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Google is kicking off the new year with a significant incentive for cord-cutters who have yet to pull the trigger on its live TV streaming service. YouTube TV has just launched a fresh promotion that significantly lowers the barrier to entry, offering both an extended trial period and a deep discount on the monthly subscription […]

The Original Saugus Café, the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles County, has reopened under new management after shutting down last month, but the grand reopening was clouded by a lawsuit against the property owner. The reopening came on Monday, two weeks after the Santa Clarita restaurant closed after nearly 140 years. Alfredo Mercado, the previous operator of the restaurant, had not elaborate why he decided to shut down the restaurant last month. But according to the complaint filed by Mercado against the building owner, North Valley Construction, he is suing the property owner for breach of contract and trademark infringement. The Mercado patriarch had purchased the restaurant in 1998 after working for the business as a bartender for “many years,” according to the complaint. Mercado alleges that he began renting the restaurant space from Hank Arklin from 1998 after a “handshake, oral lease agreement.” But when Arklin died, problems began, according to Mercado, and eventually, the property owner forced Mercado out of the business. “Plantiff never had any intent to close its business,” the lawsuit said, alleging the property owner, now called North Valley Construction, verbally told the Mercado family to vacate the property in late December. Santa Clarita Dec 30, 2025 The Original Saugus Cafe in Santa Clarita to close after nearly 140 years in service Restaurants Sep 11, 2025 LA's historic Original Pantry Café to reopen on New Year's Day The Mercado family also said the reopening came as a surprise. “We truly thought that was the end of the Saugus Café,” Jessie Mercado, one of the former operators, said. The Mercado family also claims that it owns the rights to the Saugus Café name. “If they have interest in our name, we’re willing to sell it. It’s truly unfair that they’re using it without our consent, without compensating us,” Mercado said. NBC Los Angeles reached out to North Valley Construction for comment. The new operators, meanwhile, said they will do their best to live up to the Saugust Café’s historic reputation. “They gave me the opportunity, and I get it. I’m going to try and do the best I can,” Eduardo Reyna said.

Trial was set to start Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles for former Dodger Yasiel Puig, who faces federal charges for allegedly lying to investigators about his suspected involvement in illegal sports betting. Puig, 35, is charged with obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. Puig no longer plays professionally in the United States. The right fielder spent six seasons with the Dodgers and last played in the MLB in 2019 while splitting time between Cincinnati and Cleveland. He later signed with teams that play in South Korea and the Mexican League. The case stems from a 2017 probe of an illegal gambling business run by ex-minor league pitcher Wayne Nix, 49, of Newport Coast. An investigation of Nix’s actions to launder illicit proceeds and hide income from the Internal Revenue Service led to Puig, prosecutors said. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Puig began placing bets on games in May 2019 through an intermediary of Nix’s. By the following month, Puig owed the Nix gambling business $282,900 for sports gambling losses, court papers allegedly show. Between July and September of 2019, Puig placed 899 bets on tennis, football and basketball games through a Costa Rica-based website associated with Nix, federal prosecutors allege. Puig’s defense counsel disputes the government’s summary of their Cuban-born client’s alleged betting activity. MLB Nov 14, 2022 Ex-MLB Star Yasiel Puig to Plead Guilty to Lying in Illegal Gambling Case Oct 30, 2020 Woman Sues Former Dodger Outfielder for Alleged Sexual Assault In January 2022, federal investigators interviewed Puig in the presence of his lawyer via video conferencing. During the 90-minute interview, despite being warned that lying to federal agents is a crime, Puig denied allknowledge of the Nix gambling business and persons participating in it, authorities said. “During a final break, the government privately advised defendant’s then-counsel that defendant’s statements were contrary to evidence the government had already obtained during the Nix Gambling Business investigation,” prosecutors wrote in the trial memorandum. “Counsel conferred with his client outside the presence of the government, but defendant did not change his prior statements.” In March 2022, according to court records, Puig allegedly sent a recorded message to a friend via WhatsApp. “I no said nothing, I not talking,” the Cuban player said in English, of his conversation with federal prosecutors two months prior. “I said that I only know (Puig’s alleged bookie, a former player) from baseball.” Prosecutors contend Puig lied to the government as part of his naturalization process in 2019, denying on an application that he had ever gambled illegally or received income from illegal gambling and during an in-person interview when he told the interviewer that he had never gambled illegally. Puig was charged with one federal count each of making false statements and obstruction of justice and in August 2022 reached a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles in which he promised to pleadguilty to a single count of lying to federal authorities and agreed to pay a fine of at least $55,000. He reneged on the deal weeks later. A Los Angeles federal judge determined the plea deal was not binding because he had not yet formally entered his guilty plea in court. “I want to clear my name,” Puig said in a statement at the time. “I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.” Before he withdrew from the plea deal, Puig was eligible for probation along with the fine. In January 2023, prosecutors charged Puig with obstruction of justice in addition to two charges of making false statements to federal officials. The case was held up during an appeal regarding the admissibility of the facts of the withdrawn plea agreement. The case is now going forward before U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee. Each count of making a false statement carries up to…

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was marked Monday with numerous parades, musical and cultural events and volunteer opportunities throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties on the federal holiday that honors the legacy of the slain civil-rights leader. Monday’s biggest Southland event for the occasion took place in South Los Angeles, where the annual MLK Day parade is under new leadership — Bakewell Media, publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper. Bakewell took over the event — formerly called the Kingdom Day Parade — and rebranded it as the “Los Angeles Official Martin Luther King Day Parade” after the previous organizers, Adrian Dove and the LA chapter of theCongress of Racial Equality California, decided to retire from producing the event. The parade, which annually draws thousands of spectators, began at 10 a.m. Monday at Western Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard, ending at Leimert Park. It featured floats, marching bands, faith-based and community organizations, local and national leaders and more. Cedric The Entertainer will serve as grand marshal. Following the parade, L.A. City Council members Marqueece Harris- Dawson, Curren Price and Heather Hutt were set to host the MLK Freedom Festival in the historic Leimert Park Village. The festival featured music performances from the likes of the Grammy award-winning Avila Brothers, along with a community resource fair, local vendors, food trucks and more. Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Culver City, and state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, were among those scheduled to attend the event. The Freedom Festival will also feature the South Los Angeles Community Coalition’s “The Barbershop,” which aims to replicate the safe spaces that barbershops and nail salons have represented in the Black community for generations. Organizers say the setup was used as a forum to discuss MLK’s call for justice, dignity and collective action. Topics will include community safety, housing, economic justice and the power of people-led solutions. The coalition will also launch a community poll to identify key issues felt by South LA residents. Also Monday, the annual MLK Day Volunteer Festival took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, beginning at noon and run by the nonprofit LA Works. It’s billed as “the largest activation of service event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at a moment when the city’s need for collective action has never been greater.” The event focused on wildfire recovery and uplifting displaced families, and standing with immigrant communities, organizers said. It included volunteer projects, educational activities, a nonprofit fair and BIPOC small-business zone, a live DJ, and more. According to the festival’s website, tickets were sold out, with “thousands of Angelenos (stepping) … forward to join the movement on MLK Day to transform compassion into action.” “We are at capacity for this year’s event and cannot accommodate walk-ups, but there are still powerful ways to honor Dr. King’s legacy through action,” organizers said. Meanwhile, the volunteer organization Big Sunday was scheduled to conduct its 14th annual MLK Day Clothing Drive & Community Breakfast from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at South Park Elementary School, located at 8510 Towne Ave. Big Sunday aims to collect non-perishable food and clothes for a new, year-round food pantry. In addition to the food and clothes drive, the nonprofit organized gardening and other school beautification projects, arts and crafts activities and a special MLK Day mosaic project. Other Monday MLK events include: In Exposition Park, the California African American Museum, at 600 State Drive, will host a King Day program from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. that will include a community service book donation drive supporting the Little Free Library at the Crenshaw Family YMCA; a faux stained glass workshop; a King study group; and concluding with a performance by the Inner City Youth Orchestra of LA In Santa Clarita, a Unity Walk” will take…

The first batch of 2026 NBA All-Stars have been revealed. The starting fives for each conference were officially announced Tuesday in the midst of the MLK Day quadruple-header on NBC and Peacock. Here’s a look at the 2026 All-Star starters: Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (10th All-Star appearance) Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics (5th) Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks (3rd) Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons (2nd) Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers (2nd) Western Conference Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (12th) Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets (8th) Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers (6th) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (4th) Victory Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs (2nd) NBA Jan 12 LeBron James to wear commemorative jersey patch for remainder of regular season NBA Dec 3, 2025 Giannis Antetokounmpo discussing future with Bucks amid trade rumors: Report The All-Star starters are determined based on a combination of voting by fans (50% of the vote), current NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%). The seven reserves for each conference will be selected by NBA head coaches, with that group to be unveiled at a later date. Jokić and Antetokounmpo were the top scorers in the combined vote for each conference. The players who just missed the cut included Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell. Here’s a look at the full results: This year’s All-Star Game will look a little different than past years, with a revamped U.S. vs. World format. There will be two U.S. teams and one World team competing in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games. The 2026 NBA All-Star Game is set for Sunday, Feb. 15, airing on NBC and Peacock. All events from All-Star Weekend, including the Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest, will be on NBC for the first time since 2002. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.