Multiple unauthorized drones flew above the Palisades fire Friday afternoon, forcing firefighting aircraft to leave the area for safety and angering those working on the front lines, authorities said. These sightings came just a day after a drone collided with a Super Scooper fixed-wing aircraft, grounding the plane for several days of repairs and reducing the number of aircraft available to fight the fire. "This is not just harmless fun. This is incredibly dangerous," said Chris Thomas, public information officer for the Palisades fire. "Seriously, what if that plane had gone down? It could have taken out a row of homes. It could have taken out a school."

A drone collided with a firefighting aircraft flying over the Palisades fire on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The aircraft landed safely and the incident will be investigated, an FAA official said. "It's a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to interfere with firefighting efforts on public lands," the statement said. "Additionally, the FAA can impose a civil penalty of up to 75,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement or emergency response operations" during a temporary flight restriction. "We hit a drone this afternoon -- first one," said L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.

If you receive an evacuation warning, don't wait to pack your "go-bag" and make sure to remember your essential items. Fire has broken out in large swaths of Los Angeles County since Tuesday morning, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena communities. More than 1,100 homes, businesses and other buildings have burned and at least two people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory. Firefighters have been fighting three blazes, starting with the Palisades fire that's burned through more than 11,000 acres as of Wednesday morning. In the hills above Altadena, the Eaton fire started on the same day and has charred more than 10,000 acres.

After a man hopped behind the wheel of an autonomous Waymo vehicle and tried to drive off, the company offered assurances that the car's technology includes protections against bad actors. On Thursday a man in downtown L.A. allegedly attempted to get into a Waymo and drive away. Police responded and eventually got the man out of the car. It was not immediately clear if the man was the person who had called the vehicle. The incident raised questions about how the autonomous vehicle ride-share company protects its human-free cars, just months after Waymo began providing rides for all Angelenos.

The concept behind a self-driving Waymo taxi can be a bit confusing, but one thing is clear: You don't need to get behind the wheel. That's what one man learned Thursday morning when he was taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles after allegedly trying to drive away in a Waymo, police said. Police responded to a report of an attempted auto theft near the intersection of 5th and Hill streets at 12:26 a.m., LAPD Officer Drake Madison said. The unidentified man entered the vehicle from the front passenger's seat and then moved into the driver's seat, according to police. Video from the stringer service OC Hawk showed a bearded man sitting in the stopped self-driving vehicle, poking his head out and speaking to police.

California lawmakers passed roughly 1,200 bills last year, including some that resulted in unforeseeable wins by Republicans, promising protections for consumers and small strides for those in the entertainment industry. In the end, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed about 84% of the bills he received. Many of those laws take effect today, Jan. 1, as California rings in a new year. Cannabis cafes are legal: You can now hang out at dispensaries like you would a restaurant or cafe, thanks to AB 1775. The new law brings an Amsterdam-style approach to marijuana use, by allowing cannabis retailers to make and sell food and nonalcoholic beverages at what will be known as cannabis cafes or lounges.

A Los Angeles police lieutenant has filed a legal claim against the city, alleging his superiors ignored his warnings about misconduct in an anti-gang unit until it became a public scandal, leading to him facing termination. The claim, which typically serves as the precursor to a lawsuit, was brought this month by Lt. Mark Garza. It's the first litigation being pursued by a former member the Mission Division gang unit, whose officers came under investigation last year over allegations they illegally stopped and searched vehicles and stole from people they pulled over. Garza, who was in charge of the unit, said he reported his suspicion in June 2023 that some of his officers were conducting "ghost stops," which meant their actions could go unnoticed because they didn't document the encounters or turn on their body-worn or dashboard cameras and never informed police dispatch of where they were. At that time, Garza said, the department's body camera policy required supervisors to review only footage related to "complaints, use of force and pursuits."

The Constitution shouldn't be rewritten for every new communications technology. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this long-standing principle during its most recent term in applying the 1st Amendment to social media. The late Justice Antonin Scalia articulated it persuasively in 2011, noting that "whatever the challenges of applying the Constitution to ever-advancing technology, the basic principles of freedom of speech and the press … do not vary." These principles should be front of mind for congressional Republicans and David Sacks, Trump's recently chosen artificial intelligence czar, as they make policy on that emerging technology. The 1st Amendment standards that apply to older communications technologies must also apply to artificial intelligence, particularly as it stands to play an increasingly significant role in human expression and learning.

Nearly a mile above Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, a hacked drone soared through restricted airspace for roughly an hour. The lightweight drone photographed sensitive areas of the military facility on Nov. 30, including a complex used by SpaceX, according to federal investigators. The drone then descended back to the ground, where the pilot and another man waited at a nearby park. Four security officers from the military base arrived on the scene and asked the men if they had seen a drone flying through the area, unaware that one of them had tucked the drone under his jacket. Authorities identified that man as 39-year-old Yinpiao Zhou, a Chinese citizen and a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.

Luigi Mangione, the man suspected of killing the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, underwent surgery and was reported missing in San Francisco before the shooting. Brian Thompson, 50, CEO of the healthcare insurance giant, was gunned down last week in Midtown Manhattan, spawning a five-day manhunt that eventually led to Mangione's arrest at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, Pa. Questions about Mangione's alleged motives and background have swirled in the media since his arrest Monday. As prosecutors worked to bring him to New York to face charges, new details emerged about his life and his capture. The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family was charged with murder hours after his arrest.