August 25, 2026
August 25, 2026
Federal agents hit two high-end Downtown Los Angeles apartment complexes Tuesday morning in a dramatic early-hours operation that had choppers circling and residents wondering what the hell just happened. FBI teams, some in full tactical gear, served search warrants at the Apex and Alina buildings near 9th and Figueroa - literally blocks from Crypto.com Arena - and a second site at 1010 Wilshire. An LAPD helicopter touched down on the Apex helipad as armed agents climbed out...
Dolly Parton, the beloved country music superstar known for her chart-topping hits, philanthropy, and iconic style, has died at the age of 80. Her death was announced by her publicist on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. No cause of death was provided. Parton had been open in recent months about ongoing health challenges. In September 2025, she shared on Instagram that doctors required her to undergo procedures. At the 2026 seasonal opening of her Dollywood theme park, she spoke of...
Sofia Tsarsitalidou, a promising young track-and-field athlete from Greece, has been turning heads in the long jump this season. Born on August 17, 2007, the 19-year-old competes for the Aiolos Ptolemaidas club in Western Macedonia and has steadily climbed the ranks with consistent improvement and a standout personal best. Tsarsitalidou's breakthrough came on May 24, 2026, at the Alexandrinó meeting in Alexandria, Imathia, where she leaped 6.25 meters. The mark not only...
A brazen stickup near the iconic Santa Monica Pier turned into a shooting Sunday night when one of the punks blasted the victim in the leg - then the whole crew bolted. Cops raced to the Pier ramp around 7:49 p.m. after reports of gunfire. A male victim in his 20s was approached by a group of thugs who tried to rob him. An altercation erupted and one of them opened fire, nailing the target in the leg, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. Officers gave first aid on...
A 6-to-8-foot shark turned a relaxing mid-ocean swim into a real-life Jaws scene for dozens of Coast Guard sailors, forcing an armed watchman to open fire and drive the predator away. On Aug. 21, 2020, the crew of the Honolulu-based Coast Guard Cutter Kimball had wrapped up operations somewhere in Oceania, far from any land or other vessels. After weeks of monotony at sea, about 30 to 40 sailors jumped into the calm Pacific waters for a planned swim call. They brought safety...
A homeless man in Los Angeles has gone viral for constructing an elaborate wooden dwelling that hangs suspended from the underside of a busy freeway overpass, complete with a door, windows, solar panels, a small balcony patio featuring a houseplant and chair, and even water jugs. The striking structure, captured in a driving video circulating widely on X and YouTube since mid-August, appears bolted or suspended high above the street traffic below. Motorists pass underneath as...
Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly signed California’s controversial “Stop Nick Shirley Act” into law on Saturday, August 22, 2026, expanding privacy protections for immigrant aid workers in a move critics say is designed to intimidate citizen journalists exposing taxpayer fraud. Assembly Bill 2624, authored by Oakland Democrat Mia Bonta (wife of state Attorney General Rob Bonta), expands California’s Safe at Home program — originally created for domestic-violence victims...
A sprawling homeless encampment near UC Berkeley student housing has drawn renewed attention after a viral video highlighted piles of tents, debris, and belongings along the streets. In mid-August 2026, ABC7 reporter Lyanne Melendez posted footage of the long-standing camp along the Harrison Street corridor near Eighth Street in West Berkeley while dropping her son off at university housing. The images showed densely packed tents, tarps, shopping carts, furniture, bicycles,...
LOS ANGELES - Graffiti removal is underway at Oceanwide Plaza, the long-abandoned three-tower complex in downtown Los Angeles long known as the "Graffiti Towers," following a bankruptcy court-approved sale to a joint venture of Southern California developer KPC Group and Lendlease. The site, located at 1101 South Flower Street across from Crypto.com Arena, LA Live, and the Los Angeles Convention Center, has stood unfinished and increasingly covered in spray paint since...
Construction cranes are swinging over Santa Monica even as Californians vote with their feet and leave the state. A mixed-use apartment complex is rising on the old Pico Bowl site near Pico Boulevard and Third Street. Senior “affordable” and supportive housing is underway at 14th and Wilshire. Another 78-unit affordable project is climbing at 20th Street near Wilshire. Related towers are advancing toward 26th and Wilshire. All of this is happening while California lost...
On Saturday, August 22, 2026, at approximately 12:49 p.m. PST, a Santa Monica police officer fatally shot a man near the 1400 block of Ocean Avenue in Palisades Park. Officers had responded to a reported domestic violence call in the park (an area known for significant homeless presence). While interviewing witnesses, an unrelated man armed with a knife charged toward them. He ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon and continued advancing. One officer fired a single...
Nick Shirley is a heroic journalist to those on the right, while those on the left dismiss him as a "Right wing agitator." Either way he gets a rise from people. On a stiff August afternoon outside the California State Capitol, the independent reporter stood tall and erect on the sidewalk, thrusting his microphone into the faces of lawmakers while probing Assembly Bill 2624. Critics had already dubbed the measure the "Stop Nick Shirley Act," claiming Democrats were trying to...
Santa Monica police and fire personnel responded Friday, August 14, 2026, to a death investigation in the 1100 block of 7th Street, where an adult was pronounced dead at the scene following an apparent suicide. The individual, later identified as 90-year-old Maurice Robson, was found on a sixth-floor construction balcony at Westminster Tower, a 17-story residential building undergoing exterior renovations. Preliminary information from the Santa Monica Police Department...
