Latest news with #Angelinos
New York Post
19 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
LA anti-ICE rioters enrage locals with revolting anti-American displays and contempt for law and order: ‘Everything that is happening is very bad'
LOS ANGELES — Rioters called for the destruction of the US and spit on a flaming American flag while chanting 'burn it down' in a sickening caught-on-video display — as the violent protests entered their fourth day in the City of Angels. The sickening scene unfolded Sunday night as other rioters looted businesses and rained bricks, scooters and other deadly missiles onto cops from a highway overpass. And many Angelinos are fed up with the anti-American madness. 'Everything that is happening is very bad,' said Maria Fabila, owner of a Mexican dress shop near the site of a rash of smash-and-grab looting Sunday night, adding that customers have forfeited deposits on dresses and suits because they're afraid to go out in the streets. The protests began Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a series of raids around the city, rounding up more than 100 illegal immigrants. Hundreds took to the streets in opposition, waving anti-ICE signs and Mexican flags while facing off against cops and federal immigration officers. Anti-ICE protesters burned and ripped up American flags. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock But the demonstrations soon descended into anarchy in downtown LA and the nearby cities of Compton and Paramount on Saturday and Sunday night — as rioters burned cars, vandalized public buildings and property and even looted local businesses, much of the destruction captured on video. An ICE source told The Post the protesters — whether they know it or not — are advocating 'for the actual criminals … sex offenders and the terrorists' the agency is targeting in its raids, exhibiting a gross misunderstanding of who is guilty or innocent. 'You have criminals, gang members, terrorists, child molesters, sex offenders that are being arrested, but since people don't know the background of the case or what's going on, everybody's innocent,' the source described. 'And that's who they're protesting for, the actual criminals that are being arrested, the sex offenders, the terrorists, all that.' Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of downtown LA throughout the weekend — including at least one group with ties to the Democratic Party and another linked to the Chinese Communist Party. Disturbing footage of one downtown riot shows a rowdy mob setting an American flag on fire in the streets, spitting on Old Glory as a man with a bullhorn spewed anti-American slogans through a megaphone to egg on the braying herd. One group of demonstrators burned an American flag in the middle of the street while angrily spitting at Old Glory. AFP via Getty Images 'This is not just a gesture, this is something we need to make real. We need to take down this empire once and for all,' the man called out to the crowd, some of whom stepped into the circle to spray the flag with lighter fluid. On Sunday night, the havoc devolved into looting as thugs smashed their way into businesses — including a Foot Locker, a T-Mobile store and a local convenience shop — and helped themselves to anything that wasn't nailed down. In an act of absolute lawlessness, a gang of hoodlums rushed inside the shoe store and emerged minutes later with large stacks of Nike sneakers still in the box as onlookers cheered them on. Footage of inside the businesses filmed through the destroyed front doors showed the stores had been virtually picked clean by the criminal thugs, who fled into the night with their plundered lucre. Pedro Perez, who was working at a Boost Mobile store in a Compton strip mall that was hit by vandals, said the criminal behavior ran counter to the stated purpose of the protests. 'Spray painting and all this damage, that's not helping anybody. And right here whey they were spray painting, mainly all these people are all Hispanic owners,' he told The Post. 'The whole point is to be united, and you guys are damaging your own people's businesses. I just think it's stupid.' Most residents interviewed by The Post in this bright blue city said they blame Trump for escalating the situation — even as they acknowledged that the rioters are making everything worse. Earlier Sunday, at least 2,000 anti-ICE protesters took over LA's 101 Freeway, bringing traffic to a standstill as California Highway Patrol officers in riot gear responded and corralled the crowd onto an exit ramp, forcing them off the roadway. The freeway briefly reopened, but was shut down again around 7:30 p.m. after rioters began hurling objects including bricks onto southbound lanes, damaging police cards, the LAPD said. The simmering violence became so out of control that President Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard to Los Angeles on Saturday, and mobilized 700 active-duty Marines early Monday evening. California's lefty Gov. Gavin Newsom said he plans on filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the National Guard deployment, and dared Trump's border czar Tom Homan to slap him in cuffs in an interview with NBC News. 'Come after me. Arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy,' he taunted. This prompted the president to fire back that he would arrest Newsom if he was Homan. Speaking on MSNBC Monday, Homan said the ICE raids that sparked the riots in the first place had nothing to do with rounding up migrants. They were part of an ongoing criminal investigation into money laundering, tax evasion and customs fraud. 'It was to serve of three criminal warrants at locations based on a large criminal conspiracy that ICE is investigating,' Homan told the outlet. However, ICE was spotted operating across Southern California again on Monday — with federal law enforcement sources saying, 'We're going harder now … we're not backing down.' The Justice Department said that anyone who broke the law will be found and punished. 'This Department of Justice is actively investigating several cases for prosecution and working to identify any rioter who broke federal law.'
USA Today
02-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Luka Doncic on one thing he doesn't like about Los Angeles
Luka Doncic on one thing he doesn't like about Los Angeles After some initial shock following the trade that sent him from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Dončić seemed to adjust to his new surroundings. He played fairly well as a member of the Lakers, even though they exited the first round of the playoffs in five games, and he gave the franchise a new lease on life as far as hoping to compete for the NBA championship. He can opt out of his contract and become a free agent next summer, but he may have given an indication that he wants to stay with the Lakers long term. During an appearance on the latest episode of LeBron James' "Mind the Game" podcast, he did admit to co-host Steve Nash that there is one thing he dislikes about Los Angeles. However, it is a dislike that most Angelinos share with him. "This is the first city I play in that has an ocean, and I really like the ocean," Doncic said. "First thing, I mean, after a couple days, that was the first thing on my mind, you know. It's a lot. I like it, I like it very much. The only thing is the traffic." Obviously, Los Angeles is infamous for its traffic congestion, as well as its subpar public transportation. However, its many upsides greatly outweigh its transportation problems, especially when someone makes the type of money that Doncic makes. His contract will pay him a hair under $46 million next season, and since he isn't eligible for a supermax contract yet, some expect him to sign a three-year extension fairly soon. That would allow him to then receive a supermax deal as soon as 2028, at which point he would've put in 10 years of NBA experience.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beloved L.A. staple Original Pantry Cafe closes after 100 years
Beloved in the city for a century, Los Angeles staple Original Pantry Cafe is closing its doors for good, despite efforts to save it. Loyal customers waited for hours on Sunday to eat one more time at the iconic diner, located on the corner of Figueroa Street and James Wood Boulevard in downtown L.A. 'We're hoping we're not going to have to say goodbye,' one customer shared with KTLA's Angeli Kakade. 'I think you really don't, it stays in your heart forever.' The restaurant was owned by former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, and it was placed in a trust after his death in 2023. While news of the trust selling the pantry has been ongoing for months, Unite Here! Local 11 – representing restaurant employees – was trying to negotiate a contract with the trust to help workers keep their jobs even if the restaurant sells. Demonstrations took place this week to keep the pantry open – without success. Riordan's daughter sent KTLA a statement saying, 'As with most Angelinos, our family saw the Pantry as our home away from home. Our hearts go out to all those involved in the Pantry as it moves on to its next chapter.' This sentiment was shared by hundreds who showed up to bid farewell. The union told KTLA that as of Sunday, the trust wouldn't say if they had a buyer lined up or not, but representatives said the fight isn't over. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
14-02-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Nonprofits allege Los Angeles plan to boost housing development is too weak, illegal
Two housing advocacy organizations sued the city of Los Angeles on Thursday, alleging its recent plan to boost home building is inadequate and fails to comply with state law. In their lawsuit, the groups, Yes In My Back Yard and Californians for Homeownership, allege that the city has not demonstrated its plan can accommodate an additional 255,000 homes as required, in part because the city failed to change the underlying zoning in many neighborhoods. In a news release, Yes In My Back Yard, or YIMBY, said the need for more housing is even more pressing after January's fires wiped away thousands of homes in Los Angeles. 'Angelinos are expecting their government to deliver the housing and infrastructure they need to thrive,' Sonja Trauss, YIMBY executive director, said in a statement. 'We need to rebuild quickly and efficiently.' Economists generally blame a lack of home building as the main driver of California's high prices and rents. The lawsuit filed Thursday covers a complicated process cities go through to try to ensure enough housing can be built. Under the state-mandated process, known as the Housing Element, the city of Los Angeles needed to find land where an additional 255,000 could realistically be built over an eight-year period. To hit that goal, the city changed the underlying zoning in a few communities, including downtown, but relied mostly on a series of new incentive building programs known collectively as the CHIP ordinance, which it approved last week. Under CHIP, while underlying zoning rules stay the same, developers can exceed those limits on size, height and unit count if they include a certain percentage of affordable units. In general, the incentives can only be used in commercial and existing multifamily zones, not areas reserved for single-family houses. In the lawsuit brought by YIMBY and Californians for Homeownership, which is funded by the California Assn. of Realtors, the groups allege the city previously committed to changing the underlying zoning of more neighborhoods, and in failing to do so, violated state law. Matthew Gelfand, counsel for Californians for Homeownership, said Los Angeles initially indicated it needed those additional rezonings to meet its numbers and that by relying on voluntary incentive programs Los Angeles makes it less likely it will produce the large volume of units it needs. Nora Frost, a spokeswoman with the Los Angeles City Planning Department, said the city's plan complies with housing element law and that it is a 'transformative program, driven by extensive, multilingual community engagement, which will significantly increase housing production throughout the city.' Alicia Murillo, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which oversees the implementation of the state housing law, said the agency is evaluating Los Angeles' plan and 'will reach out to the city if there are any questions or concerns.' YIMBY and Californians for Homeownership have a history of suing cities to enforce state housing law. In November, an L.A. County Superior Court judge found the city of Los Angeles illegally denied 78 affordable homes in Sun Valley in a lawsuit brought by YIMBY.
USA Today
31-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
L.A.'s wildfires have intensified city's decades-long housing crisis
On a special episode (first released on January 30, 2025) of The Excerpt podcast: As wildfires continue to erupt across greater Los Angeles, the urgency of the housing crisis is front and center for Angelinos. With thousands of homes gone, the various issues that have plagued the real estate industry since the '80s are just that much more urgent. Where will people live and at what cost? Peter Dreier, an urban and environmental policy professor at Occidental College, joins The Excerpt to discuss the worsening situation and what it means for the people who call L.A. home.
