City hits all-time high of 120F as officials set up emergency cooling centers at community centers across south Nevada
Las Vegas set a new record on Wednesday as it marked a fifth consecutive day over 115F (46C), amid a lingering hot spell that will continue scorching much of the US into the weekend.
The blazing hot temperatures climbed to 115F shortly after 1pm at Harry Reid international airport, breaking the old mark of four consecutive days above 115F set in July 2005.
Continue reading...Another visitor in same motorcycle group hospitalized for ‘severe heat illness’ as other four members treated at scene
A visitor to Death Valley national park died Sunday from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized as the temperature reached 128F (53.3C) in eastern California, officials said.
The two visitors were part of a group of six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area amid scorching weather, the park said.
Continue reading...‘Severe’ and ‘potentially record-breaking’ heatwave sends temperatures soaring across US
More than 150 million people were under heat alerts on Thursday morning, as a brutal and potentially historic heatwave sent temperatures soaring across the US on Independence Day with little chance of relief over the next week, even after dark.
Forecasters warned that high overnight temperatures and the long-lasting duration of the extreme event will increase the danger, posing additional risks to human health and the rapid spread of wildfires.
Continue reading...Samuel Woodward faces life without parole after conviction in killing of Blaze Bernstein, 19, in Orange county in 2018
A southern California jury has convicted Samuel Woodward of the 2018 murder of former high school classmate Blaze Bernstein, following a three month-long trial that re-excavated a brutal killing that made international headlines for the perpetrator’s membership in the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division organization.
Bernstein, a 19-year-old pre-med student at the University of Pennsylvania, disappeared on 2 January 2018 after meeting up with Woodward, then 20, that evening. The pair, who had attended the Orange County High School for the Arts together, had reconnected over the dating app Tinder. Bernstein’s body was found six days later, buried in a park in Orange county. Woodward was the last person Bernstein was in contact with, and immediately fell under suspicion.
Continue reading...Thompson fire near Oroville destroys homes and vehicles as state simmers in brutal and potentially historic heatwave
Thousands of homes are under threat from a raging wildfire that erupted in northern California on Tuesday, as the state simmers in a brutal and potentially historic heatwave.
Roughly 28,000 residents have been forced to evacuate as the Thompson fire quickly swept across more than 3,500 acres (1,416 hectares) near the city of Oroville, about an hour outside Sacramento, California’s capital.
Continue reading...Sweltering conditions and power shutoffs may overlap with errant fireworks or badly tended campfires
A brutal and long-lasting heatwave is threatening to wreak havoc across the US west this week, as sweltering conditions, power shutoffs and a severe uptick in wildfire risks coincide with Fourth of July celebrations.
Nearly 90 million people were under heat alerts from the National Weather Service on Tuesday morning, as swaths of the south-central and western US were scorched. As pressure builds over the west through the week, the dangerous weather event is expected to stretch for days with little reprieve.
Continue reading...Residents evacuate after Boulder View fire rips alongside Scottsdale, and wildfires in California and Oregon rage
A wildfire north-east of Phoenix has, as of Saturday, threatened scores of homes, forced dozens of residents to evacuate and required more than 200 firefighters to battle it.
No structures have been damaged as the wildfire has traversed nearly 6 sq miles (15 sq km) on the cusp of the Boulder Heights subdivision of Scottsdale, said Matthew Wilcox, spokesperson for a multi-agency wildfire response team.
Continue reading...Court filing details how the King of Pop was in financial straits as he was preparing to embark on his This Is It tour
Michael Jackson had accumulated more than half a billion dollars of debt when he died in 2009, new court documents reveal.
A 21 June court filing by the executors of his estate provided some of the most complete details yet about the strained finances with which the 13-time Grammy winner was grappling at the time of his death.
Continue reading...Judge rules Dharmesh Patel, whose car dove off cliff in 2023, will be monitored by GPS and check in with court weekly
A California radiologist accused of trying to kill his family by driving off a cliff along the northern California coast will receive mental health treatment instead of standing trial, a judge ruled.
Prosecutors charged Dharmesh A Patel, 43, with attempted murder after the Tesla he was driving plunged off a 250ft (76 meters) cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo county, injuring his wife and two young children. All four survived the 2 January 2023 crash in what one official called an “absolute miracle”.
Continue reading...Iatse union agrees tentative three-year deal with Disney, Netflix and others over pay, AI protections and residuals
The union that represents film and television crews has reached an agreement with Hollywood studios that will stave off a major strike – a welcome development after the industry saw significant labor turmoil last year.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (Iatse) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) announced on Tuesday they had a tentative three-year agreement that will affect about 50,000 crew members.
Continue reading...Apache fire, which prompted evacuation orders, was contained 15% due to ‘favorable’ weather conditions
A wildfire is threatening a community in rural northern California near Paradise, where the state’s deadliest wildfire struck six years ago.
The blaze, dubbed the Apache fire, broke out on Monday and had grown to more than 600 acres (243 hectares), prompting evacuation orders.
Continue reading...Sheng Thao maintains no plans to resign after authorities carried 80 boxes out of her home as part of investigation
Sheng Thao, mayor of Oakland, California, delivered a prepared statement on Monday in her first public remarks since federal authorities raided her home last week.
Thao, who is serving her first term as the city’s mayor, maintains that she did not do anything wrong and she has no plans to resign from office.
Continue reading...Residents rescued by boat as Governor Kim Reynolds declares disaster in 21 counties in north of state
Floodwaters forced people out of their homes in parts of Iowa, the result of weeks of rain, while much of the US longed for relief on Saturday from yet another round of extraordinary heat.
Sirens blared at 2am in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 4,200, where people in hundreds of homes were told to get out as the Rock River could no longer take rain that has slammed the region. The city lacked running water because wells were unusable.
Continue reading...Eight dogs vied for the title in the Sonoma-Marin Fair’s disagreeable-looking dog competition
The World’s Ugliest Dog annual contest may not render the most flattering title to its victor, but don’t tell that to Wild Thang.
The eight-year-old pekingese won this year’s competition on Friday.
Continue reading...California family lets Diesel ‘live his best life’ with his new herd after he got loose on a camping trip
A donkey spotted apparently living with a herd of wild elk in a video that went viral on the internet has been identified as Diesel, a once beloved pet who had apparently run away five years ago.
The video was taken earlier this year, when Max Fennell, a hunter in northern California, filmed a group of wild elk apparently hanging out with a donkey who appeared to be a member of their herd.
Continue reading...Agents also conducted searches at two homes owned by members of the politically influential Duong family
Federal authorities have raided a home belonging to the mayor of Oakland, California, as part of an investigation that included a search of at least two other houses, officials said on Thursday.
The raid took place on Thursday morning, when FBI agents carried 80 boxes out of a four-bedroom home that property records link to Sheng Thao, who is serving her first term as the city’s mayor.
Continue reading...Virginia Hislop left school to care for her family during the second world war; 83 years later she received diploma
Virginia Hislop took 83 years to get her master’s degree from Stanford University. Now, at 105 years old, she’s finally graduated.
“My goodness, I’ve waited a long time for this,” she said, walking across the stage on Sunday to receive her diploma. She was cheered on by her family, grandchildren and the 2024 graduating class.
Continue reading...Tropical storm due to form in Gulf of Mexico, adding to extreme weather as north-east and midwest bake
Potential Tropical Cyclone One – a slow churning system of low atmospheric pressure in the Gulf of Mexico – was badgering the Texas coast but had not fully developed, meteorologists said on Wednesday.
The storm, which will be named Tropical Storm Alberto when it forms fully, is set to unleash powerful winds, heavy rain and flood threats across the entire southern US, Mexico and Central America. Storm-force winds, which stretch more than 400 miles (640km) from the storm’s center, are already affecting southern Texas.
This article was amended on 19 June 2024 to correct a quotation from Bill Nye.
Continue reading...Measure passes 5-2 as Gavin Newsom calls for statewide ban on cellphones for students during the school day
The Los Angeles unified school board passed a resolution on Tuesday banning cell phones from district classrooms. As the second-largest school district in the US, the vote makes it the largest school district in the US to approve such a ban.
As more educators across the US explore similar policies, California governor Gavin Newsom called on Tuesday for a statewide ban on phones in class. The measure in Los Angeles was introduced by board member Nick Melvoin and will be implemented starting in January 2025 after passing in a 5-2 vote. Melvoin said in a statement the measure is meant to support “students’ academic success and wellbeing”, adding that studies have shown smartphones and social media distract kids from learning and stifle their in-person social connections.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak’s team helped fast-track deal with firm founded by Charles Huang, who says contracts generated $2bn profit
In California, state of sunshine and palm trees, a small group of men are locked in a big legal fight over the money made by a US company selling Covid tests to the British government. The founder of Innova Medical Group says his business collected $2bn (£1.6bn) in profits, one of the largest fortunes banked by any medical supplier during the scramble for lifesaving equipment in the early months of the pandemic.
In a storm of claims and counter-claims, Innova’s boss, Charles Huang, is accused by former associates of “squandering” or moving $1bn of those profits, spending lavishly on luxury aircraft, an $18m house in Los Angeles and “homes for his mistresses”.
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