Vets And Their Dogs Are Walking From North Carolina To California

Two veterans are on a journey raising money for military families and vets who are pet owners

The four of them were strangers a few weeks ago.

“I had heard that a Marine was walking across the country in 30 days for a dog that had saved his life, and I said, ‘I’m in,'” said Joe Trainor Jr.

They did have something in common – two dogs, Spanky and C.T.

Marine vet Dan Spangler’s 2003 return home from Iraq, injured physically and mentally, would be a test of his will to live.

“Spanky is the one that saved my life,” Spangler said. “At the time, I didn’t realize it. He was the one that was there every time I’d wake up at night or anytime I wanted to hang out with somebody and needed to talk and couldn’t talk about what we did or what happened, Spanky was there to listen.”

Trainor, an Army Ranger veteran, says his story began right after Sept. 11, 2001.

“A month and a half later I found myself hooked up to a C130,” Trainor said.

And soon after, he says, he was right in the middle of a historical mission.

“I was the very first person on the first objective on the first mission on the war on terrorism,” he said.

Two combat tours and a traumatic brain injury later, Trainor also discovered healing through an animal.

He said, “Because a dog had saved my life four years ago when I had contemplated suicide for the very first time.”

Today the two are on a journey, Operation: Keep Your Spanky, that will take them from Camp Lejune, North Carolina to Camp Pendleton, California.

“We’re going to provide food and low-cost veterinary care to veterans and military families that are struggling financially so that they can keep their pets with the vets,” says Spangler.

It may not be war, but Spangler who began this mission, says it is a matter of life or death.

“Things like dogs and cats and other animals have shown huge advances in keeping veterans alive.”

25 Years Ago: Back To The Future 3

Back to the Future III was filmed mostly in Tuolumne County and released in theaters 25 years ago this May.

Several local residents were used in the movie. Numerous people who were here at the time can tell you stories about where the actors and crew stayed, where they ate and various encounters around the community.

The scene above used Sierra Engine #3 from Railtown 1897. This scene was filmed west of Jamestown.

Google Exec Killed On Mt Everest

(San Francisco Chronicle) – Dan Fredinburg, the San Francisco man who died in the Mount Everest avalanche triggered by the Nepal earthquake, was invariably described in news stories as a Google executive. But friends and colleagues said he was much more than a tech exec.

Fredinburg, they said, was a funny and inspirational man who melded his work, his personal interests and adventures with his desire to change the world — with a particular focus on climate change.

In addition to his work at Google, where he was the head of privacy for Google X, Fredinburg helped found Save the Ice, a campaign to educate people on climate change.

“Dan was a mountaineer and explorer because he loved to climb and see the world,” said Dr. Mike North, co-founder of Save the Ice. “His purpose in the world was much bigger. Much of it revolved around calling attention to how we as individuals can make a difference.”

Fredinburg, 33, died after he sustained a major head injury when his climbing team was caught in an avalanche caused by the powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal that killed thousands across the country.

Fredinburg was climbing Everest for the third time, hoping to reach the summit, and raising money for a pair of Nepalese orphanages. He also was posting pictures on Instagram, Twitter and other social media on behalf of Save the Ice, and some reports say he was photographing or mapping Everest for Google.

A native of Arkansas, Fredinburg studied at UC Irvine and later Stanford before working for three years as a software engineer at Boeing, according to his profile on Google Plus. In 2007, he began working as head of privacy for Google X, the company’s innovation laboratory, which oversees products like the self-driving car and Google Glass.

Retired Forest Service Worker Shares Memories Of Rim Fire

A collection of thoughts, videos and pictures of the 2013 Rim Fire. Wildland Firefighter, Patrick Michael Karnahan was working as a patrolman on the northern end of the fire zone for two months. Having worked in green forest and then in the same area after it burned, was very sad for him.

All of the videos and pictures shared in this clip were taken by Karnahan.

Karnahan is now retired from the Forest Service after 19 seasons with the agency.

Congressman Knight: Touch Me Again, I’ll Drop Your #*%

Republican Congressman Steve Knight held an “open house” at his Simi Valley office. At least that’s what he called it.

However, Knight and his security would not allow a group of men and women who want to stop illegal immigration into his office.

Knight met with the group outside after the “open house” ended and then threatened one of the men who questioned his vote for Amnesty. He can be heard telling the man, “Touch me again, I’ll drop your ass.”

Realizing that he was being filmed by the concerned citizens, Mr. Knight calmed down and began to explain the vote.

US Marshal Attacks Vocal Woman’s Phone

WARNING: CURSIVE LANGUAGE USED

WARNING: CURSIVE LANGUAGE USED

The Associated Press

SOUTH GATE, CALIF. — The U.S. Marshals Service said Tuesday that it’s reviewing a video that shows a deputy grab a woman’s cellphone from her hands, smashing it to the floor.

In the 53-second video, a woman on the sidewalk appears to be filming officers with her cellphone and making continuous comments when a deputy U.S. Marshal charges at her.

The video was spotted by a South Gate police officer because its caption mentioned the department, and an investigation ensued, Capt. Darren Arakawa said.

No South Gate police were involved in the incident, which has generated dozens of phone calls and email complaints to him and the department’s chief from across the United States, Arakawa said. His officers were securing the area Sunday for an ongoing taskforce operation related to the Mongols Motorcycle Club, he said.

There was no complaint initiated by the woman involved to police, Arakawa said. But he noted “we have an obligation to look at it, and that’s exactly what we did.”

“We really want to put it out there, because we have to explain to people, to residents, that this wasn’t a police officer,” Arakawa said. “We keep getting these emails suggesting that we’re corrupt. I think it’s an isolated incident that does justify some sort of investigation.”

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Beatriz Paez, 34, said she feared for her life during the confrontation. She said she was out on a stroll Sunday afternoon when she came upon what appeared to be a massive federal operation — a stretch of street was blocked off and up to 10 people were on their stomachs with their hands on their heads.

She took out her cellphone and began filming. But the men wearing tactical vests that read “police” on the back noticed and started backing up to obscure her view.

The men stood with their backs to her and she made comments including “You need to stay away from me, I don’t feel safe with you closer to me.”

Paez said the deputy marshal who ultimately charged her grabbed the phone from her hand and smashed it to the ground — he then kicked a plastic cup down the street that she’d dropped in the struggle.

The phone’s screen is shattered and doesn’t work, according to her attorney Colleen Flynn, but they will be trying to recover Paez’s video from the phone’s chip.

The U.S. Marshals service declined to comment further on the video aside from confirming in a statement that their deputy was involved and that the matter was under review.

Hector Villagra, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, said he was “deeply disturbed” by the video.

“There is no situation in which an officer can intentionally grab and destroy a camera being used to lawfully record law enforcement,” Villagra said. “The officer’s conduct is a blatant and deliberate violation of the Constitution and his duties as an officer to abide by the law.”

Bernie Sanders To Challenge Hillary Clinton?

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the self-proclaimed “Democrat Socialist”, is considering challenging Hillary Clinton for a White House run. What doesn’t he like about Clinton? He explains.

If elected, Sanders would become President at the age of 75.

“Fox News Sunday” is heard every Sunday morning from 10 – 11am on AM 1450 KVML.

Bay Area By Drone

While visiting San Francisco to photograph a wedding, Dane Christensen felt inspired by the city’s various landmarks, and a picturesque day, to capture drone footage of the City by the Bay.

ESPN Suspends Britt McHenry

Warning: ESPN Reporter USES FOUL Language

Warning: ESPN Reporter USES FOUL Language

ESPN announced this afternoon that they were suspending Britt McHenry. The network released the following statement:

“Britt McHenry has been suspended for one week effectively immediately.”

A video emerged early today of ESPN reporter Britt McHenry chewing out a parking lot attendant. The footage, which includes audio, purportedly shows McHenry berating the female attendant, criticizing her looks and education.

Since the video first came to light, McHenry has issued an apology for the outburst, writing, “In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and said some insulting and regrettable things. As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road. I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake.”

So what happened exactly?

In a tweet from April 6 that appears to have since been deleted, McHenry posted an angry message about her car being towed in Arlington, Virginia, but website ARLnow managed to save the social media exchange. “Just got towed after eating dinner at an establishment in Arlington. How corrupt is Advanced Towing?” she wrote.

Although the video doesn’t show what sparked the onslaught of comments, it’s clear that McHenry was none too pleased. “I’m in the news sweetheart, I will *^%@$ sue this place,” she says to the attendant.

She continues her rant against the employee (not visible), criticizing her appearance and her job. “Lose some weight, baby girl” and “So I could be a college dropout and do the same thing?” are just some of the choice lines from the video. She also accuses the attendant of not having a brain.

“Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh?” she asks. “‘Cause they look so stunning…’Cause I’m on television and you’re in a *&%^$# trailer, honey.”