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A jury has awarded $8.4 million to a former White police officer who alleged he faced discrimination and retaliation by Korean-American command staff at the La Palma Police Department. Ross Byer joined the department in May 2022 and completed his training that August with positive performance evaluations, according to court records. His performance remained satisfactory until he was reassigned that year to a different sergeant. Byer alleged the sergeant, who is Korean-American, favored a Korean officer on the same shift and routinely gave Byer a heavier workload. During the trial, he acknowledged giving Byer more assignments than Byer’s Korean partner,…

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE More than 18,000 Amtrak workers will receive a $900 bonus before the end of the year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Thursday evening. Funding for the bonuses will come from Amtrak’s executive leadership team bonus packages, the statement said. The federal administration urged executive leadership “to forgo 50% of the bonus packages that would have been paid out under the misplaced priorities of the previous executive bonus structure.” Amtrak set all-time records for both ridership and revenue in the 2025 fiscal year, according to its annual report, with over $2.7 billion in ticket revenue from…

By JONATHAN J. COOPER President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at blocking states from crafting their own regulations for artificial intelligence, saying the burgeoning industry is at risk of being stifled by a patchwork of onerous rules while in a battle with Chinese competitors for supremacy. Members of Congress from both parties, as well as civil liberties and consumer rights groups, have pushed for more regulations on AI, saying there is not enough oversight for the powerful technology. But Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that “there’s only going to be one winner” as nations race…

EL SEGUNDO — Jesse Minter isn’t buying the narrative. The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t history, as far as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator is concerned. They are still playing at a high level offensively despite a 6-7 record that would indicate otherwise. They’re still a challenge for any team. “I don’t believe any of that,” Minter said Thursday of the conventional wisdom that suggests the Chiefs’ dynasty has come to an end. “They still have all the speed. They still have (tight end) Travis Kelce. They still have (quarterback) Patrick Mahomes, the most valuable player almost year in and year out.…

By JONATHAN J. COOPER The U.S. Mint unveiled the designs for coins commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence next year. They depict the founding documents and the Revolutionary War, but so far, not President Donald Trump, despite a push among some of his allies to get his face on a coin. The Mint abandoned designs developed during Joe Biden’s presidency that highlighted women’s suffrage and civil rights advancements, favoring classical depictions of America over progress toward a more inclusive society. A series of celebrations are planned next year under the banner America 250, marking the anniversary of the adoption…

LOS ANGELES — The Rams have avenged many dour days from a year ago in their run defense this year. Bottled up Christian McCaffrey twice. Set Saquon Barkley to stationary. Kept Alvin Kamara contained. Another test looms on the horizon this weekend as the Rams (10-3) prepare to face the Detroit Lions (8-5) and their running back duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The electrifying Gibbs crossed the 1,000-yard mark on Thanksgiving and has totaled 1,062 on 187 carries with 16 total touchdowns. His three rushing scores against the Dallas Cowboys last week marked his fifth multi-touchdown game of…

Next year will be “no gangbuster year,” for the economy, according to one of Southern California’s leading economists, James Doti. Last year, the president emeritus at Chapman University and its team of economists predicted the nation’s gross domestic product, used to measure economic health, would slow to 1.8% in 2025, down from 2.7% the previous year. Their latest prediction says 2026’s growth will edge upward to a modest 2%. Without digging into the weeds of political commentary, Doti candidly said the economy would have expanded more had President Donald Trump’s tariffs not happened and California made efforts to trim its…

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and MICHAEL BIESECKER MIAMI (AP) — The oil tanker was steaming near the coast of Guyana recently when its location transponder showed it starting to zigzag. It was a seemingly improbable maneuver and the latest digital clue that the ship, the Skipper, was trying to obscure its whereabouts and the valuable cargo stored inside its hull: tens of millions of dollars’ worth of illicit crude oil. On Wednesday, U.S. commandos fast-roping from helicopters seized the 1,090-feet ship — not where it appeared to be navigating on ship tracking platforms but some 360 nautical miles to the northwest,…

Jim Alexander: The Dodgers are again the villains of baseball, to no one’s surprise, following this week’s Winter Meetings. But here’s an interesting twist: Among the people complaining are fans of the only team that had a higher payroll than the champs this season, the (less than champion-like) New York Mets. Of course, Mets fans are irate that their own organization – and particularly President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, a small market executive running a big city franchise – didn’t go to the mat (essentially an extra $3 million per year) to keep reliever Edwin Diaz. And this is…

Following a series of off-year election wins, and amid growing frustration with the Trump administration, Democrats’ 2028 chances look much brighter than last year at this time. As such, California Gov. Gavin Newsom – the current Democratic frontrunner – would figure to have a slightly easier path to the Oval Office, assuming he wins the nomination. That being said, while Newsom has very successfully built his national profile, it would be a mistake to overlook his numerous vulnerabilities, any of which could derail his presidential ambitions. Certainly, the biggest risk to Newsom is his own record in California.  Indeed, the…