Jaimie Ding, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - A home burns in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)

Federal government sues California utility, alleging equipment sparked deadly wildfires

September 4, 2025

The federal government has filed two lawsuits against Southern California Edison, alleging the utility’s equipment sparked fires in the Los Angeles area that destroyed thousands of structures and killed 17 people. The lawsuits were filed Thursday and included claims for the Eaton Fire. They allege that Edison failed to properly maintain its power and transmission infrastructure and seeks more than $40 million in damages. A second lawsuit alleges that a sagging power line sparked another fire in September 2022, scorching thousands of acres of forest land. Edison spokesperson Jeff Monford said they are reviewing the lawsuits.

FILE - Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham R-Calif, gestures while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 12, 1995. (AP photo/Dennis Cook, File)

Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham, Vietnam War hero convicted of accepting bribes as a congressman, dies at 83

August 29, 2025

Randy “Duke” Cunningham, whose feats as a U.S. Navy flying ace during the Vietnam War catapulted him to a U.S House of Representatives career that ended in disgrace when he was convicted of accepting $2.4 million in bribes, has died. He was 83. Cunningham died Wednesday at a hospital in a Little Rock, Arkansas, and was one of the most highly decorated pilots in the Vietnam War. He went on to serve eight terms in Congress before pleading guilty in 2005 to receiving illegal gifts from defense contractors, in what was the largest bribery scandal in congressional history at the time.

FILE - Demonstrators sit in an intersection during a protest over the death of George Floyd, on May 30, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Jury awards more than $2 million to protester shot in face with nonlethal projectile

August 27, 2025

A jury has awarded at least $2.2 million to a protester who was shot in the face with a less-lethal munition by a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy during a demonstration against police brutality in 2020. In the verdict last week, the jury found LA County liable for the injuries sustained by the man, Cellin Gluck, and determined that he suffered $3.5 million in damages. LA County lawyers said in a statement that because the jury found the county was not entirely at fault, the court would reduce the awards by 35%.

Lyle Menendez appears before the parole board via teleconference on Friday, Aug 22, 2025, at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. (California Department of Corrections via AP)

The Menendez brothers were denied parole. They have to wait at least 18 months for their next chance

August 22, 2025

Erik and Lyle Menendez have both been denied parole by a California board after decades in prison for killing their parents in 1989 at their Beverly Hills mansion. During two days of hearings, the brothers were questioned by panels of two commissioners and asked to speak with complete candor on the abuse they suffered in childhood, their mindsets leading up to and after the murders and various prison transgressions. The hearings marked the closest the brothers have come to winning freedom since their convictions almost 30 years ago.

FILE - This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Erik Menendez was denied parole. Here’s what he said at his hearing

August 21, 2025

Erik Menendez has been denied parole by panel of California commissioners. During his hearing Thursday, he offered his most detailed account in years of how he was raised and why he made the choices he did — both at the time of his parents’ killing and during his decades in prison. He and brother Lyle were sentenced to life in 1996 for fatally shooting Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. The state corrections department chose a single reporter to watch the videoconference and share details with the rest of the press. Here’s a look at his remarks.

Menendez brothers to be evaluated by parole board for release after 30 years in prison

August 18, 2025

The Menendez brothers are set to make their cases for parole this week. The California state parole board will determine whether they should be released after serving almost 30 years in prison for murdering their parents. Erik Menendez will have his hearing Thursday morning, followed by Lyle Menendez on Friday. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 of fatally shooting their father and mother in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. The brothers became eligible for parole after a Los Angeles judge in May reduced their sentences. If parole is granted, the governor would have the final say.

Federal agents stage outside a Home Depot during an operation Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Federal agent fires weapon during immigration stop in Southern California, officials say

August 18, 2025

A federal agent fired three shots at a moving vehicle after the driver sped off following an immigration stop in Southern California. That’s according to the Department of Homeland Security, which says the driver struck two federal agents on Saturday as he drove away, prompting one agent to fire his weapon “in self-defense.” The driver, a 43-year-old man from Mexico, and his family disputed federal authorities’ characterization of events, showing video where an agent smashes their car windows and appears to strike the driver in the head. The driver immediately drives away, and three shots can be heard in the video.

Students and family members are escorted into school on the first day of school Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles school year begins amid fears over immigration enforcement

August 14, 2025

Los Angeles area students are returning to class under a cloud of apprehension after a summer of immigration raids and amid worries that schools could become targets in the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown. Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho urged immigration officials this week not to conduct enforcement activity within a two-block radius of schools. He also announced several measures to protect students and families, including adding or altering bus routes to accommodate more students. The district will also distribute a family preparedness packet. The district is the nation’s second largest, with more than 500,000 students. Some 30,000 of them are immigrants.

A firefighter battles the Canyon Fire on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Hasley Canyon, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Firefighters make progress against blaze that forced thousands to flee north of Los Angeles

August 8, 2025

Firefighters in a mountainous area north of Los Angeles are making good progress in their battle against a brush fire that forced thousands of people to evacuate. The Ventura County Fire Department says the Canyon Fire ignited Thursday afternoon and spread rapidly in dry, steep terrain in Ventura and Los Angeles counties to cover more than 8 square miles. It was 25% contained as of Friday afternoon. The fire is burning just south of Lake Piru, a reservoir located in the Los Padres National Forest. It’s close by Lake Castaic, a popular recreation area burned by the Hughes Fire in January.

Shameem Syed, right, teaches students how to make a chicken stir fry during a cooking class at Olive Community Services, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. The class was part of the organization's Intergenerational Summer Camp. (AP Photo/Zoë Meyers)

At this summer camp run by grandmas, kids learn cooking skills and life advice

August 2, 2025

At a summer camp in Fullerton, California, grandmas are in charge. Every week, they teach a group of 8-to-14-year-olds how to cook a new dish, and a handicraft such as sewing, embroidering, clay jewelry and card marking. The camp was designed to combat loneliness in older adults and give them an opportunity to share life skills with kids. It was organized with the Golden Connections Club, started by high school student Leena Albinali to foster interactions between teens and elders. Albinali says this connection is important because both groups have things to share with each other.

Dr. Wafaa Alrashid, center, whose husband, Rami Othmane, a Tunisian musician, is detained at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, holds a sign during a rally outside the facility in Los Angeles Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A Tunisian musician was detained in LA after living in US for a decade. His doctor wife speaks out

August 2, 2025

Federal immigration agents detained a Tunisian man in Southern California who had a pending green card application. Rami Othmane is a professional musician who is married to a U.S. citizen and doctor. Othmane was arrested July 13 and detained in downtown Los Angeles for several days before being transferred to Arizona. His wife, Wafa Alrashid, says her husband was held in “dehumanizing” conditions. The Los Angeles region has been subject to an aggressive immigration crackdown that has even ensnared some U.S. citizens and residents in the country legally. Many asylum-seekers and other immigrants have been arrested while attending regular check-ins with immigration.

A Tunisian musician was detained in LA after living in US for a decade. His doctor wife speaks out

August 1, 2025

FILE - Duane "Keffe D" Davis appears in Clark County District Court for a trial readiness status check at the Regional Justice Center on June 17, 2025 in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun)

Tupac Shakur slaying suspect files appeal with Nevada Supreme Court to dismiss charges

July 29, 2025

The man charged with ordering the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas is asking the Nevada Supreme Court to dismiss his murder charges. Duane “Keffe D” Davis filed an appeal with the court Tuesday after a lower court judge upheld his charges. Davis, the only man ever to be charged in Shakur’s killing, was arrested in September 2023. The 62-year-old has admitted in interviews and in his memoir that he provided the gun used in the shooting. His attorney said he had immunity from prosecution for statements made during interviews with federal and local authorities.

Judge orders LA prosecutors to explain why Menendez brothers’ conviction shouldn’t be re-examined

July 14, 2025

A judge has ordered Los Angeles prosecutors to explain why the Menendez brothers’ murder convictions should not be re-examined in light of new evidence supporting their claims of sexual abuse by their father. The July 7 order by Judge William Ryan was in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by Erik and Lyle Menendez in May 2023 seeking a review of their 1996 convictions for killing their parents. While prosecutors argued that the evidence was untimely and inadmissible, the judge agreed the evidence could have changed the outcome of their murder convictions. Prosecutors now have 30 days to explain why the brothers should not be granted relief.

People line up outside the Los Angeles Federal Building in Los Angeles, housing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A day outside an LA detention center shows profound impact of ICE raids on families

July 1, 2025

For immigrants who are detained in the Los Angeles region, their first stop is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in the basement of the federal building downtown. A recent day outside the facility shows the profound personal impact of the federal government’s crackdown on illegal immigration. U.S.-born children and other family members arrived with medication, clothing and a bit of hope of seeing their detained loved one. Many are turned away with no news, not even confirmation that the person is inside. Those taken into custody are from a variety of countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, India, Iran, China, and Laos.

Claire Stein places flowers at a makeshift memorial for Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at the state Capitol, Sunday, June 15, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

After Minnesota shooting, some states are more tightly guarding officials’ personal information

June 16, 2025

Lawmakers in some states are moving to delete their home addresses from online directories after one Minnesota legislator was killed and another wounded in their suburban Minneapolis homes last weekend. Authorities say the suspect, Vance Boelter, had a list of dozens of elected officials in Minnesota and meticulous notes on the homes and people he targeted in the Saturday shooting. Police say he found their addresses through internet searches. Officials in North Dakota, New Mexico, and Colorado took precautions Saturday to remove legislators’ personal information. States have passed legislation in recent years to allow officials to request the removal of their information online.

FILE - In this image taken from police body camera footage provided by Los Angeles Sheriff's office, a Sheriff's deputies arrests a couple in a grocery store parking lot in Lancaster, Calif., on June 24, 2023. (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

Officer who used excessive force allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanor after felony conviction

June 5, 2025

A Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy will serve four months in prison on a misdemeanor conviction for using excessive force after the new Trump-appointed U.S. attorney offered an unusual plea deal despite a jury convicting him of a felony. The victim’s attorney asked a federal appeals court to reinstate the felony conviction, but the court declined to do so on Thursday. Deputy Trevor Kirk was found guilty of a felony after being recorded tackling and pepper-spraying a woman in 2023. When U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli took office, federal prosecutors offered Kirk a plea deal for a misdemeanor. Kirk was sentenced to four months in prison on Monday.

Jaimie Ding.

Federal government sues California utility, alleging equipment sparked deadly wildfires

Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham, Vietnam War hero convicted of accepting bribes as a congressman, dies at 83

Jury awards more than $2 million to protester shot in face with nonlethal projectile

The Menendez brothers were denied parole. They have to wait at least 18 months for their next chance

Erik Menendez was denied parole. Here’s what he said at his hearing

Menendez brothers to be evaluated by parole board for release after 30 years in prison

Federal agent fires weapon during immigration stop in Southern California, officials say

Los Angeles school year begins amid fears over immigration enforcement

Firefighters make progress against blaze that forced thousands to flee north of Los Angeles

At this summer camp run by grandmas, kids learn cooking skills and life advice

A Tunisian musician was detained in LA after living in US for a decade. His doctor wife speaks out

A Tunisian musician was detained in LA after living in US for a decade. His doctor wife speaks out

Tupac Shakur slaying suspect files appeal with Nevada Supreme Court to dismiss charges

Judge orders LA prosecutors to explain why Menendez brothers’ conviction shouldn’t be re-examined

A day outside an LA detention center shows profound impact of ICE raids on families

After Minnesota shooting, some states are more tightly guarding officials’ personal information

Officer who used excessive force allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanor after felony conviction

Finance.