Swarm

In advance of tonight's vote on President Obama's jobs package, unemployed Americans are gathering outside the Capitol to press for passage, reflecting Occupy Wall Street protests in major cities across the country.  Jobless workers and their supporters are planning a candlelight vigil and prayer at 3 p.m. EDT, several hours before the vote in the Senate. Nearly 100 protesters converged this morning on the Hart Senate office building, chanting in the atrium. ( Watch video below.

One of the lasting impressions of Game 1 between the Kings and San Jose was the sight of fourth-line Sharks agitator Mike Brown leaning hard with his shoulder into Kings defenseman Slava Voynov , knocking Voynov into Kings goalie Jonathan Quick . Quick went clattering to the side of the net and chaos ensued, not even five minutes into the series. That welcome-to-the-playoffs moment on Thursday night may have stood out, but it was hardly the only defining physical example in the Sharks' 6-3 win. "I think they're trying to run a lot of our top players," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said.

A swarm of about 25 small earthquakes in central Idaho during the last three weeks has prompted scientists to bring in additional seismographs in hopes of finding a cause, an official said. “We have our theories, but we need more data,” Idaho Geological Survey research geologist Bill Phillips told the Los Angeles Times. A University of Utah engineer drove to Challis late Tuesday with portable seismometers that will be deployed around the epicenter of the recent earthquakes, three of which have surpassed magnitude 4. The largest, a 4.9, was recorded Sunday.

A swarm of about 25 small earthquakes in central Idaho during the last three weeks has prompted scientists to bring in additional seismographs in hopes of finding a cause, an official said. “We have our theories, but we need more data,” Idaho Geological Survey research geologist Bill Phillips told the Los Angeles Times. A University of Utah engineer drove to Challis late Tuesday with portable seismometers that will be deployed around the epicenter of the recent earthquakes, three of which have surpassed magnitude 4. The largest, a 4.9, was recorded Sunday.

The Swarm winged coaster at the United Kingdom's Thorpe Park will take riders through post-apocalyptic scenes of war and destruction when the $29.5 million ride opens in spring 2012. > Photos: The Swarm coaster at Thorpe Park The Bolliger & Mabillard Wing Rider would be the second coaster of its kind in the world following the 2011 debut of Raptor at Italy's Gardaland . Billed as the U.K.'s first winged coaster with riders sitting on either side of the track in a "winged" formation, Swarm has salivating fans eagerly waiting to see if the cutting edge ride is also the U.K.'s first fourth dimension coaster featuring rotating seats (like Six Flags Magic Mountain's X2)

A 71-year-old woman in Palm Desert is recovering after being stung by a swarm of 75,000 Africanized honey bees, officials said. Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Williams told the Press-Enterprise that the woman suffered more than 1,000 bee stings in the attack Thursday. She was hospitalized but is expected to recover, officials said. "She was covered as if she had on a bee suit, and we threw her in back of ambulance, where our guys sustained bee stings," Williams told KESQ-TV.  Officials said the bees flew out of a Verizon telephone vault that a worker had opened.

A swarm of 14 earthquakes, the strongest a magnitude 4.3, struck an area near U.S. 395 in Inyo County on Tuesday, Caltech seismologists said. There were no reports of damage or injuries. The strongest of the temblors, all of which were centered four miles southeast of Coso Junction in the volcanic Coso range, occurred at 7:19 a.m. It was followed by three other quakes of magnitudes 3.6, 3.2 and 3.3 within eight minutes. Two other quakes, at 3.4 and 3.1, occurred later in the day.

A swarm of small earthquakes, the strongest magnitude 4.0, rattled an area of the Imperial Valley near the town of Brawley on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The first of at least 30 quakes occurred at 10:03 a.m., and the sequence intensified several hours later. A 3.5 quake took place at 4:53 p.m., followed by a 3.0 temblor about half an hour later and a 4.0 quake at 7:04 p.m. Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The vanguard of Africanized honeybees--sometimes referred to as "killer bees" because of their aggressive behavior--has been positively identified in a Kern County oil field, the state Department of Food and Agriculture announced Wednesday. The species, which began moving northward from South America 30 years ago, has arrived in California several years ahead of the schedule predicted by experts who worry about their impact on agricultural production.

A swarm of 14 earthquakes, the strongest a magnitude 3.7, struck just south of the Mexican border near Calexico on Thursday, but there were no reports of damage or injuries. Caltech seismologists put the epicenter of the quakes 16 miles southeast of Calexico, in an area that is often seismically active. Their depth was about four miles. The quakes started at 12:30 a.m. and continued until 3:35 p.m., with the 3.7 occurring at 10:03 a.m.

A 71-year-old woman in Palm Desert is recovering after being stung by a swarm of 75,000 Africanized honey bees, officials said. Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Williams told the Press-Enterprise that the woman suffered more than 1,000 bee stings in the attack Thursday. She was hospitalized but is expected to recover, officials said. "She was covered as if she had on a bee suit, and we threw her in back of ambulance, where our guys sustained bee stings," Williams told KESQ-TV.  Officials said the bees flew out of a Verizon telephone vault that a worker had opened.

Los Angeles is honeybee heaven. The warm Southern California climate and long growing seasons provide year-round food for bees. The city's trees, flowers and flora are largely free of pesticides. It's the perfect place for backyard beekeeping - except that beekeeping is not legal here. That could soon change. A group of bee advocates and neighborhood councils has been lobbying the City Council to expressly allow beekeeping on single-family residential lots. Current law permits it only in areas zoned for agriculture.

A university near Hartford, Conn., was put on lockdown and police swarmed the campus on Monday afternoon as reports circulated of an armed suspect on campus. "Get inside buildings & Stay in place!" said an alert on the website for Central Connecticut State University, which described the event as a "campus emergency. " "Stay away from Windows. Police are on the Scene. " There was no immediate report of gunshots or injuries, and further details from officials were not immediately available as police swarmed the campus in New Britain, a southwest suburb of Hartford.

A rash of deadly hornet attacks in northwestern China has killed 42 people and injured more than 1,600, local officials said Thursday. The attacks began in July and have centered on three cities in China's Shaanxi province: Ankang, Hanzhong and Shangluo. Local authorities believe a particularly venomous species, known as the Asian giant hornet, is behind the attacks. They say the hornets, which can grow up to 2 inches long, are most active in September and October, when they breed and migrate.

The infection caused by "World War Z" has spread from the box office to home entertainment. The apocalyptic zombie film starring Brad Pitt is the top-selling DVD and Blu-ray title in its first week in release, and it's also the No. 1 rental.  The movie, based on the fictional oral history by Max Brooks, was a major summer hit for Paramount and director Marc Forster that generated more than $539 million at theaters worldwide.  ...

To bee or not to bee. That was the theme Sunday in Angel Stadium, where a game between the Angels and Seattle Mariners was delayed for 23 minutes when a swarm of bees descended upon the field in the third inning. "That was weird," Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson said after his nine-game winning streak dating to July 10 ended in a 3-2 loss to the Mariners. "I've never seen that before. " Howie Kendrick was at the plate when Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, who gave up one run and one hit, struck out 10 and walked four in four innings, saw the bees overhead and bolted toward the Angels' dugout.

David Bradley began his relationship with bees nearly 57 years ago in Murray, Neb., a farming town in the heart of the rich Midwestern agricultural belt. A swarm had lit in a neighbor's mulberry hedge. The bees were not unwanted, though. It became a matter of how to capture the swirling throng. Help was sought and David, then 18, volunteered. Very delicately, but with little fear, he approached the hedge and shook the bees into a wooden egg crate.

A University of Miami graduate student was attacked and stung to death last week by a swarm of Africanized bees while on a field trip in a Costa Rican jungle, officials said Friday. Inn-Siang Ooi, a 24-year-old Malaysian who was working on his doctorate in biology, died July 31 during a field trip with 11 other students about 100 miles northwest of San Jose.

C.J. Wilson's nine-game winning streak, which spanned 13 starts dating to July 10, ended Sunday when the Angels left-hander gave up a two-run home run to switch-hitter Justin Smoak in the sixth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium. Wilson (17-7) was one out away from preserving a 1-1 tie in the sixth when Smoak, with a runner on third, curled his home run around the left-field foul pole. It was his 18th homer of the season but his first from the right side.

Residents in a Bellflower neighborhood were told to stay indoors Wednesday afternoon after reports of gunshots. About 1:10 p.m., a person called 911 from a home in the 17600 block of Virginia Avenue then hung up, but not before the dispatcher heard a woman screaming and indications that a gun could be involved, Sheriff's Sgt. David Sprengel said. Deputies, including the SWAT team, rushed to the area and heard several shots and locked down the neighborhood. The female 911 caller and possibly one other person fled from the home as authorities showed up, leaving the gunman inside alone, Sprengel said.