Determined to build a home. Determined to make the 'perfect place' that would sustain generations of his family beyond him.

It was the late 1970s. And Altadena represented a new horizon — an American town where the elder Dyson and his family could build a future.

Little could he have foreseen back then the catastrophe that would come a handful of years since his passing amid the Covid-19 pandemic years:

That dark morning, 3 a.m.-ish Jan. 8, 2025, when the next generation of his family watched the Eaton fire burn closer and closer to their Grandeur Avenue property.

No official evacuation alert came. Only instinct, and a belated recognition from family and friends that there was no way to stay. It was time to go. They had to get out before the flames consumed their home, and the thousands of others in its already disastrous path.

And within a matter of seconds, it did.

Fast forward to Friday, Dec. 5, and after months of living the unsettled life of a displaced family in small places from Rancho Cucamonga to Glendale, John Dyson, his wife Darlina and his sister Deborah were all smiles.

They ceremoniously became the first fire survivors in West Altadena to receive an occupancy certificate declaring their new home OKd for living in.

They arent the first to receive such a green light. Earlier this week, the first county occupancy permit went to a homeowner up the road, a larger home more in the foothills area. The first Pasadena resident to receive such a safety permit recently got it for a rebuilt home in the scorched Hastings Ranch neighborhood of Pasadena.

But in this part of the unincorporated town in recovery mode, where evacuation alerts were late to come, where many are still contemplating whether they can afford to come back, it’s a welcome first.

The Dysons’ return to their property in a rebuilt home — a 1,470-square-foot, three bedroom, two bath, with a baby blue exterior (conjuring up John Dysons love for the L.A. Dodgers), its bright yellow door, and its ADU in the back — offered a glimpse at what many hope is a future in a part of town known for its diversity, smaller parcels and many charming single-family homes.

John and Darllina Dyson sat in their fresh new kitchen, taking in the moment, and the moments that led the cusp of moving again.

They bounced words off each other: 'Amazing.' 'Overwhelmed.' 'Relieved.'

Like many, there was a time when they were uncertain they would be back here, let alone only nearly a year later.

'We just werent sure,' Darlina Dyson said.

'I knew it was going to be a big reach,' said John Dyson, reflecting on the SBA loan they took out, coupled with hopes that a Southern California Edison compensation plan might get them close to some financial equilibrium.

And what about his sister, Deborah? If the family moved somewhere else, where would she and her daughter go, they thought.

It became apparent in those early months that the family would take a chance, and rebuild, containing the line of generations that the elder Dyson started so long ago. After all, this was the home he helped his father build so long ago.

'Its a bet that well find a way to work out,' he said.

Five months later, their home on Friday was a converging point for neighbors and friends, who came to check out the moment when county officials signed the occupancy permits for the family.

L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena, as one of an array of towns in the Fifth District, said the moment was a reminder of the need to preserve generational wealth in an area, where many see it threatened.

Its here where many could still afford a home, often passed on through generations in families.

Its here, from its founding in 1887 through the 1920s, Black Americans settled in Altadena from Georgia, Texas, and other states, establishing generational legacies that remained.

Altadenas large Black population grew more in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of redlining in Pasadena.

Like the Dysons, their descendants stayed. And they helped catalyze a Black home ownership rate in Altadena that was almost double the national average.

Its a picture that is threatened as Altadena recovers and rebuilds.

Altadenas residents are immersed in a post-Eaton fire rebuild process complicated by what at times was a slow-moving permitting process (one that has received praise of late for moving faster), economic uncertainty, underinsurance issues and the entry of outside investors, who have bought up two-thirds of severely damaged homes in the area, according to a recent UCLA fact sheet.

The Dysons took the leap, which thousands know isnt easy. As many pointed out on Friday, not many in Southern California have actually built a house.

Upwards of 2,300 survivors have applied for permits to rebuild. But Barger said shes focused in Altadena on the more than 4,000 who have not begun the process.

'We just need to do a better job of reaching out to people and finding out what are the barriers,' said Barger, noting acute issues within the states insurance infrastructure that are holding people back, along with uncertainty.

'Once you start, you realize you can put one foot in front of another,' she said. 'So we need to start getting them to start putting one foot in front of the other.'

In the background, lawsuits against Southern California Edison and the utilitys compensation plan have paused the process for many as they contemplate what to do.

But ultimately, the decision to rebuild has come down to affordability.

'Some of the customers Ive been able to engage in conversations with, a lot of them are afraid of being able to afford it,' said Gabriel Martinez, of West Coast Designs & Renovations, Inc., the Dysons’ contractor. But again, if you really think about what you need and what you want, you need to weigh those out.

“This is a life thats been turned upside down over night. Its not just rebuilding a home, but its rebuilding a life that youve lost. But it can be done.'

Martinez said the building was “personal” for many of his crew, who saw what the survivors were going through.

John Dysons sister, Deborah, was also processing it all on Friday, as she proudly held a certificate of occupancy for the ADU shell call home.

It came back to generational wealth, and her father, Carl Sr. The moment was about something bigger.

'My dad said this is just the perfect place,' she said, reflecting on his determination to have a home.

'Wed always lived in apartments. When we were 5 and 6 we came here, but he said ‘were going to have a house.'

She remembered the generations of family coming in and out of the old place — just the way her dad had hoped.

Then she pointed to a big cactus at the front of the property, planted by her and Johns mother and grandmother in the early Altadena days.

It survived the fire, the debris clearance and the construction — perhaps a sign of hope that the Altadena they are returning will survive.

'If they are trying to make it where people are running and speculating and buying up, that’s not going to work here,' she said. 'We dont need that. “We need this to be a home and family where we can walk down the street to talk to one another and stay diverse.'

WASHINGTON (AP) ' The Trump administration is bringing back dozens of Education Department staffers who were slated to be laid off, saying their help is needed to tackle a mounting backlog of discrimination complaints from students and families.

The staffers had been on administrative leave while the department faced lawsuits challenging layoffs in the agencys Office for Civil Rights, which investigates possible discrimination in the nations schools and colleges. But in a Friday letter, department officials ordered the workers back to duty starting Dec. 15 to help clear civil rights cases.

A department spokesperson confirmed the move, saying the government still hoped to lay off the staffers to shrink the size of the department.

'The Department will continue to appeal the persistent and unceasing litigation disputes concerning the Reductions in Force, but in the meantime, it will utilize all employees currently being compensated by American taxpayers,' Julie Hartman said in a statement.

In the letter to employees, obtained by The Associated Press, officials said the department needs 'all OCR staff to prioritize OCRs existing complaint caseload.' The office handles everything from complaints about possible violations of disability rights to racial discrimination.

More than 200 workers from the Office for Civil Rights were targeted in mass layoffs at the department, but the firings have been tied up in legal battles since March. An appeals court cleared the way for the cuts in September, but theyre again on hold because of a separate lawsuit. In all, the Education Department workforce has shrunk from 4,100 when President Donald Trump took office to roughly half that size now, as the president vows to wind down the agency.

The department did not say how many workers are returning to duty. Some who have been on administrative leave for months have since left.

The Office for Civil Rights had a backlog of about 20,000 discrimination cases when Trump took office in January. Since then, with a significantly reduced workforce, the backlog has grown to more than 25,000, AP reporting has shown using department data.

Trump officials have defended the layoffs even as complaints pile up, saying the office wasnt operating efficiently, even at full staff.

The Office for Civil Rights enforces many of the nations laws about civil rights in education, including those barring discrimination based on disability, sex, race and religion. It investigates complaints from students across the country and has the power to cut funding to schools and colleges that violate the law, though most cases are resolved in voluntary agreements.

Some former staffers have said theres no way the office can address the current backlog under the staffing levels left after the layoffs. Families who have filed discrimination complaints against their schools say they have noticed the departments staffing shortages, with some waiting months and hearing nothing.

The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

A federal law enforcement operation at an Arizona taco shop resulted in a fracas on Friday, with agents deploying pepper spray as a group of protesters tried to stop authorities.

Two agents were injured, and U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva was in the vicinity as protesters were sprayed. The Democratic congresswoman from Arizona took to social media, claiming she was sprayed in the face and accused immigration enforcement officers of operating without transparency or accountability.

'While I am fine, if that is the way they treat me, how are they treating other community members who do not have the same privileges and protections that I do?' she said in a statement.

It was less than a month ago that Grijalva was sworn in as the newest member of Congress. She won special election in September to fill the House seat last held by her late father.

In a video posted to social media, Grijalva said she, two members of her staff and members of the media were harassed and sprayed by agents during a federal immigration raid that local residents had interrupted 'because they were afraid that they were taking people without due process, without any kind of notice.'

The video shows a man stepping in front of Grijalva, raising his arm and turning the congresswoman away as a federal agent sprays nearby protesters. Later in the video, as Grijalva continues walking in the street, a projectile is seen landing near her foot.

She said she did not know what substance she was sprayed with, but it was 'still affecting' her with a cough.

Federal officials confirmed that Grijalva was not pepper sprayed and that agents with Homeland Security Investigations were targeting multiple Tucson restaurants as part of a years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations. Several search warrants were served across southern Arizona on Friday as part of the operation.

In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the group gathered in Tucson as a mob. She said two agents were seriously injured during the clash and took issue with Grijalva’s account of what happened.

'If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. But theyre not true. She wasnt pepper sprayed. She was in the vicinity of someone who (asterisk)was(asterisk) pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement,' McLaughlin wrote. 'Presenting ones self as a ‘Member of Congress doesnt give you the right to obstruct law enforcement.'

Authorities used yellow tape to cordon off the restaurant and its parking lot as agents removed boxes from the building early Friday. By mid-morning, protesters had gathered outside with signs and whistles. Some in the group were hit with pepper spray as they tried to keep federal vehicles from leaving the area.

Tucson police said federal tactical agents responded to extract investigative special agents from the area where the protesters were gathered. After deploying chemical munitions, police said federal agents then requested emergency support from local authorities to help with exiting the area.

Grijalva thanked officers from the Tucson Police Department for 'making sure everyone is safe' and stressed that the local officers had not interrupted traffic or harassed local residents. They did not make any arrests. 'They were not the aggressors here,' she said.

The Arizona Democrats experience is the latest incident this year of members of Congress being stonewalled by or put in physical altercations with federal law enforcement officers while attempting to conduct congressional oversight. The incidents have typically involved congressional Democrats appearing at federal immigration facilities or at immigration raids.

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, is in an ongoing legal dispute with the Trump administration after a May altercation at a Newark immigration facility in her district. And Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, was thrown to the ground and detained by federal agents in June after appearing at a press conference for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.

U.S. airlines were notified this week that an investigation is underway into whether they complied with an emergency order requiring flight cuts at 40 major airports during the record government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday.

The FAA warned in letters sent Monday that the airlines could face fines of up to $75,000 for each flight over the mandated reductions, which fluctuated between 3%, 4%, and 6%. The airlines have 30 days to provide documentation showing they complied with the order, the agency said Friday in a statement.

The 43-day shutdown that began Oct. 1 led to long delays as unpaid air traffic controllers missed work, citing stress and the need to take on side jobs. The FAA said requiring all commercial airlines to cut domestic flights was unprecedented but necessary to ensure safe air travel until staffing at its control towers and facilities improved.

After the shutdown ended Nov. 12, airlines seemed to anticipate that the FAA would lift or relax the restrictions. With the order still in place on Nov. 14 requiring 6% cuts, just 2% of scheduled U.S. departures that day were canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

More than 10,000 flights were canceled between Nov. 7, when the order took effect, and Nov. 16, when the FAA announced it was lifting all flight restrictions. Delta Air Lines said Wednesday it lost $200 million, the first disclosure by a major airline regarding the shutdowns financial impact.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hasnt shared the specific safety data that he and the head of the FAA said prompted the cuts, but Duffy cited reports during the shutdown of planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers responses.

Large hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta were impacted by the cancellations. The FAA originally had a 10% reduction target.

The government picked a company with little experience working with the Federal Aviation Administration called Peraton to oversee the roughly $31.5 billion overhaul of the outdated air traffic control system.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday evening that Peraton was chosen in the hope that its innovative approach will make it possible to complete the upgrades within the next three years before the end of President Donald Trumps term in office ends. Peraton was chosen over Parsons Corp., which does have extensive experience with FAA contracts.

'Working together, we are going to build on the incredible progress weve already made and deliver a state-of-the-art air traffic control system that the American traveling public ' and our hard-working air traffic controllers ' deserve,' Duffy said in the announcement.

Heres what to know about the modernization project and the company hired to oversee it:

A $12.5 billion down payment on the project

Earlier this year, Congress approved $12.5 billion as a down payment on the project after technical problems twice knocked out the radar for air traffic controllers managing planes around Newark Liberty International Airport. This year began with the worst American aviation disaster in years when an airliner collided with an Army helicopter over Washington D.C., killing 67 people.

Duffy has said hell need roughly $20 billion more to complete the upgrade.

This effort to upgrade the technology controllers use is on a much more aggressive timeline than the previous NextGen effort that began shortly after the turn of the century and failed to deliver all the benefits it promised even after an investment of $36 billion. The Biden administration had estimated that upgrading the system might take more than a decade.

The FAA hasnt yet released the details of how much Peraton will be paid for this contract, but the agency said it includes incentives to reward good performance and penalties for shortcomings.

Upgrades needed to avoid delays and prepare for drones and flying taxis

The technical problems that disrupted flights at the Newark airport in the spring demonstrated just how fragile the nations aging air traffic control system is. And Duffy has said those kind of technical failures in a system that too often still relies on copper wires and floppy discs could happen anywhere unless the system is upgraded.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed in Newark. After the radar outages, the facility in Philadelphia that controls the flights in and out of Newark had a half dozen controllers go on leave, which forced the reductions in flights.

The number of flights across the country each day that the FAA has to safely manage is expected to continue growing in the years ahead. And drones will continue to proliferate across the country as flying taxis start to take to the air.

Everyone agrees that the air traffic control system must be modernized to be able to handle those future demands.

Ambitious timeline for the upgrades

John Rose, chief risk adviser for global travel management company ALTOUR, said the three-year timeline is 'extremely aggressive' but partially realistic. He said its plausible for the FAA to build the foundation for a modern air traffic control network in its tight timeline, with more advanced capabilities layered on later.

'You need to build the base before you can have all the bells and whistles,' he said. 'If the project gets to the core structure in three years, I think weve accomplished the mission.'

He likened it to an iPhone where once you have a robust base system you can upgrade the software like when the phone gets an iOS update. 'If they build the infrastructure, then as things change from a technology capability, its almost like a plug and play,' he said.

Air Traffic Control Association President and CEO Stephen Creamer represents the companies that make the gear that Peraton and the FAA will use to complete the upgrades. He said it helps that the new system wont have to be built from scratch.

'The technology thats needed in the system is not cutting edge technology. Its been tested and trialed all over the world in various places. We know what the capabilities of it are. We know what the risks of those installations are in a way that we wouldnt know if we were trying to do it and be the first one out of the gate,' Creamer said.

Why is this contract needed?

Duffy said that putting a private company in charge should help this project get done more quickly, and Peratons expertise with complex technical systems and artificial intelligence will help.

Peraton has said the fact that it doesnt have a history of work at the FAA might actually help because it wont be biased to working with the same companies that have failed in the past.

And after all the cuts to the federal workforce Trump made this year and the early retirements. Creamer said that FAA needs the help to complete this project because it no longer has the staff to do it.

The expectation is that Peraton will be able to award contracts to other companies more quickly than FAA would be able to because it wont be limited by the same process. That does introduce the possibility that mistakes could be made, but Creamer said 'I think theres plenty of checks and balances in the administrative system to ensure that theres not gonna be substantial waste or fraud or abuse.'

Peraton has worked on other government tech upgrades

Peraton has worked on multibillion-dollar technology contracts for the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Special Operations Command and the National Park Service along with the military and other agencies.

The company is owned by Veritas Capital private equity firm, so it doesnt have shareholders. Its board of advisers is full of an assortment of former military and intelligence officials. A Peraton spokesman said the company was too busy getting started on the contract to do any interviews Friday, but its CEO Steve Schorer promised in a statement that his team is committed to completing this project.

'Our highly-skilled, dedicated, and talented team of engineers, technologists, and mission experts stands ready to hit the ground running to deliver a system Americans can count on ' one that is more secure, more reliable, and a model for the world to follow,' Schorer said.

The companys political action committee donated a quarter-million dollars to politicians last year with a little over half of that going to Republicans, according to www.opensecrets.org.

Improvements already underway

Duffy said that the FAA has already been working on making improvements and more than one-third of the old copper wires that air traffic controllers were relying on have been replaced with fiber optic lines or other modern connections.

But some of the advancements like installing new systems to help controllers keep track of planes on the ground at 44 airports began during the last administration.

And significant work remains ahead to install more than 27,600 new radios and 612 new radar systems. The old connections still need to upgraded at thousands of additional facilities, and six new air traffic control centers are scheduled to be built.

A coroner’s report released more than six years ago found that Skaggs had the powerful painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his system, as well as alcohol, and had choked on his vomit before he died in a Texas hotel room at the beginning of a team road trip.

The fentanyl — which was inside a counterfeit oxycodone pill — was key to an earlier criminal trial against Eric Kay, the Angels communications staffer who had been providing Skaggs and other players with illicit opioids. That earlier jury found that “but for” the pill with fentanyl that Kay had provided, Skaggs would not have died. And that verdict led to a more than 20-year prison sentence for Kay.

But the earlier verdict from a Texas jury didn’t necessarily outline what exact role the oxycodone and alcohol played in the death of Skaggs. And that is now a key question for the current Orange County jury tasked with deciding whether the Angels bear any responsibility for his death.

Dr. Shaun Carstairs — an emergency medicine physician and medical toxicologist who testified on Wednesday and Friday as an expert on behalf of the team — said the mix of multiple substances led to Skaggs’ death.

Carstairs estimated that Skaggs had consumed 11 to 13 alcoholic drinks — likely on the team flight to Texas — and then after arriving at his hotel chopped up the counterfeit pill with a room key and used a hollowed out ballpoint pen to snort the powder. Five pink pills containing oxycodone and another counterfeit pill were found in Skaggs’ room after his death.

The doctor compared mixing fentanyl with alcohol or other substances to playing Russian roulette.

“This is not just putting one bullet in the chamber, it is putting five bullets in a six-chamber revolver,” he testified.

Kay obtained counterfeit pills — which Carstairs described as “M30 pills” meant to contain 30 milligrams of oxycodone — from dealers he met online. Such illicitly manufactured pills generally either come from China, or the precursor chemicals that create them are sent to Mexico and the pills are sent to the United States, Carstairs said.

“The incidents of counterfeit M30 pills are very high,” the doctor testified. “If someone is obtaining these pills illicitly, I think there would be a significant change it would not contain what they think it contains.”

Carstairs also testified that by snorting rather than swallowing the pill, Skaggs received a three to four times higher dose of fentanyl.

Earlier in the trial, Dr. Stacey Hail — an expert on emergency medicine and toxicology who testified on behalf of the Skaggs family — argued that the fentanyl was the cause of Skaggs’ death, and contended the oxycodone and alcohol were not substantial factors.

Based on abrupt ends to text conversations Skaggs was carrying on with his wife and a teammate, Hail testified, the pitcher died quickly after ingesting the fentanyl.

“I believe the fentanyl was the last thing that was used prior to his rapid loss of consciousness and death,” she testified.

Hail said Skaggs had built up a tolerance to oxycodone and described him as having a “Tuesday night” level of alcohol intoxication based on patients she routinely sees in a Texas emergency room. She added that snorting the fentanyl pill made no difference.

Based on the position Skaggs was found in — laying down with the boots he was wearing as part of an effort by him and other teammates to dress up as cowboys for the trip hanging off the bed — indicates a quick death, Hail added.

“My opinion was Tyler Skaggs would not have died but for the fentanyl,” she testified.

During the testimony of the defense witness on Friday, an attorney for the Skaggs family also questioned his estimate about how many drinks Skaggs consumed on what would have been a roughly three hour flight.

“One beer every 13 minutes?” Attorney Daniel Dutko said to Carstairs. “That is a lot of liquor.”

What role the illicit pill provided by an Angels employee played and whether Skaggs’ own actions solely caused his death could potentially factor into the jury’s decision regarding whether the  ball club is responsible.

Orange County Superior Court Judge H. Shaina Colover repeatedly has told jurors to expect to begin deliberations in the case the week after next, leaving just one more week of testimony. Attorneys for the Angels have said they don’t know how they will fit all their remaining witnesses into that time frame, and have asked the judge to limit the amount of time the attorneys for Skaggs family has to question the upcoming defense witnesses.

Testimony in the trial resumes Monday, Dec. 8 in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.

The notice, signed by Isaiah Padilla, the logistics general manager for Howard’s, said the company was closing its business operations, effective Dec. 6, due to “circumstances beyond our control.”

Padilla could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The company began in 1946 as a radio repair shop in San Gabriel and later evolved into one of Southern California’s leading independent appliance retailers, expanding into televisions and mattresses.

Howard’s was based in La Habra for years before consolidating operations in 2024 to a new headquarters in City of Industry. It was acquired in April by S5 Equity, a private equity firm based in Newport Beach, to help with the cash-starved company’s turnaround.

S5 Equity Managing Director Baudelio Bueno did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment.

Social media reports indicated employees were notified on Thursday, Dec. 4 that they had been laid off.

“My parent just ordered a new range from Howard’s and then saw this morning they are all closing? They haven’t received the range yet, and apparently all the stores are closing as of tomorrow. My mom called 4 different stores and no one is picking up,” wrote one Reddit member, with 41 people commenting on the post by late Friday afternoon.

Representatives at stores in Alhambra, Covina, La Habra and Tustin could not be reached, and the Howard’s website also was down. Howard’s operated at least 17 stores before it was acquired.

At the time of the S5 acquisition earlier this year, Peter Boutros, the chief executive officer of Howard’s Appliance, said it was “poised for the future.”

“It’s not just about sustaining our legacy ' this acquisition is about building upon it,” he said in a statement in April.

S5 Equity, an investment firm led by the Steinhafel family, made its first acquisition in 2022, when it partnered with Prelude Wine Holdings to buy Wiens Cellars in Temecula. In March 2025, it bought Minnesota-based Heartland America, a discount catalog and online retailer for consumers seeking to buy electronics, houseware and apparel.

The Steinhafel family has connections with Steinhafels Furniture in Wisconsin, as well as Gregg Steinhafel, who resigned as president and chief executive officer of Minnesota-based Target Corp. in 2014 following a data breach that exposed 40 million credit and debit card accounts.

S5 Equity is led by managing partner and founder David Steinhafel.

Customers of Howards Appliance are upset that theyre not receiving the appliances that they purchased ' or want.

Back in September, Paul and Donna Brewer of Laguna Niguel paid $6,152.07 for a Speed Queen washer and dryer, including pedestals and accessories, from their local Orange County store.

Delivery was promised by the end of October, but the appliances never came. They threatened to cancel the order if they didnt arrive by Dec. 12, as promised.

'We have, as of two days ago, made payments of $1,500,' said Paul Brewer, who provided a copy of his sales receipt. 'We either want to receive our refund of $1,500 or the appliance, per our agreement.'

Brea couple Lily and Alan Marcum, both in their 70s, bought a Frigidaire brand refrigerator for $3,500 at the La Habra store but decided that they wanted to trade it back in for a GE model.

Lily Marcum said that she has a bad back and didnt want to stoop over when pulling out the two bottom freezer drawers.

They paid $411.98 to trade out the Frigidaire model for a GE model, and have been promised delivery of the new one since September. 'We charged the full amount,' said Lily Marcum of the purchase.

'Its a real piece of work,' she said of the Frigidaire. 'Its not very good. We want a refund.'

If you are a customer waiting on an order from Howard’s Appliance, please contact staff writer Pat Maio at pmaio@scng.com.

Torrance police Department responded on Oct. 30 to a report of someone riding a gas-powered minibike inside the Del Amo Fashion Center.

“When contacted by mall security personnel, the rider allegedly attempted to strike a security officer with the minibike, constituting an assault with a deadly weapon,” Torrance Lt. Charles Fisher said.

Detectives reviewed security footage and collected evidence that identified the suspect, Fisher said.

“Detectives ultimately authored and obtained an arrest warrant … as well as a search warrant for his residence,” the lieutenant said.

Officers served both warrants Wednesday, Dec. 3, in North Hollywood and took the suspect into custody, Fisher said.

“The minibike involved in the (alleged) assault, along with additional evidence, was recovered during the search,” he said.

The case has been presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for felony-filing consideration.

NEW YORK (AP) ' A former high-level agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and an associate have been charged with conspiring to launder millions of dollars and obtain military-grade firearms and explosives for a Mexican drug cartel, according to an indictment unsealed Friday in New York.

Paul Campo, 61, of Oakton, Virginia, who retired from the DEA in 2016 after a 25-year career, and Robert Sensi, 75, of Boca Raton, Florida, were caught in sting involving a law enforcement informant who posed as a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, prosecutors said.

The cartel, also know as CJNG, was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. in February.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Campo betrayed his DEA career by helping the cartel, which he said was responsible for 'countless deaths through violence and drug trafficking in the United States and Mexico.'

Campo and Sensi appeared Friday afternoon before a magistrate judge in New York, who ordered them detained without bail. Their lawyers entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.

Campos lawyer, Mark Gombiner, called the indictment 'somewhat sensationalized and somewhat incoherent.' He denied the two men had agreed to explore obtaining weapons for the cartel.

Prosecutors say pair talked of laundering money, obtaining weapons

Over the past year, Campo and Sensi agreed to launder about $12 million in drug proceeds for the cartel and converted about $750,000 in cash to cryptocurrency, thinking it was going to the group when it really went to the U.S. government, the indictment said. They also provided a payment for about 220 kilograms of cocaine they were told would be sold in the U.S. for about $5 million, thinking they would get a cut of the proceeds, prosecutors said.

The two men also said they would look into procuring commercial drones, AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, M4 carbines, grenade launchers and rocket-propelled grenades for the cartel, the indictment said.

Campo boasted about his law enforcement experience during conversations with the informant and offered to be a 'strategist' for the cartel, authorities said. He began his career as a DEA agent in New York and rose to become deputy chief of financial operations for the agency, the indictment said.

Evidence in the case includes hours of recordings of the two men talking with the informant, as well as cellphone location data, emails and surveillance images, Assistant U.S. Attorney Varun Gumaste said in court Friday.

Sensis attorney, Amanda Kramer, unsuccessfully argued that Sensi should be freed while he awaits trial, saying he wouldnt flee partly because he has multiple health problems, including injuries from a fall two months ago, early-stage dementia and Type II diabetes.

Sensi was convicted in the late 1980s and early 1990s of mail fraud, defrauding the government and stealing $2.5 million, said the prosecutor, Gumaste. He said evidence shows Sensi also was engaged in a scheme to procure military-grade helicopters for a Middle East country.

Other criminal cases have roiled the DEA

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement that while Campo is no longer employed by the DEA, the allegations undermine trust in law enforcement.

The DEA has been roiled in recent years by several embarrassing instances of misconduct in its ranks. The Associated Press has tallied at least 16 agents over the past decade brought up on federal charges ranging from child pornography and drug trafficking to leaking intelligence to defense attorneys and selling firearms to cartel associates, revealing gaping holes in the agencys supervision.

Starting in 2021, the agency placed new controls on how DEA funds can be used in money laundering stings, and warned agents they can now be fired for a first offense of misconduct if serious enough, a departure from prior administrations.

Campo and Sensi are charged with four conspiracy counts related to narcoterrorism, terrorism, narcotics distribution and money laundering.

Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press writer Joshua Goodman in Miami contributed to this report.

Directors unanimously approved the 437-page supplement EIR under the consent calendar ' and without discussion among them. Last month, the agency’s Executive Management Committee advanced the report to the full board in a 4-1 vote, with L.A. County Supervisor and board member Janice Hahn voting against the item and committee member Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker absent during the vote.

Recertifying environmental documents for the project allows the nonprofit leading the project to continue pursuing approvals required for construction such as from the California State Park and Recreation Commission, Caltrans, the Federal Highway Authority and city of Los Angeles.

Anticipating a significant number of attendees who wanted to weigh in on the project, the agency allowed public comment, giving speakers 30 seconds to speak on the item. Board Chair and Whittier City Councilmember Fernando Dutra later expanded the rule to allow speakers a minute each but limited public comment on the project to an hour.

A group of Chinatown residents and members of Stop the Gondola held red signs stating “Stop the Gondola,” and a banner that said “Protect Chinatown from Frank McCourt.”

The group chanted “Olvera Street is not for sale,” “Historic Park is not for sale,” “Elysian Park is not for sale” and “Dodgers support ICE.”

Metro’s Board of Directors entered a closed session for an hour before they came out and heard public comment.

Los Angeles City Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Hugo Soto-Martinez; Phyllis Ling, founder of Stop the Gondola coalition; and Jon Christensen, a UCLA professor with the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, urged the board to deny the supplemental EIR.

Hernandez, Jurado and Soto-Martinez were able to get a resolution approved by the City Council to formally oppose the proposed gondola project.

“The proposed gondola is not a public transportation project but rather a private tourist attraction that would benefit Frank McCourt and the entertainment complex he wants to build at Dodger Stadium,” according to a statement from Stop the Gondola.

Critics argue there is no guarantee taxpayers won’t be stuck with the bill for the project’s estimated $500 million in construction costs, as well as potentially $8 million to $10 million in annual maintenance and operations. Critics also cite a UCLA Mobility Lab study that showed data the gondola would not reduce traffic or emissions.

Some speakers supported the project and encouraged board members to approve the supplemental EIR.

Zero Emissions Transit, a nonprofit organization with an independent board of directors, is leading the project, formerly known as the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit, after it was donated to it by former Dodger owner Frank McCourt.

The nonprofit bills itself as an organization committed to all efforts accelerating zero emission technology of any kind into the transportation space.

Project specs consist of a 1.2-mile route passing through Chinatown and the Los Angeles State Historic Park to connect Union Station and Dodger Stadium via three stations ' Alameda Station, Chinatown/State Park Station and the Dodger Stadium Station ' a non-passenger junction and three cable-supporting towers.

Zero Emissions Transit and other proponents of the aerial tram say it will provide the first permanent mass transit connection linking Dodger Stadium to the broader Los Angeles transit system.

They say the gondola would operate with zero emissions and be the first aerial gondola transit system to include a battery-electric backup system, and that the project’s approved environmental study found that it could reduce emissions by over 150,000 metric tons of greenhouse gasses over its lifetime.

The gondola is backed by several groups such as the Chinese American Museum, Coalition for Clean Air, Los Angeles and Orange County Building Trades Council, the Los Angeles County Business Federation and Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

Nearly 15,000 individuals and more than 400 businesses in Chinatown, El Pueblo and Lincoln Heights have signed up to support the project, which also has the backing of organized labor, business and environmental advocates, according to Zero Emissions Transit.

The supplemental EIR incorporates a community benefits package that county Supervisor and board member Hilda Solis previously negotiated with ZET.

It encompasses robust labor standards, apprenticeships and local hiring promises, a business interruption fund to protect small businesses during construction, free and unlimited rides for Chinatown residents and businesses, and a prohibition on eminent domain and fair market compensation for any public property rights, as well as a new community advisory committee, according to Solis.

Solis has made a commitment to ensure affordable housing, senior housing, small business support and the expansion of transit options such as Dodger Stadium Express, if the project is approved by all regulatory agencies.

“I can only see myself supporting this because of the attachment of the community benefits,” Solis previously said.