NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs was “no ordinary john,” but a violent and controlling mastermind of perverse sex sessions where participants were drugged and brutalized, prosecutors wrote in new court papers opposing his latest bail bid — and indicating they’ll push for a longer prison term than expected.

In late-night filings ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Despite California's ban on foie gras, the pumped-up bird livers are being sold in Southern California stores.

Foie gras, which is made by force-feeding ducks and geese, was spotted by Times journalists this week on the shelves of Wild Fork Foods stores in Venice, Manhattan Beach and Westlake Village.

Ben Williamson, the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — As heat waves grow longer and more intense across Southern California, the absence of shade is becoming a serious public health concern — but vast stretches of Los Angeles remain dangerously exposed.

Research shows shaded areas can have a “heat burden” — a combined measure of temperature, humidity and wind — up to 68�...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The abandoned power line suspected of igniting the Eaton fire could have been removed years ago under a rule proposed by state Public Utilities Commission staffers, but the regulation was weakened amid opposition from Southern California Edison and other utilities, according to records and interviews.

State regulators have long ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Seventeen-year-old Briana Soto was walking home from her job at McDonald's last March when she was shot and killed just steps from her Long Beach home. Now, her killer will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

On Thursday, Troy Lamar Fox, 34, received a sentence of 358 years to life for the first-degree murder of Soto and the...Read more

CHICAGO — Former President Joe Biden called on attorneys to lead the fight to uphold the Constitution during the Trump administration in a speech at a downtown Chicago hotel on Thursday in which he also reflected on his more than five-decade career in politics and beginnings as a young lawyer.

“It’s not enough to honor the heroes who came...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- Wildfire smoke has been easy to spot in Minnesota this week, coating the Twin Cities in a brownish haze that obscured the downtown skylines. But experts in lung health are more concerned about the particles you can’t see.

Particles in the smoke are so small that they can evade some of the lung’s natural defenses, causing not ...Read more

LOS ANGELES – The Trump administration has frozen hundreds of science, medical and other federal grants to UCLA worth nearly $200 million, citing the university's alleged "discrimination" in admissions and failure to "promote a research environment free of antisemitism."

The decision to pull funding comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi and ...Read more

President Donald Trump called on the Federal Reserve board to “assume control” if Chair Jerome Powell does not lower interest rates, escalating his ongoing feud with the central bank’s head.

“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, a stubborn MORON, must substantially lower interest rates, NOW. IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME ...Read more

Actor Gary Busey pleaded guilty to a sex crime charge Thursday in connection to a 2022 incident at a horror movie convention in New Jersey.

Busey, 81, pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact after admitting to intentionally touching a woman inappropriately at the Monster-Mania Convention at the Doubletree Hotel in ...Read more

WASHINGTON— The White House views a payment of $500 million by Harvard University as a floor in negotiations for a settlement, and the cost of a deal could climb far higher if the school doesn’t submit to government oversight provisions, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

One of the Trump administration’s key demands is ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to ask voters in November to approve a series of new congressional maps to redistrict the state and combat a similar effort in Texas, he said Thursday.

The special election would be held the first Tuesday of November, and the maps would be in effect for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 election cycles, ...Read more

DENVER — Two people are on the run after ramming a vehicle into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during an operation near Colorado Springs on Thursday, federal officials said.

An ICE officer fired three shots into the vehicle and the suspects – who agency officials said are in the country illegally – fled the scene and ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed against the city for banning rapid-fire gun devices known as “bump stocks” and “switches,” and lawyers for the plaintiffs quickly filed an appeal.

Common Pleas Court Judge Caroline Turner’s one-sentence order, which provided no explanation, dismissed the ...Read more

A new report from the U.S. Department of Energy says projections of future global warming are exaggerated, while benefits from higher levels of carbon dioxide such as more productive farms are overlooked. It concludes, at odds with the scientific mainstream, that policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions risk doing more harm than good.

...Read more

NEW YORK — A flash flood warning has been issued for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island with New York City Mayor Eric Adams declaring a state of emergency and the FDNY rescuing motorists stranded by rising waters.

The heavy rains are turning the evening commute into a nightmare, as flooding conditions necessitated the closure of several ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As the Trump administration continues its aggressive immigration crackdown, Congressman Jimmy Panetta has introduced new legislation to protect undocumented immigrant survivors and witnesses of crimes cooperating with law enforcement.

Advocates and public officials say the feds tough stance on immigrants already has led to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced a slew of new tariffs, including a 10% global minimum and 15% or higher duties for countries with trade surpluses with the U.S., as he forged ahead with his effort to reshape international commerce.

The baseline rates for many trading partners remain unchanged from the duties Trump imposed in ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing draft legislation that would add an additional $18 billion to a state fund for wildfire victims that officials have warned could be exhausted by January’s deadly Eaton wildfire.

Under Newsom’s plan, customers of the state’s three biggest for-profit utilities would pay another $9 ...Read more