SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KESQ) – Border Patrol officers intercepted eight different cocaine smuggling attempts at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry this month, preventing more than 240 pounds of the drug from entering the country, the agency announced. The first three seizures occurred March 4 at around 2 p.m., when an empty commercial tractor-trailer driven
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LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara “provisionally” approved State Farm General’s request for an emergency 22% increase in its homeowners insurance rate today — but only if the company can justify it with data in a public hearing scheduled for next month. Lara first turned down a rate hike last month, after
Continue ReadingBy Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — A new lawsuit from Democratic attorneys general in 20 states and the District of Columbia alleges this week’s mass layoffs at the Department of Education are gutting the agency as a way to implement an unlawful plan by President Donald Trump to dismantle the department. The states accuse the
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – In the heart of California’s farmland, an unseen crisis is unfolding—one that could have devastating consequences for agriculture and food production. Commercial bee populations are dwindling at an alarming rate, and without these vital pollinators, an entire industry hangs in the balance. As spring unfolds, almond orchards across California’s Central
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LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – A transgender woman sued Los Angeles County, the Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Robert Luna today, alleging her civil rights were violated when she was housed with male inmates in the Twin Towers jail after her 2023 arrest despite having fully developed breasts and other feminine attributes. Coretta Simo Love Monk’s
Continue ReadingBy Mary Gilbert and Karina Tsui, CNN (CNN) — A powerful storm that dropped drenching rain on flood-prone Southern California is raising concern among forecasters that it could produce a dangerous, widespread outbreak of tornadoes, damaging winds and fires along with a blizzard as it crosses the entire United States in the coming days. The
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LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – Islamophobia reached an all-time high nationwide last year, with California leading the country in anti-Muslim discrimination complaints, according to a report released today by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. According to CAIR’s 2025 Civil Rights report, the organization received a total of 8,658 complaints nationwide, the highest number recorded since the
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LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – Health officials today reported the first case of measles in Los Angeles County in 2025, affecting a county resident who recently traveled through Los Angeles International Airport. In collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, passengers assigned to specific seats who may have been exposed on China Airlines flight CAL8/CI8
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BIG BEAR, Calif. (KESQ) – Authorities positively identified the remains of an off-duty Forest Service firefighter last seen nearly five years ago in the Big Bear area. Carlos Alexander Baltazar, 35, a member of the United States Forest Service Interagency Hotshot Crew, was reported missing by family on September 24, 2020. His vehicle and backpack
Continue ReadingBy Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN (CNN) — The California governor’s race isn’t waiting for former Vice President Kamala Harris to make up her mind whether she’s going to run. Former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, who represented Orange County in the US House for three terms, announced Tuesday she’s entering the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom,
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SANTA ANA, Calif. (KESQ) – A mistrial was declared today in the murder trial of a 74-year-old Orange County Superior Court judge accused of shooting his wife in their Anaheim Hills home, with jurors unable to break a deadlock on their eighth day of deliberations. The panel split 11-1 on a second-degree murder charge soon
Continue ReadingBy Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Los Angeles (CNN) — Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Monday he would not support Erik and Lyle Menendez’s efforts to be released from prison because he believes they have maintained a decades-long lie that the 1989 murders of their parents were committed in self-defense. Hochman has asked the
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By Shania Shelton and David Wright, CNN (CNN) — Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said transgender athletes playing in women’s sports is “an issue of fairness” in a break from most Democrats’ position on the topic. “Well, I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue
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LOS ANGELES, Calif (KESQ) – A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for running what federal prosecutors call a transnational drug ring that shipped hundreds of pounds of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and elsewhere, and for allegedly orchestrating multiple murders,
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A 21-year-old gang member was suspected of having sexual relations with a juvenile, and authorities today were searching for possible additional victims. Juan Nieto-Sanchez of Riverside, is alleged to be a high-ranking Riverside County gang member known as “Sleepy,” according to the Riverside Police Department. Detectives believe Nieto-Sanchez contacted minors through
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KESQ) – Vaping does not help smokers quit their vice, a study published today by UC San Diego researchers found, refuting a common misconception among tobacco and e-cigarette users. The report, published Wednesday in the academic journal JAMA by scientists at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science
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PASADENA, Calif. (KESQ) – Los Angeles County and the city of Pasadena both filed lawsuits today against Southern California Edison alleging the utility’s equipment sparked the deadly Eaton Fire that scorched more than 14,000 acres and destroyed thousands of structures. “The county’s complaint against SCE alleges that witnesses, photos, and videos indicate the fire started
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A 39-year-old trucker accused of sexually assaulting a Jurupa Valley girl was charged today with forcible rape of a minor and other offenses. Nestor Fabian Gonzalez was arrested Friday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation. Along with rape, Gonzalez is charged with sexual battery and annoying a child under
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KESQ) – San Diego has joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s threats to withhold federal grant funding from jurisdictions that won’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. The lawsuit originally filed in Northern California last month by a coalition of cities and counties was amended last week to add several new
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KESQ) – In a contentious and emotional hearing, the Los Angeles City Council today denied former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley’s appeal of her firing by Mayor Karen Bass over what Bass characterized as leadership failures related to January’s deadly Palisades fire. The council voted 13-2 to sustain Crowley’s termination after she gave
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