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

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    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

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    Steve Lopez

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  • Supreme Court says again Trump may cancel temporary protections for Venezuelans granted under Biden

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    WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has ruled for a second time that the Trump administration may cancel the “temporary protected status” given to about 600,000 Venezuelans under the Biden administration.

    The move, advocates for the Venezuelans said, means thousands of lawfully present individuals could lose their jobs, be detained in immigration facilities and deported to a country that the U.S. government considers unsafe to visit.

    The high court granted an emergency appeal from Trump’s lawyers and set aside decisions of U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

    “Although the posture of the case has changed, the parties’ legal arguments and relative harms generally have not. The same result that we reached in May is appropriate here,” the court said in an unsigned order.

    Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have denied the appeal.

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. “I view today’s decision as yet another grave misuse of our emergency docket,” she wrote. “Because, respectfully, I cannot abide our repeated, gratuitous, and harmful interference with cases pending in the lower courts while lives hang in the balance, I dissent.”

    Last month, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had overstepped her legal authority by canceling the legal protection.

    Her decision “threw the future of these Venezuelan citizens into disarray and exposed them to substantial risk of wrongful removal, separation from their families and loss of employment,” the panel wrote.

    But Trump’s lawyers said the law bars judges from reviewing these decisions by U.S. immigration officials.

    Congress authorized this protected status for people who are already in the United States but cannot return home because their native countries are not safe.

    The Biden administration offered the protections to Venezuelans because of the political and economic collapse brought about by the authoritarian regime of Nicolás Maduro.

    Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary under Biden, granted the protected status to groups of Venezuelans in 2021 and 2023, totaling about 607,000 people.

    Mayorkas extended it again in January, three days before Trump was sworn in. That same month, Noem decided to reverse the extension, which was set to expire for both groups of Venezuelans in October 2026.

    Shortly after, Noem announced the termination of protections for the 2023 group by April.

    In March, Chen issued an order temporarily pausing Noem’s repeal, which the Supreme Court set aside in May with only Jackson in dissent.

    The San Francisco judge then held a hearing on the issue and concluded Noem’s repeal violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it was arbitrary and and not justified.

    He said his earlier order imposing a temporary pause did not prevent him from ruling on the legality of the repeal, and the 9th Circuit agreed.

    The approximately 350,000 Venezuelans who had TPS through the 2023 designation saw their legal status restored. Many reapplied for work authorization, said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, and a counsel for the plaintiffs.

    In the meantime, Noem announced the cancellation of the 2021 designation, effective Nov. 7.

    Trump’s solicitor general, D. John Sauer, went back to the Supreme Court in September and urged the justices to set aside the second order from Chen.

    “This case is familiar to the Court and involves the increasingly familiar and untenable phenomenon of lower courts disregarding this Court’s orders on the emergency docket,” he said.

    The Supreme Court’s decision once again reverses the legal status of the 2023 group and cements the end of legal protections for the 2021 group next month.

    In a further complication, the Supreme Court’s previous decision said that anyone who had already received documents verifying their TPS status or employment authorization through next year is entitled to keep it.

    That, Arulanantham said, “creates another totally bizarre situation, where there are some people who will have TPS through October 2026 as they’re supposed to because the Supreme Court says if you already got a document it can’t be canceled. Which to me just underscores how arbitrary and irrational the whole situation is.”

    Advocates for the Venezuelans said the Trump administration has failed to show that their presence in the U.S. is an emergency requiring immediate court relief.

    In a brief filed Monday, attorneys for the National TPS Alliance argued the Supreme Court should deny the Trump administration’s request because Homeland Security officials acted outside the scope of their authority by revoking the TPS protections early.

    “Stripping the lawful immigration status of 600,000 people on 60 days’ notice is unprecedented,” Jessica Bansal, an attorney representing the Los Angeles-based National Day Laborer Organizing Network, wrote in a statement. “Doing it after promising an additional 18 months protection is illegal.”

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    David G. Savage, Andrea Castillo

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  • Woman appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in a historic first for the Church of England

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    Sarah Mullally was on Friday appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide and the first woman to hold the role in its 1,400-year history.Mullally, 63, was made Bishop of London in 2018 – the Church of England’s third most senior bishop after the archbishops of Canterbury and York. Before her ordination, Mullally worked as a nurse at hospitals in London, going on to serve as Chief Nursing Officer for England.“As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager,” Mullally said.“At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply – to people and to God’s gentle prompting – to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.”The Archbishop-Designate for years led the Church of England’s process exploring questions of marriage and sexuality and was supportive of the move to allow ministers to offer blessings to same-sex couples in churches. She is renowned as a strong administrator who has worked to modernize the running of her London diocese while playing a leading role in the church’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Mullally’s elevation to archbishop was only possible due to reforms under Justin Welby, the former leader, who allowed women to be consecrated as bishops a decade ago.The role of Archbishop of Canterbury has been vacant for almost a year after Welby resigned in November 2024 over his failure to report prolific child abuser John Smyth, who was accused of attacking dozens of boys, including those he met at Christian camps, in the 1970s and 1980s.A damning independent report found that by 2013 the Church of England “knew, at the highest level,” about Smyth’s abuse, including Welby, who became archbishop that year.Welby’s resignation, according to church historian Diarmaid MacCulloch, was “historic and without exact precedent in the 1,427-year history of Archbishops of Canterbury” given no previous archbishop had stepped down to accusations of negligence over sexual abuse.The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most public face of an institution that has struggled to stay relevant in a more secular nation. The archbishop is often called on to speak at significant national moments, presiding over major royal events, including the recent coronation of King Charles.Candidates for the Archbishop of Canterbury are chosen by the Crown Nominations Commission, a body chaired by Jonathan Evans, the former head of MI5, Britain’s domestic security service. The commission, comprising 17 voting members, decide on a preferred candidate, to whom Prime Minister Keir Starmer then gives his assent.It is, however, King Charles, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, who formally appoints the archbishop. The British monarch’s role dates to when King Henry VIII broke away from the authority of the pope and declared himself head of the new church.In July, Evans had said he wanted to avoid a list of candidates “all of whom are white, Oxbridge, male and come from the southeast of England.” He said there was “a desire for somebody who can give genuine spiritual leadership and direction to the church,” and who can “speak authoritatively and graciously with a Christian voice into the affairs of the nation.”Announcing Mullally’s appointment, Evans thanked the members of the public who shared their views on the direction of the church in a public consultation earlier this year. “I shall be praying for Bishop Sarah as she prepares to take up this new ministry in the coming months,” he said.Mullally will now preside over a church fighting to reclaim relevance and trust. She will lead efforts to address declining numbers of church goers, including reaching younger people, and address financial challenges.Mullally will be installed officially in a service at Canterbury Cathedral in March 2026, becoming the 106th archbishop since Saint Augustine arrived in Kent from Rome in 597.

    LONDON —

    Sarah Mullally was on Friday appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide and the first woman to hold the role in its 1,400-year history.

    Mullally, 63, was made Bishop of London in 2018 – the Church of England’s third most senior bishop after the archbishops of Canterbury and York. Before her ordination, Mullally worked as a nurse at hospitals in London, going on to serve as Chief Nursing Officer for England.

    “As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager,” Mullally said.

    “At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply – to people and to God’s gentle prompting – to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.”

    The Archbishop-Designate for years led the Church of England’s process exploring questions of marriage and sexuality and was supportive of the move to allow ministers to offer blessings to same-sex couples in churches. She is renowned as a strong administrator who has worked to modernize the running of her London diocese while playing a leading role in the church’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Mullally’s elevation to archbishop was only possible due to reforms under Justin Welby, the former leader, who allowed women to be consecrated as bishops a decade ago.

    The role of Archbishop of Canterbury has been vacant for almost a year after Welby resigned in November 2024 over his failure to report prolific child abuser John Smyth, who was accused of attacking dozens of boys, including those he met at Christian camps, in the 1970s and 1980s.

    A damning independent report found that by 2013 the Church of England “knew, at the highest level,” about Smyth’s abuse, including Welby, who became archbishop that year.

    Welby’s resignation, according to church historian Diarmaid MacCulloch, was “historic and without exact precedent in the 1,427-year history of Archbishops of Canterbury” given no previous archbishop had stepped down to accusations of negligence over sexual abuse.

    The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most public face of an institution that has struggled to stay relevant in a more secular nation. The archbishop is often called on to speak at significant national moments, presiding over major royal events, including the recent coronation of King Charles.

    Candidates for the Archbishop of Canterbury are chosen by the Crown Nominations Commission, a body chaired by Jonathan Evans, the former head of MI5, Britain’s domestic security service. The commission, comprising 17 voting members, decide on a preferred candidate, to whom Prime Minister Keir Starmer then gives his assent.

    It is, however, King Charles, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, who formally appoints the archbishop. The British monarch’s role dates to when King Henry VIII broke away from the authority of the pope and declared himself head of the new church.

    In July, Evans had said he wanted to avoid a list of candidates “all of whom are white, Oxbridge, male and come from the southeast of England.” He said there was “a desire for somebody who can give genuine spiritual leadership and direction to the church,” and who can “speak authoritatively and graciously with a Christian voice into the affairs of the nation.”

    Announcing Mullally’s appointment, Evans thanked the members of the public who shared their views on the direction of the church in a public consultation earlier this year. “I shall be praying for Bishop Sarah as she prepares to take up this new ministry in the coming months,” he said.

    Mullally will now preside over a church fighting to reclaim relevance and trust. She will lead efforts to address declining numbers of church goers, including reaching younger people, and address financial challenges.

    Mullally will be installed officially in a service at Canterbury Cathedral in March 2026, becoming the 106th archbishop since Saint Augustine arrived in Kent from Rome in 597.

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  • Aftershock Festival kicks off in Sacramento with cooler weather

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    NOW BACK OVER TO YOU. ALL RIGHT, DIRK, THANK YOU SO MUCH. KCRA 3’S. PEYTON HEADLEE IS LIVE OUTSIDE THE FESTIVAL AT TRUXEL ROAD AND EL CAMINO TONIGHT. SO, PEYTON, PEOPLE ACTUALLY WELCOMING THIS COOLER WEATHER TONIGHT, RIGHT? YEAH, THEY WERE REALLY PLEASED WITH IT. THEY SAID THAT IT WAS A LITTLE BIT MUDDY, BUT THEY SAID IT WAS WORTH IT FOR SOME OF THE OVERCAST FORECAST AND THE LOWER TEMPERATURES THEY SAID THEY HAVEN’T HAD IN YEARS PAST. SO RIGHT NOW WE’RE A LITTLE FAR OUT FROM WHERE THE FESTIVAL ACTUALLY IS. AND THAT’S BECAUSE TRAFFIC IS PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE HEADING OUT, BUT A LOT OF THEM ARE VERY HAPPY. AFTER THE HEADLINER FOR TONIGHT, BLINK 182 WRAPPED UP. THE 13TH ANNUAL AFTERSHOCK FESTIVAL IS OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY. YOU KNOW. EVERYTHING. EVERY YEAR WE COME HERE BECAUSE WE LOVE ROCK MUSIC. FOR SOME FANS, THE WEEKEND FILLED WITH ROCK, PUNK AND METAL MUSIC AT DISCOVERY PARK HAS BECOME A YEARLY TRADITION. THIS IS MY FOURTH YEAR WITH MY SON. I’M HERE EVERY YEAR. THIS YEAR THE LINEUP IS LOADED. I’M EXCITED TO SEE POWER TRIP, SO ALL THOSE GUYS, THE WHOLE THING. GOLDEN 1 82 AND GOOD CHARLOTTE, MARILYN MANSON TOO. I THINK WE’RE ALL REALLY EXCITED TO SEE DEFTONES HEADLINE IN THEIR HOME CITY. FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS SAY THEY’RE EXPECTING ABOUT 160,000 PEOPLE TO MAKE THEIR WAY TO SACRAMENTO THROUGH SUNDAY. WE HAVE FANS COMING FROM ALL 50 STATES, 30 COUNTRIES, SO JUST SEEING THE COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER ONCE A YEAR IS IS REALLY AMAZING. OVERCAST SKIES SET THE STAGE AS THE CROWDS PACKED IN, BUT THE COOLDOWN WAS A WELCOME CHANGE TO LONGTIME FANS OF THE FESTIVAL. OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS WEATHER. TWO YEARS AGO WAS IN THE HUNDREDS. I THINK IT WAS HORRIBLE. I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKE IT BECAUSE I’M GINGER, SO I DON’T HAVE TO HAVE AS MUCH SUNBLOCK. SO THAT’S KIND OF NICE THIS YEAR. IT’S A WELCOME RESPITE, KIND OF SUCKED. IT’S MUDDY, BUT YOU KNOW, WE’LL SURVIVE. THURSDAY IS ONLY THE START WITH THREE MORE DAYS OF MUSIC TO GO. WHOEVER HASN’T BEEN TO THE FESTIVAL, I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD COME. I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT TIME HERE. AND OF COURSE IT IS OVER FOR TONIGHT, BUT WE’LL KICK OFF AGAIN TOMORROW MORNING AT 11 A.M. AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME, THERE ARE STILL TICKETS AVAILABLE. LIVE IN SACRAMENTO PEYTON HEADLEE KCRA 3’S. YEAH, A LOT O

    Aftershock Festival kicks off in Sacramento with cooler weather

    The 13th annual Aftershock Festival began in Sacramento with overcast skies, offering a welcome change from the usual heat as fans gathered for a weekend of rock, punk, and metal music.

    Updated: 11:37 PM PDT Oct 2, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    The 13th annual Aftershock Festival kicked off in Sacramento at Discovery Park, drawing fans of rock, punk, and metal music for a weekend of performances.”Every year we come here because we love rock music,” Katie Fomina said. “This is our eighth time.”For many fans, the festival has become a yearly tradition.”This is my fourth year with my son,” Scott Sayer said. “The vibe, the community, the people, all of that. It’s just everybody is so chill and relaxed.””I’m here every year,” Curtis Howard said. “It’s always a good lineup. I love Aftershock.”This year’s lineup includes Blink 182, Korn, Bring Me the Horizon, Good Charlotte, The All-American Rejects, Marilyn Manson, and Deftones, who are headlining in their home city.”I think we’re all really excited to see Deftones headline in their home city,” Chamie McCurry, general manager at Danny Wimmer Presents, said. Festival organizers expect about 160,000 people to attend through Sunday.”We have fans coming from all 50 states, 30 countries. So just seeing the community come together once a year is really amazing,” McCurry said. “It’s a really welcoming space.”Overcast skies provided a welcome change from the usual hot weather, as crowds packed in for the event following a rainy morning. “Oh my God. I love this weather. Two years ago, was in the hundreds, I think. It was horrible,” Fomina said.”This year it’s a welcome respite. Kind of sucks that it is muddy, but we’ll survive,” Sayer said.Thursday marked only the beginning of the festival, with three more days of music to follow. Tickets are still available, and the festival will resume at 11 a.m. Friday.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, Calif. —

    The 13th annual Aftershock Festival kicked off in Sacramento at Discovery Park, drawing fans of rock, punk, and metal music for a weekend of performances.

    “Every year we come here because we love rock music,” Katie Fomina said. “This is our eighth time.”

    For many fans, the festival has become a yearly tradition.

    “This is my fourth year with my son,” Scott Sayer said. “The vibe, the community, the people, all of that. It’s just everybody is so chill and relaxed.”

    “I’m here every year,” Curtis Howard said. “It’s always a good lineup. I love Aftershock.”

    This year’s lineup includes Blink 182, Korn, Bring Me the Horizon, Good Charlotte, The All-American Rejects, Marilyn Manson, and Deftones, who are headlining in their home city.

    “I think we’re all really excited to see Deftones headline in their home city,” Chamie McCurry, general manager at Danny Wimmer Presents, said.

    Festival organizers expect about 160,000 people to attend through Sunday.

    “We have fans coming from all 50 states, 30 countries. So just seeing the community come together once a year is really amazing,” McCurry said. “It’s a really welcoming space.”

    Overcast skies provided a welcome change from the usual hot weather, as crowds packed in for the event following a rainy morning.

    “Oh my God. I love this weather. Two years ago, was in the hundreds, I think. It was horrible,” Fomina said.

    “This year it’s a welcome respite. Kind of sucks that it is muddy, but we’ll survive,” Sayer said.

    Thursday marked only the beginning of the festival, with three more days of music to follow. Tickets are still available, and the festival will resume at 11 a.m. Friday.

    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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  • ACLU seeks release of Michigan immigrant held in custody despite life-threatening leukemia

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    Federal authorities refuse to release a Michigan man in a pending deportation case, despite his life-threatening leukemia and the inconsistent health care he’s received while in custody since August, his lawyer said Thursday.Related video above: Massachusetts city council passes resolution barring police from assisting ICEThe American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is seeking a bond hearing for Jose Contreras-Cervantes, which could allow him to return to his Detroit-area family and doctors while his case winds through immigration court. He’s currently being held at a detention center about three hours away.Contreras-Cervantes, a 33-year-old married father of three who has been living in the U.S. for about 20 years, but not legally, was arrested at an Aug. 5 traffic stop in Macomb County, near Detroit. He had no criminal record beyond minor traffic offenses, said ACLU lawyer Miriam Aukerman.Contreras-Cervantes was diagnosed last year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow, said his wife, Lupita Contreras.”The doctor said he has four to six years to live,” she said.His detention is a consequence of the Trump administration’s policy of refusing to agree to bond hearings for immigrants if they entered the U.S. illegally, even if they lack a criminal record. The policy is a reversal of past practices and it has been successfully challenged, including this week in Washington state.”We don’t just lock people up and throw away the key,” Aukerman said. “Judges decide who should be behind bars. That is true for citizens and noncitizens. … Immigration cases can take months or even years.”U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no immediate comment on the case.Contreras-Cervantes was shuttled from Michigan to Ohio and then back to Michigan and didn’t receive medication for 22 days, his wife said.He is now getting a substitute medication at North Lake Processing Center, a privately operated detention center in Baldwin, Michigan, not the specific medication recommended by his doctors, Aukerman said.The ACLU filed a petition Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, asking a judge to order bond hearings for Contreras-Cervantes and seven other people who are in custody.”What the (Trump) administration is doing is trying to crush people’s spirits, make them give up,” and agree to deportation, Aukerman said. “We’re saying no. They’re entitled to due process.”

    DETROIT —

    Federal authorities refuse to release a Michigan man in a pending deportation case, despite his life-threatening leukemia and the inconsistent health care he’s received while in custody since August, his lawyer said Thursday.

    Related video above: Massachusetts city council passes resolution barring police from assisting ICE

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is seeking a bond hearing for Jose Contreras-Cervantes, which could allow him to return to his Detroit-area family and doctors while his case winds through immigration court. He’s currently being held at a detention center about three hours away.

    Contreras-Cervantes, a 33-year-old married father of three who has been living in the U.S. for about 20 years, but not legally, was arrested at an Aug. 5 traffic stop in Macomb County, near Detroit. He had no criminal record beyond minor traffic offenses, said ACLU lawyer Miriam Aukerman.

    Contreras-Cervantes was diagnosed last year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow, said his wife, Lupita Contreras.

    “The doctor said he has four to six years to live,” she said.

    His detention is a consequence of the Trump administration’s policy of refusing to agree to bond hearings for immigrants if they entered the U.S. illegally, even if they lack a criminal record. The policy is a reversal of past practices and it has been successfully challenged, including this week in Washington state.

    “We don’t just lock people up and throw away the key,” Aukerman said. “Judges decide who should be behind bars. That is true for citizens and noncitizens. … Immigration cases can take months or even years.”

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no immediate comment on the case.

    Contreras-Cervantes was shuttled from Michigan to Ohio and then back to Michigan and didn’t receive medication for 22 days, his wife said.

    He is now getting a substitute medication at North Lake Processing Center, a privately operated detention center in Baldwin, Michigan, not the specific medication recommended by his doctors, Aukerman said.

    The ACLU filed a petition Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, asking a judge to order bond hearings for Contreras-Cervantes and seven other people who are in custody.

    “What the (Trump) administration is doing is trying to crush people’s spirits, make them give up,” and agree to deportation, Aukerman said. “We’re saying no. They’re entitled to due process.”

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  • Deadly rampage at UK synagogue was a terrorist attack, authorities say

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    An assailant drove a car into people outside a synagogue Thursday in northern England and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four in a terrorist attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said.Officers shot and killed the suspect outside Manchester, police said, though authorities took some time to confirm he was dead because he was wearing a vest that made it appear as if he had explosives. Authorities later said he did not have a bomb.The Metropolitan Police in London, who lead counter-terrorism policing operations, declared the rampage a terrorist attack.Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said two other suspects were arrested, though he provided no further information on the arrests. He said police believe they know the identity of the man who carried out the attack but have not confirmed it.The attack took place as people gathered at an Orthodox synagogue in a suburban neighborhood of Manchester on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. Police said the two people killed were Jewish.Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have hit record levels following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza, according to Community Security Trust, an advocacy group for British Jews that works to eliminate antisemitism.More than 1,500 incidents were reported in the first half of the year, the second-highest six-month total reported since the record set over the same period a year earlier.“This is every rabbi’s or every Jewish person’s worst nightmare,” said Rabbi Jonathan Romain, of Maidenhead Synagogue and head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain. “Not only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it’s also a time of mass gathering.”Witnesses describe a car driving toward the synagogue and then a stabbing attackGreater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue around 9:30 a.m. — shortly after services had begun.Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the man drove directly at pedestrians outside the synagogue and then attacked them with a knife.Chava Lewin, who lives next to the synagogue, said she heard a bang and thought it might be a firework until her husband ran inside their house and said there had been a “terrorist attack.”A witness told her that she saw a car driving erratically crash into the gates of the house of worship.“She thought maybe he had a heart attack,” Lewin said. “The second he got out of the car, he started stabbing anyone near him. He went for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue.”Minutes later, police fired shots, hitting the assailant.Video on social media showed police with guns pointed at a person lying on the ground beneath a blue Star of David on the brick wall of the synagogue.A bystander could be heard on the video saying the man had a bomb and was trying to detonate it. When the man tried to stand up, a gunshot rang out and he fell to the ground.On the sidewalk outside the synagogue gate nearby, the body of another person lay in a pool of blood.Watson credited security guards and congregants for their bravery in preventing the assailant from getting inside the prayer service.Police later detonated an explosion to get into the suspect’s car.Manchester was the site of Britain’s deadliest attack in recent years, the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.Authorities declare an emergencyImmediately after the attack, police declared “Plato,” the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack.”Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and that additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the U.K.He flew back to London early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee.“The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” Starmer said on the X platform.King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened″ to learn of the attack “on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident, and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services,’′ he said on his social media feed.___Pylas and Melley reported from London.

    MANCHESTER, England —

    An assailant drove a car into people outside a synagogue Thursday in northern England and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four in a terrorist attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said.

    Officers shot and killed the suspect outside Manchester, police said, though authorities took some time to confirm he was dead because he was wearing a vest that made it appear as if he had explosives. Authorities later said he did not have a bomb.

    The Metropolitan Police in London, who lead counter-terrorism policing operations, declared the rampage a terrorist attack.

    Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said two other suspects were arrested, though he provided no further information on the arrests. He said police believe they know the identity of the man who carried out the attack but have not confirmed it.

    The attack took place as people gathered at an Orthodox synagogue in a suburban neighborhood of Manchester on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. Police said the two people killed were Jewish.

    Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have hit record levels following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza, according to Community Security Trust, an advocacy group for British Jews that works to eliminate antisemitism.

    More than 1,500 incidents were reported in the first half of the year, the second-highest six-month total reported since the record set over the same period a year earlier.

    “This is every rabbi’s or every Jewish person’s worst nightmare,” said Rabbi Jonathan Romain, of Maidenhead Synagogue and head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain. “Not only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it’s also a time of mass gathering.”

    Witnesses describe a car driving toward the synagogue and then a stabbing attack

    Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue around 9:30 a.m. — shortly after services had begun.

    Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the man drove directly at pedestrians outside the synagogue and then attacked them with a knife.

    Chava Lewin, who lives next to the synagogue, said she heard a bang and thought it might be a firework until her husband ran inside their house and said there had been a “terrorist attack.”

    A witness told her that she saw a car driving erratically crash into the gates of the house of worship.

    “She thought maybe he had a heart attack,” Lewin said. “The second he got out of the car, he started stabbing anyone near him. He went for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue.”

    Minutes later, police fired shots, hitting the assailant.

    Video on social media showed police with guns pointed at a person lying on the ground beneath a blue Star of David on the brick wall of the synagogue.

    A bystander could be heard on the video saying the man had a bomb and was trying to detonate it. When the man tried to stand up, a gunshot rang out and he fell to the ground.

    On the sidewalk outside the synagogue gate nearby, the body of another person lay in a pool of blood.

    Watson credited security guards and congregants for their bravery in preventing the assailant from getting inside the prayer service.

    Police later detonated an explosion to get into the suspect’s car.

    Manchester was the site of Britain’s deadliest attack in recent years, the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.

    Authorities declare an emergency

    Immediately after the attack, police declared “Plato,” the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack.”

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and that additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the U.K.

    He flew back to London early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee.

    “The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” Starmer said on the X platform.

    King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened″ to learn of the attack “on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”

    “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident, and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services,’′ he said on his social media feed.

    ___

    Pylas and Melley reported from London.

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  • Police say four people injured after car ramming and stabbing outside UK synagogue

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    Police say four people have been injured after a car was driven at members of the public and a man was stabbed outside a synagogue in the north of the UK city of Manchester.In a series of posts on X, Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall shortly after 9:30 a.m. by a member of the public. The caller said he witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.It said that minutes later shots were fired by firearms officers.“One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” it added.It said that four members of the public were being treated for injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds.Andy Burnham, the mayor of the Greater Manchester area, told BBC Radio the “immediate danger appears to be over.”The incident came as members of the Jewish community observe Yom Kippur, which is considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

    MANCHESTER, England —

    Police say four people have been injured after a car was driven at members of the public and a man was stabbed outside a synagogue in the north of the UK city of Manchester.

    In a series of posts on X, Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall shortly after 9:30 a.m. by a member of the public. The caller said he witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.

    It said that minutes later shots were fired by firearms officers.

    “One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” it added.

    It said that four members of the public were being treated for injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds.

    Andy Burnham, the mayor of the Greater Manchester area, told BBC Radio the “immediate danger appears to be over.”

    The incident came as members of the Jewish community observe Yom Kippur, which is considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

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  • ‘War-ravaged’ Portland hits back on Trump — with crochet, chicken costumes and farmers markets

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    PORTLAND, Ore. — There is a rhetorical battle raging here in this heavily Democratic city, known for its delicious coffee, plethora of fancy restaurants, bespoke doughnuts and also for its small faction of black-clad activists.

    It started Saturday when President Trump suddenly announced that he was sending the National Guard to “war-ravaged” Portland — where a small group of demonstrators have been staging a monthslong protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building south of downtown.

    Oregon officials have pushed back forcefully, flooding their own social media with images of colorful cafe tables, sun-drenched farmers markets, rose gardens in full bloom and parks bursting with children, families and frolicking dogs. Officials would prefer the city be known for its Portlandia vibe, and are begging residents to stay peaceful and not give the Trump administration a protest spectacle.

    A protester waves to Department of Homeland Security officials as they walk to the gates of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility after inspecting an area outside in Portland, Ore.

    (Jenny Kane / Associated Press)

    “There is no need or legal justification for military troops,” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has said, over and over again, on her Instagram and in texts to President Trump that have been released publicly. Officials have gone to court seeking an order to stop the deployment, with a hearing set for Friday.

    But the president seems resolute. In a Tuesday speech before a gathering of generals and admirals, he sketched out a controversial vision of dispatching troops to Democratic cities “as training grounds for our military” to combat an “invasion from within.” He described Portland as “a nightmare” that “looks like a warzone … like World War II.”

    “The Radical Left’s reign of terror in Portland ends now,” a White House press release read, “with President Donald J. Trump mobilizing federal resources to stop Antifa-led hellfire in its tracks.”

    Trump’s targeting of Portland comes after he deployed troops to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, and threatened to do so elsewhere. The president says he is delivering on campaign pledges to restore public safety, but detractors say he’s attempting to intimidate and provoke Democratic strongholds, while distracting the nation from his various controversies.

    As they wait to see whether and when the National Guard will arrive, city residents this week reacted with a mixture of rage, bafflement and sorrow.

    A man rests under a public art sculpture in downtown Portland, Ore.

    A man rests under a public art sculpture in downtown Portland, Ore.

    (Richard Darbonne / For The Times)

    Many acknowledged that Portland has problems: Homelessness and open drug abuse are endemic, and encampments crowd some sidewalks. The city’s downtown has never recovered from pandemic closures and rioting that took place during George Floyd protests in 2020.

    More recently, Intel — one of Oregon’s largest private employers — announced it was laying off 2,400 employees in a county just west of Portland. Like Los Angeles and many other cities, Portland has seen a big drop in tourism this year, a trend that city leaders say is not helped by Trump’s military interventions.

    “We need federal help to renew our infrastructure, and build affordable housing, to help clean our rivers and plant trees,” said Portland Mayor Keith Wilson on his social media. “Instead of help, they’re sending armored vehicles and masked men.”

    All across the city this week, residents echoed similar themes.

    “Nothing is happening here. This is a gorgeous, peaceful city,” said Hannah O’Malley, who was snacking on french fries at a table with a view of the Willamette River outside the Portland Sports Bar and Grill.

    Patrons are reflected in the window at Honey Pearl Cafe PDX in downtown Portland.

    Patrons are reflected in the window at Honey Pearl Cafe PDX in downtown Portland.

    (Richard Darbonne / For The Times)

    The restaurant was just a few blocks from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building where the ongoing demonstration has become the latest focus of the president’s ire against the city.

    A small group of people — a number of them women in their 60s and 70s with gray braids and top-of-the-line rain jackets — have been congregating here for months to protest the federal immigration crackdown.

    In June, there were several clashes with law enforcement at the site. Police declared a riot one night, and on another night made several arrests outside the facility, including one person accused of choking a police officer. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that they had arrested “four criminal illegal aliens” who allegedly conducted laser strikes on a Border Patrol helicopter “in an attempt to temporarily blind the pilot.”

    But day in and day out, the protests have been largely peaceful and fairly small and nothing the city’s police force can’t handle, according to city officials and the protesters themselves.

    On Monday afternoon, a group of about 40 people including grandmothers, parents and their children, and a man in a chicken costume, held flowers and signs. A few yelled abuse through a metal gate at ICE officers standing in the driveway.

    People protest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 28 in Portland, Ore.

    People protest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 28 in Portland, Ore.

    (Jenny Kane / Associated Press)

    “We’re so scary,” joked Kat Barnard, 67, a retired accountant for nonprofits who said she began protesting a few months ago, fitting it in between caring for her grandson. She added that she has found a sense of community while standing against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. “I’ve met so many people,” she said. “It’s just beautiful. It makes me happy.”

    A few miles away, in the cafe at the city’s famed bookstore, Powell’s Books, a trio of retired friends bemoaned their beloved city’s negative image.

    “This is the most peaceful, kind community I’ve ever lived in” said Lynne Avril, 74, who moved to Portland from Phoenix a few years ago. Avril, a retired illustrator who penned the artwork for the young Amelia Bedelia books, said she routinely walks home alone late at night through the city’s darkened streets, and feels perfectly safe doing so.

    The president “wants another spectacle,” added Avril’s friend, Signa Schuster, 73, a retired estate manager.

    “That’s what we’re afraid of,” answered Avril.

    “There’s no problem here,” added Annie Olsen, 72, a retired federal worker. “It’s all performative and stupid.”

    Still, the women said, they are keenly aware that their beloved city has a negative reputation nationally. Avril said that when she told friends in Phoenix that she had decided to move to Portland, “People were like: ‘Why would you move here [with] all the violence?’”

    Olsen sighed and nodded. “So much misinformation,” she said.

    In the front lobby of the famed bookstore, the local bestseller lists provided a window into many residents’ concerns. Two books on authoritarianism and censorship — George Orwell’s “1984” and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” — were on the shelves. Over in nonfiction, it was the same story, with “How Fascism Works” and “On Tyranny” both making appearances.

    The Willamette River runs through downtown Portland, Ore.

    The Willamette River runs through downtown Portland, Ore.

    (Richard Darbonne / For The Times)

    But outside, the sky was blue and bright despite the rain in the forecast and many residents were doing what Portlanders do with an unexpected gift from the weather gods: They were jogging and biking along the Willamette River, and sitting in outdoor cafes sipping their city’s famous coffee and nibbling on buttery pastries.

    “Trump is unhinged,” said Shannon O’Connor, 57. She said that Portland has problems for sure — “homelessness, fentanyl, a huge drug problem” — but unrest is not among them.

    Sprawled on a sidewalk near a freeway on-ramp, a man calling himself “Rabbit” was panhandling for money accompanied by his two beagle-pit bull mixes, Pooh Bear and Piglet.

    Rabbit, 48, said he hadn’t heard of the president’s plan to send in the National Guard, but didn’t think it was necessary. He had come to Portland two years ago “to get away from all the craziness,” he said, and found it to be safe. “I haven’t been threatened yet,” he said, then knocked on wood.

    Many residents said they think the president may be confusing what is happening in Portland now with a period in 2020 in which the city was briefly convulsed over Black Live Matter protests.

    “We had a lot of trouble then,” said a woman who asked to be referred to only as “Sue” for fear of being doxed. “Nothing like that now.” A lifelong Portlander, she is retired and among those who have been demonstrating at the ICE facility south of downtown.

    She and other residents said they have noticed that clips of the riots and other violence from 2020 have recently been recirculating on social media and even some cable news shows.

    “Either he is mistaken or it is part of his propaganda,” she said of the president’s portrayal of Portland, adding that it makes her “very sad. I’ve never protested until this go-around. But we have to do something.”

    As afternoon turned to evening Tuesday, the blue skies over the city gave way to clouds and drizzle. The parks and outdoor cafes emptied out.

    As night fell, the retired women and children who had been protesting outside the ICE facility went home, and more and more younger people began to take their places.

    By 10 p.m., law enforcement was massed on the roof of the ICE building in tactical gear. Black-clad protesters — watched over by local television reporters and some independent media — played cat and mouse with the officers, stepping toward the building only to be repelled by rounds of pepper balls.

    A 39-year-old man, who asked to be called “Mushu” and who had only his eyes visible amid his black garb, stood on the corner across the street, gesturing to the independent media livestreaming the protests. “They are showing that hell that is Portland,” he said, his voice dripping with irony.

    About the same time, Katie Daviscourt, a reporter with the Post Millennial, posted on X that she had been “assaulted by an Antifa agitator.” She also tweeted that “the suspect escaped into the Antifa safe house.”

    A few minutes later, a group of officers burst out of a van and appeared to detain one of the protesters. Then the officers dispersed, and the standoff resumed.

    Around the corner, a couple with gray hair sporting sleek rain jackets walked their little dog along the street. If they were concerned about the made-for-video drama that was playing out a few yards away, they didn’t show it. They just continued to walk their dog.

    On Wednesday morning, the president weighed in again, writing on Truth Social, “Conditions continue to deteriorate into lawless mayhem.”

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    Jessica Garrison

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  • Friends of Michigan church shooting suspect say he long carried hatred toward Mormon faith

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    The man who opened fire in a Michigan church and killed four people while setting it ablaze long harbored hatred toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to longtime friends, and told a stranger who showed up at his door days before that attack that Mormons were the “Antichrist.” The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, began making those sentiments known years ago following his return from Utah, where he dated but later broke up with a girlfriend who was a member of the Mormon faith, two childhood friends said Tuesday. Sanford had moved to Utah after leaving the Marines and told his friends he had become addicted to methamphetamines.No longer the happy-go-lucky kid who was voted class clown of their graduating class, Sanford routinely spouted off about his grievances against the church, his friends said. The first time they heard it was at a wedding 13 years ago.”We were like, ‘Come on, we don’t want to hear this,’” said Bobby Kalush, who grew up down the road from Sanford. “When he came back from Utah, he was a completely different person.”Just six days before Sunday’s attack, those grudges were still boiling at the surface, said Kris Johns, a city council candidate who described a bizarre brush with Sanford while door-knocking for his campaign.The two were speaking at Sanford’s home in Burton about gun rights when Sanford physically leaned in, Johns said, and asked, “What do you know about Mormons?”For close to 15 minutes, Sanford spoke in controlled and calm tones about the Mormon faith, saying he was concerned about their beliefs while expressing that he was a Christian. Sanford then said he believed that Mormons are the “Antichrist,” according to Johns.”That’s something I’ll never forget,” he said.Police have released very few details about Sanford, who died after being shot by officers, and have refused to discuss what might have motivated the attack at the church, which was reduced to rubble in Grand Blanc Township, about 60 miles north of Detroit.On Tuesday, Sanford’s family released a statement through a lawyer, expressing condolences. “No words can adequately convey our sorrow for the victims and their families,” they said. Sanford served four years in the Marine Corps after enlisting in 2004 and deployed once to Iraq for seven months, according to military records. His commander during the deployment, David Hochheimer, said the unit never saw combat or incoming fire. “It was a relatively quiet time,” he said on Tuesday.Sanford moved to Utah shortly after leaving the military. His friends said they noticed a change after he moved back home, thinking his battle with addiction was to blame. Kalush said his friend was no longer the “short, stocky ball of energy” who once bought dozens of flowers to give out to girls before the homecoming dance.Around bonfires with friends, it wasn’t unusual for Sanford to start talking about how Mormons were going to take over, said Frances Tersigni, who along with his twin brother was among Sanford’s best friends.”It was just so random. It was like, ‘Why Mormons dude?’” Tersigni said. “It’s hard to explain. We didn’t take it serious.” But there were no signs that he was a threat to anyone, Tersigni said. An avid hunter, Sanford was married now and raising a child at home.”He never once, never, said ‘I’ve got to do something,’” he said. “There’s a Jake we all knew, and there was one who was hidden. It wasn’t apparent to us.” Federal investigators remained at the church Tuesday as heavy machinery began moving debris from the church.Authorities have not yet released the names of the four people who died or the eight people — ages 6 to 78 — who were wounded and expected to survive. Among the wounded were a father and his young son, according to a GoFundMe post.One of those who died was being remembered as a grandfather who adored spending time with his family. John Bond, a Navy veteran, was well-known in the community and loved golfing and trains, according to friends organizing fundraising for the family.Another victim was identified online by family as Pat Howard.”Uncle Pat was so many things. … In my mind I see him mid conversation, his eyebrows raised, his eyes bright and a smile just starting to show,” niece Maureen Seliger said on Facebook. Jeffrey Schaub, bishop of the Grand Blanc church, said in a video posted Monday that the attack has left the community reeling.”As you can expect, our members are quite shaken in spirit and in body,” he said. “And it hurts.”There has been an outpouring of support from different faith communities, he said. “It was very humbling to see how much good there is in the world today and that, above all, we are all children of the same Father in heaven,” he said, with a tremor in his voice.Sanford drove his truck into the church’s brick wall while members were gathered inside Sunday morning. He apparently used gas to start the fire and also had explosive devices, said James Dier of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.Flames and smoke poured from the church for hours after the attack.Jerry Eaton, 78, who lives across the street, sheltered seven people who fled the church, including a mother with her four young children. He was watching television when he heard the shooting.”I’ve done a lot of hunting, so I know the sound of gunfire,” he said. “As much as I didn’t want to believe it, that’s exactly what it sounded like.” White reported from Detroit. Associated Press reporter John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

    GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. —

    The man who opened fire in a Michigan church and killed four people while setting it ablaze long harbored hatred toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to longtime friends, and told a stranger who showed up at his door days before that attack that Mormons were the “Antichrist.”

    The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, began making those sentiments known years ago following his return from Utah, where he dated but later broke up with a girlfriend who was a member of the Mormon faith, two childhood friends said Tuesday. Sanford had moved to Utah after leaving the Marines and told his friends he had become addicted to methamphetamines.

    No longer the happy-go-lucky kid who was voted class clown of their graduating class, Sanford routinely spouted off about his grievances against the church, his friends said. The first time they heard it was at a wedding 13 years ago.

    “We were like, ‘Come on, we don’t want to hear this,’” said Bobby Kalush, who grew up down the road from Sanford. “When he came back from Utah, he was a completely different person.”

    Just six days before Sunday’s attack, those grudges were still boiling at the surface, said Kris Johns, a city council candidate who described a bizarre brush with Sanford while door-knocking for his campaign.

    The two were speaking at Sanford’s home in Burton about gun rights when Sanford physically leaned in, Johns said, and asked, “What do you know about Mormons?”

    For close to 15 minutes, Sanford spoke in controlled and calm tones about the Mormon faith, saying he was concerned about their beliefs while expressing that he was a Christian. Sanford then said he believed that Mormons are the “Antichrist,” according to Johns.

    “That’s something I’ll never forget,” he said.

    Police have released very few details about Sanford, who died after being shot by officers, and have refused to discuss what might have motivated the attack at the church, which was reduced to rubble in Grand Blanc Township, about 60 miles north of Detroit.

    On Tuesday, Sanford’s family released a statement through a lawyer, expressing condolences. “No words can adequately convey our sorrow for the victims and their families,” they said.

    Sanford served four years in the Marine Corps after enlisting in 2004 and deployed once to Iraq for seven months, according to military records. His commander during the deployment, David Hochheimer, said the unit never saw combat or incoming fire. “It was a relatively quiet time,” he said on Tuesday.

    Sanford moved to Utah shortly after leaving the military. His friends said they noticed a change after he moved back home, thinking his battle with addiction was to blame. Kalush said his friend was no longer the “short, stocky ball of energy” who once bought dozens of flowers to give out to girls before the homecoming dance.

    Around bonfires with friends, it wasn’t unusual for Sanford to start talking about how Mormons were going to take over, said Frances Tersigni, who along with his twin brother was among Sanford’s best friends.

    “It was just so random. It was like, ‘Why Mormons dude?’” Tersigni said. “It’s hard to explain. We didn’t take it serious.”

    But there were no signs that he was a threat to anyone, Tersigni said. An avid hunter, Sanford was married now and raising a child at home.

    “He never once, never, said ‘I’ve got to do something,’” he said. “There’s a Jake we all knew, and there was one who was hidden. It wasn’t apparent to us.”

    Federal investigators remained at the church Tuesday as heavy machinery began moving debris from the church.

    Authorities have not yet released the names of the four people who died or the eight people — ages 6 to 78 — who were wounded and expected to survive. Among the wounded were a father and his young son, according to a GoFundMe post.

    One of those who died was being remembered as a grandfather who adored spending time with his family. John Bond, a Navy veteran, was well-known in the community and loved golfing and trains, according to friends organizing fundraising for the family.

    Another victim was identified online by family as Pat Howard.

    “Uncle Pat was so many things. … In my mind I see him mid conversation, his eyebrows raised, his eyes bright and a smile just starting to show,” niece Maureen Seliger said on Facebook.

    Jeffrey Schaub, bishop of the Grand Blanc church, said in a video posted Monday that the attack has left the community reeling.

    “As you can expect, our members are quite shaken in spirit and in body,” he said. “And it hurts.”

    There has been an outpouring of support from different faith communities, he said. “It was very humbling to see how much good there is in the world today and that, above all, we are all children of the same Father in heaven,” he said, with a tremor in his voice.

    Sanford drove his truck into the church’s brick wall while members were gathered inside Sunday morning. He apparently used gas to start the fire and also had explosive devices, said James Dier of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

    Flames and smoke poured from the church for hours after the attack.

    Jerry Eaton, 78, who lives across the street, sheltered seven people who fled the church, including a mother with her four young children. He was watching television when he heard the shooting.

    “I’ve done a lot of hunting, so I know the sound of gunfire,” he said. “As much as I didn’t want to believe it, that’s exactly what it sounded like.”

    White reported from Detroit. Associated Press reporter John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

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  • ‘It looks like I’m dead:’ Woman writes own witty obituary

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    “Well, if you’re reading this obituary, I’m dead. I died of FOMO due to complications from ALS,” reads an obituary for Linda Murphy, also written by Linda Murphy.Justine Hastings smiled as she read her mother’s obituary, because she knew how much she feared missing out on life.”She would be the one on the dance floor, starting the party; she was the party,” Hastings said.The Massachusetts woman passed on Sept. 21, and her heart shone through in the obituary she wrote herself, using humor to describe how her life was impacted by an ALS diagnosis, like when she started using a respirator at night.”We became a throuple about a year and a half ago when hose, my bipap, moved into the marital bed,” Murphy wrote.Her ALS diagnosis came in 2022, about a decade after she fought and beat breast cancer. She even wrote a book about that battle.”She always wanted to say – ‘As long as I can be positive in my little world, maybe it can spread,’” Hastings said.Her obituary urged people to show kindness to strangers and avoid negativity.”Please be kind to everyone: the telemarketer, the grocery clerk, the Dunkin’s staff, the tailgater, your family, your friends. Speak nicely and positively. Is there really ever a reason to be negative? I don’t think so,” the obituary says.Hastings said her mother “wanted to go viral, spread a message to spread happiness and be kind.”The obituary also gives directions to those who plan to attend her funeral service.”If you were a stinker and meanie to me or my family or friends during my lifetime … Please do everyone a favor and STAY AWAY, we don’t want your negative drama & energy. Only nice, loving people are welcome,” she wrote. Murphy also told her loved ones, “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t waste money on flowers.””Buy a bunch of scratch tickets and give them out to strangers along your way. Make people happy, that is the best way that you can honor my memory,” she wrote.Now, Hastings hopes her 60-year-old mother’s final words can reach people around the world.”My advice is to say yes to party, trip, adventure, raise a glass to me in cheers,” Murphy wrote in her obituary. “Just live life to the fullest. Never know what tomorrow brings, so say yes to today.”

    “Well, if you’re reading this obituary, I’m dead. I died of FOMO due to complications from ALS,” reads an obituary for Linda Murphy, also written by Linda Murphy.

    Justine Hastings smiled as she read her mother’s obituary, because she knew how much she feared missing out on life.

    “She would be the one on the dance floor, starting the party; she was the party,” Hastings said.

    The Massachusetts woman passed on Sept. 21, and her heart shone through in the obituary she wrote herself, using humor to describe how her life was impacted by an ALS diagnosis, like when she started using a respirator at night.

    “We became a throuple about a year and a half ago when hose, my bipap, moved into the marital bed,” Murphy wrote.

    Her ALS diagnosis came in 2022, about a decade after she fought and beat breast cancer. She even wrote a book about that battle.

    “She always wanted to say – ‘As long as I can be positive in my little world, maybe it can spread,’” Hastings said.

    Her obituary urged people to show kindness to strangers and avoid negativity.

    “Please be kind to everyone: the telemarketer, the grocery clerk, the Dunkin’s staff, the tailgater, your family, your friends. Speak nicely and positively. Is there really ever a reason to be negative? I don’t think so,” the obituary says.

    Hastings said her mother “wanted to go viral, spread a message to spread happiness and be kind.”

    The obituary also gives directions to those who plan to attend her funeral service.

    “If you were a stinker and meanie to me or my family or friends during my lifetime … Please do everyone a favor and STAY AWAY, we don’t want your negative drama & energy. Only nice, loving people are welcome,” she wrote.

    Murphy also told her loved ones, “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t waste money on flowers.”

    “Buy a bunch of scratch tickets and give them out to strangers along your way. Make people happy, that is the best way that you can honor my memory,” she wrote.

    Now, Hastings hopes her 60-year-old mother’s final words can reach people around the world.

    “My advice is to say yes to party, trip, adventure, raise a glass to me in cheers,” Murphy wrote in her obituary. “Just live life to the fullest. Never know what tomorrow brings, so say yes to today.”

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  • Six people who tried to hang a banner on the Hollywood sign are arrested, officials say

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    Six people were arrested Sunday after they tried to hang a banner on the Hollywood sign, according to authorities.

    The group allegedly trespassed in the area of the landmark around noon and tried to hang a banner on one of the “O’s,” according to a Los Angeles Police Department Instagram post.

    The people were detained without incident, police said.

    It was unclear what sort of banner the group was trying to hang — or what message they were trying to send. A photo the LAPD shared on social media showed that the banner included what appears to be a green-and-white pill capsule, but the entire banner is not visible.

    L.A. city park rangers took over the investigation and the LAPD referred further questions to the agency, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information Wednesday.

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    Summer Lin

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  • With shutdown, Democrats take a perilous risk at a precarious party moment

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    WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers took a significant risk this week by choosing to fight the Trump administration over the extension of healthcare credits.

    A stalemate over the matter led to the federal shutdown on Tuesday night, when Democrats denied Republicans the votes needed to continue funding the government, forcing hundreds of thousands of federal workers into furloughs or to work without pay.

    It’s a gamble for a party facing its lowest approval numbers since the Reagan era — and a calculated risk Democratic leaders felt feel compelled to take.

    “I am proud to be fighting to preserve healthcare for millions of people, ” Sen. Adam Schiff of California said in an interview Wednesday. “I think this is a very necessary fight.”

    The healthcare tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year, and if Democrats are unsuccessful in securing an extension as part of a shutdown deal, then premiums for millions of Americans are expected to skyrocket, Schiff said.

    “There’s really not much that can be done to mitigate these dramatic health premium increases people are going to see unless the president and Republicans are willing to work with us on it,” he said.

    Entering the shutdown, polls indicated the country was split over who would be to blame, with 19% of Americans faulting Democrats and 26% charging Republicans, according to a New York Times poll. A plurality of respondents — 33% — said both parties were responsible.

    Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, a Democrat and the Senate minority leader, is leading the charge with his worst favorability numbers among his home state residents in over 20 years — and with the highest disapproval ratings of any congressional leader, according a recent Pew survey.

    Schumer faced widespread ridicule from within his party in March after reversing course during the last government funding deadline, choosing then to support the Trump administration’s continuing resolution proposal.

    That showdown came at the height of an aggressive purge by President Trump of the federal workforce. A government shutdown would only enable more mass firings, Schumer said at the time.

    But the current shutdown is already giving Trump administration officials license to resume mass layoffs, this time specifically targeting Democratic states and priorities.

    “We’d be laying off a lot of people who are going to be very affected,” Trump said in the hours before the shutdown, adding: “They’re going to be Democrats.”

    On Wednesday, Russ Vought, Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget and a longtime advocate of concentrated presidential power, wrote on social media that $8 billion in “Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda” would be canceled to 16 Democratic-majority states, including California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

    Hours earlier, the Trump administration had frozen roughly $18 billion for infrastructure projects in New York City pending a review that Vought said would “ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.”

    House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans at a news conference Wednesday discussing the shutdown.

    (Mariam Zuhaib / Associated Press)

    Seeing these actions, Schiff worries about further punitive measures against California.

    “California, I’m sure, won’t be far behind in the kind of vindictive actions of the president,” he said.

    At a White House press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Vice President JD Vance denied that the administration was planning to structure layoffs based on politics.

    “We’re going to have to make things work, and that means that we’re going to have to triage some certain things,” he said. “That means certain people are going to have to get laid off, and we’re going to try to make sure that the American people suffer as little as possible from the shutdown.”

    Vance placed the blame squarely on Schumer and other Democrats, saying repeatedly that Democrats had shut down the government because Republicans refused to give billions of dollars in healthcare funding to immigrants in the country illegally. Immigrants without legal status are not eligible for any federal healthcare programs, including Medicaid and health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

    “To the American people who are watching: The reason your government is shut down at this very minute is because, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of congressional Republicans — and even a few moderate Democrats — supported opening the government, the Chuck Schumer-AOC wing of the Democratic Party shut down the government,” the vice president said.

    Vance said policy disagreements should not serve as the basis for keeping hostage essential services that Americans need. But before those discussions can happen, the government must be reopened.

    “I’d invite Chuck Schumer to join the moderate Democrats and 52 Senate Republicans. Do the right thing, open up the People’s Government, and then let’s fix healthcare policy for the American people,” he said.

    Some senators, including Democrat Ruben Gallego of Arizona, are exploring a bipartisan offramp from the crisis, including a potential continuing resolution that would reopen the government for roughly a week to provide room for negotiations.

    While that option is on the table, less than 24 hours into the shutdown, some Democrats think a short-term solution is contingent on Trump being willing to negotiate with Democrats in good faith.

    “It really just depends on whether the president decides he’s going to try to resolve this conflict and negotiate,” Schiff said. “Until he makes that decision that he wants the shutdown to end, it will continue.”

    Vance described two categories of demands from congressional Democrats: those acting in good faith who want to make sure the administration engages in a conversation about critical issues such as healthcare, and those who refuse to reopen the government until every demand is met.

    “We just write those people off because they’re not negotiating in good faith — and frankly, we don’t need it,” he said, noting that three senators who vote Democratic — John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Angus King (I-Maine) — had already broken ranks to vote to fund the government.

    “Three moderate Democrats joined 52 Republicans last night,” he said, adding: “We need five more in order to reopen the government, and that’s really where we’re going to focus.”

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    Michael Wilner, Ana Ceballos, Andrea Castillo

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  • 2 killed in Cuba as Tropical Storm Imelda and Hurricane Humberto threaten Bahamas and Bermuda

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    Authorities in the Bahamas closed most schools on Monday as Tropical Storm Imelda dropped heavy rain in the northern Caribbean, including over Cuba, where two people died as a result of the storm.The storm was located about 120 miles north of Great Abaco Island of the Bahamas, which is still recovering from Hurricane Dorian after it slammed into parts of the Bahamas as a devastating Category 5 hurricane in 2019.Imelda had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and was moving north at 9 mph. It was forecast to become a hurricane on Tuesday morning and spin out to open ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the extreme northwestern Bahamas, including Great Abaco, Grand Bahama Island, and the surrounding keys. Power outages were reported in some areas, with authorities closing government offices on affected islands and issuing mandatory evacuation orders for some islands over the weekend.2 deaths and evacuations across CubaCuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said late Monday that two people died after Imelda impacted eastern Cuba. On his X account, Marrero said the two people died in Santiago de Cuba province, but he didn’t give any details.Earlier, state media reported that 60-year-old Luis Mario Pérez Coiterio had died in Santiago de Cuba following landslides in that area.In Santiago de Cuba, flooding and landslides cut off 17 communities, according to the official newspaper Granma. More than 24,000 people live in those communities.In Guantánamo, another impacted province, more than 18,000 people have been evacuated, according to reports from the state-run Caribe television channel.Imelda was expected to drop 4 to 8 inches of rain across the northwest Bahamas through Tuesday, and 2 to 4 inches across eastern Cuba.Humberto roars in open watersMeanwhile, Hurricane Humberto, a Category 4 storm, churned in open waters nearby, which forecasters said would cause Imelda to abruptly turn to the east-northeast, away from the southeastern United States coast.“This is really what’s going to be saving the United States from really seeing catastrophic rainfall,” said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather, a private U.S. weather forecasting company.DaSilva said the two storms would draw closer and start rotating counterclockwise around each other in what’s known as the Fujiwhara effect.“It’s a very rare phenomenon overall in the Atlantic basin,” he said.Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. It was located about 295 miles southwest of Bermuda, moving north-northwest at 13 mph. A hurricane watch was in effect for Bermuda.“This is going to be no threat to the United States,” DaSilva said.The Carolinas brace for Imelda’s rainsMoisture from Imelda was expected to move up the Carolinas, with heavy rain forecast through Tuesday morning. The heaviest rains will be limited to the coastline, from Charleston in South Carolina to Wilmington in North Carolina, while Charlotte and Raleigh might receive only 1 to 2 inches of rain, he said.The Carolinas might see wind gusts of 40 mph, but only along the coastline, DaSilva said, as he warned of dangerous surf and heavy rip currents all week.South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said authorities were prepositioning search and rescue crews over the weekend.In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency even before Imelda formed, while authorities on Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia handed out free sandbags to residents.Even though Imelda was not making landfall in Florida, its impact was still felt.At the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, crews found a couple of turtle hatchlings that rough surf had tossed ashore.“We actually had two washbacks come in over the weekend,” said Justin Perrault, the center’s vice president of research. “We may get more as the day goes along.”He said typically beachgoers will see a hatchling resting in the seaweed and call the center for help.Farther south in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Carl Alexandre exercised at the beach on Monday. He said he was grateful the storm was not heading toward South Florida, but that he would pray for those in the Bahamas.“It’s great that we’re not having one as of right now,” Alexandre said. “And now we get to run in the Florida sun.”‘A double whammy for Bermuda’Authorities in Bermuda hoped neither of the two storms would be a direct hit later in the week, though they were forecast to, at least, come close, with Imelda possibly passing within 15 miles as the season’s soon-to-be fourth hurricane, Da Silva said.“It’s going to be a double whammy for Bermuda, Humberto first and Imelda following close behind,” Da Silva said.Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s national security minister, urged residents to prepare, warning that there have been “some near misses this season regarding severe storms.”“Hurricane Humberto is a dangerous storm, and with another system developing to our south, every household in Bermuda should take the necessary steps to be prepared,” he said.Flights to and from the islands in the Bahamas were canceled, with airports expected to reopen after weather conditions improve.

    Authorities in the Bahamas closed most schools on Monday as Tropical Storm Imelda dropped heavy rain in the northern Caribbean, including over Cuba, where two people died as a result of the storm.

    The storm was located about 120 miles north of Great Abaco Island of the Bahamas, which is still recovering from Hurricane Dorian after it slammed into parts of the Bahamas as a devastating Category 5 hurricane in 2019.

    Imelda had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and was moving north at 9 mph. It was forecast to become a hurricane on Tuesday morning and spin out to open ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

    A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the extreme northwestern Bahamas, including Great Abaco, Grand Bahama Island, and the surrounding keys. Power outages were reported in some areas, with authorities closing government offices on affected islands and issuing mandatory evacuation orders for some islands over the weekend.

    2 deaths and evacuations across Cuba

    Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said late Monday that two people died after Imelda impacted eastern Cuba. On his X account, Marrero said the two people died in Santiago de Cuba province, but he didn’t give any details.

    Earlier, state media reported that 60-year-old Luis Mario Pérez Coiterio had died in Santiago de Cuba following landslides in that area.

    In Santiago de Cuba, flooding and landslides cut off 17 communities, according to the official newspaper Granma. More than 24,000 people live in those communities.

    In Guantánamo, another impacted province, more than 18,000 people have been evacuated, according to reports from the state-run Caribe television channel.

    Imelda was expected to drop 4 to 8 inches of rain across the northwest Bahamas through Tuesday, and 2 to 4 inches across eastern Cuba.

    Humberto roars in open waters

    Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto, a Category 4 storm, churned in open waters nearby, which forecasters said would cause Imelda to abruptly turn to the east-northeast, away from the southeastern United States coast.

    “This is really what’s going to be saving the United States from really seeing catastrophic rainfall,” said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather, a private U.S. weather forecasting company.

    DaSilva said the two storms would draw closer and start rotating counterclockwise around each other in what’s known as the Fujiwhara effect.

    “It’s a very rare phenomenon overall in the Atlantic basin,” he said.

    Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. It was located about 295 miles southwest of Bermuda, moving north-northwest at 13 mph. A hurricane watch was in effect for Bermuda.

    “This is going to be no threat to the United States,” DaSilva said.

    The Carolinas brace for Imelda’s rains

    Moisture from Imelda was expected to move up the Carolinas, with heavy rain forecast through Tuesday morning. The heaviest rains will be limited to the coastline, from Charleston in South Carolina to Wilmington in North Carolina, while Charlotte and Raleigh might receive only 1 to 2 inches of rain, he said.

    The Carolinas might see wind gusts of 40 mph, but only along the coastline, DaSilva said, as he warned of dangerous surf and heavy rip currents all week.

    South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said authorities were prepositioning search and rescue crews over the weekend.

    In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency even before Imelda formed, while authorities on Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia handed out free sandbags to residents.

    Even though Imelda was not making landfall in Florida, its impact was still felt.

    At the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, crews found a couple of turtle hatchlings that rough surf had tossed ashore.

    “We actually had two washbacks come in over the weekend,” said Justin Perrault, the center’s vice president of research. “We may get more as the day goes along.”

    He said typically beachgoers will see a hatchling resting in the seaweed and call the center for help.

    Farther south in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Carl Alexandre exercised at the beach on Monday. He said he was grateful the storm was not heading toward South Florida, but that he would pray for those in the Bahamas.

    “It’s great that we’re not having one as of right now,” Alexandre said. “And now we get to run in the Florida sun.”

    ‘A double whammy for Bermuda’

    Authorities in Bermuda hoped neither of the two storms would be a direct hit later in the week, though they were forecast to, at least, come close, with Imelda possibly passing within 15 miles as the season’s soon-to-be fourth hurricane, Da Silva said.

    “It’s going to be a double whammy for Bermuda, Humberto first and Imelda following close behind,” Da Silva said.

    Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s national security minister, urged residents to prepare, warning that there have been “some near misses this season regarding severe storms.”

    “Hurricane Humberto is a dangerous storm, and with another system developing to our south, every household in Bermuda should take the necessary steps to be prepared,” he said.

    Flights to and from the islands in the Bahamas were canceled, with airports expected to reopen after weather conditions improve.

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  • Eastbound I-4 reopens after crash near convention center in Orange County

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    One eastbound lane of Interstate 4 has reopened after the highway was shut down near mile marker 72 on Monday afternoon after multiple crashes with injuries, Florida Highway Patrol said. Five people were transported to area hospitals, FHP said. One of the vehicles involved is a semi that overturned. Eastbound traffic had been detoured onto International Drive before getting back on I-4 eastbound from Sand Lake Road.Traffic is still moving very slowly in the area as the other lanes of eastbound I-4 where the crash occurred are still shut down as of 6 p.m.>> This is a developing story and will be updated

    ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —

    One eastbound lane of Interstate 4 has reopened after the highway was shut down near mile marker 72 on Monday afternoon after multiple crashes with injuries, Florida Highway Patrol said.

    Five people were transported to area hospitals, FHP said.

    One of the vehicles involved is a semi that overturned.

    Eastbound traffic had been detoured onto International Drive before getting back on I-4 eastbound from Sand Lake Road.

    Traffic is still moving very slowly in the area as the other lanes of eastbound I-4 where the crash occurred are still shut down as of 6 p.m.

    >> This is a developing story and will be updated

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  • 1 man killed in Cuba as Tropical Storm Imelda and Hurricane Humberto threaten Bahamas and Bermuda

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    Authorities in the Bahamas closed a majority of schools on Monday following mandatory evacuations for some islands in the archipelago as Tropical Storm Imelda was expected to drop heavy rain in the northern Caribbean, with landslides killing one man in Cuba.The storm was located about 35 miles north of Great Abaco Island, which is still recovering from Hurricane Dorian after it slammed into parts of the Bahamas as a devastating Category 5 hurricane in 2019.Imelda had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and was moving north at 9 mph. It was forecast to become a hurricane on Tuesday and spin out to open ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the northwestern Bahamas, including Eleuthera, the Abacos, Grand Bahama Island and the surrounding keys. Power outages were reported in some areas, with authorities closing government offices on affected islands.A death and evacuations across CubaImelda was expected to drop 4 to 8 inches of rain across the northwest Bahamas through Tuesday, and 2 to 4 inches across eastern Cuba. State media in Cuba reported that 60-year-old Luis Mario Pérez Coiterio died in Santiago de Cuba following landslides in that area.“After two days of intense rains in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba, we are now in the stage of saving human lives and the economy of the entire city,” Mayor Indira Oliva Bueno said, according to a broadcast aired by the official Caribe channel.In the easternmost part of Cuba, from Camagüey to Guantánamo, authorities supplied food and drinking water to residents, according to official TV reports.Overall, Imelda forced the evacuation of some 1,291 people across Cuba, with 158 of them staying in shelters.“We are working with our agricultural colleagues to provide food to the population, which is essential,” said Alexander Olivares, president of the San Antonio del Sur Defense Council in Guantánamo.Humberto roars in open watersMeanwhile, Hurricane Humberto, a Category 4 storm, churned in open waters nearby, which forecasters said would cause Imelda to abruptly turn to the east-northeast, away from the southeastern United States coast.“This is really what’s going to be saving the United States from really seeing catastrophic rainfall,” said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather, a private U.S. weather forecasting company.When two storms circle near each other, they create what’s known as the Fujiwhara effect, which means that they start to rotate counterclockwise around each other, DaSilva said.“It’s a very rare phenomenon overall in the Atlantic basin,” he said.Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. It was located about 340 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, moving northwest at 13 mph. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Bermuda.“This is going to be no threat to the United States,” DaSilva said.The Carolinas brace for Imelda’s rainsHowever, moisture from Imelda was expected to move up the Carolinas, with heavy rain forecast through Tuesday morning. The heaviest rains will be limited to the coastline, from Charleston in South Carolina to Wilmington in North Carolina, while Charlotte and Raleigh might receive only 1 to 2 inches of rain, he said.The Carolinas might see wind gusts of 40 mph, but only along the coastline, DaSilva said, as he warned of dangerous surf and heavy rip currents all week.South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said authorities were prepositioning search and rescue crews over the weekend.In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency even before Imelda formed, while authorities on Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia handed out free sandbags to residents.Further south in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Carl Alexandre exercised at the beach on Monday. He said he was grateful the storm was not heading toward South Florida, but that he would pray for those in the Bahamas.“It’s great that we’re not having one as of right now,” Alexandre said. “And now we get to run in the Florida sun.”Mick Varley, who was visiting Fort Lauderdale from London, said he’s delighted the storm will remain offshore.“I’m very happy it’s not going to disrupt our plans,” he said.‘A double whammy for Bermuda’As Tropical Storm Imelda and Hurricane Humberto swirled in open waters, authorities in Bermuda prepared for two near misses.“It’s going to be a double whammy for Bermuda, Humberto first and Imelda following close behind,” Da Silva said.He said Imelda could pass within 15 miles of Bermuda as the Atlantic season’s soon-to-be fourth named hurricane. Meanwhile, the center of Humberto is expected to pass west and then north of Bermuda on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s national security minister, urged residents to prepare, warning that there have been “some near misses this season regarding severe storms.”“Hurricane Humberto is a dangerous storm, and with another system developing to our south, every household in Bermuda should take the necessary steps to be prepared,” he said.Flights to and from the islands in the Bahamas were canceled, with airports expected to reopen after weather conditions improve.

    Authorities in the Bahamas closed a majority of schools on Monday following mandatory evacuations for some islands in the archipelago as Tropical Storm Imelda was expected to drop heavy rain in the northern Caribbean, with landslides killing one man in Cuba.

    The storm was located about 35 miles north of Great Abaco Island, which is still recovering from Hurricane Dorian after it slammed into parts of the Bahamas as a devastating Category 5 hurricane in 2019.

    Imelda had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and was moving north at 9 mph. It was forecast to become a hurricane on Tuesday and spin out to open ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

    A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the northwestern Bahamas, including Eleuthera, the Abacos, Grand Bahama Island and the surrounding keys. Power outages were reported in some areas, with authorities closing government offices on affected islands.

    A death and evacuations across Cuba

    Imelda was expected to drop 4 to 8 inches of rain across the northwest Bahamas through Tuesday, and 2 to 4 inches across eastern Cuba. State media in Cuba reported that 60-year-old Luis Mario Pérez Coiterio died in Santiago de Cuba following landslides in that area.

    “After two days of intense rains in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba, we are now in the stage of saving human lives and the economy of the entire city,” Mayor Indira Oliva Bueno said, according to a broadcast aired by the official Caribe channel.

    In the easternmost part of Cuba, from Camagüey to Guantánamo, authorities supplied food and drinking water to residents, according to official TV reports.

    Overall, Imelda forced the evacuation of some 1,291 people across Cuba, with 158 of them staying in shelters.

    “We are working with our agricultural colleagues to provide food to the population, which is essential,” said Alexander Olivares, president of the San Antonio del Sur Defense Council in Guantánamo.

    Humberto roars in open waters

    Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto, a Category 4 storm, churned in open waters nearby, which forecasters said would cause Imelda to abruptly turn to the east-northeast, away from the southeastern United States coast.

    “This is really what’s going to be saving the United States from really seeing catastrophic rainfall,” said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather, a private U.S. weather forecasting company.

    When two storms circle near each other, they create what’s known as the Fujiwhara effect, which means that they start to rotate counterclockwise around each other, DaSilva said.

    “It’s a very rare phenomenon overall in the Atlantic basin,” he said.

    Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. It was located about 340 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, moving northwest at 13 mph. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Bermuda.

    “This is going to be no threat to the United States,” DaSilva said.

    The Carolinas brace for Imelda’s rains

    However, moisture from Imelda was expected to move up the Carolinas, with heavy rain forecast through Tuesday morning. The heaviest rains will be limited to the coastline, from Charleston in South Carolina to Wilmington in North Carolina, while Charlotte and Raleigh might receive only 1 to 2 inches of rain, he said.

    The Carolinas might see wind gusts of 40 mph, but only along the coastline, DaSilva said, as he warned of dangerous surf and heavy rip currents all week.

    South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said authorities were prepositioning search and rescue crews over the weekend.

    In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency even before Imelda formed, while authorities on Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia handed out free sandbags to residents.

    Further south in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Carl Alexandre exercised at the beach on Monday. He said he was grateful the storm was not heading toward South Florida, but that he would pray for those in the Bahamas.

    “It’s great that we’re not having one as of right now,” Alexandre said. “And now we get to run in the Florida sun.”

    Mick Varley, who was visiting Fort Lauderdale from London, said he’s delighted the storm will remain offshore.

    “I’m very happy it’s not going to disrupt our plans,” he said.

    ‘A double whammy for Bermuda’

    As Tropical Storm Imelda and Hurricane Humberto swirled in open waters, authorities in Bermuda prepared for two near misses.

    “It’s going to be a double whammy for Bermuda, Humberto first and Imelda following close behind,” Da Silva said.

    He said Imelda could pass within 15 miles of Bermuda as the Atlantic season’s soon-to-be fourth named hurricane. Meanwhile, the center of Humberto is expected to pass west and then north of Bermuda on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

    Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s national security minister, urged residents to prepare, warning that there have been “some near misses this season regarding severe storms.”

    “Hurricane Humberto is a dangerous storm, and with another system developing to our south, every household in Bermuda should take the necessary steps to be prepared,” he said.

    Flights to and from the islands in the Bahamas were canceled, with airports expected to reopen after weather conditions improve.

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  • ‘They just don’t come’: What’s making L.A.’s tourism tumble

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    Months of negative news have triggered a tough summer for tourism in Los Angeles, deepening the economic woes for a city buffeted by natural disasters and immigration raids.

    Tourist arrivals fell by close to 10% this season, according to the latest numbers from Visit California.

    The region’s economy and image suffered significant setbacks this year. Shocking images of the destructive Eaton and Palisades fires in January, followed by the immigration crackdown in June, made global news and repelled visitors. Meanwhile, President Trump’s fickle tariff policies and other geopolitical posturing have convinced many international tourists to avoid America.

    On Hollywood Boulevard, there are fewer tourists, and the ones who show up spend less, says Salim Osman. He works for Ride Like A Star, an exotic car company that rents to visitors looking to take a luxury vehicle for a spin and snap the quintessential L.A. selfie.

    Last year, crowds lined up to rent its Ferraris and Porches for around $200 an hour, Salim says. However, this summer, foot traffic dropped by nearly 50%.

    “It used to be shoulder to shoulder out here,” he said, looking along the boulevard. “It’s a lot harder for people to come here, or they’re afraid of what’s going on here, so they just don’t come.”

    Business has been slow around the TCL Chinese Theater, where visitors place their hands into the concrete handprints of celebrities like Kristen Stewart and Denzel Washington.

    There were fewer people to hop onto sightseeing buses, stop inside Madame Tussauds wax museum and snap impromptu photos with patrolling characters such as Spiderman and Mickey Mouse. Souvenir shops nearby say they have also had to increase the prices of many of their knick-knacks because of tariffs and a decline in sales.

    Of all the state’s international travelers, the most significant absence was from Canadian tourists. Arrivals from visitors from up north fell around 30% in June and July.

    Summer in Palm Springs was okay this year, said its mayor, Ron deHarte, but only because domestic tourists offset the sharp decline in Canadians.

    “We’ve hurt our Canadian Friends with actions that the administration has taken. It’s understandable,” he said. “We don’t know how long they won’t want to travel to the States, but we’re hopeful that it is short-term.”

    A view of travelers at Long Beach Airport in Long Beach. Long Beach Airport saw a 10.5% decrease in passenger traffic when compared to 2024.

    (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

    Visitors from China, India and Germany also avoided the state. Surprisingly, Mexican tourists didn’t stay away. There were 5.4% more arrivals from our southern neighbor despite the ICE raids, which often targeted Latino people.

    There was a dip in traffic to most Los Angeles airports. With the World Cup on the books for next year and the Summer Olympics gearing up in 2028, the growing decline in tourism is worrisome for many across all industries.

    Cynthia Guidry, the director of the Long Beach Airport, says reduced airline schedules, economic pressures and rising costs also impacted airport traffic. She’s currently seeking out ways to best prepare for the Olympics, which don’t involve flight revenue, such as dining at the airport and souvenir shopping.

    “We’re focused on attracting new service, growing non-aeronautical revenue and managing expenses to stay resilient,” she said.

    Many of the state’s most prominent attractions are also experiencing dry spells. Yosemite reported a decrease of as much as 50% in bookings ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

    Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a consulting firm in the industry, says that this past year has been a “soft year” for most theme parks nationwide.

    The "Forever Marilyn" statue towers over visitors who attend the weekly Palm Springs Villagefest along Museum Way.

    The “Forever Marilyn” statue towers over visitors who attend the weekly Palm Springs Villagefest along Museum Way.

    (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

    There have been fewer international visitors and more domestic traffic, as more people are embracing the idea of staycations, or spending their holidays closer to home.

    “People in the locales where the parks are stayed in their areas,” he said, adding that this summer people stayed home because of “the general economy, the media, the tariffs, the confusion and the uncertainty that came with that.”

    Los Angeles and California depend on tourism.

    Last year, the state’s tourism hit a new high, with visitors spending $157.3 billion, up 3% from 2023, and creating 24,000 jobs, according to a 2024 economic impact report from Visit California.

    “Los Angeles is California’s primary international gateway; the impacts are felt statewide,” Adam Burke, president of Los Angeles Tourism, said in a statement to The Times. “Looking ahead, long-term recovery will depend on global economic conditions and how the U.S. is perceived abroad.”

    Tourists walk across celebrity stars on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Dolby Theater.

    Tourists walk across celebrity stars on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Dolby Theater.

    (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

    Australian tourists Geoffrey and Tennille Mutton ignored the warnings of their friends and family to bring their two daughters to L.A.

    “A lot of people have had a changed view of America,” said Geoffrey as his family enjoyed Ben & Jerry’s ice cream outside of Hollywood’s Dolby Theater. “They don’t want to come here and support this place.”

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    Cerys Davies

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  • Iran hangs a man it accuses of spying for Israel

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    Iran’s foreign minister has held *** telephone call with his counterparts in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom over their threat to potentially snap back sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. Now the snap back mechanism is part of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers that saw Tehran limit its enrichment of uranium. In exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions now in the deal, there was *** part of it that said that any of those members of the deal could go and declare Iran in noncompliance with it, setting forth the clock that ultimately would snap back those UN sanctions. Now Iran contends that these European nations can’t do that. They point to the fact. America unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, setting up years of tensions over the program that saw Iran up its enrichment to about 60% purity, *** short step away from weapons grade levels. That enrichment and other issues saw Israel launch its unprecedented 12 day war on Iran back in June. Now as of right now, the European nations and Iran are both saying that there will be another round of talks next week, but the clock is ticking. The Europeans had said if Iran doesn’t reach an agreement by the end of the month, that it will start the snapback process, and that could mean more pressure on Iran’s ailing economy.

    Iran said Monday it hanged a man accused of spying for Israel, the latest as Tehran carries out its largest wave of executions in decades.Iran identified the executed man as Bahman Choobiasl, whose case wasn’t immediately known in Iranian media reports or to activists monitoring the death penalty in the Islamic Republic. However, the execution came after Iran vowed to confront its enemies after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program this weekend.Video above: Iran confers with European nations on its nuclear program as sanctions deadline nearsIran accused Choobiasl of meeting with officials from the Israeli spy agency Mossad. Iran’s Mizan news agency, which is the judiciary’s official mouthpiece, said Choobiasl worked on “sensitive telecommunications projects“ and reported about the “paths of importing electronic devices.”Iran is known to have hanged nine people for espionage since its June war with Israel. Israel waged an air war with Iran, killing some 1,100 people, including many military commanders. Iran launched missile barrages targeting Israel in response.Earlier this month, Iran executed Babak Shahbazi, who it alleged spied for Israel. Activists disputed that, saying Shahbazi was tortured into a false confession after writing a letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offering to fight for Kyiv.Iran has faced multiple nationwide protests in recent years, fueled by anger over the economy, demands for women’s rights and calls for the country’s theocracy to change.In response to those protests and the June war, Iran has been putting prisoners to death at a pace unseen since 1988, when it executed thousands at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights and the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran put the number of people executed in 2025 at over 1,000, noting the number could be higher as Iran does not report on each execution.Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

    DUBAI, Dubai —

    Iran said Monday it hanged a man accused of spying for Israel, the latest as Tehran carries out its largest wave of executions in decades.

    Iran identified the executed man as Bahman Choobiasl, whose case wasn’t immediately known in Iranian media reports or to activists monitoring the death penalty in the Islamic Republic. However, the execution came after Iran vowed to confront its enemies after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program this weekend.

    Video above: Iran confers with European nations on its nuclear program as sanctions deadline nears

    Iran accused Choobiasl of meeting with officials from the Israeli spy agency Mossad. Iran’s Mizan news agency, which is the judiciary’s official mouthpiece, said Choobiasl worked on “sensitive telecommunications projects“ and reported about the “paths of importing electronic devices.”

    Iran is known to have hanged nine people for espionage since its June war with Israel. Israel waged an air war with Iran, killing some 1,100 people, including many military commanders. Iran launched missile barrages targeting Israel in response.

    Earlier this month, Iran executed Babak Shahbazi, who it alleged spied for Israel. Activists disputed that, saying Shahbazi was tortured into a false confession after writing a letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offering to fight for Kyiv.

    Iran has faced multiple nationwide protests in recent years, fueled by anger over the economy, demands for women’s rights and calls for the country’s theocracy to change.

    In response to those protests and the June war, Iran has been putting prisoners to death at a pace unseen since 1988, when it executed thousands at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.

    The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights and the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran put the number of people executed in 2025 at over 1,000, noting the number could be higher as Iran does not report on each execution.

    Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

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  • Some people tape their mouths shut at night. Doctors wish they wouldn’t

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    Having your mouth taped shut is the stuff of nightmares — but some people are doing just that to themselves. And in an attempt to sleep better, no less.Doctors say don’t do it.Some on social media say it’s a hack for getting more and better sleep and to reduce snoring. The claims — which are not backed by science — are taking off on places like TikTok, sometimes pushed by people working for companies selling related products.”The studies behind mouth tape are small, the benefits are modest and the potential risks are there,” said Dr. Kimberly Hutchison, a neurologist and sleep medicine expert at Oregon Health & Science University. Some of those risks include making sleep disorders like sleep apnea worse, or even causing suffocation.It is better to breathe through your nose most of the timeMouth breathing in adults is not a major health problem, but it is better to breath through your nose, experts say. Your nose is a natural filtering system, trapping dust and other allergens before they can get to your lungs.If you’re breathing with your mouth open at night, you could wake up with a dry mouth and irritated throat, which can contribute to bad breath and oral health problems. Mouth breathing is also associated with more snoring.Don’t rush to use mouth tapeBut even though breathing through your nose is better than breathing through your mouth, taping your mouth shut isn’t the best way to fix the issue.There’s no strong evidence it helps improve sleep. A few studies have been conducted, most of which showed little or no impact, but they were so small experts say conclusions should not be drawn from them.And meanwhile, there are the potential dangers to be avoided.Dr. David Schulman, a sleep doctor at Emory University, said there are other things to try, like prescription mouth pieces that can open up your airway, or a CPAP machine. If you’re a smoker or are overweight, for example, quitting smoking and losing weight can help.Mouth breathing could be a sign of something serious — so find outThe safest approach is to figure out why exactly you are breathing with your mouth, because there could be something else going on.You may be breathing through your mouth because you have obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep because of a blocked airway. The disorder is linked to both open mouth breathing and snoring, and is typically treated with a CPAP machine.”The reason sleep apnea can be bad is that any decrease in the quality of sleep can affect you day to day or over the course of your life,” said Dr. Brian Chen, a sleep doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. “Depending on how bad the sleep is, you may just feel sleep deprived or require more sleep.”The best thing to do, Emory’s Shulman says, is get a sleep test, some of which can be done at home. “It’s always better to know than not know,” he said. “And if you know that something’s going on and you choose not to pursue therapy, at least you know you’re making an educated decision.”

    Having your mouth taped shut is the stuff of nightmares — but some people are doing just that to themselves. And in an attempt to sleep better, no less.

    Doctors say don’t do it.

    Some on social media say it’s a hack for getting more and better sleep and to reduce snoring. The claims — which are not backed by science — are taking off on places like TikTok, sometimes pushed by people working for companies selling related products.

    “The studies behind mouth tape are small, the benefits are modest and the potential risks are there,” said Dr. Kimberly Hutchison, a neurologist and sleep medicine expert at Oregon Health & Science University. Some of those risks include making sleep disorders like sleep apnea worse, or even causing suffocation.

    It is better to breathe through your nose most of the time

    Mouth breathing in adults is not a major health problem, but it is better to breath through your nose, experts say. Your nose is a natural filtering system, trapping dust and other allergens before they can get to your lungs.

    If you’re breathing with your mouth open at night, you could wake up with a dry mouth and irritated throat, which can contribute to bad breath and oral health problems. Mouth breathing is also associated with more snoring.

    Don’t rush to use mouth tape

    But even though breathing through your nose is better than breathing through your mouth, taping your mouth shut isn’t the best way to fix the issue.

    There’s no strong evidence it helps improve sleep. A few studies have been conducted, most of which showed little or no impact, but they were so small experts say conclusions should not be drawn from them.

    And meanwhile, there are the potential dangers to be avoided.

    Dr. David Schulman, a sleep doctor at Emory University, said there are other things to try, like prescription mouth pieces that can open up your airway, or a CPAP machine. If you’re a smoker or are overweight, for example, quitting smoking and losing weight can help.

    Mouth breathing could be a sign of something serious — so find out

    The safest approach is to figure out why exactly you are breathing with your mouth, because there could be something else going on.

    You may be breathing through your mouth because you have obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep because of a blocked airway. The disorder is linked to both open mouth breathing and snoring, and is typically treated with a CPAP machine.

    “The reason sleep apnea can be bad is that any decrease in the quality of sleep can affect you day to day or over the course of your life,” said Dr. Brian Chen, a sleep doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. “Depending on how bad the sleep is, you may just feel sleep deprived or require more sleep.”

    The best thing to do, Emory’s Shulman says, is get a sleep test, some of which can be done at home. “It’s always better to know than not know,” he said. “And if you know that something’s going on and you choose not to pursue therapy, at least you know you’re making an educated decision.”

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  • Some people tape their mouths shut at night. Doctors wish they wouldn’t

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    Having your mouth taped shut is the stuff of nightmares — but some people are doing just that to themselves. And in an attempt to sleep better, no less.Doctors say don’t do it.Some on social media say it’s a hack for getting more and better sleep and to reduce snoring. The claims — which are not backed by science — are taking off on places like TikTok, sometimes pushed by people working for companies selling related products.”The studies behind mouth tape are small, the benefits are modest and the potential risks are there,” said Dr. Kimberly Hutchison, a neurologist and sleep medicine expert at Oregon Health & Science University. Some of those risks include making sleep disorders like sleep apnea worse, or even causing suffocation.It is better to breathe through your nose most of the timeMouth breathing in adults is not a major health problem, but it is better to breath through your nose, experts say. Your nose is a natural filtering system, trapping dust and other allergens before they can get to your lungs.If you’re breathing with your mouth open at night, you could wake up with a dry mouth and irritated throat, which can contribute to bad breath and oral health problems. Mouth breathing is also associated with more snoring.Don’t rush to use mouth tapeBut even though breathing through your nose is better than breathing through your mouth, taping your mouth shut isn’t the best way to fix the issue.There’s no strong evidence it helps improve sleep. A few studies have been conducted, most of which showed little or no impact, but they were so small experts say conclusions should not be drawn from them.And meanwhile, there are the potential dangers to be avoided.Dr. David Schulman, a sleep doctor at Emory University, said there are other things to try, like prescription mouth pieces that can open up your airway, or a CPAP machine. If you’re a smoker or are overweight, for example, quitting smoking and losing weight can help.Mouth breathing could be a sign of something serious — so find outThe safest approach is to figure out why exactly you are breathing with your mouth, because there could be something else going on.You may be breathing through your mouth because you have obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep because of a blocked airway. The disorder is linked to both open mouth breathing and snoring, and is typically treated with a CPAP machine.”The reason sleep apnea can be bad is that any decrease in the quality of sleep can affect you day to day or over the course of your life,” said Dr. Brian Chen, a sleep doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. “Depending on how bad the sleep is, you may just feel sleep deprived or require more sleep.”The best thing to do, Emory’s Shulman says, is get a sleep test, some of which can be done at home. “It’s always better to know than not know,” he said. “And if you know that something’s going on and you choose not to pursue therapy, at least you know you’re making an educated decision.”

    Having your mouth taped shut is the stuff of nightmares — but some people are doing just that to themselves. And in an attempt to sleep better, no less.

    Doctors say don’t do it.

    Some on social media say it’s a hack for getting more and better sleep and to reduce snoring. The claims — which are not backed by science — are taking off on places like TikTok, sometimes pushed by people working for companies selling related products.

    “The studies behind mouth tape are small, the benefits are modest and the potential risks are there,” said Dr. Kimberly Hutchison, a neurologist and sleep medicine expert at Oregon Health & Science University. Some of those risks include making sleep disorders like sleep apnea worse, or even causing suffocation.

    It is better to breathe through your nose most of the time

    Mouth breathing in adults is not a major health problem, but it is better to breath through your nose, experts say. Your nose is a natural filtering system, trapping dust and other allergens before they can get to your lungs.

    If you’re breathing with your mouth open at night, you could wake up with a dry mouth and irritated throat, which can contribute to bad breath and oral health problems. Mouth breathing is also associated with more snoring.

    Don’t rush to use mouth tape

    But even though breathing through your nose is better than breathing through your mouth, taping your mouth shut isn’t the best way to fix the issue.

    There’s no strong evidence it helps improve sleep. A few studies have been conducted, most of which showed little or no impact, but they were so small experts say conclusions should not be drawn from them.

    And meanwhile, there are the potential dangers to be avoided.

    Dr. David Schulman, a sleep doctor at Emory University, said there are other things to try, like prescription mouth pieces that can open up your airway, or a CPAP machine. If you’re a smoker or are overweight, for example, quitting smoking and losing weight can help.

    Mouth breathing could be a sign of something serious — so find out

    The safest approach is to figure out why exactly you are breathing with your mouth, because there could be something else going on.

    You may be breathing through your mouth because you have obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep because of a blocked airway. The disorder is linked to both open mouth breathing and snoring, and is typically treated with a CPAP machine.

    “The reason sleep apnea can be bad is that any decrease in the quality of sleep can affect you day to day or over the course of your life,” said Dr. Brian Chen, a sleep doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. “Depending on how bad the sleep is, you may just feel sleep deprived or require more sleep.”

    The best thing to do, Emory’s Shulman says, is get a sleep test, some of which can be done at home. “It’s always better to know than not know,” he said. “And if you know that something’s going on and you choose not to pursue therapy, at least you know you’re making an educated decision.”

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  • Seattle, Portland leaders join state officials in rejecting Trump’s PNW troop deployment

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    WA leaders react to Trump’s troops in Portland, OR

    Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Governor Ferguson and Senator Patty Murray are among a growing number of elected leaders admonishing the deployment of military force to Portland for reasons locals in the Pacific Northwest city say make no sense and are a waste of money.

    PORTLAND, Ore. – President Donald Trump has announced plans to send troops to Portland, Oregon, citing the need to protect ICE facilities and combat Antifa. The announcement, made Saturday, described Portland as “war-ravaged,” and armored vehicles were reportedly seen around the city Friday night.

    Locals in Portland remained confused by the deployment, seen shopping at farmers markets and walking their dogs with people riding Lime bike

    What they’re saying:

    s behind them during interviews in the downtown area hours after Trump’s announcement.

    Oregon’s response to Trump’s deployment of military forces in Portland

    Additionally, Oregon leaders are pushing back against the deployment. Governor Tina Kotek stated she spoke directly with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, warning that deploying troops to the city would be unlawful.

    Truth Social post from President Donald Trump

    Local perspective:

    Residents of Portland expressed confusion and concern over the president’s comments. One resident described the situation as “a little delusional,” suggesting that those making such statements may not have visited the city or understood the local context. 

    Another resident voiced anger, calling the move a political ploy to distract from other issues in the Trump administration and a waste of resources that would upset many Portlanders.

    Portland residents, along with Gov. Kotek, talk about President Trump’s decision to put troops in Portland

    The Trump administration has previously deployed National Guard troops to other cities, including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Memphis, showing no signs of halting these actions.

    Local leaders in the Pacific Northwest are reacting to Trump’s troops

    Washington Governor Bob Ferguson expressed deep concern over the situation in Portland. While he has not heard of similar plans for Washington state, he says his office has been preparing for the possibility for some time now. 

    What they’re saying:

    “The governor is deeply concerned about developments in Portland and is monitoring the situation closely. While we have not received any information indicating there will be mobilization in Washington, the governor and his team have been preparing for such a possibility for some time,” said a spokesperson for the governor’s office. 

    Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell responds to Trump’s comments on Portland and his move to send in troops to the Pacific Northwest city about 200 miles south of Seattle.

    Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell says he has spoken with Portland’s mayor, offering support to the city. Harrell described Trump’s threats as illegal and authoritarian, aimed at silencing free speech and intimidating the American people.

    Washington Senator Patty Murray has called on leaders nationwide to oppose the Trump administration’s actions, urging the president to keep the Northwest out of his plans.

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    To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.

    Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.

    PoliticsWashington State PoliticsBob FergusonBruce HarrellNewsDonald J. Trump

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    Ramsey.Pfeffinger@fox.com (Ramsey Pfeffinger)

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