California
Hydrogen Startup Verdagy Opens California Plant at Risky Moment
A laser-wielding robot hovers over a nickel tray in Verdagy Inc.’s new California factory, inspecting the seams of what will become an electrochemical cell. Rather than a battery, it’s the heart of a machine that could one day fuel a hydrogen-powered economy — if that economy ever arrives.
Startup Verdagy makes electrolyzers, devices that split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The US Department of Energy awarded the company a nearly $40 million grant this spring to help get the plant up and running as part of the Biden administration’s multi-billion-dollar effort to spur production and use of the climate-friendly fuel. Verdagy, which has raised $104 million in venture funding, will celebrate the plant’s opening Wednesday in a cavernous industrial building near San Jose.
A damaged building is seen after an explosion in Palm Springs, Calif., on Saturday.
Eric Thayer/AP
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Eric Thayer/AP
A fatal explosion outside a California fertility clinic Saturday morning is being investigated as an act of terrorism, according to an FBI official.
One person was killed and four were injured in the weekend blast that sent debris flying across multiple blocks in all directions, said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
“Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism,” he said during a Saturday news conference.
Investigators were “not actively out searching for a suspect” but had identified a person of interest, Davis added. He did not say if that person was the one killed in the explosion.
Palm Springs Police Chief Andrew Mills said the public was not in any more danger. “I also want to make sure that our community understands this is an isolated incident. I am confident that the community is not at risk any longer,” he said.
American Reproductive Centers said Saturday in a post on Facebook that a vehicle had exploded in the parking lot near its Palm Springs facility earlier in the day. The clinic said no staff members were hurt and there was no damage to any of its eggs, embryos and reproductive material.
“This moment has shaken us—but it has not stopped us,” the post reads. “We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world.”
A firefighter stands at the scene of an explosion in Palm Springs, Calif., on Saturday.
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Eric Thayer/AP
Davis said the FBI believes the fertility clinic was targeted.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Saturday evening that she had been briefed on the explosion. “We are working to learn more, but let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America,” she said in a post on X. “Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable.”
Bomb technicians were scouring the blast scene Saturday as part of the ongoing investigation, which was being led by the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
First responders arrived at the scene around 11 a.m. local time Saturday morning to find a debris field stretching over 250 yards, Davis said. He added that investigators were looking into the possibility that the bombing was live streamed.
Tiffany Slaton, a 28-year-old woman originally from Georgia, was found alive after surviving three weeks lost in the wilderness.
Slaton planned to spend three days in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, but after she fell off a cliff and an avalanche disrupted her path back to the main road, she spent three weeks lost in the mountains instead.
She embarked on her solo trip April 20 and was reported missing by her family April 29 after they hadn’t heard from her for nine days. After three weeks with dwindling food and supplies, Slaton was eventually found safe May 14, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office began a search after Slaton was reported missing, and alerted the public to keep an eye out for any sign of her. Several tips from the community were called in, with confirmed sightings of Slaton on April 20 and April 24.
During a May 16 press conference, Slaton detailed her harrowing experience, sharing, “When I fell off of this cliff, I was unconscious for about two hours and did indeed have to splint one of my legs and pop the other knee back into place.”
Slaton initially had food and supplies, but when her rations ran out, she relied on her own skills to survive, revealing during the press conference that she was “pretty good at foraging.”
She primarily ate leeks and drank snow melt, referring to herself as “a trained permaculturalist.” Slaton said, “That means I’m very good at foraging, but at the end after fighting nature for such a long time, I lost my tent, and I did eventually lose both sleeping bags, so I was outside with nothing but a lighter and a knife.”
Between May 6 and May 10, the search and rescue team conducted a search spanning almost 600 square miles, according to authorities. After going off course, Slaton walked for miles for several days before she came across a remote mountain resort, Vermilion Valley Resort, on May 13.
Slaton called the resort as her saving grace, sharing that without Vermilion Valley Resort, she “would not be here.”
The resort’s owner Christopher Gutierrez told reporters during a May 14 press conference that he purposefully leaves cabins open for emergencies should someone need to seek shelter from the elements. After Slaton arrived at the resort, she was there for approximately eight hours before Gutierrez found her and immediately contacted the sheriff’s office.
During the media conference, which included Slaton’s parents, Bobby and Fredrina Slaton, Gutierrez recalled the moment he saw the 28-year-old, explaining, “She pops out, didn’t say a word, just ran up, and all she wanted was a hug.”
“It was a pretty surreal moment,” he added. “And that’s when I knew. That’s when I realized who this was.”
Other than experiencing dehydration, Slaton was in “good condition” when medics arrived at the scene, the Sheriff’s Office noted. Slaton was subsequently transported to a hospital for further evaluation.
Due to exposure to bright light from the snow-covered terrain in the mountains, authorities said Slaton’s eyes were damaged to the point where she had to wear sunglasses for two days after her rescue.
During the press conference Wednesday, Slaton’s parents expressed their joy over their daughter being found. Bobbly Slaton recalled the first thing his daughter said to him after she had been rescued: “‘Dad, I’m alive, and I’m sorry.’”
“This has to be the third or fourth best day of our lives after our children’s birth,” Bobby Slaton said. “We are extremely excited and happy to hear the news that my daughter is now safe.”
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