California, Oakland | featured news

Riot police in Oakland dispersed hundreds of protesters with tear gas on Tuesday night as crowds tried to re-enter a plaza outside of City Hall that the authorities had cleared of an encampment earlier in the day. After the forceful response to the Occupy Oakland protests, officers in Atlanta moved in early Wednesday morning to clear a similar camp in that city’s central Woodruff Park. At least 53 people connected to the protest group Occupy Atlanta were arrested, and the park was cleared by 2 a.m. Eastern time, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

Oakland police raided the Occupy Oakland encampments early Tuesday morning and reportedly arrested dozens of protesters. Oakland police confirmed that an operation was in progress to clear out the encampments but said it was not clear yet how many protesters had been arrested.

Protesters clashed with the police on Friday night after a white former transit police officer was given a two-year sentence for the killing an unarmed black man.

The city of Oakland, California on Tuesday legalized large-scale marijuana cultivation for medical use and will issue up to four permits for "industrial" cultivation starting next year.

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will reopen Monday, a California transportation official said.

Three officers and a suspect are dead and another officer is in grave condition after related shootings, the police said.