News

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

NEW YORK -It’s ugly news for all the fans of “Ugly Betty.” ABC says the series will be canceled after this season. A critical and popular success with its premiere in fall 2006, “Ugly Betty” has struggled in recent years with audience erosion. Based on a Colombian telenovela, the warmhearted dramedy stars America Ferrera as

INDIAN WELLS -Emirates, the award-winning global airline of the United Arab Emirates, has become a premier sponsor and the official airline of the BNP Paribas Open, the most attended tennis tournament in the world outside of the four major events, to be held March 8-21, 2010, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, it was announced

SAN FRANCISCO -Testimony has ended in a federal case challenging California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Lawyers for the sponsors of Proposition 8 tentatively rested their case Wednesday after introducing materials from the 2008 election campaign. The trial is exploring whether states that deny gays and lesbians the right to wed are violating the U.S. Constitution.

BEAUMONT -A predawn crash today that killed a motorist and severely his passenger on state Route 79 near Beaumont was blamed on unsafe speed, the California Highway Patrol reported. The crash, north of County Landill Road, occurred about 3 a.m., according to CHP Officer Scott Beauchene. The driver was speeding south on the highway when

CHICAGO -All buildings on Northwestern University’s Chicago campus have reopened as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The buildings were placed on lockdown after someone reported seeing a man with a gun on the 11th floor of the Rubloff Building, 375 East Chicago Avenue. Police searched the building and determined the building was safe. No one matching

WASHINGTON – ABC News has leared that one-time presidential contender John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth are now legally separated. The news comes after John admitted last week that he fathered a child with a former campaign worker while he was still married. ABC News is still working to find out more about the situation.

SAN FRANCISCO -Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPad as the company’s “latest creation,” saying the tablet-style device is more intimate than a laptop. Jobs made the appearance Wednesday in his trademark jeans and black turtleneck and opened with a history and update on Apple mobile devices. No price or information on availability was immediately