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More Than 40 Freight Train Cars Derail in the Southern California Desert
A freight train derailed in the Southern California desert on Wednesday, sending more than 40 rail cars off the tracks in San Bernardino County.
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Train Derails in Mojave Desert, Flammable Liquids Leak
At least 25 rail cars derailed Wednesday in the Mojave Desert. Thousands of gallons of flammable liquid spilled from the tanks before crews stopped the leak.
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Desert Hikers, Help the Mojave With Every Step
“Miles for MDLT” is raising money for the missions at the heart of the Mojave Desert Land Trust.
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2 Charged in Killing of Marijuana Dispensary Worker Whose Body Was Found in Mojave Desert
A San Gabriel man was charged Monday with murdering a 21-year-old community college student whose remains were found in a remote area of the Mojave Desert nearly two months after he went missing in South Los Angeles.
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Man Receives Multiple Life Sentences in Torture Case
In an Orange County courtroom Friday, Hossein Nayeri was given several life sentences for horrific acts of torture. Vikki Vargas reports for the NBC4 News on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020.
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Drug Dealer Sentenced to Life in Prison for Kidnapping and Mutilation of Marijuana Dispensary Owner
A Newport Beach pot dealer who gained fame by staging a daring escape from the Orange County jail while awaiting trial is scheduled to be sentenced Friday for kidnapping and torturing a marijuana dispensary owner who was mutilated in the Mojave Desert.
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Photos: How the Magnitude-7.1 Earthquake Changed the Earth's Surface
A powerful magnitude-7.1 earthquake damaged buildings and caused shaking throughout Southern California. It also displaced the Earth surface in part of the Mojave Desert roughly 160 miles north of Los Angeles.
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Virgin Galactic Announces Registrations for Spaceflight
Virgin Galactic has received nearly 8,000 online reservations of interest since its first successful test flight into space 14 months ago, the company said Tuesday as it nears commercial operation and prepares to reopen ticket sales. Virgin Galactic already had more than 600 firm reservations that were taken from customers in 60 countries until the December 2018 flight, when it…
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Flood Risk Heightened for Mojave River Dam
A California dam could fail during an extreme storm and send water flooding into Mojave Desert communities that are home to about 300,000 people.
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Governor Declares a State of Emergency in LA County Due to Destructive Tick Fire
Some residents were allowed to return home Friday afternoon after a destructive wildfire north of Los Angeles jumped a major freeway, as strong winds fanned embers and pushed flames into neighborhoods in the Santa Clarita area.
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California Joshua Tree Needs Endangered Species Protection, Conservationists Petition State
The western Joshua tree needs protection under the California Endangered Species Act because of threats from climate change and habitat destruction, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a petition Tuesday to the state’s Fish and Game Commission.
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17 States Sue Feds Over Endangered Species Act Rules
Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis. The lawsuit, in federal court in San Francisco, follows a similar challenge filed last month by several environmental groups, including the Humane Society and the Sierra...
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Tourist Dies in Death Valley Amid Scorching Summer Heat
A tourist has died while visiting Death Valley National Park amid blazing summer heat.
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Private Donor Gives $32,500 to Help Catch Wild Burro Killers
An anonymous donor has given more than $30,000 to fund a reward for information that leads to whoever has killed more than 40 protected wild burros in the Southern California desert.
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Pot Dealer Who Escaped From OC Jail is Convicted in Gruesome Torture Kidnapping Trial
A man was convicted Friday in a grisly case of kidnapping and torture that came to light after a deputy’s mysterious encounter seven years ago with a frightened woman pleading for help in the Mojave Desert northeast of Los Angeles.
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Man Who Broke Out of Jail Convicted in Torture Case
A pot dealer was convicted for abduction and torture of a Newport Beach dispensary owner. Vikki Vargas reports for the NBC4 News on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019.
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Quake Damage Estimate Tops $5B at California Navy Base
Earthquakes that struck California last month caused more than $5 billion in damage to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, a sprawling desert facility where some of the military’s most advanced weapons are tested, according to an estimate made public Wednesday.
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Trial Continues in Orange County Torture Case
Testimony continued in the trial of Hossein Nayeri, who is charged in the abduction of a marijuana dispensary owner and a woman from Newport Beach who were later found in the Mojave Desert. This report appeared on the NBC4 News on Monday, July 29, 2019.
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Richard Branson Inspired by Apollo, His Own Space Shot Soon
Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson said Thursday his spaceship has just a few more test flights before he jumps on board for the first tourist trip. The British billionaire celebrated his 69th birthday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center during 50th anniversary festivities for humanity’s first moon landing. His guests were 100 other aspiring astronauts who have put down deposits to launch...
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Man Kidnapped, Tortured, Maimed Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner for Buried Money, Prosecutor Says
A former pot grower and two of his high school friends kidnapped and tortured the owner of a flourishing medical marijuana dispensary before cutting off his penis after demanding he tell them where he buried $1 million in the Mojave Desert, prosecutors said Wednesday.