Californians rush to see rare ‘corpse plant’ that only blooms for 48 hours

Bloom of the plant, which emits a putrid odor of rotting flesh, began Sunday and quickly drew visitors to botanical garden

The bloom of a giant and stinky Sumatran flower nicknamed the “corpse plant” because it smells like a dead body is drawing huge crowds to a southern California botanical garden.

The bloom of the Amorphophallus titanum plant began Sunday afternoon at the San Diego Botanic Gardens in Encinitas. By Monday morning, timed-entry tickets had sold out, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported, and more than 5,000 people were expected to have visited the garden by Tuesday evening.

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Three dead and dozens injured after boat capsizes near San Diego

  • Officials believe boat was being used to bring migrants into US
  • Commercial boat reported vessel overturning on rocks

The US coast guard has ended its search for survivors after a boat capsized off the coast of San Diego, leaving three people dead and dozens injured.

Officials believe the boat, which had at least 30 people onboard, was being used to smuggle migrants into the US and the man who was captaining the vessel has been taken into custody.

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Gorillas at San Diego zoo test positive for Covid-19 – video

Several gorillas at the San Diego zoo have tested positive for Covid-19, with the cases believed to be the first outbreak among primates in captivity. 

After showing mild symptoms of the virus including coughing, the presence of Covid-19 was confirmed through faecal testing. 

The animals will remain in their habitat in the park and have been quarantined together, with the zoo hopeful of a full recovery

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Gorillas at San Diego Zoo test positive for Covid in apparent first

Gorillas are thought to have been infected by wildlife worker in what is believed to be first outbreak among captive primates

Several gorillas at the San Diego zoo safari park have tested positive for coronavirus, with some experiencing symptoms, in what is believed to be the first outbreak among such primates in captivity.

The park’s executive director, Lisa Peterson, told the Associated Press on Monday that eight gorillas who live together at the park are believed to have the virus and several have been coughing. Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, confirmed at his Monday news briefing that at least two gorillas had tested positive while three were symptomatic.

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Statue of former California governor Pete Wilson removed in San Diego

  • Protests highlighted legacy on immigration and gay rights
  • Republican, 87, does not immediately comment

A statue of the former California governor Pete Wilson was removed from a San Diego park after critics said the governor supported laws and policies that hurt immigrants and the LGBTQ community.

The 13-year-old statue near Horton Plaza Park was removed by Horton Walk, the non-profit that owns it, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Horton Walk’s president, Steve Williams, wrote in an email that no decision had been made on whether it will be returned.

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Bioluminescent waves dazzle surfers in California: ‘Never seen anything like it’

Crowds are coming to see the light show as beaches begin to reopen after an almost month-long closure due to coronavirus

Mother nature has provided a radical gift to nighttime beach-goers in southern California, in the form of bioluminescent waves that crash and froth with an otherworldly light.

Related: California eases Covid-19 restrictions, allowing some businesses to reopen

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Porn site to pay $12.7m to women who didn’t know videos would be posted

GirlsDoPorn was sued by women who claimed they were coerced into making videos without knowing footage would be online

A US judge has awarded $13m in damages to 22 women who were defrauded by the owners of GirlsDoPorn, a website specialising in “amateur”-style pornography.

Related: Group of US women sue 'amateur' porn producer over 'coercion and lies'

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Sirhan Sirhan, the man who shot Robert Kennedy, stable after prison stabbing

75-year-old killer hospitalised after being wounded in jail in San Diego, government source confirms

Sirhan Sirhan, who has been jailed for more than 50 years for the assassination of Senator Robert F Kennedy, was in stable condition in hospital on Saturday after being stabbed by a fellow inmate at a San Diego prison.

Related: James R Leavelle, detective handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald when he was shot, dies aged 99

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‘She took the bullet for all of us’: rabbi recounts San Diego synagogue shooting

Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein says worshipper Lori Kaye died protecting him from a 19-year-old man who opened fire at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego. Goldstein lost one of his index fingers when he held up his hands in defence as the gunman fired. In an emotional statement, he recalled how Kaye threw herself between the gunman and him. Two others were wounded in the attack

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Rabbi wounded in synagogue shooting says ‘senseless hate’ killings must stop

A defiant Yisroel Goldstein, who was shot at point blank range in California attack, says ‘we are being mown down like animals’

The rabbi wounded in the shooting at his synagogue in California has said it was a miracle he was not dead and that “senseless hate” killings based on religion must stop.

“We are being mown down like animals,” said Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, lost both his index fingers when he held up his hands in defense as the gunman shot him.

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Trump’s record on white nationalism under new scrutiny after synagogue shooting

Kellyanne Conway, the president’s counselor, sought to defend Trump’s record during CNN interview: ‘He does think it’s a threat’

The Trump administration faced fresh scrutiny on Sunday over the president’s fraught record on white nationalism in the wake of a suspected hate crime at a synagogue in California on Saturday, which left one woman dead and three injured.

Trump unequivocally condemned the shooting, telling a rally on Saturday evening in Wisconsin: “Our entire nation mourns the loss of life, prays for the wounded, and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community. We forcefully condemn the evil of anti-Semitism and hate, which must be defeated.”

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San Diego synagogue shooting: vigil held for victims – video report

Dozens of residents gathered on Saturday evening for a vigil of song and prayer at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian church in San Diego, after a 19-year-old gunman opened fire on worshippers inside a nearby synagogue, killing a woman and wounding a rabbi and two other people. The suspect claimed to have been motivated by the deadly attack on two mosques in New Zealand last month

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John Earnest: San Diego shooting suspect posted ‘open letter’ online

Antisemitic screed says 19-year-old was motivated by New Zealand mosque massacres and Pittsburgh synagogue shooting

Full report: one dead and three injured in synagogue shooting

The 19-year-old California man detained by police after a hate-motivated shooting at a synagogue near San Diego claimed to have been motivated by the deadly attack on two mosques in New Zealand last month.

Police in the US said the gunman, named as John T Earnest, opened fire inside the synagogue in Poway, about 30 kilometres north of San Diego, killing one person and injuring three others including a rabbi.

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Bernie Sanders visit shows California could hold key to 2020 victory

Weekend of rallies highlight how state’s diverse electorate and new early spot on primary calendar make it a prize for Democratic candidates

Bernie Sanders brought his anti-establishment message and calls for progressive reform to California, no longer as a long-shot presidential candidate but as a frontrunner with a good chance to win it all.

On Friday evening, Sanders kicked off a rally in sunny San Diego by thanking the thousands of supporters who had gathered, alongside a handful of right-wing protesters, for joining his “political revolution”.

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