As thousands flee their homes in California due to wildfires, US President-Elect Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Governor Gavin Newsom, saying “this is all his fault” and he must quit. Earlier, Trump alleged that the Governor’s policies were to blame for the situation in some of the US’s most prominent cities. The Governor has hit back, saying people are fleeing and the President-Elect’s response is to politicise it.

Among the worst-hit areas is Los Angeles, home to top Hollywood celebrities. At least five people have been killed and 1,500 buildings damaged as firefighters struggle to control the blaze. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said they don’t have enough firefighters to tackle the situation. “We’re doing the very best we can. But no, we don’t have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this,” he said, according to an AFP report.

In a post on TruthSocial, Trump alleged that the California Governor had refused to sign a water restoration declaration that would have allowed millions of gallons into California. Referring to Newsom as “Newscum”, he said, “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way.”

“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!” Trump added.

In a post later in the day, the President-Elect said the Governor must resign. “One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” he said.

Hitting back at the President-Elect’s charge, the California Governor’s office said the Governor is focused on saving people instead of politics. “There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” his office said in a post on X.

People are literally fleeing. Kids have lost their schools. Communities have lost their churches. Families have lost their homes. Some have even lost their lives.

And the President-Elect’s response is to politicize it.

We’ll continue to focus on what matters: saving lives and… pic.twitter.com/DPJLsKxHDW

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 9, 2025

The Governor slammed the President-Elect from his account. “People are literally fleeing. Kids have lost their schools. Communities have lost their churches. Families have lost their homes. Some have even lost their lives. And the President-Elect’s response is to politicize it,” he said. “We’ll continue to focus on what matters: saving lives and putting out these unprecedented fires.”

Much of Los Angeles’ water comes from the Colorado River, and agriculture takes the lion’s share of water flowing into Southern California, AFP has reported.

Outgoing President Joe Biden has cancelled a trip to Italy to focus on the firefight. “We’re doing anything and everything, and as long as it takes to contain these fires,” he has said.

Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the blame for grooming gangs in UK cannot be laid on Asia, but “one rogue nation” Pakistan, a statement SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said was “true”.

Her statement came on a day the UK’s opposition Conservative party had sought to use Parliamentary debate to force the establishment of a new national inquiry into widespread sexual abuse of primarily white British girls by men of mostly Pakistani origin in various northern English towns, spanning several decades.

Ms Chaturvedi objected to Britain’s Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statement on Monday in which he said that during his time as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between 2008 and 2013, he had brought the first prosecution of an Asian grooming gang.

True

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2025

The grooming gangs row has increased the pressure on Mr Starmer, who was CPS at the time of the scandals. He hit out this week at “lies and misinformation” around the issue.

Mr Musk has over the past week made repeated attacks against Mr Starmer, with the latter rejecting calls for the new inquiry. He instead stated that the priority should be on taking implementing recommendations from a previous, extensive seven-year inquiry, which provided nearly two dozen suggestions on tackling the issue.

The focus in the UK was also on the children’s bill, which would require all local authorities to hold a register of children who are not in school, calling it part of wider efforts to protect vulnerable youngsters.

The children’s bill was introduced and backed by UK lawmakers months after the case of 10-year-old British-Pakistan girl Sara Sharif was found dead in her home outside London in August 2023 with extensive injuries including broken bones, burns and even bite marks after being subjected to years of abuse. Her father Urfan Sharif and step-mother Beinash Batool were convicted of her murder last month and given life sentences in prison.

MPs progressed the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to the next stage of the parliamentary process without the need for a further formal vote.

Four siblings and their father in Rohtas spent 18 months in jail for kidnapping and murder of Nathuni Pal, who was found alive 16 years later. The wrongful accusation led to social stigma and financial ruin. The police recently identified Nathuni in Jhansi, alleviating the family’s hardship and confirming their innocence.