Category: Los Angeles

Editor’s note: There will be a celebration of life for Todd Pinion from noon to 5 p.m. at Ancient Peaks Barn in Santa Margarita on Saturday.More details can be found on the Celebration of Life’s Facebook page .It’s been nearly a week since the body of murdered Atascadero man Todd Pinion was found in a remote area near Santa Margarita. Pinion’s mother, Melody, is finally speaking out following her son’s death. I want to thank the community,” she expressed. “I want to thank the authorities. Without them, I wouldn’t know what happened. And I would not be bringing my son home to me. Melody learned her son was missing on Oct. 28. Two days later, she was on a plane headed to California from Louisiana with her daughter, Pinion’s younger sister. Less than 24 hours after arriving in her home state, the Atascadero Police Department found his body. They relayed that he had been murdered, and had been dead for 11 days. The maliciousness behind this, I don’t understand the evil in the world,” Melody expressed. “Why? Why would someone want to take such a

California no longer has fire seasons, its a fire year. Over the last couple of weeks, there has been an uptick in fires across the state. Every year we are always going to have an annual grass crop, it always gets green, really beautiful then it turns brown, so the more rain we have, it sets us up for a potentially bad fire season, said Josh Taylor, deputy chief with CAL FIRE SLO. Taylor says California’s fire season used to be from May to November but that is no longer the case. With the droughts weve had, the fuels have never recovered so once it’s dead, it doesnt come back because dead fuel is dead fuel so it will always be there regardless of how much rain we have, Taylor said. The Mountain Fire in Ventura County is one of the biggest fires in the state right now. It burned more than 20,000 acres in about two days. San Luis Obispo County fire departments, including those from Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Paso Robles and CAL FIRE, sent crews to help out. When major

HENDERSON, Nev. —  Tyler Bilodeau rose for a three-pointer that fell through the net while getting knocked to the court. The UCLA forward and his team were on the verge of getting blown out midway through the second half in their first test of the season. If the Bruins were going to rally from a double-digit deficit, they needed to start here. Bilodeau stepped to the free-throw line for what could have been a four-point play. He missed. Grabbing the rebound, he went back up for a putback. That also was off the mark. Winding up face down on the court, Bilodeau pounded the hardwood with both hands and uttered an expletive. UCLA guard Trent Perry, left, attempts to save a loose ball near New Mexico forward Mustapha Amzil Friday in Henderson, Nev. (Ian Maule / Associated Press) It was a sequence that symbolized a night of frustration for the Bruins. Unable to get much of anything it wanted, No. 22 UCLA faltered across the board during a 72-64 loss to New Mexico on Friday night in the Las Vegas Hoopfest at Lee’s Family Forum. Outside

UCLA’s quest to scratch and claw its way to a bowl berth after a slow start to the season continues. In front of a Rose Bowl crowd split 60-40 between UCLA blue and Iowa black during homecoming, the Bruins left the Hawkeyes black and blue thanks to a potent run game and strong defensive effort. UCLA (4-5 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) extended its three-game win streak against conference opponents and inched closer to bowl eligibility, defeating Iowa 20-17 in Pasadena. DeShaun Foster celebrated his first win at the Rose Bowl as the Bruins’ coach. “Our season turned around after the Minnesota loss; that was the type of loss that the players were bothered by and able to channel,” Foster said. “I always knew we had the talent, but it was baby steps. This is where we are now.” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster, right, and running back T.J. Harden celebrate after the team’s win over Iowa Friday at the Rose Bowl. (Ryan Sun / Associated Press) Running back T.J. Harden, who played a crucial role in UCLA’s win, was excited about the Bruins’ chance to earn

In Las Vegas last summer, a veteran NBA coach spoke about the Lakers’ decision to hire JJ Redick noting that nothing can prepare someone — an assistant, broadcaster, whoever — for the massive volume of decisions a head coach needs to make on a nightly basis. Most of the choices are relatively small — what play to call out of a timeout, when to use a challenge, how to adjust a pick-and-roll coverage. When it comes to decisions, that’s a lot of the job. But Friday night with the Lakers having lost four of their last five games, Redick went down a less common road. He made a big choice. Following a benching Wednesday in a loss to Memphis, Redick moved point guard D’Angelo Russell to the second unit in favor of Cam Reddish, who wasn’t even in the rotation three games ago. Decisions like that are fraught with second-guessing, the kind of moves fans can hold against a coach like they did a year ago when after nine games, Darvin Ham sent Austin Reaves to the bench to start Reddish. Friday, the move worked

California air quality regulators late Friday approved tougher rules to encourage use of lower-carbon fuels, overriding objections that the action would lead to higher gasoline prices for motorists. On an 12-to-2 vote, the California Air Resources Board approved amendments to the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, or LCFS, which aims to shift California’s fuel dependence away from gasoline and toward lower-carbon fuels such as biodiesel, hydrogen and electricity. The board members voting for the plan, some looking bleary-eyed by the end of the 12-hour meeting, said the new rules were needed to move the state closer to its goal of no longer burning fossil fuels. “From a climate perspective, this is absolutely necessary,” said board member Hector De La Torre. Dean Florez, a former Democratic state lawmaker, was one of two board members to vote no. He said one of his concerns was that the plan would make driving more expensive in a state that already has the second-highest pump prices in the nation after Hawaii. “I’m just kind of wondering how we can in all good conscience, say that … somehow we’re not a

Winning in the MLS playoffs isn’t always about being the best team. It’s about being the hottest. And LAFC may be able to claim both descriptions after Friday’s 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. With Mateusz Bogusz scoring in the 62nd minute, LAFC won its best-of-three series with the Whitecaps to advance to the Western Conference semifinals for a third straight season. The win also was the team’s seventh in eight games since mid-September and its fourth straight at BMO Stadium, where it has lost just once in four months. That’s where LAFC, which has the second-best home record in MLS, will meet the Seattle Sounders in the next round. But a two-week playoff pause for the FIFA international break means that game won’t be played until the weekend of Nov. 23 and 24. For the Whitecaps, Friday’s loss ended their most successful season in six years, one in which they captured their third straight Canadian Championship and won 13 regular-season games for the first time since 2018. But they haven’t made it past the first round since 2017. Both teams were playing on just

Officers and family members are asking for the public’s help searching for an at-risk 32-year-old man in Los Angeles, according to the sheriff’s department. Authorities said Christian Xavier Womack was last seen on Nov. 5 at 10:50 p.m. on the 13900 block of Marquesas Way in Marina Del Rey. Authorities said Christian Xavier Womack, pictured above, was last seen on Nov. 5 at 10:50 p.m. on the 13900 block of Marquesas Way in Marina Del Rey. November 2024. (LASD) According to the missing person report, Womack is described as a Black male who stands 6 feet and 2 inches tall, weighing about 205 lbs. He has brown hair and brown eyes and has tattoos on his chest and both of his arms. The report also says he was last seen wearing a black jacket and black jeans. The sheriff’s department said Womack suffers from depression and is possibly leaving the country. His family is concerned for his well-being and asking for the community’s help. Officials encourage anyone with information about this incident to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. 

El LAFC y los Whitecaps de Vancouver decidían su suerte el viernes, en el BMO Stadium, para buscar su pase a la segunda ronda de playoffs, después de que la serie estaba igualada a un triunfo por bando. Aunque los angelinos derrotaron a los canadienses por 1-0, no fueron tan contundentes a la hora de concretar sus jugadas sobre su rival. Sin embargo, fue suficiente para ganar la serie 2-1 y seguir en sus aspiraciones a una tercera aparición consecutiva en la Copa MLS. Matheusz Bogusz anotó el único gol del juego que le dio el pase a la siguiente ronda de playoffs. Los angelinos ganaron apretadamente su primera cita ante los Whitecaps con un marcador de 2-1 el 27 de octubre, para que seis días después caer 3-0 en el Juego 2 de la serie a ganar de tres. Los Ángeles no se había visto necesariamente fino en esta primera ronda de playoffs y para este Juego 3 y solo por medio de un error pudo asegurar el triunfo. A los 62 minutos, el LAFC finalmente pudo abrir el cerrojo defensivo de los Whitecaps.

Parece que le gusta complicarse la vida. Eso es al menos lo que indicaría el hecho de que, para hacer su debut en la dirección cinematográfica, Rodrigo Prieto haya decidido ponerse al frente de una nueva versión fílmica de una de las novelas más celebradas de la literatura latinoamericana. Estamos hablando de “Pedro Páramo” (1955), el emblemático libro de Juan Rulfo que sentó las bases del realismo mágico y que solo había sido llevado anteriormente a la pantalla grande en 1967, mediante una película en blanco y negro que no tuvo muchas criticas favorables, pese a contar con la participación del legendario director de fotografía Guillermo Figueroa. Por supuesto, Prieto es también un director de fotografía, y no uno cualquiera. Sus cuatro nominaciones al Oscar por “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), “Silence” (2016), “The Irishman” (2019) y “Killers of the Flower Moon” (2023) lo demuestran claramente, y aseguraban de antemano la majestuosidad de una puesta en escena que se puede todavía disfrutar a través de Netflix -la plataforma que exhibe de manera exclusiva la nueva cinta-, pero que merece definitivamente apreciarse en la pantalla grande, algo que

Officers made one arrest and found 88 pounds of methamphetamine in a trailer in San Bernardino County, officials announced in a release on Friday. According to the sheriff’s department, a sergeant came across two trailers connected to a generator on vacant land in the 13500 block of Rosado Road in Phelan on Thursday afternoon. When the sergeant approached the trailers, multiple individuals fled. Officials reported that deputies searched for the individuals and, with the help of the California Highway Patrol, located and detained Carlos Adrian Lizarraga, 39, of Phelan. Initial reports did not include further information on the other suspects. Deputies later served a search warrant on the trailers, finding the methamphetamine as well as evidence consistent with the manufacturing of the drug. Also found in this search were two AR-style rifles and a handgun. The sheriff’s department said Lizarraga was arrested and booked at the High Desert Detention Center. He is currently being held on $1 million bail. Officers said the investigation is ongoing, and asked anyone with information to contact the Victor Valley Sheriff’s Station 760-552-6800.  To remain anonymous, contact We-Tip at 800-78CRIME

A Hancock Park middle school teacher accused of allegedly grooming and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in her classroom was charged with multiple felony counts, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. Colleen Jo Matarico, 43, of Valley Village is charged with five felony counts of a lewd act upon a child under age 14, two felony counts of lewd act upon a child age 14 or 15, and one felony count of furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. Matarico allegedly also persuaded the victim to have sexual intercourse with her in her vehicle, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department. Matarico is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in the downtown Criminal Courts Building. Her Linkedin profile states she is a special education teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She is listed as a teacher at John Burroughs Middle School in Hancock Park, according to the school’s website. It is alleged that the victim was particularly vulnerable, and that Matarico took advantage of her position of trust and

A 41-year-old woman suspected of fatally stabbing a man at a residence in Pasadena was taken into custody, police announced Friday. Authorities responded to the 200 block of East Orange Grove Boulevard, near Marengo Avenue, shortly after 12:30 a.m. Thursday regarding an unresponsive man with multiple stab wounds, according to the Pasadena Police Department. Pasadena Fire Department paramedics attempted live-saving-measures but later pronounced 38-year-old Cory Davis dead at the scene. Shante Ferguson of Upland was arrested and booked at the Pasadena Police Department Jail on suspicion of homicide, resisting arrest and two other undisclosed misdemeanor offenses. Police detained a second woman, but it was unclear if she was arrested or booked for any offenses. The motive leading up to the stabbing remains unknown, and investigators continued an ongoing investigation Friday evening. Anyone with information regarding the fatal stabbing was urged to call the Pasadena Police Department at 626-744-4241. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

November 8, 2024 / 11:06 PM EST / CBS/AP A man has been arrested in connection with a spate of random stabbings over two days in Seattle, in which a woman and eight men were injured — five of them on Friday afternoon, police said. “This incident was apparently one individual over a 38-hour period of time committing random assaults,” Deputy Chief Eric Barden said at the scene Friday. The stabbings on Friday afternoon took place in a roughly four-block area in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. Witnesses reported a description of the suspect and officers found him nearby and took him into custody, police said. A weapon was found near the person who was arrested, and a knife was lodged in one of the victims, police said. Police officers stand near the scene as they gather security camera footage after multiple people were stabbed Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. Lindsey Wasson / AP Four of the victims, all males, were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and one victim was treated at the scene and released. A hospital spokesperson told

By Katie Houlis Updated on: November 8, 2024 / 11:02 PM EST / CBS New York Officials provide update on Prospect Park brush fire in Brooklyn Officials provide update on Prospect Park brush fire in Brooklyn 05:00 NEW YORK — Firefighters responded to a brush fire in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Friday evening. According to fire officials, a passerby who was walking through the park just before 7 p.m. Friday called 911 to report smoke. By 8 p.m., the FDNY said the fire had grown to two alarms and spread across approximately 2 acres. FDNY Brooklyn Borough Commander Joe Duggan said the fire was in an “extremely inaccessible,” hilly area with dense brush. #FDNY units are operating at a brush fire in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Operations are ongoing. pic.twitter.com/15QclbBXov — FDNY (@FDNY) November 9, 2024 It took about 120 firefighters to get the fire under control, FDNY officials say, and firefighters will remain on the scene overnight to ensure it doesn’t reignite. “There are some hotter spots. As the wind picks up, there might be a, you know, a spark or something, but we’re

Nov. 8, 2024 7:37 PM PT Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed to pay a $13,000 fine Friday for failing to report on time over a dozen charitable payments made at his request by notable foundations and businesses, including Microsoft, Amazon and T-Mobile, between 2018 and 2024. California’s political ethics law requires elected officials to report donations made on their behalf within 30 days. On 18 separate occasions, the Fair Political Practices Commission said, Newsom and his 2018 campaign committee failed to make those reports on time, often submitting them several months late. The commission noted that Newsom, having served in public office for over 25 years, should have known better than to lose track of what amounted to more than $14 million in payments. Newsom has filed more than 1,100 such reports since 2011, totaling over $300 million, and eventually filed all the reports before being confronted by enforcement officials. One payment from T-Mobile was over $12 million — others ranged from $5,000 up to almost $500,000 from Amazon. Newsom’s campaign said some filings were late because they had to rely on third parties to track

The punch — the one that got Puka Nacua ejected against the Seattle Seahawks — is in the past, if not completely forgotten. Nacua will no doubt hear from the NFL about a fine, but the Rams’ star receiver otherwise has moved on. “I try to definitely put that one behind me,” Nacua said Friday after practice. On Monday night, Nacua aims to be on the field for the entire game against the Miami Dolphins at SoFi Stadium. Will the physical and verbal Nacua be gun-shy about engaging defensive players? “I don’t think so,” he said, adding that by being around teammates such as edge rushers Byron Young and Jared Verse and linebacker Omar Speights, “everybody’s always ready to pack a punch.” “So,” he continued, “it’s nice to get back in there and be like, ‘Man, everybody’s willing to hit.’ It’s just being a little extra aware of some of the thoughts after the play where people are like, ‘Ah, I’m going to take my opportunity.’” Nacua, who enjoyed a record-setting rookie season last year, has played only one full game this season. After suffering

Amongst the hundreds of evacuated pets finding shelter from the destructive Mountain Fire, a few strays from the area recently found their way to a Ventura County animal shelter. Ventura County Animal Services is now looking to reconnect the lost dogs and cats with their owners. The organization posted a video of the strays to X on Friday afternoon: These animals are currently at the Camarillo Shelter located at 600 Aviation Drive. A few hours after the 12:32 p.m. X post, the account followed up with an update that at least one cat was reunited with its family after escaping the fire. For those hoping to reconnect with their lost pets, the Ventura County Animal Services website has a search feature, contact information and hours of operation. As of 6:46 p.m. Friday, CAL FIRE reports the Mountain Fire has burned across 20,630 acres and is 14% contained. For more information on the fire, click here.

For women fighting cancer, one of the biggest challenges is dealing with physical changes like losing their hair. To help with that challenge, The City of Hope Orange County treated a special group of cancer survivors to full makeovers ahead of the holiday season Friday. “(I’m) getting a little eyelash, a little wispy look, a little glam,” said Joanna Mendez, 42, a cancer survivor who spent her morning at the salon. “I feel so special right now.” The day of pampering was made possible through a generous donation from a former cancer patient at the City of Hope. The makeovers took place at Marybelle’s Salon, which is inside the Irvine treatment center and provides free services to patients. “Today we are having a special event for some of our patients, it’s a day of beauty,” said Annette Walker, president of the City of Hope Orange County. “When you get cancer, you have all these assaults on the body that can affect your body, mind and spirit. We try to make it a place for our patients to feel beautiful.” Mendez said she was looking forward

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now on a short list being floated by some Trump allies to serve as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services, multiple people close to the president-elect’s campaign say. Hopes among Kennedy’s backers that he could be nominated to lead the department have risen in recent days, after Republicans cemented their majority in the Senate .  Kennedy’s odds of clearing a Senate led by Democrats would have been low, given his long record of what the party called “anti-science, fringe public health stances” that outraged Trump’s opponents and a broad array of health experts during the campaign. That includes a comment that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and his chairmanship of the group Children’s Health Defense, which has claimed that the “parallel between rising disease rates and the increasing number of childhood vaccines is hard to ignore.” Doctors argue statements like these mislead about the safety of immunizations and threaten to erode hard-fought improvements in U.S. vaccination rates against preventable diseases. Kennedy himself has been noncommittal when asked publicly about the possibility he could be

By Katie Houlis Updated on: November 8, 2024 / 10:02 PM EST / CBS New York Firefighters battling brush fire in Prospect Park, Brooklyn Firefighters battling brush fire in Prospect Park, Brooklyn 00:31 NEW YORK — Firefighters are working to knock down a brush fire Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The fire was reported just before 7 p.m. Friday. By 8 p.m., the FDNY said it had grown to two alarms. About 60 fire and EMS personnel responded and are working to bring it under control, and the FDNY says they are using drone technology to identify hot spots, along with specialized brush fire units. New York City emergency officials say to expect smoke and traffic delays in the area. Residents who live nearby are urged to close their windows. So far, there are no reported injuries. It is unclear how the fire started. #FDNY units are operating at a brush fire in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Operations are ongoing. pic.twitter.com/15QclbBXov — FDNY (@FDNY) November 9, 2024 New York City under drought watch New York City is under a drought watch , along with other parts of