2nd Wildfire Death Confirmed

Schwarzenegger calls state of emergency

(NEWSER) - Here's a sign of just how many explosives and chemicals authorities found in the home bomb factory in San Diego County: They figure the best way to deal with the house is to destroy it. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency to give authorities the leeway to seize it and do just that with a controlled burn, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

Breathing carefully, residents return to face gas, water shortages, power outages

(NEWSER) - Evacuees trickling home in fire-ravaged Southern California find themselves largely without power, natural gas or potable water. Perhaps worse, the barely breathable air is laden with soot and dust, raising health concerns, the AP reports. Satellite pictures show thick smoke throughout the region. “We're all at risk of the fine particulate matter we can inhale,” said a Breathe LA spokeswoman, urging people to stay indoors. More»

Bush steps up to avoid Katrina repeat

(NEWSER) - Firefighters look for the wind to change late this afternoon, as more than 15 rampaging wildfires continue to turn swaths of Southern California into writhing walls of flames. In a bid to avoid a repeat of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, President Bush yesterday declared a federal emergency for seven counties and scheduled a visit for tomorrow, CNN reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Federal aid will soon be pouring into Southern California: President Bush today declared a state of emergency for the fire-scorched region. Wildfires ripping across seven counties have forced half a million people to evacuate. “We extend our prayers and our thoughts” to them, Bush said. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff and FEMA officials will head to California today, the LA Times reports. More»

Think Long Committee has the bucks to get measure on ballot, passed

(NEWSER) - A group of California billionaires is joining political insiders to put a $10 billion tax hike measure on the state ballot. Members of the Think Long Committee include billionaire Google chairman Eric Schmidt and philanthropist Eli Broad, as well as former governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Condoleezza Rice. The group's plan is to boost tax revenue for education and to pay down the state's debt by relying on an "ideological hybrid" of ideas from both the right and the left, spokesman Nathan Gardels tells the San Francisco Chronicle . The proposal would lower California's personal income tax and sales tax rates, but impose a 5% tax on currently untaxed services such as legal work and accounting. Under the proposal, couples earning up to $45,000 would pay no state income tax; those earning up to $95,000 would pay 2%; and those earning more would pay 7.5%, with a 1% surcharge for Californians earning more than $1 million. More»