![The burnt remains of a building where once stood a hardware store are seen in Altadena, California on January 15, 2025. The historic community of Altadena, on the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, has been left in ashes and rubble though some homes remain standing.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2193496819.jpg)
The Insurance Crisis Looming in California as the Wildfires Burn The Insurance Crisis Looming in California as the Wildfires Burn
California’s Department of Insurance has worked to repair the broken insurance system, but the LA fires threaten to undo the progress the state has made.
Jan 16, 2025 / Sasha Abramsky
![Faiz Shakir appears on](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-1567170680.jpg)
Faiz Shakir’s Late Entry Shakes Up the Race for DNC Chair Faiz Shakir’s Late Entry Shakes Up the Race for DNC Chair
The strategist who managed Bernie Sanders’s presidential race says the party needs vision and conviction “to restore a deeply damaged Democratic brand.”
Jan 16, 2025 / John Nichols
![A reporter works in front of a home burned by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on January 9, 2025.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/la-fires-media-getty.jpg)
The Media’s Mega-Failure on LA’s Mega-Fires The Media’s Mega-Failure on LA’s Mega-Fires
Even as the LA fires still burn, most journalism is not representing how the climate crisis is driving increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather.
Jan 16, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope
![Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2024.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/vladimir-putin-gesture-getty.jpg)
Needed: A Sober Assessment of Putin’s Russia to Help End the War Needed: A Sober Assessment of Putin’s Russia to Help End the War
Putin’s ultimate goal isn’t recreating empire or seeking war with NATO—it’s staying in power.
Jan 16, 2025 / Stephen Crowley
![The Brown Berets, who newly declassified documents reveal were the target of illegal CIA surveillance in the 1960s and ’70s, are still active, as seen here in this 2017 protest against white supremacist activists in San Diego. What we don’t know is whether the CIA has ever really backed off.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-842303710.jpg)
The CIA Illegally Spied on Puerto Rican and Mexican American Activists for Decades The CIA Illegally Spied on Puerto Rican and Mexican American Activists for Decades
And is probably still at it. As newly released classified documents confirm activists’ long-held suspicions, the disclosures should also alert us to current dangers.
Jan 16, 2025 / Roberto Lovato
![Jeff Bezos, owner of “The Washington Post” (left); Donald Trump.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bezos-Trump-Mystal.jpg)
The Media Is Giving Away Its Rights Even Before Trump Tries to Take Them The Media Is Giving Away Its Rights Even Before Trump Tries to Take Them
Recent events have shown that Trump does not have to impose a new regime of censorship if the press censors itself first.
Jan 16, 2025 / Column / Elie Mystal
![Vance at Butler Assassination Site](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2176123756.jpg)
The Age of Vanceism Is Just Beginning The Age of Vanceism Is Just Beginning
The next four years in American politics may be characterized as much by the vice president as by his boss.
Jan 16, 2025 / Column / Chris Lehmann
![Jamie XX performing in London in 2024.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Stephen-Jamie_xx.jpg)
The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx
With In Waves, Jamie xx—whose real name is James Smith—has perfected what he explored in In Colour: an album full of searching tunes that can double as dance songs.
Jan 16, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen
![Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, hands the gavel to Mitch Landrieu, Democratic National Convention Committee cochair, during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 20, 2024, in Chicago.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/jaime-harrison-dnc-getty.jpg)
What Will the New DNC Chair Do to Curb the Role of Outside Money in Democratic Primaries? What Will the New DNC Chair Do to Curb the Role of Outside Money in Democratic Primaries?
January 16, 2025 What Will the New DNC Chair Do to Curb the Role of Outside Money in Democratic Primaries? This is increasingly an existential question for progressives—and for the…
Jan 16, 2025 / Robert L. Borosage
![Hundred-dollar bills fly off into a sunny blue sky.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/money-bills-flying-gt-img.jpg)
Left Organizing Is in Crisis. Philanthropy Is a Major Reason Why. Left Organizing Is in Crisis. Philanthropy Is a Major Reason Why.
Progressive philanthropy lacks good strategy, so too many of our organizations are hollow—and that left us unable to prevent a second Trump term.
Jan 16, 2025 / Nina Luo