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LA fires are still raging, but forecasters expect calmer winds in the coming days

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LA fires are still raging, but forecasters expect calmer winds in the coming days

An urban search and rescue team from Mexico combs through the ruins of a beachfront house searching for victims in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in Malibu, Calif., on Tuesday.

Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images


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This is a developing story. For the latest local updates head to LAist.com and sign up for breaking news alerts.

Another day of fierce winds gusting to 65 mph in mountainous areas of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties in Southern California was expected on Wednesday, but weather more conducive to firefighting operations is expected soon.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued another red flag warning for the area until 3 p.m. PST, cautioning of more of the windy and dry conditions that have fed raging fires for more than a week. The strong Santa Ana winds have helped push the deadly blazes through the Los Angeles suburbs, killing at least 25 people and leveling expensive real estate in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

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All told, the fires have engulfed more than 40,000 acres (more than 62 square miles), according to Cal Fire.

“The good news is that for the last two days we’ve had no increase in acreage at the Eaton Fire and it remains estimated at 14,117 acres with 35% containment,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said of one of the largest fires. 

The Palisades fire, which spans more than 23,000 acres, is just 19% contained, according to Cal Fire.

On Tuesday, meteorologists initially called for particularly strong winds that turned out to be lighter that expected, according to NPR member station LAist.

But a reprieve in the high winds was expected from Thursday into Saturday. NWS meteorologist Ryan Kittell noted that the service is worried about “one last [wind] enhancement” through Wednesday and that peak winds would be highest in Ventura County.

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Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had difficulty describing the devastation that has befallen her city.

“The massive, massive destruction. Is unimaginable until you actually see it,” Bass said. Even so, she said, it was time “to begin to think about how we rebuild.”

Since the fires broke out last week, responders from across the U.S., Canada and Mexico have come to the aid of Southern California. “Yesterday, I also had the opportunity to meet with our international partners from Mexico to express our heartfelt gratitude for their assistance. The outpouring of support from both near and far, I tell you, is absolutely remarkable,” LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.

Of the 25 dead, 17 were killed in the Eaton Fire and eight in the Palisades Fire, LAist says. Officials said of the 13 still listed as missing, two bodies had been recovered but not yet positively identified.

More than 55,000 customers were without power on Wednesday in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to PowerOutage.us.

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How to help and stay safe

Resources to help stay safe:

➡️ With fire danger still high, authorities implore you to follow evacuation orders

➡️ What to do — and not do — when you get home after a fire evacuation

➡️ Is smoke in your home? Here’s how to make an air purifier from a box fan

➡️Trying to stay safe in a wildfire? There’s an app that can help

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Ways to support the response and recovery:

➡️ Want to help fire victims? Here’s what experts say does the most good and places seeking volunteers

➡️ Wildfire donations and volunteering: How and where to help

➡️ Share: These are the steps fire victims need to take to make an insurance claim

The California Newsroom is following the extreme weather from across the region. Click through to LAist’s coverage for the latest.

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Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’

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Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’

Donald Trump has terminated the remaining members of the independent, federal commission that assists election administration officials nationwide just a few months before the midterm elections, multiple outlets reported Thursday.

The remaining three commissioners of the four-member bipartisan commission ⁠were forced out on Thursday in different ways. The one Republican appointee resigned and the other ⁠two, Democratic appointees were notified of their terminations via email from ​the White House presidential personnel office.

“On ‌behalf of President ‌Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position ‌as Commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the email, seen by Reuters, said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Election Assistance Commission serves as a “national clearinghouse of information on election ‌administration”, accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, and maintains the national mail-voter registration form developed by the National ​Voter Registration Act of 1993, according to the commission’s website. The terminations follow Trump and top administration officials’ advocacy to change vote-by-mail requirements and investigations into the 2020 election outcome, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

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“It is ⁠irresponsible and dangerous that this Administration remains dead set on ​causing chaos for ​our election officials across this ​country,” Arizona secretary of state Adrian Fontes said in a ​Thursday statement. “This ‌move undermines the integrity ​of nonpartisan ​election administration.”

The 2002 law that established the commission, the Help America Vote Act, states the president can appoint replacements to the commission.

It is unclear how Trump will move ahead with the commission.

Reuters contributed reporting

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges

Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn (left) walks with his attorney Norman Eisen to speak to reporters and protesters gathered after his arraignment at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

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Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty to damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in D.C. Superior Court Thursday morning.

Federal prosecutors charged Hearn with a single count of destruction of property causing more than $1,000 in damage to the pool.

Hearn has previously claimed, which his attorneys repeated during a short press conference outside the court, that he simply touched the water in the pool out of curiosity.

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The Trump administration had just completed a $14 million renovation of the pool.

But shortly after the work finished, peeling paint and algae gathered in the water. The remodel has been largely criticized as a massive failure and waste of taxpayer dollars.

Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean released Hearn on his own recognizance. His next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 5.

Norm Eisen, one of Hearn’s attorneys, spoke to reporters outside of court following the hearing. He said the administration is using Hearn as a “scapegoat … for their own failures.”

“It is not a crime to touch the reflecting pool, to touch water in the United States of America,” he said.

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Prosecutors say there is a host of evidence against Hearn.

This is a developing story.

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics

Three more people have been criminally charged with destruction of property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Officers say they detained Cameron Thiers, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Justin Carreno one Saturday afternoon in June and described in court documents witnessing them peeling and removing pieces of blue paint from the Reflecting Pool.

One officer “witnessed Carreno reach down into the reflecting pool and pull up a piece of the blue paint,” according to the court documents.

The officer who detained Dennison-Gibby “found 1 additional piece of the reflecting pool liner” in her purse, the documents said.

All three incidents were recorded on the officers’ body worn cameras, they said in the court documents.

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Several “partnering law enforcement agencies assigned to the Reflecting Pool” working with US Park Police were involved in detaining the two men and one woman — including officers from Texas, Oklahoma, Montana and California.

One of the officers said in court documents that Thiers “admitted to removing a piece of blue sealant from the Reflecting Pool and still had it in his hand when I made contact with him.”

The three defendants were arraigned in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges of destruction of property with a value less than $1,000. The judge ordered them to stay away from the Reflecting Pool.

Lawyers for Thiers and Dennison-Gibby declined to comment. CNN has reached out to Carreno’s attorney.

If found guilty of destruction of property, the defendants could be fined up to $1,000 and face a maximum of 180 days behind bars.

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The New York Times first reported that three additional people had been charged with damaging the Reflecting Pool.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that vandals caused major damage to the pool by gashing the lining after his administration spent more than $14 million on renovations, though he has not provided evidence to support that claim. The officers who charged Carreno, Thiers and Dennison-Gibby did not accuse them of gashing the lining.

Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, DC, last week for allegedly damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn — unlike Carreno, Thiers and Dennison-Gibby – was charged with destruction of property with a value of more than $1,000 which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, if convicted. He is set to be arraigned in court Thursday.

Crews began draining the Reflecting Pool over the weekend to make repairs, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months.

The move comes after weeks of problems – algae blooms, green-hued water, a chipping bottom and the administration’s allegations of vandalism – that have plagued the iconic landmark, making its woes the subject of national interest.

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