Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—A lightning strike torched a palm tree in Downtown Long Beach at about 4:50 PM, L.A. TACO member Arturo Enciso reports. He tells L.A. TACO that he was in the area wearing earphones, and the boom was audible even while wearing them. He thought it was an explosion at first. Long Beach firefighters showed up around 10 minutes after to extinguish it. [@Artudough/IG]
—Police arrested a suspect believed to be the man caught on video forcibly walking a teenager he later sexually abused in an El Sereno park. As of 7 a.m., the suspect had not yet been booked, so no details about that individual or how the man was arrested were available. More details are expected Wednesday afternoon. No further information about the teenager has been shared, but police said the teen is back home with family. [NBC]
—Amid furious public calls to resign, City Councilperson Nury Martinez has resigned as president and taken a "leave of office," which might not even be totally legal. Martinez did not say in her statement whether she would resign from office over the remarks, and she was not up for re-election this election cycle. [LAist]
—Even President Joe Biden is calling on these racist motherfuckers to resign."He believes that they all should resign," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "The language that was used and tolerated during that conversation was unacceptable, and it was appalling." [USA Today]