U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler are demanding the federal Department of Justice intervene to address a litany of sexual abuse allegations and other wrongdoing in Los Angeles County’s juvenile camps. More than 600 former detainees have filed lawsuits since December 2022 alleging they were sexually abused or harassed while in custody in the county’s juvenile facilities. The allegations date back as far as 1972. In a letter Tuesday, April 23, to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the California senators asked why the department stopped monitoring the camps after discovering abuses in t ..read more

Tellers and security guards recounted the terrifying moments an apparent robber — who police later identified as a 71-year-old man who served four decades behind bars for previous bank robberies — stormed into two San Fernando Valley banks late last year, threatening them with violence if they didn’t comply with his demands, they said in a hearing inside the Van Nuys criminal courthouse on Tuesday, April 23. After wrapping up a morning meeting with her employees, Nancy Esqueda was walking toward the front entrance of the Chase Bank she managed in Sun Valley on Dec. 21, 2023, when she saw her s ..read more

John Eastman, a former dean of Chapman University’s law school and an advisor to former President Donald Trump, was indicted by an Arizona grand jury for his role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Eleven Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump beat Joe Biden in Arizona in the election also were indicted, as were six others who were not named. Eastman’s name was redacted from the indictment, as was former Trump advisor Rudy Giuliani’s, but they are identifiable in the indictment. They were charged Wednesday with conspiracy ..read more

Elliott Tramel Nowden, 45, seen above in a booking photo provided by the Los Angeles Police Department, was charged Wednesday, April 24, 2024, with murder in the stabbing death of a woman who boarded the Metro B (Red) Line train in North Hollywood on Monday, April 22. He has a prior conviction for attacking someone on a Metro train, according to court records. (Photo courtesy of the LAPD) A man suspected of fatally stabbing a woman on a Metro B (Red) Line train in the Studio City area — and who has a prior conviction for attacking someone on a Metro train — was charged Wednesday with murder. E ..read more

Disproportionate inequities in access to health care, housing, nutrition and education in Los Angeles County communities impacts health outcomes for residents depending largely on where they live, according to a new report released today from the L.A. County Department of Public Health. The data collected in DPH’s Community Health Profiles provides information on over 100 indicators affecting health and well-being for 179 communities within L.A. County. The profiles emphasize the role local environments play in influencing health outcomes. The data is intended to fuel improvements in community ..read more

EL SEGUNDO — The Lakers’ Wednesday morning film session “stung” according to star forward LeBron James. Not only because the Lakers had to relive and rewatch themselves blow a 20-point third-quarter lead before Jamal Murray hit a game-winning shot at the final buzzer to seal the Nuggets’ 101-99 victory in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Monday night in Denver. for Thursday’s Game 3 of their first-round playoffs series against the Denver Nuggets, in which they trail 0-2, But because the film session showed the Lakers not taking advantage of several easy scoring opportunities, cont ..read more

As the dust and glitter settles from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Stagecoach Country Music Festival steps into the spotlight at the Empire Polo Club in Indio on April 28-30. And for the second consecutive year, those unable to attend in person can tune in to the live stream via the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and Prime Video, bringing the excitement straight to the television screens. The Stagecoach live stream, sponsored by American Express, e.l.f. Skin, T-Mobile and Universal Pictures’ “The Fall Guy,” will enable fans to tune into sets starting at 4 p.m. on the streaming ..read more

ANAHEIM — As José Suarez trudged from the mound to the dugout, Angel Stadium fans let him know how they felt about the start to his season by showering him with boos. The Angels’ left-hander entered in a close game and turned it into a not-so-close game, allowing four runs in the sixth inning of the Angels’ 6-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon. Suarez now has a 9.20 ERA in 14⅔ innings over eight games. It’s a small sample, to be sure, but the results have been consistently poor. This comes on the heels of a 2023 season in which Suarez had an 8.29 ERA, accumulating most of t ..read more

Like the salty fermented yeast spread called Vegemite, zaatar is a love-it-or-hate-it food. Vegemite is the very essence of Australian cuisine. Walk into a kitchen in Sydney, and you’ll see not just the small jars of Vegemite that tourists often take home as a souvenir, telling the kids “They eat this stuff like we do peanut butter. And yes, you can spit it out if you want; it’s kinda gross!” Over there, people buy Vegemite by the bucketful. They consume it by the bucketful. It’s a hard taste to acquire. Vegemite is something you’ve got to have grown up with. If you’ve grown up sprinkling zaat ..read more

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday filed charges against a suspected gang member accused of shooting a motor deputy in the back who was waiting at a red light in West Covina. In addition to attempted murder of a peace officer, Raymundo Duran, 47, of Covina was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and being a felon in possession of a firearm, District Attorney George Gascon said during a press conference in Los Angeles. Duran was also charged with the allegation that he intentionally discharged a firearm. If convicted as charged, Gascon s ..read more