Small signs of rebuilding the California town of Paradise after it was destroyed by wildfire are sprouting this spring, including the issuing of the first permits to rebuild two the 11,000 homes destroyed five months ago. The city issued the first permit Thursday to Jason and Meagann Buzzard, who said they never intended to leave the town of 27,000 people that was 90 percent destroyed by the Nov. 8 fire that killed 85 people. "We were 100 percent intent on rebuilding in Paradise," Jason Buzzard said. "It's home. I was born and raised there. My wife was born there and so was my daughter."

Ernest Quintana's family knew he was dying of chronic lung disease when he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, unable to breathe. But they were devastated when a robot machine rolled into his room in the intensive care unit that night and a doctor told the 78-year-old patient by video call he would likely die within days.

German insurance company Munich Re says the Northern California wildfire that killed dozens of people and burned down the town of Paradise was the world's costliest single natural disaster in 2018. The November fire caused overall losses of $16.5 billion.

Authorities searching through the blackened aftermath of California's deadliest wildfire have released the names of about 100 people who are still missing, including many in their 80s and 90s. As the names were made public late Tuesday, additional crews joined the search, and the statewide death toll climbed to at least 51, with 48 dead in Northern California and three fatalities in Southern California.

The storm that pummeled much of California for three days began moving east Thursday after causing at least six deaths, forcing wildfire victims threatened by floods to flee their homes and plunging nearly 300,000 utility customers into darkness at its peak. The National Weather Service says the winter storm is forecast to drop its heavy rain, snow and wind in Colorado next and move across much of country in coming days.

Thousands of the world’s leading stem cell researchers are convening in Los Angeles this week to discuss the prospects for a future without human disease. Stem cells could play a key role. These cells are remarkably flexible; under the right conditions, they can be coaxed to develop into many other types of cells in the body.

Anderson Cooper was honored Saturday night in front of a star-studded crowd at Sean Penn's ninth annual benefit for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. Julia Roberts paid homage to Cooper before presenting him with the award. She said he showed bravery as a journalist in matters of crisis, as the event focused on his efforts after the earthquake left thousands of Haitians homeless and without basic resources almost a decade ago.

The strongest earthquake in 20 years shook a large swath of Southern California and parts of Nevada on Thursday, rattling nerves on the July 4th holiday and causing injuries and damage in a town near the epicenter, followed by a swarm of ongoing aftershocks. The 6.4 magnitude quake struck at 10:33 a.m. in the Mojave Desert, about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles, near the town of Ridgecrest, California.

Amid sexual harassment allegations and growing calls for his resignation, West Hollywood Mayor John Duran said Monday that he would relinquish the title of mayor. Duran cited health issues for his decision. He recently was hospitalized with blood clots and said he is on doctor's orders to slow down and rest. In West Hollywood, the mayor's position is a largely ceremonial position that rotates annually among council members. Duran had two months left in his term and said he would cede the gavel to Mayor Pro Tem John D'Amico.

A message in a bottle from Hawaii was discovered floating in a California river after traveling for more than a decade across the Pacific, a newspaper reported. Eric McDermott, 30, said he found the message, dated 2006, in April with the names of three siblings, ages 4, 7 and 10, and an Oklahoma street address.