cause flash flooding in the land scarred by the massive wildfires last month. According to the National Weather Service, flash flooding risk is expected across the Los Angeles region with the highest risks “in and near recent burn scar areas in Southern California.”

According to NBC News, the operation is huge with 319,00 sandbags, over 240 fire engines and 400 personnel in eight counties; nearly 120 miles of flood barriers have been put up in an effort to mitigate flooding and stop or reduce or stop the expected runoff from burn scars into rivers and lakes.

The warnings, which come into effect at 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET) and last until Friday afternoon, cover areas affected by the huge Palisades Fire last month, as well as the communities hit by the Eaton, Hurst, Franklin, Bridge and Sunset fires. Statewide preparations for the large storm include distribution of sandbags and clearing of storm drains.

Portions of the Palisades, Sunset and Hurst fire zones as well as burn zones parts of the Sierra Madre (affected by the Eaton Fire) were in the evacuations zones,  with warnings also in effect for parts of San Bernardino County affecting residents in the Bridge and Line fires burn zones as heavy rain was expected.

The Los Angeles Fire Department wrote in a statement: “Evacuation orders for specific addresses and evacuation warnings or several areas will be in effect from 7 a.m. PST Thursday to 2 p.m. PST Friday, due to high mudslide and debris flow risk. These areas are recently burned and especially susceptible to heavy rain.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned residents during a news conference: “remember, if you’re ordered to leave, you may be gone for several days. I cannot stand up here and tell you will be gone for 12 hours, 24 hours. We don’t know. It depends on the weather and the post-weather events that will impact your specific neighborhood.” 

Road closures included Malibu Canyon Road, Pacific Coast Highway and Topanga Canyon; with some schools in Malibu closed Thursday.  A voluntary evacuation warning also went into effect Thursday morning for parts of the Airport Fire burn scar in Orange County.

Editorial credit: Ringo Chiu / Shutterstock.com

The Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services secretary, a victory for President Trump after Kennedy faced weeks of scrutiny over his controversial views.

Senators voted 52-48 to confirm Kennedy, which fell largely along party lines, with only one Republican — Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — joining Democrats in opposing the nomination.  In his statement explaining why he voted against Kennedy, McConnell cited his history with polio, saying that in his lifetime he’s “watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world… and will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures.”  McConnell added: “Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency. As he takes office, I sincerely hope Mr. Kennedy will choose not to sow further doubt and division but restore trust in our public health institutions.”

The 71-year-old Kennedy — the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy — is a longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist, with no health care experience. As HHS secretary, he will now lead a wide range of federal health care agencies that include healthcare coverage for the elderly and poor, drug approval, food industry along with examining potential worldwide health threats such as outbreaks and pandemics. The HHS department includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration.

Kennedy worked for two decades as president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a nonprofit. He also founded Children’s Health Defense, which has launched legal challenges against vaccine requirements and approvals, and served as its chairman beginning in 2016. Kennedy is married to actor Cheryl Hines, and has six children.

Kennedy launched his own White House bid in 2023, initially seeking the Democratic nomination before changing his bid to independent. He later dropping out of the race to endorse President Trump in August 2024.

Editorial credit: Maxim Elramsisy / Shutterstock.com

Eight U.S. inspectors general filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration on Wednesday, alleging their firings violated federal law. The inspectors general asked the U.S. District Court in Washington to declare they remained lawfully in their roles at their agencies and asked the court to prevent the administration from obstructing their official duties.

The lawsuit (seen HERE) was filed by eight of the 17 inspectors general fired by Trump from the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, State, Agriculture, Education, Labor and the Small Business Administration.  The lawsuit states that “the purported firings violated unambiguous federal statutes — each enacted by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed into law by the president — to protect Inspectors General from precisely this sort of interference with the discharge of their critical, non-partisan oversight duties,” adding that Trump’s “attempt to eliminate a crucial and longstanding source of impartial, non-partisan oversight of his administration is contrary to the rule of law.”

Per the lawsuit, the firings violated the Inspector General Act, which only allows a president to remove IGs after notifying Congress at least 30 days in advance and provide a substantive case-specific rationale. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa and Sen. Dick Durbin said in a letter to Trump that IGs can be fired by presidents, but it must be done legally: “while IGs aren’t immune from committing acts requiring their removal, and they can be removed by the president, the law must be followed. IGs are critical to rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct within the Executive Branch bureaucracy, which you have publicly made clear you are also intent on doing.”

That law amended the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008, according to the lawsuit: “Just four days into his current term, however, President Trump, acting through a two-sentence email sent by the director or deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, purported to remove from office (supposedly on account of “changing priorities”) nearly a score of IGs (while retaining only two cabinet-level IGs). In the last four decades, no incoming President has attempted upon taking office to remove en masse the IGs appointed in prior administrations.”

Editorial credit: Babooo0 / Shutterstock.com

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to become the nation’s director of National Intelligence. The director of national intelligence oversees the 18 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. The DNI also advises the president on intelligence matters.

The 52-48 vote was largely along party lines, with nearly all Republicans present voting in favor of Gabbard. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. was the only Republican who joined all Democrats in voting against Gabbard.

McConnell in a statement that he voted against Gabbard’s confirmation as it was apparent she was not prepared for the job and demonstrated a “history of alarming lapses in judgment. The Senate’s power of advice and consent is not an option; it is an obligation, and one we cannot pretend to misunderstand. When a nominee’s record proves them unworthy of the highest public trust, and when their command of relevant policy falls short of the requirements of their office, the Senate should withhold its consent.” (per ABC News).

Gabbard is a former member of Congress representing Hawaii in the House of Representatives from 2013 until 2021. Gabbard also is a former member of the Hawaii Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2005 as a medical specialist. She also completed Alabama Military Academy’s officer training program in 2007. She left the Democratic Party after seeking its nomination for the presidency in 2020, and joined the Republican Party in 2024.

Gabbard’s confirmation is a win for the Trump administration, as Democrats and some Republicans voiced serious concerns about Gabbard – including her secret meeting in 2017 with then-President Bashar Assad of Syria, as well as her sympathetic comments about Russia, and her previous support for Edward Snowden – a former government contractor who leaked classified information to the press about those spying programs.

Editorial credit: John M Poltrack / Shutterstock.com

Longtime ally to President Trump, Steve Bannon, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony fraud for helping to defraud donors who were giving money to “We Build the Wall,” an online fundraiser to build a wall at the southern U.S. border. In exchange for the guilty plea in New York criminal court, Bannon, 71, was sentenced to three years conditional discharge, and waived his right to appeal.

Prosecutor Jeffrey Levinson said in a statement: “The parties have worked out a plea agreement. Mr. Bannon will plead guilty to count 5 of the indictment, which is scheme to defraud in the indictment. He will receive a conditional discharge.” The guilty plea to the felony charge represents Bannon’s second criminal conviction after he served prison time for contempt of Congress.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Bannon will not be allowed to serve as an officer or director of a charity or any charitable organization in New York state, or any fundraising or not-for-profit organization in New York state. He will not be allowed to receive or hold assets for any charitable organizations. He also cannot be arrested during that time period. If he violates the terms of the deal, he could face between 1 1/3 to 4 years behind bars.

Bannon was charged in September 2022 for his role in the We Build the Wall organization that raised millions for an effort to privately build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.  The group and Bannon were accused of defrauding donors of $15 million in donations.

Bannon spent four months in jail last year after being found guilty of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before a House select committee investigating the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

Editorial credit: John Nacion / Shutterstock.com