Los Angeles, Ca
Police at UCLA investigating after reports of students drugged at frat parties
Police at the University of California, Los Angeles are investigating after receiving two recent reports of female students being drugged at off-campus fraternity parties.
According to a bulletin issued by UCLA police, one of the incidents allegedly occurred on Oct. 3, with a second one reportedly happening Oct. 5 that sent a student to the emergency room.
Experts who spoke to KTLA warn that these types of incidents are a public health issue that leave students susceptible to overdose and sexual assault. Several students agreed, saying it’s a concerning trend and one of the reasons they avoid off-campus parties altogether.
The Oct. 3 victim reported that she had been to three separate parties at fraternities on Gayley Avenue and developed symptoms that she didn’t believe were alcohol related.
Several days later, the second victim said she attended one party where she was handed a drink and quickly began feeling unusual, eventually prompting her to go to the hospital.
Many students, like UCLA senior Zoe Gianna Monterola, received a “Bruin Alert” alert about the incidents on their cellphones and found the message disturbing.
“Definitely just disheartening and I think what’s more sad is that it’s really not surprising,” she explained. “I feel like there’s a culture of being able to tolerate these things and moving on, especially when you’re in a college environment.”
Another student, Temi Osuntokun, told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff that there are certain fraternities with a reputation for misconduct.
“It’s something that we’ve heard about ever since my freshman year and I’m a fourth year [student],” she said. “We’ve been hearing about frats assaulting, raping, drugging students. When we walk by, we’re like, ‘Oh yeah, there’s that one frat,’ and it’s that sort of thing.”
Dr. Tipu Khan, Chief of Addiction Medicine at Ventura County Medical Center, told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff that people are unintentionally being exposed to more drugs than they think.
“They think they’re taking one substance, for example alcohol or cannabis, but it’s contaminated with other drugs and other substances that can lead to overdose or cases where they are taken advantage of,” he said.
KTLA has reached out to UCLA, asking what exactly officials are doing about the issue and how they’re counseling students to be safe and is awaiting a response.
So far, authorities have not identified any suspects in connection with the two incidents.
Los Angeles, Ca
Firefighter falls through floor while battling blaze in abandoned Hollywood apartment
A Los Angeles firefighter was injured when he fell through the floor of an abandoned apartment building that caught fire in Hollywood early Tuesday morning.
The fire was reported just after 2 a.m. at the two-story boarded-up complex in the 7700 block of Hollywood Boulevard.
Heavy fire was showing at the rear of the building, which had already been damaged in previous fires, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Cody Weireter said.
Plywood on doors and windows made entry difficult for firefighters, who initially took a defensive posture but put out the blaze in a little over 30 minutes.
One firefighter was injured after eventually making his way into the structure.
“We had a firefighter fall through the floor that was conducting a primary search to see if we had any victims inside,” said Weireter, who described the injury as non-life threatening.
No victims were located inside the structure but video from the scene showed a firefighter handing a blanket to a naked man standing in some bushes.
Investigators were later seen talking to the man but his connection to the fire, if any, was unclear.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, but Weireter did say that the blaze is “under active investigation from our arson counter-terrorism section.”
Los Angeles, Ca
'Tonight we all remember': Solemn memorials mark year anniversary of deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel
Thousands of Jewish and Israeli-Americans gathered in prayer Monday, Oct. 7, one year after Hamas terrorists invaded Southern Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking hundreds more hostage.
The bloody invasion ultimately ignited the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, which has left upwards of 30,000 Palestinians civilians dead and leveled much of the coastal region.
Inside Saban Theater, various city and community leaders lit candles for the fallen soldiers, the victims of sexual assault and the thousands murdered in what was the deadliest terror attack in Jewish history.
One attendee, Miriam Bluman, a local schoolteacher, said she was asked by a student if she was sad that today was Oct. 7.
“And I’m like, ‘Yes, but I’ve been sad every day since last Oct. 7,’” she explained.
In Beverly Hills, elected officials, actors and other influencers marked the occasion at exactly 6:29 a.m., the moment that the perpetrators began firing rockets into the Jewish state before besieging a music festival and targeting men, women and children in their homes.
“October 7 was the most murderous day in Jewish history since the Holocaust,” CEO of the Jewish Federation of L.A. Rabbi Noah Farkas told KTLA. “But we have come together to support each other, to help each other, to grow in strength, to support victims of terror.”
There was also moving testimony from survivors of the terrible day, from relatives of people murdered during the attack and from first responders who were among the first on the scene.
In downtown Los Angeles at an IfNotNow rally, lives on both sides of the Middle East conflict were memorialized.
For Steve Frankel, the evening was about remembering a family friend, Or Moses, who was killed while defending her base.
“We met her in April 2023 along with about 20 other soldiers,” he said. “She was killed six months later. We’ve become friends with her family since, out of the grief that we have all gone through.”
Sheilah Miller shared with KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff her personal and familiar mantra on a day like Oct. 7.
“My father, a very wise rabbi, once told me if there is a substitute for love, it is memory,” she said. “Tonight, we all remember.”
Los Angeles, Ca
Purple Whoppers are coming to Burger King for a limited time
Burger King is teaming up with Amazon MGM Studios to release a new menu inspired by The Addams Family.
The Addams Family Menu includes four items will be inspired by an Addams family member, according to the burger chain.
Here’s what the new menu includes:
Wednesday’s Whopper: A flame-grilled Whopper topped with Swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, and onions, all toasted on a purple bun that gets its hue from purple potato topped with black sesame seeds.
Thing’s Rings: Burger King’s signature onion rings served in themed packaging of The Addams Family’s beloved but mysterious one-handed helper,
Gomez’s Churro Fries: Fried churros coated in cinnamon sugar and paired with chocolate dipping sauce.
Morticia’s Kooky Chocolate Shake: Creamy soft serve mixed with chocolate cake batter fudge and topped with black and purple cookie pieces.
Kids meals at Burger King, known as King Jr. Meals, will also receive Addams Family-themed toys for a limited time to celebrate the new partnership. The new menu items will be available nationwide at participating Burger King locations beginning on Oct. 10
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