Alec Baldwin at a December 2021 event in New York.
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Evan Agostini
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Invision/AP
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Topline:
Actor and producer Alec Baldwin goes to trial in New Mexico this week for involuntary manslaughter. In October 2021, while he was rehearsing a scene for the western film Rust, the gun he was holding went off, fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Why it matters: The 66-year-old actor faces up to 18 months in prison if he’s convicted, but has pleaded not guilty. Since the shooting, he’s maintained his innocence, saying he was not responsible for the live bullet that was loaded into what was supposed to be a blank prop gun.
The backstory: In October 2021, while he was rehearsing a scene for the western film Rust, the gun he was holding went off, fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was responsible for guns and ammunition on the set. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year and is serving an 18-month prison sentence. Prosecutors argued that her negligence on set led to Halyna Hutchins’ death.
What's next: Baldwin has been busy working in Hollywood for the past few years. He’s starring as a logger in the action thriller Clear Cut, which comes out in theaters and on demand July 19, the same day Judge Sommer has said she wants the trial to end. Baldwin, his wife Hilaria and their seven children recently announced they’ll star in an upcoming reality series on TLC, “The Baldwins.”
Actor and producer Alec Baldwin goes to trial in New Mexico this week for involuntary manslaughter. In October 2021, while he was rehearsing a scene for the western film Rust, the gun he was holding went off, fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
The 66-year-old actor faces up to 18 months in prison if he’s convicted, but has pleaded not guilty. Since the shooting, he’s maintained his innocence, saying he was not responsible for the live bullet that was loaded into what was supposed to be a blank prop gun.
A photograph of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on display during a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, N.M., in October 2021.
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Andres Leighton
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AP
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After the accident, Baldwin went on national television to walk through the events on set at Bonanza Creek Ranch. He told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he was handed the revolver and someone yelled “cold gun,” meaning the gun did not have live rounds.
“I take the gun and I start to cock the gun,” Baldwin explained on TV. “I let go of the hammer of the gun and the gun goes off…I didn't pull the trigger.”
That interview and other statements he made to the press and to police may be part of the evidence presented during his trial. Jury selection begins Tuesday and opening arguments begin the following day. New Mexico special prosecutor Kari Morrissey says she intends to prove his criminal culpability.
“Mr. Baldwin knew he had a real gun in his hand. Mr. Baldwin specifically asked for the biggest gun that was available. Mr. Baldwin knew and understood that dummy rounds look identical to live ammunition,” Morrissey told the judge in a pretrial hearing two weeks ago. Morrissey said Baldwin didn’t pay attention during a safety training on set. “Halyna Hutchins is dead,” she said, “because he didn't participate in the safety check.”
Alec Baldwin gestures while talking with investigators following the fatal on-set shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021. Video of the conversation was released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in 2022.
Halyna Hutchins’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, settled in court with Baldwin and other Rust producers. Hutchins became an executive producer on the Rust film, which continued production and wrapped up filming in Montana last year.
“I am saddened by the way the media sensationalized our traumatic tragedy and portrayed me as a complete monster, which has actually been the total opposite of what's been in my heart,” Gutierrez-Reed read aloud in a statement during her trial. “When I took on Rust, I was young and I was being naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing when things got tough, I just did my best to handle it.”
State prosecutors indicated they may call Gutierrez-Reed to testify as a witness in Baldwin's trial, but it's not clear if she will end up taking the stand. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who presided over her trial and will preside over Baldwin’s, said in a recent hearing that the armorer would likely not cooperate
Possible testimony at Baldwin’s trial
Also on the witness list prosecutors submitted for the trial: director Souza, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell and prop master Sarah Zachry, who were all on the set the day of the shooting. Film armorers Seth Kenney and Bryan W. Carpenter and firearms expert Lucien Haag may also be called on as experts.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who worked as armorer on the set of Rust in New Mexico, arrives at her sentencing hearing in April. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and is serving an 18-month sentence.
Baldwin’s attempts to dismiss the charges against him
Baldwin’s attorneys also tried several last-ditch efforts to get the case against their client thrown out. Most recently, they blamed prosecutors for deliberately allowing the gun to be damaged during testing after the shooting. During a pretrial hearing two weeks ago, an FBI agent said he tested the gun to see if it would fire accidentally without pulling the trigger, even if it was jolted violently. He testified that he hammered the gun from different angles with a rawhide mallet. As a result, the gun was broken into pieces.
“It's kind of ironic in a case conceivably about an accident, the state somehow gets away with intentionally destroying the key evidence and depriving the defense of that evidence,” Baldwin’s attorney Alex Spiro told Judge Sommer. She ruled, however, that prosecutors did not act in bad faith when ordering the test and moved to proceed with the trial.
Meanwhile, Baldwin has been busy in Hollywood
Baldwin has been busy working in Hollywood for the past few years. He’s starring as a logger in the action thriller Clear Cut, which comes out in theaters and on demand July 19, the same day Judge Sommer has said she wants the trial to end.
Baldwin, his wife Hilaria and their seven children recently announced they’ll star in an upcoming reality series on TLC, “The Baldwins.”
Meanwhile, production of the indie film Rust finished last year in Montana, with Halyna Hutchins’ widower Matthew as executive producer — a position he negotiated as part of the wrongful death settlement he made with the production company.
It’s still unclear exactly when or where that film will be shown; Rust still doesn’t have distribution deals.
Jared Bennett
is the watchdog correspondent covering immigration and law enforcement at LAist.
Published September 4, 2026 9:00 AM
Rep. Norma Torres, left, speaks in July 2025 during a news conference at Adelanto. She's now calling on the state to do more to protect people held at the privately run facility, which is under contract by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as an immigration detention center.
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Patrick T. Fallon
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AFP via Getty Images
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Topline:
Rep. Norma Torres of Pomona is calling on California officials to intervene to protect people held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where federal officials are under orders to improve conditions.
Her ask: In a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state Health and Human Services Agency, Torres today requested more frequent investigations of the facility.
Timing: The congresswoman’s ask comes nearly two months after a federal judge ordered immediate improvements to medical care, disability accommodations and daily conditions at the facility. In her letter, Torres asks state and county officials to conduct additional inspections to make sure the facility is complying with the court order.
Where things stand: While federal officials have since claimed the privately run Adelanto already meets standards, people detained at the facility continue to report ongoing violations of the court order and conditions they and their attorneys call inhumane.
Rep. Norma Torres of Pomona is calling on California officials to intervene to protect people held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where federal officials are under orders to improve conditions.
The congresswoman’s ask comes nearly two months after a federal judge ordered immediate improvements to medical care, disability accommodations and daily conditions at the facility. While federal officials have since claimed the privately run Adelanto already meets standards, people detained at the facility continue to report ongoing violations of the court order and conditions they and their attorneys call “inhumane.”
How we got here
U.S. District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals have determined that the federal government is responsible for the conditions at the facility, which is run by The GEO Group, a private company contracted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In her letter, Torres asks state and county officials to conduct additional inspections to make sure the facility is complying with the court order. State law gives the California Department of Justice the authority to review conditions at immigration detention centers. It also gives county health officers the power to inspect private detention facilities — powers Torres says have been “underused.”
The letter from Torres said statements from federal officials claiming conditions are adequate at Adelanto demonstrate that the federal government “does not care about the treatment of detainees.”
“In the absence of proper federal oversight, detainees will remain vulnerable to ongoing neglect, inhuman living conditions, and severe medical risks,” the letter states. “That is why I urge you and your staff to continue oversight and conduct additional inspections at Adelanto to help ensure The GEO Group, Inc. improves conditions for detainees.”
State’s history of oversight
In a May 2026 report, the California Department of Justice reviewed conditions at seven civil immigration detention facilities operating in California. An eighth site, Central Valley Annex, began to hold people in April 2026 and is not included in the report.
That state report, based on site inspections conducted the previous year, found conditions had worsened during Trump's second term.
As the report notes, ICE holds itself to two sets of detention standards, the Performance-Based National Detention Standards and the National Detention Standards.
The inspectors identified multiple violations at all facilities visited. Among the "declining conditions for detainees" cited in the report:
Inadequate medical care
Delay in medical treatment
Overcrowding
Inadequate food
Excessive use of force by detention facility guards
Inadequate clothing
The report also found Adelanto was overwhelmed by the rapid increase in people held at the facility in the summer of 2025. Prior to President Donald Trump’s return to office, the number of people held at Adelanto had fallen to just three. By mid-2025, the population surged to 1,570, according to the report.
Medical and detention staffing levels failed to keep pace. As a result, the report says people were unable to access timely medical treatment or screening for health needs at intake.
People held there reported that the facilities were serving undercooked food at inconsistent times, and failed to provide enough clean drinking water.
Facility records and reports from people detained demonstrated uses of force that included “concerning uses of pepper spray.”
The report noted that there have been six deaths at immigration facilities in California between September 2025 and March 2026 — two at the Imperial Regional Detention Center and four at Adelanto. The report attributed the deaths at Adelanto to alleged substandard medical care.
What's next
Esmeralda Santos, a lead organizer with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, said her team has been hoping to see the state take a more active role in keeping people at the facility safe. Santos said the state needs to go beyond doing a “well-written report” on what inspectors find.
“The reports say over and over again that Adelanto is not fit to be caging people,” she said, “but afterwards it doesn't go anywhere.”
She said any new inspections need to be paired with actual accountability.
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Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn whether they’re at school or visiting the library.
Published September 4, 2026 5:00 AM
The Lynwood Library renovation includes a new area for teens.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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Topline:
The Lynwood Library has reopened after its first major renovation in almost 50 years. New skylights brighten the space and there are dedicated areas for teens, kids, studying and community meetings.
Why it matters: The renovation was the first major construction project since the library was built in 1977. “ It does give you a feeling that our community matters,” said Danielle Trujillo, who grew up nearby and visited the library often.
Why now: Supervisor Janice Hahn said she advocated for part of L.A. County’s federal COVID-19 pandemic relief dollars to fund five library renovations in District 4, including the Lynwood Library.
The Lynwood Library has reopened after its first major renovation in almost 50 years. New skylights brighten the space and there are dedicated areas for teens, kids, studying and community meetings.
“It does give you a feeling that our community matters,” said Danielle Trujillo, who grew up nearby and visited the library often. “That we deserve new books, that we deserve new furniture, that we deserve to be in a space that's welcoming, spacious, and inviting.”
The $8 million project began in 2024 and closed the library for about two years. The branch reopened Aug. 20 and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting Thursday.
“ I'm so happy to have this open, and a place for our community to gather, to connect,” said Lynwood Mayor Gabriela Camacho, who also brought her twins to the library.
Gabrielle Fata and her 3-year-old son Zennett can walk to the library from their home.
“ I just try to get him interested in loving books at a young age, so I just like him being around all the books and all the letters and everything,” Fata said.
Local leaders, including Lynwood Mayor Gabriela Camacho, Assemblymember José Luis Solache, Supervisor Janice Hahn and LA County Library Director Skye Patrick cut the ribbon to celebrate the completion of the Lynwood Library renovation.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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How the funding came together
Supervisor Janice Hahn said she advocated for part of L.A. County’s federal COVID-19 pandemic relief dollars to fund five library renovations in District 4, including the Lynwood Library. The southeast L.A. County city is home to about 64,000 people.
“I still believe that libraries are a real treasure for communities and schools,” Hahn said. “I know a lot of young people get their information online and are on the internet, but I really believe libraries are still an important part of the fabric of a community.”
The 12,000-square-foot Lynwood Library renovation includes a new area for teens.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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The renovations were originally planned to be completed by November 2025. Hahn said she wasn’t sure what caused the delay.
“Wish it could've been open earlier, but [there] are always construction issues and problems that I think we face with almost everything we try to do in the county of Los Angeles,” Hahn said.
‘A library for the people’
LA County Library Director Skye Patrick said when the Lynwood Library was first built in 1977, the idea was to keep the space dark to preserve the books inside.
“The library is … no longer just about the books. It's about the people.” Patrick said. “We want the space to be welcoming, we want it to be open, we want it to have a lot of airflow through it.”
"I like how there's separate sections for different people to do things," said Jennifer Estrada, an eighth grader at a nearby middle school. "There's the study rooms, you could go with your friends or if you just wanna be alone."
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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Jennifer Estrada is an eighth grader at Hosler Middle School, less than a mile away from the library, and has started visiting twice a week to study and hang out with friends since it reopened.
“ I feel like it's very open. You could be you in here,” Estrada said.
Trujillo, who is now the adult teen librarian here, said she’s excited to see the next generation embrace the library.
“ I try not to show it as much 'cause I don't wanna scare them away,” Trujillo said. “But I'm really excited that the teens are coming into the space and that they're happy with it.”
"Libraries have transformed from just checking out books," said librarian Danielle Trujillo. "People come in and they hang out with their friends, or they're studying for school."
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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Trujillo said in addition to the teen space, the Spanish language and manga collections are also popular.
She said the library also welcomes feedback.
“If anyone ever wants to come talk to us and share some ideas that they have for the library, we're completely open to that,” Trujillo said.
Fata said her son Zennett’s favorite books skew spooky, including Aaron Reynolds' “Creepy” series and Rhode Montijo’s Skeletown series.
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Makenna Cramer
leads LAist’s unofficial Big Bear bald eagle beat and has been covering the nest for several seasons.
Published September 4, 2026 5:00 AM
Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear's famous bald eagle nest on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.
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Friends of Big Bear Valley
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YouTube
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Topline:
Friday is California Wildlife Day in remembrance of Jackie, one of Big Bear’s famous bald eagles who died last month.
Why now: State Sen. Tony Strickland, whose 36th district includes parts of L.A. and Orange counties, introduced the idea with a resolution that passed last week with unanimous, bipartisan support.
Why it matters: Strickland told LAist he felt it was fitting to make Jackie an official part of California history. He added that the fan community’s response to the resolution has been even bigger than expected, which he said shows how many people deeply care about Jackie’s story. “At a time when there's plenty of issues that divide us, Jackie represents something that almost everyone can appreciate — the beauty of wildlife,” he said. “The bald eagle represents freedom, strength, resilience and the American spirit, and that's exactly what Jackie was.”
The backstory: Jackie died on Aug. 10 after being rescued in Big Bear and getting weeks of intensive care for severe anemia at the Ojai Raptor Center. Jackie took the internet by storm by starring in a popular YouTube livestream that has been run by Friends of Big Bear Valley, an environmental and educational nonprofit, for more than a decade.
What's next: The resolution calls on Californians to celebrate Jackie’s memory and the importance of protecting the state’s wildlife for generations to come.
Remembering Jackie: Friends of Big Bear Valley and multiple other organizations in the area are planning an event to honor Jackie on Oct. 3. The location and exact details have not yet been announced.
Kavish Harjai
was in the LAist studios listening to the forum Thursday night.
Published September 3, 2026 7:50 PM
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman separately explain their environmental positions at a mayoral forum held Thursday at L.A. Trade Tech in downtown Los Angeles.
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LAist
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Topline:
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass painted herself as a proven fighter for environmental justice issues. Her challenger, L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, said progress on environmental goals has stalled in City Hall.
Key topics: The candidates each had about 45 minutes to individually answer questions from Erin Stone, an LAist senior reporter focused on climate and environment.
Here are some of the topics they covered:
Extreme heat
Emergency preparedness and recovery
Protecting communities from pollution
Water
Public transit
LAist will have more coverage and analysis of the conversations Friday morning.
Topline:
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass described herself as a proven fighter for environmental justice issues. Her challenger, L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, said progress on environmental goals has stalled in City Hall.
Key topics: The candidates each had about 45 minutes to individually answer questions from Erin Stone, an LAist senior reporter focused on climate and environment.
