Los Angeles city leaders are fiercely against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order that directed local governments to urgently address homeless encampments. 

The executive order issued last week puts pressure on local agencies and departments to “adopt clear policies that urgently address homeless encampments while respecting the dignity and well-being of all Californians.” 

The order comes after a Supreme Court ruling which gave local governments more tools and authority to address encampments and provide resources to those in need.

“Governor Newsom’s executive order directs state agencies to adopt humane and dignified policies to urgently address encampments on state property, including by taking necessary and deliberate steps to notify and support the people inhabiting the encampment prior to removal,” Newsom’s office said in a statement. 

At a meeting on Tuesday, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors reaffirmed their stance that homelessness should not be criminalized with a unanimous vote in favor of a “care first” approach to combating the issue that spans 88 cities with a combined homeless population of over 75,000 people. 

“My position has and continues to be that I do not believe the criminalization of homelessness is the right path,” L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said.  “Quite frankly, I find it almost ludicrous to think that we’re going to issue $250 tickets to individuals who are unhoused who are then going to get another ticket and another ticket and then have a warrant out for their arrest…and for what?” 

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna was present at Tuesday’s meeting and also voiced his opposition to the executive order, stating that being homeless is not a crime and that LASD will continue to focus on criminal behavior as opposed to a person’s housing status.

Some L.A. County residents, however, are more apprehensive at the county’s approach at getting unhoused people out of encampments.

“We ask that you reexamine and prioritize certain areas we aren’t seeing success in,” one woman called in to say during Tuesday’s board meeting. “We don’t see adequate delivery of mental health services or drug rehabilitation services…it seems [the county is] taking too long in implementing SB 43, you do not protect the public space and our residents are suffering from negative ramifications from prolonged encampments.”

The state cannot force cities to adopt the measures outlined in the governor’s executive order, but they can incentivize local agencies through funding and advise them to adopt policies consistent with those being used by Caltrans – which include providing advanced notice of clearance, working with local service providers and storing personal property collected at the site for at least 60 days. 

The full executive order can be read here. 

Migrants who rushed Texas border released into US: report

Former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker calls out the Biden administration for releasing illegal immigrants into the U.S., and he discusses the need to bring back “Remain in Mexico” and the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.

An Abilene, Texas, man who was arrested last year after being linked by DNA to a 1982 cold case has died while out on bond and awaiting trial.

The Abilene Police Department said on Facebook that 66-year-old Billye Brown, the suspect in an ongoing cold case murder investigation into the 1982 deaths of then 30-year-old Susanna Flores Brown and her 8-year-old daughter, Franchesca Antionette Martinez, died on July 27, 2024.

In March 1982, the Abilene Police Department responded to a double homicide in the 1300 block of South Bowie Street.

When they arrived, they found the victims had been murdered.

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GILGO BEACH MURDERS: SERIAL KILLER SUSPECT REX HEUERMANN FACES MORE POSSIBLE CHARGES A YEAR AFTER ARREST

Billye Brown, who faced two murder charges in the cold case killing of a mother and daughter in 1982, died last week while awaiting trial. (Taylor County Jail)

Court records obtained by KTAB in Abilene showed that officers found the mother face up on the floor with multiple injuries and a lamp cord wrapped around her neck. She also reportedly had feces smeared on her, which investigators did not believe came from her body.

The daughter was also found lying on the floor, with part of her body under the bed and a phone cord wrapped around her neck.

The investigation led detectives to believe that both victims died from strangulation.

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CALIFORNIA MAN WHO WENT BY ALIAS FOR 40 YEARS ARRESTED IN WOMAN’S MURDER

A warrant that allowed investigators to obtain a DNA sample from Brown was critical to solving the Texas cold case. (iStock)

Brown told investigators at the time that he brought chicken home for dinner and ate with the family before leaving for work, court documents showed. When he returned, Brown reportedly said, he found Franchesca and Susanna dead. Documents also suggest Brown did not appear “overly upset” about finding the mother and daughter dead and even made jokes.

A further investigation found Billye and Susanna had marital problems, and family members and friends told investigators he seemed “controlling and abusive.”

The case ultimately went cold and remained so for 41 years.

FBI UNCOVERS NEW LEAD IN MURDER OF NEW MEXICO MUSICIAN ‘TAKEN’ FROM MOTEL, MOM SAYS

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The DNA sample enabled authorities to arrest Brown on two murder charges in 2023. (iStock)

Investigators reportedly attempted to speak further with Brown, though he would decline their requests and refused to submit to a DNA test.

In January last year, investigators found DNA in Susanna’s mouth, which investigators believed likely came from Brown. In July 2023, the investigators were able to get a warrant for a swab of Brown’s DNA, and as they retrieved the sample, he reportedly said, “I think I just signed my death warrant.”

He was later arrested on two charges of murder in October 2023 and released on $200,000 bond.

“While it is always tragic when a life is lost, we believe it is important to acknowledge the efforts of our dedicated officers and investigators who worked tirelessly to bring charges against Mr. Brown,” the Abilene Police Department said. “Their commitment to justice reflects the values and mission of the Abilene Police Department, especially through difficult times. Our focus remains on seeking justice for the victims and providing closure for their families. We will continue to support all affected by this case and strive to ensure that our community remains a safe and just place for all.”

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Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.

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PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee spent the night before perhaps the biggest gymnastics meet of their lives restless.

There was a tension in the air. They’d all been in the Olympic spotlight before, experiences that left them with medals but also the kind of scars — be they physical, psychological or both — that heal but never really go away.

And here they were in Paris, the leaders of a star-laden U.S. team everyone expected to finish atop the medal stand, and something wasn’t right.

In a different time, in a different era, it might have festered. Might have followed them onto the floor at Bercy Arena and into the history books, too.

This is not a different time. This is not a different era. This is now.

So the oldest team the U.S. has ever sent to the Olympics, including a trio that has spent their respective careers breaking barriers about what a female gymnast can and can’t do, what they can and can’t be, did something they never used to do.

They talked, with Biles — three years removed from a Tokyo Games that dragged the conversation around mental health and sports kicking and screaming into the light — right in the middle of it.

“I think there was a little bit of struggle,” she said. “So it was really needed.”

By the time they walked onto the floor for the Olympic final, the tension was gone, largely replaced with joy.

And not soon after, gold.

The self-described “Redemption Tour,” the moniker given to a team filled with women who wanted to return to the Games for deeply personal reasons, ended with Biles and the Americans where they have almost always been since she burst onto the scene 11 years ago: on top of the podium, the rest of the world looking up.

Eight years after winning gold in Rio with a team that called Aly Raisman grandma because she was all of 22, Biles — now 27 and married — was back again with Jade Carey (24), Chiles (23), Lee (21) and teenager Hezly Rivera at her side.

“We don’t have to be put in the box anymore,” Biles said about a group that has dubbed itself “The Golden Girls.”

No, they don’t.

With Biles at her show-stopping best, the Americans’ total of 171.296 was well clear of Italy and Brazil and the exclamation point of a yearlong run in which Biles has cemented her legacy as the greatest ever in her sport, and among the best in the history of the Olympics.

“She’s the greatest of all greats,” said Chiles, who now has gold to go with the team silver she, Lee and Biles earned in Tokyo, when Biles removed herself from the team final to protect herself.

Chiles, who seemed like a longshot to make it this spring after injuries piled up, was pretty good in her own right. She began the night by drilling her double-twisting Yurchenko vault, sending the Americans on a four-apparatus stop on their “Tour” that felt equal parts coronation and celebration.

By the time Biles, the left calf that bothered her during qualifying heavily taped, stepped onto the floor for the final event — a floor exercise set to music by Taylor Swift and Beyonce — it was over.

She joked she knew she simply needed to stay on her feet to win. She did more than that, providing an exclamation point on the U.S.’s third gold in its last four trips to the Games.

The Americans remain peerless (if not flawless, this is gymnastics after all) when at their best.

And over two hours in front of a crowd that included everyone from tennis great Serena Williams to actor Natalie Portman, Biles left little doubt about anything.

Her status as the sport’s greatest of all time. Her ability to move past the “twisties” that derailed her in Japan. Her spot in the pantheon of the U.S. Olympic movement.

She now has a staggering 38 medals in major international competitions. Eight of those have come under the Olympic rings, moving her past Shannon Miller for the most by an American gymnast.

Yet her return wasn’t so much about winning. That’s never really been the point anyway, just a byproduct of her unparalleled excellence. It was about a joy she had lost somewhere along the way.

It seems to have returned. She leaned into the crowd that roared at every flip, every leap and, yes, every twist. With her husband — on break from NFL training camp — waving an American flag while sitting next to her parents, Biles did what she has done so well for so long save for a couple of difficult days in Japan during a pandemic: she dominated.

Biles met with her therapist in the morning to put her in the right mindset. There was brief — very brief — moment of trepidation as she raced down the vault runway, the event that began to spin out of control in Tokyo.

Only this time, she essentially stuck her Cheng vault, the one that sends her spinning through the air in a fraction of a second.

Afterward, she exhaled.

“I was like ‘Yes, please no flashbacks or anything,’” Biles said. “But I did feel a lot of relief. And as soon as I landed I was like ’Oh yeah, we’re going to do this.’”

Yes they were. Just like always.

The only real drama centered on who would finish next to the Americans on the medal stand.

Italy, which was a surprising second to the U.S. during qualifying, returned to the podium for the first time since 1928 by holding off Brazil for silver.

Yet there was no question about the top spot. There rarely ever is when Biles is involved.

The road back to this moment has been difficult at times. Uncertain. They felt the weight of everything on Monday night. Rather than let it weigh them down, they shed it.

“I think the talk that we had yesterday definitely helped all of us like come together tonight,” Lee said. “And it just made it so much more special.”

___

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games