Southern California

An abandoned two-story church near downtown Los Angeles was in a largely smoldering fire around 6:25 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4. It is located at 720 W. Washington Blvd., University Park, which is in the South Los Angeles neighborhood. This building was once housed the first full-service mortuary in LA. Local people used to call this […]

The U.S. Coast Guard on Oct. 3 unloaded more than 11 tons of cocaine that was seized during an operation from late August to mid-September in international waters. The cocaine, which was found aboard eight suspected smuggling vessels in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico, Central America and South America, was estimated to […]

People in California who committed a felony that resulted in an accidental victim’s death may no longer be charged with murder under a new law. Some people who have already been convicted might also have their prison time reduced. Senate Bill 1437 “narrows the definition of felony murder” to allow certain inmates to avoid punishment […]

California voters will soon have an opportunity to decide whether to roll back a year-old gasoline-tax increase that opponents say will eliminate billions of dollars of funding to repair roads and other infrastructure. Proposition 6 will appear on the November ballot, and if it passes, it will eliminate transportation funding bill SB1, passed in April […]

A Southern California business and cultural organization recently held a screening of a heart-wrenching film about human trafficking to raise awareness of the issue. Asian Industry B2B hosted the viewing of the movie “Trafficked” and organized a panel discussion at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, California on Sept. 28, inviting the movie cast and […]

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.—Authorities say 18 people including children have been sickened—seven critically—by exposure to chemicals at a Southern California swimming pool. The Ventura County Fire Department says authorities were called to Daland Swim School in Thousand Oaks Oct 3. evening after several people reported they were having trouble breathing. Seven people were listed in critical […]

Proponents of an effort by the majority of California’s 58 counties to form a new state have set a second constitutional convention of delegates for Oct. 6 in Irvine. If such a secession effort is successful, as many as 51 counties would split from California. The “New California” entity would have a total population of […]

A bill allowing lawmakers to effectively live outside of their districts was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown on Sep. 29. Senate Bill 1250 protects California’s 120 state lawmakers from prosecution regarding their primary residences. According to California law, state legislators can only represent an area where his or her primary residence is located. […]

In a large, coordinated robbery scheme, a group of people wearing hoodies walked into Apple stores across 19 counties in California, grabbed as many products as possible within seconds, and fled the scene, according to authorities. The robbers, who often targeted Macbooks and iPhones on display, made off with more than $1 million worth of products. […]

18-year-old UCLA Bruins basketball star Shareef O’Neal announced on Sept. 28 that he’ll have to sit out next season to undergo major heart surgery. According to TMZ, O’Neal said he’s been getting checkups regularly, and the doctors found “a medical issue” regarding his heart. The son of former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal thanked UCLA’s medical […]

Elephant keepers at the San Diego Zoo got a big surprise when they came in to work Sept. 27 to find that Umngani (pronounced OOM-gah-nee), a 28-year-old elephant, had given birth to a healthy, 281-pound female calf—the biggest calf ever to be born at the zoo. While zoo keepers were expecting the birth, it came […]

GILROY, Calif.—The United States’ largest garlic grower is backing Trump’s trade policy on China, and says the move to impose tariffs will save the U.S. garlic industry. “We are very grateful to the U.S. trade representative for enacting tariffs on Chinese garlic,” said Ken Christopher, the executive vice president of Christopher Ranch, who identified himself […]

Los Angeles Police Department released new surveillance video on Sept. 26 of a burglary at Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig’s San Fernando Valley home, which marks the fourth time the baseball player’s property has been targeted in 18 months. The incident was reported around 8 p.m. on Sep. 18 in the 5300 block of Louise Avenue in […]

Actor Will Smith celebrated his 50th birthday on Sept. 25 by bungee jumping out of a helicopter into the Grand Canyon, with his whole family witnessing the epic moment. The actor live-streamed the jump on his YouTube channel, and Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, his sons Trey and Jaden, and his daughter Willow watched the 1000-foot […]

Supporters of the effort to repeal California’s 2017 gas tax in November have proposed another ballot initiative to end the state’s high-speed rail project for the 2020 election. The initiative would reform California’s transportation funding mechanism by ending the California High-Speed Rail, as well as conducting audits of government agencies and projects. The new ballot initiative, which […]

On Sept. 23, 7-year-old Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja performed the national anthem before a game between the L.A. Galaxy and the Seattle Sounders, which stunned the soccer enthusiasts attending the match. According to ABC News, the Galaxy announced that Malea had won the chance to sing the national anthem at the Sunday game on social media […]

Violent crimes in California have risen by more than 15 percent in the past four years, and faulty legislation is to blame, according to retired Judge Steven Bailey, who is seeking to become the state’s attorney general. In 2017, 178,553 cases of violent crime were reported statewide, up from 151,425 cases in 2014, based on […]

After being long criticized for excessive wait times and outdated technology, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is now facing an audit from the Department of Finance, according to an order from Governor Jerry Brown on Sep. 21. The audit will focus on the DMV’s current operations, information technology system, as well as providing recommendations to “improve DMV’s practices and […]

The annual “Silver Spur Awards” presented by Reel Cowboys has been known as “the Oscars for Westerns” since 1997. On Sept. 21, the 21st award ceremony was held in Studio City, Calif., and seven notable people involved in Westerns were awarded with the Silver Spur Award. This year’s honorees included Robert Carradine, Dawn Wells, Steve […]

Shin Lim, a 26-year-old magician, went out of his comfort zone for his performance at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre for America’s Got Talent season 13. He took home the $1 million prize on Sept. 19. During the quarterfinals, Lim took some advice from Simon Cowell to move away from performing small magic acts and go bigger, and also […]