AP News Digest - California

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CALIFORNIA STORIES TODAY

US--Los Angeles Police Chief Former county sheriff has been appointed to lead the Los Angeles police force SUMMARY: A former county sheriff has been named chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, taking charge of the nation’s third-largest police force. Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday the appointment of Jim McDonnell and said her choice was based on making Los Angeles safer. The news follows the surprise retirement of Chief Michel Moore, whose tenure was marked by greater scrutiny into excessive force and police killings of civilians in the nation’s second-largest city. A civilian board of Los Angeles police commissioners selected McDonnell out of three final candidates. He rose to second-in-command during his 29 years at the police department and also served as chief of the Long Beach Police Department. WORDS: 1000 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 12:51 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:196f9840db961bee80d71b75ca1c3402

ENT-Sexual Misconduct-Garth Brooks Garth Brooks accused of rape in lawsuit from hair-and-makeup artist SUMMARY: A woman who says she worked as a hair-and-makeup artist for Garth Brooks alleges in a lawsuit that the country music star raped and sexually assaulted her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2019. The woman is not named and goes by Jane Roe in the lawsuit filed in LA Superior Court on Thursday. She alleges that Brooks booked only one hotel suite for the two of them on the trip from Nashville to California, and raped her in the suite. Brooks forcefully denied the allegations in a statement and acknowledged he tried to get a court to stop Thursday’s lawsuit from being filed. WORDS: 564 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 11:26 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:6f40d39e2ba568cfa7f17f0091ee9d8d

US--Port Strike-What to Know The US could have seen shortages and higher retail prices if a dockworkers strike had dragged on SUMMARY: The union representing striking U.S. dockworkers has reached a deal to suspend the strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. U.S. ports from Maine to Texas had been closed due to the strike by the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers. The International Longshoremen’s Association was demanding higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports. Those ports handle roughly half of the nations’ cargo from ships. A lengthy shutdown could have raised prices on goods around the country and potentially caused shortages. WORDS: 977 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 10:40 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:c195bedec63d41afcec3c942ebb27e93

CA--Stem Cell Clinics-Regulation Some California stem cell clinics use unproven therapies. A new court ruling cracks down SUMMARY: Stem cell clinics have popped up throughout California, but some are offering services that have not been approved by federal health regulators. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week gained a significant court win against stem cell clinics that promote and administer unproven therapies. A three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FDA can regulate two affiliated Southern California stem cell clinics and their treatments after a lower court had exempted them from regulation. Experts say the decision reasserts the FDA’s authority over regenerative medicine at a time when clinics are booming. According to adverse reaction reports, unproven therapies have led to infections, disabilities and even death. SOURCE: CalMatters WORDS: 1014 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 09:08 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:412707ac27f59e0e620a1abbb4229da0

Mexico-Sheinbaum Energy Transition Mexico’s new president promises to resume fight against climate change SUMMARY: In her first days as Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum made a point of distancing herself from the fossil fuel reliance promoted by her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and vowed to resume an energy transition that he halted. “We are going to boost renewable energies,” she said, promising that 45% of Mexico’s electricity will come from renewables by 2030. But experts say the country’s first woman president will have to contend with legal constraints that she herself favored during the previous administration, constitutional reforms that strongly favor the Federal Electricity Commission, which runs traditional power plants. WORDS: 965 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 08:42 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:93a78b5f2c22d1eab0494a3d6dfaa5e9

CA--Homeless Shelter Ban ‘Beyond cruel’: Newsom retaliates against this LA suburb for its ban on homeless shelters SUMMARY: The mayor of a middle-class Los Angeles County suburb said the city stands by its moratorium on homeless shelters and supportive housing even after facing state sanctions Thursday. California’s housing department revoked approval of the state-mandated housing plan for Norwalk, a city of just over 100,000 people with a homeless population of at least 200 according to county data. The move is the latest escalation of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pressure campaign on cities to help solve the housing crisis. It means Norwalk could lose eligibility for state housing and homelessness grants, and be forced to approve affordable housing projects even if they conflict with city zoning. SOURCE: CalMatters WORDS: 989 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 08:22 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:3cb72d907229d09c67732f35d4170af4

EU--Meta-Schrems Austrian activist Schrems wins privacy case against Meta over personal data on sexual orientation SUMMARY: The European Union’s top court has said that social media company Meta can’t use public information about a user’s sexual orientation obtained outside its platforms for personalized advertising under the bloc’s strict data privacy rules. Friday’s decision from the Court of Justice of the European Union is a victory for Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems. He’s been a thorn in the side of Big Tech companies over their compliance with 27-nation bloc’s data privacy rules. Schrems had complained that Facebook had processed personal data including information about his sexual orientation to target him with online advertising, even though he had never disclosed on his account that he was gay. WORDS: 388 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 04:13 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:80fd4e6c59f48a3b583d6665af3ede86

US--Election 2024-House-Open Seats Departures in House create crucial Republican targets in the fight for majority control SUMMARY: After a tumultuous and unproductive session of Congress, nearly 50 House members have decided either to not seek reelection or to run for a higher office. That leaves vacancies in several tight races that could tilt control of Congress to either party. Both Republicans and Democrats have had their fair share of turnover. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, was the most prominent. But Democrats are also losing a number of prodigious fundraisers who have successfully held off GOP challengers in recent years. The party is now counting on fresh faces to holds the swing seats, but Republicans sense openings in four races in Virginia, Michigan and California that no longer have an incumbent. WORDS: 1255 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 09:04 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:41af911c357f2c719adbd2008bfa5cdf

US--Election 2024-California-Voters-Crime Californians’ crime concerns put pressure on criminal justice reform and progressive DAs SUMMARY: Ten years ago, 3.7 million Californians voted for a landmark measure that made many nonviolent crimes misdemeanors instead of felonies. They hoped it would lead to a more equitable criminal justice system and help end mass incarceration. Now they are blaming it for a litany of problems from a growing homelessness crisis to organized retail crime. Voters’ grievances over crime are putting progressive mayors and district attorneys up and down the state in tough reelection fights. Critics call Proposition 47 a failed social experiment. And they are backing Proposition 36 on November’s ballot, which would roll back some measures of the previous law, as a solution. WORDS: 1211 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 09:01 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:6b27bcb3b2f7a0dde4367dd335c1c481

ENT--Music-Mariah Carey Q&A: Mariah Carey wasn’t always sure about making a Christmas album SUMMARY: Mariah Carey relishes the fact that she has become culturally synonymous with Christmas. That’s thanks in part to the longevity of her iconic song “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” But the Grammy winner admitted she initially wasn’t sure about doing a Christmas album when her label pitched it. Ahead of her appearance on Sunday’s American Music Awards and an upcoming Christmas tour that kicks off in November, Carey spoke with The Associated Press about advice she would give to young artists navigating fame and her song being used in Ari Aster’s 2023 horror comedy, “Beau Is Afraid.” WORDS: 781 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 08:02 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:eb9c627b8caac5eb8fc33138d830c133

US--California-Menendez Brothers Case Los Angeles prosecutors to review new evidence in Menendez brothers’ 1996 murder conviction SUMMARY: Prosecutors in Los Angeles say they are reviewing new evidence in the case of the Menendez brothers to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said during a news conference Thursday that attorneys for 53-year-old Erik Menendez and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle Menendez, have asked a court to vacate their conviction. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 29. The brothers were given life sentences for fatally shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989. The case has gained new attention in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” WORDS: 779 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 05:34 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:488b0f0faf3ad86264e0d80036a6d37c

US--Google-AI Expansion Google’s search engine’s latest AI injection will answer voiced questions about video and photos SUMMARY: Google is pumping more artificial intelligence into its search engine. New features will enable people to voice questions about images and rely on the still-faulty technology to organize the presentation of an entire results page. The latest changes announced Thursday herald the next step in an AI-driven makeover that Google launched in mid-May. It was then that it began responding to some queries with summaries written by the technology at the top of its influential results page. Google is leaning more heavily on AI, even though the technology already has produced bad information. But the company is forging ahead amid new competition from alternatives powered by upstarts such as ChatGPT. WORDS: 637 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 03:21 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:2920c3f95ba6e77f405bb665754a45bb

US-MED--Bird Flu Two California dairy workers were infected with bird flu, latest human cases in US SUMMARY: Two dairy workers in California were infected with bird flu, the 15th and 16th human cases detected in the U.S. this year. The new cases confirmed Thursday were found in dairy workers who had contact with cattle on separate farms in California’s Central Valley. More than 50 dairy herds have been infected with H5N1 bird flu in that state since August. The workers both developed mild symptoms of eye redness. More than 250 dairy herds in 14 states have tested positive for the virus since March. WORDS: 300 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 03:05 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:aa64a161ccf766e8da73e127b126f580

SPORTS

BBO--Division Series Umpires Bellino, Carlson, Hoye and Tichenor are named Division Series umpire crew chiefs SUMMARY: Dan Bellino, Mark Carlson, James Hoye and Todd Tichenor will be umpire crew chiefs for the AL Division Series starting Saturday. Crew chiefs will all work third base in the series openers and will be behind the plate for a Game 4 of the best-of-five series. Umpires rotate from right field to left and then clockwise around the bases starting at third. WORDS: 274 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 11:46 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:a58c8dcbcd8a9c17f0d41c1b55f68736

BBO--Bye Week Blues Under MLB’s new playoff format, a little rest isn’t always the best SUMMARY: Shohei Ohtani has mashed 100 mph fastballs for homers, stolen bases against some of the game’s best catchers and recently wrapped up one of the best regular seasons in Major League Baseball history. Now the Japanese superstar and his Los Angeles Dodgers have to face something that’s arguably even more daunting. A five-day break. Since MLB’s most recent playoff format took effect in 2022, five of the eight top seeds have lost in the Division Series, unable to capitalize on the supposed reward of earning a bye through the Wild Card Series. This year, the Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees and Guardians are dealing with the five-day break, trying to use it to their advantage. WORDS: 774 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 07:04 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:741feda4a5d01692b56a6b54b58c76c5

BBO--Baseball Digest Awards Aaron Judge edges Shohei Ohtani for Baseball Digest player of the year SUMMARY: Aaron Judge has won the Baseball Digest/Inside Edge major league player of the year award, beating out Shohei Ohtani in a very close vote. Both superstars were tabbed first on 12 of 24 ballots. But the New York Yankees outfielder also received 12 second-place votes, while the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger was chosen third on a pair of submissions. Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. garnered the other two second-place votes and came in third. Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was selected the sport’s top pitcher, and Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was a unanimous pick for reliever of the year in balloting by a panel of baseball writers and broadcasters that included several former players, managers and executives. WORDS: 376 - MOVED: 10/04/2024 07:00 a.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:acfd843e12056e8bf9ad5c55c3168331

VOL--San Jose State-Canceled Games San Jose State takes volleyball court, loses 1st game of season in wake of several cancellations SUMMARY: The San Jose State women’s volleyball team’s quest for perfection ended with its first loss of the season at Colorado State. The Spartans took the court on Thursday night in the wake of several cancellations by opponents for reasons that have not been specified. The Spartans got an unexpected break in their schedule when Boise State forfeited a game on Sept. 28, one of four programs that have canceled on San Jose State in the last three weeks. The other schools include Utah State and Southern Utah. Political figures from Wyoming, Idaho and Utah have weighed in and suggested the forfeits centered around protecting women’s sports. WORDS: 808 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 10:05 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:d1d0e57d374a86ad47ae84a0a6ad39c9

FBN--Packers-Rams Preview Capsule Packers get next chance to feast on Rams’ struggling defense SUMMARY: The Los Angeles Rams host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, pitting the Packers’ high-powered offense against the Rams’ reeling defense. The Packers couldn’t pull off a comeback against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in a 31-29 loss at home. The Rams were done in by red zone struggles and poor run defense in a 24-18 defeat at the Chicago Bears on Sunday. WORDS: 1189 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 08:22 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:1f40bbb269c694a3ca0e1db8f5f470c1

SOC--NWSL-Angel City Sanctions NWSL fines Angel City $200K, docks 3 points from standings for salary cap violations SUMMARY: Angel City FC has been fined $200,000 and docked three points from the current league standings by the National Women’s Soccer League for violating terms of the salary cap. The NWSL announced the sanctions on Thursday. It also suspended Angel City President and CEO Julie Uhrman and GM Angela Hucles Mangano from “duties related to any player transactions” for the rest of the season. The points deduction dropped Angel City to 12th place in the 14-team league with four matches left. WORDS: 260 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 07:56 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:26c71be1f7abd376aa669db700c79343

BKN--Lakers-Preseason Plan LeBron James, Anthony Davis will play in Lakers’ first preseason games in Palm Springs, Redick says SUMMARY: LeBron James and Anthony Davis will play at some point during the Los Angeles Lakers’ first two preseason games this weekend. James and Davis could play in one or both games, new head coach JJ Redick said Thursday before the Lakers headed to the Coachella Valley. Los Angeles will face Minnesota on Friday and Phoenix on Sunday in Palm Desert, California. The decision means James could be on the court this weekend with Bronny James, his oldest son and the Lakers’ second-round draft pick. No father and son have ever played in the NBA at the same time, let alone on the same team. WORDS: 467 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 06:47 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:e90177949654227cfb58c05a522ee0e7

FBN--Rams-Red Zone Rams OC Mike LaFleur focused on resolving red zone woes, not facing brother on opposite sideline SUMMARY: Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is more focused on his team’s ongoing struggles in the red zone than another game against his brother, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. This is the fifth meeting between the brothers since Matt LaFleur became an NFL head coach in 2019. Mike LaFleur, in his second season with the Rams, is trying to help fix an offense which has scored seven touchdowns in 17 trips inside the 20-yard line amid a 1-3 start to the season. WORDS: 739 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 06:40 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:a8e6fe0328d2d0a653b1740b837f8e26

FBC--T25-USC-Minnesota Preview Miller Moss and No. 11 USC’s prolific aerial attack face the FBS-leading pass defense in Minnesota SUMMARY: Minnesota has the best pass defense in the FBS with an average of 96.8 yards allowed per game. The Gophers face a tough test this week against 11th-ranked USC. Miller Moss is 11th in the nation in passing yards for the Trojans. Moss passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns while connecting with nine different receivers in the last game against Wisconsin on the way to a 38-21 victory. The Trojans are 3-1 overall and 1-1 in their entry into the Big Ten. The Gophers are 2-3 and 0-2. WORDS: 988 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 06:24 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:01bab584ee18a9e9d1fe725d902bb559

BBN--NLDS-Dodgers Pitching Dodgers to flip Flaherty and Yoshinobu in rotation against rival Padres in NLDS SUMMARY: The Los Angeles Dodgers are flipping Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in their rotation for the National League Division Series against the rival San Diego Padres. Yamamoto will start Game 1 on Saturday and Flaherty will go in Game 2 on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The changes were made so Yamamoto can be available for a potential Game 5 on an extra day of rest as he’s had for every outing this season. Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, says the moves are about creating flexibility when they don’t know how the team’s pitching will be used in the early games of the series. WORDS: 643 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 05:20 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:e274e8503c5daaff772f25acfe41f316

BKC--Big Ten Media Day-Notebook Big Ten commissioner says league has ‘positive feelings’ toward expanding NCAA Tournament SUMMARY: Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti joined a chorus of major conference leaders suggesting the NCAA Tournament be expanded beyond the current 68 teams. He says there are ‘some positive feelings towards expansion in our league’ but details would need to be worked out. The NCAA presented a plan to Division I conference commissioners that would expand the lucrative men’s and women’s basketball tournaments by four or eight teams alongside an option to leave each field at 68, according to a person familiar with the details told The Associated Press in June. The SEC’s Greg Sankey, ACC’s Jim Phillips and Brett Yormark have all at least floated the idea of adding teams to the tournament. WORDS: 572 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 04:19 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:0bb9fac8cab594f78e01d78f333208ae

BKC--Big Ten Media Day Conference expansion creates intriguing matchups for Big Ten SUMMARY: UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and Washington start their first year in the Big Ten in a few weeks. And along with the added revenue streams and recruiting avenues and potential travel headaches and everything else that comes with expansion, it’s also created some intriguing matchups. UCLA and Indiana will be playing for just the second time since 1992 when the storied programs meet at Assembly Hall. Their most recent game was in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The two schools have played 12 times with the past seven meetings on neutral sites. The most recent home game for either team was at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in 1960. They haven’t played in Bloomington, Ind., since 1956. WORDS: 832 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 04:15 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:c97503c9d3e82b861cc4249d4f8f1365

HKN--Sharks-Revival Rookies Celebrini and Smith give Sharks fans a reason to be excited SUMMARY: The San Jose Sharks enter the season with a high level of excitement after years of on-ice struggles and fan apathy. San Jose bottomed out with 19 wins last season but ended up winning the draft lottery and taking Hobey Baker Award winner Macklin Celebrini with the first pick. Celebrini and 2023 first-rounder Will Smith are part of a young core that has the fanbase energized and provides hope the Sharks can become contenders again soon. WORDS: 828 - MOVED: 10/03/2024 03:09 p.m. PDT https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:00f29518523738ed52980f0bfdb7c608