Highly contagious virus has particularly ravaged California’s Sonoma county, know as the ‘Egg Basket of the World’
Last month, Mike Weber got the news every poultry farmer fears: his chickens tested positive for avian flu.
Following government rules, Weber’s company, Sunrise Farms, had to slaughter its entire flock of egg-laying hens – 550,000 birds – to prevent the disease from infecting other farms in Sonoma county north of San Francisco.
Continue reading...Monica Laso survives ordeal on Heavenly gondola in California ski resort, where temperatures fell to 23F (-5C)
A snowboarder visiting a California resort survived freezing temperatures after accidentally getting stuck in a gondola overnight.
Monica Laso’s story, as she told it to NBC affiliate KCRA, vividly illustrated how suddenly and unexpectedly leisure trips can turn into near-death experiences.
Continue reading...Prosecutors allege Rebecca Grossman, 60, was speeding when she hit brothers Mark Iskander, 11, and Jakob Iskander, eight
More than three years ago, a Los Angeles socialite allegedly fatally struck two young boys as they were crossing the street. Now a jury will decide whether Rebecca Grossman is guilty of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving.
This week jurors heard opening statements in the long-awaited trial of Grossman for the deaths of brothers Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander, eight.
Continue reading...Body of San Francisco woman, 27, recovered near site of crash involving single-engine plane believed to be carrying four people
A plane that crashed into ocean south of San Francisco on Sunday was a light aircraft that can be built from a kit, authorities have said.
Officials also said on Tuesday that they had identified a body that was found in the water near where the Cozy Mark IV plane crashed as a 27-year-old San Francisco resident.
Continue reading...Andrew Lyons and another sheriff’s deputy shot at Twyman 34 times while he was inside his car in south Los Angeles
A former Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot an unarmed 24-year-old man in his car in 2019 was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Friday.
Andrew Lyons, one of two deputies who fired a barrage of bullets at Ryan Twyman in a parking lot in south Los Angeles, pleaded no contest to assault with a firearm and assault under color of authority, said the district attorney, George Gascón.
Continue reading...Authorities say currently no reports of missing people as a major snow and wind storm moves into the California region
An avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, sweeping up four people and killing one, as a major storm with snow and gusty winds moved into the region, authorities said.
The avalanche prompted Palisades Tahoe to close 30 minutes after it opened, and search crews combed the area to see if anyone was injured or trapped.
Continue reading...Beads, believed to be remnants of a floating dock and made of polystyrene, can harm environment and aquatic life, say experts
The shores of Lake Tahoe were dusted with white after winter weather hit the area over the weekend. It wasn’t snow, however, but thousands of small plastic styrofoam beads.
A storm released the pollutants, the remains of a floating dock, on to the shoreline of Incline Village beaches. Staff with Clean Up the Lake, a local non-profit, and at least two dozen volunteers staged a major cleanup to clear the area, which has faced a host of environmental problems in recent years amid a surge in tourism and popularity.
Continue reading...Wenheng Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty in October to passing sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence officer
A US navy petty officer who pleaded guilty to providing sensitive military information to a Chinese intelligence officer was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Monday, the US justice department said.
Wenheng Zhao, 26, and another US sailor, Jinchao Wei, were arrested in August on suspicion of spying for China.
Continue reading...Woman rescued on Sunday after driving car off road leading to Mount Baldy on Wednesday and surviving low temperatures
A woman fell nearly 100ft while driving on a road in the California wilderness and was trapped for four days before being rescued on Sunday, according to authorities.
The unnamed woman survived low temperatures, precipitation and other natural elements after she inadvertently drove her car off the road leading to Mount Baldy on Wednesday night, CBS News reported.
Continue reading...In latest move by University of California, Berkeley, law enforcement agencies arrested protesters and erected barrier
In a midnight operation, hundreds of police officers descended on People’s Park in Berkeley, California, to clear out the activists and unhoused campers occupying the area, to make way for the construction of a housing complex for students.
By dawn, the park that was once the centre of the 1960s antiwar and counterculture movement was walled off with shipping containers and surrounded by police.
Continue reading...Black residents were stopped the most, while Native Americans were searched most frequently compared to all racial groups
Law enforcement in California handcuffed and detained Black and Indigenous residents during traffic stops at significantly higher rates than white people in 2022, according to data released on Wednesday.
The annual racial profiling report from a state board analyzed 4.5m vehicle and pedestrian stops conducted by 535 law enforcement agencies, the first time departments from across the state contributed data.
Black residents were stopped the most, making up 5.4% of the state’s population, but 12.5% of stops.
Latinos were also disproportionately stopped, making up 32.4% of the population, but 42.9% of stops.
White and Asian American residents were stopped at lower rates than their proportion of the population.
Native Americans were searched most frequently compared to all racial groups, in 22.4% of stops, nearly twice the rate of white people, who were searched in 12.4% of stops. Native Americans were also handcuffed at the highest rate of all groups at 17.8% of stops, compared with less than 10% for white people.
Black residents were detained on the curb or in a patrol car at the highest rate, at 20.2% of stops, and also ordered to exit their cars more frequently than all other groups, at 7.1% of stops. Black residents were also issued a sole charge of resisting arrest at a rate more than three times the state average, making up 19.2% of those cases.
Continue reading...California, Illinois and Colorado among states implementing ‘red flag’ laws after US ends 2023 with more mass shootings than days
New gun safety laws are taking effect in several states around the US on 1 January after the country ended 2023 with more mass shootings than days.
States including California, Illinois and Colorado are starting the year by implementing extreme risk protection orders, more commonly referred to as “red flag” laws, as a means to prevent further gun violence. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 655 mass shootings in the US in 2023.
Continue reading...Central coast officials warn of 20ft waves while San Francisco Bay Area braces for 26-30ft waves
California’s coastal communities, already battered by powerful swells from Pacific storms on Friday, faced another round of towering waves and possible flooding on Saturday.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles forecast significant flooding in low-lying coastal areas with powerful waves and strong rip currents posing an “exceptional risk” of drowning and damage to structures like piers and jetties.
Continue reading...A group of 10 orcas has been seen leaping into the air to catch prey, delighting watchers and experts for the past two weeks
Experts and whale watchers have been dazzled by a series of orca sightings off the southern California coast that are being described as “extremely rare”.
A group of 10 whales – including a calf just a few months old – has been spotted for the past two weeks off the coast of southern California, between Oxnard and San Diego. Images from social media show the giant creatures leaping into the air to catch dolphins and coming within feet of boats full of eager viewers.
Continue reading...Body camera reveals Los Angeles deputy fired at woman who sought help for domestic violence as nine-year-old daughter watched
The Los Angeles sheriff’s department (LASD) released body-camera footage on Friday of an officer fatally shooting Niani Finlayson, 27, who had called 911 for help during a domestic violence incident.
The footage from the 4 December encounter showed that deputy Ty Shelton shot Finlayson four times within roughly three seconds of entering her home.
Continue reading...Six million people under high surf warning as powerful storms sweep through California and Oregon
Massive waves as tall as 30ft crashing on to California’s coast have caused injuries and property damage, prompting evacuation warnings.
At least eight people needed hospital treatment after towering waves crashed over seawalls in southern California on Thursday, engulfing seaside neighborhoods. On Friday, more than 6 million people remained under a high surf warning across California and Oregon. The National Weather Service (NWS) has predicted waves up to 40ft, warning: “Stay away from rocks, jetties, piers, and other waterside infrastructure. Never turn your back to the ocean!”
Continue reading...At least 16 states will fund largely unregulated facilities that try to convince people to continue their pregnancies
In the months since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, at least 16 states have agreed to funnel more than $250m in taxpayer dollars towards anti-abortion facilities and programs that try to convince people to continue their pregnancies.
Much of that money is set to go to anti-abortion counseling centers, or crisis pregnancy centers, according to data provided by the Guttmacher Institute and Equity Forward, organizations that support abortion rights. It has been paid out throughout 2023 and will stretch into 2025.
Continue reading...Rescuers were concerned about the man drowning, but were able to extricate him by using micro-explosives to break apart rocks
A California man who became trapped on the side of a cliff for days was finally rescued by first responders after a daring, nearly 24-hour rescue effort.
Rescue crews finally freed the man on Friday morning after he had been trapped in a hole for days near the side of the Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, California, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Continue reading...Electra Schrock arrested after alleged incident in Malibu, involving the actor, best known for sitcom Two and a Half Men
Actor Charlie Sheen has been allegedly attacked in his home by a neighbour who was later arrested by police, US media have reported.
Sheen, star of numerous movies and the hit television sitcom Two and a Half Men, was not seriously injured in the assault, allegedly carried out by 47-year-old Electra Schrock who had attacked him after knocking on the door of his home in the upmarket beachside neighbourhood of Malibu in California.
Continue reading...Far-right council members in Huntington Beach introduce agenda item to switch focus to US wars and America’s independence
The southern California city of Huntington Beach, a bastion of conservative voters, has made the move to block diverse monthlong celebrations of Black history, women’s history and Pride, in favor of observing the revolutionary and civil wars, California’s history and America’s independence.
An agenda item introduced on 19 December forbids any programming that pertains to previously established honorary celebrations for women, people of color and LGBTQ+ groups from taking place on city-owned property, including libraries, or of being featured in city communications such as social media posts, according to Natalie Moser, a city council member who voted against the action.
Continue reading...