Category Archives: California

California has strict gun laws. Here’s how the Gilroy gunman evaded them

Posted on by

US lawmakers renew calls for federal gun reform after shooter purchased weapon legally in Nevada

California has some of the most stringent gun laws in the country, including a ban on the type of rifle that a shooter used to kill three and wound 15 at the garlic food festival in Gilroy on Sunday.

But the gunman had legally purchased the “assault-type rifle”, in the style of an AK-47, from the neighboring state Nevada on 9 July before carrying it illegally over state lines into California, highlighting what some gun control advocates say is a loophole in the way laws operate, state by state.

Continue reading...

Gilroy shooting: four dead after gunman attacks food festival – video report

Posted on by

Four people including the gunman are dead and 15 injured after an attack on the Gilroy garlic festival in California. Police said the man was armed with a rifle and cut through a fence to avoid tight security. Gilroy police chief Scot Smithee said the gunman was shot dead by police but a second suspect was believed to still be at large

Continue reading...

California garlic festival shooting: four dead including gunman

Posted on by

Police kill assailant, whose motive remains unclear, amid reports of a possible second suspect

Three people have been killed and at least 15 injured after a gunman opened fire at a food festival in northern California before being shot dead by police.

The gunman used a rifle and gained entry to the Gilroy garlic festival by cutting through a fence to avoid tight security, including metal detectors, police said.

Continue reading...

‘A beautiful place with a very dark history’: sale of Manson murder house piques interest in LA

Posted on by

Ghost Adventures’ Zak Bagans is buying the $1.98m house with ‘very, very strong energy’ where Charles Manson’s followers killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in 1969

A Los Angeles mansion where Charles Manson and his followers tortured and murdered the former residents went up for sale this month, and attracted widespread interest from celebrity buyers.

Related: Behind the bloodshed: the chilling untold stories about Charles Manson

Continue reading...

Four dead after gunman goes on 12-hour ‘violent spree’ in Los Angeles

Posted on by

Police have arrested suspect who fatally shot his father, brother and two others in the San Fernando Valley

A man fatally shot his father, brother and two others on Thursday during a 12-hour rampage in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, eluding an intense manhunt until plainclothes officers arrested him soon after he gunned down a city bus passenger, authorities said.

Police said they did not know what had motivated the suspect, identified as Gerry Dean Zaragoza, 26, in the attacks. “It is obviously an individual that went on a violent spree,” Capt William Hayes said. “We knew he was a danger to the community.”

Continue reading...

Los Angeles police spied on anti-Trump protesters

Posted on by

Case is one of several across the US of police targeting anti-Trump and anti-fascist groups with monitoring and criminal trials

The Los Angeles police department has revealed in court that it infiltrated an activist group planning anti-Trump protests, in the latest case of US law enforcement spying on leftwing organizers.

A confidential informant working with the LAPD secretly recorded multiple meetings of a group called Refuse Fascism in 2017, according to newly disclosed police documents. The LAPD transcripts, first reported by the Los Angeles Times and reviewed by the Guardian, were submitted in a criminal case against activists who blocked a California freeway during an anti-Trump demonstration.

Continue reading...

California governor: Trump committed to helping earthquake recovery

Posted on by
  • Gavin Newsom says damage from 7.1 quake is ‘deceiving’
  • Fires and cracked buildings but no fatalities or major injuries

Officials in southern California expressed relief on Saturday that damage and injuries were not worse after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years, but voiced concerns about the possibility of major aftershocks in the days and months to come.

Related: ‘We should expect more quakes’: a top seismologist on California’s tremor

Continue reading...

California governor declares state of emergency after second earthquake

Posted on by
  • Gavin Newsom warns residents to be wary of new tremors
  • Damage from 7.1 quake could be worse, agency chief says

Crews in California continued to assess damage to cracked and burned buildings, broken roads, leaking water and gas lines and other infrastructure on Saturday after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years was felt from Sacramento to Mexico.

The governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency and warned residents to be wary of new tremors, after the southern part of the state was hit by a second significant earthquake in as many days.

Continue reading...

7.1 magnitude earthquake in California rocks buildings – video

Posted on by

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern California on Friday, resulting in fires, damaged buildings and roads, and swaying rollercoasters. The latest tremor, which followed a 6.4 magnitude quake on 4 July, was the most powerful in the region for 20 years. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries

Continue reading...

Southern California towns assess quake damage as aftershocks continue

Posted on by

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake Friday morning was the largest aftershock thus far and damage appears limited to the desert region

Communities in California’s Mojave Desert tallied damage and made emergency repairs to cracked roads and broken pipes Friday as aftershocks from the largest earthquake in 20 years to hit the region kept rumbling.

The small town of Ridgecrest, close to the epicenter, assessed damage after several fires and multiple injuries that were blamed on the magnitude 6.4 quake. A shelter drew 28 people overnight, but not all of them slept inside amid the shaking.

Continue reading...

‘We should expect more quakes’: a top seismologist on California’s tremor

Posted on by

A magnitude 5.4 aftershock followed Thursday’s 6.4 magnitude quake, the southern California region’s largest in two decades

A 5.4-magnitude aftershock hit southern California on Friday morning, one day after the region experienced its largest earthquake in two decades.

Thursday’s 6.4-magnitude quake landed in the small city of Ridgecrest, 100 miles (160km) from Los Angeles, and renewed fears about the potential for the “big one” to hit the west coast in the future.

Continue reading...

California earthquake: five things to know about the tremor near Los Angeles

Posted on by

With more than 500 active faults in California, the state is sure to see many more quakes in the future

On Thursday morning, southern California experienced its largest earthquake in two decades. The 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the remote city of Ridgecrest, near Death Valley national park and about 100 miles (160km) from Los Angeles.

Here’s what you should know about the impact of the quake, and whether more seismic activity will strike anytime soon:

Continue reading...

San Francisco-area shopping mall shooting leaves several injured – reports

Posted on by

Police say at least four victims were being taken to medical facilities after the shooting at San Bruno’s Tanforan Mall

Two people were shot and two others hurt on Tuesday when at least one gunman opened fire at a mall in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno before apparently fleeing on a nearby train, police said.

Two people were taken to San Francisco general hospital in stable condition with gunshot wounds to their lower bodies, the San Bruno police chief, Ed Barberini, told reporters at a late-afternoon news conference. A hospital spokesperson told the Associated Press the victims were both boys, with one in critical and one in serious condition.

Continue reading...

‘There’s no way to stop this’: Oakland braces for the arrival of tech firm Square

Posted on by

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has signed a deal to move his payments company to Oakland – which activists say will only exacerbate an already brutal housing crisis

Photographs by Jason Henry

The knocks on Maria Espinoza’s front door became a nightly occurrence.

If the 60-year-old Oakland woman wasn’t home, her frightened partner would turn off the lights and TV and remain silent. On evenings Espinoza did answer the door, her new landlord would be outside with the same question: When are you moving out?

Continue reading...

New York leads way as Pride marches mark 50 years since Stonewall – as it happened

Posted on by

That’s all for today – thanks for reading, everyone. Here’s what happened:

And, before we close down for the evening, a quick look at festivities in Seattle, which also hosted a Pride parade today.

Continue reading...

Heatwave cooks mussels in their shells on California shore

Posted on by

Temperatures lead to what appears to be largest local die-off in 15 years, raising fears for broader ecosystem

In all her years working at Bodega Bay, the marine reserve research coordinator Jackie Sones had never seen anything like it: scores of dead mussels on the rocks, their shells gaping and scorched, their meats thoroughly cooked.

A record-breaking June heatwave apparently caused the largest die-off of mussels in at least 15 years at Bodega Head, a small headland on the northern California bay. And Sones received reports from other researchers of similar mass mussel deaths at various beaches across roughly 140 miles of coastline.

Continue reading...

Scamp the Tramp is champ at World’s Ugliest Dog Contest

Posted on by
  • California competition highlights plight of rescue dogs
  • Owner: ‘I think the audience saw his beautiful spirit’

Scamp the Tramp, a bug-eyed, dreadlocked pooch, took top honours on Friday at the 31st annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest.

Owner Yvonne Morones won an appearance with Scamp on the Today show, $1,500 in cash, $1,500 to donate to an animal shelter and a trophy the size of a rottweiler.

Continue reading...

California’s wildfire season is starting and officials are bracing for the worst

Posted on by

In anticipation, Cal Fire has identified 35 top-priority projects to thin vegetation in vulnerable communities

Last November, the deadliest wildfire in California history killed 85 and burned the town of Paradise to the ground. Now California’s fire season is starting to heat up again – and officials are bracing for the worst.

As California grappled with a record-breaking heatwave last week, the state saw 236 wildfires – one of which grew to more than 2,500 acres before it was largely contained. So far this year, California has faced 1,746 wildfires, burning through more than 15,500 acres of land.

Continue reading...