Long Beach State’s comeback falls short at UCSD

• March 7, 2025

LA JOLLA — A short-handed Long Beach State squad gave first-place UC San Diego a scare before falling short in a 70-63 loss on Thursday night at UCSD’s LionTree Arena.

Devin Askew scored a game-high 29 points to lead Long Beach (7-24 overall, 3-16 Big West), which whittled a 22-point second-half deficit to four points in the final minute but ran out of time and lost its 14th consecutive game. Derrick Michael Xzavierro added 11 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots, Kam Martin had eight points and Austin Johnson grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds.

Tyler McGhie and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones scored 20 points apiece for the Tritons (27-4, 17-2), who won their 12th straight game and clinched at least a share of their first Big West title with one game left in the regular season. Hayden Gray shot 3 for 7 from behind the arc to finish with nine points.

With just nine players suited up – two didn’t play – for the penultimate game of the season, Long Beach produced a gutty effort but hurt its cause with 20 turnovers (13 in the first half). The Tritons opened a 21-13 first-half lead on a McGhie 3-pointer, but LBSU surged back within four before a McGhie 3-pointer at the buzzer gave UCSD a 33-23 halftime lead.

UCSD extended its lead to 58-36 on an Aidan Burke 3-pointer with 10:48 left, but Long Beach began to battle back. LBSU used an 11-1 run to trim the margin to 63-54 on an Askew layup with 5:45 remining and he added a 3-pointer less than a minute later to make it a six-point game. The Tritons pushed their lead back to 10 points with 2:20 left, but the visitors kept fighting.

Askew converted a pair of free throws after a UCSD technical foul, then Martin made a layup to cut the lead to 67-61 with 1:52 left. McGhie, Askew and Tait-Jones all missed 3-point shots on the next three possessions, but Askew made a jumper with 28 seconds left to get LBSU within 67-63.

Long Beach was forced to foul, and McGhie split a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left before Martin missed a 3-pointer. McGhie then made two more free throws with 13 seconds left to finish the scoring.

Long Beach outrebounded UCSD 41-27 but was still outscored in the paint on a night when both teams shot below 40% from the field. LBSU shot 18 for 49 from the field (36.7%) and 7 for 23 from 3-point range, while the Tritons shot 22 for 56 (39.3%) and 10 for 33 from behind the arc. Long Beach made 20 of its 22 free throws compared to 16 for 21 for UCSD.

UP NEXT

Long Beach closes its season with a home game against Cal Poly on Saturday at 4 p.m. UCSD can win the Big West title outright with a win at UC Davis on Saturday night or a UC Irvine loss to UC Santa Barbara.

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Through Thursday, March 6

UC San Diego – 27-4, 17-2

UC Irvine – 26-5, 16-3

CS Northridge – 21-9, 13-6

UC Riverside – 20-11, 13-6

UC Santa Barbara – 19-11, 11-8

UC Davis – 15-15, 9-10

CS Bakersfield – 14-18, 8-12

Hawaii – 15-15, 7-12

Cal Poly (SLO) – 13-18, 7-12

Long Beach State – 7-24, 3-16

CS Fullerton – 6-25, 1-18

​ Orange County Register 

Study tells California legislators to declare war on red tape — but will they?

• March 7, 2025

Construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and its more famous cousin, the Golden Gate Bridge, began in 1933, and both were carrying traffic by 1937.

The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake severely damaged the Bay Bridge, leading to a decision to replace its eastern section rather than merely repair or refit it.

However state and local politicians argued for more than a decade over design of the new section and how to pay for it. Construction finally began in 2002 and was finished 11 years later — nearly four times as long as the entire bridge took — at a cost of $6.5 billion, the costliest public works project in California history.

The Bay Bridge saga exemplifies how California, which once taught the world how to build things, lost its mojo by erecting so many political, legal and financial hurdles to getting things done.

Sixty-plus years ago, the state’s water managers proposed a canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to complete the state project that carries water from the northern part of the state to the southern.

As the years rolled by, the project languished. Eventually it was revised to twin tunnels and more recently to a single tunnel, but construction, if it ever occurs, is still many years away.

Lesser projects suffer from the same political and procedural sclerosis. It can take years, or even decades, for large-scale housing projects, electric generation facilities and desalination plants to traverse the thickets of permits from federal, state and local agencies. Even small housing projects are subject to lengthy entanglements in red tape as costs escalate.

A newly released report from a special legislative committee declares that to deal with housing, homelessness, water supply and climate change issues, California “will need to facilitate new construction at an unprecedented scale.

“This includes millions of housing units, thousands of gigawatts of clean energy generation, storage, and transmission capacity, a million electric vehicle chargers and thousands of miles of transit, and thousands of climate resiliency projects to address drought, flooding and sea level rise, and changing habitats.”

However, it continues, “each of these projects will require a government-issued permit before they can be built — and some will require dozens! Therefore, only if governments consistently issue permits in a manner that is timely, transparent, consistent, and outcomes-oriented will we be able to address our housing and climate crises. Unfortunately, for most projects, the opposite is true. They face permitting processes that are time consuming, opaque, confusing, and favor process over outcomes.”

The Legislature itself erected many of these procedural barriers — most notably by passing the California Environmental Quality Act more than a half-century ago — and the Legislature is controlled by regulation-prone Democrats, so it’s remarkable that such a report would be issued.

The California Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform spent months talking to those who have been affected by California’s permit-happy system, as well as experts on specific kinds of projects, before reaching a conclusion that sounds like it came from conservative Republicans.

“It is too damn hard to build anything in California,” Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat who chaired the committee, said in a statement. “Our broken permitting system is driving up the cost of housing, the cost of energy, and even the cost of inaction on climate change.

“If we’re serious about making California more affordable, sustainable, and resilient, we have to make it easier to build housing, clean energy, public transportation, and climate adaptation projects. This report makes it clear: the system isn’t working, and it’s on us to fix it.”

Yes it is — and we’ll see whether the report has legs or winds up in the discard bin like so many other governance reform proposals.

Dan Walters is a CalMatters columnist. 

​ Orange County Register 

A boy with a loaded shotgun boarded a plane in Australia but was tackled by a former boxer

• March 7, 2025

By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A 17-year-old boy with a loaded shotgun boarded a plane at an Australian airport before being restrained by a pilot and two passengers, police said Friday.

The boy was disarmed and detained before police arrived on the scene Thursday at Avalon Airport in Victoria state.

Barry Clark, a passenger who tackled the suspect, said the boy had posed as a maintenance worker and became agitated when questioned by a flight attendant at the plane’s entrance.

“I looked up and then within a second I saw the barrel of a shotgun and I thought to myself that ain’t a tool that should be on a plane,” Clark told Network 10 television.

“When I saw the complete gun I said: we’re in trouble here,” Clark said.

“Then I saw it (move) towards her chest and so I thought, well, I’ve got to do something — this is all happening in a matter of seconds,” Clark added.

Passenger takes on suspect

Clark, a former professional boxer and sheep shearer, said he snuck up behind the boy then pushed the gun and the flight attendant away in different directions so that she would not be hit if the gun discharged.

“I then proceeded to do what I had to do and just put him in a bit of a lock, got his hand and twisted it and put it up in his back, threw him to the floor and then put my knee in his back and held him in a position where he couldn’t get out,” Clark said.

Victoria Police Superintendent Michael Reid told reporters the boy from Ballarat in regional Victoria had climbed through a hole in the airport’s security fence before making his way to the plane’s stairs.

Reid credited Clark, the pilot and another passenger with restraining the boy.

“This would have been a very terrifying incident for the passengers of that plane and Victoria Police really commend the bravery of those passengers who were able to overpower that male,” Reid said.

Sydney-bound Jetstar Airways Flight 610 was carrying about 150 people and no one was hurt, police said. The flight was cancelled.

Counterterrorism police not involved in the investigation

An investigation was being carried out by crime squad detectives with no involvement from the police force’s counterterrorism unit.

The boy has been charged with multiple offenses including unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, orchestrating a bomb hoax and possessing a firearm, a police statement said. He was remanded in custody to appear in a children’s court on a date to be determined.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australian airports had robust security.

“This incident is concerning for members of the public. I commend the work of police and aviation officials in responding to it quickly,” Albanese told reporters.

Avalon Airport’s chief executive Ari Suss said his organization was working with Victoria Police in response to the emergency.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to security, we have implemented further measures across the airport, including within the terminal and surrounding areas,” Suss said in a statement.

“We continue to work closely with authorities to maintain a safe and secure environment for all travelers,” he added.

Jetstar, a budget subsidiary of Sydney-based Qantas Airways, said it was working with police and the airport to understand what happened.

​ Orange County Register 

Update: Los Angeles County under a winter weather advisory until early Monday evening

• March 7, 2025

Kern River Valley, Piute Walker Basin, Tehachapi, 5 Freeway through Grapevine and Frazier Mountain Communities are included in an updated winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service on Sunday at 8:27 p.m. The advisory is in effect until Monday, Mar. 3 at 4 p.m.

The NWS Hanford CA states to anticipate, “Snow showers, which allow a quick coating to an inch of snow to accumulate in a short time period, combined winds gusting as high as 55 mph at Tejon Pass level. From 5000 feet and above, there is a 70 percent probability for 6 inches of snow, especially in the Pine Mountain Club communities. At 3000 to 5000 feet there is a 50 percent chance of an inch or more, with at least a trace of snow expected. Snowfall rates will be heaviest from midnight Monday to 8am Monday.”

“Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous. Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the Monday morning commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches,” according to the NWS. “Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Be prepared for slippery roads. Slow down and use caution while driving. If you are going outside, watch your first few steps taken on stairs, sidewalks, and driveways. These surfaces could be icy and slippery, increasing your risk of a fall and injury.”

Winter driving guide: Tips from the NWS for safe and sound travels

Winter’s icy grip often turns roads treacherous, leading to over 6,000 weather-related vehicle fatalities and more than 480,000 injuries each year. When you find yourself on snowy or freezing rain-slicked roads, your top priority should be safety. Slow down and exercise caution. In temperatures near freezing, it’s prudent to assume icy patches on the road and adjust your driving accordingly. Be on alert for ice accumulating on power lines and tree branches, as they may break and fall. If possible, avoid driving in these conditions altogether. But if you must venture out, choose routes with fewer trees and power lines, and never touch a downed power line. If you encounter one, dial 911 immediately. Here are additional winter driving tips from the NWS:

Share your travel plans:

When traveling out of town in hazardous winter weather, inform your family or friends of your destination, planned route, and estimated time of arrival.

Prepare your vehicle:

Ensure your gas tank is full and equip your vehicle with essential winter supplies, including a windshield scraper, jumper cables, a small shovel, flashlight, cell phone, blanket, extra warm clothing, drinking water, and high-calorie non-perishable food.

Stay calm when stranded:

If you become stranded, stay composed. Notify someone about your situation and location. Avoid attempting to walk to safety. Attach a cloth to your car’s antenna or mirror to signal that you require assistance. Make your vehicle more visible by using the dome light and flashers.

Be mindful of snow plows:

Keep an eye out for snow plows and allow them ample room to pass. Only overtake a plow when you have a clear view of the road ahead.

Check road conditions:

Before embarking on your journey, verify the current road conditions to make informed travel decisions.

These winter driving tips from the NWS are your key to a safer journey on snow-covered roads. By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and ensure your well-being during challenging winter weather.

​ Orange County Register 

Russia bombards Ukraine’s energy grid after Zelenskyy says his team will hold talks with the US

• March 7, 2025

By ILLIA NOVIKOV, Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in a large-scale missile and drone bombardment during the night, officials said Friday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said talks with the U.S. on ending the 3-year war will take place next week.

Ukraine came under a “massive missile and drone” attack, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook. At least 10 people, including a child, were injured, authorities said.

“Russia is trying to hurt ordinary Ukrainians by striking energy and gas production facilities, without abandoning its goal of leaving us without light and heat, and causing the greatest harm to ordinary citizens,” Halushchenko wrote.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid during the war. The attacks have depleted electricity generation capacity and disrupted critical heating and water supplies. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of “weaponizing winter” in an effort to erode civilian morale.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the energy supply is a legitimate target in the war because it is “linked with Ukraine’s military industrial complex and weapons production.”

Russian air defenses downed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ukraine’s largest private gas producer, DTEK, said the overnight bombardment was Russia’s sixth attack in the past two and a half weeks on its facilities.

Russia fired 67 missiles from air, land and sea and launched 194 strike and decoy drones, Ukraine’s air force said. Their primary target was Ukraine’s natural gas extraction facilities, it said.

For the first time, Ukraine deployed French Mirage-2000 warplanes delivered a month ago to help repel the attack, according to the air force. Ukraine also has Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets to shoot down Russian missiles.

Ukrainian defenses downed 34 missiles and 100 drones, the air force said, while up to 10 missiles didn’t reach their targets and 86 drones were lost from radars, presumably jammed by electronic warfare.

Western-supplied air defense systems are crucial for Ukraine’s fight but further U.S. help is uncertain under U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he is determined to end the war and has paused American military aid for Kyiv as a way of pressuring Zelenskyy to negotiate.

In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said Thursday he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet the country’s crown prince, and his team would stay on to hold talks with U.S. officials.

Zelenskyy welcomed a European Union plan to bolster the continent’s defenses. He expressed hope that some of the new spending could be used to strengthen Ukraine’s own defense industry.

​ Orange County Register 

Unexploded WWII bomb halts Eurostar travel connecting Paris to London and Brussels

• March 7, 2025

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN and JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The discovery of a huge unexploded World War II-era bomb caused transportation chaos in Paris on Friday that included the suspension of high-speed rail links with London and Brussels and the closure of a vital road artery in the French capital, hobbling France’s busiest train station, dashing travelers’ weekend getaway plans and giving commuters a major headache.

The cascade of transport woes spread from the rail to the road network, with Paris police announcing the closure of the A1 highway and sections of the capital’s always-busy ring road around the city, as bomb-disposal experts worked to make the half-ton explosive safe.

Eurostar, operator of sleek high-speed trains through the Channel Tunnel that links England with the European continent, announced the cancellation of all its services to and from its Paris hub at Gare du Nord, France’s busiest rail station, and the U.K. and Belgian capitals.

Travel plans were thrown into disarray.

“There’s no solution. We’re going to call the hotel and stay one more day. And change our train ticket,” said Michel Garrot, a retired Parisian who found himself stranded in Brussels, which he’d been visiting with his wife.

At London’s St. Pancras station, Eurostar’s London hub, travelers scrambled for alternatives. Fridays are invariably busy there with thousands of people leaving and arriving for weekend breaks. Passengers were advised to try taking trains to Lille in northern France, or fly to Paris.

“We’re looking up flights, but our options are limited,” said Lauren Romeo-Smith, part of a group that had a birthday weekend in Paris planned.

Another St. Pancras traveler, Lee Bailey, said that Eurostar had offered him a free rebooking or a refund, and an apology, but no compensation.

“I’d like to go to a Michelin (starred) restaurant in Paris on their dime, but that’s not happening, apparently,” he told Sky News.

Eurostar said that it “sincerely apologizes for the disruption and understands the inconvenience this may cause.”

At Paris’ usually humming Gare du Nord station, bright red signs warning of disruptions greeted commuters. French national rail operator SNCF says the station habitually hosts 700,000 travelers per day, making it the busiest rail hub in both France and Europe. As well as towns and cities across northern France and the Paris suburbs, the station also serves Paris’ main airport and international destinations, including London, Brussels and cities in the Netherlands.

French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said that the huge disruptions were caused by the discovery of a bomb that weighed half a ton. Workers found it overnight while doing earthmoving works near the tracks in the Seine-Saint-Denis region that borders Paris to the north. Bomb disposal experts were called.

Tabarot said that a “a quite large” security perimeter was set up around the bomb-disposal operation and people were evacuated. He urged commuters to postpone rail trips.

Bombs left over from World War I or World War II are regularly discovered around France, but it’s very rare to find them in such a people-packed location. The SNCF said that rail traffic was stopped at the request of police.

Sylvie Corbet in Brussels, and Jill Lawless in London, contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Republicans’ use of loaded terms is looking to sway Medicaid debate in Congress

• March 7, 2025

By Phil Galewitz | KFF Health News

In Washington’s debate over enacting steep funding cuts to Medicaid, words are a central battleground.

Many Republican lawmakers and conservative policy officials who want to scale back the joint state-federal health program are using charged language to describe it. Language experts and advocates for Medicaid enrollees say their word choice is misleading and aims to sway public opinion against the popular, 60-year-old government program in a bid to persuade Congress to cut funding.

Republicans such as Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, are deploying provocative terms such as “money laundering,” rebranding a decades-old — and legal — practice known as provider taxes, which most states use to gain additional federal Medicaid funds.

They say it’s “discrimination” that the federal government matches state funding at a higher rate for adults covered by the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion than it does for other enrollees, including children, pregnant women, and disabled people.

And many Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, have described adults who gained Medicaid coverage through the ACA expansion as “able-bodied” as they push for federal work requirements.

The term implies they have less need for government assistance than other Medicaid recipients — even though some have health conditions or caregiving responsibilities that make holding full-time jobs difficult.

“Able-bodied adults without dependents are better off with jobs than with hand-outs, and so are their communities and American taxpayers,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in a press release in February.

To be sure, political spin is a practice older than Washington, and Democrats are no spectators in the war of words. But what’s striking about the latest GOP effort is that it is focused on cutting a health program for the nation’s poorest residents to pay, in part, for tax cuts for wealthier Americans.

A KFF poll conducted last month and found that support for proposed changes to Medicaid can wax or wane depending on what individuals are told about the program.

For example, the poll found about 6 in 10 adults support work requirements, with the same portion of respondents believing incorrectly that most working-age adults on Medicaid are unemployed. In fact, about two-thirds work.

KFF’s poll also showed that support for work requirements drops to about 3 in 10 adults when those who initially supported them hear that most Medicaid enrollees are already working and that, if the requirements were implemented, many would risk losing coverage because of the burden of proving eligibility.

When respondents initially opposed to work requirements were told they could allow Medicaid to be reserved for groups like the elderly, people with disabilities, and low-income children, support for them increased to 77%.

Steven Mintz, a history professor at the University of Texas, said the Medicaid debate likely will be won not on the facts, but instead on which party can describe it in terms that gain the most public support. “Words are wielded as weapons,” he said.

Republicans’ word choices are designed to appeal to people’s prejudices about Medicaid, he said, adding that “loaded” terms help divert attention from a detailed policy discussion.

“Words help reinforce a position that people already lean toward,” he said.

Sara Rosenbaum, professor emerita of health law and policy at George Washington University, said conservatives who have long tried to shrink Medicaid have an obvious motivation.

“These people spend their lives trying to ruin the program by searching for the newest slogans, the newest quips, and the newest nonsensical monikers that they think somehow will persuade Congress to completely upend the program and take benefits away from tens of millions of people,” she said.

Medicaid and the closely related Children’s Health Insurance Program cover nearly 80 million low-income and disabled people — roughly 1 in 5 Americans. Enrollment and spending soared in the past decade due largely to the covid pandemic and the decision by more states to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Polling shows the program is nearly as popular as Medicare, the health program primarily for those 65 or older — with about 3 in 4 Americans holding a favorable opinion of Medicaid.

The House of Representatives’ budget resolution, a blueprint that narrowly passed Feb. 25 with no Democratic support, calls for cuts of at least $880 billion over a decade largely from federal health and energy programs. A separate Senate resolution with no such cuts — so far — is also in play. Any proposal would need to pass both chambers.

Democrats fear most of those cuts will come from Medicaid. Trump has vowed not to touch Medicare, leaving few if any alternatives. He has said he would “cherish” Medicaid and go after only waste, fraud, and abuse in the program without offering details on how those would be interpreted — and he endorsed the House’s blueprint calling for cuts.

States and the federal government share in the financing of Medicaid, with the federal government paying from 50% to 77% of the cost of providing services to most beneficiaries. The rate is 90% for beneficiaries receiving coverage through their state’s Medicaid expansion program.

The federal matching rate varies based on a state’s per capita income relative to the national average; states with lower per capita incomes have higher matching rates. The remaining share of program funding comes from state and local sources.

The words “discrimination” and “money laundering” have been used in reports from the Paragon Health Institute, a conservative think tank led by a former Trump adviser, Brian Blase. Two former Paragon executives now advise Trump, and a former Paragon analyst advises Johnson.

Blase said there’s no ulterior motive in the group’s word choices. “This is us trying to describe the issue in a way that makes the most sense to members of Congress and policymakers,” he said.

Paragon analysts have argued for ending the federal government’s “discrimination” in matching state dollars for those covered under the ACA’s Medicaid expansion at a higher rate than for other enrollees. They also propose giving states a set amount of federal money per year for the program, rather than the open-ended federal funds that always have been a hallmark of Medicaid.

One way states raise funds for their share of Medicaid spending is through provider taxes that hospitals or nursing homes pay. States often reimburse the providers through the extra federal money.

Blase acknowledges that provider taxes used by states to draw down more federal money — which Paragon has referred to as “money laundering” — are legal. He said calling the practice a “tax” is misleading because the providers financially benefit from it.

“Money laundering is the best term we can think of for the schemes providers and states come up with to get federal reimbursement for artificial expenditures that benefits states and providers,” he said.

Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, defended provider taxes as a legal way states raise money to cover low-income people. She noted most states with provider taxes are controlled at least partly by Republicans.

Alker rejected the notion that enhanced funding to expand enrollment is “discrimination.” The ACA included the higher rates for covering more low-income enrollees because that was the only way states could afford it, she said.

Without providing a specific example, Blase said advocates have said cuts would “leave people dying in the streets.”

During a brief funding freeze to Medicaid providers in January, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said, “This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

​ Orange County Register 

Investigation advances into Gene Hackman’s mysterious death, with update by New Mexico authorities

• March 7, 2025

By MORGAN LEE, Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities are set to reveal more information about an investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa, whose partially mummified bodies were discovered last month at their home in New Mexico.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has said it does not suspect foul play, and tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative.

Sheriff Adan Mendoza and state fire, health and forensics officials scheduled an afternoon news conference Friday to provide updates on the case.

Mendoza has said the couple may have died up to two weeks before they were discovered on Feb. 26. Hackman’s pacemaker last showed activity Feb. 17, nine days before maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police.

Arakawa was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom counter, while Hackman was found in the home’s entryway.

One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs survived. Authorities initially misidentified the breed of the dead animal.

Authorities retrieved personal items from the home including a monthly planner and two cellphones that will be analyzed. Medical investigators have been working to establish the cause of their deaths, but toxicology reports often take weeks to complete.

When they were found, the bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet (2,200 meters).

Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers” and “Superman” from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.

The couple’s stucco, Pueblo-revival style home sits on a hill in a gated community at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains. Santa Fe is known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.

Hackman dedicated much of his time in retirement to painting and writing novels far from Hollywood’s social circuit. He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and he and his wife were investors in local businesses.

​ Orange County Register