Body camera footage is released showing scene outside Gene Hackman’s home

• March 24, 2025

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press

ALBUQUERQE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities have released body camera footage from outside the home of Gene Hackman, where the actor and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in late February.

The redacted footage shows deputies talking with the two workers who called authorities to report seeing someone lying on the floor inside the home. With no signs of forced entry or other evidence of suspicious circumstances, the deputies asked about the possibility of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning, and the workers said they didn’t see how that could have been the case.

“Something’s not right,” one of the workers said.

Authorities soon determined there were no leaks that could have been fatal, further fueling a mystery that captured the public’s attention.

It was solved about a week later when medical investigators confirmed that Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s about a week after hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — a rare, rodent-borne disease — took the life of his wife.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released only some of the footage from the investigation.

A New Mexico court last week granted a temporary restraining order against the release of any photographs and video showing Hackman and his wife the inside of their home. Hackman’s estate had filed the petition to withhold images, citing the need to protect the family’s constitutional right to privacy in grief under the 14th Amendment.

Workers who had maintained the property talked to investigators about respecting Hackman and Arawaka’s privacy. One worker described Arawaka as a private person.

The body camera footage also shows brief sightings of one of the couple’s dogs running in the wooded hills on their property on the edge of Santa Fe. A man who identified himself to officers as a dog trainer who cared for the couple’s pet dogs said the couple were “nuts” about their dogs.

“There’s toys everywhere around the property,” he said.

In a separate video, Arakawa’s hairdresser told investigators that his client took the dogs with her everywhere and that the smallest one would often hang out inside the salon with them during her visits.

That dog was found inside a crate, not far from Arakawa’s body. A report obtained by The Associated Press from the state Department of Agriculture’s veterinary lab states the dog likely died from dehydration and starvation.

The actor’s daughter, Elizabeth Hackman, told authorities she wanted the dog that died to be cremated. Authorities put her in touch with the local animal shelter to talk about the options.

Associated Press writers Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County softball Top 25: Orange Lutheran rises to No. 1, March 24

• March 24, 2025

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The Orange County high school softball rankings for this week.

Notable this week: Orange Lutheran, which hasn’t played since the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions, becomes the third different No. 1 team as parity sweeps the county. The Lancers’ lone defeat came against Norco in the quarterfinals in Bullhead City, Ariz. … Canyon, the county’s preseason No. 1 team, moves to No. 2 after its win against previously top-ranked El Modena.

SOFTBALL TOP 25

(Records through Sunday, March 23)

1. Orange Lutheran (7-1): The Lancers play their first game since March 8 when they play host to JSerra on Friday in their Trinity League opener.

Previous ranking: 2

2. Canyon (10-3): Freshman catcher Ava DiGiambattista and third baseman Sophia Sandoval are hitting .424 and .419, respectively.

Previous ranking: 3

3. El Modena (10-2): Boise State commit Kaitlyn Galasso is hitting .475 with five doubles, four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Previous ranking: 1

4. Huntington Beach (7-0): Bree Carlson is hitting .654 for the Oilers, who play host to Los Alamitos on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Previous ranking: 5

5. Aliso Niguel (10-5-1): Cal State San Marcos commit Ella Haugo is hitting .429 with 11 extra-base hits for the Wolverines, who reached the Gold Bracket for this week’s Dugard Classic.

Previous ranking: 6

6. Pacifica (8-4): UC Davis commit Ellena Ediss earned two wins last week as the Mariners started 2-0 in the Crestview League.

Previous ranking: 9

7. Rosary (9-2-1): No. 2 batter Jenna Caldera is hitting .548 with 17 runs scored for the Royals, who went 3-1-1 at the Bishop Gorman showcase in Nevada.

Previous ranking: 7

8. Fullerton (8-4): Sophomore Katelyn Mathews is 6-0 with an 0.85 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 41 innings.

Previous ranking: 11

9. Mater Dei (8-7-1): The Monarchs’ offense showed life in an 8-3 win against San Juan Hills at the Dugard Classic.

Previous ranking: 4

10. Santa Margarita (8-3-1) Sophomore Lyla Morales allowed one unearned run and two hits in four innings in a 13-1 win against Newport Harbor at the Dugard Classic.

Previous ranking: 10

11. JSerra (8-6)

Previous ranking: 8

12. Cypress (10-4)

Previous ranking: 13

13. Capistrano Valley (8-4)

Previous ranking: 12

14. La Habra (10-6)

Previous ranking: 23

15. Villa Park (6-7)

Previous ranking: 14

16. Los Alamitos (2-7)

Previous ranking: 15

17. Whittier Christian (12-4)

Previous ranking: 17

18. Sonora (10-2)

Previous ranking: 16

19. Marina (7-5)

Previous ranking: 18

20. Tesoro (5-4)

Previous ranking: 21

21. Mission Viejo (7-5)

Previous ranking: 19

22. Esperanza (3-6)

Previous ranking: 20

23. El Dorado (10-5)

Previous ranking: 22

24. Fountain Valley (6-5)

Previous ranking: 24

25. Woodbridge (5-4-1)

Previous ranking: Not ranked

Also considered (listed alphabetically): Brea Olinda (6-3); Edison (5-7); Sunny Hills (7-5); Yorba Linda (6-6)

Please send feedback on the softball rankings to Dan Albano at [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy on X or Instagram

​ Orange County Register 

Webb Space Telescope captures a star in the making and a galaxy far, far away

• March 24, 2025

By MARCIA DUNN

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Webb Space Telescope has captured a plume of gas and dust streaming from a star in the making, with a spiral galaxy as a stunning backdrop.

The composite image makes it look as though the overflow of stellar material is the billowing contrail of a rocket on its way to the galaxy. NASA and the European Space Agency released the photo on Monday.

The outflow is about 625 light-years from Earth in one of the closest star-forming regions of our Milky Way galaxy, according to NASA. A light-year is equivalent to almost 6 trillion miles.

Launched in 2021 as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, Webb observed the scene in the infrared. NASA said in a statement it was “a lucky alignment” of the two unrelated objects.

NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope captured the same shot in 2006, with scientists then dubbing the stellar jet “the cosmic tornado.” But it was too fuzzy to make out the background galaxy and other details. Webb is the largest and most powerful observatory ever launched into space.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

​ Orange County Register 

Pasadena Streamline Moderne home built amid architect’s fraud conviction seeks $1.9M

• March 24, 2025

A Pasadena home, designed by architect William Kesling in a Streamline Moderne style, is on the market for $1.895 million.

The 2,106-square-foot house sits a corner lot in the Poppy Peak Hills area. Completed in 1937, it features three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a tri-level floor plan where the entry is on the top level.

Records show the property last sold in March 2014 for $849,000.

According to the listing, Kesling transferred the project to the John L. Hudson Construction Company for oversight and final approval. This hand-off came after a grand jury investigation found the architect guilty of overcharging his clients to finish their homes, as described in a profile on Kesling in ModernSanDiego.com.

The article notes the judge sentenced Kesling, who plead guilty to only one count of stealing $24, to San Quentin prison. But he commuted that to two years of probation during which the court prohibited Kesling from designing or building any projects.

With its horizontal lines, an updated flat roof and glass walls designed to accommodate indoor-outdoor living, the Pasadena house is one of many homes Kesling build in the style during the 1930s.

The entry-level boasts a living room, dining area and galley kitchen with a Sub-Zero refrigerator.

Off the dining area, a deck “reminiscent of a steamliner’s bow provides effortless alfresco entertaining and captivating hillside views,” the listing reads.

The bedrooms are on the mid-level, including the primary bedroom with a walk-in closet and dual vanity sinks in the bathroom.

On the ground level features, there’s a two-car garage with a Tesla EV charger. A roof-mounted, fully-owned solar system is among the updates.

Outdoor features include a combination of decks, tiered gardens and patio spaces.

George Penner of the George Penner Team at Compass holds the listing.

After his probation ended, Kesling relocated to La Jolla, where he designed pre-fabricated houses and privately commissioned homes. His most famous work is the cliffside McConnell House in La Jolla, which architectural photographer Julius Shulman captured for a Life magazine spread in November 1947.

Kesling died in 1983 at 84.

​ Orange County Register 

Parking information for Boras Classic South baseball tournament at JSerra

• March 24, 2025

JSerra will not have on-campus parking available during the Boras Classic South baseball tournament between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. because school will be in session during the tournament that begins Tuesday and concludes Friday.

Offsite parking will be available between those hours at Farmakis Farm (29932 Camino Capistrano) in San Juan Capistrano.

The cost for offsite parking is $10 daily (payment via Venmo). Free shuttle service will be available to and from the field.

​ Orange County Register 

How to use the IRS’s free IP PIN, the best way to keep a criminal from nabbing your income tax refund

• March 24, 2025

Filing an income tax return is few people’s idea of fun — but it’s worse when you can’t file the return because somebody using your identity already did.

That increasingly common type of fraud can be prevented by using an Identity Protection PIN, available free to most U.S. taxpayers through the Internal Revenue Service.

The IP PIN is mandatory for filing of taxes by people who have been victims of certain types of identity fraud, but it can also provide security as an optional measure.

The IRS’s online Q&A walks a taxpayer through the process. Here are some of the main elements:

How does the PIN work?

Every year, the taxpayer is given a new 6-digit code that allows filing of income taxes under their identity. They’ll be prompted by their tax software or electronic form to enter it. For those filing by paper, the 1040 form has a space for the PIN near the signature line.

How do I request one?

First, you need an online account with the IRS. If you already have an account with ID.me  — the identity verification service used by many federal and state agencies — you don’t have to set up a new one. It requires a driver’s license or other government ID card; the other information you need to provide is data that the federal government most likely already has.

Once you have an IRS account, you’ll find the option of requesting the PIN under the Profile tab. Every year after the first time, the new PIN will be available through your account.

I already use a signature PIN when I file my taxes. Is that the same thing?

No. The self-selected 5-digit code you enter to complete an electronic signature on your tax return does not have the same identity security.

What if I request a PIN and then decide I don’t want to use it going forward?

If you’re not required to use it because of past identity theft, you can opt out through your IRS account. Those taxpayers for whom it is mandatory will have received what’s called a CP01A notice from the IRS.

Too late — someone already claimed a tax refund under my name for this year. What now?

These instructions from the IRS lay out the procedure: You’ll probably be blocked from e-filing, so you’ll need to file a paper return with Form 14039, the identity theft affidavit. The agency will investigate the matter. A resolution is likely to take months, sometimes more than a year.

​ Orange County Register 

Former Utah Rep. Mia Love, the first Black Republican woman elected to the US House, has died

• March 24, 2025

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and MATTHEW BROWN

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Mia Love of Utah, a daughter of Haitian immigrants who became the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, died Sunday.

She was 49.

Love’s family posted news of her death on Love’s X account.

She had undergone recent treatment for brain cancer and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University’s brain tumor center. Her daughter said earlier this month that the former lawmaker was no longer responding to treatment.

Love died at her home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, according to a statement posted by the family.

“With grateful hearts filled to overflowing for the profound influence of Mia on our lives, we want you to know that she passed away peacefully,” her family said. “We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox referred to Love as a “true friend” and said in a statement that her legacy of service inspired all who knew her.

Love entered politics in 2003 after winning a seat on the city council in Saratoga Springs, a growing community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. She later became the city’s mayor.

In 2012, Love narrowly lost a bid for the House against the Democratic incumbent, former Rep. Jim Matheson, in a district that covers a string of Salt Lake City suburbs. She ran again two years later and defeated first-time candidate Doug Owens by about 7,500 votes.

Love didn’t emphasize her race during her campaigns, but she acknowledged the significance of her election after her 2014 victory. She said her win defied naysayers who had suggested that a Black, Republican, Mormon woman couldn’t win a congressional seat in overwhelmingly white Utah.

She was briefly considered a rising star within the GOP and she kept her distance from Donald Trump, who was unpopular with many Utah voters, while he was running for president ahead of the 2016 election.

In an op-ed published earlier this month in the Deseret News, Love described the version of America she grew up loving and shared her enduring wish for the nation to become less divisive. She thanked her medical team and every person who had prayed for her.

Love said her parents immigrated to the U.S. with $10 in their pocket and a belief that hard work would lead to success. She said she was raised to believe passionately in the American dream and “to love this country, warts and all.” America at its roots is respectful, resilient, giving and grounded in gritty determination, she said.

Her career in politics exposed Love to America’s ugly side, but she said it also gave her a front row seat to be inspired by people’s hope and courage. She shared her wish for neighbors to come together and focus on their similarities rather than their differences.

“Some have forgotten the math of America — whenever you divide you diminish,” Love wrote.

She urged elected officials to lead with compassion and communicate honestly with their constituents.

“In the end, I hope that my life will have mattered and made a difference for the nation I love and the family and friends I adore,” Love wrote. “I hope you will see the America I know in the years ahead, that you will hear my words in the whisper of the wind of freedom and feel my presence in the flame of the enduring principles of liberty. My living wish and fervent prayer for you and for this nation is that the America I have known is the America you fight to preserve.”

In 2016, facing reelection and following the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump made lewd comments about groping women, Love skipped the Republican National Convention and released a statement saying definitively that she would not vote for Trump. She instead endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the GOP race, but he dropped out months later.

While seeking a third term in 2018, Love tried to separate herself from Trump on trade and immigration while still backing her party’s positions on tax cuts. Despite Republican voters outnumbering Democrats by a nearly three-to-one margin in her district, though, she lost by fewer than 700 votes to Democrat Ben McAdams, a former Salt Lake County mayor.

Trump called out Love by name in a news conference the morning after she lost, where he also bashed other Republicans who didn’t fully embrace him.

“Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost,” Trump said. “Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.”

After her loss, Love served as a political commentator on CNN and as a fellow at the University of Sydney.

Following Trump’s election in November, Love said she was “OK with the outcome.”

“Yes, Trump says a lot of inconsiderate things that are unfortunate and impossible to defend,” Love wrote in a social media post. “However, his policies have a high probability of benefiting all Americans.”

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

​ Orange County Register 

23andMe users alerted they may want to delete genetic data. Here’s how to do it

• March 24, 2025

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — With genetic testing company 23andMe facing an increasingly uncertain future, California Attorney General Rob Bonta reminded customers they have the right to tell the firm to permanently delete their data.

The company has publicly reported it is in “financial distress” and stated in recent securities filings that there is substantial doubt about its ability to keep going, the California Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.

In California, for one, the “trove of sensitive consumer data” amassed by 23andMe is subject to deletion under both the Genetic Information Privacy Act and the California Consumer Protection Act, according to the office.

“California has robust privacy laws that allow consumers to take control and request that a company delete their genetic data,” Bonta said in a statement. “Given 23andMe’s reported financial distress, I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and directing 23andMe to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company.”

How to delete 23andMe data

Customers can delete their 23andMe account and personal information by taking the following steps:

• Log into your 23andMe account on the company’s website.
• Go to the “settings” section of your profile.
• Scroll to a section labeled “23andMe data” at the bottom of the page.
• Click “view” next to “23andMe data.”
• Download your data.
• Scroll to the “delete data” section.
• Click “permanently delete data.”
• Confirm your request. You will receive an email from 23andMe. Click the link to confirm your deletion request.

On the website, customers can also direct the company to destroy stored saliva samples and DNA, as well as revoke permission for their genetic data to be used for research.

​ Orange County Register