Governor wants to bar bullet train injunctions
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to keep possible environmental challenges from derailing California's high-speed train project.
The Los Angeles Times says Brown's office on Monday began circulating proposed legislation that would prevent courts from issuing work-stopping injunctions in many environmental lawsuits.
The proposal would affect suits brought by Merced County and Central Valley farm groups who argue the multibillion-dollar project would cause potential harm to agricultural areas.
The Times says Brown's office sent the proposal to major environmental groups, hoping to win their support.
However, Bruce Reznik of the Planning Conservation League says there's a lot of skepticism, even among groups that support the rail project.
Paris Jackson talks to Oprah for Sunday interview
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris, talks about her late father in an interview with Oprah Winfrey airing Sunday.
Paris Jackson, 14, will be featured on "Oprah's Next Chapter," the channel said Tuesday. She and Winfrey discuss how the teenager is faring three years after the 2009 death of her pop star father.
"It never gets easier," Paris says in a promotional spot aired by OWN, which also shows Winfrey asking if Michael Jackson wanted her to have "a quote 'normal' life."
Paris and her brothers, Prince and Blanket, were closely sheltered during Jackson's life but have been in the public eye since, appearing onstage at Grammy Awards and on other TV shows.
"Oprah's Next Chapter," which also will include an interview with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, will air at 9 p.m. EDT Sunday on OWN.
Officials probe 2 heat-related deaths
COALINGA . (AP) — State officials are investigating two possible heat-related worker deaths in the wake of a heat wave in California's Central Valley.
A sixty-six-year-old farmworker died Friday after he collapsed while pruning fruit trees in high heat in Coalinga.
On May 9, an 18-year-old masonry worker lost consciousness as the crew at the small construction business in Friant where he worked was cleaning up for the day. The state's Division of Occupational Safety and Health reports that he died the next day.
State officials say they will continue reaching out to employers to ensure they comply with California's heat illness regulations and protect outdoor workers from heat-related illness this summer by providing water, shade, rest and training and implementing appropriate emergency procedures.
Fire contained in San Bernardino National Forest
BIG BEAR LAKE (AP) — San Bernardino National Forest authorities say a small fire in the densely wooded Moonridge area of Big Bear Mountain has been contained.
A Forest Service dispatcher says the fire burned about 1,500 square feet of heavy brush Tuesday morning near the Villa Grove residence.
Four engines, a hand crew and a helicopter were dispatched to fight the blaze.
Firefighters are now mopping up the area.
No property damage or injuries were reported.
Contractor dies when wall collapses on him
LINCOLN (AP) — Authorities say a contractor died in Northern California when a brick wall he had been hired to remove fell and crushed him.
The man died Tuesday morning in the Placer County city of Lincoln. He has not been identified, but authorities say he was in his 50s.
Lincoln police spokesman Jim Thompson told KCRA-TV a homeowner had hired him to tear the wall down.
Additional details were not immediately available.
