Page 8 - California

Michael Jackson sexual abuse lawsuits revived by Calinfornia appeals court

A California appeals court on Friday revived lawsuits from two men who allege Michael Jackson sexually abused them for years when they were boys. A three-judge panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal found that the lawsuits of Wade Robson and James Safechuck should not have been dismissed by a lower court, and that the men can validly claim that the two Jackson-owned corporations that were named as defendants in the cases had a responsibility to protect them. It's the second time the lawsuits brought by Robson in 2013 and Safechuck the following year have been brought back after dismissal. The two men became more widely known for telling their stories in the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland. A judge who dismissed the suits in 2021 found that that the corporations, MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., could not be expected to function like the Boy Scouts or a church where a child in their care could expect their protection. Jackson, who died in 2009, was

Evacuations ordered as Northern California fire roars through forest

A wildfire pushed by gusty winds from a thunderstorm raced through national forest land near California's border with Oregon on Tuesday, prompting evacuations in the rural area. The blaze in Siskiyou County, dubbed the Head Fire, was one of at least 15 fires most of them tiny that erupted in the Klamath National Forest as thunderstorms rolling through the area brought lightning and downdrafts that drove the flames through timber and rural lands. In the space of a few hours, the blaze had grown to more than 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) and spot fires from the main blaze had jumped the Klamath River, according to the US Forest Service. There weren't any immediate reports of injuries or homes burned on Tuesday night. However, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office issued evacuation orders for several areas, including one south of Hamburg, a riverside community of around 100 people. State Route 96 also was closed. The Head Fire was burning near the site of the McKinney Fir

Firefighting helicopter crashes in Southern California while fighting blaze

A firefighting helicopter crashed in Southern California on Sunday while fighting a blaze in Riverside County, emergency officials said. The helicopter was performing work under contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, fire captain and spokesman Richard Cordova said. Sheriff's deputies responded at 7:20 p.m. to an air emergency in the area of Pipeline Road and Apache trail as crews were battling the Broadway fire near Cabazon, according to a post by the Riverside County Sheriff's office on X, formerly known as Twitter. The department is still investigating the crash and whether other aircraft were involved, Cordova said. Details were not immediately available on the number of injuries or fatalities.

US: Massive fire burning across California, Nevada causes fire whirls

The fire, dubbed the York Fire, which is California's largest fire of the year, has consumed 80,000 acres of land as of Tuesday morning

Southern California firefighters battle 3 wildfires amid hot, dry weather

Firefighters were battling three separate brush fires in blistering heat and low humidity in sparsely populated, hilly areas southeast of Los Angeles. Nearly 1,000 homes were under evacuation orders, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or property loss, according to officials from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. The fires were all within 40 miles (65 kilometers) of each other in Riverside County, where temperatures in some areas spiked into the triple digits. "Heat is definitely a concern out there," said April Newman of the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, adding that the blazes were burning through dense, dry brush in rugged terrain. Two of the fires had mostly stopped spreading. The third, though, grew to about 11 square miles (28 square kilometers) by Saturday afternoon, Cal Fire said in a social media post. Hundreds of firefighters were dispatched, along with firefighting helicopters and airplanes. Californi

Six killed as small plane crashes in field near Southern California airport

Six people were killed when a small plane crashed and burst into flames in a field near a Southern California airport, authorities said. The crash of the Cessna C550 business jet occurred around 4:15 am on Saturday in Murrieta, about 80 miles (130 kilometres) southeast of Los Angeles, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It took firefighters more than an hour to extinguish the flames, which had engulfed the plane and charred about an acre of vegetation just north of French Valley Airport, said the Riverside County Fire Department. All six people on board died at the scene, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The victims were not immediately identified. The plane had departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, the FAA said. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. It was the second fatal crash this week at the small county-owned airport in Murrieta, home to about 1,12,000 residents. A man was

Disneyland to put 1,500 collectables up for auction later in July

Fans who agree Disneyland is indeed the happiest place on Earth will soon be able to take home more than a souvenir. A passionate collector has brought Disney magic to a sprawling 30,000-square-foot (2,800-square-meter) building in Burbank, California, where fans can hear birds chirping in the Enchanted Tiki Room section or giggle at the animated ghosts from the Haunted Mansion ride as they preview more than 1,500 items up for auction later this month. Joel Magee has been building his collection of more than 6,000 items including costumes, rare posters, and life-size vehicles from rides like Dumbo and Peter Pan for 30 years, and he's finally ready to share some of it with the public. I'm one of those guys go big or go home. And if you don't have the biggest, then it ain't the best, Magee told The Associated Press in a recent interview, as fans milled about the exhibit. Magee's is the largest individually owned Disneyland/Disney Park collection in the world. It's really kind of .

Shooting at California teen's birthday party leaves 1 dead, 6 wounded

A shooting at a birthday party killed an 18-year-old woman and injured six others in Northern California early Sunday, police said. The Antioch Police Department responded to multiple 911 calls about a shooting just before 1 a.m., the department said in a statement. Multiple shots were fired after some people arrived uninvited at a birthday party for a 19-year-old man at a home in the city about 45 miles (72 km) northeast of San Francisco. Victims and a large crowd were found by officers outside the home, police said. The 18-year-old woman was transported to an area hospital, where she died, police said. The victims who suffered non-life-threatening injuries included an 18-year-old man and a 19-year-old man, two 19-year-old women and two 20-year-old women. Some of the victims transported themselves to area hospitals after a panic where attendees ... fled in multiple directions and into the neighbourhood, police said. The Antioch police said a suspect or suspects fled the scene b

1 dead, 4 injured in shooting incident in California's Sunnyvale city

At least one person was killed and four others were injured following a shooting incident in California's Sunnyvale city, police said.

Earthquake of 5.6-magnitude jolts Northern California, no damage reported

An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale struck off the Northern California coast, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Google co-founders see biggest gain since Feb 2021 as AI boost lifts stock

Google will start experimenting with a more conversational search engine and has made its AI-powered chatbot available more broadly, the Mountain View, California-based company said

Apple to open first online shop in Vietnam in push to emerging market

The opening on May 18 comes just weeks after the Cupertino, California-based company opened its first Apple stores in India - Mumbai and Delhi

California State Senate passes brings law banning caste discrimination

In a historic move, the California State Senate on Thursday passed a legislation that would ban caste-based discrimination in the State. Passed by 34-1 vote, the bill SB 403, would make California the first US state to add caste as a protected category in its anti-discrimination laws. Promoters of the bill, being led by non-profit Equality Lab, said that a similar bill is being introduced in the State House of Representatives, before it can be sent to the Governor to be signed into a law. Introduced by California Senator Aisha Wahab, SB 403 adds caste as a protected category to an existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which provides that all people in the state of California are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments. SB 403 provides explicit protections to those who have been systemically harmed due to caste bias and prejudice. It also provides firm legal consequences for those seeking to ..

Google halts 80-acre San Jose campus due to economic slowdown: Report

Google has no plans to revive the project in the near future

Indian-origin Sikh Raji Brar named to California Univ Board of Trustees

"There is a light inside Raji that she shares with our entire community through her many acts of kindness and tireless commitment to public service," CSUB President

IIT Kanpur signs MOU with Univ of California for collaborative research

The IIT Kanpur and the Univ of California will also provide opportunities for their researchers to collaborate on significant research projects as part of this joint venture

Eleven US banks announce $30 billion rescue package for First Republic

Eleven of the biggest banks in the United States announced a USD 30 billion rescue package for First Republic Bank on Thursday, in an effort to prevent the California-based bank from becoming the third bank to fail in less than a week. First Republic serves a similar clientele as Silicon Valley Bank, which failed Friday after depositors withdrew about USD 40 billion. It appears that First Republic, which had deposits totalling USD 176.4 billion as of December 31, was facing a similar crisis. In a statement, the group of banks confirmed that other unnamed banks had seen large amounts of withdrawals of uninsured deposits, which are those that exceed the USD 2,50,000 level insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. First Republic's shares dropped more than 60 per cent Monday, even after the bank said it had secured additional funding from JPMorgan and the Federal Reserve. Thursday the bank's shares were down as much as 36 per cent but rallied after reports the rescue package

Pajaro river's levee ruptures, flood problems grow in California

Crews rushed to repair a levee break on a storm-swollen river in California's central coast before yet another atmospheric river arrives Monday night, further walloping the state's swamped farmland and agricultural communities. The Pajaro River's first levee rupture grew to at least 400 feet (120 meters) since it failed late Friday, officials said. More than 8,500 people were forced to evacuate, and around 50 people had to be rescued as the water rose that night. A second breach opened up another 100 feet (30.48 meters) of the levee closer to the Pacific coast, providing a relief valve for the floodwaters to recede near the mouth of the river, officials said Monday during a news conference. Built in the late 1940s to provide flood protection, the levee has been a known risk for decades and had several breaches in the 1990s. Emergency repairs to a section of the berm were undertaken in January. A USD 400 million rebuild is set to begin in the next few years. Forecasters warned of mo

As atmospheric river exits, new storm threatens California with rain

Wet, miserable weather continued across huge swaths of California on Sunday as an atmospheric river that caused major flooding flowed eastward, while a new storm threatened another onslaught of rain, snow and gusting winds as soon as Monday. The National Weather Service said the next system could exacerbate severe flooding that overwhelmed the area in recent days, prompting a levee failure and widespread evacuations Saturday in farming communities near the state's central coast. The new storm is not expected to bring as much rain, but forecasters warned that considerable flooding could occur at lower elevations from additional rain and creeks and streams swollen with snowmelt. Definitely prepare for some more flooding impacts. The ground is very saturated. We're already seeing some impacts from some light amounts," National Weather Service forecaster Eleanor Dhuyvetter said. A tornado briefly touched down in Tuolumne County during severe thunderstorms Saturday that also dumped an i

Atmospheric river floods California towns, brings heavy rain, snow

More than 9,000 California residents were under evacuation orders Friday as a new atmospheric river brought heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, swelling rivers and creeks and flooding several major highways and small rural communities. In Santa Cruz County, a creek bloated by rain destroyed a portion of Main Street in Soquel, a town of 10,000 people, isolating several neighborhoods. Crews were working to remove trees and other debris and find a way for people to cross the creek, county officials said. County authorities asked the town's residents to stay indoors. Heather Wingfield, a teacher who runs a small urban farm with her husband in Soquel, said she and her neighbors were, for the time being, trapped in their homes as Bates Creek rushed through what was once Main Street. It's horrible, she said. Hopefully no one has a medical emergency. Wingfield said her neighbors' water infrastructure was also washed out, but that her family's well would keep them with running water