A magnitude 5.2 earthquake about 18 miles southwest of Bakersfield was felt across a wide swath of Southern California on Tuesday night.

The earthquake, originally estimated to be magnitude 5.3, struck at 9:09 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by at least a dozen aftershocks of magnitude 2.5 and up, including magnitude 4.5 and 4.1 earthquakes.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

The USGS said the quake was felt across the Los Angeles Basin, inland valleys, as well as in Santa Maria, Bakersfield and Fresno.

It occurred 13 miles from Lamont, Calif., 14 miles from Arvin, 19 miles from Rosedale and 22 miles from Oildale.

In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.0 to 6.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 5.6 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.

Find out what to do before, and during, an earthquake near you by signing up for our Unshaken newsletter, which breaks down emergency preparedness into bite-sized steps over six weeks. Learn more about earthquake kits, which apps you need, Lucy Jones’ most important advice and more at latimes.com/Unshaken.

This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.

A whopping 98% of California fast food restaurants hiked menu prices and nearly 90% slashed employee hours in response to the state’s new $20-an-hour minimum wage law, according to a new survey.

The study by the Employment Policies Institute, a fiscally conservative, non-profit think tank, polled 182 fast food restaurant operators throughout the Golden State about the ramifications of the law, which was signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and went into effect on April 1.

Conducted in June and July, the survey also found that not only had nearly all the restaurants raised their prices but that 93% plan to do so again next year. The study also found that 87% anticipate cutting employee hours within the next 12 months, a small drop from the 89% who said they chopped hours this year.

Nearly three in four — 73% — fast food locations reported that they have reduced employee shift pick-up or overtime opportunities, while 70% have either cut staff or consolidated positions.

“Even before the $20 wage went into effect, fast food restaurants made it clear they would not be able to survive. Now after just a few months, the policy has been a disaster, killing jobs and shuttering restaurants,” said EPI’s research director Rebekah Paxton.

Meanwhile, 67% of respondents said the new law will cost their restaurant at least $100,000 per location, while 26% expected a $200,000 hit to their bottom line at each of site.

When asked if the new minimum wage law would make them think twice about expanding in California, 73% said it would make them “significantly less likely” to grow in the state.

Nearly three in four — 74% — said there is a greater likelihood that they would shut their restaurants down, the survey found.

The push for higher wages led several major chains — including McDonald’s, Burger King, and even low-cost favorite In-N-Out Burger – to raise prices to or cut hours to offset higher labor costs.

Others, like beloved Tex-Mex chain Rubio’s California Grill shuttered 48 locations, citing the “rising cost of doing business” 

A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom told The Post: “This is a bogus online survey conducted by a DC lobbying firm that’s funded by corporate restaurant chains — all to protect their profits.”

“Federal government data shows the actual facts here — fast food jobs have increased every month this year, including since California raised the minimum wage for workers,” the spokesperson said.

Last week, fast food workers in the state asked for another minimum wage increase.

The California Fast Food Workers Union — a branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) — released a new list of demands at the first-ever meeting of the state’s Fast Food Council.

The union is asking that wages for workers be raised to $20.70 per hour by Jan. 1, 2025, “to keep up with the rising cost of living,” the SEIU released in a statement to the outlet.

As a result of the law, visits to popular chains such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King plunged.

Since April 1, foot traffic at Burger King fell 3.86%, while Wendy’s was down 3.24% and McDonald’s slipped 2.5%, according to a report by analytics firm Placer.ai.

In-N-Out Burger saw 2.59% fewer customers while Jack in the Box visits were down 0.8%.

Thomas Fuller remembers being intrigued by an email from the California Department of Education announcing that the football team for California School of the Deaf, Riverside would be heading to the playoffs.

After an undefeated season.

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In fact, the reporter, then San Francisco Bureau Chief for the New York Times, was so intrigued that he hit the road for a seven-hour trek from the Bay Area to the Inland Empire.

“It was really breathless. I showed up just a couple hours before the game started and met with some of the players,” Fuller recalls. “They must have thought that I was a little bonkers, because I just walked into the room where they were hanging out before the game and I said, ‘I love this story.’”

Throughout his career, Fuller has been more likely to cover political turmoil and natural disasters than sports. But he does like football.

“I’m a lifelong fan of the New York Jets, so I know something about being an underdog,” he says.

And he knows a good story: The Cubs of California School of the Deaf, Riverside had one.

In fact, Fuller’s article about that 2021 game went viral. Television stations picked up on the story. Gov. Newsom included a budget proposal to build the school a new stadium. Disney came calling to bring the story to the screen.

“Then I felt a responsibility because I was seeing the coverage, which I wasn’t sure I really liked,” says Fuller. “I also didn’t know how they would be portrayed in a movie.”

So the reporter, who spent most of his career covering international stories, embedded himself with the team and began work on a book. “The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory” arrived in stores on August 6.

Fuller followed the team throughout its championship-winning 2022 season. (The team repeated the feat in 2023, beating Canoga Park’s Faith Baptist in the CIF championship for their division for the second year in a row.)

But football is only part of the story Fuller tells. Really, “Boys of Riverside” is a book about deaf community and culture, as well as about language and communication.

“I was very much new to the deaf world, to deaf culture,” says Fuller. “It’s not something that I have in my family. It’s not something that I had been immersed in before doing this.”

That Fuller was an outsider at the school helped him understand one of the book’s central questions about deafness. As he says, “Is it a handicap or is it just a language barrier?”

Fuller has a knack for languages. He also speaks French and Thai and has picked up other languages while working as a foreign correspondent. While he did start to learn American Sign Language in the course of his reporting, he relied on an interpreter, Melika Angoorani, throughout the project.

“I quickly understood that, if I wanted to do this with the utmost accuracy, I was going to need to see this world through the lens of experts and expert interpreters,” he explains, “because I couldn’t afford to have any misinterpretation of what I was seeing.”

Fuller hung around so many practices that he would joke about the two-tone tan he developed. “My face was tan on one side of my head because I stood on the sidelines of the practices every day with the setting sun to my left,” he says. He also attended the team’s meetings and nearly all of the games. He spent hours interviewing every player on the team. During his stay in Riverside, Fuller lived with deaf roommates.

Come game time, he would watch on the side of the opposing team. “I wanted to talk to them,” he says. “I would get their impressions of the game, but I wanted to hear them and how they were reacting to the deaf team.”

“When it came to be game time, I had to be very poker-faced,” says Fuller. “But inside of me, there was no way to not want to cheer for the Cubs.”

Reading “The Boys of Riverside,” you might find yourself cheering not just for the Cubs, but for the whole community surrounding California School of the Deaf, Riverside.

“The most rewarding thing about working at CSDR is being able to communicate effectively with every student and staff here, and seeing the students blossom over the years with intelligible conversations and speeches, after they first enrolled with minimal or no language,” says Erika Thompson, the school’s outreach specialist, in an email interview.

And through its football program, the school’s name is reaching more people.

“We are the first deaf high school to win two straight playoff sections in national. Our deaf community really supports our football and many deaf people show up for the game,” says Coach Keith Adams in an email interview.

Referring to the team’s story and how it affects people, Adams adds: “I am sure it inspires them because all of us face our own challenges so they can see someone who overcomes difficulties can help their hopes and motivation to keep striving towards their own goals.”

Originally Published: August 6, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.