An Amber Alert that rattled cellphones throughout Southern California has been called off after a 12-year-old Long Beach boy and his mother were located by authorities in Oceanside.

The California Highway Patrol had issued the alert at 1:20 p.m., notifying the public that they believed Sri Johnson, 49, had abducted her son, Nicholas Johnson.

The alert was sent early Monday afternoon to cellphones, alerting smartphone users throughout the region.

At 2:40 P.M., the CHP sent out a tweet saying that officers had found the boy and taken his mother into custody.

The woman had last been seen driving...

A 19-year-old charged with fatally shooting his parents and critically injuring his 8-year-old brother while they slept in their San Juan Capistrano home had long planned to “kill the people that loved him the most,” an Orange County prosecutor said Monday.

Dressed in a jail-issued orange jumpsuit, Ashton Sachs appeared in court briefly Monday, and told the judge he could not afford to hire an attorney.

His arraignment was postponed to April 4, so that a public defender could be appointed to represent him.

Sachs is accused of entering his family home on Feb. 9 and shooting his...

A man arrested in the 2012 death of his boyfriend, whose head, hands and feet were scattered below the Hollywood sign, made "inconsistent and suspicious statements" to police after his partner's body parts were found, court documents showed.

A search warrant affidavit filed in connection with the killing of Hervey Medellin said Medellin's partner, Gabriel Campos-Martinez, then took a polygraph test, which revealed he was "deceitful of dismembering the victim's body and having knowledge of the victim's murder."

Los Angeles detectives arrested Campos-Martinez, 38, in San Antonio, the LAPD said....

More than 100 pot shops have shut down since Los Angeles started enforcing new rules restricting medical marijuana dispensaries, City Atty. Mike Feuer announced Monday.

In addition to the rules prompting scores of closures, Feuer said city lawyers had successfully fended off a host of legal challenges. In one closely watched case, they prevented a dispensary from opening in Mar Vista, securing a permanent injunction before it could set up shop.

“We have a long way to go, but we have a great start,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, who joined Feuer at a press conference.

The California Highway Patrol sent out an Amber Alert on Monday over cellphones for a Long Beach boy allegedly abducted from his home by his mother.

The victim was identified as Nicholas Johnston, 12, described as white with blond hair and blue eyes, 4-feet-8 inches tall and about 80 pounds.

CHP officials say the boy was abducted on Thursday by his mother, Sri Johnston, 49, who is white with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet tall and 125 pounds.

She was last seen driving a tan 1998 Saturn four-door with California license plate 4AUU679.

The alert was sent to cellphones around 1:20 p.m.,...

Investigators are reviewing building permits for an Anaheim high school auditorium stage that collapsed late Saturday, injuring two dozen students.

Officials said they hope to determine what restrictions were placed on the stage at Servite High School.

About 250 students were performing at the private Catholic high school Saturday when the platform gave way, injuring 24 students and stunning the crowd.

A video posted to YouTube showed a large crowd packing the stage, dancing, shouting and waving pom-poms in the air before the platform suddenly collapsed.

The part of the stage that gave way was...

The large 6.9 magnitude earthquake that rattled Northern California on Sunday was the state's largest earthquake in nearly a decade. But it caused no damage or injuries.

That's because the quake was centered 50 miles off the coast of Eureka and occurred at a depth of "10 miles beneath the Pacific seabed," according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

By the time the waves reach the shore, they had dissipated significantly. The USGS said the north coast felt only moderate to light shaking.

By contrast, a 6.5 quake hit the areain 2010, snapping power lines, toppling chimneys, knocking down traffic...

A powerboat racing contest in San Dimas was canceled this past weekend after one contestant was killed and another injured during a practice-lap crash at Puddingstone Reservoir.

The two-boat collision occurred on the lake in Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park at about 11 a.m. Saturday, on the second day of the three-day event hosted by the Southern California Outboard Assn., park officials and authorities said.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, a lead boat lost control, causing a boat trailing the craft to crash into it.

The impact killed 64-year-old Gregory Wayne Belda of...

A judge on Monday set a Nov. 10 trial date for the sexual harassment case filed by a longtime aide to Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar.

Superior Court Judge William F. Fahey scheduled the date after Michael Eisenberg, an attorney for former Huizar aide Francine Godoy, said he is looking to call "potentially 20" witnesses in the case.

Fahey questioned the need for so many witnesses and a lengthy trial, asking Eisenberg: "Isn't this a he-said, she-said situation?"

"There are a lot of issues," Eisenberg responded.

Godoy, who worked for Huizar for seven years, has accused her former boss of...

With Southern California in the midst of a mini-heat wave, Los Angeles set a record high Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

The temperature Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport soared to 85 degrees, surpassing the record of 82 degrees for the day set in 2012.  

In Long Beach temperatures reached 87, matching the record for that date set in 2004.

The hotter-than-normal weather conditions made it one of the toughest and hottest race days for Los Angeles Marathon runners.

Temperatures climbed at least to 81 degrees at the finish line on Sunday, the highest mark since the race began...

Los Angeles police said Monday a suspect in Texas has been arrested in connection with the murder of a man whose body parts--including a head--were found scattered across Griffith Park in 2012.

Gabriel Campos Martinez, 38 -- described in an LAPD statement as "the suspect responsible" for the murder of Hervey Medellin -- was arrested Sunday in San Antonio. Martinez was the victim's roommate and partner, law enforcement sources said.

He was being held without bail Monday pending extradition proceedings.

Medellin, 66, was reported missingabout a week before dog walkers discovered his head...