let's speak with representative george whitesides, a congressman from california. district and thatis california's 27th district and that is the northern parts of north and it is —— welcome, you represent california's 27th district. can you give us an insight on what is happening on the ground in your district. we have been _ the ground in your district. - have been relatively lucky and the amazing firefighters of our community have been able to contain the highest fire as well as a numberfire, a little north of here. so far, the fai has not caused widespread structural damage as you seen in the catastrophic images from the palisades and from the eaton fire.— the palisades and from the eatonfire. ~ ., ., , eaton fire. we know forecasts are that this _ eaton fire. we know forecasts are that this fire _ eaton fire. we know forecasts are that this fire spreading . eaton fire. we know forecasts are that this fire spreading so | are that this fire spreading so quickly. what kinds of measures i put in place with this district ahead of monday and tuesday one those winds a

jon: is hope we've all learned something congressman george whitesides whose district covers the northide of los angeles. thank you very much. wish you well. >> thank you. jon: president biden the final full week of his term coordinating the federal government response to the california fires. he promises to cover one 100% of the disaster response cost for six months has flooded the area with personnel and equipment. lucas tomlinson's life as a white house with the latest on that. >> good evening, jon pitt would not see or hear from president biden today but white house officials that he has been briefed throughout the day on the firefighting efforts in los angeles. the white house also passing along some information some of the presidents directives which include pentagon response which include pentagon providing infrared maps, to help with the firefighting the california national guard is providing 1000 personnel including 250 firefighting capabilities making bases in the area available for shelters with over 1000 beds the marx reserve base outside of riverside will become an inciden

let's bring in congressman george whitesides of california. district includes santa clarita, other parts of the san fernando valley, which is where the hurst fire is burning. right now, that fire is about 10% contained. congressman, first, give us a sense of how hard your district has been impacted and what sources you need. >> well, jake, we are, i think, in a relative sense, lucky that the amazing firefighters in los angeles county have been able to largely contain the hurst fire we are in relatively good shape um, it has stayed on the north side of the local highway. >> we are very concerned that the fire could move to the other side of the highway. so far that has not happened, but obviously we still have several days to go in this in this high wind event. >> well, you've talked to the first responders. what are they telling you? >> they're telling us, um, that this is one of the most horrific events that they've ever experienced. many of them. this is the most horrific event that they've seen. uh, the amount of resource that they have cal

judy chu, whose district includes the area where the eaton fire is burning, and congressman george whitesidess santa clarita, near where the hurst fire is burning. he's also co-founder of mega fire action, an organization dedicated to solving our nation's mega fire crisis. very convenient to have you here tonight. thank you both for being here. representative chu, i want to start with you. the status in your. please tell us the status of homes and community, the community in your district. >> well, i went with the fema administrator to tour the devastated area yesterday. i could not believe my eyes. >> i saw block after block of homes that were burned to the ground. and i saw major institutions that were burned to the ground, such as the altadena country club and the pasadena jewish center. >> the altadena community church, a thriving mom and pop small business area called the mariposa junction of altadena. >> it was unbelievable. basically, altadena has been flattened and pasadena, of course, has been terribly affected. so i just cannot believe the devastation that was there. it was apocalyp

a helpless feeling for so many who are just left to watch and hope that their home is still george whitesidesa, representing the 27th district, which includes parts of northern los angeles county, including the hurst fire area. he gave us an update on what is happening in his district. we have been so far relatively lucky. the amazing firefighters of our community have been able to contain the hurst fire, as well as another fire, the lydia fire. a little bit north. and so, so far the fire has not caused widespread structural damage, as you have seen in the catastrophic images from the palisades and from the eaton fire. we are not all the way through this thing. we have many days left to go. there were stronger winds last night or tonight, it's still in the evening here. and we have more from monday through wednesday. we're telling everyone that they need to stay alert. they need to have their go bag ready. they need to be paying close attention to credible news sources like yours and other applications, like the watch duty app, that give people a really good, quick sense of when they need to

george whitesides is a congressman from california, representing the 27th district, which includes partsnty, including the hurst fire area. he gave us an update on what is happening in his district. so far, the fire has not caused widespread structural damage as you seen in the catastrophic images from the palisades and from the eaton fire. there are stronger winds last night and tonight, it is still in the evening here. we have more from monday until wednesday and we're telling everyone that they need to stay alert and have their go bag ready and need to be paying close to credible new source like yours and other applications like the watch duty app which give people a really good, quick sense of when they need to be ready to leave their homes in that very unfortunate circumstance. we've been is seeing very good reporting from the television in los angeles who have been doing a greatjob with staying up—to—date with all it this and i do recommend going directly to the la fire county news sites and to this application, watch duty, a nonprofit group and has experienced massive growth. mill

george whitesides is a congressman from california, representing the 27th district, which includes partsurst fire area. he gave me an update on what is happening in his district. we have been relatively lucky and the amazing firefighters of our community have been able to contain the highest fire as well as a numberfire, a little north of here. so far, the fire has not caused widespread structural damage as you seen in the catastrophic images from the palisades and from the eaton fire. we note that forecasts are that winds are expected to intensify and are spreading so quickly. what kinds of measures are put in place with this district ahead of monday and tuesday one those winds are due to rise? you are exactly right. we are not to be the thing and have many days left to go. there are stronger winds last night and tonight, it is still in the evening here. we have bought from monday until wednesday and we're telling everyone that they need to stay alert and have their bag ready and need to be paying close attention to credible new source and other applications like the watch duty app whic

. >> i want to bring in democratic congressman george whitesides. his district was affected but he cofounded the very important group, mega fire action which focuses on enacting policies to end this fire crisis. i am glad you are with us. i know you spent time at evacuation center's. what are people telling you? >> look, california is going through a horrendous, historic event right now. first of all, my heart goes out to folks like your previous guests. there are thousands of families like that who have lost their t homes. who have lost their treasured possessions. there is nothing we can do but to say help is on the way. we are going to do everything we can to help those people as they rebuild their lives, rebuild their communities, rebuild their schools and rebuild their homes over the coming months and years. >> tell us about your district. me in new york don't realize how big los angeles is. we have five separate blazes burning. at least two uncontained but the hurst fire has the highest wildfire risk right now. what is the latest there? >> thi

george whitesides, good. george, thanks. it's a great name too, by the way. brad sherman oh, i know brad well i know brad, but that's all right. we're on the same side of this one. i know that we'll work together brett. very well. a lot of respect. and presidential envoy rick grinnell, who's done a fantastic job for me over the years, he was ambassador to germany and he was fantastic. so two and a half weeks ago, over 100 mile an hour winds transformed the palisades fire and other areas, too, into absolute infernos of death and destruction. and this is already the most expensive natural disaster. they say in american history. that's that's pretty amazing. the numbers are going to be staggering. most importantly, we have to get it built, and we have to hopefully find as few people as possible. we have already too many, too many. 28. at least. they say we're going to work very hard with the mayor, the governor, the supervisor and everybody and get the resources behind you. we have some amazing people and we have some amazing fighters for things like this. i als

recognize president biden and governor newsom but we also have here with us today congress member george whiteside, gong member laura friedman, senator perez, assembly member rodriguez and malibu mayor. make no mistake we're all working together. i want to thank you all for being here. i know our congress representatives flew in and we appreciate it and we are all in this together. with that we'll take some questions. >> thank you, just a couple rules of the road. i will call on you when you get called upon announce your name and which media outlet you're with. >> jonathan, with cbs news for mayor bass, please. mayor, la county is in a panic state. it began two days ago with the palisades fire. my crew and i arrived shortly after it started and for several hours we watched as hundreds of homes in the neighborhood burned to the ground and did not see a single fire engine. we watched as good samaritans guided traffic. there was fear and there was a lot of confusion. you were out of the country at the time. shortly after the fire started, a press release was put out warning of this fire behavior. my

george whitesides. good, uh great name, too. by the way. brad sherman. right.reath. but that's all right. we're on the same side of this one, i know that will work to get the bread very well. lot of respect. and the presidential envoy, rick grinnell, those done a fantastic job for me over the years he ambassador to germany. that he was fantastic. so 2 and a half weeks ago, over 100 mile an hour, winds transformed the palisades fire and other areas too. into absolute inferno. zoo death and destruction. this is already the most expensive natural disaster. they say in american history. that's that's pretty amazing. the numbers are going to be staggering. most importantly, we have to get it built and we have to hopefully find as few people as possible. we have already too many too many. 28. at least they say. we're going to work very hard with the mayor, the governor, the supervisor everybody and get the resources behind you. we have some amazing people and we have some amazing fighters for things like this. i also had the concept of getting some of the best develo

george whitesides. that's a great name. brad sherman, i know brad well. but that's all right, we are on the same side of this one, we will work together well. presidential envoy ric grenell who has done a fantastic job for me over the years, he was ambassador to germany and was fantastic. 2.5 years ago over 100 mile-per-hour winds formed the palisades fire and other areas too into infernos of death and destruction and this is already the most expensive natural disaster they say in american history. that's pretty amazing. the numbers will be staggering. most important we we have to get it built and hopefully find people as possible. we already have too many. 28 at least they say. we are going to work very hard with the mayor, the governor, the supervisor, everybody command get the resources behind you. we have some amazing people and amazing fighters for things like this. i also have the concept of getting some of the best developers in the country -- i had so many calls from developers and they want to come, they don't want anything, they just want to hel

los angeles congressman george whiteside spoke with our sister station in los angeles earlier today, said he visited an evacuation center this morning and talked with people there about their losses. >> my heart breaks. my heart breaks. my wife grew up in santa rosa, and they had the tubbs fire, where their loss where they lost 5000 homes in just a couple of hours. and we're going through our own version of that last night and today. and it is just. there was a story that the that the fire chief told of telling one of his best friends that his home had burned to the ground with just the chimney remaining, and it just breaks your heart. and we just have to work as hard as we can to help these folks get back on their feet for the long recovery ahead. >> economic losses from the fires now close to $50 billion. los angeles mayor karen bass is being questioned for her handling of the city's fire department. well before the wildfires broke out. >> do you regret cutting the fire department budget by millions of dollars, madam mayor, have you nothing to say today? have you absolutely nothing

. >>> and i want to bring into the conversation democratic congressman george whitesides of california. his district was affected by these fires. but he also cofounded the very important group, magnifier action, which focuses specifically on enacting policies to end this mega fire crisis. i'm so glad you're with us. i know you spent time this week in evacuation centers. tell us everything you know. what are people telling you? >> look, california is going through a horrendous, historic event right now. and first of all, i just want to say that my heart goes out to folks like your previous guest. there are thousands of families like that, who have lost their homes, who have lost their treasured possessions. and there is nothing that we can do but to say help is on the way. and we are going to do everything we can to help those people as they rebuild their lives, rebuild their communities, rebuild their schools, and rebuild their homes over the coming months and years. >> tell us about your district. it is being affected by the hearst fire. oftentimes people like me in new york don't rea

and joining us now is democratic congressman george whitesides. his district covers the area impacted by the fire. he's also co-founder of mega fire action, which focuses on researching and enacting policies to prevent massive wildfires. congressman, thank you very much. and first of all, just our sympathy. our condolences to you for losses. the devastation there is just horrific. the whole country is the world is really looking at what's happening there with horror. and there's so much misinformation and disinformation circulating about the fires. conspiracy theories, including alex jones i saw yesterday spouting elon musk, spouting things that are completely inaccurate. this includes that president elect trump's claim, frankly, that governor newsom blocked a measure allowing water to flow from northern california to southern california. can you clear up some of these myths? you know, false statements. >> yeah. first of all, as you say, it is absolutely heartbreaking what we're seeing across los angeles county. you know, my heart goes out to ever

representative george whitesides. and i asked, you know, whitesides, how did it go in there?s, essentially, firefighters have saved castaic. that's just how great of a job that they've done. it is 14% containment right now. but we're just seeing maybe some smoldering, not those active flames where we saw that big orange ominous cloud where school children were evacuating. some at the high school were a little nervous. this area has been on edge for the last two weeks because of those deadly wildfires, the palisades and eton fires. so as this red flag warning is in effect, we are not out of the woods yet because there is still the potential for new fires to pop up. there was another one that popped up earlier today. it looks like firefighters are getting that one under control as well. >> what about the threat that comes with the imminent rain that's coming? so good news. there's going to be some rain forecasted for i think on sunday a couple of inches in some places, but that's not entirely a good thing. and can you explain to me why. >> that's such a good question, katie. so

congressman george whitesides, the congressman, made combating wildfires a huge part of his work beforection, the first organization dedicated to solving the country's mega fire crisis. thank you so much for joining us. please tell us first how you're doing, how southern california is doing, and what people outside the area should know about. the risk that remains. >> thanks, nicole. it's great to be with you. you know, i just came back from a visit to the local pasadena center where people are being housed by the red cross, and it just rips your guts out to see people's lives destroyed, or at least significantly harmed. >> but it does give us hope to see the outpouring of support that we're seeing from across los angeles and across the country to help these people get back on their feet and to eventually rebuild. >> we're very concerned about the winds that are coming in tonight. >> i represent a district that where the hurst fire is, is largely contained, but we're worried about new start ignitions. >> and of course, we're worried about eaton and the palisades. >> what we need to do g

and 2024 including the central valley adam gray who defeated republican john duarte by jeff george whitesidecked off and mike garcia and derek tran who unseated republican michelle steel by 650 votes. lighting off a list of most honorable members sing a handful of districts in new york will likely be contested again. democratic rep presented guillen who defeated esposito will fight for a second term while fellow democratic represent of tom suozzi could also face another close race districts north of new york city were republican mike waller -- and democrat josh riley ousted -- also in charge of category described as blue dogs and rural democrats saying representative jared golden of maine and marie perez of washington state proved they could succeed in a public and leaning territories although both can expect to once again be gop targets. golden winning a fourth term in november by less than a point as a president-elect carried his seat but 10 points. even at the end of this cycle when it comes to elections already looking at midterms on the pages of roll call. open form, 202-748-8000 for de