California

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Car Pool 'Passenger' Makes Police Say: 'C'mon, People'

Chucky doll also prompted funny tweet from CHP about Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden

(Newser) - The comparisons of Jon Gruden to the possessed doll Chucky from the movie Child's Play have been reinvigorated since Gruden was announced as the new Oakland Raiders coach earlier this week. It's the California Highway Patrol, though, that wins the prize for most creative reference after a citation...

He Celebrated His Birthday, Died in Mudslide the Next Day

4 kids among 17 confirmed dead in Calif. disaster

(Newser) - The oldest victim swept away in a California mudslide was Jim Mitchell, who had celebrated his 89th birthday the day before. He died in the Santa Barbara County enclave of Montecito with his wife of more than 50 years, Alice. The youngest, 3-year-old Kailly Benitez, was one of four children...

Body of Missing Student Found in California Park

Blaze Bernstein case is now a homicide investigation

(Newser) - The search for missing University of Pennsylvania sophomore Blaze Bernstein came to a grim end when the 19-year-old's body was found in a park near his parents' home, having apparently been exposed by this week's rainstorms, police in California say. The Orange County Sheriff's Department has not...

Death Toll Rises in California Mudslide as Searches Continue

Authorities say 17 people are now confirmed dead

(Newser) - Authorities now say 17 people have died in Southern California mudslides and another 13 are missing, the AP reports. The death toll rose Wednesday as searchers pulled two more bodies from the inundated area in the Santa Barbara County enclave of Montecito. Flash floods there on Tuesday swept immense amounts...

California Republican Says He Won't Defend His House Seat

He's the 29th House Republican to announce his retirement ahead of this year's midterms

(Newser) - Republican Rep. Ed Royce of California said Monday he will not seek re-election after serving out his 13th term in the House, the latest in a string of committee chairmen who have announced their retirement, the AP reports. Royce is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This was...

Teacher's Viral Tweet Reveals How Deep First-Graders Are

Bret Turner's riddle was about the letter 'e'; his student chose to link it to death

(Newser) - A fun riddle a teacher posed to his students sent at least one of them spiraling into an existential abyss, with an answer as deep as it now is viral, the Washington Post reports. Bret Turner, who instructs first- and second-graders at the Head-Royce School in Oakland, Calif., gave his...

Trump Declares Major Disaster in California

Move means feds will cover costs of devastating wildfire

(Newser) - President Trump has declared a major disaster in California over a wildfire that destroyed more than 1,000 buildings as fierce winds whipped it through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties last month, the AP reports. The declaration makes federal funding available to state and local governments and some nonprofit organizations...

Pot Now Legal in California, but It's Not That Simple

'Broad confusion' over licensing, city mandates on recreational marijuana sales

(Newser) - While the world welcomed 2018, residents in California had an extra reason to celebrate the new year's arrival. At 12:01am, marijuana received broad legalization in the Golden State, two decades after California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, the AP reports. So-called recreational pot is now...

Trump's Snub of This State Not Seen Since Eisenhower

It's not expected the president will show up in 'deep-blue' California anytime soon

(Newser) - President Trump has visited almost three-fifths of the nation's states since he's taken office, but among those he hasn't graced, there's one notable omission: California, the nation's "most populous and economically powerful state," which the Los Angeles Times notes hasn't been snubbed...

Cops: Customers Waited in Church Lot for Unholy Delivery

California couple arrested for allegedly delivering drugs via drone

(Newser) - "Well it's new for us, at least." Such is the pronouncement of an officer with California's Riverside Police Department following the arrest of a couple who allegedly used a drone to transport drugs to waiting customers in a church parking lot. Neighbors say once the drugs...

They Were Dying by the Millions. Now, a Creature Comeback

Starfish are popping up again on the West Coast

(Newser) - Starfish are making a comeback on the West Coast, four years after a mysterious syndrome killed millions of them. From 2013 to 2014, Sea Star Wasting Syndrome hit sea stars from British Columbia to Mexico. The starfish would develop lesions, then disintegrate, their arms turning into blobs of goo. The...

In the '60s, He Raved About Pot. This Week He Was Busted for It

Cops say 70-year-old activist Irvin Dana Beal was toting 22 pounds of it

(Newser) - A marijuana activist whose advocacy dates to the '60s counterculture has been arrested in California toting 22 pounds of illegal pot, prosecutors say. Irvin Dana Beal, 70, of New York, was arrested Saturday in Northern California after prosecutors said his rental car was spotted weaving across the road and...

Wildfire Is Now Second Biggest in Calif. History

Thomas fire is still only 55% contained

(Newser) - A wildfire that has burned hundreds of homes in coastal mountains northwest of Los Angeles is now the second-largest blaze in California history. State fire officials say the 425-square-mile Thomas fire burning in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties is slightly larger than the 2012 Rush fire in Lassen County, the...

Cop Kills Himself After Being Pulled Over

Sources say San Francisco officer was under investigation for sex with a minor

(Newser) - An off-duty San Francisco police officer killed himself moments after he was pulled over by Richmond police on Monday, according to police. Authorities say a Richmond police officer made a traffic stop around 1:30pm but heard a gunshot as he approached the black coupe in a shopping mall parking...

Firefighter Dies Battling Massive California Blaze

Cal Fire 'shaken to the core'

(Newser) - Cal Fire San Diego Chief Tony Meacham says he took "the call that no fire chief ever wants to receive" Thursday when he was told a local firefighter had died battling the massive Thomas fire. Cory Iverson, a 32-year-old engineer with a state fire engine strike team, is survived...

New Claim on Polanski: He Molested Me When I Was 10

Woman claims he sexually abused her during 1975 photo shoot

(Newser) - Los Angeles detectives said Tuesday they're investigating a woman's claim that Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski molested her in 1975, when she was 10 years old. But the statute of limitations has long expired, so criminal charges couldn't be brought even if proven, reports the AP , though law...

San Francisco&#39;s Mayor Dies Suddenly at 65
Mayor's Unexpected
Death Rattles
San Francisco
updated
Dec 12, 2017 1:49 PM CST

Mayor's Unexpected Death Rattles San Francisco

Heart attack killed Edwin Lee at age 65

(Newser) - It was a most unexpected and unwelcome middle-of-the-night email. "It is with profound sadness and terrible grief that we confirm that Mayor Edwin M. Lee passed away on Tuesday, December 12, at 1:11am at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital," read the email sent from the mayor's...

California Fire Now Bigger Than NYC
California Fire Now
Bigger Than NYC
Dec 11, 2017 6:46 AM CST

California Fire Now Bigger Than NYC

'Squirrely' winds are making firefighting difficult

(Newser) - One of several wildfires burning in southern California is now the fifth-biggest fire on record in the state and firefighters are losing ground: Containment of the Thomas fire slipped from 15% to 10% as wind speeds picked up Sunday, the Los Angeles Times reports. The fire, which has now spread...

California Governor Says Fires Are the 'New Normal'

Jerry Brown also says the U.S. needs 'heroic' effort to fight climate change

(Newser) - California Gov. Jerry Brown says deadly and destructive wildfires in winter are "the new normal." Brown on Saturday toured Ventura County neighborhoods ravaged by a weeklong wildfire that killed at least one person and destroyed hundreds of homes and other buildings. At a news conference, Brown said drought...

Internet's Rabbit-Rescuing Hero Facing Backlash

'Let the animals take care of themselves'

(Newser) - A man caught on video rescuing a small rabbit from a blazing wildfire in California was hailed as a hero Thursday—but not by everybody, including experts who say it's debatable whether the rabbit even needed saving in the first place. Torie Bosch at Slate says risking the flames...

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