California

SAN DIEGO, the United States, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- A group of veterans living in the western U.S. state of California started a series of protests Tuesday along I-15, a key freeway linking Los Angeles and San Diego, calling on the U.S. military to cancel the Miramar Air Show and take other measures to deal with the climate crisis.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Southern Californians welcomed cooler temperatures and spotty rain Saturday from a tropical storm veering off the Pacific Coast days after a relentless heat wave nearly overwhelmed the state’s electrical grid.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Californians tried to weather the extremes of a changing climate Friday, as a punishing heat wave that has helped fuel deadly wildfires had the state teetering on the edge of blackouts for a 10th consecutive day while a tropical storm barreled ashore with the promise of cooler temperatures but also possible flooding.

The abrupt swing in conditions even whipsawed weather junkies.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A wildfire sparked Tuesday displayed "extreme" fire behavior Wednesday, prompting mandatory evacuations including in Foresthill, a town of about 1,500 people, and sending up a large smoke plume visible from many counties in Northern California.

As of Wednesday at local time 4:03 p.m. (0003 GMT Thursday), the Mosquito Fire had charred 4,223 acres (17.1 square km) and is zero percent contained, according to the Fire Integrated Real-time Intelligence System, or FIRIS, which is a state program that gathers aerial data of wildfires.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United States has confirmed more than 20,000 monkeypox cases, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A total of 20,733 known monkeypox cases had been reported nationwide as of Tuesday, CDC data showed.

California had the most cases with 3,833, followed by New York with 3,526 and Florida with 2,126, according to CDC data.

So far the United States has the world's highest tally of monkeypox cases.

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple’s latest line-up of iPhones will boast better cameras, faster processors, and a longer lasting battery — all at the same prices as last year’s models, despite inflationary pressure that has driven up the cost of many other everyday items.

That pricing decision, revealed Wednesday during Apple’s first in-person product event in three years, came as a mild surprise. Many analysts predicted Apple would ask its devout fans to pay as much as 15% more to help offset rising costs for many components.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Three weeks before he faced sentencing, the Malaysian defense contractor at the center of one of the biggest bribery investigations in U.S. military history made an escape as stunning and brazen as the case itself: U-Haul trucks were seen at his home in a tony San Diego neighborhood before Leonard Glenn Francis, known as “Fat Leonard,” snipped off his ankle monitor and disappeared.

Nearly a dozen U.S. law enforcement agencies were searching for Francis on Tuesday. But officials acknowledged he may already be in Mexico, and possibly on his way back to Asia.

WEED, Calif. (AP) — The fire-stricken Northern California town of Weed has long been seen by passersby as a whimsical spot to stop along Interstate 5 and buy an ironic T-shirt, but residents say they’ve grown edgy in recent years due to a new danger: Dark skies, swirling ash and flames that race so quickly they leave little time for escape.

Their fears exploded to life again in recent days as California’s latest inferno burned homes and buildings and forced evacuations in the small community about 280 miles (451 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.

WEED, Calif. (AP) — A wind-swept wildfire in rural Northern California tore through a neighborhood and destroyed about 100 homes and other buildings, fire officials said Saturday after at least two people were injured and thousands were forced from their homes.

The Mill Fire started shortly before 1 p.m. Friday just north of Weed, a city of about 2,600 people 250 miles (402 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The flames raced into the Lincoln Heights neighborhood where a significant number of homes burned and residents had to flee for their lives.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed on Thursday the first updated COVID-19 booster shots that target Omicron subvariants.

The decision came after advisers to the CDC voted to recommend reformulated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized the updated booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.