Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementCaltrans is estimating it can reopen Highway 1 — and reconnect Southern California with Big Sur and points beyond — by early summer.The highway after a 150-foot section at Rat Creek was washed out by heavy rains that caused debris flow at the creek in Monterey County. In a release Thursday, Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin said, “We’re focused on restoring travel on this section by early summer.” The repair cost is estimated at $11.5 million, involving “the manipulation of tens of thousands of cubic yards of material.”Get The Wild...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementCaltrans is estimating it can reopen Highway 1 — and reconnect Southern California with Big Sur and points beyond — by early summer.The highway after a 150-foot section at Rat Creek was washed out by heavy rains that caused debris flow at the creek in Monterey County. In a release Thursday, Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin said, “We’re focused on restoring travel on this section by early summer.” The repair cost is estimated at $11.5 million, involving “the manipulation of tens of thousands of cubic yards of material.”Get The Wild...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe national battle over voting restrictions was, for one sluggish February afternoon, waged in a cramped hearing room of Arizona’s House of Representatives. Separated by plexiglass barriers, Republican lawmakers steadily plowed ahead on bills that, put together, could make it harder for Arizonans to vote.Members of a House committee advanced a proposal to forbid the use of private money to help conduct elections, such as by buying equipment or funding voter education. They approved a bill making it a felony for an official to change...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe national battle over voting restrictions was, for one sluggish February afternoon, waged in a cramped hearing room of Arizona’s House of Representatives. Separated by plexiglass barriers, Republican lawmakers steadily plowed ahead on bills that, put together, could make it harder for Arizonans to vote.Members of a House committee advanced a proposal to forbid the use of private money to help conduct elections, such as by buying equipment or funding voter education. They approved a bill making it a felony for an official to change...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe Santa Monica-based public radio station (89.9) is under fire this week after a former news producer alleged that she experienced a pattern of racist behavior while working there.Cerise Castle said in a podcast interview and on social media Monday that her time at KCRW was “marked by microaggressions, gaslighting, and blatant racism starting when I was physically prevented from entering the building multiple times within my first month of employment.”She originally outlined her experiences to staff last year after accepting a...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe Santa Monica-based public radio station (89.9) is under fire this week after a former news producer alleged that she experienced a pattern of racist behavior while working there.Cerise Castle said in a podcast interview and on social media Monday that her time at KCRW was “marked by microaggressions, gaslighting, and blatant racism starting when I was physically prevented from entering the building multiple times within my first month of employment.”She originally outlined her experiences to staff last year after accepting a...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementAfter setbacks and shipment delays tied to , the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in Los Angeles is ramping up again, officials said.Tuesday was the second-busiest day at city-run vaccination sites, Mayor Eric Garcetti said during a news briefing Wednesday, with 17,572 doses administered. And while some scarcity remains, the numbers are expected to improve in the days and weeks to come.“While we still don’t have clarity on the supply chain, in the next week or two, simple math indicates we should only see more and more supply in the weeks...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementAfter setbacks and shipment delays tied to , the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in Los Angeles is ramping up again, officials said.Tuesday was the second-busiest day at city-run vaccination sites, Mayor Eric Garcetti said during a news briefing Wednesday, with 17,572 doses administered. And while some scarcity remains, the numbers are expected to improve in the days and weeks to come.“While we still don’t have clarity on the supply chain, in the next week or two, simple math indicates we should only see more and more supply in the weeks...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementA U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one of their militiamen and wounding a number of others, an Iraqi militia official said Friday. The official told the Associated Press that the strikes against the Kataeb Hezbollah militia, or Hezbollah Brigades, hit an area along the border between the Syrian site of Boukamal facing Qaim on the Iraqi side. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak of the attack.The Pentagon said the strikes...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementA U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one of their militiamen and wounding a number of others, an Iraqi militia official said Friday. The official told the Associated Press that the strikes against the Kataeb Hezbollah militia, or Hezbollah Brigades, hit an area along the border between the Syrian site of Boukamal facing Qaim on the Iraqi side. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak of the attack.The Pentagon said the strikes...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementHundreds of grocery store workers in unincorporated Los Angeles County will receive $5 an hour in hazard pay on top of their regular wages as part of the county’s “hero pay” mandate that goes into effect Friday and lasts 120 days.The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to mandate the pay bump for publicly traded grocery store or retail drug companies, or companies that have at least 300 employees nationwide and more than 10 employees per store site. The measure applies only to unincorporated areas, benefiting about 2,500...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementHundreds of grocery store workers in unincorporated Los Angeles County will receive $5 an hour in hazard pay on top of their regular wages as part of the county’s “hero pay” mandate that goes into effect Friday and lasts 120 days.The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to mandate the pay bump for publicly traded grocery store or retail drug companies, or companies that have at least 300 employees nationwide and more than 10 employees per store site. The measure applies only to unincorporated areas, benefiting about 2,500...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementA law that barred most offenders under 16 years old from being tried for crimes as adults does not violate the California Constitution, the state’s highest court decided Thursday.In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court intended to end one of California’s tough-on-crime measures that helped lead to overcrowded prisons and defied scientific consensus on brain development of juvenile offenders.Prosecutors challenged the law, arguing the Legislature usurped its authority in amending Proposition 57, approved by voters in 2016....…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementA law that barred most offenders under 16 years old from being tried for crimes as adults does not violate the California Constitution, the state’s highest court decided Thursday.In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court intended to end one of California’s tough-on-crime measures that helped lead to overcrowded prisons and defied scientific consensus on brain development of juvenile offenders.Prosecutors challenged the law, arguing the Legislature usurped its authority in amending Proposition 57, approved by voters in 2016....WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementLos Angeles Police Department detectives searched the home of a captain Thursday as part of an investigation into the alleged sale of more than 20 firearms stolen from the police academy gun store, according to law enforcement sources.The commercial crimes detectives were seeking evidence linked to the guns and who might have received them. They were also looking for any communications between Capt. Jonathan Tom, who oversees the West Los Angeles station, and Archie Duenas, a former assistant manager of the gun shop who was charged...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementLos Angeles Police Department detectives searched the home of a captain Thursday as part of an investigation into the alleged sale of more than 20 firearms stolen from the police academy gun store, according to law enforcement sources.The commercial crimes detectives were seeking evidence linked to the guns and who might have received them. They were also looking for any communications between Capt. Jonathan Tom, who oversees the West Los Angeles station, and Archie Duenas, a former assistant manager of the gun shop who was charged...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementCalifornia got the go-ahead from a federal judge this week to passed in 2018. I’m guessing you don’t much care.Not that you’re ambivalent about the internet. There probably isn’t a single more important technology in your life right now, which is why I’ve called for authorities to regulate the internet .Rather, net neutrality is pretty wonky and applies more to network providers than to consumers, making most of us bystanders in a fairly technical, industry-focused debate.But what you should care about is the fact that the huge...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementCalifornia got the go-ahead from a federal judge this week to passed in 2018. I’m guessing you don’t much care.Not that you’re ambivalent about the internet. There probably isn’t a single more important technology in your life right now, which is why I’ve called for authorities to regulate the internet .Rather, net neutrality is pretty wonky and applies more to network providers than to consumers, making most of us bystanders in a fairly technical, industry-focused debate.But what you should care about is the fact that the huge...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementPresident Biden on Wednesday lifted a freeze on green cards issued by his predecessor during the pandemic that lawyers said was blocking most legal immigration to the United States.Former President Trump last spring until the end of 2020 in the name of protecting the coronavirus-wracked job market — a reason that Trump gave to achieve many of the cuts to legal immigration that had eluded him before the pandemic.Trump on Dec. 31 until the end of March.Trump had deemed immigrants a “risk to the U.S. labor market” and blocked their entry...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementPresident Biden on Wednesday lifted a freeze on green cards issued by his predecessor during the pandemic that lawyers said was blocking most legal immigration to the United States.Former President Trump last spring until the end of 2020 in the name of protecting the coronavirus-wracked job market — a reason that Trump gave to achieve many of the cuts to legal immigration that had eluded him before the pandemic.Trump on Dec. 31 until the end of March.Trump had deemed immigrants a “risk to the U.S. labor market” and blocked their entry...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe driver of a car was killed early Tuesday after careening into a home in Paramount, authorities said.The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the scene in the 16600 block of Downey Avenue around 1 a.m. to find the vehicle on its roof and the driver trapped in the wreckage, Deputy Trina Schrader said.Crews with the Los Angeles County Fire Department freed the man from the wreckage, but he died from his injuries at the scene. The man was identified by City News Service as James Lee, 20.The crash damaged a fence on the...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe driver of a car was killed early Tuesday after careening into a home in Paramount, authorities said.The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the scene in the 16600 block of Downey Avenue around 1 a.m. to find the vehicle on its roof and the driver trapped in the wreckage, Deputy Trina Schrader said.Crews with the Los Angeles County Fire Department freed the man from the wreckage, but he died from his injuries at the scene. The man was identified by City News Service as James Lee, 20.The crash damaged a fence on the...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThis is not a drill. California is poised to lose the Western monarch butterfly and its mysterious annual migration from the continent’s Western regions to the coastal areas between Baja to Mendocino.The list for blame is long — habitat destruction, insecticides, herbicides and yes, good intentions, because if you’ve ever planted a showy orange milkweed in Southern California with the goal of helping the monarch, consider yourself part of the problem.So why should we care? First off, caterpillars are a critical food source for most...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThis is not a drill. California is poised to lose the Western monarch butterfly and its mysterious annual migration from the continent’s Western regions to the coastal areas between Baja to Mendocino.The list for blame is long — habitat destruction, insecticides, herbicides and yes, good intentions, because if you’ve ever planted a showy orange milkweed in Southern California with the goal of helping the monarch, consider yourself part of the problem.So why should we care? First off, caterpillars are a critical food source for most...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementSen. Joe Manchin, the self-styled conservative Democrat from West Virginia, is driving progressives crazy — and he doesn’t seem to mind.Manchin says President Biden’s $1.9-trillion COVID relief bill is too big, and he wants to cut it. He says he strongly opposes a $15 federal minimum wage, one of Biden’s top campaign promises. He announced last week that he won’t vote to confirm Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, , because her campaign-year tweets struck him as too partisan. He hasn’t decided whether to...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementSen. Joe Manchin, the self-styled conservative Democrat from West Virginia, is driving progressives crazy — and he doesn’t seem to mind.Manchin says President Biden’s $1.9-trillion COVID relief bill is too big, and he wants to cut it. He says he strongly opposes a $15 federal minimum wage, one of Biden’s top campaign promises. He announced last week that he won’t vote to confirm Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, , because her campaign-year tweets struck him as too partisan. He hasn’t decided whether to...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementUndoing a 120-year-old injustice, the Los Angeles Police Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to posthumously reinstate and retire with honor one of the LAPD’s first Black officers, who they say was pushed out of the department in 1900 based on false allegations against him. Born into slavery in Kentucky in 1850, Robert William Stewart later made his way to Los Angeles and was one of the first two Black policemen to make it onto the LAPD force, which he joined in 1889, said Fred Booker, a special assistant to LAPD Chief Michel Moore....…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementUndoing a 120-year-old injustice, the Los Angeles Police Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to posthumously reinstate and retire with honor one of the LAPD’s first Black officers, who they say was pushed out of the department in 1900 based on false allegations against him. Born into slavery in Kentucky in 1850, Robert William Stewart later made his way to Los Angeles and was one of the first two Black policemen to make it onto the LAPD force, which he joined in 1889, said Fred Booker, a special assistant to LAPD Chief Michel Moore....WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementWhen Gov. Gavin Newsom was photographed dining at an opulent Napa Valley restaurant during a surge in coronavirus cases, many Californians saw it as hypocrisy. For opponents of a planned $1-billion desalination plant along the Orange County coast, however, the optics were menacing. The unmasked Newsom was celebrating the birthday of a lobbyist for Poseidon Water, which is close to obtaining for one of the country’s biggest seawater desalination plants.Poseidon boasts that the facility will provide a local, inexhaustible source of water...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementWhen Gov. Gavin Newsom was photographed dining at an opulent Napa Valley restaurant during a surge in coronavirus cases, many Californians saw it as hypocrisy. For opponents of a planned $1-billion desalination plant along the Orange County coast, however, the optics were menacing. The unmasked Newsom was celebrating the birthday of a lobbyist for Poseidon Water, which is close to obtaining for one of the country’s biggest seawater desalination plants.Poseidon boasts that the facility will provide a local, inexhaustible source of water...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementA California program intended to improve COVID-19 vaccine availability to people in hard-hit communities of color is being misused by outsiders who are grabbing appointments reserved for residents of underserved Black and Latino areas.The program to address inequities in vaccine distribution relies on special access codes that enable people to make appointments on the My Turn vaccine scheduling website. The codes are provided to community organizations to distribute to people in largely Black and Latino communities. But those codes...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementA California program intended to improve COVID-19 vaccine availability to people in hard-hit communities of color is being misused by outsiders who are grabbing appointments reserved for residents of underserved Black and Latino areas.The program to address inequities in vaccine distribution relies on special access codes that enable people to make appointments on the My Turn vaccine scheduling website. The codes are provided to community organizations to distribute to people in largely Black and Latino communities. But those codes...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementSpoon by H, Yoonjin Hwang’s celebrated Korean restaurant in Fairfax, is closing. Business had been slow since the start of the pandemic, but last summer, Hwang said, she started to notice more people disputing charges and claiming missing items through delivery apps. The restaurant was bleeding money and she was spending hours on the phone with the people behind the apps, trying to dispute the chargebacks. “We lost orders, time, precious ingredients, and the problems accumulated to the point where we just couldn’t stay in business...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementSpoon by H, Yoonjin Hwang’s celebrated Korean restaurant in Fairfax, is closing. Business had been slow since the start of the pandemic, but last summer, Hwang said, she started to notice more people disputing charges and claiming missing items through delivery apps. The restaurant was bleeding money and she was spending hours on the phone with the people behind the apps, trying to dispute the chargebacks. “We lost orders, time, precious ingredients, and the problems accumulated to the point where we just couldn’t stay in business...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementSen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.) is a thoughtful guy, and while he’s a reliable Republican vote on the vast majority of issues that come before the Senate, he’s independent enough to have voted to convict former President Trump at Trump’s second impeachment trial (but not the first one).So it was disturbing to hear Burr make the Republicans’ least principled argument Tuesday against California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: that only someone with significant work experience...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementSen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.) is a thoughtful guy, and while he’s a reliable Republican vote on the vast majority of issues that come before the Senate, he’s independent enough to have voted to convict former President Trump at Trump’s second impeachment trial (but not the first one).So it was disturbing to hear Burr make the Republicans’ least principled argument Tuesday against California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: that only someone with significant work experience...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has finished its investigation into the attack of an Asian American man at a bus stop in Rosemead this month and has filed a case for consideration with the district attorney’s office, authorities said Monday. The assault occurred near Rosemead Boulevard and Marshall Street on Feb. 7, after a man walked up to Matthew Leung, who was waiting for a bus, and struck up a conversation, Sheriff’s Sgt. Richard Lewis said. The man then attacked the 51-year-old elementary school teacher’s aide with...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementThe Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has finished its investigation into the attack of an Asian American man at a bus stop in Rosemead this month and has filed a case for consideration with the district attorney’s office, authorities said Monday. The assault occurred near Rosemead Boulevard and Marshall Street on Feb. 7, after a man walked up to Matthew Leung, who was waiting for a bus, and struck up a conversation, Sheriff’s Sgt. Richard Lewis said. The man then attacked the 51-year-old elementary school teacher’s aide with...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementLos Angeles schools will resume some services next week for a small percentage of students with special needs, Supt. Austin Beutner announced Monday. However, the measures fall far short of demands from parents who rallied on the Westside to push for a broader reopening of schools.The state’s largest school system had been among the last in the region to maintain that halted all in-person services in early December. The district’s move will partially address a growing outcry among many families to reopen campuses.“In anticipation of a...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementLos Angeles schools will resume some services next week for a small percentage of students with special needs, Supt. Austin Beutner announced Monday. However, the measures fall far short of demands from parents who rallied on the Westside to push for a broader reopening of schools.The state’s largest school system had been among the last in the region to maintain that halted all in-person services in early December. The district’s move will partially address a growing outcry among many families to reopen campuses.“In anticipation of a...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementArriving in Oklahoma City the night after the worst domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history, Merrick Garland grasped the enormity of the task ahead of him. Downtown resembled a war zone. Military vehicles blocked streets. For blocks, federal agents and police were busy collecting evidence. At the federal building, where 168 people had died in a massive bomb blast, rescue workers were searching through rubble for victims, guided by the eerie glow of floodlights that seemed to Garland as bright as the noonday sun.With shattered glass...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementArriving in Oklahoma City the night after the worst domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history, Merrick Garland grasped the enormity of the task ahead of him. Downtown resembled a war zone. Military vehicles blocked streets. For blocks, federal agents and police were busy collecting evidence. At the federal building, where 168 people had died in a massive bomb blast, rescue workers were searching through rubble for victims, guided by the eerie glow of floodlights that seemed to Garland as bright as the noonday sun.With shattered glass...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |Even on a foggy San Francisco morning, the view from Scott Simmons’ 25th-floor apartment stretches from downtown to Golden Gate Park. The home of the 42-year-old tech worker is also spacious for a one-bedroom, featuring hardwood floors, new appliances and granite countertops.A year ago, when he was sharing a two-bedroom place with his brother, Simmons couldn’t have imagined living in an apartment like this one. But last fall, when Simmons heard about big rent declines during the COVID-19 pandemic, he discovered he could get way more for his money...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |Even on a foggy San Francisco morning, the view from Scott Simmons’ 25th-floor apartment stretches from downtown to Golden Gate Park. The home of the 42-year-old tech worker is also spacious for a one-bedroom, featuring hardwood floors, new appliances and granite countertops.A year ago, when he was sharing a two-bedroom place with his brother, Simmons couldn’t have imagined living in an apartment like this one. But last fall, when Simmons heard about big rent declines during the COVID-19 pandemic, he discovered he could get way more for his money...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementWinds whipped through swaths of Southern California on Saturday, prompting forecasters to warn of downed trees and power lines.In the Los Angeles area, the strongest winds were blowing in the Santa Clarita and northern San Fernando valleys, where gusts were reaching 50 mph Saturday morning, while West Los Angeles was recording gusts of 30 to 35 mph, said Mike Wofford, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The winds were expected to pick up slightly throughout the day, with isolated gusts of 65 mph possible in some...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementWinds whipped through swaths of Southern California on Saturday, prompting forecasters to warn of downed trees and power lines.In the Los Angeles area, the strongest winds were blowing in the Santa Clarita and northern San Fernando valleys, where gusts were reaching 50 mph Saturday morning, while West Los Angeles was recording gusts of 30 to 35 mph, said Mike Wofford, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The winds were expected to pick up slightly throughout the day, with isolated gusts of 65 mph possible in some...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementFor the last year or so, the growing homeless encampments near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Berendo Street have served as an example of how local government is failing two groups of people:Those living in the tents, and those living in nearby houses and apartments.The situation in this neighborhood along the East Hollywood-Los Feliz border is not unique, of course. Multiply it by hundreds of times across Los Angeles County, with its of more than 66,000, according to the 2020 count.What is a little different, though, is...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |AdvertisementFor the last year or so, the growing homeless encampments near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Berendo Street have served as an example of how local government is failing two groups of people:Those living in the tents, and those living in nearby houses and apartments.The situation in this neighborhood along the East Hollywood-Los Feliz border is not unique, of course. Multiply it by hundreds of times across Los Angeles County, with its of more than 66,000, according to the 2020 count.What is a little different, though, is...WW…

Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |It appeared to be a moment of triumph in the long, tumultuous story of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.In November, a federal judge sided with the HFPA — the tiny, 87-member group of international journalists that doles out the annual — in dismissing a potentially damaging antitrust lawsuit.The suit was filed three months earlier by a Norwegian entertainment journalist who had been denied membership in the group. It had drawn widespread attention in Hollywood, where the HFPA wields outsize power as the arbiter of one of the entertainment...…Copyright © 2021, Los Angeles Times | | | |It appeared to be a moment of triumph in the long, tumultuous story of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.In November, a federal judge sided with the HFPA — the tiny, 87-member group of international journalists that doles out the annual — in dismissing a potentially damaging antitrust lawsuit.The suit was filed three months earlier by a Norwegian entertainment journalist who had been denied membership in the group. It had drawn widespread attention in Hollywood, where the HFPA wields outsize power as the arbiter of one of the entertainment...WW…