Porterville police dog dies after patrol car’s air conditioning shuts down

Mathers received public backlash after she shared the photo of the naked woman inside the gym’s locker…

Decaying carcass of 22-ton whale just won’t leave Orange County coast

For the fourth time this week, Orange County authorities Thursday towed a dead 22-ton humpback whale out to sea after it floated too close to shore.

Lifeguards saw the decaying carcass a few miles off Cotton’s Point beach in San Clemente and decided they needed to intervene or risk the late mammal…

Woman accused of killing one dog with speaker cord, torturing others

A woman charged with felony animal torture is set to stand trial later this month.

The Sacramento Bee reports Friday that 23-year-old Kayla Wright will go on trial on July 28 in Sacramento Superior Court.

Authorities claim Wright was responsible for wrapping a speaker cord around a dog’s neck,…

What’s the dollar value of ocean resources?

The open ocean around San Diego, Hawaii and Peru generates at least $17-billion worth of resources each year, according to a study by San Diego researchers.

Published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, the study calculated values for items sold on the market, such as fish, but also quantified…

Fresno police break ranks with other departments by releasing shooting video from body cameras

The cellphone video shows a man’s life ending violently at the hands of Fresno police officers, who shoot him twice as he lies on the ground.

There are no words exchanged, no why – only the brutal end.

The recording, filmed by a bystander from a distance, fueled protests and prompted calls for…

Nearly 1 in 4 students at this L.A. high school migrated from Central America – many without their parents

Gaspar Marcos stepped off the 720 bus into early-morning darkness in MacArthur Park after the end of an eight-hour shift of scrubbing dishes in a Westwood restaurant.

He walked toward his apartment, past laundromats fortified with iron bars and scrawled with graffiti, shuttered stores that sold…

Newport increases watering days to 3 while still requiring conservation

Newport Beach water customers will soon be able to irrigate outdoors three days a week instead of two, but they’ll still have to conserve.

The City Council voted 6 to 0 this week to move the city to Level 2 of its water conservation plan, which restricts outdoor watering to before 9 a.m. or after…

California’s students will soon learn more LGBT history in schools

California’s students will soon be learning more about LGBT people and their struggles after state education officials voted to include contributions from the community in history and social science instruction.

The California State Board of Education on Thursday voted unanimously on a new History-Social…

San Diego’s dream trolley line extension getting closer to reality

A new trolley line for San Diego is getting closer to realty.

The California Coastal Commission has approved a permit for the planned Mid-Coast Trolley, a mark of progress that follows action in Washington that is expected to provide funds to pay for a new tracks and stations between Old Town and…

Woman claims she broke ankle on new L.A. skyscraper slide

 A woman claims in a lawsuit that she suffered a broken ankle on a recently opened glass-enclosed slide attached to the exterior of a downtown Los Angeles skyscraper.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday against building owner OUE Skyspace LLC and a concession company claims negligence, City News Service…

Carolyn See, award-winning Southern California writer, dies at 82

Carolyn See, an author, teacher and colorful woman of letters whose scrappy humor and survivor’s wisdom spiced her novels about the disaster-prone fantasyland that was her California, has died. She was 82.

She died Wednesday in Santa Monica of cancer, said her daughter Lisa See.

Awarded the L.A….

A catastrophic oil train derailment in Oregon raises fears on Central Coast

Arlene Burns, the mayor of a teensy Oregon town on the Columbia River, was speaking into a bullhorn in a park here the other day, telling a crowd about what happened when a mile-long train loaded with crude oil derailed in Mosier last month.

Sixteen of 96 cars toppled from the tracks. Four exploded….

Los Angeles County proposal to let landowners use hauled-in water worries environmentalists

Los Angeles County is considering a controversial plan to spur housing development in rural unincorporated areas by allowing property owners to haul in drinking water if no other source is available.

If adopted, the initiative would make 42,677 parcels in the northern one-third of the county potentially…

‘Get to green:’ California wants to grade school performance with colors instead of a single number

For the last 15 years, a number between 200 and 1,000 told parents in California how good their child’s school was.

Up next: They might have to decipher performance through a series of colored boxes.

California is in the process of redefining its system for rating public schools, in a way that…

Fresno police break ranks with other departments by releasing shooting video from body cameras

By releasing police body camera footage of a controversial shooting, Fresno’s police chief has gotten in the middle of a fierce debate about whether the public should have access to these videos.

Law enforcement agencies across the nation are equipping their officers with body cameras in an effort…

Search for gunman yields assault victim instead at Van Ness Elementary

Police converged on the neighborhood around Van Ness Avenue Elementary on Wednesday afternoon thinking they were looking for a gunman and found instead a school employee who was the victim of an assault on the campus.

The report about a man with a gun near the Larchmont-area campus came in about…

Firefighters battling brush fire near Lake Sherwood
Ventura County firefighters were battling a brush fire in the Lake Sherwood area Wednesday evening. The Sherwood fire has burned about 78 acres. No mandatory evacuations have been ordered. https://twitter.com/actprogressive/status/753426293211951104 The Los Angeles Fire Department said the smoke…

Rescuers rappel down cliff to save stranded puppy in San Diego County

A puppy that fell into a Pauma Valley ravine was rescued over the weekend by an animal control officer who rappelled down a cliff to get to the dog.

A worker at an avocado grove off North Mesa Drive first heard the 2-month old shepherd-mix pup crying Saturday morning about 8:30 a.m., said Denise…

Former L.A. Unified teacher Rafe Esquith can continue with his lawsuit, judge rules

A popular former Los Angeles Unified teacher who was investigated and fired after allegations of inappropriate behavior will be allowed to continue his defamation lawsuit against the school district, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Rafe Esquith, a longtime teacher at Hobart…

The best of our Facebook Q&A on our second OxyContin investigation

We’re back with the second part of our investigation into OxyContin. Only this time, we reported on dirty doctors, shady prescriptions and an illegal L.A. drug ring that pumped more than a million OxyContin pills onto the black market — and how the pharmaceutical company watched it unfold.

A Los…

Amid crime worries, police explain how to play ‘Pokemon Go’ safely

The “Pokemon Go” craze has players roaming the streets in large numbers – and that has led to some brushes with law enforcement, both good and bad.

Several robberies have been reported, including one in which a man stole the smartphone of a teenage brother and sister in San Francisco. Two men focused…

More than 1 million OxyContin pills ended up in the hands of criminals and addicts. What the drugmaker knew

In the waning days of summer in 2008, a convicted felon and his business partner leased office space on a seedy block near MacArthur Park. They set up a waiting room, hired an elderly physician and gave the place a name that sounded like an ordinary clinic:  Lake Medical.

The doctor began prescribing…

Woman driving with her 15-month-old son is shot several times

A woman driving down a street in Compton with her 15-month-old son in the back seat was shot several times Saturday night in an incident authorities believe is gang-related.

Police found the 26-year-old victim in her car in the 1000 block of Grandee Avenue about 10:20 p.m., said Lt. Nabeel Mitry…

SUV driver sought in Santa Ana hit-and-run that left 3 women dead

Authorities are searching for the driver of an SUV who struck and killed three young women in Santa Ana early Sunday before fleeing the scene.

The hit-and-run crash occurred on Hazard Avenue, west of Harbor Boulevard, about 12:20 a.m., said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department.

…

Santa Clarita Valley brush fire grows to 1,100 acres and is 49% contained

About 700 firefighters on Sunday continued to battle a brush fire in the Santa Clarita Valley that has grown to more than 1,100 acres, officials said.

The Sage fire is 49% contained, said Inspector Gustavo Medina of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

A small home caught fire in the burn area…

Meet the new L.A. Unified student board member
It’s hard to be an effective politician when your vote doesn’t even count. Karen Calderon has a plan for that. The newest Los Angeles Unified School District student board member – elected by other high school student leaders in the district – will have a voice at school board meetings. At 16,…

Commerce councilwoman faces state’s largest-ever penalty against a local elected official

California election regulators are proposing the largest-ever financial penalty against a local elected official in the case of City of Commerce Councilwoman Tina Baca Del Rio, who is accused of illegally transferring campaign funds into her personal bank account, among other violations.

Baca Del…

Man arrested in deadly attacks on homeless in San Diego is released

A man suspected of killing three transients and leaving a fourth for dead was released Monday because authorities said they did not have enough evidence to keep him in custody.

Detectives over the weekend had gathered and reviewed witness statements and sifted through physical evidence from four…

Four in 10 UC students do not have a consistent source of high-quality, nutritious food, survey says

UC Irvine student Chris Tafoya admits that he’s often hungry and doesn’t eat the nutritious foods he should.

On his worst days, the 20-year-old Los Angeles native said he would simply go to sleep early to quiet the hunger pangs.

Other times, he would eat instant ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner….

Police watched from a distance as Black Lives Matter marched through Inglewood; mayor says it worked

Something was missing Sunday night when more than 1,000 people marched through the streets of Inglewood as part of a Black Lives Matter protest against police violence.

There were no police officers in the middle of the action, no rows of cruisers trying to block where the protesters could move….

Anaheim police release 911 call in the custody death of a homeless man

Anaheim police Monday released a recording of the 911 call that led officers to a 32-year-old homeless man who died following an altercation with police.

Fermin Vincent Valenzuela died Sunday after he was removed from life support at West Anaheim Medical Center, according to Garo Mardirrosian,…

Remembering the horrible day in 1943 when a plane crashed onto O.C. beach, killing 4 children

On a warm June afternoon in 1943, the Silva and Borrego families imagined a visit to Huntington Beach would be a typical day on the sand and in the water.

They never imagined the day would change their lives forever.

As the families played on Huntington State Beach, a P-38 fighter plane flying…

Former rebel Serb leader Goran Hadzic dies at 58

The former leader of rebel Serbs in Croatia, Goran Hadzic, has died. He was 58.

Hadzic, who had brain cancer, died Tuesday at the Hospital Center in Novi Sad in northern Serbia, the hospital said.

He was arrested in 2011 and faced war crimes charges for his leadership of a campaign to carve off…

TV sports anchor testifies about shooting at his San Diego home: ‘I was in absolute terror’

Kyle Kraska opened a manila envelope while on the witness stand Tuesday. Inside was a letter he’d written to the man now accused of trying to kill him.

“This letter was in my car the day Mr. Montana shot me,” the CBS News 8 sportscaster said, pausing to compose himself. “And it’s got a lot of [blood]…

Orange County reaches settlement with sexual assault victims in Bustamante case

Orange County supervisors Tuesday approved a settlement agreement with two women who were victims of former public works manager Carlos Bustamante, who is serving a one-year jail sentence after pleading guilty to sex crimes last December.

Officials agreed to pay $500,000 each to Lorena Martinez…

In a changing Boyle Heights, a tiny cantina favored by locals reopens to cheers

The curtain blowing over the bar door is different, the counter new and the walls freshly painted. But the clientele – working class, mostly Mexican immigrants – of the little Boyle Heights cantina remains the same.

Las Palomas looks pretty good for a place that returned from the dead.

In February,…

Crackdown on ‘Bay Boys’ surfer gang begins after years of complaints

For years, there have been complaints about a so-called surfer gang in the Lunada Bay area of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Beachgoers and witnesses have accused the Bay Boys, surfer gang some of whom are reportedly middle-aged, of bombarding outsiders with dirt clods, slashing their car tires and…

D.B. Cooper alive and living in San Diego? A new documentary makes that suggestion

A four-hour documentary that aired on the History Channel this week suggests the infamous airplane hijacker known worldwide as D.B. Cooper may be living out a quiet retirement in a San Diego condominium.

The documentary, titled “D.B. Cooper: Case Closed?,” is the work of Ventura County filmmaker…

William H McNeill, prize-winning world historian, dead at 98

William H. McNeill, the prize-winning scholar who wove the stories of civilizations worldwide into the landmark “The Rise of the West” and described the power of disease to direct the course of history in “Plagues and People,” died Friday. He was 98.

McNeill wrote more than a dozen books, notably…

Inside an L.A. OxyContin ring. What the drugmaker knew

In the waning days of summer in 2008, a convicted felon and his business partner leased office space on a seedy block near MacArthur Park. They set up a waiting room, hired an elderly physician and gave the place a name that sounded like an ordinary clinic:  Lake Medical.

The doctor began prescribing…

How black-market OxyContin spurred a town’s descent into crime, addiction and heartbreak

For years, Jevon “Goldie” Lawson dealt crack on the steps of a 7-Eleven in a rough part of this blue-collar town. He smoked the rocks he didn’t sell and often appeared as strung out as his customers.

But in 2008, he moved into a $400,000 house, started driving a champagne-colored Humvee, and made…

The ambush killings of 4 CHP officers that changed California policing in 1970

The massacre that left five Dallas police officers dead comes 46 years after a notorious ambush in Santa Clarita that left four California Highway Patrol officers dead.

The CHP killings, known as the Newhall Incident, changed police training and brought a number of memorials over the years. Here’s…

State settles with online charter accused of financial violations

The state attorney general’s office has reached a settlement with an online charter school it had accused of false advertising, misleading parents and inadequate instruction.