California
Drinking water warning issued for California schools: “Poisoning” students
A teacher is accusing the Oakland Unified School District’s water supply of “poisoning” students in California after staff learned that lead amounts far surpassing legal limits were present in the district’s water supply.
Reports documenting the lead amounts were allegedly available in the spring, KRON4 reported, but the district didn’t notify teachers and parents of the situation until this month, meaning that some students—such as those present in the schools for summer classes—were exposed to the water.
Teachers are now questioning why it took so long to notify the impacted parties about the dangerous water and demanding that OUSD remedy the situation.
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“How could we be poisoning our students for so many months?” teacher Stuart Loeble said, according to the KRON4 report.
Loeble went on to say it was “criminal” that students were exposed to lead without knowing, and the district admitted to poor communication in a message sent to district families on Monday morning.
“Despite our attention to detail and care for our sites, we did not communicate effectively to the members of each school community as the testing launched, as we received the results, and as fixes were being implemented,” the district said. “We are putting systems in place to ensure a lack of effective communication does not occur again, and that school communities receive quick notice when this kind of testing is taking place on their campuses.”
When reached for comment, an OUSD spokesperson directed Newsweek to the district’s message. In it, OUSD encouraged parents to send their child to school with a reusable water bottle to use at filtered water stations.
The statement also explained that the district’s limit of allowable lead concentration in water is much stricter than state and federal limits.
“In most cases, the fixtures tested under the District’s limit,” the statement said.
More than 10 percent of the district’s water fixtures—such as faucets and water faucets—tested below the state limit but above the district limit. More than 6 percent of fixtures tested above the state limit. Any fixtures testing under the district’s limit remain in service, with all others taken out of service until repaired and retested.
“A total of 61 fixtures have been fixed so far, and are now waiting to be retested before being brought back on line,” the district said. “We anticipate that remediation process will take approximately three weeks.”
The concerning discovery comes several months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an additional $3 billion from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda to aid states and territories in identifying and replacing lead service lines. The project aims to prevent exposure to lead in drinking water.
“Lead can cause a range of serious health impacts, including irreversible harm to brain development in children,” the EPA announcement said. “To protect children and families, President Biden has committed to replacing every lead pipe in the country.”
In 2023, the EPA released data that shows Florida as having the most lead service lines in the country at 1.16 million lines, more than 12 percent of the total number of service lines in the state. Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and New York also have a higher percentage of lead lines.
California, however, tested as one of the states with the least percentage of lead service lines, according to the EPA data. At that time, there were 13,476 lead service lines, accounting for .15 percent of the total number of service lines in the state.
A California man was arrested on suspicion of committing lewd acts and exploiting minors through online platforms.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Edward “Eddie” Alessandro Zarate, 20, of Santa Maria.
On May 28, authorities began investigating Zarate over allegations that he was communicating with underage girls online and exchanging sexually explicit material with them.
Detectives later learned that Zarate allegedly communicated with minor victims through mobile phone apps such as Whipd, Purp, Wizz and Snapchat, along with exchanging text messages.
Zarate’s profiles appeared to portray him as a juvenile.
“Once he established communication with minors, he would often encourage them to move conversations off the platform and continue communicating via text message,” the sheriff’s department said. “During these conversations, Zarate would disclose his true age and identity.”
So far, authorities are aware of two female juveniles who have met with Zarate in person and reportedly engaged in lewd acts.
He is accused of communicating with minors in multiple states including California, Florida and Illinois. In California alone, detectives believe Zarate contacted minors from Los Angeles, Oxnard, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Paso Robles, Nipomo, Arroyo Grande and San Francisco.
“Based on the scope of the investigation, detectives believe there may be additional survivors who have not yet been identified,” authorities said.
On June 10, Zarate was arrested and booked on multiple felony charges including oral copulation with a person under 18 years of age, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, sending harmful matter to a minor, and two counts of possession of obscene material depicting a minor.
Anyone who may be a victim, has communicated with Zarate online or through text or has information on the case is asked to call Sheriff’s Detectives at 805-681-4150. Anonymous tips can be provided to the SBSD’s tipline at 805-681-4171 or online at SBSheriff.org.
Top universities reject Trump’s ‘compact’ over academic freedom
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Southern California rejected Trump’s “compact.”
To the surprise of perhaps no Californians, several California universities appeared in the top rankings of the world’s best universities in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings released on June 16.
Of the more than 2,250 worldwide research institutions that U.S. News & World Report evaluated for this list, six California universities ranked in the top 50 globally, with an even split among Northern and Southern California institutions.
The 2026 list includes universities from more than 100 countries, with the following countries receiving the most schools in the overall rankings:
- China: 409
- United States: 275
- India: 123
- United Kingdom: 93
- Japan: 86
Did your California alma mater appear among the top global universities?
U.S. News and World Report methodology
When determining a university’s placement on the list, U.S. News & World Report considered factors more relevant to research-oriented institutions than to undergraduate-focused metrics like bachelor’s degree graduation rates.
It focused on aspects like academic institutions’ research and reputation, number of publications, the quality of publications and citations. It considers other factors, including location, campus culture, the strength of particular programs, and cost, which are also very important.
“For students seeking universities with strong academic excellence and global recognition, the Best Global Universities rankings offer an essential comparative resource,” said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor for Education at U.S. News.
“Our methodology focuses on a school’s research mission and scholarly impact, helping students identify institutions that are truly at the forefront of global knowledge creation.”
Out of the top 10 global universities, two California institutions made the list:
- Harvard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Stanford University
- University of Oxford
- University of Cambridge
- Tsinghua University
- University of California Berkeley
- Yale University
- University College London
- Columbia University
How did California colleges rank in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Global Universities 2026 list?
Outside of the top 10 universities, California saw a handful of other institutions rank highly on U.S. News & World Report list.
Notably, the University of California – Los Angeles just missed the top 10 list, ultimately ranking as the 11th-best global university and the second-best public institution on the list. It was beaten out as the best public institution by its academic counterpart, the University of California, Berkeley, which was ranked the 7th-best global university.
Additionally, a number of University of California schools made the top of the list, ultimately reaffirming the quality of the institutions’ public campuses across the state.
“Research from the University of California is vital to work that benefits all Americans, from breakthroughs in the treatment of Parkinson’s to the science behind previously unimagined successes in fighting cancer and the development of quantum computers that will enable the critical advances of the 21st century,” the University of California said in a press release about its rankings.
Here’s the list of California universities that made the top 100 list:
- 3. Stanford University
- 7. University of California Berkeley
- 11. University of California – Los Angeles
- 22. University of California – San Francisco
- 23. (Tied) California Institute of Technology
- 23. (Tied) University of California – San Diego
- 74. University of Southern California
- 95. University of California – Davis
- 99. University of California – Irvine
- 100. University of California – Santa Barbara
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.
The most significant seismic event in California’s history – an earthquake of 7.9 magnitude – occurred in 1857 and ruptured about 225 miles on the San Andreas Fault. That earthquake, dubbed the last “Big One,” killed two people and produced shaking that lasted between one and three minutes.
Since then, California has exploded in population and been has been rattled by many major earthquakes. But Californians have also grown familiar with the existential dread of another “Big One” looming.
Researchers have long warned there will be another massive earthquake in Southern California. They just don’t know when.
A recent study says warning signs continue to grow in 2026. The San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems have reached the highest stress levels seen in the past 1,000 years, according to a study conducted at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
The San Andreas fault runs throughout the state, passing through San Francisco and San Bernardino, while the San Jacinto fault is in Southern California and runs through Riverside, San Diego and Imperial Counties.
Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them.
Why the San Andreas Fault is so risky
Faults rupture on the San Andreas Fault approximately every 150 years, according to UCLA professor Jonathan Stewart, who studies earthquake engineering.
But it’s been over 300 years since the last “large rupture” occurred south of the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, Stewart said. “As far we know it didn’t produce a large rupture since around 1690. To the present that’s a lot more than 150 years, so there’s a lot of build-up. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen immediately, it just means there is more stress built-up.”
When the earthquake happens, it is likely to cause a lot of damage. One major concern is the state’s water systems.
“An earthquake like this would rupture most, if not all of the major aqueducts bringing water into Southern California,” Stewart said. “Most people will not be in a collapsed structure after this earthquake, but everybody’s going to be affected by water problems.”
Study highlights longstanding risk
To investigate the probability of an earthquake occurring, researchers built a physics-based simulation and fed it the earthquake history from the region. By doing so, they were able to estimate how much stress has built up along the southern San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems.
The results suggest that catastrophe may be near.
“Right now, with stress at historically high levels across the region and more than 160 years elapsed since the last major rupture, the system is in a critically loaded state,” lead author Liliane Burkhard said.
Most importantly, the Cajon Pass, at the junction of the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults, could facilitate a joint rupture of the two faults. This scenario, according to the study, would probably be “significantly more damaging” than a single-fault event.
How is earthquake safety considered?
Seismic hazard assessments are critical for the safety of the millions of residents in California’s densely-populated and earthquake-prone areas.
Seismic Hazard maps show the relative hazard associated with earthquakes using information on past faults, the behavior of seismic waves and the near-surface conditions of specific locations, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Larger values indicate a stronger level of earthquake shaking. A peak ground velocity of 269 cm/sec would correspond to extreme shaking and heavy damage. For reference, the largest ground velocity recorded in Taiwan’s 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake reached 318 cm/sec and had a magnitude of 6.7.
That earthquake killed more than 2,000 people and incurred approximately $14 billion in damage.
How do the fault lines rupture?
The San Andreas and San Jacinto faults are strike-slip faults, which typically cause horizontal displacement. Both faults comprise the geologic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.
If a major earthquake occurs on the San Andreas fault, it is likely to produce surface rupture, which occurs when a fault breaks through to the surface. Most earthquakes, however, do not produce surface rupture, according to USGS.
In a major rupture, strong shaking could cause severe damage near the fault and in areas built on soft or water-saturated soils, which can amplify shaking. Rupture can directly offset roads, buildings, and other structures that span the fault trace.
Although the study helps explain the risk associated with the California fault lines, Burkhard emphasized that it shouldn’t serve as a forecast.
“This is not a prediction of when an earthquake will happen,” Burkhard said. “However, studies like this are important contributions to national and global earthquake hazard research in that we are using rigorous, quantitative science to better understand the risk facing millions of people.”
Contributing: Brandi D. Addison, USA TODAY NETWORK
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