Headlines: Comedian Paul Rodriguez Recounts Will Smith’s Abuse; Suspicious Fires Strike Boyle Heights

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.

—Legendary L.A.-raised comedian Paul Rodriguez details the abuse he claims to have suffered from Will Smith during the filming of the movie Ali, a film he was mostly cut out of. [The Newsroom]

—There were three shootings, likely unrelated, on L.A. freeways in a 24-hour period this week, leaving at least one dead and several wounded. [CBS]

—The overdoses deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, who were dropped off at separate hospitals after a night out, have been ruled homicides. Three men are facing charges in their deaths. [KTLA]

—Smokescreen: The Sellout, the podcast from Neon Hum and L.A. TACO documenting Jose Huizar's rise and fall, is nominated for a Webby and all are welcome to vote. [Webby Awards]

—Operation Blooming Onion, a federal investigation into a modern slavery ring in Georgia, is exposing the horrors experienced by Central American and Mexican migrants who were used for forced labor and sex. [Vice]

—An internal messaging app for Amazon workers would reportedly block and flag users who use words such as "slave labor," "restrooms," "union," and "pay raise," according to newly leaked information. [The Intercept]

—Two fires at appliance stores were knocked down in Boyle Heights yesterday, sparking arson investigations. [NBC]

—The FBI has arrested a man suspected of luring 21 robbery victims to him through the Grindr app. [LAT]

—A man was stabbed to death on Tuesday afternoon in South Los Angeles. [CBS]

—Despite its remote locations, "plastic pollution has thoroughly seeped into almost every corner of the Arctic—including the air, ocean, ice, snow, seafloor, and shorelines." [Vice]

—Anonymous has released the personal information of 120,000 Russian troops involved in the invasion of Ukraine. [Newsweek]

—Meanwhile, Russian and Malian troops are being accused of a massacre of hundreds of detained men in the west African nation of Mali. [BBC]