Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits | | |
UCLA ordered to make feds’ settlement demand public; here’s what’s in it
The California Supreme Court ordered the University of California to make public the Trump administration’s $1.2 billion settlement demand document for UCLA, rejecting the university’s argument that releasing the document would cause “irreparable harm” to its continuing negotiations with the federal government as well as jeopardize future negotiations involving other parties.
Forbes
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Appeals court upholds Paul Flores' first-degree murder conviction
An appeals court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction for Kristin Smart's killer following an appeal hearing in his case earlier this month. The appeal filed by Paul Flores was heard in Ventura on Oct. 9. In an unpublished opinion dated Oct. 24, the disposition states the judgment in Flores’ case is affirmed, meaning the higher court upholds the lower court’s ruling and he’ll continue serving out his sentence.
KSBY
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L.A. County asks court to block release of thousands of sheriff's deputy photos
Los Angeles County is attempting to block a journalist from obtaining the photographs of about 8,500 deputies and other sworn personnel employed by the Sheriff's Department. The legal dispute centers on a public records request filed in April 2023 by journalist Cerise Castle. Castle asked county officials to release the names and official headshots of all deputies not working undercover, then sued last summer after her request was denied, alleging a violation of California’s open records law.
Los Angeles Times
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Court turns down man’s request to die by firing squad
The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon turned down a request from an Alabama inmate to block his execution, which is scheduled for today. In an unsigned order, the justices denied Anthony Boyd’s plea to put his execution on hold and to decide whether executing him by nitrogen hypoxia would violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Boyd had asked to be executed by a firing squad instead.
SCOTUSblog
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Lawsuit questions Los Angeles City Hall’s disappearing messages via Google Chats
A Mount Washington community group is asking a California appllate court to step into a land-use dispute that has exposed something larger - a Los Angeles City Hall practice that critics say lets officials make crucial decisions behind closed doors, with no public record. In a new writ of mandate filed earlier this month, the Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition alleged that the City of Los Angeles failed to preserve internal Google Chats that could have revealed backchannel communications over a contested hillside development in northeast L.A.
Pasadena Star-News
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Liability for DUI murder does not cease at moment defendant stops driving
Div. One of the Fourth District Court of Appeal held yesterday that a defendant who crashed into a minivan while driving intoxicated, causing a subsequent deadly collision by a motorcyclist with the wreckage of his inoperable car, was not entitled to have his murder charges set aside based on the fact that he was not driving at the time of the decedent’s accident.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Quinn Emanuel fails in bid for $1.7 million from county
The 1,200-lawyer international law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, founded in Los Angeles in 1986, has lost its bid in the Court of Appeal for a reversal of judgments against it in its effort to collect $1,740,001.70 from the county for services in representing then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva and the department he headed in litigation.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Newsom appoints three to L.A. Superior Court
Three lawyers - Jill Casselman, Seza Mikikian, and Afsaneh Ashley Tabaddor - were appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday as judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Casselman, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, replaces Judge Patricia Titus; Mikikian, a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, succeeds Judge Stephanie M. Bowick; and Tabaddor, a former immigration judge in the Central District of California and presently a “distinguished visiting jurist” at Southwestern Law School, assumes the seat previously held by Judge Kenneth R. Freeman.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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California Supreme Court rules on State Bar proposals, appoints new State Bar Court judge
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled on State Bar proposals affecting disciplinary rules for attorneys and the licensing of members of the military, while also appointing a new judge to the State Bar Court. The court rejected a State Bar proposal that would have significantly reduced the monetary sanctions imposed on disciplined attorneys.
California Courts News Release
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C.A. disavows decision on ‘functionally equivalent’ sentences
Div. Six of the Court of Appeal for this district yesterday repudiated a 2022 decision that expands upon statutory language by conferring upon certain inmates who were sentenced, as juveniles, to the “equivalent” of a life sentence without possibility of parole the right to petition for resentencing.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Palmdale mother charged with murder in fentanyl death of 2-year-old son
Murder charges have been filed against a Palmdale mother accused of causing the death of her 2-year-old son, who fatally ingested fentanyl in 2023. “There is no tragedy more profound than the loss of a child, especially when it happens because of a parent’s reckless disregard for life,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.
L.A. County District Attorney’s Office New Release
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Bill Essayli says he isn’t going anywhere
Bill Essayli said Wednesday he isn’t going anywhere after a judge ruled that he has been illegally serving in his role as Los Angeles’ top prosecutor - and that the decision only affirmed the Trump administration’s power to install the attorneys of its choice in these offices. “We’re actually quite relieved,” Essayli said in an interview. “The judge has made it clear that regardless of my title I’m cleared to keep running the office, I’m very happy with the outcome.”
Politico
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Southern California mayor indicted on perjury, conflict of interest charges
A Southern California mayor has been indicted on nine counts related to conflicts of interest and perjury, officials announced on Thursday. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez was indicted on one felony count of conflict of interest related to government contracts, four felony counts of perjury and four misdemeanor counts of conflicts of interest related to governmental decisions.
KTLA
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Feds charge 12 in alleged violence, attacks on police during immigration protests
Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against 12 people who allegedly impeded officers or engaged in violence during demonstrations against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The charges, some part of an effort dubbed “Operation Bridge Too Far” by federal authorities, largely centered on demonstrations that erupted on a freeway overpass near an immigration detention center in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, the first day the National Guard was deployed to the city.
Los Angeles Times
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These protesters blocked the 110 Freeway. Now, their cases are on track to be dismissed
It was one of the most dramatic protests in Los Angeles by activists who opposed Israel's war in Gaza: a shutdown of the southbound lanes of the 110 Freeway as it passes through downtown. In a chaotic scene captured by news helicopters, protesters sat down on the freeway in December 2023, halting traffic just south of the four-level interchange. On live television, enraged motorists responded by getting into physical altercations with demonstrators.
Los Angeles Times
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NorCal man defrauded L.A. County out of almost $150K: LADA
A Sacramento County man is facing a possible sentence of decades in prison after prosecutors say he stole the identities of 22 Los Angeles County residents to steal about $150,000 in public benefits. Sam Shahbazi, 37, faces 22 felony counts each of grand theft and unauthorized use of personal identifying information, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
KTLA
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Fentanyl deaths decline in LA County as district attorney promises aggressive prosecution of "fentanyl poisoners”
While deaths within Los Angeles County linked to fentanyl are declining, the synthetic opioid is still a leading cause of death among 18 to 40-year-olds, according to county officials. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna led a Tuesday news conference to warn of the "silent assassin in the community," referring to fentanyl, ahead of the Halloween holiday.
CBS LA
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LAPD captain claims city pushed misleading statement to justify police tactics at protest
It was April 2021 and the LAPD was facing sharp criticism over its handling of mass protests against police brutality. The Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles complaint accused officers of firing less-lethal weapons at demonstrators who posed no threat, among other abuses. Smith said the assistant Los Angeles city attorney wanted his signature on a prewritten sworn declaration that described how LAPD officers had no choice but to use force against a volatile crowd hurling bottles and smoke bombs during a 2020 protest in Tujunga.
Los Angeles Times
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The dark side of L.A. law: Who is watching for legal schemers?
Over the last few years, The Times has devoted quite a bit of investigative reporting muscle to the dark side of the civil bar and those who exploit it for personal gain. Everybody hates lawyers until they need them. Lawyers can meaningfully bring about justice especially in a socially and economically stratified place like Los Angeles. But a string of bad headlines does little to advance fairness for the little guy.
Los Angeles Times
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Attorneys call for more investigations into false sex abuse claims
One day after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved an $828 million settlement with 414 plaintiffs claiming they were victims of childhood sexual abuse in probation camps, attorneys in the case Wednesday called for more investigation into allegations that some plaintiffs in a separate settlement were paid to make false claims.
City News Service
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Proposition 36 shows mixed results as few offenders choose treatment over incarceration
Proposition 36, approved by nearly 70% of voters in November of last year, is meant to be a major step in addressing both drug addiction and the rise in retail theft. Nearly a year later, some say the results are not what voters expected. When California voters approved Proposition 36, the goal was simple reduce prison overcrowding and give people caught with drugs a shot at treatment instead of time behind bars.
Fox26 News
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New state law requires additional safeguards when police use generative AI
Gov. Gavin Newsom this month signed a first-of-its-kind California law requiring police to disclose how they use generative artificial intelligence, a move aimed at boosting transparency and public trust. California is among the first states to address the issue. KQED first reported last October on local departments adopting AI tools. The reporting was cited in the legislative analysis of the bill that ultimately became the law.
KVPR
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Trump appeals criminal conviction in hush-money case
President Trump's attorneys appealed his criminal conviction Monday, arguing the New York trial was "fatally marred" by evidence they say was protected by the Supreme Court's immunity decision. The big picture: Last November, Trump became the first convicted felon to be elected president. Roughly a year later, he's still pushing to wipe away that historic conviction. A Manhattan jury convicted Trump in May of last year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records tied to a hush-money payment to an adult film star in the run-up to the 2016 election.
Axios
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Hero cop raped by monster Hollywood producer David Pearce was killed in line of duty days before sentencing
A victim of Hollywood predator David Pearce was a hero cop who died helping car crash victims days before her rapist was sentenced to life in prison. Lauren Craven, 25, had been raped by Pearce along with six other women before the Los Angeles producer drugged and killed model Christy Giles and a friend in 2021. Pearce was sentenced to a total of 146 years in prison for his crimes, but Craven was not there to see him get justice: the police officer from La Mesa, CA, was struck and killed by a vehicle last week while rushing to aid people trapped in a car that had flipped over on the highway.
New York Post
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Deputy Andrew Nuñez leaves behind a wife and a 2-year-old daughter. His wife was also expecting, the sheriff said.
A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy who was shot and killed in the line of duty was honored Wednesday evening at a candlelight vigil in Rancho Cucamonga. Deputy Andrew Nunez is also being honored with flags flying at half-staff throughout California, days after he was gunned down while responding to a domestic violence call. Hundreds of people packed into the courtyard outside the Rancho Cucamonga sheriff's substation.
ABC7
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Deputies in L.A. County jails to be equipped with body-worn cameras
Los Angeles County’s jails are set to be under the watch of thousands of new digital eyes. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has purchased 4,641 body-worn cameras for deputies to wear in the facilities, which have seen a spike in inmate deaths this year. The department has also reached an agreement to implement the technology with the labor unions that represent its employees, according to a recent report by the office of Inspector General Max Huntsman.
Los Angeles Times
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Orange County man fined $300,000 for lighting illegal fireworks on Fourth of July
An Orange County man is trying to fight a massive fine that he faces after allegedly lighting off a series of illegal fireworks outside of his home on the Fourth of July. Jose Fernandez appeared in court on Wednesday, where he was scheduled to appear due to a $300,000 fine from the city of Stanton for the series of fireworks that they say he set off outside of his home nearly four months ago.
CBS News
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‘It’s still smoldering.’ A hiker’s video of Palisades fire raises questions about state’s responsibility
A hiker clambers across a scorched landscape of ash, his footsteps crunching on charred earth as he peers over a ridge at a burn scar pocked with blackened stumps. Below are thickets of green chaparral and densely packed homes. Suddenly, he stops. He zooms the camera in to wisps of white smoke rising from the dirt. “It’s still smoldering,” he whispers - apparently to himself. No firefighters or state park rangers are visible.
Los Angeles Times
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Days before Palisades inferno, firefighters were ordered to leave smoldering burn site
Firefighters mopping up a small brush fire that authorities say reignited as the Palisades fire five days later were ordered to leave the original burn scene even though they complained the ground was still smoldering and rocks remained hot to the touch, according to firefighter text messages reviewed by The Times. To the firefighters’ surprise, their battalion chief ordered them to roll up their hoses and pull out of the area on Jan. 2 - the day after the 8-acre blaze was declared contained - rather than stay and make sure there were no hidden embers that could spark a new fire, the text messages said.
Los Angeles Times
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Former babysitter, child care worker in LA arrested for alleged possession of child pornography
Investigators are seeking additional possible victims of a 28-year-old Las Vegas man who worked as a babysitter and child care employee in the Los Angeles area and was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography. Miguel Adrian Gonzalez was arrested Friday following an investigation by Los Angeles Police Department detectives along with federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations in Ventura.
City News Service
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Man accused of posing as immigration lawyer, raping client and offering hush money is arrested
Authorities arrested a 65-year-old man accused of posing as a lawyer and raping a woman who came to him seeking help with her immigration status. On Nov. 12, a woman reported that she had been sexually assaulted by Jose Bernal after she refused his advances and attempted to leave his office at 1203 E. 17th St. in Santa Ana, according to the Santa Ana Police Department.
Los Angeles Times
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Struggling Santa Monica's recovery plan: More cops downtown, luring back lost business
It's been a rough few years for Santa Monica. Businesses have abandoned its once-thriving downtown. Its retail and office vacancy rates are among the highest in Los Angeles County. The crowds that previously packed the area surrounding the city's famous pier have dwindled. Homelessness has risen. City officials acknowledge crime incidents had become more visible and volatile.
Los Angeles Times
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Arrests made in “shade snatchers” commercial burglary investigation
On Tuesday, October 28, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Commercial Crimes Division and North Hollywood Division reported arrests were made in connection to the “Shade Snatcher” Commercial Burglary Investigation targeting high-end optical eyewear and sunglasses stores throughout Los Angeles County and Orange County.
Canyon News
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Armed robber strikes man on head and steals $77,000 watch in Hollywood
A man was hit on the head and robbed of his high-end watch at gunpoint early Tuesday morning on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The victim was in the Berri's Pizza parking lot at about 3 a.m. when a man approached and pulled out a gun, the LAPD told NBC4 Investigates. The man ran, but was tackled and struck on the head before the attacker demanded his watch, police said.
NBC4 LA
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In Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park, a fence won’t cure homelessness or addiction. But it’s a start
Los Angeles struggles to balance its humane responses to addiction and homelessness with its more instant but often less durable alternatives - police action. MacArthur Park, a 35-acre space in the heart of L.A.’s Westlake neighborhood, is proving to be a frustrating testing ground. Neighbors want a safer place for children to play and residents to enjoy the outdoors. Does that mean they must tolerate needle exchanges or encourage roundups of homeless people?
CalMatters
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LAPD mental health teams should take lead at crisis events instead of patrol officers, city controller says
The Los Angeles City Controller’s Office made several findings about police responses to mental health crisis calls, including that patrol officers often are first to respond to calls for service instead of the department’s mental health teams. That should change, according to an assessment released this week. L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a statement that the LAPD should revise its policy to allow the department’s SMART units - short for Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Teams - “to lead responses in mental health-related calls that don't involve weapons.”
LAist
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Transportation secretary says he will pull $160M from California over noncitizen truck licenses
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that he is about make good on a threat to revoke millions in federal funds for California because he says the state is illegally issuing commercial driver's licenses to noncitizens. In an appearance on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures," Duffy said Gov. Gavin Newsom has refused to comply with Department of Transportation rules that require the state to stop issuing such licenses and review those already issued.
Associated Press
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Deadly semitrailer crash in California renews federal criticism of immigrant truck drivers
Jashanpreet Singh was arrested and jailed after Tuesday’s eight-vehicle crash in Ontario, California, that also left four people injured. He faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence causing injury, the San Bernardino District Attorney's office said. Singh is scheduled for arraignment Friday. The district attorney's office said he does not yet have a lawyer.
Associated Press
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Immigration agents are raiding California hospitals and clinics. Can a new state law prevent that?
In recent months, federal agents camped out in the lobby of a Southern California hospital, guarded detained patients - sometimes shackled - in hospital rooms, and chased an immigrant landscaper into a surgical center. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents also have shown up at community clinics. Health providers say officers tried to enter a parking lot hosting a mobile clinic, waved a machine gun in the faces of clinicians serving the homeless, and hauled a passerby into an unmarked car outside a community health center.
KFF Health News
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'A real violation.' More than 1,000 artifacts stolen from Oakland museum in brazen heist
A thief or crew of thieves recently carried out one of the largest art heists in California history, breaking into a storage facility for the Oakland Museum of California under the cover of darkness and making off with more than 1,000 precious artifacts. Oakland police said the burglary took place just before 3:30 a.m. Oct. 15, which is four days before robbers stole a trove of priceless Napoleonic jewels from the the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Los Angeles Times
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ExxonMobil sues California over climate disclosure laws
Exxon Mobil Corporation is suing the state of California over a pair of 2023 climate disclosure laws that the company says infringe upon its free speech rights, namely by forcing it to embrace the message that large companies are uniquely to blame for climate change. The oil and gas corporation based in Texas filed its complaint Friday in the U.S. Eastern District Court for California. It asks the court to prevent the laws from going into effect next year.
Associated Press
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Initiative proposes $100 billion tax on those with assets over $1 billion
For years, Gov. Gavin Newsom has staunchly opposed increasing taxes on wealthy Californians even when the issue repeatedly reared its head during recent tough budget years. But faced with deep federal cuts to social services programs, labor and health care groups are asking voters to circumvent the governor – to tax a very small number of people.
CalMatters
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Trump plans to install Border Patrol officials to lead a more aggressive migrant crackdown
The Trump administration is planning to replace some regional leaders at Immigration and Customs Enforcement with Border Patrol officials in an attempt to intensify its mass deportations effort amid growing frustration with the pace of daily arrests, according to two Homeland Security Department officials, one former DHS official and one federal law enforcement official.
NBC News
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New California prison dashboards offer unprecedented transparency
A new report from the California Policy Lab and the State of California’s Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code introduces the California Prison Population Data Dashboards, an online tool offering a detailed look at who is incarcerated in California and why. The dashboards were announced Oct. 15, 2025, in Berkeley by researcher Sean Coffey and others.
Vanguard News Group
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Reputed Aryan Brotherhood leader stabbed to death by inmates with Nazi tattoos
A reputed leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang was stabbed to death last week at Salinas Valley State Prison in Monterey County, authorities said. Todd “Fox” Morgan, 57, was attacked Thursday morning in a recreation yard by three inmates, officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
Los Angeles Times
| | Convictions/Pleas/Sentences/Parole | | |
Ex-CHP captain from Azusa pleads guilty after allegedly exposing himself on flight to LAX
A former California Highway Patrol captain from the San Gabriel Valley pleaded guilty Thursday, Oct. 23 to a federal charge stemming from an incident on a Los Angeles-bound flight, where he slapped a flight attendant’s behind, declared his “love” for the man and exposed himself. Dennis Woodbury, 50, of Azusa, entered a plea to one count of “abusive sexual contact within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,” a felony carrying a possible sentence of up to two years behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
City News Service
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Southern California pastor sentenced for sexually assaulting young girls
A Santa Ana pastor has been sentenced to 45 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting three young girls. Carlos Ramirez Valdez, 61, was convicted of 14 counts related to the child sexual abuse cases that happened while he was the leader of Iglesia De Dios Ebenezer Church between 2012 and 2019. He became a pastor at another Santa Ana church after the assaults.
CBS LA
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SFV man who carried meth-caked clothing in suitcases at LAX gets three years
A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced today to three years behind bars for possessing two suitcases containing more than a dozen clothing items - including a cow pajama onesie - caked in methamphetamine while preparing to board a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Australia.
City News Service
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Man in Santee hair salon outburst pleads guilty to assault
A man who hurled merchandise and foul language at employees and customers inside a Santee hair salon pleaded guilty to an assault charge and is slated to be sentenced next month to six years in state prison. August Marriott, 28, was seen in cell phone video that was posted to various social-media platforms becoming irate with workers at the Great Clips salon on Mission Gorge Road in January.
City News Service
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Man pleads guilty to stealing rare manuscript from UCLA library
A 38-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge for stealing a rare and historical Chinese manuscript from the UCLA library system, according to court papers obtained Tuesday. Jeffrey Ying of Fremont, in Alameda County, entered a plea Monday in Los Angeles federal court to one count of theft of major artwork, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.
City News Service
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Eric Kay’s ex-wife describes drug use on Angels road trips, says club officials knew of his drug problems
Los Angeles Angels’ officials were warned that communications staffer Eric Kay was providing illicit pills to Tyler Skaggs weeks before the pitcher’s death, according to testimony on Monday, Oct. 27 from Kay’s ex-wife, who also described a culture of rampant drug use on team road trips. Camela Kay testified during Skaggs’ wrongful death trial that Angels’ officials were aware of her ex-husband’s years-long struggle with opioid addiction and ignored evidence that he had provided Skaggs and other players with illicit pills.
Orange County Register
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Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California says he’ll consider presidential run after 2026 midterms
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a leading Democratic critic of President Donald Trump, says he will consider running for the White House in 2028 after the midterm elections next year. Asked in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” whether if would be fair to say he would give a campaign serious thought after the November 2026 vote, the term-limited governor said, “I’d be lying otherwise.”
Associated Press
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Can Trump move the Olympics out of LA?
Since Donald Trump has returned to the White House, Olympics, LA 28 and FIFA officials have lavished the president with praise, attention and gifts, and contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaign war chests of the Republican Party and Trump’s political allies amid rising concerns that Trump could seriously undermine the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games or even prevent the two most watched events on planet from even taking place.
Orange County Register
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