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Fear in US border city as Trump launches immigration overhaul

Venezuelan Josnexcy Martinez, who is staying at a shelter in a Texas border city, said she’s afraid of getting swept up in a raid targeting migrants even though she entered the country legally.   President Donald Trump began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling immigration into the United States. He has signed orders declaring a “national emergency” at the southern border and announced the deployment of more troops to the area while vowing to deport “criminal aliens,” moves that have spread fear across many communities.  Martinez, 28, is staying at a shelter in the city of El Paso with her five-year-old after entering the United States using the CBP One app.The platform allowed migrants in Mexico to make an appointment with US officials at designated border crossings, where they could apply for temporary residency. Trump cancelled the service on the first day of his new term. Even though Martinez is entitled to stay in the United States until her asylum case is heard by a judge, she said Trump’s actions have left her perpetually on edge. “My fear is that I will be arrested in a raid, by a police officer or someone from immigration and that they will ask me for my papers,” she said.Martinez, who gently drew a sheet over her son in the bunk bed where he sleeps, also held up the ID given to her by US officials when she crossed, explaining that she always has it on her. Karina Breceda, who runs the shelter where Martinez is staying, voiced concern that because of Trump’s policies, “we’re… going to start targeting people based on what we think a person that’s undocumented looks like, based on the color of their skin, or their clothes.”- ‘Just insane’ -In El Paso — a city of 678,000 people where roughly 80 percent of the population is of Latin American origin — Trump’s actions have bred anger among some. Mirna Cabral, 37, is a beneficiary of the DACA program launched during former president Barack Obama’s administration that gave some undocumented migrants who arrived as minors temporary work permits, which must be renewed.  She entered the United States illegally as a child and made a life in Texas. She married an American, who has since died, and had two children.Cabral was outraged by Trump’s executive order that aims to restrict birthright citizenship, an action already facing legal challenges on grounds that it breaches provisions in the Constitution. “That is just insane,” she said of Trump’s order. “It’s going against our Constitution because it doesn’t matter if you have a legal status or you don’t.”Everyone born in the United States, she said, has “the same rights.”Julieta Torres, 65, was born in Mexico but has lived in El Paso for decades. Cancelling birthright citizenship was unfair to children, she argued. “If they were born here, they are from this country, even if they are the children of undocumented parents,” she said.Hector Chavez, who works in El Paso, said migrants aspiring to be American in search of a better life should rethink their plans.  The 61-year-old Mexican national legally crosses to work in the United States, but chooses to live in Ciudad Juarez on the Mexican side of the border, where life is more affordable. Immigrants should “stay on the other side,” he said. “The American dream is over.”

Red herring: Why Trump wrongly blames a fish for LA wildfires

Donald Trump has derided the Delta smelt as a “worthless fish,” blaming efforts to protect the species for the devastating Los Angeles wildfires on social media, in a press conference, and even a White House order.In reality, California’s Delta smelt has minimal connection to the city’s water supply, say experts, who argue the US president’s willingness to condemn an endangered species reflects the chaotic and shortsighted nature of his environmental policies.”It’s scapegoating an internal enemy that’s supposed to be responsible for all our problems, in this case, fires and drought — and directing everybody’s anger toward that,” John Buse, general counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity, told AFP.It is a “classic authoritarian” move, he argues — and a likely harbinger of what we will see under Trump 2.0.Trump’s assertion, first made on Truth Social, claimed that Governor Gavin Newsom’s failure to sign an order allowing millions of gallons of water from excess rain and snowmelt to flow southward from the state’s north had hampered firefighting efforts.He reiterated the accusation in a Day One executive order dramatically titled “Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California.”-  Real crisis, wrong culprit – California has a complex water crisis — with climate change an outsized factor.But the Delta smelt — a small, translucent fish considered a “sentinel” species that indicates the health of its Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta habitat — is not a culprit.”It was once one of the most abundant fish in the upper estuary, supporting a diverse array of predators including striped bass,” said Peter Moyle, a University of California, Davis ichthyologist widely regarded as the leading expert on the species.However, habitat degradation caused by water diversions for agriculture and urban use, competition and predation by invasive species, exposure to contaminants, and dwindling food sources led to the Delta smelt being listed as “threatened” in 1993, and “endangered” by California in 2009. Water projects in The Golden State must balance conservation with meeting agricultural and urban demands.Trump’s rhetoric has nationalized what was previously a Californian political narrative pitting fish against farmers, leaving the Delta smelt a convenient “scape fish,” according to Moyle.Massive federal- and state-run pumping stations redirect water from northern areas to the south, creating challenges for the smelt and other aquatic life. Increased salinity from these pumping operations harms the fish, and many are killed when they are sucked into screens or diverted into canals.- Culture war politics – Despite Trump’s claims, however, protections that limit the amount of pumping for the Delta smelt and other fish have had minimal recent impact on the Los Angeles water supply.The federal Central Valley Project, which Trump has targeted under his order, primarily serves agriculture in Central California — not Los Angeles, explains Buse.While the State Water Project does supply water to Southern California, including Los Angeles, most of the state’s major reservoirs are currently at or above historic levels for this time of year, particularly in the south, official data shows.Even in drier years, protections for the Delta smelt account for only a small fraction of reductions in outflow.The primary factor determining water pumped downstream is the amount of rainfall and snowmelt flowing into the San Francisco estuary.As Moyle explained in a 2017 paper, the same saltwater that harms the fish also poses significant challenges for agriculture, making it the key driver of restrictions on water exports.The Delta smelt’s legal protection “has been particularly controversial because right-wing pundits and politicians have seized on its small size,” said Caleb Scoville, a sociologist at Tufts University. “Salmon aren’t as easy of a target.”Rather than addressing the root causes of California’s water challenges — including climate change — Trump’s rhetoric turns “hardships associated with environmental destabilization into partisan gotchas,”  Scoville argued.”It feeds us-versus-them identity politics but doesn’t actually hold power to account.”

Colman kicks off Sundance as film world reels from LA fires

The US film industry’s first major gathering since wildfires devastated Los Angeles began Thursday at Sundance, where Olivia Colman and John Lithgow kicked off the indie movie festival under somber circumstances.Hollywood’s annual pilgrimage to the Rocky Mountains to debut the coming year’s top indie films started barely two weeks after blazes killed more than two dozen people and brought the US entertainment capital to a halt.Festival chiefs spoke at length with filmmakers “who lost homes or were displaced” by the fires before deciding to press ahead, Sundance director Eugene Hernandez told AFP.Among those were the team behind “Didn’t Die,” an indie zombie movie about survivors podcasting to an ever-dwindling human population, which was partly shot in the filmmakers’s now-destroyed Altadena homes.”We turned the film in, and a few days later… our homes were lost,” director Meera Menon told AFP.The film’s producer and editor, who lived near to Menon and her co-writer husband, also fled their house before it was razed by the fires.”The four of us really lost everything… our home was our dream home,” added a tearful-sounding Menon, who was nonetheless driving up to Utah on Thursday to attend her film’s premiere next week.Also among the 88 features being screened in snowy Park City is “Rebuilding,” starring Josh O’Connor as a rancher who loses everything in a wildfire.”It takes on an added poignance,” said Hernandez.”It’s an incredible film, and one that we felt was important to show, based on that spirit of resilience,” said Sundance programming director Kim Yutani.- J-Lo, Cumberbatch -The big opening night film this year was “Jimpa,” in which Colman plays a mother taking her non-binary teen to visit their gay and highly outspoken activist grandfather — played by Lithgow.It premiered as new US President Donald Trump said he has made it “official policy of the United States, that there are only two genders, male and female.”Lithgow said it was “extremely important” to begin Sundance with a film fostering acceptance “at this particular historical moment… when hatred is in the air.”Among other festival highlights, Jennifer Lopez brings her first film to Sundance this weekend with glitzy musical “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”From “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon, the film is based on the Broadway adaptation of Argentine author Manuel Puig’s novel.Lopez plays a silver-screen diva whose life and roles are discussed by two mismatched prisoners as they form an unlikely bond in their grim cell. Benedict Cumberbatch stars in another literary adaptation, “The Thing With Feathers,” based on Max Porter’s experimental and poetic novel about a grieving husband and two young sons.Rapper A$AP Rocky and late-night host Conan O’Brien make up the eclectic cast of mystery “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”And “The Bear” star Ayo Edebiri teams up with John Malkovich for thriller “Opus,” about a young writer investigating the mysterious disappearance of a legendary pop star.- Politics -Among Sundance’s documentary selection, which has launched several of the most recent Oscar-winning nonfiction films, politics will feature heavily.Former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern is expected in town to promote the behind-the-scenes documentary “Prime Minister.” And two films touching on the Gaza conflict will see their debut, days after the ceasefire agreement with Israel began.”Coexistence, My Ass!” follows Jewish peace activist-turned-comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi, as she constructs a one-woman show and grapples with the consequences of Israel’s military campaign.”As an activist, I reached 20 people, and in a viral video mocking dictators, I reached 20 million people,” she told AFP, admitting she is “anxious” about how the film will be received.Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis will unveil “All That’s Left of You” in a prominent Saturday evening premiere at Sundance’s biggest venue.Sundance runs until February 2.

US Republicans pressure Democrats with ‘born-alive’ abortion bill

US House Republicans approved a bill on Thursday that would ensure medical care for infants born alive during abortion procedures, in a vote largely labeled a gimmick by Democrats since such laws already exist.The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act requires health professionals to provide the “same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence” that would be offered during a normal childbirth.Practitioners who fall foul of the measure would face fines and up to five years in jail.Democrats consistently dismiss such bills as redundant because it is already illegal for health workers to kill or neglect a newborn, and say such legislation aims to intimidate reproductive health care workers providing abortions.The “born alive” legislation passed the House one day after a similar bill failed in the Senate amid a blockade by Democrats. “The goal of this bill is to target and intimidate reproductive health care providers and make it harder for women to access vital health care,” Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said.”In fact, it is already law that any child born in America — regardless of the circumstances surrounding that birth — is afforded equal protections,” he said.House Republicans are keen to get Democrats on the record as coming out against legislation that purports to combat “infanticide” — widely defined as the intentional killing of a child under the age of one. All but two Democrats duly opposed the legislation.”Tragically, House Democrats opposed the bill, voted for infanticide, and opted to deny medical care to crying newborns on operating tables struggling to live,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said.”Every newborn child deserves to be protected. It truly is that simple.”The vast majority of abortions in the United States are performed before the point of viability — fewer than one percent take place after 21 weeks — and live births during abortions are rare, although statistics vary on the frequency.Progressive activists fear that Donald Trump’s second presidential term could herald a new wave of attacks on abortion access as a Republican-controlled Congress enacts sweeping national restrictions or an outright ban.The Republican president’s Supreme Court picks during his first term were pivotal in dismantling decades of legal precedent protecting the national right to abortion.

Trump says will demand interest rates drop ‘immediately’

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would seek to bring interest rates lower by unleashing energy production, and would speak to the Federal Reserve if needed. “I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately,” he told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in a virtual address. “Likewise, they should be dropping all over the world. Interest rates should follow us all over.”The US Federal Reserve has a dual mandate from Congress to act independently to keep inflation and employment in check, primarily by raising and lowering the level of short-term interest rates. As US president, Trump does not have a say over interest rate decisions, a fact that he has frequently criticized.Trump told reporters in Washington later on Thursday that he would like to see interest rates come down “a lot,” adding that lower oil prices should help them to fall.”When the oil comes down, it’ll bring down prices, he said. “Then you won’t have inflation, and then the interest rates will come down.” Asked what he would do if the Fed did not lower interest rates, Trump said he would “put in a strong statement” and expected officials to listen to his views, adding that he would consider talking to Fed chair Jerome Powell if needed.”I think I know interest rates much better than they do,” he said. “And I think I know certainly much better than the one who’s primarily in charge of making that decision.” “I’m guided by them very much, ” he added. “But if I disagree, I will let it be known.”

Mexico troops set up migrant shelters for Trump deportees

Mexican soldiers rushed Thursday to set up emergency shelters near the border with the United States ahead of President Donald Trump’s threatened mass deportations.The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, without clarifying the total capacity, under a scheme called “Mexico embraces you.”President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that Mexico would provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.On Thursday, she said that two of the reception centers were expected to be ready by the end of the day and the others by the weekend.They will be equipped with kitchens and bathrooms and will offer food, health services and counseling.In the northeastern city of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, navy personnel were seen erecting a shelter on a large sports field, according to an AFP correspondent.The facilities included olive-green tents for military personnel who will be in charge of security, as well as a metal structure that will house tents for the deportees.The Matamoros shelter — one of three being built in Tamaulipas state — will be able to accommodate around 3,000 people, according to municipal authorities.”We expect to receive 200 to 250 people a day,” said Alberto Granados, mayor of the city on the banks of the Rio Grande river which snakes along the border.Last week another Mexican border city, Tijuana, just south of California, declared an emergency to free up funds to deal with the potential arrival of deportees.Carlos Pena, the mayor of Reynosa, across the border from Texas, warned this week that “there is not enough space” in shelters and the situation could become “critical.” On his first day back in office on Monday, Trump declared a national emergency at the US southern border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.His administration said it would also reinstate a “Remain in Mexico” policy that prevailed during Trump’s first presidency, under which people who apply to enter the United States from Mexico must remain there until their application has been decided.The White House has also halted an asylum program for people fleeing authoritarian regimes in Central and South America, leaving thousands of people stranded on the Mexican side of the border.On Wednesday, Trump’s office said he had ordered 1,500 more military personnel to the border.Mexico’s government announced in December that it would launch a mobile app with an alert button for migrants facing imminent detention in the United States, where there are several million undocumented Mexicans.

Colman to kick off Sundance as film world reels from LA fires

The US film industry’s first major gathering since wildfires devastated Los Angeles began Thursday at Sundance, where Olivia Colman and John Lithgow are kicking off the indie movie festival under somber circumstances.Hollywood’s annual pilgrimage to the Rocky Mountains to debut the coming year’s top indie films started barely two weeks after blazes killed more than two dozen people and brought the US entertainment capital to a halt.Festival chiefs spoke at length with filmmakers “who lost homes or were displaced” by the fires before deciding to press ahead, Sundance director Eugene Hernandez told AFP.Among those were the team behind “Didn’t Die,” an indie zombie movie about survivors podcasting to an ever-dwindling human population, which was partly shot in the filmmakers’ now-destroyed Altadena homes.”We turned the film in, and a few days later… our homes were lost,” director Meera Menon told AFP.The film’s producer and editor, who lived near to Menon and her co-writer husband, also fled their house before it was razed by the fires.”The four of us really lost everything… Altadena was our dream, our home was our dream home,” added a tearful-sounding Menon, who was nonetheless driving up to Utah on Thursday to attend her film’s premiere next week.Also among the 88 features being screened in Utah’s Park City is “Rebuilding,” starring Josh O’Connor as a rancher who loses everything in a wildfire.”It takes on an added poignance,” said Hernandez.”It’s an incredible film, and one that we felt was important to show, based on that spirit of resilience,” said Sundance programming director Kim Yutani.- J-Lo, Cumberbatch -The big opening night film this year is “Jimpa,” in which Colman plays a mother taking her non-binary teen to visit their gay grandfather — played by Lithgow, in various states of undress.Among other festival highlights, Jennifer Lopez brings her first film to Sundance with the glitzy musical “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”From “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon, the film is based on the Broadway adaptation of Argentine author Manuel Puig’s novel.Lopez plays a silver-screen diva whose life and roles are discussed by two mismatched prisoners as they form an unlikely bond in their grim cell. Benedict Cumberbatch stars in another literary adaptation, “The Thing With Feathers,” based on Max Porter’s experimental and poetic novel about a grieving husband and two young sons.Rapper A$AP Rocky and late-night host Conan O’Brien make up the eclectic cast of mystery “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”And “The Bear” star Ayo Edebiri teams up with John Malkovich for thriller “Opus,” about a young writer investigating the mysterious disappearance of a legendary pop star.- Politics -Among Sundance’s documentary selection, which has launched several of the most recent Oscar-winning nonfiction films, politics will feature heavily.Former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern is expected in town to promote the behind-the-scenes documentary “Prime Minister.” And two films touching on the Gaza conflict will see their debut, days after the ceasefire agreement with Israel began.”Coexistence, My Ass!” follows Jewish peace activist-turned-comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi, as she constructs a one-woman show and grapples with the consequences of Israel’s military campaign.”As an activist, I reached 20 people, and in a viral video mocking dictators, I reached 20 million people,” she told AFP, admitting she is “anxious” about how the film will be received.Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis will unveil “All That’s Left of You” in a prominent Saturday evening premiere at Sundance’s biggest venue.Sundance runs from Thursday through February 2.

Director of apocalyptic Sundance film lost home in LA fires

Driving up to the Rocky Mountains for the Sundance premiere of her new movie would be a joyful experience for Meera Menon — if she weren’t leaving behind the scorched rubble of her Los Angeles home, where much of it was filmed.In a cruel example of life imitating art, Menon’s indie zombie apocalypse flick “Didn’t Die” is all about how survivors of loss and disaster find the strength to cope through community, good humor and sheer resilience.It has taken on brutal new context and meaning thanks to the Los Angeles wildfires, which have killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes — including her own.The film’s producer and editor, who lived near to Menon and her co-writer husband, also lost their house, just days after sending the final cut to Sundance.”The four of us really lost everything. But we’re still here,” said Menon.”We loved it so much. I mean, it can’t be overstated — Altadena was our dream, our home was our dream home,” she added, in a tearful voice.The first part of the film — in which survivors podcast to an ever-dwindling human population — was shot in New York state.But Menon and husband Paul Gleason filmed several key scenes a year later in their Californian living room.These include a brutal zombie attack — and several sweet moments of a couple and their baby living there in earlier, happier times.”There’s snippets in the film that capture that home that is no longer. And the most poignant are these flashbacks with the family,” said Menon, whose own three-year-old daughter appears in “Didn’t Die” as an infant.It means the film itself has become a memento of sorts — evidence of the beloved place where their daughter grew up.”That community and the neighborhood… so beautiful right by the mountains,” said Menon.”Having the film capture this place for us, at that time, is grounding in some way. Because it just reminds us that it wasn’t a dream.”- ‘Daunting’ -Menon fell in love with the zombie genre after directing an episode of hit TV show “Fear The Walking Dead.”It felt like the perfect metaphor for a film about rebuilding a world hit by disaster after disaster.The real-life catastrophes Menon had in mind when writing “Didn’t Die” with Gleason were the pandemic and strikes that have recently upended their industry. Now, in the wake of the still-burning fires, some in the industry have called for Hollywood’s glitzy award season to be toned down or even scrapped.There was even speculation that Sundance might be cancelled, though festival bosses decided to press ahead after speaking with filmmakers like Menon.”I don’t know what the right thing to do is,” admitted Menon, whose premiere is set to go ahead on Tuesday night.”For me, it’s just very helpful to move forward and have work in the world, and still be enjoying some aspect of our filmmaking life, despite all of this.”Organizers of the Oscars, less than two months away, have promised to pay tribute to the bravery of firefighters and the resilience of Los Angeles at their ceremony in March.While appreciating the gesture, Menon said the “daunting” prospect of rebuilding their lives will take many years, wherever they end up relocating.”I don’t want people to move on from this too quickly either. We have such short attention spans in this world,” she said.”I hope people still do carry this in their hearts throughout this whole season.”

Trump orders release of last JFK, RFK, King assassination files

US President Donald Trump ordered the declassification Thursday of the last secret files on the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, a case that still fuels conspiracy theories more than 60 years after his death.Trump signed an executive order that will also release documents on the 1960s assassinations of JFK’s younger brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.”That’s big one, huh? A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades,” Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office of the White House. “Everything will be revealed.”After signing the order, Trump passed the pen he used to an aide, saying “Give that to RFK Jr.,” JFK’s nephew and the current president’s nominee to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.The order Trump signed requires the “full and complete release” of the JFK files, without redactions that he accepted back in 2017 when releasing most of the documents.”It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay,” the order said.Trump had previously promised to release the last of the files, most recently at his inauguration on Monday.- ‘Overwhelming evidence’ -The US National Archives has released tens of thousands of records in recent years related to the November 22, 1963 assassination of president Kennedy but held thousands back, citing national security concerns.It said at the time of the latest large-scale release, in December 2022, that 97 percent of the Kennedy records — which total five million pages — had now been made public.The Warren Commission that investigated the shooting of the charismatic 46-year-old president determined that it was carried out by a former Marine sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.But that formal conclusion has done little to quell speculation that a more sinister plot was behind Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas, and the slow release of the government files has added fuel to various conspiracy theories.Trump’s move is partly a gesture to one of the most prominent backers of those conspiracies — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. himself.RFK Jr. said in 2023 there was “overwhelming evidence the CIA was involved” in his uncle JFK’s murder and “very convincing” evidence the agency was also behind the 1968 assassination of his own father, Robert F. Kennedy. The former attorney general was killed while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president. Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born Jordanian, was convicted of his murder.Anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. was rewarded with the health nod in Trump’s cabinet for dropping his independent presidential bid and backing the Republican, but he faces a rocky nomination process.- Conspiracy theories -Thousands of Kennedy assassination-related documents from the National Archives were released during Trump’s first term in office, but he also held some back on national security grounds.Then-president Joe Biden said at the time of the December 2022 documents release that a “limited” number of files would continue to be held back at the request of unspecified “agencies.”Previous requests to withhold documents have come from the CIA and FBI.Kennedy scholars have said the documents still held by the archives are unlikely to contain any bombshell revelations or put to rest the rampant conspiracy theories about the assassination of the 35th US president.Oswald, who had at one point defected to the Soviet Union, was shot to death two days after killing Kennedy by a nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, as he was being transferred from the city jail.Hundreds of books and movies such as the 1991 Oliver Stone film “JFK” have fueled the conspiracy industry, pointing the finger at Cold War rivals Russia or Cuba, the Mafia and even Kennedy’s vice president, Lyndon Johnson.Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder and died in prison in 1998 but King’s children have expressed doubts in the past that Ray was the assassin.

US lawmakers advance forest management bill as fires scorch LA

Legislation to reduce the impact of increasingly devastating forest fires on US federal land passed the House of Representatives on Thursday as firefighters battled to tame the latest in a series of blazes threatening southern California.One of the first bills to pass the lower chamber of Congress in Donald Trump’s presidency, the Fix Our Forests Act would increase the pace and scale of forest management projects by speeding up environmental reviews, deterring frivolous lawsuits.It was reintroduced after passing the House of Representatives last September with overwhelming bipartisan support but did not make it through the Senate, and will need to compete for floor space in the upper chamber before it can be signed into law.It passed the House comfortably in a 279-141 vote but environmental groups said the bill had been “misleadingly” named and would open public lands to massive logging projects under the guise of preventing wildfires. “This is nothing more than a bill of goods that will do little of anything to combat fires and instead plays favorites with the timber industry which is hungry to consume more of our forests — removing large fire-resilient trees and devastating the lands and species which call them home,” said Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations at Defenders of Wildlife.The group said the bill would remove science from land management decisions and weaken protections for endangered species. The vote came with the greater Los Angeles area on edge after two enormous fires tore through America’s second largest metropolis, killing more than two dozen people and wreaking billions of dollars of devastation.Firefighters on Thursday were trying to tame a new blaze in Castaic, 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, that forced 31,000 people to flee their homes.Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson blasted Democratic leaders in Los Angeles and California for having “mismanaged virtually every aspect” of the wildfires, leaving a reservoir empty and allowing forest debris to pile up near homes.”They assumed the risk because they advanced their radical political agenda, and now people are paying a heavy price for that,” he told reporters.”We think that needs to be taken into account going forward, but the bipartisan Fix our Forest Act will do what the governor of California would not do, and that is restore the health of our forests and make communities more resilient to wildfires.”