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  • New LGBTQ+ nightclub opens in downtown Orlando in time for Pride

    A new LGBTQ+ nightclub has opened its doors in downtown Orlando, right in time for Pride celebrations during the city’s annual parade and festival.Anthem, located in the heart of downtown, is meant to be a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and to add to the city’s nightlife scene.Owners Michael Vacirca and Emmanuel Quiñones, who are also fiancées, said it has been a years-long dream for the pair to open a LGBTQ+ nightclub after meeting at another Downtown nightclub.”The LGBT community has been losing spaces all over the city, and now we have a brand new one,” Vacirca said. Anthem is in the former “Saddle Up” space and had its grand opening on Pride weekend.Both said it was a journey getting to this point, obtaining the needed permits, etc. “Anthem is for you to feel free, be seen, dance like no one is around you, and you can express yourself,” Quiñones said.”It’s just bringing the heart back to Orlando.” Vacirca and Quiñones said they plan to hold community events and skills workshops.”We want to make sure we level up the community together. We want to make sure we’re bringing everybody to a better place, a better future,” Vacirca said.The hope is that Anthem is more than just a club, but also a home for Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ community.”It’s just our queer people, they need it. They sometimes feel they are alone, they don’t have a friend, they don’t have a home. When they walk through those doors, that’s what we want them to feel. We want them to feel that love and you’re welcome.”

    ORLANDO, Fla. —

    A new LGBTQ+ nightclub has opened its doors in downtown Orlando, right in time for Pride celebrations during the city’s annual parade and festival.

    Anthem, located in the heart of downtown, is meant to be a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and to add to the city’s nightlife scene.

    Owners Michael Vacirca and Emmanuel Quiñones, who are also fiancées, said it has been a years-long dream for the pair to open a LGBTQ+ nightclub after meeting at another Downtown nightclub.

    “The LGBT community has been losing spaces all over the city, and now we have a brand new one,” Vacirca said.

    Anthem is in the former “Saddle Up” space and had its grand opening on Pride weekend.

    Both said it was a journey getting to this point, obtaining the needed permits, etc.

    “Anthem is for you to feel free, be seen, dance like no one is around you, and you can express yourself,” Quiñones said.

    “It’s just bringing the heart back to Orlando.”

    Vacirca and Quiñones said they plan to hold community events and skills workshops.

    “We want to make sure we level up the community together. We want to make sure we’re bringing everybody to a better place, a better future,” Vacirca said.

    The hope is that Anthem is more than just a club, but also a home for Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ community.

    “It’s just our queer people, they need it. They sometimes feel they are alone, they don’t have a friend, they don’t have a home. When they walk through those doors, that’s what we want them to feel. We want them to feel that love and you’re welcome.”

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  • US developer builds homes for displaced Ukrainians, offering hope despite war and crisis

    The Russian invasion of Ukraine has displaced millions, scattering families across the country and abroad. For many, heavy fighting in the east means crowded shelters, borrowed beds and fading hope.Related video above: President Trump signals he’s holding back on long-range missiles for UkraineAbout 400 miles west of the front line, however, a privately built settlement near Kyiv offers a rare reprieve: stable housing, personal space and the dignity of a locked door.This is Hansen Village. Its rows of modular homes provide housing for 2,000 people who are mostly displaced from occupied territories. Children ride bikes along paved lanes, passing amenities like a swimming pool, basketball court, health clinic and school.The village is the creation of Dell Loy Hansen, a Utah real estate developer who has spent over $140 million building and repairing homes across Ukraine since 2022.At 72, he’s eager to do more.A new missionHansen’s arrival in Ukraine followed a public reckoning. In 2020, he sold his Major League Soccer team, Real Salt Lake, after reports that he made racist comments. He denied the allegations in an interview with The Associated Press but said the experience ultimately gave him a new mission.“I went through something painful, but it gave me humility,” he said. “That humility led me to Ukraine.”Seeing people lose everything, Hansen said he felt compelled to act. “This isn’t charity to me, it’s responsibility,” he said. “If you can build, then build. Don’t just watch.”Hansen now oversees more than a dozen projects in Ukraine: expanding Hansen Village, providing cash and other assistance to elderly people and families, and supporting a prosthetics clinic.He’s planning a cemetery to honor displaced people, and a not-for-profit affordable housing program designed to be scaled up nationally.Ukraine’s housing crisis is staggering. Nearly one in three citizens have fled their homes, including 4.5 million registered as internally displaced.Around the eastern city of Dnipro, volunteers convert old buildings into shelters as evacuees arrive daily from the war-torn Donbas region. One site — a crumbling Soviet-era dorm — now houses 149 elderly residents, mostly in their seventies and eighties.Funding comes from a patchwork of donations: foreign aid, local charities and individual contributions including cash, volunteer labor or old appliances and boxes of food, all put together to meet urgent needs.“I call it begging: knocking on every door, and explaining why each small thing is necessary,” said Veronika Chumak, who runs the center. “But we keep going. Our mission is to restore people’s sense of life.”Valentina Khusak, 86, was evacuated by charity volunteers from Myrnohrad, a coal-mining town, after Russian shelling cut off water and power. She lost her husband and son before the war.“Maybe we’ll return home, maybe not,” she said. “What matters is that places like this exist — where the old and lonely are treated with warmth and respect.”A nation under strainUkraine’s government is struggling to fund shelters and repairs as its relief budget buckles under relentless missile and drone attacks on infrastructure.By late 2024, 13% of Ukrainian homes were damaged or destroyed, according to a U.N.-led assessment. The cost of national reconstruction is estimated to be $524 billion, nearly triple the country’s annual economic output.Since June, Ukraine has evacuated over 100,000 more people from the east, expanding shelters and transit hubs. New evacuees are handed an emergency government subsidy payment of $260.Yevhen Tuzov, who helped thousands find shelter during the 2022 siege of Mariupol, said many feel forgotten.“Sometimes six strangers must live together in one small room,” Tuzov said. “For elderly people, this is humiliating.“What Hansen is doing is great — to build villages — but why can’t we do that too?”’People here don’t need miracles’Hansen began his work after visiting Ukraine in early 2022. He started by wiring cash aid to families, then used his decades of experience to build modular housing.Mykyta Bogomol, 16, lives in foster care apartments at Hansen Village with seven other children and two dogs. He fled the southern Kherson region after Russian occupation and flooding.“Life here is good,” he said. “During the occupation, it was terrifying. Soldiers forced kids into Russian schools. Here, I finally feel safe.”Hansen visits Ukraine several times a year. From Salt Lake City, he spends hours daily on video calls, tracking war updates, coordinating aid, and lobbying U.S. lawmakers.“I’ve built homes all my life, but nothing has meant more to me than this,” he said. “People here don’t need miracles — just a roof, safety, and someone who doesn’t give up on them.”A fraction of what’s neededLast year, Hansen sold part of his businesses for $14 million — all of it, he said, went to Ukraine.Still, his contribution is a fraction of what’s needed. With entire towns uninhabitable, private aid remains vital but insufficient.Hansen has met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked him for supporting vulnerable communities. Later this year, Hansen will receive one of Ukraine’s highest civilian honors — an award he says is not for himself.“I don’t need recognition,” he said. “If this award makes the elderly and displaced more visible, then it means something. Otherwise, it’s just a medal.” Associated Press journalists Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Vasilisa Stepanenko and Dmytro Zhyhinas in Pavlohrad, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

    TARASIVKA, Ukraine —

    The Russian invasion of Ukraine has displaced millions, scattering families across the country and abroad. For many, heavy fighting in the east means crowded shelters, borrowed beds and fading hope.

    Related video above: President Trump signals he’s holding back on long-range missiles for Ukraine

    About 400 miles west of the front line, however, a privately built settlement near Kyiv offers a rare reprieve: stable housing, personal space and the dignity of a locked door.

    This is Hansen Village. Its rows of modular homes provide housing for 2,000 people who are mostly displaced from occupied territories. Children ride bikes along paved lanes, passing amenities like a swimming pool, basketball court, health clinic and school.

    The village is the creation of Dell Loy Hansen, a Utah real estate developer who has spent over $140 million building and repairing homes across Ukraine since 2022.

    At 72, he’s eager to do more.

    A new mission

    Hansen’s arrival in Ukraine followed a public reckoning. In 2020, he sold his Major League Soccer team, Real Salt Lake, after reports that he made racist comments. He denied the allegations in an interview with The Associated Press but said the experience ultimately gave him a new mission.

    “I went through something painful, but it gave me humility,” he said. “That humility led me to Ukraine.”

    Seeing people lose everything, Hansen said he felt compelled to act. “This isn’t charity to me, it’s responsibility,” he said. “If you can build, then build. Don’t just watch.”

    Hansen now oversees more than a dozen projects in Ukraine: expanding Hansen Village, providing cash and other assistance to elderly people and families, and supporting a prosthetics clinic.

    He’s planning a cemetery to honor displaced people, and a not-for-profit affordable housing program designed to be scaled up nationally.

    Ukraine’s housing crisis is staggering. Nearly one in three citizens have fled their homes, including 4.5 million registered as internally displaced.

    Around the eastern city of Dnipro, volunteers convert old buildings into shelters as evacuees arrive daily from the war-torn Donbas region. One site — a crumbling Soviet-era dorm — now houses 149 elderly residents, mostly in their seventies and eighties.

    Funding comes from a patchwork of donations: foreign aid, local charities and individual contributions including cash, volunteer labor or old appliances and boxes of food, all put together to meet urgent needs.

    “I call it begging: knocking on every door, and explaining why each small thing is necessary,” said Veronika Chumak, who runs the center. “But we keep going. Our mission is to restore people’s sense of life.”

    Valentina Khusak, 86, was evacuated by charity volunteers from Myrnohrad, a coal-mining town, after Russian shelling cut off water and power. She lost her husband and son before the war.

    “Maybe we’ll return home, maybe not,” she said. “What matters is that places like this exist — where the old and lonely are treated with warmth and respect.”

    A nation under strain

    Ukraine’s government is struggling to fund shelters and repairs as its relief budget buckles under relentless missile and drone attacks on infrastructure.

    By late 2024, 13% of Ukrainian homes were damaged or destroyed, according to a U.N.-led assessment. The cost of national reconstruction is estimated to be $524 billion, nearly triple the country’s annual economic output.

    Since June, Ukraine has evacuated over 100,000 more people from the east, expanding shelters and transit hubs. New evacuees are handed an emergency government subsidy payment of $260.

    Yevhen Tuzov, who helped thousands find shelter during the 2022 siege of Mariupol, said many feel forgotten.

    “Sometimes six strangers must live together in one small room,” Tuzov said. “For elderly people, this is humiliating.

    “What Hansen is doing is great — to build villages — but why can’t we do that too?”

    ‘People here don’t need miracles’

    Hansen began his work after visiting Ukraine in early 2022. He started by wiring cash aid to families, then used his decades of experience to build modular housing.

    Mykyta Bogomol, 16, lives in foster care apartments at Hansen Village with seven other children and two dogs. He fled the southern Kherson region after Russian occupation and flooding.

    “Life here is good,” he said. “During the occupation, it was terrifying. Soldiers forced kids into Russian schools. Here, I finally feel safe.”

    Hansen visits Ukraine several times a year. From Salt Lake City, he spends hours daily on video calls, tracking war updates, coordinating aid, and lobbying U.S. lawmakers.

    “I’ve built homes all my life, but nothing has meant more to me than this,” he said. “People here don’t need miracles — just a roof, safety, and someone who doesn’t give up on them.”

    A fraction of what’s needed

    Last year, Hansen sold part of his businesses for $14 million — all of it, he said, went to Ukraine.

    Still, his contribution is a fraction of what’s needed. With entire towns uninhabitable, private aid remains vital but insufficient.

    Hansen has met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked him for supporting vulnerable communities. Later this year, Hansen will receive one of Ukraine’s highest civilian honors — an award he says is not for himself.

    “I don’t need recognition,” he said. “If this award makes the elderly and displaced more visible, then it means something. Otherwise, it’s just a medal.”

    Associated Press journalists Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Vasilisa Stepanenko and Dmytro Zhyhinas in Pavlohrad, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

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  • Here’s how the 2025 legislative session closed: The lowdown on the environment

    Gov. Gavin Newsom wrapped up the 2025 legislative session with the usual flurry of activity, signing several important environmental, energy and climate bills and vetoing others ahead of Monday’s deadline.

    Among the newest laws in California are efforts to accelerate clean energy projects and advance the state’s position as a climate leader — but also decisions to ramp up oil drilling and reject the phase-out of forever chemicals.

    Here’s a look at what happened this year:

    In September, Newsom signed a blockbuster suite of bills including the reauthorization of California’s signature cap-and-trade program, which sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions and lets large polluters buy and sell emissions allowances at quarterly auctions. The Legislature extended the program by 15 years to 2045, rebranded it as “cap-and-invest” and specified how its revenues will be allocated for wildfire prevention efforts, high-speed rail and other projects.

    The greenhouse gas trading program is seen as essential for the state to meet its climate targets, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.

    “California really needed to act this year to decisively try to put in policies to meet our climate goals [and support] the economy and different sectors,” said Susan Nedell, senior western advocate with the nonpartisan policy group E2. She called state legislative efforts especially important as the Trump administration aims to erode California’s authority on tailpipe emission standards, electric vehicle initiatives and renewable energy projects, among others.

    “This is the time for California to lead, and I really feel like they came through on it as a state,” Nedell said.

    WHAT ELSE BECAME LAW

    • One of the more controversial bills of the year was Senate Bill 237, which makes it easier to drill up to 2,000 new oil wells in Kern County. It’s a tradeoff that also makes it more difficult to drill new oil or gas wells offshore. Legislators said it will help address the volatility of gasoline prices following announcements from oil companies Phillips 66 and Valero that they are shutting down two big refineries in the state. Environmental groups were quick to condemn the bill.
    • Also controversial was Assembly Bill 825, which will expand California’s participation in a regional power market — enabling the state to buy and sell more clean power with other Western states. Opponents feared that it will cede some control of California’s power grid to out-of-state authorities, including the federal government. Supporters said it will improve grid reliability and save money for ratepayers.
    • January’s firestorm in L.A. led to a renewed focus on the state’s approach to fires, including Senate Bill 254, which contains various policies to address California’s aging electric infrastructure and wildfire prevention goals. It will secure about $18 billion to replenish the state’s wildfire fund — a state insurance policy for utilities — which officials say will help protect ratepayers from excessive utility liability costs. It also will establish a program to speed up the construction of power lines needed for clean energy projects.
    • Assembly Bill 39 requires cities and counties with at least 75,000 residents to plan for more electrification infrastructure by 2030, including electric vehicle charging and building upgrades. The measures must address the needs of low-income households and disadvantaged communities.
    • Senate Bill 80 will create a $5-million fund to accelerate research and development for fusion energy. Fusion creates energy by slamming two atoms together. The state hopes to launch the world’s first fusion energy pilot project by the 2040s. “Fusion energy has the immense potential to provide consistent, clean baseload power on demand that will help us meet our clean energy goals,” said Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Merced), the bill’s author, in a statement.
    • Assembly Bill 888 creates a grant program to help low-income homeowners clear defensible space around their houses and install fire-safe roofs. It is “exactly the kind of proactive, people-first policy California needs,” said Eric Horne, California director for the nonprofit Megafire Action, which is geared to ending large wildfires.
    • Senate Bill 653 means that state agencies have to pay more attention to using native species in their fire prevention work and use science-based standards to avoid introducing invasive, fire-prone species.
    • Senate Bill 429 establishes the Wildfire Safety and Risk Mitigation Program at the California Department of Insurance, which will fund research into developing and deploying a public wildfire catastrophe model — a computer simulation that estimates property damage from large wildfires and helps communities better assess and prepare for risk.
    • Assembly Bill 462 streamlines approvals for accessory dwelling units on properties affected by the 2025 wildfires in the California Coastal Zone, requiring decisions on coastal permits within 60 days and eliminating some appeals.
    • Assembly Bill 818 accelerates local permitting for rebuilding homes and allows residents to place temporary homes, such as manufactured homes or ADUs, on private lots during reconstruction.
    • Assembly Bill 245 gives residents additional time to rebuild their homes or businesses in the wake of the 2025 wildfires without experiencing a property tax increase.
    • Senate Bill 614 will establish new regulations for the safe transport of carbon dioxide captured from large polluters or removed from the atmosphere. The legislation will authorize the development of dedicated pipelines to move CO2 to underground geological formations for permanent storage, and was described by Newsom as a vital next step for the state’s burgeoning carbon capture, removal and sequestration market.
    • Assembly Bill 14 expands the “Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program” statewide. The program encourages large vessels to voluntarily reduce their speed in designated areas in order to reduce air pollution and reduce the risk of fatal vessel strikes and harmful underwater acoustic impacts on whales.

    WHAT WAS VETOED

    • The governor vetoed Senate Bill 34, which would have required the South Coast Air Quality Management District to consider certain factors before implementing regulations at the region’s ports. Opponents, including health and environmental groups, said it would have ultimately weakened its authority and ability to meet clean air standards. In its place, the air district and the ports are pursuing a voluntary cooperative agreement that will include obligations for zero-emissions infrastructure and other clean-air efforts. “With the current federal administration directly undermining our state and local air and climate pollution reduction strategies, it is imperative that we maintain the tools we have,” Newsom wrote in his veto.
    • Assembly Bill 740 would have directed the state’s energy agencies to create an implementation plan for “virtual power plants” — networks of small energy resources such as smart thermostats, home batteries and rooftop solar panels that can help reduce strain on the grid. Newsom vetoed it earlier this month, stating that it would result in additional costs for the California Energy Commission’s already depleted operating fund. But Edson Perez, California lead at the nonprofit Advanced Energy United, called its veto a “costly mistake” and said the bill would have saved ratepayers more than $13 billion.
    • Newsom this week also vetoed Senate Bill 682, which would have phased out the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in consumer products such as nonstick cookwear and products for infants and children. The governor cited concerns about affordability in his veto.

    Earlier this year, the governor also signed the most significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, since it originally became law in 1970. Signed in June, Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131 exempt a broad array of housing development and infrastructure projects from CEQA in an effort to ease new construction in the state. Supporters said it will help address the state’s housing crisis, while many environmental groups were outraged by the move.

    “While California was able to advance on grid regionalization, strengthen energy affordability, uphold local air quality protection, and protect endangered species, we’re frustrated by the Governor’s vetoes of measures that would have banned forever chemicals, prioritized cost effective energy consumption, expanded virtual power plants to lower electricity bills, and banned microplastics,” said Melissa Romero, policy advocacy director with the nonprofit California Environmental Voters.

    Hayley Smith

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  • ‘We’re chasing what’s left of life’: Gazans journey back to destruction

    JABALIA, Gaza Strip — The trailer creaked under the weight of mattresses, blankets, tents, a gas cylinder, weathered plastic barrels, burlap sacks of clothes, plastic chairs, gardening tools, various kitchen utensils and a toy tricycle — the collective belongings of Mohammad Abu Warda and his family.

    Abu Warda, 34, tugged at the ropes securing the load, and hitched the trailer to his tractor. He glanced a moment at his mother, 60-year-old Bouthaina Warda, who was braiding his daughter’s hair, then turned to look at the coastal highway heading northward to Gaza City.

    It was time to go home.

    “The last time we took this highway, we were escaping death,” Abu Warda said, his hands straining against the rope as he tightened it once more.

    “Today, we’re chasing what’s left of life.”

    All around him others were embarking on a similar journey, stacking whatever they had salvaged of their belongings onto whatever transportation they could manage. Donkey carts and tractors jostled for space with pickups and larger transport trucks, the diesel fumes mixing with dust and the salty sea air.

    Every few hundred yards, more people would join on the Al-Rashid Highway from the side streets, adding to the slow-moving deluge of hundreds of thousands returning home to see what — if anything — remained of the lives they had in north Gaza.

    The homecoming arrives at a time of hope after two years of war. A breakthrough Israel-Hamas ceasefire continues to hold, with prospects for an enduring peace. President Trump was headed to Israel in time for Monday’s expected release of the last hostages held in Gaza, with Israel set to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and plans for a surge of aid into the famine-stricken territory.

    Abu Warda had endured displacement early in the war, when he and his family left their house in Jabalia, a few miles north of Gaza City, in November 2023; they returned to it 14 months later in January of this year, before Israel’s intensified assault on Gaza City and the northern part of the enclave last month forced them out again.

    This time, Abu Warda — whose uncles and cousins had braved the 16-mile trek back from central Gaza’s Khan Yunis to Jabalia the day before — knew it would be a bitter homecoming.

    Mohammad Abu Warda sits amid the rubble in Jabalia, which his family returned to on Sunday.

    (Bilal Shbeir / For The Times)

    “Everything is gone. The house is destroyed,” he said.

    Sitting in the trailer, Bouthaina spoke, her voice small and somber.

    “People keep saying we’re going home. But home isn’t there anymore,” she said. “We’re just going to see what’s left. A pile of rubble.”

    Many of 2.1 million people living in the Gaza Strip (which at some 140 square miles is less than a third the area of Los Angeles) face similar circumstances, with nearly the entire population being forced to move over the last two years and more than 90% of homes damaged, according to expert estimates.

    Some parts of the enclave are suffering from famine as a result of a months-long Israeli blockade, say the U.N. and other aid groups, which also have accused Israel of genocide. Israel denies the charge and says it acted to destroy Hamas.

    Meanwhile, the enclave’s infrastructure, whether in healthcare, water or sanitation, has been devastated; especially in Gaza City, according to Asem Al-Nabih, spokesman for the Gaza City municipality.

    “I can’t explain to you the massive amount of damage we’re seeing,” he said.

    He added that the Israeli military had deployed booby-trapped armored assault vehicles, which inflicted damage not only to structures above ground but also to water wells, underground piping and sewage pumps, not to mention roadways.

    “Our priority now is to get water, and we’ve started clearing the main roads so people can get to what’s left of their homes,” he said. “But at the same time, we’ve lost most of our heavy and medium equipment over the last two years, so we can’t do much to relieve people’s suffering.”

    The war began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people — two-thirds of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities — and kidnapping about 250 others.

    In retaliation, Israel launched a massive military offensive that has killed more than 67,000 people, over 3% of the enclave’s population, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Though it does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally, its figures are seen as reliable and have been used by the U.N. and the Israeli military.

    Abu Warda gunned the tractor’s engine, pushing it faster as he passed the shell of a seaside cafe where his family once stopped for tea and grilled chicken on weekend sojourns. Lining the side of the road were abandoned sandals, plastic water bottles hardened by the sun, and broken toys — remnants of the exodus in months gone by.

    With every mile the family came closer to Jabalia, the landscape shifted, with fewer tents, more ruins and more dust lining people’s faces. Entire apartment blocks leaned into each other, like carelessly toppled dominoes.

    Finally, six hours later, Abu Warda parked the tractor before a heap of masonry and distressed rebar in Jabalia: home.

    “I remember my window was there,” Abu Warda said, pointing to a hollow space between fallen slabs of concrete.

    A trailer holds the possesions of Mohammad Abu Warda's family.

    A trailer holds the possessions of Mohammad Abu Warda’s family, which fled northern Gaza months ago to escape attacks by the Israeli military.

    (Bilal Shbeir / For The Times.)

    A school notebook, dusty and dog-eared, peeked from the rubble. He fished it out and brushed off the cover. His son’s name was still visible, written in red marker.

    Abu Warda’s sister, 25-year-old Amal Warda, bent to the ground and grabbed a handful of gray dust.

    “This is what we came back for,” she said quietly. “To touch the truth with our own hands.”

    As the afternoon wore on, the family used rope scavenged from a neighbor’s courtyard to secure a tarp between two taller chunks of concrete. Abu Warda found an old metal kettle and lighted a small fire with scraps of wood, then brewed tea he poured into dented cups and passed around.

    A few neighbors and cousins emerged from similarly destroyed ruins, exchanging greetings that sounded both joyous and fragile. Someone offered water. Another shared news of which wells in the area were still functioning, along with information about U.S. assistance.

    The children started playing, scampering up piles of debris. Bisan, Abu Warda’s 12-year-old niece, grabbed a stick and traced a drawing of a house with four windows and a tree. She added her family standing outside, with smiles on their faces. When the wind blew it away, she drew it again.

    “Gaza still breathes through its people,” Amal said. “As long as people are back here, life will slowly get back too.”

    By sunset, the sea breeze turned cool. The family stretched out the blankets they had brought with them and slept under the tarp. Abu Warda looked up at the sky.

    “I’m not sure what tomorrow is going to bring,” he said.

    “But I do know this: Being here, even if it’s in ruins, is better than waiting for news in a tent.”

    Special correspondent Shbeir reported from Jabalia and Times staff writer Bulos from Jerusalem.

    Bilal Shbeir, Nabih Bulos

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  • Former schools chief Austin Beutner plans to challenge Bass, blasting her over Palisades fire

    Former L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner is planning to announce a challenge to Mayor Karen Bass in the 2026 election, arguing that the city has failed to properly respond to crime, rising housing costs and the devastating Palisades fire.

    Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker who lives in L.A.’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, would become the first serious challenger to Bass, who is running for her second and final term.

    Beutner said in an interview Saturday that city officials at all levels showed a “failure of leadership” on the fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and left 12 people dead.

    The inferno seriously damaged Beutner’s house, forcing him and his family to rent elsewhere in the neighborhood, and destroyed his mother-in-law’s home entirely.

    “When you have broken hydrants, a reservoir that’s broken and is out of action, broken [fire] trucks that you can’t dispatch ahead of time, when you don’t pre-deploy at the adequate level, when you don’t choose to hold over the Monday firefighters to be there on Tuesday to help fight the fire — to me, it’s a failure of leadership,” Beutner said.

    “At the end of the day,” he added, “the buck stops with the mayor.”

    A representative for Bass’ campaign declined to comment.

    Beutner’s attacks come days after federal prosecutors filed charges in the Palisades fire, accusing a 29-year-old of intentionally starting a New Year’s Day blaze that later rekindled into the deadly inferno.

    With the federal investigation tied up, the Fire Department released a long-awaited after-action report Wednesday. The 70-page report found that firefighters were hampered by poor communication, inexperienced leadership, a lack of resources and an ineffective process for recalling them back to work. Bass announced a number of changes in light of the report.

    Beutner, a onetime advisor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, could pose a serious political threat to Bass. He would come to the race with a wide range of experiences — finance, philanthropy, local government and even the struggling journalism industry.

    Although seven other people have filed paperwork to run for her seat, none have the fundraising muscle or name recognition to mount a major campaign. Rick Caruso, the real estate developer whom Bass defeated in 2022, has publicly flirted with the idea of another run but has stopped short of announcing a decision.

    Bass beat Caruso by a wide margin in 2022 even though the shopping mall mogul outspent her by an enormous margin. Caruso has been an outspoken critic of her mayorship, particularly on her response to the Palisades fire.

    Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, said he believes that Beutner would face an uphill climb in attempting to unseat Bass — even with the criticism surrounding the handling of the Palisades fire. However, his entry into the race could inspire other big names to launch their own mayoral campaigns, shattering the “wall of invincibility” that Bass has tried to create.

    “If Beutner jumps in and starts to get some traction, it makes it easier for Caruso to jump in,” Guerra said. “Because all you’ve got to do is come in second in the primary [election], and then see what happens in the general.”

    Earlier Saturday, The Times reported that Beutner’s longtime X account had featured — then quickly removed — the banner image “AUSTIN for LA MAYOR,” along with the words: “This account is being used for campaign purposes by Austin Beutner for LA Mayor 2026.” That logo was also added and then removed from other Beutner social media accounts.

    Beutner’s announcement, which is currently planned for Monday, comes in a year of crises for the mayor and her city. She was out of the country in January, taking part in a diplomatic mission to Ghana, when the ferocious Palisades fire broke out.

    Upon her return, she faced withering criticism over the city’s preparation for the high winds, as well as Fire Department operations and the overall emergency response.

    In the months that followed, the city was faced with a $1-billion budget shortfall, triggered in part by pay raises for city workers that were approved by Bass. To close the gap, the City Council eliminated about 1,600 vacant positions, slowed down hiring at the Los Angeles Police Department and rejected Bass’ proposal for dozens of additional firefighters.

    By June, Bass faced a different emergency: waves of masked and heavily armed federal agents apprehending immigrants at car washes, Home Depots and elsewhere, sparking furious street protests.

    Bass’ standing with voters was badly damaged in the wake of the Palisades fire, with polling in March showing that fewer than 20% of L.A. residents gave her fire response high marks.

    But after President Trump put the city in his cross hairs, the mayor regained her political footing, responding swiftly and sharply. She mobilized her allies against the immigration crackdown and railed against the president’s deployment of the National Guard, arguing that the soldiers were “used as props.”

    Beutner — who, like Bass, is a Democrat — said he voted for Bass four years ago and had come to regret his choice.

    He described Los Angeles as a city “adrift,” with unsolved property crimes, rising trash fees and housing that is unaffordable to many.

    Beutner said that he supports Senate Bill 79, the law that will force the city to allow taller, denser buildings near rail stations, “in concept.”

    “I just wish that we had leadership in Los Angeles that had been ahead of this, so we would have had a greater say in some of the rules,” he said. “But conceptually, yes, we’ve got to build more housing.”

    Bass had urged Gov. Gavin Newsom not to sign the bill into law, which he did on Friday.

    Beutner is a co-founder and former president of Evercore Partners, a financial services company that advises its clients on mergers, acquisitions and other transactions. In 2008, he retired from that firm — now simply called Evercore Inc. — after he was seriously injured in a bicycling accident.

    In 2010, he became Villaraigosa’s jobs czar, taking on the elevated title of first deputy mayor and receiving wide latitude to strike business deals on Villaraigosa’s behalf, just as the city was struggling to emerge from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

    Slightly more than a year into his job, Beutner filed paperwork to begin exploring a run for mayor. He secured the backing of former Mayor Richard Riordan and many in the business community but pulled the plug in 2012.

    In 2014, Beutner became publisher of the Los Angeles Times, where he focused on digital experimentation and forging deeper ties with readers. He lasted roughly a year in that job before Tribune Publishing Co., the parent company of The Times, ousted him.

    Three years later, Beutner was hired as the superintendent of L.A. Unified, which serves schoolchildren in Los Angeles and more than two dozen other cities and unincorporated areas. He quickly found himself at odds with the teachers union, which staged a six-day strike.

    The union settled for a two-year package of raises totaling 6%. Beutner, for his part, signed off on a parcel tax to generate additional education funding, but voters rejected the proposal.

    In 2022, after leaving the district, Beutner led the successful campaign for Proposition 28, which requires that a portion of California’s general fund go toward visual and performing arts instruction.

    Earlier this year, Beutner and several others sued L.A. Unified, accusing the district of violating Proposition 28 by misusing state arts funding and failing to provide legally required arts instruction to students.

    He also is immersed in philanthropy, having founded the nonprofit Vision to Learn, which provides vision screenings, eye exams and glasses to children in low-income communities.

    David Zahniser, Julia Wick

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  • The Best Carpet Cleaners We’ve Found, Tested in Busy Households

    Compare Our Picks

    Others Tested

    Photograph: Simon Hill

    Hoover HF4 Hydro for £199: For UK folks in flats or small houses with a mix of carpet and hard floor, this cordless, space-saving vacuum and mop from Hoover could be a smart pick. You get a standard cordless stick vac with around half an hour of battery life, but you can switch the head to mop. It’s excellent for cleaning hard floors, with a shape that gets right into corners and two rotating pads to lift stains. But the water tank, contained within the head, is tiny, the vacuum is only moderately powerful at lifting, and battery life drops to just 15 minutes in turbo mode.

    Hoover SmartWash Automatic Carpet Cleaner for $250: It’s bulky, but it has automatic cleaning and drying cycles—pushing it forward releases the solution and pulling it back starts the drying process. After you’ve gone over the whole area, you can turn just the drying mode on for an extra pass if the carpet needs it. The handle comes out with the click of a button, and you can use its separate tank with a cleaning solution to spot-treat before vacuuming. A hose and separate antimicrobial pet tool can clean stairs or any other hard-to-reach areas that need extra elbow grease. Some customer reviews say it worked well for a few months but then shorted out. We’ll keep trying it to see if we run into that issue. —Medea Giordano

    Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner for $79: If you’ve landed on the cleaning side of TikTok, you’ve probably seen people cleaning their carpets and furniture with this Little Green machine. This opens up the world of upholstery cleaning too, not just carpets. It worked well and it’s easier to store and tote around your house than our top pick. But use the included hose-cleaning tool frequently. These hoses can get nasty. —Brenda Stolyar

    Cleaners We Like for Hard Floors

    Image may contain Device Appliance and Electrical Device

    Photograph: Simon Hill

    Dreame H14 Pro for $380: The Dreame H14 Pro is quite large, but I found it easy to maneuver, and it can lie flat to get under furniture. A handy LED headlight helps you see what you are cleaning clearly. A full charge proved enough to do all my hard floors twice over, and the result was super shiny. What I love about this vac is that it effectively cleans up dry or wet spills, so whether you are cleaning cat litter or a spilled bowl of cereal, it performs. It’s best for cleaning recent spills but can shift stubborn stains with repeated passes on Ultra mode. When you finish, you can return it to the charging cradle and trigger the self-cleaning mode to sterilize the soft roller and dry it (though it gets loud and takes a long time). No one wants to install an app or create an account just to use a vacuum, but it enables you to choose modes and schedule the self-cleaning, which could be handy if you want it to wait until you go out. —Simon Hill

    Shark S5003D Genius Steam Mop for $100: This steam mop is great for cleaning hardwood, tiles, or laminate flooring (not carpets). Simply fill the water tank, plug it in, and attach one of the mop pads. It has three heat levels, and you press down to release a jet of steam for stubborn stains. There’s no need for any detergent, it’s light and maneuverable, and it doesn’t require much space. The clever pad design enables you to flip it over when one side is soiled, and the mechanism makes it easy to attach, with a button to detach the dirty pad, which is machine washable. (You get two pads in the box.) I regularly use this mop to clean laminate, composite, and tile floors, but you must be careful using steam, especially on wood or vinyl flooring. Test it on the lowest heat setting before going over the whole floor. There are no special attachments or extras here, and it’s only suitable for use on hard floors. You also need to empty any remaining water if you don’t plan on using it for a while, or the tank can go nasty. —Simon Hill

    Karcher SC 3 for $164: If your budget can stretch, this option is better if you want attachments and the option to steam-clean harder-to-reach surfaces and your hard floors. It’s good for complete kitchen or bathroom cleaning without the need for any detergent or other products. It’s effective for cleaning glass and mirrors too. It only comes with one microfiber cover, and it’s not recommended for use on fabrics or carpets. —Simon Hill

    Not Recommended

    6 Best Carpet Cleaners Tested and Reviewed

    Eufy E28 HydroJet Robot Vacuum with Carpet Cleaner for $1,400: I generally love Eufy’s attractive, smart, multipurpose robot vacuums, and since I have two dogs and two kids, I was expecting to love a robot vacuum that could also mop hardwood floors and has a detachable carpet cleaner. Unfortunately, the water injection system is wonky. It has to be perfectly positioned to get water from the portable carpet cleaner tank (I often had to tap it into place), and every time I mopped, it leaked constantly all over my kitchen floor. At least the carpet cleaner was effective. —Adrienne So

    Things to Consider When Shopping for a Carpet Cleaner

    There is a lot to think about when shopping for or using a carpet cleaner, such as how much space you’ll need for storage and whether you should rent or buy. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

    Carpet cleaners are heavy and bulky, especially when filled with water. They can be harder to maneuver than regular upright vacuums. They will also need quite a bit of storage space.

    Tackle stain-causing spills immediately. Most households only need to wash carpets once every six months to a year, but spot cleaners are ideal for treating immediate spills, plus they’re easier to store and use.

    You likely won’t use a carpet cleaner often, so it’s OK to consider hiring professionals to do your whole home, especially if you have limited storage space. (It also can depend on how dirty and stained your carpets are.) Look at options for renting a machine from local businesses or retail stores like Home Depot. You’ll be able to get the benefits of a commercial-grade cleaner without paying a fortune.

    Clean your carpet before you use a carpet cleaner. This may seem counterintuitive, but you don’t want dirt and hair to form wet clumps that block the cleaner. And if you haven’t washed your carpets in a while (or ever), be prepared for an embarrassing amount of hairy clogs to fill the dirty water tank.

    The carpet shampoo or detergent you use is important. Manufacturers often insist you use their brand, and while other types may work fine, you might void your warranty (although I have no idea how they’d know). Most carpet cleaners come with some detergent.

    Try, try, and try again. It can be disappointing to fire up a carpet cleaner and find that it’s incapable of removing that old red wine stain or ground-in toothpaste. Don’t lose heart. Multiple cleaning sessions can sometimes chip away at established stains, and at least reduce, if not remove, them.

    Drying your carpets can take a long time. Most carpet cleaners have different settings, and they will suck up some of the water, but they all leave carpets a bit damp. The deeper cleans tend to leave carpets wet, so think about how you might speed drying time. Use fans, fire up the heating, or do your carpet cleaning in the spring and summer months when you can leave windows open.

    Protect your hearing. Of all the ways you can damage your hearing, a carpet cleaner is perhaps the least fun, so protect your ears. Some of these get very loud, so wear earplugs while you work.

    Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.

    Molly Higgins, Simon Hill

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  • Commentary: At Trump’s Justice Department, partisan pugnacity where honor, integrity should be

    On Saturday, a home belonging to a South Carolina Circuit judge burned to the ground. Three people, including the judge’s husband and son, were hospitalized with serious injuries.

    The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. An investigation is underway.

    Obviously, the harm and destruction were terrible things. But what turned that particular tragedy into something more frightful and ominous is the fact the judge had been targeted with death threats, after ruling against the Trump administration in a lawsuit involving the state’s voter files.

    Last month, the judge, Diane Goodstein, temporarily blocked South Carolina from releasing data to the U.S. Department of Retribution, er, Justice, which is turning over tables in search of “facts” to bolster President Trump’s lies about a stolen 2020 election.

    Among those who criticized the decision, which was reversed by South Carolina’s Supreme Court, was Harmeet Dhillon, the San Francisco attorney who now heads the Justice Department’s beleaguered Civil Rights Division.

    Here’s a short quiz. Using professional norms and human decency as your guide, can you guess what Dhillon did in the aftermath of the fire?

    A) Publicly consoled Goodstein and said the Justice Department would throw its full weight behind an urgent investigation into the fire.

    B) Drew herself up in righteous anger and issued a ringing statement that denounced political violence, whatever its form, whether perpetrated by those on the left, right or center.

    C) Took to social media to troll a political adversary who raised concerns about the targeting of judges and incendiary rhetoric emanating from the Trump administration.

    If you selected anything other than “C,” you obviously aren’t familiar with Dhillon. Or perhaps you’ve spent the last many months in a coma, or cut off from the world in the frozen tundra of Antarctica.

    The cause of the fire could very well turn out to be something unfortunate and distinctly nonpolitical. Faulty wiring, say, or an unattended pot left on the stove. South Carolina’s top law enforcement official said a preliminary inquiry had so far turned up no evidence that the fire was deliberately set.

    What matters, however, is Dhillon’s response.

    Not as someone with a shred of sympathy, or as a dogged and scrupulous seeker of truth and justice. But as a fists-up political combatant.

    The timing of the blaze, the threats Goodstein received and the country’s hair-trigger political atmosphere all offered more than a little reason for pause and reflection. At the least, Goodstein’s loss and the suffering of her husband and child called for compassion.

    Dhillon, however, is a someone who reacted to the 2022 hammer attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband not with concern but rather cruel and baseless conspiracy claims.

    By then, Dhillon — a critic of Trump before he won the 2016 Republican nomination — had shape-shifted into one of his most vocal backers, a regular mouthpiece on Fox News and other right-wing media. Her pandering paid off with her appointment to the Justice Department, where Dhillon is supposed to be protecting the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans — not just those in Trump’s good graces.

    There’s plenty of tit-for-tat going around in today’s sulfurous climate. Indeed, the jabbing of fingers and laying of blame have become something of a national pastime.

    The administration asserts left-wing radicals are responsible for the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and a sniper attack on the ICE field office in Dallas. Those on the left blame Trump and his venomous vassal, Stephen Miller, for the incineration of Goodstein’s home.

    When Neera Tanden, a liberal think-tank leader and prolific presence on social media, suggested there might be a connection between the blaze and Miller’s hate-filled rhetoric, Dhillon responded like a juvenile in a flame war. “Clown … grow up, girl,” Dhillon wrote on X.

    When a spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom pointed a finger at Dhillon and her criticism of the South Carolina judge, Dhillon seized on some over-the-top responses and called in the U.S. Marshals Service. “We will tolerate no such threats by woke idiots, including those who work for @GavinNewsom,” Dhillon said.

    All around, a sad display of more haste than good judgment.

    That said, there is a huge difference between a press staffer getting his jollies on social media and the assistant attorney general of the United States playing politics with personal calamity.

    And, really, doesn’t Dhillon have better things to do — and better ways of earning her pay — than constantly curating her social media feed, like a mean girl obsessing over likes and followers?

    Worse, though, than such puerile behavior is what Dhillon embodies: an us-vs.-them attitude that permeates the administration and treats those who didn’t vote for Trump — which is more than half the country — as a target.

    It’s evident in the talk of shuttering “Democrat” agencies, as if federal programs serve only members of one party. It’s manifest in the federal militarization of Democratic-run cities and the cutting off of funding to blue states, but not red ones, during the current government shutdown.

    It’s revealed in the briefings — on military plans, on operations during the shutdown — given to Republican lawmakers but denied to Democrats serving on Capitol Hill.

    Dhillon is just one cog in Trump’s malevolent, weaponization of Washington. But her reflexively partisan response to the razing of Judge Goodstein’s home is telling.

    When the person in charge of the nation’s civil rights enforcement can’t muster even a modicum of civility, we’re living in some very dark times indeed.

    Mark Z. Barabak

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  • Amazon’s October Prime Days end today! Save on DeWalt tools, Jackery generators, iPads and more

    Score huge savings on everything from tools to tech, luggage and more. (Fox News Composite)

    The second (and final) day of Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days is here! We found the best deals on everything you could want, from high-powered tech to home goods, luggage, generators, power tools and much more.

    Latest Deals

    Apple AirTag 4-pack: $64.99 (34% off)
    Waterpik Aquarius water flosser: $49.99 (50% off)
    Philips Sonicare ExpertClean 7500 black: $99.96 (50% off)
    DeWalt 20V MAX cordless drill and impact driver set: $140.99 (46% off)
    Levi’s 501 original fit jeans: $39.75 (50% off)
    HexClad nonstick 12-inch frying pan: $139 (30% off)
    Yeti portable soft cooler: $240 (20% off)
    LifeStraw water filter: $9.45 (37% off)
    Crest 3D Whitestrips Professional Effects: $29.99 (35% off)
    Samsonite Freeform 2-piece luggage set: $259.99 (47% off)

    Tech Deals

    Apple iPad 11-inch: $279 (20% off)
    Apple Watch Series 10: $279 (30% off)
    Bose Ultra Open Bluetooth earbuds: $229 (23% off)
    Bose SoundLink home speaker: $149 (32% off)
    Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 wireless over-ear Bluetooth headphones: $122.99 (49% off)
    REDTIGER 4K dash cam: $109.98 (35% off)
    Fitbit Inspire 3 health and fitness tracker: $79.95 (20% off)
    Google Nest thermostat: $96.50 (26% off)
    Mini projector with Wi-Fi: $69.99 (36% off)
    Sonos Era 300 Alexa-enabled Smart speaker with Dolby Atmos: $379 (21% off)

    Original price: $99

    Keep track of lost items with an AirTag four-pack. 

    Keep track of lost items with an AirTag four-pack.  (Amazon)

    Constantly losing your phone, keys, wallet or TV remote? A four-pack of Apple AirTags can help. Using the Apple Find My app, you can track anything the AirTag is attached to. Up to five people can track a single AirTag, so you can all keep track of items you share. When looking for your lost items, just ask Siri for help and a sound will start to play on the built-in AirTag speaker. You can also put an AirTag into Lost Mode, and you’ll automatically be notified when it’s detected on the Find My network. 

    Original price: $249

    Get next-level sound from these AirPods Pro 2.

    Get next-level sound from these AirPods Pro 2. (Amazon)

    Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 go beyond typical headphones. They have a hearing test that can help those with mild to moderate hearing loss customize their listening experience based on the test results.

    You also get Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) when you want to block out the rest of the world, or a Transparency Mode when you want to be more aware of your surroundings. Apple’s H2 chip also creates a deeply immersive listening experience with added bass and clear sound. Voice isolation also helps block out background noise while you’re on phone calls.

    Original price: $149

    A powerful speaker in a small package. 

    A powerful speaker in a small package.  (Amazon)

    Get stereo-quality sound on the go with the Bose SoundLink portable speaker. Clear, balanced and powerful, this mini speaker is ultra-portable, waterproof and dustproof. That means you can take it to the beach, tailgating events, parties and everything in between. The 12-hour battery means it’ll last all day. You can choose from seven gorgeous colors, including Twilight Blue, an Amazon limited-edition exclusive. 

    Original price: $499

    All the power of an iPad in a smaller package. 

    All the power of an iPad in a smaller package.  (Amazon)

    The ultra-portable Apple iPad Mini offers the full iPad experience in a much smaller design. The 8.3-inch liquid retina display may be small, but it’s stunning to look at. Apple’s A17 Pro chip means you get ultrafast graphics, and paired with the all-day battery life, you can work, create and watch from anywhere. There’s also an extra wide front camera that helps with video calls and selfies.

    Original price: $359

    The 24-hour battery life and comfortable fit mean you can wear these headphones all day. 

    The 24-hour battery life and comfortable fit mean you can wear these headphones all day.  (Amazon)

    Amp up your listening experience with a pair of Bose QuietComfort Bluetooth headphones. They come with two listening modes: Active Noise Cancellation and an Aware Mode, which lets you hear more of your surroundings. Plush earcups keep the headphones stable but don’t hug your ears too tight, so you can be prepared for longer listening sessions. The battery life is decent on these headphones at 24 hours. Charging them for just 15 minutes also gets you an additional two and half hours of listening time.

    Original price: $329.99

    An S Pen for writing and drawing is included with the tablet.

    An S Pen for writing and drawing is included with the tablet. (Amazon)

    The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite includes an S Pen for writing and drawing and Dolby Atmos creates an impressive sound when you’re listening to music or watching your shows. The lightweight design means you can take this tablet with you anywhere, and there’s a new mint color as well as gray and pink. You can also use it as an expanded workstation by connecting it to your other devices.

    Original price: $199.95

    Upgrade your Fitbit and get more health tracking and sleep tracking data.

    Upgrade your Fitbit and get more health tracking and sleep tracking data. (Amazon)

    The Fitbit Versa 4 gives you more information on your workouts, including your real-time fitness stats while you exercise, your daily readiness score and your heart rate. With more than 40 exercise modes and automatic exercise tracking, no matter how you like to workout, your Fitbit will track your routines.

    The Versa 4 also delivers a personalized sleep profile. Just wear your watch when sleeping and you’ll see your daily sleep score. You can also track your stress levels with your daily stress management score.

    Original price: $39.95

    The perfect portable speaker that's still loud. 

    The perfect portable speaker that’s still loud.  (Amazon)

    The JBLGo 3 is a portable Bluetooth speaker that still delivers on sound. With a punchy bass and an ultra-small design, you’ll be the life of the party without having to lug around a huge speaker. On a full charge, you get five hours of playtime. The speaker is waterproof and dustproof, so you can use it in the shower, bring it to the beach and everything in between.

    Tools

    DeWalt 20V MAX cordless drill and impact driver set: $140.99 (46% off)
    Greenworks 24V cordless drill and driver set: $139.98 (30% off)
    Metabo HPT brad nailer: $51.80 (56% off)
    Woodstarter cordless jig saw: $48.57 (35% off)
    SKIL 10″ heavy-duty table saw with stand: $599 (20% off)
    SKIL 16-5/16″ circular saw: $569 (26% off)
    Metabo HPT 12″ dual bevel sliding miter saw: $399 (20% off)

    Original price: $949

    Get nine power tools, including drills, saws and more. 

    Get nine power tools, including drills, saws and more.  (Amazon)

    DeWalt has a nine-piece tool combo kit that includes a drill and impact driver as well as a reciprocating saw, a circular saw, an oscillating multi-tool, an LED work light and an angle grinder. The impact driver features three LED lights for easier drilling and all the tools with blades have keyless blade clamps that allow for quick and easy blade changes. 

    Original price: $249

    Sand your wood projects quickly with a high-powered DeWalt sander. 

    Sand your wood projects quickly with a high-powered DeWalt sander.  (Amazon)

    DeWalt makes a powerful orbital sander complete with a dust-sealed switch that protects the tool from getting clogged with dust. It’s compatible with eight-hole hook-and-loop sanding pads and the low-profile height allows you to get closer to your work surface so you can more clearly see what and where you’re sanding. 

    Original price: $389

    Metabo makes an easy-to-use circular saw that’s lightweight and cordless.

    Metabo makes an easy-to-use circular saw that’s lightweight and cordless. (Amazon)

    Metabo makes a lightweight circular saw that delivers 500 two-by-four cuts per charge. You don’t need to worry about a pesky cord getting in your way as you work, and the saw can cut up to five layers of half-inch plywood. Ideal for woodworkers and builders, the 53-degree bevel range allows you to make a variety of cuts. 

    10 TOOLS YOU CAN FIND ON AMAZON THAT’LL HELP YOU COMPLETE ALL YOUR DIY PROJECTS

    Power

    BLUETTI AC200L portable power station: $699 (56% off)
    Gidrox 10000W tri-fuel portable inverter: $1,519.20 (20% off)
    DuroMax13,000-watt dual fuel portable generator: $1,079 (40% off)
    Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable Power Station: $999 (38% off)
    EF ECOFLOW power station with portable solar panel: $2,599 (47% off)
    Anker SOLIX F2000 portable power station: $799 (60% off)
    MARBERO camping portable power station: $63.64 (42% off)
    INIU portable phone charger: $21.99 (27% off)
    Anker Prime power bank and portable charger: $169.99 (26% off)
    Real 200W power inverter compatible with Dewalt: $23.99 (37% off)

    Original price: $1,049

    Run your whole home during a power outage with this generator. 

    Run your whole home during a power outage with this generator.  (Amazon)

    Generac’s portable gas generator is great for handling appliances and tools. The electric start makes it easy to start up the generator and the large fuel tank gives you 11 hours of runtime at half load. There are built-in safety features like a carbon monoxide detector and a low-oil shutoff feature that stops the generator from continuously running if it runs out of oil.

    Original price: $4,999

    Power all your appliances, your Wi-Fi and more with this generator. 

    Power all your appliances, your Wi-Fi and more with this generator.  (Amazon)

    The Jackery solar generator 5000 is built to power your whole home. One unit can keep your essentials running for over a day, and adding additional Jackery generators can keep the lights on for up to 15 days. It can handle everything from your fridge to your stove, tools and even RVs. The Jackery app lets you track your energy use and manage your generator right from your phone.

    Original price: $3,899

    The handle and wheels make this power station easy to move anywhere. 

    The handle and wheels make this power station easy to move anywhere.  (Amazon)

    The Anker SOLIX F3800 portable power station is a power house that connects to solar panels or other gas generators. With just a single power station, you get a day’s worth of power to run appliances, charge your electronics and more. You can control everything remotely through the Anker app. Designed to last for over 10 years, this power station is built to last through power outages, camping trips and much more.

    Original price: $1,299

    Charge your Jackery with the included solar panel. 

    Charge your Jackery with the included solar panel.  (Amazon)

    Jackery’s solar generator 1000 is a compact generator with a solar panel included. Weighing just over 23 pounds, you can bring this generator with you camping or tailgating. The battery can recharge in about two hours, and holds up for up to 4,000 charge cycles. Included is a USB-C port, USB-A port, a car port and three AC outlets, allowing you to charge or run multiple devices at once.

    Travel

    U.S. Traveler Rio camo carry-on luggage set: $45.58 (24% off)
    Florence by Mills Chill Out weekender duffle bag: $48 (60% off)
    Rolling laptop briefcase with cupholder: $87.99 (20% off)
    Toiletry bag: $9.99 (50% off)
    Wood grain American flag suitcase cover: $13.99 (50% off)
    Large travel backpack: $25.99 (48% off)

    Original price: $229.99

    These hardshell suitcases are durable and colorful. 

    These hardshell suitcases are durable and colorful.  (Amazon)

    The American Tourister Stratum hardside set’s textured, shiny shell will keep all your belongings safe, and the wheels on the base make the suitcases easy to roll through the airport. The set comes with a small carry-on that’s TSA-approved and a large expandable suitcase.

    Original price: $489.99

    Easily organize your belongings in these hardshell suitcases. 

    Easily organize your belongings in these hardshell suitcases.  (Amazon)

    Get a two-piece luggage set that’s scratch-resistant and durable when you choose the Samsonite Freeform set. You get a carry-on that meets TSA restrictions and a large suitcase that weighs less than 10 pounds. The interior of both includes straps that compact your clothes and another large zippered pocket to store toiletries and other belongings. Four spinner wheels allow you to swivel your suitcase 360 degrees.

    Original price: $79.99

    Pack all your belongings in this easy-to-maneuver rolling duffel. 

    Pack all your belongings in this easy-to-maneuver rolling duffel.  (Amazon)

    Pacific gear pairs the convenience of a rolling suitcase with the space of a duffel bag. The duffel style makes this suitcase more lightweight and easy to pack, while the rollability helps when walking through the airport. Exterior pockets keep your must-have essentials within reach, while the two spacious main compartments provide plenty of space for your clothes, shoes and electronics.

    Original price: $69.99

    This set comes with a suitcase and a TSA-approved carry-on. 

    This set comes with a suitcase and a TSA-approved carry-on.  (Amazon)

    If you’re looking for affordable luggage that still has plenty of space, this Travel Select softside rolling luggage set fits the bill. You get a large suitcase and a small, handheld carry-on. The interior of both features multiple compartments so you can keep your toiletries or shoes away from your clothes. They also have compression straps that give you more room and keep everything in place once you’re fully packed.

    Fashion

    Hunter welly boots: $99.95 (54% off)
    Cropped sweatshirt: $23.09 (42% off) 
    Tracksuit: $32.99 (45% off)
    Levi’s women’s ribcage jeans: $48.51 (51% off)
    Calvin Klein 7-pack boxer briefs for men: $42.35 (55% off)
    Under Armour mens jogger: $29.99 (50% off)

    Original price: $59.50

    These jeans are a vintage favorite.

    These jeans are a vintage favorite. (Amazon)

    These Levi’s classic bootcut jeans bring back that laid-back 90s vibe. They are designed to fit easily through the hips and thighs, with just the right amount of stretch for all-day comfort.

    For more deals, visit www.foxnews.com/deals

    Original price: $60.99

    This shirt jacket is the perfect piece to add to your wardrobe this fall. 

    This shirt jacket is the perfect piece to add to your wardrobe this fall.  (Amazon)

    This shirt jacket delivers an effortlessly cool, lived-in look that is easily paired with tees, sweaters or dresses. Made from soft, durable denim in a sky-blue wash, it features light distressing.

    Beauty

    Dyson Airwrap: $399.99 (27% off)
    GrandeLash lash enhancing serum: $47.60 (30% off)
    Image Skincare Vital C face serum: $72.80 (20% off)
    Andalou Naturals Night Repair Cream: $14.69 (48% off)
    Laneige lip sleeping mask: $16.80 (30% off)
    BaBylissPRO hair dryer: $85.49 (26% off)
    Neutrogena Triple Age Repair night moisturizer: $18.99 (38% off)

    Original price: $20.49

    This catch-all moisturizer hydrates from head to toe.

    This catch-all moisturizer hydrates from head to toe. (Amazon)

    This rich, velvety moisturizer deeply hydrates and softens dry skin on the face and body. For those with oily skin (or if you generally prefer lighter-weight moisturizers), the brand also makes a daily moisturizing lotion.

    Original price: $229.99

    With a variety of attachments, this tool creates multiple looks at once.

    With a variety of attachments, this tool creates multiple looks at once. (Amazon)

    This powerful hair styler utilizes unique attachments to achieve different looks – all with one tool. The Turbo Concentrator is great for achieving sleek, straight styles. The QuickSmooth Brush is ideal for bouncy blowouts, and the RapidGloss Finisher helps smooth frizz and lock in shine. The brand’s popular FlexStyle hair dryer is also on sale. 

    Original price: $45.99

    Pro-grade whitening at your fingertips.

    Pro-grade whitening at your fingertips. (Amazon)

    This set of Crest 3D Whitestrips comes with 20 teeth whitening treatments – each sheet with one upper and one lower whitening strip – as well as two bonus whitening treatments. The strips adhere to teeth, allowing you to talk and drink while you wear them.

    Original price: $42

    This spray smells good, protects hair from heat damage and smooths flyaways.

    This spray smells good, protects hair from heat damage and smooths flyaways. (Amazon)

    This lightweight spray provides heat protection from damage and breakage up to 428 degrees Fahrenheit. It also detangles, smooths and softens hair, eliminating frizz and resisting humidity. The result is hair that looks and feels like you stepped out of a salon chair.

    Home

    HexClad wok: $83 (30% off)
    Bissell Little Green machine: $74.99 (21% off)
    Coway Airmega true HEPA purifier: $151.99 (34% off)
    Keurig K-Elite single serve K-cup coffee maker: $127.99 (39% off)
    Ninja Mega Kitchen System: $169.99 (23% off)
    Shark AI Ultra voice control robot vacuum: $249.99 (58% off)
    Eureka WhirlWind bagless canister vacuum: $57.99 (28% off)
    12-by-48 over the door mirror: $44.99 (31% off)
    Night stand with charging station: $37.99 (22% off)
    Farmhouse 47″ executive desk: $169.64 (23% off)

    Original price: $179.99

    Add an extra layer of security to your home. 

    Add an extra layer of security to your home.  (Amazon)

    Keep your home or business secure with the Ring floodlight camera. The security camera is built with motion-activated LED floodlights, a siren and two-way talk. You can customize the motion zones so you only get alerts for the areas you care about. With Live View in the Ring app, you can check on your home at any time. This model hardwired into your home and connects directly to your Wi-Fi for constant, 24-hour surveillance. 

    Original price: $539.99

    This Dyson vacuum is cordless and easy to use. 

    This Dyson vacuum is cordless and easy to use.  (Amazon)

    This easy-to-use vacuum can run for up to 40 minutes per charge, and can transform into a handheld vacuum with a single click. It can be used across all floor types, and traps 99.99% of all particles. It’s head also detangles itself as you clean. 

    Original price: $699.95

    This professional quality espresso machine is easy to use, even for beginners. 

    This professional quality espresso machine is easy to use, even for beginners.  (Amazon)

    The Breville Barista Express takes you from beans to espresso in under a minute. It has a built-in burr grinder that gives you fresh grounds on demand, while the precise temperature control extracts every bit of flavor from your favorite espresso. The steam wand lets you froth milk exactly how you want it. This middle-of-the-road espresso machine is a powerful option for those looking to level up, but isn’t so complicated that you end up just going to Starbucks. 

    Original price: $1,199.99

    Mop and vacuum without lifting a finger. 

    Mop and vacuum without lifting a finger.  (Amazon)

    For complete hands-free cleaning, go with the Shark Robot vacuum and mop combo. The robot vacuum automatically empties debris into the 60-day capacity bin, and it refills its own water tank for up to 30 days. You can tell the robot exactly how, what and when you want your floors and carpets cleaned. Schedule cleanings, tell it specific spots you want cleaned, and more.

    Using DirtDetect technology, the vacuum finds dirt and stains and boosts its performance. Plus, the vacuum and mop never misses the edges of your rooms, so you can be sure you get a clean home every single time.

    Original price: $629.99

    A powerful vacuum that's lightweight and easy to maneuver. 

    A powerful vacuum that’s lightweight and easy to maneuver.  (Amazon)

    Dyson’s V11 Original cordless vacuum is a stick vacuum that’s incredibly lightweight and converts into a handheld option for vacuuming furniture and pet beds. You get an impressive 60-minute runtime on a full charge. There are three power modes, including an auto mode for everyday cleaning, an eco-mode for maximum runtime and a boost mode when you need more intense suction.

    Original price: $89.99

    A gel mattress topper transforms your old worn out mattress into a new, comfortable one. 

    A gel mattress topper transforms your old worn out mattress into a new, comfortable one.  (Amazon)

    Sleep better with a three-inch gel memory foam mattress topper. It’s designed to conform to your body’s curves, making even the firmest mattress feel more luxurious. Crafter with high-density memory foam, you still get the support you need to wake up feeling refreshed. The cooling gel bead injection also helps regulate temperature, helping you sleep cooler.

    Everyday essentials

    Peet’s Coffee, dark roast Keurig K-Cup pods: $30.92 (21% off)
    Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries pack: $35.99 (46% off)
    Glad 13-gallon kitchen drawstring trash bags: $14.24 (39% off)
    Swiffer PowerMop multi-surface mop kit: $20.89 (30% off)
    Cascade Platinum Plus dishwasher pods 62-count: $17.49 (30% off)
    Scott paper towels, 30 double rolls: $27.02 (21% off)
    Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages, 100 count: $7.20 (39% off)
    Seventh Generation dish liquid soap 6-pack: $14.56 (30% off)
    Ziploc sandwich and snack bags, 270-count: $7.48 (32% off)
    Swiffer duster kit: $13.99 (30% off)

    Original price: $14.97

    Keep your home free from germs. 

    Keep your home free from germs.  (Amazon)

    Load up on Lysol disinfecting wipes with this bundle. You get a four-pack with three different scents: two lemon lime, a mango habiscus and crisp linen. Using these wipes regularly eliminates 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, perfect for sick season.

    Original price: $19.99

    Tackle stains and odors with a single Tide Pod. 

    Tackle stains and odors with a single Tide Pod.  (Amazon)

    Get a deep clean with Tide Pods laundry detergent. The pre-measured pods are pre-measured and include concentrated laundry detergent, stain removers and odor fighters. This 76-count of Tide Pods will last for months. Just throw one or two in your laundry (depending on the soil level) and Tide will fight stains and odors effortlessly.

    Outdoor

    Coleman tabletop 2-in-1 camping grill/stove: $123.49 (30% off)
    Coleman self-inflating sleeping pad: $51.29 (27% off)
    Coleman 13-by-13 foot instant canopy: $192.84 (33% off)
    Coleman sundome camping tent: $61.74 (26% off)
    Coleman Heritage Big and Tall 10°F flannel sleeping bag: $75 (30% off)
    GCI Outdoor Comfort Pro rocker camping chair: $60 (20% off)
    AUGASON FARMS emergency food supply bucket: $104.99 (26% off)
    Coleman outdoor folding table: $56.04 (24% off)

    Original price: $299.99

    Set up this tent in just 60 seconds. 

    Set up this tent in just 60 seconds.  (Amazon)

    Fit the entire family in this eight-person cabin tent. Featuring pre-attached poles, you can set up the tent in just 60 seconds. You can easily fit three queen-sized air mattresses, and the tall ceilings mean everyone can comfortably stand up. There’s also a built-in canopy that creates a deck-like area for relaxing. The whole tent is crafted with waterproof materials and designed to be wind-resistant.

    Original price: $271.49

    Get enough room for two queen-sized air mattresses. 

    Get enough room for two queen-sized air mattresses.  (Amazon)

    Setting up a tent doesn’t have to be annoying when you use this Coleman instant tent. You can set up this tent in just one minute. The six-foot height leaves enough room to walk around. The tent accommodates two queen-sized air beds with room to spare for all your camping gear. The integrated rainfly protects against wet weather and the WeatherTec system’s welded corners keep water out.

    Original price: $285.54

    Pay less for a kayak with an inflatable version. 

    Pay less for a kayak with an inflatable version.  (Amazon)

    For all your fall excursions on the water, this Intex inflatable kayak set is a blast to use. It’s made from three-ply material combined with PVC to ensure it doesn’t rip. Although it’s an inflatable model, it’ll feel like you’re on a standard kayak. It blows up in minutes and deflates just as quickly when you’re done. There’s extra space in the stern and bow for additional storage, and there are steel D-rings where you can tie down dry bags. It’s big enough to hold two people, up to 400 pounds combined. 

    Original price: $249.99

    Keep your food and drinks separate with the bottom drawer and top compartment. 

    Keep your food and drinks separate with the bottom drawer and top compartment.  (Amazon)

    Ninja’s FrostVault cooler has a unique setup that helps keep food cold for days. The 50-quart capacity means you can fit 80 cans without ice or 45 cans with ice. The bottom drawer is a dry zone where you can store food, keeping it separate from drinks and saving yourself from digging through ice. The heavy-duty cooler includes three inches of insulation and the durable integrated handle makes it easier to carry than most.

    To take advantage of all these deals, make sure you’re an Amazon Prime member. You can join or start a 30-day free trial to start your shopping today.

    Christopher Murray is a commerce writer for Fox News who specializes in topics like outdoor gear, DIY projects, grills, pet products and auto must-haves.

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  • The best October Prime Day finds under $25 – and no, they’re not junk

    Pay less for tech, beauty items, home decor and everyday essentials.  (Fox News Composite)

    Sale events like Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days often feature significant discounts on big-ticket items. We’ve rounded up tons of deals under $25. 

    Tech

    Roku streaming stick: $19.99 (33% off)
    Kasa Smart Plug 4-pack: $21.99 (27% off)
    Amazon Echo Pop: $24.99 (38% off)
    EverPlus sleep headphones: $9.99 (50% off)
    Emergency crank radio and flashlight: $21.68 (28% off)

    Original price: $34.99

    Turn your TV into a Smart TV with a Fire Stick. 

    Turn your TV into a Smart TV with a Fire Stick.  (Amazon)

    Transform your TV into a smart TV with an Amazon Fire TV Stick. It organizes all your streaming services in one place, and all you need to do is plug it into an HDMI port on the back of your television. Press and ask Alexa when you want to search for shows or launch apps. Connect to other Alexa apps and ask it to lower the lights, stream music, check the weather and more.

    BAG A BIG SCREEN BARGAIN WITH UP TO 50% OFF TVS

    Original price: $49.99

    Keep an eye on your pets and home with a Ring indoor camera. 

    Keep an eye on your pets and home with a Ring indoor camera.  (Amazon)

    With a Ring indoor camera, you can keep an eye on your pets and home day and night. The camera features Live View and Color Night Vision, so you can see every corner of your home. The flexible swivel mount means you can angle the camera however you need to get the perfect view. Set the camera so it only turns on when it detects motion, giving you privacy when you need it. Customize your alerts while you’re away so you only get notified when movement is detected. Alexa also connects to the Ring camera, so you can hear custom notifications and enjoy hands-free security. 

    Home

    Chefman electric kettle with tea infuser: $18.99 (21% off)
    KitchenAid ribbed silicone oven mitt 2-pack: $12.81 (20% off)
    Elegant Comfort 6-piece sheet set: $18.05 (31% off)
    Nightstand with 2 storage drawers: $19.99 (39% off)
    Simplistic A-frame computer desk: $22.59 (58% off)
    5-tier shoe rack: $16.05 (26% off)
    Amazon Basics tilt TV wall mount: $8.91 (21% off)

    Original price: $29.99

    Sleep better on a comfortable, cooling memory foam mattress topper. 

    Sleep better on a comfortable, cooling memory foam mattress topper.  (Amazon)

    Get the night of sleep you deserve by adding this two-inch gel memory foam mattress topper to your bed. It cradles your body’s pressure points to relieve pain and makes hard mattresses extra comfortable. Infused with gel, the topper helps regulate the bed’s temperature so you can sleep cooler. Delivered in a small box, it’s easy to maneuver this topper. Just make sure you give it a few hours to inflate after you unpack.

    SHOP THE BEST MATTRESS SALES: SAVE ON SAATVA, NECTAR, NOLAH AND MORE

    Original price: $16.89

    Protect your couch from kids and pets. 

    Protect your couch from kids and pets.  (Amazon)

    Every pet owner can use one of these OTOB washable couch covers. Made with stylish chenille fabric, the cover won’t compromise the coziness of your couch. It easily tucks into the sides of your couch and drapes over the armrests, making it secure, yet still easy to take on and off when you want to wash it. The cover features a non-slip bottom, so it won’t shift when you sit or when your pets jump up on the couch.

    Beauty

    8-count Gillette Fusion5 razor blades: $23.99 (20% off)
    Real Techniques miracle complexion sponge: $10.99 (41% off)
    L’Oreal Paris true match lumi glotion: $12.05 (33% off)
    Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner set: $9.88 (51% off)
    Ear and nose hair trimmers: $9.98 (50% off)
    ENERGY angled foundation brush: $4.94 (50% off)
    L’Oreal Paris Plump Ambition pH hyaluron lip oil: $10.97 (22% off)

    Original price: $39.99

    Upgrade your makeup brushes. 

    Upgrade your makeup brushes.  (Amazon)

    Replace all your old makeup brushes with this 20-piece brush set. You get brushes for eye shadow, concealer, blush, foundation and more. They’re professional-grade makeup brushes complete with a pure leather storage case. The synthetic, cruelty-free fibers used in the brushes ensure they’ll last for years.

    Original price: $16.79

    Keep your skin feeling soft by using these calming makeup remover wipes. 

    Keep your skin feeling soft by using these calming makeup remover wipes.  (Amazon)

    A two-pack of Neutrogena night calming makeup remover wipes keeps your skin soft and smooth. Made without parabens, soaps or alcohols, the hypoallergenic wipes are great for all skin types, including sensitive skin. The wipes have a triple emollient formula that gently cleans dirt and makeup from your face, leaving you feeling refreshed and ready for bed.

    Essentials

    Amazon Basics AAA batteries: $22.89 (24% off)
    Scotch Magic Tape 12-pack: 19.54 (46% off)
    24-pack LED light bulbs: $21.74 (28% off)
    Armor All car cleaning wipes: $8.42 (44% off)
    Crest Pro-Health Advanced antibacterial protection toothpaste 4-pack: $11.98 (20% off)
    Band-Aid adhesive bandages: $8.48 (28% off)
    Native whitening wild mint and peppermint oil toothpaste: $15.99 (24% off)
    Glad tall kitchen drawstring trash bags: $18.89 (20% off)

    Original price: $20.99

    Your gums and teeth will feel better when you use this toothpaste. 

    Your gums and teeth will feel better when you use this toothpaste.  (Amazon)

    Keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy with Crest Pro-Health gum detoxify toothpaste. You get three tubes of toothpaste that help neutralize plaque buildup for 24 hours (when used twice daily). The fluoride in the toothpaste helps strengthen your teeth and make them less sensitive. Clinically proven to heal gums, stop bleeding and whiten your teeth all at once, this toothpaste is a must for better oral hygiene.

    For more deals, visit www.foxnews.com/deals

    Original price: $20.99

    Relieve nasal congestion with a box of Breathe Right strips. 

    Relieve nasal congestion with a box of Breathe Right strips.  (Amazon)

    Now that sick season is here, it’s a good idea to stock up on Breathe Right nasal strips. They provide instant relief by opening your nasal passages, helping to relieve nasal congestion. Even those with sensitive skin can use these strips since they’re made with non-porous, hypoallergenic materials.

    If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can get these items to your door ASAP. You can join or start a 30-day free trial to start your shopping today.

    Christopher Murray is a commerce writer for Fox News who specializes in topics like outdoor gear, DIY projects, grills, pet products and auto must-haves.

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  • The Best Dehumidifiers to Keep Your Home Cool and Dry

    The first thing to think about is how you’re going to drain the water from the dehumidifier. In the basement, the best thing you can do is to use the dehumidifier’s continuous water drain tube to either the sump pump or a drain. If those options are not available, you might be emptying the tank multiple times a day. The first time I put a dehumidifier in the basement, the tank was filled in three hours’ time. It’s all about the drainage. Also, knowing how to read a label. If you have a 50-pint humdidifier that means the appliance can remove 50 pints of moisture from the air in a 24-hour period; it’s not the internal tank capacity. Also, look for the maximum area coverage. For example, the Honeywell Smart 50 pint can remove 50 pints of water from 4,000 sq ft—the size of a whole house—in 24 hours.

    If you, like me, also need a dehumidifier in your city apartment, then consider buying one that’s easy to move around with wheels and a handle. Some of these machines are heavy. Also, a small dehumidifier in the bathroom is a good idea to keep the dampness at bay, especially if you have mold growing on your grout.

    Lastly, do not drink the water collected in your dehumidifier tank. That water is not potable. Pour it down the drain. A dehumidifier is not creating distilled water; that’s a different process and appliance.

    Lisa Wood Shapiro

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  • Sacramento Republic FC prepares for USL Jägermeister Cup final at home

    WELCOME BACK. I’M DEL RODGERS. AFTER LAST NIGHT’S HOME VICTORY, THE SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC SECURED THEIR 11TH PLAYOFF BERTH IN 12 SEASONS AND ARE ONLY THREE POINTS AWAY FROM FIRST PLACE IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS. KCRA 3 MICHELLE DAPPER SHOWS US HOW SACRAMENTO IS ALSO PLAYING FOR THE FIRST PLACE TROPHY IN THE USL. JAGERMEISTER CUP FINAL. IT’S A BIG OCCASION. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT BECAUSE THEY DON’T COME AROUND OFTEN. THE REPUBLIC FC, SET TO PLAY IN THEIR THIRD FINAL MATCH IN OVER A DECADE. AS A CLUB, THAT’S WHAT YOU PLAY FOR AS PLAYERS. THAT’S WHAT WE LIVE FOR, YOU KNOW WE WANT TO PLAY AND WIN AND AND LIFT TROPHIES. FROM THE INAUGURAL USL CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2014, WITH FINALS MVP RODRIGO LOPEZ TO WITNESS ANOTHER FINAL AT HOME. IT’S GOING TO BE TRULY SPECIAL TO THE U.S. OPEN CUP FINAL IN 2022 AGAINST ORLANDO. I THINK YOU HAVE TO PUT IT RIGHT UP THERE WITH THE OPEN CUP FINAL BECAUSE IT’S AT HOME AND IT’S GOING TO BE SUCH A BIG OCCASION FOR THE CITY. SACRAMENTO NOW LOOKS TO ADD SOME SILVERWARE IN THE USL JAGERMEISTER CUP CHAMPIONSHIP. IT’S EVERYTHING WE COULD HAVE WISHED FOR AT THE START OF THE SEASON. IF YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, WE’LL PLAY IN THE FINAL AT HOME, WE’D HAVE SNAPPED YOUR HAND OFF IN GROUP PLAY. SACRAMENTO FINISHED THREE OF FOUR WITH GOALKEEPER JARED MAZZOLA ALLOWING JUST ONE GOAL. TOURNAMENTS ALLOW PLAYERS TO COME IN AND PLAY, YOU KNOW AND AND HE’S BEEN ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE. THEY THEN SURVIVED TWO PENALTY SHOOTOUTS IN THE KNOCKOUT ROUNDS. I THINK WHAT SETS THIS GROUP APART IS THAT EVERYONE YOU KNOW IS ROWING TOWARDS THE SAME DIRECTION. ONE COMMON GOAL CLAIMING THEIR SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY. YOU’VE GOT HARTFORD FIRST TIME PLAYING FOR A TROPHY. YOU GOT SACRAMENTO. LAST TIME THEY PLAYED FOR ONE WAS IN THE OPEN CUP, BUT THIS IS AT HOME RIGHT. IT’S GOING TO BE ENTERTAINING. IT’S GOING TO BE AMAZING. AND I KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE ELECTRIC. IN SACRAMENTO. MICHELLE DAPPER KCRA THREE NEWS. THANK YOU MICHELLE. SO THIS SATURDAY AT HEART HEALTH PARK INSIDE OF CAL EXPO WITH THE JAGERMEISTER CUP FINAL BETWEEN VISITING HARTFORD, ATLANTIC AND YOUR HOME TEAM, THE SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC. KI

    Sacramento Republic FC prepares for USL Jägermeister Cup final at home

    Updated: 8:45 AM PDT Oct 4, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Sacramento Republic FC is set to play in the USL Jägermeister Cup Championship final at home, marking their third final match in over a decade and aiming to secure their second championship trophy.”It’s a big occasion. You have to make the most of it because they don’t come around often,” said Republic FC defender, Lee Desmond.Rodrigo Lopez, the finals MVP from the inaugural USL Championship in 2014, expressed the significance of playing for trophies. “As a club, that’s what you play for as players. That’s what we live for. You know, we want to play and win and, and lift trophies,” Lopez said.Witnessing another final at home is expected to be truly special for the team and the city. Sacramento previously reached the U.S. Open Cup final in 2022 against Orlando, and this upcoming match is anticipated to be just as significant. “I think you have to put it right up there with the Open Cup final because it’s our home and it’s going to be such a big occasion for the city,” said Desmond.Sacramento Republic FC aims to add more silverware to their collection in the USL Jägermeister Cup Championship. The team finished third in group play, with goalkeeper Jared Mazzola allowing just one goal, and survived two penalty shootouts in the knockout rounds. “This tournament allows players to come in and play, you know, and he’s been absolutely unbelievable,” said Republic defender, jack Gurr about Mazzola’s performance.The team is united in their pursuit of claiming their second championship trophy. “I think what sets this group apart is that everyone, you know, is running towards the same direction,” said Lopez.The match promises to be entertaining and electric, with Sacramento playing at home for a trophy, a scenario last seen in the Open Cup. “It’s going to be entertaining. It’s going to be amazing. And I know it’s going to be electric,” said Lopez.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    Sacramento Republic FC is set to play in the USL Jägermeister Cup Championship final at home, marking their third final match in over a decade and aiming to secure their second championship trophy.

    “It’s a big occasion. You have to make the most of it because they don’t come around often,” said Republic FC defender, Lee Desmond.

    Rodrigo Lopez, the finals MVP from the inaugural USL Championship in 2014, expressed the significance of playing for trophies. “As a club, that’s what you play for as players. That’s what we live for. You know, we want to play and win and, and lift trophies,” Lopez said.

    Witnessing another final at home is expected to be truly special for the team and the city. Sacramento previously reached the U.S. Open Cup final in 2022 against Orlando, and this upcoming match is anticipated to be just as significant.

    “I think you have to put it right up there with the Open Cup final because it’s our home and it’s going to be such a big occasion for the city,” said Desmond.

    Sacramento Republic FC aims to add more silverware to their collection in the USL Jägermeister Cup Championship. The team finished third in group play, with goalkeeper Jared Mazzola allowing just one goal, and survived two penalty shootouts in the knockout rounds.

    “This tournament allows players to come in and play, you know, and he’s been absolutely unbelievable,” said Republic defender, jack Gurr about Mazzola’s performance.

    The team is united in their pursuit of claiming their second championship trophy. “I think what sets this group apart is that everyone, you know, is running towards the same direction,” said Lopez.

    The match promises to be entertaining and electric, with Sacramento playing at home for a trophy, a scenario last seen in the Open Cup.

    “It’s going to be entertaining. It’s going to be amazing. And I know it’s going to be electric,” said Lopez.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Commentary: He might be the first one to rebuild a house in Altadena, and he credits his golden retriever

    The doors and windows are done. The appliances are on the way. The hardwood floors are stacked and ready to lay down.

    In January, Ted Koerner’s Altadena house was incinerated in the Eaton fire along with thousands of others.

    But today, he and his 13-year-old dog, Daisy, are just weeks from returning to their property after spending most of the year in temporary quarters, and they might be the first Altadenans to move into a completely rebuilt house.

    “We’re starting to practice being home,” Koerner said in his front yard, with Daisy at his feet and a work crew applying finishing touches in the living room.

    Daisy, a dark-eyed golden retriever with a coat that looks like a luxurious white bathrobe, is the star of this story and the reason Koerner is determined to have the house completed as soon as possible.

    “I just want to go home,” said Ted Koerner to neighbors about his home that is being rebuilt.

    Daisy, or Daisy Mae, as Koerner sometimes calls her, is well beyond average life expectancy for a golden retriever, and he wanted her to live out her life on the property that was their sanctuary. He feeds her salmon and bottled water; no impurities for his girl, who has Russian and Danish lineage and is as smart as she is sweet, according to the proudest of dog owners.

    “That dog has saved my life more times than I can count,” said Koerner, 66, who is single, suffers from bouts of depression, and bonded with Daisy the day he rescued her as a puppy. “She is my service dog.”

    They lost everything but each other, and for Daisy’s sake, as much as his own, he has pushed and prodded, eager to get home.

    “They framed the whole house, and the garage, in three days. Thirty journeymen framers. Because of her,” said Koerner, his voice breaking as he recalled the house-raising that began in mid-July. “They all understood, if she dies before I get home, don’t finish building it, because I’ll be dead the same day.”

    A worker on scaffolding smooths the ceiling with a tool in an unfinished room

    Work continues on Koerner’s home, where he expects to be moving in soon in Altadena.

    Koerner believes he’ll be the first person to move into a brand new house in the Altadena fire zone. An L.A. County rebuilding coordinator backed that up, although Victoria Knapp, who chairs the Altadena Town Council, said one other project is speeding toward completion.

    Given that two-thirds of the 6,000-plus burned properties haven’t even hit the permitting phase yet, and that it could be a few years before a rebuilt Altadena takes shape, the questions here are obvious:

    What magic did Koerner perform to approach the finish line in short order, and are there lessons for others?

    Koerner runs an investigations and fraud-prevention company that has had decades of dealings with government agencies and assorted businesses, including insurance companies. So although he was just one David against an army of Goliaths, he was not new to the practice of reloading a slingshot.

    Before the smoke of the Eaton fire had cleared, while staying with Daisy at a Pasadena hotel, Koerner met an Army Corps of Engineers official who advised him that once his lot was cleared, he should pour the cement of a new foundation as soon as possible. Whatever it took to make it happen, do it. That would put him at the front of the line in a crowd of thousands rebuilding from scratch.

    Koerner took the advice to heart and decided not to wait on an insurance payment, which could be indefinitely disputed and delayed. Instead, he liquidated retirement funds and plowed ahead on his own nickel with the hope of getting reimbursed later.

    A man leans over and cups the face of his large white dog

    Koerner and Daisy spend a warm moment together.

    Any major construction project is a herding expedition in a blinding fog, and it can be a test of patience and sanity. The plumber is here but the faucets aren’t. The drywall crew shows up but can’t do anything until the electrician runs the wiring. The sprinkling system is done but the inspector just left on a Hawaiian vacation. And the roof tiles were last seen on a pickup truck that might or might not have left a warehouse in Arizona, or possibly New Mexico.

    This is why people often crack that you should take the promised cost and timeline of a project, double both, and line up a good marriage counselor. In the aftermath of an epic disaster, you also have to wrangle with the complications of destroyed infrastructure, permitting bottlenecks, insurance disputes and scary levels of contamination.

    I know of one company, Genesis Builders, that says it’s managing and speeding the entire process with pre-designed homes that can be completed in 15 months, but I haven’t checked out the details yet.

    For those interested in following Koerner’s lead, how best to proceed?

    Koerner Lesson No. 1: “Email is not communication.”

    And what’s he mean by that?

    “If you send an email and wait for a callback, you’re not going to get one,” he said. “No city, no county, no governmental agency is ever ready for a disaster of this magnitude. It’s always going to be chaos.”

    He called people, instead, and kept a file of direct lines, or he met with people face to face. He was the proverbial squeaky wheel, never taking no for an answer, and he was able to invest a ton of his own time, even if it meant being on hold long enough to repeatedly read “Old Yeller” and watch the movie.

    Koerner heaped praise on Anish Saraiya, director of the Altadena recovery for L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, for helping him navigate the maze. When I used the word “persistent” to describe Koerner, Saraiya corrected me.

    “He’s tenacious,” he said.

    Saraiya said Koerner has helped identify roadblocks to progress — such as the typical lead time in lining up utility services — and the county is working to streamline the entire rebuilding process for everyone.

    Koerner Lesson No. 2: “Make a decision to go home.”

    By that, he means get moving, and keep the blueprints simple.

    “This is not the time to build a mansion to your legacy,” Koerner said. “Do you want to go home, or do you want to mess with every three inches of where the sink goes, the closet goes, every door, every window? Make a decision and stick with it. … This is not some grand demonstration of your design capabilities. This is about going home, or you go to the back of the line and wait.”

    Koerner Lesson No. 3: “Hire a builder who understands the meaning of the word ‘finish.’”

    Before the fire, Koerner was having his bathrooms remodeled by Innova Creative Solution, a Van Nuys-based general contracting company. He trusted project manager Jossef Abraham, so he hired him to build his new house. And Abraham, according to Koerner, has kept things moving as promised.

    “I think it helps a lot for people who are victims of fire to see progress,” Abraham told me, saying he’s managed the bureaucratic hurdles and made sure his material suppliers are lined up.

    The house will be better shielded against fire, Abraham said, with concrete roof tiles, tempered windows, sprinklers and enclosed eaves. He said he’s well aware of Koerner’s bond with Daisy, and although he doesn’t know if he can get man and his best friend home by Halloween, he thinks six weeks is doable.

    “Daisy is his entire world and she’s just amazing. What a dog,” Abraham said. ”

    A man sits in a chair with his dog on the ground in front of him outside a home

    Koerner and Daisy sit in the backyard of their Altadena home.

    Koerner’s house sits just west of Lake Avenue, where mountain and metropolis meet, with sweeping views across the valley and down to the sea. On clear days, Koerner said, he can see to Dana Point and to Ventura.

    He avoided visiting his property before framing began, too depressed by the empty space where home had been since 2006. When Daisy was a pup, Koerner began planting dozens of native plants near the Aleppo pines and fig trees, creating what he called their campground arboretum. Most of which was destroyed.

    On a recent visit with Daisy, Koerner took a seat in the front yard, under a heritage oak tree that survived the fire, and looked down the hill toward dozens of vacant lots where houses once stood and disaster seemed remote. Daisy seemed surprised, maybe even confused, by the altered terrain. But she soon fell into a familiar rhythm.

    “She immediately walked over to me and wiggled around like goldens do,” Koerner said. “She looked at me, licked my hands, lay down next to my feet and went sound asleep. And the neighbor and I cried a lot because that’s all that matters to dogs, is that they’re with us.”

    steve.lopez@latimes.com

    Steve Lopez

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  • Tri-Valley is one of the fastest growing regions in the Bay Area

    Since the 1970s, the Tri-Valley region of the Bay Area has seen significant growth. In places like Dublin and San Ramon, the population has tripled. Meanwhile, other cities in the region have seen their populations double. The Tri-Valley is nestled into the Diablo Mountain Range and is made up of the cities of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon and Danville and the surrounding communities. “We saw a growth that changed the community,” said Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert. “We literally saw Dublin change.”Haubert and his family moved to Dublin 25 years ago. They raised their daughters there and were active in the community, including joining the school board. Haubert went on to become the mayor of Dublin before becoming a county supervisor. “When I left as mayor in the city of Dublin, I said, ‘We’ve seen a lot of great things to happen. But, I want you to know our best days are yet to come.’ Dublin has continued to progress, I say we have even greater days yet to come,” Haubert said. Some of the reasons people are choosing to move to the Tri-Valley include the open spaces, great school districts, and cheaper housing costs. Nearly 10,000 single-family homes have been built in the Tri-Valley in the last 15 years. Developer Trumark Homes currently has approvals for more than 1,500 homes in the Tri-Valley, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. One of Trumark’s biggest developments is Francis Ranch in Dublin. That development has 573 homes under construction. And as the population has grown, communities have seen their demographics shift as well. “Twenty years back, there were not that many people from the South Asian community,” said Prasad Ramakrishnan. Ramakrishnan moved with his family from Fremont to San Ramon two decades ago. He still commutes to Silicon Valley for work, but was drawn to the open spaces and parks in the Tri-Valley.Ramakrishnan is on the board of the Indian Community Center and says the diversity of San Ramon is one of the reasons he’s grown to love the city so much. According to census data, 23% of residents in San Ramon identify as Indian, including Ramakrishnan.”It doesn’t matter where you’re from. All of us are humans, let’s all get together. San Ramon creates that kind of an environment where you have people from different ethnic backgrounds kind of coming together,” Ramakrishnan said. “We celebrate Diwali, we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the Muslim functions.”But of course, growth doesn’t come without growing pains. Many of those pains can be found along the highways. “680 is the only real highway from here to South Bay. These are called bedroom communities, and then they work in the South Bay. Giving them an easy way by which to get there would be a nice thing,” Ramakrishnan said. However, Haubert is betting on a future without so many people having to commute outside of the Tri-Valley for work. “I truly believe businesses will locate here,” Haubert said. “I understand that’s often the decision of the CEO. So a lot of CEOs live in Silicon Valley, but a lot of future CEOs live in the Tri-Valley. That’s my belief.”See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    DUBLIN, Calif. —

    Since the 1970s, the Tri-Valley region of the Bay Area has seen significant growth. In places like Dublin and San Ramon, the population has tripled. Meanwhile, other cities in the region have seen their populations double.

    The Tri-Valley is nestled into the Diablo Mountain Range and is made up of the cities of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon and Danville and the surrounding communities.

    “We saw a growth that changed the community,” said Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert. “We literally saw Dublin change.”

    Haubert and his family moved to Dublin 25 years ago. They raised their daughters there and were active in the community, including joining the school board. Haubert went on to become the mayor of Dublin before becoming a county supervisor.

    “When I left as mayor in the city of Dublin, I said, ‘We’ve seen a lot of great things to happen. But, I want you to know our best days are yet to come.’ Dublin has continued to progress, I say we have even greater days yet to come,” Haubert said.

    Some of the reasons people are choosing to move to the Tri-Valley include the open spaces, great school districts, and cheaper housing costs. Nearly 10,000 single-family homes have been built in the Tri-Valley in the last 15 years.

    Developer Trumark Homes currently has approvals for more than 1,500 homes in the Tri-Valley, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

    One of Trumark’s biggest developments is Francis Ranch in Dublin. That development has 573 homes under construction. And as the population has grown, communities have seen their demographics shift as well.

    “Twenty years back, there were not that many people from the South Asian community,” said Prasad Ramakrishnan. Ramakrishnan moved with his family from Fremont to San Ramon two decades ago. He still commutes to Silicon Valley for work, but was drawn to the open spaces and parks in the Tri-Valley.

    Ramakrishnan is on the board of the Indian Community Center and says the diversity of San Ramon is one of the reasons he’s grown to love the city so much. According to census data, 23% of residents in San Ramon identify as Indian, including Ramakrishnan.

    “It doesn’t matter where you’re from. All of us are humans, let’s all get together. San Ramon creates that kind of an environment where you have people from different ethnic backgrounds kind of coming together,” Ramakrishnan said. “We celebrate Diwali, we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the Muslim functions.”

    But of course, growth doesn’t come without growing pains. Many of those pains can be found along the highways.

    “680 is the only real highway from here to South Bay. These are called bedroom communities, and then they work in the South Bay. Giving them an easy way by which to get there would be a nice thing,” Ramakrishnan said.

    However, Haubert is betting on a future without so many people having to commute outside of the Tri-Valley for work.

    “I truly believe businesses will locate here,” Haubert said. “I understand that’s often the decision of the CEO. So a lot of CEOs live in Silicon Valley, but a lot of future CEOs live in the Tri-Valley. That’s my belief.”

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Lord, I’ve Eaten So Many Meal Kits. These Are the Best Ones

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Are Meal Prep Kits Worth It?

    If you’re talking raw materials by the pound—meat, zucchini, rice, noodles—meal kits will of course cost more than buying food at grocery stores. It’s a service, after all, with added value above simple ingredient cost. Unless you’ve got quite expensive taste, you’ll easily be able to make meals at home for less than the $7 to $14 a serving that a meal kit will cost. But this said, this doesn’t necessarily mean that meal kits are expensive for what they offer. I conducted an experiment, trying to re-create four different meal-kit meals by going to my local grocery store—buying every ingredient provided by the meal kit. Turns out, if you don’t have the right sauces and spices at home already, it’s very difficult to recreate these meals at grocery stores for less than they cost from a meal kit, in part because you’ll most likely have to buy full containers of sauces and spice instead of pre-portioned ingredients,

    So, is HelloFresh worth it compared to a grocery store? Caveats are in order: For staple ingredients and spices you’ll use on multiple recipes, the grocery store is of course cheaper. Once you buy a container of paprika for an individual recipe, it’ll also be there for future recipes, whereas meal-kit spices are portioned for the meal. So the real answer is that meal kits can be a quite economical way of trying out a new recipe, or a new style of cooking, without larding up your fridge with condiments you won’t use again. For ingredients you’d use less commonly, a meal kit can reduce waste and spoilage, and maybe even compete on price for an individual meal.

    If your comparison point is takeout, well, the best meal delivery services on this list will almost certainly be cheaper and more nutritious. I’ve found that a meal kit in the fridge tends to be a good motivator to cook a nutritive meal—and thus can save me both the money and the cholesterol.

    To really save on cost, some people like to keep testing out the trial offers and discounts. Much like mattress-in-a-box companies, meal-kit companies usually have a running promotion. Usually this takes the form of a trial discount price that’ll drop your cost by half or more on the first box, in hopes you’ll like the service enough to keep it on at full price.

    For me, a meal kit a few times a week ends up balancing out well: It’s a motivating factor to eat better, and it means that when I do go to the grocery store, I can do so less mindlessly and more purposefully, since I’ve always got a few meals’ worth of ingredients in the fridge. It’s also had the side effect of broadening my culinary toolkit, keeping me from getting stuck in the same ruts.

    That said, you know: It’s a set grocery expense and not necessarily a small one. I do get tired of tossing or recycling cold packs and boxes. And depending on time of year, I often prefer shopping in person for what’s seasonal and local, when produce is at its peak—an experience you don’t get from a meal kit, or from grocery delivery for that matter. If you’re cooking for a bigger household, meal kits can also lose their utility quite quickly. A convenient option for two can become a much larger expense for a family of four or six.

    What If I Take a Trip Out of Town?

    Pretty much every meal kit I’ve tested has an option to pause subscriptions—and there’s no particular limit to how often you can do this. The main thing is to be sure that you’ve canceled with enough lead time. Some services let you cancel or pause delivery as late as the Friday before a Monday delivery. HelloFresh requires five days’ notice. Some, like Hungryroot, may lock in next week’s order as early as the previous Monday, depending on where you live. Read your terms of service, and act accordingly.

    How to Optimize Meal Kits

    Don’t order too many meals per week: You know the old John Lennon line: Life is what happens when you’re busy out eating a random burrito, then thinking guiltily about the meal kit at home in your fridge. Aspirations are great, but don’t order more meals than you’re likely to make, or you’ll be sad. Err on the side of caution. Order just enough meals per week that making yourself a recipe from your HelloFresh or Home Chef box is still a delight and a convenience and an overall boon to your life—not an obligation. For me, a somewhat improvisational and impulsive person, three meals a week is the sweet spot. The prospect of a few easy meals usually saves me from an impulse weeknight DoorDash.”

    Make room in your fridge: Meal kits take the place of a lot of grocery shopping. But they’re also a lot of food, and a lot to keep organized. What I like to do is clear a tall enough space in my fridge to put the whole meal kit box in the fridge, after pulling out the cold packs: This way, I’m not left worrying about which groceries belong to the meal kit, and I won’t lose any ingredients. I can just pull the whole box out when I want to make a meal. That said, some plans like Home Chef, HelloFresh, and Green Chef are very good at organizing each meal into its own separate bag. An added bonus from these more organized plans is that you’ll be able to use less space in your fridge. Over time, this will matter.

    Check the recipe cards to make sure you have everything you need to make a recipe: Most meal kits expect that you’ll have certain staple ingredients in your home, usually including oil and butter. Recipes also have requirements for cookware. Check this before you start a recipe. Nothing worse than realizing you need an absentee stick of butter on step 5, with carrots already browning in the toaster oven.

    Remember, you owe nothing to the recipe: Meal kit services hire lovely recipe developers, of course. And on the best meal kits, these chefs have spent a lot of time optimizing each recipe. But you owe them nothing—nothing! Add spices, change steps, season food when you want to season it. Meal kits can teach you a lot about how to make a good meal, and shake you out of tired culinary routines. But it’s your meal. Make it how you like. Have fun.

    How Do We Test Meal Kits?

    Chances are, wherever you are, whatever week it is, I’m testing a meal kit right now. I constantly cycle among various meal kits, testing and retesting each of my top picks at least once a year—and often multiple times per year.

    I order at least four meals from each, and prepare meals according to instructions and see how well it goes. I check my own prep times against the advertised prep times (rarely an exercise in honesty!), and take note of any inconsistencies, vagueness, or frustration in the recipe card instructions. If you needlessly recommend a nonstick pan, I like you less, especially if you tell me I should heat said pan before adding food—or you later make mention of browned fond in the recipe. Nonstick isn’t cast iron or carbon, there’s no fond.

    I check for the quality and freshness of the produce, and do the same for the meat. Where possible, I also look into where the meat was sourced, and check on the reputation, safety, and standards of the meat suppliers. If a meal kit swears it’s gluten-free, I check on this—calling certifying organizations where relevant.

    I usually try to order as varied a menu a possible, checking in on gluten-free meals, a seafood item, a vegetarian item, and white and dark meat item—as well as meals that draw (or attempt to draw) from onspirations all over the globe. Sometimes, I test the same meal kit multiple times for different dietary needs, and our vegan tester, Molly Higgins, often tests the same meal kit I do but with a different focus.

    More Meal Kits We Liked

    Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

    Sunbasket ($12 to $14 per serving): Sunbasket is a plan that focuses heavily on fresh, organic ingredients, and offers a whole lot of variety and good cooking techniques, including deglazing and attentiveness to saucing. And like Hungryroot, it also offers breakfasts and snacks to supplement meal options with little extras like coconut yogurt and sous-vide egg bites. The meal kit also lets you filter out allergen-containing items. My colleague Louryn Strampe loved the flexibility and add-ons (and even some crickets!) On my most recent test, I enjoyed in particular an excellent Greek chicken and orzo salad dish—and wonder of wonders, the advertised prep time was actually the actual prep time (about 30 minutes). The focus on organic ingredients does make Sunbasket one of the more expensive meal kit options.

    Left to right green beans being cooked in a silver frying pan prepackaged ingredients in a cardboard box from the...

    Photograph: Matthew Korfhage; Getty Images

    Dinnerly ($8 to $9 per serving): Marley Spoon’s lower-cost meal kit, Dinnerly was long WIRED’s budget pick. Frankly, it’s still a good affordable pick. It’s also a stolidly meat-and-potatoes pick, and often straightforwardly Midwestern in its recipes. The proteins are generous and of excellent quality, and the produce is fresh. The meals are balanced. But the recipe development and instructions weren’t quite up to Marley Spoon standards on my most recent test of the kit, though I did love the middle-American trashiness and hold-my-beer inventiveness of a “Reuben meatloaf” stuffed with sauerkraut and caraway seeds. This year I ended up preferring the meals I tried from EveryPlate, which has the further merit of being a buck cheaper a meal.

    Image may contain Food Food Presentation Lunch Meal and Produce

    Photograph: Molly Higgins

    Thistle ($13 to $16 per serving): A prior top pick for solo diners, Thistle is mostly a plant-based meal kit—but there’s a $3 option to add sustainable meats to any otherwise vegan meal. It’s also so local and seasonal that the West and East coasts have different menus, and the whole middle of the country except Chicago gets none. (You can check your zip code here to see if you can get delivery.) WIRED reviewer Adrienne So has used Thistle as a means to get herself to eat more vegetables, and thus avoid a life of rickets and/or scurvy. But especially, it’s friendly to the solo diner, with individually prepared meals with low to no prep. Portions are generous enough to split among meals, and in a nice turn for those who hate having to dispose of boxes, Thistle’s drivers will pick up the cooler bag that housed last week’s meal and replace it with a new one full of food. Vegan tester Molly Higgins‘ favorite meals from Thistle were a whirlwind of textures, including a Mexican-inspired corn and poblano chile salad with adobo pinto beans and a chilled lemongrass-accented rice noodle bowl that mixed spice, tang, crisply fresh veggies, and deep umami from mushrooms and seaweed. She still dreams about it sometimes.

    Image may contain Cooking Device Appliance Electrical Device Oven and Roasting

    Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

    Tovala ($13 a serving): It’s not every day you get to try something that feels so new. Tovala offers perhaps the most ambitious solution to ready-to-heat and prepared meal delivery I’ve seen: The meal kits come with an oven! In contrast to the sogginess of many prepared meals, Tovala’s recipes come in little foil pans with recipes custom-designed for a little steam oven. The results are often delicious, especially a recent sweet chili-glazed salmon with pickled veg and noodles, and the QR code scanning function makes each recipe seamless to cook. Stick with the meal plan for six weeks, and in the bargain you get a quite affordable and powerful little convection oven, toaster, and steamer. Tovala is best as a solution for the solo diner: Meals aren’t big enough for couples, and servings are one at a time.

    Image may contain Dining Table Furniture Table Cooking Pan Cookware Food and Produce

    Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

    Gobble ($12 to $17 a serving): Gobble was our prior top pick for fast-cooked meals, in part because its speed-demon meals also offered interesting and worldly flavors. Indeed, our most recent test included Caribbean rondon, Indonesian peanut curry, and steak vierge. But while the flavors have stayed interesting, the focus on fast cooking appears to have waned since my colleague Louryn Strampe tested Gobble—and cook time estimates aren’t printed on the recipe cards. I’m still in the process of re-testing this kit, but for now Hungryroot has taken the fast-cooking crown. For small households, Gobble is also among the most expensive kits. Ordering fewer than 8 meals a week costs $15+ per serving.

    Nurture Life ($8 to $10 per serving): Nurture Life is like a restaurant kids’ menu, in ready-to-eat meal kit form. We loved the idea behind this fresh-made, never-frozen delivery meal plan when we tested it a few years back: a bunch of toddler- and slightly bigger kid-friendly meals, from mac and cheese to spaghetti and meatballs to myriad variations on the chicken nugget. The meals are priced about the same as kid menu items, and each contains vegetables alongside the greatest hits.

    Veestro ($13+ per serving): WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe enjoyed Veestro as a ready-to-eat vegan option, with premade meals delivered fresh, but with freezable options so you can have extra meals on hand in a pinch. The service offers a number of filters for other dietary requirements, and satisfying taste and texture—not always a guarantee on ready-to-eat meals.

    Splendid Spoon ($9 to $13 per serving): Splendid Spoon is a nutrition delivery kit that offers a plethora of plant-based smoothies, soups, bowls, noodles, and shots. Everything here is natural, plant-based, and free of gluten or GMOs, including spaghetti and plant-based “meatballs.” WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe has a big yen for the smoothies in particular ($10 apiece), but wasn’t quite prepared for the intensity of a lemon juice shot that comes as part of a five-pack of dense 3-ounce superfoods.

    Daily Harvest (prices vary): Daily Harvest is another ready-to-eat meal delivery service specializing in dietary restrictions plant-based, gluten- and dairy-free. Smoothies feature, as do harvest bowls, pastas, and grains. Calories are low. Ingredients are often inventive. The meal’s a lifesaver for the solo vegan eater without time to prep a meal, and WIRED vegan reviewer Molly Higgins appreciated that the meals mostly relied on the natural flavors of the vegetables themselves, accented with flavors like curry and lemongrass. As with a lot of frozen meals, however, texture wasn’t a strong suit.

    Factor ($12 to $15 a serving): Factor is a delivery meal plan run by HelloFresh with ready-to-eat meals that look a lot like TV dinners. But there’s a twist: They’ve never been frozen. They were made fresh in a commissary kitchen, and shipped out with cold packs. It’s kinda like restaurant leftovers. This means that proteins in particular often maintain their texture quite well, including a chimichurri filet mignon I couldn’t believe I microwaved. Some meals, especially carb-avoidant or keto meals, are oddly mushy. But meals centered on proteins and whole starches like potatoes or rice tended to fare quite well. In fact, a recent test of Factor’s high protein plan was my favorite experience with the meal kit, and included wild rice and excellent pork loin. I do wish they’d shed their reliance on the microwave, however: When I went off-script and used a toaster oven or the Ninja Crispi air fryer, I had much better results than with the nuker. Like many ready-to-eat meals, it’s a bit more expensive than the kits you cook yourself.

    Meal Kits We Didn’t Like

    Sakara Life ($28+ per serving), Sakara Life offers plant-based weekly menus in fresh, prepared portions, with greens, flavorful sauces, all-organic ingredients, and textural add-ons like seeds or berries. But it’s among the most expensive meal plans we’ve tested, and neither WIRED reviewer who tried it has really cottoned to the thing. Tester Louryn Strampe questioned the science on health claims for detoxes and cleanses, while calling Sakara “egregiously expensive” and full of “bitter veggies and tart fruits.” Vegan tester Molly Higgins, meanwhile, said Sakara Life’s tinctures and metabolism supplements didn’t agree with her system, and that the mostly raw-food plan made her long for “human food.”

    Diet to Go Meal on pink

    Photograph: Matthew Korfhage; Getty Images

    Diet-to-Go ($10 to $13 per serving, plus shipping): Diet-to-Go predates the modern meal kit. Founded more than 30 years ago in Virginia, it’s a diet plan much in the tradition of Jenny Craig, offering low-calorie microwaveable meals meant to act as total meal replacement. Keto and diabetes-friendly options exist, though the most popular “Balance” plan is geared toward weight loss, with calories limited to 1,600 a day for men and a mere 1,200 for women. Anyway, as is often true with microwaved meals that may or may not arrive frozen (it depends on the season, and where you are), proteins and starches fared better than veggies, which tended to be limp and soggy. Meals were healthy, but not always flavorful, and there were a few real misses.

    Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.

    Matthew Korfhage

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  • Get the Support You Need With the Best WIRED-Tested Body Pillows for Side Sleepers

    Compare Our Picks

    Photograph: Molly Higgins

    Others Tested

    Pillow Cube Side Cube for $66: This isn’t technically a body pillow, but it’s specifically designed for side sleepers (and I love it), so it’s included in this list. This cuboid pillow is designed for the side sleeper, and aims to help with headaches and back and shoulder pains through its unique shape and soft, yet structured, filling. It has a breathable, soft-and-stretchy quilted side case that’s removable with a zipper, and the AeroPluff foam core is comfy, regulating temperature to keep you sleeping coolly. I can sleep only on my side, and one of the problems I regularly have is a sore neck from the gap between my shoulder and my head. This square, 90-degree-angled pillow perfectly fills that gap and sits at a manageable head pillow size of 24 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 5 inches deep. The breathable cover and soft density even helped with ear pressure.

    Leacho Snoogle for $50: Though out of stock at the moment, this versatile body pillow is marketed for pregnant people because of its versatility and belly, hip, and knee support. Due to its unique shape, it can be contorted into many figures. With a removable cover made of a polyester/cotton blend and a polyester filling, this pillow is a lot more breathable than similar large body pillows on the list. Because of its unique shape for many positions, the pillow isn’t overstuffed, and I found that the fill tended to sink to the lower foot portion of the pillow when sleeping on it. Overall, this pillow is breathable and extremely customizable in shape, although I would’ve preferred something with a little more filling.

    White Noise Memory Foam Body Pillow With Hypoallergenic Zippered Protector for $50: I absolutely love the fill of this 50 x 14-inch pillow—the shredded foam is the perfect mix of structure and softness. If it were wider, 20 or so inches rather than 14 inches, this pillow would be perfect. But because I’m a side-only sleeper, I like to hold the body pillow and wrap my arms and legs around it. Since it is so narrow, my knees knock together on the other side. I may be able to overlook the flaw of its narrowness because the pillow has a super-comfy fill, but I wouldn’t recommend it for bigger people with longer limbs.

    Eli & Elm Memory Foam Body Pillow for $130: In my home, we call this one “the 7 pillow” because … well, take a guess. This long, L/7-shaped pillow is marketed as a pregnancy pillow, but it’s great for anyone who sleeps on their side. The short section fits neatly under your head, while the long end can reach down to fit between your legs. It comes with its own custom pillow case, which is great, because it’s not like you’ll have a ton of spares in this shape in your linen closet. —Eric Ravenscraft

    Eli & Elm Side Sleeper for $116: The Eli & Elm Side Sleeper pillow is one of the firmest pillows right out of the box of any we’ve tested. You can remove some of the excess fill if you want to reduce that firmness, but if you’re the type of person who likes feeling like they’re sleeping on a very soft rock, this is the pillow for you. It’s not quite big enough for multiple people to cuddle up with, like our Honeydew pick, but for a single person, it’s a great option. —Eric Ravenscraft

    Bearaby Cuddler for $229: Bearaby is best known for its weighted blankets, eye masks, and stuffed animals, but it makes other sleep products like heated pads, throw blankets, and the body pillow I tested, the Cuddler. At 75 inches long and 8 inches in diameter, with a filling of plant-based Melofoam, an all-natural foam made from rubber-tree sap, it’s unlike any other pillow fill I’ve slept on. It’s heavier than a stuffed pillow but lighter than memory foam and has a rubbery, bouncy quality. Its springy fill, skinny body, and extraordinary length made it fit awkwardly on the bed, but its bouncy quality and ability to conform into many shapes may make this an attractive pick for some side sleepers.

    Not Recommended

    The Best Body Pillow Tested and Reviewed

    Photograph: Molly Higgins

    Alwyn Home Butcher Fiber Plush Pillow for $56: This 90 x 19-inch pillow disappoints. It’s egregiously long, which could be helpful for people who are taller or those who like more all-around body support. However, it just doesn’t have enough stuffing to fill 90 inches. The batting inside feels like typical fluffy batting found in homemade pillows, but it bunches throughout the pillow in clumps, leaving gaps where no filling reaches. These gaps often happen where your limbs rest, thus defeating the purpose of having a body pillow for support. The pillow is only about 2 inches deep and didn’t seem to ever spring up after I took it out of the box. I had to shake and knead the fiber to help make it more uniform throughout the inside of the pillow, but it did little to help.

    As a side sleeper, you’ll want a pillow that’s long enough to provide support between your arms and pressure points like between the knees. While firmness and softness are a matter of personal preference, you often want a body pillow that strikes the right balance, to provide support without being too heavy or firm for the limbs that rest underneath the pillow. If you’re just looking for a pillow to hug while you sleep, something lighter and softer is best. But if you have joint or spinal pain, something a bit more firm with more support is best. You’ll also want to think about which pillow shape will support which part of your body best, depending on your needs. I’m a strict side sleeper, but I toss and turn between both sides, so pillows with support on either side were tested too. I also tend to curl into a more fetal position, so I wanted something that had enough width to fully wrap my legs and arms around.

    While many head pillows and mattresses favor memory foam, depending on the foam’s denseness, it can feel too heavy for a side sleeper whose limbs go underneath the pillow. Polyester or other synthetic filling is often the most plush and malleable but may not provide enough support. Many have a mixture of both or shredded memory foam, which can provide structure while still being soft enough to sink into. This depends on personal preference and need, but fill type is something to be aware of when looking for the perfect side-sleeper body pillow.

    A standard body pillow that’s long enough to provide full-length support for the body is ideal, giving enough room to stretch out or cuddle in various positions. Body pillows in U or C shapes can provide more overall support and are ideal for pregnant people or those with back or leg issues, but can often make the sleeper run hot because of all of the surrounding material. But ultimately, the preferred shape is largely dependent on what parts of the body you want most supported in the side-sleeping position.

    I tested (slept with) each of the pillows for at least a week while sleeping, lounging, and sitting to see how the fill changed and moved over time. I contorted them in many shapes, and measured how supported I felt in different positions. I removed and added fill if I was able, and removed and washed covers to see how they were affected by cleaning and tested the differences with or without a cover.

    Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that’s too important to ignore. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.

    Molly Higgins

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  • Ultrahuman’s Home Environment Tracker Is Ultra Expensive and Underbaked

    The Ultrahuman Home is a futuristic-looking home environment monitor that tracks air quality, light, sound, and temperature. All this data flows into the Ultrahuman app on your phone, offering potential insights into your environment and suggestions on how you could make it healthier. Sadly, this mostly amounts to reminders to crack a window open, because most of the touted features are not yet present and correct, despite the rather hefty $550 price.

    Ultrahuman made its name with a subscription-free smart ring that made biohacking more affordable (though it may soon be banned in the US due to a lawsuit from Oura). The Home monitor may seem like a strange sidestep, but if you’re going to hack your body, why not your environment? After all, we know air quality, light and sound exposure, and temperature and humidity can impact our sleep and general health.

    Setup and Tracking

    Photograph: Simon Hill

    Taking a leaf from Apple’s playbook, the Ultrahuman Home is a 4.7-inch anodized aluminum block with rounded corners (it looks like a Mac Mini). There’s an Ultrahuman logo and light sensor on top, a power button and LED on the front, and a USB-C port on the back flanked by privacy switches to turn off the microphone or connectivity (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth).

    Setup is super simple: Plug it in and add it via the Ultrahuman app. The Home gets its own tab at the bottom of the Ultrahuman app, alongside the ring, and if you tap on it, you’ll get a score out of 100, indicating how healthy your environment is. Scroll down for a breakdown of the four scores that combine to create your overall Home score (air quality, environmental comfort, light exposure, and UV exposure).

    Ultrahuman Home Review Overpriced and Underbaked

    Ultrahuman via Simon Hill

    Ultrahuman Home Review Overpriced and Underbaked

    Ultrahuman via Simon Hill

    To compile all this data, the Ultrahuman Home is packed with sensors:

    • Air quality sensors to track things like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), typically released by cleaning fluids, and carbon dioxide levels (CO₂) that might indicate poor ventilation. They also watch out for formaldehyde (HCHO), carbon monoxide (CO), and smoke.
    • Particulate matter sensors to track tiny particles in the air, including things like dust, pollen, mold spores, and particles released by cooking. Covering PM1.0, PM2.5, and PM10 (the number refers to the size in microns), the Home warns if you’re in danger of breathing these particles in.
    • Temperature and humidity sensors to track how warm or cool it is and how much moisture is in the air. You get a chart of the temperature in your environment and the humidity level.
    • Light sensors to track the level of light and also its makeup, including the amount of blue light and ultraviolet (UV) exposure.
    • Microphones to track the noise levels in your environment, showing noise in decibels in a chart.
    Ultrahuman Home Review Overpriced and Underbaked

    Ultrahuman via Simon Hill

    The data is all easy to access and read in the app. You get notifications throughout the day, including alerts if VOC levels spike or there’s prolonged noise. I set the Home up in my office for a few weeks and then tried it for another couple of weeks in my bedroom, after I moved houses. This raises the issue of where to put it, because it must be plugged in and isn’t really designed to be moved around. The bedroom seems like the best bet, but you ideally want both, though I can’t imagine springing for two or more of these to cover all your bases.

    Oversensitive and Alarming

    Ultrahuman Home Review Overpriced and Underbaked

    Photograph: Simon Hill

    The idea of combining body and environment tracking data seems smart, but the Ultrahuman Home doesn’t really do it yet. The touted UltraSync with the Ultrahuman Ring Air is limited to basic common sense advice for now. I don’t think anyone really needs a box to tell them they will sleep better in the dark and quiet, and the air quality advice mostly amounts to opening a window for better ventilation.

    Simon Hill

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  • Commentary: Nine months after the Eaton fire, ‘moments of wavering, or wanting to give up’ on ever returning

    Nearly nine months after the Eaton fire destroyed something unique, something beloved, something cherished even more in death, the mountains remain scarred and dusty streets criss-cross the vanished neighborhoods of what is still, essentially, a ghost town.

    If it’s true that time heals all wounds, the clock is moving slowly in Altadena, where 9,400 structures were destroyed and 19 lives were lost.

    There will be a resurrection, without question. Building permits are grinding slowly through the bureaucracy, hammers are swinging and a new Altadena will one day rise from the ashes.

    I know one homeowner who hopes to be in his newly built house in a month or two. Victoria Knapp of the Altadena Town Council told me she knows people who sold their lots immediately after the fire and now regret it. And L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the permitting process has been revamped and she doesn’t sense that many people are bailing on Altadena.

    But as we head for Halloween and Thanksgiving and round the corner of one year into the next, roughly two-thirds of property owners have not yet applied for building permits, and there is widespread frustration, exhaustion and uncertainty.

    People who were fully committed to rebuilding in the immediate aftermath of destruction are now rethinking it, having grown weary of the slog.

    “It could be years of living in a construction zone, and that’s had me awake in the middle of the night with some panic attacks,” said Kelly Etter, who lost the house where she lived with her husband and ran a Pilates studio.

    “When I go up there every week,” said Elisa Nixon, whose home was badly smoke-damaged and needs an interior gutting, “I find it really sad and really depressing. I’m trying to imagine myself living there, and it’s really hard.”

    Taylor Feltner, who lived with his wife in a smoke-damaged Pasadena home on the edge of Altadena, would like to stay in the area because his wife’s Altadena family is a big part of their lives. But they’re no longer sure what to do or how to decide.

    “We have wavered so much throughout this whole process, because every time we have a fight with the insurance company it’s like reliving the trauma of that night over and over again,” Feltner said.

    An aerial view of cleared properties and a home under construction this month in Altadena.

    (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

    He and his wife are in their eighth temporary home since the fire. His mother-in-law, whose Altadena home survived the fire, wears a mask when gardening in the backyard. Feltner said he and his wife planted fruit trees in their own yard, but wonder if it’ll be safe to eat the fruit when they go back home, given widespread contamination and haphazard testing.

    “Everything feels broken apart now,” Feltner said.

    I get it, and I honestly don’t know if I’d be able to endure what people from the Altadena and Palisades areas are going through. I get impatient if a problem isn’t resolved in a day. The fire survivors are in limbo, still, with no idea how many years of upheaval they’re in for.

    Joy Chen, co-founder of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, has been tracking community sentiment for months. She said an initial, “almost defiant” sense of pride, with T-shirts and property signs declaring “Altadena is not for sale,” still lingers. But “a dose of reality” has set in.

    Here’s what people are sorting through, said Chen:

    How long will it take to get back home? Can we afford to rebuild? Will our kids be safe, given lingering contamination? Is the Southern California Edison settlement proposal a fair deal or a ploy to avoid bigger payouts? Will the new Altadena remotely resemble the place we loved? And will we ever sleep well in an area that has not seen the last of wildfires and frightful winds?

    Even for those who can see their way past all of that, said Chen, there’s a gap between their insurance settlement and the cost of rebuilding.

    “It’s around $300,000 on average,” said Chen, “and that’s a huge hurdle.”

    Barger said the settlement proposal from Edison could help close that gap for some people. But the investigation into the fire’s cause is not yet complete, and some lawyers have advised clients not to accept what they consider a lowball offer. And yet, for those who pass up on the offer, it could take years for lawsuits to play out in court.

    Chen, a former deputy L.A. mayor, has been demanding that insurance companies deliver what their clients paid for, and imploring state insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara to get tough with them. According to the nonprofit Department of Angels, 70% of the roughly 2,000 insured Eaton and Palisades fire survivors who were surveyed said delays, denials and underpayments are “actively derailing recovery.”

    “These delays and denials aren’t just devastating to families, they’re illegal under California law,” said Chen. “It’s Commissioner Lara’s job to stop them. His refusal to act is stalling the entire Los Angeles recovery. Families who spent decades building stability for their kids are watching those futures slip away.”

    Lawsuits are pending against multiple insurance companies, including Feltner’s carrier: Mercury.

    “They’re fighting us on everything,” said Feltner, who has filed complaints with what he called the “toothless” state insurance commission.

    For one Altadena family, whose house survived with minimal damage, it wasn’t an insurance issue that exhausted their resolve. Initially committed to moving back in, they later sold their house and relocated to another area. They asked me to withhold their names for privacy reasons.

    “It boiled down to risk,” said the husband, citing concerns about contamination, years of construction noise and dust, and the impossibility of knowing if the new Altadena will resemble the one that drew them there in the first place.

    A sign adorns a homeowner's Altadena property.

    A sign adorns a homeowner’s Altadena property.

    (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

    “It was a head decision and not a heart decision,” said his wife, who still feels attached to her home, her street, and to Altadena. “I don’t think that will go away. Obviously, this trauma is a part of us now, but our heart and our memories will always be there.”

    Tim Kawahara, executive director of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, grew up in Altadena and his mother still lives there in a house that survived the fire. The rebuilding of Altadena is in the early stages, he said. With thousands of separate projects to push through the permitting process, and a construction workforce shortage compounded by immigration raids, the new Altadena is not yet on the horizon.

    “You’re talking about three years to start seeing some considerable building happening, and probably more like five years for something happening at some big level. But it could take up to 10 years,” Kawahara said. “And it’s not just homes. It’s schools, parks, libraries, police stations and infrastructure, too.”

    You could argue that there’s something exciting about the chance to draw a new community on the blank canvas of the old one. But that’s a lot to endure if you’re breathing the dust, and as speculators move in and properties turn over, who’s going to be in charge, what will homeowner insurance cost, and will character and history survive?

    “People are suffering and struggling to find their way, and they don’t trust anyone anymore,” said Nixon. “And with all of that comes this feeling of, this is too much. It’s hijacked my life, I can tell you that. It’s overwhelming, the amount of work it takes to stay on top of this and also just keep your life balance.”

    “Having so many unknowns is just incredibly exhausting and limits capacity for enjoying other areas of life,” said Etter. “The connection to community, to neighbors and fellow survivors has really been a lifeline. There’s shared resources, hugs, and midnight texts in the middle of the night when you’re panicked about whatever.”

    In coming weeks, I’ll be exploring different angles of the Eaton fire recovery story, so feel free to share your thoughts with me.

    What can be done to speed the process?

    What should Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators do to speed fair resolution of insurance disputes?

    Given climate change and the fire-prone natural geography, would you consider a move to Altadena?

    What will Altadena look like in five years, in 10, in 20?

    Who should decide?

    Who will decide?

    steve.lopez@latimes.com

    Steve Lopez

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  • The Best Stand Mixers for Every Kind of Cook

    “Fits-anywhere kitchenware” is the tagline of this 2024-launched appliance brand known for space savers like a 3.5-inch-wide toaster and cookware sets with removable handles. Like many other Bella appliances, the Hand & Stand mixer is a two-in-one: Use it like a regular hand mixer with either the included beater or dough hook attachments, or snap it into a nested, lidded bowl that rotates as you blend, turning it into a stand mixer. (The motor is 200 watts; about 75 less than a KitchenAid head-tilt model.) You add ingredients through a clear slider window on the top, which is removable for use as a bench scraper.

    The hand mixer and its accessories fit in the bowls with the lid on, for stacking. I wasn’t especially impressed when using the Bella in hand mixer mode—the chunky, boxy handle eventually caused my hand to cramp when making whipped cream. And as a stand mixer, it left plenty of unmixed flour around the sides of the bowl when I made an angel food cake. Where it did excel beyond expectations, however, was in shredding meat. I often shred cooked chicken, pork, turkey, and beef with a hand mixer, and no matter how large the bowl or how careful I am, meat juice and shreds always manage to fly out. With a bowl that’s not only enclosed but that rotates, the Bella made short work of my tests with both chicken breasts and thighs.

    If you shred a lot of meat, this is so efficient it’s worth buying for that task alone, but I can also see buying this for a young person just starting out who doesn’t have much space and doesn’t plan on making anything especially elaborate. In addition to the pictured Surf color, it also comes in Seaglass, Blossom, Plum, and Oatmilk. —Kat Merck
    Design Handheld
    Motor power 200 watts
    Bowl capacity 3.5 quarts
    Speeds Adjustable
    Included attachments 2 dough hooks, 2 egg beaters, bench scraper

    Emily Peck, Julia Forbes

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  • Man detained after allegedly robbing a Taco Bell, crashing vehicle into Sacramento-area home

    Man detained after allegedly robbing a Taco Bell, crashing vehicle into Sacramento-area home

    LOCAL SOURCES. FIRST, THOUGH, WE HAVE SOME BREAKING NEWS FOR SCHOOLS IN THE ARDEN-ARCADE AREA. NOW, IN A PRECAUTIONARY LOCKDOWN AS DEPUTIES ARE SEARCHING FOR A ROBBERY SUSPECT. HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW. THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT HAS SET UP A PERIMETER AROUND RIO TINTO AVENUE. THAT’S NEAR EDISON AVENUE JUST TO THE NORTH. AND THEY SAY THE SUSPECT IS WANTED FOR A ROBBERY AT A TACO BELL ON SUNRISE AVENUE. AND WINDING WAY. WE DO HAVE KCRA 3’S PEYTON HEADLEE THERE RIGHT NOW. AND YOU’RE SEEING A LOT THERE, PEYTON. AND YOU CAN PROBABLY HEAR THE SHERIFF’S HELICOPTER THAT’S GOING OVERHEAD. THEY’VE BEEN TELLING PEOPLE IN THE AREA THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR AN ARMED FELONY SUSPECT, AND THEY’RE ASKING NEIGHBORS HERE TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND LOCK THEIR DOORS. AND WE’VE SEEN SOME NEIGHBORS WITH KIDS ACTUALLY RUNNING OUT OF THEIR HOMES, GETTING IN THEIR CARS AND LEAVING THE AREA. SO I’LL GIVE YOU A LOOK AT WHAT WE’RE SEEING HERE. WE ARE AT A PRETTY GOOD DISTANCE FROM WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING NEAR RIO TINTO AVENUE AND PEYTON STREET, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE PRESENCE FROM SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES AND SOME OF THEIR SIRENS GOING OFF RIGHT NOW. THEY’VE BEEN DOING THAT TO WARN PEOPLE TO GO BACK INSIDE OF THEIR HOMES. IF THEY SEE THEM COME OUT. SO THIS ALL STARTED AS A ROBBERY AT THE TACO BELL ON SUNRISE BOULEVARD AND WINDING WAY AROUND 4 P.M. OFFICIALS SAY THE SUSPECT USED A GUN, AND DEPUTIES SO FAR HAVE NOT RECOVERED ONE, SO THEY HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THAT SUSPECT IS STILL ARMED. AFTER THAT ROBBERY. WE KNOW THE SUSPECT LEFT THE TACO BELL, BUT A DEPUTY TRACKED THEM DOWN. THERE WAS A SHORT CHASE. THE SUSPECT THEN CRASHED THEIR CAR INTO A HOUSE IN THIS AREA. THE DAMAGE IN THAT HOUSE RIGHT NOW IS NOT CLEAR, BUT WE KNOW THE SUSPECT THEN GOT OUT AND RAN AWAY. AND THEY BELIEVE THAT THAT SUSPECT IS INSIDE ONE OF THESE HOMES. THAT’S WHY THEY’RE TAKING SUCH DRASTIC MEASURES TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF THE AREA. THEY’RE EVACUATING NEARBY HOMES. WE KNOW THAT THE SWAT TEAM IS ON THE WAY. ALSO, AN IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE, THE SAN JUAN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SAID THAT FOUR SCHOOLS IN THE AREA ARE UNDER PRECAUTIONARY SHELTER IN PLACE. ORDERS CONNECTED WITH THIS SEARCH. THOSE FOUR SCHOOLS ARE WHITNEY AVENUE ELEMENTARY, PASADENA AVENUE ELEMENTARY, ARCADE MIDDLE, AND MIRA LOMA HIGH. THEY SAY AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ARE BEING HELD INDOORS UNTIL LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS BEEN ABLE TO CLEAR THE AREA. SO AGAIN, A VERY ACTIVE SCENE OUT HERE AS THEY SEARCH FOR THE SUSPECT IN THIS ARMED ROBBERY AT A NEARBY TACO BELL, WE KNOW THEY ARE EVACUATING NEARBY HOMES, ASKING PEOPLE TO LEAVE THE AREA AS THEY FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHICH HOME THIS INDIVIDUAL IS INSIDE, AND THEY TRIED TO TAKE THAT PERSON INTO CUSTODY. THEY HAVE SAID OVER THE SPEAKER OF THE SHERIFF’S HELICOPTER THAT THEY HAVE THIS AREA SURROUNDED AND THAT THEY WILL BE USING. K-9S TO TRACK DOWN THAT INDIVIDUAL AND HAVE ASKED NUMEROUS TIMES FOR THAT PERSON TO COME OUT OF THE HOUSE. SO OF COURSE, WE’LL KEEP YOU UPDATED ON WHAT HAPPENS HERE. FOR NOW, WE’RE LIVE IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY. PEYTON HEADLEE KCRA THREE NEWS. PEYTON, THANK YOU. AND WE WANT TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE CRYSTAL CLEAR FOR PEOPLE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD WHO ARE WATCHING THIS COVERAGE, WHAT EXACTLY PEOPLE SHOULD BE DOING. WE KNOW THAT THE SCHOOLS THEMSELVES ARE IN A SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER. THERE ARE SOME EVACUATIONS UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW. JUST IF YOU CAN SPELL OUT EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE DOING, IF THEY LIVE IN THAT AREA. YES. SO WHAT THE SHERIFF’S HELICOPTER HAS BEEN SAYING TO PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THIS AREA, THEY’RE ASKING THEM TO LOOK OUT FOR AN INDIVIDUAL THAT THEY SAY IS IN ALL BLACK CLOTHING. AND THEN IN TERMS OF EVACUATIONS, THEY SAY TO LEAVE YOUR HOME AND TO LOCK YOUR DOORS. THEY SAID THAT THEY MIGHT GO INSIDE AND SEARCH WITH A CANINE. SO YEAH, BEST MOVE OF ACTION HERE FROM THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS JUST TO EVACUATE THE AREA UNTIL THEY CAN CONFIDENTLY SAY THAT THEY HAVE THE SUSPECT IN CUSTODY. YEAH, PRETTY UNUSUAL THAT WE DON’T GET THOSE KINDS OF INSTRUCTIONS, BUT THAT KIND OF SPEAKS TO THE SERIOUSNESS OF WHAT’S GOING ON THERE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. SO STILL A LOT GOING ON. WE’LL STAY ON THAT STORY THROUG

    Man detained after allegedly robbing a Taco Bell, crashing vehicle into Sacramento-area home

    Updated: 10:28 PM PDT Sep 26, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Sacramento deputies have detained a man suspected of an armed robbery Friday, hours after law enforcement established a perimeter in an Arden-Arcade neighborhood. Deputies responded around 4 p.m. to the report of a robbery at a Taco Bell in the 4300 block of Sunrise Boulevard. Officials said a deputy spotted the suspect and initiated a short pursuit. The pursuit ended when the suspect crashed into a house. It’s unclear if the home sustained any damage.Just after 5 p.m., the sheriff’s office said deputies had established a perimeter in the 4300 block of Rio Tinto Avenue. Around that time, the sheriff’s office said deputies were working to evacuate nearby homes and the SWAT team was responding. The San Juan Unified School District said four schools in the area were under precautionary shelter-in-place orders in connection with the search. The four schools are Whitney Avenue Elementary, Pasadena Avenue Elementary, Arcade Middle and Mira Loma High. After school activities were held indoors until law enforcement gave an all-clear.Around 7:45 p.m., officials said a 35-year-old man was detained in connection with the robbery. He was found under a deck in the 3800 block of Robie Lee Way.The sheriff’s office identified the suspect as Donald Caviness. He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail for robbery, resisting or obstructing, and evading a police officer and driving in a reckless manner. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    ARDEN-ARCADE, Calif. —

    Sacramento deputies have detained a man suspected of an armed robbery Friday, hours after law enforcement established a perimeter in an Arden-Arcade neighborhood.

    Deputies responded around 4 p.m. to the report of a robbery at a Taco Bell in the 4300 block of Sunrise Boulevard.

    Officials said a deputy spotted the suspect and initiated a short pursuit. The pursuit ended when the suspect crashed into a house. It’s unclear if the home sustained any damage.

    Just after 5 p.m., the sheriff’s office said deputies had established a perimeter in the 4300 block of Rio Tinto Avenue.

    Around that time, the sheriff’s office said deputies were working to evacuate nearby homes and the SWAT team was responding.

    The San Juan Unified School District said four schools in the area were under precautionary shelter-in-place orders in connection with the search. The four schools are Whitney Avenue Elementary, Pasadena Avenue Elementary, Arcade Middle and Mira Loma High. After school activities were held indoors until law enforcement gave an all-clear.

    Around 7:45 p.m., officials said a 35-year-old man was detained in connection with the robbery. He was found under a deck in the 3800 block of Robie Lee Way.

    The sheriff’s office identified the suspect as Donald Caviness. He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail for robbery, resisting or obstructing, and evading a police officer and driving in a reckless manner.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Charlie Kirk’s friends praise slain activist’s faith, mark on conservative movement

    President Donald Trump and prominent members of his “Make America Great Again” movement paid tribute Sunday to Charlie Kirk, praising the slain political conservative activist as a singular force whose work they must now advance.Stream the service in the video player aboveThe memorial service for Kirk, whom Trump credits with playing a pivotal role in his 2024 election victory, drew tens of thousands of mourners, including Vice President JD Vance, other senior administration officials and young conservatives shaped by the 31-year-old firebrand.“For Charlie, we will remember that it is better to stand on our feet defending the United States of America and defending the truth than it is to die on our knees,” Vance said. “My friends, for Charlie, we must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America. And he is a martyr for the Christian faith.”Speakers highlighted Kirk’s profound faith and his strong belief that young conservatives need to get married, build families and pass on their values to keep building their movement. They also repeatedly told conservative activists, sometimes in confrontational tones, that the best way to honor Kirk was doubling down on his mission to move American politics further to the right.Kirk’s assassination at a Sept. 10 appearance on a Utah college campus has become a singular moment for the modern-day conservative movement. It also has set off a fierce debate about violence, decency and free speech in an era of deep political division.High security and a full stadiumThose close to Kirk prayed and the floors shook from the bass of Christian rock bands as the home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals took on the feel of a megachurch service.“Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus,” said the Rev. Rob McCoy, Kirk’s pastor.People began lining up before dawn to secure a spot inside State Farm Stadium west of Phoenix, where Kirk’s Turning Point organization is based. Security was tight, similar to the Super Bowl or other high-profile event. The speakers delivered their tributes from behind bullet-proof glass.The 63,400-seat stadium quickly filled with people dressed in red, white and blue, as organizers suggested.Kirk’s widow, Erika, in her own address said in the midst of her grief she was finding comfort that her husband left this world without regrets. She also said she forgives the man who is charged with killing him.“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” said Erika Kirk, who is taking over as Turning Point’s leader. She added, “I forgive him.”A 22-year-old Utah man, Tyler Robinson, has been charged with killing Kirk and faces the death penalty if convicted of the most serious charges. Authorities have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting, but prosecutors say Robinson wrote in a text to his partner following the shooting that he “had enough” of Kirk’s hatred.Kirk’s legacy of conservative political influenceTurning Point, the group Kirk founded to mobilize young Christian conservatives, became a multimillion-dollar operation under his leadership with enormous reach.“Charlie’s having some serious heavenly FOMO right now,” Tyler Bower, Turning Point’s chief operating officer, said, likening the moment to bringing “the Holy Spirit into a Trump rally.”The crowd was a testament to the massive influence he accumulated in conservative America with his ability to mobilize young people.His impact on modern-day conservatism went beyond U.S. shores.Kirk “was very effective because he was convinced of his views and knew how to argue them,” Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said at a political rally Sunday in Rome.Kirk was a MAGA celebrity with a loyal following that turned out to support or argue with him as he traveled the country for the events like the one at Utah Valley University, where he was shot. Kirk grew the organization, in large part, through the force of his personality and debating chops.“He slayed ignorance,” said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. “He cut through lies. He woke people’s minds, inspired people’s hearts and imparted wisdom every day.”Speaker after speaker, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressed their awe at Kirk’s ability to go into what many conservatives saw as the lion’s den to make the conservative case: college campuses.“Why don’t you start somewhere easier,” Rubio joked when he first heard about Kirk years ago. “Like, for example, communist Cuba?”

    GLENDALE, Ariz. —

    President Donald Trump and prominent members of his “Make America Great Again” movement paid tribute Sunday to Charlie Kirk, praising the slain political conservative activist as a singular force whose work they must now advance.

    Stream the service in the video player above

    The memorial service for Kirk, whom Trump credits with playing a pivotal role in his 2024 election victory, drew tens of thousands of mourners, including Vice President JD Vance, other senior administration officials and young conservatives shaped by the 31-year-old firebrand.

    “For Charlie, we will remember that it is better to stand on our feet defending the United States of America and defending the truth than it is to die on our knees,” Vance said. “My friends, for Charlie, we must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America. And he is a martyr for the Christian faith.”

    Speakers highlighted Kirk’s profound faith and his strong belief that young conservatives need to get married, build families and pass on their values to keep building their movement. They also repeatedly told conservative activists, sometimes in confrontational tones, that the best way to honor Kirk was doubling down on his mission to move American politics further to the right.

    Kirk’s assassination at a Sept. 10 appearance on a Utah college campus has become a singular moment for the modern-day conservative movement. It also has set off a fierce debate about violence, decency and free speech in an era of deep political division.

    High security and a full stadium

    Those close to Kirk prayed and the floors shook from the bass of Christian rock bands as the home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals took on the feel of a megachurch service.

    “Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus,” said the Rev. Rob McCoy, Kirk’s pastor.

    People began lining up before dawn to secure a spot inside State Farm Stadium west of Phoenix, where Kirk’s Turning Point organization is based. Security was tight, similar to the Super Bowl or other high-profile event. The speakers delivered their tributes from behind bullet-proof glass.

    The 63,400-seat stadium quickly filled with people dressed in red, white and blue, as organizers suggested.

    Kirk’s widow, Erika, in her own address said in the midst of her grief she was finding comfort that her husband left this world without regrets. She also said she forgives the man who is charged with killing him.

    “My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” said Erika Kirk, who is taking over as Turning Point’s leader. She added, “I forgive him.”

    A 22-year-old Utah man, Tyler Robinson, has been charged with killing Kirk and faces the death penalty if convicted of the most serious charges. Authorities have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting, but prosecutors say Robinson wrote in a text to his partner following the shooting that he “had enough” of Kirk’s hatred.

    Kirk’s legacy of conservative political influence

    Turning Point, the group Kirk founded to mobilize young Christian conservatives, became a multimillion-dollar operation under his leadership with enormous reach.

    “Charlie’s having some serious heavenly FOMO right now,” Tyler Bower, Turning Point’s chief operating officer, said, likening the moment to bringing “the Holy Spirit into a Trump rally.”

    The crowd was a testament to the massive influence he accumulated in conservative America with his ability to mobilize young people.

    His impact on modern-day conservatism went beyond U.S. shores.

    Kirk “was very effective because he was convinced of his views and knew how to argue them,” Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said at a political rally Sunday in Rome.

    Kirk was a MAGA celebrity with a loyal following that turned out to support or argue with him as he traveled the country for the events like the one at Utah Valley University, where he was shot. Kirk grew the organization, in large part, through the force of his personality and debating chops.

    “He slayed ignorance,” said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. “He cut through lies. He woke people’s minds, inspired people’s hearts and imparted wisdom every day.”

    Speaker after speaker, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressed their awe at Kirk’s ability to go into what many conservatives saw as the lion’s den to make the conservative case: college campuses.

    “Why don’t you start somewhere easier,” Rubio joked when he first heard about Kirk years ago. “Like, for example, communist Cuba?”

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