How Trump’s Greenland obsession could land him in a military stockade
CHRONICLE, BRETT WAGNER/J. HOLMES ARMSTEAD: "Four hundred years ago, a representative of the Dutch West India Company purchased Manhattan from its natives for the equivalent of $24 in beads and trinkets, according to legend.
Fast forward to 2026, and a failed former Manhattan real estate investor now seems to think the same formula should work for him in the 21st century, that he should be able to purchase Greenland — or annex our neighbor to the north by military force if they’re unwilling to sell."
Deported to danger: Returning migrants discover a Mexico transformed by cartels
LA Times, KATE LINTHICUM: "Adrián Ramírez hadn’t been to his hometown in western Mexico for more than two decades. When he finally returned there early last year after being deported from the United States, he found the place transformed.
Ramírez remembered the town as vibrant. But the discotheque where he used to dance through the night in his 20s was gone. The bustling evening market, where locals gather for tacos, now empties out early. After 10 p.m., cartel members wielding military-grade weapons take control of the streets.",J.IJLU
Newsom says California homelessness is declining. Here’s what the data shows
CHRONICLE, CHRISTIAN LEONARD/SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California saw a 9% drop in unsheltered homelessness last year, a shift Gov. Gavin Newsom has touted as a sign of his successful leadership. But the number of people living on the streets or in vehicles remains significantly higher than when Newsom took office in 2019.
Addressing state lawmakers at the Capitol in his State of the State speech earlier this month, Newsom announced the decline — the first major drop in nearly two decades. It’s a sign, he argued, that his approach to getting people off the streets is working. He touted the results again Friday at a news conference in San Francisco."
Timothy Busfield faces new sex abuse accusation as he appears in court
LA Times, ALEX WIGGLESWORTH: "Timothy Busfield made a first appearance in New Mexico court Wednesday as prosecutors detailed a new sexual abuse accusation against the Emmy-winning actor.
Busfield, 68, has been charged with two felony counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and a single count of child abuse for allegedly inappropriately touching two child actors while he worked as a director and executive producer on the Fox drama “The Cleaning Lady,” filmed in Albuquerque. He was held without bond pending a hearing on a motion for pretrial detention."
California counties must jump through new hoops to get homelessness funds
CALMATTERS, MARISA KENDALL/BEN CHRISTOPHER: "Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened many times to withhold state homelessness funds from cities and counties that aren’t doing enough to get people off the streets.
This year, those threats seem more real than ever."
Has a gas station near you closed? This California law may be why
CHRONICLE, RACHEL SWAN: "These days, the closed 76 station on Alameda’s Bay Farm Island is a forlorn sight. A cyclone fence surrounds the empty lot, where faded signs still advertise lottery tickets and the fuel pumps are all but eviscerated. Behind them, mounds of dirt form a kind of burial ground.
Three tanks are entombed there, each a cylindrical, fiberglass container that once stored up to 12,000 gallons of gas."
L.A.’s defense industry is booming. Federal funding crunch could change that
LA Times, LAURENCE DARMIENTO: "When former Space X engineer Josh Giegel launched his North Hollywood tech company Gambit in 2023, he had a vision for the battlefield of the future, one with fewer soldiers and more AI-driven assets.
His software would allow unmanned tanks and swarms of armed drones to communicate and adapt in real time — without human intervention. The company now employs more than a dozen people and has contracts with the military, which is testing his software. But its growth has been clouded because of a funding dispute on Capitol Hill over the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which provides companies seed capital to develop new technology that can assist the government. Funding for it and related programs expired in September."
ICE ‘wrongfully detained’ L.A. County D.A.’s office employee, Hochman says
LA Times, JAMES QUEALLY: "A Los Angeles County district attorney’s office employee was “wrongfully detained” by federal immigration agents on Friday, according to an internal e-mail obtained by The Times. L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman called the incident “unacceptable” in an office-wide memo sent out on Friday evening.
“A member of our Office was wrongfully detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). I can thankfully report that, shortly after, our employee was released and is safe,” Hochman wrote. “This incident is unacceptable. Our employee is a dedicated public servant who serves the people of Los Angeles County with professionalism and integrity. This troubling situation caused great distress to our colleague, our co-worker’s family, and our entire Office family.”
California weather: How long will extended dry spell continue?
CHRONICLE, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "California’s midwinter respite from storms is turning into a lengthy dry
spell.
Los Angeles’ most recent rain came Jan. 4, San Francisco hasn’t picked up a drop since Jan. 7, and the Sierra Nevada snowpack is slowly slipping away. While a fortnight without rain isn’t uncommon in California in January, the dry weather shows no signs of significant change this week."
US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveal
LA Times, MIKE STOBBE, AP: "U.S. overdose deaths fell through most of last year, suggesting a lasting improvement in an epidemic that had been worsening for decades.
Federal data released Wednesday showed that overdose deaths have been falling for more than two years — the longest drop in decades — but also that the decline was slowing."
The current US political climate is spurring a ‘reclaim’ and rallying on the MLK holiday
AP, TERRY TANG: "As communities across the country on Monday host parades, panels and service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights icon’s legacy.
In the year since Donald Trump’s second inauguration fell on King Day, the Republican president has gone scorched earth against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and targeted mostly Black-led cities for federal law enforcement operations, among other policies that many King admirers have criticized." m
Sacramentans love the Claw. Meet one of operators of the yard waste collector (VIDEO)
SacBee, HECTOR AMEZCUA: "Marie Raymond operates one of the city of Sacramento's Claws — a tool used to pick up leaves and other yard waste. On Jan. 9, 2026, Raymond gave The Sacramento Bee a walkthrough of her job.
'
Sacramento spent $12 million for 100-acre site 4 years ago. It’s still vacant
SacBee, MATHEW MIRANDA: "Nearly four years after buying a 102-acre Meadowview property, Sacramento is seeking development interest — a key step in shaping the site’s future.
The land, a dirt lot off Meadowview Road about 2 miles east of Interstate 5, has long been a point of discussion for residents and city leaders since its $12.3 million purchase in 2022. Initial ideas for that site ranged from temporary homeless shelters to a $50 million sports complex."
Man protesting immigration enforcement in Sacramento assaulted, police say
SacBee, CAMRIN DADEY: "A man protesting outside a U.S. Customs and Immigration facility in Sacramento was assaulted Saturday, according to the Sacramento Police Department.
Sacramento Police Department officers responded to reports of an assault Saturday just before 3:30 p.m. in the 500 block of N Street, a spokesperson for the department said. The victim complained of pain, and the suspects had fled from the scene prior to officers arriving."
Santa Barbara County officials crack down on unsanctioned Deltopia spring break rager
LA Times, BRITTNY MEJIA: "The future of Deltopia, an annual unsanctioned street party that draws thousands of college students and is often marked by chaos and arrests, is uncertain after Santa Barbara County supervisors approved a 72-hour ban on amplified music that would coincide with the event.
During its Jan. 13 board meeting, the supervisors unanimously approved the ban, which would fall on the first weekend of UC Santa Barbara’s spring quarter, when thousands of college students flood Isla Vista for Deltopia."
