Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Good evening and welcome to the local news. Today is Monday, January 26th, and I'm Nat Cardos reporting for KMUD. In tonight's news, National Weather Service Eureka issues a wind advisory from Monday night to Tuesday at 4pm Road updates from Caltrans District 1. A surfer off the Mendocino coast injured in what's speculated to have been a great white shark attack.
And pro Palestine. And activist music continues to get music deplatformed. So stay tuned. Those stories and more coming up.
Redwood Community Radio acknowledges that its transmitter.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: Sites are located on the unceded territory of the Sinkyon, Wailaki, Wiat, Wilkut and Kato people. We honor ancestors past, present and emerging and acknowledge the ongoing cultural, spiritual and physical connection these tribes have to this region.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Today the National Weather Service in Eureka announced a wind advisory for the higher elevations of Humboldt in some of Del Norte county at elevations of 1,000ft and above. The wind advisory lasts from tonight to 4pm tomorrow. On Tuesday, south to southeast gusts can range from 45 to 50 mph with locally stronger gusts over ridges and coastal headlands. KMUN News spoke with Jacob Boomsma, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Eureka, for more information on the advisory.
[00:01:31] Speaker C: So we got a wind advisory out for the higher elevations of Humboldt County. So that's Keene Range in and around Neyland and higher elevations above 1,000ft or so and also a little further north up into Del Norte County. So with these winds, we're seeing them ramp up kind of starting tonight and early tomorrow morning and potential for the strongest winds kind of mid to late morning, maybe a little bit into the afternoon as well, early afternoon and then kind of ramping down before sunset.
[00:02:02] Speaker A: The National Weather Service also notes a chance for strong wind gusts greater than 40 miles per hour on Tuesday. Specifically, according to their website, Neyland will be seeing gustier weather throughout the morning and afternoon with a 90% chance of gusts at about 7am so like late.
[00:02:16] Speaker C: Morning, early afternoon, Tuesday. And we could see gusts of maybe 45-50 mph locally stronger in some of the higher elevations, maybe up to 60.
[00:02:26] Speaker A: With the wind comes rain ranging from a quarter of an inch to 3/4 of an inch across the area.
[00:02:32] Speaker C: We're looking at maybe a quarter to three quarters of an inch generally across the area. Yeah, nothing too crazy.
Just from here I'm looking at Eureka and we have our forecast for about a quarter of an inch. Some of the mountainous areas could see an inch like in the King Range, but that's pretty localized.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Be sure to secure any loose objects outside prior to the wind so they don't blow away. There's also a possibility for power outages due to fallen tree limbs. Up to date weather information can be found on the National Weather Service Eureka website, weather.goveka and up to date power outage information can be found at pge.alerts.pge.com and now a road update from Caltrans.
[00:03:18] Speaker D: District 1 this is the Caltrans District 1 Road Information Bulletin for Humboldt County State Highways for the week beginning Friday, January 23rd on 36, expect up to 15 minute delays near Carlotta and west of Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park Expect delays west of Maple Grove, east of Bridgeville and at the Butte Creek Bridge. On 96, expect delays north of Willow Creek, near Hostler Creek Road and north of hoopah. On 101, expect delays north of Warwick. On 169, expect delays at Martins Ferry. On 254, expect delays north of Wiatt and near Barkdol Road.
On 255 at the small bridge. There's a full closure from 3rd street in Eureka to the Woodley Island Marina from 8pm to 6am on the 25th. Motorists should use an alternative route. On 283, expect delays to the Eagle Prairie Bridge in rio del on 299, expect up to 10 minute delays east of Chisholm Road for Lake and Mendocino County State Highways through the week beginning Friday, January 23rd on 20, expect delays in Glenhaven from Mary street to Linden lane on the 23rd and in Mendocino county on one expect delays delays in Fort Bragg from Hare Creek Road to Pudding Creek Road. Expect up to 30 minute delay south of Westport at the Blue Speeds trailhead to the Overlook. Expect delays at the Wages Creek Bridge on 20, expect delays in Willits from West Dahmonica Lane to Bald Mountain Road on 1:01, expect up to 15 minute delays north of Laytonville. Expect delays south of Leggett. On 128, expect delays east of Pomotier Ranch Road. On 162, expect up to 10 minute delays east of US 101. This work was verified at the time of this recording and is subject to change range. For near real time updates, call 1-800-GAS-ROAD or check out the app or website for quick map for Delaware County State Highways through the week beginning Friday, January 23rd on 101, expect delays north of Klamath. Expect up to 10 minute delays at the Dr. Fine Bridge. Expect up to 25 minute delays near Foothill Drive and Smith river starting on the 27th. For near real time updates, call 1-800-GAS ROAD or check out the app or website for quick map. For further updates, join us on social media via Caltrans District.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: What'S speculated to have been a shark attack left a surfer with multiple injuries and half a surfboard off the Mendocino coast, Julian Jackson reports.
[00:05:39] Speaker C: At about 8:45am on January 13, local Tommy Civic was surfing off the Mendocino county coast just north of the mouth of the Wallala river when he was struck by what's speculated to be a shark before swimming to shore and and driving himself to the nearby hospital.
California officials reported it as the state's first shark attack of 2026, while John Ugoretz, environmental program manager for California's Department of Fish and Wildlife, has stated this cannot be entirely confirmed until ongoing DNA testing is completed. KMUD News spoke with him for more on the incident and his role at California's Department of Fish and Wildlife.
My role in the department includes reviewing shark incidents as they occur in California, as well as managing shark populations for commercial and recreational fisheries. The department tracks all incidents where a shark touches a person or their board or kayak in the water. And we do that for a couple reasons, primarily for public interest and public safety concerns, as well as helping to assess how many sharks are out there in the ocean. And then my other role with managing managing fisheries in California includes managing the pelagic fisheries, the offshore fisheries, anywhere from sharks and swordfish and tunas down to mackerel and sardines and anchovies to make sure that they're sustainable for future. So from what I know, the incident that occurred just north of the Gulalla river, the surfer was in the water and something we actually don't know what exactly at this point hit him from below with quite a bit of force, causing some injuries to his upper thigh and abdomen, as well as breaking his board in half. All of the images I've seen would certainly point to a shark bite, and we are currently testing the board and the wetsuit to see if shark DNA was present.
It can take one to two weeks. They're processing the samples now, so we should know pretty soon whether they can determine if a shark was involved.
There's a variety of sharks along the Mendocino coast, very few that would hit a board in this fashion, and white shark is very likely the shark species involved in this case.
We have seen incidents with other species anywhere from salmon sharks to blue sharks to sevengill sharks in California, but again, up in Mendocino, I would say the vast majority are white sharks.
The month prior to the incident, December 2025 yielded a large amount of shark related incidents off the Northern California coast as well. Two with no injuries, one major injury off Salmon Creek beach in Sonoma county, and one fatal attack off of Monterey County's Lovers Point, all reported to have involved great whites. Still, Hugo Retz reminds us how uncommon these incidents really are.
You know, since 1950 there have been only 232 incidents in California and of those, only 119 resulted in an injury to a person. And there have only been 17 fatalities thankfully, in that time.
Well, I think just following up on that, it is extremely rare to encounter a shark in the water. There's lots of other things that can hurt you in the ocean.
Really and truly the most dangerous thing are stingrays, which sting hundreds of people a year. But of course those stings are usually painful but not fatal. And the ocean is a wilderness. So just like when you go out into the woods you might encounter a bear, or if you go hiking in the hills, you might encounter a mountain lion. If you go into the ocean you might encounter a shark, but in most cases you won't. I've been Julian Jackson reporting for KMUD News.
[00:10:00] Speaker A: Last year saw some censorship for musicians attempting to speak out against Israel's military assault on Gaza, one of them being Bob Villain, a punk rap duo based in London that had their work visas in the United States revoked in late June 2025 due to their performance at the Glastonbury Festival in the United Kingdom, where they led the crowd in a chant that said, quote, death. Death to the idf. End quote. Another group was Kneecap, an Irish rap trio who had celebrities calling for their work visas to be revoked in the United States due to their pro Palestine messaging at Coachella last year. The band ultimately canceled their US Tour due to another case involving one of the members. Later last year, more than a thousand artists and labels, including Lorde Bjork and Massive Attack, joined an initiative to remove their music from Israel, calling the boycott no music for genocide. In the boycott, artists are asking their labels and distributors to geo block their music so it cannot be streamed in Israel. But what about smaller artists that speak out? NCAP's criticisms of Israel at Coachella skyrocketed the group to stardom in 2025, but smaller musicians struggle with having their music removed from streaming platforms and social media, pushing them to the point of obscurity. Recently, David Rovicks a singer songwriter based out of Portland whose music focuses on issues like the Iraq War, anti globalism, anarchism and social justice issues, had his YouTube account fully deleted due to three protest songs that were deemed to, quote, violate their violent criminal organization's policy. End quote.
[00:11:23] Speaker B: I mean, it's, it's. So the three songs that they have been targeting for removal and, and giving me warnings and stuff about over the past two years have been song for the Houthi Army. I support Palestine Action, which of course is. But Palestine Action, the group and in. In the UK and so many ways to kill a CEO, which is not advocating the killing of CEOs, but it is about the killing of the CEO by Luigi Mangione. And it is perhaps sympathetic to Luigi, but it is well within the realm of protected speech in this country in my prior experience. But apparently things have changed because it was specifically that song that resulted in my First Strike on YouTube just on January 9th. And then, which is when a video came out made by Real News in London, which is a really cool black and white video of the song so many ways to kill a CEO. And it was getting a whole bunch of views for the first few hours and then it was gone. My YouTube channel was, you know, suspended for a week with this first strike. And they said, you know, if you get a second strike, then there's. The third strike is deletion of the channel. But there was no second strike. I. When they gave me that first strike, which was the first time I ever got a strike rather than a warning, I took some proactive, you know, measures and deleted all the versions of all three of those songs that still existed because they were only getting deleted piecemeal. You know, when somebody would report one, it was always the best, most well recorded versions that were getting the most attention that would get deleted. You know, the other ones, nobody seemed to notice. But I went and, you know, searched for them all and deleted them all just in case that any of them could lead to the second strike, which I was hoping to avoid because actually, you know, YouTube is really, you know, I don't have to probably explain to most people how important YouTube is if you're a musician today, you know, but so then there was no second strike, though. They just. I just received an email, I guess it was two mornings ago saying that they were deleting the channel because of my support for criminal organizations, which was always what the warnings and the strike is about. Support for criminal or I'm not sure what criminal organization Luigi Mangioni is supposed to represent. But, you know, clearly the Houthi army is and. And Palestine Action are both considered terrorist groups under British law and under U.S. law, the Houthis are. But under U.S. law, you're allowed to praise terrorist groups. That is perfectly legal under the First Amendment. You're not allowed to make money from doing that. So I kind of think that that might be why they demonetized my YouTube channel the beginning of 2025. Why YouTube Music Deleted all of my albums in at the end of November 2025. I think that's related to me making money from praising terrorist groups. But they didn't just delete those songs. They deleted everything. Right? And this time, once again with YouTube, they deleted everything.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: Roevix has been involved with activism for roughly 25 years, largely playing his songs at protests around the country. His songs, I Support Palestine Action, Song for the Houthi army, and so Many Ways To Kill a CEO were the songs that got his YouTube account deleted. Spotify also deleted one of his first albums he wrote about Palestine, Notes from a Holocaust. Unlike what Kneecap or Bob Villain saw, with their names being controversial yet popular after their pro Palestine remarks, Roevik sees dwindling numbers for streaming online.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: It affects me in a big way when these things happen. I mean, it's like, you know, that's, you know, Spotify gives you the numbers in a more clear way. But I think it's roughly similar with YouTube in terms of my reach. I mean, it's, you know, roughly several thousand people per month who will not be discovering my music for the first time. And, you know, overall, if you figure, like, you know, looking at my, you know, career, you figure there's probably a million people in the world who first heard about the St Patrick Battalion because I wrote a song about them. I've asked various AI. You know, I, I believe that's a roughly accurate statistic. You know, like, so I don't have anything like the kind of reach that Bob Villain or, or Kneecap have. And, and they're wonderful and I'm glad that they have the kind of fan base that they have and Roger Waters and so many others, but my fan base is significant enough to target me. I, I think that that's obvious from not just my experience with censorship and social media, but from my experience with activism over the past 25 years. I am being. I have been long targeted for some reason.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: In the meantime, Robix is still playing music and touring and doesn't intend to stop due to the current political conditions in the United States. He's looking to Europe for some touring opportunities.
[00:16:03] Speaker B: Oh, I'll still keep, I'll still keep going and playing gigs as long as that keeps on working. And luckily, you know, especially for good doing gigs and Europe, there's a lot more sort of people that are not trying to promote everything on social media and there's also support for the arts there. So you're not dependent on promoting your gigs and hoping that, you know, your invite function on Facebook works and you can list your gigs on YouTube. You know, those kinds of things are less important. And In Europe, there's 100 times as much funding for the arts in Europe as there is in the US. Like that's a statistic. 100, 100 to 1. I mean, you play at a punk club in Europe and the Cultural Ministry is paying your fee. You know, they can make it a free show and it doesn't matter for you because as the artist, because you're getting paid well by the Culture Ministry and all the punk club has to do is basically like pass the check on to the artist, you know. So that's how the arrangement works in a lot of places over there.
[00:17:03] Speaker A: Roebix is currently on tour with Ministry of Culture and played here in Garberville about three days ago. For more information on the tour, the website is davidrovic's.com tour Turning to Mendocino, A multi agency arrest was made in Covalo after a burglary.
On January 18, a burglary was reported on the 7700 block of Covalo, California to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. During the investigation, a suspect in the burglary was identified to be Corey ryan Whipple, a 21 year old male from Covalo who already had six outstanding felony warrants for his arrest and was already being investigated by the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force at the time. KUN News spoke with Quincy Cromer, Captain with the Mendocino Sheriff's Office for more information on the incident.
[00:17:48] Speaker E: So on January 18th of this year, a burglary was reported to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and that was in the 77,000 block of Logan Lane in Coco. So we had deputies respond to that location to conduct an investigation and during that investigations deputies learned the suspect was identified as Corey Ryan Whipple who is a 21 year old from Covalo, California. So Corey had been wanted for some time and there were some charges resulting from cases even back to mid year of 2025 involving Corey and some crimes he was involved in. So we were aware that Corey had six outstanding felony warrants for his arrest when we were conducting this investigation just this week.
And so we were also aware because we'd interacted with the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force that they were going to assist in hopefully locating and apprehending Whipple relating to the six felony warrants for his arrest. So an operation was planned with the assistance of multiple law enforcement entities to for an effort to recover the stolen property from this burglary in January and then hopefully safely take Whipple into custody for those warrants. So on January 21, which would have been Wednesday, multi jurisdictional operation was conducted involving the Mendocino Lake County Regional SWAT Team, the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, personnel with the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, detectives with the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, and deputies with the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. During this operation, a high risk search warrant was served at a residence in the 300 block of bigger Lane in Kovalo. And during the service of that warrant, Whipple was located on the property and taken into custody without incident. And as a result of the search warrant service, a large amount of stolen property was recovered relating to this burglary and other crimes in the Kovalo area. So Whipple was placed and advised under arrest and booked into the Mendocino County Jail on the six outstanding felony warrants. And he is being held on a no bail status due to those warrants. And the Sheriff's Office would like to thank the United States Marshals, the Fugitive Task Force, Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, Lake County Sheriff's Office, and obviously the citizens of our county for their support and assistance during this investigation, which is still being actively investigated. So anyone with information regarding this case is requested to call the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Dispatch center at 707-463-4086. You can press option one at any time to reach dispatch.
[00:20:06] Speaker A: Once again, the investigation is still ongoing and anyone with information on the incident can contact the Mendocino Sheriff's Office Dispatch center at 707-463-4086 or their non emergency tip line at 707-234-2-100.
In state news, California Attorney General Bonta announced his 55th lawsuit against Trump administration over federalizing state oil pipelines. KPFA's Christina Onisted reports the Trump administration broke the law again, which is why we are suing again.
[00:20:45] Speaker F: California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced his 55th lawsuit against the Trump administration, this time challenging its green lighting of a Texas oil company, Sable Offshore's plan to resume transporting oil in two of its pipelines. One that corroded and caused a massive oil spill on the Santa Barbara coastline.
[00:21:07] Speaker A: In 2015, causing the Refugio oil spill that dumped more than 100,000 gallons of heavy crude oil into the environment and at least 21,000 gallons into the ocean.
A catastrophic oil spill that coated seven miles of California California shoreline and damaged beaches as far as 100 miles down the coast.
[00:21:38] Speaker F: Since the leak, the pipeline has been closed for a decade. But after repairs, Sable appealed to state officials to resume operations last year on the anniversary of the oil spill. That was met with protests by the public and scrutiny by some public officials.
Then last month, the Trump administration granted the company an emergency permit after finding Sable's pipeline. Pipelines are interstate, within federal jurisdiction at Sable's request. Bonta says that's an attempt to commandeer state oversight.
[00:22:12] Speaker A: Now, over a decade later, Sable doesn't like how the process is going or the lawsuits that have piled up from local and state authorities. So Sable went crying to Trump.
Sable said jump and Trump said how high?
Sable asked the president to declare the pipelines interstate, meaning they cross state borders, and to pretend the pipelines are part of a larger system that extends into federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf. That is a fallacy that is not true.
All of this is a pretext for usurping state oversight.
Trump, from his cozy perch in the oil industry's pocket, dutifully complied.
[00:23:03] Speaker F: The onshore pipelines are part of the Santa Ynez unit, which includes offshore oil platforms, onshore processing facilities and offshore pipelines. Sable purchased the unit in 2024 and has since racked up 21 criminal charges from state regulators, including five felonies for discharge into waterways. This while seeking approval to resume operations for its two oil pipelines. The Trump administration's Dec. 22 approval by PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration cites the president's executive order declaring a national energy emergency and expediting the push for domestic oil production.
[00:23:49] Speaker A: Approval of Sable's restart of this potentially dangerous pipeline is the latest example of Trump doing the oil industry's bidding.
The Trump administration unlawfully undermined California's authority, unlawfully federalized the pipelines and usurped state control, and unlawfully issued Sable a sham emerging emergency permit to begin pumping oil when there's absolutely no emergency.
[00:24:25] Speaker F: Environmental groups have also sued two days after giving approval on Christmas Eve. Groups including the center for Biological Diversity, Wishtoyo foundation, the Environmental Defense Center Get Oil Out. Santa Barbara County Action Network, Sierra Club and Santa Barbara Channel Keeper filed the legal challenge claiming federalizing the the pipelines in state jurisdiction and permitting them ran afoul of the Pipeline Safety act and nepa, the National Environmental Policy act, for failing to hold a public process or conduct the necessary environmental review. I'm Christina Onnestedt reporting for Pacifica Radio kpfa.
[00:25:14] Speaker A: In National Native News, Antonio Gonzalez reads today's headlines.
[00:25:18] Speaker F: This is National Native News. I'm Antonia Gonzalez. Tribes are among those expressing condolences to the family of 37 year old Alex Pareti, who was fatally shot over the weekend by federal agents in Minneapolis. Tribes are also raising concerns for their citizens in the Twin Cities as the Trump administration's immigration actions continue in Minnesota. In a statement, the Mille Lacs Band offered condolences and said it's standing in solidarity with its band members and other Minneapolis residents. Tribal leaders are urging their members to carry tribal IDs and report any ICE interactions to the tribe as leaders meet with federal, state and local officials.
The Spirit Lake Nation, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Sissatin, Wahpetin, Oyate, Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe issued a joint statement expressing condolences and said they stand in solidarity with Minnesota communities. The tribe say recent federal actions in Minnesota include the taking of a sissetinhpetin Oyate member, but they did not provide additional information.
The tribes say leaders are in contact with federal agencies and they're urging tribal citizens to prioritize safety.
A teacher who was convicted of sexually abusing Hopi boys for nearly a decade was recently denied parole after the tribe and the U.S. attorney for Arizona sent a letter opposing his release. KJZ's Gabriel Pietrazio reports.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: John Boone was hired as a teacher in 1979 at a Hopi school run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1987, the FBI found photos and videotapes of 142 nude boys at his home and Boone was sentenced to life in prison.
[00:26:58] Speaker C: His name is still widely known on the reservation. Even though it's been close to 40 years, we still continue to suffer to this day.
[00:27:06] Speaker A: That's Hopi Chairman Lamar Kivema.
[00:27:09] Speaker C: Unfortunately, we've lost some either to suicide or to alcohol or substance abuse. Nothing will ever make up for what was done. It's an open wound that will never go away.
[00:27:21] Speaker A: U.S. attorney Timothy Courtchain has watched this case closely, even sending a letter to the U.S. parole Commission. In tandem with Hopi leadership and with.
[00:27:32] Speaker C: The understanding that that federal special trust responsibility doesn't end at the sentencing.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: Courtain also credits his tribal liaison, Kyoko Patterson, who is Navajo, for paying close attention.
[00:27:44] Speaker C: She really stays on this for us.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: The US agreed to pay $13 million to 58 victims for national Native News, I'm Gabriel Pietrazio.
[00:27:55] Speaker F: For the first time in 40 years, a native person is wearing the crown of Miss Rodeo North Dakota. Brian Bull of Buffalo's Fire has the story.
[00:28:04] Speaker D: 24 year old Jalen Hicks of Dunn center scored highest in the categories of horsemanship, appearance and personality. She's competed twice before but persevered and will now travel the rodeo circuit across the country. Hicks is 1/4 French Canadian Chippewa of the Turtle Mountain Band. The last known Native rodeo queens were Janet Voigt in 1986 and Audrey hall in 1954. Both were with the Three Affiliated Tribes, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara. Hicks says she's happy to continue this representation.
[00:28:35] Speaker E: I love the fact that Native American.
[00:28:38] Speaker A: Culture has such a heavy influence on the Western industry. Whether you want to look at the whole horsemanship, the jewelry with we see such a big influence, the leather work.
[00:28:49] Speaker C: The fringe we wear on our jackets, that's all from Native American culture.
[00:28:53] Speaker D: Hicks was declared Miss Rodeo North Dakota last year and was formally coronated earlier this month. Besides educating people about rodeo culture in the Western industry, Hicks will also promote awareness of Angel Man Syndrome, a genetic.
[00:29:06] Speaker A: Condition that affects her niece, Sissy.
[00:29:08] Speaker D: For National Native News, I'm Brian Blake.
[00:29:11] Speaker F: And I'm Antonia Gonzalez.
[00:29:19] Speaker C: Native voice one.
[00:29:20] Speaker D: The native american radio network.
[00:29:26] Speaker A: That's all for tonight's broadcast. Thanks for listening. Thanks to our engineer Javier Rodriguez, and thanks to our reporters Julian Jackson, Christina Onnested and Antonio Gonzalez.
KMUD News is online and you can find us on kmud.org and now streaming on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, where you can download our stories and newscasts for offline listening during your rural commutes. You can also follow us on social media. If you have questions or suggestions, you can give us a call at 707-923-2605 or send an email to newsmud.org Redwood Community Radio, Inc. Is funded by President Press Forward, the national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at PressForward News.
Reporting for KMUD, I'm Nat Cardos.
