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☆ Trump foe Michael Avenatti sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing millions from clients
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Lawyer Michael Avenatti speaks to the media after he walks out of federal court in New York, New York, U.S., March 25, 2019. The judge also ordered Avenatti to pay more than $10.8 million in restitution to four clients and to the Internal Revenue Service. Michael Avenatti, the brash lawyer who gained notoriety for legal actions involving former President Donald Trump , was sentenced Monday in California to 14 years in prison for stealing about $7.6 million from clients, as well as for tax fraud. For months in 2018, Avenatti was a ubiquitous presence on television news shows, where he delighted in verbally skewering the president and Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen. "He stole millions of dollars from his clients – all to finance his extravagant lifestyle that included a private jet and race cars," the top prosecutor said.

The vote came about after California passed a law last year requiring law enforcement departments to seek approval for use of military-style equipment. We live in a time when unthinkable mass violence is becoming more commonplace," San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said in the statement. "We need the option to be able to save lives in the event we have that type of tragedy in our city.”Police Chief William Scott speaks during a news conference in San Francisco in 2019. “We run a very serious risk of misuse by police of a robot to inflict deadly force,” he said. Preston said he hoped that outrage following the first vote in San Francisco would sway more of his fellow board members to vote against the measure Tuesday.

☆ Kobe Bryant's daughter Natalia, 19, seeks restraining order against alleged stalker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Natalia Bryant, the daughter of the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant, has filed a request for a restraining order against an alleged stalker in Los Angeles, court records show. The 19-year-old University of Southern California student filed for a civil harassment restraining order on Monday against Dwayne Cortez Toliver Kemp, 32, of Sun Valley, California. The filing states that Kemp allegedly started to harass her on social media in 2020 when she was just 17-years-old and he was 30. "Thankful For Him Birthing You, Hopefully We Can Birth Him… ‘Kobe,’” he wrote, the filing said. Vanessa Bryant and Kobe Bryant with daughters Natalia Bryant and Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, right, at a 2018 premiere in Los Angeles.

☆ Target security guard fatally shoots suspect after 2 people were stabbed, including a child, in 'unprovoked' attack, police say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

At least two people, including a child, were stabbed at a Target in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday night in an attack that ended with a security guard fatally shooting the suspect, authorities said. Police were called to reports of a shooting at around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Police Department said. The child attempted to flee, but the suspect "without any further provocation" stabbed the child in the back, he said. Moore said the attack ended when an armed security officer employed by Target shot the suspect. The suspect, whose name hasn't been released, was taken into custody and later died of their injuries, the LAPD said, according to NBC Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES — Actor Denise Richards was unharmed after shots were fired in a road rage incident Monday, a representative said. The incident was first reported by TMZ. TMZ reported that police were called after someone at the studio spotted gunshot damage on the Ford Shelby F-150 truck. The Los Angeles Police Department, which has jurisdiction in the area of the studio, said that it had no record of such a report and that no investigation was underway. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, whose deputies crisscross the area because they patrol nearby jurisdictions, including public transportation rail and bus lines, said the same.

Anne Heche’s estate has been sued by the woman whose Los Angeles home was destroyed in the car crash that ended the actor’s life. “Thankfully, (Mishele) and her pets, which she regards as family, avoided death that day,” the lawsuit said. The Aug. 5 crash, which caused a fire, was ruled an accident by the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office. A Los Angeles police spokesman had previously said police were investigating the crash as a felony DUI collision. Mishele's lawsuit asks for at least $2 million, but the claim could be more depending on the total value of damages from the crash.

LOS ANGELES — “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson told the court Monday that he would not testify at his own rape trial. His announcement came after a fourth woman testified last week that he raped her twice, more than two decades ago after they had met on a movie set. Masterson is not charged with raping the woman, an actress identified in court as Jane Doe #4. Unlike the three women Masterson is charged with raping, Jane Doe #4 is not a former or current member of the Church of Scientology. Cohen made his third request for a mistrial after Jane Doe #4 finished testifying and was again rebuffed by the judge.

☆ Six injured after Porsche plows through crowd at L.A. street carnival, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dennis-Romero-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Dennis Romero | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Six people were hospitalized after a Porsche SUV allegedly plowed through a crowd on a Los Angeles street Saturday, authorities said. The Los Angeles Fire Department in an email alert said the vehicle drove through a street carnival in South L.A. at 8:20 p.m. When rescue crews arrived they immediately assessed the injured and had them sent to medical facilities. Los Angeles Police Department Officer Lizeth Lomeli said the department wasn’t able to confirm a carnival was underway at the time. A vehicle matching the Porsche's description was found about three blocks from the scene, and one person was in custody, the LAPD said, according to NBC Los Angeles.

☆ In L.A., Kenneth Mejia is the 1st Asian American to hold citywide office and 1st Filipino elected official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Claire Wang | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Kenneth Mejia, an accountant and leftist community activist, made history in Los Angeles when he declared victory in the city controller race Tuesday night, becoming the city’s first Filipino elected official and the first Asian American to assume citywide office. He held a 21-point lead over City Councilmember Paul Koretz when Koretz conceded Wednesday. “We have a very diverse population in L.A. and I feel very proud and honored to represent that community,” Mejia, 32, told NBC Asian America. Tenants Union, Mejia ran on a progressive platform centered around decriminalizing homelessness and holding the police and other city departments accountable. “I want to use the office to show how the status quo is not working for everyone,” he said.

Masterson has been charged with raping three women between 2001 and 2003 but has not been charged with sexually assaulting Jane Doe #4. On cross-examination, Jane Doe #4 said about a month later, Masterson assaulted her again at her home. Asked by Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller what happened the next morning, Jane Doe #4 said "Danny was there." Unlike the other accusers, Jane Doe #4 was not a Scientologist. Dua Anjum reported from Los Angeles and Corky Siemaszko from New York City.

LOS ANGELES — The judge in the rape trial of “That ‘70s Show” star Danny Masterson dealt the defense a potential setback Monday by allowing a fourth woman who says she was assaulted by the actor to testify. Jane Doe #4 was not in cahoots with Masterson's accusers or a Scientologist, Mueller said. He said the jury should be aware there is another woman "out there with similar experience with Mr. Masterson who also was interviewed" by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department. The judge had initially barred the testimony of Jane Doe #4, who told police she was sexually assaulted by Masterson in 1996. Dua Anjam and Diana Dasrath reported from Los Angeles, Corky Siemaszko from New York City

☆ Karen Bass faces off against Rick Caruso in Los Angeles, California's mayoral election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Karen Bass is running against Rick Caruso in Los Angeles, California's mayoral race. The Los Angeles mayoral office is nonpartisan, though the city — the second largest in the US — has elected Democratic candidates for the last five terms. Bass is a member of the US House, an office she's held since 2013 after starting her career in the California State Assembly. Caruso, who previously served as president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, has also promised to tackle rising crime rates in LA. The race between Bass and Caruso is also turning out to be one of this year's most expensive races.

☆ Mysteries: A Cold Case for Harry Bosch
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Tom Nolan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Now retired after three decades with the Los Angeles Police Department, Michael Connelly’s long-running series protagonist Harry Bosch no longer bothers to cultivate a friendly image: “He actually enjoyed being the cranky old ex-cop in the neighborhood whom people were afraid to approach.”Bosch lives in a house overlooking the San Fernando Valley and enjoys a good relationship with his daughter, Maddie, herself a police officer. He has mostly made peace with his departure from the force, but there is one unclosed case “he hated to leave on the table”: the murder of the entire Gallagher family—father, mother, daughter, son—all killed by nail gun in 2013 and buried in the Mojave Desert.

☆ CBS, Moonves must pay $30.5 million for insider trading after sex assualt allegations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

CBS and its former president, Les Moonves, will pay $30.5 million as part of an agreement with the New York attorney general’s office, which says the network’s executives conspired with a Los Angeles police captain to conceal sexual assault allegations against Moonves. Moonves will have to pay $2.5 million, all of which will benefit stockholders who the attorney general said were initially kept in the dark about the allegations. At least one of those executives — one of the few privy to an internal investigation — sold millions in dollars of stock before the allegations against Moonves became public, which the attorney general’s office said amounted to insider trading. The captain then met personally with Moonves and another CBS executive and fed them confidential information about the investigation. The captain instructed the police officers investigating the complaint to “admonish” the woman not to go to the media with her allegations, according to the attorney general’s office.

☆ LAPD captain warned CBS about Les Moonves sexual assault claim, NY attorney general says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

James said she referred the matter to the California Attorney General's office. The investigation found text messages between the LAPD captain, top-ranking CBS executives and Moonves that revealed the allegations. The captain also worked with executives for several months to prevent the complaint from becoming public, according to the attorney general's release on Wednesday. Moonves left CBS in 2018 after allegations of sexual misconduct and cultural problems in the company. "As a publicly traded company, CBS failed its most basic duty to be honest and transparent with the public and investors."

☆ Les Moonves, CBS to pay $30 million in settlement with NY AG over sexual misconduct allegations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Frank Pallotta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Leslie Moonves, former chief executive officer of CBS, and CBS reached a $30.5 million settlement with the office of the attorney general of New York, Letitia James, on Wednesday. Moonves stepped down as CBS’ chief executive in 2018 following multiple sexual misconduct allegations. The exit marked the end of Moonves’ tenure atop one of the most powerful companies in the media world. Moonves denied the allegations. Moonves himself must pay $2.5 million, which will also go to CBS shareholders.

With the defendant's no contest plea, Los Angeles authorities closed the case on the 2011 murders of a teenage girl and a young woman that once sparked fears of an Eastside serial killer. The first was when investigators zeroed in on serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr., known as the Grim Sleeper, in 2010. A search of familial DNA turned up a near-match for evidence collected from the Eastside victims' bodies, Beck said in 2017. The Los Angeles County coroner's office said Lozano had been strangled and Guzman, whose body was badly decomposed, sustained unspecified neck trauma. Beck said his department's DNA database search turned up no other open-case matches for Borjas.

☆ LA City Council censures Latino members amid racism scandal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council formally rebuked two members and its former president Wednesday for their involvement in a racism scandal that has led to days of protests, police and state investigations and shaken public faith in City Hall. Earlier, the council meeting was called into recess to allow police to clear chanting protesters. Council President Paul Krekorian warned the protesters they would not deter the council’s business. “We will continue to do the work of the people of Los Angeles,” he said. Krekorian, the president, and other council members have said Cedillo and de León must resign.

☆ LAPD Launches Criminal Investigation Into Recording With Councilwoman’s Racist Comments
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Alyssa Lukpat | Christine Mai-Duc | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Los Angeles Police Department said it is opening a criminal investigation into whether the leaked audio recording that captured a city councilwoman making racist comments was made illegally. Nearly two weeks after the recording circulated and upended city politics, the officials caught on the tape—Councilwoman Nury Martinez and three others—asked the Los Angeles police to investigate how the recording was made, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. The officials told police they believed the recording was made illegally without their permission.

☆ Los Angeles police investigating whether council members were recorded illegally
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police are investigating whether audio of members of the City Council making racist comments was recorded illegally, the police chief said Tuesday. The recording from 2021 was leaked online and published by the Los Angeles Times this month. The 2021 meeting was attended by Martinez, council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, and Ron Herrera, the president of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Protesters shouted over council members at their meeting Tuesday, demanding that de León and Cedillo resign, NBC Los Angeles reported. Martinez resigned as a City Council member Oct. 12, two days after she stepped down as council president.

☆ Palantir salaries revealed: Some engineers at the controversial analytics software company earn nearly $300,000. Here's what managers, analysts and other employees make.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Caroline Haskins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Palantir is known for its controversial contracts providing analytics software to the US government and private companies. The company doesn't disclose salary data, but US companies must share offers made on H-1B visa applications. However, US companies have to disclose offers on work-visa applications. Notably, these figures only represent base salaries, but Palantir also offers some employees additional stock grants. The logo of the data analysis company Palantir can be seen at the company's headquarters in 2018.

☆ I’ve been following a woman around the internet. Turns out she was created by artificial intelligence.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Evan Ratliff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Even in their first efforts, the GAN images were quickly on par with those made by any other, less intelligent software. You can find the results on the Generated Photos site, where you can filter by ethnicity, age, sex, eye color, and other attributes. Generated Photos' GANs tend to match conventional beauty standards, a product of the models that have been fed to the software. I'm not sure anyone would be surprised to find fake images accompanying testimonials on an Estonian bitcoin exchange or an online CBD seller. Are they real people deploying fake images, or fake people deploying fake images?

☆ Megan Thee Stallion’s speaks out on L.A. home burglary as she’s set to host SNL
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Mirna Alsharif | Mirna Alsharif Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Megan Thee Stallion spoke out about a burglary at her L.A. home on Friday as she gears up to host Saturday Night Live. The "Savage" rapper is currently in New York City where she's set to host SNL and perform as the musical guest on Oct. 15. "Material things can be replaced but I'm glad everyone is safe," the star wrote in the tweet with a heart and prayer hands emoji. Five minutes after her tweet about the incident, Thee Stallion told fans she needed a break. "Hotties im really sorry but after SNL I really gotta take a break I’m so tired, physically and emotionally," she wrote.

LOS ANGELES — Rapper Coolio, known for hits including "Fantastic Voyage" and "Gangsta’s Paradise," has died at age 59, his manager confirmed Wednesday evening. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the home around 4 p.m. for a death investigation, the department said. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office will officially release the identity, officials said. No foul play is suspected, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said. Coolio was also known for hits including "Fantastic Voyage," "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)" and "C U When U Get There," among others.

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