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Eaton Fire survivors report toxins remain after soil, debris removal
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As some Dems agree to end shutdown, USDA orders 65% food aid after SCOTUS ruling By Joe Taglieri
SNAP benefits. "States must not transmit full benefit issuance files to EBT processors," according to the USDA's memorandum Saturday. "Instead, States must continue to process and load the partial issuance files that reflect the 35 percent reduction of maximum allotments detailed in the November 5 guidance. "To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized," the memo continued."Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November. ... "Failure to comply with this memorandum may result in USDA taking various actions, including cancellation of the Federal share of State administrative costs and
holding States liable for any overissuances that result from the noncompliance," according to the memo. The House of Representatives was preparing to vote Wednesday on the spending legislation after the Senate’s 60-40 vote on Monday. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday extended its temporary stay of the district court’s decision until Thursday evening as justices consider the Trump administration’s renewed request to stay the decision indefinitely while the lawsuit progresses. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the “administration has run back” to the nation’s highest court “to avoid fully funding SNAP benefits. It is unconscioSee Food aid Page 03
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LA fire survivors demand insurance commissioner's resignation By Joe Taglieri
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LA County District 1 Supervisor Hilda Solis places food items in a car trunk during a food assistance event Saturday in El Monte. | Photo courtesy of Supervisor Hilda Solis' office
he more than onemonth federal government shutdown appeared to be nearing its end Wednesday after several Senate Democrats voted for the spending package earlier this week. Among other disruptions, the shutdown caused a halt in food assistance funding to states that led to lawsuits seeking to require the Trump administration to use contingency funds during the shutdown. A Supreme Court decision late Friday stayed a Rhode Island judge's order that the administration resume paying full benefits. On Saturday, the USDA, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, ordered states to pay 65% of benefits to the nearly 42 million Americans who get
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nable,” he said in a statement. Some SNAP recipients “still don’t know where their next meal is coming from thanks to the Trump Administration’s cruelty.” Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and current gubernatorial candidate criticized the seven Democratic senators who voted to move the spending deal forward. "Healthcare costs are skyrocketing because Republicans chose their billionaire donors over middle-class Americans — and now, after a 40-day gov shutdown, some Senate Democrats are willing to cave on a "deal" that has no concessions on healthcare costs," Villaraigosa, a Democrat, posted Sunday
urvivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires on Thursday urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to call for the resignation of California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, following a report that Lara privately struck a deal with insurers allowing them to drop tens of thousands of policyholders ahead of the January wildfires. Citing a recent New York Times investigation, members of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network pointed to a 2023 deal Lara struck a secret deal with insurance companies that incentivized them to cancel the homeowners' policies in exchange for future rate hikes. Fire survivors say Insurance Department officials presented the deal "as a way to keep people out of the state’s high-cost, low-benefit FAIR Plan," which aims to provide basic fire insurance coverage for high-risk properties when insurers refuse to issue policies — but the opposite occurred. The FAIR Plan nearly doubled, and many families lost coverage just months before the LA County fires. At a press conference in Altadena, survivors said California faces two crises during Newsom and Lara's tenures: families who can no longer buy or renew insurance, and those who still have coverage but cannot access benefits. “Families can no longer buy or renew coverage, and those who still have it can’t See Fire survivors Page 13
access the benefits they’ve already paid for," Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network and a former deputy mayor of Los Angeles, said in a statement. "Californians can’t afford another year of failed oversight. This crisis now sits on the governor’s desk. Governor Newsom should call for Commissioner Lara to resign and install leadership that enforces the law and restores public trust.” Newsom's office did not respond to a request for comment. In a social media post earlier this week Lara defended the FAIR Plan, which is a component of the state's Sustainable Insurance Strategy. "We built the Sustainable Insurance Strategy knowing that insurance companies and intervenors would prod and probe for loopholes they think they can exploit," Lara said. "This is not a surprise to anyone that has dealt with them. If it is, welcome to Earth. "All eyes are on insurance companies including mine and (The New York Times). I won’t accept another 30 years of stagnant regulations," Lara continued. "I’m here to finish the job — and leave the next Commissioner in a stronger position than I inherited. "For 30 years under past Commissioners, no coverage guarantee of any kind existed," Lara said. "This is an undeniable first and we