Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 16.
- President Trump scales back National Guard deployment.
- “American Idol” executive and her husband are found dead.
- And newcomers bring energy to river town of Guerneville.
Statewide
1.
The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would scale back its National Guard deployment in Los Angeles, recalling roughly half of 4,000 soldiers. “Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” said Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman. For several days last month, hundreds of local police officers battled unrest in the city’s downtown while the Guard protected federal buildings. Mayor Karen Bass lifted a curfew on June 17 after protests subsided. She condemned the military deployment as political theater that only inflamed tensions. L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
2.
Rich Lyons, the chancellor of UC Berkeley, faced harsh questioning on Capitol Hill Tuesday during a three-hour hearing about antisemitism on college campuses. In one of the sharpest exchanges, Republicans pressed Lyon to explain why Berkeley professor Ussama Makdisi had not been disciplined over a social media post he made on Feb. 5, 2024. It said, “I could have been one of those who broke through the siege on October 7.” Lyons declined to condemn Makdisi, calling him a “fine scholar.” Rep. Lisa McClain, a Republican from Michigan, retorted: “I’m sure there’s a lot of murderers in prison who are fine people, too.” Washington Post | L.A. Times
3.
President Trump accused California Senator Adam Schiff of mortgage fraud on Tuesday, calling the Democratic rival a “scam artist” who needs to be prosecuted. Administration officials said a criminal case had been referred to the Justice Department. Citing a Fannie Mae financial crimes inquiry, Trump said Schiff had misled lenders about which of his homes serve as his primary residence, helping him secure a cheaper mortgage. Schiff denied wrongdoing, calling the claims a “baseless attempt at political retribution.” Washington Post | L.A. Times
Northern California
4.
A community along the Mendocino Coast is up in arms over a real estate listing that suggests turning a gorgeous oceanfront promontory into a residential subdivision. Marketing materials for the Albion Headlands offer the 84-acre property as 16 residential parcels for a total asking price of $6.95 million, inviting a buyer to “reimagine” the land. It’s galling, said Chris Skyhawk, a local activist. “Let’s reimagine heaven,” he said. “How can we improve it?” A land trust is scrambling to raise money to buy the property and open it to the public. SFGATE
5.
A group of several dozen Indigenous teenagers completed a kayak trip along the entire 310 miles of the Klamath River, from headwaters to sea, last Friday. The trip, which took a month, commemorated the freeing of the river, made navigable by the removal of four dams last year. “I think our ancestors would be proud,” Tasia Linwood, 15, said as the group prepared to make its final push Thursday night. CNN | A.P.
- Watch an inspiring short video on the adventure. 👉 Ríos to Rivers
6.
In the last decade, the Russian River town of Guerneville has attracted a surge of investment from newcomers who have opened shops, restaurants, and recently a buzzy glamping resort. A number of transplants arrived from the Bay Area during the pandemic. Among them was Jimmy Kansau, who bought a mezcal lounge. “In the summer, everybody’s in a good mood,” he said. “Everybody wants to have a party.” Nick Schwanz, a business leader, said young people were coming to Guerneville for the same reason they always have: “It’s absolutely gorgeous.” Sonoma Magazine
Southern California
7.
A longtime “American Idol” executive and her husband were found dead in their Encino home on Monday after what officials described as a robbery that turned violent days earlier. Robin Kaye and Tom DeLuca are believed to have walked in on a burglary suspect in their $4.5-million home last Thursday, after which “a confrontation ensued” that resulted in fatal shootings, police said. On Tuesday, the authorities arrested Raymond Boodarian, a 22-year-old with a record of alleged violent behavior. L.A. Times | TMZ
8.
The authorities took custody of 21 children from a couple in Arcadia who were arrested amid allegations that they were running a sham surrogacy service, reports said. Most of the children are babies and toddlers, and all came from surrogate mothers across the country who thought they were helping a struggling couple. Kayla Elliot, one of the surrogate moms, said the female suspect, Silvia Zhang, 38, told her that the police “are accusing her of selling babies,” which she denies. “It’s horrific,” Elliot said. She said she is trying to get custody of the baby she carried. KTLA | KABC | NBC Los Angeles
9.
During a board meeting in March, a Temecula school board member, Jennifer Wiersma, accused a rival board member of making a sexual remark to her weeks earlier. “You can go ahead and cop a feel if you want,” she alleged Steven Schwartz told her. Schwartz adamantly denied the charge and threatened to sue for defamation. Now an independent law firm has completed an inquiry in the allegation. Its conclusions, in short: Wiersma’s credibility and motives are questionable, and there is no evidence to support her claim. Asked for comment, Wiersma didn’t respond. Press-Enterprise
10.
In 2017, three friends, all high school dropouts, scraped together $900 to start a Nashville-style fried chicken stand in an East Hollywood parking lot. Today, Dave’s Hot Chicken is worth $1 billion, with 320 storefronts spread as far as London and Dubai. Arman Oganesyan, one of the founders, declined to share his net worth, but added, “Let’s just say it’s starting to look like a phone number.” The Los Angeles Times chronicled one of L.A.’s most astounding small-business success stories.
11.
Jack Moran was a 19-year-old in the U.S. Army when he helped liberate Nazi Germany’s Buchenwald concentration camp on April 11, 1945. He was horrified by the sight of emaciated prisoners barely clinging to life. Among them was Andrew Roth, a Jewish Hungarian teenager. More than 80 years later, both men are now approaching 100 years old, and both live in Los Angeles. Last month, they met:
“Are you the soldier who … ” Roth asked from his wheelchair. “Can I hug you?” Roth leaned on his cane and stood.
The two men embraced.
“I was much younger,” Roth said. “So were you.”
“How wonderful that you survived,” Moran said. NPR | Washington Post
- See video of the meeting.
12.
For her new photographic study of Los Angeles, Ayda Gragossian explored pockets of the city that are missed in the routines of a car-bound society. Shot between 2019 and 2023, her pictures show quiet places — a broken old gate hanging off its hinges, a driveway laundry line in the breeze, an overgrown lot behind a chain link fence. The project’s title, “North North South,” is drawn from a broken freeway sign, a nod to the perpetual California condition of traversing freeways. British Journal of Photography
- See more images from “North North South.”
The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412
Wake up to must-read news from around the Golden State delivered to your inbox each morning.