California
Mercedes owner slaps autistic boy seconds after he allegedly bends the hood ornament on $146K luxury car

Shocking cellphone video captured the moment an entitled Mercedes owner slapped an autistic boy for touching his car’s hood ornament while the child was walking along a California street on Monday.
Alfredo Morales, 10, was with his older sister crossing the street at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Osbourne Street in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles on July 1.
The siblings were heading to a bus stop for their daily food run when young Alfredo reached out and touched the Mercedes-Benz emblem on the front of the luxury sedan when it was stopped at a red light at the intersection, according to KTLA.
The curious grab angered the driver, who made an immediate U-turn and confronted the two sitting on the bus stop’s bench.
“Sorry, he is autistic,” the sister says in Spanish in the video. “He has special needs.”
Morales’ older sister attempted to stand between her brother and the man as a smiling Alfredo reached out to the new visitor.
The older sibling’s attempt at creating a barricade didn’t work as the driver slapped the boy across his face before walking back to his car.
Following the slap, the unidentified driver gets out of his car and examines the front emblem, appearing to move it around before driving off, the cellphone video captured.
Alfredo’s parents told the outlet they were angry about the incident and explained because of their son’s autism, he often explores the environment around him through touch.
Alfredo’s father, Miguel Morales, is looking for answers and seeking justice for his son.
The older Morales, said he is going to file a police report into the incident, along with the footage from the video, according to KTLA.
A call was made to the Los Angeles Police Department at the time of the incident but by the time officers arrived at the bus, everyone was gone, Foz 11 LA reported.
The 2023 S-class sedan was purchased in Valencia in April of 2024 and cost around $146,000, according to the Daily Mail.

California
Mississippi State women’s basketball will face California to open March Madness. Bracket update, game info

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s basketball is back in the NCAA tournament.
The Bulldogs (21-11) drew a No. 9 seed and will play No. 8 California (25-8) on Saturday in Los Angeles. The winner will play No. 1 Southern Cal or No. 16 UNC-Greensboro.
It marks two trips to the NCAA tournament in the first three seasons under coach Sam Purcell. MSU was selected to the First Four in 2023 and defeated Illinois to make the first round. Then, it beat Creighton before losing to Notre Dame in the second round. The Bulldogs narrowly missed the NCAA tournament last season and played in the WBIT instead.
Mississippi State lost just one nonconference game before an up-and-down SEC schedule. It was a victim of two buzzer-beater losses to Missouri and Florida. MSU beat Missouri in the first round of the SEC tournament and then lost to Ole Miss in the next round.
Buy Mississippi State women’s NCAA tournament tickets
Jerkaila Jordan is Mississippi State’s leading scorer with 16.0 points per game.
MSU has never won the national championship but was a finalist in 2017 and 2018 under coach Vic Schaefer.
Who does Mississippi State women’s basketball play in March Madness?
Mississippi State will play California in the first round.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
California
Some COVID shocks were short-lived, others more permanent: These five Bay Area charts show how

It has been five years since the Bay Area’s shelter-in-place order was announced, these charts show how some things have recovered, and others have changed more permanently.
Subscribe to continue reading this article.
Already subscribed? To login in, click here.
Originally Published:
California
Photos: Dublin (the California one!) holds 41st St. Patrick’s Day Parade

A city named after Ireland’s capital has to put on a good show for St. Patrick’s Day.
So on Saturday morning, the 41st holiday parade got under way in Alameda County’s Dublin with bagpipe and high school bands and plenty of floats, cars and revelers decked out in green.
The city of San Francisco, with its Irish roots, also hosted a parade. And the crowd for San Jose’s annual Shamrock Run wound its way through downtown.
The Bay Area festivities — Irish dance and music, pub crawls, corned beef feasts — will continue Sunday and through the holiday, Monday.

















Originally Published:
-
News1 week ago
Gene Hackman Lost His Wife and Caregiver, and Spent 7 Days Alone
-
Politics1 week ago
Republicans demand Trump cut American legal association out of nominee process
-
Politics1 week ago
Agriculture secretary cancels $600K grant for study on menstrual cycles in transgender men
-
News1 week ago
States sue Trump administration over mass firings of federal employees
-
News1 week ago
Trump Seeks to Bar Student Loan Relief to Workers Aiding Migrants and Trans Kids
-
Politics1 week ago
Kristi Noem says 2 leakers accused of disclosing ICE operations ID'd: 'Put law enforcement lives in jeopardy'
-
News5 days ago
Grieving Covid Losses, Five Years Later
-
World5 days ago
Ukraine accepts 30-day ceasefire in US talks: What it means for Russia war