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Date: 11-17-2022 3:45 PM - Word Count: 548

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   Afternoon Headlines
   City News Service

   Another round of gusty Santa Ana winds is expected to hit the
Southland late tomorrow and into Saturday, again raising concerns about
heightened wildfire conditions. The National Weather Service has issued a fire
weather watch that'll be in effect Saturday from 1 a-m to 10 p-m in the Los
Angeles and Santa Monica mountains ... and from late Friday night to Saturday
evening for the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys and the Malibu Coast.
Residents near wildland interfaces are being urged to prepare now on what to do
if a wildfire breaks out.

   With COVID-19 infection rates sharply increasing since the beginning
of November ... Los Angeles County is returning today to ``strongly
recommending'' that people wear masks in all indoor public settings. The
recommendation falls short of a masking mandate ... but masks are still
required indoors at health-care and congregate-care facilities for anyone
exposed to the virus in the past 10 days ... and at locations where they are
required by the operator.

   Karen Bass made her first speech as Los Angeles' mayor-elect today,
pledging to begin addressing the city's homelessness crisis immediately and
acknowledging the historical significance of being the first woman and second
Black person to lead the city. Bass spoke to supporters outside the Wilshire
Ebell Theatre. She'll inherit leadership of a city grappling with the City Hall
racism scandal, which included attempts to manipulate the city council
redistricting process.

   An attorney for Los Angeles County is calling for the dismissal of a
lawsuit filed by a retired fire captain who says he followed orders and took
photos of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash scene in 20-20 ... but wasn't
compensated for legal expenses after being sued. Plaintiff Brian Jordan is
seeking nearly 60-thousand-dollars in damages. But attorney Mira Hashmall says
Jordan's case has no merit because the county initially offered him legal
counsel as a defendant in the federal lawsuit ... verbally and in writing ...
before he hired his own attorney.

   Mayor Eric Garcetti is launching the L-A River Rangers program ...
which aims to hire youth clean up public spaces along the river. The initiative
will bring in 1-hundred-27 youth and is the first such program to serve the 18
miles of space along the Los Angeles river. Workers will care for public paths,
trails and bridges along the river. People up to 30 years old can apply to work
in the program ... either part- or full-time ... at Hire-L-A-Youth-dot-com.

   Taylor Swift fans anxious to snag tickets for her upcoming ``Eras
Tour'' are being dealt another blow. Ticketmaster has abruptly canceled
Friday's scheduled start of public ticket sales ... citing overwhelming demand.
Ticketmaster reported that more than 2 million Swift tickets were sold on
Tuesday ... a single-day record. The U-S leg of the tour will conclude with
five performances at SoFi Stadium ... August 3rd through 5th and the 8th and
9th.

   It'll be mostly clear tonight with lows in the 40s and 50s. In parts
of the San Fernando Valley, temperatures will drop into the 30s, and in areas
of the Antelope Valley into the 20s.
   Copyright 2022, City News Service, Inc.

CNS-11-17-2022 15:45