A gang-affiliated drug trafficker who joined more than a dozen others in acquiring and selling methamphetamine throughout the Inland Empire and elsewhere was bound for federal prison today to serve a 15-year sentence. Javier Xavier Rodriguez, 57, of Riverside pleaded guilty in March to multiple felony counts, including conspiracy to import meth, possession of controlled
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The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 today to explore a pilot program to distribute fentanyl detection devices to residents at no cost. Council members voted to instruct the Office of Procurement and relative departments to report on such a program funded by the city’s opioid settlement account. Council members Monica Rodriguez and Hugo Soto-Martinez
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Gov. Gavin Newsom will put off making a decision on the Menendez brothers’ bid for clemency until incoming Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman reviews the nearly 35-year-old case, the Governor’s Office said today. “The governor respects the role of the district attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have
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A Knott’s Berry Farm ride got stuck for more than two hours today, leaving about two dozen riders suspended several stories in the air until park workers managed to manually lower the ride to the ground. The Sol Spin ride got stuck about 2 p.m. at the theme park at 8039 Beach Blvd., said Orange
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One Los Angeles County resident has died and at least one other has been sickened in a multi-state E.coli outbreak tied to organic carrots, health officials said today. The county Department of Public Health confirmed Monday it is investigating two local cases of E.coli linked to the outbreak of Grimmway Farms carrots. “One local case
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BRENTWOOD, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California city has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit alleging police used excessive force after a K-9 dog bit into a woman’s scalp during her arrest, requiring her to get more than 200 stitches and other treatment. Talmika Bates will receive $967,000 from the city
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POMONA, Calif. (AP) — Three people were hurt aboard a single-engine plane that crashed Sunday near a Southern California dragstrip where fans were gathered for the finals of a racing event, authorities said. At least two parked vehicles on the ground were struck when the Piper PA-32 crashed around 11:40 a.m. near the dragstrip in
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By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN (CNN) — The United States’ first known case of a more severe strain of mpox was confirmed in California, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday. The risk of clade I mpox to the public remains low, the agency said. The person diagnosed with clade I mpox had
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U.S. Coast Guard officials intercepted a boat carrying 21 migrants off the coast of Newport Beach, authorities said today. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Narwhal spotted the 34-foot boat Thursday evening outside Newport Harbor, and determined it was “operating suspiciously,” according to the Coast Guard. Coast Guard officials boarded the vessel around
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As expected, a 27-year-old man was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the hate crime killing of a gay former classmate in Foothill Ranch six years ago. Samuel Lincoln Woodward was convicted in July for the Jan. 3, 2018, fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein. The hate-crime enhancement
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A racist term for a Native American woman will be removed from nearly three dozen geographic features and place names on California lands, the state Natural Resources Agency announced Friday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022 signed a bill into law that bans use of the word “squaw” in future place
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Two convicted felons who attempted to kill a Hemet man in a gang-related attack tied to an unpaid debt stemming from methamphetamine distribution were sentenced today. Carl Ray Flores, 48, and Brian Ramiro Inocencio, 28, both of Moreno Valley, were each convicted last month of attempted murder, witness intimidation, conspiracy and firearm assault, along with
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HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected California’s lawsuit against the city of Huntington Beach over a local measure allowing officials to require voter identification at the polls. Orange County Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas ruled that existing state law does not block the local measure, which was approved by voters earlier
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CalMatters California’s offshore wind industry could be a casualty if President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his promise to sign an executive order to “end” the offshore wind industry. He cannot do it with the stroke of a pen. But Trump can deeply wound the state’s next-generation renewable energy source by cutting off funding just
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — California has seen its share of bears breaking into cars. But bears caught on camera entering luxury cars tipped off insurers that something wasn’t quite right. In what it has dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” the California Insurance Department said four Los Angeles residents were arrested Wednesday, accused of defrauding three insurance
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By Dean Fioresi, Matthew Rodriguez Click here for updates on this story LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A group of Los Angeles County residents were arrested after they allegedly staged bear attacks using a costume in order to receive payouts from their car insurance providers, investigators say. The investigation, which was dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,”
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Several days after filing murder charges against a 30-year-old man suspected of killing a Brea couple, prosecutors today released additional details, saying the victims’ bodies were both burned, along with their two Tesla cars. Huanting Gong of Glendale was charged Thursday with two counts of murder with special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and
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Legendary Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela died from septic shock, according to a death certificate made public today. According to the document obtained by TMZ, secondary causes of the Dodger icon’s Oct. 22 death at age 63 were listed as “decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis” and “nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis.” The document also indicates that Valenzuela may have
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A history teacher at a high school in the Moreno Valley Unified School District is on administrative leave today following a profane-filled rant in class after Donald Trump won the election for president. The teacher called the president-elect a “rapist draft-dodging coward” during a lecture on Wednesday, the day after the election, in a video
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Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — One week after Election Day, control of the U.S. House rests on just over a dozen races where winners have not yet been determined. Nine states have at least one uncalled House race, some of which are so close they are headed to a recount. Then there’s California. About half
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