Today’s Headlines: Storm brings evacuations to Montecito and other parts of California

Hello, it’s Tuesday, Jan. 10, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today.

TOP STORIES

Montecito ordered to evacuate

Five years to the day after storm-induced mudslides ravaged Montecito, the entire town was ordered to evacuate as a deadly winter storm plowed through the area. Evacuation orders were also issued for parts of Santa Barbara and the nearby communities of Carpinteria and Summerland due to Monday’s deluge.

The weather took a deadly turn in San Luis Obispo County, where floodwaters swept away a 5-year-old boy and a motorist died after entering a flooded roadway.

In addition to Montecito, the evacuation order applies to residents of Toro Canyon, Padaro Lane from Via Real to Santa Claus Lane and Sycamore Canyon, and all campgrounds from Rincon Beach to Gaviota Beach.

House passes rules package for Congress

Electing the House speaker may have been the easy part. Now House Republicans will try to govern. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) has passed his first test as Republicans approved their rules package for governing House operations, typically a routine step on Day One that stretched into the second week of the new majority.

With sky-high ambitions for a hard-right conservative agenda and only a narrow hold on the majority, which enables just a few holdouts to halt proceedings, Republicans are rushing headlong into an uncertain, volatile start of the new session.

But first McCarthy, backed by former President Trump, needs to show that the Republican majority can keep up with basics of governing.

More politics:

• President Biden met Mexico’s leader amid concerns about illegal immigration, fentanyl smuggling and energy policy. Canada’s Justin Trudeau joins a Tuesday summit.

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L.A. County to declare homelessness state of emergency

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was the first to act — on her first day in office — declaring the homelessness crisis a citywide state of emergency, one as calamitous as any earthquake or hurricane. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson asked his staff to draft a similar declaration hours after he was sworn in. It’s now the county’s turn.

The five county supervisors are expected to approve a motion from Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger declaring a countywide state of emergency on homelessness, aiming to dramatically speed up the time it takes to provide services to the tens of thousands of people sleeping on the streets.

Twitter severance offers far worse than initially promised

After months of waiting, hundreds of Twitter employees who were laid off by Elon Musk in early November received their separation agreements by email Saturday morning.

The agreements offer one month of severance pay, with a major catch: Employees must sign away their right to ever sue the company; assist anyone in a legal case against the company, unless required by law; or speak negatively about Twitter, its management or Elon Musk.

L.A. party coach teaches how to socialize again

There are all sorts of coaches — life, spiritual, career, fitness. But as a party coach, Evan Cudworth is unique. (He’s the only one that Google turns up.)

He promises to get his clients to party better — whatever that means to them. For some, hiring a party coach is a radical act of prioritizing leisure time and breaking with a culture in which people contort themselves to optimize their work life while letting their personal time suffer.

The party coaching takes many forms. For example, he hosts anti-anxiety pre-parties for people before they go out to bars or events.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

James Claffey pushes his stalled car Monday from the southbound 101 Freeway in Montecito. The northbound lanes were closed due to flooding.

(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

CALIFORNIA

Challenges loom for gondola to Dodger Stadium. The ride aims to whisk tourists from Union Station to the stadium by the time of the 2028 Olympics, but the project is facing legal challenges and just lost one of its biggest backers.

Geneticists are trying a new approach to conservation. With state funding, experts are looking to identify and protect regions of the state that harbor populations of plants and animals with healthy, high levels of genetic diversity.

L.A. County shifts the lawyer program for the poor from Bar Assn. to the already busy public defender. The move drew outrage from some in Public Defender Ricardo García’s office who say they are already overloaded with cases, and he has no business taking on more responsibility.

NATION-WORLD

As Brazil reels from riots, Bolsonaro retreats to Florida. Devotees have traveled in recent days to Jair Bolsonaro’s temporary home at a resort, where he signed autographs, hugged children and took selfies before being hospitalized Monday with abdominal pain.

• Brazilian authorities vowed to protect democracy and punish those who stormed the nation’s seats of power.

6-year-old shoots a Virginia teacher during a lesson. Police said the 1st-grader raised a handgun, pointed it and fired while she was teaching Friday.

Iranian brothers were arrested in Germany after a tip about a possible attack plot. U.S. and German authorities said in a joint statement that the men allegedly sought to obtain the potent toxins cyanide and ricin.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

How ‘M3GAN’s’ killer doll came to life. What do animatronics, competitive dance and eyelid lubrication have to do with “M3GAN”? They’re a few of the secret ingredients that helped create Hollywood’s latest horror hit.

Mental health support is coming to film sets. Even before the pandemic, film and TV sets could be stressful and dangerous places to work. Now more producers are considering offering therapy services.

Adam Rich of ‘Eight Is Enough’ dies at 54. The popular series, which ran from 1977 to 1981, made Rich one of the biggest child stars of the period.

BUSINESS

U.S. safety agency to consider ban on gas stoves amid health fears. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to take action, including a potential ban, to address air pollution that comes from stoves, which can cause health and respiratory problems.

Bob Iger orders Disney employees back to the office four days a week. Staff are expected to show up March 1, according to a Monday email viewed by The Times. Iger said he wants to encourage in-person collaboration.

OPINION

L.A.’s eviction moratorium will end, but tenant protections should continue. The lessons of the pandemic cannot be forgotten. Renter protections, rent relief and landlord assistance can keep tenants housed and landlords in business.

SPORTS

Bills’ Damar Hamlin is discharged from Cincinnati hospital. The Bills safety returned to Buffalo on Monday, a week after going into cardiac arrest and having to be resuscitated on the field during a game in Cincinnati.

The National Women’s Soccer League permanently bans four coaches amid an alleged abuse and misconduct scandal. The league and its players association last month announced the results of an investigation, which found “widespread misconduct” directed at players dating back to the beginnings of the league nearly a decade ago.

ONLY IN L.A.

An accessory dwelling unit at a Santa Monica home.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Building an ADU? Start here. The ability to build accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, on single-family lots is opening up a new way of living for many in Los Angeles. But building one isn’t easy, with numerous permitting delays, headaches and surprises. Angelenos who have successfully completed the process share their tips for making it happen.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

A shopper takes a picture with an iPhone 11 inside the Apple Store at Fifth Avenue in New York in 2019.

(Johannes Eisele / AFP via Getty Images)

Apple launched the iTunes media player 22 years ago. The “jukebox” let users create a music library from music imported from their CDs.

The music player was launched about two years before the iTunes Music Store, which let customers purchase music. However, in 2019, Apple announced it would be replacing iTunes with three apps, for music, podcasts and TV.

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