FBI says it thwarted an attack on the Mall of America by a teen it supplied with an assault rifle

• October 7, 2026

By ELLEN SCHMIDT and GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The FBI thwarted an attack on the Mall of America by a teenager after agents supplied him with an assault rifle, authorities announced Wednesday.

The 18-year-old had been under investigation for nearly two years, trading messages with a confidential informant, before agents sold him the rifle and ammunition, they said.

“This was a radicalized young man who needed to be watched,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said as he praised the FBI investigation. Agents “were able to detect a threat, and disrupt it, before the defendant carried out his intention to kill, in his words, maybe 30 to 60 people, as we allege in far greater detail in the complaint.”

Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, was arrested Tuesday in a public park in Richfield, several miles northwest of the Mall of America, after he paid $600 to an undercover FBI employee posing as a member of ISIS for an AK-47 and 200 rounds of ammunition, according to the criminal complaint.

Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, was arrested Tuesday in a public park after he paid $600 to an undercover FBI employee posing as a member of ISIS for an AK-47 and 200 rounds of ammunition, according to the criminal complaint.

In text messages with a confidential FBI source, Mohamud repeatedly affirmed his intent to carry out an attack to kill non-Muslims, the complaint said. It was not immediately known if the teen had an attorney who might speak on his behalf.

​ Orange County Register 

Travel: Easter Island is like no other place on earth

• October 7, 2026

At sunrise, on mega-mysterious Rapa Nui, neon violet skies backlit 15 tiki-like huge-headed behemoths who possibly “walked” miles to this grassy plain centuries ago. The extraordinary hand-chiseled stone moai sternly stared from gouged-out eye sockets, their jutting jaws and furrowed brows shooting out supernatural vibes. Oh, did I feel the “mana” spiritual life force.

To the left of these Tongariki moai, an ancient volcano marked the spot where two human groups — the low-class Short Ears and upper-crust Long Ears — waged a grisly battle that culminated in burnt flesh.That conflict preceded the kooky Birdman cult, which required long clawing fingernails and an insane lethal competition for an egg.

Tiny in size but gargantuan in legend, Easter Island — called Rapa Nui by locals —  is one of the world’s most isolated inhabited islands and epic enigmas. Nearly 1,000 iconic moai statues have been discovered throughout this Polynesian island that is plopped in the South Pacific Ocean and was annexed by Chile in 1888. If the multi-ton moai weren’t stonewalling us, they’d dish all the secrets — how they were created, how the heck they magically traveled distances, why they were deliberately clobbered.

“The more I read and learn about our history, the more questions I have,” said  my informative Rapa Nui-born guide Otea, who is also a traditional tattoo artist and a stage show Polynesian dancer. Indeed, for decades, scientists, scholars, archeologists, 3-D models, drone photographs, and DNA tests have tried to unlock the puzzle with no firm consensus.

Despite its dizzying history, Easter Island is a serene and mesmerizingly beautiful island, some 2,300 miles from Chile’s mainland. The Easter name derives from a Dutch explorer whose fleet briefly landed at Rapa Nui on the Christian holiday in 1722. This was my second trip here after first visiting 11 years ago and amazingly the triangular 63-square-mile island seems unchanged; waves fiercely crashed against black volcanic rocks, brilliant green pastures stretched everywhere, horses freely roamed, and cows wandered. And yes, it’s an island but you don’t come to swig umbrella drinks and sunbathe; with tourism strictly regulated, you come to totally immerse yourself in the moai and a heritage that will boggle your mind forever.

Even my hotel, the shaman-blessed very cool Nayara Hangaroa lodge, was constructed to resemble the Birdman cult’s ceremonial village with grass-roofed circular buildings to keep the good mana flowing. In my suite, I bit the head off a moai (it was an artisanal candy) and admired my other welcome gift, a moai keychain fashioned from recycled plastic washed up on Rapa Nui’s shores. Outside, a large replica moai hovered over Nayara’s ocean-view swimming pool.

My real moai meet-and-greet occurred when I watched the pre-rain sunset dip behind the silhouetted statues at Tahai right on the coast. As my guide Cecilia explained, all of Easter Island’s moai were carved from compressed volcanic ash around A.D. 1000 to the 1650s. Initially, after people died, the Rapa Nui natives made simpler moai that would house their deified ancestor’s spirits and stand about 3 feet tall. But egos exploded and the moai grew more humongous; before death, chieftains and other elites commissioned their own moai, reaching up to 33 feet and weighing over 180,000 pounds.

“The bigger the moai, the better that tribe or spiritual leader was supposed to be,” Cecilia said. Meanwhile, a bottle of chilled sparking wine and a cheese plate awaited in her jeep for my surprise post-sunset snack.

Excursions with Cecilia and Otea were part of Nayara’s all-inclusive package (you need a licensed guide to go to most sites). Days earlier, I had been at sister hotel Nayara Alto Atacama in northern Chile relishing that lodge’s adventure tours. From Chile’s north and Andean culture, I flew to capital Santiago, overnighted, and then took a nearly six-hour flight to Easter Island’s teeny airport where a large sign greeted, “Iorana,” and a floor turtle mosaic, wooden whale sculpture and strumming ukulele player added to the delightful aura.

For sure, I was utterly entranced way before a fragrant flowery lei was draped over my head while wild chickens cutely ran amok in the baggage claim. Plus, I witnessed a hot commodity: dozens of passengers hand-carried boxes of Dunkin’ doughnuts bought at Santiago’s airport; crates of Dunkin’ doughnuts also emptied onto the carousel with checked luggage. Rapu Nui has no chain stores, so Dunkin’ ring-shaped pastries  — such as glazed or strawberry sprinkled — are apparently like crack for locals.

Since the moai were ultimate guardians, almost all had their backs to the sea so from their hallowed platforms (ahu) they could watch over inland villages for as many as 18 tribes. The later moai wore 13-ton red hats (pukao) symbolizing how the superior class tied their lengthy hair into topknots and painted the ‘dos with red dirt. Back then, the statues gazed out with white coral eyes that when inserted supposedly sprung the moai to life.

BIZARRE BIRDMAN

Around the 17th century, tribal warfare erupted, partly due to depleting natural resources. Opposing factions knocked over their rivals’ moai face-first, breaking them, “which was the highest form of disrespect,” Cecilia noted. Eyes were dug out and shattered, further zapping the moai’s power. Interestingly, none of the island’s toppled moai stood upright until archeologists started restoring them from the mid-1950s on.

One of the goriest battles, according to Rapa Nui folklore, happened between the underclass, oppressed Short Ears and the privileged, dominating Long Ears who may have worn heavy ornaments in their lobes. The Long Ears lit a ditch ablaze planning to kill the Short Ears, but the Short Ears snuck behind and flung the Long Ears into the fiery pyre, incinerating almost the whole clan.

Cue the Birdman cult.  After the moai purge, to bring peace and select an overall island leader, wannabe rulers picked athletic proxies to win a treacherous race held annually for about the next 186 years. “These guys were crazy,” Otea said, describing how each contestant had to scramble down a sheer 1,000-foot sea cliff, swim a mile in shark-infested waters, camp out until he obtained the migrating sooty tern’s egg, swim back with the unbroken egg fastened to his forehead, and ascend the perilous cliff. If he survived.

“It was like the ‘Hunger Games,’” Otea said. “And why did they do this? For political control.”

We were ambling in the misty rain through Orongo, the cult’s ceremonial village of squat, elliptical stone houses. These were the honchos’ quarters for feasting and praying until the first competitor brought back an egg to his chief, who was then crowned Birdman, shaving his own head, painting it a sacred mana red, and plunking on a human hair wig. Anointed as the reincarnation of creator god Makemake, the Birdman went into isolation for a year, not bathing or cutting his fingernails.

The cult eventually collapsed after Peruvian slave ships captured roughly 1,500 men — nearly half of Rapa Nui’s population — who were forced into brutal labor in Peru. The few who returned brought smallpox and by 1877, there were only 111 inhabitants on the island.

QUARRIES AND QUESTIONS

I tried to sort this all out in my eco-stylish room at Nayara, furnished with  polished cypress tree pillars, a volcanic rock sink and a handmade clay bathtub baked in a special oven. Sometimes a neighbor’s sweet, graying black Lab slept outside my door. En route to my breakfast, mother hens and their darling chicks pecked along the pathway to the hotel’s Poerava restaurant across from the Pacific. At the entry, a decorative wood-whittled moai supervised muffins and a fruit bowl on the enticing buffet.

Finally, I went with guide Otea to the most fascinating and spine-tingling location on Rapa Nui, the Rano Raraku quarry, birthplace of 95% of the moai and now a necropolis for 400 of them. Some megaliths are half-buried, tilting, incomplete or still attached to bedrock. A rogue moai, isolated on a slope, is inexplicably the island’s only one kneeling and sporting a goatee.

As for all the moai’s production, various theories suggest either scores of craftsmen or, alternately, just six, created each statue chipping away with stone tools. From the quarry moai factory, the figures were transported miles, but how? Different answers abound: perhaps up to 180 people pulled ropes to drag a horizontal moai on a sled over rolling logs, or a divine presence commanded the statues to “walk” themselves, or dozens of islanders used ropes to rhythmically rock a vertical moai side to side “as if you’re moving a refrigerator,” Otea said.

And there’s the question of how the hefty red pukao, carved in a separate quarry about 10 miles from the Rano Raraku one, ended up atop the moai’s noggins. Were the hats rolled on the ground and then up ramps? Maybe. Now you understand why I again became spellbindingly engrossed in this mystical open-air museum, which also includes a magnetic rock believed to increase women’s fertility and the Ahu Nau Nau moai where the island’s first queen might’ve been entombed.

Too soon I was strolling past souvenir moai snow globes in the world’s most remote airport, Easter Island’s Mataveri International. No surprise, feral chickens comically mixed with suitcases and passengers in the departure area. A sculptor’s modern authentic-looking moai statue rose outside in the garden; wait, as I strode toward the tarmac to board my plane, did it smirk?

​ Orange County Register 

Castle Park in Riverside lays off more than 100 employees during makeover

• October 7, 2026

Castle Park has sent out layoff notices to more than 100 ride attendants, restaurant workers and supervisors that will take effect just before Christmas as the Riverside amusement park begins a major expansion and makeover.

Castle Park will lay off 130 employees while operations are paused to create a reimagined experience at the ride park, according to a WARN letter filed with the State of California Employment Development Department.

ALSO SEE: Castle Park to expand amusement park with reimagined ride area

The layoffs were announced in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter sent to state employment officials on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Employees were given 60 days notice with all separations to take place on Dec. 4 during the Christmas holiday season.

“We are committed to Castle Park’s future,” the family entertainment center founded in 1976 wrote in the WARN letter.

Castle Park will temporarily close all of its 21 rides on Nov. 2 while the ride area is expanded at the family entertainment center along the 91 Freeway.

“We’re investing in Castle Park to create a reimagined experience for our guests and the Riverside community,” according to the Castle Park website. “The ride park will pause operations so we can plan and rebuild for the future.”

ALSO SEE: Disneyland raises ticket prices with the smallest increase in years

Castle Park said in the WARN letter that the permanent layoffs would eliminate 18 positions.

The Castle Park layoffs include 55 ride and amusement attendants, 23 food and beverage employees, 13 admissions and guest services associates and 12 managers and supervisors.

“We have advised impacted employees in writing of the upcoming Castle Park facility’s closure and of the layoffs taking place,” Castle Park wrote in the WARN letter.

A reopening date has not been set for the Castle Park ride area.

“Our plans are evolving to create the best experience for our guests,” according to the Castle Park website. “We’re taking the time to plan the right rebuild and will share updates as plans take shape.”

ALSO SEE: Disneyland passholders stood in the way of maximizing profits, Chapek says

Castle Park’s arcade and miniature golf areas will remain open during the makeover of the ride area.

The Castle Dark seasonal Halloween event will continue as scheduled through Nov. 1.

The Buccaneer Cove water park will return in May when seasonal operations resume.

Castle Park went through a series of ownership changes in 2025 with the park changing hands from Palace Entertainment to Herschend to Lucky Strike Entertainment.

The 30-acre amusement park’s ride collection includes classics like the Scrambler, Tilt-a-Whirl and Kings Crown wave swings. Among the rarer rides are a Gravitron centrifugal force flying saucer, a Ring of Fire super looper thrill ride, the dragon-themed flying scooters and a children’s whip turntable ride. Castle Park’s Antique Car Ride used to operate at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park.

​ Orange County Register 

Dan Albano’s Orange County high school football Top 35 rankings

• October 7, 2026

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Here is how I voted this week in the Orange County football Top 25 poll.

There are three voters each week in the poll:

1. Santa Margarita 6-0

2. Mater Dei 4-2

3. Orange Lutheran 4-2

4. Mission Viejo 5-1

5. JSerra 4-2

6. San Clemente 6-0

7. Servite 3-3

8. Crean Lutheran 4-2

9. Corona del Mar 6-0

10. Huntington Beach 6-0

11. Capistrano Valley 6-0

12. San Juan Hills 5-1

13. Tustin 4-2

14. El Modena 5-1

15. Yorba Linda 0-6

16. Villa Park 5-1

17. Dana Hills 6-0

18. Orange 6-0

19. La Habra 5-1

20. Edison 2-4

21. Laguna Beach 4-2

22. Trabuco Hills 4-2

23. Newport Harbor 4-2

24. El Dorado 3-3

25. Los Alamitos 0-6

Albano’s Next 10

Rank, school, record, previous rank

26. Cypress 5-1 (29)

27. Troy 3-3 (26)

28. Pacifica 5-1 (27)

29. Brea Olinda 4-2 (30)

30. El Toro 4-2 (28)

31. Laguna Hills 5-1 (32)

32. Foothill 2-4 (33)

33. Fullerton 4-2 (not ranked)

34. Segerstrom 3-3 (not ranked)

35. Irvine 4-2 (31)

Also considered: Canyon 5-1, Portola 5-1

​ Orange County Register 

Senators push the Trump administration to act swiftly on Russian sanctions to help Ukraine

• October 7, 2026

By LISA MASCARO, AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a month after President Donald Trump signed a sweeping Russian sanctions bill named after Lindsey Graham into law, bipartisan leadership in the Senate is urging the administration to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling the war against Ukraine.

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators said the most urgent priority for the U.S. must be to tackle the “shadow fleet” of tankers that Moscow is using to transport oil and bypass America’s sanctions. They also pushed for a halt of Russia’s emerging satellite system that Ukraine has warned could prove devastating with real-time bombing attacks this winter.

“Every day that passes without maximum economic pressure allows Moscow to sustain this military escalation,” wrote Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The senators note that the bulk of the law’s provisions go into effect Oct. 18, the end of the administration’s 30-day review period. The Trump administration has remained mostly quiet since the passage of the bill with large bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate after Graham’s sudden death, with lawmakers urged ahead by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump has been expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose birthday is Wednesday, to discuss a possible case of plague at a Siberian research institute.

Congress backed Ukraine with the Russian sanctions package

The sanctions package had been a year in the making but was suddenly rushed to passage after Graham, the long-serving South Carolina senator, died in July of a likely torn aorta after a whirlwind trip to a NATO summit in Turkey and a stopover in Kyiv.

Senators had been negotiating a bipartisan bill that could win robust support but it was only when Graham received the nod of approval from Trump in the days around the senator’s overseas trip that it gained momentum.

Zelenskyy had also been pushing the U.S. to act, and he arrived in the Senate after a visit at the White House late in the evening before a key vote that advanced the package. The House gave final approval to the bill, sending it to Trump’s desk, but Democrats in both chambers warned that they doubted the president would use the vast tools available to slap back at Russia.

In the month since, momentum appears to have stalled without public steps from the administration toward the law’s implementation.

Trump’s next moves against Russia are uncertain

With the bipartisan push, Shaheen and Wicker in their letter sent late Tuesday are urging the administration to take several specific steps to impose the sanctions regime. Many of the steps are aligned with goals pushed by the Ukrainians.

The senators, who were both key to the bill’s passage, said it’s most crucial for the U.S. to focus on the several hundred rogue tankers that are able to “transport Russian oil with impunity and thereby provide the Kremlin a financial lifeline.”

It’s also, imperative, they wrote, “that the administration paralyze the global financial networks that allow Russia to evade our sanctions.”

They said the Kremlin continues to “move billions of dollars through networks that shield it from scrutiny.” They urged the administration to focus specifically on overseas bank branches, including in Shanghai, and “a growing network of Kyrgyz financial institutions” they said serve as clearinghouses for sanctioned capital.

“Foreign banks must be forced to make a choice.” the senators wrote. “They can either do business with the United States or finance Russia’s war. They cannot do both.”

They said the Trump administration should work to undermine Russia’s “weaponization of space” with its emerging low Earth orbit system. Ukraine has warned that such a satellite system would prove deadly in the coming winter as Russia prepares its attacks.

The senators also noted that the sanctions law bans all new U.S. investment in Russia and handling of sovereign debt. They said it’s imperative that the Treasury Department “issue clear regulatory guidance ahead of the October deadline to ensure American financial institutions completely sever these capital pipelines.”

Additionally, the senators said the U.S. must stop the flow of dual-use technologies and electronics for Russia’s frontline operations, and use the sanctions tools available to “penalize entities feeding Russia’s military-industrial complex.”

​ Orange County Register 

Why making your yard attractive to birds can be beneficial

• October 7, 2026

Q. For years, I have been battling whiteflies on my hibiscus. This year, after I put out a bird feeder, the whiteflies suddenly disappeared. Could the birds be responsible?

Yes! Making your yard attractive to a variety of birds has many benefits, including pest control. California is home to many insect-eating birds, so why not take a few steps to attract some to your outdoor spaces? There are different types of these garden helpers, but their needs are easily accommodated.

Most (desirable) backyard birds need cover, nesting sites, food and water. Cover can simply be any protected niche where a bird can perch unseen and still able to survey its surroundings. (Much like kids who love to hang out in couch cushion forts.) Nesting sites can be in tree canopies, abandoned ground squirrel burrows, or nesting boxes. Many insectivorous birds will also feast on berries and other plant material. For instance, Scrub Jays will steal individual grapes and berries from our garden, and they will also hoard acorns. Bird baths should be cleaned and refilled frequently, but the sound of running water is almost irresistible.

Insectivorous birds can be classified by their feeding habits. Aerial insectivores are highly entertaining to watch since they like to catch their prey in midair. Phoebes, Tree Swallows, and Flycatchers are like nature’s little fighter pilots since they can intercept flying insects using their incredible aerial skills. The Poorwill, a nocturnal bird, also catches insects on the fly. Gleaners will pick bugs off leaves and twigs. The Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, and Titmouse are members of this cleanup team. These are especially helpful at ridding plants of aphids. I like watching them land sideways on a branch to snack on little insects.

Bark foragers like woodpeckers and nuthatches will feast on termites, bark beetles, and other pests that hide in the nooks and crannies of tree bark. Considering how destructive bark beetles can be, these birds should be welcome visitors (even though they can get a bit noisy).

Scrub jays, Towhees, and quail are ground feeders that go after earwigs, pill bugs, and other ground-dwelling critters. We were visited by several hundred California Quail shortly after my husband relocated a large pile of branches and uncovered a treasure trove of pill bugs and earwigs. My children were delighted to watch this enormous avian flash mob appear within a matter of minutes.

Inviting these birds into your yard will provide both pest control and lots of entertainment.

​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland passholders stood in the way of maximizing profits, Chapek says

• October 7, 2026

Disneyland annual passholders paid relatively little for unfettered access to the Anaheim theme park and stood in the way of maximizing profits, according to a new memoir by former Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

Disneyland’s Magic Key annual passholders who overused the parks and underpaid for the privilege were worth less to Disney than out-of-state families who spent more and stayed longer, Chapek writes in his new book “Behind the Castle Walls.”

“The passholder experience was a fantastic deal for the passholder, but a terrible one for Disney and its more vacation-oriented guests,” Chapek wrote.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland won’t raise Magic Key prices in 2026

Disneyland introduced annual passes in 1983 as a way to backfill the park when attendance was lower during the off season.

Three decades later, Disneyland was bursting at the seams with too many visitors by the time Chapek took over Disney’s theme park division in 2015.

Annual passholders were the problem. The 1.1 million passholders could show up anytime they wanted and overwhelm the park.

“The pressure from the passholder not to change the status quo was enormous,” Chapek wrote.

The biggest problem was Disneyland’s most loyal customers were spoiling the experiences of big-spending out-of-state vacationers that were the park’s highest value customers and worth six times more per day than the locals.

Chapek was certain Disneyland was “leaving revenue opportunities on the table to avoid stirring the hornet’s nest.”

Chapek wanted to lower the number of passholders — or at least limit the frequency of their visits — in order to better commercialize the park.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland ends Magic Key no-show policy that frustrated passholders

Disneyland considered killing the decades-old annual pass program — a move Chapek knew would be unpopular.

“We understood we would get blasted if I attempted to eliminate annual passes altogether, so I moved to shift the math,” Chapek wrote.

Shifting the math meant focusing more on free-spending vacation travelers who stayed on property in Disney hotels and less on budget-conscious annual passholders who dropped in for just a few hours after work or school.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland has 1.1 million Magic Key annual passholders

Chapek wanted to offer elite access and bespoke experiences to well-heeled visitors as a way to keep ticket prices down for everyone else.

“The fact remains that some customers generated more revenue than others,” Chapek wrote. “Not that I didn’t appreciate the passion and enthusiasm the passholders had for Disney.”

There were two long-standing Disneyland traditions that stood in Chapek’s way of modifying the popular passholder program. The first was an “unwritten principle” that everyone deserved the same experience. The second was an “inviolable virtue” that everyone must be treated equally.

“People in the company were afraid to change the outdated system, given the fear of a backlash from the loyal passholders who loved the flexibility and value the current system had afforded them for decades,” Chapek wrote.

Chapek was determined to not let convention, legacy or dogma prevent him from maximizing economic returns at Disneyland.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland raises ticket prices with the smallest increase in years

He instituted a tiered ticketing system, steadily raised prices and limited passholder access.

“What seemed like a straightforward solution to me provoked predictable reactions ranging from unease to outrage among passholders,” Chapek wrote. “In particular, the passholders felt the changes did not fit their personal interests and deemed them unfair.”

Chapek continued to raise annual pass prices when the increases had little-to-no impact on the overall number of passholders.

The top-tier Disneyland annual pass cost $699 when Chapek became Disney parks boss in 2015 and $1,599 when he was fired as CEO in 2022 — a 128% increase. Today, the most expensive Disneyland Magic Key pass costs $1,899.

The yearlong COVID-19 closure of Disneyland and DCA brought with it a reservation system that remained after pandemic restrictions were lifted.

For Chapek, the reservation system helped manage the number of daily visitors and passholders while improving the quality of the guest experience.

Reservations were seen as “heresy” by passholders who wanted to show up spontaneously while also paying the least possible amount per visit, according to Chapek.

“I was the one tarred and feathered when the reservation system proved unpopular among superfans,” Chapek wrote. “Annual passholders complained about the limited flexibility and reservation times and the restrictions on the practice known as parkhopping, or going to multiple parks in one day.”

​ Orange County Register 

Before a natural disaster, a governor’s order can free up the National Guard and medical help

• October 7, 2026

By The Associated Press

Before a big weather event even happens — like a hurricane, flood, or snowstorm — government officials in the United States have the power to call for a state of emergency, a fast-track way to free up resources to help with public safety during an anticipated natural disaster.

In a state, a governor usually signs an executive order that names the area expected to be affected by the pending severe weather. The order gives emergency management agencies the go-ahead to work up disaster response plans and delegate responsibilities.

Agencies that can be called into action, for example, include the National Guard for searches, rescues and overall security, the highway patrol to enforce road closures, and the health department to provide emergency medical services.

The declaration allows the state agencies to provide direct assistance to local governments. It suspends state rules and regulations that could interfere with emergency plans. And it allows for a state to form agreements with other states to seek help.

It’s also a necessary first step for the state to ask the federal government for financial aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The president of the United States can issue a disaster declaration based on a governor’s request and FEMA damage assessments.

​ Orange County Register