Tag: Local News

After 5 Years On the Run, ‘Child Predator’ Captured in Mexico

“International fugitive” and “child predator” Brad A. Hatter, as designated by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), has been captured in Mexico after five years of evading law enforcement. The agency says he has been brought back to the United States to face justice.  In December 2005, Hatter, 58, was arrested in Gwinett County Georgia for attempting…


Stanford Study: Pandemic Stress Prematurely Aged Adolescent Brains

A recently published Stanford University study found that stress from the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted normal development in adolescents, leading to poor mental health and premature brain aging. By comparing pre-pandemic MRI scans of adolescent brains with scans from a different group of adolescents after the pandemic shutdowns, researchers found changes in brain structure that occur…


Tampa Police Chief Resigns After Dodging Traffic Ticket

TAMPA, Fla.—The police chief in Tampa, Florida, resigned Monday after using her position to escape a ticket during a traffic stop involving a golf cart driven by her husband. Mary O’Connor submitted her resignation after an internal affairs review found she violated police department policy during the Nov. 12 stop by a Pinellas County sheriff’s…


Rescue Teams Recover Plane After Crash Leaves 2 Dead, 1 Missing in Gulf of Mexico

Rescue teams have found the bodies of a woman and a female juvenile after a Florida plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday evening. The plane was recovered earlier on Monday. A 42-year-old man is still missing. The plane, a single-engine Piper Cherokee, departed from Venice Municipal Airport in Florida around 7:30 p.m….


Nixon Library Honors Military Heroes in Annual Decorating of Christmas Tree Ceremony

The Richard Nixon Library and Museum hosted its 12th annual “Hometown Heroes” ceremony Dec. 4, where ornaments with personalized dog tags honoring fallen service members were hung on its Christmas tree. Kathleen York, of Twin Peaks, CA, attended to honor her late son-in-law, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Patrick Lee Wade, who was deployed in…


Gunman Pleads No Contest in Shooting of Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker

LOS ANGELES—A man who shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker during the theft of two of the singer’s French bulldogs pleaded no contest Dec. 5 to an attempted murder charge and was immediately sentenced to 21 years in prison. James Howard Jackson, 20, pleaded no contest to the single count of attempted murder with great bodily…


San Diego Mayor Signs Executive Order Cracking Down On Fentanyl

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order Nov. 29 to increase public awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to prevent the sale and use of the drug in the city. According to officials, deaths from an accidental fentanyl overdoses—a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent…


Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years Federal Prison for Tax, Wire Fraud

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Suspended attorney Michael Avenatti, who rose to fame representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her litigation against former President Donald Trump, was sentenced in Orange County Dec. 5 to 14 years in federal prison for tax and wire fraud. U.S. District Judge James V. Selna said Avenatti’s sentence would run consecutively—or on…


In-N-Out Releases New Ugly Christmas Sweater, Already Sold Out

In-N-Out Burger released a new ugly Christmas sweater in late November,  featuring french fry characters decorating a Christmas tree made of lettuce—and it’s already sold out. On the back of the sweater, which is retailing for $69.95, are two cartoon character fries, with one saying, “Merry Christmas you fry animal,” a reference to the movie Home Alone…


Arizona Certifies 2022 Midterm Election Results

Officials in Arizona on Dec. 5 certified the results of the 2022 midterms after coercing supervisors in at least one county to certify vote tallies. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, canvassed the election and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, oversaw the ceremony, which certified Hobbs as the winner of the gubernatorial race….