Lorenzo Vizcarrondo

Atmospheric river has brought heavy rain, snow, high winds, mudslides where wildfires left barren land, widespread power outages.

The workers were driving back from a COVID-19 vaccination event when they got stuck in the snow. Realizing the vaccines were about to expire, they took action: vaccinating other stranded drivers.

Unrest shows discontent with the right-wing government, which was close to the Trump administration but also criticized for eroding democracy.

Religious resentment has become a potent recruiting tool for the hard right.

The decision offers a warning for the future.

“Let’s not wait until we wrap the car around the tree to start pumping the brakes.”