Disneyland pauses Magic Key purchases after a week on sale

Sales of Disneyland Magic Key passes have been paused once again after going on sale on Nov. 6. All four tiers of the annual passes, the Inspire key, the Believe key, the Enchant key, and the Imagine key, are only available for renewal. Disneyland offers specialty ticket deal for Disney+ subscribers The keys give park guests access to the parks on select dates, depending on availability and pass type. Passholders also receive select discounts on food and merchandise, as well as Lightning Lane Multi-Pass+, the park’s paid line-skipping service that replaced the FastPass program. In October, Magic Key prices increased from 14%. Disneyland launched the Magic Key program in August 2021 after retiring the popular annual passports during a yearlong shutdown of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is DOGE, the new department Musk and Ramaswamy will lead under the Trump administration?

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will join forces to lead a newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE, for short), President-elect Donald Trump announced. But what will the department do? Named in an apparent nod to the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin, DOGE is not actually a government agency. Instead, it will work outside the government to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement. The specifics of how the department will operate aren’t yet known, but it’s clear its two leads, Musk and Ramaswamy, will wield influence under the Trump administration, partnering with the Office of Management and Budget and advising the president. “It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” Trump said. Could financial struggles for 2 major airlines affect holiday travel? DOGE is on a deadline. It will finish work by July 4, 2026, according to Trump’s statement. “A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence,” he wrote. Musk, billionaire founder of Tesla and

Southern California high school closed due to ‘unspecified threat’ 

A high school in Orange County closed Wednesday following an “unspecified threat,” and now school officials are looking for information surrounding it.  According to a release sent out to parents of students at Brea Olinda High School in Brea, the school stated that officials were first notified of the threat on Tuesday evening.  The threat, which was circulating on social media, contained an image of two firearms and the following text on the image: “look out for tomorrow, @bohs,” school officials said.  The school and district immediately reported the threat to local law enforcement, who have since launched an investigation.  Victims, suspect in deadly grocery store shooting in Los Angeles are all teenagers: LAPD “Ensuring the safety and well-being of students, staff and the community is the school’s highest priority,” BOHS said in their release, which was issued the same day as officials learned of the threat. “As a precaution, and since the threat could not be [immediately] confirmed as non-credible or credible, officials have made the decision to cancel all classes and school activities at BOHS scheduled for Nov. 13.”  No other schools in

Next tropical weather threat could form in Caribbean this week

By Nikki Nolan Updated on: November 13, 2024 / 4:17 PM EST / CBS News What the models agree on for November’s next tropical storm What the models agree on for November’s next tropical storm 03:34 The last day of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season is Nov. 30, but as we near that finishing line, the Caribbean has other thoughts in mind, with a potential tropical system brewing.   The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday afternoon that Potential Tropical Cyclone 19 has formed in the western Caribbean. If it reaches tropical storm strength, the  next name on the list  is Sara.  Hurricane hunters took off from Biloxi, Mississippi, at 12 p.m. ET Wednesday en route to investigate this area and determine the strength and structure of the developing weather system. Another flight is scheduled for Thursday morning for additional monitoring.  Map shows area in the western Caribbean with a 90% chance of tropical weather formation in the coming days, as of Nov. 13, 2024. CBS News With the low pressure system in place in the western Caribbean, conditions were favorable for the formation of a tropical

How much does a $10,000 HELOC cost monthly now that rates are falling?

We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. A HELOC allows homeowners to access their home equity at today’s lower interest rates. AnastasiaNi/Getty Images If you were looking to access your home equity in recent years, you may have steered clear of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) . And the reasoning was clear: HELOCs have variable interest rates subject to change for borrowers every month. That’s an advantage when interest rates are cooling but a distinct disadvantage when they’re on the rise, as they were for much of 2022 and 2023.  But as inflation cooled and other economic factors improved, interest rates came down again. The Federal Reserve issued its first cut to the federal funds rate in more than four years in September with a larger-than-anticipated 50 basis point reduction. And they issued another cut in November , albeit in a smaller 25 basis point amount. Expectations are also high that they’ll continue to cut rates in December, assuming this week’s inflation report was an outlier instead of the first of

Why do we cry? An expert explains the science behind it.

The science behind our tears Why we cry when we’re sad, happy or stressed 05:08 Why do we weep? There are actually some good reasons for it — and an explanation for why a little blubbering can make us feel better.  On “CBS Mornings Plus” Wednesday, Dr. Gail Saltz, an associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine, shared there are actually different types of tears, which serve different purposes.  Some tears cleanse your eyes and keep them moist.  “Those are ophthalmological issues, and they’re very different from emotional tears — social-emotional tears — which can be related to sadness, stress, anxiety, but also overwhelming joy, something that’s poignant.” Those social-emotional tears, she said, “have to do with deep brain structure, emotional intensity and subsequently this release of tears, and they contain different compounds like stress hormones, like cortisol and endorphins.” These types of tears are helpful because they provide an emotional release — what some refer to as  “a good cry.” “Those risen hormones that make you so stressed and so upset, they decrease after the cry, so

Women suing over Idaho abortion ban said they felt like “medical refugees”

November 13, 2024 / 3:03 PM EST / CBS/AP Idaho women denied abortions testify in trial Idaho women denied abortions testify in trial 02:10 Four women suing over Idaho’s strict abortion bans told a judge Tuesday how excitement over their pregnancies turned to grief and fear after they learned their fetuses were not likely to survive to birth — and how they had to leave the state to get abortions amid fears that pregnancy complications would put their own health in danger. “We felt like we were being made refugees, medical refugees,” said Jennifer Adkins, one of the plaintiffs in the case. The women, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, aren’t asking for the state’s abortion ban to be overturned. Instead, they want the judge to clarify and expand the exceptions to the strict ban so that people facing serious pregnancy complications can receive abortions before they are at death’s door. Currently, the state’s near-total ban makes performing an abortion a felony at any stage of pregnancy unless it is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” Adkins’ fetus had a severe

Lancaster Teen Pleads Guilty to “Swatting” Threats to Religious, Gov Institutions

A Lancaster teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday to making hundreds of “swatting” calls targeting religious institutions, schools and government officials with false threats of mass shootings, bombings and other violent crimes. Alan Filion, 18, entered his plea in federal court in Miami, Florida to four counts of making interstate threats to injure another person, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. “For well over a year, Alan Filion targeted religious institutions, schools, government officials, and other innocent victims with hundreds of false threats of imminent mass shootings, bombings and other violent crimes,” Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. “He caused profound fear and chaos and will now face the consequences of his actions.” Filion faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to his plea agreement, Filion admitted making more than 375 threatening calls from August 2022 to last January, including calls in which he claimed to have planted bombs and/or would conduct mass shootings at the locations. Filion was 16 at the time he placed the majority of the calls, prosecutors said.

Jose Medina Leading Over Richard Roth for RivCo Supervisor

Former Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, edged ahead of state Sen. Richard Roth in the race to fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, turning the contest into a dead heat as thousands of ballots remain uncounted. Medina and Roth are contending for the District 1 seat up for grabs with the year-end retirement of decade-long Supervisor Kevin Jeffries of Lakeland Village. Roth, D-Riverside, had enjoyed a nearly 10% margin over Medina on election night last week, but that spread compressed daily until the latest vote tabulation published Tuesday night by the Office of the Registrar of Voters showed Medina out front by roughly 350 votes, or .3%. An estimated 105,000 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots have yet to be tabulated. The next update on the count is slated for Wednesday night. Roth, who will term out of the state Senate in December, was an Air Force major general stationed in the area before entering politics. He spotlighted as accomplishments since 2012 securing funding for the UC Riverside School of Medicine and funds to increase the number of judicial officers countywide. “I’m running

Moreno Valley Unified teacher’s fate uncertain following anti-Trump rant in classroom

Supporters and critics of a Moreno Valley history teacher who was placed on leave after a profane anti-Trump rant in class clashed over his fate at Tuesday’s Moreno Valley Unified District board meeting. The Valley View High School teacher called the president-elect a “rapist draft-dodging coward” during a lecture for his AP history students on Nov. 6. He told them Black and Latino voters didn’t support Kamala Harris because she has a “vagina and uterus,” and claimed that Latino voters who support Trump want to be white. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is under investigation, according to a Moreno Valley Unified School District spokesperson. Tuesday’s board meeting reached a fever pitch as some parents demanded that he be fired, while multiple students asked the district to consider their teacher’s character and not judge his entire career on one incident. “I believe that the way he approached it was a little unprofessional,” student Ezell Moreno said before the board meeting. “I believe that he had good faith, but is he going to be fired for one incident when he’s done

Canadian teenager infected with H5N1 bird flu in critical condition

Canadian health officials announced Tuesday that a teenager infected with H5N1 bird flu from an unknown source is in critical condition. According to British Columbia Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry, the child is suffering from acute respiratory distress and was hospitalized on Friday. The teen is the first presumptive case of H5N1 bird flu in Canada. “Our thoughts continue to be with this person and their family,” said Henry. Authorities believe the virus was acquired via an animal source; however, the teen was not on a farm nor near any known wild birds or backyard poultry — common reservoirs for the disease. According to a CBC interview with Henry, the teen did not have any contact with birds but did interact with a variety of other animals — including a dog, cats and reptiles — in the days before becoming ill. Testing on those animals has so far been negative. The health authorities are also tracing people the teen was in contact with, and so far have not identified other infections. The situation is “horrifying,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown

John Krasinski is People’s Sexiest Man Alive. Emily Blunt plans to keep him in check

John Krasinski’s coronation as People’s Sexiest Man Alive on Tuesday included a celebratory cover story, a glamorous photo shoot — and the promise of more domestic duties. The 45-year-old “Office” heartthrob and “Jack Ryan” actor joked that his wife and “A Quiet Place” co-star Emily Blunt has plans to keep him humble as he joins the ranks of honorees including Patrick Dempsey, Chris Evans, Michael B. Jordan, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. “I think it’s going to make me do more household chores,” Krasinski cracked in his cover story. “After this comes out, she’ll be like, ‘All right, that means you’re going to really earn it here at home,’” he added. Krasinski and the “Devil Wears Prada” alumna married in July 2010 and share two young daughters. While the Hollywood power couple has previously poked fun at their romance, Krasinski got candid about their marriage, telling the magazine he is “so lucky.” He also said it’s a “beautiful thing” to grow and evolve alongside the Oscar-nominated “Oppenheimer” star. Beyond the additional house chores, Krasinski said Blunt had joked about another way to celebrate his new

These California cities are among the healthiest in the nation, study says

A study from Forbes found that California is home to some of the nation’s healthiest cities. The study’s methodology looked at the 46 most populous cities in the country and compared the following metrics: heart disease deaths, opioid deaths, the percentage of adults with diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity. The criteria also considered the percentage of adults who reported binge drinking, smoking, or lack of physical activity in the past 30 days. San Jose ranked as the healthiest city in the country, according to the report, with low rates of opioid overdoses and obesity. Tips to beat holiday stress and boost gut health San Diego ranked fourth, San Francisco ranked sixth, Oakland ranked 13th, Los Angeles ranked 15th and Long Beach ranked 17th. Though California cities mostly landed near the top of the list, Bakersfield was listed as the 11th unhealthiest population and had the highest rates of heart disease per 100,000 residents. Fresno and Sacramento also ranked low on the list. Detroit, Michigan, which had the highest rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, ranked as the least healthy city in the

Legendary Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s cause of death revealed

Fernando Valenzuela, the legendary Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, died of septic shock according to TMZ. Septic shock, which was listed as the 1981 NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award winner’s death certificate, is described by the Mayo Clinic as a “dramatic drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver and other organs,” when the body responds improperly to an infection. FILE – Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela throws the ceremonial first pitch during the MLB All-Star baseball game, July 19, 2022, in Los Angeles. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.(AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File) Also listed on the certificate as underlying causes is decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis. The medical examiner believes he may have suffered from a rare brain disorder called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which causes rapid mental decline. Valenzuela died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Oct. 22 at the age of 63. The Mexican-born pitcher inspired “Fernandomania” when

Vegetation fire consumes hillside in Pacific Palisades

A vegetation fire burned a hillside in Pacific Palisades early Wednesday morning.  According to a Los Angeles Fire Department emergency alert, the blaze was reported shortly before 10 a.m. in the 1400 block of North Palisades Drive.  Video from Sky5 shows several hot spots and plumes of smoke rising into the morning sky; the fire was preliminarily estimated at five acres, LAFD Public Information Officer Margaret Stewart confirmed to KTLA.   Fire engines and firefighting helicopters were seen dumping water on the hot spots as the blaze went through heavy brush adjacent to the Santa Ynez Reservoir. A vegetation fire burned a hillside in Pacific Palisades early Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Sky5) A vegetation fire burned a hillside in Pacific Palisades early Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Sky5) A vegetation fire burned a hillside in Pacific Palisades early Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Sky5) A vegetation fire burned a hillside in Pacific Palisades early Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Sky5) A vegetation fire burned a hillside in Pacific Palisades early Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Sky5) A vegetation fire burned a hillside in Pacific Palisades early Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Sky5) A vegetation fire burned

Robitaille’s Fine Candies in Carpinteria closing after 36 years

After 36 years Robitallies Fine Candies is closing its doors. In the final weeks of business, customers share their appreciation. Saira Bellamy, 10, and her brother, Oliver, have been coming to Robitaille’s since she was a baby. “We just have a lot of memories here,” she says. “It brightened all of our trips, and we just felt really comfortable and warm,” Oliver Bellamy added. Longtime customer Linda Reimel says the store on Linden Avenue in downtown has been a staple for her family and the community for years. “It’s going to be missed. Yeah, it’s a big part of Carpinteria,” Reimel said. Store owner Tami Robitaille told Carpinteria community reporter Juliet Lemar that shes seen generations of customers coming in every year, sharing their lives with the store. “We’ve had people take wedding pictures here, engagement pictures, family photos for Christmas time every year in the shop,” Robitaille said. Now, after 36 years of serving the community chocolates, candy and other tasty treats, Robitailles Fine Candies will be closing its doors permanently. “We hope to get more back into the community, volunteering and spending more

Driver crashes off Hwy 101 in San Luis Obispo

A driver was taken to the hospital after crashing off Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo Wednesday morning. San Luis Obispo police say just before 7 a.m., the driver of a car was heading southbound on the highway when they left the road and almost hit a box truck before crashing in front of the Tesla dealership located on the 1300 block of Calle Joaquin. Police say the car did hit a water back flow device located in front of the dealership, causing a release of water in the area. DUI is not suspected. The crash remains under investigation. No word on the extent of any injuries to the driver.

Mystery around missing ‘Gossip Girl’ actor deepens, with family, LAPD at odds

Depending on whom you ask, Chanel Maya Banks is either a missing person who may be in danger or hurt, or she has been located and is safe. The Playa Vista actor known for her work on “Gossip Girl” as the character Sawyer Bennett and “Blue Bloods” as Maria Romano was reported missing on Nov. 8 by her family, according to the LAPD. Her cousin, Danielle Tori-Singh, created a GoFundMe on Sunday. “My cousin Chanel is missing,” wrote Tori-Singh. Tori-Singh said the LAPD performed two wellness checks at Banks’ home and she was not there either time. But on Wednesday, the LAPD told a different story. They reported that Banks had been found safe in Texas on Sunday. Tori-Singh called the report “fake news” and said that her cousin was still missing. She claimed that a woman found in Texas with Banks’ expired New York identification card was not actually her cousin. “I have positively identified that that is not her,” said Tori-Singh in an 8-minute Facebook video recorded from her car. “I’ve known her for 31 years. I know what she looks like.” But

Belissa Escobedo is finding her happy place

A year ago, Belissa Escobedo would spot the posters of network shows like NBC’s “Lopez vs. Lopez” plastered on gritty subway station walls in New York City. “I wish,” she would tell herself as she made her way to her bartending gig, hoping that one day her face would be featured on them. Working behind a bar counter is a respected rite of passage for any hardworking actor, but for Escobedo, it was a reality that felt dissonant after starring in the 2023 film “Blue Beetle,” a $104-million Warner Bros. project that was supposed to propel her acting career into bigger and better things. But warped as her timeline might have seemed, it wouldn’t be long before her dreams materialized, ironically, in another tavern gig. In “Happy’s Place,” the multi-camera NBC comedy (it premiered Oct. 18) Escobedo plays Isabella, a bubbly college graduate who inherits a Tennessee bar from her recently deceased, and unknown, father. The caveat? Co-ownership with her new half-sister, Bobbie, played by country singer Reba McEntire. Together they journey through the bar’s upkeep and their newly minted sisterhood, often butting against generational

Actor Ben Foster files for divorce from ‘That ’70s Show’ star Laura Prepon

Ben Foster and Laura Prepon just put a big X on their marriage: The “X-Men: The Last Stand” actor and the “Orange Is the New Black” star are divorcing after a yearlong separation. Foster filed for the split last month in Tennessee, where the couple and their two children have lived for two years, formally moving to end their six-year marriage. His complaint, obtained Wednesday by The Times, said that he and Prepon, both 44, had “suffered irreconcilable differences” and “are unable to live together successfully as husband and wife.” The film actor listed their wedding date as May 25, 2018, and date of separation as Sept. 9, 2023, exactly one year prior to his divorce filing. Prepon was served the documents Sept. 13, according to Davidson County court records. Representatives for Foster and Prepon did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times’ requests for additional comment. Foster, who has starred in “3:10 to Yuma,” “Six Feet Under” and the Disney Channel series “Flash Forward,” asked the court to enforce a 2018 prenuptial agreement that called for an “equitable division” of their marital assets and

‘The Big D’ delivers divorced dating comedy game show just in time for cuffing season

“This is a roast-free zone,” clarifies Julie Golden, producer and host of “The Big D: A Comedy Matchmaking Show for Divorced Singles.” “It’s a fun, relaxed hang where you might meet the love of your life. But worst-case scenario, you are definitely going to laugh.” Golden’s reality-TV background and matchmaking insight — she said she’s personally responsible for three successful marriages to date — are behind her new comedy show and divorced singles mixer debuting Saturday night at Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica. As the annual tradition of pre-holidays “cuffing season” begins, “I’m finding people in my generation don’t even know what that is. I’m trying to explain it to them,” she says of the dating trend. A self-described “former film studio executive turned screenwriter turned reality TV producer,” Golden has overseen series at Netflix, Discovery and TruTV. She’s been performing onstage for a year and a half. “The most exciting thing to me about stand-up comedy is no notes from the middle person. It’s you and the audience, and you get the notes right away.” With Dana Weddle, she co-produces and co-hosts the