Los Angeles

Total Hoopla! Arcadia’s Mayor Pro Tem Says Basketball Courts Bring Undesirables To Town

By CaliNews 3 hours ago

ARCADIA  (CBSLA) —  Eisenhower Park in Arcadia is undergoing a complete transformation. There are new picnic areas and baseball diamonds. But CBS/KCAL9’s Randy Paige reports the basketball courts that used to be here are not coming back. Some say it’s not that people don’t like the game, some don’t like the players. At last night’s city council meeting, Arcadia Mayor Pro Tem Roger Chandler said unsanctioned basketball tournaments.attract undesirable people. “They come from out of town, they take over the basketball courts,” he said. “I personally observed some of the folks, and they’re not the type that I would drive into Arcadia,” he said. Paige spoke to people who live next to the park. Blanca Gomez has lived next to the park for 30 years. She never recalls seeing anyone undesirable on the court and wants to see the play area return. “I would love to see them,” she says. Howard Benioff has lived two houses down for 40 years. “We walk by there every day, and I’ve driven up the street when I’m not walking, and I’ve never seen a bad element there,” Benioff…

Gunman at Large After Shooting From Housing for Mentally Ill, Wounding Deputy at Lancaster Sheriff’s Station

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

Tactical teams were searching an apartment building that houses mentally ill people Wednesday evening in the search for a sniper who opened fire from the structure and wounded a deputy outside the nearby Lancaster sheriff’s station, officials said. Deputy Angel Reinosa, 21, was wearing a bulletproof vest in the parking lot of the station at 501 W. Lancaster Blvd. when shots rang out about 2:45 p.m., said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Capt. Todd Weber. He was hospitalized with a “very minor” wound and in good spirits surrounded by family Wednesday evening, Weber said. Reinosa is a rookie who’s been with department for a year and came to the Lancaster station for training in May. The captain said he was going to his personal vehicle when he was struck. The gunfire is believed to have originated from the four-story Arbor Fields apartment building, about a block north of the sheriff’s station. The complex is next to a Mental Health America facility that provides housing and counseling to people with mental health issues, according to Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. A perimeter was set up around the…

Hit-and-Run Driver Sought After Fatally Striking Woman in South L.A. Crosswalk

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

Authorities are searching for a hit-and-run driver who fatally struck a 58-year-old woman in a marked crosswalk in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of South Los Angeles Tuesday night. Authorities are searching for whoever fatally struck a pedestrian in South Los Angeles on Aug. 20, 2019. (Credit: Loudlabs) Surveillance video captured the fatal crash at the intersection of West 98th Street and South Vermont Avenue about 11 p.m. The video shows the pedestrian exiting a Metro bus before entering the crosswalk. The woman is almost halfway across the street and then realizes two cars are quickly approaching. The victim stops for a moment and tries backing up before she is fatally struck by one of the vehicles. She was identified as Anna Graves. The car that struck the victim continued driving away from the scene following the crash. Several residents heard the crash and came outside, including one woman who wanted to make sure none of her family members were involved. “It makes me feel angry. It makes me feel scared. I mean, it’s not that hard to stop,” the resident said. Anna Graves is shown…

‘American Factory’ is First Netflix Film Backed by Obamas

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

A documentary about an Ohio auto glass factory that is run by a Chinese investor debuted Wednesday on Netflix as the streaming service’s first project backed by Michelle and Barack Obama’s new production company. Filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert said they learned of the Obamas’ interest after “American Factory” was shown at the Sundance film festival and they were pitching the film to Netflix. They were told the Obamas had screened it days earlier. They’re ecstatic about the support, and in an interview Wednesday were quick to dissuade anyone from the idea that the film is delivering a message either for or against any politician. “They got what we were trying to do, which is to tell a story that sort of transcends the year-to-year politics,” Bognar said. Bognar and Julia Reichert, who live in the Dayton, Ohio, area where Fuyao Glass replaced an abandoned General Motors plant, said they were initially interested in exploring a culture clash, but the film deepened into a story about the rights of workers, globalization and automation. The Fuyao plant, bought by Chinese industrialist Cao Dewang, employs some…

Putin Says U.S. Missile Test Off Ventura County Coast Raises Threat to Russia, Warrants Response

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that the test of a new U.S. missile banned under a now-defunct arms treaty has raised new threats to Russia and will warrant a response. The U.S. tested a modified ground-launched version of a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile that accurately struck its target more than 310 miles away. It was launched from San Nicolas Island, the most remote of the Channel Islands off the coast of Ventura County. Sunday’s test came after the U.S. and Russia withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that banned such weapons. Speaking after talks Wednesday with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Putin argued that the quick test indicated the U.S. had begun work on the missile long before declaring its intention to withdraw from the pact. “The Americans have tested this missile too quickly after having withdrawn from the treaty,” Putin said. “That gives us strong reason to believe that they had started work to adapt the sea-launched missile long before they began looking for excuses to opt out of the treaty.” The U.S. has explained its withdrawal from the treaty by…

Atlanta College Students Fearful After Shooter Opens Fire at Block Party, Wounding 4

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

The first day of fall semester brought fear to Clark Atlanta University, where students worried about their safety the day after gunshots were fired into a crowd of 200 people outside the school’s library. Four students were wounded by gunfire after an argument broke out between two groups at a block party shortly after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Atlanta police said. The injured women were all expected to recover. “It could have been any of us,” Zaire Hammond, a senior from Sacramento, California, said Wednesday along the main walkway across campus. “Stuff like this shouldn’t happen on a school campus.” The shooter escaped in the chaos outside the library that serves students from Clark Atlanta and other nearby historically black colleges, and no arrests had been made by late Wednesday, Atlanta police said. Police spokesman Carlos Campos released video of a male suspect who authorities want help identifying. The block party was celebrating the end of new student orientation, and Clark Atlanta student Anais LaFontaine of New York City said Wednesday that she’s concerned about the first-year students. “I don’t want them to be scared to come back,”…

U.S. Deficit Expected to Inflate to More Than $1 Trillion Next Year: CBO Report

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

The federal budget deficit is expected to balloon to more than $1 trillion in the next fiscal year under the first projections taking into account the big budget deal that President Donald Trump and Congress reached this summer, the Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday. The return of $1 trillion annual deficits comes despite Trump’s vow when running for office that he would not just balance the budget but pay down the entire national debt. “The nation’s fiscal outlook is challenging,” said Phillip Swagel, director of the nonpartisan CBO. “Federal debt, which is already high by historical standards, is on an unsustainable course.” The office upped this year’s deficit projection by $63 billion and the cumulative deficit projection for the next decade by $809 billion. The higher deficit projections come even as the CBO reduced its estimate for interest rates, which lowers borrowing costs, and as it raised projections for economic growth in the near term. The number crunchers at CBO projected that the deficit for the current fiscal year will come to $960 billion. In the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, it will…

Highland Man Arrested for Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

Detectives with the Fontana Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force arrested a Highland man on Wednesday suspected downloading and distributing child pornography. Kristoffer Dallas Buck is seen in this booking photo from the Fontana Police Department. Kristoffer Dallas Buck, 37, was arrested when the Fontana Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Team served a search warrant at his home in Highland, according to a news release. A search of Buck’s electronic storage devices revealed evidence of downloading and distributing child pornography over the internet, police said. Investigators said Buck was in possession of more than 150 illegal videos. He was booked into the West Valley Detention Center for possession and distribution of child pornography.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Says He’s Dropping Out of 2020 Presidential Race

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who made fighting climate change the central theme of his presidential campaign, announced Wednesday night that he is ending his bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Inslee announced his decision on MSNBC, saying it’s become clear that he won’t win. He has kept the option of running for a third term as governor open throughout his presidential campaign but didn’t immediately say what his political plans were. Inslee, 68, became the third Democrat to end his presidential bid after U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California pulled out of the primary last month followed by former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper last week. While Inslee had qualified for the first two presidential debates this summer, he struggled to gain traction in the crowded Democratic field and was falling short of the requirements needed to appear on two high-profile stages next month: the third DNC debate in Houston and a CNN town hall focused on climate change, Inslee’s key issue. He had recently hit one of the markers — 130,000 unique donors. But he had yet to reach 2% in any poll and would…

Gov. Newsom Says His 1st Pet Was an Otter Named Potter on Visit to Paradise Grade School

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

For a group of second-graders in Paradise, Calif., the rural community still on the mend after last year’s devastating fires, it was hard to know what was more interesting on Wednesday: A visit from California’s governor or the story about the unusual first pet he had as a young boy. When asked by Gov. Gavin Newsom to guess the type of animal it was, the children offered several ideas. The students shouted out a few conventional choices: A dog, a cat or maybe a frog? All incorrect. One boy suggested a sock. “My first pet was an otter, like an otter, and his name was Potter,” Newsom told the 7- and 8-year-olds. “Potter the Otter.” Read the full story on LATimes.com. .@GavinNewsom made a surprise visit to Paradise Ridge Elementary school today. Paradise schools are open for first time since the #CampFire, with the help of funding sought by the Governor. Here he tells students about his first pet Potter the Otter. #CaliforniaForAll pic.twitter.com/bEMp4qGlH0 — Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) August 21, 2019

Anti-Vaccine Activist Assaults State Senator Who Authored California Vaccine Law: Sacramento Police

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

An anti-vaccine activist was cited for misdemeanor assault Wednesday after shoving a California lawmaker who has worked to limit exemptions for childhood vaccinations. Kenneth Austin Bennett, 54, livestreamed the confrontation on his Facebook, which shows him shoving state Sen. Richard Pan on the sidewalk near the Capitol. Bennett has unsuccessfully attempted to recall Pan and filed paperwork to run against him last year, though he never appeared on the ballot. The video shows him running into Pan on the sidewalk and confronting Pan about his position on vaccines. Pan briefly engages Bennett while he continues to walk. “Maybe you should study public health,” Pan says at one point. The video then shows Bennett reaching out and shoving Pan in the back after Pan laughs, launching the lawmaker several feet forward. “I pushed you,” Bennett says several times, before walking away and saying into the camera, “I probably shouldn’t have done that.” He then walks back toward Pan and continues speaking to him as Pan and several people he is with call the police. “You are a liar and the assault that you’re committing on our…

Father Of 13-Day-Old Boy Arrested On Child Abuse Charges

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

SANTA ANA (CBSLA)  — Authorities said the father of a 13-day-old baby has been arrested on child abuse charges. Officials said the boy was taken to the ER of Children’s Hospital of Orange County after the mother awoke and saw that the child had allegedly been beaten. The boy had a skull fracture, visible injuries to his body and face as well as internal injuries. The child also tested positive for methamphetamine and was listed in critical condition. After an investigation, detectives with the Santa Ana Police Department’s Special Crimes unit identified the suspect as Jonathan Reyes, the baby’s biological father. Authorities said Reyes was out on bail for a robbery that happened in March of this year. Reyes allegedly told officials he used methamphetamine and was put in charge of watching the child while the mother was asleep. The suspect denied abusing the child but police said he also made incriminating statements. Reyes was arrested and booked at the Orange County Jail on child abuse charges. He was also charged with committing a crime while out on bail. Santa Ana Police Department Detectives are…

Irvine-Based Weedmaps Says It Will No Longer Show Black-Market Pot Shops

By CaliNews 7 hours ago

The major online pot shop directory and cannabis marketplace Weedmaps announced Wednesday that it will no longer allow black-market businesses to advertise on its site, a decision that could boost California’s efforts to rein in its vast illegal market. State regulators and licensed businesses had been pressuring the company to ban unlicensed businesses. Allowing untaxed, unregulated product on the site alongside the taxed marijuana of licensed and regulated stores undercut the legal market, they said. “That is a huge win,” said Ryan Kunkel, whose Have A Heart dispensary chain operates in Washington, Oregon and California. “Our biggest competitor in every jurisdiction in California is black-market Weedmaps. It’s not the tax rates, it’s not the regulations — it’s Weedmaps’ efforts to prop up unlicensed operators.” Jerred Kiloh, a licensed dispensary owner in Los Angeles who heads the United Cannabis Business Association, an industry group, projected that half of California’s illegal operations could dry up once they are denied access to Weedmaps ads. He credited state regulators with pressuring the company to reverse course, along with pending legislation aimed at ending the practice. “Illegal operators are going…

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