California

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google announced new privacy tools Tuesday intended to give people more control over how they’re being tracked on the go or in their own home, part of a broader effort by big tech companies to counter increasing scrutiny of their data collection practices.

The company also announced updates for its artificially intelligent voice assistant as well as a cheaper Pixel phone and a rebranding of his smart-home products.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration can make asylum seekers wait in Mexico for immigration court hearings while the policy is challenged in court, handing the president a major victory, even if it only proves temporary.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — a frequent target of the president’s complaints — reversed a decision by a San Francisco judge that would have prevented asylum seekers from being returned to Mexico during the legal challenge.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 (Xinhua): Facebook announced Monday a series of updates that will change its video ranking system to focus on original content and loyal viewership.

The ranking updates, which will roll out over the next few months, will further prioritize original videos that people seek out, and help both creators and publishers succeed with their videos on Facebook, said David Miller, product management director at Facebook.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 3 (Xinhua): An advocacy group in the Bay Area has met resistance from local residents who oppose a proposed plan to build permanent housing for the homeless in their neighborhood, a local TV outlet reported Friday.

The group called People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) is exploring possibilities of turning the site of a long-defunct grocery store into 100 permanent apartment homes for the homeless, the KRON4 TV said.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fumes in the cockpit and cabin of a Spirit Airlines jet flying from Los Angeles to Denver prompted the crew to bring the plane back to Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, authorities said.

Flight 630, an Airbus A321, landed without incident around 9:50 a.m., said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.

One passenger was taken to a hospital for evaluation and others were being accommodated on other flights, said Derek Dombrowski, a spokesman for Spirit Airlines.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 2 (Xinhua): U.S. experts in law and international business on Thursday expressed positive views on China's pledge to lower tariffs and import more goods and services from other parts of the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's statement about China's plan to have more imports "is, of course, welcome," and its willingness to provide a "level-playing field" is an important factor in bilateral trade, said Mei Gechlik, a law professor at Stanford University, on Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After years of pressure to crack down on hate and bigotry, Facebook has banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on “dangerous individuals.”

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones’ site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories. The latest bans apply to both Facebook’s main service and to Instagram and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

POWAY, Calif. (AP) — Leaders at a Southern California synagogue knew they needed to increase security around their front door a year before a gunman walked through it and opened fire.

The Chabad of Poway synagogue sought a $150,000 federal grant to install gates and more secure doors, but it took nearly a year for the application to be approved and the money to be distributed. It was awarded in late March.

“Obviously, we did not have a chance to start using the funds yet,” rabbi Simcha Backman told The Associated Press.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The Boeing Company denied on Monday that it had intentionally deactivated an alert feature linked to the angle of attack (AOA) indicator on its 737 MAX airplanes.

The denial came in the wake of media reports alleging the top U.S. aircraft maker had failed to disclose the sensors were turned off before two fatal air crashes in six months.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Almost two-thirds of the nearly 800 students, faculty and staff members who were quarantined following exposure to the measles virus at two Los Angeles universities have been cleared to resume normal activities.

The quarantine marked one of the most sweeping efforts by authorities to contain the nation’s measles outbreak, where cases have reached a 25-year high.

People at California State University, Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles were cleared after providing proof of immunity.