California

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Prosecutors in Seattle and San Francisco have charged men with hate crimes in separate incidents that authorities say targeted people of Asian descent amid a wave of high-profile and sometimes deadly violence against Asian Americans since the pandemic began.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Los Angeles and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday, the latest in a series of rallies in response what many said has become a troubling surge of anti-Asian sentiments.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Wednesday announced new efforts to advance public safety in the city and provide targeted support to members of San Francisco's Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community.

The first effort is an expanded community safety teams program that will provide outreach, support, and engagement in key neighborhood corridors throughout the city. The second is the extension of a program to accompany seniors to medical and personal appointments, the announcement said.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Northern California wildfire that killed four people and destroyed more than 200 buildings last year was sparked when tree branches came into contact with Pacific Gas & Electric power lines, officials said Monday.

Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection seized equipment belonging to PG&E in the weeks after the Zogg Fire tore through rural communities in Shasta and Tehama counties last September and October.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom established a political committee Monday to begin raising money to defend his seat in a potential recall election, the strongest acknowledgment to date that he expects to be on the ballot this year.

The Democrat’s new fundraising arm could soon send a powerful message to his possible rivals: Under state rules, Newsom alone is allowed to raise money in unlimited amounts, while other candidates must adhere to contribution limits.

LOS ANGELES, March 11 (Xinhua) -- A new study, conducted by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism (CSHE) at California State University, San Bernardino, found a nearly 150 percent surge in anti-Asian hate crimes across major cities in the United States in 2020, while overall hate crimes fell by 7 percent.

"Report to the Nation: Anti-Asian Prejudice & Hate Crime," based on police department statistics in 16 cities, will be released later this month, according to the CSHE, which posted fact sheets about the research on the university's official website on Thursday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owner of a scuba diving boat that burned and sank off the California coast, killing 34 people, has sold off his two remaining vessels.

Glen Fritzler of Truth Aquatics Inc. sold the dive boats to Channel Islands Expeditions, which was listed as the owner as of Dec. 9, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to give perhaps the most important speech of his political life Tuesday, and he’s spent weeks laying the groundwork for an upbeat address aimed at nearly 40 million people exhausted by a year of coronavirus restrictions.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a wide-ranging interview aired Sunday, Harry and Meghan described painful palace discussions about the color of their son’s skin, losing royal protection and the intense pressures that led the Duchess of Sussex to contemplate suicide.

The interview with Oprah Winfrey was the couple’s first since they stepped down from royal duties and the two-hour special included numerous revelations likely to reverberate on both sides of the Atlantic.

LOS ANGELES, March 6 (Xinhua) -- An average of 46 bombs have been dropped on other countries per day by the United States and its allies since 2001, recent research by anti-war group CODEPINK revealed.

According to the research by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies of the U.S.-based group, which was published Thursday on the Common Dream website, the United States and its allies have dropped at least 326,000 bombs and missiles on other countries since 2001, including over 152,000 in Iraq and Syria.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — More than 260 refugees who were vetted, approved and booked to come to the United States have had their flights canceled by the State Department over the past two weeks because they do not qualify under restrictions imposed by former President Donald Trump, refugee resettlement agencies say.

The restrictions came when Trump capped refugee admissions at a record low of 15,000. President Joe Biden proposed quadrupling refugee admissions and eliminating Trump’s restrictions in a plan that was communicated to Congress three weeks ago.