Climate

Nearly two years after the Eaton and Palisades fires, many Los Angeles-area survivors are running out of savings and temporary housing aid, with FEMA rental assistance for renters having expired in October. The Trump administration omitted LA wildfire relief from its summer budget request, and California's request for $16 billion in long-term recovery funds remains unresolved. A nonprofit survey found over a quarter of survivors have exhausted displacement coverage, with mental health and financial strain topping their concerns.

Democratic lawmakers Judy Chu and Norma Torres say a Democratic takeover of the House (and possibly Senate) in November could unlock stalled federal disaster aid, as Republicans have been reluctant to push the issue absent White House backing. State and local officials say they are seeking other funding sources in the meantime.

California Republicans in Congress are targeting two state air-quality mandates they blame for rising consumer costs: the Vessels At-Berth rule and the Commercial Harbor Craft rule, both issued by the California Air Resources Board. Critics argue the regulations impose steep compliance costs and fines on shipping and fishing operators, expenses that get passed on through supply chains to gas, grocery, and other consumer prices. The state agency's own estimates put combined costs in the billions of dollars. The House has passed joint resolutions to overturn both mandates, framing them as hidden climate taxes, and now awaits Senate action. The debate ties into broader scrutiny of California's cost of living under Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A suspected tornado struck Heber-Overgaard, Arizona, on Wednesday, injuring one person and damaging dozens of homes and buildings, according to the Navajo County sheriff. The county's Board of Supervisors declared a local state of emergency, and crews are now conducting damage assessments on homes, roads, and hazards.

That assessment is a precursor to a possible major disaster declaration, which could unlock federal aid. Gov. Katie Hobbs would first need to declare a state emergency and request federal assistance, which FEMA would review before recommending action to the President. Hobbs's office says it's too early to know if that step will be needed; state Rep. Walt Blackman has already urged her to act.

California's carbon market, the cap-and-invest program created under AB 32, underwent major changes this year. A contentious reauthorization is projected to roughly halve annual auction revenue while opening billions in free permits for polluters investing in decarbonization. Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced plans to link the state's market with Washington's and eventually Quebec's, expected to raise credit prices and take effect next year. Critics say the changes push California's 2030 and 2045 emissions targets further out of reach, while regulators and some economists call the program still functional. The next governor will appoint air board members, oversee linkage rulemaking, and shape climate policy; neither gubernatorial candidate has made it a campaign focus.

In Pennsylvania's 46th Senate District, a coal- and gas-reliant region, independent candidate Jodi Borello is challenging Republican incumbent Camera Bartolotta after the Democratic nominee withdrew, leaving Borello as the sole challenger. Borello, a former organizer for the Center for Coalfield Justice who campaigned against fracking, now runs as a "Trump-voting" small-business owner opposed to corporations and data centers, without emphasizing her anti-fossil-fuel record. Her former employer's political arm, Coalfield Justice Action, has spent at least $10,500 on ads against Bartolotta and was pitched to national climate donors as a $300,050 "Investing in Elections for Climate" project. No coordination with Borello's campaign has been proven, but the funding sources behind the messaging remain largely undisclosed ahead of the November 3 election.

An investigation by the California Post found that nearly $369 million in federal disaster aid, originally designated for survivors of California's deadly 2018 wildfire season, was instead funneled to low-income housing developers. None of the developers were required to house wildfire survivors as a condition of the funding. The money stemmed from more than $1 billion in federal relief provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development after the Camp and Woolsey fires, which killed 103 people and destroyed or damaged over 24,000 structures. The fires occurred under Governor Jerry Brown, with Gavin Newsom serving as lieutenant governor at the time; Newsom has since led the state through nearly two terms as governor.