California
Election 2024: Michelle Steel still leads Derek Tran, narrowly, in California’s 45th congressional race
More than a week after Election Day, Rep. Michelle Steel is still holding onto her razor-thin lead over Derek Tran in the race for California’s 45th congressional district, as of the latest vote tally posted by the secretary of state Thursday, Nov. 14.
But Tran has further cut into her lead in the nailbiter race. Wednesday’s tally had Steel up by 349 votes. On Thursday, her lead shrunk to just 236.
The Southern California race is currently the closest in the state that has yet to be called.
Of the votes tallied Thursday, Tran, a Democrat, clinched 62% of the results from Los Angeles County, which makes up a small part of the district, while 53% of those results on Thursday from Orange County swung in his favor.
Steel, the Republican incumbent seeking a third term, was leading by more than 11,000 votes the day after Election Day, but a steady stream of blue ballots counted since that earlier tally has allowed Tran to slash away at her lead.
As of Thursday evening, the Orange County registrar of voters said it had counted more than 1.3 million ballots and estimated that there were more than 74,000 ballots left to process countywide. In Los Angeles County, an estimated 99,400 ballots need to be processed still, according to its elections official.
The race has been trending in Tran’s favor, and it’s likely he could flip the district by a narrow margin, said Christian Grose, a pollster and professor of political science at USC.
However, the margin is tight enough that Steel could still pull off a win, he added.
Both campaigns have prepared for the possibility of a recount in the race, soliciting donations to legal funds from their supporters in recent days. Secretary of State Shirley Weber said if there is a recount — and it yields a different outcome — then local elections officials in both Orange and Los Angeles counties would be required to recertify their results.
Tran is in Washington, D.C., this week for new member orientation, despite not clinching a congressional victory as of yet. If elected, he would become the first Vietnamese American to represent Orange County’s Little Saigon in Congress.
Neither Steel’s nor Tran’s campaigns commented on the latest vote tallies Thursday evening.
All of the other five congressional races that touch Orange County have already been called. If Tran does unseat Steel, Rep. Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills, would be the only Republican House member to represent an Orange County district.
Originally Published:
California
Tesla driver infamous for Southern California road rage attacks sentenced in Hawaii case
A Tesla driver infamous for a series of road rage attacks caught on camera in Southern California has been sentenced to seven years in prison after he was convicted in a similar case in Hawaii.
Videos from 2023 that went viral show a pipe-wielding man getting out of his Tesla and striking vehicles on Southern California roads.
Nathanial Radimak was arrested early that year for a series of attacks, was convicted in two road rage incidents and served time behind bars in California. Now he’s headed to prison again in Hawaii for a similar attack.
Two of Radmark’s Los Angeles-area victims reacted to the 40-year-old’s seven-year prison sentence, longer than even the prosecution requested.
“I feel that justice has finally been served,” said victim Beth Lamprecht during a press conference Tuesday.
“For years, there were pleas to keep this dangerous individual from hurting others. While those warnings went unheeded, today we finally have accountability,” she continued.
Those victims and attorney Gloria Allred argued that Radimak should not have been free in the first place.
He was sentenced to five years in prison in Los Angeles County and released after a year, according to the Department of Corrections.
Allred said he received credit for time served while awaiting sentencing and good behavior.
There are reports that Allred raised on Tuesday that Radimak was released early from California custody because of overcrowding.
He committed this latest attack in Hawaii while still on parole.
“It highlights a painful reality, one’s individual criminal behavior can impact communities across multiple cities and multiple states,” victim Vivian Romero said.
In the Hawaii attack, which was caught on camera, Radimak was seen zipping past a mother and 18-year-old daughter trying to parallel park.
The daughter yelled “slow down” out of concern. The suspect was then seen turning around, approaching their car, punching the 18-year-old and, when mom Diane Ung gets out furious, he punches her in the eye.
He pleaded no contest to two assault charges.
“For the first time in a long time, we all can breathe a little easier knowing that he will have time he needs in a space away from the general public,” Lamprecht said.
At the sentencing hearing in Hawaii, Radimak said he regrets the assault there and takes accountability and said he needs treatment. His attorney argued he has a long history of undiagnosed schizophrenia and other mental illnesses and struggled with side effects from his medications.
KTLA has reached out to the Department of Corrections and the Los Angeles County District Attorney to see if they will try to extradite Radimak for parole violation.
California
California chemical tank crisis updates. What happens next?
Evacuations amid California chemical leak leave residents anxious
A damaged chemical tank in a California neighborhood forced evacuations, leaving residents anxious as officials work to prevent a disaster.
The worst threats from a damaged chemical tank in Southern California have passed, with authorities saying a major explosion was no longer imminent, but evacuations are still in place amid continued risks on May 26.
The damaged tank prompted tens of thousands of evacuations near Garden Grove, California, in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, starting on May 21. The tank, which stores a toxic industrial chemical, overheated and caused pressure to build up.
Officials have previously said the crisis would lead to a catastrophic explosion or a spill of the roughly 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate at the GKN Aerospace manufacturing facility.
By May 25, they were more optimistic.
“The most catastrophic and worst-case scenario was mitigated and resolved,” said TJ McGovern, interim chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, in a news conference the evening of May 25.
The potential for the most serious crisis was averted after officials discovered a crack in the tank, which relieved significant pressure and the likelihood of a BLEVE, or a “boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.” The evacuation zone was reduced on May 25, but still covered about 16,000 residents, the fire authority said.
“Residents have been displaced from their homes, businesses have been impacted, and I am relieved that many of you will be able to return home,” Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein said. “Garden Grove will get through this together.”
President Donald Trump, on May 25, signed an emergency declaration at the federal level.
Thousands of residents can go back home after explosion risk mitigated
Tens of thousands of residents were removed from the evacuation zone as of the evening of May 25.
As people return to their homes, the Environmental Protection Agency said it was conducting air quality tests, which so far were in the clear for harmful exposure to residents, federal on-scene coordinator Chris Myers said.
Many who evacuated have been staying at shelters set up to house the displaced, and some slept in tents or in their cars nearby. They spent their Memorial Day holiday away from home. At Freedom Hall, a structure at Miles Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley, Michael Friedman told the USA TODAY Network he was tired and frustrated after evacuating from his home on May 22.
“Everyone’s doing their best,” Friedman said. “They really are, but it’s like it’s not like being at home.”
Nancy O’Leary, who lives in a senior facility in Garden Grove, slept near Friedman at the shelter. Despite the situation, O’Leary was thankful for how helpful she said others were.
“Oh, you have no idea the friends you make in here,” she said. “Sticking together. It’s wonderful.”
The risk is not over. What happens next?
Officials said the residents under the most recent evacuation orders live in an area still at risk from the tank. More work will need to be done before the evacuation is lifted entirely, Orange County Fire Authority incident commander Craig Covey said.
Teams are checking the temperature of the tank every 30 minutes, hoping to confirm a downward trend that would indicate risk is lessening. In the smaller risk zone, Covey said there is still a potential for fire.
In the meantime, residents were urged not to enter the evacuation zone and to keep close watch for updates.
“Nothing is worth risking and endangering your lives by trying to go back to your home while an evacuation order is still in effect,” said Sen. Adam Schiff of California. “Don’t put your lives at risk, and don’t put the lives of first responders at risk by getting in their way.”
Contributing: Paris Barraza, Daniella Segura, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Christopher Cann, Thao Nguyen, Ani Gasparyan and Brian Day, the USA TODAY Network
California
California man charged with homicide after body found under blanket near road in Pennsylvania
A man from California is facing a list of charges, including homicide, after a body was discovered under a blanket near the shoulder of a road in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, officials said.
Ilia Romanchenko is charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, possession of an instrument of crime and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, according to online court records. The 25-year-old man from Roseville, California, was arrested on Sunday and is now awaiting his preliminary arraignment.
CBS affiliate WHP reported, citing Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo, that Romanchenko was arrested out of the state and is awaiting extradition. The news outlet reported that Romanchenko is charged in connection with the discovery of the body over the weekend. Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release that the body was found on May 23 in Londonderry Township around 10 a.m. near state Route 441.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified by police, was described by police as a man with dark brown hair, facial hair and brown eyes, believed to be in his 30s to 40s. He was wearing a black Oakland Raiders shirt and is 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, state police added in the news release.
Anyone with information on the man’s identity or the case can contact troopers at the state police barracks in Harrisburg at 717-671-7500. Authorities did not release any additional information, including why Romanchenko was in Pennsylvania or how the victim died. The investigation into the man’s death continues.
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