Politics

WASHINGTON —  As then-Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential bid was collapsing in late 2019 amid factional infighting, her campaign badly needed a trusted person who could close the operation down — pay off bills, terminate contracts and counsel staff members who needed jobs.Internal backbiting and lackluster support from voters had undone a two-year effort, and Harris, once seen as a top-tier contender, was now bowing out a full two months before the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the Democratic primary season. Newly appointed Sen. Laphonza Butler attends a news conference after attending her first Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 4, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) At that moment, one of the lowest in her political career, Harri...

WASHINGTON —  Ever since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel has waged an intermittent but limited military campaign to keep a lid on the violent Palestinian faction. Hamas fired missiles at Israeli cities, Israel bombed Gaza from the air or attacked on the ground, then negotiated a cease-fire.The goal was never to remove Hamas; that appeared too costly. It was merely to keep it under control. Israeli military officers gave their recurring Gaza offensives a sad, cynical name: “mowing the grass.”Last week, mowing the grass came to an end.Hamas’ murderous rampage through Israeli towns and villages, which deliberately targeted civilians, led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt a far more ambitious goal: regime change.“We will destroy Hamas,” Netanyahu said Fr...

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered near the Israeli Consulate in West L.A. Saturday to condemn the country’s ongoing aerial bombardment of Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ attack one week ago.Demonstrators began gathering on Wilshire and Sepulveda boulevards around noon and by 3 p.m. the size of the crowd had grown to about several thousand. At one point, the southbound lanes of the nearby 405 Freeway were briefly shut down. Hundreds of people gather and march on Saturday in Westwood, in support of Palestinians caught in the Israel-Hamas war. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Carrying signs that said “Free Palestine” and “End the Occupation,” the crowd marched from Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue, where the consulate is located, to a feder...

The children sat in the back seat of the car as their parents spoke in code.Mya Guarnieri Jaradat and her ex-husband, Mohamed Jaradat, spoke in snippets of English and Arabic. Sensing something was amiss as they headed to the beach, their 7-year-old daughter asked what was wrong.“There’s a war in Israel,” Mya said.“Who are they fighting?” their daughter asked.Mya is an American Israeli who grew up in Gainesville, Fla. Mohamed is Palestinian. For the last nine years, they have lived in Florida. Mya Guarnieri Jaradat is shown in Jerusalem in January. (Mya Guarnieri Jaradat) They were quiet for a moment as the little girl waited.Finally, it was Mohamed who spoke: “The Palestinians.”The day before, fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas had executed a surpris...

With renewed fighting in the Middle East, law enforcement agencies in cities around the country, including in California, beefed up security in anticipation of widespread demonstrations and possible violence Friday after a former Hamas chief called for protests across the “Arab and Islamic world” in support of Palestine.While officials say no credible threats have been identified in the past few days, police departments from Los Angeles to New York have increased patrols out of an abundance of caution, in some areas focusing on houses of worship, schools and major transit hubs.In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department said it is aware of recent calls to action regarding the conflict in the Middle East.“We have no information of any specific or credible threats to the City of Los An...

Human remains interred about 100 years ago were stolen from a private family mausoleum at a cemetery in Colorado, and an investigation into the incident is underway, officials said.Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colo., about 7:20 Wednesday morning after an employee who had just arrived for work noticed some damage to a private mausoleum, said Jacki Kelley, a public information officer with the county Sheriff’s Office in Golden, Colo.An initial investigation showed the front of the crypt had “severe damage,” according to a news release. Police said it appeared the perpetrators “entered the cemetery during the overnight hours, forced entry into the crypt and gained access to the casket.”“The casket, that housed the ...

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. —  Between rows of portable toilets, a line of strangers waited to be baptized in an aluminum horse trough. One by one, they emerged from water heated all day by the Nevada sun, united in purpose as new soldiers for Donald Trump.Nearby, Christian rock blared from a large tent where pastors standing before the main stage prayed and laid hands on attendees of the ReAwaken America Tour, a far-right religious roadshow now in its third year. Helmed by retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn — a supporter of the former president and a key figure in efforts to overturn the 2020 election — and Clay Clark, an Oklahoma entrepreneur and podcaster, the whirlwind event melds the MAGA movement, election denial, QAnon conspiracy theories and doomsday prophecy. 1 2...

Kobi Danan’s Hollywood nightclub Sound is a home base for Israeli dance music expats in Los Angeles. Danan, who is Israeli, has lived in L.A. for two decades but cherishes the close-knit circle of musicians, DJs and festival industry pros that pass through his venue.Last weekend in Israel, Hamas fighters attacked the Supernova rave in the Negev desert, just a few miles away from the border with Gaza, as part of a broad offensive into Israel. Danan, 42, was intimately familiar with that area’s festival scene, now turned into a site of unimaginable grief. At least 260 people were killed, with hundreds more injured or kidnapped and still unaccounted for out of a crowd estimated at several thousand.“It’s affected me deeply,” Danan said. He said that a close Israeli friend who lives in L.A. was...

WASHINGTON —  Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday became the first speaker of the House in history to be ousted by a vote of the chamber, leaving Washington in chaos and dealing a potentially fatal blow to the Bakersfield Republican’s political career.The revolt against McCarthy was led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and a small group of hard-right Republicans who have complained that the speaker worked across the aisle too often. The 216-210 vote highlighted the divisions in the GOP and made clear that the party’s right wing will not tolerate leaders who compromise with President Biden and his allies.Gaetz and seven other Republicans joined with 208 Democrats to dump McCarthy.“Well, we heard McCarthy say he wanted us to bring it on,” Gaetz told reporters after the vote. “So I guess we did.”The result ...

Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz was criticized for taking the last regular-season game off Sunday when he was slightly behind Texas’ Corey Seager in the race for the American League batting title. Seager, who spent his first seven seasons with the Dodgers, went 0 for 4, dipping to .327, and Diaz won the title while idle. His post on X, formerly known as Twitter, was succinct: “I got it” Diaz seemed flustered early in the Rays’ 4-0 Game 1 loss to the Rangers. In the first inning, Seager, who went two for four with an RBI, pulled a one-hop rocket down the first-base line that ate up Diaz, who after retrieving the ball made a poor throw to pitcher Tyler Glasnow and was charged with an error. Diaz was out of position on a single by Leody Taveras that led to the first run of the game in the seco...