Los Angeles deputy made up ‘shooting’ which prompted huge police response

  • Search for sniper led to evacuations and transport closures
  • Officials say Angel Reinosa cut ‘bullet’ holes in his shirt

A Los Angeles county deputy lied when he said he was shot in the shoulder while standing in a sheriff’s station parking lot last week and will face a criminal investigation, authorities said.

“The reported sniper assault was fabricated” by deputy Angel Reinosa, assistant sheriff Robin Limon said at a news conference on Saturday.

Continue reading...

No Hollywood ending: Los Angeles property listed for $1bn sells at $100,000

The 157-acre lot in the Hollywood Hills has been the subject of complex litigation over who actually owns the property

A billion dollars for an empty tract of land always sounded like a Hollywood fairytale. This week reality came crashing down on the investors, real estate agents and feuding litigants who – all too briefly – became embroiled in the greatest property story on earth.

The land in question is a 157-acre parcel perched high in the Hollywood Hills that overlooks the mansion-studded hills of Bel-Air and Los Angeles. Down the years, it has interested an eclectic mix of would-be buyers including the sister of the Shah of Iran, Merv Griffin, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

Continue reading...

Four dead after gunman goes on 12-hour ‘violent spree’ in Los Angeles

Police have arrested suspect who fatally shot his father, brother and two others in the San Fernando Valley

A man fatally shot his father, brother and two others on Thursday during a 12-hour rampage in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, eluding an intense manhunt until plainclothes officers arrested him soon after he gunned down a city bus passenger, authorities said.

Police said they did not know what had motivated the suspect, identified as Gerry Dean Zaragoza, 26, in the attacks. “It is obviously an individual that went on a violent spree,” Capt William Hayes said. “We knew he was a danger to the community.”

Continue reading...

Los Angeles police spied on anti-Trump protesters

Case is one of several across the US of police targeting anti-Trump and anti-fascist groups with monitoring and criminal trials

The Los Angeles police department has revealed in court that it infiltrated an activist group planning anti-Trump protests, in the latest case of US law enforcement spying on leftwing organizers.

A confidential informant working with the LAPD secretly recorded multiple meetings of a group called Refuse Fascism in 2017, according to newly disclosed police documents. The LAPD transcripts, first reported by the Los Angeles Times and reviewed by the Guardian, were submitted in a criminal case against activists who blocked a California freeway during an anti-Trump demonstration.

Continue reading...

‘Every day, it is a risk’: immigrant communities paralyzed by fear of impending Ice raids

Mayors in major cities have pledged to support those targeted by Sunday’s ‘enforcement operations’

When CG heard that Donald Trump had announced raids by the immigration enforcement agency Ice a few weeks ago, she turned to her husband. Get groceries, she told him, like a storm is coming.

“Bananas, milk and bread,” CG lists off, remembering what she told him, “Because who knows when we’ll leave the house.”

Continue reading...

7.1 magnitude earthquake in California rocks buildings – video

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern California on Friday, resulting in fires, damaged buildings and roads, and swaying rollercoasters. The latest tremor, which followed a 6.4 magnitude quake on 4 July, was the most powerful in the region for 20 years. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries

Continue reading...

Southern California towns assess quake damage as aftershocks continue

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake Friday morning was the largest aftershock thus far and damage appears limited to the desert region

Communities in California’s Mojave Desert tallied damage and made emergency repairs to cracked roads and broken pipes Friday as aftershocks from the largest earthquake in 20 years to hit the region kept rumbling.

The small town of Ridgecrest, close to the epicenter, assessed damage after several fires and multiple injuries that were blamed on the magnitude 6.4 quake. A shelter drew 28 people overnight, but not all of them slept inside amid the shaking.

Continue reading...

‘We should expect more quakes’: a top seismologist on California’s tremor

A magnitude 5.4 aftershock followed Thursday’s 6.4 magnitude quake, the southern California region’s largest in two decades

A 5.4-magnitude aftershock hit southern California on Friday morning, one day after the region experienced its largest earthquake in two decades.

Thursday’s 6.4-magnitude quake landed in the small city of Ridgecrest, 100 miles (160km) from Los Angeles, and renewed fears about the potential for the “big one” to hit the west coast in the future.

Continue reading...

Uber co-founder buys record-breaking LA mansion for $72.5m as drivers fight for wages

Los Angeles sees a spike in the homelessness population while homes the size of football fields are selling for more than $100m

Two massive luxury real estate deals in Los Angeles have shone a harsh light on the wealth gap in a region where tens of thousands of people live on the streets while mansions the size of football fields sell for more than $100m.

On Monday, Variety reported that the Uber co-founder Garrett Camp and his partner Eliza Nguyen have purchased a Beverly Hills mansion for a record-breaking $72.5m, in what is believed to be the largest-ever sale of a home in the neighborhood.

Continue reading...

Behind the bloodshed: the chilling untold stories about Charles Manson

Tarantino’s epic is the big draw at Cannes. But there are other Manson movies around – including one about what ultimately happened to the young women who fell under the murderer’s spell

Over the last half century, one villain has loomed large over Hollywood. The gruesome murders committed by Charles Manson and his followers in the summer of 1969 have filled countless films and documentaries about stardom and the debaucheries of the 1960s. But his malign influence extends far beyond the screen. Aside from murdering eight people, Manson and his disciples – the Family – have been blamed for wiping out the counterculture, free love, communes and hippies.

Three new films are making fresh attempts to reckon with “the symbol of animalism and evil”, as Rolling Stone magazine called him. The biggest is Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, about to premiere at the Cannes film festival. Set in Los Angeles during the Manson era, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a fading TV western star and Brad Pitt as his stunt double, both attempting to make the leap to the big screen. Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate – the actor and wife of director Roman Polanski – who was brutally murdered by the Family. Manson, a background figure in the film, is played by Damon Herriman.

Continue reading...

Nipsey Hussle: Snoop Dogg and Stevie Wonder pay respects as memorial draws 21,000

Friends, family and fans gather in Los Angeles as blogger reads letter from Barack Obama to crowd

Nipsey Hussle’s legacy as a persistent rapper, community activist, uniter, doting father, protective sibling and loving son were underscored at his public memorial service on Thursday, with deeply personal testimonies from those closest to the rapper, including his fiancee, Lauren London; collaborator and dear friend Snoop Dogg; and his mother, who said she was at peace with the death of her “superhero” son.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were among the celebrities who attended the three-hour event in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. The last celebrity funeral held at the concert arena was Michael Jackson’s in 2009.

Continue reading...

Fans pay tribute after rapper Nipsey Hussle killed in LA shooting – video

A large crowd of fans gathers to pay tribute to the rapper Nipsey Hussle after he was shot dead outside his Los Angeles clothing store on Sunday. The 33-year-old earned a Grammy nomination this year for his major-label debut and was a respected figure in south LA, where he grew up

Continue reading...

How Hollywood’s national park is recovering from wildfires

Recent wildfires scorched 90% of the federally protected Santa Monica Mountains – destroying a 1950s Hollywood set and affecting biodiversity. But life is slowly coming back

The fire came quickly. Fueled by dry, blustering winds, officials were unable to contain the Woolsey fire before it scorched the canyons of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, taking close to 97,000 acres and 1,500 properties with it.

One of the great casualties was the Santa Monica Mountains national recreation area. Nearly 90% of the federally owned land burned in the November 2018 blaze. The park is home to popular hiking trails, a rich ecosystem of plant and wildlife, including mountain lions and coyotes, as well as famous spots such as the Paramount Ranch’s “Western Town” (a well-known Hollywood set location), the historic 1927 Peter Strauss Ranch house, a research field station and ranger residences. Nearly all of them burned to the ground.

Continue reading...

‘Tracking every place you go’: Weather Channel app accused of selling user data

Most popular mobile weather app misled users who shared location information, say Los Angeles prosecutors in lawsuit

People relied on the most popular mobile weather app to track forecasts that determined whether they chose jeans over shorts and packed a parka or umbrella, but its owners used it to track their every step and profit off that information, Los Angeles prosecutors said Friday.

The operator of the Weather Channel mobile app misled users who agreed to share their location information in exchange for personalized forecasts and alerts, and they instead unwittingly surrendered personal privacy when the company sold their data to third parties, the city attorney, Michael Feuer, said.

Continue reading...