California Dolphin

The Uplift: A weather wonder – CBS News Watch CBS News A 22-year-old forecasting the weather out of his bedroom is praised for helping people during natural disasters – and gets a big surprise from David Begnaud. And Santa comes early to two U.S. cities to bring Christmas magic to children in need. Plus, more uplifting news. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Eye on America: An inside look at human smuggling, and EV crash concerns – CBS News Watch CBS News In California, we speak to an anthropologist whose new book offers firsthand accounts from human smugglers helping people cross into the U.S. illegally. And in Nebraska, we hear from experts raising the alarm that road barricades aren’t strong enough against heavier electric vehicles. Watch these stories and more on “Eye on America” with host Michelle Miller. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Reporting from TWENTYNINE PALMS Marine Corps base, Calif. —  The two tiny tortoises emerged from their burrows as soon as they detected Brian Henen’s footsteps, eager for the handfuls of bok choy and snap peas that would soon be tossed their way. It will be a few years before the tortoises, roughly the size of playing cards, have shells tough enough to avoid becoming prey for the ravens soaring above. So for now, they live with roughly 1,000 others of their species in a sheltered habitat ringed by barbed wire and draped in netting. The elaborate setup on the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center is designed to protect the tortoises not only from ravens, coyotes and other predators, but from rumbling tanks, live explosives and anything else that might put them in harm’s way at the 1,189-square-mile Mojave Desert base. The Tortoise Research and Captive Rearing Site raises vulnerable tortoises on the vast Marine Corps base. “The desert tortoise is considered a keystone species, which means that they have a disproportionate effect on the entire ecosystem,” says Henen, a civilian who heads the conservation branch

Early one morning in Westlake, as neighborhood children walked to school, I spotted a woman heading in my direction. She was holding the hand of a little girl who wore a mask, carefully leading her around three people who were sprawled on the pavement. They were walking on Bonnie Brae Street, a couple blocks east of MacArthur Park, where it’s not uncommon to see people who are either asleep or passed out, with syringes and needles scattered about. Steve Lopez Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist. Eduardo Aguirre, the girl’s father, was hustling up behind his family and called my name. I had toured the neighborhood with him one night in September, taking inventory of broken streetlights, a torched playground in the park and countless other problems that have battered Westlake for years. The Aguirres generally don’t let their 6-year-old daughter use the park, even though for them and thousands of other apartment dwellers, it’s the most conveniently located

Two 23-year-old Southern California men have been indicted for allegedly defrauding investors out of more than $22 million in cryptocurrency, according to authorities. Gabriel Hay of Beverly Hills and Gavin Mayo of Thousand Oaks are accused of collecting investments for nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and digital asset projects with no intention of sticking around to see those efforts realized, prosecutors said. The U.S. attorney’s office says that from May 2021 to May 2024, they and an unnamed co-conspirator collected $22.4 million from multiple “rug pull” schemes — in which a token or project creator collects investor funds, but then abandons the project while keeping the money. The indictment alleges Hay and Mayo falsely claimed one NFT project, called Vault of Gems, would be the first “to be pegged to a hard asset,” telling investors that the project would work with jewelers around the world and had “already started making [its] own exchange” for jewelry retailers to use. “What’s happening?” asked a November 2021 post by the Vault of Gems X account. Confusion and frustration followed in the replies, which included the allegation that Hay and

SAN FRANCISCO —  On a recent Sunday on the far edge of the Outer Sunset, a cozy oceanfront neighborhood with rows of pastel bungalows, hundreds of people enjoyed a stretch of the iconic coastal road known as the Great Highway. A dad taught his kid how to ride a bike. A young couple strolled with their baby in a bassinet. Two surfers hauled their boards toward the crashing Pacific waves. A day later, the same swath of asphalt was covered with cars, transformed back into a commuter route for thousands of drivers who use the Great Highway to get to work, the airport, school or other parts of town. This two-mile stretch, known as the Upper Great Highway — which starts at the tip of Golden Gate Park and runs south along Ocean Beach — has become a political traffic jam in recent years, with locals clashing over how best to use the historic avenue as coastal erosion and sea level rise threaten its future. Division over the Upper Great Highway’s fate adds to an ongoing debate between so-called urbanists who want to see the city

An Arcadia City Council member is the fiancée of a man charged by federal prosecutors this week with acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government by attempting to influence local politicians, according to court records and interviews. The personal relationship between Eileen Wang, elected two years ago to the council of the San Gabriel Valley suburb, and Yaoning “Mike” Sun deepens questions around what Wang knew about an alleged plot to push pro-China policies, particularly regarding Taiwan. In the criminal complaint against Sun, prosecutors referred to a local politician, “Individual 1,” alleging that Sun and his Chinese government contacts were cultivating the politician in hopes that she would rise in politics and help them strengthen China’s influence in California. Two sources familiar with the investigation identified Wang as Individual 1. The complaint described Sun as Individual 1’s campaign manager and business partner and said the address Sun had registered with the DMV was a home owned by Individual 1. Prosecutors have not charged Wang with a crime. A source familiar with the case, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity

The San Luis Obispo Creek flooded Higuera Street back in January 2023. The city is now preparing for its largest flood-reduction project yet. KSBYs Eduardo Huijon Jr. found out how the upcoming project will increase the creeks capacity and reduce the risk of flooding in the area. Brian Nelson, the deputy director of public works for the city, says there have been three to four floods in the city over the last 50 years. Nelson says the Mid-Higuera Bypass Project came out of the citys Water Management Plan and looked at ways to mitigate flooding in the San Luis Obispo Creek watershed. It started with 2003 in the Waterway Management Plan, said Nelson. But it’s really got going over the last five to 10 years. We received a $6 million Department of Water Resources grant. The city’s appropriated local revenue measure funds to support the work. According to Nelson, the total cost of the project is $13 million. It will increase the creeks capacity by 40% during a 25-year storm event and reduce floodwater surface elevation by 6 to 18 inches. The city plans to

On December 2, Santa Barbara County joined the rest of the state in implementing the CARE Act, a court-based program aimed at addressing homelessness and undiagnosed schizophrenia spectrum disorders with community-based care. “I think everyone needs to feel hope and to know that there is someone that they have in their court, someone that’s paying attention to them and vying for them to get the help and the support that they need,” said Suzanne Grimmesey, Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness. Data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness shows less than one percent of the U.S. population is diagnosed with schizophrenia. “But for those who have that diagnosis, the need is significant,” Grimmesey said. In Santa Barbara, 30% of homeless people have a serious mental health condition according to the county, of which a small fraction might have a disorder on the schizophrenia spectrum. “Even for those that are not eligible through the petition process, it will help to create bridges to our department and allow us to engage people in services and hopefully get more people the help that they need,” Grimmesey said.

A man and a woman were fatally shot in Altadena Friday evening. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the 700 block of West Sacramento Street, near Casitas Avenue, at 8:04 p.m. Friday regarding reports of a shooting and found the victims, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Anyone with information about the shootings was asked to encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Callers who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or send tips to visit lacrimestoppers.org.