Mountain fire in Ventura county still at 0% containment, with footage showing smoldering structures
A wind-driven wildfire roared through rural and residential communities north-west of Los Angeles, charring more than 19,600 acres and leveling scores of homes.
The Mountain fire in Ventura county, California, continued to burn on Thursday morning, as footage showed dozens of structures turned to smoldering ruins now lining the streets where neighborhoods once stood.
Continue reading...Mariel Garza said it was her way of ‘standing up’ after billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong quashed support
Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, refused to allow the newspaper’s editorial board to endorse Kamala Harris for president, the former editor of paper’s opinion section told a media news outlet on Wednesday.
Mariel Garza, a veteran California journalist who has worked for the Times’s editorial board for nearly a decade, resigned from the paper in protest of Soon-Shiong’s decision, she told the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR).
Continue reading...Archbishop expresses sorrow in announcement to pay 1,353 people who alleged they were abused as children by priests
The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880m to 1,353 people who alleged that they were sexually abused as children by Catholic priests, in the largest settlement by a US diocese over decades-old abuse claims.
Archbishop Jose H Gomez expressed sorrow for the abuse in announcing the settlement on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Snake appears in top of fifth inning of Dodger v New York Mets game before being wrapped in towel and removed
A snake slithered through the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout during game two of the National League Championship Series on Monday.
The reptile appeared in the top of the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the New York Mets. It wasn’t big enough to put a scare into anyone.
Continue reading...McDonnell will head force of nearly 9,000 officers amid rising discontentment over public safety among residents
Former Los Angeles county sheriff Jim McDonnell will lead the Los Angeles police department (LAPD), taking charge of the force of nearly 9,000 officers as discontent grows among the city’s residents over public safety even as violent crime numbers drop, the mayor announced on Friday.
Mayor Karen Bass, who had the final say after a civilian board of Los Angeles police commissioners vetted McDonnell, said her selection of a veteran law enforcement officer was based on a need to reduce crime and make every neighborhood safer. Bass met with hundreds of LAPD officers and community leaders before making her decision.
Continue reading...Brooks, who previously filed lawsuit against hair and makeup artist, calls allegations false and intended to extort
A hair and makeup artist has accused the country singer Garth Brooks of sexual assault and battery in a civil lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, claims the musician has strongly denied.
The anonymous accuser, referred to in the complaint as “Jane Roe”, alleges that Brooks raped her during a work trip to Los Angeles in 2019, and that he repeatedly groped her and made sexually explicit comments while she was doing his hair or makeup throughout 2019.
Continue reading...Two arrested in connection with vandalism in abandoned home owned by the son of Philadelphia Phillies co-owner
Two people were arrested on Wednesday in connection with vandalism in an abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion owned by the son of a Philadelphia Phillies co-owner.
John Powers Middleton, a film producer, owns a property that has long been left vacant and become a popular target for graffiti artists and squatters.
Continue reading...Researchers find two sites with fossils including saber-toothed salmon and megalodon, the huge prehistoric shark
Marine fossils dating back to as early as 8.7m years ago have been uncovered beneath a south Los Angeles high school.
On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that researchers had discovered two sites on the campus of San Pedro high school under which fossils including those of a saber-toothed salmon and a megalodon, the gigantic prehistoric shark, were buried.
Continue reading...Several blazes ravage state after record-breaking heatwave last week with temperatures topping 100F
As least 13 people have been injured in three major southern California wildfires that broke out this week during a scorching heatwave. Firefighters battling the blazes, already stretched to the limits by a challenging summer, were among the injured.
The Bridge fire in the Angeles national forest, located north of Glendora, exploded from about 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) on Tuesday to 34,000 acres that evening, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Continue reading...Mark Chavez, 54, to turn over medical license as lawyer says client is ‘incredibly remorseful’ for role in star’s death
One of two doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death made his first appearance in a federal court in Los Angeles on Friday after reaching a deal to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors.
Dr Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors earlier this month to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine. He is the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the Friends star’s fatal overdose last year.
Continue reading...Mark Geragos says special counsel guilty of ‘character assassination’ by trying to bring salacious details into trial
An attorney for Hunter Biden has accused prosecutors of wanting to introduce salacious details about partying and spending by Joe Biden’s son to smear his character in front of jurors at his upcoming trial on federal tax charges.
During a lengthy hearing in Los Angeles federal court, Hunter Biden’s lawyer said special counsel David Weiss’s team was intent on “character assassination” by seeking to bring in evidence of spending on things like strippers in the case alleging a scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4m in taxes.
Continue reading...General Hospital star, 37, was shot dead in downtown LA in May after interrupting men taking car’s catalytic converter
Police have arrested four suspects in the fatal shooting of Johnny Wactor, the actor best known for his role on General Hospital.
The four suspects were arrested in Los Angeles, and range in age from 18 to 22. Three of the suspects were booked on arrest warrants for murder and the fourth was booked as an accessory.
Continue reading...Two men charged with robbing luxury watch had firearm of Christopher Dorner, who killed four people and died in 2013
Authorities are investigating how a gun registered to an infamous Los Angeles police officer ended up at the Airbnb of two men recently charged in the robbery of a $1m watch in Beverly Hills.
Investigators discovered the weapon earlier this month after they connected the Airbnb to a vehicle involved in another Beverly Hills theft, authorities said. The weapon was registered to Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles police department (LAPD) officer who killed the daughter of a former LAPD captain and her fiance as well as two others over nine days in 2013 before dying in a dramatic standoff with law enforcement. Dorner had felt he had been wrongly fired by LAPD, and accused the department of racism and corruption.
Continue reading...William Suff, convicted of 12 murders in 1995, admits killing Cathy Small, then aged 19, after police find genetic link
The long-unsolved 1986 killing of a young southern California woman has been linked to a convicted serial killer who admitted the crime, authorities said on Tuesday.
DNA from the killing of Cathy Small, 19, matched William Suff, who was sentenced to death after being convicted in 1995 of 12 murders that occurred in Riverside county from 1989 to 1991, said Lt Patricia Thomas of Los Angeles county sheriff’s department.
Continue reading...Expanding public transportation and finding shelter for unhoused people are key elements of city’s planning
As the Olympics came to a close this weekend, stars gathered from Paris to Long Beach to help mark the end of this year’s events and usher in the 2028 games, which are set to take place in Los Angeles.
In a closing ceremony this weekend, the R&B artist HER sang the national anthem in Paris where Tom Cruise rappelled from the roof of the Stade de France and the actor, Simone Biles and the LA mayor, Karen Bass, took part in a flag hand-off. In southern California, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg performed on the beach.
Continue reading...Independent candidate falsely claimed to be state resident, judge says, invalidating documents he needs to be on ballot
A judge ruled Monday that independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr falsely claimed a New York residence on nominating petitions, invalidating the documents he needs to appear on the ballot in the state.
The ruling from Justice Christina Ryba after a short trial in state court is expected to be appealed. If upheld, it could open the door to challenges in other states where Kennedy used the address in New York City’s northern suburbs to gather signatures.
Continue reading...The birds, protected as an endangered species, will remain under zoo care for year and a half before being sent into wild
Nearly 20 new California condors will fly across the western sky after a record-setting hatching of baby birds this summer at the Los Angeles Zoo.
The zoo marked a record of 17 California condor chicks hatched during this year’s breeding season, with staff members preparing to set the birds into the harsh wild as they are currently protected as an endangered species.
Continue reading...Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, 72, who oversaw notorious Adra prison, detained at LAX on immigration fraud charges
A former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where human rights officials say torture and abuse routinely took place has been arrested in Los Angeles, court documents show.
Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, 72, was taken into custody last week at Los Angeles international airport on immigration fraud charges, specifically that he denied on his US visa and citizenship applications that he had ever persecuted anyone in Syria, according to a criminal complaint filed on 9 July. Investigators are considering additional charges, the complaint shows.
Continue reading...Josh Klinghoffer, who is touring with Pearl Jam, is being sued after allegedly hitting and killing a pedestrian in a crash in Alhambra earlier this year
Ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer is being sued for wrongful death and negligence after allegedly hitting and killing a pedestrian earlier this year.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Ashley Sanchez, the daughter of 47-year-old Israel Sanchez, who died after being hit while walking in a crosswalk in Alhambra, east of Los Angeles.
The collision happened the afternoon of 18 March, when plaintiffs allege Klinghoffer was driving a black SUV with no licence plates and turned left at an intersection with a marked crosswalk.
Video from the plaintiffs shows a black car hitting a man, who was Israel Sanchez, during the turn before pulling over. The footage was obtained from a neighbor’s Ring camera.
Israel Sanchez suffered blunt force trauma to the head and died from his injuries a few hours later at the hospital, the lawsuit said. No arrest was made in the incident.
The lawsuit also alleges Klinghoffer was using a cellphone while driving, as video footage shows the driver holding an object above the steering wheel. Video also shows a 40-foot-wide grassy median dividing the road that should have given Klinghoffer time to see pedestrians in the crosswalk, the lawsuit said.
“My dad was known for being a great chef, the most talented of his family, the greatest grandpa always full of love and joy,” Ashley Sanchez said in a news release. “His smile was so infectious. His life was taken by a careless act of a person who didn’t bother to look where he was driving.”
Frontman, who spoke before about substance addiction, said to have taken mix of pharmaceutical and street drugs
The US singer Seth Binzer, whose rap-rock band Crazy Town became a No 1 hit with 2001’s Butterfly, died as a result of an accidental drug overdose, his group’s manager told the Guardian on Friday.
Crazy Town manager Howie Hubberman said the death on Monday of the musician known as Shifty Shellshock occurred after he ingested an unintentionally lethal combination of pharmaceutical and street drugs, though the medical examiner in the vocalist’s home town of Los Angeles had not yet provided details on an official cause or manner of death.
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