Rev. Jesse Jackson, who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died at the age of 84. As leaders around the world reflect on his legacy, Jackson is remembered as one of the nation’s most powerful voices for Black Americans. In other news, Warner Bros. Discovery is giving Paramount Skydance seven days to submit its “best and final” offer to buy the entire studio, including Warner’s cable channels and HBO Max. The move comes after Paramount submitted an enhanced offer last week, complicating Netflix’s proposed $82.7 billion deal. And happy Lunar New Year! The Year of the Fire Horse is said to inspire action, confidence and independence. In business, Chipotle reports its worst business year since going public 20 years ago, and Mattel saw its shares plunge after reporting weak holiday sales due to miscalculated Barbie doll demands. Read more at LATimes.com.

The Department of Homeland Security could shut down this weekend if lawmakers leave Washington for a holiday break without reaching a deal on a funding bill. Meanwhile, inflation cooled in January. New data shows U.S. inflation at 2.4%, just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. In other news, President Trump repealed the 2009 endangerment finding on greenhouse gases, reversing years of federal climate policy. And in Southern California, a storm is expected to bring moderate rain and potentially dangerous waves to the coast next week. In business, a proposed California bill would extend mortgage relief for homeowners rebuilding after the Palisades and Eaton fires, and Wall Street is selling stocks seen as vulnerable to artificial intelligence disruption. Read more at LATimes.com.

Newly released Justice Department records tied to Jeffrey Epstein mention several prominent Los Angeles figures, including Casey Wasserman, Barry Josephson and Brett Ratner. The documents contain emails, photos and other records ranging from professional to personal, underscoring the breadth of Epstein’s network before his 2019 death while facing sex trafficking charges. Meanwhile, L.A. County officials have voted to place a half-cent sales tax increase on the June ballot. Supporters say the measure would offset expected federal healthcare cuts, while critics question its oversight and impact on taxpayers. In business, major social media companies including Meta, TikTok, and Snap will be evaluated under a new teen safety rating system, and Los Angeles has approved a new adaptive reuse ordinance allowing office buildings to convert into housing.

The Federal Aviation Administration shut down flights coming in and out of El Paso Airport for 10 days, citing "special security reasons." But then, pretty quickly, lifted that order. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says drones from Mexican cartels breached U.S. airspace. And in California, nine people have died inside LA County jails so far this year, an alarming number for the sheriff's department, who's already under investigation by the state over conditions in local lockups. Also, Elon Musk is making waves by merging SpaceX with his AI company. Will there be an AI data center in space? In business, a Super Bowl commercial has ignited a public dispute about ads in chatbots, and the Westminster Mall now has a demolition date. Read more at LATimes.com.

A proposed tax on billionaires in California: Governor Gavin Newsom is against it, Senator Bernie Sanders is for it. Sanders is soon kicking off a campaign to get that measure across the finish line. Basically, the idea is a one-time 5% tax on the assets of the over 200 billionaires in California. Supporters need signatures from about 875,000 registered voters to submit to election officials by the end of June for the measure to qualify for the November election. Meanwhile, San Francisco public schools shut down on Monday, as teachers walked off the job for the first time in nearly 50 years. San Francisco Unified School District is only offering teachers a 6% raise and limited coverage, blaming decreased state funding and a massive deficit. In business, a survey found that Los Angeles and Long Beach homes are among the most expensive in the nation, and BYD toppled Tesla as the world’s leading electric vehicle seller last year due to increased competition due to the end of federal EV tax incentives, growing competition overseas and brand damage. Read more at LATimes.com.

Sunday marked one week since Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie, was kidnapped from her home in Arizona. Meanwhile, in Italy, the home of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, U.S. athletes are speaking out about politics back home. And in 1946, Minute Maid figured out a way to make orange juice a year-round breakfast staple. But now, after 80 years, the company is halting sales of its frozen juice cans. In business, healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are raising one of California’s first major labor challenges over artificial intelligence, and 25-year-old Ali Ansari is nearing billionaire status after co-founding an AI startup that employs human experts like lawyers and doctors to train AI models. Read more at LATimes.com.

It's the first day of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Hockey, curling, alpine skiing, luge, and now a new sport: ski mountaineering, also known as "skimo." And another storyline to follow is the return of superstar skier Lindsey Vonn, who was on the sidelines for five years before returning for this year's Olympics. Meanwhile, a $16 billion plan called the Hudson River Tunnel Project is kaput for now after President Trump announced he's withholding its funding. It was seen as one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country. Also, in Los Angeles, traffic jams don't just happen on the freeways, they're happening in the sky too, with the airspace over Hollywood Burbank Airport being some of the most congested in the country. In business, the graffiti towers, officially known as the Oceanwide Plaza, reached a bankruptcy agreement that may open the path to its sale and cleanup, and the Teamsters of California are calling for the state to ban Waymo cars after one struck a child in Santa Monica. Read more at LATimes.com.

United States and Russia are reportedly closing in on a deal to continue the expiring arms control treaty called New START. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has joined the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Response Network. Meanwhile in California, officials have green-lit a controversial plan to eliminate all the deer on Catalina island. And for the first time in over ten years, NHL players are preparing to face off on Olympic ice. In business, the Eddie Bauer retailer may close its stores as its parent company prepares to file for bankruptcy, and new data shows California’s job losses slowed in January even as layoffs surged nationwide. Read more at LATimes.com.

In Washington, the government has, in fact, reopened from after a partial shutdown. Also, President Trump is suggesting the federal government take control of some state elections, which at the moment is illegal. Meanwhile, in New York City, companies are throwing their hat in the ring for a $1.1 billion contract with the city to design subway turnstiles that, in part, prevent fare evasion. And in Los Angeles, several local leaders are calling on the chair of the LA28 Olympics Committee, Casey Wasserman, to resign. In business, California lawmakers are demanding answers from major insurers over strict documentation requirements, and quantum computing company D-Wave plans to move its headquarters to Boca Raton, Florida. Read more at LATimes.com.

It's Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, meaning his prediction is six more weeks of winter weather. Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., the House Rules Committee is meeting on Monday in an effort to fully reopen the government. And Americans are living longer than ever; in 2024, U.S. life expectancy reached 79 years old, the highest mark in country history. In business, the modern day space race is taking over California's Central Coast, raising environmental concerns, and a Palo Alto company is selling flying vehicles that customers can fly within limited airspace and without a pilot's license. Read more at LATimes.com.

Forty years ago today, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after taking off at Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center; New Hampshire Public Radio spoke to people who knew Christa McAuliffe, who was going to be the first teacher in space. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve voted to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, despite heavy pressure from the White House to lower borrowing costs. Also, new data shows median rent in LA dropped to about $2,100 in December, the lowest in four years. And for the first time since the pandemic, California's population has stalled. In business, California Covered enrollees may see higher premiums now that pandemic-era health insurance subsidies have expired, and Amazon says it will layoff 16,000 workers and shut down its brick-and-mortar stores. Read more at LATimes.com.