Toy Trends Expert for The Toy Association, Rachel Griffin shows us some of the coolest toys that are both fun and educational.

This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on August 30, 2023.

A black cloth and white roses sat upon the senate desk that for years belonged to Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The other California senator, Alex Padilla (D-CA), joined a tearful remembrance on the Senate floor, just hours after Feinstein’s death was announced.

“We bid farewell to my dear friend,” Padilla said. “An outright champion for the state of California.”

Lawmakers also honored her as a trailblazer for women.

“When we talk about the giants on whose shoulders we stand, for me that’s Dianne.” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

“Dianne was a leader in fighting for women’s rights and protecting our communities from violence and gun violence,” noted Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).

KTLA's Mary Beth McDade reports on September 29, 2023.

Details: https://ktla.com/news/capitol-hill-lawmakers-honor-and-remember-senator-dianne-feinstein/

Donald Trump made a personal pitch to California Republicans Friday, declaring “help is on the way” to his supporters in a state where Democrats are dominant, falsely claiming his 30-point defeats here were the result of fraud. The former president traveled to the state Republican Party convention in Anaheim as he works to solidify his support in a GOP presidential contest he has led for months.

California’s 169 convention delegates are the biggest prize in the race for the GOP nomination, and Trump can win them all by getting at least 50% of the vote in the March 5 primary.

KTLA's John Fenoglio reports on September 29, 2023.

Details: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/watch-live-donald-trump-speaks-at-california-gop-convention/

Three buses filled with migrants arrived in Los Angeles on Friday, making the 17th, 18th and 19th buses to arrive in L.A. since June. A third of all the migrants that have arrived in L.A. via bus have been children. L.A. Welcomes Collective confirmed the arrival of the buses Friday morning, all three from Texas, including one from Brownsville and two from Del Rio.

There were a total of 109 migrants that arrived on the buses, the organization said. While complete demographics have not been made available, the migrants come from Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela.

Details: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/17th-18th-and-19th-buses-with-migrants-arrive-in-l-a/

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), one of the Senate’s most prominent women, has died at the age of 90, her office announced Friday. Feinstein served three decades as a senator from California, becoming an icon and a trailblazer in the process.

A former mayor of San Francisco, Feinstein is the longest-serving member of the Senate Democratic conference and during her Senate tenure left a mark on a range of issues, including national security and gun control.

Details: https://ktla.com/hill-politics/sen-dianne-feinstein-dies-at-age-90/ https://ktla.com/news/california-politics/looking-back-on-u-s-sen-feinsteins-liberal-legacy/

The government is headed towards a shutdown this weekend that could disrupt many government services, squeeze federal employees and roil politics as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands to slash budgets, force a confrontation over federal spending.

While some government entities will be exempt — Social Security checks, for example, will still go out — other functions will be severely curtailed. Federal agencies will stop all actions deemed non-essential, and many of the federal government’s roughly 2 million employees, as well as 2 million active-duty military troops and reservists, won't receive paychecks.

KTLA's Rick Chambers reports on September 29, 2023.

Details: https://ktla.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-the-federal-government-is-headed-into-a-shutdown-what-does-it-mean-whos-hit-and-whats-next/

Twenty-seven years after the death of rapper Tupac Shakur, a Las Vegas-area grand jury has indicted a man with the icon’s murder, Nexstar’s KLAS confirmed Friday. The arrest and indictment are a long-awaited break in the 1996 drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas strip that killed the rap legend, a case that has frustrated investigators and fascinated the public for nearly three decades.

“Ultimately, our persistence in this investigation paid off,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Jason Johansson said Friday during a news conference.

KTLA's Rachel Menitoff reports on September 29, 2023.

Details: https://ktla.com/entertainment/man-connected-to-suspected-shooter-in-tupac-shakurs-killing-arrested-in-las-vegas/

Residents near San Bernardino received a wild surprise after a bear led authorities on a chase through town Thursday night. The female bear was first spotted in a tree at Mary and Darby Streets in Muscoy, an area north of San Bernardino.

News of the chase reached local residents, bringing out large crowds of bystanders hoping to catch a glimpse of the bear. “It was just a really crazy day,” said Briseida Perez, a Muscoy resident.

KTLA's Shelby Nelson reports on September 29, 2023.

Rain walloped the New York metropolitan area with a startling punch Friday, knocking out several subway and commuter rail lines, stranding drivers on highways, flooding basements and shuttering a terminal at LaGuardia Airport in one of the city's wettest days in decades. And more downpours were expected.

https://ktla.com/news/ap-us-news/ap-storm-pounds-new-york-city-area-flooding-subways-and-leading-to-abandoned-vehicles-on-the-fdr-drive/

Donald Trump made a personal pitch to California Republicans Friday, declaring “help is on the way” to his supporters in a state where Democrats are dominant, falsely claiming his 30-point defeats here were the result of fraud.

The former president traveled to the state Republican Party convention in Anaheim as he works to solidify his support in a GOP presidential contest he has led for months. California’s 169 convention delegates are the biggest prize in the race for the GOP nomination, and Trump can win them all by getting at least 50% of the vote in the March 5 primary.

KTLA's John Fenoglio reports on September 29, 2023.

Details: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/watch-live-donald-trump-speaks-at-california-gop-convention/

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), one of the Senate’s most prominent women, has died at the age of 90, her office announced Friday. Feinstein served three decades as a senator from California, becoming an icon and a trailblazer in the process.

A former mayor of San Francisco, Feinstein is the longest-serving member of the Senate Democratic conference and during her Senate tenure left a mark on a range of issues, including national security and gun control.

KTLA's Erin Myers reports on September 29, 2023.

Details: https://ktla.com/hill-politics/sen-dianne-feinstein-dies-at-age-90/

Lawmakers scramble for solution with government on the brink of a shutdown

The Los Angeles County Sheriff is investigating a three-car collision that also involved a shooting Ladera Heights on Friday. KTLA's Gil Leyvas reports. Sept. 29, 2023.