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Rep. Chu leads tour of Eaton Fire destruction: 'We as Californians have each other’s backs'

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Rep. Chu leads tour of Eaton Fire destruction: 'We as Californians have each other’s backs'

Members of Congress from California on Saturday toured the ruins in Altadena and northern Pasadena caused by the still raging Eaton Fire.

Rep. Judy Chu, whose congressional district includes the communities most impacted by the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County, led Members of Congress from California on a tour of destroyed neighborhoods and streets.

The Eaton Fire expanded to more than 14,100 acres with 15% containment, Cal Fire reported Saturday night. About 7,000 structures have been scorched.

The burned out shell of Altadena Community Church in Altadena, Calif., after being ravaged by wildfire.  (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

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“I was so grateful to my colleagues in Congress from California who were able to drop everything and demonstrate to Los Angeles County and the entire nation that we as Californians have each other’s backs,” Chu wrote in a statement released after the tour. 

The Pasadena Police Department and City of Pasadena officials spoke with the members about ongoing fire containment and disaster relief efforts.

The burned out shell of Altadena Community Church in Altadena, Calif., after being ravaged by the Eaton Fire this week.  (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

“Pasadena officials imparted on my colleagues how difficult the rebuilding process will be and the massive support they need from the federal government to be successful,” Chu wrote. “They also highlighted how many Black families, who found refuge from segregation and redlining in Altadena and parts of Pasadena, have lost all the generational wealth they successfully built up. My colleagues then witnessed streets, neighborhoods, and community institutions entirely razed to the ground.”

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Estimates of damage and economic loss on Thursday increased to $135 billion, according to AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact.

Chu said she looks forward to working with her colleagues to secure disaster relief funding necessary for recovery and rebuilding. 

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She added she will push for legislation “to prevent disasters like this from occurring again.”

The burned out shell of Altadena Community Church in Altadena, Calif., after being ravaged by wildfire.  (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

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“Across every level of government, partnership is absolutely essential to successfully respond to natural disasters and deliver immediate and long-term relief to those who’ve lost loved ones or returned to their home or business to find nothing left,” Chu wrote. “The victims of the fires in Southern California will rely on Congress to pass – on a bipartisan basis – emergency disaster appropriations to support a long recovery. … We have a long road in front of us, but like in any other part of America, Californians deserve disaster relief that will give us the ability to rebuild.”

The Members of Congress in attendance included: House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33); House Financial Services Ranking Member Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-43); Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-38); Rep. Norma Torres (CA-35); Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34); Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37); and Rep. Luz Rivas (CA-29).

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West

LA deputies caught on camera racing into foggy ocean to rescue disoriented paragliders

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LA deputies caught on camera racing into foggy ocean to rescue disoriented paragliders

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Two Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies were caught on camera rescuing two paragliders from drowning on Friday after they fell in the fog-covered ocean near Malibu.

Bodycan footage from one of the deputies showed them racing into action after responding to a call of two victims in distress, with authorities yelling to the paragliders to “Hang on!”

“Without hesitation and fully aware of the danger, LA County Sheriff’s Department Deputies Matkin and Grigoryan removed their department-issued gear and jumped in the water,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. 

The deputies swam out roughly 75 feet to a man and woman whose feet had become entangled in their heavy safety equipment that was pulling them down, which the deputies were able to cut off with their knives. 

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Two Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies rescued two paragliders from drowning on Friday after they fell in the ocean near Malibu, Calif. (FOX 11)

Deputy Christopher Matkin called the rescue “tense,” explaining that the frantic paragliders kept pulling them under in their panic.

“We were able to calm them down,” he added at a press conference.

Deputy Sevak Grigoryan said that they didn’t have much time to think.

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LA County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Sevak Grigoryan discusses the rescue he and a fellow officer made off a beach in Malibu. (FOX 11)

NYPD OFFICER LEAPS INTO FREEZING RIVER TO SAVE TEENAGE GIRL FROM DROWNING

“It was just, ‘We gotta act and we gotta to act now,” he said. 

The department said the paragliders’ ill-fated trip likely happened as they descended and ran into the ocean’s fog bank.

“And that’s where it appears they became disoriented and crashed into the ocean,” a third deputy said.

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Deputy Christopher Matkin called the rescue “tense.”  (FOX 11)

Both paragliders are expected to fully recover.

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“This rescue demonstrates the courage, quick thinking, and selfless dedication of LASD deputies, who routinely place themselves in harm’s way to protect and save lives,” the department said. 

“Deputies Matkin and Grigoryan’s decisive actions under dangerous conditions exemplify the Sheriff’s Department’s commitment to public safety and service to the community.” 

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San Francisco, CA

Power outage affects 20,000 households in San Francisco

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Power outage affects 20,000 households in San Francisco


A large power outage left almost 40,000 PG&E customers without electricity in San Francisco Saturday, according to the company.

The PG&E Outage Center first reported the outage was affecting 24,842 customers, but a few minutes later, PG&E told NBC Bay Area the outage was affecting 39,520 households in the areas of Richmond, Sunset, Presidio, Golden Gate Park and parts of downtown.

Officials warned traffic lights in these areas might be impacted and advise that if the traffic signal has gone dark, to treat it as a four-way stop.

According to the website, the outage was first reported at 10:10 a.m. and is expected to be restored at around 3:40 p.m., but PG&E told NBC Bay Area the outage started at around 1:10 p.m. and the estimated time of restoration is unknown.

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This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes available. Stay tuned for updates.



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Denver, CO

Sacrificing Convenience for Safety Is the Right Thing to Do

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Sacrificing Convenience for Safety Is the Right Thing to Do


Are bicyclists safe on the streerts of Denver?

Lauren Antonoff

More than halfway into his first term, Mayor Mike Johnston finally met with his own Bicycle Advisory Committee and reiterated a familiar promise: Denver can increase road safety without taking any convenience away from drivers. “We want this to be a city where it is safe and easy to get around by bike or by foot,” Johnston told Westword after the meeting. “We want to build infrastructure and a culture that makes that easier, and we think we can do that without making it more difficult for drivers.”

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The mayor is wrong. If Denver is serious about making our streets safer for everyone — people driving as well as people walking, biking, rolling or taking transit — then we have to be honest about what that requires. Real safety improvements will sometimes mean slowing cars down, reallocating space or asking drivers to take a slightly longer route. In other words, we must be willing to trade a bit of convenience for a lot of safety.

We already make this trade-off all the time. Parking in front of the fire hydrant across from my house would be extremely convenient, but I don’t do it because it would put my neighbors at risk if a fire broke out. I don’t enjoy going through security screening every time I attend a Denver City Council meeting, but I accept it because it keeps a critical public forum safe. These small inconveniences are simply part of living in a community where everyone’s well-being matters.

So why is the idea of asking drivers to accept minimal inconvenience — a few extra minutes, a block or two of walking from their parking spot to their final destination — treated as politically impossible, even when it could prevent deaths and life-altering injuries?

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Denver committed to Vision Zero nearly a decade ago, pledging to eliminate traffic fatalities. Yet year after year, the death toll remains stubbornly high, topping eighty lives lost annually since the pandemic. The reason is not mysterious: City leaders have consistently prioritized driver convenience over safety, even as people continue to die on our streets.

For generations, Denver’s street designs have catered not just to driving, but to driving dangerously. The majority of streets on the city’s High Injury Network — just 5 percent of streets where half of all traffic deaths occur — are major arterials like Colfax, Federal, Colorado, Speer and Alameda. These corridors are engineered to move as many vehicles as quickly as possible. People walking and biking are left to navigate speeding traffic with minimal protection, crossing up to eight lanes just to reach the other side.

We know what works. The data is unequivocal: On streets like these, the most effective safety improvements reduce the space available for fast-moving vehicles. Road diets, narrower lanes, shorter crossings and dedicated space for sidewalks, bike lanes and bus lanes all make streets safer for everyone — including drivers — by bringing speeds down to survivable levels.

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And yet, Mayor Johnston’s recent decision to abandon the planned road diet on Alameda Avenue is only the latest example of the city retreating from proven safety measures because they might inconvenience drivers. The city noted that its revised plan for Alameda would save drivers an extra sixty seconds of driving time, compared to the original road diet.

The mayor must confront a hard truth: We cannot keep people safe without changing the status quo, and the status quo is built on prioritizing speed and convenience over human life. Denver cannot have it both ways.

So the real question for Mayor Johnston is this: How many lives is Denver willing to sacrifice to preserve driver convenience?

So far in 2025, we have lost 87 people — and counting.

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