2025-01-10
25 分钟It's Friday, January 10th.
I'm Jane Coston, and this is what A Day, the show that is proudly based in the beautiful city of Los Angeles, California.
And, dang it, that's the way it's staying on today's show.
It's Trump sentencing day, and a new report says that the death toll in Gaza has been gravely underreported.
Let's get into it.
The Palisades and Eaton fires that began on Tuesday have become some of the most destructive and likely most expensive wildfires in American history.
As of our recording time on Thursday Evening, more than 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed between the two, and the fires are still raging.
And because of the Santa Ana winds, fires have ignited in other parts of Los Angeles county, including dense places in and around the city like Burbank and Hollywood, where our studio is located and where I live.
Altogether, tens of thousands of people have been under evacuation orders as fires have hit nearly 30,000 acres of land.
And like anyone would in the midst of a giant, terrifying crisis in which you can see flames jutting out just a few miles away from where your house is.
I spent a lot of yesterday checking news online, which was a mistake because alongside some legitimate information, I saw a lot of bullshit.
While blame and bullshit like that the fires were caused by diversity, equity and inclusion policies because this would have never happened if more white CIS men were involved or something.
Or that, as Trump said on Truth Social, this is all Governor Gavin Newsom's fault for not opening a pipeline from Northern California into Southern California that doesn't exist.
Or a viral claim that LA Mayor Karen Bass transferred millions of dollars reserved for fighting fires to either unhoused people if you're right wing, or to the LAPD if you're left wing.
Neither are true.
At a time when good information is so critical to whether people like me stay in our actual homes or pack our go bags and get out of the city, there is not nearly enough actual information and way too much, well, bullshit.
So to debunk some of these claims and talk about the politics of these fires, I spoke with Scott Waldman.
He's a White House reporter focused on climate change at POLITICO's E News.
We'll link to his reporting in our show notes.
Scott, welcome to what a Day.