California

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Navy: Sonar, Blasts Way Harmful Than We Thought

1.6K whales, dolphins could face injury, hearing loss in year

(Newser) - The Navy's use of sonar and explosives could deal damage to some 1,600 marine mammals near California and Hawaii every year—a figure far higher than once believed. The whales and dolphins are at risk of hearing loss and other injuries, the AP reports. What's more, the...

Google Gets First Self-Driving Car License

Future car hits the road in Nevada

(Newser) - Google is officially speeding into the future now that it has its mitts on the first-ever-issued license for a self-driving car , courtesy of the state of Nevada. There's just one hitch: state regulations require that the self-driving car must have two human operators inside—one behind the wheel to...

California Moves to Ban 'Gay Cure' for Teens

'Conversion therapy' is dangerous, bill's sponsor says

(Newser) - Psychotherapists who claim they can "cure" gay teenagers may soon be out of business in California. A bill before the state Senate would ban so-called "conversion therapy" for minors and require adults to sign a release form stating that the counseling is ineffective and possibly dangerous, reports AP...

Mission Plays Mating Call to Woo Swallows

Cliff swallows have disappeared from San Juan Capistrano

(Newser) - Reminders of cliff swallows are everywhere on the grounds of the 236-year-old Mission San Juan Capistrano, where the birds have migrated each spring for centuries. Trouble is, the swallows themselves have gone missing in recent years . So the California mission is putting all its eggs in the basket of a...

3 Dead in Month's 2nd Yacht Racing Tragedy

Officials believe boat collided at night with a much larger vessel

(Newser) - A yacht racing off the coasts of California and Mexico apparently collided at night with a much larger vessel, leaving three crew members dead and one missing, a sailing organization said today. It was the state's second ocean racing tragedy this month. The Newport Ocean Sailing Association—organizer of...

Jellyfish-Like Creatures Shut Down Nuclear Plant

Sea salp invade Diablo Canyon

(Newser) - A horde of jellyfish-like animals has forced the shutdown of a nuclear power plant in California. The gelatinous creatures, 2 to 3 inches long, are called sea salp. The crisis began Tuesday, when workers at the Diablo Canyon plant discovered that screens which take in cooling water were clogged by...

Mad Cow Was Lame, 'Recumbent'

Animal was 10 years old: USDA

(Newser) - Officials previously said that the California Holstein with mad cow disease had shown no signs of the illness . Now they say it was lame and had taken to lying down, the AP reports. It was "humanely euthanized after it developed lameness and became recumbent," according to the USDA....

Mad Cow Discovery? Chalk It Up to Pure Luck

Infected cow showed no signs of the disease

(Newser) - This may not help you sleep better tonight. The discovery of mad cow disease in California was the result of ... luck, reports the AP . It explains that the state's dead cows are transported to a central California facility, where a very small number of the carcasses are tested. Officials...

Mad Cow Disease Shows Up in California

Authorities say food chain is safe

(Newser) - For the first time since 2006, US officials have confirmed a new case of mad cow disease, this time in California. The dairy cow's illness was detected during routine testing at a rendering plant by the USDA. None of the affected cow's meat got into human food, the...

California to Vote on Death Penalty

Repeal measure makes it onto November ballot

(Newser) - Voters in California, home to nearly a quarter of America's death row inmates, will decide on abolishing the death penalty this November. A ballot measure on repealing the death penalty has received the necessary 500,000 signatures, reports the Los Angeles Times . The measure would make life imprisonment without...

Astronomers: Meteor Caused Calif., Nevada Explosion

It rattled windows from Sacramento to Reno yesterday morning

(Newser) - No need to panic: That loud explosion heard early yesterday morning around large parts of California and Nevada? It was likely just a ... meteor, say astronomers. The mysterious explosion rattled windows and shook houses from Sacramento to Reno, causing residents throughout the region to phone police. Some people also reported...

UC Davis Head Cop Quits Over Pepper-Spray Mess

Annette Spicuzza steps down after report slams department

(Newser) - The UC Davis police chief whose officers pepper-sprayed seated protesters late last year has quit following a campus task force report criticizing her "dysfunctional" department's handling of the incident . "As the university does not want this incident to be its defining moment, nor do I wish for...

Prime Sign of California Waste: Kangaroo Report

And Gov. Jerry Brown wants it, 717 other reports, eliminated

(Newser) - If Gov. Jerry Brown has his way, California's lawmakers will soon find themselves much less informed about pertinent topics like Australia's annual kangaroo harvest and the DOT's use of waste tires. Brown ordered that state agencies and departments be audited at the end of last year, and...

Loyal Lab Sticks With Dog Pal Hit by Car

Shelter saves 'Grace,' seeking home

(Newser) - Doggone it, that's loyalty. A faithful black Labrador braved whizzing traffic to stick with a pal fatally hit by a car on a busy boulevard in Los Angeles County. A good Samaritan placed traffic cones to protect the dogs and took a cell-phone video of the arresting sight, and...

Much of US Choked by Drought

61% of lower 48 suffering drought-like conditions

(Newser) - Last year, dry conditions cost Southern farmers some $10 billion, and once again, things are looking bleak. Some 61% of the lower 48 states is experiencing drought or "abnormally dry" weather—the biggest proportion of the country since September 2007, USA Today reports. Just two states have completely escaped...

Lucasfilm Pulls Plug on 'Evil Empire' Studio Complex

The empire strikes back

(Newser) - A fed-up George Lucas has pulled the plug on a digital studio development plan that Northern California neighbors treated like a plot by an "evil empire." Now Lucasfilm hopes to sell the Grady Ranch site next to Skywalker Ranch in Marin County to a developer for low-income housing....

Bear Moves Into LA &#39;Burbs
 Bear Moves Into LA 'Burbs 
Apr 11, 2012 12:29 AM CDT

Bear Moves Into LA 'Burbs

Oblivious texter nearly walks into new neighbor

(Newser) - There goes the neighborhood. A black bear apparently sick of roughing it in the wilds of California decided to check out a suburb 10 miles north of Los Angeles in the Verdugo Mountains area. The bear was spotted lounging on a lawn before investigating several backyards, shooting him to the...

'Toxin-Free' Nail Salon Products Still Have Toxins

Findings pose threat to salon workers, says study

(Newser) - The labels say they're free of toxic chemicals—but certain products in nail salons could be dangerous for workers, a California report finds. Investigators are raising concern about the so-called "toxic trio" of formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate, which have been associated with cancer and birth defects, the...

Fukushima Radiation Found in California Kelp

'It's not a good thing,' says researcher

(Newser) - A major fallout from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant disaster has hit the coast of California, according to scientists. Radioactive iodine was found in giant kelp beds off Laguna Beach to Santa Cruz within a month of the meltdown, reports the Los Angeles Times . The radiation "represents a significant...

Battling the Death Penalty: Two Men Who Fought for It
Battling the Death Penalty:
Two Who Fought for It
'a colossal failure'
Apr 7, 2012 3:31 PM CDT

Battling the Death Penalty: Two Who Fought for It

Ron Briggs and Donald Heller wish they could undo Proposition 7

(Newser) - Californians will soon consider an initiative to repeal the state's death penalty. Two of its biggest backers? The men who successfully championed the expansion of California's death penalty 34 years ago, the New York Times reports. Ron Briggs, now a farmer and Republican county official, ran the campaign...

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