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The L.A. Fires Expose a Web of Governments, Weak by Design

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12 months ago

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The L.A. Fires Expose a Web of Governments, Weak by Design

When two hijacked jetliners struck the World Trade Center towers in New York City on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani became the face of a city struggling with tragedy, a ubiquitous presence projecting authority, assurance and control. The reputation he forged that day would be tarnished with time, but it became a model for mayors facing crises across the country.

As Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles confronts a city dealing with devastating fires, her performance has raised questions, even among her supporters, about whether she can become the dominant executive leading a city through a crisis that New Yorkers saw more than 23 years ago.

Some of those concerns reflect her relative lack of executive experience — she is a former member of Congress and the California assembly, where she served in the powerful role of speaker. And some of those concerns have to do with the fallout from her absence from the city when the fires broke out.

But the question of who is in charge — of who is playing the role in Los Angeles that Mr. Giuliani did in New York, to use one example — is also testimony to the diffusion and, at times, dysfunction that make up the core DNA of the governance of the greater Los Angeles area. That muddled authority is a sharp, and by design deliberate, contrast with New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and other cities that are dominated by powerful, high-profile mayors.

The city of Los Angeles, with a population of 3.8 million, is one of 88 different cities that make up the county of Los Angeles. That county, with a population of 9.6 million spread across 4,751 square miles stretching inland from the Pacific Ocean, is controlled by a five-person board of supervisors, each one representing 1.9 million people. Each of those supervisors rivals the mayor of Los Angeles in clout as they oversee their own fiefdoms in the nation’s most populous county, even if they are relatively unknown by constituents.

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Within those vast borders, there is a Los Angeles Police Department and a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, as well as an additional 45 police departments protecting, to name a few, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Inglewood and Pasadena. There are dozens of municipal fire departments, including one that serves the city and another that serves the county.

One of the two major fires that devastated this region — the Eaton fire — is not even in the city of Los Angeles; it is in an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County. The response to the Eaton fire was led by the county fire department; the city fire department was at the forefront in fighting the Palisades fire.

All of this is a recipe, analysts said, for rivalry among elected officials and confusion among voters, and a challenge for even the most accomplished elected official trying to grab the mantle of leadership amid what Gray Davis, a former California governor, called “the dispersed and discombobulated nature of our government.”

“As an executive most of my life — controller, lieutenant governor, governor — there’s a time when you need clear accountability, someone who will give orders and accept responsibility whether things work or not,” said Mr. Davis, who served as governor from 1999 to 2003. “The public here seems not to want that on a day-to-day basis. But when there is an emergency, we need that. And we don’t have that system.”

When New Orleans was overrun by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, resulting in devastating damage and hundreds of deaths, the mayor, C. Ray Nagin, stepped forward to lead his city through the crisis, and to raise his national profile. (Mr. Nagin’s reputation, like Mr. Giuliani’s, also faded with time.) At a recent press briefing about the fires in Los Angeles, eight city and county officials lined up to speak. Ms. Bass was just one part of the lineup, talking about the Palisades fire, but so was Kathryn Barger, the increasingly high-profile member of the county board of supervisors whose district includes the Eaton fire.

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“What you have in a city like New York is a fundamentally mayor-oriented system where, even in quiet times, everything flows to the mayor,” said Raphael J. Sonenshein, a longtime expert on Los Angeles politics and government and the executive director of the Haynes Foundation, a Los Angeles civic research organization. “Here it’s a little more of an art to exercise mayoral leadership. The mayor might have strong opinions, but to get problems solved, you have to figure out how to get these governance agencies to work together. It’s very hard to get things done.”

None of this is accidental.

The web of overlapping governments is the product of a reformist system of governance that has evolved over the years, designed to constrain the authority of cities, counties and the people who lead them. Many of the people who settled here over the past century came from the Midwest, and they carry a strong distrust of the powerful mayors and political machines found in cities like Philadelphia, New York and Chicago.

The mayor of Los Angeles does not control the school system, as is the case in some other large cities. Public health falls mostly under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County, forcing the mayor and supervisors to work together on challenges such as homelessness. In the city, there is a police commission that makes the final decisions on hiring and firing police chiefs; Ms. Bass needs the commission to ratify her choice of who should head the department.

The stakes here are high. The fires are diminishing, but rebuilding could end up being as challenging as battling the fires, testing the resources and agility of this teeming catalog of elected officials.

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Eric M. Garcetti, a former mayor, said all these government agencies — notwithstanding any history of rivalry — had appeared to work in tandem as the fires raged. “But for the rebuild, it’ll be absolutely critical for us to act like we’re one city and not a collection of 88 villages,” he said in an interview from India, where he is now the U.S. ambassador.

These structural tensions have long been a source of frustration for Los Angeles mayors. In interviews, two of them — Mr. Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa — said they would support creating a dominant government representing the region, to replace the network of overlapping municipal governments. Mr. Villaraigosa said he supported, for example, remaking Los Angeles along the lines of San Francisco, which is both a county and a city. They both argued the issue had become more urgent with the kind of natural disasters that have come with climate change.

“I don’t think that’s going happen in my lifetime, but it would certainly make things more coherent,” Mr. Garcetti said. For now, he said, mayors have to fall back on the power of persuasion. “Informal power is so critical,” he said. “It is so critical to put together coalitions.”

Mr. Villaraigosa said that, in raising concerns about the structural challenges Los Angeles faces, he was not criticizing Ms. Bass. “I don’t want to join that,” he said. “But when you have all agencies involved — 25 people speaking — it diffuses the leadership model. You have two different bureaucracies trying to work together. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.”

By contrast, unconstrained by jurisdictions, Gov. Gavin Newsom has been an ever-present figure over these past nearly two weeks, walking through smoky ruins as he has talked with firefighters and people who have lost their homes. He expanded a special legislative session to address the Los Angeles wildfires and signed executive orders dealing with response and recovery efforts.

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Ms. Bass has been criticized for being out of the country when the fires erupted — she was in Ghana in West Africa to attend the inauguration of its new president. Upon her return, in a widely circulated clip, Ms. Bass stood silently as a reporter pressed her on why she left amid warnings of dangerous fire weather.

Since her return, she has issued her own executive orders to expedite rebuilding, and she has named a longtime civic leader, Steve Soboroff, to head recovery efforts. But she has also repeatedly defended her performance, saying that she and leaders across the region are working “in lock step” to address the crisis.

“We are actively fighting this fire,” she said at a news conference on the second day of the crisis, adding: “So what we are seeing is the result of eight months of negligible rain and winds that have not been seen in L.A. in at least 14 years. And we have to resist any — any — effort to pull us apart.”

The mayor’s office did not immediately return a request for comment on Saturday.

Even before the fire, there was movement to repair the system. In November, county voters endorsed the biggest change in its government in a century — including the establishment of a new person to lead the county of Los Angeles, an elected county executive who will be chosen in the 2028 election.

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“They will be the most powerful elected official in the United States,” said Fernando Guerra, the head of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. “They will represent 10 million people. They will have a lot of power. Most important, they are going to steal the thunder and the pulpit from the mayor of Los Angeles. It’s going to be as centralized as New York is now.”

It’s difficult to say what role a county executive might have played in directing the government’s response to the fires, a duty typically overseen by the fire departments themselves. But officials said that what the region needed, in addition to the fire and police officials who directed the response, was a political leader displaying moral authority and leadership, with the platform to speak across the expanse of a county whose population is larger than that of most states.

“People want to see their elected official — they want to see who is in charge,” said Zev Yaroslavky, who spent 20 years as a member of the Los Angeles City Council and 20 years as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. “In this particular case, the fact is you had two different big fires: one in the city of Los Angeles and one in the unincorporated area of the county. Who is in charge?”

Shawn Hubler contributed reporting.

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GOP gearing up to face tough midterms. And, Pentagon reviews women in ground combat

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3 hours ago

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January 7, 2026

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GOP gearing up to face tough midterms. And, Pentagon reviews women in ground combat

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

President Trump continues to suggest that the U.S. will have a lengthy and active role in Venezuela after capturing the ousted president Nicolás Maduro. Trump has proposed several plans for Venezuela’s future government and economy. In those proposals, U.S. companies are expected to play a key role.

President Trump dances as he departs after speaking during a House Republican retreat at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. House Republicans will discuss their 2026 legislative agenda at the meeting.

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  • 🎧 Trump and his aides are unclear about the future of Venezuela, NPR’s Franco Ordoñez tells Up First. When the president says the U.S. will run the country, many eyes are on Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller, known for his stringent immigration policies, is one of the U.S. officials overseeing Venezuela. Ordoñez also says Miller has more recently described ruling over the hemisphere by force.
  • ➡️ Last night, Trump posted on social media that Venezuela will turn over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S. While seizing current oil production is one thing, overhauling Venezuela’s oil industry requires a far greater effort. Here’s why.

While meeting with House Republicans yesterday, Trump attempted to offer his party a roadmap to victory in this year’s midterm elections. The president acknowledged the possibility of his party losing the majority in the House this year. Trump said in his speech that the president’s party often loses the midterms.

  • 🎧 NPR’s Domenico Montanaro says that while it’s true the midterms are hard on the president’s party, it is even worse when a president’s approval rating is below 50%. Trump is facing his lowest second-term approval ratings, largely due to the rising cost of living. During yesterday’s speech, the president didn’t offer much on the topic. When he did discuss the economy, it was about how the stock market is at historic highs. He also touted his tariffs, which have actively raised prices on many things. People have informed pollsters for months that they believe the president’s policies have harmed the economy. Montanaro says one area where Trump and Republicans could take action is legislation on health care.

The Pentagon is preparing a six-month review to evaluate what it calls the military “effectiveness” of women serving in ground combat roles. Undersecretary Anthony Tata requested that the Army and Marine Corps submit data on the readiness, training, performance, casualties and command climate of ground combat units and personnel by Jan. 15. The effort aims to determine how gender integration has influenced operational success over the last decade.

Special series

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Trump has tried to bury the truth of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. NPR built a visual archive of the attack on the Capitol, showing exactly what happened through the lenses of the people who were there. “Chapter 3: Assault on the Capitol,” lays out the timeline of key moments throughout the day as the riot unfolded.

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On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Trump held a “Save America” rally at the Ellipse, a site near the White House and U.S. Capitol. Multiple speakers promoted voter fraud myths and urged Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election. Meanwhile, a group of 200 Proud Boys marched toward the Capitol. Before Trump’s speech ended, violence erupted on Capitol grounds. The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol “was the most videotaped crime in American history, if not world history,” according to Greg Rosen, a former federal prosecutor who led the Justice Department unit that investigated the riot. But conspiracy theories still falsely label the assault a “normal tourist visit.” NPR’s review of thousands of court videos shows rioters assaulting officers with weapons, calling for executions and looting the building. These videos show the exact timing of events as they occurred. Corresponding maps show the locations where the conflict took place.

To learn more, explore NPR’s database of federal criminal cases from Jan. 6. You can also see more of NPR’s reporting on the topic.

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The tin soldier, a marionette puppet made by Nicolas Coppola and the main character in "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" show at Puppetworks.

The tin soldier, a marionette puppet made by Nicolas Coppola and the main character in “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” show at Puppetworks.

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For more than 30 years, Puppetworks has staged classics like The Tortoise and the Hare, Pinocchio, Aladdin and more in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood. Every weekend, children gather on foam mats and colored blocks to watch wooden renditions of the shows. The company’s founder and artistic director, 90-year-old Nicolas Coppola, has been a professional puppeteer since 1954. The theater has puppets of all types, including marionettes, swing, hand, and rod. They transport attendees back to the 1980s, when most of these puppets were made. Over the years, Coppola has updated the show’s repertoire to better meet the cultural moment. Step inside his world with these images.

3 things to know before you go

An overhead view of Ascot Hills Park in Los Angeles, CA. A 10,000 square foot patch of green stands out against a dirt path and brown weeds.

This tiny forest in Los Angeles, CA is one of many micro-forests around the world offering green space and contributing to local biodiversity.

Demian Willette/Loyola Marymount University

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  1. Scientists are establishing micro-forests in big cities to boost biodiversity and rejuvenate compromised land. Short Wave producer Rachel Carlson visited California’s largest micro-forest. Tune in to hear her account of the experience.
  2. The Hungarian arthouse director Béla Tarr has died at 70. He’s best known for his bleak, existential, and challenging films, including Sátántangó.
  3. While we often associate serendipity with luck or happy accidents, its origin suggests it’s more than just happenstance. This week, NPR’s Word of the Week explores the historical impact of serendipity and offers tips on how to cultivate it.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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Amazon accused of listing products from independent shops without permission

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15 hours ago

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January 7, 2026

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Amazon accused of listing products from independent shops without permission

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Amazon has been accused of listing products from independent retailers without their consent, even as the ecommerce giant sues start-up Perplexity over its AI software shopping without permission.

The $2.5tn online retailer has listed some independent shops’ full inventory on its platform without seeking permission, four business owners told the Financial Times, enabling customers to shop through Amazon rather than buy directly.

Two independent retailers told the FT that they had also received orders for products that were either out of stock or were mispriced and mislabelled by Amazon leading to customer complaints.

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“Nobody opted into this,” said Angie Chua, owner of Bobo Design Studio, a stationery store based in Los Angeles.

Tech companies are experimenting with artificial intelligence “agents” that can perform tasks like shopping autonomously based on user instructions.

Amazon has blocked agents from Anthropic, Google, OpenAI and a host of other AI start-ups from its website.

It filed a lawsuit in November against Perplexity, whose Comet browser was making purchases on Amazon on behalf of users, alleging that the company’s actions risked undermining user privacy and violated its terms of service.

In its complaint, Amazon said Perplexity had taken steps “without prior notice to Amazon and without authorisation” and that it degraded a customer shopping experience it had invested in over several decades.

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Perplexity in a statement at the time said that the lawsuit was a “bully tactic” aimed at scaring “disruptive companies like Perplexity” from improving customers’ experience.

The recent complaints against Amazon relate to its “Buy for Me” function, launched last April, which lets some customers purchase items that are not listed with Amazon but on other retailers’ sites.

Retailers said Amazon did not seek their permission before sending them orders that were placed on the ecommerce site. They do not receive the user’s email address or other information that might be helpful for generating future sales, several sellers told the FT.

“We consciously avoid Amazon because our business is rooted in community and building a relationship with customers,” Chua said. “I don’t know who these customers are.”

Several of the independent retailers said Amazon’s move had led to poor experiences for customers, or hurt their business.

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Sarah Hitchcock Burzio, the owner of Hitchcock Paper Co. in Virginia, said that Amazon had mislabelled items leading to a surge in orders as customers believed they were receiving more expensive versions of a product at a much lower price.

“There were no guardrails set up so when there were issues there was nobody I could go to,” she said.

Product returns and complaints for the “Buy for Me” function are handled by sellers rather than Amazon, even when errors are produced by the Seattle-based group.

Amazon enables sellers to opt out of the service by contacting the company on a specific email address.

Amazon said: “Shop Direct and Buy for Me are programmes we’re testing that help customers discover brands and products not currently sold in Amazon’s store, while helping businesses reach new customers and drive incremental sales.

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“We have received positive feedback on these programmes. Businesses can opt out at any time.”

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Trump says Venezuela will turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to US | CNN Business

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15 hours ago

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January 6, 2026

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Trump says Venezuela will turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to US | CNN Business

President Donald Trump said Tuesday night that Venezuela will turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, to be sold at market value and with the proceeds controlled by the US.

Interim authorities in Venezuela will turn over “sanctioned oil” Trump said on Truth Social.

The US will use the proceeds “to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” he wrote.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been directed to “execute this plan, immediately,” and the barrels “will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for more information.

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A senior administration official, speaking under condition of anonymity, told CNN that the oil has already been produced and put in barrels. The majority of it is currently on boats and will now go to US facilities in the Gulf to be refined.

Although 30 to 50 million barrels of oil sounds like a lot, the United States consumed just over 20 million barrels of oil per day over the past month.

That amount may lower oil prices a bit, but it probably won’t lower Americans’ gas prices that much: Former President Joe Biden released about four to six times as much — 180 million barrels of oil — from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022, which lowered gas prices by only between 13 cents and 31 cents a gallon over the course of four months, according to a Treasury Department analysis.

US oil fell about $1 a barrel, or just under 2%, to $56, immediately after Trump made his announcement on Truth Social.

Selling up to 50 million barrels could raise quite a bit of revenue: Venezuelan oil is currently trading at $55 per barrel, so if the United States can find buyers willing to pay market price, it could raise between $1.65 billion and $2.75 billion from the sale.

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Venezuela has built up significant stockpiles of crude over since the United States began its oil embargo late last year. But handing over that much oil to the United States may deplete Venezuela’s own oil reserves.

The oil is almost certainly coming from both its onshore storage and some of the seized tankers that were transporting oil: The country has about 48 million barrels of storage capacity and was nearly full, according to Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group. The tankers were transporting about 15 million to 22 million barrels of oil, according to industry estimates.

It’s unclear over what time period Venezuela will hand over the oil to the United States.

The senior administration official said the transfer would happen quickly because Venezuela’s crude is very heavy, which means it can’t be stored for long.

But crude does not go bad if it is not refined in a certain amount of time, said Andrew Lipow, the president of Lipow Oil Associates, in a note. “It has sat underground for hundreds of millions of years. In fact, much of the oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been around for decades,” he wrote.

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