U.S. Briefs: Amid California blaze, a political firestorm

As massive fires in the Los Angeles area burned through neighborhoods in early January, leaving behind an estimated $135 billion in wreckage, a new political firestorm erupted over failures among local and state leaders. Residents criticized LA Mayor Karen Bass for traveling to Africa even as weather forecasts predicted extreme fire conditions. With Bass away, her office issued its first warning of fire risk on Jan. 7, after the first blaze in Pacific Palisades had broken out. Multiple blazes killed at least 25 people and destroyed more than 12,000 homes and other structures in the nation’s second-largest city. Water tanks and fire hydrants ran dry as demand surged, fueling widespread criticism of local and state responses. Incoming President Donald Trump cast blame on Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom over his water policies and forest management. Newsom, who has attempted to balance climate change advocacy with disaster management, tried to dodge critics, including one furious LA mother who confronted him on the street. “Please tell me what you’re going to do,” Rachel Darvish pleaded. “I’m literally talking to the president right now to specifically answer the question of what we can do for you,” Newsom said. —Mary Jackson

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and World Atlas

Missouri

Members of the Rolla, Mo., City Council braved an icy cold front on Jan. 6 to consider a proposed ordinance that would allow citizens to sue individuals or entities that assist women in accessing abortion drugs. A state abortion ban went into effect after 2022’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, but in November state voters enshrined a right to abortion in the Missouri Constitution. Rolla’s ordinance would draw on the 1873 federal Comstock Act, which prohibits sending “obscene or crime inciting” materials through the mail, including articles “intended for producing abortion.” The Rolla bill would not target women seeking the drugs, only the entities that provide them. Alderman Josh Vrom withdrew the proposal after fellow council members warned it would invite costly litigation, but he planned to reintroduce it in the coming weeks. —Addie Offereins

Illinois

State lawmakers have some advice for Illinois students embarking on the new semester: Just relax. Starting in January, they’re encouraging—but not mandating—school districts provide students at least 20 minutes of purposeful relaxation each week. Schools across the country are sliding into their schedules activities like yoga, walking, stretching, in-person conversation, and meditation. The move may come in response to a 2023 study showing more than a third of students are affected by feelings of sadness and hopelessness. But opponents of Illinois’ new measure say adding 20 minutes of relaxation won’t solve mental health problems and distracts from reading, writing, and arithmetic. “I think we need to focus on education,” said state Rep. Daniel Swanson. —Kim Henderson

Chon Kit Leong / Alamy

Oklahoma

A U.S. Department of Justice report released Jan. 3 determined that Oklahoma City Police Department officers routinely engage in conduct that discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities. Federal investigators accused the city of responding to mental health crises with armed officers instead of behavioral healthcare professionals. That practice, they said, often leads to the needless use of force. The DOJ also said the state and Oklahoma County had unnecessarily institutionalized adults with behavioral disabilities and failed to provide preventive ­services. Oklahoma and Oklahoma City must reach an ­agreement with the agency about implementing reforms, otherwise the federal government can sue the city for failing to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The DOJ launched its investigation in 2022. Since 2021, it has launched 12 similar investigations into local law enforcement agencies, and, of those it has concluded, all have uncovered patterns of illegal policing. The agency rushed to wrap up its appraisals before the new Trump administration took office. —Addie Offereins

Montana

Media outlets and an environmental nonprofit asked a state district court judge in Great Falls on Jan. 3 to overturn the Montana Legislature’s decision not to release correspondence related to draft legislation. In September, legislative staff members ended a 30-year practice of releasing information compiled while bills are drafted after a Montana judge ruled in July that a Republican senator from Kalispell could withhold documents in a redistricting lawsuit. These so-called “junque files” typically indicate who initiated the bill and include drafts of bills and correspondence between legislators and legislative staffers, lobbyists, and other interested parties. Legislative staffers began releasing the files in 1995 after a court ruling expanded the right to examine documents. The Legislature’s legal services director applied the July decision broadly, however, and said legislators’ privileged immunity is equally important. The state argues the files contain thought processes that should be protected communication, while the plaintiffs say releasing the information benefits the public. —Todd Vician

Kyle Mazza / Sopa Images / SIPA USA via AP

New Jersey

After receiving more than 400 discrimination-­related complaints within a year, Rutgers University settled a federal investigation by agreeing to provide harassment training for faculty and staff members. The agreement, confirmed Jan. 2, came after a review of three official Title VI complaints and 293 accounts of anti-Semitism, including a report of a swastika drawn on a student’s dorm room door. Among the 147 other accounts were reports of Palestinian flags and flyers being removed from around campus. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. Department of Education has opened dozens of Title VI investigations regarding “shared ancestry” discrimination. While some investigations have involved fines, Rutgers will have to issue a statement denouncing discrimination and conduct “listening sessions” to “identify any needed additional university responses.” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway last September announced he would resign at the end of this school year. —Bekah McCallum

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and World Atlas