A state of emergency and a toxic air alert have been declared in Los Angeles after huge wildfires killed at least five people and swept through hillsides that are home to many celebrities.

Now, 130,000 Angelenos have been forced to evacuate their homes as the city became blanketed in a thick cloud of smoke and ash.

Thousands of firefighters are battling to contain the original LA fire in Pacific Palisades, which spread to destroy more than 20 square miles in just two days and is believed to have started in a back garden.

The Standard podcast is joined by climate scientist Dr Ella Gilbert, of the British Antarctic Survey and an expert on mountain winds, to discuss the environmental factors fuelling the devastation.

In part two, why has the pound slumped to a 14-month low against the dollar - and how will the current financial outlook impact you?

We’re joined by Jo Michell, professor of economics at the University of the West of England in Bristol.

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The mother of a 14-year-old boy stabbed to death on a London bus fears her son had been groomed by gangs and exposed to drugs before he was killed.

Kelyan Bokassa was attacked on a Route 472 double-decker on Woolwich Church Road just before 2.30pm on Tuesday.

His mother, Mary, 50, fought back tears as paid tribute to her “polite” and “caring” son, telling MailOnline he had spent time in care and lived rough on the streets for a year, where she feared criminals took advantage of him.

Kelyan is thought to have been an aspiring rapper making music on YouTube under the name “Grippa”, releasing a drill track, “Bangers & Mash”, on Christmas Day.

Police have launched a murder investigation, however, a motive for the killing has yet to be revealed.

We’re joined by The London Standard’s crime editor, Anthony France, to discuss the tragic incident and what more must be done to stop youth violence.

In part two, Dr Jahangir Alom, an NHS emergency medicine doctor in north east London, on what we know about human metapneumovirus (HMPV), its risk and precautions to take this winter.

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The government has announced new safeguarding legal guidelines as part of a crackdown on child exploitation in the wake of the grooming gangs scandal.

Measures revealed by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper include criminal sanctions for professionals working with children if they don’t report sexual abuse claims.

The recommendation is among those within Professor Alexis Jay’s 2015 child sexual abuse inquiry - she also told Radio 4’s Today programme “enough of inquiries” and that instead victims need action.

Authorities face allegations that they ignored horrific abuse of thousands of vulnerable, mostly white girls trafficked, groomed and raped by groups of men predominantly of Pakistani heritage - in towns including Rotherham, Oldham, Telford and Rochdale - amid fears of being labelled racist.

The government has refused to relent to calls for a public inquiry, despite calls from opposition the Conservatives and an online firestorm fomented on X by the platform’s boss Elon Musk.

We’re joined by The London Standard’s courts correspondent Tristan Kirk, who covered many of the scandal’s criminal trials and argues a new inquiry is not the answer to the urgent action needed.

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