LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police are looking for a man who punched two women in a clash at a Los Angeles hot dog stand that was captured on video that’s being widely viewed on social media.
In a video the Los Angeles Police Department posted Tuesday on Twitter, the man is shown throwing one of the women to the ground in downtown on Saturday, then punching the second as she approaches.
He punches the first woman as she’s standing up and hits the second again as she appears to be standing still, knocking her down. He punches the first woman once again as she winds up to hit him, also knocking her to down.
Multiple bystanders take no action but one shouts “Get him!” as the man jogs away unencumbered.
“This guy brutally punched two women at a hot dog stand,” LAPD wrote on Twitter. “Someone knows him, and we would like to be one of those people.”
The video doesn’t show how the assault begins.
Mike Watson of Long Beach, who identified himself as the father of one of the women in a Facebook post that included the video on Sunday, wrote that the women intervened when the man “was causing a scene about the price” of a hot dog.
“Eventually, one of the vendors tells this guy, who is clearly wanting to start a fight with someone, to just take the hot dog and leave,” Watson wrote. “The guy would not leave the hot dog guy alone. (The women) said something to him in attempts to get him to leave thus, standing up for the vendor.”
California’s national
parks return to
normal operations
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (AP) — California’s signature national parks are getting back to normal operations following the 35-day partial federal government shutdown.
Yosemite National Park’s entrance stations were staffed by rangers on Monday to collect fees and provide information.
Elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks said they would resume regular winter season operations Tuesday.
In the deserts, staff is back at work at Death Valley and Joshua Tree, although the parks advise that not all functions or areas will be immediately back to normal for reasons including the need to flush and test water systems and clear storm debris.
Operations have also resumed in the huge Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area west of Los Angeles but large areas remain closed due to damage from the Woolsey wildfire.
Southern California hiker
dies in fall down ice chute
ANGELUS OAKS (AP) — Southern California authorities have recovered the body of a 56-year-old hiker who apparently slipped down an ice chute in the San Bernardino National Forest.
The weekend accident occurred along the South Fork Trail near Jenks Lake.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department says the victim’s son called for help around 4 p.m. Saturday after hiking two hours to find a cell phone signal.
Sheriff’s helicopter crews searched through the night but were unable to find the victims, so members of the San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team hiked into the area and found the man dead in a ravine around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Due to ice and snow conditions, the victim’s body was hoisted out of the location by a helicopter and taken to the coroner’s office for investigation.
San Diego County
provides shelter for
asylum seekers
SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego County elected officials have agreed to provide a government-owned building to shelter asylum seekers.
The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday to allow an unused courthouse to temporarily house asylum seekers.
Since late October, the U.S. has been releasing asylum seekers from detention without giving them time to make travel arrangements. Many were dropped off at bus stations or on the streets with no money.
U.S. officials say there is not enough detention space to keep up with the growing numbers of families crossing from Mexico.
Jewish Family Service — part of a coalition that ran another shelter from a church — will pay for the operation. Most stay about 48 hours before heading to their U.S. destinations.
The coalition has helped some 5,000 migrants since the rapid releases started in October.
