Friends Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, were pulled out of water by rescue crews but died later at local hospitals

• Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email

Two college students died after being swept out to sea from a Santa Cruz beach as massive waves and dangerous rip currents inundated the California coastline in recent days.

Authorities confirmed this week that Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, were killed after the sudden swell at a Santa Cruz beach last Wednesday. Nair died last week while Sran died in a local hospital on Sunday.

The artist performed songs from her new album in a five-night residency at Hollywood high school’s auditorium

With a swaying ocean projected on the stage, bathing the space in the brilliant light of sunset and sea, the figure holding a microphone almost appeared to be floating with the waves.

It added to the surreal effect that permeated the auditorium of Hollywood high school on Thursday night as singer Mitski performed Dead Women from her new album Nothing’s About to Happen to Me.

US president makes baseless claims about fraud in blue states and says JD Vance will lead clampdown as ‘fraud czar’

Donald Trump announced a fresh crackdown on “fraud” in Democratic states and tapped JD Vance to lead the charge. Officials swiftly announced a string of arrests in California.

In a Truth Social post on Friday, the US president announced that his vice-president was now “in charge of ‘fraud’ in the United States”, claiming the problem is “massive and pervasive” and that Vance’s new role as “fraud czar” will be “a major factor in how great the future of our country will be”.

Highly rated councilmember makes last-minute entry after endorsing former ally Karen Bass – can she build a campaign to win?

Nithya Raman, a progressive urban planner, entered Los Angeles politics with a bang when she was elected to city council in 2020, defeating an incumbent Democrat endorsed by Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.

More than five years on, the 44-year-old is making waves again with her last-minute entry into the LA mayoral race. Raman filed to run just hours before the deadline – after recently endorsing Mayor Karen Bass for re-election – to the surprise of constituents, and political allies and opponents alike.