Before and After.

The Barboza File.

“There are a bunch of newsletters out there I have read. News Items is the one I want to read.” — Jane Metcalfe, Chair of the Board of Directors, Human Immunome Project, co-founder Wired Ventures and Wired magazine.

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1. Southern California wildfires by the numbers:

Palisades Fire: 6% containment.

Eaton Fire: 0% containment.

Hurst Fire: 37% containment.

Kenneth Fire: 0% containment.

Lidia Fire: 75% containment.

(Source: fire.cal.gov. Reuters coverage of the fires is here. AP coverage is here. Los Angeles Times coverage is here. NBC News “live” coverage page is here. Pictures here. )

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2. Insurers are bracing for losses of as much as $20 billion from wildfires in Los Angeles after blazes ravaged some of the most exclusive neighborhoods in California, according to early estimates from analysts. JPMorgan analysts on Thursday doubled their expectations for insured losses from the $10 billion they estimated a day earlier, citing limited progress on containment and the spread to neighboring areas. “Expectations of economic losses stemming from the fires have more than doubled since yesterday to closer to $50 billion, and we estimate that insured losses from the event could exceed $20 billion (and even more if the fires are not controlled),” JPMorgan wrote in a note to clients. (Source: ft.com)