California - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Nigeria’s Access Bank Group CEO among six dead in California helicopter crash

SIX people, including the group chief executive of one of Nigeria's largest banks, were killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California, authorities and the banking group said. Six people were on board the helicopter when it crashed around 10 p.m. Friday (0600 GMT Saturday) near Nipton, California, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. Access Holdings said its CEO Herbert Wigwe, his wife and son were among those who died in the crash. "We extend our deep and sincere sympathies to his family and loved ones," Access Holdings Chairman Abubakar Jimoh said in a statement on Sunday,…

Jun

2023

By TED HESSON and KRISTINA COOKE

Second flight arrives in Sacramento carrying migrants with Florida documents

WORLD

A flight carrying about 20 migrants landed in Sacramento, California, as state authorities investigated the role Florida had played in transporting them from Texas via New Mexico, according to the California attorney general's office and news reports. The migrants carried documents that indicated their transportation involved the state of Florida, the California attorney general's office said. More than a dozen migrants who arrived on Friday carried similar documentation, the office said. The administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican seeking his party's presidential nomination in 2024, last year orchestrated a flight carrying dozens of migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, a…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

California reels from back-to-back shootings that killed 18

WORLD

TIM REID AND ALEXANDRA ULMER A deadly rampage by a 67-year-old suspect in Northern California was likely an act of workplace violence, authorities said, offering fresh details about the second in back-to-back mass shootings that killed 18 people and horrified the nation. The two shootings within three days have left the state of California reeling as investigators worked to identify the 11 people killed on Saturday at a Los Angeles-area dance hall and the seven killed on Monday in the seaside town of Half Moon Bay near San Francisco. Authorities were trying to determine the motives for both shootings. Officials said preliminary evidence indicated…

Jan

2023

By TIM REID

California police investigate motive in Asian dance hall massacre

WORLD

CALIFORNIA investigators scrambled to pin down why an elderly gunman killed 10 people in a Los Angeles-area dance hall popular with older patrons of Asian descent before fatally shooting himself hours later. Police identified 72-year-old Huu Can Tran as the suspect in Saturday night's massacre, which took place over the Lunar New Year, one of the most festive holidays in Asian cultures. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said on Sunday that "everything is on the table" in terms of motive for the shooting, which also wounded 10 others. "We don't know if this is specifically a hate crime defined…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Six dead in California home shooting, including 6-month-old baby and her mother

WORLD

KANISHKA SINGH SIX people including a six-month-old baby cradled in the arms of her 17-year-old mother were shot dead at a home in California's main agricultural valley in what authorities called a targeted attack and "horrific massacre." Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux linked the killings to the illegal drug trade, saying deputies had conducted a drug-related search warrant at the same home last week. "We believe this was a message being sent," Boudreaux told reporters at the scene. "We believe that this was a targeted family." Two suspects remained at large, he said. Authorities responded early on Monday after multiple…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Carrot or stick? How countries are tackling COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

COVID-19

SONIA ELKS GET a COVID-19 jab in California and you could walk away with a lot more than a sore arm - a $1.5 million lottery jackpot is up for grabs for residents of the state who get vaccinated. From dollars to donuts, a dizzying array of incentives are being offered by authorities and companies around the world in a bid to win around the vaccine hesitant as they seek to turn a page on the pandemic. But as countries strive to reach 'herd immunity' - where enough people are protected against a disease that it becomes difficult for infections…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Pics: Ariana Grande gets married in private ceremony

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO ARIANA Grande is now Mrs. Gomez. The pop singer got married to real estate agent Dalton Gomez, in her private home in California, surrounded by friends and family over the weekend. In pictures released exclusively to Vogue Magazine, Grande is seen wearing a a custom lily white, silk charmeuse, empire-waist column gown accented with a sculpted neckline, an exposed bra-strap closure, and a plunging back. Her look was completed with minimal accessories and a bubble veil with a satin bow, while Dalton Gomez wore a black Tom Ford suit with a shite shirt and black slim tie. Ariana…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Eight people killed in rail yard shooting in San Jose, California

WORLD

AT least eight people were killed when a transit employee opened fire at a light rail yard in San Jose, California, yesterday, the county sheriff's office said. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Davis said at a news conference the gunman was also dead. The gunman was a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) employee, he said. Davis said he could not say how the gunman died or whether police officers fired their weapons at the scene. The shooting took place just before 7 a.m. Pacific Time (1400 GMT) at a light rail yard run by the VTA near the…