Month: February 2010

REDLANDS – A magnitude-4.1 earthquake and a series of aftershocks have rattled San Bernardino County but there are no reports of damages or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck at 1:39 p.m. Saturday about three miles south of Redlands. It was followed by at leastfourteen aftershocks, including two of magnitude 2.5. Several

HEMET – Highway 74 between Hemet and Mountain Center was open today, thanks to the faster-than-expected repair of a section that was washed out last week. Caltrans awarded an emergency $1 million contract to the construction company Skanska, which started work Wednesday and had the roughly 40-foot section of road repaired by yesterday afternoon, according

LOS ANGELES – People who live within 100 meters of Los Angeles freeways develop atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, at twice the rate of those who live farther away, it was reported today. The study by USC and UC Berkeley researchers and colleagues in Spain and Switzerland examined 1,483 people whose homes were within

SACRAMENTO – California – with its state worker furloughs and IOUs – became the poster child of the budget crisis gripping statehouses across the country last year. Unless Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers learn to get along, the state is likely to face more of the same this year. California already is more than

WHISTLER, British Columbia – Hannah Kearney has won America’s first gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics. Kearney won the women’s moguls by defeating Canadian Jenn Heil. American Shannon Bahrke took bronze to add to her silver medal from 2002. Kearney’s win came after a 22nd-place finish at the Turin Olympics where she came in as

RICHMOND – Authorities say two teenagers were shot and wounded when a man opened fire at a church service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Richmond police Sgt. Bisa French says three men in hooded sweat shirts walked into the church at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday and one of them fired a gun, hitting a

ROSTRAVER, Pa. – Emergency crews say everyone is accounted for and OK after a partial roof collapse at a suburban Pittsburgh ice rink where a youth hockey tournament was taking place. The collapse happened Sunday afternoon at the Rostraver Ice Garden, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Officials found nothing after searching the building with

CICERO, Ill. – The death toll in this morning’s suburban Chicago apartment building fire has risen from four people to seven. Officials say the victims include a newborn, a toddler and four teenagers. The seven may have been related. The fire started around 6:30 a.m. and was extinguished in an hour. The death toll rose

PHOENIX – A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman says a helicopter crash has crashed in north Phoenix, killing a child and two adults. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says the Eurocopter EC135 went down at about 3 p.m. MST on Sunday in a rural area known as Cave Creek. He says the helicopter caught fire after crashing.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The biggest U.S. military surge since Iraq and Afghanistan is scaling back, a month after troops arrived to aid victims of Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake. Great gray ships have been departing Haiti’s battered shores, as thousands of American troops pack up their tents. Troop strength is down to 13,000 from a Feb. 1

LONDON – A spokeswoman says best-selling British thriller writer and former jockey Dick Francis has died in his home in the Cayman Islands. He was 89. Francis was the author of 42 novels. He was also a successful jockey, winning over 350 races. He retired from racing in 1957 and took up writing, first as

HEMET – A man killed in a vehicle crash in Hemet was identified Saturday. Gary A. Buckley, 44, of Homeland, was driving a full-sized Chevrolet pickup truck on Stetson Avenue about 5:30 p.m. Friday when, witnesses said, he went through a red light at Cawston Avenue and collided with a woman driving a Scion on

MARJAH, Afghanistan – NATO troops are pressing on with their offensive against a Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan, battling sniper fire, booby-traps and a sandstorm. A U.S. Marine spokesman says troops are meeting “light to moderate” resistance as they move into Marjah. He says in some areas “the enemy has chosen to stand and fight.”

MORENO VALLEY – A Moreno Valley High assistant football coach, his wife and their two children were killed in a six-vehicle crash in San Bernardino County, it was reported Sunday. Ryan Villalpando, wife Veronica Villalpando and their two children died yesterday in the crash on Interstate 15 south of Jurupa Avenue near Ontario, Moreno Valley

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The International Space Station’s fancy new observation deck is going for a ride. Astronauts on the shuttle-station complex will use a giant robot arm Sunday night to move the domed lookout from one side of the newly installed Tranquility room to the other. On Saturday, bolts prevented the astronauts from attaching

TECATE – An earthquake with a preliminary estimated magnitude of 4.5 struck northern Baja California Sunday, and was felt through much of San Diego County, but no damage was immediately reported. The epicenter of the shaker, which struck at 1:35 p.m., was 21 miles south of Tecate, or 40 miles southeast of downtown San Diego,

PALM SPRINGS – Around 9,000 cyclists areriding through the Coachella Valley today for the 12th annual Tour de Palm Springs. The 100-mile bike ride starts in Palm Springs and winds through the entire Coachella Valley. Among the riders will be Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong. The bike ride, which benefits local charities, kick off at

SAN DIEGO – An earthquake with a preliminary estimated magnitude of 3.4 struck southeastern San Diego County at 8:34 a.m. today, automated seismographs reported. The epicenter for this quake was about 8 miles northeast of Jacumba, near the junction of Interstate 8 and state Route 98 at Ocotillo, according to the computerized seismographs operated by

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE – The Congressmen representing the San Gabriel foothills have signed separate letters urging the federal government to provide low-interest loans to mudslide victims, it was reported today. And the mayor of muddy La Canada-Flintridge is hoping that the federal government will tally storms damage from all across California to bring the total

BEAUMONT – A substitute middle school teacher in Beaumont was arrested on suspicion of child cruelty for allegedly harming one of her students, authorities said today. Kimberly Lavon Fleming-McBeth, 34, was taken into custody Thursday afternoon after students at San Gorgonio Middle School told the principal that she had allegedly abused a classmate, according to