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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • Chino Valley district can’t out trans students yet
    A person with a light skin tone wearing a black mask. You can only see their head and arm amongst a crowd as they hold up a sign saying protect our siblings, colored in the trans pride flag colors. In background, rainbow flags are blurred in movement.
    A person holds a sign in opposition to the Chino Valley policy during the vote on July 20, 2023 in Chino, California.

    Topline:

    A Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that Chino Valley Unified School District temporarily can’t enforce its new policy that requires staff to alert parents when their student’s gender is different from what they were assigned at birth.

    What the policy does: It requires schools to notify parents within three days of becoming aware that a student is transgender or nonbinary. The policy looks at a student’s specific actions to determine this, such as changing pronouns and names, and using bathrooms for a different gender. The district’s board adopted the policy on July 20.

    About the lawsuit: Attorney General Rob Bonta started the lawsuit in late August, calling it a “forced outing policy” that violates the California Constitution and other state laws. The parties will be back in court on Oct. 13.

    On the ruling: Bonta argues the policy puts transgender and gender-nonconforming students at risk of harm, which is why his office sought a restraining order. They’re aiming to hold it off while they argue against a preliminary injunction for the district. (That would allow the district to continue with it during the case.) Bonta says the temporary ruling upholds California’s rights for LGBTQ+ students.

    In a statement, Chino Valley Unified says staff respects the ruling, adding that the district will “continue to encourage parents, guardians, and all community partners to remain united in assisting and supporting our youth.”

  • New law lets seniors opt-out of jury duty
    A close up of a box of badges that say "Juror."
    A box of juror name tags at the San Diego Superior Court in downtown San Diego on Aug. 12, 2025.

    Topline:

    Starting Jan. 1, 2028, Californians ages 80 and older can opt-out of jury service permanently due to a medical condition, without needing a note from a health care provider.

    Why now: The change comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1359 on Monday, which enables seniors to request a permanent exemption by attesting that they have an impairment that renders them incapable of performing jury service. Further medical documentation will not be required. Seniors who still want to serve on a jury can still do so.

    More details: Unlike some other states including Florida and Texas, California doesn’t have a blanket age of exemption for jury service. It’s 70 in Florida and 75 in Texas.

    Read on... for more on the new law.

    Starting Jan. 1, 2028, Californians ages 80 and older can opt-out of jury service permanently due to a medical condition, without needing a note from a health care provider.

    The change comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1359 on Monday, which enables seniors to request a permanent exemption by attesting that they have an impairment that renders them incapable of performing jury service. Further medical documentation will not be required. Seniors who still want to serve on a jury can still do so.

    Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, a Cupertino Democrat, said he introduced the bill after a constituent — Dianne McKenna, a former Santa Clara County supervisor — relayed to Ahrens the difficulties she faced helping her elderly husband get an exemption from jury service.

    “Seniors are great jurists that can and will continue to serve if they’re willing and able to,” said Ahrens in an email to CalMatters. “But if they cannot, they will no longer have to jump through hoops to permanently opt out.”

    Unlike some other states including Florida and Texas, California doesn’t have a blanket age of exemption for jury service. It’s 70 in Florida and 75 in Texas.

    Californians 70 years and older can be excused due to a medical impairment without a doctor’s note, but they still must inform the local jury’s office that they’re unable to serve with a written excuse. But under current law, this is a one-time exemption and residents must repeat this process each time they’re selected for service.

    Proponents of the measure argue that repeatedly seeking exemption can put significant stress on older individuals — particularly those with mobility issues and chronic health conditions, or those who don’t have regular access to a computer or internet. A third of adults over 80 will have difficulties staying home without assistance, and one in five will experience self-care limitations, according to a 2025 report by the Public Policy Institute of California.

    The measure would be especially beneficial for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and do not have a caretaker who can assist them, said Andrew Mendoza, the director of state affairs for the Alzheimer's Association, during a June hearing.

    “This bill can assist vulnerable populations avoid what would otherwise be a stressful process to obtain documents and explain their condition as a disability during a time of great circumstantial change,” he said.

    This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

  • Sponsored message
  • Military-style rifles aren't always disclosed
    A row of seated men and women wearing black Los Angeles School Police uniforms and white gloves.
    A row of Los Angeles School Police officers in uniform sit together during an outdoor ceremony.


    Topline:


    Police forces at California’s K-12 schools have quietly been purchasing and using military equipment for decades — and some have yet to comply with a state law requiring them to disclose that to the public.

    The backstory: In 2014, public records revealed the Pentagon had armed California public school police agencies with surplus military gear, including the Los Angeles Unified School District. But beyond the Pentagon’s surplus program, law enforcement agencies including school police have the option to purchase military-grade equipment on their own. A CalMatters investigation has found that the nine K-12 districts in California with these weapons have not been routinely reporting their inventories, renewing their policies, or holding public forums, as required by the law.

    Which districts have lagged on reporting?: Five of the school police forces have not disclosed their inventory to the public this year, in spite of a 2021 state law requiring them to do so annually. Two of them, at San Diego Unified School District and Montebello Unified School District, published up-to-date inventory reports after CalMatters asked for them. The remaining two police departments, at Twin Rivers Unified and Santa Ana Unified, released reports for the first time in 2026 after owning the weapons for years.

    Police forces at California’s K-12 schools have quietly been purchasing and using military equipment for decades — and some have yet to comply with a state law requiring them to disclose that to the public.

    In 2014, public records revealed the Pentagon had armed California public school police agencies with surplus military gear. The Los Angeles School Police Department, supplied with grenade launchers, assault rifles and an armored vehicle, faced strong criticism from local civil rights groups and relinquished its federally-donated armory by 2016.

    But beyond the Pentagon’s surplus program, law enforcement agencies including school police have the option to purchase military-grade equipment on their own. Nine of California’s 21 public school police forces have bought their own stashes of military-grade equipment, including semi-automatic rifles, less-lethal launchers and smoke grenades. Under the state’s Penal Code, less-lethal weapons are devices meant to incapacitate or stun someone without killing them, though some of these devices have maimed and killed in the past.

    Five of the school police forces have not disclosed their inventory to the public this year, in spite of a 2021 state law requiring them to do so annually. Two of them, at San Diego Unified School District and Montebello Unified School District, published up-to-date inventory reports after CalMatters asked for them. The remaining two police departments, at Twin Rivers Unified and Santa Ana Unified, released reports for the first time in 2026 after owning the weapons for years.

    School districts say these weapons improve police ability to respond to critical incidents and threats, apprehend violent suspects, and help with crowd control. In April, Twin Rivers school police in Sacramento County brought out its military-grade patrol rifles while responding to a shooting at an out-of-district high school where a teenager was killed. At that time, the police department did not have a military equipment policy in place.

    Some of the districts with police forces initially denied owning military equipment in response to CalMatters’ questions, but changed their answers when asked to double-check since they had policies listing the equipment.

    Los Angeles School Police possess 112 semi-automatic rifles and 104 bean-bag shotguns, according to information provided by district spokesperson Christy Hagen. Hagen did not respond when asked if they plan to report that publicly as required by the 2021 law.

    “This equipment is used only in limited, high-risk situations where it is necessary to help protect students, staff, community members, and officers,” Hagen wrote in an email to CalMatters. “It is deployed when needed to safely de-escalate dangerous incidents, reduce risk to everyone involved, and help bring critical situations to a safe resolution.”

    The 2021 law does not require police to track or report non-military weapons, such as tasers and “standard issue” semi-automatic rifles. However, district governing boards overseeing school police can subject any additional items of their choosing to the same oversight. Some districts told CalMatters they don’t consider tasers and rifles military equipment despite listing those items as such in their policies.

    School security armed with AR-15s

    The Twin Rivers Unified School District Police Department has owned military equipment for over 20 years. But the district’s board of trustees didn’t approve an equipment use policy until May.

    District Police Chief David Lugo said at the board meeting that the policy simply brought the department into compliance with state law, rather than granting police newfound authority to be armed.

    However, state law requires a governing body’s permission if police want to use or buy military equipment. Permission can only be granted if the desired equipment is cost-effective, the police agency has developed an equipment policy that safeguards civil liberties, and there is no other way to maintain civilian safety. The policy must be approved by the same governing board before the equipment is used, re-approved at least annually, and posted online as long as the equipment is usable.

    These requirements, and many more, took effect when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 481, which aimed to limit the “risks and impacts of police militarization,” especially in low-income and marginalized communities. The law took effect on Jan. 1, 2022, giving police a five-month grace period to comply.

    The Twin Rivers district does not perceive a conflict between this law and what Lugo said at the meeting, district spokesperson Zenobia J. Gerald wrote in an email to CalMatters.

    Military tools “are not used in the Department’s day-to-day support of District campuses,” Gerald wrote. “They are only used to respond to extraordinary situations such as the presence of firearms or other serious threats on school campuses and active shooter situations.”

    Lugo did not respond to repeated interview requests.

    Parents split on military equipment

    At Twin Rivers’ board meeting in May, 14 people used their public comment time to speak about the school police’s equipment inventory. Six attendees, including parents and teachers, protested the adoption of the policy. The other eight commenters, all parents or local residents, spoke in strong support of the district’s military arsenals. Most proponents argued that student safety comes first and school police should take any means necessary to deflect a school shooter.

    “The policy is not about militarizing our schools,” said Dianne Kieffer, a board member of a local neighborhood organization. “It’s about preparedness, accountability, transparency, and making sure that the people responsible for protecting our children and our staff and our schools have clear rules, training, oversight and the proper tools if the worst day imaginable ever comes to happen.”

    Dean Broussard, the CEO of a security services company, said taking care of the district’s children is more important than people’s personal ideas about police equipment.

    “If the time comes, and I hope and pray it never happens, that these officers need to go into a shooting incident, and they don’t have the tools, and they call for (local police) backup, and officers are 15, 20 minutes away … that’s not good,” he said at the meeting. “The immediate response is what we need.”

    Parents Kevin and Tricia Hedahl opposed the proposed policy, citing the extensive preparation necessary to safely deploy less-lethal tools and assault rifles usually reserved for war. State law requires the military equipment policy to list necessary training, if there is any, for each weapon.

    Kevin Hedahl served in the U.S. Army’s Second Ranger Battalion’s Special Ops unit from 1999 to 2003, and said in an interview that he used the same type of weapons used by Twin Rivers school police in Afghanistan and in the Middle East to breach doors and in combat.

    “To be trained to utilize them in a way that we wouldn’t be just randomly killing people was a 24-7 amount of training. We were doing live fire drills on a weekly basis,” he said. “The idea that a police force has access and is able to use these weapons with just this tiny little bit of training just blew me away.”

    Others argued that arming campus cops could signal to families that the district sees their kids as dangerous. Diane Roberts, an English teacher at Grant Union High School, said the board should consider how families of Black and Latino students — who comprise over half of the district — feel about assault weapons on campus.

    “I think really, really well-trained teachers and school counselors who can do interventions ahead of time is going to be more impactful and help students so much more than (military weapons),” Tricia Hedahl said in an interview. “Conflict resolution and focusing on de-escalation is going to keep so many more people safe and keep it from happening in the first place.”

    Colleges, K-12 schools break the same rules

    In July, CalMatters uncovered a massive inventory of military-grade weapons and tools owned by police at the state’s public colleges and universities, and determined that many of the campuses had failed to abide by the state’s strict transparency rules. CalMatters’ continued investigation shows similar failures among K-12 district police forces.

    Once military-grade equipment — like less-lethal shotguns, flashbang grenades and drones — is in police hands, that department is required to compile an annual report containing an updated inventory, a summary of equipment uses and filed complaints, the year’s maintenance costs, and an index of planned equipment purchases. The report, filed with the governing body, must also be posted online. Within 30 days of publication, the department must hold a forum where the public can discuss the report and ask questions.

    Before CalMatters asked for these reports, five K-12 school police forces — Apple Valley, Fontana, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego — had not published them in the past year.

    Stockton and Montebello published reports in 2025. But even though Montebello held a meeting in April this year, it only published its 2026 report online for public viewing after several inquiries from CalMatters in July. The Stockton Unified School District communications office declined to comment on whether its police department held an equipment forum in 2025.

    Twin Rivers police held the mandated forum this year. The Santa Ana school police department, which released its first equipment report this year, did not respond to repeated phone and email inquiries into whether its district held the required meeting. This district’s report also did not list the currently-owned quantities of rifle and bean bag munitions or quantities of less-lethal launchers the department plans to buy.

    A chart with four columns and six rows. There are typed words on the chart. The heading of the chart reads, "IV. Equipment Summary and Justification."
    A Santa Ana Unified School District Police Department equipment summary from 2026 lists M4 rifles, ammunition, 12-gauge less-lethal bean bag rounds, command vehicles and firearm supplies in its arsenal.
    (
    Image
    /
    via the Santa Ana Unified School District Police Department
    )

    Santa Ana, Twin Rivers and Montebello’s equipment policies also do not state how civilians can submit feedback and complaints, which the law requires.

    Dan Garcia, Montebello’s Administration Services director, told CalMatters the public can express concerns at police town halls and district board meetings. Gerald at Twin Rivers said complaint forms can be mailed or delivered in-person at school. Santa Ana school police did not respond to repeated inquiries about their policy’s missing details.

    Some districts are uncertain over what qualifies for reporting

    State law requires military equipment documents to be available online, but the Fontana and Apple Valley school districts both said CalMatters would have to get the documents through public record requests.

    Initially, on Aug. 4, Fontana’s public records department stated campus police do not own any military equipment. When CalMatters asked if they were certain, the district responded on Aug. 10 that they would update their 2024 equipment report and submit it to their district board of education this September.

    San Bernardino school police also said at first that they have no military equipment. When CalMatters asked again, the district sent an equipment report a few days later.

    Under the law, all pieces of military equipment need to be listed in a use policy, along with manufacturer descriptions, necessary training, costs and rules for using the items. The policy must also spell out possible penalties for policy violations.

    Campus cops do not have to reveal their taser inventory to the public under the military equipment law. For example, the El Rancho Unified School District told CalMatters that campus police carry Axon TASER 7 devices, which they say provide a less-lethal option if force is necessary, but this information is not required to be disclosed.

    However, a 2025 policy from Apple Valley Unified categorizes its tasers, semi-automatic rifles, sponge launchers and munitions as military equipment, but lists no other information about those devices. The district told CalMatters its police department has never produced an inventory report, adding that its tasers and rifles are exempt from the state law, which only requires police to report non-standard semi-automatic rifles and Taser Shockwave devices.

    Along with the aforementioned districts, 11 other California public school districts — plus Victor Valley Union High School — operate their own police departments. Several of them, including Victor Valley and the Clovis and Hesperia districts, have published military equipment policies but told CalMatters they don’t own such equipment nor plan to purchase it. Compton Unified attracted criticism from local residents in 2014 when it authorized campus police to carry AR-15s, though district spokesperson John Stouffer said the department never bought them.

    Fontana and San Bernardino both told CalMatters they would make and publicize the necessary reports as the school year begins. So did San Diego school police, which submitted a new report to its district’s board of education in August after two years without one.

    Phoebe Huss is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

    This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

  • OC Burger Week, Other Places Art Fair and more
    Circus performers in colorful costumes pose on stage as two aerialists swing overhead on ropes.
    'Water for Elephants' will be at the Pantages through Sept. 27.

    In this edition:

    World’s Largest Beach Cleanup, O.C. Burger Week, Other Places Art Fair and more of the best things to do this week.

    Highlights:

    • Leave it to Venice to have a beach cleanup with an afterparty. Join the attempt to make this weekend’s event the world’s largest beach cleanup (a worthy cause!) and like Rio, keep on dancing on the sand for hours after.
    • Head to Orange County for the best burgers across the area all week long. The menus are up, and the deals are in, so check out a burger a day from Anaheim to Newport. Burgers are priced at $10, $15, $20, $25, $30 and $35.
    • Angels Gate hosts a fair of underrepresented artists and craftspeople for the Other Places Art Fair. The decommissioned Battery Leary-Merriam Army battery makes for a unique backdrop to explore work from artists of all backgrounds.

    I have heard about so many people starting new things this week — new jobs, new schools, new projects. It’s also the start of the Jewish New Year, so a fortuitous time for new beginnings. I hope you’re having a sweet one.

    Elsewhere on LAist, you can meet the Glendale singer who made the finals of a Mexican singing contest, check out an exhibit of neurodivergent artists on Abbot Kinney in Venice, and visit the Jewish bakery where recovery and challah are braided together.

    Music

    A person wearing a cap and sunglasses sings into a microphone, wearing blue and black shirt.
    Talib Kweli will be at the Blue Note this week.
    (
    Isaiah Trickey
    /
    Getty Images
    )

    This week, Licorice Pizza has your sweet, sweet music recs, including:

    Wednesday

    Thursday 

    Friday

    Saturday 

    Sunday 

    Monday

    Tuesday 

    Events

    World’s Largest Beach Cleanup

    Saturday, Sept. 19, 4 p.m. 
    Lifeguard Tower 18 
    Venice Beach 
    COST: FREE; MORE INFO

    Three people in caps and gloves collect debris in buckets on a sandy beach near a long pier over the ocean.
    Volunteers participate during the LA28 Venice Beach Clean-Up at Venice Beach on December 05, 2025.
    (
    Katelyn Mulcahy
    /
    Getty Images for LA28
    )

    Leave it to Venice to have a beach cleanup with an afterparty. Join the attempt to make this weekend’s event the world’s largest beach cleanup (a worthy cause!) and like Rio, keep on dancing on the sand for hours after.


    Urs Fischer 

    Through Saturday, Oct. 3
    Jeffrey Deitch
    925 N. Orange Drive, Hollywood
    COST: FREE; MORE INFO

    Colorful office chairs in shades of purple, orange, yellow, red, green and blue sit spaced apart in an empty warehouse-style room.
    (
    Urs Fischer
    /
    Jeffrey Dietch
    )

    You have a couple weeks left to catch Swiss artist Urs Fischer’s show at Jeffrey Deitch, where he uses the vast space to its fullest, creating installations of unexpected everyday objects (desk chairs, rotting fruit, melted wax) in some unique (and sometimes compromising) configurations.


    Sutton Foster teaches dance fitness

    Sept. 17, 22, 24
    The Limit at Sierra Madre Dance Center
    154 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre
    COST: $40; MORE INFO

    A person in a sparkling one-shoulder black dress laughs on stage, holding a microphone under blue and pink stage lights.
    Sutton Foster will be teaching three dance fitness classes in Sierra Madre.
    (
    Bruce Glikas
    /
    Getty Images
    )

    I'm too nervous and uncoordinated to show up to this class, but if you go, please report back and tell me how amazing it was to dance with the queen of Broadway herself, Sutton Foster. The tap-tastic star is coming to teach a dance workout class with The Limit, so whether you’re looking for a workout or your next starring role, this is the spot.


    Other Places Art Fair 

    Saturday, Sept. 19, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
    Angels Gate
    3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro 
    COST: FREE; MORE INFO

    Angels Gate hosts a fair of underrepresented artists and craftspeople for the Other Places Art Fair. The decommissioned Battery Leary-Merriam Army battery makes for a unique backdrop to explore work from artists of all backgrounds. Plus, there will be hands-on weaving, voice and rhythm meditation, embroidery, printmaking, and mixed-media sculpture workshops.


    Steampunk Rocket Ship Papercraft Workshop 

    Sunday, Sept. 20, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 
    CRASH Space
    10526 Venice Blvd., Culver City
    COST: $55.20; MORE INFO

    A hand holds a small papercraft rocket ship decorated with a star-filled night sky background.
    (
    CRASH Space
    /
    Eventbrite
    )

    You don’t have to be a kid — just a kid at heart — to get your creative juices flowing and make a light-up rocket ship out of hand-inked paper. Run by Ink and Paper Apothecary, no experience is necessary, and the fee includes all materials; you’ll leave with your own unique piece to take home and display. Up, up and away!


    Water for Elephants 

    Through Sunday, Sept. 27
    Pantages Theatre
    6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 
    COST: FROM $69; MORE INFO 

    An aerialist performs on a trapeze, reaching down toward another performer's outstretched hand below.
    (
    Matthew Murphy
    /
    Broadway in Hollywood
    )

    The seven-time Tony-nominated musical Water for Elephants makes the circus come alive onstage through incredible acrobatics and performance magic. It’s only here through Sept. 27, so catch the Broadway tour while you can.


    Orange County Burger Week 

    Through Saturday, Sept. 26
    Multiple locations
    COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

    A cheeseburger with arugula, pickles and red onion sits beside a bag of fries and a glass of dark beer.
    (
    Courtesy Moxxe PR
    )

    Head to Orange County for the best burgers across the area all week long. The menus are up, and the deals are in, so check out a burger a day from Anaheim to Newport. Burgers are priced at $10, $15, $20, $25, $30 and $35. New this year are Luxury Burger Pairings, where premium burgers meet curated wine pairings and handcrafted cocktails, plus dedicated specialty and vegetarian/vegan menus. All participating restaurants, menus and pairings are updated at BurgerWeek.com.


    LA in Motion, Now & Next: Reimagining Public Art, Access and Policy

    Wednesday, Sept. 16, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
    Wende Museum 
    10808 Culver Blvd., Culver City 
    COST: FREE; MORE INFO

    Travelers walk through an airport terminal past a colorful geometric mural and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the tarmac.
    (
    The Wende Museum's Community Center
    /
    Eventbrite
    )

    Curious about where art and transport intersect in L.A.? A panel of art experts will discuss the future of public art, accessibility and policy in L.A. at this Arts Council of Los Angeles session. A reception will precede (and follow) the panel discussion, and if you haven’t spent any time in the Wende’s lovely courtyard, this is a great chance to hang in one of the city’s best-kept-secret gardens.


    The Ford/Hill Project (West Coast Premiere)

    Thursday to Saturday, Sept. 17–19, 8 p.m.
    REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater)
    631 W. 2nd St., Downtown L.A. 
    COST: $35; MORE INFO

    Two people stand center stage on a spotlit set, with two others seated among empty red chairs on either side.
    (
    Emilio Madrid
    /
    The Redcat
    )

    Using real Congressional audio testimony from Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford, this new docu-play explores what happened in the time in between the two testified and how far (or not) we’ve come. The powerful piece is only here Sept. 17 to 19 after an explosive premiere at BAM in New York last week.


    TenderFest 

    Saturday, Sept. 19, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
    The Wallis
    9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills 
    COST: $65; MORE INFO 

    A poster for TenderFest, an all-you-can-eat chicken tender festival on Sept. 19 in Beverly Hills, lists restaurants, judges, vendors and sponsors.
    (
    Courtesy TenderFest
    )

    We have a debate in our house about whether it’s “chicken tenders” or “chicken tendies” (a word that, frankly, gives me the ick). But no matter what you call them — nuggets, strips, whatever — they're all delicious, and they can all be yours at TenderFest, an all-you-can-eat celebration of the mighty chicken tender. It returns to The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills this Saturday. There will be big-name chefs taking part, a sauce squad walking around with a selection of dips, and maybe even some low-key celeb sightings because, you know, it’s Beverly Hills.


    Summer of '94 LA Community Day

    Saturday, Sept. 19, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
    Evolve LA
    1921 Blake Ave., Frogtown
    COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

    A group of male soccer players wearing red, white and blue celebrate on a green soccer pitch. A man in the middle is jumping into the group.
    The USA team celebrating during their game against Colombia in the first stage of the 1994 World Cup Finals.
    (
    Shaun Botterill
    /
    Getty Images
    )

    Maybe you still have World Cup fever, or maybe you want to relive the excitement of the U.S.A.'s exciting run as hosts of the 1994 World Cup, as documented in the film Summer of '94. You can join in a conversation with 1994 US Men’s National Team member and soccer legend Cobi Jones, plus Olympian and former Angel City FC captain Ali Riley at Evolve LA on Saturday. There will also be a skills clinic and a light lunch.

  • 3 killed in Chatsworth near fatal bus crash
    Los Angeles Fire Department trucks with extended ladder and flashing lights surround a fenced area with a white tent at night.
    Police and firefighters investigate the scene where a helicopter crashed and burst into flames Tuesday night in Chatsworth not far from a serious accident involving a Metro bus that also left three people dead.

    Topline:

    NBC4's news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood tonight and burst into flames, killing at least three people while reporters were covering the nearby crash of an SUV and a city bus, officials said.

    What we know: Colleen Williams, an NBC4 Los Angeles anchor, confirmed during a live broadcast that the station’s chopper went down just before 7 p.m. “We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, process it,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion. Moments later their coverage abruptly cut off.

    This is a developing story

    A news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing at least three people near the scene of where an SUV had slammed into a city bus, officials said.

    The helicopter crashed around 7 p.m. near a one-story commercial building in the neighborhood of Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, as news crews were covering the bus crash that left at least two people dead and six others injured, according the Los Angeles Fire Department.

    An NBC4 Los Angeles anchor at the station confirmed during a live broadcast that its chopper went down just before 7 p.m.

    At least one person killed in the helicopter crash was outside in the parking lot next to the commercial building, Capt. Branden Silverman, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said during a news conference. It was unclear if the other two who were killed were on the ground or inside the aircraft.

    Smoke rises from helicopter wreckage on a rooftop at night as firefighters work nearby; inset shows fire trucks at the scene.
    The scene of a deadly helicopter crash in Chatsworth broadcast be CBSLA.
    (
    Courtesy CBSLA
    )

    What NBC4 is reporting

    NBC4 has confirmed the two people killed aboard the NewsChopper4 helicopter Tuesday night were reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. Both, the news outlet said, were employees of Angel City Air. In a story on NBC4's website, Moreno is described as "a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station's aerial coverage."

    Prior to confirming it was a helicopter reporting for NBC4, NBC reporters acknowledged the newsroom had lost contact with their team. The news helicopter was among several in the area covering a fatal bus crash.

    L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said, in a statement on social media: "I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight. My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash."

    More coverage from NBC4 >

    One person was taken to the hospital, but their condition was not immediately clear.

    “We’re trying to determine how many patients were inside the helicopter,” said Silverman, who described the helicopter as “pretty well destroyed” and adding that officials would be sorting through the rubble to see how many victims were on board.

    At least four cars and two storage containers on the ground burned after the helicopter caught fire, which was quickly put out, according to officials. More than 50 firefighters responded to the helicopter crash, according to the fire department.null

    A heavily damaged SUV sits crushed against the side of an orange Metro bus at night.
    Police and LA Metro investigate the scene of a crash between an SUV and a LA Metro Bus that left three people dead on Tuesday in Chatsworth.
    (
    Ronaldo Bolanos
    /
    Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
    )

    About two hours before the crash, an SUV slammed into the middle of a city bus, killing at least two people and injuring six others. Photos and videos online showed half of the SUV lodged into the side of an MTA bus.

    The helicopter crashed about a mile and a half from the bus crash.

    The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said it will be investigating the cause of the helicopter crash.

    This is a developing story.