Heightened quake alert issued for Southern California

Heightened quake alert issued for Southern California

SANTA ANA, Calif.

Southern California residents should remain on heightened alert until Tuesday for the increased possibility of a major earthquake, officials said.

The warning by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services follows a series of small temblors deep under the Salton Sea, which is located on the 800-mile-long San Andreas fault, the Orange County Register reported Saturday.

Such warnings are typically issued once or twice a year, said Kelly Huston, the deputy director of crisis communications for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

FBI: Powder sent to company involved in Florida sinkhole

MULBERRY, Fla.

The FBI wants to discover who sent an envelope containing an unknown white powder to the company on whose property a massive sinkhole opened, causing contaminated water and fertilizer to flow into Florida’s main drinking water aquifer.

The FBI said Saturday it is testing the powder delivered Friday to Mosaic Corp.’s Tampa area headquarters. The powder is being tested to see if it is dangerous.

So far, more than 200 million gallons of tainted water from the central Florida fertilizer plant owned by Mosaic has drained from a waste heap through a 45-foot-wide hole down into the Floridan aquifer, which provides water to millions in the state.

Mexico’s Colima volcano erupts; 3 hamlets evacuated

MEXICO CITY

Eruptions at the Colima volcano in western Mexico continued Saturday, forcing authorities to evacuate hundreds of people from three hamlets on the volcano’s slopes.

The civil defense office in Jalisco state said glowing-hot rock continued to flow down the volcano’s southern and southeastern slopes, and vapor and ash emissions continued.

Royal family ends Canadian tour

VICTORIA, British Columbia

Prince George left another Canadian hanging on a high-five and handshake, a week after doing the same to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The shy future king declined a high-five and handshake of a flower boy named Daniel Brachman.

The 3-year-old George, wearing red shorts and a blue sweater with knee-high blue socks, enthusiastically waved to the crowd with both hands Saturday just before he, his sister and their parents boarded a sea plane at a departure ceremony at the end of an official tour of Western Canada.

The departure ceremony Saturday offered the only chance for public crowds to see George and 1-year-old Charlotte on the trip. The media had access to them two other times – at the airport arrival ceremony and a children’s party for military families.

French police clash with protesters backing migrants

CALAIS, France

French police fired tear gas and water cannons on protesters defending migrants in the northern city of Calais as the government prepares to shut down the city’s notorious migrant camp.

The demonstrators – including activists from migrant support groups, a far-left presidential candidate and migrants themselves – defied a ban by authorities on Saturday’s protest. The protesters say they are expressing solidarity with the migrants, who face imminent expulsion from the camp.

Associated Press