Category: Los Angeles

One week away from Thanksgiving and the holiday season looming, police are warning residents eager to check items off their shopping lists to remain vigilant for possible scams, especially those buying and selling items in e-commerce exchanges.   The giving season, according to law enforcement officials, is also the time of year that many sophisticated scammers come out of the woodwork and are looking to pounce on unsuspecting online shoppers.   KTLA’s David Lazarus, host of “Consumer Confidential,” estimates people will spend roughly $240 billion shopping online over the holidays this year, up 8% from last year.   He said any time shoppers use their credit cards or personal information, they should go in with their eyes open.   “Look at the little URL at the top where it says ‘http,’” Lazarus explained. “What you want to see is ‘https,’ meaning you’ve got a secure connection and there’s not going to be anyone looking over your shoulder as you’re making the transaction.”   An online marketplace seen in this undated file photo. (KTLA) Officials with the Los Angeles Police Department are also calling on residents

A park ranger suffered non-life-threatening injuries when he fell from a city vehicle during an investigation into an assault with a deadly weapon on a biking trail in Griffith Park. Los Angeles Police Department officers and city park rangers responded shortly after 4:20 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Fern Dell Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon, police said. Police determined after further investigation that the crime occurred on a biking trail. Police did a follow-up investigations at Western and Franklin avenues, where a park ranger fell from a city vehicle. It was unclear what motivated the assault. Details leading up to the ranger falling from a vehicle remain limited. Reports from the scene indicate that the suspect was taken into custody.

An at-risk 17-year-old girl reported missing after being last seen in Cudahy has been found, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Wednesday. Gretel Gabriela Chavarin had last been seen Tuesday in the 7900 block of Crafton Avenue around 8 a.m., according to the department. Sheriff’s deputies have since located Chavarin, but as is customary in missing persons cases, additional details about when or where she was found were not provided.

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November 20, 2024 / 11:40 PM EST / AP Google’s Chrome browser could be sold DOJ could force Google to sell Chrome after monopoly ruling 02:08 U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade. The proposed breakup floated in a 23-page document filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department calls for Google to sell its industry-leading Chrome web browser and impose restrictions designed to prevent its Android smartphone software from favoring its search engine. The recommended penalties underscore how severely regulators operating under President Biden believe Google should be punished following an August ruling by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta that branded Google as a monopolist . The Justice Department decision-makers who will inherit the case after President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year might not be as strident. The Washington, D.C. court hearings on Google’s punishment are scheduled to begin in April and Mehta is aiming to issue his final decision before Labor

November 20, 2024 / 11:29 PM EST / CBS/AP A U.S. citizen has died in a tourist town in the Southeast Asian nation of Laos following reports that multiple travelers suffered suspected cases of alcohol poisoning in the same town after possibly consuming tainted drinks. A State Department spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that the death occurred in Vang Vieng.   “We are closely monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance,” the spokesperson said, adding that local authorities were responsible for determining the cause of death. The victim’s name was not provided.   Australian media also reported that two Danish tourists died after consuming tainted alcohol in Vang Vieng, but it was not immediately possible to confirm details. Asked about media reports, Denmark’s Foreign Ministry told The Associated Press that “two Danish citizens have passed away in Laos” but that it could not provide specifics for “reasons of confidentiality in personal matters.” A woman carries a baby as she walks by the Nana Backpack hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. Anupam Nath / AP Meanwhile, two Australian tourists were being treated in

Loved ones and authorities are searching for two Southern California teenagers who have been missing for nearly a month. Mileena Agustin, 13, and her friend, Jose Sanchez, 14, were reported missing on Oct. 27, according to the Pomona Police Department. “Although their cases were reported separately, it is believed they are together,” authorities said in an update on Nov. 20. They may have been seen in the Pomona, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley areas, authorities said. The circumstances surrounding their disappearance were not released, however, police said their families remain very concerned for their well-being. They have not had contact with the teens since. Agustin is described as an Asian female standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing around 197 pounds. She has black hair, brown eyes and hyperpigmentation around her neck and chest. Mileena Agustin, 13, and her friend, Jose Sanchez, 14, were reported missing on Oct. 27, 2024. (Pomona Police Department) She was last seen wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and dark-colored basketball shorts with red and white stripes on the side. She may be carrying a camouflage tie-dye Victoria’s Secret tote

A 46-year-old Riverside County man ambushed by vigilante teens after he allegedly provided a girl with nude photos of himself and tried to arrange a sexual encounter with her is, so far, not facing charges.   Prosecutors with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said they would not be filing charges against William Vandenbush, a resident of Homeland, and sent the case back to the sheriff’s department for further investigation.   The Nov. 15 incident, according to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, unfolded around 4:30 p.m. at Nicolas Road Park in Temecula.  Authorities told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson that deputies were tipped off that the suspect was allegedly meeting a minor at the park for “sexual purposes.”   William Vandenbush, 46, a resident of Homeland is shown in this undated mug shot. (Riverside County Sheriff’s Department) “When deputies arrived at that scene, there were probably 20 other juveniles there,” RCSD Sgt. Diedre Vickers told KTLA.    While many of the teens had their cellphones out and recorded the encounter, deputies detained the 46-year-old and waited for detectives to respond to the park.   Human

Police in Upland arrested a woman who allegedly stabbed her partner during a domestic dispute Wednesday morning. According to the Upland Police Department, officers were dispatched around 1 a.m. to a home near the intersection of Alpine Street and Palm Avenue. Neighbors had reported an intoxicated woman armed with a kitchen knife was yelling and had just stabbed a man in an apartment complex. Police arrived on scene and found the woman in front of the building. When she spotted officers, she took off on foot while “barefoot and in a dress,” police said. Body cam footage shared by the Police Department shows the woman running between apartment buildings and into an alley before ultimately surrendering to armed officers. The knife was located nearby. Upland police released body camera footage of an arrest of a woman accused of stabbing a partner during a domestic dispute on Nov. 20, 2024. (Upland Police Department) Upland police released body camera footage of an arrest of a woman accused of stabbing a partner during a domestic dispute on Nov. 20, 2024. (Upland Police Department) The victim suffered two stab

Family members are disturbed after they say mice have been repeatedly spotted inside a San Fernando Valley nursing home. Cell phone video captured a mouse running inside a bedroom and darting behind furniture at the Sherman Village Healthcare Center in Valley Village. On Sunday night, family members claimed they spotted at least four mice inside the facility. Leticia Sahagun said she’s horrified that her mother and other elderly patients are living under such conditions. She said she managed to trap at least four mice inside a bathroom that night. She also found mouse droppings behind furniture. “It was dinner time and I think the smell of the food just ignited mice coming out of the cupboards and behind furniture, in and out of the bathroom,” Sahagun said. “I’m just concerned about my mother and her roommate. They are fall risks so their beds are down on the floor. Just the thought of having mice run on them throughout the night when I’m not there, it just makes me so sad and it breaks my heart.” Elaine Barringer, the daughter of another patient, was also there

Police in Santa Ana are asking for the public’s help in identifying and locating three suspects involved in an armed robbery at a local gas station late last week, officials announced.   It’s unclear exactly which convenience store and gas station the robbery occurred, but in a post to social media, officials at the Santa Ana Police Department said the incident happened on Nov. 14.   In surveillance footage, two of the three suspects can be seen browsing the aisles of a convenience store before purchasing some items and leaving.   That’s when police say suspect number one approached a man sitting in his vehicle next to his girlfriend while fueling up his car and brandished a gun, pointed it at the victims and demanded their property.   Two of three suspects wanted in an armed robbery at a gas station in Santa Ana on Nov. 14, 2024. (SAPD) Footage of the incident shows suspect number two approach and take the stolen items — two cellphones and a wallet — from the gunman. Police said the third suspect stood nearby and was acting as a

NUEVA YORK . — Con el Día de Acción de Gracias a menos de dos semanas, Walmart, Target, Aldi y otros supermercados están compitiendo por un lugar en las mesas festivas con ofertas de cenas de pavo y otras promociones para tentar a los estadounidenses que aún no se recuperan de la reciente inflación en los precios de los alimentos. Walmart, el mayor minorista de alimentos de la nación, agrupó por primera vez los ingredientes para una cena tradicional de pavo en un paquete hace tres años. Este año, la oferta de 29 artículos, que incluye un pavo congelado e ingredientes para raciones laterales, cuesta menos de 55 dólares y está destinada a servir a ocho personas. Eso calcula a menos de 7 dólares por persona. La versión de Target para cuatro personas cuesta 20 dólares, 5 dólares menos que la de 2023, e incluye un pavo congelado, mezcla para relleno y judías verdes enlatadas y salsa de arándanos en gelatina enlatada. Aldi ofrece un pavo congelado Butterball con mezcla para salsa, así como ingredientes para pastel de calabaza e ingredientes para guarniciones como cazuela

When Comcast swallowed NBC and Universal Studios 14 years ago, the sibling cable channels USA Network, Bravo and CNBC were considered diamonds in the rough. USA Network had gained traction with its “Blue Skies” programming strategy: sunny and upbeat TV programs infused with a buoyant energy and natural light. The cable channels were NBCUniversal’s equivalent of blue skies, routinely delivering three-quarters of the company’s profit. In 2012, cable networks threw off a robust $3.3 billion in cash flow. Times have changed. Comcast this week announced its plans to jettison all but one cable channel into a separate, stand-alone publicly traded company that will take shape over the next year. “This is a reminder that the cable television network business is yesterday’s news,” analyst Craig Moffett said Wednesday in an interview. “If it feels like Comcast is shedding itself of an albatross — that’s because it is.” For now, Comcast’s cable channels remain a viable business by generating $7 billion in annual revenue. But you have only to look at the properties the Philadelphia cable giant is keeping to see how the top brass has picked

A woman has reached a tentative settlement in her lawsuit filed against the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District in which she alleged she was twice sexually assaulted by her rock poetry teacher while she was a 16-year-old student at Santa Monica High School in 1978. Identified only as Jane Doe D.S. and now in her 60s, Doe maintained that teacher Steven Garwood was never trained in having appropriate conduct with students. On Monday, Doe’s attorney filed court papers with Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Elaine W. Mandel notifying her of a “conditional” settlement in the case along with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by Jan. 17. No terms were divulged. In their previous court papers, district lawyers argued that the plaintiff provided no evidence, including through her own testimony, that the alleged abuse she suffered resulted from the failure of any district staff member to supervise her or Garwood. The defense attorneys also denied the district was negligent in hiring the teacher. “In plaintiff’s deposition, she testified in plain terms that the abuse, which took place on two occasions off campus

Two men — including a grandson of the victim — are scheduled to be arraigned next month on murder and burglary charges for allegedly killing a 75-year-old woman at her South Pasadena home. Josh Edward Atkins, 44, and Bikramjot Singh Padda, 28, are each charged with murder and first-degree burglary with a person present stemming from the June 4 killing of Susan Miller inside her home in the 800 block of Brent Avenue, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said Padda is Miller’s grandson. Sheriff’s officials said deputies responded to Miller’s home around 8:45 p.m. that night, and the victim was found dead from stab wounds to the upper body. Reports from the scene at the time suggested Miller’s grandchildren found her body while checking on her welfare. Prosecutors alleged that Atkins and Padda burglarized the home at about 3:30 a.m. that morning and fatally stabbed Miller. The criminal complaint alleges that Atkins personally used a knife in the commission of the crime. The complaint also alleges that another person, other than the alleged accomplice, was present during the burglary. According to jail records

By Jordan Freiman Updated on: November 20, 2024 / 8:39 PM EST / CBS News Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022 , can face the death penalty, a judge has ruled. Kohberger’s defense team had sought to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment should he be convicted, but Ada County Judge Steven Hippler denied their motions in his ruling dated Tuesday. The prosecution has said it intends to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. Kohberger’s attorneys’ arguments included claims that forcing inmates to wait for years on death row and the methods available for prisoners to be executed in Idaho both constitute cruel and unusual punishment. They also argued Idaho’s death penalty laws violate an international treaty banning the torture of prisoners. Kohberger  is accused of the Nov. 13, 2022, stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. All four were students at the University of Idaho and were killed in a home off campus. Kohberger was arrested on Dec. 30, 2022, in Pennsylvania and was extradited back to

Barring a cataclysmic event or major economic turmoil, the median home price in Los Angeles County will likely cross the $1,000,000 mark in 2025. Data released this week by the California Association of Realtors shows a median, detached single-family home in L.A. County costs $956,210, seven percent more than a year ago. Statewide, the median home price is $888,740, around six percent more than a year ago. This comes despite mortgage rates continuing to hover around generational highs, which has kept many would-be buyers on the sidelines. However, economists at the Realtor’s Association, which represents real estate professionals who rely on sales, say prices in California generally only go in one direction: up. California home sales were expected to soar in 2024. Here’s what really happened “The best time to buy was a long time ago. The second-best time to buy is still today,” insists CAR’s chief economist Jordan Levine. Indeed, the increase in home values in California, especially Southern California, has been significant over the past decade. In October 2014, an average home in L.A. County cost $477,600, meaning home values have essentially doubled.

For years, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department employee was living large, spending lavishly on Santa Ana dinners, West Hollywood bars and a nightclub in Las Vegas. But it wasn’t the department’s payroll footing the bill — it was her unsuspecting grandmother, authorities said. Roxana C. Laub, 33, of Santa Ana, recently pleaded guilty to two felony charges for forging checks and fraudulently using credit cards in her grandmother’s name, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. She faces up to 30 years in federal prison for the bank fraud count and up to 15 years in federal prison for the identity theft count, according to the DOJ. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 9, 2025. Laub, whose employment with the department has included a stint as a uniformed correctional officer at the Orange County jail, is accused of stealing her grandmother’s identity and savings for more than five years, prosecutors said. From 2015 to 2017, she forged her grandmother’s signature on more than 20 checks in order to fraudulently deposit some $45,000 from her grandmother’s bank account into her own, prosecutors said.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi flippin’ love Montecito. They do. They love it so much they have reportedly owned and/or flipped at least 21 properties there. Nevertheless, they are ditching Santa Barbara County. The ex-Montecitans are now expats after the reelection of a certain ex-president, the Wrap reports. DeGeneres and De Rossi are now at home in the U.K. The pair are voracious home buyers. They have bought and sold a number of properties around L.A., yet the Santa Barbara area was a particular favorite. Site Line, which keeps an eye on upscale real estate in those parts, said in February that DeGeneres and De Rossi had spent at least $350 million since 2006 on Santa Barbara-area manses. They couldn’t be budged from Montecito even by extreme flooding. DeGeneres posted video of the surging waters behind her home in January 2023, which arrived on the five-year anniversary of deadly mudslides in the area. But apparently President-elect Donald Trump retaking the White House reins is a different level of disaster for the 66-year-old comedian and her actor wife, 51. Hence the packing up and moving

The season of atmospheric rivers is again upon us. The 2024-2025 water year’s first major storm is arriving, and from space it looks like a behemoth. The storm currently off the northwest coast of the U.S. — described by meteorologists as a “bomb cyclone” — brings with it an atmospheric river. High winds and intense precipitation are expected. The image below from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the bomb cyclone and the atmospheric river below it dumping precipitation on Northern California and surrounding states. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) The past two winters have been uncommonly wet in California, and while it’s unclear how this season will turn out, this first storm is certainly kicking it off to an impressive start. This week’s weather event marks the first major atmospheric river in months; the last two water years saw dozens of them. The animation below gives a sense of the storm’s motion, spinning counterclockwise and forming a classic cyclone as a jet of moisture flows from it over the West Coast. Seen from space, the storm is enormous, spanning a large portion of

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, along with investigators at the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department, are working to identify human skeletal remains found on a local beach over the weekend, officials announced.   Details are limited, but in a news release, authorities with the police department said that a person at Rat Beach, in the 300 block of Paseo Del Mar, spotted what they believed to be a human skull along the low-tide waterline.   After they were informed of the discovery, officers and detectives with PVEPD responded to the beach and located additional skeletal remains.   Investigators with the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to assist in the investigation and confirmed that the bones were those of a human.   Young surfers carry their boards on their heads as they leave Rat Beach in Palos Verdes Estates in. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) After the announcement, which the police department also posted to social media, some discussion in the comments section focused on if the remains might be those of Michael David Vanzandt.   The 36-year-old Air Force veteran