Pair Gets Away With $45,000 After Tricking 75-Year-Old Woman in North Hollywood: LAPD

Authorities were seeking the public’s help Wednesday in finding a man and a woman accused of taking $45,000 from a 75-year-old in North Hollywood.

Sketches provided by the Los Angeles Police Department on Jan. 29, 2018 show a man and a woman accused of taking $45,000 from a North Hollywood resident.

The pair approached the female victim at a shopping center’s parking lot on Jan. 23 saying they needed help donating money to a local church, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department. They allegedly claimed receiving a large amount of money, and that they were about to leave town and could not take it with them.

The two convinced the victim to give them some “good faith money” to ensure that she wouldn’t keep the donation for herself, police said. They then reportedly drove the victim to multiple banks to withdraw cash.

The pair fled with $45,000 of the victim’s money after dropping her off at her home in North Hollywood, according to police.

Authorities described the man as light-skinned, 60 to 65 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing around 140 pounds.

They described his female partner as light-skinned, 30 to 35 years old, about 5 feet tall and weighing around 125 pounds. She spoke with an accent, police said.

Both appeared black or Hispanic, according to authorities. Police described their vehicle as a dark blue, 2016 to 2018 Toyota Camry.

Anyone with information can call detectives at 818-754-8377. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call 1-800-222-8477. Tipsters can also text a message beginning with “LAPD” to 274637.

 

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2 Men Suffer Heart Attacks at Ping Pong Tournament in Irvine

Two men suffered heart attacks within 90 minutes of each other at a ping pong tournament in Irvine over the weekend, and both survived after being treated by the same paramedics and doctor. Chip Yost reports from Irvine for the KTLA 5 News at 3 on Jan. 30, 2018.

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Palmdale Mayor Hit With New Charges in Corruption Case

Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford — who is awaiting arraignment on five felony counts accusing him of illegally receiving more than $60,000 a year from local consultants and failing to publicly disclose the income on economic disclosure statements — was charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor count of using an official position for personal gain.

Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford leaves court in Los Angeles after a 2017 hearing in his corruption case. (Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Ledford, 64, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, but his arraignment was postponed to March 28 at the defense’s request.

Ledford, who was elected to his 13th two-year term as Palmdale’s mayor in November 2016, was charged in June with one count each of conspiracy to commit a crime and conflict of interest, and three counts of perjury by declaration.

Prosecutors added four new felony counts of filing a false tax return against Kimberly Anne Shaw, 62, of Yorba Linda, who had been a consultant for the city of Palmdale for two decades. Shaw and co-defendant Susan Burgess Miller, 69, of Las Vegas, were charged last year with one count each of conspiracy, embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

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“Cupid’s Cash” Bean Bag Toss Sweepstakes

You could win a prize! Watch KTLA 5 weekdays between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., through February 28, for a code word, then text it to 515151 for your chance to win.  Message and data rates apply.

If you don’t want to text, you can enter below.  The 500th entry will win a prize, determined by a bean-bag toss by one of the Morning News team! Good luck!

The “Short Code” to enter below is 515151

Can’t see the entry form?  Try clicking here.

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Facebook Fails to Catch Fake ‘Supermoon’ Video as It Racked up 16 Million Views

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A Facebook Live video purportedly showing a live view of a “supermoon” over Greece but which in fact was a still image with wind sounds added was viewed more than 16 million times over four hours on Wednesday, apparently going undetected by the company even as some commenters pointed out that something fishy was going on.

A Facebook page shows a video purportedly showing a live view of a “supermoon” in Greece on Jan. 31, 2018. (Credit: CNN)

The stream featured a 9-year-old still picture of the moon over the Temple of Poseidon in the south of Greece. The image was overlaid with a current timestamp and the sound of wind was added in an attempt to make it seem live.

The stream appeared as the first video result in Facebook searches for “supermoon.”

The stream was posted on a Facebook page named “EBUZZ,” which despite posting only a handful of times since November 2016 has more than 250,000 followers.

The page appears to be run anonymously, and it does not offer a way to contact its administrators.

The video was removed from the platform by late Wednesday afternoon, but the EBUZZ page itself was still live as of Wednesday night. Facebook told CNN the video was removed for violating the site’s policies. It did not say why the page itself was not removed.

CNN determined that the photo used was taken by Chris Kotsiopoulos, an amateur photographer. Kotsiopoulos told CNN that he had seen instances where his photographs had been used without his permission before, but never in this way.

It’s unclear why the page would have faked a video in this way. The people who run it may have been looking to build up their follower base, which in turn could be used for other purposes, such as driving traffic to a website from which they make money.

While some viewers of the live stream appeared to fall for the video, commenting on how beautiful it was, other users were more skeptical.

Related: Fake Hurricane Irma videos are getting tens of millions of views on Facebook

“I’m curious how this is a ‘live’ feed when the same picture has been up for 3 hours with the moon in the same spot,” one wrote.

Many of the people counted in the 16 million views tally would likely not have seen enough of the stream to realize they were looking at a still image. Facebook counts a “video view” when a user watches a video for three seconds or more, including those times when people see the video for more than three seconds in their News Feed.

It’s not the first time a fake video of a high-profile event has racked up millions of views on Facebook.

In September, during Hurricane Irma, a video stream purportedly showing “shocking video” of the storm picked up more than 6 million views, though it actually contained video that was at least nine months old.

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Trump Re-Election Campaign Spent Nearly $2 of Every $10 on Legal Fees in 2017

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, which is up and running earlier than any of his predecessors in modern history, spent more than $3 million in legal fees in 2017.

President Donald Trump speaks at the swearing-in ceremony for Alex Azar, the new Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, on Jan. 29, 2018, at The White House. (Credit: Chris Kleponis / Getty Images)

The latest figures means nearly $2 of every $10 the campaign has spent last year has gone toward legal fees. And in the last three months of 2017, about 41 percent of the Trump campaign’s spending went toward legal fees, according to the campaign’s most recent Federal Election Commission filing.

It was not immediately clear how much of the campaign’s $1.1 million in legal spending the last quarter of 2017 was tied to the Russia investigation, but the Trump campaign has used some funds in the last year to comply with document requests related to the investigation and to foot some of the president’s eldest son’s legal bills.

While the Trump campaign’s spending on legal fees amounted to about 18 percent of its total spending, the legal expenses total a little more than 7 percent of its total fundraising haul for the year.

The figures came as the Trump campaign touted its continued reliance on small-dollar donors.

The campaign noted in a press release Wednesday that 98.6 percent of its fourth quarter contributions were drawn from donations of $200 or less.

“Our latest FEC report is just one reflection of a fundamental reality: grassroots support for President Trump is stronger than ever,” said Lara Trump, a senior adviser on the campaign and the President’s daughter-in-law. “Never before has a president’s campaign committee raised so much in his first year in office, and never has a president enjoyed so much support from small donors who continue to rally around him. President Trump is grateful to those hard working men and women who believe so strongly in his commitment to Make America Great Again that they continue to contribute to our campaign in record numbers.”

The Trump campaign’s legal spending in the last quarter of 2017 did not go to any firms believed to be representing the President’s eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., as in previous months last year.

The firm representing Trump’s former private attorney Michael Cohen, who was also a top surrogate during the campaign, was paid $214,467 by the campaign in the final months of 2017. But it was not immediately clear whether the payments were related to the firm’s representation of Cohen.

While the Republican National Committee, which has footed some of the president’s legal bills, draws on a walled-off legal fund to pay for its legal expenses, the Trump campaign draws its legal funding from its general campaign coffers — leaving both small and large donors to foot the bill.

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Facebook Reports First-Ever Decline in Daily Users in U.S., Canada

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Facebook reported on Wednesday its first-ever decline in daily users in the U.S. and Canada.

It had 184 million daily users in this region in the quarter, down from 185 million in the prior quarter.

The Facebook logo is visible in this 2016 file photo. (Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Mark Zuckerberg told investors that tweaks made to the content Facebook shows users has led to a 5 percent drop in the total amount of time users spend on the social network.

“In total, we made changes that reduced time spent on Facebook by roughly 50 million hours every day,” the Facebook CEO said in a statement with the company’s fourth quarter earnings report.

The decline is said to come from a decision to show fewer viral videos in the News Feed.

David Wehner, Facebook’s CFO, said on a conference call with analysts Wednesday that the North America user decline was caused by product tweaks and is not expected to be “an ongoing trend.”

The stock initially fell as much as 5 percent in after-hours trading following the report, a rare decline for a company that consistently outpaces Wall Street’s estimates. It later rebounded as the call commenced.

Facebook has rattled investors in recent months with a series of announcements in response the platform’s role in enabling fake news, filter bubbles and foreign meddling in the U.S. election.

On the conference call, Zuckerberg described 2017 as a “hard year” for the company.

“The world feels anxious and divided and that played out on Facebook,” he said. “We have a responsibility to fully understand how our services are used and to do everything we can to amplify the good.”

This month, Facebook announced plans to show users more content from friends in the News Feed and less from brands and publishers in an effort to boost the well-being of users. In particular, Zuckerberg targeted videos and articles that users consume passively, without commenting or sharing.

Zuckerberg previously said the change could lead to a drop in user engagement and time spent on the platform, but would ultimately improve the quality of the user experience.

The move raised concerns among investors about the impact on Facebook’s core advertising business. For now, Facebook continues to be an ad sales juggernaut.

Sales hit nearly $13 billion for the quarter, an increase of 47 percent from the same period a year earlier. The company now has 2.13 billion monthly active users and 1.4 billion daily users, and advertisers are eager to reach that massive audience.

Earlier this month, Zuckerberg said his personal goal for 2018 is “fixing” Facebook’s many problems. He cited the need to “protect our community from abuse and hate, defending against interference by nation states” and “making sure that time spent on Facebook is time well spent.”

In November, he said the company is “investing so much in security that it will impact our profitability.” That investment includes doubling the number of people who work on safety and security to 20,000.

The announcement came on the same day that executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter testified before Congressional hearings into how Russian actors used social media to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.

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What's next for former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo?

Spagnuolo wasn't retained by new head coach Pat Shurmur.

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Michigan Doctor Jailed by ICE After Living in U.S. for Nearly 40 Years to Be Released on Bond, Lawyer Says

A Polish-born doctor detained by immigration officials after living in the United States for nearly 40 years is expected to be released on $10,000 bond, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Dr. Lukasz R. Niec was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in mid-January.

Dr. Lukasz Niec is shown in a photo with his family provided to WXMI.

His attorney, Russell Abrutyn, said Niec is to be released on Thursday after an immigration judge agreed to the bond during a hearing. Niec’s family said they plan to post bond and pick him up Thursday.

“Dr. Niec will no longer be detained and he will be allowed to go back to work and tend to his patients,” Abrutyn said.

Niec was 5 years old when his parents fled Poland in 1979, according to his sister, Iwona Niec Villaire. He received a temporary green card and later became a lawful permanent resident, she said.

The Michigan doctor came under scrutiny from immigration authorities due to 18 police encounters, including a child abuse allegation, an ICE official told CNN. Those claims were investigated by police, and weren’t substantiated.

Niec could be deported to Poland — a country he’s never known — and his family has launched a legal fight to keep him in the United States and bring him home.

Abrutyn said the Michigan State Police investigated the child abuse allegation and found it to be without merit.

“We expect the child abuse investigation to be dismissed, too,” he said.

Michigan State Police said they investigated an allegation of child abuse against Niec last year and turned their findings over to the county prosecutor’s office.

A charging request form filed with the Kalamazoo County prosecuting attorney says police found insufficient evidence and determined there was “no reasonable likelihood of conviction.”

Niec’s wife, Rachelle Burkart-Niec, also told CNN affiliate WWMT that the case had no merit.

Niec entered the United States lawfully, ICE said, but he was found “amenable to removal proceedings as a result of two 1992 state convictions for malicious destruction of property and receiving stolen property, both of which are crimes involving moral turpitude.”

The statement defined a crime of moral turpitude as “a crime against a person (such as assault), fraud, perjury, robbery, theft and bribery.” A crime of moral turpitude can be either a felony or a misdemeanor, it said.

Niec was 17 when he committed those offenses, and one of the charges had been expunged from his record after he completed a youth training program, his family said.

Niec became a doctor, specializing in internal medicine for Bronson Healthcare Group in Kalamazoo.

ICE arrested him on Jan. 16 over “administrative immigration violations,” the agency said.

“He most recently came under agency scrutiny as a result of 18 encounters with local law enforcement. He will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of removal proceedings,” ICE said in a statement.

In 2013, Niec was charged with domestic violence but was found not guilty by a Kalamazoo County District Court jury, according to court records obtained by CNN. Details of that case were not immediately available.

Niec was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2008, records say. He completed his probation, paid a fine, and the conviction was set aside, the records show.

He also was charged with 20 other minor traffic offenses, such as speeding or failure to change the address on his license, from 1997 to 2016, court records show.

While questions remain about Niec’s immigration status, his background and the reason for his detention, his situation offers a cautionary tale for permanent residents with a criminal record, immigration lawyer Charles Kuck said.

Until you become a naturalized citizen, you’re still eligible for deportation, he said. Legal permanent residents convicted of crimes have long been the targets of deportation orders.

“(Niec) is a microcosm of what’s happening all over the country but doesn’t get publicity until it happens to a white guy from Europe living in the suburbs,” Kuck said.

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Colin Kaepernick Just Finished Donating $1 Million to Charity, Completing Pledge

People like to talk about Colin Kaepernick. But while everyone was busy arguing over the on-field protests he spearheaded two years ago, the free agent NFL quarterback was putting his money where his mouth is.

On Wednesday, Kaepernick completed a pledge he made in September 2016: To donate $1 million to organizations working in, what he called, oppressed communities.

Colin Kaepernick, as #7 of the San Francisco 49ers, looks on from the sidelines during the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 18, 2016, in Atlanta. (Credit: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

The donations spanned the country and touched on a wealth of social issues: Homelessness, at-risk families, education, community-police relations, prison reform, inmates’ right, reproductive rights, hunger and more.

For instance, a recent donation in partnership with rapper T.I. went to building materials and labor for an organization in Houston that’s helping neighborhoods affected by Hurricane Harvey.

As a finale to his year of giving, Kaepernick teamed up with influential athletes and artists to spotlight organizations close to them. He called the project #10for10, and asked participants to donate $10,000 to a cause of their choice, which he then matched with another $10,000.

His final $10,000 went to match a donation from Usher.

“This is a collaborative effort, and as a result of us helping each other we all become stronger,” Usher said in a joint video message posted by Kaepernick.

Here are the 10 celebrities that joined Kaepernick in his final $100,000 in donations, as well as a few of the organizations he donated to previously, as recorded on his foundation’s website. The announcement of each of Kaepernick’s individual donations also included a breakdown of what the money went to and why.

#10for10:

10. Usher: $20k to H.O.M.E. in Lithonia, Georgia

9. Meek Mill: $20k to Youth Service, Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

8. Nick Cannon and Joey Badass: $40,000 to Communities United by Police Reform in New York, New York

7. Jhene Aiko and Chris Brown: School on Wheels in Los Angeles, California

6. T.I.: $20k to Angel by Nature in Houston, Texas

5. Serena Williams: $20k to Imagine LA in Los Angeles, California

4. Snoop Dogg: $20k to Mothers Against Police Brutality in Dallas, TX

3. Steph Curry: $20k to United Playaz in San Francisco, California

2. Jesse Williams: $20k to Advancement Project in Washington, DC

1. Kevin Durant: $20k to Silicon Valley De-Bug in San José, California

Some other donation highlights:

$25,000 to DREAM, a baseball organization in Harlem, New York

$25,000 to Coalition for the Homeless in New York, New York

$25,000 to United We Dream, a organization helping immigrant youth

$33,000 to Lower East Side Girls Club in New York, New York

$33,000 to 100 Suits for 100 Men in Jamaica, New York

$25,000 to American Friends Service Committee, which provides behavioral health treatment and other services to incarcerated individuals, in Phoenix, Arizona

$50,000 to Life After Hate, an educational and rehabilitative organization started by former members of hate groups, in Chicago, IL

$50,000 to Somalia Famine Relief

$25,000 to Black Veterans for Social Justice in Brooklyn, New York

$25,000 to Center for Reproductive Rights in New York, New York

$25,000 to Mothers Against Police Brutality in Dallas, Texas

$25,000 to I Will Not Die Young Campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Kaepernick became the subject of rage and respect when he knelt during the national anthem before several 2016 NFL preseason and regular season games. In March 2017 he became a free agent and has not played in the NFL since. However, his actions and the actions of the few players who joined him lit a spark that became an inferno early in the 2017 season, with #TakeAKnee taking over the coverage of several NFL games. In October, Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL, accusing the league of collusion.

READ MORE: Kneeling isn’t about patriotism. It’s a distress signal.

In November, he was named GQ’s Citizen of the Year, and in December, he accepted the 2017 Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.

“With or without the NFL’s platform, I will continue to work for the people,” he said during his acceptance speech. “Because my platform is the people.”

He has a chance to add to his awards Thursday afternoon, when the NFL Players’ Association hands out its Community MVP honor. Though Kaepernick didn’t play for a team this past season, he was eligible because he is a member of the players’ union.

The winner will receive a $100,000 donation to a charity he selects.

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All Inmates in New York State Prisons Will Soon Get Free Tablets, Paid for by Private Company

Each inmate incarcerated in a New York State prison will soon have a free tablet.

The tablets will give inmates access to educational content, eBooks and music, officials said. They’ll also help inmates file grievances and allow them to communicate with family and friends through a secure email system, KTLA sister station WPIX reported. There will be no internet access.

New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will receive the tablets for inmates as part of a deal with JPay, a company that specializes in corrections-related services, a DOC spokesperson said. The company will provide the tablets as part of a contractual agreement the state DOC entered with the company. No state funds will go toward the tablets.

Acting Commissioner Annucci: in a groundbreaking move the Department will provide each incarcerated individual a tablet, at no cost, with the ability to access free educational material and eBooks and to file grievances

— NYS DOCCS (@NYSDOCCS) January 30, 2018

Clarification on the new tablet initiative at DOCCS. pic.twitter.com/bRv9asGTYh

— NYS DOCCS (@NYSDOCCS) January 31, 2018

JPay will make money if an inmate chooses to purchase approved additional books or items with the tablet.

DOC Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci called the tablet plan “groundbreaking.” Officials believe the technology will better prepare individuals to re-enter the community when they leave prison.

There are about 52,000 inmates in NYS DOC facilities as of March of 2016.

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L.A. Councilman Says Video Shows Deputies Unloading Mentally Ill Homeless Man Onto San Pedro Street

Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino called on the Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday to investigate an incident in which deputies are seen on video driving away from a man who appears agitated and disheveled as he walks down a San Pedro sidewalk.

A resident who recorded the Tuesday afternoon encounter said he saw one of the deputies drop off the man, although that does not appear on the 49-second video that Buscaino posted on Facebook (warning: video has profanity).

In a motion submitted to the City Council, Buscaino said that if deputies had left the man on the sidewalk, then they had jeopardized the safety of Los Angeles residents. His motion also says the man seen in the video “displayed characteristics of a person who may be experiencing homelessness and mental illness.”

The Los Angeles Police Department took the man into custody later Tuesday after determining there was a warrant for his arrest.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

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U.S. Legal Weed Industry Generated $9B in Revenue in 2017

Continued federal prohibition hasn’t stopped the marijuana industry in the United States from growing like a very profitable weed.

Tourists Laura Torgerson and Ryan Sheehan, visiting from Arizona, smell cannabis buds at the Green Pearl Organics dispensary in Desert Hot Springs on the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in California, Jan. 1, 2018. (Credit: Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images)

Despite what could be considered an unfriendly administration in Washington D.C., nine states and the District of Columbia now allow for recreational marijuana use and 30 allow for medical use. And more states are lining up to join the legalization wave. Pot has become big business in the U.S.

The emerging industry took in nearly $9 billion in sales in 2017, according to Tom Adams, managing director of BDS Analytics, which tracks the cannabis industry. Sales are equivalent to the entire snack bar industry, or to annual revenue from Pampers diapers.

That was before California opened its massive retail market in January. The addition of the Golden State is huge for the industry and Adams estimates that national marijuana sales will rise to $11 billion in 2018, and to $21 billion in 2021.

The industry has also been creating jobs and opportunities. There are 9,397 active licenses for marijuana businesses in the U.S., according to Ed Keating, chief data officer for Cannabiz Media, which tracks marijuana licenses. This includes cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, dispensaries, distributors, deliverers and test labs.

More than 100,000 people are working around the cannabis plant and that number’s going to grow, according to BDS Analytics. The industry employed 121,000 people in 2017. If marijuana continues its growth trajectory, the number of workers in that field could reach 292,000 by 2021, according to BDS Analytics.

RELATED: How much to pot jobs pay? Botanists make more than budtenders

The economic benefits have helped states where marijuana has been legalized by funneling tax revenue from the sale of the drug to things like education and infrastructure

BDS Analytics estimates that the industry owed $1 billion in state taxes in 2016, and owes another $1.4 billion for 2017.

“It’s a great thing because the money was already being spent [when it was illegal;] it’s just now being taxed,” said Tick Segerblom, state senator from Nevada, which has reaped $25 million in tax revenue since recreational sales started in July. “And cops don’t have to waste their time arresting users.”

Workers package marijuana infused chocolate edibles at Kiva Confections in Oakland on Jan. 16, 2018. (Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Marijuana isn’t just marijuana anymore. The products on offer at legal dispensaries range widely from the traditional flower to processed products like oil, hash, shatter and rosin, which can be smoked or vaped, and a wide variety of edibles including baked goods, candies and gummies.

RELATED: IRS collects billions in pot taxes, much of it in cash

Its roots are spreading into the health and wellness industry, too.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is a product in the form or oil or candy that’s used as a treatment for epilepsy or pain even though it faces a federal ban. The industry for CBD, derived from both hemp and marijuana, totaled $360 million last year, according to Sean Murphy, publisher of the Hemp Business Journal. He said it’s expected to grow to $1.1 billion by 2020 and $1.8 billion by 2022.

So what’s next?

The industry remains on shaky footing because of its precarious legal status, and the country’s top law enforcement official recently injected a healthy dose of uncertainty into recreational programs in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California, Nevada, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine.

RELATED: Weed industry preps for fight after Sessions rips up Cole memo

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an outspoken opponent of legal pot, took action on January 4 after California dispensaries started selling recreational marijuana. Sessions ripped up the nascent protections provided to the industry by the Obama administration. He rescinded the so-called Cole memo of 2013, the guidance from then-Deputy AG James Cole to federal prosecutors suggesting a hands-off approach to the state-legal industry.

The reaction was mixed, with some marijuana business owners vowing to plow ahead, but others worried about expanding in a politically risky business atmosphere.

“The whole industry is under a cloud because no one knows to what extent [Sessions] is willing to interfere with the states,” said Keith Stroup, who co-founded the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, in 1970. “By the time we get 20 states that have fully legalized marijuana, then I think we’ll have enough support to finally convince the federal government to get out of the way.”

The game is about to get a lot bigger, with Canada planning to legalize in July and Eastern states in the U.S. catching the fever — the state of Vermont just voted to lift prohibition in its state and New Jersey is expected to legalize recreational marijuana this year.

“The only thing you could really do to put the genie back in the bottle, is just start arresting everybody,” Stroup said. “But I can’t see it leading to some massive crackdown. That just seems like political disaster for the administration.”

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Social Worker Accepted $10,000 in Food Stamps as Bribe From Ohio Mom Accused of Killing Her 5-Year-Old Son: Prosecutor

Prosecutors on Wednesday announced the indictments of a social worker and the boyfriend of an Ohio woman whose 5-year-old boy was found buried in a backyard, according to KTLA sister station WJW in Cleveland.

Larissa Rodriguez, the mother of a 5-year-old boy who was found buried in his backyard on Cleveland's west side earlier this month has been indicted in connection with his death. She is seen in photos released by the Cleveland Police Department.

Investigators unearthed the remains of 5-year-old Jordan Rodriguez behind a house on West 80th Street in Cleveland on Dec. 19. Court documents said the body showed multiple signs of abuse, including broken ribs.

His mother, 34-year-old Larissa Rodriguez, was charged with murder, felonious assault, endangering children and gross abuse of a corpse. She pleaded not guilty and her bond was set at $1 million. On Wednesday, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley announced that her boyfriend, Christopher Rodriguez, has been indicted on the same charges.

A social worker, Nancy Caraballo, also faces charges in the investigation. O'Malley said Caraballo worked for Bright Beginnings, which is funded by Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio, and bought more than $10,000 in food stamps from Larissa Rodriguez.

Caraballo was assigned to the family to make home visitations. O'Malley said she ignored her obligation to report the abuse and neglect because she was receiving the food stamps as a bribe. She allegedly paid 50 cents for each $1 in food stamps.

Caraballo could be sentenced to 50 years in prison. If it's determined that malnutrition played a role in Jordan's death, she would face additional charges, according to O'Malley.

The Cleveland Division of Police began investigating the case after receiving a call from Pakistan. The caller said Larissa Rodriquez and her boyfriend, Christopher Rodriguez, buried the boy in the backyard, according to the police report. Investigators say the caller was Christopher Rodriguez's brother.

Jordan had not been seen alive since September. Prosecutors said he suffered from multiple ailments and his mother failed to get him medical attention.

Larissa Rodriguez has nine children and is pregnant. A Cuyahoga County spokeswoman said child welfare case workers have dealt with Rodriguez since 1999. The complaints range from neglect to physical abuse.

 

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Victor Cruz 'surprised' by no call from Giants in 2017, but not retired just yet

Victor Cruz hopes to get another shot to salsa dance in the NFL, even if it is not with the Giants: 'I still feel like I've got a lot left in the tank.'

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Slain New Mexico Boy Was Abused for Years, Spent Final Days in Dog Kennel, Authorities Say; Mom, 2 Others Arrested

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A 13-year-old New Mexico boy whose body was recently discovered in a shallow grave after a weeklong search was allegedly abused by his mother’s boyfriend for years and spent his last days in a dog kennel, authorities said.

Jeremiah Valencia died after being “subjected to horrifying circumstances,” according to a statement posted on the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Facebook page, which announced three arrests in the “tragic” case — including the teen’s mother — earlier this week.

Tracy Ann Pena, 35, Thomas Wayne Ferguson, 42, and Jordan Anthony Nunez, 19, have each been charged with the following: abuse of a child resulting in death; tampering with evidence; and conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence.

Santa Fe Sheriff Robert Garcia tried to hold back tears as he revealed new details in the horrific case at a news conference Tuesday, telling reporters that “this poor child suffered at the hands of a monster.”

Garcia said Jeremiah was fatally beaten about two months ago; after, his body was taken to the side of a road, where they buried the child’s remains, according to Albuquerque television station KRQE. Although he had been missing for months, his disappearance was never reported to authorities.

What tipped investigators to the boy’s death was something Pena — his mother — told a fellow inmate when she was behind bars for an unrelated case. She talked to the inmate about her missing son, telling the other individual he had been killed, the station reported, citing court documents.

The inmate alerted deputies about the information the woman had shared, which sparked an investigation into the teen’s whereabouts. The search ended over the weekend when his body was found buried in a shallow grave Nambe, KRQE reported.

A cause of death was not immediately known.

At the news conference, New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas described Ferguson, Pena’s boyfriend, as “the main suspect” in the case, television station KOB, also in Albuquerque, reported.

Investigators believe Ferguson had been beating Jeremiah for years, to the point where the teen was in a wheelchair or had to use a cane to walk, according to KRQE.

The victim spent much of the final days of his life in a dog kennel, according to authorities.

“He was placed in a dog kennel for hours on end without food. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, these acts are senseless,” said District Attorney Marco Serna.

Nunez, Ferguson’s son, told deputies he witnessed his father hit the boy and then take him to the back of their house, according to KRQE. The three suspects allegedly took the body and buried him on the side of the road.

After their arrests Monday, Pena, Ferguson and Nunez were all booked into jail, according to the sheriff’s statement. They are all being held without bond.

“It’s hard to sleep at night just thinking about the abuse this poor child went through,” Garcia told reporters.

Ferguson had a lengthy criminal history that went back about 20 years, Kassetas said, according to KOB. The suspect’s background included aggravated assault, abandonment abuse of a child, criminal sexual penetration, domestic violence, kidnapping and drug charges.

After detailing the history, Kassetas questioned how such “evil” people were able to get out of jail.

“I thought, ‘What could I say to comfort the public and the folks out there that are following this case,’ and unfortunately I have absolutely nothing for you,” he said. “I would like to say that the three individuals are behind bars, but that’s not enough in this.”

KOB, citing court documents, also reported that the Children Youth and Families Department had investigated Pena back in 2011, and her two children — Jeremiah and an unnamed sister — were in the temporary care of their grandparents for about a year while the agency looked into the case.

“CYFD can only be brought back into a family’s life if we receive additional calls of allegations of abuse or neglect and so that the last investigation we had was in 2011,” CYFD Secretary Monique Jacobson told the station.

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San Francisco DA Announces He’ll Wipe Out Thousands of Pre-Legalization Marijuana Convictions

San Francisco will retroactively apply California’s new marijuana legalization laws to prior convictions, expunging or reducing misdemeanor and felony convictions dating back to 1975, the district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

The district attorney’s office will review, recall and resentence nearly 5,000 felony marijuana convictions, and dismiss and seal more than 3,000 misdemeanors that were sentenced prior to Proposition 64’s passage, District Attorney George Gascón said. The move will clear people’s records of crimes that can be barriers to employment and housing.

Proposition 64 legalizes, among other things, the possession and purchase of up to an ounce of marijuana and allows individuals to grow up to six plants for personal use. The measure also allows people convicted of marijuana possession crimes eliminated by Proposition 64 to petition the court to have those convictions expunged from their records as long as the person does not pose a risk to public safety.

They can also petition the court to reduce some crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor, including possession of more than an ounce of marijuana by a person who is 18 or older.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

Today I am joined by @MaliaCohen @jeffsheehysf @nicolewheaton @ThirdBaptistSF @NAACP @lthomas @DrugPolicyOrg to announce that @SFDAOffice is retroactively applying #Prop64

— George Gascón (@GeorgeGascon) January 31, 2018

#Prop64 reduced criminal penalties for marijuana offenses after its passage in November 2016, but @SFDAOffice will be reviewing, recalling & resentencing up to 4,940 felony marijuana convictions & dismissing & sealing 3,038 misdemeanors sentenced pre #Prop64 CC: @GavinNewsom

— George Gascón (@GeorgeGascon) January 31, 2018

Today’s announcement covers effectively all the marijuana convictions adjudicated in San Francisco’s courts since 1975. The #WarOnDrugs was a failure, it’s time we take action to undo the damage it has done.

— George Gascón (@GeorgeGascon) January 31, 2018

Expungement relief is available under #Prop64, but it requires people to know about the available relief and to retain an attorney to file the petition. Instead of waiting for the community to take action, we’re taking action for the community!

— George Gascón (@GeorgeGascon) January 31, 2018

My pleasure. It's the right thing to do. https://t.co/YCYMy3xmk1

— George Gascón (@GeorgeGascon) January 31, 2018

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New Bill Would Bar Californians With Severe Mental Illness From Owning Firearms

A state lawmaker wants to mandate a lifetime ban on possessing firearms by some Californians suffering from severe mental health issues, saying it may help reduce the number of suicides.

Handguns are displayed at the Ultimate Defense Firing Range and Training Center in St. Peters, Missouri, in November 2014. (Credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

A bill by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) would apply to some of those judged by the courts to be a risk to themselves and others who are approved for an involuntary 5150 hold for mental health treatment.

Currently, those people have their firearms taken away for five years, but psychiatric facilities often petition afterward for the guns to be returned, Low said.

The assemblyman’s bill would permanently remove the firearms of a person who has been placed on a 5150 hold twice in one year. It would also prohibit psychiatric facilities from filling out petition forms on a former patient’s behalf to have the guns returned.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

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Investigators Seek Witnesses After Deputy Caught on Video Kicking Suspect’s Head During Arrest in San Bernardino

After releasing video circulating on social media that shows a brutal arrest conducted by two sheriff's deputies in San Bernardino, officials asked members of the public who witnessed the incident to come forward on Wednesday.

Authorities are concerned with the actions of one of the deputies in particular who is seen in the cellphone video repeatedly kicking the suspect in the head after the man was handcuffed and his body limp.

The arrest occurred last Friday, Jan. 26, around 1 a.m. near the intersection of Highland Avenue and Cedar Street, and investigators are hoping to interview motorists who were in the area at that time, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

The one-minute clip released Wednesday opens as one deputy has 21-year-old Garardo Bernabe Vasquez pinned to the ground, with Vasquez's legs squirming.

Moments later, a second deputy arrives on scene. As the second deputy begins to arrange Vasquez's hands to cuff them, the first deputy punches Vasquez twice in the head.

After Vasquez is handcuffed, the deputies each pick up one of his arms as they attempt to load him into a patrol vehicle. But Vasquez's body has gone limp, his torso and legs flopping toward the ground as his arms are raised behind his back.

The deputies drop him, and it is then that the first deputy begins to kick his face. It appears he strikes him three times, stepping on his head in the final blow.

Vasquez was eventually booked on suspicion of resisting or obstruction an officer, was cited and later released, the Sheriff's Department said. It was unclear why or how the two parties initiated contact.

The deputy seen striking Vasquez was placed on paid administrative leave, pending the results of the probe. Authorities said they would not identify the deputy while the investigation is ongoing.

Sheriff's officials said they were already investigating the incident when the video gained attention on social media, and Sheriff John McMahon said he found the "level of force" seen in the video concerning.

“I expect our employees always to remain professional when contacting the public, who we serve," McMahon said in a statement. "I can assure you that we take these matters very seriously and we will conduct a thorough and complete investigation.”

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Man Convicted of Second-Degree Murder for Driving Wife, Dog Into Big Bear Lake

A 61-year-old man who drove his wife and dog into Big Bear Lake in 2012 was convicted on Tuesday.

Ronald Hitchcock of Big Bear City was found guilty of second-degree murder and animal cruelty and could face up to 15 years to life in prison, according to a San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office news release.

Hitchcock drove his car into Big Bear Lake on Sept. 15, 2012. His wife, 53-year-old Deborah Crouch, and their black Labrador retriever Onyx, were in the vehicle.

A neighbor called the police after hearing Hitchcock banging on a chain-link fence.

“She is not going to get out of this one,” Hitchcock said, according to the neighbor.

His wife had health issues that made her unable to walk.

An autopsy report revealed that the wife’s cause of death was drowning, but she also had bruising all over her body “consistent with physical violence as well as defensive wounds,” the release said.

A dive video showed Crouch’s body floating inside the car and the dog’s head stuck in the partially rolled down window.

Hitchcock is set to be sentenced Feb. 28.

While #RonaldHitchcock got himself out of the vehicle, his wife, Deborah Crouch—who had been suffering from serious health issues rendering her unable to walk—and the black Labrador, named Onyx, never made it out. pic.twitter.com/k8obkH1nwB

— SB District Attorney (@sbcountyda) January 31, 2018

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38 House Republicans Have Announced They Are Leaving Congress

House Republicans are announcing they’re leaving office at a significantly faster rate than any other recent Congresses, suggesting Democrats could pick up seats in the 2018 midterm elections. On Wednesday, it was South Carolina Republican Trey Gowdy, the influential chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

Already, at least 38 House Republicans have announced they are retiring, running for another office or resigning outright. They’re leaving from all over the map, from southern New Jersey to southern New Mexico.

Democrats need to pick up 24 House seats to retake the majority from Republicans, who’ve had control of the House since 2011.

Republican leadership has acknowledged it has a problem.

“We’ve got to find better ways to empower people where they feel like this is worth their time,” Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, a former two-term National Republican Congressional Committee chair who met with several members to discuss retirements, told the National Journalin September.

But more retirements came shortly after — and then more after that.

While midterm elections are historically tough for the party of the President in power, it’s too early to tell how things will unfold this year. But seats are opening up all over. A few seats will be filled by special elections before next November. But most won’t.

The locations of some of these seats were pivotal during the push for health care reform and tax reform in 2017. Reps. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey and Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania were courted during the health care debates for their votes. Both have high numbers of Medicaid enrollees in their districts. Property taxes are high in New Jersey, and LoBiondo objected to the repeal of the state and local tax deduction during the tax reform debates.

Some states are seeing higher numbers of open seats. And not all of the vacancies are coming from Republicans. Several seats have opened in Texas, including the blue 16th Congressional District, won by Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2016. He announced that he plans to run for the Senate in 2018.

Several seats have opened as a result of sexual harassment inquiries or accusations. Among Democrats, Reps. Ruben Kihuen of Nevada and John Conyers of Michigan announced they would leave Congress following pressure to resign, though Kihuen plans to finish his term. On the Republican side, Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona resigned and Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas announced he will retire, both following sexual harassment accusations.

The campaign committees on both sides of the political aisle are eyeing the 23 Republicans defending districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016 and the 12 seats held by Democrats in districts that President Donald Trump won. These are seen as vulnerable seats to flip.

But many of the Republican retirements are occurring in districts where Trump narrowly carried the vote, like New Jersey’s 2nd or Michigan’s 11th. Members from these districts could have faced tough re-elections this year, when Democrats are expected to be strong performers, potentially regaining control of the House.

Republicans who say they will run for other offices are more likely to come from districts where Trump performed well. These members vote in alignment with the President at a high rate. They may count on continued support from his base to propel them into higher office.

With few exceptions, the Republicans and Democrats who are retiring largely vote along party lines. They also have levels of support for the President’s agenda similar to those of their respective parties.

Past research has found the emergence of “strategic retirement” by politicians when they think re-election is less likely. The recent results in Virginia and subsequent Republican departures suggest this phenomenon may be in effect.

Here is the full list of representatives so far who have announced that they plan to leave office, broken down by whether they said they will resign, retire or run for another office. Some members resigned before their terms ended.

While the number of Democrats and Republicans planning to run for another office is close in number, the number of House Republican retirements dwarfs those announced by Democrats. Members from either party planning to run for another office tend to run for Senate seats or governorships.

Scandal has also led to some resignations. Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania announced he would retire after the anti-abortion GOP congressman admitted that he had had an affair and had urged an abortion.

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Former Adviser to Gov. Schwarzenegger Arrested Outside Sacramento in Statewide Human Trafficking Operation

A man who once advised former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of four alleged “johns” arrested by police in Citrus Heights, Calif., as part of a statewide human trafficking crackdown.

Daniel Pellisier, a former advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is seen in a photo obtained by the Los Angeles Times from the Citrus Heights Police Department.

Daniel Pellisier was arrested by the Citrus Heights Police Department, in Sacramento County, as part of Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, a three-day sweep led by the Los Angeles County Regional Human Trafficking Task Force. The crackdown led to more than 500 arrests, including 30 suspected traffickers and 178 alleged “johns.”

Pellisier, 57, served as deputy secretary for energy and environment, where he advised Schwarzenegger and oversaw California’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection agencies, according to a biography on UC Berkeley’s Institute of Government Studies. He later became president of an advocacy group called California Pension Reform.

Citrus Heights police used the internet and other tactics, including undercover operations, to make 10 arrests. The arrests were for prostitution and probation violations, as well as felony and misdemeanor warrant arrests, the Police Department said in a statement.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

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Pantone’s 2018 Color of the Year Wardrobe Incorporation With Ashley Fultz

Fashion and Lifestyle Blogger, Mommy influencer and founder of TheStyleEditrix.com, Ashley Fultz joined us live with style tips on how to incorporate Ultra Violet, this year’s pantone color, into your wardrobe. For more information on Ashley, you can follow her blog or follow her on social media.

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FBI Sends Warning to White House on Vote to Release Surveillance Practices Memo

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FBI Director Christopher Wray sent a striking signal to the White House Wednesday, issuing a rare public warning that a controversial Republican memo about the FBI’s surveillance practices omits key information that could impact its veracity.

The move sets up an ugly clash with the President who wants it released.

“With regard to the House Intelligence Committee’s memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it,” the agency said in a statement. “As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.”

Earlier Wednesday, White House chief of staff John Kelly predicted the memo would be released “pretty quick” and then “the whole world will see it.”

President Donald Trump himself was overheard telling a Republican congressman after the State of the Union address he will “100%” release the memo.

Yet the FBI warning was the latest evidence of law enforcement and intelligence agencies raising concerns about the potential public release of a memo composed by the staff of Republican Congressman Devin Nunes of California, which some say has inaccuracies and does not paint a full picture of how the surveillance process works, according to two law enforcement sources.

Some Justice Department officials had concerns about publicly expressing continued opposition to releasing the memo, according multiple officials. Trump had already been angered by a letter that the Justice Department sent to the House Intelligence Committee last week warning the release would be “extraordinarily reckless.” The FBI went ahead and issued the statement Wednesday anyway.

Officials from the Justice Department and FBI went to the White House on Tuesday to make a renewed effort to explain to the White House certain inaccuracies they see in the Nunes memo, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The effort came a day after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Wray made similar entreaties to White House chief of staff John Kelly to delay a House vote on releasing the memo.

The memo also faces deep opposition inside the intelligence agencies, multiple current and former intelligence officials tell CNN. The intelligence community’s concern is that by revealing details of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant process, crucial elements of intel gathering will be revealed, potentially causing foreign intelligence targets to change behavior to avoid surveillance in the future.

Specifically, these intelligence officials are concerned that the memo will reveal what goes into a decision to monitor targets, including what kinds of communications are targeted, and how those communications are intercepted.

These intelligence officials emphasize that applications for FISA warrants would need to be based on law enforcement information as well as intelligence gathered independently by US intelligence agencies. That would include intercepted communications and would not meet the standard for approval if the applications were based largely or entirely on outside information, such as the dossier compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele.

Republican lawmakers allege that the FISA warrant obtained to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page was based in large part on the dossier, and that the judge who approved the application was not made aware to what degree the dossier played a role in the FBI request.

Administration officials cautioned that despite Trump’s comment that the document will be reviewed to make sure that it does not compromise sources and methods.

Likely, whenever Trump sees the document, he won’t see it in a vacuum. It will be accompanied by the relevant agencies weighing in on their interests and contextual underlying intelligence, if warranted.

But the details of how the review is being conducted are still unclear. Wray reviewed the memo over the weekend. Republican members have said that Wray did not raise any objections about inaccuracies at the time.

That said, the Nunes document, the source familiar with the discussion said, is subject to political considerations more so than a typical document that would be subject to this kind of interagency review.

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Video: Cow Leads CHP Officer on Slow-Speed ‘Pursuit’ Along Eastern Sierra Road

An apparent runaway cow was apprehended recently after leading the California Highway Patrol on a "pursuit" in the Bishop area of the Eastern Sierra, and a snippet of the slow-speed chase was captured on dash camera video.

The incident occurred Saturday morning, according to a video post on CHP Bishop's Facebook page.

"We are in pursuit of a cow. The cow is not yielding," an officer can be heard saying in the 11-second-long video, which showed the animal strolling along the side of an empty-looking road.

It was not immediately clear how long the pursuit lasted, but the "suspect" was eventually "taken into custody" and was not harmed in the incident, according to the tongue-in-cheek post. The agency did not disclose where exactly the chase took place.

“Cops is filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," the post concluded.

 

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Stormy Daniels Says of Letter Denying Affair With Donald Trump: ‘It Came From the Internet’

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Jimmy Kimmel spoke about President Trump with porn actress Stormy Daniels on Tuesday night, or at least he tried to.

The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host interviewed Daniels — whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — on his ABC show to speak about her alleged affair with Trump in 2006. But Daniels dodged his questions and did not give any substantial answers.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Trump attorney Michael Cohen had arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual relationship between her and Trump. Cohen, Clifford, and the White House have denied the report.

Kimmel kicked off the interview by telling Daniels that he had a “pretty clear idea” of what he wanted to ask her, but then saw a letter that denied the alleged relationship, which she supposedly signed earlier on Tuesday.

The host questioned the denial, saying that her signature on the letter didn’t appear to be the same as Daniels’ previous signatures and autographs. He then came out and just asked if she signed it.

“I don’t know, did I?” Daniels said to Kimmel. “Doesn’t look like my signature, does it?”

Kimmel then asked if the letter was released without Daniels’ approval and if she knew where it came from.

“I do not,” she said. “It came from the internet.”

Kimmel then tried to get Daniels to admit she does have a non-disclosure agreement, saying that if she didn’t, she “certainly could say, ‘I don’t have a non-disclosure agreement.'”

Daniels laughed and responded, “You’re so smart, Jimmy.”

Despite Daniels not really telling Kimmel anything, the late night host was persistent in trying to get anything from the actress.

That included using puppets that looked like Trump and Daniels that could speak on her behalf and even playing games.

“We’re going to play ‘Never Have I Ever,'” Kimmel told Daniels. “I’m going to ask a few questions about various things.”

She quickly responded, “This feels like an ‘SVU’ episode” of “Law and Order.”

Yet, again Daniels didn’t really play along and stayed elusive.

Kimmel tried one last time to get Daniels to admit anything when it came to Trump.

“Stormy, one last thing,” Kimmel said, wrapping up the telecast. “Have you ever made love to anyone whose name rhymes with ‘Ronald Rump?'”

Daniels smiled and said, “I’ll call you whatever you want me to, baby.”

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Wednesday Forecast: Temperatures Remain Above Average

Look for temperatures to remain above average Wednesday with no rain likely for at least the next 10 days. Henry DiCarlo has KTLA’s forecast on Jan. 31, 2018.

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Super Bowl Party Décor and Ideas With Jessie Daye

DIY Expert and maker of all things creative, Jessie Daye joined us live with décor and entertaining ideas for your Super Bowl celebration.  For more information on Jessie and her amazing ideas, you can go to her website or follow her on Instagram or Youtube.

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Former L.A. Sheriff Department Psychologist Gets 98 Years to Life in Prison for Sexually Assaulting Child Relatives

A 46-year-old La Canada-Flintridge man was sentenced to 98 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two young relatives, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced on Tuesday.

Michael Dane Ward, an ex-L.A. Sheriff Department Psychologist, was convicted on 10 felonies last August, including four counts of a lewd act on child, two counts of forcible lewd acts on children under 14, three counts of oral copulation with a child younger than age 10 and one count of sodomy with a child younger than age 10, according to DA’s office news release.

The children were family members of Ward and testified against him during his trial. 

The crimes occurred between October 2013 and November 2015, when both children were under the age of 10, the release stated.

Ward was charged with sexual assault on children in May 2016, and was relieved of duty on May 5, according a L.A. County Sheriff’s Department statement.

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Authorities ID 3 Killed in Helicopter Crash Into Newport Beach Home

Authorities have released the names of the three victims who died when a helicopter crashed into a Newport Beach home Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities respond to the crash of a helicopter into a home in Newport Beach on Jan. 30, 2018. (Credit: KTLA)

Joseph Anthony Tena, 60, of Newport Beach and Kimberly Lynne Watzman, 45, of Santa Monica were initially identified by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on Twitter Wednesday.

The third victim, Brian R. Reichelt, 56, of Hollywood, was identified a short time later in a second tweet.

The Robinson 44 helicopter they were aboard crashed under unknown circumstances into a home at the corner of Shearwater Place and Egret Court about 1:45 p.m.

The aircraft had departed from John Wayne Airport on its way to Catalina when it crashed shortly after take-off, said National Transportation Safety Board Senior Investigator Joshua Cawthra.

A total of five people were involved in the crash, including four aboard the helicopter and one bystander on the ground.

The pilot and two passengers were killed in the crash, Cawthra said.

A third passenger aboard the helicopter was seriously injured.

Orange County Global Medical Center received a patient from the crash scene, spokesman Jeff Corless confirmed.

The patient is being treated and is in critical, but stable condition, Corless said.

The person injured on the ground had minor injuries, and was treated and released from a local hospital, Cawthra said.

Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB officials are investigating the cause of the crash and were combing through the wreckage Wednesday for clues.

Cawthra said no distress call was ever made from the helicopter prior to it going down.

The aircraft is owned by Spitzer Helicopter and was under lease to Revolution Aviation, which offers flight training and tours, according to its website.

However, investigators have determined this flight was not part of a class or sightseeing tour, Cawthra said.

A probable cause report from the NTSB typically takes months if not more than a year to be completed, FAA Public Affairs Manager Ian Gregor said.

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What the Redskins' trade for Alex Smith means for the Giants

The Redskins pulled off a blockbuster trade on Wednesday night.

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David Cay Johnston Talks New Book: It’s Even Worse Than You Think

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Man, Woman Killed in Violent, High-Speed Crash in Studio City: Police

A man and a woman were killed in a solo-vehicle crash in Studio City early Wednesday morning, and police said the vehicle was going at least double, if not triple, the speed limit.

A man and a woman died after a violent, solo-vehicle collision in Studio City on Jan. 31, 2018. (Credit: KTLA)

The double fatal crash, involving a newer model Range Rover, was reported in the 11200 block of Ventura Boulevard about 2:25 a.m., according to Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Andy Neiman.

The SUV was traveling westbound on Ventura Boulevard when the vehicle lost control, struck multiple objects and ended up in a parking lot, according to LAPD Officer Mayorga.

Video from the scene showed the mangled wreckage of the Range Rover in the parking lot of a strip mall containing a Marshall’s, a Michaels and other stores.

Both occupants of the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, Neiman said. Neither was immediately identified.

The captain told KTLA there is a sharp, gradual curve near the crash site, and the posted speed limit goes from 35 to 30 mph in that stretch. Based on the damage of the vehicle, he said it appeared the SUV was going “well in excess” of the posted speed limit, estimating it was traveling at least 60 mph and as high as 90 mph.

A witness observed the vehicle driving at a high rate of speed, but told police that no other cars appeared to on the road at the time, according to Neiman. Based on the witness account, investigators do not believe the SUV was involved in an illegal street race, he added.

The incident is under investigation, and it is too early to tell whether drugs or alcohol were a factor, according to Neiman.

“It appears to be a tragic case of a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed, unsafe for that condition,” he said. “Speed is something all of us have control over. This is an incident that didn’t have to happen.”

KTLA’s Alexandria Hernandez contributed to this story. 

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Train Carrying Members of Congress — Including House Speaker Paul Ryan — Hits a Truck on Way to West Virginia

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A train carrying members of Congress, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, to their legislative retreat in West Virginia hit a truck Wednesday, multiple sources told CNN.

An aide confirmed Ryan was on the train and is fine. Separately, a congressman on the train told CNN most of the staff and members on the train are OK.

Rep. John Faso, a New York Republican, who was on the train that crashed, said he was able to see the truck that hit the train, and that he was told that injuries were expected from people in the truck, not train.

“There was (what) looks like a tractor trailer carrying trash that was hit by the train,” Faso, who said he was in the third car of the train, told CNN.

“I think everyone on the train is OK,” Faso said. “I don’t know that for sure, it’s a long train. But most of the concern is for the people outside.”

One GOP source was unsure how many members of Congress were on the train or how many people were injured, but said there were injuries.

That source said members “hit the deck.”

Republican members of Congress were on their way for a retreat at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, starting Wednesday and ending Friday. Vice President Mike Pence, who was not on the train, is scheduled to speak to members later Wednesday and President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the event tomorrow.

The train left from Union Station in Washington earlier Wednesday.

We're fine, but our train hit a garbage truck. Members with medical training are assisting the drivers of the truck. pic.twitter.com/0I9jOwHTmb

— Rep. Greg Walden (@repgregwalden) January 31, 2018

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El Torito’s Party Packs for the Big Game

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NFL announces new home for Thursday Night Football games

Thursday Night Football will have a new home in 2018 ... FOX Sports. The NFL announced Wednesday a five-year agreement with FOX to broadcast the league's slate of Thursday night games. The agreement gives FOX 11 games each season between...

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Violent Home Invasion in Victorville Leaves 1 Man Dead, Another Wounded

A violent home invasion left one man dead and another wounded in Victorville late Tuesday night.

Authorities investigate a deadly home-invasion robbery in Victorville on Jan. 30, 2018. (Credit: Loudlabs)

An armed intruder entered a home on Forrest Avenue near the Del Rey Drive intersection just after 11 p.m.

Without asking for anything, the intruder opened fire on the two victims and then fled, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said.

One of the victims, an unidentified 60-year-old man, was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries, Bachman said.

The second victim, an unidentified 37-year-old man, was also hospitalized, but is expected to survive.

The two shooting victims are not related, Bachman said.

Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting.

"At this time, they don't believe it was a robbery," said Bachman, adding that nothing appeared to have been taken from the home.

No description of the gunman was immediately available.

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Batman ’66 Exhibit at The Hollywood Museum

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Man Who Worked at an L.A. County Water District for 7 Days Ends Up Costing Agency $1.5 Million

Seven work days into Ron Beilke’s job at the Central Basin Municipal Water District, the agency’s governing board placed an item on its next meeting agenda. It called for firing him from his $98,000-a-year job as assistant to the general manager.

The Central Basin Municipal Water District is seen in this Google Maps image.

Two hours later, Beilke crashed headfirst into a wall on the second floor of the district’s headquarters in the City of Commerce. One employee later said she watched Beilke fly across the frame of her door, arms stretched out, like Superman.

Beilke, who was taken away by paramedics in a neck brace, later collected workers’ compensation and sued for wrongful termination. Central Basin commissioned a report that quoted employees who questioned whether Beilke’s fall had been deliberate.

But by the time Central Basin settled with him nearly four years later, the agency racked up costs of nearly $1.5 million.

Read the full story on LATimes.com. 

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