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Congressman and ex-Dodgers player emerge as top two contenders, boxing out progressives Katie Porter and Barbara LeeAdam Schiff, the centrist Democratic congressman, is poised to be the next US senator from California after securing enough votes to advance to the November election. He will face off with Republican Steve Garvey, a former professional baseball player, who also performed well in the nonpartisan primary on...

Homeowners in wealthy towns watching anxiously in face of heavy storms that have caused flash floods and coastal erosionThe torrents of water coming from the sky are having ripple effects on the cliffs that hold up some of California’s most expensive real estate. In the first two months of the year, nearly 18in of rain has fallen in the southern California area, about 8in...

Shooting on Sunday evening at outdoor gathering in King City left four dead and seven others injured, police sayPolice are offering a $20,000 reward for information on a shooting that took place on Sunday evening when a group of masked men pulled up to an outdoor birthday party in central California and opened fire, killing at least four.Officers responded to a reported shooting at...

A 70-mile stretch of the major corridor was nearly impassable as blizzard conditions continue and a second storm is on the horizonBlizzard conditions in California continued to batter the Sierra Nevada mountains on Sunday, keeping a 70-mile stretch of Interstate 80 closed near the Nevada state line, even as forecasters warned of more snow on the way.Sections of Interstate 80 to the west and...

Donors raise more than $100,000 for man who gave his $17.74 paycheck for 136.50 hours of work to relief efforts in GazaDonors have raised more than $100,000 for an incarcerated man in the US who, earning 13 cents an hour in a California prison doing janitorial and porter work, donated his paycheck of $17.74 to Gaza relief efforts.Last month, Los Angeles-based filmmaker Justin Mashouf...

Residents in California urged to shelter in place as possible record 12ft of snow forecast to be dumped over weekendA dangerous winter storm has arrived in California, battering the Sierra Nevada with snowfall, gale-force winds and blizzard conditions as authorities urge residents to shelter in place and prepare for power outages.Perilous conditions in the mountain region are expected to get significantly worse on Friday...

Tesla had ditched an order for 4,000 mini pies, but the X owner paid the debt after the incident received attentionElon Musk steps in after bakery jolted by cancelled Tesla orderA California bakery that claimed Tesla did not pay an order worth thousands of dollars said the outstanding bill has been settled, after billionaire Elon Musk promised to “make things good” following press coverage...

Series of new advertisements target Republican efforts to criminalize abortions and a ‘war on travel’ for reproductive careCalifornia’s governor, Gavin Newsom, is launching a series of new advertisements in Republican states targeting Republican efforts to criminalize having an abortion and “a war on travel” for reproductive care.The first advertisement by Campaign for Democracy, Newsom’s political action committee (Pac), will air this week in Tennessee,...

Blast occurred in Wilmington neighborhood as spokesperson says ‘the ball of flame was as high as the telephone poles’A truck’s fuel tank exploded on Thursday in a Los Angeles neighborhood, sending a fireball into the air and injuring nine of the 10 firefighters responding to the blaze, including two critically, fire officials said.All nine firefighters were rushed to Harbor-UCLA medical center and were stabilized,...

The Tijuana River flows through Mexico and empties off California, carrying pathogens and chemicals and threatening public healthRaw sewage and runoff in the Tijuana River is exposing communities at the US-Mexico border to an unusual and noxious brew of pathogens and toxic chemicals, according to a report released this week.Billions of gallons of sewage flow through the river, which winds north from Mexico through...

Weather system brings heavy rainfall, strong winds and mudslides. Elsewhere, Nova Scotia declares state of emergencyDuring the first week of February two storms hit California in quick succession, both featuring intense precipitation thanks to the “pineapple express” atmospheric river.Atmospheric rivers are long narrow channels of very moist air that flow through the atmosphere, transporting impressive amounts of water vapour that eventually fall as heavy...

At least seven dead across state and wet weather dumped over 1ft of rain in region, causing 475 mudslides around Los AngelesTell us: have you been affected by the storm and flooding in California and Arizona this February?A final burst of heavy rain from a deadly atmospheric river storm doused California’s Central Coast on Wednesday as it headed for Los Angeles, bringing a renewed...

Nearly 38 million people under flood alerts across state and into Arizona as officials warn dangers still lurk in the watersWhat are the atmospheric rivers hitting California right now?A deadly, atmospheric-river fuelled storm caused chaos across California on Monday, battering the state with record amounts of rain, destructive mudslides, and violent winds that left at least three people dead from falling trees.Nearly 38 million...

This blog is now closedCalifornia is grappling with another round of strong storms this week and the dangerous potential for flash flooding, landslides, and furious winds expected to come with them.Much like last year, when record rainfall lashed the state, the storms are attributed to atmospheric rivers (ARs), systems that have long played a role in California’s precipitation levels – both for good and...

Roads were flooded and trees toppled amid calls for people to get ready for powerful downpours, heavy snow and damaging windsWhat are the atmospheric rivers hitting California right now?The first of two severe storms drenched California on Thursday, bringing intense downpours that flooded roads and toppled trees. But the worst is far from over – officials warned residents to prepare for a “significant threat”...

Officials say suspects were arrested in the fatal shootings and believe killings were from a dispute over an illegal marijuana tradeAuthorities say arrests have been made in the investigation surrounding six bodies found last week at a remote dirt crossroads in the southern California desert.Five suspects have been arrested in the fatal shootings, according to the San Bernardino county sheriff’s department. Officials say they...

Prosecutors allege Rebecca Grossman, 60, was speeding when she hit brothers Mark Iskander, 11, and Jakob Iskander, eightMore than three years ago, a Los Angeles socialite allegedly fatally struck two young boys as they were crossing the street. Now a jury will decide whether Rebecca Grossman is guilty of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving.This week jurors heard opening statements in the long-awaited...

Woman trying to cross rushing waters had climbed on top of overturned vehicle before she was rescued by helicopter teamA helicopter team rescued a woman Tuesday morning who was trapped for almost 15 hours atop her overturned pickup truck in rushing waters after she tried to traverse a swollen creek following recent rain in northern California.A helicopter of California highway patrol air operations airlifted...

California Forever, which bought 60,000 acres, has received fierce opposition from local officials and environmental groupsThe controversial plan backed by Silicon Valley billionaires to build a new city in northern California farmland could come before voters later this year.California Forever, the company that quietly acquired 60,000 acres of land in Solano county and recently revealed it planned to build a city there, announced on...

The 2019 killing of the 20-year-old rapper raised scrutiny of Vallejo police department, which has a history of brutalityA California city has agreed to pay $5m to the family of a 20-year-old who was sleeping in his car when police approached and shot him 55 times in 2019.The city of Vallejo, north-east of San Francisco, said in a statement on Wednesday that the city...

Authorities say another person was injured as major snow and wind storm moved into the California regionAn avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, sweeping up four people and killing one, as a major storm with snow and gusty winds moved into the region, authorities said.The avalanche prompted Palisades Tahoe to close 30...

Wenheng Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty in October to passing sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence officerA US navy petty officer who pleaded guilty to providing sensitive military information to a Chinese intelligence officer was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Monday, the US justice department said.Wenheng Zhao, 26, and another US sailor, Jinchao Wei, were arrested in August on suspicion of...

In latest move by University of California, Berkeley, law enforcement agencies arrested protesters and erected barrierIn a midnight operation, hundreds of police officers descended on People’s Park in Berkeley, California, to clear out the activists and unhoused campers occupying the area, to make way for the construction of a housing complex for students.By dawn, the park that was once the centre of the 1960s...