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ORLANDO, Fla. — Former Bachelor and North Carolina native Matt James was among the top 10 to finish in his first-ever runDisney event.
James joined thousands of runners from across the country during Disney’s Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World Resorts. He completed his run in 1 hour, 27 minutes and 32 seconds, placing 10th among male runners.
Sunday’s half marathon was the final race of the three-race weekend that included a 5K and a 10K, plus a Disney Fairytale Challenge where runners complete the 10K and the half marathon.
James said he enjoyed the race and will likely return to Florida for January’s Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, where he plans to take on the Dopey Challenge, which consists of running the 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon on consecutive days for a total of 48.6 miles and six medals.
James made history on season 25 of “The Bachelor” as the first Black man to appear as the lead in the long-running show. He graduated from Sanderson High School before playing football for Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem.
A group of 35 famous filmmakers spent $15.5 million to purchase the Fox Village Theatre in Westwood, The Real Deal has learned.
Producer Jason Reitman rallied the filmmakers — including Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan and Bradley Cooper — to buy the 25,000-square-foot venue in Westwood Village in an effort to preserve the theater.
The consortium spent about $640 a square foot on the theater — and bought the property through a limited liability company called Village Directors Circle, according to records.
On average, the deal comes out to about $443,000 per filmmaker, though it’s unlikely each person put in the same amount of cash.
The sale was made across 10 different deeds, buying it from individuals who had held stakes in the property, located at 945 Broxton Avenue, for years. Newmark brokered the deal but declined to disclose a price.
The theater was built in 1931 and has 1,400 seats. The new owners will add a restaurant and bar to the property and showcase film props, wardrobe collections and film prints.
Reitman, whose late father Ivan Reitman directed the original Ghostbusters films, told the Los Angeles Timesthat he rallied the filmmakers as soon as he learned the property was going up for sale.
“I heard that the theater was up for sale last summer, and I remembered what happened to the National Theatre just a few blocks away,” he said, referring to that property’s demolition. “I also heard that one of the bidders was interested in turning it into a live musical theater venue and another bidder was interested in turning the interior into retail.
“I immediately put in a bid, and I started reaching out to directors I knew,” he said.
In 2022, Grubb Properties bought the Laemmle theater in North Hollywood and planned to build 128 units on the site.
The full list of new owners are among the most recognizable names in show business. In addition to Spielberg, Nolan, Cooper, Reitman, investors include: J.J. Abrams, Guillermo del Toro, Christopher McQuarrie, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Chris Miller, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang and Chloé Zhao.
After several days of sun, L.A. County is expected to see mostly cloudy skies and light rain this week, according to forecasters.
There’s a chance of rain late Monday into early Tuesday, but the shower should only bring a quarter of an inch or less, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“It should be quite a bit weaker than most of the storms we’ve had recently. No significant impacts are expected with it,” Wofford said.
Temperatures are expected to range from the high 50s to the high 60s throughout much of the week, according to the weather service.
The region is expected to see some sunny skies on Wednesday and Thursday before a stronger storm system rolls in on Friday, with temperatures dropping into the 50s over the weekend. Saturday is expected to remain mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of rain across the Los Angeles County area.
Wofford said the Santa Monica Mountains, Hollywood Hills and hillsides in Palos Verdes will be the most vulnerable to landslides, but the risk won’t be as great as it was earlier this month, when monster storms pummeled the region.
Two days after Rebecca Grossman was convicted on several counts in the deadly hit-and-run crash that killed two young brothers, the Westlake Village community gathered to honor the victims’ young lives in a memorial.
Numerous bouquets of flowers were placed at the site of the 2020 crash where 11-year-old Mark Iskander and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander were killed. The boys were crossing the street at a marked crosswalk with their family when Grossman sped down the road and struck the boys with her vehicle.
NBCLA
A poster of Mark and Jacob Iskander is displayed at a memorial for the boys on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024.
She was convicted on Friday of two counts each of murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one felony count of hit-and-run driving. Grossman faces up to 34 years to life in prison.
“We felt it was important to gather together because a lot of people couldn’t come to court and it was important to gather together and say a prayer for Mark and Jacob,” said Julie Cohen, a friend of the Iskander family.
Nancy and Karim Iskander, parents of the young boys, were unable to attend the memorial as they continue to process their grief over their sons’ deaths and relief over Grossman’s sentence. On Friday, however, the mourning parents spoke outside the courtroom following the trial.
Socialite Rebecca Grossman has been found guilty on all counts in the hit-and-run crash that killed two young brothers in 2020. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News on Feb. 23, 2024.
“Mark and Jacob did not die. They were murdered,” Nancy Iskander said on Friday. “I don’t have any hate for her. My heart broke for her children. I’m a mother.”
In honor of the boys, their parents have been working hard to give back to the community. In their memory, the Iskanders created a scholarship for foster children and have also contributed to other charitable works.
The John Burroughs High School Vocal Music Association performed Friday and Saturday and has one more show on Sunday at 2:00 pm.
The performances are breathtaking, and the choreographing is better than in some Broadway Shows. The show features Powerhouse, Sound Sensations, Sound Waves, Decibelles, and Men@Work. Also performing were Neo-Chromatics, Dance Ensemble, and the Muses
This year’s show has a cast of hundreds and the same amount of parent volunteers, which helps the show run as smoothly as silk.
Here is a gallery of pictures from Saturday night’s sell-out show.
Change Healthcare’s systems are down for a fourth straight day after parent company UnitedHealth Group disclosed that a suspected cybersecurity threat actor gained access to part of its information technology network on Wednesday.
UnitedHealth, the biggest health-care company in the U.S. by market cap, owns the health-care provider Optum, which merged with Change Healthcare in 2022. Optum services more than 100 million patients in the U.S., according to its website, and Change Healthcare offers solutions for payment and revenue cycle management.
UnitedHealth said it identified a “suspected nation-state-associated” actor behind the attack, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The company isolated and disconnected the impacted systems “immediately upon detection” of the threat, the filing said. UnitedHealth did not share any more details about the nature of the attack in the filing.
In an update at around 2 p.m. ET Saturday, Change Healthcare said the disruption is expected to continue “at least” through the day. The company said Friday that it has a high level of confidence that Optum, UnitedHealthcare and UnitedHealth systems have not been impacted.
“We are working on multiple approaches to restore the impacted environment and will not take any shortcuts or take any additional risk as we bring our systems back online,” Change Healthcare said Saturday.
UnitedHealth did not share any additional information with CNBC beyond the update.
While UnitedHealth did not specify exactly which Change Healthcare systems were impacted by the attack in its regulatory filing, companies like CVS Health said the interruption is impacting some of its business operations.
CVS Health is continuing to fill prescriptions, but it is not able to process insurance claims in certain cases, the company told CNBC in a statement on Saturday. CVS Health said there is “no indication” that its own systems have been compromised.
“We’re committed to ensuring access to care as we navigate through this interruption,” CVS Health said in the statement.
The American Hospital Association released a statement Thursday urging health-care organizations to disconnect from Optum until it is deemed safe to reconnect. The AHA said it has been talking with the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency about the attack, according to the statement.
The AHA declined to comment on the Change Healthcare cyberattack. The FBI, HHS and CISA did not return CNBC’s requests for comment.
LOS ANGELES — “Oppenheimer” continued to steamroll through Hollywood’s awards season on Saturday, winning the top prize, for outstanding cast, along with awards for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards.
As the Academy Awards draw closer, Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic – already a winner at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs – has increasingly looked like the run-away favorite. The SAG Awards, one of the most telling Oscar predictors, will only add to the momentum for “Oppenheimer,” the lead Academy Awards nominee with 13 nods.
The SAG Awards were streamed live on Netflix, a first for a major Hollywood award show. That made for some significant tweaks to the age-old traditions of such ceremonies. There were no ads. Profanity was permitted. (“Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say in front of Oprah,” said Idris Elba.) And winners were occasionally interviewed backstage by red-carpet co-host Tan France – sometimes awkwardly, sometimes charmingly.
The SAG Awards don’t always signify Oscar success. Two of the last five winners from the guild (“The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Black Panther”) lost at the Academy Awards. But in the past two years, all five of the top SAG prizes – best ensemble and the four acting winners – have corresponded with the eventual Oscar winners, including the ensembles for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “CODA.”
That could mean the SAGs offered an Oscar preview in two of the closest contests: best actor and best actress.
The night’s most thrilling win went to Lily Gladstone for female actor in a leading role in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” No category has been more hotly contested, with analysts evenly split between Gladstone and Emma Stone for “Poor Things.”
But Gladstone won Saturday and the crowd erupted. Stone, too, stood and vigorously applauded. More is riding on Gladstone than perhaps any other Oscar contender this year. Her win would be a first for Native Americans.
“We bring empathy into a world that so much needs it,” said Gladstone. “It’s so easy to distance ourselves. It’s so easy to close off, to stop feeling. And we all bravely keep feeling. And that humanizes people. That brings people out of the shadows. It brings visibility.”
Murphy and Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”) have also been seen as in a neck-and-neck contest. But Murphy has now won at the SAGs, the BAFTAs and Globes, suggesting he has the clear edge heading into the Academy Awards.
Downey Jr. and Da’Vine Joy Randolph each won for their supporting performances, likewise solidifying their status as Oscar favorites.
“Why me? Why now? Why do things seem to be going my way?” said Downey Jr., accepting his first SAG Award for a film performance. “Unlike my fellow nominees, I will never grow tired from the sound of my own voice.”
Randolph’s performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” has been a breakthrough role for the 37-year-old actor. Now, she appears poised to win the Academy Award.
“To every actor out there still waiting in the wings for their chance, let me tell you: Your life can change in a day,” Randolph said. “It’s not a question of if but when. Keep going.”
After more than two decades airing on TNT and TBS to dwindling viewership, Netflix acquired telecast rights to the SAG Awards in early 2023. Netflix, a dominant force for years in awards season, turned host, too.
“Personally, I can’t wait to get home and have Netflix recommend this show to me based on all the other stuff that I watch myself in,” joked Idris Elba, the night’s de facto emcee.
The TV awards went largely to the same shows that have cleaned up at the Emmys and Golden Globes: “The Bear” (best comedy series ensemble, Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri ); “Beef” (Ali Wong, Steven Yeun); and the cast of “Succession.”
One exception was Pedro Pascal, who won best male actor in a drama series for “The Last of Us” over a trio of “Succession” stars.
“This is wrong for a number of reasons,” said a visibly stunned Pascal. “I’m a little bit drunk. I thought I could get drunk.”
This year’s SAG Awards follows a grueling months-long strike in which the SAG-AFTRA union fought a bitter battle over a number of issues. Much of the work stoppage was prompted over changes in the film and TV industry brought on by streaming and a sea change led by Netflix.
“Your solidarity ignited workers around the world, triggering what forever will be remember as ‘the hot labor summer,’” said Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA. “This was a seminal moment in our union’s history.”
The new streaming platform was sure to put even more of a spotlight on one of the most closely-watched predictors of the Academy Awards. Oscar voting wraps Tuesday.
Barbra Streisand held the audience in rapt attention while accepting a lifetime achievement award, presented by Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper.
“I remember dreaming of being an actress as a teenager sitting in my bed in Brooklyn with a pint of coffee ice cream and a movie magazine,” said Streisand, who recalled being transfixed by “my first crush,” Marlon Brando.
Streisand also took a moment to celebrate the Jewish pioneers of Hollywood.
“Now I dream of a world where such prejudice is a thing of the past,” she said.
Saturday’s show was one of Netflix’s most significant forays yet into live streaming events. Netflix has previously hosted a live Chris Rock comedy special, a celebrity golf tournament and a live reunion “Love Is Blind” episode that was marred by technical difficulties. But Netflix is gearing up for more. On March 3, it will stream a live tennis event.
USC coach Andy Enfield gives instructions to players during the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against UCLA, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
USC guard Kobe Johnson (0) goes up for a basket over UCLA guard Sebastian Mack (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
USC guard Boogie Ellis (5) drives to the basket as UCLA guard Dylan Andrews (2) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
USC guard Isaiah Collier (1) goes to the basket next to UCLA guard Lazar Stefanovic (10) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
UCLA guard Sebastian Mack (12) shoots as USC forward Vincent Iwuchukwu (3) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
UCLA guard Lazar Stefanovic (10) reacts after scoring a basket during the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Southern California, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
UCLA forward Berke Buyuktuncel (9) shoots next to USC forward DJ Rodman, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
USC guard Isaiah Collier (1) shoots as UCLA forward Berke Buyuktuncel (9) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
LOS ANGELES – It is hard to imagine a team not showing up energized and focused for a rivalry game. Especially a team that had more to play for.
But that six-game winning streak UCLA compiled before losing at the buzzer to Utah last week? That’s old news, getting smaller in the rear view mirror.
The chance of getting back to the NCAA Tournament, and giving Mick Cronin his 12th straight trip to March Madness (if you forgive 2020, when there was no tournament because of COVID-19)? It’s hanging by the skinniest of threads. USC, which played its way out of contention for an at-large bid weeks ago, likely extinguished it’s rival’s at-large hopes as well Saturday night with a 62-56 decision at Pauley Pavilion that was a lot more convincing than the final score looked.
“There’s only one way we can make the tournament,” he said. “You gotta win the conference tournament, by my math.”
But that might have been the least of his worries, following a discouraging loss and the attitudes during the week of practice that led up to it.
“It’s a simple game – the team that plays harder usually wins,” Cronin said. “They played much harder than us. They were more physical. They had humility. They came in here looking for redemption. We had no humility. Show me somebody that’s not humble, and I’ll show you somebody getting ready to get humbled.
“We had our worst week of practice of the season. I failed miserably to get my team ready for the fight that was coming today. And I’m thoroughly embarrassed. I apologize to the people wearing the four letters. Yes, we really struggled making open shots, but that has nothing to do with all the stuff I talked about. The team that wins the fight usually wins the game, and they won the fight in every way. We were awful.”
Exhibit A: Cronin noted that the top priority listed on the locker room board before the game was to put the clamps on the Trojans’ Boogie Ellis.
“Do not let him shoot,” Cronin said. “Make somebody else beat us. How’d that work?”
Ellis had 18 points at halftime, on 6-for-10 shooting and 3 for 5 from 3-point country. He finished with 24. Meanwhile, UCLA’s guards were 5 for 17 from the field in the first half, 7 for 35 for the game with 11 turnovers. And after using a 15-1 run at the end of the first half to tie the game 34-34, UCLA didn’t score a point for the first 7:15 of the second half to fall back again.
“We missed our first five shots (after halftime), so we just came out flat with no energy,” Adem Bona said.
The 15-1 run was, Cronin said, the only time during the game he felt his team played hard. Otherwise, “We let them run whatever they wanted to run. We took nothing away from them.”
The signs evidently were there in the days leading up to the game, and Cronin seemed befuddled that he had to “put guys on the treadmill, yell and scream and run my team the day before you’re playing your rival in front of your biggest crowd of the season … I should have to calm them down.”
Would this be the sort of experience that might get his players’ attention for the final four regular season games and the conference tournament? Maybe. Maybe not.
“You would assume they’re extremely humble” after a loss like that, Cronin said, adding that he didn’t expect them to take it as hard as he did.
“I’m not going to talk to anybody tonight,” he said. “I’m going to hate myself, the job I did. The only person I’m talking to tonight is my dog, okay? And that’s it. I have a recruit in town, so somehow I have to rally tomorrow.
“They’re not me. Like, they’re not you. They’re just not. They’re kids. I mean, I would hope that they were thoroughly embarrassed, and they should be. I just don’t know if it’s like that. … There’s certain guys (who will take it hard). Other guys will go out. You know, I’m liable to have four guys out eating and laughing tonight with their girlfriend. That’s just the way it is.”
Kids these days, right?
The metrics that will ultimately be used in determining at-large teams are very unfriendly to both L.A. schools. Before Saturday night UCLA was 107th in the NET rating, one of the primary tools the NCAA Tournament selection committee uses to evaluate potential at-large teams, while USC was 108th. The two figured to flip-flop after Saturday’s result, and neither is close to the territory that would qualify for the tournament’s 36 at-large berths.
UCLA is 14-13, but when you take away a Maui Classic victory over Division II Chaminade, it’s a .500 team. They’re still in fourth place in the Pac-12 at 9-7, and in position for a first-day bye in ‘Vegas, but their four remaining conference games include games at second-place Washington State (12-5) and at home against first place Arizona (12-4).
USC (11-16, 5-11) right now is in 11th place and would have to somehow win four games in four days in ‘Vegas to get back to March Madness. It could be argued that Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion was their NCAA Tournament equivalent.
The Trojans played like it mattered. The Bruins didn’t, and it showed.
State Sen. Susan Rubio has a powerful position in Sacramento. As chair of the Insurance Committee, the Baldwin Park Democrat can help pass or kill any legislation affecting that industry.
Due to a law meant to prevent corruption, Rubio can’t accept campaign donations from insurance lobbyists — or any other lobbyists — as she raises money for her 2026 reelection to the Legislature. State law forbids California lobbyists from donating to the campaigns of state lawmakers.
But there are no such restrictions on lobbyists donating to campaigns for federal office, even when the candidate is a state lawmaker. So as Rubio runs for Congress this year, she can take donations for her federal campaign from lobbyists who may seek to influence her votes in Sacramento.
And she is.
Rubio has received nearly $43,300 in contributions from registered state lobbyists in her campaign to replace retiring Rep. Grace F. Napolitano in California’s 31st Congressional District. It’s a sliver of her overall fundraising as of Feb. 14, but the most lobbyist money of any California lawmaker who is running for federal office. Many of those who donated to Rubio’s congressional campaign represent companies that lobby bills that are heard before committees she sits on as a state legislator, including the Insurance Committee and those that oversee policy related to healthcare, alcohol regulations and energy and utilities.
Eight state legislators are running for Congress this year. Six have received lobbyist donations, in amounts that vary widely, adding up to $96,090.
The donations are legal and make up a small portion of the candidates’ overall fundraising. Still, some watchdogs say they should be prohibited because of the risk that lobbyists’ money could shape lawmakers’ decisions in the work they are doing at the state level.
“It doesn’t mean they’ll vote in their favor, but the possibility that could happen exists,” said Sean McMorris, a program manager at the government watchdog group Common Cause.
His organization was part of the coalition that 50 years ago introduced California’s Political Reform Act, the law that bans lobbyist donations to state lawmakers.
Bob Stern, co-author of the law, said the state prohibition was put in place because “legislators were receiving huge amounts from people who were lobbying them, and we thought there should be a disconnect between lobbying and campaign contributions.”
In practice, Stern said, the prohibition’s impacts were limited, since the companies hiring lobbyists could still give directly to candidates, as can affiliated political action committees.
But there was “symbolism” to the separation, he said.
Rubio’s campaign manager, Giovanni Ruiz, said all contributions she had received from individuals were “solely based on mutually respectful relationships,” and she had opposed issues that donors lobbied for in the past.
Ruiz also noted that Rubio was being massively outspent by her opponent Gil Cisneros, who has put $4 million of his own money into his campaign.
Silicon Valley congressional candidate Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Campbell) received $21,650 from lobbyists, making up 2% of his fundraising. He joined the late-breaking race to replace retiring Rep. Anna G. Eshoo in early December, just months before the March primary.
Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who is vying to replace Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Los Angeles), received $4,000, and her opponent state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank) received $6,500 from lobbyists. Those totals account for less than 1% of each of their fundraising.
Portantino and Friedman have both been running for the Los Angeles congressional seat for more than a year.
Hurtado told The Times that lawmakers should be able to receive those donations but acknowledged that “money has the ability to corrupt people, it’s plain and simple.”
Since August, Hurtado has raised less than $100,000; she said she is in debt from putting her own money into the race. The only money she doesn’t accept is from the cannabis industry, she told The Times.
Friedman went further, saying she sees the potential issues would support a law that prevents federal campaigns from accepting money from state lobbyists.
Friedman noted that her campaign was turning down all corporate PAC money and described that as a far more salient issue in races like hers. She characterized the lobbyist contributions she and her colleagues had received as small compared with the “avalanche of money out there” from clients of the lobbyists.
Portantino, Low and Min did not respond to requests for comment.
Two state legislators running for Congress have not received any lobbyist donations: Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), who is also running for Napolitano’s San Gabriel Valley seat and launched his campaign last summer, and Assemblymember Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield), who is running for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s vacant Bakersfield seat. Fong launched his campaign in December.
Because of the limited disclosures required by the state, lobbyists are not required to publicly report which lawmakers they have attempted to influence on various bills, making it difficult to draw direct lines between their lobbying efforts and their donations. But campaign finance and lobbying records show that several of the candidates have received donations from lobbyists who work with companies seeking to influence policy in the areas in which they have power, based on committee positions.
Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) is one of several state lawmakers running for Congress this year
Rubio’s spokesperson noted that the senator’s relationship with Lee long predated her election to the Legislature.
Rubio also received $2,000 from lobbyist Paul Gladfelty, whose firm represents the Travelers insurance company.
“It is not uncommon for state lobbyists to make personal contributions to congressional candidates we know and believe in, which state law allows. Prior to the Senator running for Legislative office, I had the opportunity to establish a personal friendship,” Gladfelty said by text message, adding that his friendship with Rubio “exists regardless of her committee assignments.”
Their firm also represents Southern California Edison, which routinely lobbies on bills in the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee that Min and Rubio both sit on; the Anheuser-Busch beer company that lobbies the committee that regulates alcohol, of which Rubio is a member ; and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which lobbies the health committee that Rubio sits on.
Lobbyist RJ Cervantes, whose clients include trade associations for cryptocurrency and electronic payment companies, gave $3,300 to Low, who serves as co-chair of the Legislative Technology & Innovation Caucus, a group of lawmakers who want to foster a tech-friendly climate in California.
Cervantes, Kimmelshue, Fernández and Lee did not respond to requests for comment.
Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School and former president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, saw the situation as less clear cut than Common Cause’s McMorris.
She didn’t think it was unethical for state lawmakers to accept lobbyist donations to their congressional campaigns, since there was “a very real opening in the law” that allows such donations to federal campaigns.
“It’s up to the voters to determine if this is something that bothers them,” Levinson said. “My guess is that for most voters, it’s pretty far down on the list.”
Providence’s pitching was solid, yielding four hits and two runs to Glendale. (Photo by Rick Assad)
By Rick Assad
There were three runs tallied and six hits garnered combined by host Providence High and Glendale on Friday afternoon in a Poly Tournament baseball game at Schafer Field at Ralph Foy Park.
Five pitchers were used, and it turned out to be a battle of hurlers, but over seven innings, the Nitros had just enough pitching and added timely hitting and eventually secured a 2-1 victory.
With the score knotted at 1-1, and the top of the sixth inning, the Nitros saw junior Dante Vasquez rip a one-out single down the right-field line.
Junior Derek Chilian entered as a pinch-runner and proceeded to swipe second and third base.
With two out, senior Xander Knur hit a tapper in front of home plate and Chilian raced home for a 2-1 lead.
Providence, though young and feisty, fought back as Adrian Contreras walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning.
Contreras scooted to second base on a wild pitch by junior Ace Baker and stole third base.
Baker was in trouble, but he struck out Andrew Malong swinging, and Eric Chuchvara lifted a fly to center field for the second out.
When Garett Barnes grounded to second base for the final out, Baker earned the save.
The Pioneers (0-3) scored the first run in the top of the first inning when Contreras was safe on an error.
On a sunny Friday afternoon, Providence lost to Glendale 2-1. (Photo by Rick Assad)
Contreras proceeded to steal second and third base and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Barnes.
Chuchvara had both hits for the Pioneers, and they were an infield hit in the third inning and a single to right center in the fifth inning.
The Nitros (2-4) evened it at 1-1 in the top of the second as seven batters went to the plate.
Vasquez drew a one-out walk, went to second base on a fielder’s choice by junior Garo Manuelian and third on a sacrifice bunt from Knur.
Vasquez scored on senior Jason Hyde’s hard-hit infield single to shortstop.
“What I liked was that our pitcher, Garo Manuelian, kept us in the game with four strong innings and allowed one run and [junior] Austin Gonzalez came back from the injured list to get two solid innings and get the win,” said Glendale first-year coach Kevin Ortega.
Contreras started on the mound for the Pioneers and toured four effective innings, walking five, striking out five and allowing two hits.
Barnes took the loss after working two frames, surrendering two hits with two strikeouts.
Baker was credited with the save after touring one frame while adding a strikeout and a walk.
“Baker showed heart to get the save with the tying run at third base,” Ortega said. “It was a team effort and that is how he should be if we are going to want to compete with the power houses of our division.”
Manuelian was Glendale’s starting pitcher, working four innings, fanning six, walking three, hitting a batter and allowing one hit.
Gonzalez came in and went two innings, yielding one hit, striking out one and hitting one batter and took the win.
Junior Joseph Tapia singled to left center in the second inning for the Nitros but didn’t score.
Firefighters, building inspectors and a geologist were in a Brentwood neighborhood tonight where there was concern that the hillside around five homes was slipping.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 4:16 p.m. Saturday to the 1400 block of North Bundy Drive, where residents were concerned about the stability of the hillside near Mount Saint Mary’s University’s Chalon Campus, said the LAFD’s Nicholas Prange.
“Building and Safety performed an initial assessment and will be sending out a specialist within 48 hours for an additional slope assessment,” Prange said.
They concluded that an official evacuation order was not needed.
“Responders on scene were in close communication with residents, explaining the situation and findings,” he said. No injuries were reported.
By Meg Kinnard and Will Weissert, Associated Press
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is looking to win his fourth straight primary state on Saturday over Nikki Haley in South Carolina, aiming to hand a home-state embarrassment to his last remaining major rival for the Republican nomination.
Trump went into Saturday’s primary with a huge polling lead and the backing of the state’s top Republicans, including Sen. Tim Scott, a former rival in the race. Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador under Trump, has spent weeks crisscrossing the state that twice elected her governor warning that the dominant front-runner, who is 77 and faces four indictments, is too old and distracted to be president again.
In all but one primary since 1980, the Republican winner in South Carolina has gone on to be the party’s nominee. But Haley has repeatedly vowed to carry on if she loses her home state, even as Trump positions himself for a likely general election rematch against Biden.
As Haley voted at her polling place on Kiawah Island, the private residential community where she lives, she said she faced the day with “great gratitude.” Haley pressed her argument that she is the alternative to “the two most disliked politicians in America” in Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden.
“There is a choice,” Haley said, speaking alongside her children and mother. ”We can leave the drama and the chaos, and we can leave the incompetence, and we can go to something that is normal.”
Trump, who held a rally and addressed Black conservatives at a gala Friday, was in Maryland for an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday before returning to South Carolina. His campaign issued a statement saying Haley was “no longer living in reality.”
“The primary ends tonight and it is time to turn to the general election,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement released as voting was underway.
Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley helps her mother Raj Kaur Randhawa to the voting booth Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Kiawah Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A resident walks out of their voting precinct after voting on the morning of the South Carolina Republican primary at New Bridge Academy in Cayce, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
People vote at a voting precinct on the morning of the South Carolina Republican primary at Cayce United Methodist Church in Cayce, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Voters depart a voting center at Travelers Rest Missionary Baptist Church, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Spartanburg, S.C. The Republican primary is being held today in the state. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A voting sign is seen near a voting center at Croft Baptist Church, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Spartanburg, S.C. The Republican primary is being held today in the state. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley talks to the media after voting Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Kiawah Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley arrives to vote with her mother Raj Kaur Randhawa and family members Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Kiawah Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley greets a supporter after voting Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Kiawah Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Republican presidential candidate former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley gestures as she speaks with reporters after casting her vote in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, on Kiawah Island, S.C. Pictured at right is Haley’s mother, Raj Randhawa. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
A resident walks into their voting precinct after voting on the morning of the South Carolina Republican primary at New Bridge Academy in Cayce, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
A sign for voting is visible outside the New Bridge Academy on the morning of the South Carolina Republican primary in Cayce, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
A resident walks out of their voting precinct after voting on the morning of the South Carolina Republican primary at New Bridge Academy in Cayce, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Trump’s backers, including those who previously supported Haley during her time as governor, seemed confident that the former president would have a solid victory on Saturday.
“I did support her when she was governor. She’s done some good things,” Davis Paul, 36, said as he waited for Trump at a recent rally in Conway. “But I just don’t think she’s ready to tackle a candidate like Trump. I don’t think many people can.”
He has drawn much larger crowds and campaigned with Gov. Henry McMaster, who succeeded Haley, and Scott, who was elevated to the Senate by Haley.
Speaking Friday in Rock Hill, Trump accused Haley of staying in the race to hurt him at the behest of Democratic donors.
“All she’s trying to do is inflict pain on us so they can win in November,” he said. “We’re not going to let that happen.”
In some of those rallies, Trump has made comments that handed Haley more fodder for her stump speeches, such as his Feb. 10 questioning of why her husband — currently on a South Carolina Army National Guard deployment to Africa — hadn’t been campaigning alongside her. Haley turned that point into an argument that the front-runner doesn’t respect servicemembers and their families, long a criticism that has followed Trump going back to his suggesting the late Sen. John McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam, wasn’t a hero because he was captured.
That same night, Trump asserted that he would encourage countries like Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” against NATO member countries who failed to meet the transatlantic alliance’s defense spending targets. Haley has been holding out that moment as evidence that Trump is too volatile and “getting weak in the knees when it comes to Russia.”
After one of Haley’s events, Terry Sullivan, a U.S. Navy veteran who lives in Hopkins, said he had planned to support Trump but changed his mind after hearing Haley’s critique of his NATO comments.
“One country can say whatever it wants, but when you have an agreement, among other nations, we should join the agreements of other nations, not just off on our own,” Sullivan said. “After listening to Nikki, I think I’m a Nikki supporter now.”
Haley has made an indirect appeal to Democrats who in large numbers sat out their own presidential primary earlier this month, adding into her stump speech a line that “anybody can vote in this primary as long as they didn’t vote in the Feb. 3 Democrat primary.”
Some of those voters have been showing up at her events, saying that although they planned to vote for Biden in the general election, they planned to cross over to the GOP primary on Saturday as a way to oppose Trump now.
In any other campaign cycle, a home state loss might be detrimental to a campaign. In 2016, Sen. Marco Rubio dropped out shortly after losing Florida in a blowout to Trump, after his campaign argued the political winds would shift in his favor once the campaign moved to his home state.
And Haley’s campaign can’t name a state in which they feel she will be victorious over Trump.
But in a speech this past week in Greenville, Haley said she would stay in the campaign “until the last person votes,” arguing that those whose contests come after the early primaries and caucuses deserved the right to have a choice between candidates.
Haley also used that speech — which many had assumed was an announcement she was shuttering her campaign — to argue that she feels “no need to kiss the ring,” as others had, possibly with prospects of serving as Trump’s running mate in mind.
“I have no fear of Trump’s retribution,” Haley reiterated. “I’m not looking for anything from him. My own political future is of zero concern.”
Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
Polls close at 7 p.m. ET after which votes will be counted and the winner announced. Haley intends to speak once the winner is declared. Trump is holding a watch party in South Carolina where he is also likely to speak.
South Carolina holds an open primary, meaning that voters of any party can vote in the Republican primary as long as they have not already voted in the Democratic primary, which President Joe Biden won on Feb. 3.
As South Carolinians head to the polls, Trump has a roughly 30-point lead against Haley, according to a February survey from USA Today and Suffolk University, disintegrating any hopes of her home-court advantage.
Would Haley’s loss end the primary?
Haley vowed on Tuesday to stay in the race until at least Super Tuesday on March 5, no matter the results in South Carolina. Her campaign confirmed that she does have the funding to keep her afloat after a record fundraising month in January.
“We have the resources to go the distance,” a spokesperson for Haley’s campaign told CNBC on Tuesday.
Republican candidates need 1,215 delegates to secure the nomination. Trump currently has 63 to Haley’s 17. As long as Haley does not drop out, the Republican primary will continue to be a two-person race, much to Trump’s dismay.
But even with her financing and resolve, Haley’s campaign faces a steep path forward.
Haley’s campaign has been tempering expectations over the past week, arguing that she does not need to win South Carolina to garner momentum for future primaries. The former U.N. ambassador has yet to win a race this primary season, though she managed to pull out a slimmer loss against Trump in New Hampshire due to the state’s wide population of undeclared voters.
South Carolina is much less undecided. Along with holding a polling lead, Trump has the endorsements of local South Carolina GOP chapters, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace and other lawmakers in the state. Trump also has a healthy track record in the Palmetto State, having won the GOP primary in 2016 and taking 55% of the votes in 2020 against Joe Biden.
Where are the candidates on South Carolina’s top issues?
South Carolinians have immigration and the economy top of mind as they cast their ballots, mirroring sentiments nationwide. According to the February USA Today/Suffolk University poll, 42% of likely South Carolina GOP voters view immigration as the most important issue, while 26% prioritize the economy.
Trump has made immigration a central pillar of his campaign so far, pledging to revive his immigration bans and execute militarized mass deportations that he intends to make far more aggressive than his first term in the White House.
Despite his hardline approach to border security, Trump simultaneously worked behind the scenes to tank a bipartisan congressional border deal that would have provided $20 billion of border funding.
Trump reportedly told Republican lawmakers to torpedo the bill so that he could continue lambasting Biden and Haley for their immigration stances on the campaign trail.
Haley criticized Trump for derailing the bill: “Donald Trump, the last thing he needs to do is tell them to wait to pass the border deal until the election.”
Haley herself has a hardline immigration record, despite the Trump campaign’s attempts to paint her as weak on the issue. She said she would defund sanctuary cities, close the border and deport unauthorized immigrants.
Under the Biden administration, South Carolina’s economy has improved.
Unemployment in the state is at 3%, down from 3.3% a year ago and under the national average of 3.7%. The state also was a major beneficiary of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which poured investment into electric vehicles that has created more than 12,000 jobs so far. Inflation in the state is slowly cooling at 4.3% compared to the national rate of 3.1%.
However, both Trump and Haley have repeatedly slammed Biden’s economy. Their economic agendas both tend to include similar rhetoric of cracking down on trade with China and cutting taxes.
Haley’s economic platform, dubbed the Freedom Plan, is centered around tax breaks for the middle class, boosting small businesses and eliminating Biden’s $500 billion investment in clean energy projects, which South Carolina has benefited from.
Trump would also roll back Biden’s IRA, reinstate his first-term tax cuts, which for the most part benefited the wealthy, and impose major tax increases on foreign goods, specifically to restrict trade with China. During his first term, Trump’s China tariffs nearly started a trade war, which disrupted the global economy and drove prices higher for consumers.
Former talk show host Wendy Williams is thanking well-wishers for their response to the revelation she has been diagnosed with dementia and ahead of the airing of Lifetime documentary about her struggles.
“I want to say I have immense gratitude for the love and kind words I have received after sharing my diagnosis of Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). Let me say, wow! Your response has been overwhelming,” Williams said in a statement released to The Associated Press through a representative for her care team. “The messages shared with me have touched me, reminding me of the power of unity and the need for compassion.”
Williams’ statement came a day after her team revealed the 59-year-old has been diagnosed with with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
It also came hours after a New York judge ruled that Lifetime’s “Where is Wendy Williams?” documentary will air this weekend as scheduled. The order signed by an appellate judge, who was reviewing a petition to block the documentary’s release, says such a ruling would be an “impermissible prior restraint on speech that violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
The ruling clears Lifetime’s two-night broadcast plan for “Where is Wendy Williams?,” which includes footage of the former talk show host and interviews.
An attorney for Williams’ guardian did not immediately return an email seeking comment Friday.
“Lifetime appeared in court today, and the documentary ‘Where is Wendy Williams?’ will air this weekend as planned,” the network said in a statement.
Emma Heming Willis, the wife of actor Bruce Willis, is opening up about what it’s like caring for someone with dementia and mental health.
“I continue to need personal space and peace to thrive,” Williams said in her statement Friday. “Please just know that your positivity and encouragement are deeply appreciated.”
She credited the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration for its support and efforts to educate the public about the disease, which is the same form of dementia Bruce Willis has, after her diagnosis was announced.
Frontotemporal dementia is a rare disease that affects parts of the brain controlling behavior and language. These parts of the brain shrink as the disease gets worse. The disease often includes primary progressive aphasia, which means it’s causing problems with language skills. A person with this type of FTD may have trouble finding words or understanding speech.
Williams’ self-titled daytime talk show ended in 2022 because of her health issues. Sherri Shepherd, who filled in for Williams as a guest host, received her own show.
In this Nov. 7, 2014, file photo, TV talk show host Wendy Williams arrives during the 2014 Soul Train Awards in Las Vegas.
Photo by Omar Vega/Invision/AP, File
Williams said in 2018 that she had been diagnosed years before with Graves’ disease, which leads to the overproduction of thyroid hormones and can cause wide-ranging symptoms that can affect overall health. Thursday’s statement from Williams’ care team said Williams’ dementia diagnosis happened in 2023.
People magazine reported in a cover story on Williams this week that some family members say they don’t know where she is and cannot call her themselves, but that she can call them.
The article said the Lifetime documentary crew, which set out in 2022 to chronicle Williams’ comeback, stopped filming in April 2023 when, her manager “and jeweler” Will Selby says in footage for the film, she entered a facility to treat “cognitive issues.” Her son says in the documentary that doctors had connected her cognitive issues to alcohol use, People reported.
A burst hydrogen peroxide line at the Chiquita Canyon landfill injured one person Friday evening, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
It wasn’t immediately clear if there was any resulting damage at the Castaic facility, but hazardous-material teams from the Fire Department were continuing to clean up as of shortly before 10 p.m., according to agency spokesperson Craig Little.
Firefighters initially responded to reports of an explosion at the landfill at 7 p.m. Friday, but Little said it was soon determined there was no explosion or fire. The issue was a mechanical failure of a small high-pressure hose during normal operations.
One landfill employee was taken to a hospital after the hose burst, Little said, but the extent of that person’s injuries were unknown.
He said no one else was injured in the incident.
Little said the burst hose didn’t appear to be related to any cleanup for a fire burning inside the landfill.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday ordered Chiquita Canyon to take immediate steps to protect the environment and human health, saying the smoldering facility poses an imminent danger to nearby communities due to hazardous liquid waste and noxious odors.
Scorching temperatures within the dump have increased and expanded since as early as May 2022, when a heat-generating chemical reaction is estimated to have started deep in the landfill. The reaction has caused pressure to build within the 639-acre facility at times, forcing contaminated, piping-hot water to burst onto the surface.
Federal environmental regulators have said this polluted water has contained cancer-causing benzene above federal standards. Officials and residents have also raised concerns that toxic fumes are drifting from the landfill to nearby communities and that polluted water has been discharged into nearby waterways.
Waste Connections Inc., the landfill operator, is trying to slow and eventually stop the chemical reaction by removing excess gases and liquid, according to landfill officials.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents communities surrounding Chiquita Canyon, said continued incidents at the landfill like Friday’s “clearly signal that a major change in management and leadership is needed immediately.”
“I have lost faith that the ongoing issues with the landfill will ever be resolved unless those long overdue changes are made,” she said in a statement.
Sunshine Canyon in Sylmar, the only landfill larger than Chiquita Canyon in L.A. County, is dealing with a different environmental crisis: Water intrusion has fueled bacteria growth. The situation has brought months of putrid odors to surrounding communities.
This is a developing story. Times staff writer Tony Briscoe contributed to this report.
The realignment of Olive Ave. from Glenoaks to Sunset Canyon
I can’t imagine who among our city’s planners thought this was a good idea. To those of us who have lived here all our lives, the elimination of one lane in each direction is an exercise in tyranny – an attempt to control drivers for no discernible reason. The new yellow lines make the street look like a child got a hold of a yellow crayon and scribbled. It cannot be for buses as they do not travel above Glenoaks. Why was this done?
Now each lane is narrow, so narrow that drivers who try to get out of their cars parked on Olive will be at risk. So will the side mirrors on any vehicle bigger than a Fiat. When the UPS or Amazon trucks park in the lanes as they do countless times a day, it appears that if a driver goes around them into the median they could be ticketed.
Olive above Glenoaks has always been an especially beautiful street because it is wide, with the view to the arch at Country Club Drive. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what has been done. Adding insult to injury is that many hundreds of new apartment buildings are going up all over town. Those additional residents will only add to the already-clogged traffic in the afternoons. If continuing this absurd plan down Olive is still under consideration, please stop and reflect on the enormous inconvenience it will bring to Burbank residents. Return Olive to what it has been for the last 75 years. It worked just fine.
Patricia McCarthy Burbank
Editor’s Note: During the “Ask the Mayor” show myBurbank Talks did this week, one question was about the reconfiguration of East Olive Avenue, which Mayor Schultz explained in depth. You can find the show and his answer here: Ask the Mayor with Nick Schultz, February 2024
The Burbank City Clerkâs Office is accepting applications for the Planning Commission beginning February 23, 2024 through March 25, 2024. Applications may be submitted online by visiting www.burbankca.gov/bccapplication or you can pick up an application in the City Clerkâs Office located in City Hall at 275 East Olive Avenue, First Floor. Completed applications may be submitted online, mailed, or dropped off (no postmarks and no exceptions for late submittals).Â
The deadline to submit an application to the Burbank City Clerkâs Office is Monday, March 25, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. The appointment is tentatively scheduled to be made at the April 9, 2024, City Council Joint Meeting. All City Board, Commission, and Committee members serve without compensation from the City. No individual shall serve on more than one Board, Commission, or Committee at the same time. All applicants must be electors of, and actually live in, the City of Burbank, with the exception of the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission and the Sustainable Burbank Commission (per BMC Sections 2-1-405, 2-1-406, 2-1-407).Â
Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2022.
Benoit Tessier | Reuters
U.S. prosecutors Friday asked a judge to tighten the bond conditions of billionaire Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao as he awaits his April sentencing for breaking a federal anti-money laundering law, court filings show.
Zhao pleaded guilty in late November to a charge of failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, and stepped down as Binance’s CEO at the same time.
Under the proposed bond, Zhao would be required to provide prosecutors and pretrial services with at least three days’ notice before any travel within the country, to give them time to raise any potential objections.
The new bond conditions would also order Zhao to surrender his current Canadian passport, and they would bar him from applying for a new one without the court’s permission. He would also be barred from changing his place of residence without prior approval.
Zhao’s lawyers objected to the proposal, according to the filing. An attorney for Zhao did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Judge Richard Jones barred Zhao from traveling outside the United States in mid-December, after determining that Zhao’s “enormous wealth” and lack of U.S. ties created a risk that he might flee if allowed to return to his home in the United Arab Emirates.
The prosecutors’ latest filing in U.S. District Court in Seattle noted that pretrial services officers have recommended further restricting Zhao’s movement, allowing him to travel only to the western district of Washington and the district where he currently resides.
Pretrial Services also recommended “a location-monitoring condition,” the filing said in a footnote. The filing does not explicitly ask the judge to impose that condition.
Read more CNBC politics coverage
Zhao, a Canadian national, is free in the U.S. on a $175 million personal recognizance bond. His attorneys have argued that he has taken responsibility for his actions, noting that he is paying a personal penalty of $150 million to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission as part of his agreement with the government.
The Department of Justice announced Zhao’s guilty plea in tandem with an agreement by Binance to pay more than $4.3 billion to resolve multiple federal charges. Attorney General Merrick Garland at the time called it “one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history.”
Federal sentencing guidelines suggest Zhao could face up to 18 months in prison. Prosecutors have reportedly considered asking for a harsher sentence.
A Dec. 22 letter to the court, made public with redactions in late January, revealed that Zhao had asked to return to the UAE for up to four weeks to attend to someone in his life who was scheduled to undergo surgery.
Zhao offered to pledge all of his equity in Binance US in order to assuage concerns about his potential risk of flight, the letter showed. That equity was worth $4.5 billion as of the company’s most recent round of fundraising two years earlier, Zhao’s lawyers said in the letter.
Attempting to reach a third straight MLS Cup final, the Los Angeles Football Club seems poised to make another run in a league that comes off like it penalizes success.
Despite this trying reality, LAFC keeps finding ways to compete. Following a ton of roster turnover – again – the 2024 season ought to feel fresh yet familiar whether or not Carlos Vela returns. His status, of course, remains the biggest question about the upcoming season.
Here are a few more:
What happened with the 3252 supporters sanctions?
Fans inside BMO Stadium should not notice anything different about the sights, sounds and feels coming out of the North End of the building, where the 3252 independent supporters union has earned a reputation as one of if not the most passionate and important drivers of fan culture in Major League Soccer.
For about a minute and a half last December, close to 20 supporters lit flares that cast a red glow onto them and their brethren in the standing section before billowing black smoke delayed kickoff.
Smoke wasn’t the issue. (BMO Stadium, like many MLS venues, accommodates “safe smoke,” which manifests on goals and at the start of matches with the consent of the Fire Marshal.) The incendiary nature of the flares and the way they were brought into the 22,000 seat venue was the trouble.
A few days later, MLS fined LAFC $100,000 and revoked the supporters group’s privileges for 2024.
The club, the venue and the league office established a working group that met weekly. They intended to identify anyone involved while reviewing security processes and supporter management.
The people who lit the flares were eventually ID’d or came forward. Each of them is suspended for 2024, and several, including some founding members, face lifetime bans that can be reviewed.
The club is beefing up security at the stadium on game day, particularly in the North End. And LAFC is working on a PSA about the prohibition of pyrotechnic items in the stadium.
The 3252 leadership was included in discussions emphasizing that this sort of thing violates the MLS Fan Code of Conduct and won’t be tolerated. Those sessions proved productive, and, along with putting in place measures to ensure this wouldn’t happen again, the league reinstated the 3252.
Will LAFC play in the U.S. Open Cup?
Will MLS?
It’s all a big TBD.
LAFC players have been told that the Open Cup – the oldest soccer tournament in America – is a tournament they should expect to compete in this year.
“We are preparing ourselves for MLS regular season games, U.S. Open Cup games, Leagues Cup games and playoff games,” said defensive midfielder Ilie Sanchez. “That’s what we’ve been told so far and that’s our mentality and our goals for this following season.”
Are the kids more than alright?
Erik Dueñas and Nathan Ordaz stepped up their contributions in 2023. That progression must continue as the homegrowns play alongside an influx of similarly young prospects who joined LAFC in the offseason.
Ordaz could be the early-season replacement for Vela in the middle of the LAFC attack, and he’ll need to poach and create goals to play above Tomas Angel or David Martinez.
Dueñas needs to be ready to jump into a midfield unit that could get thin quickly if it can’t avoid injury.
Did Eduard Atuesta improve after playing two years in Brazil?
El Profe thinks he is more physical than when he departed LAFC.
An injury during Atuesta’s time with Palmeiras forced the 26-year-old Colombian to live in the gym and “that was good for my body, for my legs,” he said. “Now I have a different intensity.”
Comfortable setting up attackers or playing more defensively as a 6, Atuesta offers several dimensions for Steve Cherundolo to utilize in the middle of the park.
Should LAFC be concerned about its center backs?
The back line needed to regroup after Giorgio Chiellini’s retirement and the departure of consistent contributors. It heads into Season 7 with four center backs on the roster – Jesus Murillo, Aaron Long, Eddie Segura and Lorenzo Dellavale.
Already Dellavale, the 19-year-old Italian, took a knock and is out of the season opener with a right knee injury.
Segura is fully recovered from a torn ACL that took two surgeries to fix last year, and he missed the 2021 season with the same injury. He has to show he can be a regular contributor.
As it sets up right now, Long and Murillo should be solid after getting plenty of minutes together last year.
William Walters Company, a partnership of investors, has sold Chateau de Ville, a 254-unit multifamily property in Anaheim for $79 million to Chateau De Ville Investment LP, a local investment firm.
The complex, located at 2020 West Alameda Avenue, was on the market for the first time in half a century, and traded for about $311,000 per unit, according to a statement from brokerage Marcus & Millichap, which represented the seller.
The buyer paid $37 million for the property, per the deed obtained by TRD, and assumed debt as part of the transaction, according to a representative of the brokerage.
The manager of Chateau De Ville Investment LP is listed as Gerald Marcil, the head of Palos Verdes Investments, according to state records.
“Orange County has been the tightest major rental market in California for the past three years, and this trend is projected to continue with a fourth straight year of rent growth,” Tyler Leeson, a broker at Marcus & Millichap’s Orange County office, said in a statement.
Chateau de Ville, which was built in 1970, is a 21-building project that includes a swimming pool, clubhouse and fitness center.
Orange County’s multifamily vacancy rates — for Class A and Class B properties — currently sit below 4 percent, according to Marcus & Millichap’s Matt Kipp, who added he’s expecting to see “increasing competition for apartment assets” from investors across the county this year.
The multifamily market in Orange County has shown resilience in recent months with a handful of deals.
In January, Equity Residential sold Regency Palms, a 310-unit multifamily property in Huntington Beach, for $127 million. The previous month, Advanced Real Estate acquired a 714-unit apartment complex in Costa Mesa, for $234 million.
