Authorities have identified the inmate accused of stabbing incarcerated rapper Tory Lanez with a self-made shank as 41-year-old Santino Casio, who is serving a life sentence for murder. Casio allegedly attacked Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, around 7:20 a.m. Monday in a housing unit at the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi, according to … Read more
Her hair is red, voluminous and wild. She walks with a swagger. Her voice is raspy, and not in a sexy kind of Lauren Bacall way, but more like Peter Falk. Long before finding her groove with unconventional roles in “Orange Is the New Black,” “Russian Doll” and now, “Poker Face,” there weren’t many options … Read more
It was a night of literary excellence at the 45th Los Angeles Times Book Prizes ceremony Friday night at USC’s Bovard Auditorium. As winners in 12 competitive categories and three special prizes took the stage, many addressed the fraught political climate in the U.S. as well as L.A. rebuilding after January’s devastating firestorms. Writers also … Read more
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting … Read more
An American soldier who was found guilty of making threats of murder and stealing in Russia had his more than three-year prison sentence reduced by seven months on Monday, state media reported. Last June, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, was sentenced to three years and nine months in the district of Primorsky Krai. But a … Read more
Selena may be long gone from this earth, but in 2025, she is far from absent. Her face and signature appear on countless products, ranging from dolls and makeup to an ethically murky AI-powered album. Her story, both inspirational and tragic, has been told in film, television, salacious docuseries and in-depth documentaries, including the forthcoming … Read more
Selena’s family is “grateful” that the young singer’s killer, Yolanda Saldívar, was denied parole Thursday in Texas. Saldívar, 64, is serving a life sentence for the March 31, 1995, murder that took place at a Corpus Christi hotel after the singer, whose last name was Quintanilla-Pérez, accused friend Saldívar of embezzling $30,000. The older woman … Read more
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting … Read more
Dallas hip-hop star Yella Beezy is facing the music for his alleged involvement in the 2020 death of fellow rapper Mo3. A Dallas County grand jury on Tuesday indicted Yella Beezy (born Markies Deandre Conway) for allegedly orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot that led to the slaying of Mo3 (born Melvin Noble). “Broken Love” rapper Noble … Read more
There’s nothing funny about murder, but it’s a handy device on which to hang a comedy. To be sure, there are those who like their mysteries dark and — ugh — “gritty.” But the tenderhearted like their puzzles too, and the whole rigmarole of eccentric sleuths, colorful suspects and solve-along-at-home stories; for them — and … Read more
