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'It wasn't a false alarm'; Crane tears down dangerous section of Santa Monica bluffs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

A crane tore out a portion of the Santa Monica bluffs Wednesday morning that appeared to be in danger of collapsing onto the freeway below.Cameras were rolling when a giant clamshell-style crane took just seconds to break down the bulk of the dangerous formation. About 12 dump trucks were lined up to clear the debris off the northbound side of Pacific Coast Highway, which was scheduled to remain closed until around noon.A portion of the Santa Monica bluffs was removed on July 26, 2023. (KTLA)Passersby, including "Weird Al" Yakovic's wife Suzzane Yankovic, saw a crack in the formation and posted about it on social media. Yankovic showed her video to her friend Sean James, who then contacted city officials about the potential danger of the bluff collapsing onto cars or people below. Car flies off 10 Freeway into homeless encampment, injuring 5 The city decided to take action and tear down the compromised portion of the bluff Wednesday. Officials think the split was caused by erosio...

Agua Fire in Angeles National Forest grows to more than 400 acres

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

A brush fire burning in the Angeles National Forest near Agua Dulce grew to more than 400 acres Wednesday morning, according to officials. The Agua Fire, reported around 2:15 p.m. near Soledad Canyon and Agua Dulce Canyon roads, grew to 421 acres overnight due to "steep terrain and difficult access," according to an Angeles National Forest social media post.The Agua Fire burns in the Angeles National Forest on July 25, 2023. (KTLA)Containment of the blaze was at 10%, thanks to the help of 275 firefighters on scene. One firefighter was reported to have been injured in the firefight Tuesday. There was no word on the firefighter's condition. Massive marijuana grow discovered in downtown Los Angeles Soledad Canyon Road between Agua Dulce Road and Crown Valley Road remains closed Wednesday, according to officials. No evacuations have been ordered.

Speed cameras may soon be installed in 3 Southern California cities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

A new program to slow drivers down and curb street racing using speed cameras could soon go into effect in three Southern California cities. The devices would photograph the license plates of drivers going 11 miles per hour or more over the speed limit in any given area.  While speed cameras are currently illegal in the state, a proposed bill could change all that. If it becomes law, a pilot program using speed cameras would kick off in Los Angeles, Glendale and Long Beach in January.  “They’re putting people’s lives in danger, so I think enough is enough. Stop speeding, please,” said Joshua Mora, a victim of a hit-and-run accident.  Mora, 13, had his leg amputated after a motorcycle rider hit him in Boyle Heights as he was crossing the street. While Mora has said he’s grateful to have escaped death, others have not been as lucky.  “According to the National Transportation Safety Board, speeding is a factor in 31% of all traffic fatalities,” California Assemblyme...

Video shows crane collapse in Manhattan; at least 6 people hurt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

At least two firefighters and four civilians were hurt when a construction crane caught fire and collapsed in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan Wednesday morning, July 26, officials said.A fire department spokesperson said the crane’s engine compartment caught fire around 45 stories above the ground.A fire department spokesperson said the crane’s engine compartment caught fire around 45 stories above the ground. July 26, 2023. (@AffordAnything via Storyful)The crane was atop a vacant building that had been under construction, according to the FDNY.Footage captured by a local resident shows smoke billowing from the blazing crane, as well as its collapse on Wednesday morning.

Tesla just topped this rival to become California's best-selling automaker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

Tesla delivered more cars than Toyota in California in the second quarter of 2023, demonstrating the strong momentum of EVs in the largest U.S. new-car market.Toyota has been the longtime best-selling brand in California, but its 67,482 registrations for Q2 were just behind Tesla's 69,212 registrations, according to a California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) report. Tesla registrations were up 62.3%, while Toyota registrations were down 8.3%, the report said.Toyota still had the biggest market share of any brand in California for the first half of 2022, at 14.7% to second-place Tesla's 13.6% share. That market share is already higher than the 11% Tesla took in California for the whole of 2022, though.California EV market share for first half of 2023 (via CNCDA)The Tesla Model Y also continued its run as the top-selling model in California. Tesla's smaller crossover is also the top-selling vehicle nationwide, excluding pickup trucks.The Japanese automaker also had four of the e...

Netflix is paying big for AI jobs amid WGA and SAG-AFTRA concerns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

The use of Artificial Intelligence has been a major talking point amid the writers' and actors' strikes. Everyone in Hollywood, on the labor side, is worried about the use of AI. They don't want to eliminate it completely, but they are asking for clear and written protections and guidelines regarding its use. It's something that Justine Bateman sounded the alarm on during the beginning of the WGA strike and that SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher commented on during the first day of the actors' strike. "I was in Santa Monica and there was a little box rolling around making deliveries and my heart broke because there was somebody on a bicycle that used to do that and they are out of work today and that's what's happening in our industry and for workers around the world," Drescher said on the picket line. "The Nanny" star made those comments in front of the Netflix building in Hollywood. Now, the streamer has posted two jobs in the AI space. The company is looking for a machine learnin...

Belinda Chacon Pronounced Dead Following Multi-Vehicle Crash on Highway 41 [Fresno County, CA]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

Multi-Car Collision on Elkhorn Left Belinda Chacon DeadFRESNO COUNTY, CA (July 26, 2023) – On Monday afternoon, a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 41 and Elkhorn left Belinda Chacon dead.Police responded to the crash on July 24th, at approximately 12:45 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 41 and Elkhorn.Upon arrival, authorities learned that the majority of the parties involved sustained minor injuries from the incident, including a 3-year-old child. Reports indicated that at least four vehicles were involved in the crash.According to the investigators, a Ford F450 heavy-duty pickup was rear-ended by a Toyota that had come to a halt. That vehicle was forced into a Chevrolet, which was then shoved into a semi-trailer. The pickup collided with the Toyota, killing the adult driver.Later, authorities identified the deceased driver as 47-year-old Belinda Chacon.At this time, the California Highway Patrol continues to investigate the multi-vehicle crash. Additional information about t...

Every Gallery: Arts Calendar July 27 – August 2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

Be an art tourist in your own home town, as Gallery Weekend Los Angeles returns with three days and nights of exhibition openings, closings, and special events at what seems like every gallery in the city. Find local and international shows with painting, new media, performance, video, photography, textile, installation all heartily represented. Plus, as befits the hot summer nights, outdoor theater and spoken word events inspire the imagination, and tours of an industrial scale intervention in the course of the river inquire about what’s possible in art.Urs Fisher: Database, algorithms, and LED cube, 141 3/4 × 141 3/4 × 141 3/4 in (Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery. Photo: Stefan Altenburger)Thursday, July 27Gallery Weekend Los Angeles, Citywide. An eclectic cohort of art galleries from across the city band together for a regional exploration of the current scene. This year is extra, with a litany of local expansions and out of town outposts that opened just this year. The Gallery Platf...

Lowe’s employee who was fired for tangling with shoplifter gets her job back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

A 68-year-old Lowe’s employee who was fired after she was punched by a shoplifter has her job back, the company said.Donna Hansbrough, who had worked for the retailer for 13 years, lost her job for violating company policy by confronting three people who were attempting to walk out of the store in Rincon, Georgia, with carts of items they hadn’t paid for.A police account of the June 25 confrontation said Hansbrough grabbed a cart being pushed by a young woman, who then hit Hansbrough three times in the face. The Rincon police department’s social media post included a photo of Hansbrough with her right eye bruised and swollen.Lowe’s confirmed the police announcement that the employee had been fired over the incident and then rehired. “After senior management became aware of the incident and spoke to Donna Hansbrough today, we are reinstating her job and we are pleased that she has accepted the offer to return to Lowe’s,” said a company statement released to CN...

Oppenheimer’s inconvenient truth: He was a secret Communist, historians say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:20 GMT

J. Robert Oppenheimer went to his grave holding onto a painful secret. He repeatedly denied to the U.S. government that he joined the Communist Party while teaching physics at UC Berkeley, but the “overwhelming” evidence shows that he was a member and opened himself up to perjury charges by lying about it.A retired Stanford history professor and one of Oppenheimer’s biographers are among a group of historians who are speaking up about the famed scientist’s “secret” party membership, as Christopher Nolan’s film, “Oppenheimer,” renews debate about his legacy and shows him facing post-World War II persecution for his left-wing politics and for having friends, family members and an ex-girlfriend who belonged to the Communist Party.Barton Bernstein, a Stanford University history professor emeritus, and Gregg Herken, author of the 2002 book “Brotherhood of the Bomb,” agree that Oppenheimer was a victim of McCarthy-era excesses. They also say there’s no eviden...