Severe rainstorms hit southern California, with more to come

Torrents of rain on Wednesday night submerged streets and prompted rescues of people and pets

A strong, slow-moving storm unleashed torrents of rain on southern California on Wednesday night, submerging streets and prompting water rescues, and residents across the region are bracing for more wet weather.

Evacuation orders were issued in parts of Ventura county due to the extreme rainfall, where the deluge dumped more than 3in of rain in a single hour, and emergency responders were inundated with calls for help through the night. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Oxnard and the city of Ventura at 1.28am due to the high-intensity thunderstorm; it expired an hour later as the risks calmed. However, the rain continued.

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Would you drink toilet water? California approves wastewater for human consumption

Regulators approve rules to let agencies recycle wastewater into drinking water for homes, schools and businesses

When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places: an ice-skating rink in Ontario, ski slopes around Lake Tahoe, farmland in the central valley.

And – coming soon – kitchen faucets.

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Report: California leads nation in street homelessness and youth living outside

Experts say lack of affordable housing in state is the main cause, worsened by expiration of pandemic programs that added shelter

California continues to lead the nation in homelessness, with US data showing the state has the highest rate of unhoused people living outside in a worsening humanitarian crisis.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) released its Annual Homeless Assessment Report (Ahar) on Friday, providing a “point in time” snapshot from January 2023. On a single day, 653,104 people experiencing homelessness were counted across the US, the highest number since the count began in 2007. The estimates are considered to be undercounts.

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NBA indefinitely suspends Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green

League announces penalty less than 24 hours after Green hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić and received foul and ejection

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face and received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection.

The league announced the penalty handed down by operations chief Joe Dumars and said the suspension begins immediately. It’s already Green’s second suspension this season.

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LAPD helicopters cost $50m a year, more than 14 city offices’ entire budget

City audit says police flights cost $3,000 an hour with unclear benefit, but police chief disputes findings

Los Angeles spends nearly $50m a year on its police helicopter program, or roughly $3,000 for every hour of flight, according to a new audit that raises questions about the financial and environmental impacts of the city’s aerial surveillance.

The LA controller’s report released on Monday suggests the use of LA police department (LAPD) helicopters is nearly constant across the city, and the majority of flight time is not in response to reports of major crimes, but instead for transportation, ceremonial trips or patrols. The flights are a major source of pollution and appear to disproportionately affect some communities of color, the audit said.

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Adele says staying in sunny LA staves off seasonal depression

Singer, who reportedly bought $58m property last year, says she also gets left alone in Los Angeles

Adele has said she is likely to stick around in Los Angeles because the sunny weather helps her stave off seasonal depression.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, she said the California city’s sunny weather was “good for me”. Los Angeles has an average of about 263 sunny days in the year.

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Two possibly killed in storms caused by atmospheric river in north-west US

Rivers swell to dangerous levels and forces road and rail closures as rain relieves parched states of Washington and Oregon

An atmospheric river deluged the US north-west for a third day on Tuesday, swelling rivers to dangerous levels, forcing road and rail closures, and possibly killing two people who may have been swept up in floodwaters, officials said.

The rain has helped relieve the parched states of Washington and Oregon, which missed much of the historic rain that fell on California a year ago and ended that state’s extended drought. Much of Washington and Oregon still face severe or moderate drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.

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YouTuber gets six months in prison for staging plane crash to make video

Trevor Daniel Jacob, 30, sentenced for obstructing investigation after deliberately crashing his plane in California

A California YouTuber who authorities say deliberately crashed his plane and posted a video of it online was sentenced to six months in federal prison for obstructing the investigation by destroying the wreckage.

Trevor Daniel Jacob, 30, an experienced pilot and skydiver, pleaded guilty in June to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation. Jacob destroyed wreckage from the small single-engine plane that he crashed in Los Padres national forest in 2021, authorities say.

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Cruise robotaxi service hid severity of accident, California officials claim

General Motors service faces $1.5m penalty over allegations it misled regulators after a driverless car ran into a pedestrian

California regulators are alleging a San Francisco robotaxi service owned by General Motors covered up the severity of an accident involving one of its driverless cars, raising the specter they may add a fine to the recent suspension of its California license.

The potential penalty facing GM’s Cruise service could be around $1.5m, based on documents filed late last week by the California public utilities commission.

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‘They can afford fair compensation’: faculty at largest US public college system strike for equitable salaries

About 29,000 workers of the California Faculty Association are on strike as disparity between admin and professor pay increases

California State University faculty at four campuses went on strike on Monday to demand higher pay and expanded parental leave for thousands of workers at the largest public university system in the US.

The California Faculty Association, which represents 29,000 workers, is staging one-day work stoppages at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; San Francisco State University; California State University, Los Angeles and California State University, Sacramento.

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California woman cleared of murder charge for baby’s death in home birth

Kelsey Carpenter was jailed while mourning her loss: ‘I don’t want others to experience what was the worst experience of my life’

California prosecutors have dismissed a murder charge against a woman who was facing life in prison after her newborn died in a home birth, resolving a case that sparked national outrage.

Kelsey Carpenter, 34, was arrested in November 2020 for child endangerment after she gave birth at home and called 911 when her baby did not survive. Although the county coroner deemed the death an “accident”, and state law prohibits the prosecution of women for pregnancy losses, the San Diego district attorney, Summer Stephan, charged her with murder “with malice”.

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Suspect arrested in fatal shootings of three unhoused men in LA, police say

Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, had already been in custody for the robbery and killing of a fourth man

A Los Angeles man who had already been arrested in another shooting investigation has been identified as the suspect in three recent killings of unhoused men, police said Saturday.

The Los Angeles police chief, Michel Moore, said 33-year-old Jerrid Joseph Powell was identified as the suspect in the three killings after authorities determined that a firearm found in the vehicle he had been driving when he was arrested earlier was linked to the shootings.

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Los Angeles police search for one suspect in murders of three unhoused people

District attorney George Gascón says police believe the same person shot and killed three victims this week

Los Angeles officials say they think one person has targeted unhoused people after three back-to-back slayings. Although the mayor, police chief and district attorney stopped short of calling the suspect a serial killer, all of the victims were killed by someone who walked up to them during pre-dawn hours as they were sleeping, shot them and walked away.

“These are some of the most vulnerable people in our community and are being singled out – it appears to be – because of their status,” George Gascón, the Los Angeles county district attorney, said during a press conference on Friday.

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DeSantis v Newsom debate: governors clash on housing, taxes, immigration and more – as it happened

Republican and Democrat to take to the stage in Alpharetta, Georgia, for debate moderated by Sean Hannity

Newsom has called out DeSantis’ lagging poll numbers.

“You’re trying to find migrants to play political games to get some news attention so you can out-Trump Trump, and by the way, how’s that going for you, Ron? You’re down 41 points in your own home state.”

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Man who scammed California Jewish community out of $7m gets seven years

Sassi Mizrahi sentenced to federal prison after he and his brother targeted over 40 people in San Fernando Valley in Ponzi scheme

A southern California man has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison after he and his younger brother scammed more than 40 people out of $7m in investments. Their fraud targeted victims from the San Fernando Valley’s orthodox Jewish Israeli community.

From 2012 to 2019, Sassi and his brother and co-defendant Motty Mizrahi ran an investment and money management firm called MBIG Company that boasted risk-free investments and an annual return rate of 30% to double the original investment, according to court records. To add legitimacy to MBIG, Motty Mizrahi also passed himself off as a licensed broker, certified accountant and veteran trader.

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California jogger ‘filmed himself killing homeless man’ who blocked sidewalk

Orange county prosecutors say Craig Sumner Elliott, 68, shot Antonio Garcia Avalos, 40, three times

A California jogger allegedly filmed himself killing a homeless man who was blocking the sidewalk, according to prosecutors announcing charges against him.

Craig Sumner Elliott, 68, was jogging with his two dogs and pushing a cart on 28 September when he came across Antonio Garcia Avalos, 40, who was sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk, prosecutors in Orange county, California, said.

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Video captures California officer fatally shooting aspiring actor on freeway

Officials launch inquiry as victim identified as Jesse Dominguez, 34, who family says may have been in mental health crisis

A California highway patrol officer fatally shot a man on Sunday during a confrontation in the middle of a Los Angeles highway, state authorities said as they announced an investigation into the incident.

The Los Angeles county medical examiner’s office on Tuesday identified the man as Jesse Dominguez. The 34-year-old was walking along the westbound lanes of Interstate 105 in south Los Angeles county when the deadly encounter unfolded, the California highway patrol said.

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Orphaned mountain lion sisters find new home at California zoo

Willow and Maple, whose mother was hit by car on highway, were dehydrated and underweight when they were found in backyard

The two sisters are tiny – only five and a half pounds, and about two months old. They have giant eyes and mottled patches on their fur. Found in a backyard five days after their mother was hit on Highway 280 in northern California, the mountain lions headed to a new home at the Oakland zoo last week.

The sisters, now named Willow and Maple, were hungry and tired after not eating for five days. The cubs were visibly dehydrated, and underweight, and were checked for parasites and viruses by veterinarians, zoo officials said.

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California male nanny gets 707 years in prison for sexually assaulting 16 boys

Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski was arrested in 2019 and charged with 34 felonies, including lewd and lascivious acts with a minor

A male nanny who advertised himself as a “manny” and worked for families across southern California before being convicted of sexually assaulting 16 young boys in his care has been handed a prison sentence of more than 700 years.

Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, who was also convicted of showing child sexual abuse material to a boy, received his punishment at a sentencing hearing Friday, California prosecutors said in a statement.

In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Five-year-old who fatally stabbed twin brother won’t face charges in California

State policy presumes children younger than 14 are incapable of committing crimes unless ‘they knew its wrongfulness’ at the time

A five-year-old California boy who fatally stabbed his twin brother last week won’t be charged with a crime, according to authorities.

The case illustrates how many US states have policies setting a minimum age for prosecution, taking into account knowledge of wrongfulness and criminal intent. In California, children who are younger than 14 are presumed to be incapable of committing crimes unless “at the time of … the act charged against them, they knew its wrongfulness”, according to the state’s penal code.

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