More details surrounding the senseless killing of a shop owner and mother of 9 … as her close friend says a man ripped down the shop’s pride flag before shooting and killing the woman.
Director Paul Feig, known for projects like “Bridesmaids,” “The Office,” and 2016’s “Ghostbusters,” expressed his pain online for the loss of his pal, Lauri Carleton — owner of Lake Arrowhead’s Mag,Pi, where she was killed Friday night.
Paul writes about the man who cops say shot her over the flag she had hanging outside her store … adding, “He ripped it down and when she confronted him about it he shot and killed her.”
He goes on to sing her praises as a fashion designer and a friend, saying she was a true ally of the LGBTQ+ community and asking folks to “keep moving forward with tolerance and love.”
California is bracing for its first tropical storm in 84 years with almost 1,000 flights cancelled and the ongoing actors’ strike called off due to the impending extreme weather.
Storm Hilary was previously classed as a Category 4 hurricane but weakened as it approached the Mexican coast, from where it was due to head to California and other states in the southeastern US.
At least nine million people in southern California were under flood warnings as they faced “life-threatening” rain, mudslides, tornadoes, high winds and power outages.
People walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame during the tropical storm Hilary
Up to 10 inches of rain were set to fall as mud spilled onto highways, water overwhelmed drainage systems and tree branches fell in places from San Diego to Los Angeles. The storm sustained winds of up to 65mph.
Authorities also said there was a 5% risk of tornadoes in southern California – the first time there has been this level of risk since at least 2002.
Residents in some counties were ordered to evacuate while Governor Gavin Newsom declared southern California in a state of emergency.
Authorities ran out of sandbags and supermarket shelves were empty as residents stockpiled supplies.
Disneyland closed early, football games were rescheduled and some beaches were closed in anticipation of the storm.
Schools also were set to close on Monday – postponing the start of the new school year.
Long time resident of Long Beach, Gabriella Holt, prepares her home that sits on the strand for Hurricane Hilary’s arrivalA worker drags caution tape to block off Pico Boulevard after a tree fell in Los Angeles Pic: AP
Airports in Las Vegas, San Diego and Los Angeles cancelled close to 1,000 flights on Sunday afternoon while two airlines, Southwest and Frontier, suspended all flights to Ontario International Airport in southern California. Dozens more flights across California were also delayed.
The Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, cancelled their scheduled pickets on Monday due to the storm.
Hollywood writers have been on strike since May, with the actors union joining them on strike last month in a row over pay and the impact of streaming and new technologies on the industry.
The unions plan to resume picketing on Tuesday.
Other states such as Nevada, Oregon and Idaho are also set to experience once-in-a-century rain as Storm Hilary moves east, with the Nevada governor declaring a state of emergency on Sunday afternoon.
Bad weather during summer is rare for California – the average rainfall for Los Angeles in August is 0 inches.
The city is predicted to have at least three to five inches, while hills not far away are predicted to get up to 10 inches.
Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Centre said some areas could get the amount of rain in hours that they typically get in an entire year.
“You do not want to be out driving around, trying to cross flooded roads on vehicle or on foot,” he said during a briefing from Miami.
“Rainfall flooding has been the biggest killer in tropical storms and hurricanes in the United States in the past 10 years and you don’t want to become a statistic.”
As preparations were under way, southern California got another surprise when an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck near Ojai, about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Los Angeles, according to the US Geological Survey.
No immediate reports of major damage or injury were issued.
It comes as one person died when deadly flooding from Storm Hilary made landfall in Mexico’s Baja California state.
Deadly floodwaters have left streets inundated along the length of the Baja California peninsula, reported AP.
Hurricane Hilary roared toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula late Saturday as a downgraded but still dangerous Category 1 hurricane likely to bring “catastrophic” flooding to the region and cross into the southwestern U.S. as a tropical storm.
The National Weather Center in Miami said in the most recent advisory at 9 p.m. that the maximum sustained wind speed is 90 mph and the storm was about 175 miles (281 kilometers) south of Punta Eugenia, Mexico, and 535 miles (855 kilometers) from San Diego, California.
Meteorologists warned that despite weakening, the storm remained treacherous.
One person drowned Saturday in the Mexican town of Santa Rosalia, on the peninsula’s eastern coast, when a vehicle was swept away in an overflowing stream. Rescue workers managed to save four other people, said Edith Aguilar Villavicencio, the mayor of Mulege township.
It was not immediately clear whether officials considered the fatality related to the hurricane, but video posted by local officials showed torrents of water coursing through the town’s streets.
Forecasters said the storm was still expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. The forecast prompted authorities to issue an evacuation advisory for Santa Catalina Island, urging residents and beachgoers to leave the tourist destination 23 miles (37 kilometers) off the coast.
Elizabeth Adams, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service San Diego office, said rain could fall up to 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) an hour across Southern California’s mountains and deserts, from late Sunday morning into the afternoon. The intense rainfall during those hours could cause widespread and life-threatening flash floods.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency, and officials had urged people to finish their preparations before sundown Saturday. It would be too late by Sunday, one expert said.
The hurricane is the latest major climate disaster to wreak havoc across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Hawaii’s island of Maui is still reeling from last week’s blaze that killed over 100 people and ravaged the historic town of Lahaina, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. In Canada, firefighters on Saturday continued to battle blazes during the nation’s worst fire season on record.
Hilary brought heavy rain and flooding to Mexico and the southwestern U.S. on Saturday, ahead of the storm’s expected Sunday border crossing. Forecasters warned it could dump up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) — a year’s worth of rain for some areas — in southern California and southern Nevada.
“This does not lessen the threat, especially the flood threat,” Jamie Rhome, the U.S. National Hurricane Center’s deputy director, said during a Saturday briefing to announce the storm’s downgraded status. “Don’t let the weakening trend and the intensity lower your guard.”
A couple walks along berms in Seal Beach, Calif., Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. Officials in Southern California were also re-enforcing sand berms, built to protect low-lying coastal communities against winter surf. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Meteorologists also expected the storm to churn up “life-threatening” surf and rip currents, including waves up to 40 feet (12 meters) high, along Mexico’s Pacific coast. Dozens sought refuge at storm shelters in the twin resorts of Los Cabos at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula, and firefighters rescued a family in San Jose del Cabo after the resort was hit by driving rain and wind.
In Tijuana, fire department head Rafael Carrillo voiced the fear at the back of everyone’s mind in the border city of 1.9 million people, particularly residents who live in homes on steep hillsides.
”If you hear noises, or the ground cracking, it is important for you to check it and get out as fast as possible, because the ground can weaken and your home could collapse,” Carrillo said.
Tijuana ordered all beaches closed Saturday, and set up a half dozen storm shelters at sports complexes and government offices.
Mexico’s navy evacuated 850 people from islands off the Baja coast, and deployed almost 3,000 troops for emergency operations. In La Paz, the picturesque capital of Baja California Sur state on the Sea of Cortez, police patrolled closed beaches to keep swimmers out of the whipped-up surf.
Category 4 Hurricane Hilary hurtled towards Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Friday, a U.S. government agency said, as it issued its first ever tropical storm watch for California and warned of life-threatening and possibly catastrophic floods.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects the powerful storm to near Mexico’s popular Cabo San Lucas resort city by late on Friday, though it should weaken before hitting the U.S. West Coast this weekend, nevertheless bringing dangerous rains.
“Life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding are likely over much of Baja California and Southern California this weekend and early next week,” the Miami-based agency said in its latest advisory.
Mexico’s Baja California peninsula spans two states.
The northernmost one canceled non-essential public activities on Friday, including school classes through Monday, and authorities in Mexico’s second-largest city, Tijuana, urged people in high-risk zones to move to temporary shelters.
In the peninsula’s southern state, authorities postponed a local baseball match and said ports would be closed through late Friday.
“Without being alarmist, we must all take precautions and stock up on water and basic necessities at home, without resorting to panic buying,” the state’s governor said.
NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome warned of flood risks from San Diego to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with particularly high risks around the Palm Springs area.
Waves break in a beach as the Category 4 Hurricane Hilary rushes toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Monserrat Zavala
“If you’ve got weekend plans, it’s probably time to start altering those plans,” he said. Major League Baseball moved up a trio of Sunday games in Southern California to Saturday.
An inspection was ordered after a code enforcement officer noticed a garden hose poking out of the back of the building
Authorities have discovered an illegal Chinese-linked biomedical lab in Central California filled with unlicensed mice, medical waste, refrigerators, and other infectious agents.
The discovery came after months of investigation into the lab in Reedley, California, that was suspected to be running an illegal operation.
An illegal facility run in California. (KMPH)
Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba confirmed to Fox News Digital that the facility was being leased by Prestige Biotech, a Chinese-linked company registered in Nevada.
Joe Prado, Assistant Director for the Fresno County of Public Health, told FOX 26 that the lab was using mice “to see whether or not the COVID test kits were actually testing for COVID.”
The state issued an order for an inspection after a local code enforcement officer noticed a garden hose poking out of the back of the building, KRON 4 reported.
An investigation led to the facility being shut down in early July. (KMPH)
Inside the illegal lab, health inspectors found nearly 1,000 lab mice – 200 of which were dead, according to the station. Inspectors also found thousands of vials, some of which contained human blood and other substances.
The lab was shut down in early July. Local, state and federal agencies have been working to remove and properly dispose of the materials.
