Category Archives: California

US border agent fires at moving vehicle during immigration stop, officials say

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Homeland security department claims agent shot in ‘self-defense’ after driver refused to roll window down

A federal agent fired at a moving vehicle in southern California after the driver refused to roll down his window during an immigration stop and sped off, the Department of Homeland Security said.

A DHS statement said the driver struck two US Customs and Border Protection agents as he drove away on Saturday, prompting one agent to fire his weapon “in self-defense”. No one was hit by the bullets.

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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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‘Stunning survival story’: Police rescue California man trapped behind waterfall for two days

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Ryan Wardwell was rappelling down Seven Teacups falls when ‘extreme hydraulics’ trapped him behind a cascade

A California man who recently became trapped behind a waterfall for two days while climbing was dramatically rescued by police utilizing a helicopter.

Ryan Wardwell, 46, of Long Beach, went to waterfalls known as the Seven Teacups on 10 August with plans to rappel down, the sheriff’s office of Tulare country said in a social media post. But the “extreme hydraulics” of the waterfalls pushed Wardwell off his rappelling lines and trapped him behind a cascade of the Kern river, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Gavin Newsom says California will move forward with map redrawing plan in response to Texas effort

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Governor revealed the election rigging response act to counter Trump’s push to gain five extra seats in Texas in midterm elections

Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, on Thursday said state Democratic lawmakers would move forward with a redistricting plan intended as a direct response to a Republican-led effort in Texas to redraw congressional maps to control of theHouse majority after the midterm elections.

Newsom, joined by congressional Democrats and legislative leaders, unveiled his plan, known as the election rigging response act, to override the state’s independent map-making commission and approve new congressional lines that would aim to “neuter and neutralize” Texas’s proposal.

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Ex-guard at California women’s prison sentenced to 224 years for sexual abuse

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Gregory Rodriguez convicted of more than 60 charges of abusing women in his custody over nearly a decade

A former California correctional officer convicted of dozens of sexual abuse charges at a women’s prison was sentenced to 224 years in prison on Thursday.

Gregory Rodriguez, 57, worked as a guard at the Central California women’s facility (CCWF), the state’s largest women’s prison, and was found guilty in January of over 60 charges of abusing nine women in his custody, including rape and battery.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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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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Trump officials move to sanction lawyer who tried to block client’s deportation

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Justice department accuses Joshua Schroeder of ‘reckless misrepresentations’ and seeks financial penalties

The US Department of Justice is seeking sanctions against a lawyer who sought to block the deportation of his client, in another sign the Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to enact mass deportations.

Earlier this year, Joshua Schroeder, a California-based attorney, was able to briefly delay the deportation of his client, a Hmong man from Laos, through several court filings.

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Colorado prison evacuated as wildfire becomes one of largest in state history

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Lee fire chars more than 167 sq miles with 6% containment as California crews reach 62% containment on Canyon fire

A Colorado prison was evacuated as one of the largest wildfires in state history continued to grow, and officials warned residents of remote areas to be ready to leave on Sunday as gusty winds and low humidity fed the flames.

Evacuation orders were already in place for mountain communities as the Lee fire charred more than 167 sq miles (433 sq km) across Garfield and Rio Blanco counties, with just 6% containment. No injuries or structural damage has been reported.

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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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UCLA agrees to $6.5m settlement with Jewish students over pro-Palestinian protests

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Lawsuit alleges protesters made antisemitic threats with the ‘knowledge and acquiescence’ of university officials

The University of California, Los Angeles, will pay nearly $6.5m to settle a lawsuit by Jewish students and a professor who said the university allowed antisemitic discrimination to take place on campus during last year’s pro-Palestinian protests.

The lawsuit alleged that with the “knowledge and acquiescence” of university officials, protesters prevented Jewish students from accessing parts of campus, and made antisemitic threats. Under the settlement agreement announced on Tuesday, the university admitted it had “fallen short” and agreed to pay $2.33m to eight groups that support UCLA’s Jewish community, $320,000 to a campus initiative to fight antisemitism, and $50,000 to each plaintiff.

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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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Pat Tillman’s brother arrested for driving into California post office – report

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Late NFL star’s brother, Richard Tillman, taken into custody as suspect after crash causes building to go up in flames

Police are investigating a car that crashed into a post office in San Jose, California, early on Sunday, causing the building to go up in flames, authorities said. Police reportedly took a Richard Tillman – brother of NFL star turned army enlistee Pat Tillman – into custody as a suspect.

The crash happened shortly before 3am at the office located in a strip mall south of downtown, according to the San Jose police department. No injuries were reported.

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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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Florida man, 80, becomes oldest person to complete ‘world’s toughest foot race’

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Bob Becker of Fort Lauderdale finished the Badwater 135 ultramarathon held in California’s sweltering Death Valley

An 80-year-older runner has made history as the oldest person to complete the Badwater 135, nicknamed “the world’s toughest foot race”.

Last week, Bob Becker of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, became one of 93 people to complete the ultramarathon course – which covers 135 miles, beginning 282 feet below sea level in California’s sweltering Death Valley and climbing to 8,360 feet at the trailhead to Mt Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States.

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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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Farm worker who died after California Ice raid was ‘hardworking and innocent’, family says

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Jaime Alanís, 57, died a day after falling off a greenhouse roof during an immigration raid of a cannabis farm

The farm worker who died from injuries he sustained after falling from a greenhouse roof during an Ice raid of a California cannabis farm was a “hard-working, innocent farmer” and the sole provider for his wife and daughter, his family says.

Jaime Alanís died a day after a frenzied immigration raid of Glass House Farms in Ventura county where authorities arrested at least 200 workers. The 57-year-old, who was from the town of Huajúmbaro in Michoacán, Mexico, is the first known person to die during the Trump administration’s enhanced immigration enforcement operations in southern California.

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Trump administration ordered to halt indiscriminate immigration stops in California over racial profiling concerns

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Judge issues temporary block in seven counties including Los Angeles after lawsuit accuses government of systematically targeting brown-skinned people

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles.

Judge Maame E Frimpong on Friday blocked the administration from using what has been called unconstitutional tactics in raids after a lawsuit was filed by immigrant advocacy groups last week.

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Farm worker dies a day after chaotic immigration raid at California farm

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Jaime Alanis died after sustaining injuries during raid where authorities say they arrested about 200 people

A farmworker died Friday from injuries that he sustained a day earlier in raids on two California cannabis farm sites as US immigration authorities confirmed they arrested 200 workers after a tense standoff with authorities.

Jaime Alanis’s death was confirmed in a social media post by the United Farm Workers advocacy group. “We tragically can confirm that a farm worker has died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday’s immigration enforcement action,” the post read.

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Trump sues California over transgender athletes in girls’ school sports

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Justice department says state policy violates Title IX, which offers legal protection against sex discrimination

The Trump administration has sued California over its policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ school sports, alleging that their participation violates federal anti-discrimination laws.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, claims that California’s policies violate Title IX, which affords legal protection against sex discrimination.

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