President Donald Trump prepares to tour wildfire damage in Los Angeles after criticising California’s water policy
Trump has erroneously claimed that California could have mitigated the wildfires sooner if it hadn’t been for redirecting water to the Pacific Ocean. The president was referring to the water federally managed by the Central Valley Project.
However, the agency mostly supplies farms and doesn’t carry water to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California says it has ample storage to meet the region’s water needs.
In the first hours of his second term, Trump encouraged federal officials to route more water to the crop-rich Central Valley and densely populated cities in the southern part of the state, even threatening to withhold federal disaster aid unless state leaders change their approach on water.
He has continued to question how California’s water managed. Last year on his Truth Social platform, he criticized the “rerouting of MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER A DAY FROM THE NORTH OUT INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, rather than using it, free of charge, for the towns, cities, & farms dotted all throughout California”.
Trump has suggested that state officials “ turn the valve ” to send more water to the city. But state water supplies are not to blame for hydrants running dry and a key reservoir near Pacific Palisades that was not filled
California’s water system is complicated.
Most of the region’s water is in the north, while the bulk of the state’s population is in the drier south. Los Angeles is the second driest city in America and relies on water from elsewhere. As does the dry Central Valley, where most of California’s produce is grown.
Two complex systems of dams and canals move rain and melted snow from the mountainous north to the south. One is managed by the federal government, the Central Valley Project, while the other is operated by the state of California and known as the State Water Project. Both systems channel water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an estuary supporting wildlife, including salmon and the delta smelt.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also manages its own aqueducts that draw water from the eastern Sierra Nevada. The Federal government decides how much water is routed to the delta to protect threatened species and how much goes to Central Valley Project users, mostly farms. That project does not supply water to Los Angeles.
However, Trump insists the state lets too much water go to the ocean rather than cities and farms.
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However, the agency mostly supplies farms and doesn’t carry water to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California says it has ample storage to meet the region’s water needs.
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In the first hours of his second term, Trump encouraged federal officials to route more water to the crop-rich Central Valley and densely populated cities in the southern part of the state, even threatening to withhold federal disaster aid unless state leaders change their approach on water.
“,”elementId”:”1089076d-cca3-43b6-9906-084b4c320875″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
He has continued to question how California’s water managed. Last year on his Truth Social platform, he criticized the “rerouting of MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER A DAY FROM THE NORTH OUT INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, rather than using it, free of charge, for the towns, cities, & farms dotted all throughout California”.
“,”elementId”:”ccd51064-53d4-4f83-a4b7-456c46d02054″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Trump has suggested that state officials “ turn the valve ” to send more water to the city. But state water supplies are not to blame for hydrants running dry and a key reservoir near Pacific Palisades that was not filled
California’s water system is complicated.
“,”elementId”:”8bdefe30-7cd5-4808-81d2-ebe62fffcd83″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Most of the region’s water is in the north, while the bulk of the state’s population is in the drier south. Los Angeles is the second driest city in America and relies on water from elsewhere. As does the dry Central Valley, where most of California’s produce is grown.
\n Two complex systems of dams and canals move rain and melted snow from the mountainous north to the south. One is managed by the federal government, the Central Valley Project, while the other is operated by the state of California and known as the State Water Project. Both systems channel water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an estuary supporting wildlife, including salmon and the delta smelt.
\n The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also manages its own aqueducts that draw water from the eastern Sierra Nevada. The Federal government decides how much water is routed to the delta to protect threatened species and how much goes to Central Valley Project users, mostly farms. That project does not supply water to Los Angeles.
\n However, Trump insists the state lets too much water go to the ocean rather than cities and farms.
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Gavin Newsom has signed a $2.5bn relief package to help areas of Los Angeles recover from the devastating fires that have been burning for nearly two weeks. The funds were announced during a press conference on Thursday in Pasadena, just outside Altadena, the town hit hardest by the Eaton fire, which ignited on 7 January.
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The signing of the bipartisan aid package comes a day before Donald Trump is set to visit the fire-torn areas and amid continued criticism of the California governor and other state officials’ management of the state’s water supply. It also follows a new blaze, the Hughes fire, which sparked on Wednesday morning and quickly grew. It is now 36% contained and has burned nearly 10,400 acres (4,209 hectares), according to Cal Fire.
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The largest of the recent Los Angeles-area blazes ignited on 7 January, ripping through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles and killing 11 people. The Eaton fire, which broke out the same day near Altadena, killed 17 people.
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According to an internal government memo obtained by the New York Times, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials will have powers normally reserved for encounters at America’s border with Mexico to quickly remove migrants.
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Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff and the architect of Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, has made clear that he opposed both programs.
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“Here’s an idea: Don’t fly millions of illegal aliens from failed states thousands of miles away into small towns across the American Heartland,” Miller said on social media in September.
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Reacting to the memo, Tom Jawetz, a senior lawyer in the Homeland Security Department in the Biden administration, said: “In addition to raising serious legal concerns, subjecting people who played by the rules to a summary deportation process is an outrageous and unprecedented betrayal.”
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Karen Tumlin, the director of the Justice Action Center, an immigrant advocacy group, said the decision was a mistake: “American communities have opened their hearts and homes for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Afghanistan and Ukraine,” she said. “Punishing people who did everything the government asked, and many of whom had US-based sponsors, to this summary deportation procedure is appalling.”
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US president Donald Trump says he would “rather not” impose tariffs on China, after repeatedly pledging to hit the nation with hefty import levies.
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Trump said he could make a deal with America’s biggest economic rival because “we have something that they want, we have a pot of gold”.
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“We have one very big power over China, and that’s tariffs, and they don’t want them, and I’d rather not have to use it. But it’s a tremendous power over China,” he said in an interview with Fox News which aired on Thursday in the United States.
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When Trump took office he said 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports could kick in by 1 February – and on the campaign trail touted a levy as high as 60%.
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On Friday Beijing called for the US and China to resolve their differences through “dialogue and consultation”.
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“China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
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“Trade wars and tariff wars have no winners and don’t serve anyone’s interests or the world’s interests,” she added.
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Key events
Erum Salam
While some have praised Donald Trump for issuing “full, complete and unconditional” pardons for the 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Pamela Hemphill has pushed back.
Hemphill, who was also arrested on January 6, has refused to accept Trump’s pardon, instead deciding to take responsibility for the role she played in trying to overturn the 2020 election results which made Joe Biden victorious over Trump.
“Absolutely not,” Hemphill, 71, told the Guardian on Thursday.
“It’s an insult to the Capitol police officers and to the rule of law and to the nation. It contributes to the propaganda that it was a peaceful protest, that the DoJ is weaponized against them and against Trump.”…
President Donald Trump prepares to tour wildfire damage in Los Angeles after criticising California’s water policy
Trump has erroneously claimed that California could have mitigated the wildfires sooner if it hadn’t been for redirecting water to the Pacific Ocean. The president was referring to the water federally managed by the Central Valley Project.
However, the agency mostly supplies farms and doesn’t carry water to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California says it has ample storage to meet the region’s water needs.
In the first hours of his second term, Trump encouraged federal officials to route more water to the crop-rich Central Valley and densely populated cities in the southern part of the state, even threatening to withhold federal disaster aid unless state leaders change their approach on water.
He has continued to question how California’s water managed. Last year on his Truth Social platform, he criticized the “rerouting of MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER A DAY FROM THE NORTH OUT INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, rather than using it, free of charge, for the towns, cities, & farms dotted all throughout California”.
Trump has suggested that state officials “ turn the valve ” to send more water to the city. But state water supplies are not to blame for hydrants running dry and a key reservoir near Pacific Palisades that was not filled
California’s water system is complicated.
Most of the region’s water is in the north, while the bulk of the state’s population is in the drier south. Los Angeles is the second driest city in America and relies on water from elsewhere. As does the dry Central Valley, where most of California’s produce is grown.
Two complex systems of dams and canals move rain and melted snow from the mountainous north to the south. One is managed by the federal government, the Central Valley Project, while the other is operated by the state of California and known as the State Water Project. Both systems channel water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an estuary supporting wildlife, including salmon and the delta smelt.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also manages its own aqueducts that draw water from the eastern Sierra Nevada. The Federal government decides how much water is routed to the delta to protect threatened species and how much goes to Central Valley Project users, mostly farms. That project does not supply water to Los Angeles.
However, Trump insists the state lets too much water go to the ocean rather than cities and farms.
Joseph Gedeon
The US Department of State has banned consular posts from flying any flags other than that of the US as part of the Trump administration’s pledge to crack down on diversity efforts in government institutions.
A cable seen by the Guardian titled “One flag policy” appears to target several instances during the Biden administration when gay pride and Black Lives Matters flags were flown at embassies abroad.
Gay pride flags were also on display at the White House during a 2023 Pride month celebration held on the south lawn, sparking a backlash from conservatives…
Gavin Newsom signs $2.5bn relief package as Donald Trump set to visit LA
Gavin Newsom has signed a $2.5bn relief package to help areas of Los Angeles recover from the devastating fires that have been burning for nearly two weeks. The funds were announced during a press conference on Thursday in Pasadena, just outside Altadena, the town hit hardest by the Eaton fire, which ignited on 7 January.
The signing of the bipartisan aid package comes a day before Donald Trump is set to visit the fire-torn areas and amid continued criticism of the California governor and other state officials’ management of the state’s water supply. It also follows a new blaze, the Hughes fire, which sparked on Wednesday morning and quickly grew. It is now 36% contained and has burned nearly 10,400 acres (4,209 hectares), according to Cal Fire.
The largest of the recent Los Angeles-area blazes ignited on 7 January, ripping through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles and killing 11 people. The Eaton fire, which broke out the same day near Altadena, killed 17 people.
Trump gives Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials powers to quickly deport migrants allowed into the country temporarily by Biden
According to an internal government memo obtained by the New York Times, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials will have powers normally reserved for encounters at America’s border with Mexico to quickly remove migrants.
Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff and the architect of Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, has made clear that he opposed both programs.
“Here’s an idea: Don’t fly millions of illegal aliens from failed states thousands of miles away into small towns across the American Heartland,” Miller said on social media in September.
Reacting to the memo, Tom Jawetz, a senior lawyer in the Homeland Security Department in the Biden administration, said: “In addition to raising serious legal concerns, subjecting people who played by the rules to a summary deportation process is an outrageous and unprecedented betrayal.”
Karen Tumlin, the director of the Justice Action Center, an immigrant advocacy group, said the decision was a mistake: “American communities have opened their hearts and homes for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Afghanistan and Ukraine,” she said. “Punishing people who did everything the government asked, and many of whom had US-based sponsors, to this summary deportation procedure is appalling.”
Nick Brown, the Washington state attorney general, spoke outside after a federal judge temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship.
“We came to the courthouse today to defend the United States constitution. To defend democracy in America and to defend what it means to be an American citizen,” Brown said.
Jonathan Freedland
In the first few days of his presidency, people tried to challenge and reason with Donald Trump – suing his administration, questioning his decisions to reporters and pleading to him for mercy. But does Trump care what his critics think? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about what we can expect from a leader who goes it alone…
Trump says he’d ‘rather not’ impose tariffs on China
US president Donald Trump says he would “rather not” impose tariffs on China, after repeatedly pledging to hit the nation with hefty import levies.
Trump said he could make a deal with America’s biggest economic rival because “we have something that they want, we have a pot of gold”.
“We have one very big power over China, and that’s tariffs, and they don’t want them, and I’d rather not have to use it. But it’s a tremendous power over China,” he said in an interview with Fox News which aired on Thursday in the United States.
When Trump took office he said 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports could kick in by 1 February – and on the campaign trail touted a levy as high as 60%.
On Friday Beijing called for the US and China to resolve their differences through “dialogue and consultation”.
“China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
“Trade wars and tariff wars have no winners and don’t serve anyone’s interests or the world’s interests,” she added.
