The San Francisco 49ers’ playoff journey came to an end in Seattle with a loss against their division rival. The Seahawks returned the opening kick of the game for a touchdown and never looked back, winning 41-6 and punching their ticket to the NFC Championship Game. After a season riddled with injuries, the ‘Niners will not be hosting Super Bowl LX at their home stadium.Despite only taking two sacks, Brock Purdy was under pressure all game long, finishing 15 for 27 with 140 passing yards and an interception against a swarming Seahawks defense. He also led the team in rushing yards, with 37 on five carries. Christian McCaffrey, who was surprisingly durable throughout the season as he carried the ‘Niners workload on offense, suffered an upper body injury in the first half, missing most of the second half. This was Kyle Shanahan’s first ever loss in the Divisional Round of the playoffs as a head coach. The Seahawks will remain in Seattle to host the winner of Bears-Rams with a Super Bowl berth on the line next Sunday. Videos below: Ricky Pearsall on season-ending loss to the SeahawksMalik Mustapha on the pain of the season-ending loss to the SeahawksKyle Juszczyk on why this was one of the most enjoyable seasons he’s experiencedKendrick Bourne on the emotions surrounding the year coming to an endSee 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
SEATTLE —
The San Francisco 49ers’ playoff journey came to an end in Seattle with a loss against their division rival. The Seahawks returned the opening kick of the game for a touchdown and never looked back, winning 41-6 and punching their ticket to the NFC Championship Game.
After a season riddled with injuries, the ‘Niners will not be hosting Super Bowl LX at their home stadium.
Despite only taking two sacks, Brock Purdy was under pressure all game long, finishing 15 for 27 with 140 passing yards and an interception against a swarming Seahawks defense. He also led the team in rushing yards, with 37 on five carries.
Christian McCaffrey, who was surprisingly durable throughout the season as he carried the ‘Niners workload on offense, suffered an upper body injury in the first half, missing most of the second half.
This was Kyle Shanahan’s first ever loss in the Divisional Round of the playoffs as a head coach.
The Seahawks will remain in Seattle to host the winner of Bears-Rams with a Super Bowl berth on the line next Sunday.
Videos below:
Ricky Pearsall on season-ending loss to the Seahawks
Malik Mustapha on the pain of the season-ending loss to the Seahawks
Kyle Juszczyk on why this was one of the most enjoyable seasons he’s experienced
Kendrick Bourne on the emotions surrounding the year coming to an end
A dividing line, at times invisible, can mean life or death for Palestinians in Gaza.Those sheltering near the territory’s “yellow line” that the Israeli military withdrew to as part of the October ceasefire say they live in fear as Israeli soldiers direct near-daily fire at anyone who crosses or even lingers near it.Video above: Palestinians struggle for food amid floodingOf the 447 Palestinians killed between the ceasefire taking effect and Tuesday, at least 77 were killed by Israeli gunfire near the line, including 62 who crossed it, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Among them were teenagers and young children, The Associated Press found.And although the military has placed some yellow barrels and concrete barriers delineating the limits of the Palestinian zone, the line is still unmarked in certain places and in others was laid nearly half a kilometer (0.3 miles) deeper than what was agreed to in the ceasefire deal, expanding the part of Gaza that Israel controls, according to Palestinians and mapping experts.“We stay away from the barrels. No one dares to get close” said Gaza City resident Ahmed Abu Jahal, noting that the markers are less than 100 meters (110 yards) from his house — instead of the roughly 500 meters (546 yards) outlined in a map put out by the Israeli military.As of Tuesday, the military had acknowledged killing 57 people around the yellow line, saying most were militants. It said its troops are complying with the rules of engagement in order to counter militant groups, and are informing Palestinians of the line’s location and marking it on the ground to “reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings.”Easy to get lostUnder the ceasefire, Israel withdrew its troops to a buffer zone that is up to 7 kilometers (4 miles) deep and includes most of Gaza’s arable land, its elevated points and all of its border crossings. That hems more than 2 million Palestinians into a strip along the coastline and central Gaza.People of all ages, some already dead, have been showing up almost daily at the emergency room of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli hospital with bullet wounds from straying near the line, said hospital director Fadel Naeem.Amid the vast destruction in Gaza, the demarcation line often isn’t easy to detect, Naeem said. He recounted picking his way through undamaged paths during a recent visit to the southern city of Khan Younis. He didn’t notice he was almost across the line until locals shouted at him to turn back, he said.The Israeli military said most of the people it has killed crossing the line posed a threat to its troops. According to a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military rules, troops issue audible warnings and then fire warning shots whenever someone crosses the line. Many civilians retreat when warning shots are fired, though some have been killed, the official acknowledged.Killed while playing near the lineZaher Shamia, 17, lived with his grandfather in a tent 300 meters (330 yards) from the line in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp. On Dec. 10, he was playing with his cousin and some friends near the line, according to video he took before his death.Suddenly, shots rang out and the video stopped. Soldiers approaching the line with an armored bulldozer had fired on the teens, hitting Zaher, said a witness.A neighbor eventually found Zaher’s body, which had been crushed by the bulldozer, said Zaher’s grandfather, Kamal al-Beih: “We only recognized him from his head.”Two doctors, Mohamed Abu Selmiya and Rami Mhanna, confirmed that the teen had been killed by gunshots and then run over by a bulldozer. The military official said he was aware that Shamia was a civilian and that the military was looking into it.Maram Atta said that on Dec. 7, her 3-year-old daughter, Ahed al-Bayouk, was playing with siblings outside of their tent, which was near the yellow line along Gaza’s southern coast. Atta was preparing lentils when she heard aircraft overhead, then shots.A stray projectile whizzed close to her and struck Ahed, who was dead before they reached the clinic.“I lost my daughter to what they keep calling a ‘ceasefire’” said Atta, crying. “What ceasefire are they talking about?”A military official denied the killing.Deadly ambiguityThe line’s exact location is ambiguous, differing on maps put out by the Israeli military and the White House.Neither matches the line troops appear to be marking on the ground, according to Palestinians and geolocation specialists.Video below: Palestinians react to UN plan for Gaza futureChris Osiek, an open source intelligence analyst and consultant, has geolocated a number of yellow blocks based on social media videos. He found at least four urban areas where troops set the blocks several hundred meters deeper into Gaza than the military map-specified yellow line.“This is basically what you get when you simply let Trump make an image and post it on Truth Social and let the IDF make their own,” he said, using the acronym for the military. “If it’s not a proper system, with coordinates that make it easy for people to navigate where it is, then you leave the ambiguity free for the IDF to interpret the yellow line how they basically want.”The military official dismissed such criticism, saying any deviations from the map amount to just a few meters. But to Palestinians hemmed in by widespread destruction and displacement, every few meters lost is another house that can’t be sheltered in — another they doubt will ever be returned.‘The line is getting very close’Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces are only supposed to remain at the yellow line until a fuller withdrawal, though the agreement doesn’t give a timeline for that. With the next steps in the deal lagging and troops digging into positions on the Israeli side, though, Palestinians wonder if they are witnessing a permanent land takeover.In December, Israel’s defense minister described the yellow line as “a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”The military has continued leveling buildings inside the Israeli-held zone, turning already damaged neighborhoods to moonscapes. Almost all of the city of Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, has been razed over the past year. The army says this is necessary to destroy tunnels and prepare the area for reconstruction.In some places, demolitions since the ceasefire have encroached beyond the official yellow line. Since November, troops have leveled a swath of Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood extending some 300 meters (330 yards) outside the Israeli-held zone, according to Oct. 14 and Dec. 18 satellite photos provided by Planet Labs.Video below: Israeli settlers forcibly enter Palestinian home, kill sheep in latest West Bank attackAbu Jahal moved back to his damaged house in Tuffah at the ceasefire’s start. He said he frequently saw new yellow barrels appear and the military forcing out anyone living on its side of the markers.On Jan. 7, Israeli fire hit a house near him, and the residents had to evacuate, he said. Abu Jahal said his family — including his wife, their child, and seven other relatives — may also have to leave soon.“The line is getting very close,” he said.
CAIRO, Cairo Governorate —
A dividing line, at times invisible, can mean life or death for Palestinians in Gaza.
Those sheltering near the territory’s “yellow line” that the Israeli military withdrew to as part of the October ceasefire say they live in fear as Israeli soldiers direct near-daily fire at anyone who crosses or even lingers near it.
Video above: Palestinians struggle for food amid flooding
Of the 447 Palestinians killed between the ceasefire taking effect and Tuesday, at least 77 were killed by Israeli gunfire near the line, including 62 who crossed it, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Among them were teenagers and young children, The Associated Press found.
And although the military has placed some yellow barrels and concrete barriers delineating the limits of the Palestinian zone, the line is still unmarked in certain places and in others was laid nearly half a kilometer (0.3 miles) deeper than what was agreed to in the ceasefire deal, expanding the part of Gaza that Israel controls, according to Palestinians and mapping experts.
“We stay away from the barrels. No one dares to get close” said Gaza City resident Ahmed Abu Jahal, noting that the markers are less than 100 meters (110 yards) from his house — instead of the roughly 500 meters (546 yards) outlined in a map put out by the Israeli military.
As of Tuesday, the military had acknowledged killing 57 people around the yellow line, saying most were militants. It said its troops are complying with the rules of engagement in order to counter militant groups, and are informing Palestinians of the line’s location and marking it on the ground to “reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings.”
Easy to get lost
Under the ceasefire, Israel withdrew its troops to a buffer zone that is up to 7 kilometers (4 miles) deep and includes most of Gaza’s arable land, its elevated points and all of its border crossings. That hems more than 2 million Palestinians into a strip along the coastline and central Gaza.
People of all ages, some already dead, have been showing up almost daily at the emergency room of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli hospital with bullet wounds from straying near the line, said hospital director Fadel Naeem.
Amid the vast destruction in Gaza, the demarcation line often isn’t easy to detect, Naeem said. He recounted picking his way through undamaged paths during a recent visit to the southern city of Khan Younis. He didn’t notice he was almost across the line until locals shouted at him to turn back, he said.
The Israeli military said most of the people it has killed crossing the line posed a threat to its troops. According to a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military rules, troops issue audible warnings and then fire warning shots whenever someone crosses the line. Many civilians retreat when warning shots are fired, though some have been killed, the official acknowledged.
Killed while playing near the line
Zaher Shamia, 17, lived with his grandfather in a tent 300 meters (330 yards) from the line in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp. On Dec. 10, he was playing with his cousin and some friends near the line, according to video he took before his death.
Suddenly, shots rang out and the video stopped. Soldiers approaching the line with an armored bulldozer had fired on the teens, hitting Zaher, said a witness.
Jehad Alshrafi
FILE – The body of 11-year-old Palestinian girl Hamsa Hosou, killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia, is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
A neighbor eventually found Zaher’s body, which had been crushed by the bulldozer, said Zaher’s grandfather, Kamal al-Beih: “We only recognized him from his head.”
Two doctors, Mohamed Abu Selmiya and Rami Mhanna, confirmed that the teen had been killed by gunshots and then run over by a bulldozer. The military official said he was aware that Shamia was a civilian and that the military was looking into it.
Maram Atta said that on Dec. 7, her 3-year-old daughter, Ahed al-Bayouk, was playing with siblings outside of their tent, which was near the yellow line along Gaza’s southern coast. Atta was preparing lentils when she heard aircraft overhead, then shots.
A stray projectile whizzed close to her and struck Ahed, who was dead before they reached the clinic.
“I lost my daughter to what they keep calling a ‘ceasefire’” said Atta, crying. “What ceasefire are they talking about?”
A military official denied the killing.
Deadly ambiguity
The line’s exact location is ambiguous, differing on maps put out by the Israeli military and the White House.
Neither matches the line troops appear to be marking on the ground, according to Palestinians and geolocation specialists.
Video below: Palestinians react to UN plan for Gaza future
Chris Osiek, an open source intelligence analyst and consultant, has geolocated a number of yellow blocks based on social media videos. He found at least four urban areas where troops set the blocks several hundred meters deeper into Gaza than the military map-specified yellow line.
“This is basically what you get when you simply let Trump make an image and post it on Truth Social and let the IDF make their own,” he said, using the acronym for the military. “If it’s not a proper system, with coordinates that make it easy for people to navigate where it is, then you leave the ambiguity free for the IDF to interpret the yellow line how they basically want.”
The military official dismissed such criticism, saying any deviations from the map amount to just a few meters. But to Palestinians hemmed in by widespread destruction and displacement, every few meters lost is another house that can’t be sheltered in — another they doubt will ever be returned.
‘The line is getting very close’
Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces are only supposed to remain at the yellow line until a fuller withdrawal, though the agreement doesn’t give a timeline for that. With the next steps in the deal lagging and troops digging into positions on the Israeli side, though, Palestinians wonder if they are witnessing a permanent land takeover.
In December, Israel’s defense minister described the yellow line as “a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”
The military has continued leveling buildings inside the Israeli-held zone, turning already damaged neighborhoods to moonscapes. Almost all of the city of Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, has been razed over the past year. The army says this is necessary to destroy tunnels and prepare the area for reconstruction.
In some places, demolitions since the ceasefire have encroached beyond the official yellow line. Since November, troops have leveled a swath of Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood extending some 300 meters (330 yards) outside the Israeli-held zone, according to Oct. 14 and Dec. 18 satellite photos provided by Planet Labs.
Video below: Israeli settlers forcibly enter Palestinian home, kill sheep in latest West Bank attack
Abu Jahal moved back to his damaged house in Tuffah at the ceasefire’s start. He said he frequently saw new yellow barrels appear and the military forcing out anyone living on its side of the markers.
On Jan. 7, Israeli fire hit a house near him, and the residents had to evacuate, he said. Abu Jahal said his family — including his wife, their child, and seven other relatives — may also have to leave soon.
A LOT OF PEOPLE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA NEED HELP PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE, AND THIS LINE OF CARS WAITING FOR A THANKSGIVING MEAL IS PART OF THE PROOF. THIS EVENT WAS PUT ON BY THE HISPANIC AMERICAN ALLIANCE GROUP IN WINTER PARK AND WESH TWO MICHELLE MEREDITH REPORTS. SOME PEOPLE GOT IN LINE LAST NIGHT. THERE WAS MUSIC, PEOPLE DANCING, FRUIT CRATES THAT WERE CREATIVELY TURNED INTO SUN HATS. IT LOOKED LIKE A PARTY. BUT TAKE A CLOSER LOOK. AND THERE WAS FOOD BEING STUFFED INTO CARS THAT PULLED UP ONE AFTER ANOTHER IN A LINE THAT SEEMED NEVER ENDING BECAUSE THIS WAS BETTER THAN A PARTY. IT WAS A FOOD GIVEAWAY PUT ON BY THE HISPANIC AMERICAN ALLIANCE GROUP, AND THE JOINT WAS JUMPING. THEY TELL US THEY STARTED THIS FOOD GIVEAWAY DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND 75 FAMILIES SHOWED UP. AND SINCE THAT TIME IT HAS JUST EXPLODED BECAUSE OF THE NEED. THE FOOD WAS SUPPLIED BY SECOND HARVEST AND WINN-DIXIE, BOTH CONTRIBUTING A TOTAL OF 56,000 POUNDS OF IT. WITH WINN-DIXIE PITCHING IN 500 TURKEYS. I’VE BEEN AMAZED TODAY WITH THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE I MEAN, IT’S 500 THAT WE’VE WE’VE SIGNED UP TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LINED UP HERE SINCE LAST NIGHT, AND THAT’S A BIG DEAL. AND EVEN THIS MORNING, COMING IN AT 630, THEY WERE LINED UP DOWN THE STREET A COUPLE OF MILES, AND FROM CHOPPER TWO WE COULD SEE THE LINE GOT OUR ATTENTION AND THE ATTENTION OF THE FOLKS WHO WAITED HOURS TO GET A CHANCE AT A FIRST CLASS THANKSGIVING DINNER. I CAN EAT DINNER FOR THIS BECAUSE IT’S TOO MUCH. IT’S SAD BECAUSE PEOPLE IS NEEDED, BUT IT’S HAPPINESS THAT WE CAN HELP THEM. SO THAT IS A IS A JOINT OF DIFFERENT EMOTIONS AT THE SAME TIME. HAPPINESS THAT ON THIS DAY SEEMED TO PUT A SMILE ON EVERYONE’S FACE. COVERING ORANGE COUNTY AND WINTER PARK MICHELLE MEREDITH WESH TWO NEWS. RIGHT NOW YOU CAN HELP GET FOOD TO STRUGGLING NEIGHBORS. WESH TWO NEWS. SHARE YOUR CHRISTMAS FOOD AND FUND DRIVE BENEFITS. SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK. IF YOU’RE ABLE TO, WE HOPE YOU’LL HELP BY GIVING ONLINE OR STARTING A FOOD DRIVE. ALL PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT OUR NEIGHBORS WHO NEED IT MOST. ALL OF THE DETAILS ARE ON THE SHARE
Hundreds of families wait in line for Thanksgiving food giveaway in Winter Park
A Thanksgiving food giveaway organized by the Hispanic American Alliance Group in Winter Park provided meals to hundreds of families, with some arriving the night before to secure their spot in line.The event featured music, dancing, and creatively repurposed fruit crates as sunhats, creating a festive atmosphere as cars lined up to receive food. The giveaway, which began during the pandemic, has grown significantly due to increasing demand.The food was supplied by Second Harvest and Winn-Dixie, contributing a total of 56,000 pounds of food, including 500 turkeys.”I’ve been amazed with the amount of people,” said Shawn Sloan from Winn-Dixie. “It was 500 the amount of people we signed up to take care of, and people have been here since last night, and even coming in at 6:30, there were people lined up down the street a couple of miles.”From Chopper 2, the line of cars waiting for food stretched for miles, capturing the attention of those waiting for hours to receive a Thanksgiving dinner. “I can eat dinner.. for this…it’s too much,” said Matilde Canela, who picked up food at the event.Lorena Ortega from the Hispanic American Alliance Group expressed mixed emotions about the event. “It’s sad because people are needing but it’s happiness that we can help them, so it’s a joint emotion as the same time,” she said.The event brought smiles to many faces, highlighting the community’s spirit of giving and support during the holiday season.
WINTER PARK, Fla. —
A Thanksgiving food giveaway organized by the Hispanic American Alliance Group in Winter Park provided meals to hundreds of families, with some arriving the night before to secure their spot in line.
The event featured music, dancing, and creatively repurposed fruit crates as sunhats, creating a festive atmosphere as cars lined up to receive food. The giveaway, which began during the pandemic, has grown significantly due to increasing demand.
The food was supplied by Second Harvest and Winn-Dixie, contributing a total of 56,000 pounds of food, including 500 turkeys.
“I’ve been amazed with the amount of people,” said Shawn Sloan from Winn-Dixie. “It was 500 the amount of people we signed up to take care of, and people have been here since last night, and even coming in at 6:30, there were people lined up down the street a couple of miles.”
From Chopper 2, the line of cars waiting for food stretched for miles, capturing the attention of those waiting for hours to receive a Thanksgiving dinner. “I can eat dinner.. for this…it’s too much,” said Matilde Canela, who picked up food at the event.
Lorena Ortega from the Hispanic American Alliance Group expressed mixed emotions about the event. “It’s sad because people are needing but it’s happiness that we can help them, so it’s a joint emotion as the same time,” she said.
The event brought smiles to many faces, highlighting the community’s spirit of giving and support during the holiday season.
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.”
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.
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. ”
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.”
Fullerton police said Monday that a man they killed last month appeared to provoke the incident in an effort to die.
On June 15, police said they responded to a 911 call urging the department to send multiple officers to deal with a man who threatened the caller and others with knives on Imperial Highway.
When officers arrived, they found a man who matched the caller’s description holding what appeared to be two knives, according to police.
Officers told the man — later identified as 27-year-old Lorenzo Roger Hills III of Brea — to drop the weapons, but instead he ran at them with the knives in hand, prompting officers to fatally shoot him.
On Monday, police said they recovered two knives and a cellphone. Upon investigation, police said the phone was registered to Hills and was the same one used to make the initial 911 call.
“It is believed Mr. Hills intentionally provoked a deadly police encounter, commonly referred to as ‘suicide-by-cop,’” the department said.
Police on Monday released body camera video that shows Hills running toward officers, who shoot him before he nears them.
Police also released a recording of the 911 call, in which the caller gives his name as Antonio. After the caller reports a mentally ill man wielding knives, the dispatcher tells the caller she’ll remain on the line with him until officers arrive.
The caller responds that he may have to go, but then doesn’t after the dispatcher tells him he must stay on the phone so officers know exactly where the knife-wielding man is.
Before officers arrive, the caller says, “My phone is cutting …” and the line goes dead.
Suicide prevention and crisis counseling resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 9-8-8. The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline 988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.
The noise — unsettling and dissonant — has been a constant inside the barricaded pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA.
Soon after protesters, most of them students at the Westwood campus, pitched tents on Dickson Court on April 25, pro-Israel counterdemonstrators showed up with megaphones. Some shouted racist, homophobic and anti-Islamic slurs, according to campers interviewed.
They set up a giant video screen near the camp that played and replayed videos of Hamas militants. They broadcast a running torrent of loud, disturbing sounds over a stereo — an eagle screeching, a child crying — and blasted a Hebrew rendition of the song “Baby Shark” on repeat, late at night, so that campers could not sleep.
They returned night after night.
A woman kneels in prayer before a line of CHP officers at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles)
Inside the encampment, pro-Palestinian protesters, who occupied scores of tents on the grassy expanse, said they tried to maintain a tranquil space during the daylight hours when they felt some sense of control. They led Islamic prayers, observed Shabbat and hosted grief circles that included breath work and trauma therapy.
“It’s still an emotional, heavy space, but it’s also a very open, welcoming and loving space,” said Marie, a 28-year-old graduate student who, like many protesters interviewed, declined to provide her full name because she feared for her safety, physically and online. “Unfortunately, we experience the harassment and the terrorizing at night, which can be really upsetting.”
On Tuesday night, Dickson Court exploded into savagery and chaos. A large, mostly male crowd of masked counterdemonstrators tried to break into the encampment, ripping down wood and metal barriers, spraying bear mace, igniting stink bombs and tossing fireworks near the camp perimeter — and in at least one case inside the camp.
They aimed their green lasers at camper’s faces, prompting shouts of, “Shield your eyes!”
“They attacked us from physical and psychological fronts,” said Mona, a third-year student who also declined to provide her last name. “The outside aggressors have been working hard to create a harsh environment and make us feel unsafe.”
A pro-Palestinian protester, second from right, is assaulted by pro-Israel counterdemonstrators at a UCLA encampment.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
After Tuesday’s late-night melee — and a slow campus response that a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office called “unacceptable” — the encampment remained. And the pro-Palestinian protesters, who are demanding divestment from Israel and an end to the country’s military actions in Gaza, were defiant.
Kaia Shah, 23, a postgraduate researcher who has acted as a spokesperson for the encampment, said demonstrators got notice Tuesday from a university liaison that the encampment was unlawful and that students who continued to occupy the space could face suspension or expulsion.
Nonetheless, she said, “We plan on staying here until we get UCLA to divest.”
Shah described the scene Tuesday night as “violent and terrifying chaos,” and said her throat burned from inhaling all the mace in the air. She and another female demonstrator said some of the counterprotesters threatened to sexually assault women inside the encampment.
Shah said that, at one point, she saw police cars — it was unclear from which agency — pull up, turn around in a circle and leave. “The cops came and left as we were getting violently attacked by the Zionists,” she said.
Dueling chants rang out.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA huddle behind a makeshift barricade under attack by pro-Israel counterdemonstrators.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
From inside the camp, they shouted: “Free, free Palestine!” and “Hold the line for Palestine!”
Outside, some counterdemonstrators screamed: “Second Nakba!” referring to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Others chanted: “USA! USA!”
As the violence unfolded, Citlali, a 25-year-old from Santa Ana who works for the organization Youth Organize! California and declined to provide her last name, said she frantically texted her younger brother, a student who was inside the encampment.
“Hey can you answer? Are you okay?? It’s okay to retreat,” she texted.
She said her brother was sprayed with bear mace and left the encampment Wednesday morning to wash up in his dorm room. “It’s gut-wrenching,” Citlali said. “I couldn’t sleep until 4 a.m. when he texted me that he was OK.”
After sunrise Wednesday, the UCLA chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine posted a list of their needs at the encampment: gas masks, skater helmets, shields, “super bright flashlights with strobe,” EpiPens, inhalers, hot lunches, gluten-free food.
Campus security teams, faculty members and California Highway Patrol officers guarded entrances to the encampment Wednesday morning.
Hannah Appel, an assistant professor of anthropology, stood at one entrance, where people dropped off medical supplies, face masks and water bottles. Only students with wrist bands indicating they were previously in the encampment and those who had someone on the inside vouching for them were allowed to enter, Appel said.
“Because of the escalated violence last night, we have to be very vigilant and careful about who can come in and out,” Appel said, before stepping aside to let a student squeeze through the barricades.
Vanessa Muros, an archaeology researcher at UCLA, showed up outside the encampment with finger cymbals, maracas and a tambourine. She said a call was sent out to students and faculty who participated in a band during a 2022 UC academic workers’ strike. The musicians were asked to help boost morale at the encampment.
“Apparently morale is low in there, and playing music or just making noise will help rally people together,” she said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters clash with pro-Israel counterdemonstrators at a UCLA encampment.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Muros has worked at UCLA for 19 years and said she has never seen such mayhem on campus. “It’s upsetting, and I feel like the administration will blame the chaos on the students who have been peacefully protesting,” she said.
Renee Tajima-Peña, a senior faculty member, stood in a line outside Royce Hall to make a donation for the protesters: solar phone chargers, a poncho, some respirators.
“The story has been that all these students are irresponsible or causing problems,” she said. “I teach here and this encampment has been beautiful.”
Archbishop of Los Angeles José Gomez celebrated Holy Saturday with a blessing of the animals on Olvera Street. The blessing has been a tradition on Olvera Street since its founding in 1930, when priests would bless cows, horses and goats at La Placita Church “to help ensure health, fecundity and productivity.” The line for animal blessings began at 1 p.m. in front of Pico House on Main Street.
Ray Garcia of East Los Angeles brings Wicket for a blessing by Archbishop José Gomez.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Joshua Cueto waits for Peanut, his cockatiel, to be blessed.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Archbishop Gomez leads the blessing of the animals.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Kiwi Montana, a bichon on hind legs, waits for treats while in line for a blessing.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Cecilia Garcia brings the ashes of her dog Cachita to be blessed.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Archbishop Gomez blessed people too during the event.
Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian on Wednesday defended using a city email account to support a candidate whom Krekorian had endorsed in Tuesday’s primary election.
In a statement emailed by his office to media outlets shortly before midnight Tuesday, Krekorian praised former Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, a onetime aide to the council president who is seeking his former boss’ east San Fernando Valley seat. Krekorian could not seek another term because of term limits.
“I am especially proud to see former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian asserting a commanding lead in the race to succeed me as the representative of the Second District,” Krekorian’s statement said.
“It has been my privilege to represent this district for 14 years and I am glad to see the voters have chosen a candidate with experience, vision, ability and a record of absolute integrity in public service,” Krekorian wrote. “Adrin’s achievements in the state Assembly have earned the trust of voters in the East Valley, and I am confident that his strong grassroots support will carry him to victory.”
Krekorian’s statement also congratulated his City Council colleagues, who were all leading in their respective races, saying that “across the city, voters are validating the council’s work in turning Los Angeles around.”
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Officials are barred under city ethics law from using city emails or city resources, including staff, for political activity. The Ethics Commission defines “political activity” as “activity directed at the success or failure of any candidate for elective office or ballot measure in a future election.”
Such violations can result in fines of up to $5,000.
Asked Wednesday whether the email ran afoul of the city’s ethics laws, Krekorian said: “I didn’t intend for it to. I don’t think that was anything that sounded like a campaign. I hope it didn’t. Saying that you support somebody isn’t campaigning.”
His communications director, Hugh Esten, wrote the statement at his instruction, Krekorian said.
Krekorian said he is sure that he will hear from the Ethics Commission if there is an issue with the email. The council president served on the all-volunteer panel in the late 1990s.
In 2015, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office was forced to retract an email endorsing presidential candidate Hillary Clinton after it was sent from a city email account. The endorsement was later sent out by Garcetti’s campaign consultant.
The entire Metrolink regional commuter rail system will be shut down at the end of December for four days. You have the Olympics to thank for that.
The agency announced a systemwide shutdown — all seven lines plus the Arrow service, connecting downtown San Bernardino to Redlands — from Dec. 26, a Tuesday, through Friday the 29th for repairs, cleaning and upgrades.
Regular train service is scheduled to resume on Dec. 30, a Saturday. This planned work will help “provide safer, more efficient service,” according to Metrolink, which is thinking ahead to big-time international events Los Angeles is hosting including the 2028 Olympics. There’s also the accompanying Paralympics and the 2026 World Cup (perhaps), not to mention the Superbowl.
December’s shutdown culminates a three-year project to modernize the system’s central hub, Union Station, said Justin Fornelli, Metrolink’s chief of program delivery, in a news release.
The work includes replacing signal relay technology that is about as old as Union Station itself. The update is a safety boost and will allow Metrolink to run multiple trains on multiple tracks as they enter and depart Union Station, the agency says.
Union Station opened with a “massive parade down Alameda Street” on May 3, 1939, according to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Metrolink began 53 years later, on Oct. 26,1992, offering three routes, the Ventura County Line, the San Bernardino Line and the Santa Clarita Line. Today, Metrolink’s seven lines plus the passenger rail service Arrow all have connections to Union Station and Metro subway and light rail — services that should be essential to Angelenos, athletes and tourists during the upcoming Olympics, as well as other events.
Los Angeles held the Summer Olympics at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1984, when 6,829 athletes from 140 countries competed. A total 650,000 visiting athletes and spectators made their way around Los Angeles.
The next Los Angeles Olympics is expected to more than double the number of participating athletes, at 15,000, and the crowds of spectators are also expected to balloon.
Metrolink’s improvements are funded by the Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion program.
Union Station will undergo additional maintenance and facelift projects during the shutdown — restoring concrete platforms, renewing paint, cleaning canopies and gutters, and performing tuneups on high-voltage sources to reduce the possibility of power outages.
On the Antelope Valley Line, Metrolink will replace rail that’s reached the end of its service life; the older rail on the curvy route necessitate “slow orders,” which caused passenger delays. The San Bernardino Line will see new culverts for diverting rainwater and storm runoff underneath the tracks to prevent flash flooding.
During the four-day service outage, Metrolink is not providing any alternative forms of transportation. It has a list of some suggested options. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner will continue to run Dec. 26-29 on a modified schedule. Pacific Surfliner trains will not be affected by the Metrolink service suspension.
“As a leader of transportation here in Southern California, we’re excited that we will be upgrading our signal system,” Jeanette Flores, Metrolink assistant director of public affairs, told The Times. “We are working on [projects] across multiple lines to deliver the safest, most reliable passenger rail experience for our community. So this is an exciting time for us and we’re very blessed that we have great community support.”
Flores reminds people to take advantage of free train rides to all students when the four-day suspension has been lifted. “Students can ride for free in any of our trains within our system,” she noted. “We’re trying to encourage the next generation of riders to prioritize the environment, get off the freeways and take our … very clean system.”
A high-speed rail project between the Inland Empire and Las Vegas landed a $3-billion federal grant that sets it on track to be open by 2028, in time for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, officials said Tuesday.
Brightline, a private company that opened an intercity rail line connecting Miami and Orlando, Fla., this year, secured the U.S. Department of Transportation grant as part of the historic infrastructure package, Nevada‘s U.S. senators said. The rest of the funds for the $12-billion project are expected to be raised through private capital and bonds.
The trip on the 218-mile electrified line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas will take just over two hours, with stops in Hesperia or Apple Valley, according to Brightline. The trains can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour. The company already has the federal permits, the labor agreements and the land — a swath in the wide median of Interstate 15 — to build the line. Construction is expected to begin early next year.
In Southern California the line will connect to the Metrolink commuter train system, linking it directly to downtown Los Angeles. In Las Vegas, the terminus will be on the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard.
The company operates the only high-speed private rail service in the United States and its rapid rise runs in stark contrast to California’s effort to build a high-speed rail between Los Angelesand the Bay Area, which has been mired by politics, cost overruns and delays.
California submitted a separate $3-billion high- speed rail application that Gov. Newsom said in a letter to the White House would allow the state to complete an initial 119-mile segment in the Central Valley. Federal officials have not made any announcements on that project.
The Brightline grant application was co-submitted with the Nevada Department of Transportation.
“This is a historic moment that will serve as a foundation for a new industry, and a remarkable project that will serve as the blueprint for how we can repeat this model throughout the country,” said Wes Edens, founder and chairman of Brightline. “We’re ready to get to work to bring our vision of American-made, American-built, world class, state-of-the-art high-speed train travel to America.”
Although Brightline did not get the full $3.7-billion package that it hoped for, the grant will ensure the project’s construction, officials said. The train is conceived as both a premium tourist train and a more traditional transportation link between Southern California and Las Vegas, two regions with deep ties. The company has said that passengers may ultimately be able to check into their Las Vegas hotels at the train station.
“This historic high-speed rail project will be a game changer for Nevada’s tourism economy and transportation,”said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev). “It’ll bring more visitors to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, create thousands of good-paying jobs and decrease carbon emissions, all while relying on local union labor.”
As gridlock seizes the streets of downtown Los Angeles following the 10 Freeway fire, L.A. officials are imploring drivers to ditch their cars and finally hop on public transit — and they’re using free rides, faster trains and more buses on city streets as incentive.
The Commuter Express bus service, which heads directly into the downtown area from multiple locations with few stops, will be free for the rest of the year.
“This is an opportunity for Angelenos to take advantage of the public transportation system that we have today,” Mayor Karen Bass said during a news conference Tuesday announcing the fare changes. A helicopter tour provided evidence, the mayor said, that downtown streets during the evening rush hour were an “absolute parking lot” in the fire’s aftermath.
Arson has been blamed in the massive blaze that forced the shutdown of the freeway in downtown Los Angeles.
That poses the threat of significant gridlock on other freeways in the downtown area, as well as surface streets that the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has identified as detours. To mitigate some of that traffic, public officials are urging people to take public transportation, and making rides on Commuter Express buses free for the rest of 2023.
Riders would not have to pay the fare, which ranges from $1.50 to $4.25 for a one-way ride.
“All you have to do is board, enjoy the ride and let us take you to your final destination,” said Laura Rubio-Cornejo, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, at Tuesday’s news conference.
After Bass announced free rides on all Commuter Express buses Monday, officials said they saw a significant increase in the number of passengers.
On Tuesday, there was a 19% increase on the number of riders when compared to Monday, said Colin Sweeney, a spokesperson with the city’s Department of Transportation.
The DASH bus service, which operates shorter routes within neighborhoods in Los Angeles, including the downtown area, have also been free since 2020.
DASH buses have seen a “slight decline” in the number of passengers this week in the downtown area, but Sweeney said the that could be a sign of residents heeding the mayor’s call to avoid trips to the downtown area whenever possible.
On Monday, the first weekday after the fire, Rubio-Cornejo said downtown surface streets being used as detours saw a 14.7% increase in traffic throughout the day.
On Tuesday, however, she said streets saw a 26% increase along the same streets, which she noted were already among the most congested routes in downtown Los Angeles under normal conditions.
With rain expected to worsen roadway conditions Wednesday, officials urged commuters to opt for public transportation instead.
L.A. Metro sees about 950,000 riders a day, but Lilian de Loza Gutierrez, director of community relations for Metro, said the system could handle more.
“Metro has the capacity to welcome even more Angelenos,” she said at a Wednesday news conference.
Gutierrez also encouraged people to use public transportation to get to events taking place this weekend in the downtown area, including the L.A. Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and Friday’s Clippers game and Sunday’s Lakers game at the Crypto.com Arena.
As further incentive, Metrolink has temporarily increased the number of trains from San Bernardino and Covina to Union Station, said Randall Winston, deputy mayor of infrastructure for Bass’ office.
L.A. Metro has also added buses to Line 66, which runs along Olympic Boulevard, and Line 51, which runs along Soto Street. Those two lines, Winston said, were the most affected by delays Tuesday.
Mayor Bass also directed L.A. Metro to increase the speed on the E line, which runs along the 10 Freeway between Santa Monica and East Los Angeles with 29 stops in between.
That line, Winston said Wednesday morning, had a 10% increase in riders Tuesday.
