California

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday halted major fee increases for citizenship and other immigration benefits three days before they were to take effect, saying the last two chiefs of the Homeland Security Department were likely appointed illegally.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White found Kevin McAleenan improperly leapfrogged to acting secretary when Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April 2019. The judge said McAleenan, as Customs and Border Protection commissioner, was seventh in line to assume the acting role under rules of succession at the time.

NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Will Abrams and his family packed their pickup truck with laptops, clothes, sleeping bags and a tent and quickly left their rental home in California’s wine country after seeing flames on a hill about a quarter-mile away Monday morning. It was their third hurried fire evacuation in as many years.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Northern California’s wine country was on fire again Monday as strong winds fanned flames in the already scorched region, destroying homes and prompting orders for nearly 70,000 people to evacuated. Meanwhile, three people died in a separate fire further north in the state.

In Sonoma County, residents of the Oakmont Gardens senior living facility in Santa Rosa boarded brightly lit city buses in the darkness overnight, some wearing bathrobes and using walkers. They wore masks to protect against the coronavirus as orange flames marked the dark sky.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- More than 3.6 million acres of land have burned from wildfires in California so far this year, and 26 people have died and nearly 7,630 structures have been damaged or destroyed, according to the Sunday update by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

The state's biggest-ever fire, the August Complex in Mendocino, Humboldt and Lake counties, has been active for 41 days and grown to 873,079 acres (about 3,533 square km) with 43 percent containment as of Sunday noon.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A veteran lawyer from an international law firm said on Saturday that the Trump administration's ban on TikTok and the related series of lawsuits would discourage foreign companies from investing and operating in the United States.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has begun to see concerning upticks in coronavirus data after a sustained period of decline, the state’s top health official said Friday, urging people to renew efforts to prevent spread.

The increases include the rate of cases per capita, hospital emergency department visits for COVID-19 and new hospitalizations for confirmed or suspected cases, California Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly said.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Firefighters and officials at California’s largest utility company braced for hot, dry and windy weather in northern and central areas of the state this weekend that may fan the flames of several major wildfires or ignite new ones.

Pacific Gas & Electric warned Friday it may cut power from Sunday morning to Monday, potentially affecting 97,000 customers in 16 counties, during which forecasters said a ridge of high pressure will raise temperatures and generate gusts flowing from the interior to the coast.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Thursday announced an expanded coronavirus-related support scheme for the city's Latino community, a group which has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

With a total fund of 28.5 million U.S. dollars, Breed has allocated an initial 22.5 million dollars toward supporting the Latino community with a focus on health, housing, food access, and small businesses.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An enormous wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert was still threatening homes on Monday and was one of more than two dozen major fires burning across California.

Five of the largest wildfires in state history are currently burning and more than 5,600 square miles (14,500 square kilometers) have been charred, an area larger than the state of Connecticut, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Video-sharing social networking platform TikTok on Saturday voiced hope that an agreement reached by its Chinese parent company ByteDance with Oracle and Walmart will "resolve the security concerns of the U.S. administration and settle questions around TikTok's future in the U.S.."

The Los Angeles-based company issued a statement Saturday afternoon, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had approved a deal between the three parties.