statewide California news
Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” ends after 2-year run – CBS News Watch CBS News After a two-year run that brought in a record-breaking $2 billion, Taylor Swift wrapped up her “Eras Tour” on Sunday night in Vancouver. Nancy Chen looks back at the historic show. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On
A massive fire left the roof of a Denny’s restaurant partially collapsed in the City of Commerce early Monday morning. The blaze was reported shortly after 2 a.m. at the Denny’s located at 7268 E. Gage Ave., A Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson confirmed. Video showed flames burning through the roof of the restaurant, which was open at the time. A fire tears through the roof of a Denny’s in Commerce on Dec. 9, 2024. (KTLA) A Denny’s employee told KTLA two people were inside at the time of the fire and were able to get out safely. No customers were in the building and no injuries were reported. Guests staying at a Best Western Plus located on the same property had to temporarily evacuate the building, including one who said she heard an explosion. Witness Marie Whiting described the scene. “There were a lot of big orange flames shooting out the top … It took quite a while for them to get the fire out,” Whitting said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze shortly before 3:30 a.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that members of Congress who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection should be imprisoned. “Honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump said of elected officials who led the investigation, speaking in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” One of those investigators, former Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), is slated to be sworn in Monday as California’s junior U.S. senator. Schiff served on the Jan. 6 committee and led the first impeachment trial of Trump. Trump said Sunday he would not direct his administration to pursue such prosecutions and would leave the decision up to Pam Bondi, his pick for attorney general. He also said he would “most likely” pardon his supporters who were convicted in the riot. President Biden is considering whether to issue preemptive pardons to protect potential targets of revenge prosecution, including Schiff. In a Sunday post on X accompanied by a clip of the interview, Schiff wrote: “Prosecuting the truth-tellers. Pardoning perpetrators of political violence. That’s not what democracies do. That’s what dictators do.” Schiff won the election to replace outgoing Sen. Laphonza Butler
In Los Angeles, a city desperate for homeless housing, one project that will fill some of that need has been unconscionably delayed for years. The City Council has already approved it twice, most recently two years ago. This week, city officials have a chance to show they are serious about getting that project built. On Wednesday, the California Coastal Commission will take up the Venice Dell Community project, which will provide 117 units, including 68 for homeless supportive housing and the remainder for low-income affordable housing, on a city-owned 2.65-acre parking lot in Venice not far from the beach. Commission staff already recommends the project receive a coastal development permit. The Coastal Commission should approve that. And any official from the city who shows up at that meeting should support the project. Not doing so would be a disgrace. The Venice Dell Community project has been in the works for seven years. After meeting with the community and taking their concerns into account, the nonprofit developers, Venice Community Housing and Hollywood Community Housing Corp., were approved by the L.A. City Council for a development agreement
A 20-year-old mural project honoring volunteerism in La Mesa has a fresh look, and the public is invited to hear from some of the artists at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday. “These murals, created by talented local artists, beautifully capture the spirit and values of La Mesa, values that include a commitment to volunteerism,” Mayor Mark Arapostathis said about the Walkway of the Stars. “La Mesa is a place where people come together to support one another, driven by a strong sense of pride and unity,” he continued. “It’s this community pride that makes La Mesa such a special place.” The mayor, other city officials and some of the artists themselves will be at the ribbon-cutting scheduled for 4 p.m. at 8338 La Mesa Blvd. Former La Mesa City Councilmember Ruth Sterling proposed the idea to honor city volunteers in 2003, and eight murals were painted at the pedestrian walkway in 2004 and 2005. Those are being replaced with eight new murals that vary in size between 10 feet by 12.5 feet and 10 feet by 18 feet. Each depicts an aspect of community volunteerism, including
San Diego’s new city attorney has unusually comprehensive expertise on two of the city’s most pressing issues: homelessness and a housing affordability crisis. During her 11 years as a deputy city attorney, Heather Ferbert has written the city’s eviction moratorium, its inclusionary housing law, its unsafe camping ban and a law limiting how many homes can be used as vacation rentals. “I can’t find any history of San Diego having a city attorney with that kind of background,” she said. “Housing and homelessness are the two issues on everybody’s mind right now. I think it’s ideal.” Ferbert’s expertise on housing also includes property transactions, which could be a boon with San Diego still recovering from the costly 101 Ash St. scandal — the purchase of a mostly unusable downtown skyscraper without proper vetting. Ferbert played no part in that transaction. But she said in an interview last week in Balboa Park that her expertise on property and land use could have helped prevent the deal had she been city attorney at the time. In addition to her expertise, Ferbert says she has a strong motive
This year’s holiday season will feel very different for some San Diegans still trying to rebuild nearly a year after catastrophic flooding displaced thousands of families. Some spent Thanksgiving day separated from their families, with nowhere to gather. Others used the time off to work on rebuilding, in the hopes of returning home before Christmas. Others who are fortunate enough to have moved back home already still aren’t out of the woods. And as the year winds to a close, Clariza Marin, who has been helping organize flood recovery efforts, worries about another cliff coming for flood victims. Some had to hurry to lease new homes at rents higher than they can afford — leases that may soon expire. Others’ rental subsidies and other financial aid is running dry. Soon, those families will have exhausted their resources and once again be in search of an affordable place to live. “There’s so many lessons to be learned,” Marin said. Martha Navarro considers herself one of the lucky ones. She was able to move back into her Southcrest home with her husband, two sons and their dog
Watch Mindy Kaling and Morris Chestnut announce nominations for the 82nd annual Golden Globes, with 10 nominees revealed live on CBS News.
A massive fire left the roof of a Denny’s restaurant partially collapsed in the City of Commerce early Monday morning. The blaze was reported shortly after 2 a.m. at the Denny’s located at 7268 E. Gage Ave., A Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson confirmed. Video showed flames burning through the roof of the restaurant, which was open at the time. A fire tears through the roof of a Denny’s in Commerce on Dec. 9, 2024. (KTLA) A Denny’s employee told KTLA two people were inside at the time of the fire and were able to get out safely. No customers were in the building and no injuries were reported. Guests staying at a Best Western Plus located on the same property had to temporarily evacuate the building, including one who said she heard an explosion. Witness Marie Whiting described the scene. “There were a lot of big orange flames shooting out the top … It took quite a while for them to get the fire out,” Whitting said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze shortly before 3:30 a.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Shortly after noon Sunday, the waters eight miles off the coast of Newport Beach were broken by an unusual, if not majestic, sight. A several-ton humpback whale broke through the surface and leaped into the sky, like a Pacific Life insurance commercial, scattering adjacent seabirds while opening its massive mouth to consume anchovies near the surface. Wildlife photographer Mark Girardeau captured the moment via a drone, something that has become more common in the last few weeks. For the last two months, Orange County waters have become Southern California’s own humpback hangout. “I’ve been working in this area for 10 years and I’ve never seen this crazy level of humpback whales,” Girardeau said. “But they’re here and it’s incredible.” Girardeau also works as a deckhand for Newport Coastal Adventure , which offers ocean tours and sightseeing excursions. In a normal year, Girardeau would be pointing out dolphins, along with fin and minke whales, to tourists in search of sea life. The humpbacks started popping up recently, following massive schools of anchovies, a typical food source. While it’s normal to see humpbacks in Monterey Bay or
Investigators believe that the boy fell through the ice, and the girl fell while trying to help him.
Search continues for murder weapon in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting Search continues for murder weapon in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting 02:48 NEW YORK — The manhunt in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder continues to expand. Police have been searching Central Park for clues , both on land and in water, as U.S. Marshals work to figure out where the person of interest boarded a bus to New York City. Central Park dive teams looking for murder weapon NYPD divers searched the lake in Central Park on Dec. 7, 2024, looking for the weapon used in the deadly shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, sources say. Citizen NYPD dive teams were seen near Central Park’s iconic Bethesda Fountain all weekend, searching for the murder weapon. They returned Monday and cordoned off the lake behind the fountain. Police say the weapon is critical, because detectives can potentially find out where it was purchased and who owned it. For now, police say the lack of concrete evidence is why they are referring to the man seen in surveillance images as a “person of interest.” A backpack found in New York City’s
TODAY’S WORD — RANKLE RANKLE: RANK-ul: To anger or irritate. Average mark 15 words Time limit 30 minutes Can you find 19 or more words in RANKLE? The list will be published tomorrow. SATURDAY’S WORD — EPHEMERAL: earl epee ephemera pale paler palm pare peal pear pearl peel peeler peer perm plea pram hale hamper hare harem harm harp heal healer heap hear heel helm help helper hemp here male maple mare marl meal melee mere rale ramp real realm ream reap reel repeal repel ahem alee ampere ample aper lame lamer lamp leap leaper leer leper To purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last! RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or
Dear Eric: I play mah-jongg with senior citizens several times a week at a Barnes & Noble. One day our group needed two tables. There were several open tables but the only one of the right size had stuff sitting on it, along with a backpack on the floor. I moved the stuff to another table and took the one we needed. When the young man finally came back, I apologized and said, “Sorry to move your stuff, but we needed this table, and you were nowhere around.” He then told me it was rude to touch his stuff. Many of the ladies agreed with him, so I wonder if I was wrong. But the way I look at it is, you can’t put your stuff on a table and then walk around for an hour and expect no one to want the table. Also, I have come many times early and sat at a table to “reserve” it rather than just leaving my stuff on it. What do you think? – Game Play Rules Dear Rules: I think you shouldn’t have touched another person’s
DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a 30-year-old woman, and my parents are constantly pressuring me to get married. The truth is, I don’t want to — ever. I’ve made a conscious decision to focus on my own passions, dreams and personal growth instead of pursuing a traditional path. However, this choice has been met with disappointment from my family, especially since I grew up in a traditional household. As the eldest, I spent most of my childhood and teenage years helping to raise my younger siblings. I had to take on a lot of responsibility, including tasks that I felt should have been my parents’. It wasn’t just physically exhausting, but emotionally draining, too. I often felt like I didn’t have a childhood of my own. This experience shaped my mindset, and I made a vow to myself that once I was older and independent, I would never subject myself to the pressures of having a family of my own. This decision feels right for me, but I can’t help but wonder if it sounds selfish to others. My family sees marriage and children as essential
DEAR MISS MANNERS: A young couple moved in next door. When they get mail addressed to the former occupant, they don’t contact her, even though she lives in the same small town (and runs a store here). One recent package contained some marketing materials she had ordered from me, which I mistakenly sent to her old address. When we figured out the problem, I texted my new neighbor, and he then left the package on my porch. But he had had it for three weeks without doing anything about it. When these neighbors are on their deck and my husband goes into his vegetable garden nearby, they immediately go inside. What’s wrong with these people? GENTLE READER: Maybe they are on their honeymoon. Maybe they are on the lam. Who knows? But they do not have to socialize with you. In any case, they do not want to be good neighbors, which is their privilege — up to a point. Retaining someone else’s mail was beyond that point. Miss Manners hopes that the post office will be more responsive when your former neighbor requests her
WASHINGTON — In a normal presidential transition, the president-elect spends weeks carefully considering candidates for the most important jobs in his Cabinet. Potential nominees undergo rigorous private vetting by trusted aides and lawyers, then by the FBI. It’s a painstaking process that often consumes the entire three months between the election and the inauguration. But when has Donald Trump ever recognized any value in traditional norms? He refused to authorize the FBI to begin its customary background checks, because he hoped to do without them or because he didn’t trust the G-men, or both. Instead of waiting for investigations, he announced most of his nominees in three weeks — apparently imagining that the tsunami would force the Senate to confirm them quickly. He even proposed skipping the constitutionally required step of Senate confirmation entirely, pushing to fill his Cabinet through the back door of “recess appointments.” He was apparently surprised when otherwise loyal GOP senators quietly refused to roll over for that audacious power grab. His nominations set a new record for speed, if not for quality. The outcome was predictable. His most controversial nominees —
As an international student at USC who had not been home for a year, Kevin Lu was excited to return over winter break to see his parents in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. But with President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration approaching, he changed his mind, choosing to remain in Los Angeles. “It’s too risky,” said Lu, a senior majoring in finance. Lu cited Trump’s hawkish stance on China, restrictions during his first term on Chinese student visas for scholars because they were a security “threat” and promises to sign another travel ban like the one nearly eight years ago that left many visa-holding students stranded at airports. “You don’t know what’s next,” Lu said. At USC, where more than a quarter of its 47,000 students are internationals, many are scrambling — with some changing their travel plans at the last-minute and others rethinking post-graduation work searches in the U.S. — ahead of an incoming administration that has sent mixed signals on its interest in foreign students and workers. The university is warning foreigners to follow in Lu’s footsteps by skipping or cutting short travel
Lots of impressive art turned up in 2024 museum exhibitions, whether or not the entire show was any good. Here are 10 memorable examples from shows at seven area museums. Lots of impressive art turned up in 2024 museum exhibitions. Sometimes the full show was notable, and sometimes it was less so, but sensational individual paintings, sculptures, installations and other works have a way of standing out from the crowd. Here are 10 memorable examples from shows at seven museums in the last year, listed in chronological order of the exhibitions’ openings: Lucas Cranach the Elder, ‘Adam and Eve’ (Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times) Lucas Cranach (Germany, 1472-1553) was in his late 50s when he painted this magnificent pair of life-size panels, which show the hapless biblical protagonists of humanity’s fall from grace. The artist, a pal of Martin Luther, had considerable life experience. He made Eve the shining star — a graceful beauty, her shapely body framed by an explosive sunburst of wavy hair. Apprehensive Adam looks upon her with a head-scratching degree of uneasy anticipation, an apple clutched low in his hand
In Southern California, the post-pandemic malaise finally started to lift. And the theater, quite unexpectedly, turned out to be 2024’s silver lining. The Mark Taper Forum reopened for business in the fall with a pedal-to-the-metal revival of “American Idiot,” a collaboration with Deaf West Theatre that marked Center Theatre Group artistic director Snehal Desai’s directing debut at his new home. The Tarell Alvin McCraney era began in earnest with a seismic production of “The Brothers Size,” the play that introduced the theater public to his unflinching, lyrical truth-telling. The most memorable productions may have involved classics of one kind or another, but these works were reborn in stagings that refused to play it safe. The just-wrapped “Pacific Overtures” and “Waiting for Godot” (running through Dec. 21) reclaimed their timelessness while the Old Globe’s “Henry 6” created what seemed like a Shakespeare history play hot off the press. Adam Kaokept, left, Brian Kim McCormick, Gedde Watanabe and Kavin Panmeechao in “Pacific Overtures” at East West Players. (Teolindo) Of the new and newish plays I saw in the region, James Ijames’ “Fat Ham” and Eboni Booth’s “Primary
The announcements came like a metronome at the start of last season, a steady stream of almost weekly news releases from the Dodgers announcing one Japanese sponsorship deal after the next. April 1: Dodgers and All Nippon Airways (Japan’s biggest airline) announce multi-year partnership. April 4: Dodgers and Toyo Tires (one of Japan’s biggest tire companies) agree to multi-year partnership. April 8: Dodgers and Kowa (a Japanese trading and manufacturing company) announce multi-year partnership. April 22: Dodgers and Daiso (a Japanese retailer) enter into multi-year partnership. On and on it went this year, with the Dodgers striking agreements with Japan-based companies producing everything from personal-care cosmetics (Kosé) to fermented dairy drinks (Yakult) to electric vehicles (Afeela). It was the kind of barrage the Dodgers were anticipating when they signed Shohei Ohtani a year ago today, recognizing the global attention — and lucrative marketing potential — the two-way star and three-time MVP had after signing a heavily deferred 10-year, $700-million contract. Twelve months later, however, top Dodgers executives have acknowledged that Ohtani’s influence exceeded even their lofty ambitions. In the same way Ohtani’s bat transformed the
