Category Archives: West Coast

Hawaii’s Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupts

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The eruption began early Monday in a remote area that last saw lava a half-century ago, with ‘absolutely no property in danger’

Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting early on Monday in a remote area that last erupted a half-century ago, the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

The eruption is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Kilauea caldera, in an area within Hawaii Volcanoes national park that last erupted in December 1974. The area surrounding the caldera has been closed to the public since 2008 because of other hazards, including ground cracking, instability in the crater wall and rockfalls.

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California firefighters contain 75% of state’s largest wildfire so far this year

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Fire east of San Francisco was significantly surrounded after reportedly scorching more than 22 sq miles over the weekend

California’s largest wildfire so far this year was significantly surrounded on Monday after blackening a swath of hilly grasslands between San Francisco bay and the Central valley.

The Corral fire was 75% contained after scorching more than 22 sq miles (57 sq km) over the weekend, the California department of forestry and fire protection, or Cal Fire, said. One home was destroyed and two firefighters were injured.

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College students leave behind hoard of trash at California’s Shasta Lake

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Despite being asked to clean up after themselves, about 3,000 students celebrating Memorial Day weekend left piles of debris

College students celebrating Memorial Day weekend by California’s Shasta Lake left behind hoard of trash, according to US Forest Service officials.

Last weekend, approximately 3,000 students from the University of California, Davis and the University of Oregon partied at Shasta Lake, a 30,000-acre reservoir in the golden state, and left piles of debris cluttered around the lake.

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California firefighters battle wind-driven wildfire near San Francisco

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Two fire workers injured after Corral Fire, which began Saturday afternoon, spread overnight east of San Francisco

California firefighters aided by aircraft battled a wind-driven wildfire that began Saturday and continued burning early Sunday morning in an area straddling the San Francisco Bay Area and central California, authorities said.

The Corral Fire began Saturday afternoon near the city of Tracy, 60 miles (96km ) east of San Francisco, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the city of Livermore, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection, or Cal Fire.

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Beloved surfboard-stealing otter seen in California after disappearing for months

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Photos of otter 841, who gave birth to a pup last year, show her floating over holiday weekend in popular Santa Cruz surfing spot

Otter 841, who shot to international fame last year for her surfboard-stealing interactions with northern California surfers and kayakers, has been spotted recently after disappearing for several months. Over Memorial day weekend, photos of the now six-year-old otter posted to social media showed her floating on her back at Steamer Lane, a popular surfing spot in Santa Cruz. She was identified by her signature blue tag attached to one of her flippers.

Otter 841 began making waves last summer after Mark Woodward, a local photographer, began posting images and videos to social media of her biting and commandeering surfboards. People were captivated by her fearlessness when interacting with humans and quickly projected human motivations to her behavior.

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David DePape apologizes for attacking Paul Pelosi and gets 30-year sentence – again

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DePape, who didn’t get to speak in court in original trial on assault of Nancy’s Pelosi’s husband, gets no change to original sentence

The man who was convicted of assaulting then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in 2022 was re-sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday, with no change in the original sentence after the case was reopened so he could speak during his sentencing hearing, local news reported.

David DePape was originally sentenced to 30 years in prison on 17 May for forcibly entering Pelosi’s home in San Francisco early on 28 October 2022 and clubbing her husband, Paul, in the head with a hammer in a politically motivated attack.

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‘One of a kind’ NBA champion and broadcaster Bill Walton dies at 71

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  • Center won championships with Portland and Boston
  • Walton became a popular broadcaster after playing career

Hall of fame basketball star and two-time NBA champion Bill Walton has died of cancer at the age of 71, the NBA announced on Monday.

“Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.”

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Mike Tyson ‘doing great’ after health issue on flight to Los Angeles

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Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson suffered an apparent medical scare on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles on Sunday

Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson suffered an apparent medical scare on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles on Sunday. The incident came in the run-up to a scheduled July bout between the 57-year-old and YouTuber turned fighter Jake Paul in Dallas.

According to In Touch Weekly, passengers heard an announcement asking for medical professionals roughly 30 minutes before the plane landed in LA. Passengers were reportedly delayed from disembarking for 25 minutes after the flight landed so paramedics could attend to Tyson.

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How Oregon’s right-to-die law has inspired other US states and countries

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More than 3,000 people have used the law, inspiring legislation in Australia and Canada and debate in the UK, France and Japan

It’s three decades since Ann Jackson voted against the first assisted-dying law in the world.

But after watching two partners succumb to cancer, and fearing the prospect of a lingering death herself as she grapples with autoimmune diseases, Jackson is now a vigorous proponent of the Oregon legislation used by thousands of people to end their own lives, and providing a blueprint for other US states and countries considering similar laws, including the UK.

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California hospital hosts wedding so ailing dad can walk daughter down aisle

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Abraham Arceo was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, and family not sure he would make it to ceremony – until hospital intervened

Hospital staff in California helped a dying man fulfill his wish of walking his daughter down the aisle by hosting the pushed-up wedding ceremony in the facility’s chapel.

Abraham Arceo was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year ago, and his condition worsened in recent weeks to the point his family members were not sure he would make it to the planned date of his daughter Brittny’s marriage to her fiance, Alan Tran, on 28 June.

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‘Psychologically tortured’: California city pays man nearly $1m after 17-hour police interrogation

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Officers threatened to kill the dog of Thomas Perez Jr as they pressured him to falsely confess to killing his father, who was alive

A California city has agreed to pay $900,000 to a man who was subjected to a 17-hour police interrogation in which officers pressured him to falsely confess to murdering his father, who was alive.

During the 2018 interrogation of Thomas Perez Jr by police in Fontana, a city east of Los Angeles, officers suggested they would have Perez’s dog euthanized as a result of his actions, according to a complaint and footage of the encounter. A judge said the questioning appeared to be “unconstitutional psychological torture”, and the city agreed to settle Perez’s lawsuit for $898,000, his lawyer announced this week.

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Oregon voters oust progressive district attorney for police-endorsed challenger

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Mike Schmidt conceded the Multnomah county election, where Portland is located, to Nathan Vasquez amid political upheaval in the state

Oregon voters have ousted the progressive district attorney of Multnomah county, who had pledged to reform the criminal justice system, in favor of a centrist challenger endorsed by several police groups.

Mike Schmidt conceded the election on Wednesday afternoon in a phone call to challenger Nathan Vasquez, one of his deputies. Vasquez, who has worked as a prosecutor in Multnomah county, where Portland is located, since 2001, had campaigned on promises to improve the office’s relationship with police, address the city’s drug crisis and seek more prosecutions. He won Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary election after returns showed him receiving more than 50% of the vote.

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Cassie shares plea to ‘believe victims’ after Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs assault video

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Statement follows CNN release of 2016 surveillance video, after Cassie sued Combs, accusing him of rape and abuse

Cassie has spoken out following CNN’s release of a 2016 surveillance video that showed her ex-boyfriend and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs violently attacking her in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel.

On Thursday, Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, released a statement on Instagram, saying, “Thank you for all the love and support from my family, friends, strangers and those I have yet to meet. The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning.

In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.

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Farm owners in California mass shooting to pay workers $450,000

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Workplace killings in 2023 revealed hazardous working conditions of migrant farmworkers in Half Moon Bay

The owners of two mushroom farms in northern California where a disgruntled employee shot and killed seven people last year will pay a total of more than $450,000 in back wages and damages to 62 employees.

In an announcement released on Monday following an extensive investigation, the US labor department said the payment is an element of administrative settlements reached by the department’s wage and hour division with California Terra Garden and Concord Farms.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces new lawsuit from ex-model alleging sexual assault

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Crystal McKinney’s suit is sixth complaint in six months against rapper, claiming he assaulted her in 2003 at his New York studio

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing a new lawsuit from former model Crystal McKinney who says she was forced to perform oral sex on him at his recording studio in New York City in 2003. This comes just days after Combs says he took “full responsibility” for beating ex-girlfriend Cassie after a video of that incident surfaced.

The new lawsuit – the sixth complaint of sexual assault filed against Combs in six months – alleges that McKinney, then 22, met Combs at a Men’s Fashion Week event at a Manhattan restaurant.

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‘P-22’s spirit’: new mountain lion seen in LA over a year after celebrity cougar’s death

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Animal spotted in Griffith Park, where ‘Brad Pitt of mountain lions’ P-22 lived, bringing excitement at possibility of a new cat in area

It’s been more than a year since the death of P-22, a beloved Los Angeles cougar known as the “Brad Pitt of mountain lions” whose passing inspired murals, songs and celebrations across the city.

P-22, who was euthanized in December 2022 due to health issues, was the only known big cat living in the city’s famed Griffith Park. So when residents spied an unidentified mountain lion in the park last week, people were abuzz with excitement at the possibility of another cat, probably a young male, making a home in the area.

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Academic workers at UC Santa Cruz strike over crackdown on Gaza protests

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Union says response of University of California to pro-Palestine demonstrations violates rights of advocates and workers

Academic workers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, took to the picket line on Monday morning as part of a rolling strike in protest against the university system’s response to pro-Palestine demonstrations.

The campus is the first in the University of California to do so as part of a systemwide protest against the public university, which union members argue violated the rights of pro-Palestinian advocates and workers.

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David DePape, who bludgeoned Nancy Pelosi’s husband, sentenced to 30 years

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DePape, a rightwing conspiracy theorist, broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home in 2022 and hit Paul Pelosi with a hammer

David DePape, a rightwing conspiracy theorist who broke into Nancy Pelosi’s northern California home in 2022 and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

A federal jury convicted him of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official in November 2023, just over a year after the attack in the former House speaker’s San Francisco home.

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Teen who texted 911 rescued after she was trafficked to California from Mexico

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In texts received in Spanish and translated to English, the girl tried to describe her location, though she did not know where she was

Authorities rescued a 17-year old girl after she was trafficked to Ventura county, California, from Mexico two months ago and texted 911 for help.

On Thursday, the Ventura county sheriff’s office announced that on 9 May authorities rescued the girl after she sent messages to 911. The text message correspondence began with a call taker at a 911 communication center, according to the sheriff’s office, which added that the messages were received in Spanish and translated into English.

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University president in California on leave after agreeing to campus protesters’ demands

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Mike Lee told students that Sonoma State would become first US university to refuse to work with Israeli academic institutions

A public university in California has placed its president on leave for “insubordination” after he agreed to student demands for an academic boycott of Israel.

Mike Lee was suspended from Sonoma State University following an announcement on Tuesday that the liberal arts college north of San Francisco had agreed with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to become the first US university to refuse to work with Israeli academic institutions.

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