Mecca

A student from eastern Coachella Valley won a full-ride scholarship to attend Harvard University, one of the most prestigious universities in the entire country.

Elizabeth lives in a mobile home in Mecca, and her parents are two of hundreds of members of the indigenous tribe who migrated to the far eastern Coachella Valley for a better life. Elizabeth has just been accepted to Harvard. NBC4 News reports at 4 p.m. on April 16, 2021.

A hiker suffered an unknown injury Thursday on a trail on the east end of Mecca, unable to walk farther and requiring firefighters to rescue him. The “hiker down” call was received about 1:20 p.m. in an area called Box Canyon, where the closest intersection is Box Canyon and Painted Canyon roads, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

Saudi Arabia has halted travel to Islam’s holiest sites over fears about a new viral epidemic months ahead of the hajj pilgrimage.

An odor advisory first issued more than a week ago due to elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide wafting up from the Salton Sea, which is creating a smell similar to rotten eggs in the Coachella Valley, has been extended again.

Muslim worshippers and Israeli police clashed Sunday at a major Jerusalem holy site during prayers marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. Palestinian medics said at least 14 people were wounded, one seriously, in the skirmishes with police at the site, which Muslims refer to as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and Jews refer to as the Temple Mount. Police said...

Around 2.5 million pilgrims took part in a symbolic stoning of the devil on Saturday, marking the final days of the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. To mark the completion of the hajj, male pilgrims shave their hair and women trim theirs to represent a spiritual renewal...

More than 2 million Muslims gathered Saturday at the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for an intense day of worship and reflection on what’s considered the climax of the Islamic hajj pilgrimage. Many had tears streaming down their faces as they raised their hands in worship on the slopes of the rocky hill where the Prophet Muhammad...

Skateboarding will make its Olympic debut next summer, and many professional skaters in Southern California are hoping to land a spot on Team USA. Daniella Guzman reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, 2019.

Further mosquito pesticide treatments via helicopter were scheduled to get underway Wednesday in the Coachella Valley as mosquito-borne viruses continue to be detected at “unprecedented” levels in the region, officials said. Additional truck-mounted mosquito control applications are planned for La Quinta and Mecca this week as a result of more mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile Virus, the Coachella Valley...

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded 37 Saudi citizens, most of them minority Shiites, in a mass execution across the country for alleged terrorism-related crimes. It also publicly pinned the executed body and severed head of a convicted Sunni extremist to a pole as a warning to others. The executions were likely to stoke further regional and sectarian tensions between rivals...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew bigger crowds at South by Southwest than any presidential candidate at the annual festival of music, film and tech....
More than a half-dozen declared and potential 2020 candidates of all political stripes are making the pilgrimage to this mecca for upwardly mobile young techies and hipsters. But Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old left-wing Democrat from New York, was the star...

Several passengers arriving at Philadelphia International Airport on two separate American Airlines flights were temporarily quarantined after showing flu-like symptoms, Customs and Border Protection officials said.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which commemorates the first revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad and is marked by daily fasting from dawn to sunset, begins at sunset Tuesday.

Mitzi Shore, owner of the Los Angeles club the Comedy Store and one of the most influential figures in stand-up for more than four decades, has died. She was 87. Spokeswoman Jodi Gottlieb released a statement from the club announcing Shore’s death, calling her the “legendary godmother of the world famous Comedy Store” and “an extraordinary businesswoman and decades ahead...

Three Palestinian assailants opened fire on Israeli police from inside a major Jerusalem holy site on Friday, gravely wounding two officers before being shot dead, police said. The officers later died. The rare attack from within the contested site, revered by both Muslims and Jews, raised new concerns about an escalation of violence. Police identified the attackers as Arab citizens...

Las Vegas isn’t known for mind-steadying experiences. But as the city broadens the range of interests and wallets it appeals to, companies have carefully selected an array of unique, picture-perfect sites where visitors and locals can say “Namaste.” Call it yoga a la Vegas, and picture dolphins, helicopters, red rocks and ritzy high-rises. “High plank, low plank, up dog, down...

E3, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, opened Tuesday in Los Angeles with thousands of video game enthusiasts, analysts and industry representatives in attendance to play and show off the latest technology that will soon be hitting store shelves. The show at the Los Angeles Convention Center has typically only been open to those in the industry and media that cover...

A search intensified Monday for a Coachella Valley couple missing since last Wednesday after the car the woman was driving was found abandoned.