By JAIMIE DING and HALLIE GOLDEN, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A rare October storm arrived in California on Tuesday and threatened to pummel wildfire-scarred Los Angeles neighborhoods with heavy rain, high winds and possible mudslides. Some homes were ordered to evacuate.

Downpours were moving through the area early Tuesday, with drivers hydroplaning and some accidents reported on flooded roads.

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A flash flood warning was in effect for part of Santa Barbara County, where the sheriff’s office issued a shelter-in-place order for an area that experienced a wildfire last year and was subject to debris flow.

“We’re very concerned about the weather,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during a news conference Monday night, explaining that strike teams, rescue teams and helicopters were all ready to respond.

The evacuations covered about 115 homes mostly in Pacific Palisades and Mandeville Canyon, both struck by a massive inferno in January that killed more than 30 people in all and destroyed over 17,000 homes and buildings in Los Angeles County. Wildfires can leave hillsides without vegetation to hold soil in place, making it easier for the terrain to loosen during storms.

Bass and other officials warned residents across the region to remain alert and stay indoors. The worst was expected to arrive later Tuesday morning and carry through the afternoon, and more than 16,000 had already lost power as of Monday night, according to PowerOutage.us.

The storm could result in up to 4 inches of rain in some areas, according to the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office, which described it as a “rare and very potent storm system.”

Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge of the weather service in Los Angeles, said the storm could even bring a couple of tornadoes, and one major challenge is its unpredictability.

“The nature of this system is such that we cannot be certain about exactly when and where these impacts will strike, the exact details until right before they occur at the earliest,” he said.

Patrols underway and closings announced due to the storm

Teams from the Los Angeles Fire Department had started patrolling the area Monday night and a section of state Route 27, beginning at the Pacific Coast Highway, was closed in preparation for the storm, the California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, said on social media.

The weather service also warned of high winds that could knock down trees and power lines.

To the north, up to 3 feet of mountain snow was predicted for parts of the Sierra Nevadas.

Heavy rain had already started falling Monday evening across much of Northern California, bringing some urban flooding around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Gladstones Restaurant, located along the Pacific Coast Highway, said it was closing on Tuesday in anticipation of the heavy rains. The Pacific Palisades establishment is located at an intersection that has experienced heavy debris flow during past rains.

In February, torrential rains unleashed debris flows and mudslides in several neighborhoods torched by the January fires. In the community of Sierra Madre, near the site of the Eaton Fire, water, debris and boulders rushed down the mountain, trapping cars in the mud and damaging several home garages. A portion of the Pacific Coast Highway by Pacific Palisades was submerged in at least 3 feet of sludge, and a swift debris flow swept a Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle into the ocean.

Concerns about post-fire debris flows have been especially high since 2018, when the town of Montecito, up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes burned bare by a huge blaze. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 23 people died.

Alaska and Arizona among other parts of US hit by severe weather

Elsewhere in the U.S., Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and ravaging storm surges and floodwaters that swept some homes away in Alaska over the weekend. One person was dead and two were missing in western Alaska on Monday, while more than 50 people had been rescued — some plucked from rooftops.

In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, Kipnuk, Alaska, experiences coastal flooding, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

Officials warned of a long road to recovery and a need for continued support for the hardest-hit communities with winter just around the corner.

In Tempe, Arizona, a microburst and thunderstorm on Monday dropped about a half-inch of rain within 10 minutes, the weather service said. The storm caused significant damage, including uprooting trees that toppled onto vehicles and buildings, and dropping them on streets and sidewalks. A business complex had its roof torn off, and thousands of homes lost power.

A uprooted tree is seen damaged after a storm moved through Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Sejal Govindarao)

Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer contributed from Juneau, Alaska.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The tenuous ceasefire in the two-year Israel-Hamas war was holding Tuesday even as complex issues remained ahead, a day after widespread jubilation over the return to Israel of the last 20 living hostages held in Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange.

The list of more immediate questions includes those on when Hamas will return to Israel the bodies of the 24 hostages believed to be dead in Gaza, as well as the health conditions of the released hostages and freed Palestinians.

A worker cleans the ground at the plaza known as hostages square, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Only four of the deceased hostages — whose release is also part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump — were turned over to Israeli authorities on Monday. On Tuesday, the Israeli military identified two of them — Guy Illouz from Israel and Bipin Joshi, a student from Nepal.

The two men were both in their 20s when Hamas took them during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on that ignited the war – Illouz from the Nova music festival and Joshi from a bomb shelter.

Israel said Illouz died of his wounds while being held captive without proper medical treatment, while Joshi was murdered in captivity in the first months of the war — adding that the National Center of Forensic Medicine would later provide the final cause of death.

The freed Israeli hostages were in medical care on Tuesday, and some families said it would be weeks before the men could go home. In the West Bank and Gaza, where hundreds of prisoners were released, several were also taken to hospitals.

Separately, the Israeli military said troops in the northern Gaza Strip had “opened fire to remove the threat” of several people approaching them on Tuesday across the “yellow line” and not complying with orders to stop. It didn’t immediately comment on any casualties in the incident.

Part of the ceasefire agreement is that Israel would pull back in Gaza to the so-called yellow line where its forces were in August, before launching their latest offensive on the Gaza City in the strip’s north.

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Longer-term issues also hang in the balance, including whether Hamas will disarm, who will govern and help rebuild Gaza, and the overarching question of Palestinian statehood, which is central for Palestinians and many countries in the region.

“The first steps to peace are always the hardest,” Trump had said as he stood with foreign leaders in Egypt on Monday for a summit on Gaza’s future. He hailed the ceasefire deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas as the end of the war in Gaza — and start of rebuilding the devastated territory.

On Tuesday, the U.N. development agency said the latest joint estimate from the U.N., the European Union and the World Bank is that $70 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza. Jaco Cillers, special representative of UNDP administrator for a program to help Palestinians, said $20 billion would be needed in the next three years, and the rest would be needed over a longer period — possibly decades.

In Egypt, Trump urged regional leaders to “put old feuds aside” as world leaders met to discuss the challenges ahead in securing a lasting peace. Representatives from Israel or Hamas were not at the summit.

Dell’Orto reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Walking along the broad pedestrian street that runs along the base of Athens’ famed Acropolis Hill, visitors can now enjoy something not seen in decades: an unobstructed, scaffolding-free view of the Parthenon temple.

The scaffolding set up along the 5th century B.C. temple’s western façade for conservation work about 20 years ago has been removed, allowing an uncluttered view of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The western side of the Parthenon affords the best street-level view, so the removal from that side, which was completed in late September, has been the most noticeable for visitors. But Culture Minister Lina Mendoni noted it also marks the first time in about 200 years that the Parthenon’s exterior is completely free of any kind of scaffolding on any side.

For visitors, “it is like they are seeing a different, a completely different monument,” Mendoni said during an interview on Skai radio Friday.

However, conservation work must continue, and the respite will be temporary. New scaffolding is to be erected along the Parthenon’s western side in about one month’s time, but it will be “lighter and aesthetically much closer to the logic of the monument,” Mendoni said.

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The renewed conservation work is expected to last until early summer in 2026. Then, the minister said, “the Parthenon will be completely freed of this scaffolding too, and people will be able to see it truly free.”

The Acropolis is by far Greece’s most popular tourist site, with 4.5 million people visiting in 2024, according to the country’s statistical authority. The marble temple was built in the mid 5th century B.C. to honor the city’s patron goddess, Athena.

Fall is reading season.

In the following months, publishers both big and small will release some of their most anticipated titles, perfectly timed for readers who want to dig into a book in a park, their backyard, or a coffeehouse with a hot drink in hand. (We won’t judge you for ordering something pumpkin-spice flavored.)

You’re bound to find something intriguing in this list of 34 new or forthcoming books, from novels to nonfiction to poetry to titles that resist easy classification. Look for these exciting books at your library or your favorite local independent bookstore.

“Will There Ever Be Another You”

Author: Patricia Lockwood

What It’s About: Author Lockwood won commercial success and critical praise for her 2017 memoir “Priestdaddy” and 2021 novel “No One Is Talking About This.” Her latest novel, marked with her trademark dark humor, tells the story of a young woman who becomes undone after falling ill with a disease that has affected the way she thinks.

Publication Date: out now

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“Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America”

Author: Jeff Chang

What It’s About: Chang, whose “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation” still resonates with readers, takes a look at the life of the martial-arts icon who died at 32 in 1973. More than just a biography, the book considers how Lee’s influence still resonates.

Publication Date: out now

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“Startlement: New and Selected Poems”

Author: Ada Limón

What It’s About: Limón, who grew up in Sonoma, served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2022 until this year; one of her projects involved bringing poetry to national parks, while another saw one of her poems heading into space. Her latest book, focused on mystery and wonder, collects new poems as well as ones from her previous books, including the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning “The Carrying.”

Publication Date: out now

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“The Autobiography of H. Lan Thao Lam”

Author: Lana Lin

What It’s About: Experimental filmmaker Lin, inspired by Gertrude Stein’s “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas,” tells the story of her life and that of her partner, the artist Lam. The book, published by Dorothy, a Publishing Project, has been longlisted for the National Book Award.

Publication Date: out now

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“Near Flesh”

Author: Katherine Dunn

What It’s About: Dunn is a literary icon, thanks to her cult-favorite 1989 novel “Geek Love,” which continues to startle and delight readers. Her latest book, published more than 9 years after her death, is composed of 19 short stories that showcase the lives and disappointments of women.

Publication Date: out now

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“The High Heaven”

Author: Joshua Wheeler

What It’s About: The debut novel from USC graduate Wheeler tells the story of Izzy Gently, who grew up in a New Mexico cult, and now finds herself in Texas and Louisiana trying to overcome her troubled past.

Publication Date: out now

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“Shadow Ticket”

Author: Thomas Pynchon

What It’s About: Don’t expect a book tour for this one — one of America’s most famous authors is also the most reclusive (save for two appearances on “The Simpsons,” where he was portrayed with a paper bag over his head). The latest from the author, whose 1990 novel “Vineland” also inspired Paul Thomas Anderson‘s new film, “One Battle After Another,” follows a private detective named Hicks McTaggart who goes in search of a missing cheese heiress in 1932. 

Publication Date: out now

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“Offline Humans: How to Stop Scrolling and Reconnect with the Real World”

Author: Natalie Alzate

What It’s About: Alzate, better known to her fans as Natalie’s Outlet, is a content creator with an unusual message for someone who made her fame on the internet: People should spend less time online. Her new book invites readers to do just that, providing creative prompts, exercises, and other ways for people to cut the digital cord.

Publication Date: out now

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“We Survived the Night”

Author: Julian Brave NoiseCat

What It’s About: Oakland-raised journalist, filmmaker and powwow dancer NoiseCat, a member of the Canim Lake Band Tsq̓éscen̓, earned an Oscar nomination for his documentary “Sugarcane.” His first book is both a memoir of his childhood and a journalistic effort to undo the erasure of the Native peoples of North America.

Publication Date: Oct. 14

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“I’ll Quit When I’m Dead”

Author: Luke Smitherd

What It’s About: Smitherd, who lives in both Los Angeles and Coventry, England, returns with a horror novel that follows two people: Madison, who joins an all-female boot camp to break her breakup-related junk-food habit, and Johnny, who goes to a remote cottage to detox from pain pills. There’s something sinister lurking in both places, though.

Publication Date: Oct. 14

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“Intemperance”

Author: Sonora Jha

What It’s About: Jha won critical praise for her 2023 novel, “The Laughter.” Her latest book follows a 55-year-old professor in Seattle who decides to hold a swayamvar — a contest in which men compete for her hand in marriage. Her decision to hold the competition attracts attention, both positive and negative.

Publication Date: Oct. 14

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“All That We See or Seem”

Author: Ken Liu

What It’s About: Liu is known for his fantasy novels as well as for his translations of Chinese novels into English, such as Liu Cixin’s “The Three-Body Problem.” His new book, the first in a planned sci-fi series, follows Julia Z, a hacker and artificial-intelligence expert who goes in search of a missing “dream artist.”

Publication Date: Oct. 14

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“The Wayfinder”

Author: Adam Johnson

What It’s About: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Johnson’s latest novel is a sprawling epic that follows Kōrero, a young woman who lives on a Tongan island struggling with poverty and hunger, but who becomes the queen of her people.

Publication Date: Oct. 14

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“Looking for Tank Man”

Author: Ha Jin

What It’s About: The latest novel from National Book Award-winning author Jin tells the story of a Harvard student who learns for the first time about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre — the discussion of which is heavily censored in China — and decides to research the topic for her dissertation.

Publication Date: Oct. 21

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“The Ten Year Affair”

Author: Erin Somers

What It’s About: Somers (“Stay Up With Hugo Best”) is one of the funniest and sharpest writers working today. Her new novel follows Cora and Sam, two young married parents who meet at a baby group. In one timeline, the two engage in a long tryst; in another, they choose to remain with their spouses.

Publication Date: Oct. 21

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“Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, From Revolution to Autocracy”

Author: Julia Ioffe

What It’s About: Moscow-born journalist Ioffe has long been an expert on Russia. Her first book, longlisted for the National Book Award, blends history and memoir to tell the story of the women of the country, whose rights have been scaled back during the presidency of Vladimir Putin.

Publication Date: Oct. 21

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“The Rose Field”

Author: Philip Pullman

What It’s About: Pullman delighted young readers with his His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels, and followed that up with another three-part series, The Book of Dust, an expansion of the original books. He brings the new trilogy to an end with this novel, which continues the epic story of his beloved characters Lyra and Malcolm.

Publication Date: Oct. 23

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“The Devil Is a Southpaw”

Author: Brandon Hobson

What It’s About: Cherokee author Hobson was a National Book Award finalist for his 2018 novel “Where the Dead Sit Talking.” His latest follows two boys who were jailed together in a juvenile detention facility in the late 1980s; one, a writer, harbors jealousy of the other, a talented artist.

Publication Date: Oct. 28

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“Wreck”

Author: Catherine Newman

What It’s About: Newman introduced readers to Rocky, a woman contending with her aging parents and grown children during a summer vacation to Cape Cod, in the hilarious 2024 novel “Sandwich.” Her latest is a follow-up to that book, with Rocky and her family back home in Western Massachusetts; Rocky becomes obsessed with a local train accident and a stubborn rash that won’t seem to go away. 

Publication Date: Oct. 28

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“The Uncool”

Author: Cameron Crowe

What It’s About: Crowe was a reporter for Rolling Stone from a young age, an experience he drew upon for his 2000 film “Almost Famous.” In his new memoir, he tells the real story of his teenage career in journalism, which led to his screenplay for the now-legendary 1982 film, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

Publication Date: Oct. 28

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“Tom’s Crossing”

Author: Mark Z. Danielewski

What It’s About: Danielewski’s debut novel, “House of Leaves,” has been a cult classic for 25 years, with fans enchanted by his creative use of typographic trickery. His latest novel, which spans over 1,200 pages, tells the story of two Utah friends who try to rescue two horses set to be slaughtered by a prominent member of their community.

Publication Date: Oct. 28

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“Palaver”

Author: Bryan Washington

What It’s About: Washington is one of the country’s most respected authors, and he’s only 32. His latest book, following the short story collection “Lot” and the novels “Memorial” and “Family Meal,” follows a gay man living in Tokyo who is visited by his estranged mother. The novel has been longlisted for the National Book Award.

Publication Date: Nov. 4

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“Bread of Angels”

Author: Patti Smith

What It’s About: Punk rock icon Patti Smith wowed the literary world with her 2010 memoir “Just Kids,” about her friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe; the book was a bestseller and won the National Book Award. Her new memoir covers more of her life, from her childhood, music career, and her years spent raising her children.

Publication Date: Nov. 4

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“Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts”

Author: Margaret Atwood

What It’s About: Atwood, author of novels including “The Handmaid’s Tale” and its Booker Prize-winning sequel, “The Testaments,” is Canada’s most legendary living author. But she’s never told the story of her life — until now. Her memoir shares tales of her childhood in Ontario and Quebec, her long partnership with fellow novelist Graeme Gibson, and, of course, the creation of some of her best-known books.

Publication Date: Nov. 4

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“Flat Earth”

Author: Anika Jade Levy

What It’s About: The debut novel from the Forever Magazine co-founder follows two women: Avery, a New York graduate student who works for a conservative dating app, and Frances, a lauded documentary filmmaker; her success results in complicated feelings for the floundering Avery.

Publication Date: Nov. 4.

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“Cursed Daughters”

Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite

What It’s About: Braithwaite stunned readers with her darkly comic 2018 thriller, “My Sister, the Serial Killer.” Her newest novel Eniiyi, a girl whose family believes is the reincarnation of her mother’s cousin — and thus the inheritor of a longstanding family curse.

Publication Date: Nov. 4

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“Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore”

Author: Char Adams

What It’s About: Former NBC News and People magazine reporter Adams writes about the past and present of Black-owned bookstores in the U.S., from the first one in New York in 1834, to the ones that came after, including Los Angeles’ own Eso Won Books and Octavia’s Bookshelf.

Publication Date: Nov. 4

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“Lucky Girl”

Author: Allie Tagle-Dokus

What It’s About: High school teacher Tagle-Dokus makes her literary debut with this novel about Lucy Gardiner, a 12-year-old girl who is cast on a dance-themed reality show. As the years go by, she realizes that the fame she once craved might not be all it’s cracked up to be.

Publication Date: Nov. 11

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“Without Consent: A Landmark Trial and the Decades-Long Struggle to Make Spousal Rape a Crime”

Author: Sarah Weinman

What It’s About: Weinman is one of the country’s most acclaimed writers of crime nonfiction; her books “The Real Lolita” and “Scoundrel” both received rave reviews from critics. Her latest book is the account of Greta Rideout, who in 1978 accused her husband of raping her; he became the first person in the U.S. to be charged with spousal rape. Weinman also writes about other similar cases that ensued.

Publication Date: Nov. 11

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“This Year: 365 Songs Annotated: A Book of Days”

Author: John Darnielle

What It’s About: Darnielle is best known as the singer-songwriter for the indie-folk band the Mountain Goats, but he’s also the author of three previous novels, most recently “Devil House.” His new book collects hundreds of his lyrics and comes with extensive notes about the songs by the acclaimed musician.

Publication Date: Dec. 2

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“Casanova 20: Or, Hot World”

Author: Davey Davis

What It’s About: Davis’ previous two novels, “The Earthquake Room” and “X,” were bold and stunningly original portraits of lives on the edge. Their latest novel follows two best friends: Adrian, living in New York, whose beauty gains him constant attention, and Mark, who returns to his family home in California and learns that he is dying from a mysterious disease.

Publication Date: Dec. 2

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“Television”

Author: Lauren Rothery

What It’s About: Filmmaker and music video director Rothery makes her fiction debut with this novel that takes a look at Hollywood from the perspectives of a movie star; his best friend and sometimes lover; and a would-be director desperate to get a break.

Publication Date: Dec. 2

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“The Award”

Author: Matthew Pearl

What It’s About: The latest novel from “The Dante Club” and “The Last Dickens” author Pearl is a literary thriller that follows David Trent, who wins a prize for his new novel, drawing the interest (and envy) of his neighbor, an ill-tempered literary lion who previously refused to recognize David’s existence. 

Publication Date: Dec. 2

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“Googoosh: A Sinful Voice”

Author: Googoosh with Tara Dehlavi

What It’s About: Singer and actress Googoosh was Iran’s biggest celebrity until the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which resulted in the banning of women singing. She stayed silent for 21 years before moving out of Iran and making a comeback. She tells the remarkable story of her life and career in this autobiography.

Publication Date: Dec. 2

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