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  • DEA promoted L.A. agent who pointed gun at colleague despite history of issues

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    David Doherty was standing at his desk inside the Los Angeles headquarters of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration when a supervisor from another office stormed in hurling profanities.

    Doherty testified at a preliminary hearing in a San Fernando courtroom earlier this year that a fellow agent, James Young, got “face to face” with Doherty and challenged him to a fight without provocation.

    Doherty said he tried to deescalate by hugging Young and saying it was “all good brother,” according to his testimony. But then, Doherty said, he felt Young’s DEA-issued handgun jammed against his midsection.

    “I got you motherf—,” Doherty recalled Young saying.

    Young then aimed the weapon at Doherty’s face, according to the agent’s testimony.

    James Young allegedly pointed a gun at a fellow federal agent during a 2022 incident at the Drug Enforcement Agency office in Los Angeles.

    (Al Seib / For The Times)

    Staring down the barrel of a gun wielded by an official who, at that time in 2022, oversaw roughly 30 officers in the DEA’s Ventura County office, Doherty told the court, he wrestled Young to the ground and disarmed him.

    More than two years later, Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Young, 54, with assault over the incident.

    It was one of several bizarre moments that led Young to exit the DEA — but only after the agency promoted him twice despite documented concerns about his behavior and mental health.

    The Times reviewed a Los Angeles police report Doherty filed about the alleged attack along with DEA disciplinary records and internal e-mails.

    The records show DEA officials were well aware of Young’s concerning behavior, yet still gave him increased responsibilities. One high-ranking DEA official even tried to dissuade Doherty from reporting the attack to police, according to the agent’s testimony and the LAPD report.

    After Doherty’s preliminary hearing testimony, Young was held to answer on on multiple charges for crimes he allegedly committed between 2022 and 2024, including a road rage incident, domestic violence and illegal possession of a stockpile of guns, ammo and grenades.

    Young, who remains free on bond, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He declined to comment. His defense attorney, Jeff Voll, said he plans to ask a judge to grant Young entry into a diversion program due to mental health issues, but offered no further details about his client or the case.

    A DEA spokeswoman said she could not respond to media inquiries because of the federal government shutdown, though the agency has previously declined to comment on The Times reporting about Young.

    Young’s first issues at the DEA arose in 2012, while he was on assignment in Tokyo. That year, he was sent home after a “medical evaluation” that determined he had issues that were “preventing or impeding his ability to perform the requisite tasks and duties of his position,” according to a treatment agreement between Young and the DEA reviewed by The Times.

    Young was required to attend therapy for “mental health issues” and “alcohol abuse,” the document shows.

    Young was also suspended for two days due to “improper operation of a government vehicle and poor judgment” while in Tokyo, according to a DEA disciplinary notice.

    Young was reassigned to Los Angeles in 2013 and eventually put in charge of the DEA’s satellite office in Ventura County, according to Doherty’s testimony.

    In 2021, an agent filed a complaint against Young accusing him of making “volatile, unprofessional phone calls” and “inappropriate comments” toward subordinates, according to an e-mail reviewed by The Times. It was not clear what, if anything, the DEA did about the complaint.

    Two federal law enforcement officials who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that many agents sensed something was “off” with Young, with both recounting stories of colleagues concerned about how he handled firearms.

    Doherty testified that after the gun incident at the DEA’s L.A. office in 2022, he felt like higher-ups at the agency tried to protect Young.

    “I didn’t feel like it was being handled appropriately, and I kind of saw the writing on the wall, that it was something DEA was trying to brush under the rug,” Doherty said in court.

    Doherty made a report at LAPD’s Central Division station shortly after the shooting. In it, he said another DEA official in L.A., Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brian Clark, tried to discourage him from going to police. Clark warned Doherty that Young could actually seek to press assault charges against him, according to the report, which did not explain Clark’s rationale.

    Clark, who is now the special agent in charge of the Los Angeles field office, did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

    The LAPD investigation stopped when the head of the DEA’s Los Angeles field office, Bill Bodner, called then-LAPD Deputy Chief Al Labrada and claimed jurisdiction over the incident, according to the police report.

    Bodner left the DEA in 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. He and Labrada did not respond to questions from The Times. A spokesperson for the LAPD did not respond to an inquiry about the case.

    The U.S. Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General eventually presented a criminal case to local prosecutors in December 2022, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. But the assault charges related to the attack at the field office weren’t filed until June 2025. The spokeswoman declined to explain the delay.

    Young retired from the DEA in 2024, but was allowed to collect a paycheck on administrative leave for roughly 18 months after the alleged attack on Doherty, according to two federal law enforcement officials.

    In September 2024, Young allegedly got into an argument with a driver on the 405 Freeway, bumped the other vehicle with his car and then brandished a handgun at the victim, according to a criminal complaint.

    The day after the road rage incident, Young allegedly attacked his wife and placed her in a wrestling hold, applying pressure to her head and neck, authorities said. A subsequent search of Young’s Saugus home by L.A. County sheriff’s deputies turned up 30,000 rounds of ammunition, several grenades, a sawed-off shotgun and modified credentials to make it appear that Young was still an active DEA agent.

    Investigators also found what was described in court filings as a video of a “gang-style execution” being played on a loop on a large screen.

    If convicted as charged, Young faces up to 29 years in state prison.

    In the Doherty incident, text messages displayed in court show Young claimed he didn’t realize why pulling his gun was wrong until after it happened.

    “Brother I love you. I would die for you. I’m sorry for not reading things right. I thought we were playing, but I know I f— up and misread the situation,” Young wrote to Doherty. “Pls forgive me … I’ll never do anything to hurt you. Please forgive me for pulling my gun. You can file against me. I concede that.”

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    James Queally

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  • A Palestinian American activist was killed in Santa Ana 40 years ago. The case remains unsolved

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    Alex Odeh looms large in Orange County’s consciousness, decades after he was killed at the age of 41.

    One fall morning in 1985 the prominent Palestinian activist arrived to work at the Santa Ana office of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. When he opened the civil rights group’s door, a rigged pipe bomb went off, mortally wounding him.

    “How can I forget that horrible day?” said Michel Shehadeh, whoreplaced Odeh as the West Coast regional director of the organization, which formed in 1980 to combat anti-Arab stereotypes in U.S. media. “Fear spread through the community like fire.”

    Mourners filed into a church in Orange for Odeh’s funeral, quietly discussing whether attacks would continue, and how they could protect the community, Shehadeh recalled.

    Shehadeh described Odeh as a physically slight man, peacefu and soft-spoken—a lover of poetry. He remembers wondering, “why this guy?”

    “He did not pose a threat, not in the way looked, and not in the way he behaved, and not in the way he spoke,” Shehadeh said.

    Odeh‘s murder remains unsolved 40 years later. To many Palestinians and other Arabs in Southern California, his death serves as a grim reminder of the discrimination the community has faced.

    But he is also a symbol of resilience. His memory stands as a call to action that has taken on renewed significance in recent years.

    When a wave of student activism against Israel’s war in Gaza unfurled on university campuses across the U.S. last year, students at UC Irvine hoisted a banner onto a campus building declaring the site “Alex Odeh Hall,” amid protest chants and the banging of drums.

    “The whole narrative around Palestine has shifted. People went to the streets,” Shehada said. “It’s a different world.”

    And yet, he said, the backlash against his community continues.

    The detention of recent Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil this year reminds Shehadeh of his own arrest by federal agents in 1987.

    Shehadeh was among eight arrested on charges relating to their pro-Palestinian activism, and was threatened with deportation, even though he’d immigrated to the U.S. lawfully as a teenager, and was a grocery store employee living in Long Beach.

    “History repeats itself,” Shehadeh said.

    Hostile encounters felt almost run-of-the-mill, especially for those who were politically active.

    The Santa Ana office where Hind Baki worked alongside Odeh, first as an intern and then as a full-time employee fresh out of college, frequently received threatening phone calls.

    Baki said Odeh was, “very matter-of-fact- about it,” telling her to log the calls, and report them to local police.

    She recalled him saying, “they call my house all the time, too, but don’t worry, they wouldn’t dare do anything in America.”

    When she started getting threatening phone calls at the home she told her parents she was alarmed. But Odeh reassured her that it was just talk.

    After the bombing, when Baki took the few boxes of paperwork she could salvage from the office to a temporary office in Los Angeles, the calls continued. That’s when she decided to get another job.

    William Lafi Youmans, co-creator of a documentary investigating Odeh’s death, said he grew up in Detroit hearing about Odeh as a cautionary tale about the dangers of becoming too vocal.

    “It was a bit of a warning,” Youmans said. “It’s sad, because whoever killed Alex was trying to silence the community.”

    The film was completed two years ago, just before 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack in Israel, which also resulted in 251 Israelis being taken hostage.

    Amid a surge of anti-Palestinian sentiment, Youmans gave up his hope of having the documentary accepted into film festivals, even as Israel launched its bombing campaign in Gaza, which has since killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

    To mark the anniversary of Odeh’s death, Youmans and his co-creator held a private screening of the film in Costa Mesa Friday night, and have renewed the process of submitting it to film festivals.

    An FBI investigation into the bombing remains open, and the names of three suspects have been aired publicly in the media. Authorities said they continue to seek the public’s help.

    “The investigation into the murder of Alex Odeh has spanned generations, but the FBI has never given up and will continue to investigate new leads on this case,” said Akil Davis, assistant director for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, in a statement.

    Davis said the U.S. Department of Justice’s long-time offer of a reward for up to $1 million for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the crime still stands.

    “I’m confident that we will find answers,” Davis said.

    Helena , the eldest of Odeh’s three daughters, said she thinks about her father all the time.

    “It’s still painful,” she said. “Another decade has gone by and we’re still waiting for justice. Our lives have grown and blossomed but we haven’t had our father there to see it happen.”

    The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee gathers each year at a Garden Grove hotel for a banquet memorializing Odeh. Earlier this year, it opened an office in Anaheim’s Little Arabia District — for the first time since the Santa Ana bombing.

    Leadership of the organization asked Helena to be its first full-time employee, but the trauma of her father’s assassination gave her pause.

    “What if I go to work one day and I don’t come home?” Helena said.

    After speaking with family, she declined the job offer.

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    Suhauna Hussain, Gabriel San Román

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  • Commentary: She won a landslide election. But Trump and Jeffrey Epstein have her stuck in limbo

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    Last month, in a special election, voters in southern Arizona chose Adelita Grijalva to succeed her late father in Congress.

    The outcome in the solidly Democratic district was never in doubt. The final tally wasn’t remotely close.

    Grijalva, a Tucson native and former Pima County supervisor, crushed her Republican opponent, 69% to 29%.

    The people spoke, loudly and emphatically, and normally that would have been that. Grijalva would have assumed office by now, allowing her to serve her orphaned constituents by filling a House seat that’s been vacant since her father died in March, after representing portions of Arizona for more than 20 years.

    But these are not normal times. These are times when everything, including the time of day and state of the weather, has become politically charged.

    And so Grijalva is residing in limbo. Or, rather, at her campaign headquarters in Tucson, since she’s been locked out of her congressional office on Capitol Hill — the one her father used, which now has her name on a plaque outside. She’s been denied entry by Speaker Mike Johnson.

    “It’s pretty horrible,” Grijalva said in an interview, “because regardless of whether I have an official office or not, constituents elected me and people are reaching out to me through every social media outlet.

    “‘I have a question,’” they tell Grijalva, or “‘I’m afraid I’m going to get fired’ or ‘We need some sort of assistance.’”

    All she can do is refer them to Arizona’s two U.S. senators.

    House members are scattered across the country during the partial government shutdown and Johnson said he can’t possibly administer the oath of office to Grijalva during a pro forma session, a time when normal business — legislative debate, roll call votes — is not being conducted. “We have to have everybody here,” Johnson said, “and we’ll swear her in.”

    But, lo, dear reader, are you sitting down?

    It turns out there were two Republican lawmakers elected this year in special elections, each, as it happens from Florida. Both were sworn in the very next day … during pro forma sessions!

    Shocked? Don’t be. In the Trump era, rules and standards are applied in flagrantly different ways, depending on which political party is involved.

    But partisanship aside, what possible reason would Johnson have to stall Grijalva’s swearing-in? Here’s a clue: It involves a convicted sex trafficker and former buddy of President Trump, whose foul odor trails him like the reeking carcass of a beached whale.

    Yes, it’s the late Jeffrey Epstein!

    “On my very first day in Congress, I’ll sign the bipartisan discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files,” Grijalva said on the eve of her landslide election. “This is as much about fulfilling Congress’ duty as a constitutional check on this administration as it is about demanding justice for survivors.”

    Jeffrey Epstein. Gone but very much unforgotten.

    For years, his perversions have been an obsession among those, mainly on the right, who believe a “deep state” cover-up has protected the rich and powerful who partnered with women procured by Epstein. After Trump’s marionette attorney general, Pam Bondi, suggested a client list was sitting on her desk, awaiting release, the Justice Department abruptly reversed course.

    There was no such list, it announced, and Epstein definitely committed suicide and wasn’t, as the conspiracy-minded suggest, murdered by those wishing to silence him.

    Trump, who palled around with Epstein, urged everyone to move along. Naturally, Johnson fell into immediate lockstep. (Bondi, for her part, tap-danced through a contentious Senate hearing last week, repeatedly sidestepping questions about the Epstein-Trump relationship, including whether photos exist of the president alongside “half-naked young women.”)

    Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a GOP lawmaker and persistent Trump irritant, and Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna have led the bipartisan effort to force the Justice Department to cough up the government’s unclassified records related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend and fellow sex trafficker.

    The discharge petition, overriding the objections of Trump and Johnson and forcing the House to vote on release of the files, needs at least 218 signatures, which constitutes a majority of the 435 members. The petition has been stalled for weeks, just one signature shy of ratification.

    Enter Grijalva.

    Or not.

    Johnson, who may be simply delaying an inevitable House vote to curry Trump’s favor, insists the Epstein matter has “nothing to do with” his refusal to seat Grivalja.

    Righto.

    And planets don’t revolve around the sun, hot air doesn’t rise and gravity doesn’t bring falling leaves to Earth.

    More than 200 Democratic House members have affixed their signatures to the petition, along with four Republicans — Massie and Reps. Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene. The latter three are all MAGA stalwarts who have bravely broken ranks with Trump to stand up for truth and the victims of Epstein’s ravages.

    “Aren’t we all against convicted pedophiles and anyone who enables them?” Greene asked in an interview with Axios.

    Most are, one would assume. But apparently not everybody.

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    Mark Z. Barabak

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  • 19 people dead or missing after massive blast at Tennessee military explosive plant, officials say

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    Nineteen people are dead or missing after a massive blast obliterated a building at a Tennessee explosives facility on Friday, authorities said — a “mass detonation” so significant that it rattled homes miles away.The early-morning explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, which manufactures military and demolitions explosives, left charred debris and mangled vehicles across a vast area. The blast was felt as far as 15 miles away and scattered debris over half a square mile.Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said there are fatalities, but did not want to declare a death toll yet — just that “we’re missing 19 souls.”“I always wish for the best,” Davis said. “Is there a possibility that somebody might be injured somewhere, or somebody that we don’t know about? Yes.”Davis described the aftermath of the explosion as “the most devastating scene that I’ve seen in my career.”“It’s hell,” Davis told reporters Friday evening. “It’s hell on us. It’s hell on everybody involved.”Video below: Aerial footage shows the extent of the damageWork at the explosion site will continue into the night, he said.“We’re working for our people, and we want to take care of our families,” an emotional Davis said. “I understand that some families get mad. I understand that some people get upset … We’re doing the very best we can to take care of this.”Davis said investigators from multiple agencies have been assisting with the response, but have not yet determined what caused the explosion. The FBI will be assisting.“Do I see a short-term explanation? No. Do I see us being here for many days? Yes, I do see that,” he said.Families of the victims were still being notified, said Davis, noting that people were undergoing a “gauntlet of emotions” as first responders continued to search the area. The tragedy hit close-knit communities.“I can tell you right off the top of my head that there’s three families that’s involved in this that I’m very close to,” Davis said. “When you have small counties like this, we know each other, we communicate with each other, we love each other.”The blast shook nearby homes and set off smaller explosions, local officials say.The explosion, which happened around 7:45 a.m. local time, was a “devastating blast,” but responders were able to secure the scene by late morning, Davis said.Three people with “minor injuries” from the explosion were treated at TriStar medical facilities in Dickson, Casey Stapp, the spokesperson for TriStar Health, said. Stapp said two people were released, and one person is still receiving treatment at an emergency room.Accurate Energetic Systems is located about an hour southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, on the Hickman and Humphreys County line, the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office told CNN.Numerous law enforcement resources from across the state of Tennessee have been dispatched to assist in the investigation, a source familiar told CNN. Those personnel include federal agents and the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, among other agencies. The relatively remote area is typically patrolled by smaller law enforcement departments, the person said, which has prompted other agencies to volunteer resources for support.Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates said the facility has about 80 employees, but it’s unclear how many were in the building when the explosion happened. Bates said one building on the site was completely destroyed.“It’s pretty devastating to see this,” Bates said.“It’s going to be an investigation that’s probably going to go on for days,” the mayor said. “This facility, they do manufacture, not only military, but demolition explosives for road work and things like that.”Tennessee state Sen. Kerry Roberts told CNN the facility sits on a 1,300-acre campus and is a beloved employer for many people in the community.He said it’s common to see employees at community events and people wearing baseball caps with the company name on them.“It is a well-loved company in the area,” Roberts said. “So this is going to have a devastating impact on quite a few families … it is heartbreaking.”Residents who live near the facility say they felt the impact of the explosion.“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” Gentry Stover told The Associated Press by phone. “I live very close to Accurate, and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”Cody Warren, who lives in Lobelville, which is 21 miles away from the facility, said the sound from the explosion woke him up, and he thought lightning struck his house.Accurate Energetic Systems specializes in making military explosives, according to the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office.The company’s Facebook page says it manufactures “various high explosive compositions and specialty products for the U.S. DoD and U.S. Industrial markets.”In April 2014, one person was killed and four others injured during a blast at the plant, CNN affiliate WSMV reported. The explosion, in the back of a building that housed shotgun ammunition, caused extensive damage. At the time, authorities said several companies operated on the Accurate Energetic Systems property but the blast happened in an area operated by Rio Ammunition.In the player below: Here is a look at what the plant looked like after the 2014 explosionLast month, the US Department of Defense awarded Accurate Energetic Systems a contract for nearly $120 million “for the procurement of TNT.”The Hickman County Sheriff’s Office is asking everyone to avoid the area as emergency responders do their work.

    Nineteen people are dead or missing after a massive blast obliterated a building at a Tennessee explosives facility on Friday, authorities said — a “mass detonation” so significant that it rattled homes miles away.

    The early-morning explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, which manufactures military and demolitions explosives, left charred debris and mangled vehicles across a vast area. The blast was felt as far as 15 miles away and scattered debris over half a square mile.

    Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said there are fatalities, but did not want to declare a death toll yet — just that “we’re missing 19 souls.”

    “I always wish for the best,” Davis said. “Is there a possibility that somebody might be injured somewhere, or somebody that we don’t know about? Yes.”

    Davis described the aftermath of the explosion as “the most devastating scene that I’ve seen in my career.”

    “It’s hell,” Davis told reporters Friday evening. “It’s hell on us. It’s hell on everybody involved.”

    Video below: Aerial footage shows the extent of the damage

    Work at the explosion site will continue into the night, he said.

    “We’re working for our people, and we want to take care of our families,” an emotional Davis said. “I understand that some families get mad. I understand that some people get upset … We’re doing the very best we can to take care of this.”

    Davis said investigators from multiple agencies have been assisting with the response, but have not yet determined what caused the explosion. The FBI will be assisting.

    “Do I see a short-term explanation? No. Do I see us being here for many days? Yes, I do see that,” he said.

    Families of the victims were still being notified, said Davis, noting that people were undergoing a “gauntlet of emotions” as first responders continued to search the area. The tragedy hit close-knit communities.

    “I can tell you right off the top of my head that there’s three families that’s involved in this that I’m very close to,” Davis said. “When you have small counties like this, we know each other, we communicate with each other, we love each other.”

    The blast shook nearby homes and set off smaller explosions, local officials say.

    The explosion, which happened around 7:45 a.m. local time, was a “devastating blast,” but responders were able to secure the scene by late morning, Davis said.

    Three people with “minor injuries” from the explosion were treated at TriStar medical facilities in Dickson, Casey Stapp, the spokesperson for TriStar Health, said. Stapp said two people were released, and one person is still receiving treatment at an emergency room.

    Accurate Energetic Systems is located about an hour southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, on the Hickman and Humphreys County line, the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office told CNN.

    Numerous law enforcement resources from across the state of Tennessee have been dispatched to assist in the investigation, a source familiar told CNN. Those personnel include federal agents and the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, among other agencies. The relatively remote area is typically patrolled by smaller law enforcement departments, the person said, which has prompted other agencies to volunteer resources for support.

    Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates said the facility has about 80 employees, but it’s unclear how many were in the building when the explosion happened. Bates said one building on the site was completely destroyed.

    “It’s pretty devastating to see this,” Bates said.

    “It’s going to be an investigation that’s probably going to go on for days,” the mayor said. “This facility, they do manufacture, not only military, but demolition explosives for road work and things like that.”

    Tennessee state Sen. Kerry Roberts told CNN the facility sits on a 1,300-acre campus and is a beloved employer for many people in the community.

    He said it’s common to see employees at community events and people wearing baseball caps with the company name on them.

    “It is a well-loved company in the area,” Roberts said. “So this is going to have a devastating impact on quite a few families … it is heartbreaking.”

    Residents who live near the facility say they felt the impact of the explosion.

    “I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” Gentry Stover told The Associated Press by phone. “I live very close to Accurate, and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”

    Cody Warren, who lives in Lobelville, which is 21 miles away from the facility, said the sound from the explosion woke him up, and he thought lightning struck his house.

    Accurate Energetic Systems specializes in making military explosives, according to the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office.

    The company’s Facebook page says it manufactures “various high explosive compositions and specialty products for the U.S. DoD and U.S. Industrial markets.”

    In April 2014, one person was killed and four others injured during a blast at the plant, CNN affiliate WSMV reported. The explosion, in the back of a building that housed shotgun ammunition, caused extensive damage. At the time, authorities said several companies operated on the Accurate Energetic Systems property but the blast happened in an area operated by Rio Ammunition.

    In the player below: Here is a look at what the plant looked like after the 2014 explosion

    Last month, the US Department of Defense awarded Accurate Energetic Systems a contract for nearly $120 million “for the procurement of TNT.”

    The Hickman County Sheriff’s Office is asking everyone to avoid the area as emergency responders do their work.

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  • Judge pumps brakes on Bonta’s push to take over L.A. County juvenile halls

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    A judge temporarily blocked California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta’s attempt to take over Los Angeles County’s beleaguered juvenile halls on Friday, finding that despite evidence of a “systemic failure” to improve poor conditions, Bonta had not met the legal grounds necessary to strip away local control.

    After years of scandals — including frequent drug overdoses and incidents of staff violence against youths — Bonta filed a motion in July to place the county’s juvenile halls in “receivership,” meaning a court-appointed monitor would manage the facilities, set their budgets and oversee the hiring and firing of staff. An ongoing staffing crisis previously led a state oversight body to deem two of L.A. County’s halls unfit to house children.

    L.A. County entered into a settlement with the California Department of Justice in 2021 to mandate improvements, but oversight bodies and a Times investigation earlier this year found the Probation Department was falling far short of fixing many issues, as required by the agreement.

    On Friday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Peter A. Hernandez chastised Bonta for failing to clearly lay out tasks for the Probation Department to abide by in the 2021 settlement. Hernandez said the attorney general’s office’s filings failed to show that a state takeover would lead to “a transformation of the juvenile halls.”

    The steps the Probation Department needs to take to meet the terms of the settlement have been articulated in court filings and reports published by the L.A. County Office of the Inspector General for several years. Hernandez was only assigned to oversee the settlement in recent months and spent much of Friday’s hearing complaining about a lack of “clarity” in the case.

    Hernandez wrote that Bonta’s motion had set off alarm bells about the Probation Department’s management of the halls.

    “Going forward, the court expects all parties to have an ‘all-hands’ mentality,” the judge wrote in a tentative ruling earlier this week, which he adopted Friday morning.

    Hernandez said he would not rule out the possibility of a receivership in the future, but wanted more direct testimony from parties, including Probation Department Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa and the court-appointed monitor over the settlement, Michael Dempsey. A hearing was set for Oct. 24.

    The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    “The Department remains fully committed to making the necessary changes to bring our juvenile institutions to where they need to be,” Vicky Waters, the Probation Department’s chief spokesperson, said in a statement. “However, to achieve that goal, we must have both the authority and support to remove barriers that hinder progress rather than perpetuate no-win situations.”

    The California attorney general’s office began investigating L.A. County’s juvenile halls in 2018 and found probation officers were using pepper spray excessively, failing to provide proper educational and therapeutic programming and detaining youths in solitary confinement for far too long.

    Bonta said in July that the county has failed to improve “75%” of what they were mandated to change in the 2021 settlement.

    A 2022 Times investigation revealed a massive staffing shortage was leading to significant injuries for both youths and probation officers. By May of 2023, the California Board of State and Community Corrections ordered Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar shuttered due to unsafe conditions. That same month, an 18-year-old died of an overdose while in custody.

    The county soon reopened Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, but the facility quickly became the site of a riot, an escape attempt and more drug overdoses. Last year, the California attorney general’s office won indictments against 30 officers who either orchestrated or allowed youths to engage in “gladiator fights.” That investigation was sparked by video of officers allowing eight youths to pummel another teen inside Los Padrinos, which has also been deemed unfit to house youths by a state commission.

    In court Friday, Laura Fair, an attorney from the attorney general’s office, said that while she understood Hernandez’s position, she expressed concern that teens are still in danger while in the Probation Department’s custody.

    “The youth in the halls continue to be in grave danger and continue to suffer irreparable harm every day,” she said.

    Fair told the court that several youths transferred out of Los Padrinos under a separate court order in recent weeks showed up at Nidorf Juvenile Hall with broken jaws and arms.

    She declined to comment further outside the courtroom. Waters, the Probation Department’s spokesperson, said she was unaware of the situation Fair was describing but would look into it.

    Despite the litany of fiascoes over the last few years, probation leaders still argued in court filings that Bonta had gone too far.

    “The County remains open to exploring any path that will lead to better outcomes. But it strongly opposes the DOJ’s ill-conceived proposal, which will only harm the youth in the County’s care by sowing chaos and inconsistency,” county lawyers wrote in an opposition motion submitted last month. “The DOJ’s request is almost literally without precedent. No state judge in California history has ever placed a correctional institution into receivership.”

    Under the leadership of Viera Rosa, who took office in 2023, the Probation Department has made improvements to its efforts to keep drugs out of the hall, rectify staffing issues and hold its own officers accountable for misconduct, the county argued.

    The department has placed “airport-grade” body scanners and drug-sniffing dogs at the entrances to both Nidorf and Los Padrinos in order to stymie the influx of narcotics into the halls, according to Robert Dugdale, an attorney representing the county.

    Dugdale also touted the department’s hiring of Robert Arcos, a former high-ranking member of the Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County district attorney’s office, to oversee security in the facilities.

    The motion claimed it was the Probation Department that first uncovered the evidence that led to the gladiator fight prosecutions. Bonta said in March that his office launched its investigation after it reviewed leaked footage of one of the incidents.

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    James Queally

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  • ‘Real Housewives’ star, husband charged in Maryland with fraudulently reporting burglary, theft

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    A “Real Housewives” star and her husband were arrested in Maryland on allegations they lied about a burglary, according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.Wendy and Edward Osefo were arrested on Thursday, the sheriff said in a statement.Wendy Osefo, 40, was indicted on seven counts of insurance fraud, eight counts of conspiracy insurance fraud, and one count of false statement to a police officer, according to court documents obtained by sister station WBAL-TV 11 News. She has been one of the main cast members of “The Real Housewives of Potomac” since joining the show in 2020.Edward Osefo, 41, was indicted on nine counts of insurance fraud, eight counts of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and one count of false statement to a police officer, the court documents show.Burglary, theft report in 2024 leads to investigationThe sheriff’s office said deputies were called on April 7, 2024, to the couple’s house in Finksburg for a reported burglary and theft.Authorities said the homeowners told deputies that they returned from vacation in Jamaica to find their home broken into and numerous items had been stolen.According to the court document, the couple told a deputy that “they found their bedroom and both closets to be ransacked, and several designer handbags and jewelry had been stolen.”The couple reported approximately 80 items of jewelry, luxury goods, clothing and shoes were stolen, worth a total of more than $200,000, the sheriff’s office said.The court document says the Osefos’ alarm system was activated while the couple was on vacation and that it detected no motion inside the house while they were away.What investigators say happened sinceThe court document says the Osefos filed three insurance claims for the alleged losses suffered while they were away.The sheriff’s office said detectives found that more than $20,000 of the items that were reported stolen were actually returned to the store where they were purchased for a full refund.The court document states: “Edward Osefo gave recorded statements to two of the insurance companies regarding a list of stolen items he provided. He was asked whether any of the items on the list had been returned, which he denied. He was asked if he had other insurance, but failed to disclose to Homesite and Jewelers that he was also making a claim with Travelers Insurance.”After the burglary was reported, investigators said Wendy Osefo’s Instagram account showed photos of her wearing a diamond anniversary band on her left finger before the burglary.”This ring was reported stolen in the burglary. Then, after the reported burglary, on April 27, 2024, Wendy Osefo is wearing the same ring on her left finger,” the court document states.Court document: Investigators obtain email between coupleThe court documents detail an email the deputies obtained in which Edward Osefo is accused of sending a list of reportedly stolen items to Wendy Osefo.”The email asked if there were ‘additional high-value items we can add to this inventory listing (i.e., Chanel shoes, etc.)? I’m trying to get the total to exceed $423,000, which is our policy maximum,’” the court document states.At the time of their arrests, deputies executed a search and seizure warrant in the house and found at least 15 items that appear to be the same ones claimed stolen during the alleged burglary, according to the court document.The sheriff’s office said evidence was presented to a grand jury on Thursday that led to the couple’s arrests. They were both taken to Carroll County Central Booking, from which they posted bail, which was set at $50,000 each, and were released on Friday.The sheriff’s office has planned a 3 p.m. update that will be streamed on their Facebook page.

    A “Real Housewives” star and her husband were arrested in Maryland on allegations they lied about a burglary, according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.

    Wendy and Edward Osefo were arrested on Thursday, the sheriff said in a statement.

    Wendy Osefo, 40, was indicted on seven counts of insurance fraud, eight counts of conspiracy insurance fraud, and one count of false statement to a police officer, according to court documents obtained by sister station WBAL-TV 11 News. She has been one of the main cast members of “The Real Housewives of Potomac” since joining the show in 2020.

    Edward Osefo, 41, was indicted on nine counts of insurance fraud, eight counts of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and one count of false statement to a police officer, the court documents show.

    Burglary, theft report in 2024 leads to investigation

    The sheriff’s office said deputies were called on April 7, 2024, to the couple’s house in Finksburg for a reported burglary and theft.

    Authorities said the homeowners told deputies that they returned from vacation in Jamaica to find their home broken into and numerous items had been stolen.

    According to the court document, the couple told a deputy that “they found their bedroom and both closets to be ransacked, and several designer handbags and jewelry had been stolen.”

    The couple reported approximately 80 items of jewelry, luxury goods, clothing and shoes were stolen, worth a total of more than $200,000, the sheriff’s office said.

    The court document says the Osefos’ alarm system was activated while the couple was on vacation and that it detected no motion inside the house while they were away.

    What investigators say happened since

    The court document says the Osefos filed three insurance claims for the alleged losses suffered while they were away.

    The sheriff’s office said detectives found that more than $20,000 of the items that were reported stolen were actually returned to the store where they were purchased for a full refund.

    The court document states: “Edward Osefo gave recorded statements to two of the insurance companies regarding a list of stolen items he provided. He was asked whether any of the items on the list had been returned, which he denied. He was asked if he had other insurance, but failed to disclose to Homesite and Jewelers that he was also making a claim with Travelers Insurance.”

    After the burglary was reported, investigators said Wendy Osefo’s Instagram account showed photos of her wearing a diamond anniversary band on her left finger before the burglary.

    “This ring was reported stolen in the burglary. Then, after the reported burglary, on April 27, 2024, Wendy Osefo is wearing the same ring on her left finger,” the court document states.

    Court document: Investigators obtain email between couple

    The court documents detail an email the deputies obtained in which Edward Osefo is accused of sending a list of reportedly stolen items to Wendy Osefo.

    “The email asked if there were ‘additional high-value items we can add to this inventory listing (i.e., Chanel shoes, etc.)? I’m trying to get the total to exceed $423,000, which is our policy maximum,’” the court document states.

    At the time of their arrests, deputies executed a search and seizure warrant in the house and found at least 15 items that appear to be the same ones claimed stolen during the alleged burglary, according to the court document.

    The sheriff’s office said evidence was presented to a grand jury on Thursday that led to the couple’s arrests. They were both taken to Carroll County Central Booking, from which they posted bail, which was set at $50,000 each, and were released on Friday.

    The sheriff’s office has planned a 3 p.m. update that will be streamed on their Facebook page.

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  • LAPD spokesperson resigns after U.S. attorney complains about alleged leak, sources say

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    The chief spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department has resigned amid accusations from the region’s top federal prosecutor that her office was leaking information, according to three sources familiar with the matter but not cleared to speak publicly.

    Jennifer Forkish, the LAPD’s public information director, said she left the department Thursday at the request of Chief Jim McDonnell but vehemently denied making any unauthorized disclosures.

    “Any suggestion that I have ever shared or leaked information to the media is categorically false,” she said in a statement. “No one in the Department, including the Chief has ever raised or discussed this baseless allegation with me, because it simply never happened. Anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”

    The three law enforcement sources said the chief’s concerns about Forkish’s overall performance had been mounting, and that pressure Tuesday from acting U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli may have prompted her ouster.

    The drama began Tuesday evening after a Times reporter reached out to an official at the U.S. attorney’s office to inquire about plans to schedule a news conference related to the Palisades fire.

    Flanked by McDonnell and other law enforcement leaders, Essayli announced at a briefing on Wednesday that authorities had arrested and charged a 29-year-old Uber driver with intentionally sparking one of the most destructive fires in California history.

    Before the media event, according to the three sources who had been briefed on the matter, Essayli called LAPD senior staff and demanded to know who in the department had tipped the paper off to the news conference, which had not yet been officially scheduled when The Times asked about it.

    It wasn’t immediately clear why Forkish was suspected of revealing details about the news conference, which federal authorities announced to members of the media via email at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

    Forkish had already left work that afternoon when McDonnell summoned her back to his office at LAPD headquarters for a meeting with him and Assistant Chief Dominic Choi, she told The Times. McDonnell did not reference a call with Essayli during the meeting, telling Forkish only that he did not share her long-term vision for the department’s public relations strategy, she said.

    She said the conversation revolved around the difference of opinion about the department’s overall media strategy, adding that “there has never been any conversation with me regarding the possibility of a leak with anyone from the LAPD.”

    Choi would not address any phone conversation between LAPD leadership and Essayli. He told The Times he could not discuss Forkish’s case due to confidentiality around personnel matters but confirmed she submitted her letter of resignation on Thursday morning.

    “We don’t wish any ill will or anything for her,” he said in a brief telephone interview. “We thank her for her service and everything she’s done and for her time with the department.”

    McDonnell did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment on Thursday. Inquiries to the U.S. attorney’s office and Mayor Karen Bass also went unreturned.

    Forkish expressed gratitude for her time with the LAPD.

    “After much thought, I’ve decided to step down from my role to pursue new opportunities,” she wrote in a statement. “I do so with immense pride in what my team and I accomplished together. We told the hard stories with honesty and balance, supported our officers and our city in moments of crisis, and built a foundation of professionalism that I’ll always be proud of.”

    For months, word has circulated in the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles that Essayli — a Trump appointee — is trying to root out leaks to the media. The LAPD has itself routinely opened investigations into employees who speak with journalists without authorization, and faced lawsuits from employees who claimed they were falsely accused of leaks.

    Forkish began her career working for former Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, who worked as an LAPD cop for more than three decades before going into politics. She later had stints at PR firms around town, including GCG Rose & Kindel. At the lobbying and crisis communication firm EKA, she worked with Celine Cordero, the future mayor’s deputy chief of staff.

    After working as a vice president of corporate communications for casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. in Las Vegas, Forkish served as a spokesperson for former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón for several months in 2024.

    Eric Rose, a partner at EKA, where he was once Forkish’s boss, said she has made a positive mark at every stop of her career.

    “Jennifer is an accomplished public affairs professional with deep and diverse expertise, having worked with elected officials at the local, state and federal levels for more than two decades,” he said.

    But Forkish’s appointment to the LAPD job was not without controversy. Multiple department sources not authorized to speak publicly said a dispute over Forkish’s salary demands created tension before she started on the job. Then, the sources said, there was a disagreement over strategy between Forkish and her predecessor, Capt. Kelly Muniz, which ended with Muniz’s transfer to another unit.

    Some press advocates say McDonnell’s tenure has been marked by conflict with the local media. The department faces lawsuits for aggressive behavior by officers toward journalists who covered protests against the Trump administration over the summer, and a federal judge has barred police from targeting reporters with less-lethal projectiles during demonstrations.

    Adam Rose, a deputy director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said the department has in recent months been frustratingly unresponsive when confronted with reports of abuses by officers.

    “While I often vehemently disagreed with past PIOs and past department leadership, at least they were responsive,” Rose said. “The fact that McDonnell and his staff are so recalcitrant — and are so reluctant — to do their jobs is shameful.”

    In her statement, Forkish said she is proud of her time at the LAPD.

    “I’ve always approached this work with transparency, respect, and accountability, and that will never change,” she said.

    Times staff writers James Queally and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.

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    Libor Jany

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  • House Republicans launch investigation into distribution of L.A. fire charity funds

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    WASHINGTON — Two House Republicans launched an investigation on Wednesday that will, in part, examine how a California charitable organization used a $500,000 grant that was meant to support victims of the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, a move that is expanding congressional scrutiny over the response to the disaster.

    Reps. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent a letter to the head of the California Volunteers Fund asking for financial records related to a $500,000 grant it received from the disaster-relief charity FireAid, which raised an estimated $100 million for fire victims through its flagship benefit concerts in January.

    “It is not publicly known how the California Volunteers Fund distributed this $500,000, or what individuals or entities received funds,” Kiley and Jordan wrote in a letter Wednesday to Dave Smith, the fund’s chief executive. “It is also unclear whether the state-based California Volunteers, run out of the Governor’s Office, received any of the FireAid-originated funds via the California Volunteers Fund.”

    Kiley and Jordan added that they want to examine all documents and communications related to the California fires between the California Volunteers Fund and California Volunteers, an entity that the charity supports and is housed within Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.

    In their letter, they said FireAid has “come under scrutiny for diverting donations to nonprofits instead of providing direct relief to fire victims.”

    The California Volunteers Fund and the governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

    The congressional inquiry into the distribution of disaster relief funds comes after months of pressure from Republican politicians, including President Trump, who have questioned FireAid’s methods and priorities. In July, Kiley called for an investigation into the charitable funds, urging the attorney general to open an investigation into the matter.

    Politically, the investigation comes as Newsom — whose office was mentioned several times in the letter — becomes a frequent political target of Trump and Republicans amid speculation that he could be eyeing a potential 2028 presidential run.

    In response to the criticism, FireAid commissioned two audit reports, including an independent review led by law firm Latham & Watkins that found no evidence of fraud or misuse of funds. The reports were sent to local and federal officials and the Department of Justice.

    “The law firm conducted an independent review of the charity, and shared conclusive findings affirming that FireAid has acted in accordance with mission, has strong accountability measures and aid is reaching affected communities,” the FireAid organization said in a statement about the review findings at the time.

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    Ana Ceballos

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  • Stephen Miller leads GOP charge equating Democrats to ‘domestic terrorists’

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    WASHINGTON — President Trump rocked American politics at the outset of his first campaign when he first labeled his rivals as enemies of the American people. But the rhetoric of his top confidantes has grown more extreme in recent days.

    Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff, declared over the weekend that “a large and growing movement of leftwing terrorism in this country” is fueling an historic national schism, “shielded by far-left Democrat judges, prosecutors and attorneys general.”

    “The only remedy,” Miller said, “is to use legitimate state power to dismantle terrorism and terror networks.”

    It was a maxim from an unelected presidential advisor who is already unleashing the federal government in unprecedented ways, overseeing the federalization of police forces and a sweeping deportation campaign challenging basic tenets of civil liberty.

    Miller’s rhetoric comes amid a federal crackdown on Portland, Ore., where he says the president has unchecked authority to protect federal lives and property — and as another controversial Trump advisor harnesses an ongoing government shutdown as pretext for the mass firing of federal workers.

    Russ Vought, the president’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, plays the grim reaper in an AI video shared by the president, featuring him roving Washington for bureaucrats to cut from the deep state during the shutdown.

    His goal, Trump has said, is to specifically target Democrats.

    As of Monday afternoon, it was unclear exactly how many federal workers or what federal agencies would be targeted.

    “We don’t want to see people laid off, but unfortunately, if this shutdown continues layoffs are going to be an unfortunate consequence of that,” White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said during a news briefing.

    ‘A nation of Constitutional law’

    Karin Immergut, a federal judge appointed by Trump, said this weekend that the administration’s justification for deploying California National Guard troops in Portland was “simply untethered to the facts.”

    “This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” Immergut wrote, chiding the Trump administration for attempting to circumvent a prior order from her against a federal deployment to the city.

    “This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition,” she added: “This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”

    The administration is expected to appeal the judge’s decision, Leavitt said, while calling the judge’s ruling “untethered in reality and in the law.”

    “We’re very confident in the president’s legal authority to do this, and we are very confident we will win on the merits of the law,” Leavitt said.

    If the courts were to side with the administration, Leavitt said local leaders — most of whom are Democrats — should not be concerned about the possibility of long-term plans to have their cities occupied by the military.

    “Why should they be concerned about the federal government offering help to make their cities a safer place?” Leavitt said. “They should be concerned about the fact that people in their cities right now are being gunned down every single night and the president, all he is trying to do, is fix it.”

    Moments later, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he does not believe it is necessary yet, he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act “if courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up.”

    “Sure, I’d do that,” Trump said. “We have to make sure that our cities are safe.”

    The Insurrection Act gives the president sweeping emergency power to deploy military forces within the United States if the president deems it is needed to quell civil unrest. The last time this occurred was in 1992, when California Gov. Pete Wilson asked President George H.W. Bush to send federal troops to help stop the Los Angeles riots that occurred after police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King.

    Subsequent posts from Miller on social media over the weekend escalated the stakes to existential heights, accusing Democrats of allying themselves with “domestic terrorists” seeking to overturn the will of the people reflected in Trump’s election win last year.

    On Monday, in an interview with CNN, Miller suggested that the administration would continue working to sidestep Immergut’s orders.

    “The administration will abide by the ruling insofar as it affects the covered parties,” he said, “but there are also many options the president has to deploy federal resources under the U.S. military to Portland.”

    Other Republicans have used similar rhetoric since the slaying of Charlie Kirk, a conservative youth activist, in Utah last month.

    Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) wrote that posts from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office have reached “the threshold of domestic terrorism,” after the Democratic governor referred to Miller on social media as a fascist. And Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) said Monday that Democrats demanding an extension of healthcare benefits as a condition for reopening the government were equivalent to terrorists.

    “I don’t negotiate with terrorists,” Fine told Newsmax, “and what we’re learned in whether it’s dealing with Muslim terrorists or Democrats, you’ve gotta stand and you’ve gotta do the right thing.”

    Investigating donor networks

    Republicans’ keenness to label Democrats as terrorists comes two weeks after Trump signed an executive order declaring a left-wing antifascist movement, known as antifa, as a “domestic terrorist organization” — a designation that does not exist under U.S. law.

    The order, which opened a new front in Trump’s battle against his political foes, also threatened to investigate and prosecute individuals who funded “any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of antifa.”

    Leavitt told reporters Monday the administration is “aggressively” looking into who is financially backing these operations.

    Trump has floated the possibility of going after people such as George Soros, a billionaire who has supported many left-leaning causes around the world.

    “If you look at Soros, he is at the top of everything,” Trump said during an Oval Office appearance last month.

    The White House has not yet made public any details about a formal investigation into a donors, but Leavitt said the administration’s efforts are under way.

    “We will continue to get to the bottom of who is funding these organizations and this organized anarchy against our country and our government,” Leavitt said. “We are committed to uncovering it.”

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    Michael Wilner, Ana Ceballos

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  • ‘Fight or flight takes over’: Transportation employees save cardiac arrest victim’s life

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    A Vermont man is lucky to be alive after collapsing from cardiac arrest in August. This week, he finally got the chance to thank the people who saved him.Bob Fenoff, 67, was working on a wall in his office when he said he suddenly blacked out and collapsed. Fenoff’s office is connected to the garage, which he leases to the Vermont transportation agency, VTRANS. “I just lost consciousness and that was it. Ended up on the floor,” Fenoff said.Two VTRANS employees, Noah Royer and John McClure, immediately jumped into action. They dialed 911 and began performing CPR — skills they had learned through mandatory workplace training.“Even though it doesn’t train you for moments like that, it gives you the basics,” Royer said. “Fight or flight takes over from there.”First responders arrived minutes later. Paramedics used a defibrillator to restart Fenoff’s heart. He spent two weeks in a coma before waking up and is now expected to make a full recovery.“If it had not been for the brave and immediate actions of Noah Royer and John McClure, I do not think that Mr. Fenoff would be standing in front of us today,” Keith Feddersen, a paramedic with CALEX Ambulance, said.Fenoff and his wife, Kathy, say they can’t express enough gratitude for the lifesaving efforts.“I’d thank you a hundred times — can’t thank you enough,” Kathy said.First responders hope Fenoff’s story will inspire others to learn CPR and AED use.“Getting certified is vitally important,” Capt. Phil Hawthorne of the St. Johnsbury Fire Department said. “This case really proves it.”

    A Vermont man is lucky to be alive after collapsing from cardiac arrest in August. This week, he finally got the chance to thank the people who saved him.

    Bob Fenoff, 67, was working on a wall in his office when he said he suddenly blacked out and collapsed. Fenoff’s office is connected to the garage, which he leases to the Vermont transportation agency, VTRANS.

    “I just lost consciousness and that was it. Ended up on the floor,” Fenoff said.

    Two VTRANS employees, Noah Royer and John McClure, immediately jumped into action. They dialed 911 and began performing CPR — skills they had learned through mandatory workplace training.

    “Even though it doesn’t train you for moments like that, it gives you the basics,” Royer said. “Fight or flight takes over from there.”

    First responders arrived minutes later. Paramedics used a defibrillator to restart Fenoff’s heart. He spent two weeks in a coma before waking up and is now expected to make a full recovery.

    “If it had not been for the brave and immediate actions of Noah Royer and John McClure, I do not think that Mr. Fenoff would be standing in front of us today,” Keith Feddersen, a paramedic with CALEX Ambulance, said.

    Fenoff and his wife, Kathy, say they can’t express enough gratitude for the lifesaving efforts.

    “I’d thank you a hundred times — can’t thank you enough,” Kathy said.

    First responders hope Fenoff’s story will inspire others to learn CPR and AED use.

    “Getting certified is vitally important,” Capt. Phil Hawthorne of the St. Johnsbury Fire Department said. “This case really proves it.”

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  • New body camera video released in case of man stuck under Orlando police truck

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    Newly released body camera video shows the moment first responders worked to free a man from an unmarked Orlando police truck. We know from an arrest report that Detective Moulton was trying to pull a suspect over for having an unreadable license plate on Feb. 12. The driver, Dornell Bargnare, failed to navigate a turn onto Indiana Street, according to police. Driving onto a sidewalk and hitting 56-year-old Gerald Neal. Body camera footage released earlier this year shows the officer getting out of his truck. Chasing after the suspect. Not seeming to realize Neal was under his truck. In body camera video released to WESH 2 Thursday, you see first responders working to free Neal from underneath the truck. Based on the time on Moulton’s body camera video in the previously released footage compared to the time on the footage released Thursday, Neal was underneath the truck for about 15 minutes. Based on body camera video released earlier this year, it appeared the detective didn’t know someone was under his truck. “There was a guy under your truck,” another officer can be heard telling the detective. “Under my truck?” he says back to them. When they reply, “Yeah,” the detective asks, “Hiding?” Before saying, “OK, yeah, I’ll go check right now,”In the video released Thursday, you can see first responders working to revive Neal and talking about getting him to Orlando Regional Medical Center. But he wouldn’t survive. In an arrest warrant for Bargnare filed five days after the crash, it says his car struck Neal, but makes no mention of Neal being stuck under an officer’s truck. Bargnare was later charged with Vehicular Homicide on top of other charges.The Florida Highway Patrol was handling the investigation into Neal’s death and had handed over their findings to the state attorney’s office. The state attorney’s office told WESH 2 this week to expect a decision soon on whether more charges could be coming. That could potentially include charges for the detective involved. He is currently on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, according to the Orlando Police Department.

    ORLANDO, Fla. —

    Newly released body camera video shows the moment first responders worked to free a man from an unmarked Orlando police truck.

    We know from an arrest report that Detective Moulton was trying to pull a suspect over for having an unreadable license plate on Feb. 12.

    The driver, Dornell Bargnare, failed to navigate a turn onto Indiana Street, according to police. Driving onto a sidewalk and hitting 56-year-old Gerald Neal.

    Body camera footage released earlier this year shows the officer getting out of his truck. Chasing after the suspect. Not seeming to realize Neal was under his truck.

    In body camera video released to WESH 2 Thursday, you see first responders working to free Neal from underneath the truck.

    Based on the time on Moulton’s body camera video in the previously released footage compared to the time on the footage released Thursday, Neal was underneath the truck for about 15 minutes.

    Based on body camera video released earlier this year, it appeared the detective didn’t know someone was under his truck.

    “There was a guy under your truck,” another officer can be heard telling the detective.

    “Under my truck?” he says back to them.

    When they reply, “Yeah,” the detective asks,

    “Hiding?” Before saying, “OK, yeah, I’ll go check right now,”

    In the video released Thursday, you can see first responders working to revive Neal and talking about getting him to Orlando Regional Medical Center. But he wouldn’t survive.

    In an arrest warrant for Bargnare filed five days after the crash, it says his car struck Neal, but makes no mention of Neal being stuck under an officer’s truck.

    Bargnare was later charged with Vehicular Homicide on top of other charges.

    The Florida Highway Patrol was handling the investigation into Neal’s death and had handed over their findings to the state attorney’s office.

    The state attorney’s office told WESH 2 this week to expect a decision soon on whether more charges could be coming. That could potentially include charges for the detective involved. He is currently on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, according to the Orlando Police Department.

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  • California voters were mailed inaccurate guides ahead of November special election

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    Californians were mailed inaccurate voter guides about the November special election asking them whether to redraw congressional district boundaries, according to the secretary of state’s office. The state agency announced that it would mail postcards correcting the information to voters, which is likely to cost millions of dollars.

    “Accuracy in voter information is essential to maintaining public trust in California’s elections,” said Secretary of State Shirley Weber. “We are taking swift, transparent action to ensure voters receive correct information. This mislabeling does not affect proposed districts, ballots, or the election process; it is solely a labeling error. Every eligible Californian can have full confidence that their vote will be counted and their representation is secure.”

    The voter guide was sent to California registered voters about Proposition 50, a ballot measure championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state Democrats to try to boost the number of Democrats in Congress. The proposal was in response to Texas and other GOP-led states trying to increase the number of Republicans in the House at the behest of President Trump to enable him to continue to enact his agenda during his final two years in office.

    The special election will take place on Nov. 4, but voters will begin receiving mail ballots in early October.

    On page 11 of the voter guide, a proposed and hotly contested congressional district that includes swaths of the San Fernando and Antelope valleys and is currently represented by Rep. George Whitesides (D-Agua Dulce) was mislabeled as Congressional District 22. However, on more detailed maps in the voter guide, the district is properly labeled as District 27.

    “It is unfortunate that it was incorrect on the statewide map in the voter guide,” said Paul Mitchell, the Democratic redistricting expert who drew the new proposed congressional districts. “But the important thing is it is correct in the L.A. County and the Southern California maps,” allowing people who live in the region to accurately see their new proposed congressional district.

    There are 23 million registered voters in California, but it’s unclear whether the postcards will be mailed to each registered voter or to households of registered voters. The secretary of state’s office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.

    Even if the corrective notices are mailed to voter households rather than individual voters, the postage alone is likely to be millions of dollars, in addition to the cost of printing the postcards. The special election, which the Legislature called for in August, was already expected to cost taxpayers $284 million.

    Opponents of Proposition 50 seized upon the error as proof that the measure was hastily placed on the ballot.

    “When politicians force the Secretary of State to rush an election, mistakes are bound to happen,” said Amy Thoma, a spokesperson for one of the campaigns opposing the effort. “It’s unfortunate that this one will cost taxpayers millions of dollars.”

    Former state GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson, who leads another anti-Proposition 50 campaign supported by congressional Republicans, added that such mistakes were inevitable given how quickly the ballot measure was written and the special election was called.

    “The Prop. 50 power grab was rushed through so fast by greedy politicians that glaring mistakes were made, raising serious questions about what else was missed,” she said. “California taxpayers are already on the hook for a nearly $300 million special election, and now they’re paying to fix mistakes too. Californians deserve transparency, not backroom politics. Secretary Weber should release the cost of issuing this correction immediately.”

    The campaign supporting the ballot measure did not respond to requests for comment.

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    Seema Mehta

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  • Suspect in Charlie Kirk assassination case faces court hearing

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    The 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk will have a court hearing Monday where he and his newly appointed legal counsel will decide whether they want a preliminary hearing where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence against him to go forward with a trial.Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty. Video above: Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer charged with aggravated murder as FBI investigates possible accomplicesThe Utah state court system gives people accused of crimes an option to waive their legal right to a preliminary hearing and instead schedule an arraignment where they can enter a plea.Kathryn Nester, the lead attorney appointed to represent Robinson, declined to comment on the case ahead of Monday’s hearing. Prosecutors at the Utah County Attorney’s Office did not respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.The hearing in Provo is open to the public, just a few miles from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where many students are still processing trauma from the Sept. 10 shooting and the day-and-a-half search for the suspect. Authorities arrested Robinson when he showed up with his parents at his hometown sheriff’s office in southwest Utah, more than a three-hour drive from the site of the shooting, to turn himself in. Prosecutors have since revealed incriminating text messages and DNA evidence that they say connect Robinson to the killing.A note that Robinson had left for his romantic partner before the shooting said he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices, “and I’m going to take it,” Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told reporters before the first hearing. Gray also said that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: “I had enough of his hatred.”The assassination of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism, has galvanized Republicans who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of moving American politics further to the right.Video below: Tyler Robinson makes first court appearance in Charlie Kirk caseTrump has declared Kirk a “martyr” for freedom and threatened to crack down on what he called the “radical left.”Workers across the country have been punished or fired for speaking out about Kirk after his death, including teachers, public and private employees and media personalities — most notably Jimmy Kimmel, who had his late-night show suspended then quickly reinstated by ABC.Kirk’s political organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, brought young, evangelical Christians into politics through his podcast, social media and campus events. Many prominent Republicans are filling in at the upcoming campus events Kirk was meant to attend, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Sen. Mike Lee at Utah State University on Tuesday.

    PROVO, Utah —

    The 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk will have a court hearing Monday where he and his newly appointed legal counsel will decide whether they want a preliminary hearing where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence against him to go forward with a trial.

    Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty.

    Video above: Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer charged with aggravated murder as FBI investigates possible accomplices

    The Utah state court system gives people accused of crimes an option to waive their legal right to a preliminary hearing and instead schedule an arraignment where they can enter a plea.

    Kathryn Nester, the lead attorney appointed to represent Robinson, declined to comment on the case ahead of Monday’s hearing. Prosecutors at the Utah County Attorney’s Office did not respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.

    The hearing in Provo is open to the public, just a few miles from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where many students are still processing trauma from the Sept. 10 shooting and the day-and-a-half search for the suspect.

    Authorities arrested Robinson when he showed up with his parents at his hometown sheriff’s office in southwest Utah, more than a three-hour drive from the site of the shooting, to turn himself in. Prosecutors have since revealed incriminating text messages and DNA evidence that they say connect Robinson to the killing.

    A note that Robinson had left for his romantic partner before the shooting said he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices, “and I’m going to take it,” Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told reporters before the first hearing. Gray also said that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: “I had enough of his hatred.”

    The assassination of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism, has galvanized Republicans who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of moving American politics further to the right.

    Video below: Tyler Robinson makes first court appearance in Charlie Kirk case

    Trump has declared Kirk a “martyr” for freedom and threatened to crack down on what he called the “radical left.”

    Workers across the country have been punished or fired for speaking out about Kirk after his death, including teachers, public and private employees and media personalities — most notably Jimmy Kimmel, who had his late-night show suspended then quickly reinstated by ABC.

    Kirk’s political organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, brought young, evangelical Christians into politics through his podcast, social media and campus events. Many prominent Republicans are filling in at the upcoming campus events Kirk was meant to attend, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Sen. Mike Lee at Utah State University on Tuesday.

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  • Deltona man arrested after gas station shooting Friday night

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    An 18-year-old Deltona man has been arrested and is facing several charges following a Friday night shooting outside a gas station.The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said Yeiriel Andres Tirado Diaz is facing charges of shooting into an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. According to the sheriff’s office, Tirado Diaz pulled into the parking lot of the Circle K at 1380 Howland Boulevard in Deltona around 6:25 p.m. and shot at the victim who was pumping gas.The victim got into his car and fled the area along with two passengers as Tirado Diaz allegedly fired several more shots. Nobody was injured in the incident.The victim told the sheriff’s office that Tirado Diaz had been their best friend for several years, that the two were arrested together in 2024 and that Tirado Diaz was upset because the victim’s charges were dropped but not his own.Tirado Diaz remains in the Volusia County jail and is being held without bond.

    DELTONA, Fla. —

    An 18-year-old Deltona man has been arrested and is facing several charges following a Friday night shooting outside a gas station.

    The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said Yeiriel Andres Tirado Diaz is facing charges of shooting into an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.

    According to the sheriff’s office, Tirado Diaz pulled into the parking lot of the Circle K at 1380 Howland Boulevard in Deltona around 6:25 p.m. and shot at the victim who was pumping gas.

    The victim got into his car and fled the area along with two passengers as Tirado Diaz allegedly fired several more shots. Nobody was injured in the incident.

    The victim told the sheriff’s office that Tirado Diaz had been their best friend for several years, that the two were arrested together in 2024 and that Tirado Diaz was upset because the victim’s charges were dropped but not his own.

    Tirado Diaz remains in the Volusia County jail and is being held without bond.

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  • Man detained after allegedly robbing a Taco Bell, crashing vehicle into Sacramento-area home

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    Man detained after allegedly robbing a Taco Bell, crashing vehicle into Sacramento-area home

    LOCAL SOURCES. FIRST, THOUGH, WE HAVE SOME BREAKING NEWS FOR SCHOOLS IN THE ARDEN-ARCADE AREA. NOW, IN A PRECAUTIONARY LOCKDOWN AS DEPUTIES ARE SEARCHING FOR A ROBBERY SUSPECT. HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW. THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT HAS SET UP A PERIMETER AROUND RIO TINTO AVENUE. THAT’S NEAR EDISON AVENUE JUST TO THE NORTH. AND THEY SAY THE SUSPECT IS WANTED FOR A ROBBERY AT A TACO BELL ON SUNRISE AVENUE. AND WINDING WAY. WE DO HAVE KCRA 3’S PEYTON HEADLEE THERE RIGHT NOW. AND YOU’RE SEEING A LOT THERE, PEYTON. AND YOU CAN PROBABLY HEAR THE SHERIFF’S HELICOPTER THAT’S GOING OVERHEAD. THEY’VE BEEN TELLING PEOPLE IN THE AREA THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR AN ARMED FELONY SUSPECT, AND THEY’RE ASKING NEIGHBORS HERE TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND LOCK THEIR DOORS. AND WE’VE SEEN SOME NEIGHBORS WITH KIDS ACTUALLY RUNNING OUT OF THEIR HOMES, GETTING IN THEIR CARS AND LEAVING THE AREA. SO I’LL GIVE YOU A LOOK AT WHAT WE’RE SEEING HERE. WE ARE AT A PRETTY GOOD DISTANCE FROM WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING NEAR RIO TINTO AVENUE AND PEYTON STREET, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE PRESENCE FROM SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES AND SOME OF THEIR SIRENS GOING OFF RIGHT NOW. THEY’VE BEEN DOING THAT TO WARN PEOPLE TO GO BACK INSIDE OF THEIR HOMES. IF THEY SEE THEM COME OUT. SO THIS ALL STARTED AS A ROBBERY AT THE TACO BELL ON SUNRISE BOULEVARD AND WINDING WAY AROUND 4 P.M. OFFICIALS SAY THE SUSPECT USED A GUN, AND DEPUTIES SO FAR HAVE NOT RECOVERED ONE, SO THEY HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THAT SUSPECT IS STILL ARMED. AFTER THAT ROBBERY. WE KNOW THE SUSPECT LEFT THE TACO BELL, BUT A DEPUTY TRACKED THEM DOWN. THERE WAS A SHORT CHASE. THE SUSPECT THEN CRASHED THEIR CAR INTO A HOUSE IN THIS AREA. THE DAMAGE IN THAT HOUSE RIGHT NOW IS NOT CLEAR, BUT WE KNOW THE SUSPECT THEN GOT OUT AND RAN AWAY. AND THEY BELIEVE THAT THAT SUSPECT IS INSIDE ONE OF THESE HOMES. THAT’S WHY THEY’RE TAKING SUCH DRASTIC MEASURES TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF THE AREA. THEY’RE EVACUATING NEARBY HOMES. WE KNOW THAT THE SWAT TEAM IS ON THE WAY. ALSO, AN IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE, THE SAN JUAN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SAID THAT FOUR SCHOOLS IN THE AREA ARE UNDER PRECAUTIONARY SHELTER IN PLACE. ORDERS CONNECTED WITH THIS SEARCH. THOSE FOUR SCHOOLS ARE WHITNEY AVENUE ELEMENTARY, PASADENA AVENUE ELEMENTARY, ARCADE MIDDLE, AND MIRA LOMA HIGH. THEY SAY AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ARE BEING HELD INDOORS UNTIL LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS BEEN ABLE TO CLEAR THE AREA. SO AGAIN, A VERY ACTIVE SCENE OUT HERE AS THEY SEARCH FOR THE SUSPECT IN THIS ARMED ROBBERY AT A NEARBY TACO BELL, WE KNOW THEY ARE EVACUATING NEARBY HOMES, ASKING PEOPLE TO LEAVE THE AREA AS THEY FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHICH HOME THIS INDIVIDUAL IS INSIDE, AND THEY TRIED TO TAKE THAT PERSON INTO CUSTODY. THEY HAVE SAID OVER THE SPEAKER OF THE SHERIFF’S HELICOPTER THAT THEY HAVE THIS AREA SURROUNDED AND THAT THEY WILL BE USING. K-9S TO TRACK DOWN THAT INDIVIDUAL AND HAVE ASKED NUMEROUS TIMES FOR THAT PERSON TO COME OUT OF THE HOUSE. SO OF COURSE, WE’LL KEEP YOU UPDATED ON WHAT HAPPENS HERE. FOR NOW, WE’RE LIVE IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY. PEYTON HEADLEE KCRA THREE NEWS. PEYTON, THANK YOU. AND WE WANT TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE CRYSTAL CLEAR FOR PEOPLE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD WHO ARE WATCHING THIS COVERAGE, WHAT EXACTLY PEOPLE SHOULD BE DOING. WE KNOW THAT THE SCHOOLS THEMSELVES ARE IN A SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER. THERE ARE SOME EVACUATIONS UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW. JUST IF YOU CAN SPELL OUT EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE DOING, IF THEY LIVE IN THAT AREA. YES. SO WHAT THE SHERIFF’S HELICOPTER HAS BEEN SAYING TO PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THIS AREA, THEY’RE ASKING THEM TO LOOK OUT FOR AN INDIVIDUAL THAT THEY SAY IS IN ALL BLACK CLOTHING. AND THEN IN TERMS OF EVACUATIONS, THEY SAY TO LEAVE YOUR HOME AND TO LOCK YOUR DOORS. THEY SAID THAT THEY MIGHT GO INSIDE AND SEARCH WITH A CANINE. SO YEAH, BEST MOVE OF ACTION HERE FROM THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS JUST TO EVACUATE THE AREA UNTIL THEY CAN CONFIDENTLY SAY THAT THEY HAVE THE SUSPECT IN CUSTODY. YEAH, PRETTY UNUSUAL THAT WE DON’T GET THOSE KINDS OF INSTRUCTIONS, BUT THAT KIND OF SPEAKS TO THE SERIOUSNESS OF WHAT’S GOING ON THERE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. SO STILL A LOT GOING ON. WE’LL STAY ON THAT STORY THROUG

    Man detained after allegedly robbing a Taco Bell, crashing vehicle into Sacramento-area home

    Updated: 10:28 PM PDT Sep 26, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Sacramento deputies have detained a man suspected of an armed robbery Friday, hours after law enforcement established a perimeter in an Arden-Arcade neighborhood. Deputies responded around 4 p.m. to the report of a robbery at a Taco Bell in the 4300 block of Sunrise Boulevard. Officials said a deputy spotted the suspect and initiated a short pursuit. The pursuit ended when the suspect crashed into a house. It’s unclear if the home sustained any damage.Just after 5 p.m., the sheriff’s office said deputies had established a perimeter in the 4300 block of Rio Tinto Avenue. Around that time, the sheriff’s office said deputies were working to evacuate nearby homes and the SWAT team was responding. The San Juan Unified School District said four schools in the area were under precautionary shelter-in-place orders in connection with the search. The four schools are Whitney Avenue Elementary, Pasadena Avenue Elementary, Arcade Middle and Mira Loma High. After school activities were held indoors until law enforcement gave an all-clear.Around 7:45 p.m., officials said a 35-year-old man was detained in connection with the robbery. He was found under a deck in the 3800 block of Robie Lee Way.The sheriff’s office identified the suspect as Donald Caviness. He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail for robbery, resisting or obstructing, and evading a police officer and driving in a reckless manner. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    ARDEN-ARCADE, Calif. —

    Sacramento deputies have detained a man suspected of an armed robbery Friday, hours after law enforcement established a perimeter in an Arden-Arcade neighborhood.

    Deputies responded around 4 p.m. to the report of a robbery at a Taco Bell in the 4300 block of Sunrise Boulevard.

    Officials said a deputy spotted the suspect and initiated a short pursuit. The pursuit ended when the suspect crashed into a house. It’s unclear if the home sustained any damage.

    Just after 5 p.m., the sheriff’s office said deputies had established a perimeter in the 4300 block of Rio Tinto Avenue.

    Around that time, the sheriff’s office said deputies were working to evacuate nearby homes and the SWAT team was responding.

    The San Juan Unified School District said four schools in the area were under precautionary shelter-in-place orders in connection with the search. The four schools are Whitney Avenue Elementary, Pasadena Avenue Elementary, Arcade Middle and Mira Loma High. After school activities were held indoors until law enforcement gave an all-clear.

    Around 7:45 p.m., officials said a 35-year-old man was detained in connection with the robbery. He was found under a deck in the 3800 block of Robie Lee Way.

    The sheriff’s office identified the suspect as Donald Caviness. He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail for robbery, resisting or obstructing, and evading a police officer and driving in a reckless manner.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Legal experts say Trump’s indictment of Comey is a test of justice

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    WASHINGTON — On a Phoenix tarmac in 2016, former President Clinton and U.S. Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch had a serendipitous meeting on a private jet. The exchange caused a political firestorm. At a time when the Justice Department was investigating Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, the appearance of impropriety prompted a national scandal.

    “Lynch made law enforcement decisions for political purposes,” Donald Trump, her Republican rival that year, would later write of the meeting on Twitter. “Totally illegal!”

    It was the beginning of a pattern from Trump claiming political interference by Democrats and career public servants in Justice Department matters, regardless of the evidence.

    Now, Trump’s years-long claim that it was his opponents who politicized the justice system has become the basis for the most aggressive spree of political prosecutions in modern American history.

    “What Trump is doing now with the U.S. attorneys is really in complete opposition to how the people who created those offices imagined what those officials would do — the Founders simply did not envision the office in this way,” said Peter Kastor, chair of the history department at Washington University in St. Louis.

    “From the inception of the Justice Department,” he added, “one of the most remarkable things is how it was never used in this way.”

    On Thursday, at Trump’s express direction, federal charges were filed against James Comey, the former FBI director, alleging he gave false testimony before Congress and attempted to obstruct a congressional proceeding five years ago.

    The indictment was secured from a federal grand jury after Trump fired a U.S. attorney with doubts about the strength of the case — replacing him with a loyalist, and telling Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi openly on social media to pursue charges against him and others.

    “JAMES COMEY IS A DIRTY COP,” Trump wrote on social media after the charges were filed. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

    Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017, denies the charges.

    “My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,” Comey said in a statement posted online. “We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either.

    “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice. But I have great confidence in the federal judicial system,” Comey continued. “And I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial and keep the faith.”

    Behind the charges against Comey, legal experts see a weak case wielded as a cudgel in a political persecution of Trump’s perceived enemy. Comey is accused of lying about authorizing a leak to the media about an FBI investigation through an anonymous source.

    It is only the latest example. Over the summer, Trump’s director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, used his position to accuse three of the president’s political foes of mortgage fraud, referring the cases to the Justice Department for potential charges — actions actively encouraged by Trump online.

    “It’s not a list,” Trump said Thursday, asked whether more prosecutions are coming. “I think there will be others. They’re corrupt. These were corrupt radical left Democrats. Comey essentially was Dem — he’s worse than a Democrat.”

    The president’s overt use of the Justice Department as a partisan tool threatens a new era of political persecutions that could well backfire on his own allies. The Supreme Court has made clear that presidents enjoy broad immunity for their actions while in office. But their aides do not. Bondi, Pulte and others, just like Comey, are obligated to provide occasional testimony to House and Senate committees under oath.

    “The Comey indictment is notable for its personalized politicization being so open,” said Andrew Rudalevige, a professor of government at Bowdoin College. “The same actions carried out clandestinely would seem scandalous, because they are — and the fact they were so blatantly advertised does not make them less corrupt.”

    But the Comey case can also be seen as a test of the viability of a prosecution based purely on politics. Already, lawyers for Trump’s other legal targets have said they plan on using his overt threats against them to get cases against their clients thrown out in court.

    This week, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, defended Trump’s vocal advocacy for criminal charges against political foes as a matter of “accountability.”

    “We are not going to tolerate gaslighting from anyone in the media, from anyone on the other side who is trying to say that it’s the president who is weaponizing the DOJ,” Leavitt said.

    “You look at people like [California Sen.] Adam Schiff, and like James Comey, and like [New York Atty. Gen.] Letitia James, who the president is rightfully frustrated with,” she continued. “He wants accountability for these corrupt fraudsters who abused their power, who abused their oath of office to target the former president.”

    But Trump’s accusations against Democrats have routinely failed the tests of inspectors general, journalistic inquiry and public scrutiny.

    When Trump was investigated over potential coordination between his campaign and the Russian government in the 2016 race, he claimed a liberal, “deep state” cabal was behind an inquiry based on, as the special prosecutor’s report concluded, “numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.”

    And when charged with federal crimes over his handling of highly classified material, and his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, he dismissed the charges as a witch hunt choreographed by President Biden and his attorney general, a claim that had no basis in fact.

    The special counsel investigations against Trump, Kastor said, were “prosecutions, not persecutions.”

    “His claims that the investigations surrounding him are specious — the investigations were appropriate,” Kastor added. “These investigations are not.”

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    Michael Wilner

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  • Supporters of redrawing California’s congressional districts raise tens of millions more than opponents

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    Supporters of the November ballot measure to reconfigure California’s congressional districts — an effort led by Gov. Gavin Newsom to help Democrats win control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year — have far out-raised the opposition campaigns, according to fundraising disclosures filed with the state.

    The primary group backing Proposition 50 raked in $77.5 million and spent $28.1 million through Sept. 20, according to a campaign finance report that was filed with the secretary of state’s office on Thursday.

    The committee has $54.4 million in the bank for the final weeks of the campaign, so Californian should expect a blizzard of television ads, mailers, phone calls and other efforts to sway voters before the Nov. 4 special election.

    The two main groups opposing the ballot measure have raised $35.3 million, spent $27.4 million and have roughly $8.8 million in the bank combined, campaign finance reports show.

    Despite having an overwhelming financial advantage, the campaign supporting Proposition 50 has tried to portray itself as the underdog in a fight to raise money against opposition campaigns with ties to President Trump and his supporters.

    “MAGA donors keep pouring millions into the campaign to stop Prop. 50 in the hopes of pleasing their ‘Dear Leader,’” said Hannah Milgrom, a spokesperson for the Yes on 50, the Election Rigging Response Act campaign. “We will not take our foot off the gas — Prop. 50 is America’s best chance to stop this reckless and dangerous president, and we will keep doing everything we can to ensure every Californian knows the stakes and is ready to vote yes on 50 this Nov. 4th.”

    A spokesperson for one of the anti-Proposition 50 campaigns, which was sending mailers to voters even before the Democratic-led California Legislature placed Proposition 50 on the November ballot, said their priority was to help Californians understand the inappropriateness of redrawing congressional boundaries that had been created by a voter-approved, state independent commission.

    “We started communicating with voters early about the consequences of having politicians draw their own lines,” said Amy Thoma, a spokesperson for a coalition that opposes the ballot measure. “We are confident we’ll have the resources necessary to continue through election day.”

    A spokesperson for the other main anti-Proposition 50 group agreed.

    “When you’re selling a lemon, no amount of cash can change the taste. We’re confident in raising more than sufficient resources to expose Prop. 50 for the blatant political power grab that it is,” said Ellie Hockenbury, an advisor to the No on 50 – Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab campaign. Newsom “can’t change the fact that Prop. 50 is nothing more than a ploy for politicians to take the power of redistricting away from the voters and charge them for the privilege at a massive cost to taxpayers.”

    The special election is expected to cost the state and the counties $282 million, according to the secretary of state’s office and the state department of finance.

    If approved, Proposition 50 would have a major impact on California’s 2026 congressional elections, which will play a major role in determining whether Trump is able to continue enacting his agenda in the final two years of his tenure. The party that wins the White House frequently loses congressional seats two years later, and Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the House.

    After Trump urged GOP-led states, notably Texas, to redraw their congressional districts to increase the number of Republicans elected to Congress in next year’s midterm election, Newsom and other California Democrats responded by proposing a counter-effort to boost the ranks of their party in the legislative body.

    California’s congressional districts are drawn once every decade after the U.S. Census by a voter-approved independent redistricting commission. So Democrats’ proposal to replace the districts with new boundaries proposed by state lawmakers must be approved by voters. The state Legislature voted in August to put the measure before voters in a special election on Nov. 4.

    Polling about the proposition is not definitive. It’s an off-year election, which means turnout is likely to be low and the electorate is unpredictable. And relatively few Californians pay attention to redistricting, the esoteric process of redrawing congressional districts.

    There are more than 30 campaign committees associated with Proposition 50 registered with the secretary of state’s office, but only three have raised large amounts of money.

    Newsom’s pro-Proposition 50 effort has received several large donations since its launch, including $10 million from billionaire financier George Soros, $7.6 million from House Majority PAC (the Democrats’ congressional political arm) and $4.5 million from various Service Employees International Union groups. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife have contributed $1 million to a separate committee supporting the proposition.

    The opposition groups had few small-dollar donors and were largely funded by two sources — $30 million in loans from Charles Munger Jr., who for years has been a major Republican donor in California, and a $5-million donation from the Congressional Leadership Fund, the GOP political arm of House Republicans.

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    Seema Mehta

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  • California ‘MAGA Dentist’ under fire for viral joke about hurting liberal patients

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    A self-proclaimed “MAGA Dentist” is facing backlash after a video of her joking about turning down pain-relieving gas for liberal patients at her Santa Clarita clinic blew up online.

    Dr. Harleen Grewal of Skyline Smiles made this quip and other wisecracks about her distaste for left-leaning clients during a speech at the Republican Liberty Gala in 2021, comments that recently attracted mass attention after a video of the speech went viral on TikTok. That video has since been taken down, but recorded versions of it and response videos criticizing Grewal continue to circulate.

    “I have a secret hat I use sometimes, it says, ‘Make your smile great again,’” she said at the gala. “So I wear that when I work with my patients, when they look horrified or complain, I quietly cut back on the laughing gas.”

    In the address, she also jokes about missing the days when “the Dems stayed home during COVID with their masks on” as well as liberals’ reaction when they see the photo wall of Republican leaders in the office: “You’d think their butt was on fire. They jump up and take off as if Trump was coming in the room.”

    The comments were met with laughter within the context of the Republican gala but have been met with outrage on the internet as well as calls to report Grewal to the California Dental Board.

    “Dental care by a dentist who acknowledges that she doesn’t control your pain based on your political party? How does she have a license to practice?” wrote one person in a Yelp post.

    More than 100 one-star reviews were left on her business’ Yelp page this week, with reviewers lambasting her remarks at the gala. Yelp has since temporarily disabled the review function for Skyline Smiles, stating that due to increased attention in the news people are likely to be writing about their personal views as opposed to a firsthand consumer experience.

    Grewal did not respond to a request for comment and has not issued a recent public statement on the viral video. On Thursday morning, however, she posted a video on the MAGA Dentist and Skyline Smiles Instagram accounts with the caption, “At Skyline Smiles, every patient is family. We treat all of our patients with the same level of care, compassion, and respect because that’s what you deserve!”

    By Thursday evening, both Instagram accounts were disabled.

    The outrage incited by the videos was so far-reaching that a dental office in Chicago called Skyline Smiles — which has no affiliation with the Santa Clarita business — has received multiple one-star reviews as people online mistake it for Grewal’s dentistry, said Dr. Deepak Neduvelil, who owns the Chicago clinic.

    Grewal has previously addressed criticisms about her gala jokes and her melding of business and politics.

    In an op-ed titled “You Can’t Cancel Me” published in the Santa Clarita Valley Signal this month, Grewal said “these attacks have only made me more determined to stand tall, speak louder and fight harder.”

    In the article, Grewal said that the California Dental Board had previously sent an investigator to her clinic after someone accused her of torturing patients who didn’t share her political views — a complaint Grewal said was based on “a lighthearted joke” she made at the Republican Liberty Gala.

    “My words were twisted, and my career was targeted,” she wrote, “but I didn’t back down.”

    The California Dental Board said it does not comment on whether complaints are submitted to the board as complaints and investigations are confidential.

    Grewal also wrote that authorities had investigated her clinic following “completely false and totally unfounded” allegations that she was running an illegal ballot-harvesting operation from her office during the last election cycle. In a clip shared on her now-disabled Instagram, Grewal said that she had a ballot box in her office “not only collecting Republican ballots, but anybody’s ballots, everybody should be able to vote.”

    The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which provides policing services in Santa Clarita, said deputies would respond to any call for service but did not provide details on whether they had responded to calls concerning Grewal’s clinic.

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    Clara Harter

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  • Human remains in Washington state identified as Travis Decker, wanted for killing his daughters

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    Forensic tests confirmed that human remains found on a remote mountain in Washington state this month were those of Travis Decker, a former soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters last spring, officials confirmed Thursday.His remains were discovered on a steep, remote, wooded slope partway up Grindstone Mountain in central Washington, less than a mile from the campsite where the bodies of 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker, and 5-year-old Olivia Decker were found on June 2, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said.Law enforcement teams had been searching more than three months for Decker, 32, before the sheriff’s office announced last week it had located human remains believed to be his. Sheriff Mike Morrison said Thursday that DNA tests on clothing found at the scene, as well as from the remains, matched Decker.The sheriff said investigators wanted to honor the girls’ memory by solving the case, and he apologized to their mother, Whitney Decker, for it taking so long.“I hope you can rest easier at night knowing that Travis is accounted for,” Morrison said.Decker had been with his daughters on a scheduled visit but failed to bring them back to his former wife, who, a year ag,o said that his mental health issues had worsened and that he had become increasingly unstable.He was often living out of his truck, she said in a petition seeking to restrict him from having overnight visits with them.A deputy found Decker’s truck as well as the girls’ bodies three days after Decker failed to return them to their mother’s house. Autopsies found the girls had been suffocated.Decker was an infantryman in the Army from March 2013 to July 2021 and deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014. He had training in navigation, survival, and other skills, authorities said, and once spent more than two months living in the backwoods off the grid.More than 100 officials with an array of state and federal agencies searched hundreds of square miles, much of it mountainous and remote, by land, water, and air during the on and off search. The U.S. Marshals Service offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his capture.At one point early in the search, authorities thought they spotted Decker near a remote alpine lake after receiving a tip from hikers.Officials say the coroner’s office continues to work on determining the cause and time of his death.

    (Video above: KING via CNN Newsource) —

    Forensic tests confirmed that human remains found on a remote mountain in Washington state this month were those of Travis Decker, a former soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters last spring, officials confirmed Thursday.

    His remains were discovered on a steep, remote, wooded slope partway up Grindstone Mountain in central Washington, less than a mile from the campsite where the bodies of 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker, and 5-year-old Olivia Decker were found on June 2, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said.

    Law enforcement teams had been searching more than three months for Decker, 32, before the sheriff’s office announced last week it had located human remains believed to be his. Sheriff Mike Morrison said Thursday that DNA tests on clothing found at the scene, as well as from the remains, matched Decker.

    The sheriff said investigators wanted to honor the girls’ memory by solving the case, and he apologized to their mother, Whitney Decker, for it taking so long.

    “I hope you can rest easier at night knowing that Travis is accounted for,” Morrison said.

    Decker had been with his daughters on a scheduled visit but failed to bring them back to his former wife, who, a year ag,o said that his mental health issues had worsened and that he had become increasingly unstable.

    He was often living out of his truck, she said in a petition seeking to restrict him from having overnight visits with them.

    A deputy found Decker’s truck as well as the girls’ bodies three days after Decker failed to return them to their mother’s house. Autopsies found the girls had been suffocated.

    Decker was an infantryman in the Army from March 2013 to July 2021 and deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014. He had training in navigation, survival, and other skills, authorities said, and once spent more than two months living in the backwoods off the grid.

    More than 100 officials with an array of state and federal agencies searched hundreds of square miles, much of it mountainous and remote, by land, water, and air during the on and off search. The U.S. Marshals Service offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his capture.

    At one point early in the search, authorities thought they spotted Decker near a remote alpine lake after receiving a tip from hikers.

    Officials say the coroner’s office continues to work on determining the cause and time of his death.

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  • 2 injured in Osceola County road rage shooting, sheriff’s office investigating

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    Two people were injured following a road rage shooting in Poinciana on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. The shooting occurred sometime after 4 p.m. near the area of Cypress Parkway and Marigold Avenue, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office told WESH 2. The sheriff’s office said the shooting occurred after Jose Gabriel Astacio, 30, got out of his 2016 Mercedes GLE and exchanged words with the victims.Soon after the victims attempted to leave the intersection, Astacio fired three shots into the passenger side of the Ford Expedition, hitting the front-right passenger, a 41-year-old male, in the face. At the same time, the driver suffered injuries after being grazed by a bullet.The driver of the Expedition that was shot at then drove to the nearby HCA Poinciana Hospital, where the passenger was later airlifted to Osceola Regional. “This is an ongoing problem not only here in Osceola County but in Central Florida, road rage,” said Kim Montes of the Osceola County sheriff’s office. “You cannot let your emotions take over driving. We cannot take things personally when you’re driving and somebody cuts you off, whether it’s intentional or unintentional. We cannot let our emotions fuel our anger so much that it comes to this.”With the assistance of the Miami-Dade County Robbery Intervention Unit, Astacio was located in South Florida on Sept 24. He was taken into custody in Hialeah. His vehicle was later located hidden near a residence in Kissimmee. Once in custody, a large amount of cash and drugs were found on his person. Astacio was booked into the Miami-Dade jail on local charges, according to Osceola deputies.Pending extradition back to Osceola County, a warrant has been issued for Astacio for the following charges: attempted murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and shooting into an occupied vehicle.

    KISSIMMEE, Fla. —

    Two people were injured following a road rage shooting in Poinciana on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.

    The shooting occurred sometime after 4 p.m. near the area of Cypress Parkway and Marigold Avenue, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office told WESH 2.

    The sheriff’s office said the shooting occurred after Jose Gabriel Astacio, 30, got out of his 2016 Mercedes GLE and exchanged words with the victims.

    Soon after the victims attempted to leave the intersection, Astacio fired three shots into the passenger side of the Ford Expedition, hitting the front-right passenger, a 41-year-old male, in the face. At the same time, the driver suffered injuries after being grazed by a bullet.

    The driver of the Expedition that was shot at then drove to the nearby HCA Poinciana Hospital, where the passenger was later airlifted to Osceola Regional.

    “This is an ongoing problem not only here in Osceola County but in Central Florida, road rage,” said Kim Montes of the Osceola County sheriff’s office. “You cannot let your emotions take over driving. We cannot take things personally when you’re driving and somebody cuts you off, whether it’s intentional or unintentional. We cannot let our emotions fuel our anger so much that it comes to this.”

    With the assistance of the Miami-Dade County Robbery Intervention Unit, Astacio was located in South Florida on Sept 24. He was taken into custody in Hialeah.

    His vehicle was later located hidden near a residence in Kissimmee.

    Once in custody, a large amount of cash and drugs were found on his person. Astacio was booked into the Miami-Dade jail on local charges, according to Osceola deputies.

    Pending extradition back to Osceola County, a warrant has been issued for Astacio for the following charges: attempted murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and shooting into an occupied vehicle.


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