Nonprofits accuse administration of ‘accelerating’ USAID firings

(LOS ANGELES) — The winds fueling fires in Southern California are beginning to relax, but the forecast calls for their return next week.

Offshore Santa Ana winds will continue to diminish for the majority of Southern California on Thursday.

However, a red flag warning continues for the San Gabriel and Santa Susana mountains until 3 p.m. local time today.

This morning and early afternoon, winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph will continue for the Western San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Susana Mountains, and the I-5 corridor.

By late afternoon, offshore winds are expected to increase humidity dramatically for coastal Southern California, with up to 60% in Pacific Palisades to nearly 70% in San Diego.

A marine layer and even some clouds could bring a chance for a sprinkle to Southern California late Thursday and into Friday.

The next Santa Ana wind event is forecast to begin Monday into Tuesday, but it is too early to say how strong the winds will be.

But it could be even drier next week, with relative humidity dropping well into single digits. The low humidity and strong winds have fueled the dangerous wildfires burning around Los Angeles.

More offshore Santa Ana wind are possible Wednesday through Saturday of next week.

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(NEW YORK) — Steve Bannon must appear in court next week to explain why he switched lawyers so close to trial, a judge in New York ordered.

Bannon, once a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 25 on charges he defrauded donors of “We Build the Wall,” an online fundraising campaign to support a wall along the U.S. southern border.

Bannon hired Arthur Aidala after his prior attorneys moved to withdraw from the case and Judge April Newbauer said she wanted to “make an inquiry of the defendant” before she decided whether to allow it.

Aidala asked the judge to delay the trial’s start to give him time to read up on the case, insisting Bannon was “not looking to intentionally delay anything.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office saw it differently, arguing Bannon was “trying to make a substitution of counsel for the purpose of delay.”

Bannon’s money laundering and conspiracy case was originally scheduled for trial in 2023 but has been repeatedly delayed.

When trial does begin, prosecutors said they would ask for an anonymous jury.

A six-count indictment in 2022 charged Bannon and “We Build the Wall” itself with two counts of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison. There are additional felony counts of conspiracy and scheme to defraud along with one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to defraud.

Bannon has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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(AQUEBOGUE, N.Y.) — A commercial poultry farm on Long Island, New York, is being forced to kill thousands of ducks after health officials detected cases of bird flu.

The owner of Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue — about 66 miles west of New York City — reportedly first saw signs that his flock was ill last week, according to the Suffolk County Department of Health. Tests confirmed the detection of bird flu on Jan. 17.

The farm, which is the last commercial duck farm on Long Island, was forced to cease operations and begin the process of euthanizing its entire flock of more than 100,000 ducks, according to ABC-owned station WABC. The process will reportedly take a little over a week.

“Unfortunately, when you have a situation like this where you have a flock that’s infected, the remedy is to put the entire flock down,” Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott told WABC.

As of Friday, no farm workers were reported ill and health officials have begun interviewing potentially exposed workers as well as providing testing and preventive medications to high-risk individuals, according to the release from the health department. Pigott told WABC the medications include Tamiflu and Tamivir.

The health department said it is also providing education to the farm owner on preventative measures such as proper hand hygiene and the use of appropriate personal protective equipment.

“The risk to public health is minimal as the virus at this point is not transmissible among humans,” Pigott said in a statement. “A full investigation is underway because there is some potential for transmission of the H5N1 bird flu from the infected birds to individual farm workers who had high-risk exposures.”

SCDH did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment. ABC News left a message requesting comment with Crescent Duck Farm.

Bird flu, or avian influenza, has been causing outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows in the U.S. with recent human cases among poultry and dairy workers.

Human cases have been diagnosed across the country since April 2024, with 67 confirmed in 10 states so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday, no human cases have been reported in New York.

Most human cases have been mild with patients fully recovering. So far, just one death has been recorded in Louisiana in a patient over age 65 who had underlying medical conditions.

The CDC and other public health officials say there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission and the risk to the general public is low.

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