California

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Yosemite Waterfall to Turn to 'Fire' This Week

Horsetail Fall blazes in winter sunset

(Newser) - A confluence of just-the-right weather conditions at the perfect time of day—and year —can turn a Yosemite waterfall into a cascade of fire—at least, that's what it looks like. Sometime in mid-February the setting sun lights up one of the waterfalls of the national park in...

Fighters Intercept Pot Plane in Obama Airspace

Cessna strays too close as Obama heads to LAX

(Newser) - What were they smoking? A four-seater Cessna plane hauling marijuana yesterday strayed into restricted airspace designed to protect President Obama, who was flying on Marine One; the small plane was intercepted by fighter jets. The incident occurred as the president was traveling in the helicopter from Orange County to Los...

Calif. Cat-Eater Busted
 Calif. Cat-Eater Busted 
Feb 16, 2012 12:34 AM CST

Calif. Cat-Eater Busted

Man arrested after neighbors report screeching, smelling 'awful meat'

(Newser) - Disgusted cops in Bakersfield say they've arrested a man on suspicion of cooking and eating cats. Jason Louis Wilmer was charged with animal cruelty and using a pet or domesticated animal for food after neighbors heard cats screeching at his house and called police, AP reports. "I heard...

Even Mendocino Crumbling to Feds on Pot

County shutting down innovative sheriff-supervised grower program

(Newser) - The US county with one of the highest concentrations of pot farms—and tokers—is finally caving in to pressure from the feds. California officials in Mendocino County are snuffing out an innovative medical marijuana program that put pot growers under the supervision of the county sheriff. The program was...

'Speed Freak Killer' Got $33K to Tell Where Bodies Were

Wesley Shermantine, partner killed up to 20 in decade-long murder spree

(Newser) - A serial killer on Death Row is giving up the locations of the bodies of up to 20 people he killed—for the tidy sum of $33,000, reports the LA Times . Convicted murderer Wesley Shermantine drew maps of two dumping grounds after he was paid by a Sacramento bounty...

Californian Busted for Lucrative Illegal Gold Mine

Sierra Nevada digger hit with environmental charges

(Newser) - California authorities aren't buying landowner Joseph Hardesty's excuse that he is merely running a gravel business from a Gold Rush-era mine in a gold-rich part of the state. Authorities in El Dorado County say he is running one of the most blatantly illegal gold-mining operations ever seen in...

'Poster Couple' for Gay Marriage Divorcing

Robin Tyler and Diane Olson married in California in 2008

(Newser) - Two women in California who became what MSNBC calls the "poster couple" for gay marriage are getting a divorce. Robin Tyler and Diane Olson were the first women to legally marry in Southern California in June 2008, right after the state Supreme Court swept away a law banning same-sex...

Supreme Court&#39;s Move on Gay Marriage? Maybe Not
Supreme Court's Move on
Gay Marriage? Maybe Not
Prop 8 reaction
Feb 7, 2012 4:38 PM CST

Supreme Court's Move on Gay Marriage? Maybe Not

Prop 8 ruling is limited to California, providing a potential reason to skip

(Newser) - Kevin Drum at Mother Jones thinks today's court decision declaring California's ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional is "great news" for sure, but he's not getting too excited just yet. Most people think this one is headed to the Supreme Court, where it looks like...

Court Blocks California's Ban on Gay Marriage

Declares Prop 8 unconstitutional, paving way for Supreme Court decision

(Newser) - A big win for gay rights in California, at least for now: In a 2-1 decision, a federal appeals court ruled that the state's ban on gay marriages is unconstitutional. Supporters of Proposition 8, which limits marriage to a man and a woman, plan to appeal, paving the way...

Court to Rule on Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Today
 Court to Rule on Prop 8 Today 
Feb 7, 2012 4:58 AM CST

Court to Rule on Prop 8 Today

Decision can still be appealed to larger panel, Supreme Court

(Newser) - Californians are awaiting a ruling today on whether the state's Proposition 8 banning gay marriage is constitutional. A three-judge panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will decide if the law, passed by referendum in 2008, violates equal protection and due process. A lower court shot down...

Calif., NY May Sign On to Robo-Signing Settlement

Obama administration nearing deal for mortgage relief

(Newser) - California and New York are close to signing on to the Obama administration's multibillion dollar mortgage robo-signing settlement, significantly expanding the deal, the New York Times reports. If California signs on, the settlement total will jump from $19 billion to $25 billion. In exchange, the states want measures to...

Homeless Killer Suspect Accused of 2 More Murders

Itzcoatl Ocampo to be charged with stabbing Raquel Estrada, Juan Herrera

(Newser) - Authorities believe Itzcoatl Ocampo, the 23-year-old Iraq veteran charged with stabbing four homeless men to death in California, also killed two other people—ones that he knew. Ocampo will be charged today with the murders of Raquel Estrada, 53, and her 34-year-old son, Juan Herrera, the mother and brother of...

Cop Suspected in Sex Crime Dies in Shootout

California cops suspected him of sexual misconduct with teenager

(Newser) - A California policeman yesterday shot and killed a fellow officer suspected of sexual misconduct, the AP reports. Police in Santa Maria learned of his alleged relationship with a 17-year-old girl and confronted him in the wee hours yesterday morning on duty at a DUI checkpoint. The officer resisted arrest and...

Artist Wants to Bury Jet in Mojave

Visitors will pass through underground tunnel in 'Terminal'

(Newser) - Swiss artist Christoph Buchel has applied for a permit for a truly big, truly strange art exhibit: He wants to bury a 727 in the Mojave Desert, allowing guests to visit it through an underground tunnel. The piece will be called "Terminal," and the group Buchel organized for...

Dad Gets Restraining Order Against 4th-Grade Bully

Son was threatened with knife in Calif. school, says father

(Newser) - Here's one way to deal with bullies. A Southern California dad has taken out a restraining order against a classmate of his fourth-grade son who he says threatened his boy with a knife. A judge has granted a temporary order requiring the classmate to stay at least 20 feet...

California Occupy Activists Charged With ... Lynching

Sergio Ballesteros interfered with protester arrest, say authorities

(Newser) - In a bizarre twist, two Occupy California activists have been busted for ... lynching. Under California law the crime involves “taking by means of a riot any person from the lawful custody of any peace officer." Of course the 1933 law was intended to save people from vigilantes, particularly...

Can Birdsong Cut Crime?
 Can Birdsong 
 Cut Crime? 
Jan 17, 2012 3:30 PM CST

Can Birdsong Cut Crime?

California mayor says it already has

(Newser) - Crime has dropped in a California town, and residents should be thanking their fine feathered friends, says the mayor. Last year, he began piping recorded birdsong to 70 speakers on a highway. Minor crime dropped 15% from 2010 while serious crimes dropped 6%, the Wall Street Journal reports. It's...

Homeless Killer Suspect's Father Is Homeless

Itzcoatl Ocampo was a changed man after serving in Iraq, family says

(Newser) - Itzcoatl Ocampo, the California man accused of stabbing four homeless people to death , often gave money to the homeless, says his father, who is homeless himself. Refugio Ocampo, who lives in the cab of a broken-down truck, says that just a few months ago, his son gave a beggar his...

2 Adults, 2 Kids Dead in California Murder-Suicide

Another man wounded in stabbing

(Newser) - Two adults and two children were found dead of gunshot wounds in a California apartment yesterday, while another man was found with stab wounds outside its door, police say. Though the details remain hazy, police believe the mother of the kids shot herself when police arrived, the Fresno Bee reports....

Cops: Man Poisons Rice Krispies to Kill Wife

Fernando Porras busted as he flees from hospital

(Newser) - A California man spiked his wife's bowl of Rice Krispies with enough chemicals to kill her, say Azusa police. Suspect Fernando Porras' 17-year-old daughter called 911 after her mother said the cereal smelled and tasted awful. It had been doused with the household cleaner Goof Off, according to investigators....

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