Category Archives: Los Angeles

Nearly 1,000 ‘worker over billionaire’ actions planned for Labor Day in US

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Rallies from Alaska to Hawaii will highlight cuts to wages, unions and social safety nets under Trump policies

Nearly 1,000 “worker over billionaire” protests are being planned in all 50 states starting this weekend as part of a Labor Day week of action organized by labor unions and advocacy groups in opposition to the Trump administration’s policies.

The actions include marches and rallies in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles, a Labor Day parade in New York City, rallies in Palmer, Alaska, Freeport, Maine, and a planned protest at the state capitol in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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‘Nightmare’: family in shock after Ice moves LA teen out of state without their knowledge

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Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz, 18, was initially held at a facility near LA and later transferred to an Arizona holding site

The family of 18-year-old Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz was shocked when they found out that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) had discreetly moved him out of California, according to California congresswoman Luz Rivas, who spoke with his relatives and reviewed federal detention records.

Guerrero-Cruz, who was first detained in Van Nuys neighborhood while walking his dog, was transferred late Monday from the Adelanto detention facility in San Bernardino county to a remote holding site in Arizona without any notification given to his family.

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Lil Nas X charged with four felonies after allegedly attacking police in Los Angeles

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Police say musician charged at them when they confronted him for walking naked down an LA street last week

Lil Nas X was charged on Monday with four felonies after police say he charged at them when they confronted him for walking naked down a Los Angeles street last week.

Prosecutors charged the musician, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, with three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one felony count of resisting an executive officer, the district attorney’s office said. He was initially booked on suspicion of misdemeanor obstructing an officer on Friday.

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Judge blocks White House from defunding 34 municipalities over ‘sanctuary’ policies

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Cities that limit cooperation with immigration authorities had sued Trump administration over funding freeze

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from cutting off federal funding to 34 “sanctuary cities” and counties that limit cooperation with federal immigration law enforcement, significantly expanding a previous order.

The order, issued on Friday by the San Francisco-based US district judge William Orrick, adds Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as Boston, Baltimore, Denver and Albuquerque, to cities that the administration is barred from denying funding.

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LA Ice protests spurred US military to identify ‘hotels to avoid’ due to ‘harassment’

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Exclusive: Organizers disrupted Trump’s immigration crackdown by targeting hotels where officers were staying, documents show

When Donald Trump’s administration escalated immigration raids in Los Angeles earlier this summer, protest organizers responded with actions staged in an unusual setting: the hotels where immigration officers were staying.

Protests took place at several southern California hotels where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents had been spotted. Some activists launched “No sleep for Ice” rallies, with chants and music blaring through the night, in hopes of pressuring the hotels to kick agents out.

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Lil Nas X arrested and hospitalized after altercation with police – reports

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The 26-year-old rapper and singer was seen walking down the street in his underwear Thursday morning in LA

Lil Nas X has been arrested after an altercation with police, according to reports.

Officials confirmed to NBC that the 26-year-old rapper and singer was booked on suspicion of misdemeanour battery after he was confronted while walking down the street in his underwear.

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Californians brace for worst multiday heatwave of the year

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Temperatures are expected to spike with a trio of heat, thunderstorms and fire risks compounding dangers

Californians are bracing for the first major heatwave of the year, a multiday scorcher that could bring triple-digit temperatures, pose significant threats to public health and sharply heighten wildfire risks.

After a notably cooler summer, temperatures are expected to spike across the American south-west starting on Wednesday and extending through the weekend, as severe conditions expand north along the coast into British Columbia by the end of the week.

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‘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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