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Death rate soars among L.A. County's homeless population

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

The mortality rate among homeless people in Los Angeles County has increased by 55% in recent years, according to the latest county public health report.In 2019, 1,289 people experiencing homelessness died. This number increased to 1,811 in 2020 and 2,201 in 2021, according to the report.The report also found that drug overdoses continue to be the leading cause of death among unhoused individuals in the county. Drug overdoses have been the leading cause of death among homeless people since 2019 and accounted for 37% of all deaths in 2020 and 2021 combined, officials said. Flesh-eating ‘zombie drug’ saturating Los Angeles streets Researchers found that overdose rates among unhoused Black and Latinx people in Los Angeles County are higher in comparison to their white counterparts. The report also said that fentanyl-related overdoses have nearly tripled since 2019 when the rate was just 20% and rose to 58% by 2021.Coronary heart disease and traffic injuries were the second and third ...

Mom donates kidney to pediatrician daughter suffering from rare disease

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

A mother lost 20 pounds to be able to donate one of her kidneys to her daughter, a pediatrician who was suffering from a rare disease, Loma Linda University Medical Center officials said.Brittany Chow would have had to have waited about 12 years for an available organ if her mother, Elizabeth Chow, hadn’t stepped in.Brittany, who is a chief pediatric resident at the Loma Linda hospital, often neglected her own check ups, but she realized she had high blood pressure and was feeling tired.She had attributed her lethargy to her job, stress levels and her weight. But one day, when she was feeling extremely tired, she was finding it difficult to catch her breath after walking up stairs.She soon went to urgent care and discovered that her blood pressure was way above average.At the emergency room, doctors began running tests and she soon got some “shocking results.”Brittany and Elizabeth Chow are seen in two photos provided by Loma Linda University Health. Elizabeth and baby Brittany are ...

Huntington Beach hit-and-run leaves man severely injured

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

Police are searching for a hit-and-run driver who left a man severely injured in Huntington Beach on Thursday.Officers responded to reports of a person lying on the road on Beach Boulevard near Stark Avenue around 11:24 p.m.When police arrived, they found a 36-year-old man with severe injuries, according to Huntington Beach police. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.A preliminary investigation revealed the victim was walking across Beach Boulevard when he was struck by a vehicle in the northbound lanes, authorities said. After the crash, the driver fled the scene, leaving the victim lying on the road. The suspect remains at large and police are asking for the public's help.Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it is asked to call Investigator J. Rounds at 714-536-5666.

Here's how many earthquakes cause significant damage in California each year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

If you live in California, sooner or later you will feel an earthquake, and depending on what part of the state you are in, earthquakes could be a regular thing. California registers hundreds of earthquakes per year, but the majority of these are of low magnitudes and may not even be felt by anybody. Only the state of Alaska has more -and larger- earthquakes.The Golden State generally gets two or three large earthquakes every year that are strong enough to cause moderate damage, according to the California Department of Conservation. 5.5 magnitude earthquake shakes Northern California Earthquakes are considered "moderate" if they are between magnitude 5.0 - 5.9, "large" if they are between 6.0 - 6.9, "major" means between 7.0 - 7.9, and "great" if they are above 8.0, according to the DOC. The so-called "Big One" that is talked about in California is a hypothetical magnitude 7.8 or stronger earthquake that would likely happen in Southern California and cause upwards of 1,800 d...

3 Chicago gang members arrested in Beverly Crest triple slaying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

The shooting deaths of three women in a January attack in Beverly Crest and of a man in North Hollywood in December were all perpetrated by gang members from Chicago, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a press conference Friday.The Beverly Crest victims, Iyana Hutton, 33, from Chicago, Nenah Davis, 29, from Bolingbrook, Illinois, and Destiny Sims, 26, from Buckeye, Arizona, were killed while sitting in a car in the 2700 block of Ellison Drive on Jan. 28.Six other people were wounded, though their identities are not being released to protect their safety, the LAPD said.On Dec. 16 in North Hollywood, Julian Bynum, 30 and also of Chicago, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting in the 6800 block of Simpson Avenue.While the victims were unrelated outside of their shared connections to the Chicago area, they were all killed by the same group of men, according to LAPD Capt. Jonathan Tippet.Daries Stanford, Dejean Thompkins and Dontae Williams are seen in mugshots provided ...

Remembering George Raymond Shannon, MSG, PhD 1939-2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

The late George Shannon was celebrated yesterday at a memorial hosted by his colleagues, students, mentees, friends and family at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Shannon passed away on March 1, 2023 at the age of 84.As both the Instructional Associate Professor of Gerontology at the University of Southern California (USC) and holder of the Kevin Xu Chair in Gerontology, as well as director of the Rongxiang Xu Regenerative Life Science Research Lab at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Professor Shannon inspired all with his zest for learning and driving desire to better the lives of so many. “People always ask me if it’s too late to go back to school and I always say no,” stated the professor in an oft-shared interview for USC News in 2018. Remembering George Raymond Shannon, MSG, PhD – USC MemorialShannon lived a storied life; born in Chicago, IL on December 30, 1939, he went on to become an actor, studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New...

Arizona Democrats urge judge to toss Kari Lake’s last claim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

By Jacques Billeaud | Associated PressPHOENIX — The last remaining election misconduct claim by Kari Lake, the 2022 Republican candidate for Arizona governor, is playing out in court as state officials and the Democratic governor asked a judge to throw out the case Friday.Lake was among the most vocal of last year’s Republican candidates promoting former President Donald Trump’s election lies, which she made the centerpiece of her campaign. While most other election deniers around the country conceded after losing their races in November, Lake did not.Courts have dismissed most of the former TV anchor’s lawsuit. On Friday, a judge heard arguments on whether or not Lake’s final claim should move ahead to a trial next week.Attorneys representing Arizona election officials and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs say Lake’s allegation that the election was rigged is based on unsubstantiated speculation.Lake’s lawyers say there was a flood of mail-in ballots i...

‘F— around and find out’: Hells Angels racketeering trial ends with debate over murder, mayhem, and the law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Three members of the Hells Angels are now at the critical juncture between federal prison and freedom. All that’s left now is for a jury to decide their fate.Starting Monday, 12 randomly-selected Northern California residents are set to review nearly two months of testimony surrounding the Sonoma Hells Angels and their associates at club chapters as far away as Salem, Mass. The trial ended Friday after three days of closing arguments from federal prosecutors and defense attorneys, who presented wildly different interpretations of evidence that includes the testimony of former Hells Angels members and a onetime prospect who infiltrated the club while working as an FBI informant.On trial are Raymond “Ray Ray” Foakes, perhaps the best-known living Hells Angel in the world, as well as Christopher “Rain Man” Ranieri, the President of the club’s Boston/Salem chapter accused of helping plan a murder, and Brian Burke, a Sonoma chapte...

Letters: Quality of life | Unwelcome occupant | Change approach | Corral Congress | Israel’s cash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Quality-of-life issuescausing California flightRe: “How to stop California desertion” (Page A6, May 5).I believe George Skelton misses the reasons for desertion by a mile. California has always been relatively expensive. I am an 85-year native. It’s about quality of life.I submit the following as reasons for people leaving:• Sanctuary cities overrun with illegal drugs and a justice system that is a revolving door for chronic offenders.• Billions being lavished on social programs without accountability or positive results.• Billions spent on an ill-conceived rail system while ignoring the inadequate power grid.• Neglected road maintenance.• Schools that were once the envy of the nation, are no longer a source of pride.• The contemplation of reparations for damages to an identified class who were not personally damaged, by a state that was not involved, to be paid by taxpayers also not involved...

Chad Daybell pleads not guilty to murder, conspiracy charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:28:50 GMT

By Chris Boyette | CNNChad Daybell pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the murder and conspiracy charges he faces in connection with the deaths of his first wife and the two children of his current wife, Lori Vallow.Idaho 7th Judicial District Magistrate Judge Steven W. Boyce said that a scheduling conference would take place in two weeks to determine a date for the start of Daybell’s trial. He could face a death sentence, the judge said.A grand jury in Idaho indicted Daybell and Vallow last month on murder charges in connection with the deaths of Vallow’s two children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow. Daybell is also charged with murder in the case of his first wife, Tammy, who died in her sleep in October 2019, a few weeks before Daybell got remarried to Vallow.“This whole process is really hard,” Colby Ryan, the children’s older brother, said after Daybell’s plea, according to East Idaho News. “We’ve all had to go through it but he’s goi...