LOS ANGELES — The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved the hiring of a new special prosecutor to look into police misconduct cases this week, less than a month after Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman moved to fire the person his predecessor named to that post.

Michael Gennaco, an ex-federal prosecutor who once headed L.A. County’s Office of ...Read more

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an agreement with Hamas to pause the war in Gaza has been finalized, suggesting it’s on track to begin on Sunday.

Netanyahu, in a statement on Friday morning, said he ordered his security Cabinet to meet later in the day to approve the truce, which has been backed by U.S. President Joe Biden ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department sent an urgent message out to patrol cars Wednesday afternoon, warning deputies in Altadena that, after days of nearby wildfires, the air is so toxic they should wear masks and decontaminate their uniforms before stepping foot in their homes.

Sent at 4:35 p.m., the message began "Attn ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Pacific Palisades home that narrowly survived the fire that rampaged through the community was heavily damaged by a landslide this week.

Photos of the wreckage showed the single-family home split completely in half. The nearly 1,000-square-foot house was listed for rent on Zillow last year.

Bryan Kirkwood, who was hired to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Brett Shumate to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, choosing a veteran litigator to run an office that will defend the incoming administration’s agenda in court, according to people familiar with the situation.

Shumate is a partner at Jones Day in Washington...Read more

Democratic state legislators signed a letter Thursday urging the Nevada System of Higher Education to recognize graduate assistants’ ongoing efforts to be recognized as a union.

The letter, signed by nine senators and 28 members of the Assembly, urges NHSE Interim Chancellor Patty Charlton, University of Nevada, Reno President Brian Sandoval ...Read more

China’s population shrank for the third straight year in 2024, even though births rose slightly, underscoring a persistent long-term risk for the economy.

The total number of people in China fell by more than 1.39 million to 1.408 billion last year, according to data released by the National Statistics Bureau on Friday.

Around 9.54 million ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Containment on the Palisades and Eaton fires that have kept thousands of Los Angeles County residents out of their homes, some for more than a week, grew overnight after winds that have plagued the region began to die down.

The Eaton fire, which has burned just over 14,100 acres in Pasadena and Altadena, jumped to 55% ...Read more

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will remain in detention for the time being over his ill-fated martial law declaration after a court rejected his request to be released following his arrest earlier this week.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is widely expected to seek a fresh warrant ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Tim Walz is pitching his first budget under the new Trump era as a counterweight to the incoming president’s threats to impose tariffs, which he says will raise costs on everyday Minnesotans.

His plan would lower Minnesota’s sales tax rate for the first time in state history by 0.075% across the board while ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams is traveling to Florida on Friday to meet with President-elect Donald Trump amid concern the incoming president’s immigration and fiscal policies could have a major impact on New Yorkers.

The meeting also comes as Trump has openly entertained pardoning Adams as he faces federal corruption charges.

In a statement...Read more

A commercial flock of broiler chickens on the Eastern Shore has tested positive for H5N1, or bird flu.

According to an announcement from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the entire operation in Accomack County had been quarantined with a 10-kilometer (6 mile) perimeter. The positive flock was depopulated Thursday, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions Thursday against Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, on the grounds that he has destabilized the country and undermined moves toward democracy.

Under the penalties announced by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, any property or interests owned...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The California Public Utilities Commission approved Southern California Edison’s wildfire mitigation plan Thursday, rejecting calls to delay action until more is known about what ignited the devastating Eaton fire.

Investigators are now looking into whether Edison’s equipment sparked the Eaton fire, which has killed at least...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom rebuked Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and tech mogul Elon Musk for spreading misinformation about officials’ response to the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires and for suggesting that federal disaster relief aid should come with conditions.

“Speaker Johnson and Mr. President Elect, ...Read more

BOSTON — Massachusetts Republicans painted a dire picture Thursday night of a state crippled by overspending on the state-run shelter system, a lack of transparency on Beacon Hill, and widespread mismanagement of state finances.

Rep. Marcus Vaughn, a Republican, laid out the grim outline in response to Gov. Maura Healey’s second State of ...Read more

Sylvester Stallone, best known for his Philly-based "Rocky" franchise, is slated to save Hollywood from “foreign countries” taking away movie business and usher in a new “Golden Age of Hollywood.” Jon Voight and Mel Gibson are expected to take part in this endeavor, too.

No, this is not the plot of a new "Expendables" flick. It’s the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a $114.5 billion city budget proposal Thursday that largely averts spending cuts and provides several new funding streams, including for expanding the homeless shelter system.

Besides shelters, the preliminary budget bid, which marks the start of Adams’ spending negotiations with the City Council, ...Read more