Articles by Stefanie Dazio and Brian Melley

Associated Press

Captain Pleads Not Guilty to Manslaughter in California Dive Boat Fire

The captain of a scuba diving boat that burned and sank off the California coast, killing 34 people, pleaded not guilty this week to manslaughter charges. Jerry Boylan was arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles on 34 counts of …

Report Shows Pilot Felt Pressure to Fly Bryant to Game

As helicopter pilot Ara Zobayan encountered a cloud bank and decided to try to climb out of it, he was likely worried about getting his star client, Kobe Bryant, his daughter and six others to a girls basketball tournament, federal …

Families of 34 California Dive Boat Fire Victims Advocate

The snapshots tell the story of a big man with a big, beaming grin. The McIlvain family passes around the pictures, laughing over their son Charlie’s antics captured through the years: Charlie as a youngster camping with a backpack bigger …

California Dive Boat Captain Indicted in Fire That Killed 34

The captain of a scuba diving boat that caught fire and sank off the coast of California last year, killing 34 people who were trapped below deck, was indicted Tuesday on federal manslaughter charges for one of the deadliest maritime …

University of California Reaches $73M Sex Abuse Settlement

The prestigious University of California system has reached a proposed $73 million settlement with seven women who accused a former gynecologist of sexual abuse. As part of the class-action lawsuit, more than 6,600 patients of Dr. James Heaps could receive …

Utility in California Slow to Pull Plug Before Wildfire Erupted

Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the Associated Press misspelled the last name of Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy. Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included hurricane-level winds, the main utility in Northern California cut …

Family of Man Killed in Southern California Allege Wrongful Death

The family of a Black man who was fatally shot by an Orange County sheriff’s deputy last month filed a wrongful death claim Tuesday against the county. Kurt Andras Reinhold was killed Sept. 23 in the oceanside city of San …

Crew on Boat Where Fire Killed 34 in California Had No Emergency Training

Crew members on a dive boat say they were never instructed on emergency procedures before a predawn fire swept through the vessel as it was anchored off the Southern California coast, killing 34 people as they slept below deck, according …

Charges May be Brought in California Boat Fire That Killed 34

Nine days after the scuba boat Conception went down in flames with 34 people trapped below deck in one of the deadliest disasters in California maritime history, a federal grand jury began looking into whether a crime had been committed. …

Pilot in Helicopter Crash That Killed Lakers Star Had No Drugs, Alcohol in System

The pilot flying Kobe Bryant and seven others to a youth basketball tournament did not have alcohol or drugs in his system, and all nine sustained immediately fatal injuries when their helicopter slammed into a hillside outside Los Angeles in …