California

Poor air quality expected in SoCal this week amid heat wave

Published

1 year ago

September 3, 2024

Poor air quality expected in SoCal this week amid heat wave

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — As another brutal heat wave moves into Southern California, it’s more than just the temperatures impacting local residents.

Poor air quality will also be cause for concern.

“Ozone, or smog, is the dominant summertime pollutant in Southern California. And that tends to form more readily under high temperatures,” said Scott Epstein, planning and rules manager of air quality assessment for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The extreme heat increases the amount of ozone pollution in the air which in turn negatively impacts our air quality.

“When temperatures are high you get a lot more evaporation of one of the compounds that form smog in the atmosphere, and you speed up the reactions that form smog as well, so we tend to see our highest ozone levels or smog levels on the hottest days of the year,” added Epstein.

As temperatures climb during the day so do ozone levels, so expect to see the worst air quality in the mid-to-late afternoon. These high levels can trigger breathing issues including asthma.

“Breathing high levels of ozone can cause serious respiratory issues such as asthma. It can aggravate respiratory conditions such as COPD, cause trouble breathing or other lung issues. So the most important thing on these days is to be aware of high levels of ozone. It’s not a visible pollutant,” said Epstein.

When conditions are bad try to minimize bringing what’s outside – inside.

“Keep windows and doors closed, run your air conditioner and air purifier and minimize things that bring outdoor air inside, such as a swamp cooler or a whole-house fan,” added Epstein.

The South Coast AQMD has issued an Ozone Alert for most of Southern California through Friday evening.

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California

California toddler falls out of moving car, mother charged

Published

8 hours ago

January 27, 2026

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California toddler falls out of moving car, mother charged

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A California mother was arrested on felony child abuse charges after a viral video showed her 19-month-old child falling from a moving SUV at a busy Fullerton intersection, police said Monday.

The Fullerton Police Department said it became aware of the video, which shows a black SUV turning at an intersection when a passenger-side door suddenly opens. A small child then falls out of the vehicle and onto the roadway.

The SUV immediately stops, and a car following behind narrowly avoids colliding with it. The car stops just short of the child on the roadway.

The video shows an adult woman running from the driver’s side, picking up the child and placing the toddler back inside the SUV before driving away.

MAN RUNS INTO FLORIDA STREET TO SAVE TWO YOUNG CHILDREN WHO WANDERED AWAY FROM RENTAL HOME

A black SUV turns at an intersection when a passenger-side door suddenly opens and a small child falls out of the vehicle and onto the roadway. (Fullerton Police Department)

A witness called police on Saturday and provided identifying information about the vehicle. Officers traced the SUV to a home in La Habra, where they located the vehicle, the child and a suspect believed to be the woman seen in the video.

A car following the SUV narrowly avoided hitting the child and SUV. (Fullerton Police Department)

Police identified the child as a 19-month-old who suffered injuries consistent with the fall. The toddler was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.

FLORIDA DEPUTIES RACE TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD WHO STOPPED BREATHING AND HAD NO PULSE ON INTERSTATE, VIDEO SHOWS

The suspect was identified as Jacqueline Hernandez, 35, of La Habra, and the child’s mother. She was arrested and booked into the Fullerton City Jail for felony child abuse, police said.

The child’s mother, identified as Jacqueline Hernandez, 35, of La Habra, picks the child up from the road. Hernandez was later arrested and charged with felony child abuse, police said. (Fullerton Police Department)

Neighbors told FOX11 Los Angeles that the family has several children and could not believe the mother would put her children in such a dangerous situation.

“I can’t excuse something like that, I’m sorry,” a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous told the local station.

Investigators believe the incident occurred between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Jan. 20. Police said they did not receive any emergency calls related to the incident at the time.

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The investigation remains ongoing, and police are asking anyone with additional information to contact the Fullerton Police Department’s Sensitive Crimes Unit.

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California

California gubernatorial candidates outline their priorities at UCSF event

Published

20 hours ago

January 26, 2026

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California gubernatorial candidates outline their priorities at UCSF event

Several of the candidates vying to become California’s next governor gathered Monday at the University of California, San Francisco to make their case to voters.

Seven Democrats took the stage at UCSF to outline their priorities for their first 100 days in office. Republican candidates were invited but declined to participate.

On June 2, California voters will narrow the field to two candidates in an open primary. Those two will then face off on Nov. 3.

NBC Bay Area’s Velena Jones has more in the video report above.

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California

California joins UN health network following US departure from WHO

Published

4 days ago

January 23, 2026

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California joins UN health network following US departure from WHO

Jan 23 (Reuters) – California said on Friday it will become the first U.S. state to join the World Health Organization’s global outbreak response network following the Trump administration’s decision to pull Washington out of the WHO.

The network, comprised of more than 360 technical institutions, responds to public health events with the deployment of staff and resources to affected countries.

It has tackled major public health events, including COVID-19.

The state’s decision to join the network comes more than a year after U.S. President Donald Trump gave notice that Washington would depart from the WHO. On Thursday, it officially withdrew from the agency, saying its decision reflected failures in the U.N. health agency’s management of the pandemic.

California Governor Gavin Newsom decried the United States’ move on Friday, calling it a “reckless decision” that will hurt many people.

“California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will continue to foster partnerships across the globe and remain at the forefront of public health preparedness, including through our membership as the only state in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network.”

The governor’s office said he met with the WHO’s Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, where they discussed collaborating to detect and respond to emerging public health threats.

The WHO did not immediately respond when reached for comment.

Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington
Editing by Rod Nickel

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