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Carjacking suspect in Beverly Hills crashes into building near Rodeo Drive holiday lights show
The Beverly Hills Police Department responded to the Rodeo Drive area after an SUV crashed into a building near the city’s holiday light show Thursday night.
Detectives said 22-year-old Pittsburgh resident James Portul allegedly carjacked a woman’s black BMW X3 at around 7:05 p.m. in the 400 block of North Bedford Drive and drove towards the light show. Portul made it a couple of blocks until he lost control of the SUV and crashed into a pillar outside an office building near the Wilshire Boulevard and Camden Avenue intersection.
A witness said he was speeding and skidding around the road before slamming into the corner of the building.
KCAL News
Before striking the building, Portul allegedly ran over two men, one woman and a boy. The Beverly Hills Fire Department took all of the victims to the hospital in an unknown condition. Police said one of the victims was a vendor.
Portul allegedly ran away from the crash site but officers assigned to a city event quickly detained him in the 200 block of South Beverly Drive. The Rodeo Drive holiday light show was a block away from the crash.
It’s unclear if the victims attended the event.
Portul was arrested on two charges, carjacking and hit-and-run with injury.
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A year after turning to comedian Jimmy Kimmel to host their big show, The Academy Awards will pivot to another familiar TV funnyman – Conan O’Brien.
“America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars,” O’Brien said in a statement Friday.
It will be his first time as the Oscar host but he’s emceed other high-profile awards shows, like the Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006 and the White House Correspondents’ dinner in 1995 and 2013.
The Oscars will air live on ABC on March 2, 2025.
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O’Brien is best known for hosting the late-night talk shows “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and “Conan.” Before his TV hosting career, O’Brien was a writer for “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons.”
O’Brien joins the list of Oscar hosts that includes Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris.
“He joins an iconic roster of comedy greats who have served in this role, and we are so lucky to have him center stage for the Oscars,” said Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group.
O’Brien worked as a late-night host for nearly three decades. In 2015, he became the “longest-working current late night talk show host” in the U.S., following David Letterman’s retirement, according to TBS.
The star served as a writer and producer on multiple TV shows, including “Saturday Night Live,” before becoming the host of “Late Night” on NBC in 1993, TBS said. He famously left the network in January 2010 after a brief time as the host of “The Tonight Show.” His TBS debuted in 2010.
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