Category: Regional & State News

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Speaker Dade Phelan Reach Historical $18 Billion Property Tax Cut Deal

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan on Monday announced they reached a deal on a historic $18 billion tax-relief plan for Texas property owners. The deal ends a monthlong stalemate that turned into a public battle between the state’s top GOP leaders over property taxes. Mr. Patrick’s stance was focused on a…


Man Suspected of Shooting Georgia Prosecutor’s Investigator Arrested

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.—Police arrested a man Monday suspected of shooting and injuring an investigator with a metro Atlanta prosecutor’s office while both were driving. The investigator with the Gwinnett County district attorney’s office was not on duty when he was shot in the leg around 6 p.m. Friday by another driver, police said. The motive was…


Pennsylvania Police Searching for Escaped Homicide Suspect Find Possible Campsites Near Jail

WARREN, Pa.—A homicide suspect who used bed sheets to escape from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail is likely still in the area and someone may be helping him to evade capture, police said after discovering possible campsites in nearby woods. Michael Burham, 34, fled the Warren County Prison late Thursday by climbing on exercise equipment, climbing…


UC San Diego Student Workers Accused of Defacing Walls Using ‘Materials Other Than Chalk’

SAN DIEGO—The arrests of three University of California–San Diego (UCSD) student workers accused of vandalizing campus property drew a large crowd to the San Diego Central Courthouse Monday in protest of potential criminal charges. The workers, Jessica Ng, William Schneider, and a third person whose name has not been disclosed, were arrested about a month…


Summer College Baseball League Offers Fans a Steal in California’s Orange County

A summer baseball team composed of players from collegiate programs across the country plays its home games at Great Park in Irvine, California, and bills itself as Orange County’s best-kept secret. Relatively few people, indeed, are aware of the Orange County Riptide. With the Angels based in Anaheim, despite what the team’s official name suggests,…


LA Man Sentenced to Prison for Siphoning $7 Million in COVID Relief Fund

LOS ANGELES—A West Los Angeles man was sentenced July 10 to 79 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining at least $7.3 million in coronavirus relief funds, some of which he gambled away in Las Vegas. Andrew Marnell, 43, who lives in the Beverly Grove neighborhood, pleaded guilty in 2021 to one count each of…


Santa Ana Enlists Community to Name 2 New Parks

Officials in Santa Ana, California, are calling on locals to name two new parks coming to the city. The deadline for submissions is July 14. Residents can submit their name ideas online. Submissions will be reviewed at the next Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission July 27. One of the parks being built and in…


Metal Pipe-Wielding Woman Fatally Shot by Police in Los Angeles

TARZANA, Calif.—A woman wielding a metal dumbbell bar allegedly assaulted four people, leaving them with serious head and face injuries, before she was fatally shot by police on July 9 in Tarzana. At around 8:30 a.m., officers responded to several calls of an assault with a deadly weapon suspect in the area of Reseda Boulevard…


Drive-By Shooting Kills 9-Year-Old Chicago Boy at His Grandmother’s Birthday Party

FRANKLIN PARK, Ill.—A 9-year-old boy attending his grandmother’s birthday party in a Chicago suburb was killed in a drive-by shooting, police said. Ulysses Campos had been playing with a group of children in an alley late Saturday when four to six shots were fired from a moving vehicle, Franklin Park police director Michael Witz said…


Crimes Surging in California While Arrests Declining: Attorney General’s Report

Crime statistics for 2022 show violent and property crimes increasing year-over-year in California, according to an Attorney General report released June 30. With crime increasing across many categories, homicide and driving under the influence arrests each decreased 5.9 percent and motor vehicle theft arrests fell 8.5 percent. “While crime rates remain significantly below their historical…