Southern California

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State's Bong Auction, Meant to Bring In Millions, Netted $2K

California's auction went bust after trying to sell confiscated fixtures

(Newser) - When the state of California raided 10 cannabis businesses that collectively owed $14 million in back taxes, officials had high hopes for the goodies they seized, with plans to put them all up for auction to raise millions. The grand haul after a Feb. 16 sale of various glass bongs...

Jury Returns Conviction in Boys' Crosswalk Deaths

Prosecutors say Rebecca Grossman had been racing former MLB player after drinks

(Newser) - A Southern California woman has been found guilty in the deaths of two young brothers who were in a crosswalk when Rebecca Grossman's car struck them in 2020. A jury convicted her of two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, and one count of hit-and-run, the...

Fatal Gender Reveal Stunt Leads to Jail Time

California's Refugio Jimenez Jr. cops to involuntary manslaughter after firefighter died in El Dorado Fire

(Newser) - A man whose family's gender reveal photo shoot sparked a Southern California wildfire that killed a firefighter in 2020 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The El Dorado Fire erupted on Sept. 5, 2020, when Refugio Jimenez Jr., Angelina Jimenez, and their young children staged a photo shoot for...

The Rain in California Is Mind-Boggling
The Rain in California
Is Mind-Boggling
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The Rain in California Is Mind-Boggling

Southern California might get a year's worth in a single day

(Newser) - To say that it's pouring rain in California is a vast understatement. The state is dealing with a weather phenomenon known as an atmospheric river for the second straight day—on the heels of an earlier one last week. Which might explain why the National Weather Service in Los...

Historic California Rain Leaves a Muddy Disaster

Storms are receding, but cleanup from mudslides, flooding, fallen trees will take awhile

(Newser) - Rainfall from one of the wettest storms in Southern California history was to ease off Tuesday, but forecasters warned that floods were still possible and that soaked ground raised the threat of potentially deadly landslides, per the AP . The slow-moving storm that parked itself over the region on Monday, dumping...

'Pretty Lucky' Woman Rescued After Truck Falls 200 Feet

Driver rescued after 4 days after truck plummets off cliff in California's Angeles National Forest

(Newser) - A woman in Southern California has some hikers to thank for being alive after her vehicle veered off the road and off a mountain cliff in Angeles National Forest. Per the East Bay Times , a hiking group spotted a Ford Ranger pickup truck around 12:30pm local time on Sunday...

'Tremendous Wave Energy' Sends 8 to Hospital in California

Rogue wave crashes down on bystanders at Ventura's Pierpont Beach

(Newser) - "It's really exciting," one local said earlier this week of the giant waves that have been slamming into the California coastline of late, attracting gawkers who appear unfazed by the potential danger. A group of bystanders in the southern part of the state got more excitement on...

Doctor Who Claimed He Woke to Find Wife Dead Is Convicted

E. Scott Sills said he discovered Susann Sills at bottom of stairs in 2016

(Newser) - The Southern California fertility doctor who was arrested in 2019, three years after his wife was found dead at their home after he said she'd fallen down the stairs, was on Tuesday convicted of her murder. During the trial of E. Scott Sills, prosecutors pointed out the blood stains...

Hilary Weakens, Speeds Up
Evacuations Precede Hilary

Evacuations Precede Hilary

Hurricane weakens as it picks up speed before reaching California

(Newser) - Hurricane Hilary has not yet made landfall in the US, but California officials already are calling for evacuations. The storm has weakened but accelerated, forecasters said, and probably will be downgraded to a tropical storm by Sunday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. But they still warn of "catastrophic and...

Choppers Fighting a Blaze Crash in Midair

3 are dead after 2 firefighting helicopters collide in Southern California

(Newser) - Three people were killed after two firefighting helicopters collided in Southern California on Sunday while fighting a blaze in Riverside County, emergency officials said. One of the helicopters landed safely, per the AP . "Unfortunately, the second helicopter crashed, and tragically, all three members perished, which included one Cal Fire...

Southern California Plane Crash Kills All Six People Aboard

Airport has had two fatal crashes this week

(Newser) - A business jet crashed near a Southern California airport early Saturday, killing all six people aboard. The FAA said the Cessna C550 went down in a field and burst into flames, KTLA reports. Trying to land in a heavy fog, the plane missed the runway by several hundred yards. An...

Footage Shows Deputy Throwing Woman to Ground

LA County Sheriff's Department is investigating whether excessive force was used in store lot

(Newser) - The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating an incident last month in which a woman is seen on video being hurled to the ground by a deputy outside a local grocery store. The Los Angeles Times reports that the incident took place June 24, in the parking lot...

If You're Headed to the Beach in California, a Warning

Potentially aggressive sea lions are turning up after being sickened by toxic algae bloom

(Newser) - As Americans flock to the shores for the Fourth, a warning has been issued for Southern Californians: Watch out for potentially aggressive sea lions. Dr. Alissa Deming of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center tells NPR that the sea lions, as well as common dolphins, are washing ashore "unaware, dazed,...

For $300K, You Can Live Like a 'Troll'
'Troll' Home Goes for $430K,
Well Above Asking
UPDATED

'Troll' Home Goes for $430K, Well Above Asking

California apartment embedded in bridge went viral

(Newser) - It was listed for $250,000, but a funky dwelling near downtown L.A. known as the "troll apartment" has sold for $180,000 above that, reports the Los Angeles Times . The small residence set on a bridge over a drainage tunnel drew national attention and an energetic bidding...

DDT Dumped Decades Ago Off LA Coast Is Still Potent

Broad effort tries to assess the Pacific Ocean contamination introduced decades ago

(Newser) - Research revealed this week confirmed some scientists' worst fears about the dumping of barrels of DDT off the California coast in the 1940s and '50s: Much of the banned toxic chemical remains in its most potent form. "We still see original DDT on the seafloor from 50, 60,...

Cougar That Made 'Improbable Journey' Gets a Tribal Burial

Native American tribes oversaw private interment of P-22, who resided for years in LA's Griffith Park

(Newser) - A mountain lion who emerged from Southern California's mountains nearly a dozen years ago and has resided in Los Angeles' Griffith Park ever since was buried over the weekend in a tribal ceremony after being euthanized late last year, a rep for the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy confirms to...

Confrontation Over a Cat Leads to Murder Charges

Hannah Star Esser, 20, is accused of fatally hitting man with car after she says he tried to run over cat

(Newser) - A California woman has been charged with killing a man by ramming her car into him after accusing him of trying to run over a cat in the street, authorities said Wednesday. Hannah Star Esser, 20, has been charged with murder in the death of 43-year-old Victor Anthony Luis, per...

Cops: Dermatologist Poisoned Her Husband

California's Yue Yu arrested as her husband recovers

(Newser) - The husband of a dermatologist in Southern California was feeling lousy for a month and started getting suspicious, say police. The end result: His 45-year-old wife has been arrested and accused of poisoning him, reports the Los Angeles Times . The unidentified husband "sustained significant internal injuries but is expected...

Chaos at Beach Has 'Everybody Running Like Godzilla' Is Coming

But sea lions were likely engaging in normal breeding-season behavior, not chasing humans

(Newser) - A day at the beach in Southern California ended in chaos last week when two sea lions appeared to go on a rampage, spurring a viral video and reminders by local officials to leave wildlife alone. Per NBC News , the footage was shot by Charlianne Yeyna, who was visiting San...

Woman Killed as SoCal Hit With 25K Lightning Strikes

Meteorologist places that in top 2% of daily California lightning totals

(Newser) - The night skies over Southern California were studded with an atypical number of flashes. The North American Lightning Detection Network logged 25,000 strikes between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, which meteorologist Chris Vagasky says falls in the top 2% of daily California lightning totals; about a third were close...

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