Southwest
Purple Heart recipient, 101 years old, celebrates his birthday at Hooters: 'Just loved it'
When US Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient Harry Perez Cerezo’s 100th birthday was coming up last year, he was not sure how he wanted to celebrate the milestone birthday.
He jokingly told his niece, Josie Ramirez, that he wanted to celebrate at a restaurant where he could see some beautiful women.
What Cerezo did not know at the time was that such a place actually exists: Hooters.
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So Ramirez and her husband took Cerezo to the El Paso location of the famous chicken wing chain for his birthday — and he had a blast.
“He enjoyed and he just loved it. They came and took pictures with him,” Ramirez told Fox News Digital in a phone interview about the staff. “The whole atmosphere — everybody was very, very friendly,” she said.
Army veteran Harry Perez Cerezo celebrated his 101st birthday at Hooters in El Paso, Texas. It was his second year in a row celebrating at the restaurant. (Hooters)
And he loved it so much that he decided to celebrate his 101st birthday at Hooters as well.
“He didn’t think he was going to live to 101,” Ramirez said.
But when his birthday rolled around again, he said he wanted to celebrate the same way he did the year before.
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On Friday, Jan. 5, the Hooters in El Paso, Texas, along with the Veterans of Foreign Wars plus his family and friends, threw Cerezo a party for his 101st birthday.
There were decorations, a cake — and pretty ladies.
In addition to a signed Hooters hat, Cerezo was treated to a rendition of “Happy Birthday” by the chain’s iconic waitstaff.
“He had such a smile on his face,” said Ramirez.
Hooters Girls signed a hat for the U.S. Army veteran’s 101st birthday. (Hooters)
“It was our honor to celebrate Harry’s 101st birthday!” Hooters El Paso wrote on its official Facebook page. “Harry spent 22 years serving his country and is a Purple Heart recipient and World War II and Korean War veteran!”
The company added, “Everyone go wish Harry a happy birthday!”
Wrote one commenter on the Hooters Facebook page, “Happy birthday, Harry. [It’s] a privilege — thank you for your service and sacrifices.”
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Cerezo, who is originally from Puerto Rico, joined the U.S. Army as soon as he was able to as a teenager, Ramirez told Fox News Digital.
“It was our honor to celebrate Harry’s 101st birthday.”
During World War II, “he was sent to Japan,” said Ramirez.
While he was there, he was shot in the back — and ultimately received a Purple Heart.
Following his recovery, Cerezo was sent back into the war. He also served during the Korean War.
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He retired after 22 years in the military, and moved to North Carolina to work for the U.S. Post Office.
After his retirement, he and his wife moved to El Paso. Cerezo’s wife died in 2018.
“He’s a very, very quiet, reserved guy,” said Ramirez.
Cerezo’s niece described him as a “quiet, reserved” person who frequently exercises and watches game shows. He’s shown celebrating his 101st birthday in El Paso, Texas, at Hooters. (Hooters)
Despite his advanced age, Cerezo is “very active,” said Ramirez — he even does daily workouts on his treadmill.
People are often surprised to hear that he is 101 years old, she said.
At age 101, he still does daily workouts on his treadmill.
He watches Mexican soap operas, and absolutely loves watching game shows like “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” every night.
“He will not go anywhere with me until [the shows are] over,” said Ramirez. “He hates Sundays because there are no games.”
As for his future, Cerezo plans on celebrating every birthday that comes along at his new favorite spot: the El Paso Hooters.
“He told [local media] when they interviewed him, he said, ‘I’ll be here ’til I’m 105,’” said Ramirez.
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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