TRIBUTES have been paid to Nickelodeon composer Guy Moon after he was killed in a horror car crash in Los Angeles.
Moon’s heartbroken family said they are “overcome with grief” after his tragic death on Thursday morning.
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Emmy-nominated Nickelodeon composer Guy Moon, 63, has died after a crash in LACredit: IMDBMoon was best known for his decades of work on NickelodeonCredit: YouTube/Speech Bubble w Butch Hartman
The Emmy-nominated composer was traveling in LA when he was involved in a traffic collision and died of traumatic injuries, the LA CountyMedical Examiner’s report said.
His family said: “We feel singularly blessed to have been able to call him dad and husband.
“As we stand together at the base of what seems to be an insurmountable grief, we are emboldened to grieve him with honor and courage with the tools that he equipped us with in his beautiful life.
“He has left an unmistakable legacy, and will be profoundly missed by us, his family, and countless others whose lives he impacted.”
Moon’s music featured on beloved shows across the Nickelodeon network – including The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, Big Time Rush, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
He composed popular songs, including Bartmania!, Shiny Teeth, and the catchy theme song for Danny Phantom.
Moon was nominated for four Emmy awards in the Outstanding Music and Lyrics category from 2002 to 2004 as a composer for the Butch Hartman-created show The Fairly OddParents.
Hartman, who was a co-nominee with Guy at the Emmy Awards, said: “I have no words yet because there are none adequate enough. Guy was my friend. My brother. My family.”
Big Time Rush star Stephen Kramer Glickman paid tribute to the longtime “Nick” composer.
He said: “This is heartbreaking.”
Born in Wisconsin in 1962, Moon attended the University of Arizona School of Music before he moved to California.
He has credits in more than 70 works spanning four decades – across film, television series, animated series, TV movies, and shorts.
He was credited on films including The Brady Bunch Movie, and a producer on The Black Knight and Dr. Dolittle 2.
Guy Moon with director Albie Hecht in 2024 in Los AngelesCredit: Facebook/Guy Moon
WASHINGTON — When a 37-year-old mother of three was fatally shot by an immigration agent Wednesday morning, driving in her Minneapolis neighborhood after dropping her son off at school, the Trump administration’s response was swift. The victim was to blame for her own death — acting as a “professional agitator,” a “domestic terrorist,” possibly trained to use her car against law enforcement, officials said.
It was an uncompromising response without any pretense the administration would rely on independent investigations of the event, video of which quickly circulated online, gripping the nation.
“You can accept that this woman’s death is a tragedy,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on social media, defending the shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent within hours of her death, “while acknowledging it’s a tragedy of her own making.”
The shooting of Renee Nicole Good, an American citizen, put the administration on defense over one of President Trump’s signature policy initiatives, exponentially expanding the ranks of ICE to outnumber most armies, and deploying its agents across unassuming communities throughout the United States.
ICE had just announced the deployment of “the largest immigration operation ever” in the Minnesota city, allegedly targeting Somali residents involved in fraud schemes. But Good’s death could prove a turning point. The shooting has highlighted souring public opinion on Trump’s immigration enforcement, with a majority of Americans now disapproving of the administration’s tactics, according to Pew Research.
Despite the outcry, Trump’s team doubled down on Thursday, vowing to send even more agents to the Midwestern state.
It was not immediately clear whether Good had positioned her car intentionally to thwart law enforcement agents, or in protest of their activities in her neighborhood.
Eyewitnesses to the shooting said that ICE agents were telling her to move her vehicle. Initial footage that emerged of the incident showed that, as she was doing so, Good briefly drove her car in reverse before turning her front wheels away to leave the scene.
She was shot three times by an officer who stood by her front left headlight, who the Department of Homeland Security said was hit by Good and fired in self-defense.
Only Tom Homan, the president’s border czar, urged caution from lawmakers and the public in responding to the incident, telling people to “take a deep breath” and “hold their judgment” for additional footage and evidence.
He distanced himself from the Department of Homeland Security and its secretary, Kristi Noem, who took mere hours to accuse the deceased of domestic terrorism. “The investigation’s just started,” Homan told CBS in an interview.
“I’m not going to make a judgment call on one video,” he said. “It would be unprofessional to comment.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Renee Nicole Good was engaged in “domestic terrorism” when she was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent.
(Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)
Yet, asked why DHS had felt compelled to comment, Homan replied, “that’s a question for Homeland Security.”
It was not just the department. Trump, too, wrote on X that the victim was “obviously, a professional agitator.”
“The woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer,” Trump wrote, “who seems to have shot her in self defense.”
Noem was unequivocal in her assessment of the incident during engagements with the media on Wednesday and Thursday.
“It was an act of domestic terrorism,” Noem said. “A woman attacked them, and those surrounding them, and attempted to run them over.”
But local officials and law enforcement expressed concern over the incident, warning federal officials that the deployment had unnecessarily increased tensions within the community, and expressing support for the rights of residents to peacefully protest.
“What I think everybody knows that’s been happening here over the last several weeks is that there have been groups of people exercising their 1st Amendment rights,” Minneapolis Chief of Police Brian O’Hara said in an interview with MS NOW. “They have the right to observe, to livestream and record police activity, and they have the right to protest and object to it.”
“The line is, people must be able to exercise those 1st Amendment rights lawfully,” O’Hara said, adding, “and to do it safely.”
On Thursday, Trump administration officials told local law enforcement that the investigation of the matter would be within federal hands.
Vance told reporters at the White House on Thursday that the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security would both investigate the case, and said without evidence that Good had “aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and pressed on the accelerator.”
“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left who has marshaled an entire movement, a lunatic fringe, against our law enforcement officers,” Vance said.
On Sunday morning he posted two pictures on Instagram, one which shows him sitting alongside his mother and three women, with one holding a photograph of Ghami.
The post has the caption: “My Brothers Keeper.”
Driver Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was charged at Sagamu Magistrates’ Court on Friday. Police sources told the BBC the charges included causing death by dangerous driving.
The defendant was granted bail of 5m naira (£2,578) and remanded pending his bail conditions being met. The case has been adjourned until 20 January.
Joshua, who was born in Watford, has family roots in Sagamu – a town in Ogun state, near the crash site.
The 2012 Olympic champion was on his way to visit relatives for New Year celebrations in the town at the time of the collision, a family member told the BBC.
The boxer had been spending time in Nigeria after his recent victory over American YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on 19 December.
The line will predominantly be used by residents. All you need to ride the cable car is a bus ticket or travel pass that you’d also be using on the metro, and it will only cost around €2 (£1.74).
The purpose of the cable car is to connect poorly served southeastern suburbs like Créteil and Villeneuve-Saint-Georges.
The journey from Créteil to Villeneuve-Saint-Georges by road takes 40sminutes-– the cable car can do it in 18.
It will fly over four municipalities in the Paris region; Créteil, Limeil-Brévannes, Valenton, and Villeneuve-Saint-Georges.
This is the seventh urban cable car to open in France, it cost a whopping €138million (around £120.8 million) to build.
While this might seem a lot – it’s much less than a new Metro line would have cost to build.
You can experience another cable car right here in the UK
The Heights of Abraham in the Derbyshire Dales installed the UK’s first ever alpine-style cable car 40 years ago to get visitors up to its hilltop park.
You’ll find underground tours, play areas and woodland wanders for you and your family to enjoy.
The unique transport system cuts out the need to scramble up the steep hillside and has even inspired the likes of the London Eye and the cable car at Alton Towers.
The trip to the top takes you over trees, rock formations and the river, with incredible views of the town of Matlock Bath below you and rolling countryside stretching as far as the eye can see.
But the cable car voyage is only the start of a day out with a difference deep in the Derbyshire Dales.
Latif Ayodele (left) and Sina Ghami (right) were close friends and team members of Anthony Joshua
British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua has been discharged from hospital in Nigeria days after a fatal car accident that killed two of his close friends.
The former world champion was deemed fit to recuperate at home, the Ogun and Lagos states said in a joint statement, describing him as “heavy hearted” over the loss of his friends.
The 36-year-old was a passenger in a Lexus SUV that collided with a stationary truck on a major expressway in Ogun State, near Lagos, on Monday.
The two men who died were Joshua’s close friends and team members Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
After leaving the hospital on Wednesday, the Briton visited the funeral home where the bodies of his friends were “being prepared for repatriation”, the joint statement added.
Earlier, Eddie Hearn, who has promoted Joshua since he turned professional after winning gold at the 2012 Olympics, paid tribute to Joshua’s close friends and team members.
“Rest in peace Latz and Sina,” Hearn posted on Instagram.
“Your energy and loyalty among so many other great qualities will be deeply missed. Praying for strength and guidance for all their family, friends and of course AJ during this very difficult time.”
Ghami was Joshua’s full-time sport and exercise rehabilitation coach and worked with him for more than 10 years.
Moment Anthony Joshua is taken out of car
Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, Ogun State police spokesperson Oluseyi Babaseyi said “investigations are still ongoing” and described the process as “still discreet”.
The Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) in Ogun state, where the accident occurred, has said preliminary investigations showed the vehicle had burst a tyre before crashing into the truck.
Joshua, who was born in Watford to Nigerian parents, was on holiday in Nigeria after his win over Jake Paul in Miami on 19 December.
“I hope he (Joshua) is able to process this with time because there is no pain in life worse than grief.”
Two-time undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and British former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury also posted Instagram stories to offer condolences.
Sereen Banna said the partners of Downtown LA Law Group called her “Erin Brockovich” for her work helping hundreds sue over noxious fumes spewing out of a landfill in northern Los Angeles County.
An ambitious paralegal, Banna said she embraced the role she had in empowering residents to take on companies suspected of polluting their neighborhoods.
Her bosses were proud, too, she said. Banna, 28, recalled them saying she would make them all billionaires someday.
But in early 2024, Banna said, she discovered a troubling trend in some of the firm’s most lucrative cases: Clients who claimed they were paid before joining lawsuits.
On Dec. 16, Banna sued Downtown LA Law Group, also known as DTLA, stating the firm failed to address her complaints about “illegal solicitation, as well as deceptive and unethical practices aimed at persuading individuals to become clients through misrepresentations.”
She accused the firm, which she left in the fall of 2024, of amassing plaintiffs through “practices that appeared designed to exploit vulnerable individuals.”
DTLA called the allegations “baseless,” saying they came from a disgruntled former employee.
“Any allegations of fraud, paid referrals, or unethical practices by DTLA Law Group are not only unsubstantiated, but false,” the firm said in a statement. “We intend to fight this in the court of law, where the facts will show that we operate with unwavering integrity, prioritizing client welfare.”
Banna’s lawsuit caps a tumultuous year for DTLA. A partnership between three childhood friends, DTLA has grown from a small firm focused on car crash victims into a civil litigation powerhouse, filing thousands of cases related to the January wildfires and sexual abuse in government facilities. The firm filed nearly a quarter of the cases in the $4-billion sex abuse settlement approved last spring by Los Angeles County — the largest of its kind in U.S. history.
But the meteoric rise has drawn scrutiny.
The Times reported in the fall that nine of the firm’s clients who sued over sex abuse in L.A. County facilities said recruiters paid them to file a lawsuit, including four who said they were told to fabricate claims. The L.A. County district attorney’s office is now conducting a probe into the allegations.
With the investigation pending, questions have lingered about how DTLA managed to amass so many plaintiffs so quickly. The Times spoke to more than 40 of the firm’s clients and 10 former employees, many of whom described aggressive tactics to bring in new clients and reap profits stretching back years.
More than a dozen people represented by DTLA in personal injury cases said they were recruited at a crisis point in their lives with promises of massive payouts and pressured into expensive surgeries that attorneys said would make their case more valuable. The more medical procedures, they were told, the more damages attorneys could claim.
At the end, some clients say, they were left with a fraction of what they were promised.
DTLA said in a statement it exists “to support clients through some of the most difficult moments of their lives.”
“That includes helping them avoid unnecessary financial stress while their cases are pending,” the firm said. “Medical care decisions are made solely by clients and their physicians.”
Sereen Banna, a former DTLA paralegal, sued the firm on Dec. 16, alleging it did not listen to her complaints of unethical solicitation. The firm has denied wrongdoing.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Banna said in her lawsuit she “repeatedly complained” about how clients were being solicited.
She said in an interview she reported the first paid landfill client she was aware of — a woman who received a $20 gift card — to her bosses in early 2024. In her lawsuit, she alleged “such conduct constitutes unlawful and unethical behavior for attorneys.”
She said her boss told her the alleged payments would be investigated.
“At that point, I was reminded it was above my pay grade,” she said.
‘A really big part of the recruitment process’
Banna said she resigned from DTLA in October 2024, around the time the firm began pursuing a new cohort of clients: human trafficking victims who’d been abused in hotels.
Banna said one of her colleagues, an intake coordinator, told her a man named Kevin Johnson had paid one sex worker $20 to come into the office.
Over the last two years, five ex-workers told The Times, Johnson became an increasingly common sight at the firm as he started shepherding in clients he’d found to sue over sex abuse in the juvenile halls and the Eaton fire. Like most former employees, the ex-workers requested anonymity, fearing professional retaliation.
Johnson, a 54-year-old entertainer who hosts gospel brunches and soul nights in Inglewood according to his social media, did not respond to messages or a letter left at his home. The firm is currently representing him in a lawsuit over a Mid-City car crash.
California law bans a practice known as capping, in which non-attorneys solicit clients to join litigation with a firm. DTLA has denied working with cappers and Johnson did not respond to questions about his recruitment for the firm.
Former employees said Johnson was responsible for bringing in a large number of clients.
“He is a really big part of the recruitment process for Downtown LA,” said Banna, who described how she was called to do intake with sex abuse clients after Johnson brought them into the offices of one of the partners.
Johnson wasn’t a DTLA employee, yet workers say he was a familiar face around the office.
He was close with the partners and chummy with employees, handing out lucky $2 bills to workers last holiday season, three former employees said. Two said that at one point he had his own swipe card, so he could come and go freely.
A digital trail connects Johnson to DTLA’s client list.
The Times found more than a dozen friends of Johnson’s on Facebook who appeared to have a sex abuse lawsuit filed with the county. To do this, The Times cross-referenced a list of county sex abuse plaintiffs represented by DTLA with Johnson’s Facebook friends to see how many shared identifying details.
Larisa Ellis, whom Johnson describes on Facebook as his wife, paid someone who later had a DTLA sex abuse lawsuit $50 at a social services office in November 2024 with the payment caption “Thanks for using our referral service,” according to a Cash app transaction. Ellis did not respond to a message and a letter left at their home.
“DTLA does not pay clients to retain our services or for referrals,” the firm said in a statement.
Austin Beagle and Nevada Barker, former clients of DLTA, said they were paid to sue over alleged sexual abuse in L.A. County by a man named Kevin, whose last name they didn’t know. Beagle and Barker later had their lawsuit dismissed.
(Joe Garcia / For The Times)
Nevada Barker and Austin Beagle, two former DTLA clients, previously told The Times a man named Kevin, whose last name they didn’t know, paid them $100 each in DTLA’s office after they made false claims of sex abuse. Barker identified Johnson through pictures as the man who paid her.
The couple said they were under the impression they were being compensated to be actors in a movie. The firm later asked the court to dismiss their lawsuits.
“He said he worked for a referral service and the lawsuit needed enough participants to go through,” said Beagle. “He didn’t work for the law office.”
‘Tell her I got $ for her’
Several clients told The Times they were offered money by DTLA partner Farid Yaghoubtil if they could find people to sign up for lawsuits with the firm.
“He called it an advancement, ” said LaShelle Allison, 53, a former client who said she referred several car accident victims for Yaghoubtil. “Here’s $250,’ ‘Here’s $650,’ ‘Here’s $500 for rent.”
California is one of the few states where lawyers are allowed to loan clients money.
The State Bar has a general rule that lawyers are not supposed to pay “personal or business expenses.” The bar makes exceptions that include if the client promises in writing to repay the loan, for providing funds to promote “the interests of an indigent person,” and for “advancing costs” to protect a client, with repayment contingent on the outcome of the matter.
DTLA said in a statement that it offers small loans to clients “in limited situations.”
“The firm has offered small, interest-free micro-advances to help with short-term needs like temporary housing or basic expenses, specifically so clients do not feel compelled to turn to third-party lenders,” the firm said. “These advances are entirely voluntary, never tied to medical or legal decisions, and are only recovered if a case is successfully resolved.”
Akeem Smith, 40, had DTLA sue on his behalf at least four times, twice for car crashes, once after he was punched at a night club and again over a shopping cart mishap at Rite Aid.
Smith referred 10 potential clients to Yaghoubtil, nearly all car crash victims, according to text messages between the two men. In return, Smith said, he was told he’d be compensated, though he said he was disappointed to find he was never paid for the clients he referred.
Instead, Smith said he received monthly advances of about $2,000 based on potential settlements the firm was expecting in his cases.
Smith said he would encourage clients to sign up for cases with DTLA but did not pay them. He told some about money Yaghoubtil was offering.
“Tell her I got $ for her,” Yaghoubtil texted Aug. 9, 2022, regarding a woman who Smith said had been in an accident and was considering not moving forward with the firm. “Get her back for me.”
Akeem Smith stands in front of the old DTLA office in East Hollywood.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
After The Times reached out to DTLA seeking comment on the allegations made by Smith, Yaghoubtil texted Smith asking him to notify the reporter that “everything you told her was a lie” and to remind The Times that he was still a client of the firm, according to a message Smith shared.
The next day, after telling The Times he planned to go into DTLA’s office, Smith falsely accused the reporter via text of harassment and failing to disclose they were a journalist.
In August, Smith made an ill-fated attempt to sue the firm, representing himself in a lawsuit accusing them of keeping too much of his settlement money. He asked for the case to be dismissed a month later.
Smith said he became dependent on the firm for income and, sometimes, shelter. In the summer of 2022, Smith moved into a downtown building where he paid rent to Yaghoubtil’s uncle, according to text messages between the two men. The handwritten lease, rife with misspellings, said he could stay there until he “seatel his case whit Dawntow Law Group.”
Smith said he made monthly trips to pick up checks from DTLA, which was providing him money for his rent, bills, food and car repairs, according to loan statements and text messages between the two men.
Smith said he flitted in and out of homelessness during that time — his first time ever without stable housing.
“When I met you I had my own everything,” Smith texted Yaghoubtil July 18, 2022 “Now I don’t even have clothes.”
Listed in Smith’s phone as “Farid Ferrari,” Yaghoubtil replied, “What happened to the money you got?”
Landlords, landfills and ‘incentives in exchange for signatures’
Downtown LA Law Group, founded in 2016, is run by three longtime friends.
Yaghoubtil, 42, is cousins with founding partner Daniel Azizi, 43. They met Salar Hendizadeh, 44, in elementary school, according to an interview they did with a commercial real estate company.
All attended Beverly Hills High School together, yearbooks show.
Hendizadeh left the firm in October, according to a letter sent to staff this month. The note did not explain why but said Hendizadeh “cannot be conducting any firm related business.” He did not respond to an inquiry from The Times.
Many clients who spoke to The Times said that among the partners, Yaghoubtil in particular vied hard to get their business.
In January 2019, William Brighton, who was in the VA hospital recovering from a car accident, asked a judge for a restraining order against Yaghoubtil, accusing him of making “numerous visits at the hospital to coerce (and bribe) me to retain them as counsel.”
He said Yaghoubtil offered him $1,000 to switch from his current law firm, according to the request for a restraining order. Brighton later asked a judge to dismiss the case.
DTLA did not address questions about the restraining order request.
The firm expanded quickly, outgrowing four different offices before landing this year in a 52,000-square-foot headquarters in the Arts District. They moved beyond their bread-and-butter fare of personal injury, adding departments for mass torts — cases that involves thousands of people suing over the same thing — and housing law.
An empty plot of land where the DTLA partners used to own an apartment building across the street from their East Hollywood office. Multiple tenants sued the partners for living conditions and the building is now demolished.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
The trio moonlighted as landlords themselves, owning an apartment building across the street from their East Hollywood office. They were sued by several units in 2023 and 2024 over living conditions, including allegations of infestations of rats, vermin and cockroaches that tenants said made their lives “a living hell.” One of the cases settled for $2 million, according to court records.
The partners were charged in October 2024 with a misdemeanor for failing to maintain the building. The case was dismissed and the building is now demolished.
Around 2024, their mass torts business began booming, starting with the landfill lawsuits, in which the firm accused the operators of recklessly allowing nauseating odors.
Heather Stone said she saw representatives of DTLA looking for people for landfill cases outside a Santa Clarita Walmart in 2024, one of two residents who told The Times they saw representatives at the store who appeared to be recruiting clients.
Castaic’s Chiquita Canyon Landfill, which residents say emits noxious odors, is the subject of a flood of lawsuits brought by DTLA.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Banna said in an interview that she later learned some clients for the landfill cases had been receiving gift cards to sign petitions at box stores in the area and those names later appeared on signed retainers even though clients were adamant they never signed up for a lawsuit. She accused the firm in her lawsuit of “providing gift cards, money gifts, and similar incentives in exchange for signatures.”
The firm said in a statement it would be impossible for someone to believe they were signing a petition when they were signing up for a lawsuit due to the large number of documents required to come on board.
“If someone made that claim, we would certainly discontinue our services at their request,” the firm said.
A former DTLA case manager, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing professional repercussions, said the alleged recruitment effort became clear to him after he was assigned to call people from a list he’d been provided of new Chiquita Canyon clients and found several who believed they had signed up for a petition, not a case.
“A lot of these people were completely unaware of what they were signing up for,” the former case manager said.
Surgeries and promises of ‘lottery money’
Three former case managers, who worked as liaisons between clients and attorneys, described the same modus operandi at DTLA: Sign up personal injury clients, then get them to agree to surgeries.
The more surgeries, they were told, the more profit, as it would make the case more valuable by allowing lawyers to claim higher medical damages.
The case managers said partners pushed surgeries and would give bonuses when clients went under the knife. Doctors — who stood to benefit by being able to bill for the procedures — would have gifts dropped off at the office, the ex-employees said.
The firm said any allegations of unethical practices were the result of “disgruntled former employees … who have ulterior self-serving motives.”
The case managers reported getting $500 checks from the firm when they got a client to agree to a surgery — often with the word “bonus” in the memo. The Times viewed one of these “bonus” checks, which the former employee said was for a client’s skin graft.
If they didn’t convince their clients to get surgeries, the former case managers said they feared losing their job. Yaghoubtil would ask case managers to send him a list of their surgeries at the end of the month, according to messages viewed by The Times.
“Our sx numbers for the month of May were very low,” said Yaghoubtil in a June 3 Teams message to 64 staff members, using an abbreviation for surgery. “Many were unable to produce even a single procedure… this is not acceptable.”
“How can you go an entire month and not have at least one of your cases worked up?” he continued. “It does not go un-noticed and will be letting go of those who are not trying hard enough.”
The firm said in a statement that it doesn’t interfere with a client’s medical care decisions.
“DTLA’s role is to advocate, inform, and support with transparency, compassion, and respect at every stage of the process,” the firm said.
DTLA recently moved into a new office at the former Lucky Brand headquarters in the Arts District of Los Angeles.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Jacqueline McClelland, 60, said she was assured “lottery money” by a DTLA attorney in July 2018 after she slipped in a puddle of oil in a Willowbrook shopping plaza.
The insurer for the plaza called her up and offered her $1 million if she didn’t lawyer up, she said. But she said her DTLA attorney promised they could get her far more — as long as she went to all the doctors they recommended. She turned the insurer down.
Her case settled for $350,000.
It was not even close to enough to pay for the half-million in fees she said she’d racked up, primarily from going to doctors. She said she is still in excruciating back pain from her surgery.
DTLA took 46% of the settlement and sent the rest of the money to a judge to decide how to divvy between her and the 31 doctors, clinics and loan companies she owes, according to a court record filed on behalf of DTLA to determine the distribution. A volunteer at a Watts high school, McClelland has spent a year lawyerless in court fighting for any bit of it she can get.
“Is someone helping you?” asked Judge Gary Tanaka at a Dec. 17 hearing in his Torrance courtroom where she had been appearing with such regularity that the clerk knows her by first name.
“No one. Sorry, your honor, no one has helped me at all,” said McClelland, standing in a court proceeding she said repeatedly she did not understand. “Downtown LA Law just gave me to the wolves.”
“I would agree with that,” said Scott Meehan, an attorney representing one of the doctors fighting her for her settlement money.
DTLA said it could not comment on privileged conversations with McClelland. The firm said in a statement that all medical providers had legitimate liens that entitled them to money from the client’s settlement, including McClelland’s.
Jacqueline McClelland, a former client of DTLA, stands outside Los Angeles Superior Court in Torrance on Dec. 17 ahead of her court hearing.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The Times found court records for more than 60 DTLA clients who had costs, typically medical bills, that ended up being more than their settlement. In those cases, DTLA couldn’t convince the doctors to reduce fees, and the attorney would hand the remaining money over to let the court decide how to divvy it up among everyone who needed to be paid.
But the lawyers get their cut — in some cases, more than three-quarters of the settlement, according to lawsuits filed on the firm’s behalf to determine who gets the remaining money.
“Our clients only pay for legal fees and costs if they win a lawsuit or get a settlement,” DTLA said in a statement.
After he was beaten by a Santa Monica security guard, David Villatoro, a 33-year-old construction worker, said a DTLA attorney told him he could get half a million easy, probably double that. But only if he went to a litany of doctors’ appointments, including a neck surgery.
It would mean losing his construction job and going on disability. But he claims his attorney said the surgery would make the case more valuable.
“That’s where the big bucks come in,” he recalled the attorney saying.
The big bucks never came.
Instead, months after the case settled, Villatoro got an email telling him not to contact the firm anymore about his case. Attorneys had taken 58% of his settlement money — about $72,000 — and he would have to go to court to fight for a cut of what was left along with the doctors.
He said he still can’t turn his head fully to the right.
“I’m just so confused,” he said. “I was so naive. It was my first time ever, ever, ever getting a lawyer.”
Laura Stephenson, a 57-year-old baker, was told by her DTLA attorney that her slip-and-fall in her Menifee cul-de-sac could net millions. But she would need to do a shoulder surgery.
She hesitated. It would mean too much time away from her bakery and she wasn’t sure she wanted to do it. The attorney convinced her by offering her a loan for $10,000, she said.
More than four years after the fall, she has received no money and can’t fully move her arm. The firm took 77% of her $175,000 settlement, according to a court filing to decide how to distribute the money. The rest went to the court to distribute, and she is still fighting to get a portion.
“I am living this nightmare,” said Stephenson, one of eight people The Times spoke with who said they filed a complaint with the State Bar.
The firm said all medical treatment was voluntary and ethics rules prevent sharing more information about discussions with clients.
“DTLA does not force anyone to receive medical treatment they do not want,” the firm said.
Uber, a common target of DTLA, sued the firm and one of the main surgeons used by clients, Greg Khounganian, last summer for racketeering, alleging the firm had “side agreements” with him to inflate medical bills for unnecessary procedures. Uber’s lawsuit alleged that many patients underwent an unnecessary spinal fusion that takes months to recover from in order to get a larger settlement.
In some cases, Uber alleged, Khounganian inflated the bills by as much as 640%. If the case didn’t settle for much, the lawsuit stated, Khounganian would agree to dramatically reduce their liens.
In an Instagram post, DTLA called the lawsuit a “calculated attempt by a billion-dollar corporation” to suppress legitimate claims. An attorney representing Khounganian said the doctor had a spotless professional record and had never faced any disciplinary action.
“He is assuredly a first-rate and widely respected orthopedic surgeon,” Stephen Larson, an attorney for Khounganian, said in a statement. “Uber’s meritless lawsuit, we believe, is part of its nationwide political and lawfare campaign to suppress liability for accidents caused by Uber’s drivers.”
Khounganian sought to have Uber’s case against him dismissed, with his attorneys calling it in one court filing “a lawsuit designed purely for tabloid effect with no meaningful effort at substance.”
One person, who saw another doctor for a heart valve condition that heightened the risk of complications, could no longer walk for more than 10 minutes after their surgery, Uber alleged in the lawsuit.
DTLA clients said the firm would often insist on sending them to specific L.A. doctors even if they lived in a different county, or, in some cases, a different state.
Christy Strickland, who had a case over a fall that occurred while working for the delivery app Instacart, said the firm insisted L.A. doctors were cheaper than those in Texas. So she said they flew her in from Houston and once gave her gas money to drive, putting her up in a hotel for two weeks to recuperate along with two of her children.
Those travel expenses would total more than $10,000 — including two $482 Uber rides, according to a breakdown. She said she was never told those travel costs would be coming out of her money.
“YOU AND YOUR DOCTOR advised me to get these surgeries and I have told you that I am still in pain even more since the surgery,” she emailed Yaghoubtil in July 2023. “Do you know how it feels to wake up in the morning and your back hurts so bad all you can do is just lay there until it subsides?”
In November, Yaghoubtil, speaking on a podcast episode called “Lawyering With Empathy,” emphasized his focus was never high-dollar verdicts. The well-being of clients, he said, always came before profit.
“We love a client,” he said. “If we have to, we’ll go down fighting with them.”
Times staff writer Christopher Buchanan contributed reporting.
Dec. 29 (UPI) — Anthony Joshua, a British heavyweight boxing champion, sustained injuries Monday in a car crash that killed two others in Nigeria, local authorities said.
Babaseyi Boluwatife, an Ogun State Police Command spokesperson, told CNN that Joshua incurred “minor bruises” in the crash around 11 a.m. (5 a.m. EST) on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The highway connects Ogun State to the city of Lagos.
Nigerian media outlet Punch Newspapers reported the vehicle Joshua was in collided with a truck.
“The vehicle conveying Anthony Joshua, a Lexus SUV, was involved in the accident under circumstances that are currently being investigated,” Oluseyi Babaseyi, a spokesperson for Lagos police, told CBS News.
“He was seated in the rear of the vehicle, sustained minor injuries and (is) receiving medical attention.”
Boluwatife said two other occupants in the same vehicle as Joshua — both foreign nationals — died, including the driver.
Joshua, who was born to Nigerian parents, frequently visits the West African nation.
Joshua is a former two-time heavyweight boxing champion and most recently garnered attention for knocking out YouTube personality Jake Paul in a bout in Miami earlier this month.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (C) celebrates with teammates after the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings in Game 7 to win the World Series in Toronto on November 1, 2025. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo
Anthony Joshua recently beat US boxer and influencer Jake Paul in Miami
British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua has been injured in a car crash in Nigeria, which killed two other people.
The former world champion was travelling in a vehicle that collided with a stationary truck on a major expressway near Lagos.
Photos from the scene showed the 36-year-old being helped out of the back seat of a black SUV, surrounded by what appears to be broken glass.
Five adult men were involved in the crash, Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said. Two died, two survived “unhurt”, and Joshua was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The crash took place on the busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway at around 12:00 local time (11:00 GMT) on Monday.
The incident involved two vehicles: a black Lexus and a stationary red commercial truck.
Adeniyi Orojo
An image taken by an eyewitness shows Joshua in the back of the crashed car
The FRSC said the Lexus was “suspected to be travelling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit”, based on preliminary findings.
It said the car appeared to have “lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre” and crashed into the stationary truck by the side of the road.
Pictures shared by the FRSC showed a wrecked car at the site of the crash, with a crowd of onlookers gathered around.
The Lagos-Ibadan expressway is known as one of Nigeria’s deadliest roads, with particularly heavy traffic at this time of year as many Nigerians living abroad visit for the festive period.
Joshua, who was born in Watford, has family roots in Sagamu – a town in Ogun state, south-west Nigeria, near the crash site.
Hours before the crash, Joshua posted a video to Instagram of him playing table tennis with another man. It is unclear exactly when or where the video was taken.
Federal Road Safety Corps
Local police commissioner Lanre Ogunlowo said an investigation into the accident had been ordered.
A relative of Joshua’s in Nigeria, who asked not to be named, told the BBC that news of the crash came as a “shock” to the family.
They said they were hoping for his “speedy recovery” and offered prayers for those who died in the crash.
The family member confirmed that Joshua was travelling from Lagos to Ogun state when the accident happened.His family had been expecting him to join them in Sagamu for New Year celebrations.
The boxer’s family is well known in the town and traces its ancestry there across several generations.
There are plans to build a new indoor boxing venue named after Joshua in Ogun, where the boxer is a sports ambassador.
Waymo displays a self-driving Jaguar taxi in October in New York City, N.Y. Three days following a massive San Francisco blackout that disrupted its driverless operations, Waymo said it will upgrade its fleet to better handle future power outages. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 24 (UPI) — Three days following a massive San Francisco blackout that disrupted its driverless operations, Waymo said it will upgrade its fleet to better handle future power outages.
Saturday’s outage, which was sparked by a substation fire that damaged local infrastructure, left about 130,000 customers without power at its peak and 21,000 still offline by Sunday, according to Pacific Gas and Electric.
“We’ve always focused on developing the Waymo Driver for the world as it is, including when infrastructure fails,” the company said Tuesday.
Traffic gridlock followed as lights went dark with videos showing Waymo cars stalled across the city.
“We directed our fleet to pull over and park appropriately so we could return vehicles to our depots in waves,” Waymo wrote. “This ensured we did not further add to the congestion or obstruct emergency vehicles during the peak of the recovery effort.”
The Alphabet-owned company said it will take three immediate steps.
According to Waymo, it will update its vehicles to recognize regional outages, strengthen emergency response protocol and expand training and coordination with local first responders and city officials.
“Backed by 100M+ miles of fully autonomous driving experience and a record of improving road safety, we are undaunted by the opportunity to challenge the status quo of our roads, and we’re proud to continue serving San Franciscan residents and visitors,” Waymo officials continued in Tuesday’s blog.
It recently surpassed 450,000 weekly rides and expects to exceed 20 million total trips by year’s end.
“In San Francisco, we’ll continue to coordinate with Mayor [Daniel] Lurie’s team to identify areas of greater collaboration in our existing emergency preparedness plans,” the company stated.
President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order reclassifying marijuana from a schedule I to a schedule III controlled substance in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
THEY were the sweet child actors who made us laugh and cry in our favourite festive films.
But since their big breaks in Christmas movies, few have bagged big parts and many traded fame for ‘normal’ jobs away from our screens.
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Stars like Jake Lloyd got their big break on Christmas filmsCredit: AlamyNativity!’s Sydney Isitt-Ager has landed her first grown up role in Christmas On Mistletoe FarmSydney is still a successful actressCredit: instagram/sydneyisitt_ager
And another big name, who starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor, had quit the profession following a “full-blown psychotic breakdown”.
It can be a tough industry that sees some like high-flying star Thomas, who recently returned to his Love Actually role for a Google Pixel ad, rise to international acclaim while others end up in the depths of despair.
He started as Thurman Merman and now is in a Canadian law series
As dorky Thurman Merman, Brett Kelly had his first role in Bad Santa and its sequel.
He went on to have roles in Paul Feig’s Unaccompanied Minors in 2006 and Adrien Brody film High School before studying business in Canada.
But in 2016, he chose to gain 50lbs to bring back his role as Thurman in Bad Santa 2.
He said: “The pain came after. It took about four months to put on and then I’d say about twice that to take it all off.”
For the last four years, the 32-year-old been starring in Canadian legal drama Family Law where he plays paralegal Cecil Patterson.
Jingle all the Way – Jake Lloyd
Jake found fame as Jamie in Jingle All The Way
The 1996 film was Jake Lloyd’s first Hollywood role – starring as Arnold Schwarznegger’s son Jamie in the holiday romp.
His biggest role came in 1999 when the ten-year-old was cast by George Lucas as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
In 2001, he quit the industry after bullies targeted him over his role in the Sith vs Jedi epic.
He told The Sun at the time: “My entire school life was really a living hell.”
In 2015, Jake was arrested after a car chase and was held for 10 months while awaiting trial.
He was then diagnosed with schizophrenia and transferred to a psychiatric facility in 2023, where he completed to 18-month inpatient stay.
Jake, now 36, said he needed to hit “rock bottom” to help him accept his diagnosis, medication and the need to “honestly take part in treatment”.
Love Actually – Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Thomas married Tallulah Riley last year
Thomas was 13 when he starred as Sam who seeks advice from his stepdad Daniel (Liam Neeson) after falling for a classmate.
The London-born actor went on to star in Nanny McPhee and The Maze Runner movies, as well as playing Paul McCartney in the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy.
He starred as Jojen Reed in two seasons of Game of Thrones and, more recently, he has appeared in the historical TV drama Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.
In June 2024, Thomas, now 35 married actress Tallulah Riley at Anstey village church in Hertfordshire.
Tallulah, who starred in the 2007 movie St. Trinian’s, previously wed Tesla mogul Elon Musk, twice.
They first married in 2010, divorcing two years later, before tying the knot a second time in 2013 and splitting in 2014.
Deck the Halls – Alia Shawkat
Alia Shawkat’s first Hollywood role was in Deck the Halls before appearing on Arrested Development
She may be better known for playing Maeby Funke in Arrested Development but one of Alia’s first roles was in Deck the Halls.
She starred as Matthew Broderick’s daughter Madison in the festive flick back in 2006.
Since, she has had roles in Broad City, sells paintings and provided vocals for band Fake Problems in 2010.
This year, Alia, now 36, notched up eight acting credits on IMDB – including runaway hit Severance, starring Adam Scott, Lego Marvel Avengers and Poker Face.
A Russian general was killed in Moscow on Monday when an explosive device detonated underneath his car. Authorities say they are investigating whether Ukrainian special services were involved.
The Ford Mustang was built in Detroit, introduced to the world in New York and, according to a new exhibit on the border of downtown and Boyle Heights, romanticized by Los Angeles.
Part advertisement, part history lesson and part playground, “American Icon: A Mustang Immersive Experience” uses theme park-inspired trappings to celebrate a work of mechanical artistry. The car — first introduced in 1964 at the New York World’s Fair as a sporty, compact coup with just a little bit of an edge — is given a hero’s treatment. Inside the warehouse-like Ace Mission Studios, “American Icon” tracks the Mustang’s evolution from the suburban garage to the race track, and uses projections and a 4D theater experience to transform what could have been a showroom experience into something built more for a video game.
With installations focused on the fabled, traffic-free, open road “freedom” that car manufacturers like to so often tout, there’s something quaintly old fashioned here. The Mustang is presented as a car for young couples on the go, optimistically envisioning an America when home and car ownership were a given.
Visitors watch an immersive 4D short film.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
The seats inside a 4D theater vibrate and feature water and scent effects.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
In that sense, it’s a car enthusiast’s fantasy. But can it inspire a new generation of car dreamers, especially at a time when some data indicates younger audiences may be holding off on a car purchase?
While no cars are for sale at “American Icon” — there is an assortment of specially branded Mustang merch, however, much of it nostalgically focused on 1964 — such an immersive endeavor makes sense, says researcher Jason Jordhamo, a marketing director for Polk Automotive Solutions from S&P Global Mobility. Enticing audiences today, he says, involves a more personal touch than a big TV ad spend or a sponsorship deal.
“It’s less time in the dealership,” Jordhamo says of reaching younger consumers, especially Gen Z. “Those traditional things have to be let go of.”
Jordhamo notes that new vehicle registration among those aged 18-34 has dipped about 2% in recent years. Anecdotally, he cites a multitude of factors, ranging from growing environmental consciousness — hybrids and electric vehicles are big with the age bracket — to the ease of rideshare, especially in major cities.
But there are other causes for concern. “There’s a lot of things that are challenging in that space,” Jordhamo says. “One is affordability, which is huge. The cost for purchasing a vehicle — the monthly costs — have gone up 30% since the beginning of this decade. And the average loan payment nationally has been over $750 all calendar year.”
With the “Pick Your Pony” interactive feature, guests can listen to different Mustang engine sounds.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Immersive experiences, which typically denote either some level of participation on the part of the guest or attempt to envelope the attendee in all-encompassing imagery, are common in Hollywood and often seen as a way of reaching a younger consumer weaned on interactive entertainment. They’ve been utilized heavily by studios such as Netflix for pop-ups themed to “Arcane,” “Squid Game” and more, but brands and personalities as varied as the Catholic Church, McDonald’s and even Mariah Carey have gotten in on the experiential action. Car companies, too, have dabbled, be it partnering with video game franchises such as “Gran Turismo” or “Rocket League” or, as Ford already does, offering real-life experiences such as off-roading in a Bronco at various U.S. locales.
“It’s more than just steel and rubber,” says Ford’s communications director Mike Levine when asked why Mustang was pegged for such an experience. “Mustang’s impact on America should be appreciated like an art exhibit.”
Seated before a crisply, powdered blue 1965 Mustang on a turntable, the exhibit’s first major room comes alive to simulate movement as the surrounding four walls use projections to place us on idealized versions of Venice Beach and Route 66. The glimmering rhythm of Martha and the Vandellas’ “Nowhere to Run” sets the tone as visions of cruise culture innocence aim to make us feel as if we’re on a ride through Southern California. All that’s missing to complete the mood is someone to deliver us a milkshake.
Several generations of Mustangs are projected behind a real vehicle.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
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Levine says Los Angeles rather than Detroit was chosen as the first of a planned many stops for “American Icon” in part due to the city’s iconography, pointing to historic drives such as Pacific Coast and Angeles Crest highways as scenic backdrops for our car-focused culture. While experiential marketing is all the buzz in recent years, Levine says this is the first installation of its kind for Ford.
“So far, so good,” said Enzo Sanchez, 22, when asked on a recent weekday if he was enjoying “American Icon,” which culminates in a 4D theater experience that serves as a mini motion simulator. Expect to get splashed with a drop of water as the smell of burning rubber fills the room. The mini film — about five minutes — has Mustang drivers saving a post-apocalyptic world from a rogue AI. “Terminator,” but if Mustangs came to the rescue.
Sanchez, named after famed racer and entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari, comes from a car enthusiast family. His father pointed to a wall dedicated to appearances of the Mustang in popular culture, and singled out a framed portrait of Johnny Mathis’ LP “Those Were the Days,” which features the automobile, and said he would have to track down a copy.
“It just transports you,” Sanchez says of his love of the Mustang, adding that he first became aware of “American Icon” on a recent trip to mid-Wilshire’s Petersen Automotive Museum, which helped curate the exhibition. Sanchez noticed one of its famed 1967 Mustangs, the so-called “Eleanor” from “Gone in 60 Seconds,” was absent, and when Sanchez inquired as to its whereabouts, he was told that it would be popping up at “American Icon.” The vehicle shares space with Mustangs from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Kick-Ass” and “Transformers” at the exhibition.
“American Icon: A Mustang Immersive Experience”
The Mustang, says Ford’s Levine, has been among the most popular movie vehicles, adding that “Gone in 60 Seconds” showcases the car as much as it does the city of Los Angeles. He, too, has seen the headlines that proclaim Gen Z is shifting away from car ownership. For now, he says, he isn’t concerned.
“I heard the same thing about millennials, who weren’t going to buy cars,” he says. “As a parent of two Gen Z children, they love cars. Their friends have cars. They want something they can enjoy.”
A rotating platform and video projections make a Ford Mustang look like it’s driving on a road.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
And as Ford bets on with “American Icon,” they want something they can experience.
“This is a different way to reach a Gen Z customer that is very much looking for or has seen engaging content online,” he says. “And when you come in to do that experience, it’s really every sense. When you do the 4D ride, it is every sense. You smell. You feel it. You hear it. You see it. And when you’re immersed on that level, you put the phone down.”
And that, of course, is an essential rule to enjoying the road.
Macclesfield forward Ethan McLeod has died in a car accident on the M1 motorway while travelling back from a game on Tuesday.
McLeod, 21, was returning from his team’s National League North match at Bedford Town in which he had been a substitute.
The accident occurred at around 22:40 GMT near Northampton when his white Mercedes collided with a barrier.
Macclesfield described McLeod as “incredibly talented” and “well-respected member” of their squad.
In a statement, the club said:, external “News of Ethan’s passing has devastated our entire club and no words can convey the immense sense of sadness and loss that we feel now.”
