Forecast rain will aid firefighting efforts in Los Angeles but could cause mudslides and toxic ash runoff

Southern California was preparing for some long-awaited rain this weekend, bringing some respite after enormous wildfires have raged for weeks, but with the potential to cause mudslides, flooding and toxic ash runoff.

Rain is forecast for much of Los Angeles from Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service said. It said there was a “5-10%” chance of significant debris in burn scars, but officials have begun preparations for potential debris flows.

Settlement resolves thousands of lawsuits alleging Oxycontin caused addiction crisis

The Sackler family, which owns the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, has agreed to pay up to $7.4bn in a settlement to lawsuits arising from the opioid epidemic.

The sprawling deal, agreed between Purdue Pharma, Sackler family members involved in its ownership, thousands of victims of the opioid crisis, and state and local governments, is among the largest settlements of its kind.

One of two federal judges says pardons ‘cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake’

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US federal judges have criticized Donald Trump’s decision to pardon more than 1,500 people involved in the January 6 insurrection, arguing that the clemency “cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake” and that the president’s reasoning for the pardons was based on a “revisionist myth”.

The fierce condemnation came as the GOP scrambled to deal with Trump’s move, which was broader in scope than some Republicans had expected and included pardons for people convicted of assaulting police officers.

House and Senate Republicans float ideas to pay for Trump’s immigration crackdown and to fund tax cuts

Republicans are reportedly prepared to cut Medicaid funding to pay for Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration and to fund tax cuts that would mostly benefit the wealthy.

The GOP in the House and Senate have floated a series of ideas – many of which would target lower-income Americans – to cover the cost of extending tax cuts passed by Trump in 2017, the New York Times reported.