Category Archives: California

Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s husband, pleads guilty to drunk driving charge

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Apart from paying fines, Pelosi will be required to attend a three-month drinking driver class and install an ignition interlock device

The husband of Nancy Pelosi, the US House speaker, has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor driving under the influence charges related to a May crash in California’s wine country and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation.

Paul Pelosi already served two days in jail and received conduct credit for two other days, according to Judge Joseph Solga of the Napa county superior court. Paul Pelosi will work eight hours in the court’s work program in lieu of the remaining day, Solga said during Paul Pelosi’s sentencing on Tuesday, which he did not attend.

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Kiely Rodni: missing California teen’s body apparently found after weeks

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Volunteers locate vehicle after police scale back efforts to find Rodni, last seen at campground party

A weeks-long search for a missing 16-year-old has come to an end after divers found what is believed to be the body of Kiely Rodni submerged in a car in a California reservoir.

Rodni went missing on 6 August after attending a party with hundreds of other young people at a campground in Truckee, California. Her disappearance prompted a search effort that drew in multiple law enforcement agencies and volunteers, who spent thousands of hours looking for her.

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Family of Bill Paxton settles wrongful death lawsuit with Los Angeles hospital

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US actor, who starred in Apollo 13, died in 2017 from stroke 11 days after undergoing heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai

Bill Paxton’s family has struck an agreement to settle its wrongful death lawsuit against a hospital and surgeon who operated on the late actor’s heart shortly before his 2017 death, a court filing showed Friday.

Notice of the settlement came as a 19 September trial date for Paxton’s family’s lawsuit loomed. Assuming the judge presiding over the case ultimately approves it, the agreement would all but wrap up the claims that Paxton’s wife, Louise, and their children, James and Lydia, leveled against Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai medical center and surgeon Ali Khoynezad.

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‘I live in fear’: Vanessa Bryant testifies at trial over Kobe’s crash images

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For three hours, Bryant provided testimony against Los Angeles county for invasion of privacy over photos of her husband’s corpse

Vanessa Bryant testified on Friday that she was only beginning to grieve the loss of her husband, basketball star Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna when she was faced with the fresh horror of learning that sheriff’s deputies and firefighters had shot and shared photos of their bodies at the site of the helicopter crash that killed them.

“I felt like I wanted to run, run down the block and scream,” she said, her tears turning to sobs and her voice quickening. “It was like the feeling of wanting to run down a pier and jump into the water. The problem is I can’t escape. I can’t escape my body.”

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California man found guilty of two 1980s murders thanks to new DNA technology

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In 2006 detectives discovered DNA evidence, but it was 12 more years before they could identify suspect using genealogy websites

Prosecutors in California secured the conviction of a 1980s double murderer after the first use by Los Angeles county detectives of online genealogical databases to identify a suspect.

Horace Van Vaultz, now 67, killed Selena Keough, 20, in Montclair in 1981, and Mary Duggan, 22, in Burbank in 1986, but escaped justice for 36 years until investigators were able to link him to DNA from the victims.

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California urges residents to cut power use as searing heatwave grips US west

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Temperatures are expected to reach highs of above 100F (38C) as the region continues to be battered by the climate crisis

California has urged residents to cut power use as a searing heatwave settles over the state and stretches power supplies to a breaking point, in the latest sign of extreme weather conditions in the US west.

Temperatures in the most populous state are forecast to climb to well above 100F (38C) during the afternoon.

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Britney Spears’ ex-husband convicted of crashing her wedding

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Jason Alexander arrived uninvited at pop star’s California home as she got ready to marry Sam Asghari

A man once briefly married to Britney Spears has been convicted of aggravated trespassing and battery after appearing uninvited at the pop star’s wedding in June.

Jason Alexander, 40, pleaded no contest to two misdemeanour counts in a California court, prosecutors in Ventura County said.

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‘Catastrophic failure’ kills 21,000 fish at California university

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Chlorine exposure appears to be cause of death of animals at UC Davis research center

A “catastrophic failure” at a university research facility in California killed 21,000 fish this week, some of which were endangered.

The University of California, Davis, reported the loss of about 21,000 fish at its Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture. Chlorine exposure, which the university noted fish are particularly sensitive to, appears to have caused the deaths.

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Ex-Twitter employee found guilty of spying on Saudi dissidents

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Ahmad Abouammo found to have given users’ personal information to Mohammed bin Salman’s aide

A former Twitter employee has been found guilty of spying on Saudi dissidents using the social media platform and passing their personal information to a close aide of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A jury in a federal court in California found Ahmad Abouammo, a dual US-Lebanese national, had acted as an unregistered agent of the Saudi government.

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Homes destroyed as Washington state wildfire forces evacuation of town

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Fourteen structures burnt in Lind, in east of state, as forecasters in California warn ‘sleeping giant’ McKinney fire could grow further

A small town in Washington state was evacuated due to a fast-moving fire that burned a half-dozen homes, as crews in California made progress against the state’s deadliest and largest wildfire of the year.

In Washington, the Adams county sheriff’s office warned residents of Lind on Thursday afternoon to flee due to the encroaching flames.

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California hamlet reduced to ashes as wildfire rages on

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Several thousand people are under evacuation orders and at least four bodies have been found due to the McKinney fire

A huge wildfire raging in northern California continues to burn out of control as residents of a scenic river town razed by the fire return to scenes of destruction.

In the hamlet of Klamath River, home to about 200 people, most homes and businesses have turned to ash. Several thousand people in the region remain under evacuation orders, and at least four have been killed.

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Death toll rises to four in California’s biggest wildfire this year

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McKinney fire has burned more than 100 buildings in north of state as other blazes ignite in US west

The death toll from an explosive wildfire raging in northern California has risen to four, after two more bodies were found within the burn zone in the remote Klamath national forest.

Search teams discovered two bodies on Monday at separate residences along State Route 96, one of the only roads in and out of the region near the state line with Oregon, the Siskiyou county sheriff’s office said in a statement.

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Two bodies found in burned vehicle in path of raging California wildfire

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Bodies discovered in north-west near Oregon border as McKinney fire, which exploded in size over the weekend, turns deadly

Two people were found dead in the path of the a wildfire raging across northern California, as firefighters raced to contain the blaze amid searing temperatures and impending thunderstorms.

The McKinney fire in northern California, which has grown into California’s largest this year, is one of several large fires burning across the US west and one of several concurrent extreme weather events battering the region.

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McKinney fire grows into California’s largest this year as thunderstorms fuel concerns

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Huge blaze burns out of control as crews also battling fires in Montana, Idaho, Hawaii and Texas

A wildfire in California grew to the largest the state has seen yet this year, as firefighting crews braced for thunderstorms and hot, windy conditions.

The McKinney Fire was burning out of control in northern California’s Klamath national forest, near the Oregon border, with expected thunderstorms a big concern, said US Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman.

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Evacuations ordered in northern California after new wildfire breaks out

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McKinney fire has grown to 18,000 acres in less than 12 hours and has zero containment amid searing heat, drought and lightning

Evacuations have been ordered around Klamath national forest in northern California after a major new wildfire broke out amid searing heat, a prolonged drought and lightning across the region.

The fire, known as the McKinney fire, has grown to 18,000 acres in less than 12 hours and has zero containment. It has forced officials in Siskiyou county to order the evacuation of nearby communities, a virtual repeat of the Washburn and Oak fires that have recently ignited in California’s western Sierra Nevada.

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Weather tracker: Mediterranean Sea hit by major marine heatwave

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No respite from record-breaking temperatures as the ocean warms and wildfires rage on land

Many parts of Europe have seen record-breaking temperatures over the past few months, but it is not just the continental landmass which has been affected. The Mediterranean Sea is experiencing a major marine heatwave, with sea surface temperatures in western parts of the Mediterranean 4-5C warmer than average. Temperatures have been above average for prolonged periods since the start of May, with June the warmest on record for large portions of the Mediterranean basin. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has classified the current event as a “severe” category 3 event, one level from extreme thresholds.

Marine heatwaves can have devastating impacts on marine ecosystems and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future due to human-induced climate change. Scientists have found that marine heatwaves between 2015 and 2019 in the Mediterranean caused mass casualties in marine species, coral bleaching and harmful algal blooms.

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‘Parks are wild by nature’: Yosemite visitors undeterred by raging forest fires

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Picnics, treks, camping and swimming continue despite hazardous air quality and ash in national park

Yosemite national park’s dramatic vistas were shrouded by a thick grey haze on Monday afternoon, as smoke from the fiercely burning Oak fire hung over its granite peaks. Along the road winding toward the valley, skeletal trees told the story of the Washburn fire that tore through just weeks earlier.

The blazes – the two largest to ignite in California so far this year – have besieged Yosemite during one of its busiest months, causing entrance closures, cancellations, and cloaking the landmark in hazardous air.

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Typically mild Pacific north-west braces for another blazing heatwave

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Officials urge residents to take precautions as forecasts point to temperatures far above historic averages

A searing heatwave is expected to bring dangerously high temperatures to US Pacific north-west – a region known for its mild, temperate summers.

As Oregon, Washington, parts of northern California and British Columbia brace for a week of temperatures well above historic averages, officials are warning residents in the region – many of whom lack air conditioning and are unaccustomed to heat – to take precautions.

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Shooting in Los Angeles park leaves at least two dead

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Seven people taken to hospital after gunfire erupts at informal car show in Peck Park in San Pedro area

At least two people were killed and several others injured in a shooting at a park in Los Angeles, officials said.

Seven people were taken to local hospitals after gunfire erupted at an informal car show at Peck Park in the San Pedro neighborhood on Sunday, the Los Angeles fire department said.

Two of them – a man and a woman – later died of their wounds, department spokesperson Brian Humphrey said.

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California fire crews make progress against ferocious Oak fire near Yosemite

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Fire burning near famous national park exploded in size over weekend but crews achieved 10% containment Monday morning

Firefighters made progress against a ferocious wildfire in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada that forced thousands of residents from their homes in the gateway to Yosemite national park.

The Oak fire started on Friday near the town of Midpines, California, and exploded in size over the weekend.

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