Category: Los Angeles

A historic 100-year-old home in Santa Paula was destroyed Wednesday after the fast-moving Mountain Fire was driven by strong winds onto the property. The blaze left the property and several others in ruins as firefighters and local residents scrambled to contain the flames and save what they could. Homeowner Dawn DeLeon evacuated briefly before returning to find her house engulfed in flames. “I left here, went to a house half a mile down the road, said, ‘Oh, I forgot my phone.’ I came back and the house was on fire and I couldn’t get up here again,” DeLeon said. “It got here so fast.” Despite losing her home, she managed to save her six dogs and two cats. A 100-year-old home in Santa Paula was destroyed in the Mountain Fire on Nov. 6, 2024. The house, which was once a spot where weddings were held, was reduced to rubble in the 20,000-acre blaze. (KTLA) The house, which had stood for a century, was more than just a residence. It had rich history and held deep sentimental value to both the homeowners and the community. “It

Build-A-Bear Workshop is teaming up with Hello Kitty to open its first-ever collaborative workshop in honor of the character’s 50th anniversary. The new workshop will open on Nov. 15 at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles. The shop will include exclusive offerings inspired by Hello Kitty and her friends. The first 50 guests for the new experience will also receive a special gift. “This workshop is about creating a space where guests of all ages can connect with their favorite Sanrio characters in a fun and memorable way. It’s a special experience that brings together the magic of childhood with the creativity of today’s culture, and we’re excited to share it with the West Los Angeles community,” Sharon Price John, president and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, said in a statement. The opening of the Build-A-Bear x Hello Kitty® and Friends Workshop, in addition to exclusive new holiday Sanrio® designs available at www.buildabear.com and in participating Workshops, reflects the popularity of the Sanrio® collection among both adults and children alike. (Build-A-Bear) Hello Kitty fans who can’t make it to Westfield Century City can make their own

How immigration played a role in the election How immigration played a role in the election and what to expect in Trump’s presidency 02:55 The Trump administration could be a boon for business for private prison companies in the U.S. if the president-elect delivers on his promise to crack down on illegal immigration.  CoreCivic and Geo Group, the two biggest private prison operators in the U.S., both contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house detained, undocumented migrants. Their stocks soared Wednesday following Trump’s election win, with investors betting the companies will see increased profits from a tough-on-immigration administration.  CoreCivic, which closed at $13.50 a share on November 5, is trading at $22 a share, while Geo Group, which closed at $15 a share Tuesday, is currently trading at $23.75.  “Obviously, investors believe there is going to be a significant increase in opportunity for both of these firms under the Trump administration,” Noble Capital Markets analyst Joe Gomes told CBS MoneyWatch.  Geo Group executives acknowledged on the company’s third-quarter earnings call Thursday that it expects the incoming administration to enact stricter border

The War Reporter I Sunday on 60 Minutes – CBS News Watch CBS News Holly Williams travels to Ukraine to meet the fearless Andriy Tsaplienko, a Ukrainian journalist, who is using his reporting to fight for his country’s survival. 60 Minutes, Sunday. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Mysterious Russian Deaths I Sunday on 60 Minutes – CBS News Watch CBS News Cecilia Vega reports from Spain on the unsolved shooting of a Russian defector. It’s part of a pattern of recent falls from top-floor windows, poisonings, and accidental deaths involving a growing number of enemies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sunday. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

How the Federal Reserve interest rate cut could affect Americans – CBS News Watch CBS News The Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate cut could affect Americans who are borrowing money or are saving money. Jacob Sonenshine, a markets reporter at Barron’s, joins CBS News with more on the cut’s impact. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Two people were shot and killed after they were approached by a group of assailants in Mount Washington early Thursday, police said. Los Angeles police officers were called to the 1400 block of Cliff Drive at 12:15 a.m. in response to reports of a shooting, said LAPD Officer Jay Chavez. When officers arrived, they found two victims with multiple gunshot wounds, Chavez said. Both of the victims, who have not been publicly identified, appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds to the head. KNBC-TV reported friends of the victims identified them as students at a downtown Los Angeles high school. Investigators believe the two victims were approached by an unknown number of suspects who were seen in a black sedan. A suspect then shot at the two victims using a semiautomatic handgun, Chavez said. It’s unclear what prompted the shooting. More to Read

When Darren Kettle attends the Metrolink board meeting Friday, he will be dressed down a bit — he won’t be wearing a suit and tie, power or otherwise. With some luck, though, the chief executive of the commuter rail service will have socks. Kettle’s house burned down in the Mountain fire on Wednesday, just a few hours after he and his wife evacuated with one bag each. One thing he forgot to pack was socks. Their house was in Las Posas Estates, on the other side of the hills from Camarillo Heights, another neighborhood struck by the fire. Kettle was working at home when the power went out around 8 a.m. Hiswife texted him saying she hoped the fire near Somis didn’t go in their direction. At the time, Kettle said he had not even heard about the fire. Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle speaks onstage during the Los Angeles Union Station Train Festival 2023. (Phillip Faraone / Getty Images ) He researched it and saw that the fire was making its way toward their neighborhood. They hadn’t been told to evacuate, but he decided to

SACRAMENTO —  Gov. Gavin Newsom got a huge political boost when Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election. Newsom now has a direct path to the White House in 2028. With Harris — his fellow Californian and longtime Democratic ally — not running for reelection in 2028, Newsom won’t feel politically and morally inhibited from entering the race. That’s the conventional way of looking at the election’s impact on Newsom. But there’s also another way: Newsom’s brand of fiercely anti-Trump liberal politics was rejected by most American voters. What does that portend for his national political future? Once again, California — despite it wielding by far the largest cache of electoral votes in the nation — kept its record intact of never having sent a Democrat to the White House. In fact, Harris was the first California Democrat to ever be nominated for president. If Harris had won Tuesday, Newsom, 57, could have kissed any presidential aspirations goodbye. He’d instead be pondering whether to ask Harris for a Cabinet post, abandoning his last two years as governor. That would have been a lousy trade.

Some fans may have felt a great disturbance in the force this morning. A new “Star Wars” trilogy is in the works at Lucasfilm, as reported by Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. on Thursday. The news comes almost five years after the last theatrical film release for the legendary sci-fi fantasy franchise. Fleming reports that Simon Kinberg will write and produce the three films. He’s known for his work on 21st Century Fox’s “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four” films, as well as directing 2022’s “The 355.” Australian breakdancer, Raygun, is retiring He’s no stranger to “Star Wars,” having co-created the popular animated series “Star Wars: Rebels,” which ran for four seasons. Film Director Simon Kinberg poses as he arrives for an exclusive fan event of X-MEN: Dark Phoenix at a movie theater in London, May 22, 2019.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein) The premise of the new trilogy remains cloudy. Fleming said he heard the trilogy would continue “The Skywalker Saga” with Episodes 10, 11 and 12. “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019 was advertised as the finale of the saga that began with the

A Chinese chemical company, its director, and three senior employees have been indicted on charges of manufacturing and distributing fentanyl precursors and xylazine, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. The company, Hubei Aoks Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., is based in Wuhan, China, and is accused of fueling the fentanyl crisis in the United States. The 13-count federal grand jury indictment charges the company with multiple offenses, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl and the introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. It’s alleged that from November 2016 to November 2023, Hubei Aoks sold significant amounts of fentanyl precursors to customers in the United States. These chemicals were often mislabeled and imported as items such as furniture parts and makeup to evade detection. Some of the shipments were intercepted by U.S. agents, who were posing as buyers. The company is also accused of selling xylazine, an animal sedative commonly referred to as “tranq,” which has saturated the streets of Los Angeles and is known for its effect of causing flesh to rot. Those properties have led to law enforcement dubbing xylazine a “flesh-eating zombie drug.” A

By Kerry Breen Updated on: November 7, 2024 / 4:09 PM EST / CBS News Liam Payne’s final moments revealed Liam Payne’s final moments revealed before tragic hotel balcony fall 01:50 Prosecutors in Argentina have charged three people in connection with the death of former One Direction  singer Liam Payne, officials said on Thursday.  Payne, 31, died on October 16 when he fell from a balcony of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires.  One person, who authorities say spent time with Payne every day while he was in Buenos Aires, is charged with abandonment of a person followed by death, a charge that carries a sentence of five to 15 years in prison, according to a news release from Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office released Thursday.  A picture of former One Direction singer Liam Payne sits surrounded by flowers and candles as fans gather outside the hotel where he was found dead after falling from a balcony. Natacha Pisarenko / AP The other two charged are accused of supplying Payne with drugs, including cocaine, and have been charged with two acts each of

The Justice Department policy that could end some Trump prosecutions – CBS News Watch CBS News A longstanding Justice Department policy could be applied to some of former President Donald Trump’s legal cases as conversations are underway about winding down the prosecutions before Trump takes office. CBS News’ Katrina Kaufman has more. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

White House peppered with questions about Biden campaign decisions in 1st post-election briefing – CBS News Watch CBS News White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s first press briefing since Donald Trump’s election win over Kamala Harris saw several questions about whether President Biden regretted ending his campaign or his original decision to run for reelection. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Nov 7: CBS News 24/7, 1pm ET – CBS News Watch CBS News Biden calls on country to “bring down the temperature” following Trump election victory; Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 0.25%. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

On his first day in office four years ago, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón issued a slate of progressive edicts that many prosecutors in his office said handcuffed them in the fight against crime. When Nathan Hochman takes Gascón’s seat in less than 30 days, he has vowed to untie those same prosecutors’ hands, rolling back his predecessor’s policies. Hochman’s agenda includes a return to seeking the death penalty, an increase in the prosecution of low-level misdemeanors and using sentencing enhancements to seek long prison terms in cases that involve guns or gangs. After routing Gascón on election night by 23 percentage points, Hochman said in an interview Wednesday that he plans to immediately deliver on his campaign promises to wipe away several of his predecessor’s “blanket, lazy policies” when he’s inaugurated Dec. 2. Several high-profile cases — including the Gascón-backed resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez — could also be up for review, Hochman told The Times. Hochman said Wednesday that his decisive victory is proof that Angelenos — and perhaps Californians at large — are fed up with policies that cause

Six years ago in this newspaper, I coined the term “rancho libertarian” to describe a political ideology I was observing in many of the Latino men I knew. Proud of their family’s rural immigrant roots but fully of this country. Working class at heart, middle class in income. Skeptical of big government and woke politics yet committed to bettering their communities. Believers in the American Dream they had seen their parents achieve — and afraid it was slipping away. The rancho libertarians I knew were mostly Mexican Americans, but not exclusively — there were Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Peruvians, Colombians. They weren’t Donald Trump fans — he only won 28% of the Latino vote in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, according to the Pew Research Center — but I saw how Latino men could easily cozy up to him. An orange-tinted despot seemed relatively harmless compared to the ones in their ancestral lands, so they didn’t view Trump as much of a threat. These guys were used to blabbermouths as bosses. They respected people who said what they wanted and didn’t care about consequences. Besides, rancho libertarians never

During his ultimately victorious campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump made no bones about his intention to use the legal levers of government to go after his perceived enemies. When he takes office in January, we should therefore expect him to launch a reign of terror against dozens of people he sees as having crossed him. And his vengeance will be enabled by the Supreme Court opinion granting presidents broad immunity from prosecution. A recent National Public Radio analysis determined that Trump has threatened more than 100 federal investigations or prosecutions to settle scores. They run the gamut from President Biden and his family, whom the president-elect has promised to pay back on Day 1 of his tenure by appointing a special prosecutor to investigate unspecified crimes; to former Rep. Liz Cheney, whom he recently suggested should face something like a firing squad; to judges involved in his prosecutions; and journalists who refuse to give up their sources. Granted, Trump frequently gives the impression that he has little understanding of or even interest in many of the policies he pressed on the campaign trail. But

What began as an investigation into the illegal sale of a single military-grade laser sight turned into the arrest of an Orange County man for possession of a cache of weapons of war and sexually explicit child content. Arthit Tanjapatkul, 43, was charged Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Santa Ana with one count of possession of four machine guns and three counts of possession of child pornography stemming from the recovery of hundreds of videos and images of underage sexual content. Tanjapatkul was arrested Oct. 9, the same day he was attempting to leave the country, according to an FBI affidavit attached to the criminal complaint. He is being held on a $250,000 bond. Tanjapatkul is next due in court for his arraignment Nov. 18. A call to Tanjapatkul’s attorney was not immediately returned. Tanjapatkul first came under suspicion of the FBI in March 2023 when the Santa Ana resident promoted and sold on Facebook and Facebook Messenger the military-grade laser sight, a device used for hunting or military purposes that projects a beam onto a target, for $3,250. The weapon was part

As firefighters battled a destructive wildfire in Ventura County, police arrested a man suspected of starting a fire in a parking lot of an animal hospital in the city of Ventura early Thursday. Ventura Police Department identified the suspect as 22-year-old Efrain Troncoso Gonzalez of Moorpark. Police said the man is not suspected of having any connection with the Mountain fire, which broke out near Somis before winds drove the blaze into other nearby communities, damaging or destroying numerous homes. So far, the fire has scorched more than 14,000 acres and is threatening thousands of homes. Police said an emergency dispatcher received a call shortly before 7 a.m. about a man trying to start a fire in the parking lot of the Banfield Pet Hospital at 5380 Ralston St. “There was particular concern given the current wind conditions and ongoing Mountain Fire,” Ventura police said in a written statement. “Within two minutes of the call, a [Ventura police officer] arrived and observed Gonzalez tending to a fire in the parking lot.” Police said the fire was approximately one square foot in size and was made

Investigators believe a man arrested late last month in connection with multiple sex crimes, including some involving juveniles, may have additional victims, Long Beach police said Thursday. Detectives with the Sex Crimes Detail arrested 34-year-old Long Beach resident Melvin Johnson Jr. on Oct. 30 after identifying him as a suspect in several incidents, including one involving a “forcible lewd act against a child under age 14.” The incident occurred near Paramount Blvd and South Street and involved a girl, police said. Melvin Johnson Jr. is seen in an image provided by the Long Beach Police Department. Authorities believe Johnson is also responsible for the following incidents: May 2024 – Long Beach Boulevard and Wardlow Road – Various sexual assaults, against a female adult July 2024 – Long Beach Boulevard and San Antonio Drive – Sexual assault with intent to commit a felony – victim under age 18, against a female minor October 2024 – Orange Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway – Sexual assault with intent to commit a felony, against a female adult October 2024 – Pacific Coast Highway and Pacific Avenue – Possession of