West Hollywood Main Bursts, Opens Sinkhole

A century-old, 36-inch water main ruptured before dawn Thursday in West Hollywood, sending floodwaters down streets and opening a sinkhole that collapsed part of a sidewalk.

The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Sunset Boulevard and turned streets into rivers, swamping parked cars, and flooding apartment garages down the hill to Santa Monica Boulevard. Two people fell into the sinkhole when the sidewalk gave way but did not appear to be seriously hurt.

Crews shut off the highly pressurized pipe by about 7 a.m., turning the valves slowly to avoid more damage. Utility officials said the ruptured trunk line dated to 1916.

Los Angeles’ utility said the pipe was under its jurisdiction and that drinking water stayed safe, while flooding disrupted Metro bus service and forced route detours.

Bay Capsizing Search Suspended for 3

The Coast Guard suspended its search Wednesday night for three people still missing after a boat capsized near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.

The 50-foot cabin cruiser Volare was carrying 20 family members and friends for a memorial service to scatter the ashes of family member Maria Boisa when it capsized Tuesday afternoon. Rescuers saved 16 people, but one passenger, 79-year-old Clifford Boisa, died, along with a dog aboard.

Boisa, a former Sutter County sheriff’s reserve deputy, was among the 20 people aboard, most of them relatives. Family members identified the three still missing as his wife, Jackie; his sister, Carol; and a close friend of Maria Boisa, though officials have not formally released the names.

Crews covered 950 square nautical miles over more than 24 hours before suspending the effort. Recovering the sunken vessel is the next step in the investigation.

Delete Act Begins Erasing Broker Data

Starting Aug. 1, California’s Delete Act will begin requiring data brokers to erase the personal data of more than 300,000 California residents who requested deletion.

Residents can wipe their information through a single state portal instead of contacting each company, and brokers must keep deleting any newly collected data every 45 days.

State Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat who wrote the measure, said it targets “shadowy data brokers” that buy and sell details like where people live and work. Nearly 600 registered brokers were required to disclose the types of information they collect.

California sets no cap on penalties. The California Privacy Protection Agency and the attorney general can pursue brokers that refuse to comply, and one law professor compared the accumulating fines to a parking meter that keeps running.

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➤ Santa Cruz Mountains: Nearly six years after the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire burned 97% of California’s oldest state park, Big Basin is slowly reopening trails and moving ahead with a $370 million plan to rebuild its campgrounds and headquarters. (More)

➤ Berkeley: Voters will decide in November on a measure to double the city’s first-in-the-nation soda tax to 2 cents per ounce, up from 1 cent. The distributor tax, made permanent in 2024, would dedicate revenue to school gardens, health education, and community health programs. (More)

➤ Yuba City: A pilot was killed Thursday morning when a small Vans RV-4 plane crashed through a fence at Sutter County Airport around 7:10 a.m. The pilot was the only person aboard, and the airport was closed as investigators worked the scene. (More)

➤ San Jose: Police arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with a weekslong crime spree across several cities, but a French bulldog named Lady, stolen during a May home burglary, is still missing. Officers describe her as gray with a pink scar on her chin. (More)

➤ Lincoln: A gambler won $1,131,400 on Face-Up Pai Gow Poker at Thunder Valley Casino Resort on Wednesday, the first seven-figure table-game jackpot since the casino opened in Placer County in 2003. The winner and his wife plan to replace their garage door. (See Details)

➤ Grass Valley: Lev Weisswasser, an 18-year-old whitewater kayak guide, is developing an autonomous rescue drone called Winter that uses thermal imaging to find people and deliver water, medical supplies or a defibrillator to remote areas emergency vehicles cannot quickly reach. He was inspired after losing a friend in a kayaking accident. (See Details)

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➤ Fresno County: More than 130 officers from 17 agencies targeted wanted fugitives and conducted parole compliance checks during a Gold Star Operation across foothill and mountain communities Wednesday. The sweep covered more than 50 locations and resulted in 12 arrests. (More)

➤ San Luis Obispo: Cal Poly secured $1 million in state funding to study the Central Coast’s physician shortage and recruiting barriers, and to weigh whether the region could support a new medical school campus. Assemblymember Dawn Addis announced the funding as part of the 2026-27 state budget. (More)

➤ Yosemite has cut traffic gridlock by more than 98% in 2026, reducing annual gridlock days from more than 120 to just two so far despite a 12% increase in visitation. Officials credit digital passes, streamlined entrance checks, new fast lanes, public Wi-Fi, and real-time entrance wait information for the improvement. (More)

➤ Modesto: A two-part A&E documentary airing this week revisits the 2002 murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, spotlighting what Scott Peterson’s lawyers call new evidence supporting his claim of innocence. A judge recently declined to review the evidence, and Peterson remains in prison serving life without parole. (More)

➤ Fresno: Amid privacy concerns over its roughly 70 Flock license-plate cameras, the police department said the system helps solve crimes rather than conduct surveillance, retains data for 30 days, uses no facial recognition, and does not share data with federal agencies. Police credited it in 36 of 39 gunshot cases. (More)

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➤ San Diego County: The Thorn Fire near Boulevard burned 1,201 acres and was 10% contained by Thursday morning after crossing Interstate 8. Firefighters stopped its forward spread overnight, while evacuations remained in effect and the cause was under investigation. (More)

➤ Pacific Palisades: A felony warrant suspect led officers on a foot chase Thursday before jumping into the ocean at Will Rogers State Beach in an attempt to escape. Lifeguards helped take the suspect into custody after a brief struggle in the water. (See Details)

➤ Palomar Mountain: Search crews and volunteers continued combing rugged terrain for Angelica Brophy, an Oceanside mother of two missing since July 6. Investigators found no evidence of foul play after locating her car in Palomar Mountain State Park, where she was last known to be. (More)

➤ Boyle Heights: One month after a warehouse fire, residents urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a disaster as millions of pounds of rotting food continue to foul the air and raise health concerns. Los Angeles also announced free temporary housing for some nearby families. (More)

➤ Riverside County: Investigators identified skeletal remains found in a shallow mountain grave in 1981 as Thelma Gaston, a Southern California millionaire who vanished at age 80. Genetic genealogy and dental records identified her remains in May, decades after her killer was convicted. (See Details)

➤ Santa Monica: Wildlife officers arrested six men accused of poaching lobsters off the pier during the closed season, using K-9s to locate 34 hidden in duffel bags, backpacks, and a baby stroller. The lobsters, including egg-bearing females, were returned to the ocean alive. (More)

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➤ Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani captured Best MLB Player and Best Single-Game Performance honors at Wednesday’s 2026 ESPYS, while Oakland native Alysa Liu was named Best Breakthrough Athlete. (See Winners)

➤ NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league’s investigation into the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard over alleged salary cap circumvention must conclude before next season begins. A reported trade sending Leonard to Toronto remains on hold while the teams await the investigation’s outcome. (More)

➤ The Athletics are calling up No. 7 prospect Tommy White, a power-hitting LSU product nicknamed “Tommy Tanks,” for his expected MLB debut today against the Nationals. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: The Open | MLB | WNBA

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➤ Hollywood tax credits are at risk under a cap in California’s new state budget, and nearly 40 lawmakers have urged state leaders to exempt the film and TV incentive before the legislative session ends. They warn the change could jeopardize production jobs California has worked to bring back. (More)

➤ LINXS, the developer of LAX’s automated people mover, sued the city of Los Angeles, accusing airport officials of breaching the contract, causing delays, and wrongly blaming the company for the troubled project. It says the dispute now threatens the system’s October 2026 completion deadline. (More)

➤ A California bill advancing through the Legislature would expand the ability of consumers and businesses to sue companies for allegedly stifling competition. Supporters say it would curb monopolies, while opponents warn it could unleash costly litigation. (More)

➤ Costco fans in California can finally order the chain’s new food-court chicken tenders, which arrived July 11 after debuting at other U.S. locations this spring. The five baked, breaded strips come with honey mustard and replace the discontinued chicken calzone. (More)

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“Cobots” Are Transforming This $1T Market

They’re not replacing humans; they’re working with them. That’s the promise of “cobots,” or collaborative robots.

In a robotics market NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang called “one of the largest industries ever,” the cobot segment is projected to grow 15X by 2035.

And Miso Robotics is proving its value in the $1T fast-food industry. 

Their Flippy fry station AI robot boosts restaurant profits up to 4X, already logging 200K hours in live kitchens alongside human employees for brands like White Castle.

Flippy carries $4B/year in U.S. revenue potential on its own. And that’s just one piece of Miso’s platform. 

Big-name brands like Jersey Mike’s and Cinnabon just became customers. Industry powerhouse Ecolab already invested. Join them as an early-stage shareholder in Miso today. Hurry for bonus shares.

➤ The Redding Mermaids are celebrating 10 years of delighting children and the community. The nine-member troupe says swimming in the group’s heavy mermaid tails is a real workout, but newer performers describe the experience as magical and a dream come true. (More)

➤ KTLA reporter Rachel Menitoff kept her cool during a live shot in Sherman Oaks as a cockroach crawled across her chest and neck. She finished the report before brushing it off, later noting the segment was about the Valley’s extreme heat. (Watch Video)

➤ A new Bigfoot horror film, Sawtooth Mountain, from Culver City-based TriCoast Entertainment arrives on Tubi and other streaming platforms Aug. 11. The film follows college students whose stay at a Bigfoot-themed cabin takes a dark turn after two paranormal-obsessed brothers stage a Bigfoot sighting. (More)

➤ The OC Fair opens today in Costa Mesa with more than 100 food vendors serving quirky creations, including fried tiramisu, street corn baked potatoes, Takis-crusted Korean corn dogs, and PB&J cheeseburgers. The fair runs through Aug. 16. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ President Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator is accused of using inside knowledge of the president’s speeches to win $100,000 in bets. (Hear Details)

➤ Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth is now mandating annual testosterone screening for service members over 30 years old across the entire military. (Hear Episode)

➤ The Trump administration is moving to fence off a historic public square beside the White House, escalating a broader security overhaul. (Listen Now)

Do you believe in Bigfoot?

1. Absolutely, he’s out there
2. Maybe, the jury’s still out
3. No, it’s a hoax

Yesterday’s Results:

Should counties allow residents to run small restaurants out of their homes?

1. Only in commercial spaces: 39%
2. Yes, with health/safety rules: 33%
3. Not sure: 28%

The 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film, the most famous footage claiming to show Bigfoot, was shot along which Northern California creek?

Show me the answer