Camp Pendleton gate. File photo A member of the U.S. Marine Corps died at Camp Pendleton this week while taking part in “routine military operations,” the service reported Wednesday. The service member — who belonged to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing — died about 5 p.m. Tuesday, according the Marine Corps. Details on the circumstances of the fatality remained unavailable Wednesday afternoon. The identity of the deceased Marine was withheld pending family notification ..read more

SuperLotto and other California Lottery tickets. Photo by Alexander Nguyen A ticket with five numbers, but missing the Mega number, in Wednesday evening’s SuperLotto Plus drawing was sold at a liquor store in El Cajon and is worth $38,218, the California Lottery announced. There were no tickets sold with all six numbers, pushing the estimated jackpot for Saturday’s drawing to $30 million. The numbers drawn Wednesday night were 13, 14, 27, 38, 45 and the Mega number was 23. The jackpot was $29 million. The drawing was the 23rd since the last time a ticket with all six numbers was sold. The odds ..read more

Take a stroll through the streets of Little Italy for ArtWalk. Photo credit: @ArtWalkSD via Facebook Mission Fed ArtWalk, the largest and longest running fine arts festival in Southern California, is back for its 40th year, celebrating both visual and performing arts. Head to Little Italy at 11 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday to participate in community art projects and view, experiment with or create with new mediums. “We believe art has the power to connect communities, cultivate new artistic talent and create a better quality of life for all through cultural enrichment,” said Cur ..read more

Pro-Palestine Protesters at USC. Courtesy OnScene.tV Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters held an “occupation” of the University of Southern California‘s Alumni Park Wednesday, issuing demands for the university to end ties with Israel and Israeli-tied investments, and the gathering devolved into chaos late in the day when police began working to disperse the crowd. By early evening, 93 people who refused to leave the park after multiple dispersal orders were arrested peacefully, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The occupation action added USC to a growing list of college camp ..read more

Asylum-seekers and refugees wait for information from volunteer groups after being dropped off by Border Patrol at the Iris Avenue Transit Center in San Ysidro. Courtesy Onscene.TV San Diego’s robust migrant advocacy networks have an opportunity to serve as an example for the rest of the country for how to offer care and support to refugees and asylum-seekers, say supporters. But the region is frittering away the opportunity to do so, say immigration advocates with the California Welcoming Task Force, a cross-border coalition that coordinates groups with government at all levels to help people ..read more

Reggie Bush talks with colleagues during the pre-game show for the Big Ten Conference Championship football game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Dec. 7, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire) The Heisman Trust announced Wednesday that it is returning the Heisman Trophy to Reggie Bush, who won the award in 2005 while playing for USC. The trust has decided on a formal “reinstatement” of the trophy to the Helix High alum in response to what it calls “enormous changes in the college football landscape.” Bush, who w ..read more

Christina Bobb of San Diego and One America News promises in book “The inside story of the 2020 election.” Times of San Diego photo illustration Former San Diegan Christina Bobb is reportedly among 18 people indicted by a grand jury on charges that they took part in an Arizona fake elector scheme to re-elect then-President Donald Trump in 2020. Charges against Arizona “fake electors.” (PDF) The state’s attorney general announced the indictment Wednesday, with court papers listing a “former U.S. president,” presumably Trump, as an unindicted co-conspirator. La Jolla’s Harry Litman said on X: “N ..read more

A Falck ambulance at a crime scene. Courtesy OnScene.TV The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office has publicly identified a 19-year-old man who was killed last week in a traffic crash on a remote rural road near Harrah’s Resort Southern California. Miguel Angel Zuniga of Valley Center was making a left turn from West Tribal Road onto Valley Center Road when the Toyota Camry he was driving was struck by a southbound Ford Expedition shortly before 8:30 p.m. Friday. West Tribal Road Zuniga died at the scene of the accident, the medical examiner’s office reported. The driver of the Expedi ..read more

Federal courthouse in downtown San Diego. Photo by Chris Stone A Long Beach man who trafficked two young girls to the San Diego area to work as prostitutes was sentenced this week to nine years in federal prison. Deonathan Abdul Gaston, 26, transported the 15 and 16 year old to San Diego last summer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said Gaston was stopped by National City police on Aug. 13 “in a high-crime area known for prostitution,” and police did not let him drive away because he didn’t have a driver’s license on him. He called his “girlfriend” to come pick up the car ..read more

A courtroom gavel. Photo via Wikimedia Commons A man gunned down a young couple and a toddler in Normal Heights nearly 25 years ago over about $30 worth of methamphetamine, a prosecutor argued Wednesday, while a defense attorney said there was no evidence his client committed the shooting outside of the word of untrustworthy witnesses. Sergio Lopez Contreras, 45, is charged with first-degree murder for the Sept. 4, 2000, shootings of Michael Plummer, 20; Plummer’s girlfriend, Adah Pearson, 18; and Plummer’s nephew, Julio Rangel Jr., who was about 22 months old. Prosecutors argue the shooting ..read more