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Scouting America and kick the youth group off military bases worldwide, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday gave a six-month reprieve to the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America.
Hegseth made the announcement in a video posted to X, framing it as an ultimatum to Scouting to conform to the Trump administration's anti-DEI agenda. He detailed his many criticisms of the group, saying Scouts had"lost their way" by changing the organization's name and"watering down" what he called"the focus on God as the ruler of the universe." He accused the Scouts of promoting"an insidious, radical, woke ideology that is anti-America and anti-American."Today's announcement came after word of Hegseth's plans to shun Scouting sparked weeks of backlash. In a meeting with Scouting officials in January, Hegseth had demanded that the organization change its name back to Boy Scouts and remove some 200,000 young girls from its membership. A week after the Pentagon meeting, Scouting officials sent a letter to Hegseth outlining proposed concessions.After threatening to sever ties with , framing it as an ultimatum to Scouting to conform to the Trump administration's anti-DEI agenda. He detailed his many criticisms of the group, saying Scouts had"lost their way" by changing the organization's name and"watering down" what he called"the focus on God as the ruler of the universe." He accused the Scouts of promoting"an insidious, radical, woke ideology that is anti-America and anti-American."Hegseth also made clear he thinks the organization should go back to being exclusively male." Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts as originally founded, a group that develops boys into men," he said."Maybe someday." The Pentagon's promise to reevaluate its relationship with Scouting in six months was nonetheless a retreat of sorts for Hegseth. Today's announcement came after word of Hegseth's plans to shun Scouting sparked weeks of backlash, including from some Republicans. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska has said of Hegseth's plans:"I've heard a lot of dumb stuff, but this is up there." In a meeting with Scouting officials in January, Hegseth had demanded that the organization change its name back to Boy Scouts and remove some 200,000 young girls from its membership. " I knew in the meeting that my board, my organization, was not gonna make those changes," Scouting America CEO Roger Krone said in an interview with NPR." When I was a youth, we left parts of the family in the parking lot on Friday night when we went camping," Krone said."Long before I came back to Scouting, our board made several decisions, by a vote of our national council, that we were gonna serve the entire family." A week after the Pentagon meeting, Scouting officials sent a letter to Hegseth outlining proposed concessions. While they wouldn't change the name or kick out girls, they would drop a Citizenship in Society merit badge that promoted diversity and had been instituted after the killing of George Floyd. They would also add a Military Service merit badge, waive membership fees for military families and offer a public rededication"of duty to God, duty to country, and service." Even after the concessions, which Scouting officials said they planned to implement regardless, a spokesman told NPR the group expected an announcement from the Pentagon severing ties was imminent. ButHegseth has for years criticized Scouting for allegedly caving to progressive politics. He repeated the claim Friday."Scouting became an organization that no longer supported and celebrated boys," Hegseth said."They even welcomed the destructive myth of gender fluidity and transgenderism to infiltrate their membership." The Secretary also highlighted another concession."Scouting America will modify its policy to make clear that membership will be based solely on biological sex at birth and not gender identity," he said."That means that the application, any application, will have only two sex designations, male and female, and the application must match the applicant's birth certificate." Krone noted that the Scouting application already has only two sex designations." Tomorrow it will be the same application that we had yesterday," he said."We ask for that information so we can operate our units in a way that ensures that our kids are safe and are safeguarded." In the wake of sexual abuse allegations that resulted in a $2.46 billion victim compensation fund, Krone says Scouting has implemented stringent policies. Along with other practices, he said they ask for gender information" so that we know from a tenting standpoint and from a bathroom standpoint how to run our programs." Severing ties with Scouts would have meant banning scouts from meeting on military bases, withdrawing military medical and logistical assistance to the quadrennial Scout Jamboree and eliminating the program that allows Eagle Scouts to enlist at advanced rank and pay. As reported by NPR, the Pentagon had gone so far as to coordinate with the heads of the different branches on what a separation might mean. The Pentagon circulated a draft notification internally meant for the congressional Armed Services Committees, justifying the withdrawal of military support for the Jamboree. The memo, reviewed by NPR, claimed that providing medical and logistical help to the campout, scheduled for July, would threaten national security. With this six-month trial period, base access for Scout troops will continue and Jamboree assistance is moving forward for now, including recruitment coordination. As Hegseth pointed out on X, many boy Scouts have become high-ranking military officers, or have served the country in other ways. "Six Boy Scouts have been elected president of the United States," Hegseth said."Eleven of the 12 Men to walk on the Moon boy Scouts."LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho speaks during a press conference at LAUSD Headquarters in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2026.The Los Angeles Unified School Board voted unanimously to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave after an hours long closed meeting Thursday and Friday. The board appointed longtime administrator and current Chief of School Operations Andres Chait as interim superintendent.The reason for the searches is unknown, although has been the subject of widespread speculation. A DOJ spokesperson said the agency had a court-authorized warrant but declined to provide additional details. The FBICarvalho has been superintendent of LAUSD since 2022, and the board unanimously renewed his contract in 2025. Prior to coming to L.A., Carvalho had worked for the Miami-Dade County school district for decades, 30 years as a teacher and the last 14 years as the district's supervisor.A spokesperson for the FBI in Miami confirmed Wednesday’s L.A. searches are linked to a search of a South Florida home the same day. That property,The Los Angeles Unified School Board voted unanimously to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave pending an investigation after an hours long closed meeting Thursday and Friday. The board appointed longtime administrator and current Chief of School Operations Andres Chait as acting superintendent.is unknown, although has been the subject of widespread speculation. A DOJ spokesperson said the agency had a court-authorized warrant but declined to provide additional details. The FBICarvalho has been superintendent of LAUSD since 2022, and the board unanimously renewed his contract in 2025. Prior to coming to L.A., Carvalho worked for the Miami-Dade County school district for decades, 30 years as a teacher and the last 14 years as the district's supervisor.A spokesperson for the FBI in Miami confirmed Wednesday’s L.A. searches are linked to a search of a South Florida home the same day. That property,A city commission on Thursday recommended increasing the size of the Los Angeles City Council from 15 to 25, a change long sought after by advocates who said the panel was too small for a city of nearly 4 million people.The Charter Reform Commission also recommended moving to a ranked-choice voting system for city elections, a method in which voters choose multiple candidates in order of their preference. If no candidate wins a majority of votes, then the last place finisher is eliminated and their supporters' second choice is counted.Each of those moves would require changing the city’s charter, the basic set of rules and procedures by which the city operates. And any change to the charter would require voter approval. The recommendations will go to the City Council, which will decide whether to place the proposals on the June ballot.The commission has been meeting for six months to take input from the public and to consider charter changes. It was created in the wake of the 2022 City Hall tapes scandal, where members of the council were heard on audio discussing how to hold onto power. The conversation was laced with crude and racist remarks, triggering calls for resignation and reforms.A city commission on Thursday recommended increasing the size of the Los Angeles City Council from 15 to 25, a change long sought after by advocates who said the panel was too small for a city of nearly 4 million people. The Charter Reform Commission also recommended moving to a ranked-choice voting system for city elections, a method in which voters choose multiple candidates in order of their preference. If no candidate wins a majority of votes, then the last-place finisher is eliminated and their supporters' second choice is counted. Each of those moves would require changing the city’s charter, the basic set of rules and procedures by which the city operates. And any change to the charter would require voter approval. The recommendations will go to the City Council, which will decide whether to place the proposals on the June ballot.The commission has been meeting for six months to take input from the public and to consider charter changes. It was created in the wake of the 2022 City Hall tapes scandal, where members of the council were heard on audio discussing how to hold onto power. The conversation was laced with crude and racist remarks, triggering calls for resignation and reforms.Expanding the size of the council has been suggested as one way to help guard against corruption in local government. Supporters say making the council larger would make it better reflect the diversity of L.A. The idea is “to have a city council that is bigger, more representative of Los Angeles and gives minorities across the city to elect candidates of choice,” Commissioner Diego Andrades said at the meeting. Several other major cities have far larger councils. New York, with 8 million people, has a 51-member City Council. Chicago, with 2.7 million residents, has a 50-member council. The current size of the Los Angeles City Council was established nearly a century ago, when Angelenos approved the 1924 Charter. At the time, each of the 15 council members represented on average a little more than 38,000 residents. Today, the city has grown to more than 3.9 million residents, with each councilmember now representing on average 265,000 Angelenos, according to Fair Rep LA, an advocacy group. Increasing the size of the L.A. council to 25 would mean each member would represent 159,000 residents each. Commissioners debated increasing the size to 29, but voted down that number amid concerns the voters would reject it as too high.The committee made several other reform recommendations during a five-hour meeting Thursday evening. The panel recommended that the city change the way it conducts elections, moving to a ranked-choice voting system for city elections starting in 2032. With ranked-choice voting, if a candidate receives more than half of the first choices, that candidate wins outright — just like in any other election. But if there is no majority winner after counting the first choices, the race is decided by an instant runoff. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and candidates who ranked that candidate as their first choice will have their votes counted for their second choice. The process continues until one candidate has a majority of the vote.“The Charter Commission took a big step in empowering Los Angeles voters,” said Michael Feinstein, a former mayor of Santa Monica and a Green Party candidate for secretary of state. “Ranked-choice voting allows voters to express their preferences over more than one candidate, it gets rid of the spoiler issue and gives voters a much greater voice,” he said. It also saves money because the city is required to conduct one election instead of a primary and runoff elections. The commission also recommended the city create a chief financial officer position to replace the chief administrative officer position. City Controller Kenneth Mejia disagreed with the recommendation, saying the CFO role should be placed in his office. The panel also voted against giving the controller the ability to hire outside counsel and turned down Mejia’s request that the controller be able to conduct audits of all city programs, including those under elected offices. The commission voted to recommend giving the controller a fixed budget that is a percentage of the general fund. It also agreed to recommend enshrining in the charter the controller’s waste fraud and abuse functions — something that was requested by Mejia.bifurcating the City Attorney’s Office, creating an anti-corruption office and doubling the charter-mandated amount of funds set aside for the city parks.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.Attendees at a town hall event organized by the Environmental Defense Center and other local organizations in Santa Barbara on Jan. 17, 2026.A Santa Barbara judge tentatively ruled that the Trump administration’s intervention wasn’t enough to let Sable Offshore restart a pipeline shut after a 2015 oil spill., Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Donna D. Geck said the Trump administration’s intervention was not enough to undo her earlier order keeping the pipeline shut down.The Houston-based startup, which bought the system from ExxonMobil in early 2024, secured an extraordinary intervention from the Trump administration last year to wrest oversight of the pipeline away from the California regulators who were blocking its path.A Santa Barbara judge intends to rule against Sable Offshore Corp.’s bid to restart a pipeline that spilled thousands of barrels of crude into the Pacific 11 years ago – dealing a significant blow to the company’s attempt to use the Trump Administration to get around California regulators in its path., Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Donna D. Geck said the Trump administration’s intervention was not enough to undo her earlier order keeping the pipeline shut down. The ruling — a preliminary decision signalling how the judge intends to rule unless persuaded otherwise — comes ahead of a Friday hearing. The Houston-based startup, which bought the system from ExxonMobil in early 2024, secured an extraordinary intervention from the Trump administration last year to wrest oversight of the pipeline away from the California regulators who were blocking its path. Sable declined to comment on the tentative ruling. In an earlier statement, Steve Rusch, the company’s vice president of environmental and government affairs, said the project would “offer Californians immediate relief at the pump by making gas more affordable,” and that the company had the experience to operate safely. The company is facing a criminal prosecution by the local district attorney, a federal securities inquiry, two court injunctions and findings by county officials of a pattern of noncompliance.When state regulators told Sable that the company needed to repair corrosion on the pipeline last fall, the company turned to Washington. About a month later, Sable asked federal regulators to declare the pipeline “interstate” – a designation that would shift authority from California's Office of the State Fire Marshal to the federal government. The company cited President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025 On Dec. 17, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration agreed, ruling that the Las Flores Pipeline — two onshore oil lines running from Santa Barbara County to Kern County — qualifies as an interstate pipeline because it begins on federal offshore platforms and ends at a refinery in Kern County. The agency noted that the pipeline had been federally overseen before 2016. Six days later, the agency issued an emergency permit approving a restart plan. The agency declined to comment. The maneuver caused immediate conflict. A 2020 federal consent decree stemming from the 2015 spill requires approval from the California State Fire Marshal before the pipeline can restart — a condition that appears to conflict directly with the Trump administration’s move to strip the fire marshal of authority. Workers prepare an oil containment boom at Refugio State Beach, north of Goleta, on May 21, 2015, two days after an oil pipeline ruptured, polluting beaches and killing hundreds of birds and marine mammals.in January. Christine Lee, a spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta said the Trump administration’s “illegal actions” contradict the consent decree and attempt to evade state oversight. Both cases were consolidated earlier this month and are awaiting a ruling in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Justice Department declined to comment. “It's a real impingement on state authority here that shouldn't stand,” said Julie Teel Simmonds, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, before the judge’s initial ruling was issued Thursday. “They're trying to basically seize control over these pipelines.”Geck’s injunction, issued last July, bars Sable from restarting the pipeline until it secures all required state approvals, including those from the fire marshal. The order stems from afiled by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Environmental Defense Center, which argued that the fire marshal violated the state Pipeline Safety Act by issuing restart waivers without required environmental review. On Jan. 5, Sable asked Judge Geck to lift her injunction, arguing that once federal regulators asserted control, the state fire marshal “no longer has any regulatory authority.”Linda Krop, a staff attorney with the Environmental Defense Center, said the tentative ruling turns on the 2020 consent decree, which binds Sable, federal regulators and the state fire marshal alike.An exhibitor talks to an attendee at a town hall organized by the Environmental Defense Center and other local organizations.At the core of the dispute is corrosion — and how strict the safety bar should be before oil can flow again. State regulatorson any section of pipe showing serious wall thinning, including spots that could be considered unsafe once inspection error is factored in. In her tentative ruling, Geck sided with the state, finding that the federal action was not enough to override her order.that it had already completed the required repairs and argued that those tougher standards were meant to apply only after the pipeline restarts, not before.that production could rise from about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to more than 50,000, with oil flowing to Los Angeles, Bakersfield and San Francisco refineries. The company told CalMatters this week it could serve 20% of the state’s market, an attractive possibility asSable says it has upgraded monitoring systems and strengthened emergency shutoff protections on the line, plans to inspect the pipeline more frequently than federal rules require, and has response crews positioned for rapid deployment, according to a company spokesperson.found the restart would not reduce foreign imports and would raise global greenhouse gas emissions because of the project’s higher carbon intensity.Multiple state and federal hurdles still stand between the company and a restart. A second injunction, issued by Judge Thomas Anderle, also in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, bars work deemed development under state coastal law without a permit from the California Coastal Commission. That order stems from a separate case over unpermitted work along the Gaviota Coast — conduct state officials have called part of a broader pattern of noncompliance. The commission last year A new state law, Senate Bill 237, requires oil facilities idle for five years or more to obtain a new coastal development permit. A stretch of the pipeline crosses Gaviota State Park, and state officials say they cannot grant a new easement without completing environmental review. Oil rigs are visible in the Santa Barbara Channel, as hikers visit the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve, on Jan. 17, 2026.The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors last year denied Sable’s request to assume ExxonMobil’s operating permits, also citing a pattern of noncompliance. County prosecutors have also charged Sable with multiple counts related to alleged unpermitted excavation and dumping during pipeline work in 2024 and early 2025. That criminal case is ongoing.in cash and cash equivalents as of the end of last year and will need to spend $25 million to $30 million a month to keep operating this year. It said it plans to seek up to $250 million through stock sales. The financial pressure is compounded by a weaker oil market than the company anticipated when pitching investors, said Clark Williams-Derry, an analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Crude prices have remained well below earlier projections, tightening the project’s economics and leaving less margin for delay. “The company is … burning through cash,” Williams-Derry said. “It is facing much higher costs — and a much slower timetable — than it had envisioned originally.” Sable has floated a fallback plan to bypass the onshore pipeline and export oil by offshore tanker — a proposal that has drawn fierce opposition in California. The pipeline fight comes as the Trump administration acts to expand offshore oil leasing along the West Coast – a move that has drawn fierce opposition in California. Geck’s tentative ruling is the first sign that federal efforts to override state authority may face resistance in court. “If Sable ultimately is not able to build this — or to reopen this pipeline — I think it'll just be confirmation that state and local governments have a say,” said Deborah Sivas, a Stanford environmental law professor. “It'll just reaffirm the Feds can't come in and force things down on states and locals.”: The deposition was taken last month and released Thursday by representatives of the thousands of families affected by last year’s Palisades Fire.Pike recalled stomping at an ash pit that revealed red, hot coals that were crackling. He used residual water from the hose he was picking up, but that wasn’t enough to extinguish the spot. Pike said his concerns “fell on deaf ears,” so he continued to follow orders to clear out the area. “I haven't seen anyone step up and take responsibility. None of my leaders, none of the city leaders, nobody,” Pike said. “I saw something. I said something, and to my best ability, I feel like we could've done more.”on New Year’s Day 2025 and was initially contained to 8 acres. Days later, as strong Santa Ana winds lashed across Southern California, the fire reignited and became the
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Pentagon says Scouting America will alter policies to maintain support from US militaryWASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Scouting America will alter several policies to maintain its support from the U.S. military.
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Pentagon says Scouting America will alter policies to maintain support from US militaryThe changes include a requirement that members use “biological sex at birth and not gender identity.”
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Pentagon says Scouting America will alter policiesDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Scouting America will alter several policies to maintain its support from the U.S. military. The changes include a requirement that members use “biological sex at birth and not gender identity.
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Scouting America will alter its policies to maintain support from the US military, Pentagon saysDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Scouting America will alter several policies to maintain its support from the U.S. military.
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Scouting America will alter its policies to maintain support from the US military, Pentagon saysDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Scouting America will alter several policies to maintain its support from the U.S. military.
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Scouting America will alter its policies to maintain support from the US military, Pentagon saysThe changes include a requirement that members use “biological sex at birth and not gender identity.”
Read more »