Category Archives: Los Angeles

‘Ketamine queen’ accused of selling Matthew Perry fatal dose to plead guilty

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Jasveen Sangha, fifth and last defendant charged in Friends star’s overdose to strike plea agreement with prosecutors

A woman known as the “ketamine queen”, charged with selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him, agreed to plead guilty on Monday.

Jasveen Sangha becomes the fifth and final defendant charged in the overdose death of the Friends star to strike a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Having initially pleaded not guilty, her change of plea means she’ll avoid a trial that had been planned for August.

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Brad Pitt break-in linked to gang targeting celebrities, Los Angeles police say

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Four teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of committing burglaries at the homes of several prominent residents, according to LA police

Los Angeles police have formally linked a break-in at Brad Pitt’s home in the city in June to a string of other burglaries at properties belonging to celebrities.

Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell announced the arrest of four suspects, saying they were a a crew that were committing burglaries at the homes of “various high-profile residents” throughout the city, adding that “some of the burglaries included homes of actors and professional athletes”.

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National guard arrives in DC as mayors warn of Trump power grab

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The US president deployed troops after taking control of DC police, sparking fears of similar moves elsewhere

Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington DC, has pledged to work “side by side” with the federal government as national guard troops arrive at their headquarters in the capital.

The show of force came after Donald Trump announced that he was sending the national guard into the capital and putting city police under federal control, even though the violent crime rate is at a 30-year low.

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Trump spreads false narratives about DC crime – just as he did with LA

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As mayor calls US president ‘hyperbolic’, experts say portrayal of crime rooted in false and misleading claims

Donald Trump is deploying the national guard in Washington DC and seizing control of its police force, claiming that the nation’s capital has become “lawless” and is “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world”.

The president portrayed himself as DC’s savior, vowing to rid it of “crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse”.

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Two killed and six wounded in mass shooting at LA music festival afterparty

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Police arrived to shut down ‘big party’ after possibly armed person was seen going inside building in warehouse district

Two people were killed and six others were wounded in a mass shooting at a music festival afterparty in downtown Los Angeles early on Monday, officials said.

Police first responded around 11pm on Sunday evening to shut down a “big party” after officers saw a person possibly armed with a gun go inside a building in the city’s warehouse district, Los Angeles police department spokesperson Norma Eisenman told the Associated Press. That person was arrested at the scene, she said.

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Grenade missing from scene of blast that killed three LA police officers

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LA county sheriff’s deputies died when one of two ‘military-style’ grenades detonated at police training complex

A grenade is missing from the scene of an explosion that killed three people at a Los Angeles law enforcement training facility, authorities said.

Three veteran deputy sheriffs died in the explosion last Friday, the LA county sheriff’s department’s largest loss of life in a single incident since 1857.

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Insurance claims from LA fires could ‘fully exhaust’ $21bn state fund

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If regional utility is found responsible for January blaze, fund would pay claims and lawsuit settlements

Insurance claims from the Eaton wildfire could “fully exhaust” a state fund that was set up to protect customers when a wildfire is caused by a utility company.

The devastating wildfire in Los Angeles killed 17 people and destroyed more than 9,000 structures in January. One leading theory is that ageing equipment belonging to Southern California Edison, the primary electricity provider in the region, ignited the fire.

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US authorities take custody of more than 20 kids as surrogate mothers claim couple misled them

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Children removed from California home of couple who were arrested in May and had said they ‘wanted a large family’

More than 20 children are in the custody of a California child-welfare agency while authorities investigate a Los Angeles-area couple and whether they misled surrogate mothers around the country.

Fifteen children were removed from the couple’s opulent home in Arcadia after an abuse allegation in May, and another six living elsewhere were also located, said Arcadia’s police lieutenant, Kollin Cieadlo. They range in age from two months to 13 years, with most between one and three.

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Hollywood agent’s son accused of murdering wife and in-laws kills himself

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Samuel Bond Haskell, whose father represented major stars, was charged with dismembering his wife and killing her parents

A California man who was charged with murdering and dismembering his wife and her parents in the home they shared in the Los Angeles suburbs, then dumping his wife’s remains into a garbage bag, has died by suicide in jail, the Los Angeles county district attorney confirmed on Monday.

Samuel Bond Haskell IV, 37, was arrested in November 2023 and charged with the murders of his wife, Mei Haskell, her mother, Yanxiang Wang, and her stepfather, Gaoshan Li. Haskell pleaded not guilty to the three murder counts in January 2024 and was being held without bail pending trial. He was facing a sentence of life in prison with no parole.

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Michael Madsen, star of Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and Donnie Brasco, dies aged 67

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The actor, best known for his collaborations with Quentin Tarantino, was found unresponsive in Los Angeles

The actor Michael Madsen has died aged 67 at his home in Malibu, according to authorities and his representatives. No foul play is suspected, the sheriff’s department confirmed, after deputies responded to the Los Angeles county home following a call to the emergency services on Thursday morning.

He was pronounced dead at 8.25am. In an email, Madsen’s manager, Ron Smith, confirmed his client had died from cardiac arrest.

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California legislature acts to keep film and TV production at home

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Legislation will more than double current tax incentives under larger bill slated to be signed by Gavin Newsom

Hollywood’s home state of California will more than double annual tax incentives for film and television production to $750m under a measure passed by the Democratic-led legislature on Friday.

The increase from the current $330m was approved as part of a broader tax bill that is expected to be signed into law by California’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

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Gavin Newsom sues Fox News for defamation and demands $787m

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California governor accuses network of falsely claiming he lied about a phone call with Donald Trump

The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has sued Fox News for defamation and demanded $787m, almost exactly the same amount Fox paid in a previous defamation case over election misinformation.

In the new lawsuit, filed on Friday, Newsom accuses the Fox host Jesse Watters of falsely claiming Newsom lied about a phone call with Donald Trump, who recently ordered national guard troops into Los Angeles.

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Home owned by Brad Pitt broken into in Los Angeles

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LA police say suspects broke in through the front window, ransacked the home and fled with property

Police are investigating a break-in at a home reportedly owned by Brad Pitt, who has been on a globe-spanning promo tour for his new movie, F1, after three people allegedly “ransacked” the property.

The Los Angeles police department confirmed they responded to a break-in Wednesday night at a house on the 2300 block of North Edgemont Street in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles Dodgers say they denied Ice agents entry to Dodger Stadium

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Baseball team says Ice agents were denied permission to access parking lots but agency claims agents ‘were never there’

The Los Angeles Dodgers said on Thursday they denied US immigration enforcement agents access to the parking lot at Dodger Stadium earlier in the day.

“This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots,” the baseball team said in a post on X.

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US drops charges against LA protester accused of assaulting officers: ‘A huge relief’

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Federal prosecutors reverse course in case of Jose Manuel Mojica, who came forward to Guardian to say he was brutally attacked by agents

Federal prosecutors in California have moved to dismiss charges against a Los Angeles protester accused of assaulting border patrol agents, a major victory for the demonstrator who said he himself was brutally attacked by law enforcement.

US attorney Bill Essayli, a Donald Trump appointee, filed a motion on Wednesday to dismiss a complaint against Jose Manuel Mojica, a 30-year-old Los Angeles resident who was present at one of the first major protests of immigration raids in southern California this month. Mojica, a father of four born in LA, came forward last week to the Guardian, which published footage of his arrest by a group of officers.

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Ice agents detain US citizen as LA immigration raids continue: ‘It’s racial profiling’

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Officers arrest people at swap meet in Santa Fe and detain people in Montebello as curfew in LA remains in place

US immigration raids continued to target southern California communities in recent days, including at a popular flea market and in a Los Angeles suburb where US citizens were detained.

On Saturday, as mass protests swept the nation, including tens of thousands demonstrating in LA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents descended on a swap meet in Santa Fe Springs in southeast LA county. Video showed dozens of heavily armed, masked officers carrying out the raid before a scheduled concert at the long-running event that features vendors, food and entertainment every weekend

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NWSL’s Angel City wear ‘Immigrant City Football Club’ shirts after Los Angeles raids

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  • Team handed out 10,000 shirts bearing message

  • Protests have erupted across LA in response to raids

Angel City, Los Angeles’ NWSL team, wore shirts that proclaimed themselves “Immigrant City Football Club” before Saturday night’s game against the North Carolina Courage.

The team also printed 10,000 t-shirts bearing the same message, with “Los Angeles is for Everyone” on the back in English and Spanish, and gave them to fans at the game. The move was in solidarity with immigrants in the city who have been targeted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

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Judge seems skeptical Trump can call in national guard and will rule ‘very soon’

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California governor Gavin Newsom filed suit challenging US president calling up troops to suppress protests against Ice

A federal judge expressed skepticism on Thursday with the Trump administration’s arguments that the president has the power to federalize national guard troops and deploy them to suppress protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles.

The US district judge, Charles Breyer, said he intends to rule on California’s request for an injunction halting the deployment “very soon”, and that he was hopeful his ruling would come by the end of the day. He said he would also decide on whether the justice department could stay the order pending appeal.

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LA protests: LAPD says it has made ‘mass arrests’ after mayor issued curfew for downtown – live

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Mayor Karen Bass issues curfew for one square mile area in downtown, beginning at 8pm local time on Tuesday until 6am local time on Wednesday

Governor Greg Abbott has pledged to deploy National Guard troops across his state of Texas, becoming the first governor to do so as protests against Trump’s immigration raids spread throughout the United States.

Abbott said on X that the Texas National Guard will “use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order”.

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LA police announce ‘mass arrests’ as Newsom intensifies criticism of Trump | First Thing

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Protesters defy overnight curfew as California governor issues searing rebuke of administration. Plus, who is behind the hedonistic party palaces of New York’s Fire Island?

Good morning.

Los Angeles police have announced they are making “mass arrests” in the city’s downtown area, as people gathered in defiance of an overnight curfew imposed after days of protests against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and military deployment.

What has Newsom said? Trump’s decision to deploy the national guard in LA was “a brazen abuse of power”, that has “inflamed a combustible situation”, Newsom said in a searing rebuke of the administration.

What about Trump? In an address to troops at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina yesterday, Trump spread conspiracy theories, maligned California’s Democratic leaders and misleadingly portrayed protesters as part of a “foreign invasion”.

Were they really armed by Israel? Yes. Israeli defence officials acknowledged last week that they had been arming the group, with the aim of undermining Hamas. Aid workers said the group had a long history of looting from UN trucks.

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