Today’s Headlines: California kicks off the new year with powerful storms

Hello, it’s Tuesday, Jan. 3, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

Deadly storm pummels Northern California, with more rain ahead

A powerful New Year’s Eve storm triggered landslides, blackouts and road closures across California. And forecasters expect another storm — a second atmospheric river — late Wednesday and Thursday.

Heavy wind and downpours left tens of thousands of homes in Northern California without power for much of Sunday, while record high waters on the Cosumnes River near Sacramento breached three levees and inundated the area. At least one person was found dead in a submerged car.

The soggy end to an otherwise bone-dry year came as something of a surprise, though experts say the pattern must persist to truly undo several years of significant rain deficits.

An unusual California law takes guns to court

One of the strangest pieces of legislation ever enacted in California took effect Jan. 1, giving state residents and visitors the same power to threaten the gun industry that Texans now wield over abortion providers.

Supporters say this “private right of action” will make the state’s tough gun-control measures more effective by enlisting an army of grassroots enforcers that can now sue gun dealers and others who violate the state’s firearms laws. And by barring state and local governments from filing SB 1327 lawsuits, they hope to make the law harder to challenge in court.

The law also exists to make a point, however. And it’s not clear how it might shape the legal landscape.

More politics

• How will California’s new laws affect you? Breaking down new policies on housing, abortion, policing and more.
• Katie Hobbs was sworn in as Arizona’s 24th governor. She’s the first Democrat to hold the office since 2009.
• Barabak: A California lawmaker who survived Jonestown and Jan. 6 reflects on Donald Trump, Jim Jones and Congress.
• Republicans are attempting to pass a new House rule to block materials compiled by the Jan. 6, 2021, investigators from immediately going to the National Archives.

Sign up for our California Politics newsletter to get the best of The Times’ state politics reporting and the latest action in Sacramento.

Counties are facing challenges in launching CARE Court program

When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the CARE Act into law in September, he set the clock on seven counties to have the program with its signature courts up and running by Oct. 1, 2023.

But the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act has already been hailed as a fix for the state’s broken behavioral health system, a road to recovery for those who are severely mentally ill.

Three months into implementing its provisions, however, mental health directors advise against setting expectations too high. They point to the logistical and financial challenges of launching a labor-intensive program from scratch, as well as the limiting effect of a decades-old law.

How the UC strike energized a national organizing surge

In 2022 alone, graduate students at nearly a dozen institutions filed documents with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election. They include USC, Northwestern, Yale and Johns Hopkins. Caltech plans to officially kick off its organizing campaign this month.

Several factors contributed to the burst of energy. But students and labor experts also point to the influence of the 2022 University of California strike, which shut down classes, suspended research, roiled finals and upended grading — ultimately winning some of the largest wage gains ever secured by academic workers.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

(Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times)

Trump’s tax returns are out. Here’s how he was able to pay so little, so often. The new disclosures do not fundamentally change what was already known about President Trump’s finances. But they do add new detail to that picture, including the disclosure that in 2020, Trump appears to have broken his pledge to donate his salary to charity.

The Southwest Airlines meltdown left me stranded — and grateful. The Times’ Jaclyn Cosgrove and their wife found themselves stranded over the holidays. They made more memories with family and they also missed work. Jaclyn writes: “It is possible to practice gratitude and be angry with Southwest — two things can be true at the same time.”

CALIFORNIA

Conservationists fight to end Los Angeles water imports from Eastern Sierra’s Mono Lake. L.A. has been importing water from this eerie, hyper-saline lake since World War II, but a nonprofit argues that the combination of drought and stream diversions threaten one of the world’s largest nesting gull populations.

Hepatitis C is a slow-moving killer that can be stopped. What’s getting in the way? Only a fraction of people in the United States who are found to be infected promptly start taking the antiviral medication that cure most patients.

How an L.A. school fought a ‘crime magnet’ motel and won. A motel next to a KIPP Academy elementary and middle school brought hovering police helicopters, rampant prostitution and drug dealing around campus. Parents, teachers and staff saw it turned into a parking lot.

NATION-WORLD

Key bridge linking Colombia and Venezuela opens as tensions ease. The bridge had been closed for almost seven years amid political tensions and its reopening hopes to mark an era of improved relations.

More than 60,000 flock to the Vatican. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died over the weekend at 95, lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday as mourners paid tribute to the former pontiff.

Ukrainian airstrike delivers a new setback to Russia. Ukrainian forces fired rockets at a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed, killing 63 people in one of the deadliest attacks on the Kremlin’s forces.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Don’t tailor a role to me, says Aubrey Plaza. ‘Just let me act.’ When Plaza read the script for “Emily the Criminal,” an electric Los Angeles-set thriller, she knew she wanted the role — in large part because it was something she hadn’t tackled before.

The 19 movies we’re most excited for in 2023. Grab some popcorn and Raisinets and get ready for a night at the movies. Or, in this case, 19 of ‘em. And there’s more:

• 16 highly anticipated shows coming this year
• 23 concerts and albums to watch for in 2023

Actor Jeremy Renner is in critical condition after a snowplow accident. Deadline reported that Renner, who starred in Marvel’s “Hawkeye” series and “The Hurt Locker,” had been airlifted to a hospital on Sunday. The details of the accident remain unclear.

BUSINESS

Judge puts hold on California law that could have raised fast-food worker wages. The new California law boosting protections for fast-food workers was set to go into effect Jan. 1 before a coalition of major restaurant and business trade groups filed a lawsuit Thursday.

OPINION

Op-Ed: Recovering from Big Tech’s lost decade. “The tech industry has lost its way, with a culture, products and business models that have undermined democracy, public health and public safety. Recent global events create an opportunity for the industry to reset,” writes Roger McNamee.

SPORTS

Bills’ Damar Hamlin in critical condition after cardiac arrest on field, ‘MNF’ halted. The NFL took the unprecedented step of suspending play Monday night after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in Cincinnati, and — while shocked and weeping teammates watched — was administered CPR, defibrillated and transported by ambulance to a local hospital.

USC collapsed as Tulane pulled off a stunning comeback in Cotton Bowl. Despite five touchdown passes by Caleb Williams, USC could not hold on as Tulane stormed back for a 46-45 victory in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Will he stay or go? Here’s what is next for Trevor Bauer and the Dodgers. The Dodgers must decide by Friday whether to reinstate Trevor Bauer after his suspension was truncated last week. As fans await an announcement, here are some big questions and answers on the team’s first big decision of 2023.

• The L.A. Times’ Bill Plaschke says: Don’t do it.

The Rams lost this weekend to the Chargers 31-10. They are 5-11 going into the finale against a Seahawks team that is 8-8 and in the playoff hunt. Here’s what we learned from their defeat.

ONLY IN L.A.

The One, a 105,000-square-foot house in Bel-Air.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

When the country’s largest modern home — a megamansion in Bel-Air known as “The One” — was auctioned off for $141 million to the founder of Fashion Nova, it brought an end to a years-long saga of ambition and greed, a battle that’s been documented over and over again but remains hard to believe. But that wasn’t the only wild real estate purchase last year — here’s a rundown of Southern California’s priciest deals.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The “Adventure” float featured a floral airplane with a wingspan of 32 feet. The float was designed by Inglewood city gardener W. D. Frantz and entered by the city of Inglewood in 1931.

(Los Angeles Times)

Southern California has begun every new year with the Rose Parade for more than a hundred years. Well, there are a few exceptions. The Tournament of Roses Parade began in 1890 by the Pasadena Valley Hunt Club to promote the Southern California winter to the frozen East. The festival took off and became the premier New Year’s Day event viewed by millions worldwide. One year, in an act of jealousy, L.A. attempted to one-up the Pasadena event. This did not work. But despite controversies, wars and pandemics, the parade has always returned in style — as it did this year. Click here to see photos from this year’s parade.

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