The moderate Republican, an advocate of abortion rights, resigned in 1995 amid accusations of sexual harassment
Former US senator Bob Packwood, a moderate Oregon Republican whose reputation as a champion of abortion and women’s rights was spoiled at the end of his career by allegations of sexual harassment, has died. He was 93.
Packwood’s death on Saturday was announced in an obituary sent to media outlets by his family.
Continue reading...Musician donates to USC to help create endowed chair to recognize Dr Joseph Sugerman, who treated her for years
Legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks has given $3m to the University of Southern California’s medical school to recognize the physician who has helped care for her voice throughout much of her career.
The major donation supports the creation of an endowed chair in otolaryngology at USC’s Keck School of Medicine in honor of Dr Joseph Sugerman, an ear, nose and throat specialist from Beverly Hills who has treated the singer – along with other performers and patients – for many years.
Continue reading...Robert Garcia became the lead contender in Tuesday’s primaries for congressional district 42 after redistricting
The conservative California community of Huntington Beach, known for banning the Pride flag from city property and fighting the state over pandemic and housing policy, could soon be represented by a gay, Democratic congressman.
Robert Garcia, an incumbent two-term Democratic LGBTQ+ congressman, immigrant and Donald Trump critic, is considered the leading contender in Tuesday’s primary race for the US House seat. Thanks to a successful restricting effort that redrew California’s voting maps to favor Democrats, Huntington Beach is now part of Garcia’s congressional district 42.
Continue reading...Oregon man with extensive criminal record fired at three officers while speeding away from a traffic stop in 2025
A man with the unusual name Loony Toon and a lengthy rap sheet has been given 20 years in prison after admitting that he shot at police officers in Oregon, according to authorities.
The 43-year-old whose name calls to mind the classic television cartoon franchise Looney Tunes – as well as a colloquial term some invoke when describing an eccentric or irrational person – fired a gun at three officers while speeding away from a 20 June 2025 traffic stop in the community of Milwaukie, local prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday.
Continue reading...Authorities say no hope for survivors after tank containing a chemical solution ruptured and killed one person
Crews were set to resume searching on Wednesday for nine workers at a Washington state paper mill where a tank imploded, but authorities said there was no hope of finding any more survivors.
One person was confirmed dead and nine people were reported injured on Tuesday after a tank at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co in Longview imploded, releasing a highly destructive chemical mixture called “white liquor”. But nine other workers remained missing.
Continue reading...Amin Abdullah, 51, was one of the three victims of deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday
A security guard who was killed during the shooting at a San Diego mosque on Monday is being hailed as a hero after police said that his actions “undoubtedly” saved lives.
On Monday, two teenagers opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, shooting and killing three men. The two attackers, aged 17 and 18, were found dead several blocks away, from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, officials said.
Continue reading...The firearms the shooters, aged 17 and 18, used in the fatal rampage were registered to one of their parents
The two teenage assailants responsible for a mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, rushed toward the mosque “fully armored” with handguns and rifles, authorities said.
A security guard shot and struck one of the shooters, according to members of the mosque – but the attacker continued charging. The guard – Amin Abdullah – also alerted administrators of the school at the Islamic Center, telling them to go into lockdown, before he was shot and killed. “If it was not for him … The carnage would be much worse,” said imam Taha Hassane. “He sacrificed his life.”
Continue reading...Fire reported in Simi Valley, north-west of LA, as mandatory evacuation orders were issued for over 20,000 residents
A fast-growing brush fire ignited on Monday morning in southern California, prompting evacuation orders and damaging at least one home.
The Sandy fire was reported just after 10am in Simi Valley, a city in Ventura county about 30 miles north-west of Los Angeles.
Continue reading...Police rushed to ‘neutralize’ the shooter and chairman of center confirmed security guard had been fatally shot
At least one person, a security guard, was killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
Police rushed to the center on Monday and “neutralized” the shooter, according to authorities. Authorities had not yet confirmed any fatalities or injuries, but chairman of the mosque that was targeted confirmed to outlets that a guard had been killed.
Continue reading...Exclusive: DHS made social media posts out of a protester’s arrest at gunpoint. Christian Cerna speaks out about the lengthy prosecution that derailed his life
Christian Cerna, 28, was driving with his partner and their two young children through Los Angeles, when two vehicles rammed his car and a group of men jumped out and trained their guns on them.
It was 11 June 2025, and as Cerna exited his vehicle with his hands raised, he realized the masked men weren’t street criminals as he initially feared. They were Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Continue reading...Since November, state has seen 47 cases of people accidentally ingesting poisonous wild mushrooms
Health authorities in California’s Napa county reported that three people had been hospitalized after consuming poisonous wild mushrooms as the state continues to grapple with an “unprecedented outbreak” of toxic mushroom illnesses.
Since November 2025, California has seen 47 cases of people accidentally foraging and eating poisonous wild mushrooms, including death caps, which can resemble edible species, and western destroying angel mushrooms. Four people have died and several have required liver transplants.
Continue reading...Jury set to deliberate and return a verdict on whether they believe AI firm and Altman are liable in case
Closing arguments began on Thursday in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, bringing the weeks-long courtroom battle between the two tech moguls nearer to a decision. A nine-person jury is set to deliberate and return a verdict on whether they believe the AI firm and Altman are liable in the case.
The trial, which began last month in an Oakland, California, federal courthouse, has gripped Silicon Valley and featured some of the tech industry’s biggest names as witnesses. Attorneys for both sides have presented testimony and documents that have exposed Musk and Altman’s private dealings, as well as provided a window into the contentious history of OpenAI.
Continue reading...Recent consumer alert on ebike safety laws says some vehicles should be classified as mopeds or motorcycles
Amazon said it plans to stop selling certain high-speed electric bicycles in California after a string of high-profile incidents and a consumer alert that the state attorney general issued last month.
In April an 81-year-old man in Orange county died after a teenager illegally riding an e-motorcycle struck him. The teen’s mother, Tommi Jo Mejer, has since been charged with involuntary manslaughter in Ed Ashman’s death as officials say she was warned it was illegal for her son to operate the vehicle.
Continue reading...Broderick was serving a life sentence in California over killings and last month transferred to a medical center
Betty Broderick, who became infamous for the 1989 killings of her former husband and his new wife in a case that shocked the country and inspired movies and books, has died at the age of 78 while still serving a life sentence.
Representatives from the California department of corrections and rehabilitation confirmed to NBC News that Elizabeth A Broderick was moved from the California prison where she had been transferred to a medical center on 18 April. She died the following Friday.
Continue reading...Justice department targets MacArthur Park, which has long struggled with fentanyl use, overdoses and homelessness
Federal authorities arrested 18 people in Los Angeles in a crackdown on drugs in MacArthur Park, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.
The DoJ said it was targeting an “open-air drug market” in the park near downtown, which has long struggled with fentanyl use and overdoses and has at times had large encampments of unhoused people.
Continue reading...University of California at Los Angeles says admissions are ‘based on merit’ and it complies with state and federal laws
The US Department of Justice found on Wednesday that the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles illegally considered race in admissions as the Trump administration ramps up scrutiny of colleges’ processes for selecting students.
The finding escalates the Trump administration’s ongoing standoff with UCLA, which has focused mostly on the main campus’s response to allegations of antisemitic harassment.
Continue reading...San Diego Humane Society finds more than 400 animals at Julian facility, with malnutrition and injuries amid bankruptcy dispute
Authorities in California have rescued more than 400 animals, including horses, cats, dogs and goats, from a now shuttered sanctuary in San Diego county.
The San Diego Humane Society conducted the massive operation last week at Villa Chardonnay, a sprawling facility in Julian that had operated since 2003.
Continue reading...State’s top insurance regulator says insurance company violated law while handling claims from 2025 wildfires
California is seeking millions of dollars in penalties from State Farm after an investigation found the insurance company was slow to investigate and underpaid claims from the 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires, regulators announced on Monday.
State Farm violated the law hundreds of times in a sampling of 220 cases, the state’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, said. The maximum penalty amount allowed by law would be about $4m if State Farm is found to be “willful” in violating state law. Regulators may also temporarily suspend the company’s license, effectively prohibiting the state’s largest home insurer from writing new policies for a year in California.
Continue reading...Investigators find explosives in car, which crashed into Multnomah Athletic Club shortly before 3am Saturday
A person was found dead after a vehicle plowed into a health club in downtown Portland, Oregon, early Saturday morning, police said. Investigators later found explosives inside the car.
Portland police and the Portland fire and rescue department responded to the Multnomah Athletic Club shortly before 3am after the vehicle crashed through the front entrance and caught fire. Once the blaze was brought under control, a person was found dead inside the vehicle, police said in a statement.
Continue reading...Orange county resident Tommi Jo Mejer’s son was illegally riding e-motorcycle when he ran into 81-year-old
A southern California woman is facing an additional charge of involuntary manslaughter after an 81-year-old man died from his injuries after being struck by the woman’s teen son while he was riding an e-motorcycle, prosecutors said on Friday.
On 16 April, Tommi Jo Mejer’s 14-year-old son was riding a Surron e-motorcycle and doing wheelies when he hit Ed Ashman, according to prosecutors. Ashman, a former captain in the US Marine Corps, was walking home from his job as a substitute teacher at a high school in Lake Forest.
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