California Dolphin

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