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      As California Fires Burn, Some Residents Begin to Mourn Lost Homes

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      Firefighters are making progress against the Bridge, Line and Airport fires to prevent more destruction, but for some, the damage is done.Mazen Sheikhly’s heart was pounding on Thursday as he drove up a winding road to his one-bedroom home of nearly two decades outside the community of El Cariso Village in the Santa Ana Mountains in California. He could feel his blood pressure rising because of the uncertainty of what he and a friend would find.The Airport fire southeast of Los Angeles had exploded in the canyons of Orange County earlier in the week before crossing the mountains into Riverside County, forcing Mr. Sheikhly and thousands of others in the area to evacuate.Now, on his return, he opened the gates to the long driveway of his 20-acre property known for its glittering views of Lake Elsinore below. Then he saw the emptiness.There was “nothing left of the house,” Mr. Sheikhly said. “Completely gone.”A 2000 Indian motorcycle that he treated as his baby was now a gutted hunk of metal. Pictures of his mother and the designer clothes and jewelry that he had from his years working at Neiman Marcus were turned to ash. “It’s like a loss in your family and you can’t get it back. It’s death,” he said.Three major wildfires in Southern California — the Bridge fire, the Line fire and the Airport fire — have destroyed dozens of homes, scorched over 110,000 acres and displaced tens of thousands of people. Cooler, more humid weather has helped slow the fires’ spread and enabled firefighters to make progress trying to contain the blazes, allowing some evacuation alerts to be lifted or downgraded on Friday.But even as crews gain more ground, many residents must deal with the shock of seeing a lifetime of memories reduced to ashes, or the stress of not knowing what they will find, or when they will be able to go back.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      California Drug Clinic Operator Convicted in $3 Million Kickback Scheme

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      Casey Mahoney, 48, of Los Angeles, illegally paid “body brokers” to lure clients, a federal jury found.A California man who operated addiction treatment facilities in Orange County was convicted this week of paying nearly $3 million in illegal kickbacks for referrals of patients to his facilities, according to federal prosecutors.From at least October 2018 until December 2020, the man, Casey Mahoney, 48, of Los Angeles, paid about $2.87 million to “so-called ‘body brokers’” who gave thousands of dollars to patients to coax them into Healing Path Detox L.L.C. in Huntington Beach and Get Real Recovery Inc. in San Juan Capistrano, two treatment centers Mr. Mahoney operated, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement on Friday.Some of the money that the body brokers gave to patients was used by the patients to buy drugs, the department’s statement said.After a nine-day trial, a federal jury in Los Angeles found Mr. Mahoney guilty on Wednesday of one count of conspiracy related to offering illegal remunerations for patient referrals, seven counts of illegal remunerations for patient referrals and three counts of money laundering, prosecutors said. He was acquitted on one count of aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax document.The money-laundering charges, the most serious on which Mr. Mahoney was convicted, each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is set for Jan. 17, 2025.Treatment facility operators may pay a group like a marketer or an advertiser to promote their services to patients. But the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 prevents the operators from paying body brokers kickbacks based on how much revenue the patients they referred brought in, as Mr. Mahoney did, according to the indictment.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Trump Threatens to Cut California Wildfire Aid Unless Newsom Delivers More Water

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      Donald J. Trump on Friday threatened to withhold federal wildfire aid from California, if elected as president, unless Gov. Gavin Newsom agrees to divert more water to farmers rather than allowing it to flow to the ocean.Mr. Trump, during a news conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., claimed that the state’s devastating wildfires could be prevented by shifts in how California manages its limited water supply. “If he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Newsom authorizing water diversions to farmers. “And if we don’t give him all the money to put out the fires, he’s got problems.” In his remarks, Mr. Trump, the former Republican president, repeatedly called the Democratic governor “Newscum.”Soon after, Governor Newsom posted a clip of Trump’s comments on X and said that every American voter should pay attention.Mr. Trump “just admitted he will block emergency disaster funds to settle political vendettas,” Governor Newsom said. “Today it’s California’s wildfires. Tomorrow it could be hurricane funding for North Carolina or flooding assistance for homeowners in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump doesn’t care about America — he only cares about himself.” We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in US Politics

      ‘They’ve destroyed the place’: Trump repeats racist, anti-immigrant lies

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      Donald Trump repeated racist claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, on Friday, doubling down on anti-immigrant rhetoric as residents in the town have faced bomb threats and have detailed their fears amid harassment.“In Springfield, Ohio, 20,000 illegal migrant Haitians have descended upon a town of 58,000 people, destroying their way of life. They’ve destroyed the place,” Trump said during a rambling press conference at his golf course in Los Angeles. “People don’t like to talk about it. Even the town doesn’t like to talk about it, because it sounds so bad for the town. They live there … for years it was a great place. Safe. Nice. Now they have 20,000 and I actually heard today it’s 32,000.”He later added: “We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio, large deportations. We’re gonna get these people out. We’re bringing them back to Venezuela,” stating the incorrect country where most of the immigrants are from.Haiti is one of 16 countries the US government has granted temporary protective status (TPS) to because of ongoing conflict, making it easier for immigrants to get authorization to work in the United States. As president, Trump tried to end TPS for Haiti and referred to the country as a “shithole”.Trump’s comments come after Tuesday’s presidential debate in which he first repeated the false claim that migrants in Springfield are stealing and eating people’s dogs and cats. The claim has been repeatedly debunked.Springfield has received several bomb threats this week, prompting it to close its government buildings and evacuate its schools. Haitian residents in the town have reported receiving severe threats and harassment, according to the Haitian Times.JD Vance, who represents the residents of Springfield as Ohio’s US senator, continued to attack the town on Friday, leaning into racist tropes that immigrants were responsible for bringing disease and crime to the community.Just before Trump spoke in California, Joe Biden condemned his attacks on Haitians in Springfield.“A community that’s under attack in our country right now. It’s simply wrong. There’s no place in America. This has to stop – what he’s doing. It has to stop,” Biden said at the White House. More

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      Chad McQueen, ‘Karate Kid’ Actor, Dies at 63

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      Mr. McQueen, the son of Steve McQueen, is most widely recognized for his recurring role as Dutch in the 1980s cult classic franchise “The Karate Kid.”Chad McQueen, the actor best known for the role of “Dutch” in the “Karate Kid” movie franchise and son of the actor Steve McQueen, died on Wednesday at his home in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 63.His family announced his death in a post on social media, paired with a photo of him as a boy with his famous father. The cause was organ failure, his longtime attorney and friend, Arthur Barens, said.Chad McQueen was involved in more than 25 movies and television shows, as an actor, producer and other roles, but he is most widely recognized for his role as Dutch in the 1984 teen classic “The Karate Kid.”As Dutch, Mr. McQueen played a mean, troublemaking bully of the Cobra Kai dojo who ran with Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and his gang, showing no mercy and jumping up and down in excitement as they delivered a brutal beating to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) on Halloween night.He reprised the role of Dutch in the sequel, “The Karate Kid Part II,” released in 1986.Mr. McQueen went on to appear in other films including “New York Cop,” a 1993 action film about a Japanese detective living illegally in the United States; and “Red Line,” a 1995 thriller about a car thief who is blackmailed.But Mr. McQueen did not stay in Hollywood for long after that, and he again followed in his father’s footsteps by switching to auto racing.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Wildfire Erupts in Orange County, Forcing Evacuations

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      A small brush fire in Southern California quickly grew into a nearly 2,000-acre blaze, threatening nearby suburban neighborhoods.A brush fire that erupted on Monday afternoon in the hills of Orange County in Southern California exploded to nearly 2,000 acres within a few hours, prompting evacuation orders for nearby communities as the blaze burned uncontrolled.Known as the Airport fire, it began just before 1:30 p.m. about 15 miles east of Irvine, Calif., near an airport for remote-controlled model airplanes. Officials have ordered evacuations in parts of Trabuco Canyon, a community in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, and have recommended evacuations for surrounding neighborhoods as well.The fire broke out during a prolonged heat wave that has pushed temperatures in many parts of Southern California into the triple digits in recent days. A fire in the San Bernardino Mountains that began on Thursday, about 55 miles northeast of Trabuco Canyon, has swelled to threaten more than 33,000 structures and is only 5 percent contained.In Trabuco Canyon, temperatures reached about 98 degrees on Monday, above normal for early September, said Samantha Zuber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. Wind speeds were about 15 miles per hour, she said.The winds are expected to slow into the evening, but overnight temperatures will remain unusually high, unlikely to drop below 70 degrees, she said. Similar conditions have been fueling wildfires in the state all summer. “Unfortunately, temperatures won’t cool that much,” Ms. Zuber said.She said that temperatures in the fire zone would begin to drop on Tuesday — a high of 95 is expected — before a significant cool down, which is forecast to start on Wednesday and continue for the rest of the week.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      California Can Ban Guns in Parks and Bars, but Not Hospitals, Court Says

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      California and Hawaii banned guns from various public venues. A federal appeals court dusted off the history books to help determine where to allow prohibitions.A federal appeals court on Friday partly reinstated firearm bans in California and Hawaii, finding that California could, for example, prohibit guns in parks, playgrounds and bars but not in banks or hospitals.The 3-0 ruling, by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, said that the Supreme Court’s current interpretation of gun rights was “seemingly arbitrary” and “hard to explain” at the moment. The court’s findings applied only to laws in those two states.The judges found that most of the prohibitions enacted last year by California and Hawaii met the constitutional standards set in a 2022 Supreme Court decision that drastically narrowed the legal standard for restrictions on firearms.That decision struck down a New York law that had strictly limited the carrying of guns outside homes. The Supreme Court found that restrictions on guns are constitutional only if courts can find an analogue “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” But, the court added, states could ban guns in “sensitive places” such as schools and courthouses.Democratic-led states rushed to rewrite laws to comply with the new interpretation, in some cases banning guns in dozens of specific locations. But federal judges last year struck down new laws in California and Hawaii.The Ninth Circuit judges ruled on Friday that California could prohibit guns in libraries, sports arenas, casinos, museums and restaurants that serve alcohol, in addition to parks, playgrounds and bars. Hawaii can ban guns on parks and beaches and in establishments serving alcohol.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      California Man Arrested After Shooting Spree Kills at Least 80 Animals

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      The hourslong episode in the middle of the night triggered a shelter-in-place order in Monterey County. One official described the scene as “horrible.”A bloody shooting spree in California this week left at least 80 animals dead and sent neighbors fleeing to safety in the middle of the night, the authorities said.A man, Vicente Joseph Arroyo of Salinas, was taken into custody after he fired multiple weapons in a vineyard in Prunedale over a three-hour period on Tuesday, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Prunedale is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, about 100 miles south of San Francisco.Just before 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office responded to calls of multiple shots being fired, and soon issued a shelter-in-place order for residents within a five-mile radius.“Various calibers of weapons could be heard being fired in an area that was extremely dark and covered in thick vegetation,” the news release said. “This made it difficult for deputies to immediately locate the person or persons responsible for firing the weapons.”Officers from multiple agencies responded to the scene, and by sunrise the authorities had located the suspect and a crashed vehicle along a road in the vineyard.After Mr. Arroyo, 39, was taken into custody without incident, the authorities found a cache of weapons including multiple long rifles, shotguns, handguns and an illegal assault weapon.Pictures from the scene posted to social media by the sheriff’s office showed a large amount of ammunition and what appeared to be at least one bulletproof vest.Monterey County Sheriff’s OfficeRoughly 80 animals were killed in the shooting spree, the authorities found, including miniature horses, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks and birds. Mr. Arroyo lived in a trailer next to the property where the animals were killed, Cmdr. Andres Rosas, a spokesman for the Monterey County sheriff’s office, told the San Francisco Chronicle.While some animals initially survived, they were later euthanized because of the severity of their injuries, the authorities said.Mr. Arroyo was booked into the Monterey County jail for willful discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, animal cruelty, illegal possession of an assault weapon, vandalism, criminal threats and felony possession of a firearm. His bail was set at $50,000.The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday, including questions about whether there was a clear motive.Jason Maynard, a neighbor, recalled the overnight chaos, telling the TV station KSBW and other local news outlets that after hearing the gunshots, he told his wife and child to drop to the floor.“It is a horrible scene,” Commander Rosas told the news station. “We are very fortunate that no human lives were lost.”Mr. Rosas said there was no information to indicate the suspect was looking for anyone specific and that it appeared the animals were the targets.“I’ve been doing this for 24 plus years now,” he said, “and no, I’ve unfortunately never seen anything like this when it comes to animal life lost.” More