Los Angeles

The LAPD sexual assault division launched an investigation into an allegation of rape made against actor Armie Hammer. A 24-year-old woman, identified only as Effie, has come forward, alleging Hammer violently raped her for over four hours in Los Angeles on April 24, 2017. Effie and Hammer met on Facebook when she was 20 and were in an on-and-off relationship between 2016 and 2020, during which Hammer allegedly abused her "mentally, emotionally and sexually."

"During those four hours, I tried to get away, but he wouldn’t let me. I thought he was going to kill me. Then [he] left with no concern for my well-being," she said Thursday during a press conference.

Hammer has denied the allegations, and his attorney stated that all his relationships "have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory" and that Effie's "own correspondence with Mr Hammer undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations."

For the first time in its 93-year-history, two women have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director: Chloé Zhao's Nomadland and Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman. Only five women have ever been nominated for this award.

Zhao is also the first Asian woman nominated for Best Director. She recently made history by being the first Asian woman to win the Golden Globe for Best Director. Nomadland is also nominated for five other Oscars, including Actress in a Leading Role (Frances McDormand), Best Screenplay (Chloé Zhao), Cinematography (Joshua James Richards) and Film Editing (Chloé Zhao).

Thomas Bach is reelected as president of the International Olympic Committee. The German lawyer was unopposed and won the vote 93-1, with four members abstaining.

Bach said Tokyo was "the best prepared Olympic city ever" and reiterated that the Games would open July 23.

He also signed future Olympic hosts Paris and Los Angeles, while Brisbane, Australia, is now being fast-tracked for 2032 -- a move aimed at avoiding expensive campaigns and allegations of vote-buying.

According to the report by the LA County Sheriff's Department, the golf star crashed his car at 7.12 a.m. local time while travelling north alone on Hawthorne Boulevard. The vehicle sustained extensive damage, but no other vehicle was involved.

The 45-year-old had to be freed from his car with the help of a hydraulic rescue kit.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are getting divorced. This news is not surprising, it had been speculated about for many months; on Friday the documents were received by the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Now at stake are their four joint children, North, Saint, Psalm and Chicago, as well as an estimated fortune of 900 million (Kardashian) and 1.3 billion dollars (West).

About a year after the helicopter crash that killed, among others, Kobe Bryant, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced that the pilot made a crucial mistake before the crash.

It said the pilot lost his bearings in the clouds of the hilly area near Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020. He was prohibited by law from continuing the visual flight into the clouds, but he did so anyway, the NTBS chairman said.

Shortly before the crash, he said, the pilot told air traffic controllers he was climbing with his helicopter and had almost broken through the clouds. In fact, however, the Sikorsky S-76B skidded and sank, he said.

Technical problems with the helicopter had previously been ruled out.

The 2021 Grammy Awards, initially scheduled for January 31, have been postponed until March due to a steady rise of Covid-19 infections in California.

"The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do," so the Recording Academy and CBS in a statement. "Nothing is more important than the health and safety of those in our music community and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly on producing the show. We want to thank all of the talented artists, the staff, our vendors and especially this year’s nominees for their understanding, patience and willingness to work with us as we navigate these unprecedented times."

American television host Larry King has been at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for over a week after being diagnosed with Covid-19, CNN, his employer for many years, reports. There is no news regarding his current state of health. King has Type 2 diabetes and previously underwent treatment for lung cancer.

Los Angeles County has issued a new stay-at-home order as Covid-19 infections surge, reporting 4,544 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Friday. Starting Monday, the county prohibits all private and public gatherings with people outside a household for three weeks.

Indoor retail businesses are allowed to remain open at 20% of capacity, and exceptions are made for churches protests as they "are constitutionally protected rights".

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that he is authorizing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to shut off utility service to properties where large parties and gatherings are held in violation of public safety orders

Eddie Van Halen, virtuoso guitarist and co-founder of the popular rock band Van Halen, has died Tuesday at the age of 65. The musician had been undergoing treatment for throat cancer.

Celebrity news website TMZ, which first broke the news of his death, said Van Halen died at St Johns Hospital in Santa Monica on Tuesday surrounded by his family.

Eddie's son, Wolfgang, wrote on Twitter: "I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning."

Australian singer Helen Reddy has died at the age of 78. Her passing was announced in a statement on her official Facebook page by her children. Reddy had spent the last years of her life in a care home in Los Angeles after being diagnosed with Addison's disease and dementia.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Helen Reddy, on the afternoon of September 29th 2020 in Los Angeles. She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman. Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever," her children Traci and Jordan wrote.

Reddy was the singer behind the feminist anthem "I Am Woman" which became prominent in the women's liberation movement in the 1970s.

Pro skateboarder and founder of the streetwear company Huf Worldwide Keith Hufnagel has died at the age of 46 in his Los Angeles home after battling brain cancer for two and a half years.

"We are absolutely heartbroken to deliver the news today that HUF founder Keith Hufnagel has passed away. Keith battled brain cancer for the past 2.5 years. And though he beat the odds and fought back much longer than his diagnosis permitted, he ultimately and unfortunately lost the fight," Huf Worldwide wrote in an Instagram post. "Keith paved the way for all of us – as a respected professional skateboarder, shop owner, brand founder, footwear and apparel designer, creative director, and industry leader. He showed us how to do it, and how do it right."

Cinematographer and two-time Oscar nominee Michael Chapman has died of congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 84.

Chapman worked on various movies, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Fugitive, The Last Waltz and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

After an invite-only phase, the first Amazon Fresh grocery store has opened its door to the public in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Amazon is also introducing Dash Carts, shopping carts featuring a scale and a variety of cameras and sensors to calculate your shopping total. Echo Show stations featuring Alexa will help customers find items and products in the store.

According to Sheriff's Department Lt. Brandon Dean a man had been pulled over by two deputies as he was riding a bicycle that had been in violation of vehicle laws. According to them, the Black man carried a handgun and was shot as he was fighting with the deputies after a chase.

Dean stated that "our suspect was holding some items of clothing in his hands, punched one of the officers in the face, and then dropped the items in his hands" and that "the deputies noticed that inside the clothing items he dropped was a black semiautomatic handgun, at which time a deputy-involved shooting occurred".

Protesters have gathered in South Los Angeles.

Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson's exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr. initially set for next month has been postponed to November, organisers said Tuesday.

In a statement, promotional company Triller said the fight in Los Angeles would now take place on November 28 to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Tyson said, "Changing the date to November 28th will give more people the opportunity to see the biggest comeback in boxing history."

Fifteen US mayors have addressed a letter to Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf opposing the use of federal federal law enforcement with "no oversight" against protesters. The letter is calling the act of deploying federal forces against protesters an "abuse of power" and is demanding the withdrawal of "extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence" from Portland and other American cities.

"These are tactics we expect from authoritarian regimes -- not our democracy [...] The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked a national uprising and reckoning. The majority of the protests have been peaceful and aimed at improving our communities. Where this is not the case, it still does not justify the use of federal forces. Unilaterally deploying these paramilitary-type forces into our cities is wholly inconsistent with our system of democracy and our most basic values," the letter, posted by Mayor Muriel Bowser, said.

The list of mayors who signed the letter is as follows: Jenny A. Durkan, Seattle; Ted Wheeler, Portland; Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta; Lori Lightfoot, Chicago; Muriel Bowser, Washington DC; Quinton D. Lucas, Kansas City; Martin J. Walsh, Boston; Jim Kenny, Philadelphia; Michael Hancock, Denver; Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles; Sam Liccardo, San Jose; Libby Schaaf, Oakland; Regina Romera, Tucson; Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento; Kate Gallego, Phoenix.

Portland officials had previously stated that federal officers were working in coordination with local law enforcement but have since come out saying that "coordination was not made with Portland police" as the "federal police have their marching order."

According to Chad Wolf, federal law enforcement had only been deployed to Portland. On Monday, Trump vowed to send federal officers to other cities.

Grant Imahara, the former co-host of Discovery Channel's "MythBusters" and Netflix's "White Rabbit Project", has died suddenly at the age of 49 of a brain aneurysm.

Born in Los Angeles, Imahara joined Lucasfilm’s THX and later moved to its VFX unit ILM. During his tenure, he worked on films in such blockbuster movies as Jurassic Park, The Matrix, The Terminator, xXx, Galaxy Quest, Van Helsing and Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

Adam Savage, co-host of MythBusters, tweeted: "I’m at a loss. No words. I’ve been part of two big families with Grant Imahara over the last 22 years. Grant was a truly brilliant engineer, artist and performer, but also just such a generous, easygoing, and gentle PERSON. Working with Grant was so much fun. I’ll miss my friend."

Actress Naya Rivera is missing and is feared dead after Josey, her 4-year-old son, was found alone on the boat they’d rented in Lake Piru, California. According to CBS Los Angeles, Josey told the police he and his mom had gone out to go swimming.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department posted a tweet Wednesday night confirming the missing person as the former 'Glee' star, and that search operations will resume in the morning: "The missing person at Lake Puru has been identified as Naya Rivera, 33, of Los Angeles. SAR operation will continue at first light".