Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) said during an interview over the weekend that he does not support the Laken Riley Act, named after 22-year-old Laken Riley, who was murdered by 26-year-old Venezuelan illegal alien Jose Ibarra. Padilla made the remarks about the bill, which has received strong support from both parties, during a Sunday interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” with Kristen Welker. “So my understanding is there was a procedural vote to allow the measure to come up in the Senate for purposes of allowing a debate, allowing us to offer amendments,” he said. “The bill currently, as written, is first of all, it’s not immigration policy. Second of all, it is already in law that those who commit violent crimes can and should be detained and are in that deportation process.” Welker had to press Padilla two more times to answer whether he would support the bill after Senators voted 84-9 to advance it in the U.S. Senate. “As currently written I’m a no, because it opens the doors for people simply being charged, without a conviction, to be detained and deported,” he said, trying to defend illegal aliens. “That includes minors, that includes Dreamers, that’s shoplifting a pack of bubble gum. There has to be more of a focus on a piece of legislation like this.” WATCH:

In light of the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County, we felt it was timely to revisit this important piece. As wildfires become an increasingly frequent challenge in our warming world, adapting to their effects is crucial—not just on a global environmental scale, but also in addressing the individual health impacts they bring. While protecting lives and homes remains the foremost priority, understanding and managing the health effects of wildfire smoke is also vital. This article offers practical advice for mitigating the often-overlooked skin-related effects of smoke exposure, ensuring that your overall well-being remains a priority as we navigate this new reality together.   The West Coast wildfires demonstrate that fires will be an increasingly common aspect of a warming world. This means that we will have to learn how to adapt, even as we attempt to reverse and mitigate the effects of climate change. Although skin health isn’t our primary concern when it comes to the threat of wildfires, the state of our skin is part of our wellbeing and overall health, and many people who have been exposed to air pollution and large quantities of smoke experience changes in skin health. The air quality across the entire country has been affected by the wildfires, too, so this is not just a localized issue. Smoke has particulate matter, a kind of air pollution that is tiny enough to seep into your pores and cause free radical damage, which leads to dull skin, an uneven tone, and wrinkles. The soot and ash that gets trapped in your pores can cause breakouts as well. According to Howard Sobel, M.D., “if you have sensitive skin, are acne-prone, or have a skin condition such as rosacea, eczema, or psoriasis, the smoke exposure can also cause flare-ups of these conditions.” If you’ve been exposed to smoke, you can take your skin’s recovery into your own hands and soothe smoke-induced irritation by following these tips: Always cleanse your face at night Jeanine Downie, M.D., tells MindBodyGreen that if you don’t want to wash your face more than once a day, then “do it at night so you can take all the pollution off before you go to sleep.” Even on regular days, bacteria and sweat build up on your skin causing inflammation. Soot and smoke exacerbate the issue, even if your face doesn’t look dirty, so washing every night is essential. Introduce antioxidants to your routine Sobel insists that “antioxidants are the number one skincare product to add to your routine if you have been exposed to smoke,” because they stabilize the free radicals that lead to oxidative stress (skin aging and loss of collagen). Adding antioxidants to your routine can boost collagen levels, limit pigmentation, and reduce inflammation. Vitamin C and niacinamide will also help brighten and smooth your skin. Always wear sunscreen The quantity of smoke you’re exposed to may be out of your control, however, you can still protect yourself from other sources of oxidative stress like UV exposure. UV radiation triggers cell damage, which leads to fine lines, sunspots, and sagging skin, so make sure to protect your skin by wearing sunscreen every single day (even if it’s cloudy). Non-nano mineral options are considered the safest for the skin and the environment. Zinc oxide is also recommended for its soothing properties. Cover up your skin if you can Add another layer of protection between you and the elements by opting for long-sleeve shirts and pants when you go outside. You can wear a face mask to help protect the skin on your face, too. Strengthen the skin barrier Sensitive skin, rosacea, eczema, and psoriasis are all conditions that are triggered by a compromised skin barrier. Ingredients like ceramides, squalene, colloidal oat, and manuka honey will nourish your skin with healthy lipids and quell inflammation. There is also new research coming out on the benefits of pre-, pro-, and postbiotic products that can support your skin’s flora. Be environmentally conscious Though not necessarily a skincare tip, taking care of the environment does help your skin long-term, because environmental changes can and have already affected your skin and overall health. Being conscious about making daily choices that will mitigate the negative effects of climate change rather than contribute to the problem isn’t just good for you, but will positively impact everyone’s health and that of our planet.The post How to protect and soothe skin from smoke exposure first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Wildfires have once again ravaged Los Angeles County, burning tens of thousands of acres, destroying thousands of structures, and forcing mass evacuations. Fueled by unrelenting winds, the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires broke out on Tuesday, followed by the Woodley, Lidia, and Sunset fires on Wednesday. In response to this escalating crisis, President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for California after consulting with Governor Gavin Newsom and local fire officials. As flames continue to threaten communities, humanitarian organizations and nonprofits have mobilized to provide relief and recovery assistance to those affected. Here’s how you can help the victims of these devastating wildfires and support the heroes working tirelessly to protect lives and property. 1. Aid for evacuees Evacuation centers have become lifelines for displaced residents. CBS News Los Angeles has partnered with the American Red Cross to support these centers, providing food, water, and emergency supplies. Donations to the Red Cross can help ensure that evacuees receive essential care during this challenging time. World Central Kitchen, led by renowned chef José Andrés, has also stepped in, distributing sandwiches, water, and other meals throughout Southern California. 2. Support for first responders The Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation is seeking contributions to its wildfire emergency fund. These donations directly equip firefighters with the tools and resources they need to combat the ongoing infernos. Supporting this fund is a powerful way to assist the frontline heroes who risk their lives to protect communities. 3. Help for families in need The California Fire Foundation, in partnership with local fire departments and community organizations, is offering financial aid to affected residents. Through their wildfire and disaster relief fund, victims can access resources to rebuild their lives. Additionally, the League of California Community Foundations is coordinating relief efforts for those impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires. Past funds raised by the coalition have rebuilt homes, restored lost belongings, and provided crucial mental health services. 4. Food and supplies for immediate relief The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is accepting food donations and recruiting volunteers to distribute essentials to those in need. Similarly, the Anderson Munger Family YMCA in Koreatown has put out a call for donations of food, snacks, water, and emergency supplies. Deliveries can be made directly to their location, helping to meet the urgent needs of families and individuals affected by the fires. How to take action Whether you’re in California or across the country, there are several ways to make a meaningful impact: Donate to organizations: Contributing funds to groups like the American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen, and the California Fire Foundation ensures your support goes directly to those in need. Volunteer your time: If you’re local, organizations such as the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Anderson Munger Family YMCA need helping hands to sort and deliver supplies. Spread awareness: Amplify the efforts of relief organizations on social media or within your community to encourage others to contribute. The road to recovery As Los Angeles County grapples with the devastation caused by these wildfires, the road to recovery will require collective effort and unwavering compassion. From equipping first responders to feeding evacuees and rebuilding homes, every contribution matters. Take the first step today by supporting one of the organizations on the frontlines of this crisis.The post How to help victims of California wildfires: a guide to supporting relief efforts first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

'Haunted by Afghanistan'

Sometimes, ostensibly discrete global events come into focus and form a unified pattern. When that happens, the world suddenly starts making sense. Here are some examples of “disparate” occurrences: The governments of Europe’s three most powerful countries suddenly complain that Elon Musk’s X is allowing conservatives to communicate and unite on a global basis, Facebook does an about-face and joins X in renouncing censorship, and “woke” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally accepts reality and resigns. Finally, on Jan. 4, President Joe Biden gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, to George Soros, a nonagenarian billionaire who is a sworn enemy of all the above. “I just wish he loved, rather than hated, humanity,” Musk said of Soros in an X post. The award to Soros, who has poured billions into all the worst ideas of the Left, from abortion to ethnic balkanization to rogue prosecutors who won’t prosecute criminals, ironically marked a turning point. It signaled the last fetid wind escaping the body politics of a dying world order. The other events, which all took place at lightning speed within a 36-hour period, signal the winds of change blowing throughout the world. American journalist Bari Weiss, who’s done so much to expand free expression, calls this “the crackup of the old consensus.” French President Emmanuel Macron, a charter member of this leftist unanimity of thought, bitterly complained at a conference in Paris that it’s the birth of a “new international reactionary movement.” Macron is on to something: Conservatives across the globe are indeed uniting more than ever, and social media has helped. As someone who, for the past few years, has participated in the growing number of international confabs where like-minded conservatives share best practices, I toyed in my mind with the idea of promoting the NIRM (new international reactionary movement) as an acronym. But “reactionary” doesn’t really capture what is taking place. My colleague and friend Roger Severino called it “the long reverse march” in an email this week. I love that because that is really what is taking place: Conservatives around the world are reversing the cultural advances the “woke” Left has made in the past few decades. In the late 1960s, the West German radical Rudi Dutschke took a page from Antonio Gramsci’s cultural Marxist teachings and christened that strategy “the long march through the institutions.” What we conservatives are doing now, across the globe, is reversing the long march. This clawing of lost ground on all cultural matters has been made possible, necessary, actually, by the political earthquake of 2024: the election of President-elect Donald Trump and the rallying to his cause by Musk and other like-minded tech giants, such as Marc Andreessen, David Sacks, and Peter Thiel. These men, and others, such as financier Bill Ackman, showed real courage in supporting Trump, the archnemesis of the leftist consensus. The economist Thomas Sowell, an American treasure who labors at the Hoover Institution, calls it “the political vision of the Left.” Everyone across the political spectrum has a vision, Sowell acknowledges. But there is a difference, and it goes to the heart of what unites the events of the past week. “What is surprising, however, is how often the opinions of those on the Left are accompanied by hostility and even hatred,” Sowell writes. “Anyone who studies the history of ideas should notice how much more often people on the political Left, more so than others, denigrate and demonize those who disagree with them—instead of answering their arguments. In a sense, the political Left’s attempts to silence ideas they cannot, or will not, debate are a confession of intellectual bankruptcy.” We see this authoritarian drive to harden the Left’s vision into a consensus constantly, and if truth becomes collateral damage, so be it. “Our reverence for the truth might have become a bit of a distraction that is preventing us from finding consensus and getting important things done,” NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher intoned. Since Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, later renaming it “X,” he has opened it to free debate, getting in the way of consensus-building. This has incensed the Left, precisely for the reasons Sowell explains, and many leftists have thrown a hissy fit and left X, some for alternative platforms such as Threads and BlueSky. But they don’t drive the global conversation. X does. This was what led Macron to exclaim in exasperation Monday from Paris, “If we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support the new international reactionary movement and directly intervene in elections … who would have imagined it?” From Berlin, a spokesman for the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused Musk of trying to use “untruths or half-truths or expressions of opinion” to change the opinions of 84 million Germans, according to the national broadcaster Deutsche Welle. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a similar allusion, though without directly referring to Musk. “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims,” he told Sky News. “They’re interested in themselves.” The German, British, and French governments are incensed that Musk has been commenting on the politically sensitive case of the rapes of young girls by Muslims in Britain, something that has been going on for years, and on the electoral prospects of the right-wing Alternative fur Deutschland party in Germany. But Scholz and his Social Democratic Party are headed to defeat in elections next month. Polls have the party winning a miserly 17% of the vote, two percentage points lower than Alternative fur Deutschland. Scholz is, therefore, as unpopular as Trudeau, the poster child for the old consensus now cracking up. “What’s happening in Canadian politics is not happening in a vacuum,” Weiss wrote this week. “It is a symptom of a much broader phenomenon.” That consensus “held that immigration was an absolute good, with multiculturalism the end goal. Arguments contrary to progressive social attitudes [were] ‘disinformation’ that must be combated by robust online censorship,” Weiss wrote, channeling Sowell. “People would quickly adjust to massive changes in social attitudes around sex and gender because objections would be seen as bigoted. And anyone who said anything that questioned the consensus would become a pariah. This consensus is being rejected across the West.”  Why? Trump’s victories in 2016 and last year had reverberations that shattered the political vision of the Left. “In Italy,” Weiss adds, “Giorgia Meloni—who launched her political career on the far-right—now leads perhaps the most stable country in Western Europe. In Britain, Labour’s Keir Starmer was able to wrest control of Downing Street after 14 years of Conservative rule, largely because Conservatives had not delivered on immigration restrictions. Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party is now ascendant there, in large part because of his muscular stance against Islamism and immigration. Austria just elected its most right-wing government since the end of World War II. And Germany, once the heart of the old consensus under Chancellor Angela Merkel, is still dealing with the fallout with her 2015 decision to accept roughly a million asylum-seekers from the Middle East.” It will further accelerate the crackup that Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Tuesday that it was ditching censorship, which it blamed the Biden administration for pressuring it into practicing. Meta will eliminate third-party fact-checking, switching instead to the “community notes” system pioneered by X, and lifting restrictions on topics such as immigration and gender issues. “We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video released Tuesday. He also acknowledged the unavoidable: “The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point toward once again prioritizing speech,” so Meta would “restore free expression on our platforms.” Expect more signs of the crackup and the restoration of free expression. This article originally appeared in the Washington Examiner. The post Reversing the Long March Through the Institutions appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A kitten left behind in a yard was taken in by a lonely pup. They mended each other in an extraordinary way. Hazy and HopperYoloCountySPCAHopper, the cream tabby kitten, was just a few weeks old when he was found outside without his mom or siblings.Left behind in a family's backyard, he was lonely and longed for a mother's care. When his finders brought him to Yolo County SPCA, they knew just the right foster family for him."He was a baby without a mom, but not for long," Yolo County SPCA shared. Hopper was found in a backyard all aloneYoloCountySPCAIn a loving foster home, a dog named Hazy eagerly awaited Hopper's arrival.Hazy came to the SPCA from a local shelter after she was found as a stray. "The staff quickly learned she was pregnant, and it wasn't long before she had her babies. Unfortunately, none of her babies survived, and Hazy was depressed and missed being a mom. She spent the first night in her foster home crying." Hazy who lost her pups took the kitten in as her ownYoloCountySPCAWhen she saw the new kitten and heard his cries, her eyes lit up, like a ray of sunshine brightening her world. "Hazy's foster mom offered to take Hopper in, and Hazy wasted no time to accept Hopper as her own."The kitten was over the moon to have a mom doting on him. He instantly nuzzled into her belly, trying to nurse, and Hazy lovingly obliged. YoloCountySPCAWhile Hopper was bottle-fed to meet his nutritional needs, he received constant attention from his adoring new momma, who was utterly smitten with him. "These two have become the cutest little family, and we are so happy we got to save them both."Together, they began to heal from their past, mending each other's hearts. "Hazy has blossomed to be a fun-loving and affectionate little ball of energy, and Hopper is continuing to be a lively and happy kitten." They share an inseparable bondYoloCountySPCAHazy treats Hopper like her own "son" and showers him with unconditional love. They are inseparable, like two peas in a pod."They spend all day playing and cuddling together, and it's pretty hard not to fall in love with their special bond. Hazy is fully grown and weighs about eight pounds. Hopper is still very much a baby and has lots of growing to do." Hazy thinks of Hopper as her "son"YoloCountySPCAHazy thrives on being the center of attention and loves playing tag with Hopper. "She is quick to make herself cozy in your lap."Hopper is bursting with orange-cat energy. He zooms around the house and gets into all sorts of mischief. He likes wrestling with Hazy, who matches his unbridled energy and tolerates all his antics. They play and snuggle togetherYoloCountySPCAAfter their playful adventures, Hopper curls up next to his canine momma, purring himself to sleep. They find comfort in each other and bring endless joy and laughter to their humans.At night, the two best friends settle into their favorite spot in bed with their people, drifting off to sleep side by side. YoloCountySPCA"While their stories both started with tragedy, they both have shown how resilient cats and dogs can be." Hazy matches Hopper's unbridled energyMarsha via YoloCountySPCAThanks to Yolo County SPCA, Hopper and Hazy have found each other and will enjoy a lifetime of love together in their forever home. Happy and lovedMarsha via YoloCountySPCAShare this story with your friends. More on Yolo County SPCA on Instagram and Facebook. Thanks to Marsha.Related story: Young Cat Hopped into a Truck to 'Rescue Himself,' Turns Out He Picked the Perfect Place to do so

The horrific California wildfires have left many stories in their terrifying wake: some heartbreaking, some inspirational, with many more to be told as the fires continue to burn. In addition to reporting these, the media seem bent on telling another story: that of Governor Gavin Newsom as a competent state executive completely in control and proactively responding to the fires. After kicking off his rehab tour by sitting down with the Obama Bros, Newsom spoke to NBC’s Jacob Soboroff for Meet the Press. After initial pleasantries, the interview begins with questions on the fire itself but not deeply delving into the response.  After three such questions, Jacob Soboroff leads Newsom into the purpose of the interview: to pitch easing of permitting regulations ahead of a rebuilding of the affected areas. In his follow-up, it is interesting to note that Soboroff is concerned about people trying to “abuse” those regulatory waivers: NBC’s @JacobSoboroff didn’t ask @CAgovernor Newsom abt impact of left-wing environmental policies in exacerbating fires. Instead: “Are you concerned about problems that may result from the suspension of those environmental regulations and the potential abuse by developers?” #MTP pic.twitter.com/xMs4pT1s6R — Brent Baker ?? ?? (@BrentHBaker) January 12, 2025 JACOB SOBOROFF: CEQA, Governor, and the Coastal Act are both environmental regulations. And if you're going to be suspending those temporarily, are you concerned about problems that may result from the suspension of those environmental regulations and the potential abuse by developers? GAVIN NEWSOM: Yeah, we’re not going – and within this executive order, we frame those abuses. We basically bookmark that in the context of maintaining the existing footprints. On the Coastal Act, they allow just a 10% variant, so we're going to be very mindful of that, though California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I'm not going to give that up. But one thing I won't give into is delay.   Soboroff then goes to the “accountability” portion of the interview, without actually extracting any accountability. He asks the questions but allows Newsom to filibuster.  FYI: Ron DeSantis would've NEVER been allowed to get away with this nonresponsive word salad in the midst of the response to an ongoing major crisis. pic.twitter.com/FF1ceiWbSi — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 13, 2025 SOBOROFF: You've also called for an independent investigation into the issues around water supply that we've seen. What are the questions that you're hoping to answer? NEWSOM: The same ones you're asking. Same ones that people out on the streets are asking, yelling about, "What the hell happened? What happened to the water system?" Was it – and, by the way, was it just overwhelm? That you had so much that was used? We drew it down. Was it pipes? Was it electricity? Was it a combination of pipes, electricities, and pumps? Was that drawdown impossible because you lost seven-plus thousand structures right here anyway and every single structure we lost had a pipe that was leaking, and we would've lost that water pressure anyway? Did it contribute in any way to our inability to fight the fire? Or were 99 mile-an-hour winds determinative and there was really no firefight that could've been more meaningful? So I want – all of us want to know those answers, and I just don't want to wait because people are asking me. I want to know those facts. I want them objectively determined, and let the chips fall where they may. This is not about finger pointing. SOBOROFF: You say what to people who insist that these independent investigations or calls for them, are you passing the blame onto other people? NEWSOM: I'm not – how could it be when we're doing an independent investigation and we just want the adjudication of the facts? As I say, it's not about finger pointing. It's about answering the questions you and everybody wants answered. And I think there's a propensity to wait to answer those questions, and people want immediacy. They want response and responsiveness. And so that's the idea. SOBOROFF: Ultimately here, does the buck stop with you? NEWSOM: Well, I mean, you're governor of California. You might as well be the mayor of California. We're all in this together. We're all better off when we're all better off, and we're all better off when we're working together to take care of people and to make sure people are supported. We're empathetic. And we're here not just in the immediacy of the crisis, but we're here after the crisis, as opposed to creating a crisis in the middle of this by trying to divide people and play political, take cheap political shots. Another unchallenged dodge: Newsom demurs on the “confidence in L.A. Mayor Karen Bass” question: Newsom absolutely demurs on the question of whether he has faith in Mayor Bass of L.A. pic.twitter.com/Qs1bX1HVGH — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 13, 2025 SOBOROFF: Do you have faith in Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass? NEWSOM: I have absolute faith in our community. I have faith in our leaders. I have the faith of our capacity to work together. It is then that we go into the Trumpwashing portion of the interview, wherein some statement by President-Elect Donald Trump is made to be the actual scandal underlying the L.A. wildfires, as opposed to negligence under generations of Democrat rule.  Be on the lookout for "Trumpwashing" of wildfire coverage, wherein some Trump statement will become the actual scandal, as opposed to the systemic negligence that led to the wildfire. pic.twitter.com/nkBbuTATMN — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 13, 2025 SOBOROFF: Multiple times Mr. Trump has threatened to withhold aid for California wildfires, both as president and now again as president-elect. Are you worried that he might actually do that? NEWSOM: Well, I mean, he's done it in Utah. He's done it in Michigan, did it in Puerto Rico. He did it to California back before I was even governor in 2018, until he found out folks in Orange County voted for him and then he decided to give the money. So he's been at this for years and years and years. The interview then meanders into talk of the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Cup, and some nonspecific Marshall Plan. There were pro forma questions, for sure, about reservoirs but absolutely nothing about the concerns expressed by the L.A. Fire Chief. Both in tone and in style: this interview was an utter tongue bath, completely (D)ifferent from what a Republican would’ve garnered under similar circumstances. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned interview (source: NBC) as aired on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, January 12th, 2025: NBC MEET THE PRESS 1/12/25 10:05 AM JACOB SOBOROFF: Governor Gavin Newsom, welcome back to Meet the Press. GAVIN NEWSOM: Good to be with you. SOBOROFF: Thank you so much for doing this. NEWSOM: Thank you. SOBOROFF: Six different wildfires raging right now. Do you have the resources to combat all these fires at this hour? GAVIN NEWSOM: Yeah, we have 14,000 people working the line right now. We doubled the National Guard. We have 1,680 out there helping on the logistics side. I was just with folks from Mexico, 73 folks will be relieving some of our hand crews. We've got nine states that are now providing, under this EMAC system, support. So, we've got the resources. But we have more important – I've said this, we have the winds that have changed. And that allows us to be more resourceful with existing resources, particularly the aerial resources. SOBOROFF: In your opinion, is this or will it be the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States? NEWSOM: I think it will be in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope. Don't even remind the folks in California, we had the Tubbs fire, 5,600 houses were lost. And of course, Camp Fire, we had 18,000 housing units lost and 85 people that lost their lives. Currently we're getting confirmation from the coroners, so we always have to be careful on the death toll, but it's in the 13 range, and I've got search and rescue teams out. We've got cadaver dogs out. And there's likely to be a lot more. SOBOROFF: What is your biggest concern over the course of the next 48 hours? NEWSOM: I think is making sure the life safety focus, property focus is there at the same time we're addressing the perimeter issues. The challenge is the winds. We've got these winds coming back this evening, Sunday night. We've got peak winds on Monday. We're going to see 50-plus mile-an-hour gusts, subject to change. So now we're pre-positioning assets. And we're pre-positioning not just here in the theater, those existing five-plus fires, but now broadening that to a number of other counties and moving farther south with some of those resources in anticipation we could see some flare-ups in new places, new starts. SOBOROFF: You're here with us on Meet the Press to announce a new executive order. What is this executive order? What are you hoping to accomplish? NEWSOM: It’s – look, we've got to be thinking three weeks, three months, three years ahead at the same time we're focusing on the immediacy, which is life safety and property. And so that's exactly what we're doing with disaster assistance, making sure people are getting their applications, addressing the issue of fraud. And that's an issue we've got to address, price gouging. So, executive orders on price gouging, recovery. We want to get inspections. Units like this, we want to get our inspection teams out here. They're already starting to get out here. We've come up with some timelines so we can get, within the next few weeks, all that done so people can get their insurance claims. We can then start the big contracts to remove the debris, to address all the hazmat issues, same time as I've got to button up the canyons here as it relates to potential flooding of a lot of atmospheric rivers. Remember, we're in the middle of winter. This is January. In fact, the day of this fire, not a stone's throw away as the crow flies, there was snow right up the mountain here, the same day as this devastating fire here in Altadena. And so all those things have to happen concurrently. But here's the big thing: I'm worried about issues of rebuilding as it relates to scarcity, as it relates to property taxes. Meaning scarcity of resources, materials, personnel. I'm worried about time to getting these projects done. And so we want to fast-track by eliminating any CEQA requirements. Any Coastal Act changes that we're making. I want to make sure when someone rebuilds that they have their old property tax assessments and that they're not increased. So all of that's been done in the executive order we just announced. SOBOROFF: CEQA, Governor, and the Coastal Act are both environmental regulations. And if you're going to be suspending those temporarily, are you concerned about problems that may result from the suspension of those environmental regulations and the potential abuse by developers? NEWSOM: Yeah, we’re not going – and within this executive order, we frame those abuses. We basically bookmark that in the context of maintaining the existing footprints. On the Coastal Act, they allow just a 10% variant, so we're going to be very mindful of that, though California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I'm not going to give that up. But one thing I won't give into is delay. Delay is denial for people: lives, traditions, places torn apart, torn asunder. Families, schools, community centers, churches. You've seen it, the number of schools that have been lost in this community, and we've got to let people know that we have their back. We're going to be back. We're going to do it efficiently and effectively. Don't turn your back. Don't walk away because we want you to come back, rebuild, and rebuild with higher quality-building standards, more modern standards. We want to make sure that the associated costs with that are not disproportionate, especially in a middle-class community like this. SOBOROFF: You've also called for an independent investigation into the issues around water supply that we've seen. What are the questions that you're hoping to answer? NEWSOM: The same ones you're asking. Same ones that people out on the streets are asking, yelling about, "What the hell happened? What happened to the water system?" Was it – and, by the way, was it just overwhelm? That you had so much that was used? We drew it down. Was it pipes? Was it electricity? Was it a combination of pipes, electricities, and pumps? Was that drawdown impossible because you lost seven-plus thousand structures right here anyway and every single structure we lost had a pipe that was leaking, and we would've lost that water pressure anyway? Did it contribute in any way to our inability to fight the fire? Or were 99 mile-an-hour winds determinative and there was really no firefight that could've been more meaningful? So I want – all of us want to know those answers, and I just don't want to wait because people are asking me. I want to know those facts. I want them objectively determined, and let the chips fall where they may. This is not about finger pointing. SOBOROFF: You say what to people who insist that these independent investigations or calls for them, are you passing the blame onto other people? NEWSOM: I'm not – how could it be when we're doing an independent investigation and we just want the adjudication of the facts? As I say, it's not about finger pointing. It's about answering the questions you and everybody wants answered. And I think there's a propensity to wait to answer those questions, and people want immediacy. They want response and responsiveness. And so that's the idea. SOBOROFF: Ultimately here, does the buck stop with you? NEWSOM: Well, I mean, you're governor of California. You might as well be the mayor of California. We're all in this together. We're all better off when we're all better off, and we're all better off when we're working together to take care of people and to make sure people are supported. We're empathetic. And we're here not just in the immediacy of the crisis, but we're here after the crisis, as opposed to creating a crisis in the middle of this by trying to divide people and play political, take cheap political shots. SOBOROFF: Do you have faith in Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass? NEWSOM: I have absolute faith in our community. I have faith in our leaders. I have the faith of our capacity to work together. SOBOROFF: President-elect Trump has blamed you for this crisis. He’s called you incompetent. What's your response? NEWSOM: Well, I called for him to come out, take a look for himself. We want to do it in the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist. He's the president-elect. I respect the office. We have a president of the United States that within 36 hours provided a major disaster declaration over a text. We had support from the President of the United States, Joe Biden, with 100% reimbursement, all the resources you could hope for, imagine, constant communication. I'd like to extend that to the president-elect. I don't know what he's referring to when he talks about the Delta smelt in reservoirs. The reservoirs are completely full, the state reservoirs here in Southern California. That mis- and disinformation I don't think advantages or aids any of us. Responding to Donald Trump's insults, we would spend another month. I'm very familiar with them. Every elected official that he disagrees with is very familiar with them. SOBOROFF: We do know though from reporting here locally that that one reservoir that serves the Palisades was not full. NEWSOM: And that's exactly what triggered my desire to get the investigation to understand what was happening with that local reservoir. That was not a state system reservoir, which the president-elect was referring to as it relates to the delta smelt and somehow connecting the delta smelt to this fire, which is inexcusable because it's inaccurate. Also, incomprehensible to anyone that understands water policy in the state. SOBOROFF: My understanding is that you have put a call into President-elect Trump. Has he called you back? NEWSOM: No, that was months ago. That was after his victory. So, I look forward to him again coming out here in the spirit of cooperation– SOBOROFF: Well, forgive me for interrupting you, but you did invite him to come out here. Have you had any response? NEWSOM: No. No. SOBOROFF: Nothing. NEWSOM: No. SOBOROFF: Multiple times Mr. Trump has threatened to withhold aid for California wildfires, both as president and now again as president-elect. Are you worried that he might actually do that? NEWSOM: Well, I mean, he's done it in Utah. He's done it in Michigan, did it in Puerto Rico. He did it to California back before I was even governor in 2018, until he found out folks in Orange County voted for him and then he decided to give the money. So he's been at this for years and years and years. It transcends the states, including, by the way, Georgia he threatened similarly. So that's his style. And we take it seriously to the extent that in the past it's taken a little bit more time. I've been pretty expressive about that in the context of someone threatening our first responders in terms of supporting the immediacy of their needs or recovery of our community – SOBOROFF: That's what you take it as, that President-elect Trump is threatening the first responders here? NEWSOM: Well, I mean, it's what he said. He said, "I'm not going to support the fire-fighting efforts. I'm not going to support the state of California as it relates to its emergency management," he made this pretty clear during the election, “unless they do my bidding." And, again, these are familiar terms and they're familiar to a lot of other states, not just my state. And they're familiar to not just me as governor but the previous governor of California, Governor Brown, that was battling with these same things. So you just work through these things, and I'm just blessed-- I mean this. I'm blessed on behalf of 40 million Americans that happen to live in California that Joe Biden is president of the United States and did what he did immediately. And to the extent that we can work with the same relationship and that same spirit with Donald Trump, I hope we can. SOBOROFF: Last time I saw you in the Palisades on Wednesday, right after this fire started, you were on the phone at the side of the road trying to reach President Biden. Subsequent to that, he pledged 100% of the disaster recovery relief for the next six months. Is that enough? NEWSOM: Well, it's significant. In fact, when I was on the phone – you saw me on the phone – I was trying to get the satellite phone to work. I asked for 90%, and he said, "No, I'm going to do 100%." It was a big deal. 180 days is a big deal. But he also had just provided the major disaster declaration, and we did the press conference the next day. And that is profoundly significant because that's individual assistance. DisasterAssistance.gov. People should go to DisasterAssistance.gov and start filling out applications, get that immediate relief, and then get longer and medium-term relief. But, no, he stepped up in a way that an American president should step up, and I couldn't be more proud of him. That's not a political statement. That's not because I'm a Democrat saying that. That's because I'm a human being trying to help other human beings in the most extreme elements, the most difficult time in their life. SOBOROFF: Some of these Californians in homes that burnt like this were thrown off of their policies, their fire policies – NEWSOM: Correct. SOBOROFF: Before this fire season. NEWSOM: That's right. SOBOROFF: What do you say to those Californians? NEWSOM: No, it breaks your heart. I mean, this is an issue-- and, by the way, persists in California because of the acuity of the new realities. Hot's getting hotter. Dry's getting drier. Wet's getting wetter. These atmospheric rivers, all the flooding that we've experienced in California but also across the rest of the United States. You're seeing insurance rates through the roof, et cetera. But here's the point. We've been proactive in trying to stabilize that market. That was the executive order a year and a half ago. Insurance commissioner has been moving in that direction. I'll give you a proof point of some of the success of that. Just a week ago, a major insurer announced they were reinsuring in Paradise, California, where the Camp Fire was, because people repopulated. Farmers said they were coming back. So we are very mindful of that. And that's why the FAIR Plan is that backup plan. But I'm also mindful of this. As someone on the FAIR Plan, intimately aware of how it works, it's not the kind of insurance that you get on the private sector, meaning you're not getting as much in terms of that protection. SOBOROFF: Over the course of the next several years, Los Angeles will be host to the World Cup, and then the Super Bowl, and then the Olympics. With this rebuilding effort needing to take place, is L.A. going to be ready for all those global events? NEWSOM: My humble position, and it's not just being naively optimistic, that only reinforces the imperative in moving quickly, doing it in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation. President of the United States, Donald Trump, to his credit, was helpful in getting the Olympics to the United States of America, to get it down here in L.A. We thank him for that. This is an opportunity for him to shine, for this country to shine, for California and this community to shine, the opportunity with all of that and all that opportunity and the pride and spirit that comes from not just hosting those three iconic games and venues, but also the opportunity, I think, to rebuild at the same time. And that's why we're already organizing a Marshall Plan. We already have a team looking at reimagining L.A. 2.0, and we are making sure everyone's included, not just the folks on the coast, people here that were ravaged by this disaster. SOBOROFF: You just said you're organizing a Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of California. What is that Marshall Plan? NEWSOM: For this region. SOBOROFF: Tell us about this Marshall Plan. NEWSOM: We're just starting to lay out. I mean, we're still fighting these fires, so we're already talking to city leaders. We're already talking to civic leaders. We're already talking to business leaders, with nonprofits. We're talking to labor leaders. We're starting to organize how we can put together a collection of individuals on philanthropy for recovery. How we can organize the region. How we can make sure that we are seeking federal assistance for the Olympics more broadly, but also federal assistance for the recovery efforts. And how we can galvanize the community with folks that love this community to really develop a mindset so that, at scale, we're dealing with the scope of this tragedy and responding to it at scale with efficiency – like the executive order I talked about – time value of delivering projects, addressing building codes, addressing permitting issues, and moving forward to rebuilding and being more resilient.  

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