SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Sea lions are stranding themselves on a long stretch of the California coast and showing signs that they may have been poisoned by a bloom of harmful algae, experts said Thursday.

The Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute said that since July 26, it has been inundated by daily reports of sick sea lions along 155 miles (249 kilometers) of shoreline in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, northwest of Los Angeles.

The marine mammals are suffering from domoic acid, a neurotoxin that affects the brain and heart, the institute said in a statement. The poisoning event is largely affecting adult female California sea lions, it said.

The nonprofit said it had rescued 23 animals so far. Coastal Vandenberg Space Force Base released photos of sea lions being rescued from one of its beaches on July 29.

The California coast commonly sees outbreaks of domoic acid poisoning, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NOAA Fisheries.

An outbreak last year was particularly severe, with hundreds sea lions and dozens of dolphins dying in the first weeks of June.

The poison is produced by microscopic algae that are consumed by shellfish and small fish that are then eaten by sea lions, dolphins and birds. Symptoms in affected sea lions may include disorientation, head weaving, foaming at the mouth and seizures.

People can also get sickened.

The University of California system has announced that it’s admitted the largest class in its history for the upcoming fall semester.

Across its nine undergraduate campuses, UC admitted 166,706 students for fall 2024. That number includes 137,200 first-year students and 29,506 transfer students. Systemwide, the admission rate for California first-year students stood at 70%, up from 68% last year.

Included in the admissions were offers to 93,920 California residents, which was also a record high and represented an increase of 4.3% over last fall. Admitting more in-state students has become a UC priority, a system-wide response to recent pressure from state leaders and funding incentives tied to the university’s commitment to increase graduation rates and enroll more in-state students.

More than two-thirds (68%) of first-year admits were California residents. Out-of-state students comprised 18% of first-year admits, and international student accounted for 14%.

Latinos made up 39% of first-year admitted Californians, followed by Asian Americans (33%), whites (18%), Blacks (6%), American Indians (1%) and Pacific Islanders (less than 1%).

UC also offered admission to more students from groups historically underrepresented in higher education, Admission offers to underrepresented students rose to 45.4%.

The university admitted about 500 more African American students than last year, a gain of nearly 10%. And the proportion of admitted California students who would be the first in their family to attend a four-year college rose to 43.1%, a gain from last year’s 42.5%.

In a year where applications by low-income students has been marred by a seriously botched launch of a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), UC still managed to increase the percentage of low-income students among the total admitted from 39.7% last year to 40.7% this fall.

The university offered admission to 26,430 transfers from California Community Colleges, a 7.8% increase (1,906 students) from last year.

It’s important to remember these are preliminary admission figures. They do not represent actual enrollment numbers, which will not be known for several months.

Nonetheless, University of California President Michael V. Drake stressed their importance. “These admissions numbers demonstrate the University of California’s commitment to expanding opportunity and access, especially for historically underrepresented groups, who comprise the largest-ever share of first-year students,” said Drake, in a press release. “We’re setting more California students on the path to a college degree and future success, and that translates to positive impact on communities throughout the state.”

UC also released the gender identity of admitted students this year. Women accounted for the majority (55%) of admitted first-year students and 49% of transfer students. Men made up 40% of first-year admits and 46% of transfer admits. Nonbinary students and those not reporting a gender identify accounted for about 5% of new admits.

The record admissions numbers were released on the same day that Drake announced his plans to retire as the UC system president, effective at the end of the upcoming academic year.

Drake, who has served as UC president for five years, said in a university release that “it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as president of the University of California these past several years, and I am immensely proud of what the UC community has accomplished. At every turn, I have sought to listen to those I served, to uphold our shared UC values, and to do all I could to leave this institution in better shape than it was before. I’m proud to see the University continuing to make a positive impact on the lives of countless Californians through research, teaching, and public service.”

California farmers reportedly embraced the “weird” label that some have placed on Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance during a GOP fundraiser.

Recent rhetoric from Democrats and other critics of the 2024 Republican presidential ticket has classified both Vance and former President Donald Trump as “weird” due to their policy positions and public behavior.

Fundraiser guests had a different view of Vance in rural Coalinga, California, on Wednesday, according to Politico. Barbara Hallmeyer, a GOP delegate and former high school teacher, told the outlet that she and others in the crowd were “weird like him,” referring to Vance.

About 150 Trump and Vance supporters reportedly forked over $3,300 each for entry into the event, while those who wanted a photo opportunity with the vice presidential hopeful paid as much as $25,000.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Trump/Vance campaign via email on Wednesday night.

Hallmeyer was not the only fundraiser attendee countering criticism of Vance, who has been under fire in the weeks since his selection as Trump’s running mate over issues like his past support for total abortion bans and comments on “childless cat ladies.”

“[President] Joe Biden and [Vice President] Kamala Harris, they don’t care about us,” farmer Steve Samra, who was also at the event, told Politico. “I don’t think [Vance is] anti-women … I think his wife was at one point anti-Trump, but I think she’s gotten over that.”

Republican leaders have touted Vance, the author of bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, as a secret weapon for the Trump campaign to appeal with voters in rural areas. His appeal to farmers wealthy enough to attend Wednesday’s fundraiser was clear.

While California is anything but a GOP stronghold, many rural areas of the state lean heavily red. In the Central Valley, home to Coalinga, some have become furious at Democrats for diverting much-needed water away from the farmlands to protect endangered fish species.

Fundraiser co-host William Bourdeau, vice president at Harris Farms—the site of the fundraiser—told Politico that Central Valley farmers “are an endangered species.”

Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes told The Sacramento Bee that Vance discussed the water issue “really just in generalities” during the fundraiser, while adding that “he knows the federal government can only do so much because part of it’s a state issue.”

Vance also told guests that he considered Harris becoming Biden’s likely replacement as the Democratic presidential nominee “a coup d’etat” and said that a large amount of fundraising was required “to combat the news media’s false narrative,” according to Mendes.

Regardless of support for Vance and Trump among California Republicans, the GOP presidential ticket has little realistic chance of winning the Golden State in November. A poll released on Tuesday by Capitol Weekly found that Harris holds a 24-point lead over Trump in California.