Magnitude 4.2 earthquake rattles LA area
LOS ANGELES — A series of earthquakes rattled the Los Angeles area Thursday morning.
The largest, a magnitude 4.2 quake, was reported at 4:29 a.m. Pacific time and centered near San Fernando, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was felt across the L.A. Basin and into Orange County, but no damage was reported.
A number of smaller quakes followed throughout the early morning — including a magnitude 3.3 earthquake at 4:38 a.m. and a magnitude 3.8 temblor at 6:48 a.m., both in San Fernando, according to the USGS.
Ground and air surveys from the Los Angeles Fire Department found no major infrastructure damage, and “there has been no loss of life or serious injury that we can directly attribute” to the larger quake, officials wrote in an incident update shortly before 5:30 a.m.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s 911 and communications systems were not affected by the temblor, and all operations were normal as of about 5 a.m., authorities said.
“A reminder, when an earthquake does happen, please don’t call 911 unless you have an emergency,” the LAPD wrote on Twitter.
In the past 10 days, there have been two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three year data sample.
The initial earthquake occurred at a depth of 4.9 miles. The magnitude 3.3 quake occurred at a depth of 5.8 miles, according to the USGS.
—Los Angeles Times
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Members of Congress urge Barr, DeVos to act in detained teen’s case
DETROIT — Six members of Congress are calling on Attorney General William Barr and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to intervene in the case of Grace, a 15-year-old Michigan student who was sentenced to juvenile detention for allegedly not doing her online school work.
Michigan Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Andy Levin, Debbie Dingell, Brenda Lawrence and Haley Stevens, along with Massachusetts Democrat Ayanna Pressley, wrote a letter Thursday to Barr and DeVos urging them to help the teen, whose case made national news when she was sent to a detention facility after failing to do schoolwork during the pandemic.
“A child who is grappling with the stress of an unprecedented pandemic, coupled with a history of mental health issues and living with disabilities should never be criminalized for her lack of participation in an online learning program,” the letter said.
“While Grace has faced many personal challenges in her young life, it was her lack of completion in online classes that the judge cited as the definitive reason for sentencing Grace to juvenile detention. This is unacceptable.”
In May, Oakland Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan sentenced Grace to juvenile detention on a probation violation, despite an executive order issued by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer suspending detention for most juveniles in light of the COVID-19 crisis, which has spread rapidly in prisons and jails across the country.
In their letter, lawmakers said Congress has persistent concerns about congregate settings including nursing homes, detention centers and prisons that are not equipped to manage the COVID 19 crisis.
They also said the education of Black girls is “often disrupted as a result of discriminatory and overly punitive discipline policies that criminalize and push them out of school.” Grace is Black.
—The Detroit News
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3 teens among 4 dead from apparent drug overdoses at Auburn Hills hotel
DETROIT — Four people — at least three of them teenagers found in the same room — are dead from suspected drug overdoses after two separate incidents within 24 hours at an Auburn Hills hotel, police said.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, officers found the three dead teens inside a room at the Baymont Hotel on Opdyke, Auburn Hills police said. A fourth person was unconscious, treated at the scene and transported to an area hospital where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
The dead: a 17-year-old girl from Rochester Hills and two brothers, 18 and 19, also from Rochester hills.
The man who was taken to the hospital is 20 and lives in Lake Orion.
Thursday afternoon, police responded to another call at the Baymont and found another male dead from a possible drug overdose. The police did not release any further details on that incident.
The two incidents, according to police, are not related.
On Wednesday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released data showing that the number of calls to Emergency Medical Services for opioid overdoses — heroin, fentanyl — has spiked during the coronavirus pandemic.
—Detroit Free Press
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Brazilian first lady Michelle Bolsonaro tests positive for COVID-19
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s first lady Michelle Bolsonaro on Thursday tested positive for COVID-19, five days after President Jair Bolsonaro announced he had recovered from the disease.
“She is in good health and will follow all the established protocols,” the Communications Ministry told dpa.
Jair Bolsonaro, who has downplayed the pandemic and advocates keeping the economy open, tested positive for COVID-19 about three weeks ago.
He then worked from his residence, but was also seen moving around the area and talking to people without a face mask.
He announced Saturday that his latest test result was negative.
The 38-year-old first lady on Wednesday attended an event with the president, both of them wearing face masks.
But on Thursday, Jair Bolsonaro again faced a crowd without a face mask in Piaui state, before attending a ceremony in neighboring Bahia state, news portal G1 reported.
The South American country of more than 200 million people has confirmed over 2.5 million coronavirus infections and 90,134 deaths, the largest numbers worldwide after the United States.
Jair Bolsonaro earlier dismissed COVID-19 as “a little flu” and opposed the restrictions that were imposed by some governors and mayors.
—dpa
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