Trump plans to revoke EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions

The Trump administration is preparing what environmental experts are calling one of the most sweeping regulatory rollbacks in modern history. The president plans to revoke the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) legal authority to regulate carbon emissions on Thursday.

If this authority is withdrawn, it could upend decades of U.S. climate policy, significantly impacting efforts to address climate change.

CBS News’ David Schechter has more details on this developing story.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/trump-plans-revoke-epas-authority-regulate-carbon-emissions/

Maxim Naumov makes Olympic debut one year after parents killed in midair collision

U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov carried the memory of his late parents with him to the Olympics on Tuesday night, delivering an emotional and heartfelt short program at the Milan-Cortina Games that fulfilled a dream they had long shared together.

Naumov’s parents, former pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were among the 67 people killed—more than two dozen of them members of the figure skating community—when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed into a military helicopter on approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport and fell into the icy Potomac River on January 29, 2025.

One of the last conversations Naumov had with his parents was about what it would take to make the Olympics.

“I’ve been inspired by them since day one, ever since we stepped on the ice together,” said Naumov, who brought an old photograph of that moment to the kiss-and-cry at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. The photo shows a little tyke standing between his parents as he stepped foot on the ice for the first time, the three of them all smiling for the camera.

“It’s not necessarily thinking about them specifically,” Naumov said, “but their presence. Feeling their presence. With every glide and step that I made on the ice, I couldn’t help but feel their support, almost like a chess piece on a chessboard.”

What made one of the feel-good stories of the Winter Games even more special was Naumov’s performance. While he was a long shot to make the top 10 at the Olympics, much less land on the podium, the 24-year-old nevertheless delivered one of the best short programs of his career.

He opened with a quad salchow as his godmother, Gretta Bogdan, watched from the stands. He followed up with a triple axel and a triple lutz-triple toe loop to finish out the program.

As the last notes of “Nocturne No. 20” by Frederic Chopin reverberated through the arena and the crowd rose to its feet, Naumov slid to a stop on his knees and looked to the sky, telling his parents: “Look at what we’ve done.”

“I didn’t know if I was going to cry, smile, or laugh,” he said afterward, “and all I could do was look up at them. And man, I still can’t believe what just happened. I think it’s going to take me a few hours or maybe a few weeks to know.”

His score of 85.65 was enough to make it through the short program, giving him another opportunity to perform when the men’s free skate takes place Friday night.

The plane carrying Naumov’s parents also had aboard 11 young skaters, two other coaches, and several family members who had been attending a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, following the 2025 national championships. Naumov’s parents were coaches at the Skating Club of Boston, which lost six members in the midair crash.

Naumov had flown out earlier, shortly after he had finished in fourth place for the third consecutive year.

“I can’t describe how difficult it was at the very beginning, and through month after month of really just trying my hardest to keep a positive mindset, and focus on day to day,” Naumov told CBS News Boston last month during his Olympic training at the Skating Club. “Thankfully, skating became a tool that actually helped me overcome that.”

The idea of fulfilling the Olympic dream he harbored with his parents pushed him on. When he finished third at the U.S. championships in January, his spot was all but secured.

“To be honest,” Naumov said Tuesday night, “I wasn’t thinking about executing anything perfectly or anything like that. I wanted to go out there and just give my heart out. Leave everything out there. Have no regrets. And that’s exactly what I felt.”

“To deal with the tragedy that he’s dealt with, and like he said, get up and do the day. And that’s what he’s done. He’s done one day at a time,” Katharine Steeger, the skating club’s director of membership services, told CBS Boston. “To have Max start us off with such an amazing skate for him, it’s just, there’s really no words.”

This marks the first time since 2014 that the Skating Club of Boston has sent athletes to the Olympics. Along with Naumov, they also sent figure skating pair Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe.

In the crowd Tuesday, dozens of American flags waved when Naumov’s program came to a conclusion. At one end of the arena, a fan held up a big flag that read, “Tomorrow’s Champions,” and carried the logo of the Skating Club of Boston.

“Tomorrow’s Champions” is the name of the skating school his parents founded and which Naumov now oversees.

“From the time that my name was announced in the warm-up to right before the skate,” Naumov said, “I felt it—the crowd, the energy, the roar. It’s like a buzz, you know? In your body. I couldn’t help but just embrace it. Embrace that love.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/maxim-naumov-olympic-debut-after-parents-killed-midair-dc-collision/

San Francisco teachers go on strike, closing schools for nearly 50,000 students

San Francisco Public Schools Shut Down as Teachers Strike Over Pay and Healthcare

San Francisco public schools shut down on Monday as teachers went on strike demanding improved healthcare benefits and pay raises, leaving families of some 50,000 students scrambling for child care and meals.

Members of the United Educators of San Francisco walked off the job for the first time since 1979 after union leaders and the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) failed to reach an agreement during a weekend bargaining session.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie had pleaded with both sides to keep schools open for three more days while negotiations continued, aiming to “allow kids to stay in the classroom and the adults to keep talking.” Bargaining resumed Monday afternoon, according to a union spokesperson, but there was no set end date for the strike.

The district announced schools would also be closed on Tuesday and urged parents to check the district website “for learning, food, childcare, and district support resources.”

### The Cost of Living and Healthcare Drive Union Demands

In one of the nation’s most expensive cities, “the affordability crisis for those of us devoted to San Francisco’s next generation is real,” said Cassondra Curiel, the teachers’ union president, in a statement.

Curiel added that rising healthcare premiums “are pushing excellent teachers and support staff out of our district,” which currently has hundreds of educator vacancies. “This week, we said enough is enough,” she declared.

On Monday, at school sites across the city, picketing educators marched while rattling cowbells, beating drums, and holding signs reading: “On Strike for Safe and Stable Schools” and “We Can’t Wait / Invest in the Schools Our Students Deserve.”

### Impact on Students and Families

SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su spoke to reporters Monday, emphasizing the strike’s consequences. “Every day this strike continues has real consequences,” she said during a news conference. “Students are losing instructional time. Families are scrambling to take care of their children, to arrange child care.”

She also highlighted concerns for vulnerable students who are losing access to food, mental health support, and connections to their school community, their friends, and trusted educators.

### Labor Unrest in California Education

The San Francisco teachers’ strike may signal more labor unrest in California. Educators in other major districts, including Los Angeles, have indicated readiness to strike for higher pay, smaller class sizes, and more resources.

Last month, members of United Teachers Los Angeles voted overwhelmingly to authorize their leadership to call a strike, increasing pressure amid stalled negotiations and looming staff layoffs and budget cuts in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Similarly, the San Diego teachers’ union voted prior to winter break to authorize a one-day unfair labor practice strike on February 26 if the San Diego Unified School District does not improve special education staffing.

These labor tensions come as COVID relief funds have ended and public school enrollment in California has plummeted in recent years, leading to reduced state funding. Last year, the California Teachers Association launched the “We Can’t Wait” campaign, encouraging union chapters to unite more forcefully in labor negotiations.

### SFUSD’s Budget Struggles

The San Francisco school district has cited “long-term budget challenges made worse by having fewer students and temporary COVID relief funds that are now gone.”

Several prominent lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), joined Mayor Lurie in calling for a 72-hour pause before the strike commenced, urging union leaders to keep classrooms open.

However, the union stressed that its timeline had been clear for some time. A union spokesperson told The Times that “these are not strike-happy people,” noting it had been nearly 50 years since the last San Francisco teachers’ strike, which lasted over six weeks.

SFUSD is currently facing a $102-million budget deficit and remains under state fiscal oversight due to a long-standing financial crisis. The district has stated that if layoffs become necessary to close the budget gap, employees will receive notices this spring.

Superintendent Su affirmed, “We will be at the table and we will stay for as long as it takes to get to a full agreement. I do not want a prolonged strike.”

### What Teachers Are Demanding

Negotiations between the teachers’ union and the district began in March 2025. The union has requested a 9% pay raise over two years, suggesting that funds could come from reserve resources.

On Saturday, the district offered a 6% raise over two years.

Rising healthcare costs for teachers with families remain a major sticking point. According to the union, SFUSD educators receive some of the lowest contributions toward healthcare costs compared to neighboring districts, prompting many to seek employment elsewhere.

Family healthcare premiums have reportedly risen to $1,500 a month, which the union notes can represent up to 40% of the annual income for some of the lowest-earning classroom support staff.

### Voices from the Classroom

Teanna Tillery, union vice president and representative of paraeducators who often work part-time with individual students, described the challenges. Increasing healthcare costs and the Bay Area’s high cost of living have largely offset the $9,000 permanent salary gains their union negotiated two years ago.

“We’re having to commute to other cities because we just can’t afford to be here,” Tillery said. “Most of us work more than one job to make ends meet, and one job should definitely be enough for all educators.”

Tillery shared that for part-time educators with one dependent, healthcare premiums reach about $900 a month—equivalent to 40% of their biweekly pay. For classified employees with two or more dependents, premiums can be as high as $1,500 monthly, significantly impacting paychecks for those not working full-time.

The union is demanding that the district cover all or the lion’s share of medical premiums for members and their dependents.

### District’s Healthcare Proposal

The Associated Press reported that Superintendent Su said the district has proposed two options: pay 75% of family health coverage directly to Kaiser Permanente or offer an annual $24,000 allowance for teachers to select their own healthcare plans.

### Additional Agreements and Rally Calls

On Saturday, the district and union reached a tentative agreement on a sanctuary school policy. This mirrors the city’s own policy and aims to protect immigrant and refugee students.

At a Monday rally at Mission High School, Cindy Castillo, a social studies and ethnic studies teacher and SFUSD alum, called for full accommodations for students with special needs, retention of students and educators of color, and fully staffed campus security teams to prevent violence.

“In my classroom, we talk about how we make change for the common good,” Castillo said. “I am standing here to walk the talk.”

—

As negotiations continue, the eyes of educators, families, and policymakers throughout California remain fixed on San Francisco, awaiting resolution and the reopening of classrooms.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-09/san-francisco-teachers-strike

Lindsey Vonn says she has “no regrets” after crash at Winter Olympics

American skier Lindsey Vonn addressed her devastating crash at the Winter Olympics for the first time on Monday. She stated that she had “no regrets” about the incident.

Vonn also shared details about her injuries, revealing that she “sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.”

CBS News’ Kelly O’Grady has more on the story.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/lindsey-vonn-no-regrets-crash-winter-olympics/

Breezy Johnson wins gold, while Lindsey Vonn crash ends comeback quest

Listen · 7:15

On the first Sunday of the Olympic Winter Games, downhill skier Breezy Johnson captured the first gold medal for Team USA.

Meanwhile, alpine racer Lindsay Vonn suffered a crash and was transported to the hospital with a broken leg.
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/08/nx-s1-5705939/breezy-johnson-wins-gold-while-lindsey-vonn-crash-ends-comeback-quest

Salman Rushdie: The 60 Minutes Interview

Salman Rushdie has come to terms with the attempt on his life in the only way he knows how: by writing a book about it, titled *Knife*.

He recently detailed the experience in his first television interview since the attack, providing insight into the impact it had on his life and work.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/salman-rushdie-knife-book-60-minutes-video-2026-02-08/

Lopez: A political earthquake in mayor’s race makes election a referendum on L.A.’s future

L. A. Mayor Karen Bass was having a really bad week. But then it turned into a pretty good week, and she must have breathed a sigh of relief. Until the Saturday morning surprise.

I had to set fire to my scorecard, and to the column I had just drafted, which touched on all the expected big-name challengers who had bowed out of the mayoral race in the past several days: L. A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, billionaire businessman Rick Caruso (who forced a runoff with Bass the last time around), and former L. A. Unified schools chief Austin Beutner. It was looking as though we wouldn’t get a badly needed, monthslong, toe-to-toe face-off about all that’s right and wrong in the sprawling metropolis of high hopes and low expectations.

In a conversation I had with Loyola Marymount University’s Fernando Guerra, a decades-long observer of the local political scene, he made this observation about the dull political season that was shaping up: “What is interesting to me is that no one from the establishment political class is running against [Bass] when she is clearly vulnerable.”

Vulnerable because of her handling of the Palisades fire and its aftermath. Vulnerable because of limited progress on core issues such as homelessness, housing affordability, and the shameful condition of streets, sidewalks, and parks.

But then came Saturday morning, when, in an unexpected move, L. A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman decided to step up, injecting a new element of drama into the race. It was a surprise because Raman and Bass are not political enemies. In fact, they’ve largely been allies and have endorsed each other’s reelection bids.

So what was Raman thinking in signing up for a challenge in which she is clearly the underdog?

“I have deep respect for Mayor Bass. We’ve worked closely together on my biggest priorities and her biggest priorities, and there’s significant alignment there,” Raman told The Times. “But over the last few months in particular, I’ve really begun to feel like unless we have some big changes in how we do things in Los Angeles, that the things we count on are not going to function anymore.”

There’s more to it than that, in political terms. Raman is to the left of Bass and the traditional left in Los Angeles. She and three other council members supported by the Democratic Socialists of America have changed the conversation at City Hall, with more emphasis on social service, housing, and labor issues, and less on traditional law enforcement.

Among their supporters are renters, immigrants, young adults, the underserved, and the frontline workers in the minimum-wage economy. Raman’s candidacy, along with DSA candidates for other city offices, makes the election something of a referendum on the evolving center of political clout in L. A.

It raises the question of whether the city is ready to blow things up and move further in the direction of New York City, which just elected as mayor the ultra-progressive Zohran Mamdani. And for all of that, it also raises the question of whether progressives can both deliver on their promises and also balance a budget. No easy task there.

As for Bass, you don’t get as far in politics as she has—from the state Legislature to Congress to City Hall—without sharp survival skills and without collecting friends you can count on, even when the road to reelection is filled with potholes. And even when an ally comes after you.

“Wow, what a surprise,” Guerra said upon Raman’s entry into the race. He considers her a formidable foe who was the first to prove “that the DSA can win in Los Angeles” and who brings several advantages to a campaign against Bass.

For one, she has a record of some success on homelessness in her district and was involved in that cause in the Silver Lake area before she was in public office, when she identified a startling lack of coordination and continuity. And by virtue of her age, 44, she’s aligned with younger voters hungry for change in political leadership.

It’s possible that with Raman in the race, and the nuts-and-bolts issues of governance now center stage, there will be slightly less emphasis on Bass’s handling and mishandling of the Palisades fire, which destroyed thousands of properties, wiped out a vibrant community, and killed 12 people.

When I said at the top of this column that Bass was having a really bad week, I was referring to the Palisades fire and the latest story from Times investigative reporters Alene Tchekmedyian and Paul Pringle.

They had already established that the Los Angeles Fire Department had failed to pre-deploy adequately for the fire, and that it had failed to extinguish an earlier fire that later triggered the epic disaster. The reporters had also established that the so-called “after-action” report on the fire had been altered to downplay failures by the department and the city, all of which was scandalous enough.

But on Wednesday, Tchekmedyian and Pringle reported that Bass was involved in the revisions despite her earlier denials. The mayor “wanted key findings about the LAFD’s actions removed or softened before the report was made public,” according to sources.

Bass vehemently denied the allegations and blasted The Times. But even before the latest story, Bass’s Palisades report card was one that a prudent person might have fed to the dog. She had left the country just before the fire despite warnings of potentially cataclysmic conditions. And multiple other missteps followed, including the botched hiring and early departure of a rebuilding czar.

Raman has not targeted Bass’ handling of the fire, and we’ll see if that changes.

I don’t consider the response to the ICE raids to be a point of contention between Raman and Bass. One of the mayor’s strengths in office has been her defense of the city’s immigrants and her pushback against President Trump.

“Bass gets high marks resisting ICE,” Guerra said of polling and public opinion surveys he has either conducted or reviewed. “But on other issues, including homelessness, she does not do well.”

Two-thirds of voters in one poll said they would not back Bass in the June primary, Guerra said. But that poll did not offer an alternative to Bass, and now there is one. Actually, several.

The others include Brentwood tech entrepreneur Adam Miller, who’s got money to spend; reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, a Republican who lost his Palisades home and has been hammering the mayor; and minister/community organizer Rae Huang, a Democratic socialist.

Do they matter, given the odds against them and the entry of Raman into the race? Yes, they might.

Bass needs more than 50% of the June primary vote to win outright. But with Raman and the others grabbing varying percentages of the vote, a two-person November runoff is likely—and the candidates will almost surely be Bass and Raman.

After a crazy week in L. A., allies are now foes. And the race for mayor just got interesting.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-07/lopez-column-bass-mayor-race

‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin conserves energy in Olympic debut, U.S. still leads team skate

Ilia Malinin leaned his head back and wagged his tongue. This perhaps wasn’t the start to his Olympic career that he wanted.

The 21-year-old took it easy in the short program of the team figure skating competition Saturday, leaving his signature quad axel out. Even with a watered-down routine, the man known as the “Quad God” looked shockingly mortal. He finished second in the short program after struggling on multiple jumps, trailing Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama’s electrifying performance by almost 10 points.

Despite Malinin’s performance, the United States still enters the final day of the team competition in first place. Madison Chock and Evan Bates dazzled in the free dance with a score of 133.23 points that earned first place. The reigning world champions swept both dance programs in the team event, helping pace the U.S. to a 44-point team total.

The United States leads second-place Japan (39 points) and third-place Italy (37 points) going into Sunday’s medal event, which will feature men’s, women’s, and pairs free programs. However, the U.S. team has not yet named the skaters who will perform in Sunday’s long programs.

Malinin, who earned nine points for his second-place finish in the short program, entered his first Olympic Games as the overwhelming favorite to win individual gold. With unmatched technical skill, it will likely take multiple mistakes from Malinin and perfect performances from his competitors for him not to claim the United States’ second consecutive men’s singles gold medal.

But to become just the second skater to win two gold medals in the same Games, Malinin’s performance fell short of those lofty expectations.

Malinin had planned to open with his quad axel in combination with a triple toeloop but settled only for a quad flip. He received a negative grade of execution on his triple axel and underrotated a quad lutz that he connected to the triple toeloop.

Malinin said he is simply managing his energy to prepare for the individual event, which begins on Tuesday—only two days after the final day of the team competition.

Kagiyama highlighted Japan’s performances Saturday, pumping both fists in the air after his program. As the crowd showered him with applause, he spread his arms wide and threw his head back. When he saw his Japanese teammates cheering from the sideline, he jumped in the air in excitement. He stood up in shock when his score of 108.67 flashed across the screen.

While Malinin is undefeated in individual events since November 2023, he has occasionally had to stage comeback wins. He was third after the short program in the Grand Prix Final in December—the last major international competition before the Olympics—but answered in the free skate by becoming the first person to land seven clean quad jumps in a single program.

With Malinin’s second-place finish, the United States held a slim one-point lead for the gold medal entering Sunday’s long programs.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/story/2026-02-07/quad-god-ilia-malinin-conserves-energy-u-s-leads-team-skate

Stepbrother arrested, charged after teen girl’s death on Carnival Cruise: Stepfather

The stepbrother of 18-year-old Anna Kepner, who was found dead aboard a Carnival Cruise ship in November, was arrested and charged this week in connection with the case, according to Anna Kepner’s father, who is also the stepfather of the suspect. The stepbrother was released to the custody of a guardian, Chris Kepner said. It is not known what specific charges he is facing.

The family’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. All court records are sealed because the suspect was charged as a juvenile. Meanwhile, the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the local prosecutor’s office declined to discuss the case.

Weeks after Anna Kepner’s death on the cruise ship during a Caribbean vacation, the stepbrother had been named a “suspect” by his parents in a court filing related to an unrelated custody case. The teen girl’s death was ruled a homicide, according to her death certificate, which cited “mechanical asphyxia” as the cause.

The Florida teenager was on vacation with her grandparents, father, stepmother, siblings, and stepsiblings when she was found dead under a bed. According to a security source briefed on the investigation, Anna was wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests.

Chris Kepner and his wife, Shauntel—who is the suspect’s biological mother and the victim’s stepmother—issued a lengthy statement on Friday:

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice for their dedication, professionalism, and thoroughness in the investigation into the murder of our daughter. We appreciate the seriousness, care, and integrity with which this case has been handled.

The loss of our daughter is a pain that will never fully heal. She was taken from us in a violent and senseless way, and our family has been permanently changed. Our grief is overwhelming, and her absence is felt in every part of our lives. No parent should ever have to bury their child, and no words can fully express the depth of our loss.

We believe in accountability and in the importance of justice being carried out. Our daughter deserves justice, and her life deserves to be honored through a full and fair legal process. We are grateful to the investigators and prosecutors who have worked to uncover the truth and to ensure that this crime is treated with the seriousness it warrants.

At this time, it is deeply painful and disturbing to our family that the person responsible is able to walk freely. This reality adds to our grief and outrage. It is devastating to know that while we live every day with the loss of our child, the individual responsible has not yet been fully held accountable. This only strengthens our resolve to continue seeking justice for our daughter.

During this investigation, we were advised by the FBI to remain quiet. We respected that request out of trust in the process and in hopes that it would help the investigation. However, as grieving parents who continue to live with unanswered questions and ongoing pain, we can no longer remain silent. Our daughter’s life matters, and we will continue to speak out to honor her, to seek accountability, and to ensure that her case is not forgotten.

While this tragedy has deeply hurt our family, we will not let it tear us apart. Our focus remains on honoring our daughter’s memory and seeking justice for her. We thank the FBI and the Department of Justice for their continued efforts, dedication, and commitment to this case.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/stepbrother-arrested-charged-after-teen-girls-death-carnival/story?id=129935644

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