Category: Los Angeles

What to know about requesting a tax filing extension – CBS News Watch CBS News If you haven’t already, all taxpayers must submit their returns or request an extension by Monday. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger has some last-minute tips on filing. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Google said Friday it would remove links to California news sites from its search results for some of its users, as it pushes back against a pending bill that would require the Silicon Valley technology company to pay publishers. The search giant said the bill, called the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), would upend its business model. The bill, if signed into law, would require companies including Google to fork over a “journalism usage fee” when they sell ads next to news content. “We have long said that this is the wrong approach to supporting journalism,” wrote Jaffer Zaidi, vice president of Google’s Global News Partnerships, in a blog post on Friday. “If passed, CJPA may result in significant changes to the services we can offer Californians and the traffic we can provide to California publishers.” Google also said it is “pausing further investments in the California news ecosystem.” Many news outlets rely on sites like Google and Facebook to distribute its news, but they are at the whim of the companies’ algorithms. Publishers, including the Los Angeles Times, have laid off staff in part

Swifties on TikTok can rejoice — for now. It seems scores of songs from Taylor Swift’s catalog returned to the platform this week, just months after the singer’s label Universal Music Group threatened to pull its artists’ music over a licensing disagreement. The Times confirmed that hits from the Grammy winner’s “Midnights, “1989 (Taylor’s Version), “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Folklore” albums are among the snippets featured on her official TikTok page. In a January open letter, UMG voiced several concerns about its licensing deal with TikTok, including the company’s proposed royalty rate for artists, TikTok’s content moderation and protections for musicians regarding AI-generated music. “Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music,” UMG said in its letter. TikTok countered the UMG letter, calling the label “self-serving” and alleging its actions were “not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.” Neither representatives for UMG nor Swift immediately responded to The Times’ request for comment on Friday. Word of Swift’s return to TikTok quickly spread on social media Thursday, as fans celebrated with .gifs, all-caps tweets and

WASHINGTON —  The U.S. and its allies are sounding an unusually urgent alarm over Iran’s possible plans to retaliate in the coming days over Israel’s purported killing of senior Iranian officials at a diplomatic mission in Syria. An Iranian action, it is feared, would likely provoke an Israeli response, which could ratchet up violence in the region. U.S. officials said this week that Iran appears to be lining up a series of potential retaliations, including direct attacks on Israeli assets — within Israel territory or at diplomatic missions, or operations carried out by proxy groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon on Israel’s northern border, and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. “Iran is threatening to launch a major attack on Israel,” President Biden said Thursday. “Our commitment to Israel’s security in the face of these threats from Iran and its allies is unwavering.” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed similar thoughts. “Threats by Iran are inadmissible,” he said. The trigger for the latest Israel-Iran standoff is the April 1 bombing of an Iranian building adjacent to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, in which seven high-ranking Iranian military officers

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) April 12, 2024 9:30 AM PT Indio —  Welcome to our live coverage of Day 1 of the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Friday’s headliner is Lana Del Rey, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on Peso Pluma, who precedes her on Coachella’s biggest stage. Tyler, the Creator tops Saturday night’s bill, following a much-anticipated reunion set from No Doubt. And Doja Cat closes out the festival Sunday, marking her first time headlining the fest. The first weekend is sold out, but tickets are available for Weekend 2. There’s more than just the big names to see. Other artists on our radar for Friday include Justice, L’Impératrice, Chappell Roan, Deftones, Sabrina Carpenter, Young Miko and Suki Waterhouse. And with rumors circulating that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are headed to Coachella, we’ll keep an eye out to see if Swift hops onstage with any of her friends performing this weekend. From the fashion to the new Quasar stage to the best eats, we’ll keep you in the loop on what you won’t see on the livestream from

The kebab, a 10th-century Middle Eastern tradition, is a centerpiece at many Armenian family gatherings. Meat grilled on skewers on an open fire and served with vegetables and rice is a concept that was taken mainstream in the Los Angeles area by Hacop “Jack” Baghdassarian, the founder of Massis Kabob. Baghdassarian opened his first kabob stand at the Glendale Galleria food court in 1976. “Dad wanted to have something that was Armenian in this brand-new shiny mall,” Peter Baghdassarian recalls. Bothers Gevik and Peter, who are carrying on the legacy, say it was always their father’s dream to sell a taste of their culture to the masses back when Armenian food really wasn’t easy to find. And it wasn’t an instant success. It took Hacop many years of working seven days a week as an immigrant with only an 8th-grade education.  Hacop “Jack” Baghdassarian working at his kabob stand at Glendale Galleria. (Baghdassarian Family) “At this point, I guess you could say he’s got nothing to lose, or he’s got everything to lose. He’s got young kids, and he’s got to make it work,” says

If there’s anything that can harsh the mellow of “Dead Heads,” it’s probably this. On Tuesday, the founder of Skull & Roses, a Grateful Dead tribute festival that was set to be held in Ventura next weekend, announced it had been canceled. In the same announcement, it was noted that those who purchased tickets won’t get their money back. “With deep sorrow I must inform you that SKULL & ROSES 6 has been canceled,” a statement signed by festival founder Chris Mitrovich reads in part. “In all transparency, the financial devastation of the 2023 show has made it impossible to sustain the weight of the new production.” Taylor Swift reportedly gives ‘Eras Tour’ truckers $100,000 bonuses It was not immediately clear what the “financial devastation” relating to last year’s show was, but the 2024 show was canceled just 10 days before the first day was set to kick off. The festival had been held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds each year since it began in 2017. While the news of the cancelation was likely bad enough for fans, the statement also informed ticket holders that

April 12, 2024 / 1:03 PM EDT / CBS/AP Why House GOP is divided over FISA program Why House Republicans are divided over FISA spy program 04:09 Washington — The House on Friday passed a bill to reauthorize a crucial national security surveillance program , two days after a conservative revolt prevented similar legislation from reaching the floor.  The bill reforms and extends a portion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act known as Section 702 for a shortened period of two years, instead of the full five-year reauthorization first proposed. The change was made to sway GOP critics.  The vote on final passage was 273 in favor to 147 opposed.  Skepticism of the government’s spy powers has grown dramatically in recent years, particularly on the right. Republicans have clashed for months over what a legislative overhaul of the FISA surveillance program should look like, creating divisions that spilled onto the House floor this week as 19 Republicans broke with their party to prevent the bill from coming up for a vote. However, some of the original opponents signaled their support for the new plan late

Roku on Friday disclosed that 576,000 accounts were accessed by malicious actors. The San José technology company said that it discovered the problem after monitoring unusual account activity on its platform earlier this year that affected roughly 15,000 user accounts. Through its investigation, Roku said that the malicious actors stole the login credentials through a different source and applied a practice called “credential stuffing,” applying stolen usernames and passwords across multiple platforms to take advantage of people who use the same credentials across multiple services. In fewer than 400 of the cases, Roku said the malicious actors made unauthorized purchases of streaming subscriptions and Roku hardware products, but did not gain access to full credit card information. “We concluded at the time that no data security compromise occurred within our systems, and that Roku was not the source of the account credentials used in these attacks,” Roku said in a statement. The company said it is enabling two-factor authentification for all of its 80 million account holders. Roku reset passwords for the affected accounts and reversed or refunded the unauthorized charges made by the malicious

The Biden administration is announcing it is cancelling student loan debt for another 206,000 borrowers even as seven more states this week filed a lawsuit to stop the forgiveness plans. The lawsuit alleges President Joe Biden is overstepping his authority, setting up another legal showdown over student debt forgiveness. With Friday’s announcement, the White House says 4.3 million Americans can now claim some amount of federal student debt relief to the tune of $153 billion. “We are past the point where one in ten people who have student loans have had their loans discharged,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Eighteen Republican-led states are now suing to stop those efforts. “The president is simply shifting the burden to those individuals who paid off their student loans or worked their way through school or chose to take a career that didn’t require a 4-year education,” said Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.). Education Secretary Miguel Cardona defends the administration’s plan as critics say the administration’s plans amount to a bailout for people who took out federal loans they couldn’t repay. “Are you telling me these are the people getting

April 12, 2024 / 11:51 AM EDT / CBS/AP A Houston hospital has halted its liver and kidney transplant programs after discovering that a doctor reportedly manipulated records for liver transplant candidates. “Inappropriate changes … effectively inactivated the candidates on the liver transplant waiting list,” Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center said in a statement published Thursday in the Houston Chronicle. “Subsequently, these patients did not/were not able to receive organ donation offers while inactive.” The New York Times, citing officials, identified the doctor as Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr., a surgeon at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston who had a contract to lead Memorial Hermann’s abdominal transplant program. In a statement to CBS News, UTHealth Houston called Bynon “an exceptionally talented and caring physician, and a pioneer in abdominal organ transplantation.” “Our faculty and staff members, including Dr. Bynon, are assisting with the inquiry into Memorial Hermann’s liver transplant program and are committed to addressing and resolving any findings identified by this process,” UTHealth Houston spokesperson Deborah Mann Lake said in a statement. CBS affiliate KHOU reported last week that the hospital

Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter turns himself in to face criminal charges – CBS News Watch CBS News Baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter has turned himself in to face criminal charges that include bank fraud. Federal prosecutors say Ippei Mizuhara stole from the L.A. Dodgers star to pay gambling debts. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Mick Mars, who in January won a legal battle with his former Motley Crue bandmates over corporate document production related to his 2022 dismissal from the group, has been awarded more than $130,000 in attorneys’ fees. The $131,665 granted by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant on Thursday was less than half the $285,000 the musician sought. The 72-year-old former lead guitarist for the group filed a petition in April 2023 asking that companies associated with the band turn over business records and pay for his attorneys’ fees. Mars says he has suffered from a chronic form of arthritis that has effectively fused his spine and made him three inches shorter than he was in high school, and that he is unable to turn his head in any direction. On Jan. 16, Chalfant found that Mars was forced to file a legal action in order to obtain the documents he was entitled to receive long before the Dec. 8 timeline when nearly 1,400 pages were finally delivered. Mars’ attorneys subsequently filed court papers seeking $282,160 in attorneys’ fees and $2,180 in costs. But

A prominent law firm has obtained a judgment of more than $1 million against former Assemblyman Matthew Dababneh, who allegedly owed the firm fees and costs associated with filing a defamation suit against a woman who accused the ex-lawmaker of sexual assault. On Thursday, Los Angeles Superior Court Wendy Chang confirmed an arbitrator’s award of $930,930 to the firm of Glaser, Weil, Fink, Howard, Avchen & Shapiro LLP. Chang also added attorneys’ fees, interest and costs for a total of $1.050 million. No one appeared at the hearing on Dababneh’s behalf. “The court may not vacate or correct the award as the petition is unopposed,” Chang wrote. Attorney Patricia L. Glaser, whose clients include Fortune 500 companies, major studios, real estate investors and developers, financial institutions and high-profile entertainers and public figures, is among the members of the Glaser Weil law firm. According to the petition filed in February 2023, Glaser Weil represented the former Woodland Hills politician during an assembly committee investigation into Sacramento lobbyist Pamela Lopez’s allegations against him as well as Dababneh’s subsequent civil action against his accuser. Dababneh, a 43-year-old Democrat

We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. By Jessica Walrack Edited By Angelica Leicht Updated on: April 12, 2024 / 11:24 AM EDT / CBS News If you’re feeling overwhelmed by high-interest debt, these payoff strategies can help you tackle what you owe. Getty Images If you’re carrying variable-interest debt on credit cards or other credit products, you’ve likely noticed an uptick in interest over the past few years. The Fed implemented a series of rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 to help fight inflation, which caused lenders to increase the rates on their credit products. For example, the average rate on U.S. credit card accounts went from 14.71% in 2020 to 21.47% by late 2023.  To give you an idea of how that translates, if you have $5,000 in credit card debt and a 14% APR, you’ll owe about $58 in interest charges per month compared to about $87 per month with a 21% APR. And the cost difference compounds over time. If you’re paying off the balance through monthly payments

Police are continuing their search for a 23-year-old woman from Sacramento who was last seen in Los Angeles and whose phone was found at L.A. International Airport. Noelle Lynch, 23, was last seen leaving an apartment building in the 900 block of East Redondo Boulevard in Inglewood on April 3 around 5 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. She was described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall with brown hair and blue eyes and weighing approximately 125 pounds. Her father told the news outlet SF Gate that Lynch is a Sacramento State University student, but that she drove to Los Angeles on April 1 in a “difficult state of mind.” The family didn’t know where she was going when she left their home in the Sacramento area appearing upset, but the following day she was involved in a car crash in Los Angeles, her father Mark Lynch said. Her car was totaled. The family booked Lynch a hotel room near LAX and her mother was set to drive to Los Angeles to get her. Noelle spoke to her mother from

WASHINGTON —  The Supreme Court ruled Friday that developers and home builders in California may challenge the fees commonly imposed by cities and counties to pay for new roads, schools, sewers and other public improvements. The justices said these “impact fees” may be unconstitutional if builders and developers are forced to pay an unfair share of the cost of public projects. Developers contended that limiting California’s high fees for new construction would lead to the construction of more affordable new housing. California state courts had blocked such claims when they arose from “a development impact fee imposed pursuant to a legislatively authorized fee program” that applies to new development in a city or county. But the 9-0 Supreme Court decision opened the door for such challenges. The decision could have wide impact in California, since local governments have increasingly relied on impact fees rather than property taxes to pay for new projects. But the justices did not set a rule for deciding when these fees become unfair and unconstitutional. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they joined the court’s opinion in Sheetz vs. El

If there’s anything that can harsh the mellow of “Dead Heads,” it’s probably this. On Tuesday, the founder of Skull & Roses, a Grateful Dead tribute festival that was set to be held in Ventura next weekend, announced it had been canceled. In the same announcement, it was noted that those who purchased tickets won’t get their money back. “With deep sorrow I must inform you that SKULL & ROSES 6 has been canceled,” a statement signed by festival founder Chris Mitrovich reads in part. “In all transparency, the financial devastation of the 2023 show has made it impossible to sustain the weight of the new production.” Taylor Swift reportedly gives ‘Eras Tour’ truckers $100,000 bonuses It was not immediately clear what the “financial devastation” relating to last year’s show was, but the 2024 show was canceled just 10 days before the first day was set to kick off. The festival had been held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds each year since it began in 2017. While the news of the cancelation was likely bad enough for fans, the statement also informed ticket holders that

By Jan Crawford, Analisa Novak April 12, 2024 / 11:07 AM EDT / CBS News Country artist ERNEST on new album Country artist ERNEST talks new album, next chapter in his career 06:12 Celebrated for his impromptu lyrics and catchy melodies, country music singer-songwriter Ernest Smith said he first realized his knack for songwriting in sixth grade when he listened to the “Space Jam” soundtrack. “I was ingesting rap at like, you know, second, third grade,” said ERNEST. His love for music blossomed in elementary school, where he honed his skills by freestyling at the lunch table and making up songs about friends. “They throw out words, I’d make up rhymes. And that was, that was kind of like when I realized I had a skill for it,” said ERNEST. That skill has earned him nine No. 1 hits and led to ERNEST writing with and for some of country music’s biggest names, like Kane Brown and ERNEST’s good friend, Jelly Roll. His songwriting took him to Nashville, where he signed a record deal and recently released an album named after his hometown, “Nashville, Tennessee.” “I

By Melissa Quinn April 12, 2024 / 10:51 AM EDT / CBS News What’s in the new Supreme Court ethics code? What the new Supreme Court ethics code says, and what it doesn’t 06:47 Washington — Conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo said he will not comply with a subpoena issued by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of their ongoing investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court. The subpoena was issued to Leo by Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin on Thursday, months after Democrats on the panel voted to authorize it . Durbin has been looking into ethics issues at the high court for roughly a year following a series of reports that revealed Justice Clarence Thomas took luxury trips with a Republican megadonor, Harlan Crow, and did not disclose them. Crow, a Texas real estate developer, did not receive a subpoena from Durbin, a spokesman for Crow said. “Mr. Leo has played a central role in the ethics crisis plaguing the Supreme Court and, unlike the other recipients of information requests in this matter, he has done nothing but stonewall the

We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. By Aly Yale Edited By Angelica Leicht April 12, 2024 / 10:47 AM EDT / CBS News If the Fed starts cutting rates, it could have a big impact on what CD accounts are offering. PHIL LEO/Getty Images Inflation has been high for years now, and while it’s decreased quite a bit from its peak of 9.1% in June 2022, it’s still below the Federal Reserve’s target goal of 2%. To move the needle and curb spending further, the Fed has kept interest rates paused at a 23-year high at its last three meetings. While that’s bad for consumers using credit cards, mortgages and loans, as higher rates mean paying more in interest on the money borrowed, it’s a boon for savers, resulting in hefty interest rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) . What goes up must come down, though, and at some point, the Fed is likely to make rate cuts once inflation is under control . While the Fed rate