California fires weather forecast: Fire danger expected to increase as winds pick up
KABC
(LOS ANGELES) — There has been a reprieve from the strongest winds in Southern California over the past 24 hours, but winds are expected to pick up later Saturday into the night, raising the fire danger yet again.
The fire outlook for Saturday is back at the “Critical” level for much of southern California as dry, gusty winds fan the flames.
Wind alerts, including a High Wind Warning, are in effect for much of the Los Angeles area as this next round of Santa Ana winds arrive.
Northeast winds of 30 to 40 mph are expected by Saturday night with gusts up to 65 mph.
Another major wind event is expected between Monday night and Wednesday, which may lead to rapid fire spread yet again.
Smoke has also lead to significantly reduced air quality all across the Los Angeles area and there won’t be any major improvements until these fires subside.
Southern California is not out of the woods yet when it comes to fire danger.
At least 11 people have been killed by the devastating wildfires. The two biggest are the Palisades Fire, which has decimated the coastal community of the Pacific Palisades, and the Eaton Fire, which has scorched home after home in Altadena.
As of Saturday morning, the Palisades fire, at 21,596 acres, was 11% contained and the Eaton fire, at 14,117 acres, was 15% contained, according to Cal Fire.
(LOS ANGELES) — After it was announced last week that Erik and Lyle Menendez might have their case reevaluated, based on the emergence of new evidence, the Los Angeles district attorney on Tuesday clarified that the decision would likely come by the end of the week.
In an unrelated news conference on Tuesday evening, LA District Attorney George Gascon answered a prompt for an update on the brothers’ potential resentencing by saying, “As I said 10 days ago, I would make a decision within 10 days or so. I plan to make the decision by the end of this week.”
He concluded by saying, with some finality: “Yes, the end of this week.”
The Menendez brothers have served more than 30 years in prison for gunning down their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison at their second trial after the first was declared a mistrial.
They have never denied committing the crime; it is the motivation for the crime that has divided opinions over the decades.
Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 at the time of the murders. At their first trial, their attorney argued that they killed their parents in self-defense.
She argued that the brothers feared their parents would kill them if they disclosed the years of alleged molestation they had suffered at their father’s hands.
The newest legal filing expands upon the abuse that the brothers allegedly endured from José Menedez.
New evidence includes a letter that Erik wrote to his cousin prior to the murders, detailing what his father was doing to him, according to the brothers’ attorneys.
Another potential victim has also come forward: Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who has alleged that he was abused by José Menendez when he was 14.
Additionally, the passage of time has helped to cast their motive in a new light. A growing base of supporters argue that the Menendez brothers are victims themselves, and the crimes they committed out of a traumatic response should be reconsidered with a 21st-century lens on the psychology of male sexual assault.
Currently, the next court date for the Menendez brothers is scheduled for Nov. 26, 2024.
(NEW YORK) — A week after cellphone users across the U.S. reported a flurry of racist text messages, members of the Hispanic and LGBTQ communities are now receiving text messages saying they have been selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp, according to a new statement from the FBI.
The messages follow reports of African American and Black residents receiving racist texts in the days after the 2024 election that they were selected to “pick cotton on a plantation,” according to the FBI. Cellphone users in at least nine cities — New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Houston, Huntsville, Texas, Los Angeles, Norfolk, Virginia, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama — reported receiving the messages.
The new message also include some emails, the FBI said in its statement.
TextNow, a mobile provider that allows people to create phone numbers for free, said last week it discovered “one or more” of its users allegedly sending out racist text messages to phone numbers across the country and that the service quickly shut down the accounts.
The FBI has said it is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.
Recipients of these messages include high school and college students.
“Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division,” the FBI said in its Friday statement. “We are also sharing information with our law enforcement partners, and community, academia, and faith leaders.”
Anyone who receives these messages — or any threats of violence — is encouraged to report them to the FBI.
(NEW YORK) — Since being tapped as President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been criticized by medical and public health experts for his anti-vaccine history, his current vaccine skepticism, his take on the COVID-19 pandemic — and by some for his descriptions of fluorinated water. But some of the environmental attorney’s views are also receiving support from some unexpected sources.
On Wednesday, renowned food author Michael Pollan echoed those criticisms — but offered some praise for Kennedy’s criticism of the American food industry, which Kennedy has accused of propagating obesity and chronic disease.
“He’s voicing a critique of the food system that is important,” Pollan told ABC News, while making clear he was drawing a “strong distinction” between Kennedy’s food stances and his medical advice — and that he thinks Kennedy is a “horrible” choice for the job.
Pollan’s comments join a stance taken in recent days by some prominent Democrats who have praised Kennedy for his vows to “Make America Healthy Again,” in part by tackling the food industry — while condemning him for his years working against vaccine health policies.
The comments from Pollan to ABC News came after he shared a seemingly positive article on social media about Kennedy titled, “They’re lying about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” — a move that prompted Kennedy himself to reply and suggest they work together.
“Thanks @michaelpollan!” Kennedy wrote Thursday on X. “I’d love to work with you to restore our public health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science and Make America Healthy Again.”
Asked if he would take Kennedy up on the offer, Pollan was clear: “No.”
“I’ve got my role to play, and that’s not the role,” he told ABC News.
Kennedy has faced fierce criticism over his claims that vaccines are behind an “epidemic” of diseases in America, and that cavity-fighting mineral fluoride, added in small amounts to some drinking water, is “industrial waste.” Pollan said Kennedy’s stances on vaccines and fluoride “seem nutty” and that he was overall a “horrible” pick to lead HHS.
But Pollan — who has authored multiple books, including several on the effects of food on the human body — offered some praise for Kennedy for his views on ultra-processed food and the overuse of corn and soy.
“He’s injected these issues into the national conversation, and I think that’s a big deal,” Pollan said.
He also praised Kennedy for linking the epidemic of obesity and chronic disease to agricultural policies — a move he said is “really important.”
“I’m looking for glimmers in an otherwise bleak landscape,” Pollan said.
Pollan’s approval of Kennedy’s food stances follows similar praise from some Democrat officials.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was “excited by the news” that Kennedy had been appointed to lead HHS, writing on X that he was “most optimistic” about Kennedy “taking on big pharma and the corporate ag oligopoly to improve our health.”
He wrote in a subsequent post that “Science must remain THE cornerstone of our nation’s health policy” and said “the science-backed decision to get vaccinated improves public health and safety,” but noted that he is “for a major shake-up in institutions like the FDA that have been barriers to lowering drug costs and promoting healthy food choices.”
Earlier this week, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey posted a video on social media about how he has been “raising the alarm of the dangers of our current food system.”
“Food in America is making us sick,” Booker said in the video. Though he did not mention Kennedy by name, Kennedy reposted the video, thanking Booker for his “long history of leadership on this issue.”
Asked by ABC News, Booker said he had not yet made up his mind on Kennedy’s nomination, saying that Kennedy would need to go through the confirmation process and that Kennedy’s stances on vaccines were “very troubling.” He added he was “super skeptical of the Trump administration’s efforts in any way to say that they are going to be doing things to make us more healthy.”
Still, Booker added he was “happy to hear” Kennedy on some of the issues around health, saying, “There’s a growing coalition in America from both sides of the aisle really demanding change. I hope, if the Trump administration is willing to do something right and positive on these issues, I’ll be right there.”
“When it comes to RFK, we’re going to look at the totality of his record, we’re going to evaluate and make a decision, but my focus is trying to block Trump from doing more damage to Americans health, like he did last time,” Booker said.
Pollan, for his part, questioned just how much Trump would let Kennedy make true reforms to the food industry, should Kennedy be confirmed.
“I have my doubts about whether Trump is going to give him authority to do what he wants to do around food,” Pollan said of Kennedy, who over the weekend was in a viral photo eating McDonald’s with Trump and others on Trump’s plane. “Whether he’ll get anywhere, I have my doubts — but I am pleased to see these issues getting talked about.”
