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Tag: California

  • Man, 81, accused terrorizing a suburb in California, dies days after arrest

    Man, 81, accused terrorizing a suburb in California, dies days after arrest

    An 81-year-old man who scared a Southern California neighborhood for a long time with a slingshot has died shortly after he was arrested, officials said.

    A man was found dead in a house in Azusa, near Los Angeles, on Wednesday night, said a police sergeant. Nick Covarrubias spoke.

    “We didn’t see any signs of cheating or wrongdoing,” Covarrubias told the Southern California News Group.

    The man passed away from a heart disease called arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, as determined by the medical examiner’s office. They considered his death to be from natural causes.

    The man was let go on Tuesday without having to pay bail after saying he didn’t do a crime of breaking things. He said not guilty to five serious crimes of breaking things and two smaller crimes.

    The police arrested a man on May 23 because they suspected him of breaking windows and car windshields with a slingshot and narrowly missing people with ball bearings. No one got hurt.

    During their investigation, detectives found out that for nine to ten years, many people were being hurt by someone who was shooting a slingshot. This was announced by the Azusa Police Department last week.

    Police found a slingshot and small metal balls at the man’s house in Azusa while searching with a warrant.

    On Saturday, Azusa police Lt Jake Bushey said that detectives found out that the suspect shot most of the ball bearings from his backyard.

    “We don’t know why they did it, just to cause trouble,” Bushey told the news group.

    The police thought he broke windows in his neighborhood for 10 years. The LA County District Attorney’s Office is accusing him of breaking windows from October 2021 to May 2024.

  • Sean Kingston faces 10 charges for allegedly defrauding jeweler of $480,000

    Sean Kingston faces 10 charges for allegedly defrauding jeweler of $480,000

    Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston is facing 10 charges in Broward County, Florida, following his detainment in California for fraud and theft.

    An arrest warrant issued on May 20 led to his arrest on May 23, shortly after a SWAT team raided his South Florida mansion and arrested his mother, Janice Turner.

    Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, and Turner are accused of defrauding several businesses, including a jeweler and a car dealer.

    The charges against them include grand theft from a luxury car dealership and defrauding a jeweler for $480,000. Kingston also faces multiple counts of identity fraud, issuing faulty checks, and violating probation.

    Turner is facing eight counts but has allegedly posted bail and is no longer in police custody. Kingston, on the other hand, is being held in a San Bernardino County jail without bail and is scheduled for an extradition hearing on Tuesday, where he is expected to be sent back to Florida.

    Robert Rosenblatt, Kingston’s attorney, told NBC News, “We were in the process of having him return to Florida after his show. We want him back asap so we can show this is merely a civil case and not criminal. We look forward to challenging this case in court.”

    Kingston, best known for his 2007 No. 1 hit “Beautiful Girls” and his collaboration with Justin Bieber on “Eenie Meenie,” has not released music under a major label in over a decade.

  • Police arrest Sean Kingston after home raid

    Police arrest Sean Kingston after home raid

    Singer Sean Kingston was arrested in California, just hours after police raided his Florida mansion, where his mother was also taken into custody.

    In February, a company accused Kingston of not fully paying for an extensive TV and sound system.

    He was arrested in Fort Irwin, southern California, on charges of fraud and theft based on a warrant from Florida, according to the police.

    Prior to his arrest, Kingston mentioned on social media that his lawyers were “handling everything.”

    The Florida police raid was conducted at a residence near Fort Lauderdale, which court documents from February listed as Kingston’s address.

    US media, including the BBC’s partner CBS News, reported that the woman arrested was Kingston’s mother.

    The Broward County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the BBC that they served arrest and search warrants at the property. Kingston’s legal name is Kisean Anderson.

    “As a result of the investigation, an adult female, Janice Turner, 2/16/1963, was taken into custody on numerous fraud and theft charges.”This investigation is active and ongoing.”

    Following the incident, law enforcement officers were observed taking items from the property. It’s uncertain if the arrests are related to the allegations made by the company.

    Subsequently, Mr. Kingston was apprehended in southern California without any resistance, as stated by Broward police.

    He is anticipated to be booked into the San Bernardino jail.

    Both Mr. Kingston and his mother, referred to as Mama Kingston on Instagram, have been approached for comment.

    Before his arrest, Mr. Kingston seemed to address the situation on his Instagram profile.

    “I am good and so is my mother,” the singer said in response to reports that the arrested woman was his mother.
    “My lawyers are handling everything as we speak,” he added.

    A lawyer representing the pair acknowledged that allegations had been made against them, telling the AP news agency: “We look forward to addressing these in court and are confident of a successful resolution.”

  • California college professor to stand trial over the death of pro-Israel protester last year

    California college professor to stand trial over the death of pro-Israel protester last year

    On Wednesday, a judge announced that a college professor from Southern California will stand trial for unintentionally causing the death of one person and injuring another during protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict last year.The person who died was a Jewish counter-protester.

    Superior Court Judge Ryan Wright decided that there is enough evidence to put Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji on trial, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

    Alnaji, who is 51 years old, is being accused of hitting Paul Kessler with a megaphone in November. This happened during an argument at an event that began as a demonstration supporting Palestine in Thousand Oaks, a suburb outside of Los Angeles.

    Kessler, who is 69 years old, fell backwards and hit his head on the ground. He passed away at the hospital the following day.

    Alnaji was accused of causing someone’s death and seriously injuring them    . The district attorney’s office said he was charged with two serious crimes and that there were extra details in each case. If he is proven to have done all the bad things, he could go to jail for more than four years.

    Alnaji paid $50,000 to get out of jail. Alnaji’s lawyer, Ron Bamieh, did not answer the email or phone call on Wednesday.

    Alnaji, a computer science professor at Moorpark College, shared his support for Palestine on his Facebook page and other social media. Many of his posts were removed after Kessler’s death, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

  • Four killed and seven injured by masked gunmen at outdoor party in California – police say

    Four killed and seven injured by masked gunmen at outdoor party in California – police say

    A bunch of men in masks got out of a car and started shooting at a party in central California. They ended up killing four people and injured seven others before driving away, the police said on Monday.

    The police went to a shooting at about 6 p.m that was reported. On Sunday in King City, the police found three men who had been shot and were dead in a front yard, according to a statement from the King City Police Department.

    A woman died after someone brought her to Mee Memorial Hospital in King City, which is about 106 miles south of San Jose.

    The police first said three hurt men went to Natividad Hospital in Salinas, but later they found out four more adults were also shot. They were brought to the hospital eventually.

    Two people were very badly hurt and the five others were hurt but not in a life-threatening way, according to the police.

    Many people were at a party outside a house when three men with dark masks and clothes came out of a silver Kia and shot at the group. The people who may have done it ran away in a car and nobody knows who they are yet.

    The police are still investigating the case. The city promised to give $20,000 to anyone who helps solve the case.

    Mayor Mike LeBarre said the killings are really sad for the town of about 14,000 people.

    “We are very sad and we feel deeply sorry for the family and friends of the people who were killed in this violent act,” LeBarre said in a statement. “I want to let the community know that we are doing everything we can to catch the criminals and make sure they are punished. We will also keep working to stop violence from happening in the future. ”

    The shooting happened on a street with a few simple houses facing an area with stores and businesses.

    King City is in the southern part of Salinas Valley, which is surrounded by farms and is on the inland side of the mountains near the coast. The United States The Army’s Fort Hunter Liggett training center is spread out nearby. The city is a starting point for people to visit Pinnacles National Park.

  • California drenched in unprecedented rainfall, killing three

    California drenched in unprecedented rainfall, killing three

    At least three people died after trees fell on them during a strong storm in California. The storm caused flooding, mudslides, and power outages.

    Firefighters have helped with more than 130 flooding problems and saved many people since the heavy rain started.

    Experts predict that there will be a lot of rain and dangerous flooding until Tuesday.

    The governor said there is a big problem with too much rain in eight counties, so he made a rule that there is a big emergency.

    The storm is caused by something called an “atmospheric river. ” This happens when water evaporates into the air and is carried by the wind, creating long streams of water in the sky, kind of like rivers on land.

    This slow storm is the second big rainstorm to hit California in two weeks.

    Authorities have told people to leave their homes in some neighborhoods in the southern part of the state, including in Los Angeles. The city leaders said it’s an emergency.

    LA Mayor Karen Bass said on Monday that it is really important to stay safe and not drive on the roads right now. “Only go out of your house if you really have to. ”

    Up in northern San Francisco, which is one of the hilliest cities in the world, landslides have been happening in the area.

    Three men have been killed by trees falling on them. One of the accidents happened in Sacramento Valley, and another one occurred when a tree fell on a house in Santa Cruz County. A man who was getting old died in Yuba City, in Northern California, when a big redwood tree fell in his backyard.

    The storm also brought a lot of snow to the area. An avalanche happened on Monday at a ski resort in Lee Canyon near Las Vegas, Nevada. Luckily, no one got hurt.

    Mud and rocks are sliding down the mountains in Los Angeles. On Sunday, 16 people had to leave their homes in Hollywood Hills because mudslides damaged their houses and caused gas leaks.

    People saw fridges and pianos floating on the streets along with all the other mess.

    Problems also happened in the fancy neighborhoods of Bel Air and Beverly Hills in LA.

    People driving in Los Angeles and San Bernardino County got stuck because of flooding. Rescuers had to help them.

    A dad, mom, and daughter had to leave their car on Monday because of a flood. They climbed a tree to stay safe from the water. The San Bernardino fire crews saw them do this.

    Rescuers helped 19 people on a boat after it got stuck on rocks near Long Beach. The boat lost its tall pole and the wind was very strong.

    Lifeguards sent swimmers to help the group, who were then taken to safety in boats. Only one person was hurt, but not seriously.

    Very strong winds, reaching up to 70mph (112km/h), have cut off electricity and knocked down trees. But the winds are expected to calm down a lot by Monday night.

    It is happening after a very successful day for the state. The National Weather Service (NWS) said that on Sunday, 4. 1 inches (104 centimeters) of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles, breaking the old record of 2. 5 inches set in 1927.

    By Monday afternoon, some areas in LA County had gotten more than 11 inches of rain since the weekend – almost reaching the nearly 15 inches that the region usually gets in a whole year.

    The storm got really strong really fast because cold air and warm sea air mixed together. This made the air pressure drop quickly and created a “bomb cyclone,” according to UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain.

    Winds going over 100 miles per hour were reported in the Bay Area, he mentioned in a talk on Monday.

    The storm and flooding made schools close from Malibu to Sonoma County, near San Francisco.

  • California faces “catastrophic” flood

    California faces “catastrophic” flood

    Heavy rain, floods, and powerful winds are hitting southern California for the second day in a row. This is causing a lot of damage in one of the busiest areas of the US.

    There will be a lot of rain around Los Angeles, up to 1 inch (2. 54cm) an hour, for at least 24 hours starting on Monday.

    The big storms are bringing a lot of rain, wind, and snow to parts of the state.

    A serious situation has been announced in 10 counties of the state.

    Experts say there will be heavy rain in California on Monday.

    The Weather Prediction Service gave a high-level warning for heavy rain in southern California on Sunday.

    The WPC warned that very dangerous flash floods could happen in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. The report said that there could be mudslides and debris flows.

    The center said that there will be a lot of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and it will be very hard to travel there.

    The NWS warned that very strong winds could cause more power cuts and trees to fall, but the winds will calm down by Monday night.

    Big, steep waves could make the areas near the coast very unsafe, it said.

    On Sunday, planes couldn’t fly from Santa Barbara Airport and people stuck in their cars because of flooding in Los Angeles had to be saved by rescuers.

    Many people lost electricity because the storm damaged power lines.

    Officials in Orange County said that some areas may need to evacuate soon, and the order could happen very quickly.

    The storm is happening because of lots of wet air moving through the sky.

    Atmospheric rivers are like long streams of water in the sky that are carried by the wind.

    Last week, a big storm hit California. The new round of bad weather is happening because of another storm.

    Governor Gavin Newsom announced a state of emergency in eight counties, including Los Angeles and Orange. He said that the storm is very serious and could be dangerous and life-threatening.

    “California has lots of emergency resources ready to help with the storm’s effects. ”

    Two more states have said they are in a state of emergency.

    The NWS said Monday’s weather would be very dramatic and memorable.

    NWS experts told people in areas at risk to listen to evacuation orders, avoid driving on freeways, and get ready for possible power outages.

  • Woman detained after stealing $2,500 worth of cups in California

    Woman detained after stealing $2,500 worth of cups in California

    A woman was taken into custody for reportedly attempting to steal Stanley cups worth $2,500 from a store in California.

    The 23-year-old person was told to pay for some things by the staff but they didn’t want to. They put the things in a car and didn’t pay for them, according to the police.

    The Adventure Quencher Travel Tumbler, also known as the Stanley cup, has become very popular on TikTok.

    The hashtag Stanleycup has been seen more than seven billion times all around the world, and it has caused some people to try to break the law.

    A video went viral of a man jumping over the counter at Starbucks to steal a special hot pink flask.

    The police in Roseville, near Sacramento, California, went to a store because a woman was stealing a lot of water bottles and putting them in her car.

    The person didn’t listen to the staff and put a lot of stolen things in her car. The police stopped the car before it could get on the highway.

    During the search of the car, 65 Stanley cups were found.

    The police warned people not to break the law.

    The statement warned against committing crimes to get Stanley Quenchers. They are popular, but it’s not okay to steal them.

    William Stanley Junior made the first reusable cups in 1913. He called them “unbreakable” and sold them to people. They became popular with eco-friendly, health-conscious teenagers on Tiktok, around two years ago.

    New special types of quenchers have been causing chaos at some stores in the US.

    TikTok videos showed people waiting in line overnight and rushing to buy the cups at a Target store. The cups cost $54. 50

  • Window bursts in midair as US plane lands

    Window bursts in midair as US plane lands

    A plane lost part of its body while flying and had to land in Oregon because of it.

    The Alaska Airlines plane had to come back to Portland 35 minutes after it took off for California because a part of the plane, including a window, fell off.

    Alaska said 177 people were on the plane and they landed safely.

    The airline said it will temporarily stop flying all 65 of its 737 Max 9 planes to check them.

    Alaska Airlines’ CEO Ben Minicucci said, “We will only bring back each plane after checking it completely for maintenance and safety. ”

    Mr Minicucci said the six crew members did a great job on the flight. The plane was at 16,000ft when it started to descend in an emergency. This information comes from flight tracking data.

    Pictures sent to news sources show the nighttime sky through a hole in the aircraft’s body, with insulation and other materials visible.

    Other photos show the seat nearest to the part that was broken, an empty window seat leaning forward without its cushion.

    “I feel for the people who were on this flight. I am really sorry for what you went through,” Mr.

    “I am very thankful for how our pilots and flight attendants have been responsive. ”

    The oxygen masks came down when the problem started at 16,000 feet soon after the plane took off.

    Based on a photo on social media, the back of the plane, behind the wing and engines, was damaged.

    The part of the plane’s body that’s involved seems like it could be an extra emergency exit for some airlines, but not for Alaska.

    The US Federal Aviation Agency said the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 came back to the airport without any problems and everyone is safe. After the team said there was a problem with keeping the air pressure stable,

    Boeing knew about the incident and is trying to find out more information.

    “A group of Boeing experts is ready to help with the investigation,” it said.

    The NTSB is looking into the incident.

    The Boeing 737 Max is being watched very closely because of safety problems and investigations.

    The Max airplanes were not allowed to fly for a year and a half starting in March 2019 because two of them crashed the same way and people died.

    Each Max plane got changed a lot to be able to fly again. But you wouldn’t be able to see the changes from the outside, and passengers wouldn’t notice anything different.

    Boeing will now deliver 737 Max planes faster because they fixed a supply problem that made them have to inspect the planes for a long time.

    Boeing has given about 1,300 737 Max airplanes to customers.

    The FAA told airlines to check the Max airplanes for a loose bolt in the rudder control system.

  • Boat captain found guilty of setting fire claimed lives of 34 persons

    Boat captain found guilty of setting fire claimed lives of 34 persons

    The person in charge of a dive boat that caught fire and caused the death of 34 people in California four years ago has been found responsible for not taking proper care in their duties.

    Jerry Boylan, who is 69 years old, was found guilty of a crime called “seaman’s manslaughter” after a trial that lasted for 10 days in Los Angeles.

    The lawyers said the captain did not have someone watching at night or do fire practice as the law says he should.

    All 33 people who were on the boat and one crew member who was sleeping below deck died – one of the worst accidents at sea in California.

    The fire started early in the morning on September 2, 2019, when the Conception boat was parked near Santa Cruz Island, which is located south of Santa Barbara, in Platt’s Harbour.

    It was organizing a trip for people to go diving during the Labour Day holiday weekend.

    Boylan was one of five crew members who were able to get away from the fire on the 75ft (23m) boat. They got away by jumping off the boat and swimming to another boat close by.

    The people on the ship said that the fire was too strong to rescue anyone stuck in the passenger rooms.
    United States Attorney Martin Estrada said that the ship captain’s extreme fearfulness caused the deaths of 34 people on Labor Day 2019, which cannot be forgiven.

    The jury determined that this sad event could have been prevented if Mr. Boylan had just done his job properly. We hope that the decision made today brings some comfort and resolution to the families and friends of the victims.

    Boylan might go to jail for up to 10 years and will find out what happens on 8 February.

    The tragedy affected a Californian family of five who were celebrating a birthday.

    Michael Quitasol, along with his daughters Evan, Nicole, and Angela Quitasol, and his wife, Fernisa Sison, were all on the Conception when the fire started.

    Other people who were also affected are a marine scientist named Kristy Finstad, a science teacher named Scott Chan and his daughter Kendra, and a couple from Arizona named Patricia Beitzinger and Neal Baltz.

  • Greece sends rescuers to stranded boat to save refugees

    Greece sends rescuers to stranded boat to save refugees

    As a plug-in hybrid built on the Multivan platform, the California nameplate is apparently going to continue to exist.

    Volkswagen’s all-electric ID. Buzz minibus has been a triumph for the European automaker, helping VW surpass Tesla in the EV sales race in Germany in the first seven months of the year.

    As demonstrated by conversion experts like Alpin Camper, which unveiled a prototype mobile home in January, the zero-emissions people hauler—which draws design cues from the iconic VW Type 2 van—is also a strong contender for a camper.

    As a result, it seems logical that Volkswagen is considering adding the California label to the ID. Buzz model, but it appears that the electric version of the upscale pop-up camper has been delayed due to weight issues, according to a recent story from Edison Media that quotes company officials.

    Currently, the VW California is based on the ICE-powered Multivan and, depending on the configuration, has an unladen weight that ranges from 5,070 pounds (2,300 kilogrammes) to 5,732 pounds (2,600 kilogrammes). This indicates that it falls under the European B driving licence category, which caps the maximum weight of a vehicle to 7,716 lbs (3,500 kg) when four passengers and some luggage are present.

    As a result, the next California Concept camper, which will be put on display at the Caravan Salon event in Dusseldorf, Germany at the end of this month, will be based on a plug-in hybrid long-wheelbase Multivan, with the series production version set to roll off the assembly line next year.

    In June, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz made its debut in the US as a long-wheelbase vehicle with two battery options: an 82-kWh battery pack and a 91-kWh battery pack. The third quarter of 2024 will see the start of deliveries for the all-electric microbus.

  • Meet the billionaire who takes 111 pills every day in a bid to live forever

    Meet the billionaire who takes 111 pills every day in a bid to live forever

    An extremely wealthy tech guru who wants to “live forever” has shared how he modified his demanding daily schedule to make it last as long as possible.

    Bryan Johnson, 45, a California-based tech mogul who sold his business Braintree Venmo to PayPal for $800 million nearly 10 years ago made some shocking revelations in an interview

    He holds the belief that maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, refraining from eating after 11am and consuming 111 pills are the essential components for achieving eternal youth.

    The mogul added that his main goal in the 21st century is to ‘not die’ and he does anything possible to extend life, which has included injecting his 17-year-old son’s plasma.

    ‘I’m revolting against the culture of death,’ he said on the podcast.

    ‘I was born to introduce this new idea to humanity,’ he told Dragon’s Den star Steven.
    In the 21st Century, the only goal is not to die. It’s the rallying cry for the 21st Century, those two words: “Don’t die”,’ he added.

    Speaking this week, he also revealed how being born Mormon and struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts led to his success now, but said that he worries that not looking after himself earlier in life could have caused damage.

  • Euphoria actor Angus Cloud dies aged 25

    Euphoria actor Angus Cloud dies aged 25

    Angus Cloud, the talented actor known for his role as drug dealer Fezco “Fez” O’Neill on HBO’s popular series Euphoria, has passed away at the age of 25.

    He died on Monday at his family home in Oakland, California, as confirmed by his publicist. The news of his untimely death has deeply saddened fans and the entertainment industry, mourning the loss of a young and promising talent.

    “It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today,” said the Cloud family.

    Cloud attended his father’s funeral in Ireland last week and, according to his family, “intensely struggled with this loss”.

    There was some comfort in knowing he was now “reunited with his dad, who was his best friend”, they said in a statement.

    “Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence,” it said.

    “We hope the world remembers him for his humour, laughter and love for everyone.”

    His cause of death has not been given.

    “We are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Angus Cloud. He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family,” HBO said in a statement.

    “We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time.”

    Two weeks ago, Cloud posted a photo of his father on Instagram and wrote: “miss u breh.”

    Cloud had minor acting credits in two films, North Hollywood and The Line. He had also appeared in music videos for artists including Becky G, Karol G and Juice WRLD.

    But his career really took off after he won the part of Fez, a high school drug dealer in Euphoria.

    The role turned Cloud into a breakout star, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and his character was expanded in the second season.

    According to a 2019 interview with GQ, Cloud had no real aspirations to become a star, or even an actor.

    He used to work at a chicken and waffle joint, according to the magazine, and one day was unexpectedly stopped in the street by an agent from a casting company.

    “I was confused and I didn’t want to give her my phone number,” Cloud told GQ. “I thought it was a scam.”

    After first airing in June 2019, Euphoria quickly became a hit and by 2022 was the most tweeted-about TV show of the decade in the US.

    The main character, played by Zendaya, is a 17-year-old who struggles with drug abuse, seen on screen taking the deadly opioid fentanyl and injecting morphine.

    In 2022, Cloud defended accusations during an interview with TMZ that the show glorified drug use.

    Euphoria creator Sam Levinson said: “There was no one quite like Angus. He was too special, too talented and way too young to leave us so soon.”

    Sydney Martin, the model who was rumoured to be in an on-off relationship with Cloud, shared broken heart emojis on Instagram after his death was announced.

    Cloud’s co-star Javon “Wanna” Walton, known in the show as Cloud’s adoptive brother, Ashtray, wrote on Instagram: “Rest easy brother.”

    California congresswoman Barbara Lee lamented the loss of “Oakland’s own”, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter,

    “His immense talent touched the lives of countless people. His work & legacy will forever live on and make Oakland proud,” she wrote.

    Actress Kerry Washington also posted on the platform: “You will be deeply missed. Rest in power.”

  • Trump’s invitation seemed like a dream – Ghanaian saxophonist

    Trump’s invitation seemed like a dream – Ghanaian saxophonist

    Ghanaian saxophonist, Mizter Okyere, has shared his encounter with former USA President, Donald Trump in 2020 after performing his sax cover of the ‘YMCA’ campaign.

    Speaking to the media, he expressed how playing the saxophone has brought various benefits to his life.

    He recounted, “I was in the USA during the lockdown in 2020, which coincided with the election year, and Trump’s song was trending.”

    “YMCA was the song and it was really trending on social media in the USA during the election year in 2020 and I did the sax cover of that song.

    “After I released the sax cover of Donald Trump’s song then I had a call in the USA that they’ve seen my cover and Trump would like to see me,” he revealed sighted by MyNewsGh.com

    “I thought it was a joke when they said Trump wanted to see me and I was booked and taken to where Trump was holding his rally which was at Hollywood in California and I met Trump.

    “During that time my visa to stay in the USA had expired but they renewed it for me and so playing of sax has brought so many benefits in my life so far so good,” he disclosed.

  • Landslip causes homes to slump and crumble

    Landslip causes homes to slump and crumble

    Twelve families had to leave their houses in Los Angeles County after a landslip destroyed a neighbourhood and caused the homes to slump and collapse.

    Around 4 o’clock on Saturday afternoon, residents of a posh gated enclave along Peartree Lane in the city of Rolling Hills Estates, California, felt the ground shifting under their houses.

    Before deciding to issue an evacuation order, fire officials, police, and other first responders arrived rapidly. 16 people from Rolling Hills Estates had to leave the area because of the approaching landslip.

    Just a day later, photos from Peartree Lane show collapsing homes, caved-in garages, and shattered driveways.

    A partially destroyed patio caused by earth movement is seen in Southern California's Palos Verdes Peninsula's Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. on Monday, July 10, 2023. The Los Angeles County city of Rolling Hills Estates were hastily evacuated by firefighters Saturday when cracks began appearing in structures and the ground. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
    Residents of Rolling Hills Estates first noticed the ground shifting on Saturday afternoon (Picture: AP)

    Officials now believe the homes are likely to fall into an adjacent canyon.

    ‘Significant land movement overnight has completely destroyed the homes along a canyon on Peartree Lane here in Rolling Hills Estates,’ Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said on Twitter after visiting the neighborhood on Sunday.

    ‘This is just devastating for these residents. My office is ready to offer any assistance we can provide to these families and the city,’ said Hahn, who is also chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

    In an update posted on Monday, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said the landslide remains an ‘active situation,’ but has not threatened other parts of the city.

    ‘The outpouring of support from our community has been amazing over the past few days,’ Rolling Hills Estates Mayor Britt Huff said. ‘It has been truly inspiring to see how everyone is pulling together to offer assistance, especially to our displaced residents and their families.’

    The mayor confirmed fire officials would remain on site to ‘assess and monitor the area.’ The neighborhood along Peartree Lane has been closed to the general public, and utilities to the area have been turned off.

    Meanwhile, geologists are inspecting the neighborhood to determine what exactly caused the devastating landslide.

    ‘This neighborhood was built in 1978, and it’s been solid for 45 years,’ Mayor Huff told the Los Angeles Times. ‘So we’re very much in shock by what is happening here.’

  • Clever helicopter calls home from Mars after 63 days without communication

    Clever helicopter calls home from Mars after 63 days without communication

    After 63 days of stillness, an inventive helicopter calls home from Mars. The Mars Ingenuity chopper has resumed talking after 63 days of quiet.

    On April 26, the small chopper launched on its 52nd voyage to Mars, but it lost contact with mission controllers before landing, resulting in a communication blackout that lasted for months.

    On June 28, however, Ingenuity called home once more, allaying any worries about the first aircraft’s safety and whereabouts. To humans on Earth, that is still a very long time to wait for word that Ingenuity arrived successfully.

    The flight was intended to reposition the helicopter and capture images of the Martian surface.

    The mission team anticipated that radio silence might occur.

    That’s because Ingenuity communicates with mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, by relaying all messages through the Perseverance rover.

    And when Ingenuity took off for flight 52, a hill presented an obstacle blocking the helicopter and rover from communicating with each other.

    “The portion of Jezero Crater the rover and helicopter are currently exploring has a lot of rugged terrain, which makes communications dropouts more likely,” said Josh Anderson, the Ingenuity team lead at JPL, in a statement.

    While the two robots make for a dynamic duo that can investigate Mars from the surface and its atmosphere in search of signs of ancient life, it’s difficult for them to stick close together.

    Ingenuity began as a technology demonstration to test if a small rotorcraft could fly on Mars. After surpassing all expectations across five successful flights in the spring of 2021, Ingenuity transitioned to become an aerial scout, flying ahead of the Perseverance rover and plotting out safe and scientifically interesting pathways for the rover’s exploration.

    Sometimes, Ingenuity is off exploring and taking images of sites that the rover may not reach for weeks.

    Once Perseverance crested the obstructive hill, the helicopter and rover had a chance to communicate and relay Ingenuity’s messages back to Earth — including the data captured during its 139-second-long flight spanning 1,191 feet (363 meters) on April 26.

    “The team’s goal is to keep Ingenuity ahead of Perseverance, which occasionally involves temporarily pushing beyond communication limits,” Anderson said.
    “We’re excited to be back in communications range with Ingenuity and receive confirmation of Flight 52.”

    What’s next for Ingenuity and Perseverance

    It’s not the first time the mission team has experienced communication drops with Ingenuity that last an “agonizingly long time,” like the gaps that occurred before the helicopter’s historic 50th flight in April, according to Travis Brown, chief engineer for Ingenuity at JPL.

    The chopper is also still contending with a buildup of dust on its solar panel that occurred during the Martian winter, causing the helicopter to experience a “transitional power state” that may endure even as Martian summer arrives.

    “This means that, much to the chagrin of her team, we are not yet done playing this high-stakes game of hide and seek with the playful little helicopter,” Brown wrote in a NASA blog.

    But Ingenuity has overcome landing on Mars, survived frigid nights, flying on Mars for the first time and numerous record-breaking flights since, and its journey to explore Mars like never before continues.

    Hoping that the rest of Ingenuity’s system will appear to be in good shape, flight engineers are already planning another aerial excursion for the chopper in another couple weeks. Ingenuity’s next few flights will bring it closer to a rocky outcrop that NASA is keen for Perseverance to explore.

  • California woman who lied to police receives prison sentence

    California woman who lied to police receives prison sentence

    The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office reports that a California mother was given a 90-day prison term for lying to law enforcement about a pair trying to kidnap her kids.

    On one count of intentionally filing a false police complaint, Kathleen Sorensen, 31, received a jail term on Thursday. The conviction is the result of an incident that happened in December 2020 while Sorensen and her two kids were shopping at a Michaels craft store in Petaluma, California, which is located approximately 30 miles north of San Francisco.

    After buying several items, Sorensen left with her two children and drove out of the parking lot, according to a news release from Sonoma County prosecutors. Several minutes later, Sorensen called the Petaluma Police Department to report a couple tried to kidnap her children.

    Additionally, Sorensen recorded and posted a viral video on Instagram about the purported incident about a week later, according to the release.

    In the video, Sorensen talked about the incident in “great detail” and added “significant details that had not been disclosed to the Petaluma Police Department,” the district attorney’s office said. Sorensen also went on a local news program and repeated her account of events.

    In a follow-up interview with police, Sorensen identified a couple from the store video as the individuals who tried to kidnap her children, the release said. But police said her report proved to be false and “was resoundingly contradicted by the accused couple as well as store video that was obtained,” the district attorney’s office said.

    CNN has reached out to Sorensen’s attorney for comment.

    Days after the incident, Sadie Martinez identified herself and her husband as the couple accused of the alleged kidnapping, the Petaluma Argus-Courier reported at the time. Sadie Martinez, who is Latina, suspected the incident was racially motivated – Sorensen is White.

    “I couldn’t believe it. It’s like we’re literally guilty of being brown while shopping,” she said, according to the Argus-Courier.

    In April, after a jury convicted Sorensen of lying to authorities about a false kidnapping attempt, Martinez told Elle Magazine that she was “happy” with the outcome.

    “After (Sorensen) avoided accountability for years, and then hearing she was found guilty and walked out in handcuffs… yes, justice was served,” she said. “I feel like it’s a step in the right direction for my family. I’m grateful for the support.”

    The district attorney’s office said 60 days of Sorensen’s sentence could be served in a work release program.

    “Ms. Sorensen has been held accountable for her crime and we believe the judge handed down a fair sentence. Our hope is that this measure of accountability will help provide some closure to the couple that was falsely accused of having attempted to kidnap two young children,” District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said in a statement.

    Sorensen was “also placed on 12 months of informal probation during which time she was ordered to have no social media presence, submit to warrantless search and seizure, to include her electronic devices, complete a 4-hour implicit bias training, as well as various fines and fees,” the release said.

  • 15 persons hospitalised as train derails after hitting truck on the tracks

    15 persons hospitalised as train derails after hitting truck on the tracks

    A train carrying more than 200 passengers and crew members derailed in California after colliding with a truck on the tracks. Fifteen persons were hurt.

    According to Captain Brian McGrath of the Ventura County Fire Department, an Amtrak train impacted a truck near Moorpark on Wednesday, causing three of its seven carriages to derail.

    The fire service reported that 15 individuals had been sent to hospitals shortly after 3 p.m. local time.

    The driver of the truck was taken to a trauma center, according to the fire department, and 14 others suffered minor injuries.

    A total of 186 passengers were on board and 13 others were Amtrak crew members.

    ‘Passengers continue to be evaluated,’ wrote the fire department around 1.30pm local time. ‘All trains have been searched with all occupants out and no passengers requiring extrication.’

    It is believed that the truck driver managed to get out of the vehicle before the train struck it, McGrath said.

    A small fire was extinguished by arriving firefighters.

    The obliterated truck remained on the tracks after the crash, with some of its pieces lying next to the derailed cars. The cars that went off the tracks were still upright next to an orchard.

    Most of the passengers evacuated the train on their own or with help from emergency responders.

    The train was heading from Los Angeles to Seattle when ‘it struck a water truck obstructing the tracks’ at 11.15am, stated Amtrak.

    ‘Amtrak is working with customers to make alternate travel arrangements.’

    Footage from the scene showed people with their luggage standing around as first responders addressed the situation.

    A reunification center for families was set up at 799 Moorpark Avenue.

    The company and local authorities are conducting an investigation into the crash.

    Moorpark is about 50 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Major traffic delays were expected throughout the city.

  • The contentious discussion over California’s anti-caste legislation

    The contentious discussion over California’s anti-caste legislation

    A bill to make caste discrimination illegal in California is due to be debated in the state assembly this week.Savita Patel, a California-based independent journalist, speaks to those supporting and opposing the bill becoming a law.

    Sukhjinder Kaur*, a nurse at a hospital in California, works long and tiring hours serving patients. But whenever it’s break time, things become oppressive.

    She is a Dalit (a community that is placed at the bottom of India’s deeply discriminatory caste hierarchy) and says she often faces casteist insults from her South Asian colleagues.

    Dalit rights activists say scores of caste-oppressed Californians face housing, educational, professional, and social discrimination.

    In March, Senator Aisha Wahab, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, authored and introduced the SB-403 bill – legislation that seeks to add caste as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws alongside gender, race, religion and disability.

    The bill was passed by the state’s senate in May with a 34-1 vote. If it goes through in the state assembly, California will become the first US state to ban caste discrimination.

    “Nurses from upper castes pass slurs about chamars [a pejorative term for Dalits] being dirty and polluting,” says Ms Kaur, who is among those who are in favour of the law.

    In February, Seattle became the first city in the US – and outside South Asia – to outlaw caste discrimination, generating momentum for the legislation in California. It is being propelled by the same broad multi-faith, inter-caste, multi-racial coalition of over 40 American and international Dalit and human rights activists and organisations, led by California-based Equality Labs.

    California has a large South Asian diaspora and is home to some of the world’s biggest tech companies.

    Anti-caste bill
    Image caption,Renu Singh (left) has been advocating for the bill at the grassroots level

    The state is home to more than half of the 500,000-plus Sikh population in the US and gurudwaras (Sikh temples) in California have been mobilising momentum to outlaw caste discrimination.

    Two of the community’s largest advocacy groups – The Sikh Coalition and Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund – support the bill. Among Sikhs, it is the Ravidasia community – the largest Dalit community in the state with approximately 15,000-20,000 members – which is advocating for the bill at grassroots level.

    Renu Singh, who follows the Ravidasia tradition and is also a women’s rights activist, has been urging women to speak about their own experiences of caste discrimination and those they see around them so that lawmakers understand the gravity of the issue.

    Data from an Equality Lab study shows that one in four caste-oppressed people from the South Asian American diaspora have faced physical and verbal violence; one in three has faced discrimination in education, and two out of three have experienced workplace discrimination.

    It was the first extensive study of caste distribution and its effects in the US and had over 1,500 respondents. The findings, published in 2018, say that those from “lower castes” fear retaliation and worry about being “outed” and hence “hide their caste”.

    However, a significant section of the Indian diaspora rejects caste discrimination claims.

    Deepak Aldrin, a San Francisco-based Dalit activist is not in favour of the bill. “I’ve lived here for 35 years. No Hindu has ever asked me what caste I belong to,” he says.

    The bill is meeting strong opposition from many Indian-American individuals, religious and professional groups, who argue that even though it does not specifically name their religion, it will “discriminate against Hindus, their places of worship and even make them less hiring worthy”.

    They say the existing laws in California are sufficient to address any discrimination and are mobilising the community to urge their lawmakers to disallow the legislation to proceed.

    Anti-caste bill
    Image caption,Dalit rights activists say scores of caste-oppressed Californians face discrimination

    Many businesses and Hindu temples under HinduPACT – an American Hindu grassroots advocacy initiative – have appealed to California lawmakers to reject the bill. Its convenor Ajay Shah says that the legislation is “deeply flawed, ill-intentioned and targets children and youth from the Indian subcontinent and those who follow the Hindu dharma [Hinduism].”

    Suhag Shukla, co-founder and executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, says this bill is already creating an “undesirable” awareness about caste. She says she has been “hearing inappropriate queries from workers, especially in tech, who are being asked about their caste by non-South Asians”. She says if this becomes a pattern, it can be grounds for ethnicity-based harassment.

    The foundation has sued the state in a federal court for an “unconstitutional definition of caste” and has also challenged the addition of caste to its non-discrimination policy, saying that it “singles out one community for ethnic profiling and additional policing”.

    Those opposing the bill say they are also perplexed as to how the state plans to identify an individual’s caste since it’s a very complex issue, .

    The bill, Ms Wahab explains, does not include details for identifying caste, similar to other protected categories.

    “There is no language on how caste will be determined. This is simply an anti-discrimination bill. When somebody takes a matter up to the courts, that is usually when subject matter experts are engaged, the type of discrimination potentially that has taken place [is investigated].”

    Ms Wahab says she has received “death threats” after proposing the bill. She now faces a recall campaign and a possible re-election. She adds that the “visceral reaction” to the bill is “disheartening” and has urged Californians to read the bill.

    “Whether you’re upper caste or lower caste, it does not matter, it will protect you as well,” she says.

    *Some names have been changed to protect identity.

  • Two US kids found dead in river after being swept away from mum

    Two US kids found dead in river after being swept away from mum

    Rescue teams actively combed the Kings River in Fresno County in pursuit of locating the missing children.

    The quest for the lost children in the Kings River was carried out by the search and rescue teams of Fresno County.

    Fresno County’s search and rescue teams embarked on a quest to locate the vanished children within the Kings River.

    Two youngsters lost their lives during a family gathering in California when they were carried off by the Kings River.

    On Sunday afternoon, two youngsters, known to be a girl of eight years and a boy of four years, accompanied their mother to the river. The mother’s aim was to swim to a specific rock and climb on it.

    As per the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, both kids were not equipped with a life vest.

    Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene around 2.00pm near the Pine Flat Dam in Sanger, California.

    Fresno County Sheriff's Office reservists attach a sign to a post to alert people that the the Kings River is closed due to dangerously high water levels, on Monday, May 22, 2023, near Sanger, Calif. The body of a 4-year-old boy was recovered Monday from the surging California river that is closed to recreational use, a day after his 8-year-old sister died when the siblings were swept away by the current, authorities said. (Craig Kohlruss/The Fresno Bee via AP)
    The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office closed recreational access to the Kings and San Joaquin Rivers due to high water levels (Picture: AP)

    Search and rescue crews used boats, drones, and a helicopter to comb the area south of the dam. They quickly located the girl’s body less than an hour after the search began.

    The boy remained missing for another day as crews desperately searched for any sign of the four-year-old. His body was eventually found about 1.75 miles downriver from the spot he swept away from.

    ‘Both the Kings and San Joaquin Rivers are closed to recreational users and have been since March 14th, 2023,’ the Sheriff’s Office said. ‘Sheriff John Zanoni made this decision in response to heavy winter storms and melting snow that have created high water levels and hazardous conditions.’

    California saw an unusually large amount of snow last winter, including a series of ‘atmospheric river’ storms that drenched the Golden State earlier this year.

    Public access sites at the rivers in Fresno County have been marked by warning signs in multiple languages, and disobeying this order could net swimmers a $250 fine.

    The Sheriff’s Office said there was currently ‘no timetable’ for reopening the rivers for recreation, but also said they were monitoring water levels daily to make that determination.

  • A tech CEO discovered dead two years after he took an Uber and vanished

    A tech CEO discovered dead two years after he took an Uber and vanished

    A California tech CEO who inexplicably vanished two years ago was discovered dead, according to investigators.

    In a deserted Santa Monica courtyard, the bones were found on April 25. The 39-year-old Beau Mann, the creator of the addiction and mental health app Sober Grid, was one of them, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

    Mann’s Michigan-based fiancé Jason Abate was the final person to get in touch with him. The following year, they intended to get married.

    Abate spoke to Mann the night before his disappearance. ‘He told me he loved me, and he wanted to adopt children with me,’ Abate told NBC News in 2022. ‘That was the last message I ever got from him.’

    Beau Mann's family said in a Sunday statement that the 39-year-old's remains were located about a mile from where his Uber dropped him off on Nov. 30, 2021.
    Beau Mann (left) is seen with his fiancé Jason Abate (right) (Picture: Facebook)

    Mann was last seen on November 30, 2021 around 2.00pm. He was spotted at a 7/11 convenience store on Ventura Boulevard, the Los Angeles Police Department said, over 15 miles away from where his remains were eventually discovered.

    The store was only a short walk away from Sober Grid’s offices in Los Angeles. He got into an Uber after leaving the 7/11, where he texted a message to 911.

    Mann’s fiancé began to worry about him when he stopped returning text messages. The LAPD performed a wellness check at the CEO’s apartment, but he was nowhere to be found.

    Abate eventually filed a missing persons report on December 4.

    The coroner’s office is still working to determine a cause of death for the CEO.

    Mann founded Sober Grid, which bills itself as the ‘world’s largest recovery app,’ in 2015. ‘Simply put – Beau was our light,’ the company said in a post on Instagram. ‘After an experience in his early years with drugs and addiction, he turned his focus and passion towards helping others.’

    They continued: ‘While he is no longer with us, we know Beau’s spirit will live on in Sober Grid’s mission to help those in need.’

  • Reparation: California’s Blacks to receive $1.2 million payments

    Reparation: California’s Blacks to receive $1.2 million payments

    Economists who are advising California‘s task force for reparations have estimated that it will cost $1.2 million per Black resident, which can be distributed over a lifetime although the details have not been finalized yet.

    California is one of the several states that are discussing the feasibility of providing economic reparations to Black Americans whose ancestors were harmed by the Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath, despite the fact that California was designated as a free state when it joined the Union.

    The movement for reparations gained significant momentum in 2020 after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, but it is still a controversial issue both economically and culturally. California, known for its progressive policies, has recently arrived at an economic evaluation.

    “Economists advising California’s task force on reparations have, at long last, released an estimate of the damages caused by the state’s history of slavery and its many vestiges of white supremacy: up to $1.2 million per Black resident over a lifetime,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday. 

    Reverend Tony Pierce calls for more than $5 million in reparations for each Black Californian at a meeting of the California Reparations Task Force on March 29, 2023. (YouTube screenshot from California Department of Justice channel)

    REPARATIONS FOR BLACK CALIFORNIANS COULD COST $800B, ECONOMISTS WARN

    California’s reparations task force is preparing to recommend that the Golden State apologize and issue “down payments” to Black residents as a way to make amends for slavery and discrimination, although the state explicitly outlawed slavery when it joined the Union in 1850.

    The task force, created by state legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020, on Monday published more than 500 pages of documents that indicate it plans to recommend California issue a formal apology for slavery and racism and consider payments of varying amounts to eligible Black Californians.

    The Chronicle suggested this massive number was merely a “rough, partial estimate of what it would cost the state to compensate Black people for that legacy of harm, according to a draft of the task force’s final report.” 

    The paper quoted the report directly.

    “Rather, it is an economically conservative initial assessment of what losses, at a minimum, the State of California caused or could have prevented, but did not,” the report stated. “(T)he Legislature would then have to decide how to translate loss-estimates into proposed reparations amounts.”

    The Chronicle added further that the process is still ongoing.

    “The panel is preparing its final report to send to the Legislature, which will include a recommendation on the amount and form of cash payments,” the outlet wrote. “Task force members are expected to vote Saturday at Mills College in Oakland on whether to adopt the draft report, the capstone of its work after two years of tense meetings and in-depth research.”

    Gov. Gavin Newsom signs into law a bill that establishes a task force to come up with recommendations on how to give reparations to black Americans in Sacramento, California, on Sept. 30, 2020. (Office of the Governor via AP)

    The Chronicle observed that next task at hand would be figuring out the massive economic implications of this reparations program.

    ‘Whatever the task force decides, the Legislature and Newsom will have the final say. If reparations are approved, state officials would have to figure out how to pay for the program,” the outlet wrote. “An economist for the reparations panel has said the plan could cost California more than $800 billion; the state has a roughly $297 billion annual budget.”

    Despite being nearly three times the state’s overall budget, a member of the task force in April dismissed concerns about the total cost, saying it was as the “least important piece” of their proposal.

    “It’s important,” she said, “but it’s the least important in terms of being able to get to a point in our country’s history and in California’s history where we recognize that the harm cuts across multiple areas and domains and that the repair needs to align with that.”

    The Chronicle noted that one key aspect is that the program does not distribute reparations merely for slavery, but for other economic and cultural issues seen as the legacy of slavery itself such as “mass incarceration and over-policing in Black communities,” “discrimination in housing,” and “health harms, including unequal access to health care, greater exposure to environmental pollution and discrimination from medical workers.”

    In April, Detroit’s reparations task force met. Kofi Kenyatta, a senior policy director of UpTogether told the task force: “Reparations can mean a lot of things but it must include, no strings attached, direct cash to Black people and systemic change throughout all levels.” 

  • California experiences power outages due to storms

    California experiences power outages due to storms

    Over 400,000 customers in the United States are without power as a result of bicoastal storms that brought rain, snow, flooding, and high winds.

    On Tuesday, rivers in California overflowed and mudslides occurred. A state of emergency has been declared in 40 of the state’s 58 counties.

    Some areas of New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts have received up to three feet of snow.

    Storms on both coasts abated early Wednesday, but the damage was extensive.

    By late Wednesday morning, 189,492 customers in California were without power, according to Poweroutage.us, while another 165,249 customers across New Hampshire, Maine, New York and Massachusetts endured the same.

    The storm that swept along the north-east brought mounds of snow, downed power lines and toppled trees – one of which nearly flattened a parked car in the Bronx – and had winds recorded over 40mph (64km/h). Hundreds of schools and businesses in the region were closed.

    New York state and multiple counties in New Jersey issued states of emergency that lasted into Wednesday morning.

    In Derry, New Hampshire, a child was struck and pinned down beneath a snow-covered tree knocked over by fierce winds, the Derry Fire Department said in a Facebook post. Through a mix of chainsaws and shovels, “16 firefighters and three police officers worked for 19 minutes to free the child from underneath the tree”, the department said. The child was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

    On the west coast, where a series of storms have hit California since the start of the year, saturated soils have created hazardous conditions for residents.

    A mudslide in Placer County caused severe damage to a home sunk nearly to its roof in mud, according to the local fire department.

    California is experiencing its eleventh atmospheric river since December. The weather phenomenon happens when water evaporates into the air and is carried along by the wind, forming long currents that flow in the sky like rivers flow on land, causing heavy downpours.

    By sunset on Tuesday evening, rivers had overflowed and some roads were impassable. Workers laboured to repair a recently breached levee in Monterey County, where 21,000 people were under evacuation order.

    High winds also plagued the state. Nearly 15 million people were under a high-wind warning on Tuesday as hurricane-force winds in multiple counties exceeded 90mph, CNN reported.

    Californians on Wednesday can expect a slight respite, but it will not last long, the National Weather Service warned.

    “After this latest high-impact atmospheric river sweeps through California by Wednesday, a few days of relief from any heavy precipitation is expected,” the NWS Prediction Center tweeted. “However, the extended range outlook from the Climate Prediction Center forecasts another atmospheric river arriving next week.”

  • California weather: Another winter storm as thousands left without power

    California weather: Another winter storm as thousands left without power

    As another storm bears down on the state, thousands of Californians are still without power following a weekend of torrential rain and flooding.

    On Monday, there was a heavy rain, which only got worse on Tuesday, especially in the state’s northern and central regions.

    Storms that have struck the state in quick succession have claimed the lives of at least 13 persons so far.

    Parts of the East Coast are also currently under a winter storm watch.

    Some counties in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut could see as much as 10in (25cm) of snow on Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

    Further snowfall is also anticipated in western Wisconsin and much of Minnesota – where the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul have already recorded 80in of snow this winter, their eighth snowiest season on record.

    California starts the week with its 11th “atmospheric river” storm since late December.

    Atmospheric rivers are narrow bands of moisture that produce heavy rainfall and snow when they make landfall.

    These weather systems occur when water evaporates into the air and is carried along by the wind, forming long currents that flow in the sky like rivers flow on land.

    The NWS predicted “very heavy rainfall”, snowmelt in mountainous regions and strong winds, with the worst conditions “occurring late during the day Monday, continuing through the day on Tuesday”.

    In addition to heavy rainfall, the San Francisco Bay Area could see wind gusts up to 40 to 50mph (64 to 80kph).

    “Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks,” the weather service added. “Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers is likely.”

    Thousands were evacuated on Saturday from Pajaro, a low-income agricultural migrant worker community in northern California famous for its strawberry crop, after the Pajaro River’s levee was breached by flooding.

    In Monterey County, first responders rescued about 200 people – most of those rescues happened near the Pajaro River, according to Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto.

    Fearing floodwater may have contaminated wells with chemicals, officials told residents in the area not to drink or cook with tap water.

    More than 9,500 residents across the state were still without power as of Monday morning.

    Thirteen people have died since snowstorms hit California from late February.

    Two of those deaths have so far been confirmed to be storm-related, while eight others are under investigation.

    Twenty-two other deaths have been recorded amid the foul weather in the state since January.

    A state of emergency has been issued in 40 of California’s 58 counties to support storm response.

    Source: BBC

  • Man sentenced to 25 years in jail for killing a college student

    Man sentenced to 25 years in jail for killing a college student

    A California man who killed a college student about 27 years ago was given a 25-year prison term.

    Judge Jennifer O’Keefe dubbed Paul Flores, 46, a ‘disease to society’ before awarding him a maximum term.

    On Memorial Day weekend in 1996, Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, was murdered. Flores was found to be guilty for her death.

    Since she vanished, Smart’s body has never been discovered.
    In 2002, she was ruled to be legally dead.

    Flores was the last person seen with Smart before her disappearance. The two were seen returning to a dormitory after an off-campus party around 2am.

    Prosecutors argued that Smart was killed when Flores attempted to rape her after the party. Flores insisted that he last saw Smart a block away from their dorms after walking home.

    Although he was always considered a suspect, investigators did not have enough evidence to charge Flores with any crime until 2021.

    At the time, University Police believed Smart had gone on an ‘unannounced vacation’ over Memorial Day weekend. They did not report her as a missing person and open an investigation for an entire week, despite requests from her family.

    Prosecutors believe this delay gave Flores enough time to hide Smart’s body.

    New evidence against Flores emerged after a popular podcast, ‘Your Own Back Yard,’ began looking into the case in 2019. Investigators searched the homes of Flores and his father, Ruben Flores in the following years.

    At Flores’s apartment in Los Angeles, they found date rape drugs and homemade videos of the suspect sexually assaulting young women.

    A year later, police executed a search warrant at his father’s home in Arroyo Grande using cadaver dogs and a ground-penetrating radar system. They recovered some ‘items of interest,’ including Ruben Flores’s car.

    Additionally, investigators found a spot under Ruben’s deck where they believe the father and son re-buried Smart’s body after her death.

    Paul and Ruben Flores were arrested and charged in April 2021, just two months after the search in Arroyo Grande. Paul was charged with first-degree murder during a rape or attempted rape, and Ruben was charged with accessory to the crime.

    A jury found Flores guilty in October, 2022. Ruben Flores was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

    At his sentencing hearing on Friday, Judge O’Keefe struck down Paul Flores’s attorney’s motion for a new trial.

    ‘Mr. Flores, you have been a cancer to society,’ the judge told the defendant. She emphasized that he was allowed to live free while preying on women for decades after Smart’s death.

    ‘This predatory behavior has spanned your adult life,’ Judge O’Keefe said. ‘You deserve to spend every day you have left behind bars.’

    Smart’s family was given a chance to speak during victim impact statements. They began by showing the court a video composed photos and home movies collected from Smart’s brief life.

    They also pleaded with Flores to confess and help the family locate the victim’s body.

    ‘It is clearly too late for us, but Paul – it is not too late for you to tell the truth, to free your soul and your heart from the weight it must be carrying,’ Smart’s mother Denise Smart said in her statement.

  • Election funding by government has been excellent – Ofori-Atta

    Election funding by government has been excellent – Ofori-Atta

    According to Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, government has been excellent about funding Ghana’s elections and will continue in that stead.

    He said these in Parliament when he joined officials from the Electoral Commission (EC) and the National Identification Authority (NIA) to brief the House on the proposed Constitutional Instrument that is seeking to make Ghana Card the sole identification document for voter registration.

    “The government has been extremely good about funding elections and once the NIA’s job is liked to the elections, we can assure the House that the resources needed will always be provided.”

    Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has assured the National Identification Authority that the GHC20 million budget allocation will be released to enable it go ahead with its operations.#3NewsGH pic.twitter.com/LWC4IpxnXn

    — #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) March 1, 2023

    The Chair of the EC Jean Mensa for her part said among other things that the Ghana Card will not be used to vote in the 2024 general elections.

    She said the Commission is seeking to use the card for the voter registration exercise.

    Madam Jean Mensa said “It is important to rehash that the use of the Ghana Card as the sole document of identification will ensure and guarantee the credibility and integrity of our register and elections, it will prevent the enrolment of minors to register, it will prevent foreigners from being registered to vote and it will eliminate the guarantor system which is prone to abuse and which promotes conflicts and violence.”

    “The Ghana Card will not be used for voting in 2024, it will be used to register,” she added.

  • The Central US to suffer damaging hurricane and winds from a derecho

    The Central US to suffer damaging hurricane and winds from a derecho

    On Friday and Saturday, Southern California received blizzard warnings from a storm system that will cause substantial destructive winds on Sunday across the central US.

    The Storm Prediction Center predicted a derecho would form Sunday afternoon and nighttime by noon.
    A derecho is a large, persistent, straight-line windstorm connected to a rapidly moving cluster of powerful thunderstorms.

    “A derecho is forecast with widespread damaging winds and embedded swaths of significant severe gusts from 80-110 mph, centered on parts of Oklahoma this evening into tonight,” the storm center said. “Embedded tornadoes are anticipated as well, with the greatest potential for strong (EF2-EF3) tornadoes across southwest Oklahoma this evening.”

    Winds of 80 to 110 mph are equivalent to a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane.

    If a swath of damaging winds extends more than 240 miles and includes wind gusts of 58 mph or greater along most of its length, then the event may be classified as a derecho, according to the National Weather Service.

    The highest severe storm risk today, a Level 4 out of 5 or moderate risk, has been issued across portions of western Oklahoma and Texas. Cities under this risk include Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton, and Enid in Oklahoma. This area is where the highest chance of a strong tornado will be late Sunday afternoon.

    This is the first Level 4 out of 5 risk issued so far this year, the last Level 4 risk was issued on December 14, 2022, when a tornado touched down in New Orleans.

    Overall, more than 20 million people are under the threat of severe storms Sunday from western Texas to Illinois, including Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, Fort Worth, and St. Louis.

    “A significant damaging wind event is expected from the eastern Texas Panhandle into much of Oklahoma and southeast Kansas late this afternoon through this evening,” the Storm Predication Center wrote in their forecast discussion early Sunday morning.

    Damaging wind gusts of more than 75 mph will be possible, as well as a couple strong tornadoes. Frequent lightning and hail are also possible.

    The greatest tornado threat will be “early in the event” according to the storm center, meaning late this afternoon as storms track across portions of western-north Texas and southwestern Oklahoma.

    This will then quickly transition into a damaging wind event this evening and into the overnight hours as the storms form into a squall line, which is a continuous and narrow band of thunderstorms that form ahead of a cold front.

    “The storms will eventually evolve into a squall line,” the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, said. Adding that embedded tornadoes within this squall line will still be possible as the storms track east.

    The storms will also be moving rather quickly, racing east and northeast at 60 to 80 mph which will only add to the damaging wind threat.

    “Damaging wind potential will not be confined to the thunderstorms themselves,” the Norman weather service office said. “Very strong winds and potentially damaging winds will be possible even in the general wind field after the storms move through.”

    Wind alerts are currently in place for over 65 million people from Arizona to Ohio, including Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Cincinnati.

    “Some models have been suggesting a narrow line of very strong winds moving through areas about three hours or so after the storms move through,” the weather service in Norman added.

    Wind gusts of 60 to 75 mph are possible across the Southwest and western Texas behind these severe storms. And gusts of 40 to 55 mph are forecast across the central Plains through the Ohio River Valley.

    By Monday morning, the threat of severe storms will shift to the north and east over the Ohio River Valley, where a Level 2 out of 5 risk has been issued. This includes Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Louisville.

    The main threats on Monday will be frequent lightning, damaging winds, hail, and a few tornadoes.

    As this same system continues its trek eastward, it will bring the threat of heavy rain, snow, and ice to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Monday night which could lead to travel disruptions.

    Snowfall totals of 6 to 12 inches are forecast for much of the Northeast, while light freezing rain is possible across northern portions of the mid-Atlantic.

  • Another tornado and strong winds hit the US’s central

    Another tornado and strong winds hit the US’s central

    As more storms move from Washington state to southern California and across the Great Lakes region on Monday, pummeling areas where hundreds of thousands are still without power after a similar string of severe weather last week, severe storms have already prompted overnight tornado reports in some parts of the central US.

    According to outage tracker PowerOutage.us, at least seven tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma, where almost 50,000 energy users were without power early on Monday.
    In Kansas, two further tornadoes were reported.

    More than 100 other storm reports – including wind and hail – were recorded in parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas as hurricane-force winds and severe thunderstorms tore through the states. A gust of 114 mph was recorded In Memphis, Texas – equivalent to a category 3 hurricane.

    In anticipation of severe winds and potential hail Sunday night and into Monday, an Air Force unit at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, relocated most of its aircraft to protect them from damage and ensure they can still be deployed if needed, the base announced.

    As the storm shifts northward by Monday afternoon, a slight risk for severe weather – possibly a few tornadoes and wind gusts – could impact cities including Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio.

    In the West – where last week’s storms prompted rare blizzard warnings and road flooding in California – a separate system of rain and high-elevation snow will push from the Pacific Northwest down into California and into the Rockies through Monday.

    Nine western states are under winter weather alerts Monday as heavy snowfall is forecast across the region, including up to 10 inches in Washington state’s Cascades by early Tuesday; one to three feet in high elevations and mountain peaks of western Oregon; and one to three feet in mountainous areas of the Rockies.

    A blizzard warning remains in effect for the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, which could see between 2 and 6 feet of snow.

    Yosemite National Park was closed Saturday due to severe weather and will not reopen until at least Wednesday as the multi-day blizzard warning remains in effect across Yosemite Valley, the park announced. Yosemite Valley could see as much as 55 to 84 inches of snow by Wednesday, the park said.

    Approximately 284,000 homes and businesses were without power across the US as of early Monday, about half of which were in Michigan, where the Great Lakes region is bracing for another round of ice and snow on Monday after being struck by last week’s multi-day storm.

    The winter storm is then expected to push into the Northeast by Monday afternoon, where interior parts of the region could see widespread snowfall totals of 6 to 12 inches.

    Meanwhile, the South is anticipating another week of unusually warm winter temperatures after steaming under record-breaking highs last week.

    Dozens of daily high temperature records could be broken again in the coming days as areas of southern Texas and the Florida peninsula could see temperatures into the 90s.

    More than 20 million people were under threat of severe storms stretching from western Texas to Illinois on Sunday.

    The Storm Prediction Center forecast a severe storm event – known as a derecho – would sweep through the region Sunday afternoon and into the evening, with a particular focus on parts of Oklahoma.

    A derecho is a widespread, long-lived windstorm that typically causes damage in one direction across a relatively straight path, according to the National Weather Service. To be classified as a derecho, the stretch of wind damage should extend more than 240 miles and include wind gusts of at least 58 mph along most of its length, it says.

    In total, more than 115 storm reports were made Sunday across the Southern Plains, mainly of wind across Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma. This also includes 14 hail reports in those states, with several hailstones reportedly 1.75 inches in diameter.

    Nine tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma and Kansas, including one in the Oklahoma city of Norman, where police warned ofmultiple road closures, downed power lines and debris.

    Students on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman were told to immediately take shelter Sunday evening as the area was under a tornado warning, which was lifted later that night.

    Officials in Oklahoma are still assessing the damage, though the most concentrated impacts appear to be in Norman, Shawnee and possibly Cheyenne, said Keli Cain, public affairs director for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

    Roughly a dozen families displaced by a tornado in Liberal, Kansas, are being accommodated and about 10 trailers were also damaged, City Manager Rusty Varnado said. At least one person was injured by broken glass, he said, noting the injuries are minor.

    Freezing rain, snow and ice across the Great Lakes region and parts of the Midwest last week resulted in perilous travel conditions, road closures and significant power outages that disrupted daily life for many.

    This week, the Great Lakes are poised to be hit all over again, including Michigan where about 146,000 homes and businesses still do not have power after the prior storms damaged trees and utility lines.

    Utility company DTE, one of Michigan’s largest electricity providers, said 630,000 of its customers have been impacted by the storms so far. By Sunday night, power was restored to about 600,000 of their customers, the utility said.

    Another round of mixed precipitation is expected to move into the region Monday, with those under winter weather alerts possibly seeing between 2 to 8 inches of snowfall.

    As the storm moves eastward, winter storm watches are also in effect for parts of interior New York and New England through Wednesday afternoon. In total, these isolated areas can see up to 10 inches of snowfall.

    Boston, which is under a winter weather advisory from Monday evening until Tuesday evening, is expected to get 2 to 5 inches of snowfall.

  • California police under fire after killing double amputee

    California police under fire after killing double amputee

    Authorities in California are looking into the police killing of a wheelchair user who allegedly refused to drop a butcher’s knife.

    Anthony Lowe, a 36-year-old black man with two amputees, was shot and killed on January 26 in the Los Angeles region.

    He allegedly threatened officers after stabbing someone. The mother of Mr. Lowe stated, “They killed my son.”

    It happens as police killings are being looked at more closely following the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.

    Mr. Lowe’s incident took place in Huntington Park, and onlookers recorded it on camera.

    The grainy video shows part of the confrontation, with Mr Lowe holding a long, shiny object and moving on the stumps of his legs away from officers. That clip does not show the shooting.

    The Huntington Park Police Department said in a statement on January 30 that officers responded to a stabbing and that the victim provided a description of the suspect.

    The suspect had allegedly left his wheelchair, approached the victim and stabbed him in the chest with a 12in butcher knife, before returning to the wheelchair and fleeing the scene.

    The victim was left with “a life-threatening stab wound resulting in a collapsed lung and internal bleeding”, the police statement said.

    When officers caught up with Mr Lowe, according to the police statement, he “ignored the officer’s verbal commands and threatened to advance or throw the knife at officers”.

    Police say that after two unsuccessful attempts to use Tasers to subdue Mr Lowe, they shot him.

    Huntington Park Police Lt. Hugo Reynaga told the Los Angeles Times that investigators had obtained video of the shooting from a nearby business but did not plan to release the footage.

    He added that Huntington Park officers do not wear body cameras.

    “He tried to run away, and every time he turned around and did the motion like he was gonna throw the knife at him, they tased him,” he told the newspaper.

    “They were trying to give this guy the less-lethal Taser shock. And because it was ineffective, they had to go to something that was more effective.”

    The two officers involved have been placed on paid leave amid an investigation. They have not been named.

    On Tuesday, members of Mr Lowe’s family and activists demanded that the officers be held accountable for the shooting.

    “They murdered my son, who was in a wheelchair with no legs,” Mr Lowe’s mother, Dorothy, said at a news conference. “They do need to do something about it.”

    A spokesperson for the family told the BBC’s US partner, CBS, that Mr Lowe was suffering from a mental health crisis at the time of the shooting.

    His sister told the LA Times that he had his legs amputated last year following an incident with police in Texas.

    The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide unit is investigating the Huntington Park shooting, as it does for other smaller police departments in the area.

    According to the Mapping Police Violence database, nearly 1,200 people were killed by police in 2022. Officers were charged with a crime in nine of these cases.

  • British actor identified as hiker missing in southern California

    British actor identified as hiker missing in southern California

    The hiker who vanished last week in the San Gabriel mountains has been identified as British actor Julian Sands.

    The 65-year-old was reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area on Friday, amid bad weather in southern California.

    Police said ground rescue teams were pulled off the mountain last weekend due to avalanche risks but searches continue by drone and helicopter.

    Mr Sands is known for roles in popular films and TV dramas including A Room With A View, 24 and Smallville.

    In a statement shared with the PA news agency, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department said Mr Sands was reported missing at about 19:30 local time on Friday 13 January.

    The department’s search and rescue crews “responded and began a search”, it added, but had been hampered by severe weather warnings and trail conditions.

    “However, we continue to search by helicopter and drones when the weather permits,” the statement said.

    The force said it had responded to 14 calls on Mount Baldy and in the surrounding area over the last four weeks and warned hikers to “think twice and heed warnings” amid adverse weather conditions.

    Mr Sands has lived in Los Angeles since 2020 and most recently appeared in the drama Benediction, which also starred Peter Capaldi.

    Source:

  • Cartel attack in California kills six and baby

    Cartel attack in California kills six and baby

    At a California home where police were aware of drug-related activity, four generations of one family were murdered in a “cartel-like execution.”

    A 16-year-old mother, her 10-month old son and the baby’s grandmother and great-grandmother were among the victims, police and family say.

    The home in Goshen, population 3,000, had been raided by police last week.

    Police say they are seeking two known suspects in the “targeted massacre”.

    In a news conference on Tuesday, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux did not provide the names of the suspects, saying that it was due to the possibility that the killers were watching in order to avoid capture, but revealed that much was already known to authorities about the tragedy.

    Police had searched the residence just last week and found stashes of marijuana and methamphetamines.

    A photo of the victims

    Six people died in the shooting on Monday. Three people survived.

    “None of this was by accident,” Mr Boudreaux said. “It was deliberate, intentional and horrific.”

    The victims have been identified by investigators as:

    • Rosa Parraz, 72
    • Eladio Parraz Jr, 52
    • Jennifer Analla, 50
    • Marcos Parraz, 19
    • Elyssa Parraz, 16
    • Nycholas Parraz, 10 months old

    According to Mr Boudreaux, one survivor lay flat on the floor, with their feet against the door in order to prevent the attackers from entering the room.

    “He was in such a state of fear that all he could do was hold the door, hoping he was not the last victim,” the sheriff said. The other two hid themselves in a nearby trailer when shots broke out.

    Police were called to the property by a survivor at about 03:30 (11:30 GMT) on Monday. They found two bodies on the street and others inside the home.

    Sheriff Boudreaux said the child and mother appeared to have been fleeing the scene, and that forensic evidence shows that the killer stood over the victims and fired at their heads from above.

    The FBI’s San Francisco office is assisting in the investigation, and a $10,000 (£8,100) reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

    Police are monitoring the Mexico and Canada border for the suspects, the sheriff said, adding that the “very insecure border” has allowed Mexican drug cartel activity to grow in the central California area in recent years.

    “Let me make this very clear, not all these people in this home were gang members,” said Mr Boudreaux, adding that the mother and child were innocent victims.

    He said that the killings appear “similar to high-ranking gang executions, and the style of execution they commit”, because the victims were “shot in places where a shooter knew that quick death would occur”.

    Hundreds of items of evidence have been collected so far, the sheriff said, and results of post-mortem examinations of the victims are expected by Friday.

    He also appealed to members of the public to check CCTV cameras on their property for video of suspicious vehicles in the area between 03:00 to 05:00 on Monday.

    Elyssa Parraz’s grandfather told the Associated Press news agency that she had been living with the child’s father’s family in Goshen, central California. Samuel Pina said that the baby’s uncle, grandmother and great-grandmother were also killed.

    “I can’t wrap my head around what kind of monster would do this,” he said.

    Source: BBC

  • California battles deadly storms with millions under flood alert

    California battles deadly storms with millions under flood alert

    This weekend, a flood watch is in effect for about 25 million people in California as the latest in a string of deadly storms drenches the state.

    At least 19 people have died as a result of flooding in several waterways, and thousands of people have been ordered to leave their homes.

    Locals in the town of Montecito, which is 135 miles (84 km) northwest of Los Angeles, claim that the rain makes their trauma worse.

    Many are concerned that a mudslide that killed 23 people here in 2018 could happen again.

    Rita Bourbon credits Italian stone masons with saving her life. The craftsmen built her home more than a century ago and she says it’s like a fortress.

    She survived the storm five years ago, crying inside with her daughter and some friends as they listened to the sound of boulders and other houses ripped from their foundations crashing into her home.

    The next day, the neighbourhood up the coast from Los Angeles was wrecked and almost two dozen were dead, including her neighbour whom she found in her garden in the mud.

    People trying to clear a road damaged by storms in California
    Image caption,Landslides triggered by the storms have damaged roads

    “It’s a sound I used to love,” she says of the creek burbling in her garden, which is now bursting with ripe citrus and persimmon trees, as a blue heron drinks from her muddy pool.

    “Now I know what it can do. We all have a bit of PTSD.”

    Montecito creek became a violent, raging flow again this past week, prompting fire officials to issue a “Leave Now!” warning to the entire community, which includes some of California’s most famous residents such as Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

    The evacuation order in Montecito has been lifted, but residents remain on edge. And with so much of the land already saturated, the risk of flooding and landslides is very real.

    Abe Powell is the co-founder of the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade, formed in 2018 to mobilise volunteers to clean up after the deadly mudslide.

    This week, Powell led volunteers around the community, filling sandbags and digging trenches. He took us on a perilous drive up a narrow mountain road where giant boulders and mud blocked access to some homes.

    “We don’t want to hang around here,” he said, looking at the fresh boulders.

    Plastic sheets cover a hillside in California which slid away for the first time this week
    Image caption,Plastic sheets were placed on a hillside which slid away for the first time this week

    Film producer Steve McGlothen is one of the volunteers. He has lived in the area for half a century and in his cliff top home for 27 years.

    Helping others, he said, takes his mind off the problems at his own property and the despair he feels as the rain keeps falling. Plastic sheets cover the hillside, which slid away for the first time this week – an attempt to stop this latest deluge from making the slide worse.

    “We’re looking at earth that has never moved,” he said. “Close to 50 years – this has never moved. It’s never been a problem before.”

    The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, joined the volunteers filling sandbags in Santa Barbara. He says the area is a “hot spot” he’s concerned about in the coming days.

    “We’ve experienced some 24 trillion gallons of water falling on this state in the last 16 days in the middle of a mega drought,” Governor Newsom told the BBC. He says California needs to reimagine the way it manages water, because the infrastructure here was built for a time which no longer exists.

    https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.47.2/iframe.htmlMedia caption,

    Watch: From droughts and wildfires to flooded streets – is California’s extreme weather the new norm?

    Californians are used to extreme weather – wildfires, drought and the threat of earthquakes, with many awaiting the “Big One” that so many experts predict. But the “storm parade” pummelling California is new.

    At least 19 people have died in these storms, which began in late December. A five-year-old boy is still missing after he was ripped from his mother’s arms in fast-moving flood water in central California, when they got trapped while driving to school.

    In Northern California, vineyards are under water. In Capitola, the historic wharf has been destroyed and the beach town battered. In the storied Salinas Valley, the river is rising and threatening California’s famed agricultural heartland.

    US President Joe Biden has now ordered federal aid for Sacramento, Merced and Santa Cruz counties.

    Nasa climate scientist Kimberley Rain Miner says the challenge with having this many huge storms, back to back, is that the ground is already saturated and can’t absorb the amount of water falling quickly.

    Rita Bourbon's 'fortress' home in Montecito
    Image caption,Italian stone masons built Rita Bourbon’s home more than a century ago and she describes it as a fortress

    “If we are unable to slow the warming of the atmosphere, we can expect to see more and more extreme events happening more and more frequently,” Miner told the BBC, while surveying storm damage on a beach in Ventura. “And that’s global. That’s not just in California.”

    In California everyone is watching their phones, waiting to hear if they should evacuate and wondering where it might be safe to go if they do need to leave town.

    For Rita Bourbon, she decided not to wait. Even though she’s confident her house will survive, she doesn’t want to relive the trauma of another landslide. She opted to visit friends in Los Angeles this weekend.

    “I just don’t want to go through another mudslide,” she said, adding that she would be a “nervous wreck” if she stayed. “Just hearing the creek and the cracking together of boulders. It’s better for everyone if I just go.”

    Source: BBC.com

  • Millions are at risk of flooding as a fierce storm rips through California

    Millions are at risk of flooding as a fierce storm rips through California

    In California, where a powerful storm has caused flooding, strong winds, and torrential rains, at least 14 people have died.

    While millions more are under severe weather warnings, thousands of people have evacuated their homes.

    Data from Poweroutage.us show that nearly 188,000 homes and businesses were without electricity.

    Much of the state is expected to experience heavy rain all day Tuesday, and some areas could experience hazardous mudslides as a result.

    It has been referred to as “the most impressive storm since January 2005” by the National Weather Service (NWS).

    The weather is expected to dump up to 7in (18cm) of rain in some parts by Wednesday and could produce additional flooding, mudslides and landslides. particularly in areas previously hardest hit by heavy rainfall, NWS officials warned.

    “An enormous cyclone” is developing off the coast, officials said.

    A five-year-old, who was swept away by floodwaters near Paso Robles on Monday, is still missing.

    The boy and his mother were reportedly in a truck taking him to school when the vehicle was overcome by water. It sparked a seven-hour search that was called off when the conditions became too dangerous for divers. He has not been declared dead, local officials said, however details of when the search will resume have not been given.

    Around 90% of Californians – some 34 million people in the most-populous US state – are under flood watch, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    “This is not a day to be out doing anything you don’t have to,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told the Los Angeles Times.

    An order issued on Monday afternoon by the Montecito Fire Department directed residents of the town and nearby canyons: “Leave now!”

    Residents unable to flee were told to move to their innermost room or high ground.

    Creeks in Montecito, and around California, have flooded into roadways
    Image caption, Creeks in Montecito, and around California, have flooded into roadways

    The NWS reported that up to 14in (35.5cm) of rain was dumped in the last 24 hours in the region.

    Across the state, average rainfall totals have hit between 400% and 600% above average values, the NWS said on Tuesday.

    People living in the elite coastal enclave of Montecito were among those ordered to leave their homes.

    Montecito is home to many Hollywood stars, including actor Rob Lowe, and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who posted a video from the banks of a flooded creek on Monday.

    “This is crazy!” DeGeneres said. “This creek next to our house never flows, ever. It’s probably about nine feet up and is going to go another two feet up.”

    The evacuation comes on the fifth anniversary of a mudslide in Montecito that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes.

    This new round of severe weather will bring heavy rain on already flooded rivers, damaging winds that are expected to topple trees and power lines, and heavy snow in the California mountains.

    A damaged road in the Santa Cruz mountains
    Image caption,A damaged road in the Santa Cruz mountains

    The NWS forecasts the heaviest and most widespread rain to hit early Tuesday and into the afternoon. The agency issued a flood warning in areas around Los Angeles, including Orange County and the San Bernardino County Mountains.

    Other evacuations have been ordered by officials, including in areas downstream of reservoirs that could overflow.

    President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for California on Monday, which allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to provide disaster relief.

    What are atmospheric rivers and bomb cyclones?

    In the last week, California has experienced two overlapping weather phenomena – an atmospheric river, where an airborne stream of dense moisture flows in from the ocean, and a bomb cyclone, a storm with a rapid drop in pressure that creates an explosive effect.

    https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.47.2/iframe.htmlMedia caption,

    Watch: More perilous storms head to California and Oregon

    Atmospheric rivers can cause extreme rainfall and floods. Bomb cyclones require a mix of high and low temperatures, rising and dropping air pressure, and moisture, often resulting in strong winds and severe storms.

    Much of the area hit by heavy rain has been under extreme drought conditions. Last year, California capped how much water residents can use in an effort to conserve its depleting supply.

    Despite the rain, much of the state remains under moderate to extreme drought warnings, according to the US Drought Monitor.

    Experts have said that it would take many years of rain to reverse the two-decade drought that has hit the western US.

    Source: BBC.com

  • Evacuations along California coast after flood, mudslide threats

    Evacuations along California coast after flood, mudslide threats

    A total of 25,000 people were evacuated from California on Monday as a result of the latest in a spate of Pacific storms that have been linked to at least 12 fatalities, including the whole town of Montecito and neighboring portions of the Santa Barbara coast.

    Authorities in 17 California areas, including the Montecito evacuation zone, are concerned that a recent string of torrential downpours might unleash deadly cascades of mud, stones, and other debris in hillsides stripped bare of vegetation by previous wildfires.

    Mandatory evacuations were ordered five years after Montecito, a wealthy coastal community 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles, was devastated by mudslides caused by heavy rains in January 2018, which resulted in extensive damage and the deaths of more than 20 people.

    Raquel Zick, a Santa Barbara County sheriff’s spokesperson, told Reuters that sheriff’s deputies were out navigating flooded roads in armored high-clearance BearCat SWAT vehicles to rescue residents stranded by high water.

    Oprah Winfrey, the owner of Oprah Winfrey Network, and Prince Harry and his wife Meghan from the United Kingdom are just a few of the roughly 9,000 residents of Montecito, many of whom live in lavish houses in the lovely town.

    If they were among those compelled to leave the area was not immediately evident. During the New Year’s vacation, Winfrey was rumored to have traveled to Hawaii.

    Ellen DeGeneres, an actress and comedian who is also a well-known resident of Montecito, shared a video selfie on Twitter showing herself in the rain next to a torrent rushing through what she described as a typically dry creek bed close to her home.

    The performer, garbed in a hooded jacket, tweeted that she had been advised to “shelter in place” rather than evacuate since her home was on higher ground.

    “We need to be nicer to Mother Nature, because Mother Nature is not happy with us,” she said in the video. “Let’s all do our part. Stay safe, everybody. Yikes.”

    All 15 districts of Montecito were ordered to immediately evacuate along with portions of the city of Santa Barbara and adjacent areas of Carpinteria and Summerland where “burn scars” posed a threat of mudslides, the Montecito Fire Department said.

    http://backend.theindependentghana.com/two-dead-in-atmospheric-river-storm-in-california/

    Social media video posted online by TMZ.com showed a man paddling his kayak in the middle of a flooded street in Santa Barbara. The Los Angeles Times reported numerous road closures from flooding and debris flows, including sections of U.S. highway route 101 in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

    Along the central California coast, some 14,000 people were ordered evacuated early on Monday from four Santa Cruz County communities inundated with flash floods, extreme tides and heavy runoff from local mountains, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the state Office of Emergency Services.

    Nearly 4,000 more people in the town of Wilton remained under evacuation orders due to flood threats from breached levees along the Cosumnes River south of Sacramento, the state capital. Another 42,000 residents of roughly a dozen counties were under evacuation warnings, Ferguson said.

    The torrential rains, along with heavy snow in mountain areas, were the product of yet another “atmospheric river” of dense moisture funneled into California from the tropical Pacific, powered by sprawling low-pressure systems churning offshore.

    At least a dozen fatalities have been attributed to several back-to-back storms that have lashed California since Dec. 26, including a toddler killed when a redwood tree was blown over his family’s trailer home last week.

    Experts say the growing frequency and intensity of such storms, interspersed with extreme dry spells, are symptoms of climate change, posing greater challenges to managing California’s precious water supplies while minimizing risks of floods, mudslides and wildfires.

    The six storms since just after Christmas have been accompanied by pounding surf that has battered seaside communities, as well as fierce, gale-force winds that have uprooted thousands of trees weakened by prolonged drought.

    The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned the latest onslaught would impact most of California’s 39 million residents, with up to 5 inches of additional rain expected to fall near the coast and more than a foot of snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains over the next few days.

    The high winds have wreaked havoc on the state’s power grid, knocking out electricity to tens of thousands of Californians. As many as 120,000 homes and business were without electricity on Monday morning, according to data from Poweroutage.us.

    U.S. President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate disaster relief efforts and mobilize emergency resources in California.

    (Reporting by Erica Urech in Montecito, Calif.; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif. and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Josie Kao and Christopher Cushing)

  • Two dead in ‘Atmospheric river’ storm in California

    Two dead in ‘Atmospheric river’ storm in California

    Following a significant Pacific storm, the state experienced torrential rains, strong winds, and significant snowfall for a second day, endangering much of the region with flash flooding and mudslides.

    In California, a third “atmospheric river” storm has killed at least two people and cut power to tens of thousands of homes.

    Following a powerful Pacific storm, the state experienced torrential rains, high winds, and heavy snow for a second day, endangering much of the region with flash floods and mudslides.

    The storm was powered by two phenomena: an immense airborne stream of dense moisture from the ocean called an atmospheric river – and a sprawling hurricane, low-pressure system known as a bomb cyclone.

    A fallen tree is pictured in the storm's aftermath in Santa Rosa, California
    Image:A fallen tree is pictured in the storm’s aftermath in Santa Rosa

    The latest blast of extreme winter weather marked the third and strongest atmospheric river to strike California since early last week.

    Since 4 January at least two fatalities have been reported. Overnight, a tree crashed into a home killing a one-year-old boy, and a 19-year-old woman died when her car skidded off a partially flooded road and hit a utility pole.

    At least two more back-to-back storms are forecast over the next several days.

    On Friday morning the NWS warned that the next “in a parade of atmospheric rivers” will arrive later today, while “additional flooding and heavy mountain snow is expected in the Sierras”.

    Areas such as San Francisco Bay and the state capital of Sacramento are still recovering from flood damage. Along the Consumnes River levees were breached.

    The National Weather Service (NWS) predicted one inch (2.5cm) of rainfall per hour, with snow falling at a rate of three inches (7.6cm) per hour in Southern California’s coastal ranges and the Sierra Nevada mountains.

    High-wind advisories and gale warnings have been put in place up and down the state, which is home to more than 39 million people.

    Uprooted trees, already weakened by drought and rain-soaked soil, knocked down power lines and blocked roads, while three-storey waves crashed on the shoreline of northernmost coastal counties – Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte.

    According to Poweroutage.us, as many as 18,000 homes were left without power early on Thursday.

    Storm damage in Capitola. Pic: AP
    Image:Storm damage in Capitola. Pic: AP

    Megan McFarland, a spokesperson from the region’s main utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, said it was “one of the most powerful winter storms to hit our region in years”.

    Four other deaths have been attributed to the New Year’s weekend storm that swept northern California – three flood victims were found in or near their cars and an elderly man was found dead under a fallen tree.

    Mandatory evacuation orders were put into effect for several cities in Northern California, including Richmond in the Bay Area and Watsonville in Santa Cruz County.

    Source: Skynews.com

  • Man detained over tragic suicide of a California teen caused by’sextortion’

    A 25-year-old man has been detained in relation to an online scam that tragically resulted in the suicide of a teen in February.

    According to a statement from the San José Police Department, Jonathan Kassi was arrested on December 15 and lodged at the Santa Clara County Main Jail for “extortion and attempted disorderly conduct – uploading a photograph or recording without consent.”

     

    “Suspect Kassi sexually exploited children online utilizing the usernames ’emillysmith’ and ‘kassijonathan’ on various social media applications,” added the statement, which revealed that the warrant resulted from an investigation into West African financial sextortion by the San José Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

    Kassi will make his first court appearance in Santa Clara County court on Monday to enter a plea, the New York Post reported.

    Although police withheld the name of the victim because he was a minor, his mother, Pauline Stuart, confirmed to CNN that it was her son, Ryan Last.

    The teenager was days away from turning 18 and weeks away from graduating from Ann Sobrato High School, according to the New York Post.

    Stuart told CNN that authorities found her son was contacted online by someone pretending to be a girl, and that the conversation quickly turned intimate. The online perpetrator also sent Last a romantic picture of a young female and asked for one of him in return, CNN reported.

    After Last shared an intimate photo of his own, the perpetrator demanded $5,000, threatening to make the photo public and send it to his family and friends, investigators said, via CNN.

    Within hours, police said, a panicked Ryan tragically took his own life, CNN reported.

    The victim’s mother spoke with ABC7 News in San Francisco about the arrest, saying that while it was welcome, it did not bring closure to her family.

    “I’m very beyond grateful that it happened,” she said. “But deep down, I would rather have my son.”

    The suspect’s arrest was announced on the same day the Justice Department issued a public safety alert on financial sextortion schemes over an “explosion in incidents of children and teens being coerced into sending explicit images online and extorted for money.”

    “Over the past year, law enforcement has received over 7,000 reports related to the online financial sextortion of minors, resulting in at least 3,000 victims, primarily boys, and more than a dozen suicides,” it added.

    “A large percentage of these sextortion schemes originate outside of the United States, and primarily in West African countries such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast. As many children enter winter break this holiday season, the FBI and our partners implore parents and caregivers to engage with their kids about financial sextortion schemes so we can prevent them in the first place.”

    According to authorities, financial sextortion schemes take place online where young people feel most comfortable — using common social media sites, gaming sites, or video chat applications that feel familiar and safe. Online predators frequently use fake female accounts and pursue minor males, between 14 to 17 years old, but the FBI has interviewed victims as young as 10.

    If young people are being exploited, the FBI urges them to report it. Contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov

    Source: People.com

  • Air Force unveils newest stealth bomber aircraft

    The Air Force on Friday unveiled its newest stealth bomber aircraft, the B-21 Raider, in Palmdale, California. Built by Northrop Grumman, the bomber was named in honor of the “courageous spirit” of airmen who carried out the surprise World War II Doolittle Raid.

    The sixth-generation aircraft is expected to help the Air Force “penetrate the toughest defenses for precision strikes anywhere in the world,” Northrop Grumman’s press release said. Six bombers are currently in “various stages of final assembly” in California, according to the release.

    The event on Friday was even more significant given that it marked the first time in more than 30 years a new US bomber has been publicly unveiled since the B-2 Spirit was presented in 1988. While the US originally planned to have a fleet of 132 B-2s, just 21 were ultimately purchased.

    The release of the new bomber comes amid heightened tensions between the US and both China and Russia. Just days ago, the Pentagon released its annual report on China, which said the country has doubled its number of nuclear warheads in a fraction of the time the US expected it to.

    By 2035, the report said, China could have roughly 1,500 nuclear warheads – an “accelerated expansion” of its stockpile, a senior defense official told CNN.

    The B-21 was designed with that competition in mind. Northrop Grumman’s rundown of the new bomber’s abilities said that while adversaries “continue to invest in and develop advanced weapons,” the B-21 will allow the US to penetrate enemy air defense and hit targets “anywhere in the world.”

    “America’s defense will always be rooted in deterring conflict. So, we are again making it plain to any potential foe: the risk and the cost of aggression far outweigh any conceivable gains,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during the unveiling ceremony Friday. “This is deterrence the American way.”

    While Friday marked the “first time the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft (was) seen by the public,” Northrop Grumman said, airmen and aircraft enthusiasts alike will have to wait until next year to actually see one in the air.

    The first B-21 flight is expected to happen in 2023, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said, though she emphasized that the timing of the first flight “will be data and event, not date, driven.”

    The Air Force previously said that the new nuclear-capable stealth bomber, which has the ability to carry both nuclear and conventional weapons and which will fall under the Air Force’s Global Strike Command, will be “the backbone of the future Air Force bomber force,” designed in a way that is ripe for future modernization efforts.

    The service named Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, as the home of the B-21 and home to the aircraft’s training program. Each aircraft was anticipated to cost $550 million when the price was set in 2010; after adjusting for inflation this year, Stefanek said, the cost of each aircraft, including training materials, support equipment and other components of the bomber, is $692 million. The Air Force plans to purchase at least 100 of the stealth bombers.

    “Even the most sophisticated air defense systems will struggle to detect the B-21 in the sky,” Austin said at the unveiling.

    The B-21 has been built with long-term sustainability and maintainability in mind, Northrop Grumman said in the release. It has also been designed to be rapidly upgraded when future threats demand it – a process that can often be slowed down by bureaucratic red tape and delayed timelines when it comes to older military aircraft and vehicles.

    The bomber won’t undergo “block upgrades,” according to Northrop Grumman, which is a method of periodically upgrading parts of a system. Instead, the company said new “technology, capabilities and weapons will be seamlessly incorporated” through software upgrades.

    “This will ensure the B-21 Raider can continuously meet the evolving threat head on for decades to come,” the company said.

    The name “Raider” was submitted by airmen with the 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and beat out more than 2,000 other suggestions. It refers to the April 1942 Doolittle Raid, during which 80 airmen flew a retaliatory mission to bomb Japan just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

    Led by then-Lt. Col. James “Jimmy” Doolittle, the airmen flew roughly 650 miles to Japan, bombing military installations, storage facilities and factories, according to the Air Force. But because of limited fuel, they knew it was unlikely they’d make it back to safety as planned.

    Instead, the pilots and crew “ditched at sea, bailed out, or crash-landed in China,” according to the National Museum of the US Air Force, many reaching safety with the help of Chinese citizens. According to the museum, as many as a quarter of a million Chinese citizens were later executed by the Japanese as punishment for assisting the Americans.

    Former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James announced the new bomber’s name in 2016 alongside one of the airmen who flew on that World War II mission, retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole, who died in 2019.

    “We wanted [to] ensure the aircraft had a strong name airmen could take pride in, especially those who will have the opportunity to fly and maintain the B-21,” Lt. Col. Jaime Hernandez, commander of the 337th, said in 2016. “We also wanted to take an element of our history into account, and the story of the Doolittle Raiders embodies just that.”

  • US Air Force unveils new B-21 Raider nuclear stealth bomber

    The US Air Force has unveiled its newest nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21, which will gradually replace aircraft first flown in the Cold War.

    The first new bomber in 30 years could cost nearly $700m (£569m) each and can carry nuclear and conventional weapons.

    As expected, specific details of the aircraft remain shrouded in secrecy.

    But US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was “a testament to America’s enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation”.

    The B-21 Raider was unveiled during a ceremony on Friday at manufacturer Northrop Grumman’s facility in California.

    Mr Austin said the plane would offer significant advances over existing bombers in the US fleet, stating that “even the most sophisticated air defence systems will struggle to detect the B-21 in the sky”.

    “Fifty years of advances in low-observable technology have gone into this aircraft,” he said.

    The B-21 is unveiledReuters

    He added that the plane was also built with an “open system architecture,” which allows for the incorporation of “new weapons that haven’t even been invented yet”.

    While the potential for an uncrewed flight was not mentioned during the ceremony, a US Air Force spokeswoman said the aircraft was “provisioned for the possibility, but there has been no decision to fly without a crew”.

    The first flight by a B-21 is expected to take place next year.

    It will eventually replace the B-1 and B-2 models and the fleet is estimated to cost $203bn (£165m) to develop, buy and operate over 30 years, according to Bloomberg.

    Six planes are currently in production, the manufacturer said, adding they would feature the “next generation of stealth” and that it is employing unspecified “new manufacturing techniques and materials”.

    The US Air Force is planning to acquire at least 100 of the aircraft.

  • Aaron Carter died without a Will, state of California to decide who inherits estate

    The State of California will be responsible for deciding who inherits Aaron Carter’s estate, as the late singer did not have a will established at the time of his death, TMZ reports.

    Carter, who was found dead at his home last weekend, has a young child with his fiancée Melanie. The L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services recently removed Carter’s 11-month-old Prince from the couple’s home, and the boy has been living with Melanie’s mother since September.

    Despite not having a will in place, Carter’s son could still inherit his father’s estate, as California law states that a child is first in line to inherit a parent’s estate if the parent passes away without a will.

    However, it’s worth noting that Carter wasn’t financially stable at the time of his death. One source close to Aaron told TMZ he was “living hand-to-mouth and would typically spend what he earned in short order.”

    Carter passed away last Saturday inside his Lancaster, California home. Law enforcement responded to a call around 11 a.m. that a male had drowned in the bathtub. No foul play is suspected, and an official cause of death is unknown.

    Back in September, police were summoned to Carter’s home to do a welfare check after it appeared the singer was doing drugs during an Instagram Live session. Police told TMZ at the time that they had received a call about Carter “possibly overdosing on social media.”

    Carter’s older brother Nick took to social media to share a heartbreaking tribute to his younger brother.

    “My heart has been broken today,” Carter captioned a series of photos on Instagram. “Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held onto the hope, that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.”

    The post continued, “Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss. But the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here. I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz., now you get a chance to finally have some peace you could never find here on earth….God, please take care of my baby brother.”

    Source: Complex.com

  • Former Apple employee pleads guilty, admits to defrauding company of over $17 million

    A former Apple employee has admitted to defrauding the company of millions of dollars, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced this week.

    Dhirendra Prasad, 52, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in connection with what prosecutors described as “multiple schemes” involving Apple. While Prasad began working for Apple in 2008, he’s believed to have started defrauding the company in 2011, ultimately leading to a loss for the tech giant of more than $17 million through various means.

    The individual’s duties while employed at Apple included buying parts and services from vendors. While carrying out these duties, Prasad is said to have stolen parts and inflated invoices, as well as had Apple pay for things that were never actually received by the company.

    A Department of Justice press release gives a few examples of Prasad’s schemes, including fraudulent invoice proceedings involving previously charged vendor owners.

    Prasad, whose initial charging was revealed in March of this year, has now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and to conspiracy to defraud the United States. The former charge carries a potential maximum sentence of as much as 20 years behind bars, while the latter carries a possible maximum sentence of five years. Sentencing is set for next March.

    Apple, meanwhile, was in headlines last month in connection with the selling of an unopened first-generation iPhone at auction. As previously reported, the historic device sold for just under $40,000 at LCG Auctions.

    In September, Apple rolled out its latest iPhone as part of its Far Out event in Cupertino. For a full breakdown of what all was unveiled during the special event, revisit this link.

    Source: Complex.com

  • FLASHBACK: D’banj’s son dies in swimming pool incident

    On June 15, 2018, Nigerian singer Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as’ D’banj ‘, reportedly lost his son after drowning in a swimming pool at their home in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    According to an eyewitness report, Daniel Oyebanjo jnr, who celebrated his first birthday in May of that same year, mistakenly made his way into the swimming pool.

    In confirmation to the news at that time, the “Koko master” took to social media and wrote;

    “Trying times but my God is always and forever faithful.”

    D banj was said to have been in Los Angeles, California, for the BET Awards when the incident occurred.

    Per reports at that time, he traveled with his wife, Lineo Kilgrow, leaving the child in the company of caretakers.

    The post was greeted with a flood of condolences from celebrities and followers of the ‘Oliver Twist’ crooner.

    Source:ghanaweb.com

  • California is the first state to prohibit plastic produce bags

    California has become the first state to ban plastic produce bags.

    People reports that the single-use bags will be slowly eliminated during the next two years, with them completely gone by Jan. 1, 2025, and to be replaced by recycled paper bags or compostable bags. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation, SB 1046 into law, which was sponsored by the environmental advocacy group, Californians Against Waste.

    “The average working life of a plastic bag is 15 minutes, and over 100 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year,” the organization in a statement on its website. “Several studies have shown that contamination in compost waste streams decreases when consumers have convenient access to compostable bags.”

    Produce bags are typically found on rollers in the produce area of the grocery store and often only have a one-time use—and they aren’t recyclable.

    “It flies around landfills and flies out of trucks,” Nick Lapis, the group’s director of advocacy, said. “It gets stuck on gears at recycling facilities. And it contaminates compost. It’s a problematic product we want to get rid of.”

    The ban also includes bags used for other merchandise like meat, fish, nuts, grains, candy, and bakery goods. The bill’s biggest foe was the California Grocers Association.

    The state banned grocery bags five years ago, which has made a positive impact on litter. According to Californians Against Waste, a year after the ban, littering of grocery bags declined by 72 percent.

    Source: Complex.com

  • California serial killer is ‘on a mission’ but police wonder as to what the mission is

    A suspected California serial killer appears to be “on a mission” police have said, although they admit they are still baffled as to what that mission is.

    The gunman has so far shot dead six men and wounded a woman in an 18-month killing spree in the Stockton and Oakland areas.

    There is a $125,000 (£109,000) reward for information leading to an arrest.

    The victims appear to have little in common, no particular ethnic group seems to have been targeted and while some were homeless, others were not. None were beaten or robbed and they don’t appear to have known each other.

    “We don’t know what the motive is. What we do believe is that it’s mission-oriented,” Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said Tuesday. “This person’s on a mission.”

    The first victim was 39-year-old Juan Vasquez Serrano, who was shot multiple times in Oakland in April last year.

    Days later the woman was shot and although wounded managed to scare off the attacker by walking towards him.

    She described him as wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, dark-colored pants, and an all-black COVID-style face mask.

    Paul Yaw was the first of the Stockton victims to die Pic: Greta Bogrow
    Image:Paul Yaw was the first of the Stockton victims to die Pic: Greta Bogrow

    The killer then appears to have laid low for more than a year before switching his attention to the Stockton area, around 70 miles from Oakland.
    On 8 July this year Paul Yaw, 35, was shot dead, followed by Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, on 11 August; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, on 30 August; Juan Cruz, 52, who died on 21 September.

    The most recent victim was Lorenzo Lopez Sr., 54, who was shot dead on 27 September.

    He “was just a person who was out here at the wrong place, at the wrong time, at the wrong circumstance,” his brother, Jerry Lopez, told local television station KXTV-TV. “It’s hard to process that this has happened.”

    Lorenzo Lopez, the most recent victim, died on 27 September Pic: Jerry Lopez Family
    Image:Lorenzo Lopez, the most recent victim, died on 27 September Pic: Jerry Lopez Family

    Stockton Police said four of the victims were walking alone while the fifth was sitting in his car.

    It is believed the same gun was used for both the Oakland and Stockton shootings.

    Police admit they have little to go on apart from some indistinct CCTV footage.

    “To be honest, we just don’t know,” Stockton Police Officer Joseph Silva said. “This person or people who are out doing this, they are definitely very bold and brazen.”

     

  • Jazz legend Pharoah Sanders dies aged 81

    Jazz great Pharoah Sanders, who pushed the boundaries of saxophone playing, has died aged 81.

    His record label Luaka Bop announced the news, saying he had died “peacefully”, surrounded by family and friends in Los Angeles.

    Sanders was a leading figure in what is often called spiritual jazz, which took influences from Asian and African traditions.

    His expressive style made him a sought-after musical collaborator.

    Born as Farrell Sanders in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1940, the saxophonist began his career in Oakland, California before moving to New York in the early 1960s.

    There he collaborated with Sun Ra, who is believed to have encouraged Sanders to take the name Pharoah.

    He joined John Coltrane’s band and performed with him on stage and in the studio.

    Another free jazz great, Ornette Coleman, said Sanders was “probably the best tenor player in the world”.

    Sanders released several albums, with his debut, Pharoah’s First, landing in 1965.

    In an interview he said: “I want my sound to be like a fragrance that people will like – something fresh, like the smell of your grandmother’s cake cooking.”

    In 2021 he collaborated with British electronic musician Sam Shepherd, who records under the name Floating Points.

    Their work, Promises, was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and nominated for the Mercury Prize.

    Paying tribute to Sanders on Twitter, Shepherd said: “I am so lucky to have known this man, and we are all blessed to have his art stay with us forever. Thank you Pharoah.”

    Source:myjoyonline.com

  • Oak Fire: Wildfire grows as firefighters battle punishing heat

    A fast-moving wildfire in California continues to grow in size, firefighters say, as they struggle through sweltering temperatures.

    The Oak Fire has now burned 15,603 acres of land and is still “zero per cent contained”, California’s fire department said on Sunday night.

    But it added that the fire activity is not as extreme as previous days, and firefighters are making progress.

    More than 6,000 people have been evacuated and 10 structures destroyed.

    A further 3,271 structures – both homes and businesses – are under threat, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported.

    At a community meeting on Sunday night, an official said they hoped the blaze, which started on Friday, would start to be contained “very soon”.

    A state of emergency was declared in Mariposa County on Saturday, and will allow the state to access some federal assistance to tackle the fires.

    The scale of the blaze marks an ominous start to California’s wildfire season and officials have warned that a combination of drought, climate change, and overgrown vegetation are posing significant challenges and increasing the chances of the fire spreading rapidly.

    Much of the United States is sweltering through a heatwave and heat advisory warnings are in effect in more than a dozen states. Temperatures in Mariposa County hit 100F (38C) on Sunday, and are expected to stay high for the next few days.

    trees on fireGetty Images

    Yosemite National Park, which lies to the north-east of where Oak Fire is burning, is home to some of the largest and oldest sequoia trees in the world. The redwoods were threatened by another blaze earlier this month, but firefighters managed to save them.

    The US Forest Service said on Friday it is taking emergency measures to protect the trees, including removing low-lying vegetation that can fuel fires and other measures.

    Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.

    The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

    Several European governments have struggled to contain dozens of separate wildfires which have ripped across the continent in recent weeks.

    Source: BBC

  • Dozens trapped at California reservoir

    A major rescue operation is taking place in California after a wildfire trapped people at a popular reservoir.

    Helicopters have brought out dozens of people so far from around the Mammoth Pool Reservoir, about 40 miles (60km) north-east of Fresno.

    Rescuers are returning for others and say the number trapped is unknown. So far two people are seriously injured and 10 more have moderate injuries.

    The fast-moving Creek Fire started at about 18:45 on Friday.

    It grew to cover about 5,000 acres of the Sierra National Forest – an area of steep and rugged terrain – by Saturday afternoon, the LA Times reported.

    A tweet from the Fresno County Fire Protection District just before midnight local time (0700 BST) said 63 people had been rescued by military helicopter and taken to Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

    It read: “Aircraft are returning to continue rescue operations, Unknown how many more.”

    The rescue comes as some areas of California are experiencing a record heatwave.

    Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday declared a state of emergency amid warnings that power cuts could be implemented on a rotating basis to meet excessive demand.

    Temperatures of up to 49C (125F) are expected to last through the Labor Day holiday weekend.

    The National Weather Service (NWS) said there could be “rare, dangerous and very possibly fatal” temperatures across parts of southern California.

    Source: bbc.com

  • California Amphibious Vehicle Accident: US Marine Dead, Eight Missing

    One US marine has died and eight others are missing after an amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) accident off the coast of southern California.

    Two personnel were also injured in the accident on Thursday, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force tweeted.

    A search is under way for the missing service members, with Navy and Coast Guard help.

    All the personnel are assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.

    Col Christopher Bronzi, commanding officer of the 15th MEU, said in the tweet: “We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident. I ask that you keep our Marines, Sailors, and their families in your prayers as we continue our search.”

    The 15th MEU has about 2,200 personnel and conducts rapid-response, conventional amphibious and other maritime operations.

    The typical US Marine Corps AAV is the AAV-P7/A1, functioning as a troop carrier, transporting personnel from water to land.

    Source: BBC

  • ‘Reopen California’ protests urge end to pandemic restrictions

    Protesters marched in several cities across California on Friday demanding the easing of restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak and denouncing Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to shut down some beaches.

    The protests were taking place in at least 11 cities, including the capital Sacramento as well as San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

    Some of the demonstrators waved American flags and carried signs that read “Freedom is Essential,” “Open Our Churches” or “Gruesome Newsom,” while voicing anger at stay-at-home rules put in place to slow the spread of the virus.

    Most of the protesters did not wear any face coverings or follow social distancing guidelines.

    In Huntington Beach, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, some 700 people rallied downtown to denounce Newsom’s order to shut local beaches from Friday in order to avoid a repeat of last weekend when crowds flocked to the shoreline.

    “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” protestor Monica Beilhard said, referring to the beach shutdown.

    “It was uncalled for, unnecessary and people out here are making that known,” she added. “And we’re also very much saying enough is enough, we have the right to work… and it’s time for the governor to allow the healthy to be able to get back to business.”

    Officials in Huntington Beach and nearby towns have vowed to fight the beach closure order by taking the matter to court on grounds it is unconstitutional.

    “We believe the governor’s order is unconstitutional, vague and ambiguous,” said Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates. “He doesn’t have a rational basis for this. What he seeks is a remedy to something that wasn’t a problem in the first place.”

    Newsom, who like other governors across the country is facing mounting pressure to lift restrictions, especially as the weather warms up, has vowed not to bow to pressure and insists that his order was driven by public health concerns.

    He told journalists at his Friday news conference that he empathized with protesters but urged them to continue to obey the stay-at-home order.

    He also appealed to them to wear masks and practice social distancing while demonstrating.

    “This disease doesn’t know if you’re a protester — Democrat, Republican, or if you support the election of one candidate or the ouster of another,” he said. “It just knows one thing, and that is its host.

    “Just protect yourself, protect your family… and the people you’re protesting with.”

    Source: france24.com

  • California governor to close beaches again after weekend crowds

    California Governor Gavin Newsom will order all beaches and state parks closed starting from Friday after people thronged to the seashore during a sweltering weekend despite his social distancing order, according to a memo sent to police chiefs around the state.

    Eric Nunez, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, said it was sent to the group’s members on Wednesday evening so they have time to plan before Newsom’s expected announcement on Thursday.

    A message to the governor’s office seeking comment was not immediately returned.

    While most state parks and many local beaches, trails and parks have been closed for weeks, Newsom’s order is sure to ignite furore from communities who say they can safely provide some relief to residents who are starved of fresh air.

    Pressure is building to ease state and local restrictions that have throttled the state’s economy, closing most businesses and adding nearly four million people to unemployment rolls.

    On Wednesday, six San Francisco Bay Area counties that imposed the first broad stay-at-home orders in California loosened them slightly to allow for landscaping, construction and other outdoor businesses, such as flea markets and nurseries, so long as social distancing is maintained.

    And in what could be a critical addition for many parents, it specifies that summer camps are allowed, but only if kids stay in small groups and their parents are considered to hold essential jobs, such as healthcare workers.

    Some recreational bans also were eased, but not all in the same way. For instance, tennis will be OK in Sacramento starting from Friday, but not in San Francisco.

    Compounding the confusion: Some elements of the revised orders will not take effect because they conflict with the statewide stay-at-home order, which is still in place.

    In Riverside County, authorities said its local order will end on Thursday and be replaced by less-restrictive measures. Trails and parks will be open for hiking, biking and horse riding as long as visitors wear masks.

    Health officials, however, warn that more mingling brings the potential for more infection and the government should tread gingerly when easing restrictions so as not to ignite another surge in coronavirus cases.

    Newsom’s beach order follows a weekend in which some 80,000 people flocked to Newport Beach in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, with thousands more gathering at beaches in Ventura County, north of LA.

    An Orange County supervisor, Donald P. Wagner, issued a statement saying he believes Newsom has the power to close local beaches but “it is not wise to do so”.

    “Orange County citizens have been cooperative with state and county restrictions thus far. I fear that this overreaction from the state will undermine that cooperative attitude and our collective efforts to fight the disease,” he said.

    Beaches in Los Angeles County remain closed.

    Lifeguards said most people appeared to be heeding social distance safety rules such as limiting groups and not lingering on the sand. But the crowds irked Newsom, who has said California’s 40 million residents should try to stay home as much as possible.

    “This virus doesn’t take the weekends off. This virus doesn’t go home because it’s a beautiful sunny day around our coasts,” he said on Monday.

    The same day, beaches across San Diego County reopened. A day later, Newport Beach officials rejected a plan to close city beaches for three consecutive weekends.

    California is approaching 50,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 2,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, although the number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested.

    However, virus hospitalisations have been virtually flat for several weeks in California and the state has dodged the dreaded massive surge of patients seen in New York and several other states.

    Newsom has praised Californians for helping flatten the curve of the outbreak through social distancing and is reluctant to follow the examples of Georgia, Florida and several other states that are moving more rapidly to reopen.

    Newsom reiterated on Wednesday it would be weeks before he makes the first significant modification to the state order, urging people to remain at home to prevent unintended outbreaks among the state’s most high-risk populations, including nursing homes.

    “It won’t be on the basis of pressure, it won’t be on the basis of what we want, but what we need to do,” Newsom said. “And what we need to do from my humble perspective is listen to the public health experts.”

    But each of the state’s 58 counties have their own public health experts, and many are starting to ask Newsom to open up the state. This week, seven rural Northern California counties with low numbers of COVID-19 cases have asked Newsom to let them reopen.

    In the San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Clara County Health Director Dr Sara Cody said local officials have come up with their own metrics to measure infection rates, hospitalisations and testing to ensure that infections do not start rising again. If that happens, she said, stricter rules will return.

    “I wish I could give you a set timeline for when this was going to end. My family asks me, my friends ask me – we don’t have a date,” she said, noting that there still is no vaccine, so “we are going to need to have protections in place for a very, very long time.”

    Source: AP NEWS AGENCY

  • California passes landmark gig economy rights bill

    Lawmakers in California have passed a law that paves the way for gig economy workers to get holiday and sick pay.

    Assembly Bill 5, as its known, will affect companies such as Uber and Lyft, which depend on those working in the gig economy.

    Some estimates suggest costs for those firms would increase by 30% if they have to treat workers as employees.

    Read:California Governor supports bill that could upend Uber, Lyft model

    But opponents of the bill say it will hurt those that want to work flexible hours.

    The business models of gig economy companies are already under strain – Uber lost more than $5bn in the last quarter alone. Some estimates suggest that having to treat workers as employees, rather than independent contractors, could increase costs by as much as 30%.

    Read:California governor to halt executions

    Uber and rival ridesharing service Lyft joined forces to push back again the bill. They suggested a guaranteed minimum wage of $21 per hour instead of the sweeping changes the bill would bring.

    But that pledge wasn’t enough to sway California’s Senate, and the state’s governor Gavin Newsom is expected to soon sign the bill into law. That paves the way for California’s 1 million gig workers to gain added rights next year.

    Source: bbc.com