Category Archives: West Coast

Man accused of starting California’s largest wildfire of the year is arrested

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Suspect allegedly pushed burning car into gully which started Park fire as other fires scorch Pacific north-west

A California man was arrested on Thursday and accused of starting the state’s largest wildlife of the year by pushing a burning car into a gully.

The flames have since exploded into what is now the Park fire, which has burned more than 71,000 acres (28,733 hectares) near the city of Chico. Evacuations were ordered in Butte and Tehama counties, with the blaze only 3% contained early on Thursday.

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A true California hot spot: fire ants invade town loved by celebrities

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Stings from the critters invading Montecito can be painful, can displace native wildlife and are a hazard to agriculture

A tony town in California’s central coast where celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Prince Harry have bought properties, has become a hot spot for another reason: an active infestation of red imported fire ants.

The Santa Barbara county agricultural commissioner’s office is addressing an active infestation of these ants in Montecito, California, according to a statement issued last week.

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Ballot measure to build billionaire-funded city in California withdrawn

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Firm behind ‘California Forever’, a proposed green city for up to 400,000 people on farmland, pulls back from vote

The company behind the highly criticized “California Forever” project, a plan backed by Silicon Valley billionaires to build a green city for up to 400,000 people on California farmland, withdrew the ballot measure for the election in November, according to a letter released Monday.

The decision followed a discussion between Mitch Mashburn, chair of the board of supervisors in Solano county, and Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader and chief executive of California Forever.

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Utah firefighters battle to contain wildfire in hills above state capitol

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Utah brush fire started Saturday and quickly grew to 200 acres, while in southern California fires forced evacuations

A wildfire in Salt Lake City forced people living uphill from Utah’s state capitol to evacuate, and it remained uncontained on Sunday as more than 100 firefighters worked to protect nearby homes.

Meanwhile in southern California, flames descended on the residential neighborhood of Riverside, forcing evacuations. Fires were also burning in Colusa and Lake counties in the north of the state. And in Oregon and Washington state, more than 500,000 people were under red flag warnings over the weekend.

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‘A wise investment’: Trump’s $6,000 gift to Kamala Harris comes back to bite him

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Records show Donald and Ivanka Trump made donations to vice-president’s California attorney general re-election bid

Donald Trump has moved swiftly to turn his attack machine on to the vice-president in the wake of Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race, dusting off his derisive nickname for her: “Laffin’ Kamala Harris”.

But as the Republican nominee refocuses his campaign to target Harris, there is one awkward truth that Trump will have to face. What about that check for $5,000 dated 26 September 2011, bearing Trump’s distinctive signature, and made payable to one “Attorney General Kamala D Harris”?

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Disneyland workers in Anaheim, California, vote to authorize strike

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Largest US strike so far this year could take place if negotiations, including over wages, fail next week

Members of four unions representing 14,000 workers at the Disneyland in Anaheim, California, have voted to authorize a strike amid contract negotiations.

The vote does not mean the workers will go on strike yet, but that the unions can call a strike at any point. If a strike takes place, it will be the largest strike so far in 2024.

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Syrian official who ran prison where detainees alleged torture arrested in US

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Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, 72, who oversaw notorious Adra prison, detained at LAX on immigration fraud charges

A former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where human rights officials say torture and abuse routinely took place has been arrested in Los Angeles, court documents show.

Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, 72, was taken into custody last week at Los Angeles international airport on immigration fraud charges, specifically that he denied on his US visa and citizenship applications that he had ever persecuted anyone in Syria, according to a criminal complaint filed on 9 July. Investigators are considering additional charges, the complaint shows.

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Adam Schiff says Biden should ‘pass the torch’ and bow out of 2024 US election

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California Democrat and US Senate candidate calls on Joe Biden to end his campaign, stating he has ‘serious concerns’

Adam Schiff, the high-profile California Democrat and US Senate candidate, on Wednesday called on Joe Biden to end his presidential campaign, stating he had “serious concerns” about the president’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles-area congressman joined almost 20 other congressional Democrats in asking the president to step aside. Biden “has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history”, Schiff said, but it was time “to pass the torch”.

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Las Vegas sets record for number of days over 115F amid its ‘most extreme heatwave in history’

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City hits all-time high of 120F as officials set up emergency cooling centers at community centers across south Nevada

Las Vegas set a new record on Wednesday as it marked a fifth consecutive day over 115F (46C), amid a lingering hot spell that will continue scorching much of the US into the weekend.

The blazing hot temperatures climbed to 115F shortly after 1pm at Harry Reid international airport, breaking the old mark of four consecutive days above 115F set in July 2005.

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US heatwave tied to four Oregon deaths as temperature records are shattered

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More than 146 million Americans under extreme heat alerts as dangerous weather fuels outbreak of new wildfires

A fierce heatwave has shattered temperature records across the US west and has been tied to at least four deaths in Oregon, with more heat on the way as dangerous weather fueled the outbreak of new wildfires.

Oregon faced triple-digit temperatures and saw several records toppled over the weekend, including in Salem, where on Sunday it hit 103F (39.4C), topping the 99F (37.2C) mark set in 1960. Authorities in Multnomah county – home to Portland, where temperatures broke daily records over the weekend – said they were investigating four suspected deaths tied to the heatwave.

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Motorcyclist dies from heat exposure in Death Valley as temperature reaches 128F

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Another visitor in same motorcycle group hospitalized for ‘severe heat illness’ as other four members treated at scene

A visitor to Death Valley national park died Sunday from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized as the temperature reached 128F (53.3C) in eastern California, officials said.

The two visitors were part of a group of six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area amid scorching weather, the park said.

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‘Potentially historic’ heatwave threatens more than 130m across US

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Temperatures could crest 100F (38C) in many regions after breaking records and sparking dozens of wildfires

A long-running heatwave that has already broken records, sparked dozens of wildfires and left about 130 million people under a high temperature threat is about to intensify enough that the National Weather Service has deemed it “potentially historic”.

The NWS on Saturday reported some type of extreme heat or advisory for nearly 133 million people across the nation – mostly in western states where the triple-digit heat, with temperatures 15 to 30 degrees fahrenheit higher than average, is expected to last into next week.

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US swelters on Independence Day with over 150m people under heat alerts

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‘Severe’ and ‘potentially record-breaking’ heatwave sends temperatures soaring across US

More than 150 million people were under heat alerts on Thursday morning, as a brutal and potentially historic heatwave sent temperatures soaring across the US on Independence Day with little chance of relief over the next week, even after dark.

Forecasters warned that high overnight temperatures and the long-lasting duration of the extreme event will increase the danger, posing additional risks to human health and the rapid spread of wildfires.

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California neo-Nazi found guilty of murder of former classmate

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Samuel Woodward faces life without parole after conviction in killing of Blaze Bernstein, 19, in Orange county in 2018

A southern California jury has convicted Samuel Woodward of the 2018 murder of former high school classmate Blaze Bernstein, following a three month-long trial that re-excavated a brutal killing that made international headlines for the perpetrator’s membership in the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division organization.

Bernstein, a 19-year-old pre-med student at the University of Pennsylvania, disappeared on 2 January 2018 after meeting up with Woodward, then 20, that evening. The pair, who had attended the Orange County High School for the Arts together, had reconnected over the dating app Tinder. Bernstein’s body was found six days later, buried in a park in Orange county. Woodward was the last person Bernstein was in contact with, and immediately fell under suspicion.

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Nearly 30,000 people in northern California evacuated as raging wildfire spreads

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Thompson fire near Oroville destroys homes and vehicles as state simmers in brutal and potentially historic heatwave

Thousands of homes are under threat from a raging wildfire that erupted in northern California on Tuesday, as the state simmers in a brutal and potentially historic heatwave.

Roughly 28,000 residents have been forced to evacuate as the Thompson fire quickly swept across more than 3,500 acres (1,416 hectares) near the city of Oroville, about an hour outside Sacramento, California’s capital.

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Brutal California heatwave to coincide with Fourth of July wildfire risks

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Sweltering conditions and power shutoffs may overlap with errant fireworks or badly tended campfires

A brutal and long-lasting heatwave is threatening to wreak havoc across the US west this week, as sweltering conditions, power shutoffs and a severe uptick in wildfire risks coincide with Fourth of July celebrations.

Nearly 90 million people were under heat alerts from the National Weather Service on Tuesday morning, as swaths of the south-central and western US were scorched. As pressure builds over the west through the week, the dangerous weather event is expected to stretch for days with little reprieve.

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Firefighters near Phoenix battle wildfire as temperatures surpass 100F

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Residents evacuate after Boulder View fire rips alongside Scottsdale, and wildfires in California and Oregon rage

A wildfire north-east of Phoenix has, as of Saturday, threatened scores of homes, forced dozens of residents to evacuate and required more than 200 firefighters to battle it.

No structures have been damaged as the wildfire has traversed nearly 6 sq miles (15 sq km) on the cusp of the Boulder Heights subdivision of Scottsdale, said Matthew Wilcox, spokesperson for a multi-agency wildfire response team.

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Michael Jackson was more than $500m in debt when he died in 2009

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Court filing details how the King of Pop was in financial straits as he was preparing to embark on his This Is It tour

Michael Jackson had accumulated more than half a billion dollars of debt when he died in 2009, new court documents reveal.

A 21 June court filing by the executors of his estate provided some of the most complete details yet about the strained finances with which the 13-time Grammy winner was grappling at the time of his death.

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Wind-driven wildfire spreads near popular Oregon vacation spot

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Officials urged the continued evacuations of hundreds of homes in the area as stronger winds were forecasted

A wildfire near a popular vacation destination in Oregon’s high desert has been spreading rapidly since erupting on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of families out of heir homes and businesses.

The fire exploded near the popular vacation destination of Bend in central Oregon, an area known for its microbreweries, hiking, river rafting and skiing on nearby Mount Bachelor.

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California dad who drove family off cliff sentenced to mental health care instead of trial

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Judge rules Dharmesh Patel, whose car dove off cliff in 2023, will be monitored by GPS and check in with court weekly

A California radiologist accused of trying to kill his family by driving off a cliff along the northern California coast will receive mental health treatment instead of standing trial, a judge ruled.

Prosecutors charged Dharmesh A Patel, 43, with attempted murder after the Tesla he was driving plunged off a 250ft (76 meters) cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo county, injuring his wife and two young children. All four survived the 2 January 2023 crash in what one official called an “absolute miracle”.

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