Good evening, SoCal. We're wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook.
Your Weather Planner
Marine layer clouds will become more extensive the next couple of days, pushing well inland and keeping afternoon high temperatures slightly below average.
The moisture plume that has been present for over a week will retreat through Saturday, leading to more comfortable feeling air. This means the risk of thunderstorms is practically nil Thursday, but some lingering moisture in the eastern mountain ranges and the low deserts could set an isolated storm.
Tomorrow's Highs
Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County
Today's Big Stories
1. Judge: Britney Spears can hire her own lawyer
A judge allowed Britney Spears to hire an attorney of her choosing at a hearing Wednesday in which she broke down in tears after describing the “cruelty" of her conservatorship.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny approved Spears hiring former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart, who called on Spears' father to immediately resign as her conservator.
“We will be moving promptly and aggressively for his removal," Rosengart said outside the courthouse. “The question remains, why is he involved?”
Britney Spears, taking part in the hearing by phone, told the judge she approved of Rosengart after several conversations with him. She then asked to address the court, but asked that the courtroom be cleared.
As Rosengart began to argue for a private hearing, Spears interrupted him to say “I can talk with it open.”
“I would like to charge my father with conservatorship abuse,” she said, speaking so rapidly she was at times difficult for the court reporter and the dozens of media members in the courtroom to understand.
She said she wanted the conservatorship to end immediately but not if it required going through any more “stupid” evaluations.
“If this is not abuse, I don’t know what is,” Spears said as she described being denied things as basic as coffee, her driver's license and her “hair vitamins” by the conservatorship.
She also described suffering long term “serious abandonment issues.”
2. LA County moves forward with return of Bruce family's land
Los Angeles County leaders are moving forward with a plan to return prime beachfront property to descendants of a Black couple who built a resort for African Americans but were stripped of the land by local city officials a century ago.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to pursue an action plan created by the county chief executive’s office on returning the land to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce once the state allows it.
The county would be a sponsor of state legislation that is needed to enable the transfer.
“We are on an important road to set a precedent that could be replicated across the country as we work to put actions behind our commitment to an anti-racist agenda and anti-racist county,” Supervisor Holly Mitchell said. “We cannot achieve racial equity until we confront our past and make it right.”
3. Dodger pitcher Trevor Bauer's leave extended amid assault probe
Dodger pitcher Trevor Bauer, who is facing allegations of physically assaulting a woman during a pair of sexual encounters, will remain on administrative leave through July 27.
Bauer was originally placed on a seven-day administrative leave on July 2, but it was subsequently extended for another week.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the leave has now been stretched through July 27 as part of deal reached between Major League Baseball and the players' union. Absent the agreement, the league potentially could have suspended Bauer without pay, The Times reported. Bauer is still being paid while on administrative leave.
4. Prosecutor describes ‘party and play’ sessions at Ed Buck's apartment
A federal prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that political fundraiser Ed Buck gave large amounts of methamphetamine to two men who overdosed and died at his West Hollywood apartment, but the defense countered that the defendant did nothing to cause the deaths.
Defense attorney Chris Darden, in his opening statement in Buck's trial, told the jury that his client was a victim of "manipulative people" who took advantage of his generosity in order to get free drugs and money. Darden alleged that underlying medical conditions hastened the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, not the drugs they may have ingested in Buck's presence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Norell alleged that Buck was "obsessed" with "party and play," a term used by some gay men to describe a sexual encounter involving drugs.
"The party is the drugs, the play is the sex," Norell said in her opening statement. "If they didn't party, he wasn't interested."
Buck faces nine felony counts, including two counts of distribution of controlled substances resulting in death stemming from the deaths of 26- year-old Moore in July 2017 and 55-year-old Dean in January 2019. If convicted, each of the two charges carry 20-year mandatory minimums.
5. Schumer unveils bill to federally decriminalize marijuana
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced a sweeping bill on Wednesday that will decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, a key milestone signaling shifting attitudes in Washington toward cannabis.
Along with Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., Schumer unveiled a draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which intends to decriminalize and deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, expunge federal nonviolent marijuana-related crimes and establish a “path for responsible federal regulation of the cannabis industry” while respecting the “integrity of state cannabis laws.”
“It’s our legislative proposal to end the federal prohibition on marijuana and repair damage done by the War on Drugs—especially in communities of color,” Schumer said of the bill on Twitter.
6. Meghan, Prince Harry to develop new Netflix animated series
Meghan and Prince Harry’s second Netflix project will focus on a 12-year-old girl’s adventures in an animated series.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Productions announced Wednesday that the working title “Pearl” will be developed for the streaming service. Meghan created the idea of the family-focused animated series, which was inspired by a variety of women from history.
Meghan will serve as an executive producer with filmmaker David Furnish, who worked as a producer on “Rocketman” and “Sherlock Gnomes.”
“Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life’s daily challenges,” Meghan said in a statement.
Your Notes for Tomorrow
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to join several local congressional representatives for a news conference in El Sereno to raise awareness about the expanded Child Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit monthly payments begin
- President Biden speaks to mark expansion of the Child Tax Credit
- President Biden hosts German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House
- 15th anniversary of Twitter launched to public four months after first 'tweet’
- British Open golf begins
In Case You Missed It
Bastille Day celebrated by French community across SoCal
Bastille Day, commonly known in the U.S. as the "French July Fourth," is a holiday celebrating the storming of the Bastille, a military prison, on July 14, 1789 in an uprising that gave way to the French Revolution.
The national day was given its name because of what the Bastille symbolized — the tyranny of the French monarchy, especially King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette. In honor of the revolutionary day this year, Angelenos and the many Francophiles across Southern California are invited to enjoy a variety of festivities happening Wednesday.
"As French expats who live far away from home, it's easy to get homesick so we're excited to use our National Holiday as an occasion to celebrate all things French," said Marianne Perret, co-founder of Coucou French Classes, in a statement.