After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

A video making the rounds on social media Wednesday shows a driver traveling erratically on a Southern California freeway then seemingly lose control of their vehicle and crash into another motorist.

The incident occurred at 3:18 p.m. Wednesday after the driver of a Subaru side-swept a big rig on the southbound 805 Freeway in San Diego, according to the California Highway Patrol. The video, which was posted to X, begins with the driver of a crossover traveling on a hill off the side of the freeway before entering the lanes.

After seemingly gaining control of the vehicle, the driver is then seen traveling onto the 163 south on-ramp. The driver is then seen losing control of the vehicle again, veering across the rest of the freeway before crashing into a Ford SUV and then rolling over near the Genesee Avenue exit.

The drivers of the Subaru and Ford were taken to a nearby hospital. The extent of their injuries is unclear.

It is unclear what caused the driver to crash. DUI is not a suspected factor in the incident, CHP said. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact CHP San Diego at 858-293-6000.

The child was attacked Sunday afternoon while playing near his family’s picnic table at Malibu Creek State Park west of Los Angeles, according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“One or more adults charged at the lion, and it released the boy,” the statement said. “Multiple witnesses saw the attack and observed the mountain lion climb up a nearby tree.”

The child was airlifted to a hospital with injuries that were significant but not life-threatening, according to the statement. He was released Monday.

The cougar remained in the tree until state parks rangers arrived and determined it was a threat to the public. The animal was euthanized with a firearm, officials said.

Mountain lions rarely attack people. About 20 attacks have been confirmed in California in more than a century of record-keeping, and only three have been fatal, the Fish and Wildlife department said earlier this year.

In March, two adult brothers who were attacked, one fatally, by a mountain lion in Northern California tried to scare the cougar away once they realized it was stalking them, and then fought with the animal after it pounced.

In September 2023, a 7-year-old boy was bitten by a mountain lion while walking with his father around dusk in a park near Santa Clarita north of Los Angeles. The father scared the animal away, and the child was treated for relatively minor wounds.

The bill, passed by the California legislature on Thursday, would prohibit foods and beverages containing synthetic colorings that have been tied to neurobehavioral problems in some children from being offered to students during regular school hours. It was introduced by Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and co-sponsored by both Consumer Reports and the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy health organization.

If Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signs the bill into law, California will become the first state to prohibit the additives from its school cafeterias. The legislation would go into effect in December 2027.

“California has a responsibility to protect our students from chemicals that harm children and that can interfere with their ability to learn,” Gabriel said in a statement Thursday. “This bill will empower schools to better protect the health and well-being of our kids and encourage manufacturers to stop using these harmful additives.”

Known as the California School Food Safety Act, Assembly Bill 2316 would ban Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3, which Gabriel has called “nonessential ingredients” that have natural alternatives — such as turmeric, beet juice or pomegranate juice. The bill would not ban any foods or drinks; instead, Gabriel said, it would require substitutions that could be as small as changing a single ingredient in the recipes.

The Food and Drug Administration has said it has not established a causal link between behavioral problems and synthetic dyes for children in the general population who haven’t been diagnosed with conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

But a comprehensive 2021 review by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment cited in the bill found that “synthetic food dyes are associated with adverse neurobehavioral effects, such as inattentiveness, hyperactivity and restlessness in sensitive children,” and that evidence points to a link between food dye exposure and adverse behavioral outcomes in certain children “both with and without pre-existing behavioral disorders.”

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The bill comes as ADHD diagnoses have risen nationally in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

A spokesperson for the FDA told NBC News on Friday that assessing new data on the safety of food chemicals is a “priority” and that the agency had read the literature review cited in California’s bill.

“The totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives, but some evidence suggests that certain children may be sensitive to them,” the spokesperson said in an email. “The FDA will continue to assess the emerging science and ensure the safety of approved color additives.” 

AB 2316 follows last year’s passage of the California Food Safety Act, which was also introduced by Gabriel and banned four food additives that have been tied to potential health problems from products sold statewide, beginning in January 2027. Among the chemicals it banned was brominated vegetable oil, which is often used as a stabilizer in citrus-flavored beverages. Last month, the FDA announced it had concluded that brominated vegetable oil was not safe for human consumption and it revoked authorization for its use in food and drinks nationwide.

The California Food Safety Act also banned potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red 3 from grocery shelves across the state. The additives have been associated with health problems ranging from hormone disruption to cancer. 

Melanie Benesh, the Environmental Working Group’s vice president for government affairs, said she applauded the latest move from California state legislators.

“This is a big win for schoolchildren and parents in California. The evidence is pretty compelling that some kids are really sensitive to these dyes, and they shouldn’t have to worry about exposure to those dyes impacting their ability to concentrate and their ability to learn in school,” she said. 

Benesh urged the FDA to reconsider allowing synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply.

“The FDA should be taking action and taking steps to make sure that all of our children are protected from what’s in their food,” Benesh said. “Many of these brightly colored food dyes are only in food to make that food more appealing to kids. It doesn’t add any nutritional value. So this is very achievable. It puts the onus back on the industry, and it’s making our schools healthier, safer places for our kids.”

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If passed, California would become the first state to grant undocumented immigrants state-supported home-buying loans.

“The social and economic benefits of home ownership should be available to everyone regardless of immigration status,” Assemblymember Joaquin Arambulo, the bill’s author, said. 

AB 1840 would amend the “California Dream for All” program, which gives qualified applicants a 20% down payment or up to $150,000 for their first home, to include undocumented immigrants.

“Undocumented individuals have historically been removed from housing initiatives because of federal restrictions,” Arambulo said. “Ensuring universal access by all borrowers will contribute to the overall success and vitality of California.”

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Backlash has been swift from conservative news outlets and Republican lawmakers.

“For every dollar going to an illegal immigrant, that’s a dollar that isn’t going to a veteran or a legal California citizen that also qualify,” State Senator Brian Jones, the GOP Minority Leader, said. “There isn’t an unending amount of money the state has for these homebuyer program.”

Gov. Newsom has not said whether he will sign the bill, which could complicate the Democratic party’s messaging during election season on the volatile immigration issue.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has endorsed funding for the border.

Harris has also backed a modest federal home down payment grant proposal, which excludes undocumented immigrants. 

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has already condemned the California legislation.

Video of the back-to-school event last week at Buhach Colony High School showed Principal Robert Nunes running his hands down the mascot’s chest while the mascot sat in a chair. It appeared to be a Las Vegas-themed rally, with decorations of playing cards on the walls and someone saying, “What happens at Buhach stays at Buhach.”

The Merced Union High School District placed Nunes on administrative leave Monday, it said in a statement.

“The District is conducting a comprehensive review of the situation,” it said. “While the investigation is ongoing, Mr. Nunes will not be participating in any school-related responsibilities or activities.”

Ryan Attebery saw the video on his son’s Instagram account and reposted it to Facebook on Saturday, captioning it: “Am I a square or was this weird af for a principal to do?”

The reaction was a mixed, with many community members defending Nunes and others saying it was inappropriate for an educator.

Attebery told NBC affiliate KSEE of Fresno that he felt that there were some red flags in the video and that while others might not agree, “what’s weird is weird to me.”

“A lot of former students commented and were like, ‘Well, I kind of liked him, what happened?’” Attebery said. “I’m not into cancel culture. I’m just like, hey parents, you have the right to know.”

NBC News was unable to reach Nunes for comment Thursday after an email bounced back as undeliverable.

People have been commenting for days on Attebery’s Facebook page debating whether it was acceptable behavior from a school principal.

Other commenters came to Nunes defense, with one person writing that he was loved in the local community. The person, identified as Justin Rogers, urged Attebery to stop implying Nunes had bad intentions.

“This man is so widely respected and loved by everyone in his community,” Rogers wrote. “Teachers love him, students love him and co workers love him.”

One person suggested that perhaps a private conversation with Nunes would have been “more impactful.” Attebery wrote back Thursday that he agreed. 

“The original intention was asking my friends and family if I was being a ‘Karen’ it was a mistake not expecting this,” he wrote. “Could have done it so differently. Lesson learned. That was my mistake.”

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After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled that punishing homeless people for sleeping on public property does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. According to an assessment provided to Congress last year by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there were about 180,000 homeless people across the state, making California’s homeless population one of the highest in the nation along with New York’s, Florida’s and Washington’s.

In an effort to address the rising levels of homelessness, Newsom, a Democrat, ordered state agencies to adopt plans to remove homeless encampments across the state — one of the most direct reactions to the Supreme Court’s decision and a path other states could soon follow.

While local governments are not forced to comply, Newsom said in a press conference on Thursday that he will withhold funding from cities and counties for not clearing encampments next year.

Newsom has pointed out that his administration has invested billions across multiple state agencies to provide services to homeless people, including more than $9 billion for programs aimed at helping local governments move them out of camps and into housing. The investments — as well as the new authority that the Supreme Court gave to cities — will provide the tools needed to carry out the order, he said.

“No more excuses,” Newsom said in a July 25 post on X. “We’ve provided the time. We’ve provided the funds. Now it’s time for locals to do their job.”

But members of the homeless community say they have nowhere to go.

“It’s absolute mayhem and craziness,” said Jeni Shurley, a member of the homeless community in Los Angeles.

“I honestly feel like I need to leave the country, because I have so desperately searched the entire country trying to find some kind of a solution, literally gone coast to coast,” she added.

Shurley, 48, said she has been homeless for the decade, holding down a string of temporary and itinerant jobs in one location or another in Oregon, Colorado, Louisiana, Missouri, Washington, D.C., and now California, while also suffering serious health problems.

After Newsom announced his executive order on July 25, Shurley said she considered moving to another country because she didn’t want to be criminalized for being homeless.

“I have done everything I can, every program that’s been offered,” she said. “I’ve taken up on it, and I haven’t gotten any assistance that I need whatsoever. I feel like I’m just a rock in the river full of money and I can’t touch $1 of it.”

Last year, the state had about 71,000 shelter beds available — less than half of the more than 180,000 beds needed to shelter the state’s homeless population, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think thank, citing the HUD report. This shortage makes Newsom’s order that much more challenging for localities.

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Homeless shelters across the state will have to extend their services to accommodate the influx of people coming off the streets, but many say they don’t have adequate resources, even with the state’s investments.

Mission Action, which provides emergency shelter and advocates for homeless people in San Francisco’s Mission District, said in a statement to NBC News that it’s concerned the city doesn’t have enough emergency shelter beds for the population living in encampments.

The organization’s 91-bed adult emergency shelter was already at capacity before the order was announced, and another 80-bed family shelter has just four beds available, it said.

“If the city is unable to provide emergency shelter to those who need and want shelter, then essentially, we are criminalizing the very act of being unhoused,” Laura Valdez, organization’s executive director, said in the statement.

A Newsom spokesperson, however, told NBC News that the concerns over resources are misguided.

“Local governments have been provided ample funding to help address this issue within their communities,” said Tara Gallegos, Newsom’s deputy director of communications, echoing the governor’s statement that there is no excuse for communities to neglect the encampments.

As shelters in the San Francisco area continued to be nearly full, Mayor London Breed announced a directive earlier this month to provide relocation support for homeless people, including bus tickets, to help them move elsewhere. Breed’s office said she has expanded the number of shelter beds by over 60% during her tenure, but shelters across the city have continued to fill up rapidly as the city’s homeless population has risen. 

San Francisco, the state’s fourth-largest city, which has municipal and county governments serving the same geography and population, has about 8,300 homeless people.

Santa Clara County, home to the wealth of Silicon Valley and to the state’s third-largest city, San Jose, had nearly 10,000 homeless people, as of its latest count in 2023. San Diego County, which has the state’s second-largest city, has about 10,600 homeless people. And Los Angeles County, home to the nation’s second-largest city, has about 75,300.

In a move championed by Mayor Todd Gloria, the city of San Diego last year banned camping on sidewalks and launched Newsom-style sweeps that leaders and organizers in neighboring communities said sent homeless people their way.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion stating that individuals taken from encampments will not be taken to jail, despite the potential for penalties or citations for noncompliance with Newsom’s order.

“Simply having law enforcement performing campus sweeps, in my opinion, does nothing to deliver permanent and lasting results. It just shuffles the problem around, and that’s why my constituents want permanent results,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, a Republican, told NBC News.

For Barger, the permanent solution is housing, but the question remains whether the city is able to provide it.

Newsom’s order is an extension of the work already being done in Los Angeles to remove encampments, but adds an extra layer of coordination between state agencies, she said. Barger added that the city was working to maintain the trust of the homeless community while working to dismantle the camps.

Other officials applauded Newsom for addressing the encampments with the executive order.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat, said the governor’s efforts to address mental health and homelessness are unlike anything he has seen done in the past 30 years.

Steinberg authored a bill as a state senator in 2004 aimed at taxing the wealthy to help provide mental health services to homeless people and others. Later approved by voters as a ballot initiative, the measure placed a 1% tax on personal incomes above $1 million to fund such services across the state. But it did not provide direct funding for homeless shelters, which is the fundamental thing advocates and shelters say they’re lacking following Newsom’s order.

Despite concerns about resources, Steinberg says the governor’s order mirrored what Sacramento has been trying to accomplish for years.

“People living in these large encampments, it’s not safe, it’s not healthy for them or for our community,” he said.

His city was trying to combine “compassion and enforcement with aggressively adding more beds, more services and permanent housing for people,” he said.

Last year, the city saw a 29% decrease in homelessness from the previous year, something Steinberg said is due to its commitment to address health and safety concerns across the community. While Sacramento has a smaller population than Los Angeles and San Francisco, the city also saw a 49% decline in unsheltered homelessness, one of the biggest drops across the state.  

Still, Steinberg said they’re not celebrating a victory given the number of people living in the streets. The order, he said, is a step “heading in the right direction.”

“We just have to keep providing more alternatives for people, and people need to be willing to accept them,” Steinberg said. “But it’s not perfect, and I’m going to continue to argue and push in my city to make sure we have something for as many people as possible.”

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After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

The Keegan family spent what was supposed to be a joyous trip in the Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal in a hospital after a surfing accident left a San Diego, California man paralyzed.

James Keegan was surfing with his 10-year-old son when he went underwater and became unresponsive.

“The phone rang and it was the police in the Azores saying my husband had been in an accident and they have my 10-year-old son,” James Keegan’s wife Erin said.

Erin Keegan, said the accident is puzzling because James Keegan has decades of surfing experience.

She said her son explained what he saw.

“He caught a wave in front of my son and when my son finished his wave he saw his father face down in the water. He flipped him over and saw that he was unresponsive, so my son dragged him to the beach and screamed for help.

“We don’t know. We think he must’ve hit the sand. There was no rocks where they were swimming but we don’t know because everything happened underwater,” Erin Keegan said.

The Keegan family put their focus on helping James Keegan make a successful recovery but received devastating news.

“My husband was asleep for about 24 hours and when he woke up they confirmed that he was paralyzed,” Erin Keegan said.

James Keegan is receiving good medical care in the Azores but he wants to return to the United States to be closer to family during his recovery, his wife said.

The journey has been complicated by not receiving assistance from their health insurance provider, according to Erin.

“I began calling United Healthcare to try to find out what sort of coverage there is for this and people said if they weren’t able to provide the care that he needs in the Azores then they would transport him back, Erin Keegan said. “And since then my in-laws and I have called almost every single day and we just get told ‘Yes, we know about your husband’s situation’ and ‘Yes, we have a file on it and someone will call you’ but nobody has called and the accident happened on July 23.”

The medical staff in the Azores joined in to help advocate for James, according to Erin Keegan. One hospital staff who spoke fluent English was on the phone with the insurance company for hours.

“They kept transferring her from department to department, then said they couldn’t accept the authorization because she couldn’t give her a Tax ID number. Tax ID numbers are for doctors in America they don’t apply to doctors in the European Union,” Erin said.

Erin Keegan and their children returned to San Diego. While she helps the children transition into a normal routine back at home, her in-laws traveled to be by James Keegan’s side.

South Pasadena on the edge of Los Angeles will replace its gas-guzzling police cruisers with the Teslas to help protect public health and fight climate change through reducing emissions. The Teslas will use new electric vehicle chargers installed at City Hall, officials said.

Police vehicles typically idle more than other vehicles when officers make traffic stops or respond to emergency calls, which greatly adds to emissions, said Michael Cacciotti, a city councilmember and regional air quality official.

“This is important, particularly in the Los Angeles area, which still has the most unhealthful air in the nation,” Cacciotti said. “We hope other police departments in the region and state will make the switch, too.”

Other cities have some electric vehicles in their fleets but this is the first to entirely go electric, officials said. The police department in nearby Anaheim introduced six Teslas to its patrol fleet through a pilot program earlier this year.

South Pasadena Police Sgt. Tony Abdalla said in an email they were tracking about 35 other agencies across the U.S. who were willing to share their experiences with incorporating one or more Teslas into their respective fleets.

The police department will have 10 Tesla Model Ys as patrol vehicles and 10 Tesla Model 3s for detective and administrative duties, both customized for police use. The city’s net cost is $1.85 million, with more than half the total cost covered by energy providers Southern California Edison, the Clean Power Alliance, and the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee.

“We will have a 21st Century police force that is safe, clean and saves taxpayer dollars,” South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer stated in a news release.

The switch to electric is expected to save South Pasadena about $4,000 annually per vehicle on energy costs, and generate savings on maintenance such as brakes, oil changes and air filters, the news release said. The overall operational cost per mile will be at least half of what it was previously with gas-powered vehicles, according to Police Chief Brian Solinsky.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach ranked no. 1 worst in the country for ozone pollution — also known as smog — and no. 6 for annual particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association. Carbon dioxide emissions also contribute to climate change, which is blamed in part for increasingly deadly wildfires in the region.

California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule requires public agencies to ensure 50% of their vehicle purchases are zero-emissions beginning this year and 100% by 2027, but it exempts police cars and other emergency vehicles.

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Grace Rohloff, 20, was hiking with her father on July 13 and had successfully reached the summit of Yosemite’s Half Dome, one of the park’s most famous and challenging hikes. But while descending the Half Dome cables during a sudden thunderstorm and downpour, she slipped on a wet portion of the rock and fell down the side of the mountain, her father, Jonathan Rohloff, said in an interview with KPNX.

The Mariposa County coroner’s office confirmed that the fall resulted in Grace’s death.

“She was in between the wooden blocks and slipped to the ground and you know it just happened very fast,” Rohloff told KPNX. “There’s no way 10 minutes before, when she was up there smiling ear to ear, that I thought I only had 10 minutes left with her. It was a tragedy.”

Rohloff described how the pair had completed several hikes together throughout Arizona, and how his daughter was thrilled when she secured a permit to hike Yosemite’s Half Dome. The dome stands over 8,800 feet above sea level, and a round-trip hike to the summit covers more than 14 miles. The Half Dome cables encompass the final portion of the hike and allow hikers to climb without rock climbing equipment.

“She told me it was something that was on her bucket list, that she always wanted to do, and she was so happy about it,” Rohloff said, describing her daughter as “fearless.”

According to Rohloff, Grace was pursuing an education degree at Arizona State University and planned to become a student-teacher at Valley Luthern High School, where she had graduated. The high school announced on Facebook that a celebration of her life is planned for this Saturday.

Yosemite National Park officials could not immediately be reached for comment and have not issued a statement on the student’s death. Rohloff told KPNX that he hopes for a safer cable system at Half Dome, a site that has taken the lives of other hikers in the past.

“If we can make the cabling system at Yosemite a lot safer for people to see that beautiful piece of God’s Earth and not be put in danger, then that would be something that she would have wanted,” Rohloff said.

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Garcia, 25, was charged with one misdemeanor count of vandalism amounting to $400 or more in damage or destruction of property for allegedly damaging a guest room June 8 when he was staying at the hotel. The guest room and a hallway were damaged, police said.

No injuries were reported.

Garcia, of Victorville, is expected to appear in court Aug. 7. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney. He faces up to one year in county jail, if convicted as charged.

“While we are grateful no injuries were reported in this incident, reckless behavior that damages property shows a blatant and unacceptable disregard for the safety and peace of our community,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Gascón said. “Our office will work to ensure the responsible individual is held accountable.”

The 15-time national amateur champion was hospitalized after his arrest after complaining of a medical issue.

“I feel like I’m Ryan Spears. Aka Britney Spears,” Garcia posted on X the morning after his arrest. “This sucks 🙁 I never hurt anyone. I’ve only ever loved everyone prayed for people. And try to make a change in this cruel world. I love you Christ Jesus Amen.”

About one month after the hotel vandalism arrest, the former World Boxing Council interim lightweight champ, was expelled by the WBC after he used racial slurs against Black people and disparaged Muslims in comments livestreamed on social media.

Garcia posted a response on X.

“I was trolling I want all the killing to stop,” Garcia wrote. “I love everyone sorry if I offended you.”

Garcia is 24-1-1 with 20 knockouts. His last bout was April 20 against Devin Haney. The New York State Athletic Commission ruled that his victory would be considered a no-contest after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

He was the World Boxing Council interim lightweight champion from Jan. 2-May 24, 2021, winning the title when he stopped Luke Campbell in the seventh round. He was stripped of the title after withdrawing from a planned title defense against former World Boxing Association super featherweight champion Javier Fortuna in order to “manage his health and well being.”

Garcia suffered his only defeat in February 2023, losing by TKO to WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.

“Ryan regrets his recent behavior at the Waldorf Astoria and the property damage he caused. He has apologized to hotel personnel and reimbursed them for any damage caused.  The past several months have been difficult for Ryan and he understands he has reached a crossroads in both his personal life and career. Going forward, he knows the focus must be on his well-being and mental health issues which have been strained.   There is no alternative.  He apologizes to anyone he has offended with his behavior and words and hopes the investment in his own well-being will demonstrate the sincerity of his apology. With regard to the pending misdemeanor criminal matter, we expect to reach a resolution that recognizes his immediate reimbursement, his personal issues and lack of past criminal history. Ryan appreciates the love and support that he has received and hopes to remain in your prayers,” wrote Michael A. Goldstein, attorney for Ryan Garcia.

City News Service contributed to this report.

A mother charged with murder and child abuse in the deaths of her twins after they were exposed to an illegal substance appeared in a Los Angeles court Monday, but her arraignment was postponed.

Jestice James, 22, faces two counts each of murder and child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, along with allegations of child endangerment, according to the County District Attorney’s Office.

Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami said outside court that the children may have accidentally inhaled fentanyl fumes, causing their deaths.

“A small amount of fentanyl can kill an adult, but an even smaller amount can kill a child,” Hatami said. “Children can ingest (a deadly dose) in the form of secondhand smoke. I hope everyone is paying attention to this.”

Hatami thanked the Los Angeles Police Department and the Child Abuse Unit, as well as the Sheriff’s Department for the investigation they did and for bringing evidence to charge James.

Last Thursday, authorities arrived at a home in Winnetka at 11:20 a.m. and the children were treated by paramedics. That same afternoon, one of the children was declared dead. Over the weekend, the other child died. The prosecutor has not specified how they were exposed to the dangerous substance.

“The case is related to fentanyl. It’s very sad,” Hatami said. “We have a major fentanyl problem affecting children in Los Angeles.”

The twins’ godmother said they were inseparable.

“The family is here and we are devastated. Those children are going to be missed, their laughter,” said Regina Holmes, the children’s godmother.

The attorney general’s office said Jestine and Josiah’s mother was not the one who called 911. There were several people in the home at the time of the emergency.

James’ hearing has been postponed to July 31. The defendant is being held on a $4 million bond.

The law bans school rules requiring teachers and other staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission. Proponents of the legislation say it will help protect LGBTQ+ students who live in unwelcoming households. But opponents say it will hinder schools’ ability to be more transparent with parents.

The legislation comes amid a nationwide debate over local school districts and the rights of parents and LGBTQ+ students.

“This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents,” Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement. “It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations.”

The new law comes after several school districts in California passed policies requiring that parents be notified if a child requests to change their gender identification. That led to pushback by Democratic state officials, who say students have a right to privacy.

But Jonathan Zachreson, an advocate in California who supports the so-called parental notification policies, opposes the law and said telling parents about a student’s request to change their gender identification is “critical to the well-being of children and for maintaining that trust between schools and parents.”

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States across the country have sought to impose bans on gender-affirming care, bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, and require schools to out trans and nonbinary students to their parents. Some lawmakers in other states have introduced bills with broad language requiring that parents are told of any changes to their child’s emotional health or well-being.

The California law led to heated debate in the state Legislature. LGBTQ+ lawmakers have shared stories about how it was difficult for them to decide when to come out to their families, arguing that transgender students should be able to share that part of their identity on their own terms. State Assemblymember Bill Essayli, a Republican representing part of Riverside County, is an outspoken opponent of the law. He has criticized Democratic leaders for preventing a bill he introduced last year — that would have required parents to be told of their child’s gender identification change — from receiving a hearing.

In Northern California, the Anderson Union High School District board approved a parental notification policy last year. But the teachers union recommended that teachers not enforce the rule while the union is involved in a labor dispute with the district over the policy, said Shaye Stephens, an English teacher and president of the teachers association at the district.

The notification policies put teachers in an unfair position, Stephens said.

“It’s kind of a lose-lose situation for teachers and administrators or anybody that’s being asked to do this. I don’t think it’s safe for students,” she said. “I do not think that we are the right people to be having those conversations with a parent or a guardian.”

___

Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Ashley Sanchez, the daughter of 47-year-old Israel Sanchez, who died after being hit while walking in a crosswalk in Alhambra, east of Los Angeles.

The collision happened the afternoon of March 18, when plaintiffs allege Klinghoffer was driving a black SUV with no license plates and turned left at an intersection with a marked crosswalk.

Video from the plaintiffs shows a black car hitting a man, who was Israel Sanchez, during the turn before pulling over. The footage was obtained from a neighbor’s Ring camera. Israel Sanchez suffered blunt force trauma to the head and died from his injuries a few hours later at the hospital, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also alleges Klinghoffer was using a cellphone while driving, as video footage shows the driver holding an object above the steering wheel. Video also shows a 40-foot-wide grassy median dividing the road that should have given Klinghoffer time to see pedestrians in the crosswalk, the lawsuit said.

“My dad was known for being a great chef, the most talented of his family, the greatest grandpa always full of love and joy,” Ashley Sanchez said in a news release. “His smile was so infectious. His life was taken by a careless act of a person who didn’t bother to look where he was driving.”

Klinghoffer is currently on tour with the band Pearl Jam. He could not be reached for comment.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Nick Rowley, called the incident a “reckless homicide” that law enforcement has failed to properly investigate.

“They never charged the guy or even wrote him a ticket for blowing through the crosswalk and killing someone,” Rowley said. “This is a horrific injustice.”

Alhambra police spokesperson Sgt. Brian Chung said the case was still active and could not comment further.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible for abandoning a dog with zip ties on its mouth and neck in a remote area of Malibu, California. 

The German shepherd was found in a remote area near Malibu Creek Canyon on July 3. It was found by two people who were out hiking at around 7:45 p.m. 

According to a press release from the organization In Defense of Animals, the dog’s mouth was zip tied shut, and another zip tie was constricting his neck. 

“We are grateful for the quick actions of these hikers and law enforcement, but our efforts must continue,” said Fleur Dawes, Communications Director of In Defense of Animals. “This dog was left to suffer and die in a remote location. We urge anyone with information about this cruel act to come forward. We are determined to find the person responsible for this horrific abuse and hold them accountable since they are a danger to others.”

The hikers called 911 and were able to remove the zip tie on the dog’s mouth themselves. The dog was soon freed from the zip ties with the help of police and animal control personnel. 

“The dog, described as sweet and gentle, gradually warmed up to his rescuers, allowing them to pet him and even eat from their hands. He has since been transported to the Agoura Animal Care Center, where he is receiving necessary care and attention,” the release said. 

Named Argon, the dog has lymphoma. An oncologist was expected to provide a prognosis as soon as possible. As of Wednesday, the dog has been adopted.

The organization offered a $2,500 reward in the search for the person who abandoned the dog. The nonprofit Peace 4 Animals doubled the reward to $5,000.

The organization is seeking the public’s help in search of information that may lead to the identification arrest, and conviction of the person responsible for this act. Anyone with information is urged to call 415-879-6879.

After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

The culprit in the outbreak? Home-canned nopales, or cactus pads.

Two sisters are currently recovering in intensive care, a spokesperson for the Fresno County Department of Public Health told NBC News. One sister underwent a tracheostomy, a procedure to create a breathing tube in the neck, due to respiratory complications caused by the disease.

The eight other hospitalized individuals have been released, and there have been no new reported cases since.

“I’ve been here with the county for 26 years and this is the first time we’ve actually had a foodborne botulism outbreak,” Norma Sanchez, a disease specialist with the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said in a press briefing Tuesday.

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Initially, the first two people who felt sick after the party were diagnosed with vertigo and sent home from the hospital, said Sanchez. It was only after a full-scale investigation, which included examining the family’s trash and interviewing party attendees, that the botulism was traced back to the home-canned nopales.

Sanchez learned from the cook that she had canned the nopales herself in May. As the incident was confined to family members and the homemade food, health officials did not need to remove any nopales from grocery shelves.

In the same press briefing, interim health officer Dr. Rais Vohra warned community members about the risks of home-canned foods, noting that this practice is common in families looking to preserve tradition.

According to the CDC, botulism is caused by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria and can arise from improperly home-canned, preserved or fermented foods. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, muscle weakness and blurry vision.

Dr. Vohra emphasized that while botulism is a very serious and potentially fatal condition, most people who contract it can make a full recovery.

Lindsay Good contributed with this story.

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The settlement is expected to be distributed to 19 people, with the highest single check to an individual being $2.8 million, according to city records.

On June 30, 2021, the LAPD bomb squad overloaded a containment vessel to destroy illegal fireworks confiscated on 27th Street near San Pedro Street. But the detonation rattled the neighborhood, destroying over 20 homes and injuring at least 17 people. 

The explosion has also displaced 80 people and upended their lives.

The victims have been residing at the Level Hotel in downtown LA since the explosion while waiting for their homes to be repaired or looking for new affordable places to live. The city has been covering their living expenses. 

“They’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” said Ron Gochez of Union Del Barrio, a community group that has been representing the explosion victims. “It’s really unfortunate and really shameful that the city has forced these people to wait for three years to resolve this situation.”

The city council also approved an amendment authored by councilmember Curren Price, who represents the area, to extend the hotel stays for the victims until the end of February of next year. 

The victims had said earlier this week that they were on the verge of homelessness as the contact the city had signed with the hotel expired last Friday. Some residents reported their hotel keys have stopped working, and one resident was told to vacate the room by hotel security.

“I’m a senior citizen and unemployed. I don’t have money to pay rent. Where am I supposed to live? Karen Bass promised us that the city would not evict us,” resident Geraldyne Hairston said.

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The Los Angeles home where Marilyn Monroe lived and died was designated as a city historic cultural monument Wednesday, preventing the current property owners from demolishing it.

Council members Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Eunisses Hernandez and Kevin de León were absent during the vote.

“We have an opportunity to do something today that should have been done 60 years ago,” said Park, who introduced the proposal to designate the home as an LA landmark, prior to the vote. “There is no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home.”

The actress died on Aug. 4, 1962, at the age of 36 as a result of an overdose inside her home. Monroe had been one of the most popular Hollywood stars during the 1950s and early 1960s.

“Some of the most world-famous images ever taken of her were in that home, on those grounds and near her pool. Marilyn tragically died there – forever ties her in time and place to this very home,” Park said. “There is likely no woman in history or culture who captures the imagination of the public the way Marilyn Monroe did. Even all these years later, her story still resonates and inspires many of us today.”

In September 2023, in response to concerns from residents, fans and historic preservationists, Park moved to save the home by designating it as a historic cultural monument. The councilwoman said it would be a “devastating blow” for historic preservation and for a city where less than 3% of historic designations are associated with women’s heritage.

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Residents in proximity to the Brentwood home have expressed concerns about privacy and safety with the designation. Park noted that she has balanced those concerns as the designation moved through the Historic Cultural Commission and the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

In a move to further that effort, Park introduced a motion during Wednesday’s council meeting to evaluate tour bus restrictions on West Fifth Helena Drive and surrounding streets. 

“My team and I will continue working closely with the community to address any future concerns that arise,” Park said. “I also understand that access is an important component of preservation, which is why throughout this process, my team and I have worked closely with the property owners to assess potentially moving the home to a place where the public might actually be able to visit and spend time.”

Those conversations have yet to be held, but the councilwoman expressed her hope that it can be done in the future. 

Council members were set to consider Park’s motion on June 12. However, Park requested the item be extended until Wednesday to continue discussions with the property owners, who had challenged the designation, suing the city for an injunctive relief. On June 4, a judge tentatively denied their attempt.

Attorneys for real estate heiress Brinah Milstein and her husband, producer Roy Bank, previously filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant in which they said the city was violating the law by trying to give the home historical recognition. The pair bought the residence last July for $8.35 million and had obtained a demolition permit from the city — which was later revoked. 

According to the Milstein-Bank court papers, the couple will suffer irreparable harm without a preliminary injunction. The petition sought a court order blocking the monument designation and allowing the plaintiffs to move forward with their planned razing so they could demolish the structure to expand their current home, which is adjacent to the property.

The judge issued a tentative ruling in favor of the city, calling the Milstein-Bank motion an “ill-disguised motion to win so that they can demolish the home and eliminate the historic cultural monument issue.”    

The couple would not suffer the irreparable harm they claimed by being denied a preliminary injunction because the City Council would address the issue, according to Chalfant.

Bank and Milstein filed the petition May 6, alleging “illegal and unconstitutional conduct” by the city “with respect to the house where Marilyn Monroe occasionally lived for a mere six months before she tragically committed suicide 61 years ago.”

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The exhaust plume from the Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit was illuminated against the darkening night sky by the setting sun.

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The rocket and its exhaust plume are sometimes visible for hundreds of miles as it soars along the coast, if skies are clear. Launches just after sunset and before sunrise usually provide the best views as the rocket reflects the sun’s rays against the backdrop of a darkened sky.

Hawthorne-based SpaceX launched 96 successful missions with its Falcon rockets in 2023, eclipsing its previous annual record of 61 orbital launches in 2022.

SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up, shuttled into space by the company’s rockets. The Starlink network is designed to deliver high-speed internet anywhere around the globe.

If light conditions are right, the satellites appear in a train as they parade across the night sky. The satellites are sometimes visible in the first few minutes after sundown and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.

Use the FindStarlink tracker to find the best upcoming viewing times.

After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

The off-duty agent fired his service weapon, but it was not immediately clear whether the suspect was hit.

An image of a 2004-2006 Silver Infinity FX35 vehicle was caught leaving the scene, police said.

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U.S. Secret Service officials confirmed the incident to NBC News, adding that the agent was not injured in the incident. It’s unclear what the member’s assignment was Saturday night.

The armed robbery happened about an hour after President Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hollywood celebrities gathered in downtown Los Angeles to raise millions of dollars for the president’s reelection campaign.

Anybody with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Tustin Police department.

The windsurfer got stuck on the sand of a cliffside beach south of Davenport Landing, Cal Fire CZU said in a post on social media. He told rescuers that despite being a veteran windsurfer, he found himself in a situation that he couldn’t escape from.

The windsurfer took off from Davenport Landing Beach and got pushed down the coastline to the point where he got trapped.

“It was actually very windy out as well, probably 25-plus MPH wind,” Cal Fire Capt. Sean Ketchum said.

On the beach, the windsurfer was surrounded by 100-foot cliffs and a rising tide.

“It is an extremely beautiful place to work and live,” Cal Fire Capt. Skylar Merritt said. “That being said, it can lull people into a false sense of security around those cliffs. Those beaches are notorious for strong winds, rip tides and cold water.”

A private helicopter flying by spotted the windsurfer’s “HELP” rock formation and called 911, according to Cal Fire.

A team of first responders worked together to hoist the windsurfer to safety.

“It was a good feeling being there and being able to help just get him out of there,” rescuer Jesus Acosta said.

Cal Fire said the windsurfer was physically OK and happy to have been rescued.

“This person was definitely lucky that that person saw him,” Merritt said. “It’s no excuse not to have a plan where you communicate with your family, your friends.”

First responders said the way the windsurfer was found felt like a movie. “It definitely was the thought that we had when we heard the way that this call came in,” Merritt said.

Cal Fire didn’t say how long the windsurfer had been stranded on the beach.

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Video posted by the Truckee High School football team showed the bear jogging across the field as players looked on.

“One never knows what’s going to take place at a football practice in Truckee,” the team wrote in a post on social media. “Snow, lightning, hail, birds of prey swooping for voles on Surprise Stadium before the Coyote pounces on one, or a black bear just strolling through your 7 on 7.”

Players said every now and then animals will cross the field to get back into the woods.

Bears showing up in populated areas is becoming increasingly common, prompting the state to work on a conservation plan to minimize conflict between humans and black bears.

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If the change goes through, Virginia will continue to allow sales of new gas-powered cars, with no set end date — unlike California and other states like Maryland, that have agreed to end all new gas car sales by 2035.

The move won’t have any immediate effects on Virginians purchasing new cars, but it is a reversal of previous Virginia policy, and does mean the state overall would take a slower path toward lowering carbon emissions and increasing electric vehicle sales.

Here’s what to know.

What emissions announcement did Youngkin make?

In response to a request from Republican Gov. Youngkin and Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle, Attorney General Jason Miyares’ opinion, issued Tuesday, states that Virginia isn’t required to comply with new mandates adopted by the California Air Resources Board.

Those mandates, known as the Advanced Clean Cars II rule, are set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Youngkin said in a statement on Wednesday that Virginians deserve to choose which vehicles fit their needs and called the idea that government should tell people what kind of car they can buy “fundamentally wrong.”

“Once again, Virginia is declaring independence –- this time from a misguided electric vehicle mandate imposed by unelected leaders nearly 3,000 miles away from the Commonwealth,” Youngkin said.

Virginia Democrats and environmental groups face off with Republicans

Youngkin’s move to abandon California’s emissions standards was quickly condemned by Democrats and environmental groups.

The EPA gives states a choice to follow either federal standards or California standards — but given that Virginia signed California emissions standards into its own law in 2021, some are calling the legality of the move into question.

“He seems to think he has more power than Vladimir Putin,” Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said to the Associated Press via text message. “The governor is breaking the law and the AG is giving him cover.”

The Southern Environmental Law Center called the decision “illegal, shortsighted, and bad public policy.”

“The Clean Cars standards will help spur the transition to cleaner vehicles and bring significant health and environmental benefits to all Virginians. That is why the General Assembly adopted them,” Trip Pollard, a senior attorney with the center, said in a statement to the AP.

“The Governor tried to get the legislature to repeal the law and failed; he cannot just dictate a different outcome,” Pollard said.

Miyares said in a statement that the opinion from his office confirms that Virginians are no longer required to follow California’s standards.

“EV mandates like California’s are unworkable and out of touch with reality, and thankfully the law does not bind us to their regulations,” he said. “California does not control which cars Virginians buy and any thoughts that automobile manufacturers should face millions of dollars in civil penalties rather than allowing our citizens to choose their own vehicles is completely absurd.”

In a memo to the Department of Environmental Quality, the State Air Pollution Control Board and stakeholders, Natural and Historic Resources Secretary Travis A. Voyles said Wednesday that Virginia will default to federal standards at the end of the year.

He said Miyares’ opinion confirms that state law doesn’t require the State Air Pollution Control Board to adopt California’s new standards and the board has not acted under its discretionary authority to do so.

Why was Virginia following California emissions standards?

When the Clean Air Act was passed back in 1970, California — the most populated state in the country, with unique geography, weather and pollution issues — wanted to enforce stricter emissions standards than those set out by the federal government.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted California a waiver to do that. There are a few conditions, and California’s rules must be approved by the federal government. However, California has set its own emission standards since 1967, when the Federal Air Quality Act was enacted, and that continued after the Clean Air Act.

Then, to limit the number of different emissions standards that car manufacturers would need to keep in mind, the EPA gave other states a choice. States could either choose to follow the federal standards regulating vehicle emissions, or they could follow California’s stricter standards.

A number of states have chosen to follow California’s emissions standards, initially known as the Clean Cars I rule. Maryland began enforcing those standards for 2011 model cars, and agreed to continue following those standards even after they were updated in 2022 (more on that below).

Virginia more recently passed a law that pledged to have Virginia cars follow California emissions standards.

That “clean cars” law was initially adopted in 2021, when the state government was under full Democratic control.

It required that, starting in 2024, a certain percentage of new passenger vehicles sold by manufacturers be electric or hybrid electric.

In 2023, Virginia Senate Democrats defeated several Republican efforts to repeal the law. And the reason for those repeal attempts has to do with a decision made in California two years ago.

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What is the Advanced Clean Cars II rule?

When Virginia agreed to follow California emissions standards, California had less stringent requirements under the Clean Cars I rule. Then, in 2022, California’s Air Resources Board updated its emissions standards.

The new standards require “all new passenger cars, trucks and SUVs sold in California” to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

The decision by the California Air Resources Board came two years after Gov. Gavin Newsom first directed regulators to consider such a policy, in an effort to lower carbon emissions faster and fight climate change.

The program applies to manufacturers, not car dealers. Manufacturers who aren’t in compliance can buy credits from others who have surpassed the targeted number of electric vehicles sales.

Essentially, the Advanced Clean Cars II plan would create yearly quotas for zero-emission vehicle sales, and require more of those sales each year, starting in 2026, until 100% of new vehicles sold are zero emission or plug-in hybrid electric in 2035.

The exact quotas by year may vary state-by-state, so long as the 100% by 2035 goal is met.

Here’s how those quotas break down by year, according to California’s plan, which was adopted with the same quotas by Maryland:

% of new vehicles that must be zero-emissions or plug-in hybrid electric under the Advanced Clean Cars II rule

• 35% in 2026
• 43% in 2027
• 51% in 2028
• 59% in 2029
• 68% in 2030
• 76% in 2031
• 82% in 2032
• 88% in 2033
• 94% in 2034
• 100% in 2035

Used cars can still be entirely gas powered. The regulation only affects new vehicles sold.

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Brumfield contributed to this report from Silver Spring, Maryland.

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This story has been corrected to show that Attorney General Jason Miyares’ opinion was issued Tuesday.

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But a group that was supposed to clean a house in Alhambra, California was in for a surprise.

When they saw guests, who stayed at a house in the 1400 block of Ethel Avenue last month, left behind multiple boxes, they called police.

After investigators with the Alhambra Police Department responded to the call, they learned those boxes contained about 235 pounds of methamphetamine.

As authorities checked footage from the RING camera at the property, they saw people engaging in suspicious activities.

“The suspects were caught on RING camera footage using a U-Haul van to transport the narcotics,” Alhambra Police said in a social media post.

While officers were at the house, the same vehicle caught on camera somehow returned to the location and tried to get away by making a U-turn.

But officers caught up with the two suspects in the car and arrested them for transporting narcotics, the police department said. 

In response to the incident, Airbnb said it has removed a booking guest from the platform, adding it’s working closely with the Alhambra Police Department with the investigation. 

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After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

San Clemente officials said Monday they decided to restrict water access at all its beaches for security purposes.

A surfer said he was bumped off his surfboard by something dark gray Sunday night, according to city officials. When he got out of the water immediately, he saw his board was damaged.

After another man reported a dark object swimming toward him, lifeguards closed the water access because sharks’ behavior of swimming toward or coming near people is considered “aggressive.'”

“’Aggressive’ would be the way it’s swimming, makes any contact,” San Clemente Marine Safety Lt. Sean Staudenbaur said. “If its mouth is open, rushing at a swimmer – those are our criteria of what determines ‘aggressive.’”

Lifeguards said the incidents involving sharks’ aggressive behavior are rare.

Authorities said they flied drones to locate any sharks that may be in the area and monitor their activity.

Shark behavior in the vicinity of T-Street Beach has restricted water access to all San Clemente beaches until 8 p.m. — pending no additional shark sightings, according to a city officials in a news statement.

Sherman, together with his late brother Robert, won two Academy Awards for Walt Disney’s 1964 smash “Mary Poppins” — best score and best song, “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” They also picked up a Grammy for best movie or TV score. Robert Sherman died in London at age 86 in 2012.

The Walt Disney Co. announced that Sherman died Saturday in a Los Angeles hospital due to age-related illness.

“Generations of moviegoers and theme park guests have been introduced to the world of Disney through the Sherman brothers’ magnificent and timeless songs. Even today, the duo’s work remains the quintessential lyrical voice of Walt Disney,” the company said in a remembrance posted on its website.

Their hundreds of credits as joint lyricist and composer also include the films “Winnie the Pooh,” “The Slipper and the Rose,” “Snoopy Come Home,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “The Magic of Lassie.” Their Broadway musicals included 1974’s “Over Here!” and stagings of “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in the mid-2000s.

“Something good happens when we sit down together and work,” Richard Sherman told The Associated Press in a 2005 joint interview. “We’ve been doing it all our lives. Practically since college we’ve been working together.”

Their awards include 23 gold and platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They became the only Americans ever to win first prize at the Moscow Film Festival for “Tom Sawyer” in 1973 and were inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2005.

President George W. Bush awarded them the National Medal of Arts in 2008, commended for music that “has helped bring joy to millions.”

Most of the songs the Shermans wrote — in addition to being catchy and playful — work on multiple levels for different ages, something they learned from Disney.

“He once told us, early on in our career, ‘Don’t insult the kid — don’t write down to the kid. And don’t write just for the adult.’ So we write for grandpa and the 4-year-old — and everyone in between — and all see it on a different level,” Richard Sherman said.

The Shermans began a decade-long partnership with Disney during the 1960s after having written hit pop songs like “Tall Paul” for ex-Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and “You’re Sixteen,” later recorded by Ringo Starr.

They wrote over 150 songs at Disney, including the soundtracks for such films as “The Sword and the Stone,” “The Parent Trap,” “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Aristocrats” and “The Tigger Movie.”

“It’s a Small World” — which accompanies visitors to Disney theme parks’ boat ride sung by animatronic dolls representing world cultures — is believed to be the most performed composition in the world. It was first debuted at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair pavilion ride.

The two brothers credited their father, composer Al Sherman, with challenging them to write songs and for their love of wordsmithing. His legacy of songs includes “You Gotta Be a Football Hero,” “(What Do We Do On a) Dew-Dew-Dewy Day” and “On the Beach at Bali-Bali.” His sons went on to popularize the terms “fantasmagorical” and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

The Shermans teased songs out of each other, brainstorming titles and then trying to top each other with improvements. “Being brothers, we sort of short-cut each other,” Richard Sherman said. “We can almost look at each other and know, ‘Hey, you’re onto something, kiddo.'”

Away from the piano, the two raised families and pursued their own interests, yet still lived close to each other in Beverly Hills and continued working well into their 70s. When “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” came to Broadway in 2005, they added new lyrics and four new songs.

Richard Sherman is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and their two children: Gregory and Victoria. He also is survived by a daughter, Lynda, from a previous marriage.

A private funeral will be held on Friday; Disney said a celebration of life service will be announced later.

Though they were estranged for a number of years, the brothers largely avoided sibling rivalry. When asked about that, Richard Sherman was philosophical, touching and jokey all at the same time — much like the trunkful of songs he wrote with his brother.

“We’re human. We have frailties and weaknesses. But we love each other very much, respect each other,” he said. “I’m happy that he’s a successful guy. That makes me a successful guy.”

Firefighters with the Orange County Fire Authority came to her rescue after she had crawled through a small plumbing access door and got stuck. 

Faye was caught in this predicament for about two hours “and not giving in to her family coaxing her out,” the OC Fire Authority said on X.

Firefighters lightly tapped the wall with a hammer to help get Faye out. As pieces started to break off, the curious dog started peeking out.

Another firefighter tried to help speed up the process by ripping away more pieces of the wall. 

As they made a bigger hole for the dog to come out through, firefighters whistled and backed away to give Faye some space so she would come out. 

She stuck two of her paws out and just looked around the room as she slowly started crawling out of the small space. 

“According to the family, Faye is probably already planning her next bit of mischief. Who knows, maybe we’ll see her again soon,” the OC Fire Authority said in a social media post. 

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Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sought help this week to find the woman who abandoned an infant at a store in Lomita, California.

The agency said the baby, who is believed to be 7 to 9 months old, was left behind at a store on the Pacific Coast Highway on Tuesday. A pregnant woman was captured on surveillance video entering the business around 5 p.m. carrying the infant in her arms before placing her in a shopping cart.

According to law enforcement, the woman asked a store employee for a taxi. While the employee arranged for a taxi, the woman went to the restroom. Once the vehicle arrived, the woman left the store and left the baby behind in a shopping cart.

It is unclear where the woman headed to.

The infant has since been placed into the care of the Department of Children and Family Services.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact Lomita Sheriff’s Station at 310-539-1661. Anonymous tips can be made by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

After Angelo Quinto’s death, his family also pushed for reforms that led to city and state changes in how law enforcement agencies respond to people who are in a mental health crisis.

John Burris, one of the attorneys, said in a statement that while no amount of money can compensate for Quinto’s death, “his family is to be commended for their unwavering commitment to improving the relationship between the community and Antioch police.”

The lawsuit alleged that Antioch police officers used excessive force when restraining Quinto. It named as defendants the city of Antioch, then-Police Chief Tammany Brooks and four officers who responded to a 911 call from Quinto’s family.

The family called police on Dec. 23, 2020, because the 30-year-old was in mental distress and needed help. One officer pressed a knee on his neck for nearly five minutes while another restrained his legs, according to the complaint.

After about five minutes of the prone restraint, Quinto appeared to become totally unresponsive, the lawsuit said. He lost consciousness and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died three days later.

Quinto’s death came months after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and amid a nationwide outcry over police brutality.

In the aftermath, Antioch police officers were equipped with body cameras and city officials created a mental health crisis team and a police review commission.

Quinto’s mother, Cassandra Quinto-Collins, thanked the city of Antioch for the policy changes and said her family’s fight is not yet over.

“I thank you for what has been a courageous beginning to bring about transparency and accountability to the Antioch Police Department so that it may serve our diverse community with respect and mutual trust,” Quinto-Collins said.

Quinto, who was born in the Philippines, served in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged in 2019 due to a food allergy, according to his family.

He had depression most of his life, but his behavior changed after an apparent assault in early 2020, when he woke up in a hospital not remembering what had happened and with stitches and serious injuries. After that he began having episodes of paranoia and anxiety, his family said.

Someone called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department about noon Tuesday to report that the goats, assigned to eat vegetation to reduce potential fuel for wildfires, broke through a gate and gathered in a homeowner’s backyard in the 6100 block of Arrowroot Lane.

A few minutes later, deputies arrived and a goat wrangler was at the scene. The goats were eventually rounded up and herded off the property.

Goats are deployed in several wildfire-prone Southern California communities to eat dry brush that could otherwise become fuel for wildfires.

Los Angeles May 11, 2016

Wildfire Protection Goats Chew Through Brush at Reagan Library

Etienne Constable, from Seaside, California, was told in July last year by local government officials that he had to build a 6-foot fence to hide the boat from view of his neighbors.

But in a light-hearted jibe at officialdom, Constable decided to follow the directive, which said nothing about how the fence should be decorated, and asked local artist Hanif Panni to create a mural that makes it look as if the fence isn’t there.

“I’m not a rule-breaker but I like to make a political statement as necessary as well as a humorous statement and a creative statement,” he told NBC affiliate KSBW of Monterey Bay.

He is yet to have had any contact from the city about the mural — but added that he considers it to be covered by the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in the First Amendment.

“The reaction is extremely more than we ever expected and we’re both just tickled about it,” Constable said, referring to the stir the image has made on social media, where it has been shared many times.

Panni, who paints images across the Central Coast area, told KSBW: “I’m a big proponent of public art in spaces. It engages people in ways that reaching out and having conversations doesn’t sometimes.”

And Panni added that since the Seaside boat mural has gone viral, other boat owners have approached him to see if he can do the same for them.

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:

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After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

The recommendation was made by UC president Michael Drake and will be voted on during a regents meeting Tuesday at UC Merced.

In order for the Regents to affirm UCLA’s move to the Big Ten in December, 2022, the university agreed to pay UC Berkeley between $2 million and $10 million because of how the move would affect the Cal athletic program.

Cal agreed to join the Atlantic Coast Conference last year after the Pac-12 couldn’t negotiate a media deal, causing eight of its members to leave.

Besides increased travel costs, Cal will have a reduced share of the ACC’s media rights deal.

According to a report by UC’s president, the difference between UCLA’s annual media rights distribution from the Big Ten and UC Berkeley’s share from the ACC will be approximately $50 million per year.

Drake is also recommending that if there is a significant change in revenues and/or expenses for either school, exceeding 10% over 2024-25 projections, UCLA’s contribution can be reevaluated by the regents.

UCLA and the University of Southern California announced on June 30, 2022, that they were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. USC is private and not part of the UC system.

The Regents became involved shortly after the announcement when Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized UCLA’s move because chancellor Gene Block and athletic director Martin Jarmond did not give advance notice to the regents.

In 1991, campus chancellors were delegated authority by the UC Office of the President to execute their own contracts, including intercollegiate athletic agreements. But the regents heard during an August 2022, meeting that they retain the authority to review decisions impacting the UC system, meaning they could affirm, overturn or abstain from following up on UCLA’s decision.

The Regents voted four months later to let the move go ahead. Besides the payments to its sister school, UCLA agreed to make further investments for athletes, including nutritional support, mental health services, academic support while traveling and charter flights to reduce travel time.

“From the very beginning we said we understand we may need to help Berkeley. We’re OK with it and happy it is resolved,” Block said after the regents approved the move.

A runner from Fountain Valley, California, was disqualified Sunday as winner of the OC Marathon for taking water from his father during a grueling race that he led for most of the 26.2-mile course.

Esteban Prado, who spent months training for the marathon, received water from a spectator — his dad — in violation of a rule that participants can only get water at official hydration stations.

“During yesterday’s Hoag OC Marathon, we were forced to disqualify a participant after it was confirmed they received unauthorized assistance from an individual on a bicycle, in violation of USA Track & Field rules and our race regulations,” race director Gary Kutschar said in a statement. “We take these rules seriously to ensure fairness and the integrity of our event for all competitors.”

Jason Yang of San Pedro was declared the men’s marathon winner in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds.

Prado said he is relatively new to marathon running, but had high hopes entering Sunday’s race after months of rigorous preparation.

“About like a three- to four-month period of just 100-mile week trainings,” Prado said. “Just kind of balancing that with work, and also just including that in the weekend.

Prado led for most of the 26.2-mile course.

“Because I was first place, a lot of the volunteers were just like scrambling,” Prado said. “By the time I got there, they were… grabbing the water. So a lot of the time the water stations, they really had nothing for me.”

Prado said he wasn’t aware that receiving water from a spectator, family in this case, was not allowed.

Yang crossed the line 17 seconds after Prado.

In her first marathon, Gabriella Smith of Lynchburg, Virginia was the women’s winner in 3:05:30, 12 seconds ahead of Annika Mellquist of Gardena.

The race served as the national championship for the Road Runners Club of America, the nation’s oldest and largest distance running organization. The event drew 3,500 entrants.

There were seven water/hydration stations on the front half of the course and another eight stations on the second half, according to the marathon’s web site. Electrolyte drinks were available at some of the stations.

The marathon course began in front of the VEA Marriott Resort Hotel & Spa and ended at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa.

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Marc Shultz, 66, of Chula Vista, is facing charges of transmitting interstate threats to injure Willis. Prosecutors alleged that Shultz posted comments to YouTube livestream videos in October 2023 that threatened Willis, including stating that the prosecutor “will be killed like a dog.”

“Sending death threats to a public official is a criminal offense that will not be tolerated,” Ryan Buchanan, the U.S. attorney in Atlanta, said in a statement Friday.

The April 24 indictment was unsealed Thursday. A federal public defender listed as representing Shultz didn’t immediately return emails seeking comment.

Records show Shultz appeared before a judge in San Diego on Thursday and was released on bail. Buchanan said Shultz would be formally arraigned in Atlanta in June.

Also Friday, Fulton County leaders testified before a special state Senate committee that they had no legal power to control Willis’ spending or her hiring of former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The Republican-led committee is probing Willis’ hiring of Wade to lead the team that investigated and charged Trump, lawyers and other aides in the Georgia case. Willis and Wade have acknowledged a romantic relationship with each other.

Trump and some other defendants in the case have tried to get Willis and her office removed from the case, saying the relationship with Wade created a conflict of interest.

Wade stepped down from the prosecution after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in March found that no conflict of interest existed that should force Willis off the case. But he ruled that Willis could continue prosecuting Trump only if Wade left. Trump and others are appealing that ruling to a higher state court.

The allegations that Willis had improperly benefited from her romance with Wade resulted in tumultuous months in the case as intimate details of Willis and Wade’s personal lives were aired in court in mid-February. The serious charges in one of four criminal cases against the Republican former president were largely overshadowed by the love lives of the prosecutors.

Willis told reporters Friday that she had done nothing wrong.

“They can look all they want,” Willis said. “The DA’s office has done everything according to the books. We are following the law. I’m sorry that folks get mad when everybody in society can be prosecuted.”

Willis is running for reelection this year and faces a Democratic opponent, Christian Wise Smith in a May 21 primary. Early voting for that election is ongoing.

But the lawyer who initiated the effort to remove Willis, Ashleigh Merchant, has also claimed that Wade’s firing violated a state law that required approval of the hiring of a special prosecutor by the county commission.

Fulton County Commission Chairman Rob Pitts, a Democrat, and Fulton County Attorney Soo Jo both told the committee that while the law appears to require county commission approval, judges decades ago interpreted the law in such a way to give Willis the freedom to hire who she wants without approval. Jo, who represents the commission, cited three separate Georgia Court of Appeals cases backing up that point

“What I have found is that the court has rejected the proposition that this particular statute requires a district attorney to obtain explicit permission from a county prior to appointing a special assistant district attorney,” Jo said.

State Sen. Bill Cowsert, the Athens Republican who chairs the committee, disputed that interpretation when questioned by reporters after the hearing.

“I think the clear language of the statute says that that requires county approval, and especially where it’s funded by the county,” Cowsert said.

He went on to suggest the committee, which doesn’t directly have the power to sanction Willis, might change the law to give counties more control over spending by state officers funded by counties, including district attorneys and sheriffs. Fulton County officials said they don’t believe they currently can control how Willis spends money once it’s appropriated to her.

Cowsert said increased county oversight would be “extraordinarily complex” for district attorneys managing funds contributed by more than one county. While Willis and 15 other district attorneys in Georgia only prosecute cases from one county, others prosecute cases from as many as eight counties.

Senate Democratic Whip Harold Jones II of Augusta said the hours of questioning over details of how Fulton County budgets money shows the panel is “on its last legs,” noting three of six Republicans didn’t appear for a committee meeting called on short notice.

“They’re not even interested in this anymore,” Jones said. “There’s nothing else to talk about, quite frankly. And we found that out today.”

After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

Now one California startup has developed a technology that reduces carbon dioxide in the making of cement and could have the potential to operate at large scale. Fortera intercepts carbon dioxide exhaust from the kilns where cement is made and routes it back in to make additional cement. In its first effort at commercial scale, the technology is being added to a CalPortland facility in Redding, California, one of the largest cement plants in the western U.S. It opens Friday.

“Our target is about being a ubiquitous solution that can work really at any plant,” said Ryan Gilliam, Fortera CEO.

Initially Fortera will produce enough to mix with about one-fifth of CalPortland’s product in a blend that reduces carbon by about 10%. Gilliam said there is a strong demand for higher blends that reduce carbon by 40-50%, and for a pure product the company makes, which has 70% lower carbon.

The first large sacks are scheduled to move out the door of the Redding plant the first week of May.

Fortera evolved in part out of an earlier company called Calera that was among the first to convert carbon dioxide into cement starting in 2007. It poured some 100 tons of its low-carbon cement into California office buildings and sidewalks but shuttered in 2014 due to financial challenges. Building on that knowledge, Gilliam founded Fortera in 2019 with several former Calera employees.

There is “pretty much a cement plant every 250 miles in the world,” he said, and most are located near a limestone quarry. Because it works with these existing plants and uses the same material the industry already uses, Fortera says its technology is an economically competitive option to quickly prevent carbon emissions from warming the planet.

One difference from some other low-carbon cement and concrete efforts is it offers at least the possibility of being installed widely at cement plants instead of changing how the industry currently runs.

Fortera’s is one of many efforts to reduce the climate impact of concrete. The American Institute of Architects educates many of the world’s largest architecture firms about carbon emissions from building materials.

Some jurisdictions including Vancouver, British Columbia have building standards that encourage lower-carbon concrete. California passed a law in 2021 that requires the state’s Air Resources Board to develop a strategy for the state’s cement industry to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2035 and achieve net zero by 2045.

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The First Movers Coalition, an organization of more than 90 companies, has an initiative announced in 2021 to create greater demand for low-carbon cement through their immense buying power.

The same year, 40 of the largest cement and concrete manufacturers announced a commitment to making concrete that does not contribute to climate change by 2050 through the Global Cement and Concrete Association. They agreed to reduce emissions from cement, fossil fuel use in manufacturing processes and to develop new ways to capture carbon.

Concrete is the second -most used product on Earth, aside from water. Cement makes up 10-15% of concrete by volume, but accounts for 88% of concrete’s considerable emissions. Other ingredients in concrete are sand, gravel, crushed stone and water.

Manufacturing one ton of cement emits nearly one ton of carbon dioxide. There hasn’t been a simple replacement.

“The societal benefits of concrete are absolutely immense … it’s the backbone of modern society,” said Thomas Guillot, CEO of the Global Cement and Concrete Association. Other materials sometimes fail to compete because they are not as durable, can’t support as much weight, or can’t stand up as well to heat, he said.

How Fortera’s technology works

Cement manufacturers heat kilns to about 2,500°F (1,400°C) to break down limestone and separate it into carbon dioxide and calcium oxide.

Fortera’s process sucks the carbon dioxide out and pipes it into a machine where it is turned into a solid. Its technology works at around 1,800°F (1,000°C), which requires less energy and emits less carbon.

When the captured carbon dioxide is mixed with calcium oxide, it turns into a kind of limestone that becomes cement-like when wet. This product, which Fortera calls ReAct, is blended with other ingredients to make concrete.

Fortera uses a 15% blend of ReAct in concrete because that is all that is allowed under existing industry standards that regulate material strength and durability.

The company is trying to get a product that is 100% ReAct approved as a replacement for cement and says its testing has shown it can meet international requirements, but the regulatory process will take over five years.

Some of the fastest-growing consumers of cement are in Southeast Asia and Africa, so global solutions are critical.

“The United States has to do what it can and be a leader to help other countries,” said Mike Ireland, president and CEO of the Portland Cement Association, the national trade association for U.S. cement manufacturers. “But we have to get the rest of the world, particularly the Global South, as they industrialize to leapfrog some of the technologies we had.”

Carbon emissions from cement manufacturing is “an existential threat to the world and for our industry,” he said.

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

If you’re having a drink at Happy Does on Fifth Avenue you are also welcome to a free chaser, of sorts. It’s a date-rape drug test strip.

“We’re in a super busy district. There are a lot of people coming from out of town and a lot of people in town. It’s just a case of better safe than sorry,” bartender Jon Hayes said

Hayes says the company started offering the tests at all its properties in January 2024. Hayes says he hasn’t had a customer ask for one yet.

“It’s a new thing we are adapting to as a bar and I am glad this bar is one of the first ones,” Hayes said.

The test strips are quick and easy to use. Just place a few drops of your drink on the designated areas of the card. If it turns blue or black there is a good chance you were “roofied,” which is when someone has slipped Rohypnol (another name for flunitrazepam) into a drink.

Women from the area say it adds an extra layer of protection for those who might be out alone or out with their guard down. It also gives them better control over their evening.

“Good idea,” Gaslamp visitor Odilia Olivares said.

 “I think anything you can do to protect women would be good,“ downtown resident Heather Strohm said.

The state law requires establishments with title 48 liquor licenses — those that don’t admit minors or serve food — but sell, spirits, wine and beer, to provide such date rape drug tests to customers upon request.

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control published examples of signs that must also be posted.

“Women take a little too much to drink without eating as much as they should so they don‘t know their environment.” Olivares said.

However, nothing can replace common sense

AB 1013 is not intended to replace common sense. Take it from a bartender.

“Know who you got your drink from and if they are buying a drink, try to watch the bartender make it. Make sure it’s handed directly to you,” Hayes said.

Not all businesses where alcohol is sold may have the test kits. When in doubt, throw it out and ask for something else.

Bar and night club owners that don’t comply could face penalties that could impact their licenses.

The law goes into affect July 1.

After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

The 2-year-old girl was standing near a taco stand at the edge of a parking lot at a gas station in the 300 block of West Street in Woodland when she was struck Saturday afternoon, Woodland police said.

Police responded to the scene shortly before 4 p.m. local time and determined the toddler girl had been hit and was transported by family members to a hospital, where she passed away from her injuries. 

Officers found a man at the scene who was the owner of a truck that was left running while parked at a gas pump.

A 3-year-old child was in the backseat of the truck in a carseat. When the man entered the gas station store, the 3-year-old exited the car seat and got into the driver seat, police said. Then the truck began moving and collided with the 2-year-old. 

The 2-year-old was identified by her family as Ailahni Sanchez Martinez.

“She was always happy, she loved to dance and brought joy to the family,” her mother Rosa Martinez told NBC affiliate KCRA of Sacramento, noting Ailahni was one month away from her third birthday.

Ailahni’s family was setting up their taco stand when they saw the truck moving backwards towards her.

“I heard a scream and ran because I saw it going toward my daughter, but it was too late,” her father, Sandro Sanchez, said.

He said “what happened is not right,” adding “We want justice… I lost my daughter because of someone else.” 

An online fundraiser to aid with the family’s expenses has been set up. 

“Everyone involved has cooperated in this investigation,” police said. 

No arrests have been made in the case, but the investigation is ongoing. When it’s completed, the case will be forwarded to the local district attorney’s Office for review.

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News:

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After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

A 2021 Associated Press investigation that found a culture of abuse and cover-ups at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin brought increased scrutiny from Congress and the Bureau of Prisons. The low-security prison and its adjacent minimum-security satellite camp, located about 21 miles (34 kilometers) east of Oakland, have more than 600 inmates.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers called the prison “a dysfunctional mess” in her order. She did not name someone to be the special master but wrote that the court would appoint one quickly.

“The situation can no longer be tolerated. The facility is in dire need of immediate change,” she wrote, adding that the Bureau of Prisons has “proceeded sluggishly with intentional disregard of the inmates’ constitutional rights despite being fully apprised of the situation for years. The repeated installation of BOP leadership who fail to grasp and address the situation strains credulity.”

The order is part of a federal lawsuit filed in August by eight inmates and the advocacy group California Coalition for Women Prisoners. They allege that sexual abuse and exploitation has not stopped despite the prosecution of the former warden and several former officers.

“This unprecedented decision on the need for oversight shows that courageous incarcerated people, community and dedicated lawyers can collectively challenge the impunity of the federal government and Bureau of Prisons,” Emily Shapiro, a member of California Coalition for Women Prisoners, said in a statement Friday.

The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on the special master appointment.

FCI Dublin opened in 1974 and was converted in 2012 to one of six women-only facilities in the federal prison system. The prison has housed well-known inmates such as actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin from the Varsity Blues college admissions bribery scandal.

FCI Dublin’s sexual abuse scandal has been one of many troubles plaguing the bureau, which is also beset by rampant staffing shortages, suicides and security breaches.

Since 2021, at least eight FCI Dublin employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates. Five have pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial. Another case is pending. Roughly 50 civil rights lawsuits against FCI Dublin employees are also ongoing.

Rogers wrote that “in making this extraordinary decision, the Court grounds itself in BOP’s repeated failure to ensure that the extraordinary history of this facility is never repeated.”

All sexual activity between a prison worker and an inmate is illegal. Correctional employees enjoy substantial power over inmates, controlling every aspect of their lives from mealtime to lights out, and there is no scenario in which an inmate can give consent.

Rogers made an unannounced visit to the prison Feb. 14, touring the facility and its satellite camp for nine hours. She spoke with at least 100 inmates, as well as staff.

Many of the inmates told her that they did not fear sexual misconduct and said “no” when asked if it was still prevalent at the prison, Rogers wrote. Still, the plaintiffs in the August lawsuit have “presented incidents of sexual misconduct that occurred as recently as November of 2023.”

While she did not find that the prison has a “sexualized environment,” as alleged in the lawsuit, the judge wrote that she does not believe that sexual misconduct has been eradicated in FCI Dublin.

“The truth is somewhere in the middle—allegations of sexual misconduct have lingered but to characterize it as pervasive goes too far,” she wrote. “However, and as the Court finds herein, because of its inability to promptly investigate the allegations that remain, and the ongoing retaliation against incarcerated persons who report misconduct, BOP has lost the ability to manage with integrity and trust.”

Friday’s special master appointment follows days after the FBI searched the prison as part of an ongoing, years-long investigation. The current warden has also been ousted after new allegations that his staff retaliated against an inmate who testified against the prison, according to government court papers filed Monday.

Despite recent attempts at reform, Rogers wrote that the prison “cannot seem to leave behind, however, is its suspicion that it is the system, not incarcerated women, that is being abused.”

After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison officials, drug and pregnancy tests, X-ray and CT scans at a hospital, and another strip search by a male doctor who sexually violated her, a lawsuit said.

“My motivation in pursuing this lawsuit was to ensure that others do not have to endure the same egregious offenses that I experienced,” Cardenas said.

Of the $5.6 million settlement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will pay $3.6 million and the rest will be paid by the other defendants, which include two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.

Prison officials conducted their searches on the basis of a warrant, which said a strip search could only be conducted if an X-ray found any foreign objects that could be contraband in Cardenas’ body, her attorneys said. However, neither the X-ray or CT scan found any evidence of such.

She was also put in handcuffs in a “humiliating perp walk” while being taken to and from the hospital, and denied water or use of a bathroom during the majority of the search process. She was told she had to pay for the hospital’s services and later received invoices for a combined total of more than $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in any of her belongings or her body, Cardenas was denied her visit with her husband.

One of the prison officials asked her, “Why do you visit, Christina? You don’t have to visit. It’s a choice, and this is part of visiting,” according to Cardenas.

“We believe the unknown officer’s statement was a form of intimidation used to dismiss Christina’s right to visit her lawful husband during the course of his incarceration,” Cardenas’ attorney Gloria Allred said.

Cardenas also had to undergo a strip search during a previous visit to marry her husband, and continued to experience difficulties during her visits to him, though not to the same extent as the Sept. 6, 2019 incident. Her husband remains in custody today.

The settlement also requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to employees that better protects the rights of visitors who have to undergo strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is read and understood by the visitor, that the visitor receives a copy of the warrant, that the scope of the warrant is read and understood by everyone involved, and the scope of the warrant is not exceeded.

Cardenas is not alone in what she experienced from correctional officers, Allred said, and hopes this case will help protect the rights of spouses and family members who visit their loved ones in prison.

California prisons have faced an ongoing problem of sexual abuse and misconduct, with the the U.S. Justice Department announcing it had opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.

Earlier this year the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.

The mother says she even moved out of the home she was renting with her parents to avoid conflict. But the lawsuit came anyway, asking for a court to declare the child a “nuisance.”

“He’s a happy, loving, innocent little boy who just cares about his McDonald’s,” Serena Arvayo said of her son, Ezequiel, who is also known as Zeek.

The boy suffers from what is referred to as Level 3 autism — a severe form of the disorder.

“My son isn’t able to speak, so he only able to produce sounds,” Arvayo said. “And it’s called vocal stimming.”

The family used to live in a west San Jose home with Zeek’s grandparents. But Arvayo said she had to move her son out because their next door neighbor complained about the noise coming from the backyard.

Arvayo said it was Zeek’s grunting, the only vocal sound he is able to produce.

The family now only returns to the home to visit Zeek’s grandparents, and now they have been hit with a lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, the neighbor is suing the family and the landlord claiming the child should be considered a nuisance and should not be allowed around the home again.

Zeek’s mother has now countersued, saying at one point the neighbor called the grunts “disgusting.”

“It was deeply offensive,” Arvayo said. “I think the issue is the lack of understanding for this form of autism.”

The neighbor’s lawyer said the complaint speaks for itself. That lawsuit also said there are frequent loud parties at the home with amplified music.

NBC Bay Area has seen the lawsuit and is withholding the neighbor’s name until it receives a statement.

A separate neighbor told NBC Bay Area she has to close her door when Zeek is playing in the backyard because of the noises.

Arvayo’s lawyer said the neighbor’s lawsuit also asks for monetary damages for the loss of use and enjoyment of their property.

“Since COVID we’ve seen a lot more what I call crazy lawsuits. Mean-spirited lawsuits,” said Ron Rossi, Arvayo’s lawyer.

The countersuit claims Zeek’s family has suffered emotional distress and is asking for the harassment to stop.

“It was deeply, deeply hurtful,” Arvayo said. “Especially because my son can’t defend himself because he’s innocent-minded. That’s why I’m doing this because I’m defending him and I’m his voice.”

Arvayo studied the effects of autism and has written a children’s book in two languages so children can be more understanding and accepting of a child on the spectrum.

But now Arvayo said she is confident it might be a good read for some adults as well.

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