Category Archives: California

Second world war ‘Ghost Boat’ emerges in California lake, puzzling officials

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The drought hit Lake Shasta coughed up a Higgins vehicle and experts are struggling to explain its presence

Waning water levels across the west – symptoms of the region’s record drought – have revealed yet another artifact.

Dubbed the “Ghost Boat” by officials, the rusted carcass of a second world war Higgins boat, used to transport troops into battle and on to beaches overseas, began to emerge from the shallows in Lake Shasta last fall. Levels have sunk low enough this year to excavate the craft fully.

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Kidnapping suspect’s brother arrested as California community mourns family

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Merced officers suspect Alberto Salgado helped destroy evidence in the abduction and killings of four members of the Singh family

The younger brother of a man suspected in the kidnapping and killings of an eight-month-old baby, her parents and an uncle, was arrested on suspicion he helped his brother destroy evidence, authorities said on Friday.

Alberto Salgado, 41, was arrested late Thursday and accused of criminal conspiracy, accessory and destroying evidence, the Merced county sheriff’s office said. He is booked in the Merced county jail – the same place where Jesus Salgado, 48, is being held on kidnapping and murder charges. It was not clear whether either brother had a lawyer who could speak on their behalf.

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California family who were kidnapped at gunpoint found dead

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Eight-month-old baby found dead with her mother, father and uncle in an orchard in Merced county

A family who were kidnapped at gunpoint from their central California business two days ago have been found dead.

A farm worker found the bodies of the baby girl, her parents and her uncle at an orchard in a remote area of Merced county, according to the local sheriff.

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Suspect in California kidnapping is in custody as family is still missing

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The man is suspected of abducting four, including an 8-month-old baby, and tried to kill himself before Merced police arrived

A man suspected of kidnapping a Sikh family, including an 8-month-old baby, in central California tried to kill himself Tuesday and is hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. The family is still missing.

The Merced county sheriff’s office said in a statement that investigators identified Jesus Salgado, 48, after he used a victim’s ATM card.

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California serial killer appears to be ‘on a mission’, as police link seven shootings

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Ballistics tests tie together fatal shooting in Oakland with killings of five men and the non-fatal shooting of a woman in Stockton

A California serial killer seems to be “on a mission” dating back to last year, which has seen the fatal shooting of at least six men and the wounding of one woman – but authorities have not figured out what’s behind the violence.

Ballistics tests and some video evidence linked the shootings in Stockton and Oakland, about 70 miles apart in northern California, police said.

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Hypothermia deaths of unhoused people rise sharply in Los Angeles, records reveal

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Data obtained by the Guardian shows at least 14 unhoused people froze to death in 2021, part of an overall surge in homeless deaths

At least 14 unhoused people froze to death on the streets of Los Angeles in 2021, new county data reveals, marking a sharp increase in reports of hypothermia fatalities and a grim sign of how dire the region’s homelessness catastrophe has become.

Out of 14 deaths where the LA coroner’s office cited “cold exposure” and hypothermia last year, six victims died on sidewalks, according to public records obtained by the Guardian. Four died in hospitals, and the others were found at a bus bench, a parking lot, a dried-up riverbed and an abandoned building. The death toll is significantly higher than previous years, with six reported hypothermia deaths in 2020, nine in 2019, seven in 2018 and three in 2017.

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Phoenix clinic devises workaround for abortion care after Arizona enforces ban

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The solution by Camelback Family Planning ensures patients can access pills and treatment without breaking the law

A Phoenix abortion clinic has come up with a way for patients who can end their pregnancy using a pill to get the medication quickly without running afoul of a resurrected Arizona law that bans most abortions.

Under the arrangement that began on Monday, patients will have an ultrasound in Arizona, get a prescription through a tele-health appointment with a California doctor and then have it mailed to a post office in a California border town for pickup, all for free.

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US supreme court to hear case on California’s ban on extreme confinement crates

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A ruling against the state’s Prop 12 animal welfare law could affect a range of regulations across the country

Next week, the US supreme court will hear oral arguments in a case that could put climate, public health and animal welfare regulations across the country on the chopping block – from California’s ban on gas-powered cars by 2035 to state bans on food packaging that contains BPA or lead.

The case will consider the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12, a law that bans the sale of meat and eggs from animals raised using certain kinds of extreme confinement. The pork industry has been fighting Prop 12 since it passed by ballot measure in 2018 – with more than 62% of the vote and the backing of animal advocacy groups like the Humane Society of the United States – because it bans gestation crates: metal enclosures where pregnant pigs are kept for most of their lives that are so small that they can’t turn around or stretch their limbs.

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Amtrak suspends San Diego-Los Angeles service due to shifting ground

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Metrolink also suspends trains because ground underneath stretch of seaside track in southern California has shifted

Metrolink and Amtrak have suspended train services linking San Diego to Los Angeles – along with the rest of the US – because ground underneath a stretch of seaside track in southern California has shifted, according to officials.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday that service has been suspended indefinitely in the community of San Clemente, on the border of Orange and San Diego counties.

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California investigates teen’s death in shootout between police and her father

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Savannah Graziano’s death reviewed under measure requiring investigations of police shootings of unarmed people

The California department of justice is reviewing the death of a southern California teenager in a shootout with law enforcement this week under a state law requiring the agency to investigate police shootings involving the death of unarmed civilians.

Savannah Graziano, 15, was killed on Tuesday amid a lengthy shootout between police and her father on a stretch of southern California highway.

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Oakland police search for two suspects after school shooting that injured six

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Mayor Libby Schaaf calls for gun restrictions after shooting at Rudsdale Newcome high school for recently immigrated students

California authorities are searching for at least two people in connection with a shooting on a school campus in Oakland that left six people injured.

Wednesday’s shooting occurred at Rudsdale Newcomer high school, which serves students who are at risk of not graduating and have recently immigrated to the US after fleeing their home countries “because of violence and instability”. The school is one of four adjacent schools that serve middle and high school students on Fontaine Street just outside East Oakland.

This story was amended on 28 September 2022 to clarify that the shooting happened at a grade school, not a high school

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Sirhan Sirhan, man who assassinated Robert Kennedy, asks judge to free him

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Lawyer, who says he no longer poses a risk, files request to reverse California governor Newsom’s decision to deny Sirhan parole

Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy in 1968, is asking a judge to free him from prison by reversing a decision by the California governor to deny him parole.

Sirhan shot Kennedy in 1968 at the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles, moments after the US senator from New York claimed victory in California’s pivotal Democratic presidential primary. He wounded five others during the shooting.

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California sheriff’s department deems 47 deputies ‘not suited’ for duty

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Roughly 10% of the force had their guns and arrest powers stripped after an internal audit of psychological exams

A northern California sheriff’s department stripped 47 deputies – 10% of the force – of their guns and arrest powers because they failed psychological exams, it was reported Monday.

It was “horrible″ to have to relieve the deputies of their duties, said Lt Ray Kelly, spokesperson for the Alameda county sheriff’s office, to KTVU-TV.

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Fox News’ Tucker Carlson speaks at Hells Angels president’s funeral

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Host speaks at funeral of Ralph ‘Sonny’ Barger, leader of the group considered by the DoJ to be linked to organised crime

The rightwing Fox News host Tucker Carlson spoke at the funeral of Ralph “Sonny” Barger, the longtime president of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, in Stockton, California, on Saturday.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) considers the Hells Angels to be linked to organised crime.

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Bay Area man becomes second ever to kayak from California to Hawaii

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Cyril Derreumaux, 46, spent 91 days on a ‘magnificent adventure’, traveling 2,400 miles from Monterey to Hilo

After three months at sea, rationed meals and a brush with a tropical storm, a San Francisco Bay Area man became the second person to successfully kayak from California to Hawaii.

Cyril Derreumaux reached Hilo early Tuesday morning on his second attempt to complete the 2,400-mile journey, which he documented on social media.

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California bans insurers from dropping customers in wake of largest wildfire

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State enacts temporary insurance protections for a quarter-million homeowners in areas affected by recent blazes

California temporarily banned insurance companies on Thursday from dropping customers in areas affected by recent wildfires, a day after evacuation orders were lifted for residents near a two-week-old blaze that’s become the largest in the state so far this year.

Several days of sporadic rain helped firefighters reach 60% containment on the Mosquito fire in the Sierra foothills about 110 miles (177km) north-east of San Francisco. At least 78 homes and other structures have been destroyed since flames broke out 6 September and charred forestland across Placer and El Dorado counties.

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Human composting: California clears the way for greener burial method

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The state is the fifth to legalize the environmentally-friendly process which allows for the natural reduction of human remains to soil

California lawmakers have approved a new way of returning those who have died to the earth, after Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill allowing human composting on Sunday.

Cremation, which accounts for more than half of burials, is an energy-intensive process that emits chemicals like CO2 into the air. Through human composting, or natural organic reduction (NOR), the body is naturally broken down into soil.

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Alaskans continue to grapple with fallout from typhoon-related flooding

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Rising waters brought power outages, damage and concerns over surviving the winter as downpours also affected California

Floodwaters in Alaska are receding after the remnants of a powerful typhoon pummeled the state’s western coastline. But residents are continuing to grapple with power outages, water damage and concerns about how to survive the coming winter.

This weekend, a low-pressure system spinning out from Alaska made its way down the coast to northern California, bringing rare September rain to the region. The downpours aided efforts to contain the 19 sq mile (49 sq km) Mosquito fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills, but raised new concerns.

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California woman who admitted to faking her kidnapping sentenced to 18 months in prison

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Sherri Papini’s case gained national attention when she went missing for weeks but was found staying with an ex-boyfriend

Sherri Papini, the California woman who admitted to faking her own kidnapping in 2016, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Papini’s case grabbed national attention when she went missing for several weeks, prompting a frantic search and widespread media coverage. She eventually reappeared with an elaborate story of being abducted by two “Hispanic women”, chained to a pole for three weeks, beaten and branded before being released by the side of a highway.

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California’s fast-food industry calls for referendum on new labor legislation

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Law provides for councils to represent workers, but opponents claim menu prices will increase and restaurants will close

The fast-food industry is seeking to overturn one of the most significant labor wins in recent American history by trying to scrap a new law in California that will establish an industry council for the sector on wage standards and other regulations, including safety.

The Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, AB 257, was signed into law by the California governor, Gavin Newsom, on 5 September in what is seen as a huge fillip to a US labor movement seeking to capitalize on a wave of unionization drives.

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