Los Angeles

American who disappeared in Syria in 2017 presumed dead, daughter says

Updated on: May 18, 2024 / 12:14 PM EDT / CBS/AP Family of American held in Syria turn to Trump Family of Majd Kamalmaz, American detained in Syria, appeal to Trump for help 02:53 An American citizen who disappeared seven years ago while traveling in Syria is presumed dead, the man’s daughter said Saturday. Maryam Kamalmaz told the Associated Press that eight senior U.S. officials revealed earlier this month that they have specific and highly credible intelligence about the presumed death of her father, Majd, a psychotherapist from Texas. During the meeting, held in Washington, the officials told her that on a scale of one to 10, their confidence level about her father’s death was a “high nine.” She said she asked whether other detained Americans had ever been successfully recovered in the face of such credible information, and was told no. “What more do I need? That was a lot of high-level officials that we needed to confirm to us that he’s really gone. There was no way to beat around the bush,” Maryam Kamalmaz said. Maryam Kamalmaz hold a photo of her father

Los Angeles

Chef Salil Mehta introduces diners to Malaysian food after eatery earns Michelin star

Chef Salil Mehta introduces diners to Malaysian food after eatery earns Michelin star – CBS News Watch CBS News Chef Salil Mehta New York City’s resturant is first Malaysian restaurant to earn a Michelin star. His mission is to shine a spotlight on the flavors of the region. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Los Angeles

Peril intensifies Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs after video shows him attacking Cassie Ventura

A video showing embattled music legend Sean “Diddy” Combs violently attacking his then-girlfriend in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 is likely to add more urgency to a federal sex-trafficking investigation into the star. The video shows Combs chasing, kicking, dragging and hurling a glass vase at Cassie, a singer whose real name is Casandra Ventura. It was obtained Friday by CNN and corroborates parts of a civil lawsuit Ventura filed against Combs last year, which was settled a day after it was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The video is not related to the federal probe, but it is drawing more attention to the ongoing investigation. Law enforcement sources told The Times that Combs is the subject of a sweeping inquiry into sex-trafficking allegations that resulted in a federal raid in March at his estates in Los Angeles and Miami. Combs has not been charged with any crime and has denied any wrongdoing. Allegations against Combs have piled up in recent years. Four women have accused him of rape, assault and other abuses, dating back three decades.

Los Angeles

Police find body in driveway of Monrovia home; 2 taken into custody

A person died Friday night of an apparent gunshot wound in Monrovia, although authorities are still looking for answers. KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw reported Saturday that police responded to reports of a shooting around 9:30 p.m. at a home in the area of Shamrock and Lemon Avenues, across the street from Recreation Park. Upon arrival, officers found a person dead in a driveway from an apparent shooting. A knife was also recovered at the scene. Officers appeared to take two people into custody but it’s unknown if they were formally arrested. Police haven’t released any information on potential suspects. A neighbor, Paul Lazear, said he hears fireworks in the area often, but it was clear that the sound this time was a gunshot. No additional details were immediately made available.

Los Angeles

Meet the fashion designer who dresses the world’s biggest boxers

By Haley Ott, Eleanor Tuohy May 18, 2024 / 10:03 AM EDT / CBS News Designer styles boxer Tyson Fury before match Fashion designer styled Tyson Fury before boxing match hopes clothes gives champion an edge 06:59 From his fashion studio on the Welsh coast, Imtayaz Qassim creates some of the most distinctive outfits worn by the world’s most famous boxers – like WCB World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who will take to the ring Saturday night in Saudi Arabia to face off against undefeated Oleksandr Usyk. It’s being billed as the biggest fight in history, and with both fighters at the top of their physical game, what they wear can influence their mindsets going into the fight.  “I like to tell people’s stories through the garments,” Qassim told CBS News. His business is called Bespoke Boxing, and each outfit begins with a client consultation. “We would talk a bit more in-depth and discuss why we would use certain colors. Do they mean something to you? Do you feel better in them? Do you prefer to fight from the hip, so do you need a

Los Angeles

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito faces scrutiny over upside down U.S. flag outside his home

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito faces scrutiny over upside down U.S. flag outside his home – CBS News Watch CBS News Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito faces mounting scrutiny over an upside down U.S. flag outside his home. The flag upside down became a symbol of the stop the steal movement used by rioters and election deniers after the 2020 election. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Los Angeles

Trucks carrying desperately needed aid are rolling across a newly U.S. built pier into Gaza

Trucks carrying desperately needed aid are rolling across a newly U.S. built pier into Gaza – CBS News Watch CBS News Trucks carrying desperately needed aid are rolling across a U.S.-built pier into Gaza. U.S. officials say this could mean up to 150 truckloads a day will get to the besieged Palestinian territory. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Sacramento

How Filipina American DJ Umami brings Bay Area ‘flavor’ to SF Giants games at Oracle Park

Oracle Park, like any ballpark, features its share of old-school sonic sensibilities. There’s “Bye-Bye Baby” after home runs, “Take Me Out to The Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch and Steve Hogan on the organ during day games. They’re traditional. They’re familiar. They’re nostalgic. But when Ieanna Cruz gets behind the turntables, tradition takes a backseat. She provides a vibe that’s new. That’s fresh. That’s hyphy. A Filipina American hailing from East Side San Jose, Cruz, otherwise known as DJ Umami, serves as the Giants’ resident DJ, not only providing a flavor that remains unique to baseball but paving the way for the next generation of women of color. “For the longest time, it seemed like we played the same music,” said Brandon Crawford, the former Giants shortstop who served as the team’s clubhouse DJ, going by DJ BC Raw. “Nothing against that, but it seemed a little bit boring in between innings sometimes before DJ Umami got there. She definitely brought more energy to the park.” “She mixes it up and has that flavor — the San Francisco flavor,” said LaMonte Wade Jr. “She

Bay Area

Educators call Gov. Gavin Newsom’s slash to school funding ‘unconstitutional’

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his revised state budget last week with details of how he planned to close a $27.6 billion deficit. Now, outraged educational leaders across California are calling the cuts to school funding “unconstitutional” and has the potential for litigation. Some of those cuts involve Proposition 98, a 1988 voter-approved, constitutional mandate that guarantees minimum funding for California TK-12 schools and community colleges. Each year’s Prop 98 funding guarantee is calculated through a complex formula based on a percentage of the state’s general fund revenues or by using the amount schools received the prior year, with some adjustments for attendance and inflation. In other words, under Prop 98, schools must receive at least the same amount of funding they received the prior year. The amount allocated for schools in the 2024-25 budget is important because it serves as the baseline for future years’ allocations. Newsom’s administration said the state’s income tax revenue collections fell short of projections, so starting in 2022-23, schools received more money than they should have. As a result, his administration wants to lower the baseline funding requirements to account

Bay Area

Trees, not asphalt: The $1 billion effort to build ‘cooler’ California school playgrounds

As summer approaches and temperatures soar, one of the most dangerous places for Bay Area students might actually be the playground. On a hot, sunny day, the asphalt on school playgrounds can reach 149 F, while a rubber mat can reach 165 F, according to UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation. That’s hot enough to cause a third-degree burn. But a little shade can go a long way to help kids cool off. In an effort to provide more green on Bay Area schoolyards — many of which are expanses of barren asphalt without grass, shade or trees — and lower the impact on students’ health, the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that works to create parks and protect public land, is campaigning for $1 billion from the state legislature to transform those playgrounds. “If you look at our elementary schools in many cases, you don’t see nature. It’s all about blacktop, asphalt,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, the Trust for Public Land’s California director. “(At) some of the schools that we’ve targeted for green schoolyards, playgrounds have turned into parking lots for teachers and staff

Bay Area

Editorial: About 1,000 passengers could have died at SFO. Finally, Congress has acted

Thanks to a bill President Biden signed Thursday, the federal government will finally implement much-needed safety measures to help prevent potentially deadly incidents at the nation’s airports. It’s been more than six years since this news organization demanded changes after documenting a horrifying series of five airplane near-misses at San Francisco International Airport in less than 13 months. In the most frightening, Air Canada pilots mistook the taxiway for the runway where they were supposed to land. The plane dipped to 59 feet off the ground and came within seconds of slamming into four fully fueled aircraft on the ground, endangering an estimated 1,000 passengers. It could have been nearly the worst aviation disaster in history, second only to the two hijacked planes that plowed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. In congressional testimony soon after, a federal auditor revealed that the annual number of runway “incursions” had increased nearly 83% from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2017. Then, last year, a comprehensive New York Times investigation similarly found that near-misses at airports across the country, including more recent examples at SFO, were common. But federal regulators at

Bay Area

Walters: How California’s budget morphed into a $45 billion deficit in two years

The much-revised 2024-25 state budget that Gov. Gavin Newsom released last week contains hundreds of spending reductions and other actions to close what he says is a $44.9 billion deficit. Exactly two years earlier, Newsom boasted as the state enjoyed a $97.5 billion budget surplus, thanks to surging revenues from the post-pandemic economic recovery. “No other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this,” Newsom said as he unveiled a revised $300 billion 2022-23 budget, which was $14 billion higher than his original proposal. The budget he signed a month later was even larger, $307 billion, with immense new commitments, including cash payments to poor families and expansions of health care and early childhood education. So, one must wonder, how did a $97.5 billion surplus morph into a huge deficit and a budget that is pulling back much of the new spending Newsom and the Legislature had so eagerly approved? The new budget takes a stab at answering the question, basically saying that revenues fell well short of projections. “Due to the revenue spike from 2019-20 to 2021-22, the budget acts of 2021 and 2022 were based on forecasts

Los Angeles

Daredevil illegally walks tightrope between downtown L.A. skyscrapers

Shocking video captured a daredevil walking a tightrope between two downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers. Oceanwide Plaza, a $1 billion mixed-use retail and luxury apartment building, has been vacant for years and has become infamously known as the graffiti towers, attracting artists and those looking to perform death-defying stunts. YouTuber Ben Schneider was the latest to attempt a stunt at the location when he walked across a slackline between the buildings, looming high above the L.A. skyline. Schneider, a self-proclaimed performance artist and daredevil, posts videos under the YouTube handle “Reckless Ben” and has amassed over 350,000 subscribers. Despite a police perimeter surrounding the buildings, Schenider said he was able to slip past any watchful eyes on May 12. “We pretended we were a religious cult and we got 20 people to all hold signs saying ‘Jesus Saves’ and the signs were blocking the police’s point of view so we just hopped the fence,” he said. Inside the building, he and his team members climbed 500 feet up the tower multiple times to string together and tighten two one-inch nylon straps between the towers. YouTube daredevil and

Los Angeles

Private tour inside St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City

Private tour inside St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City – CBS News Watch CBS News Join Norah O’Donnell for a rare, private tour inside St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the largest church in the world. Watch Sunday’s 60 Minutes for a wide-ranging conversation with Pope Francis and tune in Monday, May 20, for a Primetime special, “Pope Francis: The First”, on CBS. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Los Angeles

Climate activists glue themselves at Munich airport to protest flying

May 18, 2024 / 8:43 AM EDT / CBS/AP Climate activists target politicians, oil execs Climate activists court controversy with aggressive tactics 05:09 Six climate activists were arrested in Germany on Saturday after they broke into the Munich airport and glue themselves to access routes leading to runways, officials said. It caused the airport to be temporarily closed and led to around 60 flight cancellations during a busy holiday weekend. The activists from the German-based group Last Generation , which has carried out similar protests in the past, were protesting flying, the most polluting form of transportation, said the German news agency dpa. In a series of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, the group showed members on what appeared to be a runway or tarmac with protest signs, Reuters reported. The group said six individuals had seated themselves on airport asphalt to block planes. “Problem is the government, not our holiday,” one of the signs read. They accused the German government of “downplaying” the negative effects of flying on the environment instead of “finally acting sincerely.” Incoming flights had to be diverted to

Sacramento

Tehama County Board of Supervisors to hear finance report

RED BLUFF —  Auditor-Controller Krista Peterson will give a presentation on Tuesday on Tehama County’s finances for September through December 2023 and March 2024 for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. As of March 2024, total expenditures were $165,967,693 compared to $151,207,024 in March 2023.  According to staff, there was a reduction in contributions to other agencies of $2,300,209. This is mainly due to COVID money going to the Red Bluff Chamber for small business grants in the fiscal year 2022-2023. That said, the decrease was offset by increases seen in assistance programs administered through Social Services of $1.1 million and $236,547 in Fire’s Schedule A expense. Staff say that the general fund has received 61 percent of budgeted revenues. As of March 31, 58.9 percent of the tax revenue was received. Property Tax revenue is up $783,819, while sales tax revenue is down slightly. Charge for services is 66.7 percent of the budget, and other revenue has only seen 23.3 percent of its budgeted revenue. Staff shared that the $546,803 budgeted in this category primarily comprised a donation from the Nomlaki Tribe in the amount of $350,000.