Prince Harry, Meghan Markle visit Southern California to support wildfire victims, recovery efforts

January 11, 2025

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are working to support Southern California wildfire victims and relief efforts, as the wildfires continue to sweep through the region.

The couple made their second visit to Pasadena on Friday, when they met with Mayor Victor Gordo about ongoing recovery efforts, Fox 11 reported.

Earlier this week, the pair anonymously delivered food to families displaced by the fires, according to the outlet.

SINGLE MOM WHO LOST EVERYTHING IN EATON FIRE HAILED ALTADENA’S ‘TENACITY’ AND ‘SPIRIT’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are working to support Southern California wildfire victims and relief efforts. (Juancho Torres/Anadolu)

“In the last few days, wildfires in Southern California have raged through neighborhoods and devastated families, homes, schools, medical care centers, and so much more – affecting tens of thousands from all walks of life. A state of emergency has been issued,” the pair wrote on their website Thursday, describing the situation in Southern California.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also provided a list of organizations actively helping wildfire victims.

These organizations on their website include World Central Kitchen, which is providing meals for first responders and people displaced by the fires; Animal Wellness Foundation, which is housing and caring for evacuated animals; Compton Cowboys, which is providing emergency transportation services for horses, and Airbnb and 211LA, which have joined forces to offer free temporary housing to people who have been displaced.

Burned structures lie in ruins in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, as smoke from the Palisades Fire rises in the background, in Los Angeles, California, January 10, 2025. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Harry and Meghan also listed Baby2Baby, which is distributing emergency kits and essential supplies like diapers, clothes and hygiene products to families in need; All Power Books, which is staying open offering supplies and water for pickup while working to distribute essentials to people affected by the fires, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which are working to support firefighters who are battling the fires and attempting to save homes, families and communities affected by the fires.

The couple also encouraged others to help victims if they can, including by housing evacuees, checking on elderly or disabled neighbors to see if they need help evacuating and donating items like clothing and toys.

LA FIRE CHIEF SAYS CITY FAILED RESIDENTS IN WILDFIRE PREP, BUDGET CUTS

Aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles

Paula Tapia hugs Katja Schmolka, who lost her home in the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, in Los Angeles, California, January 10, 2025. (REUTERS/David Ryder)

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“Some families and people have been left with nothing,” the pair wrote on their website. “Please consider donating clothing, children’s toys & clothing, and other essentials.”

They noted that the American Red Cross is on the ground providing assistance to those in need.

Ohio State’s late scoop-and-score catapults Buckeyes to national championship over Texas

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January 11, 2025

Whatever Ryan Day said to his team after losing to Michigan obviously worked.

After calls to fire their head coach after Thanksgiving because of their fourth straight loss to the Wolverines – and this one easily the worst – the Buckeyes are off to the national championship after Friday night’s 28-14 Cotton Bowl Classic win over Texas.

After Ohio State took a 21-14 lead with 7:02 to go (on a drive that included a huge 4th down conversion), Texas got down the field quickly in response, largely in part to a 34-yard catch by Gunnar Helm. After back-to-back defensive pass interferences in the end zone, the Longhorns had a fresh set of downs at the goal line. It was a matter of time before the game was tied, but then, a nightmare occurred for Texas.

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Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) celebrates after a play during the first quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. (Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)

After getting stuffed on first down, Quintrevion Wisner lost seven yards on a second-down toss, putting Texas in trouble. The third down pass fell incomplete, and on fourth down, Ewers lost a fumble that was forced, and picked up, by Jack Sawyer, who took it 82 yards the other way for a touchdown.

In what seemed to be like another overtime game for the Longhorns, their season flashed before their eyes with the snap of a finger. In hopes of a miracle, Ewers threw a pick on their next drive, and just like that, it was all over.

The Buckeyes got on the board first, scoring a touchdown right after stopping Texas on 4th down. The Longhorns offense was stalled throughout the first half, but they tied the game with 29 seconds left in the half, and were ready to go into the locker room with the game knotted at seven.

Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) scores a touchdown on a 75-yard touchdown catch and run against Texas Longhorns in the second quarter of the Cotton Bowl Classic during the College Football Playoff semifinal game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January, 10, 2025. (Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Ohio State, though, was not. Right after a touchback, Will Howard dumped a pass off to TreVeyon Henderson, who got some blocks up front and scampered 75 yards to the house, giving the Buckeyes a 14-7 lead into the locker room. It’s rather easy to point at the two plays that cost Texas their season, with hindsight being 20/20.

Both teams exchanged punts for most of the third quarter, but with just over three minutes to go, Ewers found Jaydon Blue for their second touchdown connection of the night, tying the game. But then came the Buckeyes score to make it 21-14.

Prior to the game, it was revealed the Ewers said he expected to be playing in the NFL next season, so it will be interesting to see if his plans change.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end JT Tuimoloau (44) celebrates a sack of Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) in the first quarter of the Cotton Bowl Classic during the College Football Playoff semifinal game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January, 10, 2025. (Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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Now, it’ll be the eighth-seeded Buckeyes against No. 7 Notre Dame on Jan. 20 – score one for the expanded playoff.

Just like Ohio State, the Fighting Irish suffered an embarrassing loss of their own this season, dropping a contest at home to Northern Illinois back in September. But, it’s been 13 straight wins since then.

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The Fight Over Lee Kuan Yew’s House

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January 11, 2025

The bungalow was built for a Dutch trader in colonial times, but it has become part of modern Singaporean lore. It was where Lee Kuan Yew lived for decades, where he started his political party and where he began building Singapore into one of the richest countries in the world.

Mr. Lee had said that he wanted the house to be demolished after he died rather than preserved as a museum, with the public “trampling” through his private quarters.

But the wording of his will left the property’s fate in limbo and caused a rift between his three children — one that reflects an intensifying debate over Singapore’s semi-authoritarian political system.

Now, an extraordinary voice has joined those who complain that the city-state’s prosperity has come at the cost of a government that lacks accountability: one of Mr. Lee’s own children.

“The idea that one good man at the center can control this, and you just rely on his benevolence to ensure that everything is right, doesn’t work,” Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest child, who wants to honor his father’s wishes for the house, said in a recent interview with The New York Times from London.

After Lee Kuan Yew’s death in 2015, the eldest child, by then Singapore’s prime minister, argued that his father’s instructions for the bungalow were ambiguous. His siblings wanted it demolished, though one continued to live in the house, and as long as she did, its fate remained unresolved.

Then, after her death in October, the dispute resurfaced — and escalated sharply. Lee Hsien Yang, called Yang by his parents and siblings, announced that he had obtained political asylum in Britain because he feared being unfairly imprisoned in Singapore over the disagreement.

Yang said his brother — Lee Hsien Loong, who stepped down in May as prime minister — had abused his power in the conflict over the house.

Yang, 67, described what he called a pattern of persecution by the Singapore government in recent years. In 2020, his son was charged with contempt of court for criticizing Singapore’s courts in a private Facebook post. That year, his wife, a lawyer who had arranged for the witnesses at the signing of the patriarch’s will, was barred from practicing law for 15 months. Then the couple faced a police inquiry about lying under oath. In 2022, they left Singapore.

In October, Yang announced that Britain had granted his asylum request, ruling that he and his wife “have a well-founded fear of persecution and therefore cannot return to your country.”

Singapore’s government rejected the claims, saying that the couple was free to return home. It said it was accountable to voters and an independent judiciary. Yang, it added, was engaged in “an extravagant personal vendetta” against his brother, Loong.

Loong, 72, who now holds the title of senior minister, declined to comment because he has recused himself from the matter of the house.

For Yang, the yearslong dispute is proof that there are “fundamental problems in the way Singapore is governed and run.”

Yang acknowledged that his father had detained opposition politicians and union leaders, but said that he “had the best interests of the country at heart.”

The People’s Action Party has governed Singapore with a tight grip for nearly 70 years. And years after the founding father’s death, it continues to praise his legacy.

This, some analysts say, has left Singapore at a crossroads.

“Are we able to move on?” said Ja Ian Chong, who teaches political science at the National University of Singapore. “Or are we still stuck with this relatively brittle, big-man kind of approach to politics?”

Lee Kuan Yew transformed a colonial outpost into an economic powerhouse in a generation. He made no bones about intervening in the lives of Singaporeans and prioritized the community over the individual — a notion that some observers say points to the irony of the family feud.

He “understood that the government would have to preserve the house if it decided that was in the public interest,” Loong wrote in a 2016 letter to Lawrence Wong, who was part of a government committee created to consider options for the property, and is now prime minister.

That panel concluded that the bungalow had historical significance, and that Lee Kuan Yew had been amenable to its preservation. But polls indicate that most Singaporeans want it torn down. In October, the government said it was again studying whether to preserve the circa 1898 house.

‘The Best Combination’

For decades, Lee Kuan Yew’s family appeared to be as orderly as the state he ran. His wife, Kwa Geok Choo, was in charge of the household at 38 Oxley Road, in one of Singapore’s most expensive areas.

In the 1950s, Mr. Lee and a group of friends set up his political party, the P.A.P., in the basement dining room. Most of the house was spartan. The furniture was old and mismatched; the family bathed by scooping water from earthenware vessels. Even after the sons had married and moved out, they gathered every Sunday for family lunch.

Visitors were quick to notice that only one child’s photographs were displayed: Loong’s.

“He got the best combination of our two DNAs,” Mr. Lee would tell local journalists. “The others have also combinations of both, but not in as advantageous a way as he has. It’s the luck of the draw.”

“He was the apple of my mother’s eye, and she had ambitions for him,” Yang said of Loong. “I was never antagonistic with him, neither did I have any jealousy or envy of him.”

In 2004, Loong became prime minister. Yang at the time was the chief executive of Singapore’s state-owned phone company and said that he harbored no political ambitions. That would change.

Demolition Debate

After Mr. Lee’s wife died, he continued to live in the house with his daughter, Dr. Lee Wei Ling, a neurologist. Mr. Lee died in March 2015, and his children gathered at the bungalow the following month for the reading of his will.

The house was left to Loong, but Ling could continue to live there. Once she moved out, the house was to be torn down. And if for some reason, the house was not demolished, he did not want it to be open to the public.

Loong was blindsided and would later say publicly that he did not know about this final will. When the will was being discussed, he became “aggressive” and “threatening,” his sister wrote in a previously undisclosed email to a friend in May 2015. She added that Loong told his younger siblings that if they pursued the demolition clause, the government would intervene and declare the house a national monument.

It was the last time Loong spoke with Ling and Yang, according to Yang.

The next day, Loong raised the matter in Parliament. He said that he wanted to see his father’s wishes carried out, but that “it will be up to the government of the day to consider the matter.”

A few months later, it appeared that the siblings had reached a resolution. Yang bought the house from Loong for an undisclosed price.

But soon, the government formed a committee to explore options for the house. That marked the start of Yang’s troubles with the state.

New Opposition Party

Loong told the panel that he was “very concerned” that the demolition clause in the will was “reinserted under dubious circumstances.” He asked whether there was a conflict of interest for Lee Suet Fern, Yang’s wife, who had organized the signing of the will.

To the younger siblings, it appeared that the committee was “conducting an inquisition into the will,” Yang said, pointing out that a court had declared it as binding.

In a joint statement in 2017, Yang and Ling said that they did not trust their brother as a leader. They said that Loong and his wife were milking “Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy for their own political purposes,” and harbored dynastic ambitions for their son.

Loong responded in Parliament, saying that he did not give instructions to the committee and that his only dealings with the panel were his responses to their requests in writing.

He has denied grooming his son for office.

Then the government accused Yang’s wife of professional misconduct over the will. A disciplinary tribunal ruled against her, saying she and her husband had built an “elaborate edifice of lies” during the proceedings.

A three-judge panel then ruled that she and Yang had both lied under oath and suspended her for 15 months for misconduct. But it also ruled that she had not been acting as Mr. Lee’s lawyer, and that he had been content with his will.

For Yang, the People’s Action Party had lost its way. He joined the Progress Singapore Party, a new opposition group, and considered running for president, a ceremonial post.

In 2022, the police asked to interview him and his wife, saying they had lied in the misconduct proceedings. The couple agreed to be questioned at a later date, but soon left Singapore. It was not until 2023 that a minister revealed in Parliament that they were being investigated by the authorities.

In October, Yang organized Ling’s funeral from afar. Loong was not invited.

The walls of 38 Oxley Road are now cracked, and rust has eroded part of the gate. When a reporter rang the doorbell on a recent Sunday, a housekeeper answered and said nobody was home.

Altadena family of 4 stays brave in face of devastating wildfire loss: ‘Stuff that I love is gone’

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January 11, 2025

Despite losing everything in the devastating and still raging Los Angeles County wildfires this week, Deisy-Suarez Giles’ family returned to survey the wreckage of their burned-down home, where her two young boys were happy to find a couple of their toys in the rubble.

Suarez-Giles, a three-time business owner, said they ironically moved into their Altadena, California, home because during the COVID pandemic they lived above a pharmacy, where, in the middle of the night, someone tried to burn the building to the ground.

“Right after COVID, we left downtown LA, when a lot of protests and also the riots were happening. We left because the building we were staying in had a Rite Aid downstairs, and the people, you know, they tried to burn the Rite Aid. So we ran downstairs and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher because they were trying to burn the building,” Suarez-Giles said. “And I had my youngest, Lucas, who was only six months old, and I was like, ‘they gonna burn us here alive,’ so we had to get out.

“I told my husband, ‘we needed to find a way to find money and get a new home because we just cannot stay here; they are going to burn us here with our kids.’ And we ran from that to be here, and then we get burned out of our home,” she added, fighting through tears.

Deisy Suarez-Giles, left, with her family, including her husband and two boys, in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, Calif. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)

Suarez-Giles said their home came from hard work, determination and a desire to keep her family safe.

The family learned of the ferocious fires in the middle of the day Tuesday, but, although wary, they weren’t sure if they should evacuate at first, even though they saw neighbors leaving and moving horses and animals away from the area impacted by Eaton Fire.

Eventually, Suarez-Giles said, at around 1:30 Wednesday morning, they decided it was best to wake her boys, Henry and Lucas, grab a few important items and sleep in the car for the night just in case.

“We woke them up at 1:30, so we technically didn’t leave until like 2, because it took us a little time to like, you know, kinda gather whatever and get out, and within three hours, the house was already gone,” she said.

As Suarez-Giles woke her family to leave, she said it was then that the realization of what was happening became upsetting for the boys.

“Henry was very upset about it. He did cry. Lucas was scared when the fire was coming. There was a lot of panic leaving, especially with two little kids. Lucas was crying,” she said. “He was in a lot of panic when I woke him up. I said, ‘we gotta go, baby, the fire’s getting close.’”

SINGLE MOM WHO LOST EVERYTHING IN EATON FIRE HAILED ALTADENA’S ‘TENACITY’ AND ‘SPIRIT’

Deisy Suarez-Giles’ family survey the destruction of their home in Altadena, Calif., in the wake of the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)

Henry, who was interviewed by a reporter in the fire’s aftermath Thursday as he stood next to his mother, recounted the frightening moments leading up to the loss of his home while clutching the only two things he has left in this world.

“And then the power went out, yeah, and then we, and then we were going to get our dad, but he was coming. Then we had power, flashlights, they’re so good, and I went, and they woke us up, me and my brother. And then we left our house,” Henry said. “And then we didn’t realize that our house was going to burn like this. And a lot of stuff that we left in our house, and it burned, and we had a 3D printer, and it was so special to me, and it’s going to make me a little sad, but, I don’t know why, but this is what happened to our house.

“And a lot of stuff that I love is gone. And now, everything is broken, and it’s all lost its color and stuff. And these are the only things that I have.”

Suarez-Giles said as it got later, the power went off and that’s when some of the panic started to set in. Her youngest son, Lucas, started crying.

LA FIRE CHIEF SAYS CITY FAILED RESIDENTS IN WILDFIRE PREP, BUDGET CUTS

“He started freaking out, and then my husband went and got some flashlights and then Henry was very brave, he was helping us get, you know, things packed. I said let’s get everything ready so we can go, and you know,” she said. “Right around 11, we were still in the house, and they were like, ‘oh, we’re tired, we want to go to sleep.’ They were tired, and I said, ‘OK, you guys can go to sleep. I’m just gonna stay awake.'”

The remains of the Suarez-Giles home in Altadena, Calif., after the Eaton Fire destroyed the property. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)

Suarez-Giles said her family were not the only ones in the house when the fire closed in. A teacher from her son’s school was renting a room in their home, and he did not leave until it was almost too late.

“He had got woken up by the fire. My husband tried to, you know, let him know to go, but he was aware of everything that was happening because the school was in touch with all the teachers and stuff,” she said. “He didn’t think anything much of it, and he said he almost got burned because the fire was coming through the windows.”

For his part, a brave Henry wanted to return to the site of his former home to confirm what was broken and see what was left.

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“I wanted to check on it and see if it was not broken and my dad took a video [to show] that it was broken,” he said. “We went, so we know what happened and that was our chimney where Santa comes, and now it’s gone. Now we can’t get presents here anymore.”

According to LA County officials, the Eaton, Palisades, Kenneth, Hurst Fire and Lidia fire have burned more than 35,000 acres, with the Eaton and Palisades fires having claimed at least 11 lives.

SEAN HANNITY: Donald Trump has ‘eviscerated’ the left’s lawfare campaign

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January 11, 2025

Fox News host Sean Hannity reacts to the New York v. Trump sentencing on “Hannity,” arguing President-elect Donald Trump has “eviscerated” the left’s lawfare campaign.

‘GREAT EMBARASSMENT’: HEAR TRUMP’S COURTROOM RESPONSE TO JUDGE MERCHAN’S ‘POLITICAL WITCH HUNT’ TRIAL

SEAN HANNITY: Against all odds, after years of sketchy warrants, subpoenas, early morning raids, dozens of cooked up charges, one after another, far-left judges and Trump-hating juries – Donald Trump has eviscerated the left’s lawfare campaign. Today, New York judge, Democratic donor Juan Merchan, announced that Trump would receive no jail time, no fine, no probation after a Manhattan jury convicted Trump on what is a novel, bizarre legal theory surrounding a case that had no victims. I mean, it was a legal NDA put together by a lawyer, and it was chronicled as a legal expense. Judge Merchan told Trump, ‘Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume your second term in office.’ It was almost laughable. But despite no penalty at all, Donald Trump will rightly appeal this bogus conviction. At his sentencing, the president-elect blasted the left and their attempts to weaponize our system of justice.

…

Trump-hating Democrats, they tried to throw the former president in prison. They wanted to send him to Rikers Island. They wanted to ruin his life. They did try to destroy his reputation, all in order to block him from winning an election. This is a massive scandal, one of the biggest in modern American history. And the media, they’re perfectly fine with it. These Democrats utterly failed. And now it’s time for a reckoning.

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This article was written by Fox News staff.

Fox News headed for trial over Smartmatic election fraud claims : NPR

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January 11, 2025

Fox News appears headed for trial over false election fraud claims made after the 2020 election, after a New York state appellate court chose not to dismiss a lawsuit brought by voting tech company Smartmatic.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

Fox News appears to be headed once more to court over the lies involving election fraud it aired about the 2020 presidential race. This time, it’s over the false claims that election tech company Smartmatic sabotaged the re-election of then-President Donald Trump.

In April 2023, on the eve of a trial in Delaware in which Fox founder Rupert Murdoch was set to testify, the network and its parent corporation agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems.

Fox News settles blockbuster defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems

A flood of revelations from the pre-trial process of discovery yielded damning internal communications. The judge found that network figures from junior producers to primetime hosts, network executives, Murdoch and his son Lachlan knew that Joe Biden had won the election fairly. Yet, they allowed guests to spread lies that Trump had been cheated of victory to win back Trump viewers. Some hosts amplified and even embraced the claims.

Now, an appellate court ruling in New York state is allowing Smartmatic’s parallel, $2.7 billion suit to press ahead. The same ruling also dismissed some counts against the network’s parent company, Fox Corp.

Pro-Trump Fox hosts including Maria Bartiromo and the late Lou Dobbs invited guests making unsubstantiated and wild claims about Smartmatic on the air, and at times appeared to endorse those allegations themselves.

Fox forced Dobbs off the air just a day after Smartmatic filed its suit in February 2021. Two weeks later, Fox News and Fox Business Network ran an awkward segment with a voting tech expert, Edward Perez, to present viewers with a rebuttal to those outlandish claims. Newsmax, a right-wing channel in competition with Fox for viewers who supported Trump, did much the same.

“Today, the New York Supreme Court rebuffed Fox Corporation’s latest attempt to escape responsibility for the defamation campaign it orchestrated against Smartmatic following the 2020 election,” Smartmatic’s lead attorney, Erik Connolly, said in a statement. “Fox Corporation attempted, and failed, to have this case dismissed, and it must now answer for its actions at trial. Smartmatic is seeking several billion in damages for the defamation campaign that Fox News and Fox Corporation are responsible for executing. We look forward to presenting our evidence at trial.”

Unlike Dominion, whose voting machines were used in two dozen states, Smartmatic says its technology was used only in Los Angeles County in 2020. Fox has sharply questioned the value of Smartmatic and the contracts it says were jeopardized and lost.

“We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial,” a network spokesperson said in a statement. “As a report prepared by our financial expert shows, Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on their face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms.”

In the Dominion case, Fox also relied on arguments that its shows and hosts were simply relaying inherently newsworthy allegations from inherently newsworthy people — the then-president and his allies. The presiding judge in Delaware, Eric M. Davis, rejected that argument; he found that Fox’s executives, stars, and shows had broadcast false claims and defamed Dominion in doing so.

Fox has said that the New York case offers a new venue, with slightly different implications, although Davis applied New York defamation law in his Delaware proceedings.

Fox settled, as it has in many other cases, before opening arguments of the trial with Dominion. It maintains it will fight the allegations Smartmatic is making in court.

Rose Bowl half-marathon and 5K postponed due to wildfires

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January 11, 2025

The Rose Bowl half-marathon and 5K scheduled for Jan. 19 has been postponed due to the wildfires in Southern California.

It is the fourth sporting event in the area to be rescheduled because of the fires. Kings and Lakers games were postponed, and Monday night’s Vikings-Rams playoff game was moved to Arizona.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by the ongoing fires in and around the city of Pasadena and the greater Los Angeles area. … The well-being of our participants, volunteers and community is at the heart of every decision we make,” the McCourt Foundation, which sponsors the race, said in a statement.

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Rose Bowl Stadium Dec. 27, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif. (David McNew/Getty Images)

“We also hold deep respect for the emergency personnel and first responders who are working tirelessly to protect our community. We recognize that the postponement may come as a disappointment to some, and we truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these unforeseen and difficult circumstances.

ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP

“At this time, we are actively working with our partners at the Rose Bowl on rescheduling the Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5K, and while we do not yet have a new date, we will share updates with participants and the community via email, our website and social media as soon as they become available.”

A statue of late great UCLA Bruins football coach Terry Donahue stands outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The race has been run since 2019. Runners race the Pasadena area near the legendary stadium before finishing the run on the field.

The fires have burned roughly 30,000 acres, destroyed over 10,000 buildings and claimed at least 10 lives.

Two people ride bicycles through the destruction left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

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Several celebrities, including Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick, have lost their homes.

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AI isn’t going anywhere: Prompts to make life easier

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January 11, 2025

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I was having dinner with my husband in Paris. We got the wine menu and all the names, of course, were in French. Barry wanted something equivalent to a Napa cabernet, so I took a picture of the menu and asked ChatGPT. In seconds, it recommended a wine. I double-checked with the waiter, and he gave it a thumbs-up.

Win a pair of $329 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Enter here, no purchase necessary!

You might think AI is just for businesses, programmers, or the ultra tech-savvy, but it’s not. It’s for anyone willing to give it a try.

AI EXPERT: CHATGPT PROMPTS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER

Instead of ignoring this powerful tool, make this the year you embrace AI. It’s easier and more helpful than you think.

Let’s start with the basics

“So, uh, where do I find ChatGPT?” I get that in my email every day. Use it on the web or download it for iPhone or Android.

The free tier works for most people. I pay $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus. It’s worth it to me for access to the better features and faster response times. Start with free. If you find yourself relying on your favorite AI tool regularly, consider upgrading. It is worth considering.

A man is pictured working on an airplane and using a cellphone. (iStock)

ChatGPT isn’t the only option, but it is my preference (at least for now) and the most popular. You can also try Google Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.

With all these, the workflow is the same. Think of it like Google, but instead of punching in one search term and scrolling through results, you have a “conversation” with the bot to get exactly the output you want.

Like any tool, you need to use AI wisely and triple-check its results. Trust me, you don’t want to end up like those lawyers who used AI to draft court documents, only to have the judge catch the glaring mistakes.

BIOMETRIC DATA: IS IT SAFE TO HAND IT OVER TO ANY COMPANY THAT ASKS?

You’ve heard of prompts, right?

This is what we call the text, question or command you provide an AI system to guide its response or action. It’s your instruction on what you want, so the better your prompt, the more useful and accurate the response will be.

“Priming” is the insider term for telling a chatbot exactly what you want from it. With ChatGPT or any other, the more constraints you give, the better your answer. Examples: “Limit your response to 250 words,” “Give me the list in bullet points,” “Format the results as a table,” “Use this data to create a bar chart.”

Remember, AI can’t read your mind. It only knows what you tell it. Use “do” and “don’t” in your prompts to get the results you want. Say you’re cooking for friends, and some have allergies. Say, “Create a recipe for six people. Do include protein, fruits, vegetables and carbs. Don’t include dairy products, shellfish or nuts.”

ChatGPT app shown on a iPhone screen with many apps.

Close-up of the icon of the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot app logo on a cellphone screen. (iStock)

7 prompts to make life easier

Make your goals actionable: “I have a goal for 2025 to [fill in the blank]. Can you help me make it SMART?” (SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related.) Maybe you’re not there yet. Try this: “I want to [fill in the blank], but it feels overwhelming, and I don’t know where to start. Can you help me by breaking it down into more manageable tasks?”

“Give me 10 more examples”: That’s a prompt I use with ChatGPT all the time to make the chatbot a better brainstorming buddy. Some of its “ideas” are downright bad, but it might spark something creative in your brain, too.

“How can I make this better?” Add in anything you’ve written — a blog post, a travel plan, a resume or even a heartfelt email. This prompt works wonders for polishing your work and pointing out improvements, like a personal editor at your fingertips.

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Your very own free assistant: Say you have messy notes from a meeting. By hand, you’d spend 15 minutes turning those into an email fit for your boss or team. Instead, open a chatbot and say, “Turn these notes into a professional, friendly email to my team.” Paste your notes at the end and voila. Pro tip: Ask your bot of choice, “Is there anything that needs more details?” to fill in any missing info.

Shortcut your inbox: When you get a really long email, open your AI chatbot of choice, and type in the prompt, “Summarize this email for me. Tell me what I need to do, then write a thoughtful reply. Here is the email.” Paste in the email and let AI do its magic.

Wanna get in shape? Ask your AI to create a custom fitness plan. Try this: “Create a 30-day fitness plan for fat loss and muscle gain tailored to a [male/female] beginner at [your age].” Or get specific: “Create a four-week fitness plan to help me run a mile for the first time.” Don’t sweat it.

A 12-year-old boy types as he uses a laptop computer on December 19, 2023, in Bath, England. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Spouse forgot to load the dishes again? Instead of firing off a rage-filled text, let AI step in. Ask your fave chatbot to reframe your frustration into something a bit more … constructive. I like this prompt: “Make this message sound more friendly.”

Don’t forget about privacy

It’s easy to think your bot is a trusted ally, especially when it’s pumping out helpful answers all day long. But it’s definitely not. It’s a data-collecting tool like any other.

Be smart about what you say. Never type in passwords, sensitive financial data, or confidential work or business information. My rule of thumb: Don’t tell a chatbot anything you wouldn’t want made public.

With a free ChatGPT or Perplexity account, you can turn off memory features in the app settings that remember everything you type in. For Google Gemini, you need a paid account to do this.

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Is the Pink Fire Retardant That Planes Are Dropping on the California Fires Safe?

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January 11, 2025

From above the raging flames, these planes can unleash immense tankfuls of bright pink fire retardant in just 20 seconds. They have long been considered vital in the battle against wildfires.

But emerging research has shown that the millions of gallons of retardant sprayed on the landscape to tame wildfires each year come with a toxic burden, because they contain heavy metals and other chemicals that are harmful to human health and the environment.

The toxicity presents a stark dilemma. These tankers and their cargo are a powerful tool for taming deadly blazes. Yet as wildfires intensify and become more frequent in an era of climate change, firefighters are using them more often, and in the process releasing more harmful chemicals into the environment.

Some environmental groups have questioned the retardants’ effectiveness and potential for harm. The efficiency of fire retardant has been hard to measure, because it’s one of a barrage of firefighting tactics deployed in a major fire. After the flames are doused, it’s difficult to assign credit.

The frequency and severity of wildfires has grown in recent years, particularly in the western United States. Scientists have also found that fires across the region have become faster moving in recent decades.

There are also the longer-term health effects of exposure to wildfire smoke, which can penetrate the lungs and heart, causing disease. A recent global survey of the health effects of air pollution caused by wildfires found that in the United States, exposure to wildfire smoke had increased by 77 percent since 2002. Globally, wildfire smoke has been estimated to be responsible for up to 675,000 premature deaths per year.

Fire retardants add to those health and environmental burdens because they present “a really, really thorny trade-off,” said Daniel McCurry, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California, who led the recent research on their heavy-metal content.

The United States Forest Service said on Thursday that nine large retardant-spraying planes, as well as 20 water-dropping helicopters, were being deployed to fight the Southern California fires, which have displaced tens of thousands of people. Several “water scooper” amphibious planes, capable of skimming the surface of the sea or other body of water to fill their tanks, are also being used.

Two large DC-10 aircraft, dubbed “Very Large Airtankers” and capable of delivering up to 9,400 gallons of retardant, were also set to join the fleet imminently, said Stanton Florea, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, which coordinates national wildland firefighting efforts across the West.

Sprayed ahead of the fire, the retardants coat vegetation and prevent oxygen from allowing it to burn, Mr. Florea said. (Red dye is added so firefighters can see the retardant against the landscape.) And the retardant, typically made of salts like ammonium polyphosphate, “lasts longer. It doesn’t evaporate, like dropping water,” he said.

The new research from Dr. McCurry and his colleagues found, however, that at least four different types of heavy metals, including chromium and cadmium, that were present in a common type of retardant used by firefighters exceeded California’s requirements for hazardous waste.

Federal data shows that more than 440 million gallons of retardant were applied to federal, state, and private land between 2009 and 2021. Using that figure, the researchers estimated that between 2009 and 2021, more than 400 tons of heavy metals were released into the environment from fire suppression, a third of that in Southern California.

Both the federal government and the retardant’s manufacturer, Perimeter Solutions, have disputed that analysis, saying the researchers had evaluated a different version of the retardant. Dan Green, a spokesman for Perimeter, said retardants used for aerial firefighting had passed “extensive testing to confirm they meet strict standards for aquatic and mammalian safety.”

Still, the findings help explain why concentrations of heavy metals tend to surge in rivers and streams after wildfires, sometimes by hundreds of times. And as scrutiny of fire suppressants has grown, the Forestry Service has set buffer zones surrounding lakes and rivers, though its own data shows retardant still inadvertently drifts into those waters.

In 2022, the environmental nonprofit Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics sued the government in federal court in Montana, demanding that the Forest Service obtain a permit under the Clean Water Act to cover accidental spraying into waterways.

The judge ruled that the agency did indeed need to obtain a permit. But it allowed retardant use to continue to protect lives and property.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick emotional while opening up on ‘awful feeling’ of losing home in wildfires

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January 11, 2025

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is one of the thousands in Los Angeles whose home did not survive the wildfires that have ravaged the area this week.

Redick was in Dallas for a game when he learned of the fires and that his family had evacuated.

Speaking with the media Friday, a day after a Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena was postponed, he opened up about his experience returning to Palisades and what he saw.

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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick watches game action against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)

“I’m good. My wife got out really early. She was actually on the other side and came outside, saw the fire, was with some people, and were headed to the airport. … Got the kids from school. They’re safe. All that mattered,” he said.

ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP

“Went to the hotel, woke up at 7, headed up to Palisades. I had to see it for myself. I was not prepared for what I saw. It’s complete devastation and destruction. I had to go a different way to the house but went through most of the village, and it’s all gone. I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for something like that.”

Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)

WARRIORS’ STEVE KERR SAYS CHILDHOOD HOME BURNED DOWN IN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: ‘IT’S SURREAL AND DEVASTATING’

Redick’s home was destroyed Thursday.

“We were renting for the year to try to figure out where to be long-term, and everything we own that was of importance to us — almost 20 years of being together and 10 years of parenting — was in that house,” an emotional Redick said. “There’s certain things you can’t replace. They’ll never be replaced.

“The material stuff is whatever. My family and I, we’re processing the self side, the individual side of losing your home. You don’t ever want to wish that on anybody. It’s an awful feeling to lose your home. … Not sure I’ve wept or wailed like that in several years.

Airplanes assist in firefighting above Pacific Palisades Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Sandy Hooper/Imagn)

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Monday night’s Vikings-Rams NFL playoff game was moved from Inglewood to Arizona because of the fires that have claimed at least 10 lives, destroyed over 10,000 buildings and burned roughly 30,000 acres.

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