News

INDIO – Indio Police are looking for fivemen possibly all Hispanic whothey say shot an Indio man Wednesday night. According to police the victim, in his early 20’s,was outside mobile home unit #318 at the Arabian Gardens Mobile Home Park near Clinton and Fred Warning around 8:30p.m. He’s listed in stable condition, today. The suspects

SANTA ANA -Authorities say a suspected serial rapist has been captured in Austria after his DNA was linked through Interpol to three cases in Southern California. The Orange County district attorney’s office says Ali Achekzai, a 32-year-old Afghan national, was arrested this week in Salzburg. Achekzai is charged with raping two women in Orange and

BEAUMONT -The California Highway Patrol will be stepping up patrols in the San Gorgonio Pass in response to an increased number of fatal crashes in the area, an officer said today. Since January, there have been seven fatal crashes that killed eight people in the pass, according to the CHP. “The San Gorgonio Pass averaged

SACRAMENTO -The California Senate has approved creating a government-run health care system, ignoring a veto pledge from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Supporters say it is time for state legislatures to lead as the Obama administration’s national health care proposal falters in Congress. Thursday’s move in the nation’s most populous state comes after Massachusetts voters changed the

NEW YORK -“Catcher in the Rye” author J.D. Salinger has died at age 91 in New Hampshire. The author’s son, in a statement from the author’s literary representative, says Salinger died of natural causes at his home. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H. “The Catcher

PALM DESERT -Witnesses say a crosswalk guard was hit by a car outside Lincoln Elementary School, which is at Portola and Magnesia Falls. The guard appears to beok. Police say the driver may have had a medical condition, which led to the crash. There’s no word right now on the driver’s condition.

PALM DESERT – For five days, Doctor Raul Ruiz from Coachella, has lived in a small tent helping thousands in a city sized homeless camp. He quickly came face to face with the horrors working in Port-Au-Prince’s General Hospital. “Right across the street there was a nursing school that completely collapsed and I was told

RIVERSIDE -Despite starting the fiscal year with a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is on track to end the year in the black, provided an unforeseen event or the county’s financial woes don’t get in the way. According to sheriff’s officials, a hiring freeze, employee attrition and a cap on promotions, as

PALM SPRINGS -Palm Springs will celebrate the opening of a U.S. Census Bureau office today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Councilman Chris Mills will cut the ribbon at the 2 p.m. event, which will be held at the new Census Bureau headquarters at 3700 E. Tachevah Drive. The councilman will also urge residents to fill out

RIVERSIDE -The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians announced today that they are contributing $1.7 million to the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Tribe officials said the donation will be provided in a $1.5 million donation to the American Red Cross and a $200,000 gift to Doctors

LOS ANGELES -The so-called “Onion Field” killer was scheduled to appear at a parole hearing Wednesday, despite vocal opposition from the Los Angeles Police Department. Gregory Powell was convicted of abducting LAPD officers Ian Campbell and his partner, Karl Hettinger, in 1963. The officers had stopped Powell and another man for a traffic violation in

INDIO – It’s a day full of surprise for Stefanie Riggins. First she wins KESQ’s Golden Apple award then comes and even bigger award. Her husband is the one who nominated her, by writing a heartfelt letter about how much she means to him, his kids and the students. “The kids love her, the parents

PALM DESERT – As soon as Richard Riggs of Palm Desert learned Toyota was suspending production and sales of 8 models involved in the recall for sticking gas pedals that can cause run-away acceleration, hehad had enough. He paid 1-10 Toyota a visit asking for a full refund on his 3 year lease on a

KESQ.com News Services RIVERSIDE -More than four dozen people with alleged ties to two rival street gangs engaged in a bloody years-long war in Riverside were arrested today in an operation aimed at taking down the gangs’ leadership. “Operation Promise,” a coordinated federal, state and local law enforcement sweep, targeted the Eastside Riva and the

LOS ANGELES -Zelda Rubinstein, the diminutive actress with the high-pitched voice who rose to fame with her role as a psychic trying to rid a suburban family’s home of demons in all three “Poltergeist” films, died today in Los Angeles. Rubinstein, 76, died of natural causes at Barlow Respiratory Hospital. Her agent, Eric Stevens, told

INDIO – John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio is one of 13 in the state facing fines of $25,000 or more for code violations that endangered patient safety. The California Department of Public Health announced the penalties Wednesday, which were each $25,000 or more. The hospitals can appeal within 10 days, or submit plans

Do you have an eye for news? If you can bring compelling coverage of stories happening in the desert to television and the internet, let’s talk. KESQ-TV is looking for two Photojournalists.Qualified candidates will work together with a reporter and independently to cover local news events and shooting video that our viewers want to watch.

PALM SPRINGS – City officials announced the re-opening of Indian Canyon Drive and Araby Drive, this afternoon, after being closed for nearly a week. The roads were covered in inches of mud and debris that washed through the area during last week’s rain storms. Stay with News Channel 3 and KESQ.com for the latest.

WASHINGTON -President Obama will ask Congress Wednesday night to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bars gays and lesbians from openly serving in, White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod told CNN. The request will be included in the president’s State of the Union address, Axelrod said. The issue has been a source