(This content was created with the help of AI.) Residents in several Southern California cities have been jolted awake this week by late-night military drills featuring helicopters, simulated gunfire, and flash-bang grenades—and local officials say they were largely kept in the dark.
The exercises, conducted at empty sites including a shuttered Pasadena hospital and a vacant mall, are part of a regional training operation for special Army units seeking “real-life facilities,” a military officer told the Los Angeles Times.
Pasadena officials said police were told months ago to provide security but were given few specifics and couldn’t alert the public until hours before the operation…