Important Takeaways:
- Malibu, California, which was burned by the Franklin Fire in December and the Palisades Fire in January, suffered a 4.1-magnitude earthquake on Sunday — and is apparently facing a series of similar small earthquakes in the future.
- The Los Angeles Times reported:
- Sunday’s magnitude 4.1 earthquake near Malibu is part of a larger seismic pattern being seen in Southern California.
- The region has been experiencing a number of moderate earthquakes since 2024. In all of 2024, Southern California experienced 15 seismic sequences with at least one magnitude-4 or higher earthquake, according to a count by seismologist Lucy Jones, a Caltech research associate. That’s the highest annual total in the last 65 years, surpassing the 13 seen in 1988.
- The Malibu area has seen three quakes larger than magnitude 4 in the last 13 months.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The United States Geological Survey says the state experienced a 2.7 magnitude quake at 8:03 am ET Thursday in the city of Hayward.
- Two more earthquakes struck less than six hours earlier roughly 250 miles north, off the coast of Petrolia, California.
- USGS says the first tremor struck at 2:06 am ET and measured 3.3 on the Richter scale.
- It was quickly followed by a second 3.4 magnitude quake less than three hours later at 4:51 am ET.
- The two earlier earthquakes were centered roughly 20 miles apart from each other off the California coast.
- While the two quakes near Petrolia struck a relatively quiet part of northern California, the third quake in Hayward hit an area of the state right in between major cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The threat is present at each of the major fires’ burn scars, including the Palisades and Eaton Fires, as well as the earlier Bridge Fire.
- The most recent blazes collectively burned more than 16,000 structures and killed more than 25 people in early January.
- The ground can even give way during periods of intense rainfall, as “burned soil can be as water-repellant as pavement,” according to the NWS.
- California has seen multiple deadly disasters involving burn scar landslides of various types, including a debris flow in Montecito that killed 23 people.
- The NWS forecast office in Los Angeles is warning of the risk for “life-threatening” burn scar flooding and debris flows as the heaviest rain sweeps through Thursday afternoon and evening.
- As of Wednesday morning, flash flood watches — including those in California — were in effect for about 10 million people, while winter storm warnings and advisories were in force for about 240 million people from California to Maine.
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Important Takeaways:
- Egg Prices Hit $9 A Dozen In California Amid Bird Flu Outbreak
- Outbreaks of avian influenza in 7 states widely continue to disrupt the industry’s egg supply
- Egg prices continue to move higher due to limited inventory due to an avian flu outbreak.
- The volume of trailer load loose egg sales decreased 16% at the end of January.
- Prices for white large shell eggs hit $8.97 per dozen.
- Delivered prices on the California-compliant wholesale loose egg market increased $0.37 to $8.72 per dozen in the last week of January, according to the Department of Agriculture.
- The record or near-record high prices are causing restaurants to raise prices.
- Waffle House recently announced a 50-cent an egg surcharge.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Among the findings:
- The Los Angeles County Fire Department pre-deployed firefighters and engines ahead of the extreme wind event paying overtime to personnel; the Los Angeles Fire Department, controlled by the city, did not.
- Local water systems (maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) failed, especially in the Pacific Palisades, where a 117-million-gallon reservoir was empty and fire hydrants lost water pressure.
- There were no set evacuation routes, identified by local law enforcement, in the event of a catastrophic event.
- There were delayed warnings to residents, as the National Weather Service, Los Angeles County, and Ventura County, decided not to send an alarm warning of hurricane-force winds that eventually spread wildfires.
- California Governor Gavin Newsom was distracted by his budget, by the funeral of President Jimmy Carter, and by the visit of then-President Joe Biden. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass was in Ghana for the Biden administration.
- The Times offered some recommendations:
- [B]etter evacuation alerts and water systems, better management of brush and grasslands, and homes that are more fire-safe, as well as better technology to fight fires. It could mean a stronger, more unified response structure that brings multiple jurisdictions together during the planning stages in extreme fire weather.
- In the most extreme cases, cities in the West facing volatile fire conditions may be forced to consider the kind of advance staff deployments and public warnings that are already standard elsewhere in the country for hurricanes and tornadoes.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- An official “mental health” app backed by the state of California is targeting vulnerable children with controversial propaganda involving the occult, the New Age, homosexuality, transgenderism, fornication, and more. The attack on biblical principles and precepts is clear. But critics are sounding the alarm.
- Under the guise of helping California teens with self-esteem and emotions, the new program, known as “Soluna,” features blatantly pagan and occult themes. From magicians and Tarot cards to channeling “that high priestess” and touting lesbian characters, the controversial topics are ubiquitous.
- One lesson is called “Tarot and Tidings: a holiday spread to protect your peace.” “This season, the cards are stacked in your favor,” reads the text. “This holiday tarot spread holds the secret to boundary-setting magic — meaning less chaos and more clarity.” The Bible refers to such practices as an “abomination.”
- The next card in the Tarot series features a “high priestess” where students are taught to “channel that high priestess” when family members ask “cringey questions” during the holidays. It then calls on students to “embrace the Hermit energy” because it is “where your magic grows.”
- Another lesson in the mental-health app is titled “Coming out to immigrant parents.”
- Yet another lesson teaching children about “physical intimacy” encourages fornication. “Taking that next step with someone special is a big deal! It can be an exciting way to deepen your connection,” the app informs children. “Ready to get spicy and safe? Let’s chat.”
- In short, as long as there is what the app calls “consent” and “protection” from babies and venereal diseases, the state scheme urges its victims to do “whatever you’re comfortable with.” It even encourages children to consider whether they want to be monogamous or polyamorous, having numerous sexual partners at the same time, as if this were normal.
- State authorities in California are using taxpayer money to fund these programs and also to promote them on radio stations, advertisements, schools, and even in movie theaters. The California Department of Health Care Services brags about the platforms as part of its nearly $5 billion “investment” in youth “behavioral health.”
- It is true that children today are in big trouble: CDC data show one in three high-school girls have seriously considered suicide. But the solution is not more of the indoctrination and propaganda that is driving the despair. These programs represent a horrific abuse of children and taxpayers, and the damage being perpetrated is incalculable. It must end.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- A new wildfire broke out in Ventura County late Monday night as thousands of firefighters in California continued their work to extinguish other deadly blazes that have scorched thousands of acres of land in the Los Angeles area since last week.
- The wildfire, which is called the Auto Fire, ignited in Ventura and was about 56 acres with 0% containment.
- This new fire comes as forecasters issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” Fire Weather Warning in Southern California due to dry conditions, low relative humidity and the return of dangerous Santa Ana winds.
- [Meanwhile] Nearly 1 million people in portions of New York and Pennsylvania are under a Lake-Effect Snow Warning as more winter weather blasts the Northeast.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Sears has closed its final store in Washington, leaving it operating in only four states across the US.
- The department store, which was once the largest in the country, closed an outlet in the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington, on December 15.
- In the weeks leading up to its closure, the store, which had been there for three decades, hosted discount sales for shoppers.
- Its closure means that Sears only has eight stores remaining across California, Florida, Massachusetts and Texas.
- The department store was founded in 1892, and as recently as 2012 boasted over 4,000 stores across the US.
- But the vast majority have now shuttered since the company filed for bankruptcy in October 2018.
- The company also closed its final location in the New York area at the beginning of this year.
- Plans for the company going forward are unclear, and it is not known whether further closures are planned in 2025.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- California has declared a state of emergency for H5N1 bird flu amid fears that the virus could jump to people and start to spread.
- The move comes in response to a major outbreak of the virus among the state’s cattle which has spilled over and infected dozens of dairy workers.
- The announcement follows news that an individual in Louisiana was hospitalized with H5N1, becoming the country’s first severe case.
- The declaration of emergency gives California state and local resources to contain the outbreak, including hiring staff or issuing contracts for things like tests or personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Governor Gavin Newsom said the move would free up funds and ‘streamline and expedite’ the state’s efforts to tackle the outbreak.
- California has identified H5N1 in 645 dairy herds since its first detection in late August and nearly half of those were reported in the past 30 days, highlighting the rapid spread of the virus.
- Thirty-four of the US’ 61 human bird flu cases have also been in California
- Experts have described it as a pandemic ‘unfolding in slow motion.’
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Mysterious drones have been reported near military bases in Hawaii and by installations in Utah, California, Maine and Florida — among other facilities scattered throughout the country.
- It comes as residents in New York and New Jersey have reported thousands of sightings of unexplained mystery drones in the night skies.
- House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said Tuesday he believes some of the unidentified drones are “spy drones” from China.
- “We need to identify who is behind these drones,” he said. “My judgment based on my experience is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People’s Republic of China.”
- Sources have previously raised their concerns to The Post over Chinese landowners, who are usually linked to, or working on behalf of, the country’s communist government.
- Morgan Lerette, a former contractor for private military contractor Blackwater, previously told The Post: “The Chinese are, or will, use this farmland to learn more about US military capabilities, movements, and technology.
- “This will allow them to better understand how to transition their military from a defensive strategy to an expeditionary one.”
- Chinese holdings total under one percent of foreign-owned agricultural land in the US, per NBC, but it’s the proximity to critical military installations which raises concerns, critics have charged.
Read the original article by clicking here.
