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    Man Is Found Guilty in Killing of Rapper PnB Rock

    Prosecutors said that the man, Freddie Lee Trone, sent his teenage son into a restaurant armed with a handgun to rob the rapper.A man was found guilty on Wednesday in connection with the fatal shooting of the rapper PnB Rock at a Los Angeles restaurant in 2022 in a brazen attack that shocked his fans and the music industry.A Los Angeles County jury found the man, Freddie Lee Trone, 42, guilty of one count of felony murder, two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said in a news release on Wednesday.The prosecution said that Mr. Trone sent his son, who was 17 at the time, into the restaurant armed with a handgun to rob the rapper and his girlfriend, who were dining there. He then shot and killed PnB Rock, prosecutors said.PnB Rock, whose legal name was Rakim Allen, was part of a wave of rappers whose popularity and unique sound was partly built on their ability to effortlessly switch between singing and rapping. He gained fame in 2015 with his song “Fleek.” Then came “Selfish,” which peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.Deannea Allen, the mother of PnB Rock, said in an interview on Wednesday evening that she was “elated” when the verdict was read.“I just said, ‘Hallelujah, thank God,’” said Ms. Allen, who said she was shaking and so elated that she wanted to scream. “Justice has been served.”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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    Veteran Homelessness Was Cut by Half. Is a Broader Solution Possible?

    After two years in the Air Force and decades on Skid Row, Steve Allen was spending his senior years living in his car. John Sullivan, who joined the Army after seeing the film “Patton,” slept on his son’s couch. Home for Babs Ludikhuize, an Air Force veteran recovering from domestic violence, was in psychiatric care.Now all three have comfortable apartments with subsidized rents, and they embody what many analysts call the greatest success in homelessness policy — the decline in homeless veterans.Since 2008, Congress, with bipartisan support, has spent billions on rental aid for unhoused veterans and cut their numbers by more than half, as overall homelessness has grown. Celebrated by experts and managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the achievement has gained oddly little public notice in a country in need of broader solutions.Progress in the veterans program has slowed as rising rents displace more tenants and make it harder to help them regain housing. But while homelessness among veterans rose last year, the increase was smaller than other groups faced. Admirers say the program’s superior performance, even in a punishing rental market, offers a blueprint for helping others and an answer to the pessimism in the debate over reducing homelessness.“It is the best initiative on homelessness that the federal government has ever developed,” said Philip F. Mangano, who helped launch the program under President George W. Bush. “The best. By far. If we can do it for veterans, we can do it for others.”No place illustrates the hard-fought progress more than Los Angeles, which serves more homeless veterans than any other city and has gravity-defying rents.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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    Clear Encampments? Mind Your Own Business, Los Angeles Says.

    In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration urging cities to clear homeless camps met its strongest opposition in Los Angeles.Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared this week wearing work gloves and Ray-Ban sunglasses as he hauled a garbage bag from under a freeway overpass in California. His message was obvious: He wanted state and local officials to clear out homeless encampments, just as he was doing, and he had signed an executive order to spur them into action.“There are no longer any excuses,” Mr. Newsom said in a video statement that was released Thursday and filmed at an encampment where everything from a box fan to a plastic kiddie pool had been stashed.Hours later, the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, responded with her own set of visuals from a different encampment cleanup in the nation’s second-largest city. Ms. Bass pointedly emphasized that 15 residents whom the city had displaced from this particular encampment had been “brought inside.”The clearing of encampments has long been framed as a partisan issue, with Democrats on one side reluctant to remove homeless people and Republicans on the other demanding citations and arrests. But in California, where Democrats dominate the state government and run its largest cities, the matter has become an intraparty dispute, especially after a Supreme Court decision last month gave local officials greater authority to crack down on encampments.Nowhere was Mr. Newsom’s executive order met Thursday with more scorn than in Los Angeles, where the public defenders who serve homeless clients called his move “completely unconscionable.” Los Angeles County supervisors, who represent nearly 10 million people, intend to make it clear next week that the county’s jails will not serve as makeshift shelters for homeless people.And Ms. Bass’s retort served as a statement that Los Angeles leaders believe they can handle the homelessness crisis in their city just fine, thank you, without interference from Mr. Newsom.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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    Esta TerBlanche, ‘All My Children’ Star, Dies at 51

    Ms. TerBlanche played Gillian Andrassy, a Hungarian princess whose story line was beloved by fans.Esta TerBlanche, a South African actress best known for her role on “All My Children,” died on Thursday in Los Angeles. She was 51.Her death was confirmed by her publicist, Lisa Rodrigo. An autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner was pending, Ms. Rodrigo said.The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.From 1997 to 2001, Ms. TerBlanche played Gillian Andrassy, a Hungarian princess who is sent to live with her cousin. Her enemies-to-lovers story line with Ryan Lavery, played by Cameron Mathison, was popular at the time.Esta TerBlanche was born on Jan. 7, 1973, in Rustenburg, South Africa.She began her career at 16 years old as the host of a television show for children called “K-T.V.” and a math show called “Math No Problem,” she said in an interview in April on the podcast “Conversations With Nicole.” In 1991, she was crowned Miss Teen South Africa.Ms. TerBlanche landed a recurring role as Bienke Naudé Hartman on South Africa’s longest-running soap opera, “Egoli: Place of Gold,” about three families in Johannesburg that are steeped in drama, sex, scandal and intrigue, according to News24 in South Africa.She moved to the United States when she was 23 to pursue acting. In the podcast interview, she recalled arriving at Los Angeles International Airport with two suitcases and a stomach full of fear and doubt, wondering whether she should go home.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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    A Tenacious Pekingese Is the ‘World’s Ugliest’ Dog, After Many Tries

    Meet Wild Thang, an 8-year-old Pekingese from Oregon who had sought the title of “World’s Ugliest” for years. Now, it’s finally his.Maybe it’s the way his lolling pink tongue juts out, or how his glittering wide eyes bejewel a tiny head under a mop of long, frizzy, brown-and-white fur, but there’s just something about Wild Thang — and a panel of judges agreed.The 8-year-old Pekingese from Oregon was crowned the World’s Ugliest Dog on Friday, confirming that when the looks are, well, lacking, there’s something to be said for persistence. It was his fifth try for the top prize at the competition.“His victory is a testament to his undeniable charm and resilience,” said a statement released by the competition following Wild Thang’s big win.Born and raised in Los Angeles, Wild Thang’s life got off to a difficult start, according to his biography (yes, he has one). As a puppy, he contracted distemper, an infectious disease caused by a virus that attacks dogs’ respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems. He barely survived, and his biography notes that Wild Thang was left permanently affected by the disease: “His teeth did not grow in, causing his tongue to stay out and his right front leg paddles 24/7.”Nevertheless, Wild Thang is “a healthy, happy Glugly (glamorous/ugly) guy” who “loves people, other dogs and especially his toys.”Like other beauty pageant winners, Wild Thang champions causes dear to him, according to his biography. He has helped raise money to get his fellow Pekingese doggies in Ukraine to safety — and has already saved seven of them from the war zone.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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    Why Does Kendrick Lamar Want Drake to Return Tupac’s Ring?

    At Mr. Lamar’s Juneteenth concert on Wednesday, he made a request for Drake to return Mr. Shakur’s iconic crown ring. Is this about more than just beef between the two rappers?When Kendrick Lamar made his entrance to his sold-out show at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Juneteenth, he did so with a bang. He performed “Euphoria,” a track he released in April during his well-documented feud with Drake, adding a new lyric: “Give me Tupac ring back and maybe I’ll give you a little respect.” The internet went wild.This was Mr. Lamar’s first time performing since his testy dispute with Drake escalated into a volley of diss tracks this spring. For the show, titled “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends,” he brought out fellow West Coast artists such as Dr. Dre, YG, Tyler, the Creator, Schoolboy Q and Steve Lacy, the next generation of musicians from the region after Tupac Shakur. It was a victory lap after unofficially winning the war. Mr. Lamar had been questioning Drake’s authenticity and status among Black musicians and fans, and adding the line about Mr. Shakur’s ring only doubled down on that message.The ring is one of the most iconic jewelry pieces in hip-hop history. It features a 14-karat crown encrusted with cabochon rubies and pavé diamonds. It also bears the inscription “Pac & Dada 1996,” referring to his engagement to Kidada Jones, the daughter of Quincy Jones. The ring, which he designed himself, commemorates both the founding of his media company, Euphanasia, and his romance with Ms. Jones. He wore it at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, his last public appearance before his killing.In August 2023, Drake purchased the ring from an auction at Sotheby’s for $1.01 million. That irked Mr. Lamar, who has taken the baton of West Coast rap from Mr. Shakur and has been influenced by his legacy.According to Vikki Tobak, author of the 2022 book “Ice Cold; A Hip-Hop Jewelry History,” jewelry has long been a symbol of allegiance and brotherhood in hip-hop. 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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    Roban a un agente del Servicio Secreto la noche de la gala de Biden en Los Ángeles

    El agente fue encañonado en el condado de Orange. El robo fue la misma noche en que Biden estaba en California recaudando fondos para campaña.[Estamos en WhatsApp. Empieza a seguirnos ahora]Un agente del Servicio Secreto de Estados Unidos fue atracado a punta de pistola en el sur de California durante el fin de semana, la misma noche en que el presidente Joe Biden se encontraba en Los Ángeles para recaudar fondos para su reelección, informaron el lunes las autoridades.Los agentes de policía recibieron una llamada de un conjunto residencial en el condado de Orange sobre las 9:36 p. m. del sábado por informes de un posible robo, dijo el Departamento de Policía de Tustin en un comunicado.Al llegar a la urbanización —una antigua base militar—, la policía descubrió que la víctima era un agente del Servicio Secreto al que le habían robado el bolso a punta de pistola, según el comunicado. Durante el robo, un agente disparó un arma, añadió la policía.El presunto robo se produjo la misma noche en que Biden asistía en el centro de Los Ángeles a un acto estelar de recaudación de fondos para la reelección con el expresidente Barack Obama. Celebridades como George Clooney, Julia Roberts y Barbra Streisand asistieron a la gala, en la que, según la campaña de Biden, se recaudaron al menos 28 millones de dólares.No estaba claro si el agente del Servicio Secreto estaba en California protegiendo a Biden o a Obama. El comunicado de la policía no identificaba al agente. El Departamento de Policía de Tustin no respondió inmediatamente a las solicitudes de aclaración.No se sabe cuántos sospechosos estaban implicados o si resultaron heridos durante el tiroteo, según el comunicado que afirmaba que no se había encontrado a ningún sospechoso. La policía pudo localizar algunas pertenencias del agente en la zona.El Servicio Secreto de EE. UU. no respondió inmediatamente a las peticiones de comentarios.Yan Zhuang es un corresponsal del Times que cubre noticias de última hora más sobre Yan ZhuangContenido relacionado: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2024/04/23/espanol/donald-trump-carcel.html More

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    Does P-22, the Celebrity Big Cat of Los Angeles, Have a Successor?

    More than a year after the death of P-22, the beloved mountain lion who made Griffith Park his home, another has been spotted nearby.Vladimir Polumiskov witnessed a wild mountain lion near his home in Los Angeles.Vladimir PolumiskovFor months, Los Angeles residents believed the park had been vacated. Only the memory of P-22, the beloved celebrity mountain lion who had once made it his home, lingered as the city mourned his death. That was until this month, when an apparent successor — another mountain lion, seemingly bigger, younger and stronger — emerged late one night.“It’s very mystical,” said Vladimir Polumiskov, who captured footage of the big cat near his apartment complex, which borders Griffith Park, a sprawling urban reserve north of downtown Los Angeles. “They called P-22 the Brad Pitt of the Hollywood Hills,” he said. “This is going to be the puma DiCaprio.”Mr. Polumiskov, 30, saw the “huge cat” around 9 p.m. on May 14, he said, just as he was returning home from dinner with his wife and their 2-year-old son.He said he had just parked and was unbuckling his son from his seat when he noticed the creature standing just feet away from his car. He gingerly placed his son back into his seat, got back in the car, and closed all the doors — all while the animal stared at him. “I was shocked at how big he was,” he said. “This guy is just beautiful.”After the mountain lion known as P-22 was euthanized in December 2022, a new mountain lion, P-122, has emerged in the same area of the Hollywood Hills. Vladimir PolumiskovWe 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