Deja News 4/15: Fox Bites and Ghost Guns

Hey Socal! This week, a rabid fox has attacked at least 8 people near the US Capitol. And for once, the rabid fox isn’t Fox News. And for more news you may have missed, Mike Ciriaco is gonna bring it back to your brain with this week’s Deja News!

Video Game magnate Randy Pitchford is the new owner of the Magic Castle.

The exclusive Magic Castle in Hollywood, home to the Academy of Magical Arts and one of Los Angeles’ most storied landmarks, is getting a new owner, with the founder of video-game maker Gearbox Entertainment announcing Monday his purchase of the Franklin Avenue manor.

An avid magician himself and longtime AMA member and Magic Castle attendee, Randy Pitchford said he is dedicated to the preservation of 1908-vintage building.

“The Magic Castle is like bedrock — the center point of magic,” Pitchford said in a statement. “The people who think of the Castle as their home and the place itself seem to have magical properties that have created and inspired some of the world’s greatest entertainers. I’m proud to be trusted to both give back to the place that made me to become the custodian of the Magic Castle and to work with its members and the Larsen family to ensure our most incredible club house grows and thrives for decades to come.”

And for more on the Magic Castle, check out LA magicians conjure change at the Magic Castle

Will Smith was banned from the Oscars.

Actor Will Smith was banned Friday from attending any Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences events — including the Academy Awards — for 10 years in response to his on-stage smack of comedian Chris Rock during this year’s Oscar ceremony.

Smith won this year’s best-actor Oscar for his work in “King Richard,” but the evening was marred when he assaulted Rock on stage at the Dolby Theatre during the ceremony, in response to the comedian making a joke about Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith.

The Academy’s Board of Governors had been considering punishing Smith by either suspending his membership in the Academy or expelling him from the organization. But Smith took those options off the table last week by resigning from the group.

Mayor Garcetti attended President Biden’s announcement about ghost gun regulation.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and a survivor of the 2019 Saugus High School shooting were among those attending a White House event Monday at which President Joe Biden announced regulations to rein in “ghost guns” amid what the administration called a 10-fold increase in law enforcement seizures of the virtually untraceable firearms.

Ghost guns, which do not have serial numbers, can be assembled by unlicensed buyers from legally purchased kits. The firearms’ parts — which can be ordered online — were not required under federal law to have serial numbers or a background check to purchase.