Category Archives: West Coast

Exxon sues California over climate laws, alleging free speech violations

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Oil firm asks court to block enforcement of laws that would require disclosure of planet-heating carbon emissions

Exxon, an oil firm consistently ranked among the world’s top contributors to global carbon emissions, is suing the state of California over two climate-focused state laws, arguing that the rules infringe upon the corporation’s right to free speech.

The 2023 laws, known collectively as the California Climate Accountability Package, will require large companies doing business in the state to disclose both their planet-heating carbon emissions and their climate-related financial risks, or face annual penalties.

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US airports report over 20 air traffic controller shortage incidents in one day

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Transportation secretary says figure is ‘one of the highest we’ve seen’ since 1 October as shutdown drags on

US airports have reported more than 20 incidents of air traffic controller shortages on Saturday, said Sean Duffy, transportation secretary, in the latest sign of the government shutdown’s impact.

A ground stop was issued by the agency at Los Angeles international airport due to the air traffic controller staffing shortages at around 11.30am ET (15.30 GMT). The restriction covered most of the southern California region and delays are likely when flights resume.

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Gavin Newsom confirms he is considering 2028 presidential run

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Democratic California governor and high-profile Trump critic plans to make decision after 2026 midterms

Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, told CBS News Sunday Morning he plans to make a decision on whether to run for president in 2028 once the 2026 midterm elections are over.

“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom said in response to a question on whether he would give serious thought to a White House bid after the 2026 elections. “I’d just be lying. And I’m not – I can’t do that.”

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Trump officials to send election observers to California and New Jersey

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Justice department targets two Democratic states holding off-year elections after requests from state Republicans

The Department of Justice is preparing to send federal election observers to California and New Jersey next month, targeting two Democratic states holding off-year elections following requests from state Republican parties.

The department announced it was planning to monitor polling sites in Passaic county, New Jersey, and five counties in southern and central California: Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno. The goal, according to the department, is “to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law”.

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Trump poised to send scores of federal agents to San Francisco

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Newsom calls move ‘right out of the dictator’s handbook’ as agents prepare for key immigration enforcement operation

The Trump administration appeared poised to send dozens of federal agents to the San Francisco Bay Area for a major immigration enforcement operation, prompting condemnation from California leaders.

Details of the deployment were still emerging, but it will reportedly involve more than 100 federal agents, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The agents are reportedly set to begin using the US Coast Guard base in Alameda, a city located across the bay from San Francisco. It remained unclear whether national guard troops would also be involved.

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Deputy US marshal and man shot during Ice operation in Los Angeles

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Investigation after federal officers shot at man during ‘targeted traffic stop’ and agent was hit by ricochet bullet

An investigation is ongoing after a man and a deputy US marshal were shot and injured on Tuesday morning during an immigration enforcement operation that took place in south Los Angeles, police said.

Reports from the Los Angeles police department said the incident was reported shortly before 9am and involved a federal agent being shot.

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Artillery shell exploded prematurely over California freeway during marines celebration

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Shrapnel fragments rained on vehicles parked on Interstate 5 including highway patrol and JD Vance’s detail

A live artillery shell exploded prematurely during a marines live-fire demonstration that launched over a southern California freeway in celebration of the military branch’s 250th anniversary, raining shrapnel down on a California Highway Patrol vehicle and a motorcycle that was part of JD Vance’s detail, according to a police report.

The New York Times reported that fragments that fell from the 155mm shell landed on vehicles parked on a ramp on Interstate 5 – a major artery through southern California – which governor Gavin Newsom had ordered closed after learning that military officials had no plans to close the freeway.

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Major highway in California to shut down as US marines fire live artillery over it

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Highway patrol announces last-minute, multihour closure due to military celebration including 155-mm artillery shells

A celebration marking the US marines’ 250th anniversary will shut down a major freeway artery through southern California on Saturday as the military plans to fire live 155mm artillery shells over the site.

The California highway patrol announced the closure at 6am Saturday, saying it would shut down an approximately 17-mile (27km) stretch of Interstate 5 for four hours near Camp Pendleton, a 125,000-acre (50,585-hectare) base in Oceanside in north-western San Diego county. The closure will remain in effect from 11am to 3pm.

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LA to declare state of emergency over Ice raids to assist affected families

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Move will allow county board of supervisors to provide rent relief for tenants amid immigration crack down on city

Los Angeles county officials voted Tuesday to declare a state of emergency that gives them power to provide assistance for residents they say have suffered financially from ongoing federal immigration raids.

The move allows the LA county board of supervisors to provide rent relief for tenants who have fallen behind as a result of the crackdown on immigrants. A local state of emergency can also funnel state money for legal aid and other services.

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‘Reckless’ behavior and dystopian AI: disturbing picture of suspect in Pacific Palisades fire emerges

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Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, allegedly used ChatGPT to create scenes of a city burning and to confide an obsession with fires

Just after midnight on New Year’s Day, a 29-year-old Uber driver named Jonathan Rinderknecht allegedly ignited what became the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history.

Nearly 10 months after the disaster, Rinderknecht’s arrest this week brought some closure to residents. Investigators say he was a troubled young man obsessed with fire, who tried to hide his role after setting a small blaze that reignited days later into a deadly inferno.

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Glacier melt will lead to ice-free peaks in California for first time in human history

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New research shows massive glaciers in Sierra Nevada projected to melt away by the beginning of the next century

Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are disappearing and projected to melt away completely by the beginning of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the first time in human history, new research has found.

The mountain range’s glaciers are older than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with some as old as the last ice age, according to an article published last week in Science Advances.

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No air traffic control crew at busy LA airport amid government shutdown staffing crunch

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Air traffic to the Hollywood Burbank Airport would be remotely managed for six hours on Monday night causing delays for travellers

Hollywood Burbank Airport in Los Angeles will have no air traffic control staff for nearly six hours on Monday evening, as the effects of the US government shutdown rippled across the country.

From 4.15pm until 10pm the Federal Aviation Administration anticipates there will be no air traffic controllers in their tower, although the FAA has said it is trying to bring in staffing sooner than that, according to ABC News.

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White House official inadvertently reveals plans to send elite army unit to Portland

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Anthony Salisbury displayed chat about deployment of 82nd airborne division on cell phone while in Minnesota

A senior White House official accidentally leaked details of plans to send an elite army unit to Portland, in the latest intelligence leak by the Trump administration.

Anthony Salisbury, a top deputy to Stephen Miller, the influential White House policy adviser, was observed using Signal in a public place to discuss a plan to deploy the army’s 82nd airborne division to Portland, the Democratic-run Oregon city which Donald Trump has repeatedly castigated as being “war-ravaged”.

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Large fire breaks out at el Segundo refinery in Los Angeles

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Emergency services attending scenes after receiving multiple reports of an explosion, according to US media

A fire broke out at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery, California governor Gavin Newsom’s press office said, with a county official adding that the flames had been confined to one area.

The cause of the blaze was not clear, the Los Angeles Times reported, while CBS said firefighters were called to the refinery in Los Angeles county after reports of an explosion.

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DoJ sues LA sheriff for processing concealed carry gun licenses too slowly

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‘Unreasonable delays’ in giving permits violates residents’ second amendment rights, claims justice department

The US Department of Justice sued the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department on Tuesday, alleging it violated the constitution by moving too slowly to process gun licenses for people who want to carry concealed weapons.

The sheriff’s department’s “unreasonable delays” in granting licenses violates California residents’ second amendment right to bear arms outside the home, the justice department’s civil rights division said in a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court.

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‘Dominant on the river’: 32 Chunk crowned champion in ‘biggest Fat Bear Week yet’

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Brown bear’s nearly 100,000 votes leads him to victory despite suffering for most of season with broken jaw

“The merely chubby have been winnowed away,” a naturalist intoned. “We are left with a clash of titans.”

After a record-breaking week of public voting, Katmai national park and preserve in Alaska has announced the winner of its “biggest Fat Bear Week yet”.

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Belva Davis, a journalist who ‘opened doors for a generation’, dies aged 92

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Friends and colleagues remember the first Black woman hired as a TV reporter on the west coast for her ‘courage, integrity, grace and humanity’

Unflappable. Fair. A mentor. The trailblazing journalist Belva Davis carried all of these traits, according to friends and colleagues, as they remembered the first Black woman hired as a television reporter on the west coast in the days following her death.

Davis entered television news in the 1960s, when the industry was dominated by white men, making her presence on screens especially pioneering. She died on Wednesday at the age of 92.

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Trump fires US attorney who told border agents to follow law on immigration raids

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New York Times reports Michele Beckwith’s firing came after she reminded Border Patrol to comply with courts

Donald Trump fired a top federal prosecutor in Sacramento just hours after she warned immigration agents they could not indiscriminately detain people in her district, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times.

Michele Beckwith, who became the acting US attorney in Sacramento in January, received an email at 4.31pm on 15 July notifying her that the president had ordered her termination.

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Eat salmon, win prizes: Fat Bear Week begins in Alaska’s Katmai national park

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Fattest brown bears, bulking up for hibernation, pitted against each other in online public vote – who will win?

It’s that time of year again, when audiences turn to a welcome distraction from the heavy news cycle: Katmai national park and preserve in southern Alaska is celebrating its fattest brown bears.

The park is set to kick off its annual Fat Bear Week on Tuesday, an online competition where the public votes for the park’s fattest brown bear.

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California becomes first state to ban face coverings for most law enforcement

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Local and federal agents, including immigration officials, may not wear masks while conducting official business

California will be the first state to ban most law enforcement, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business under a bill signed by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, on Saturday.

The ban is California’s direct response to a recent series of immigration raids in Los Angeles where federal agents wore masks while making mass arrests. The raids prompted protests and led Donald Trump to deploy national guard troops and marines to the city.

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