A school bus driver did not appear to hit his brakes before his bus with 11 students slammed into a tree Thursday afternoon in the Anaheim Hills, the California Highway Patrol said.

Officials said the driver and two students were critically injured in the crash and that three other students had minor injuries.

CHP spokesman Officer Florentino Olivera said a full investigation would be conducted. But he added that preliminary evidence indicates that the brakes may not have been used prior to the crash along East Nohl Ranch Road by the Anaheim Hills Golf Course. 

"I don't see any skid marks. It...

The newest board members of two troubled Department of Water and Power nonprofits are suing the utility's union boss, claiming he has refused to hold meetings or give them access to records showing how the groups have spent more than $40 million in ratepayer money.

Richard Llewellyn, counsel to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Michael Fleming, a Beverly Hills philanthropist -- both of whom were appointed to the nonprofits' boards in February -- filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.

They're asking a judge to force Brian D'Arcy, head of the utility's largest labor union,...

SAN DIEGO -- A 19-year-old man died Thursday while on a hiking trail near the Mexican border in eastern San Diego County, officials said.

The man had called his father on his cellphone to report that he felt ill while on the Pacific Crest Trail. His father alerted emergency personnel.

When paramedics arrived, the young man was alert and conscious but soon passed out, Cal-Fire said. Paramedics were unable to revive him and he was declared dead at the scene.

The county medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

ALSO:

Twitter critics take on LAPD after NY police hit on social media

Tee...

A Los Angeles high school science teacher is returning to the classroom two months after being suspended over concerns that two students had assembled "dangerous" science projects under his supervision.

Both projects overseen by teacher Greg Schiller were capable of launching small objects. A staff member at the downtown Cortines School of Visual & Performing Arts had raised concerns about one of them. Both are common in science fairs.

"I am very excited to be back with my students and help them prepare for the Advanced Placement tests, which are a week away," Schiller said Thursday. "We have...

The Los Angeles Unified School District does not need to release the names of teachers in connection with their performance ratings, according to a tentative court ruling issued Thursday.

A three-judge state appellate court panel tentatively found a stronger public interest in keeping the names confidential than publicly releasing them. Disclosure would not serve the public interest in monitoring the district’s performance as much as it would affect the recruitment and retention of good instructors and other issues, the ruling said.

The Times, in suing for access to the names, had argued...

Moments after a school bus crashed in the Anaheim Hills, students screamed for help as Good Samaritans rushed to free them from the wrecked vehicle, according to witnesses.

The witnesses heard a loud crack Thursday afternoon as the yellow bus smashed into trees on a grassy hill along East Nohl Ranch Road by the Anaheim Hills Golf Course. 

"I saw the bus drive up and fly up and crash," said Michelle Imperial, who was driving in the opposite direction. She said she pulled over and called 911 as children screamed: "Help me! Come help me!"

The bus from El Rancho Charter School, a middle school in...

SAN DIEGO -- Two enlisted sailors were taken into custody Thursday after a report of "suspicious behavior" involving a gun touched off a "shelter-in-place" order to personnel at the Point Loma submarine base.

The two were using airsoft pistols to fire from their barrack's window at a mirror on an adjacent structure, the Navy said. Airsoft pistols fire pellets and often have a realistic appearance.

Someone saw one of the pistols and made an emergency call that led to the "shelter in place" order, the Navy said. The sailors were contacted by their command chief and the Naval Criminal...

The Hemet Police Department is asking for the public’s help to find a 14-year-old boy wanted in connection with the attempted murder and torture of an elderly woman at a retirement home.  

When officers responded to a reported burglary and assault at  The Camelot, a senior living community at 800 W. Oakland Ave., about 3:11 a.m. April 17, they found an 87-year-old woman who had been brutally beaten, police said in a statement.

Physical evidence linked two teenagers to the crime. Investigators later arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the case. The boy was booked into Southwest...

SAN FRANCISCO -- State Treasurer Bill Lockyer announced the approval Thursday of $75.3 million in grants that aim to stabilize residents with severe mental illness before they land in jail or suffer multiple hospitalizations.

The 20 grants will go to 28 counties for new or expanded services. They will add 827 residential mental health beds and crisis "stabilization" beds, and pay for more than three dozen vehicles and five dozen staff members for mobile support teams, which often accompany local law enforcement to defuse tense situations and direct those in need to care.

The grants were...

Justin Bieber's legal woes may be catching up with him after he was detained in a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol area at LAX upon his return from Asia on Thursday, sources said.

The 20-year-old pop star was being questioned by officials, but no formal action had yet been taken against the Canadian-born performer, who is facing DUI charges in Miami, was arrested in Toronto and is being investigated in Los Angeles County for vandalism, sources said.

A source cautioned that the delay at Tom Bradley International Terminal is not a formal detention or arrest.

His behavior led to a petition on the...

Irwindale officials decided Wednesday to delay the adoption of a resolution that would have officially designated the spicy smell of Sriracha hot sauce a public nuisance. 

The city and sauce maker Huy Fong Foods have agreed to discuss a solution and the City Council decided to table the issue until a council meeting on May 14, said City Atty. Fred Galante. 

"We've been in communication since the last hearing to see if there is a way to resolve this whole matter," Galante said.

Galante declined to say what new information prompted the council to delay the resolution. The council voted...