Ten dead in shooting after lunar new year festival near Los Angeles

Deceased include five men and five women as police identify suspect as 72-year-old man who died of self-inflicted gunshot

Ten people were killed and at least 10 others hospitalized after a gunman opened fire in a ballroom dance studio on Saturday night in a city close to Los Angeles.

The mass shooting, one of California’s worst in recent memory, happened hours after a lunar new year festival that attracted tens of thousands of revelers in Monterey Park, a majority-Asian American city.

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Harvey Weinstein’s sentencing on Los Angeles rape conviction delayed

Ex-film mogul faces up to 18 additional years in prison after being convicted of forcibly raping a woman in California

Harvey Weinstein’s sentencing on his second rape and sexual assault conviction in Los Angeles has been delayed until February, as his lawyers ask for a new trial.

Winstein, 70, faces up to 18 additional years in prison after being convicted of forcibly raping a woman in California in 2013. He is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of rape and sexual assault charges in New York in 2020.

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Bruce’s Beach heirs to sell land back to Los Angeles county for $20m

California had returned land seized from Willa and Charles Bruce in 1920 to their heirs last year as part of its reparations policy

A southern California beachfront property that was taken from a Black couple through eminent domain a century ago and returned to their heirs last year will be sold back to Los Angeles county for nearly $20m, officials said on Tuesday.

The sale comes as the state of California continues to consider sweeping financial reparations for the government’s treatment of Black Americans, including government confiscation of property, housing discrimination, over-policing and health disparities.

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Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles trial

The downfall of the former movie magnate played out over a six-week trial that included testimony from Jennifer Siebel Newsom

A Los Angeles jury has found Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault, five years after dozens of women spoke out against the Hollywood producer and galvanized the #MeToo movement.

After more than nine days of deliberation, the jury convicted Weinstein of three counts of rape and sexual assault against one woman, a European model and actor who testified anonymously as “Jane Doe 1”, while remaining divided on three other charges of rape and sexual assault by two other accusers, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California’s governor. Weinstein was also acquitted of a sexual battery allegation made by a fourth woman.

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‘This really hurts’: LA’s celebrity mountain lion P-22 euthanized

Experts and officials mourn cougar who became ‘an iconic ambassador for wildlife’ in the city

The reign of Los Angeles’s most famous mountain lion – hailed as an “ambassador for wildlife” in the city – has come to an end, after health and behavioral concerns led to P-22’s euthanization.

The cougar, who became another LA celebrity after making his home in the city a decade ago, “went to sleep” on Saturday morning, according to state wildlife officials.

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Examination reveals P-22, LA’s celebrity mountain lion, was probably hit by a car

Wildlife experts assessed the big cat’s health and said he will not be released back into the wild, with euthanization also an option

The famous Hollywood-roaming mountain lion known as P-22 is drastically underweight and was probably struck and injured by a car, wildlife experts who conducted a health examination on the big cat said on Tuesday.

The male cougar, whose killing of a leashed dog has raised concerns about its behavior, probably will not be released back into the wild and could be sent to an animal sanctuary or euthanized, depending on its health, the California department of fish and wildlife said.

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‘Going through torture’: Megan Thee Stallion testifies against Tory Lanez

Rapper takes stand in case against Canadian-born musician, emotionally recounting night when she was shot

Megan Thee Stallion delivered emotional testimony on Tuesday in the trial of Tory Lanez, the fellow musician and former friend who allegedly shot her following a party in Los Angeles.

The Texas-born rapper, whose real name is Megan Pete, shared the most in-depth account yet about the moment that led to the shooting in 2020. She described how the attack left her with constant pain in her feet and said the reliving the incident in the public eye had been “torture”.

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Los Angeles official involved in racism scandal caught fighting activist on video

Kevin de León, who has resisted resigning after the debacle, was involved in an altercation in which he appears to push an organizer

Kevin de León, the embattled Los Angeles city council member involved in a racism scandal that threw city hall into upheaval, is facing criticism again after video footage captured him in a physical fight with an activist.

De León, who has resisted calls to resign, made his first in-person appearance at a council meeting in nearly two months on Friday. Hours later he was involved in an altercation at a holiday toy giveaway in which video appeared to show him shoving a local organizer.

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‘Signs of distress’: beloved P22 mountain lion to be captured after attacking dogs

Los Angeles’ resident big cat will have his health assessed after recent attacks on two chihuahuas and roaming too close to homes

Los Angeles’s most famous mountain lion, known as P22, will be captured and studied in order to assess his health following recent attacks on two small dogs and close encounters with people near the park he calls home.

Wildlife officials made the announcement on Thursday and said in a statement that, following the evaluation, California department of fish and wildlife veterinarians and National Park Service biologists will determine the best next steps for the animal while also prioritizing the safety of the surrounding communities.

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US vice-president Kamala Harris will swear in Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass

The ceremony will be a nod to the barriers broken by the two most powerful women in California politics and beyond

US vice-president Kamala Harris will swear in Karen Bass as Los Angeles mayor, marking the historic election of the first Black woman to lead the second largest city in the country.

The swearing-in ceremony on Sunday will bring together two elected leaders who have repeatedly broken barriers in California politics and beyond. In 2020, Harris became the first woman, first Black person and first Asian person to be US vice- president. In 2008, as a California state assemblymember, Bass became the first Black woman to serve as the speaker of any US state legislature; she was elected to represent Los Angeles in the US congress in 2010 and later became chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

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Man who shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker and stole bulldogs sentenced to 21 years

In a deal, James Howard Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder after he was accidentally released from custody

The man who shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker and stole her French bulldogs in Los Angeles last year has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for the high profile robbery that saw the star offer a $500,000 reward for the return of her pets.

James Howard Jackson, one of three men and two accomplices who participated in the violent robbery of dog walker Ryan Fischer, pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder, the Los Angeles county district attorney’s office said on Monday.

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Two-year-old girl survives coyote attack in Los Angeles daylight

Security footage shows animal drag child across lawn and sidewalk before father intervenes

A coyote grabbed and injured a two-year old girl outside her Los Angeles home in a daytime attack before her father chased the animal off, her family said.

Home security video obtained by KTLA-TV showed the animal grab and drag the toddler across her lawn and sidewalk, seconds after her father took her out of a car seat, set her down and turned back inside the vehicle to gather her toys. They had just arrived home from preschool.

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Judge declares mistrial in actor Danny Masterson’s rape trial

The jury said they could not come to a consensus over the allegations after a month-long trial

A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday after jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked at the trial of That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson, who is charged with three rapes.

Los Angeles judge Charlaine F Olmedo had ordered the jurors to take Thanksgiving week off and keep deliberating after they told her on 18 November that they could not come to a consensus about the rape allegations after a month-long trial in which the Church of Scientology played a supporting role.

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Weinstein trial: prosecutor says ‘hotels were his trap’ in closing arguments

Six-week Los Angeles trial wrapping up after graphic testimony from four women accusing ex-producer of rape and sexual assault

Closing arguments began on Wednesday in the Los Angeles rape trial of Harvey Weinstein, following weeks of emotional testimony that saw multiple women take the stand, including the wife of California’s governor.

Marlene Martinez, a prosecutor in the case, began her final arguments with a photograph of Weinstein smirking at the camera, at the height of his power as a “titan of the film industry”. Seated in the courtroom, Weinstein, looking shrunken and pale as a corpse, stared at the photograph of himself on the screen.

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Six men charged over international drug ring after Sydney dawn raids seize cash, cocaine and crypto

NSW police say several transnational organised criminal networks were collaborating on drug imports

Six Sydney men have been charged and millions of dollars in cash and drugs seized after a multi-agency police investigation into an international drug ring.

Another man was arrested in Los Angeles as part of a joint operation with US homeland security.

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More than 20 Los Angeles county sheriff’s recruits injured after SUV hits class

The cadets were on a training run when a 22-year-old driver going the wrong way crashed into them, critically injuring five

More than 20 Los Angeles county sheriff’s academy recruits were injured early Wednesday morning when an SUV driving the wrong way hit the class while they were on a training run.

Authorities have detained a 22-year-old driver in connection with the incident, which left 25 people injured, five critically, including head trauma, broken bones and “loss of limb”, said Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

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Karen Bass becomes the first female mayor of Los Angeles

The Democrat takes over as the second Black mayor in LA’s history, beating a rival who spent over $80m of his own money on the race

The congresswoman Karen Bass was elected mayor of Los Angeles, defeating billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso and becoming the first woman to run the second-largest city in the US.

The Democrat, who has served as a US representative for more than a decade, had amassed an insurmountable lead of nearly 47,000 votes, with 70% of the votes counted, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, nearly one one week after the election. Caruso had a slight lead in the first counts after the polls closed, but Bass soon surpassed him and steadily increased her lead as ballots were counted.

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Jay Leno’s face burned in LA garage after car bursts into flames

Comedian taken to burn center but eye and ear are not severely damaged: ‘I am OK’

Jay Leno was taken to Grossman Burn Center after his face was burned in his Los Angeles garage when one of his cars burst into flames.

The left side of former The Tonight Show host’s face was burned, but Leno’s eye and ear were not severely damaged.

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Influencer ‘Ray Hushpuppi’ jailed over plan to launder $300m

Ramon Abbas, described by FBI as one of world’s most prolific money launderers, sentenced to 11 years

A social media influencer who called himself Ray Hushpuppi and flaunted a lavish lifestyle fuelled by his efforts to launder millions of stolen dollars has been sentenced in Los Angeles to more than 11 years in federal prison.

Ramon Abbas, 40, also was ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.7m in restitution to two fraud victims, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice.

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Kanye West escorted out of Skechers office after showing up unannounced

Executives removed the rapper from the Los Angeles building and said the footwear brand has ‘no intention of working with West’

Executives at Skechers escorted Kanye West out of the company’s corporate offices in Los Angeles, after the rapper and fashion designer showed up “unannounced and without invitation” on Wednesday.

In a statement released after the incident, the footwear brand said it “has no intention of working with West” and that the artist, now known as Ye, was engaged in “unauthorized filming”.

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