Category: Los Angeles

Near the bottom of a list of things crime fiction writer Raymond Chandler hated was that ubiquitous Los Angeles demographic: “actors.” The list , simply titled “THINGS I HATE,” was one of dozens of Chandler’s rare personal items auctioned Friday at Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers in Manhattan. In pencil, Chandler — author of the acclaimed hard-boiled detective novels “The Big Sleep” (1939), “Farewell, My Lovely” (1940) and “The Long Goodbye” (1953) — made amendments: It wasn’t “pert” children he hated but “clever” ones; not raw “vegetables” but rather raw “carrots.” Chandler was known for his meticulousness, with virtuosic prose that distinguished him as a literary man in a mass-market genre. Poet W.H. Auden was a champion of his work, as was Nobel-prize winner John Steinbeck. In a letter sold at auction for $4,800, Steinbeck praised Chandler extensively, saying he wrote “Southern California as no one else does,” and he urged him to write “the book of [the] Hollywood-picture industry.” Los Angeles was Chandler’s terrain, as much of a muse as any of the leggy blonds that populated his fiction. It’s impossible to think of his

A surge of migrants at the border. President Biden’s debate performance. High interest rates. Phillip can tick off the reasons he voted for President-elect Donald Trump. But that doesn’t mean the first-generation Mexican American is a full-throated Republican. And he sure doesn’t want his neighbors knowing how he voted. “Downey is a small community,” he said while walking with his wife and two dogs at dusk along a quiet street of lush lawns and wide, flat streets. Supporting Trump antagonizes people around here. Downey, a suburb about 10 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, has become a landing spot for upwardly mobile and wealthy Latinos, so much so it has been dubbed “the Mexican Beverly Hills.” And like many other parts of the middle- and working-class southeast county, the so-called Gateway Cities, it has seen a shift in support toward Donald Trump. Trump didn’t win any precinct in Downey outright, but he narrowed the gap between himself and his Democratic rivals, and in doing so, made for some awkward moments at family gatherings for people such as Phillip and his wife. Trump’s L.A. gains While

Parenthood is very much on Gypsy-Rose Blanchard’s mind during a recent Zoom interview about her upcoming memoir. It’s been almost a year since she was released from prison after serving eight years for her role in then-boyfriend Nicolas Godejohn’s 2015 murder of her mother and she is now expecting her first child with Ken Urker. The pair just spent Thanksgiving with his family in Florida, where it was still warm enough to swim in the ocean. “Being a part of that family time is the most important thing to me, because for the longest time I couldn’t,” says Blanchard. The younger Blanchard says her hunger for family bonding pre-dates her incarceration. In “My Time to Stand,” the memoir of which she is co-author with Melissa Moore, she alleges that Dee Dee Blanchard, who suffered from what is commonly known as Munchhausen syndrome by proxy, isolated her from the rest of their family in order to conceal the fabricated medical conditions and treatments she forced her child to undergo. This included the removal of her teeth and salivary glands, the use of a wheelchair and the

If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org , whose fees support independent bookstores. In keeping with our annual tradition, we asked three of our critics for their favorite books of the last year. Between them, they chose 15 books, three of them reissues, and the majority fiction. The selections include the latest works from a literary power couple — Percival Everett’s “James” and Danzy Senna’s “Colored Television” — as well as offerings from first-time novelists. The diverse narratives tackle thorny topics such as illness, racism and the dissolution of marriage; one selection employs experimental storytelling that shouldn’t work but does, while another is positively Joycean in its length. Our critics’ choices overlapped twice, and in those cases their reviews follow each other on this alphabetically arranged list. Happy reading. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) “Alphabetical Diaries” By Sheila HetiFarrar, Straus & Giroux: 224 pages, $27 Heti is one of the freest writers and thinkers I know. With her latest book, she took 10 years of her diaries and alphabetized them by the first letter of the first

By Elizabeth Germino December 10, 2024 / 6:00 AM EST / CBS News Anna Mockel was 14 and suddenly obsessed with losing weight. It was spring 2020, and she had just graduated eighth grade remotely. Housebound and nervous about the transition to high school that coming fall, she sacrificed innumerable hours that COVID lockdown summer shuffling between social media apps. Anna spent a lot of time on YouTube “not searching for anything in particular,” just watching what popped up in her feed. She remembers the spiraling thoughts started when she’d watch videos featuring girls who were a bit older and invariably skinny. The more Anna watched, the more these videos would clog her feed, and the more determined she was to look like the girls in the videos. As she clicked and tapped, YouTube’s “Up Next” panel of recommended videos started morphing from content featuring skinny girls to “how-tos” on losing weight. Diet and exercise videos began to dominate Anna’s account. As she kept watching, she says, the content intensified, until her feed was flooded with videos glorifying skeletal-looking bodies and hacks for sustaining a

New SUV crash test results revealed New SUV crash test results show room for improvement in key safety categories 02:00 Researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety who looked back at data on more than 200 vehicle-pedestrian crashes in the U.S. say Americans’ preference for large, tall vehicles is compounding the risks of serious injury to pedestrians associated with higher-speed crashes. The authors of the IIHS study conclude that the size of many American vehicles means serious pedestrian injuries are more likely in crashes when compared to the expected risks on the roads in Europe, where vehicles are generally smaller.  IIHS researchers analyzed 202 crashes involving a vehicle and at least one pedestrian aged 16 or older between 2015 and 2022 in four states, “to generate an estimate for the link between injury outcomes and impact speed,” with information about the front-end height of the vehicles being used additionally “to examine the moderating effect of” the vehicle’s size on the outcome for the pedestrians. “A small increase in crash speed can really ramp up the danger to a pedestrian. Our fondness for tall SUVs

Firefighters raced to protect structures as a fast-moving wildfire exploded near Pepperdine University in Malibu amid strong Santa Ana winds Monday evening. Crews with the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to the blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire, near Malibu Canyon Road and Station Boundary, at around 10:45 p.m. As of 3:45 a.m., the fire was mapped at 1,600 acres with no containment. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The Franklin Fire erupts in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event on Dec. 9. (Sky 5) The Franklin Fire erupts in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event on Dec. 9. (Sky 5) The Franklin Fire erupts in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event on Dec. 9. (Sky 5) Crews are seen attacking the Franklin Fire that erupted in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event on Dec. 9. (RMG News) The Franklin Fire erupts in

TAIPEI, Taiwan —  President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports when he takes office, a move that would deepen a trade war he started six years ago. He has not offered many specifics, but China is already arming itself for economic battle. “Six years of really intense, focused preparatory work has gotten the top leaders in Beijing ready to deal with whatever comes down the pike,” said Even Pay, an analyst with research firm Trivium China. Here’s a look at how the showdown between the world’s two largest economies played out the last time Trump was in office and where things might be headed now. What happened during Trump’s first term? Trump kicked off a trade war in 2018 by imposing 25% tariffs on imports from China — including industrial machinery, cars, auto parts and television cameras. Those goods accounted for about $50 billion of the $540 billion the United States spent that year on Chinese-made products. The aim was to spur U.S. manufacturing, reduce a trade imbalance and punish China for trade practices Trump said were unfair. China imported just

A ferocious wildfire was spreading rapidly early Tuesday in Malibu, spurring evacuations along the coast while nearby Pepperdine University issued a campus-wide shelter-in-place order and firefighters struggled to battle the flames. Most of the eastern half of Malibu has been ordered evacuated, and the rest of the city is under an evacuation warning. Some 6,000 residents live in the area ordered evacuated, firefighters said — most of the city’s population of about 11,000 residents. About 2,000 structures are affected by the mandatory evacuation order. Dubbed the Franklin fire, the blaze was moving at a fierce pace, fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, and had exploded to more than 850 acres as of 2 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart told ABC7 the situation the “worst possible scenario,” with a fire in the middle of night burning in the area of the Civic Center. “City Hall is right in the middle of all this,” he said. He said, however, that no one had yet been reported injured. The fire was reported just before 11 p.m. along Malibu Canyon Road

CBS News Live CBS News Los Angeles Live A large brush fire is burning in Malibu Canyon near Pepperdine University, prompting evacuations for residents.  The blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire, was first reported a little after 10:45 p.m. near S. Malibu Canyon Road and Station Boundary just south of the Piuma area, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  A water-dropping helicopter battling the Franklin Fire in Malibu on Dec. 10, 2024. KCAL News The fire has already engulfed 1,822 acres, according to Cal Fire. While officials have not released concrete numbers of how many structures have burned, witnesses and fire crews have told KCAL News some homes have been destroyed.  Just before 1 a.m., the flames crept over the top of the hill as the strong winds fueled their rapid spread towards Pepperdine. By 3 a.m. the Franklin Fire spread south across the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu Road, near Webb Way. It encroached on the Malibu Pier area and threatened some nearby structures along Malibu Knolls Road and the Sweetwater Mesa area. Matt Myerhoff, the city of Malibu information officer, said early

A fast-moving wildfire was spreading rapidly early Tuesday in Malibu, spurring nearby Pepperdine University to issue a campus-wide shelter-in-place order as firefighters struggled to battle the blaze. Dubbed the Franklin fire, the fire was reported just before 11 p.m. along Malibu Canyon Road and north of Francisco Ranch Road in the hills north of Pepperdine. The fire, which was fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, had scorched about 100 acres shortly before midnight but was moving at a ferocious pace, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Aerial footage from local news stations in the early hours of Tuesday morning showed flames devouring the hills as palm trees were tossed by strong winds. The National Weather Service reported sustained winds of up to 45 mph and gusts of up to 65 mph. The cause of the fire was unclear. “All community members on the Malibu campus are directed to shelter in place in the Tyler Campus Center or Payson Library,” Pepperdine shared on X at 1:09 p.m. Tuesday. A five-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway was ordered closed east of Corral Canyon Road and

By Dean Fioresi Updated on: December 10, 2024 / 4:06 AM EST / KCAL News CBS News Live CBS News Los Angeles Live A large brush fire is burning in Malibu Canyon near Pepperdine University, prompting some evacuations for residents.  The blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire, was first reported a little after 10:45 p.m. near S. Malibu Canyon Road and Station Boundary just south of the Piuma area, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  A water-dropping helicopter battling the Franklin Fire in Malibu on Dec. 10, 2024. KCAL News The fire has already engulfed 314 acres, firefighters said. While there were no structures damaged, some were threatened, according to firefighters. Just before 1 a.m., the flames crept over the top of the hill with the strong winds fueling their rapid spread towards Pepperdine. Multiple water-dropping aircraft were called to the scene as crews deemed the blaze a Third Alarm incident.  It’s unclear how the fire started.  Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were working to evacuate residents living in zone MAL-C112, which includes the area east of Malibu Canyon Road and South of

A wildfire broke out late Monday in Malibu, triggering evacuations as strong Santa Ana winds fanned the flames. Dubbed the Franklin fire, the blaze was reported just before 11 p.m. along Malibu Canyon Road and north of Francisco Ranch Road in the hills north of Pepperdine University. The fire was spreading rapidly to the east, and shortly before midnight, the flames had scorched about 100 acres, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Aerial footage from local news stations in the early hours of Tuesday morning showed flames devouring the hills as palm trees were tossed by strong winds. The National Weather Service reported sustained winds of up to 45 mph and gusts of up to 65 mph. Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order for areas east of Malibu Canyon Road and south of Piuma Road and in the Serra Retreat area. In a statement, Pepperdine University said the fire was not currently affecting any campuses but that the area may see power outages. The National Weather Service has issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning for wide swaths of Los Angeles and

El virtual presidente electo Donald Trump ha prometido eliminar a la ciudadanía por derecho de nacimiento tan pronto como asuma el cargo y así cumplir sus promesas de campaña con el objetivo de restringir la inmigración y redefinir lo que significa ser estadounidense. Pero cualquier intento por ponerle fin a esta medida enfrentaría una gran cantidad de obstáculos legales. La ciudadanía por derecho de nacimiento significa que cualquier persona nacida en Estados Unidos se convierte automáticamente en ciudadano estadounidense. Esta práctica ha estado vigente durante décadas y se aplica a los hijos nacidos en el país de padres que están sin autorización en Estados Unidos o que cuentan con visa de turista o de estudiante y planean regresar a su país de origen. 1/6 Un migrante venezolano toma una fotografía en una balsa de madera y neumáticos mientras cruzan el río Suchiate desde Tecún Umán, en Guatemala, hacia México, el martes 29 de octubre de 2024.   (Matias Delacroix/AP) 2/6 Eyla Fonseca, migrante desde Venezuela, da el desayuno a su hijo Keilerth Veloz en el albergue Casa del Migrante en Tecún Umán, Guatemala, el domingo

TORONTO. — El primer ministro canadiense, Justin Trudeau, dijo el lunes que los estadounidenses “están comenzando a darse cuenta de que los aranceles sobre los productos canadienses harían la vida mucho más cara”, y aseguró que responderá en caso de que Donald Trump decide seguir adelante con la medida. En un evento organizado por la Cámara de Comercio de Halifax, Trudeau también dijo que tratar con Donald Trump en temas comerciales será “un poco más desafiante” que la última vez, debido a que el equipo del republicano ha presentado ideas mucho más claras sobre lo que quieren implementar de inmediato que después de su primera elección en 2016. El presidente electo estadounidense ha amenazado con imponer un arancel del 25% sobre todos los productos que ingresen a Estados Unidos desde Canadá y México, a menos que detengan el flujo de migrantes y drogas. “Trump fue elegido con el compromiso de hacer la vida mejor y más asequible para los estadounidenses, y creo que la gente al sur de la frontera está comenzando a darse cuenta de la realidad de que los aranceles sobre todo lo

Cal Poly hosted its annual poinsettia sale this past Saturday, and good news if you missed it plant shop representatives said they’ve extended the sale. Representatives tell KSBY they have an overabundance of poinsettias this year and have extended the event through Saturday, Dec. 10. Cal Poly’s plant and floral shop is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Even people just coming up to me saying, ‘Oh, we have been coming for five years now, we just love them so much. We get them all from you,'” said fourth-year plant science major Madison Ferrari. “It’s really heartwarming. It’s a great experience to be a part of.” All featured plants are said to have been grown by students working at Cal Poly’s horticulture unit and include sizes ranging from small-pot plants to large poinsettias reaching 3 feet in height. “Theres pink ones, theres orange ones, theres a light orange one, theres white ones theres speckled white and pink ones,” Ferrari continued. “… Theres really something for everyone here. Plant prices run between $10 to $50. All proceeds from the sale go back to the program

Locals know the alley behind the businesses on 12th Street in downtown Paso Robles as “Norma’s Alley.” Norma Moye has been a central part of Paso Robles for nine decades, and a founder of the Paso Robles Downtown Main Street Association. She’s still serving as its executive director, putting together the annual lighting ceremony, the Christmas light parade, as well as the upcoming Vine Street Victorian showcase and Victorian Teddy Bear Affair. Now, an official name change could be coming with a city Planning Commission vote scheduled Tuesday. Arch inspired by deep roots Moye’s roots in the city run deep. [Paso Robles is] my love,” Moye said. “My family had stores here. My great-uncle Charlie was the first fire chief, my great-grandfather created the Ronconie Wells, which they’re still using, so we have lots of water. My mom and dad ran a restaurant and bar on 12th Street. Moye’s family roots and dedication to the city inspired the building of an arch named after her on the east end of the alley behind 12th Street. It was done by local artist, Dale Evers, two years

Two students were stabbed on campus Monday at Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga. Both students were hospitalized with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, and a suspect was detained by police, according to a school district update. The stabbings took place at about 1:45 p.m., said Los Angeles Police Department Public Information Officer Tony Im. Im said that as many as four people were involved in the attack against the two students and that they fled the area in an automobile after the violence. The officer confirmed that two students were transported to a hospital for treatment, although he had no information about their conditions. A 17-year-old suffered stab wounds or lacerations to the head, shoulder and back, said a school district source with knowledge of the incident who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release information. The second student was injured after intervening to help the first, the source added. One of the attackers, possibly the one wielding the knife, is 14 years old, the source reported. There is concern that the incident is gang-related, the source said. The

Across the Ventura County coast communities and the Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys Monday night, fire crews moved their engines outside and into position-ready for high winds and extreme fire danger. The National Weather Service put out an unusual warning on Sunday, calling this a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS). According to NWS, the PDS Red Flag Warning is issued for Monday night through Wednesday as “a strong, widespread, and long duration Santa Ana event will bring widespread critical to extremely critical fire weather conditions to many areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.” (National Weather Service) NWS is predicting the most dangerous conditions to occur between 10 p.m. Monday and 2 p.m. Tuesday with wind gusts up to 50-80 mph, and humidities will drop to between 5 and 15%, increasing the chance for rapid fire growth. “Conditions are now so dangerous,” warns Andrew Rorke, a senior forecaster for NWS.  Rorke told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell that this weather event brings a “heightened sense of danger,” warning residents to prepare. Just last month, under similar conditions, the Mountain Fire exploded in Ventura County, destroying almost 250

En el mismo lugar en el que los aficionados del LA Galaxy le habían dado la espalda a su equipo en marzo de 2023, sirvió para la celebración del sexto título de la franquicia angelina en la MLS. Cientos de hinchas se habían congregado reclamando un cambio del rumbo de la escuadra galáctica y 21 meses después, el Legends Plaza se vistió de fiesta para que el equipo más condecorado de la liga estadounidense volviera a reclamar su trono tras 10 años de espera. El onceno angelino derrotó a los Red Bulls de Nueva York el sábado en el Dignity Health Sports Park y prendió la fiesta en Los Ángeles que se llevó desde la cancha a los vestidores y el domingo a la plaza que una vez pidió la cabeza de Chris Klein, el gerente general en ese entonces. Riquie Puig, la estrella del LA Galaxy, fue el gran ausente de la final ante el Red Bulls debido a una lesión, pero dejó en claro a los aficionados presentes que este triunfo no fue un accidente. “Tengo que decir a los aficionados que nos

Two disgraced former city officials in Baldwin Park and Commerce pleaded guilty to participation in a scheme involving bribes in exchange for votes and influence in Baldwin Park’s cannabis permitting process, the U.S. Department of Justice announced late last week.   The charges against Edgar Cisneros, 42, a resident of Montebello who served as Commerce’s city manager from Nov. 2017 to Dec. 2023, and Robert Tafoya, 62, a Redondo Beach resident who served as Baldwin Park’s city attorney from Dec. 2013 to Oct. 2022 were unsealed on Dec. 6, according to a DOJ news release.   Federal prosecutors said that shortly after Baldwin Park began issuing cannabis permits in June 2017, then-Baldwin Park City Councilman Richard Pacheco began soliciting bribes from companies seeking those permits.   In an agreement where Cisneros would receive some $235,000, the former Commerce city manager helped a company obtain a Baldwin Park cannabis permit through an estimated $45,000 in bribes.   A budtender (right) shows cannabis buds to a customer at the Green Pearl Organics dispensary on the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in California. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via