
Soumya Karlamangla
All Stories

Perhaps you saw the news that July is shaping up to be Earth’s hottest month on record, an alarming milestone that reflects the harsh reality of climate change and is...

How the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill inspired the first Earth Day
Happy Earth Day.As you probably know, April 22 is a day set aside for appreciating the environment and demonstrating for laws that protect it.The tradition dates to the first...

In senior women’s basketball league, love of the game never gets old
SAN DIEGO — The sounds spilling from the gym suggested an ordinary basketball game: tennis shoes squeaking against a slick court, hollow thumps of a ball, a referee’s shrill whistle.But inside was...

California’s population has fallen for the first time in history
California lost 182,083 people in 2020, marking the first population decline ever recorded in the state and underscoring larger trends that recently led to the loss of a Congressional seat.California's...

California and Florida took vastly different approaches to COVID-19. Here’s how it turned out
A year into the pandemic, California and Florida have become common points of contrast as Americans grapple with the horrific human and economic tolls of trying to control COVID-19. Though...

California vs. Florida: Who handled COVID-19 better?
From the earliest days of the pandemic, California and Florida took significantly different courses that came to symbolize the deep divisions across America in how to respond to COVID-19.California imposed...

California cree que puede detener el COVID inundando areas pobres con vacunas. Funcionara?
Meses después de un lanzamiento de la vacuna que se ha visto obstaculizado por la escasez, y empañado por las desigualdades persistentes, California ahora está apostando por una nueva estrategia:...

California thinks it can stop COVID by flooding poor areas with vaccine. Will it work?
Months into a vaccine rollout that has been stymied by shortages and marred by persistent inequities, California is now going all in on a new strategy: flooding those communities hardest...

California’s outdoor dining ban was controversial. Did it help slow the COVID-19 surge?
Despite heated opposition and vows of resistance from some restaurant owners and elected officials, there is increasing evidence that California's latest stay-at-home order, including a ban on outdoor dining, worked...

Newsom’s abrupt COVID-19 reopening brings high risks for California, but also potential economic rewards
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s abrupt move to lift stay-at-home orders — allowing outdoor dining and other business activities to resume — represents a gamble that California can avoid another deadly coronavirus...

How the ‘California miracle’ dissolved into a winter coronavirus nightmare
In the spring, while New York suffered untold devastation from the COVID-19 pandemic, California was so successful in keeping the virus at bay that at least one expert called it...

La disponibilidad de UCI en el sur de California es 0%, y va a empeorar, advierten los funcionarios
La disponibilidad de camas en las unidades de cuidados intensivos en todo el sur de California alcanzó la masa crítica el jueves, con un 0 por ciento de apertura, el...

ICU availability in Southern California at 0%, and it’s going to get worse, officials warn
The availability of intensive care unit beds throughout Southern California reached critical mass Thursday, with 0% open, the latest sign of how the worst wave of the coronavirus is hammering...

Here’s how California plans to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine in coming weeks
With U.S. approval expected this week for the first COVID-19 vaccine, California could soon begin its historic and complex rollout of millions of immunizations, a much-anticipated turning point in a...

Todo empezo con una mujer enferma en San Jose. Ahora, un millon de californianos tienen COVID-19
En enero, cuando Patricia Dowd se enfermó con síntomas parecidos a los de la gripe y tuvo que cancelar sus planes de ir a un funeral, era imposible comprender lo...

It started with one sick woman in San Jose. Now, the coronavirus has spread to 1 million Californians
Back in January, when Patricia Dowd became sick with flu-like symptoms and had to cancel plans to go to a funeral, it would be impossible to fathom what her illness...

Disneyland’s push to reopen sets up critical moment in California’s coronavirus fight
A growing chorus of businesses small and large has been desperately lobbying California officials to reopen this fall as they struggle to survive after months of coronavirus shutdowns.This week, they...

California is turning the corner on the coronavirus. Will it last?
After months of bleak figures and forecasts, California now appears to be riding a wave of success beating back the coronavirus as officials express cautious optimism about what is next...

As COVID-19 cases surge, patients are dying at a lower rate. Here’s why
When the number of people being sent to the hospital with COVID-19 began to creep up early this summer, officials warned that a major increase in deaths was inevitable. A...

‘Estamos abrumados’: Vista al interior de los hospitales a medida que aumenta el coronavirus
Durante meses, los hospitales de California evitaron el temido aumento de pacientes con coronavirus que amenazaba con abrumar las salas, al personal y estirar los suministros limitados. Pero ahora, con...

California’s slide from coronavirus success to danger zone began Memorial Day
The seeds of the latest surge in coronavirus cases in California appear to have been planted around Memorial Day. People had been pent up in their homes; businesses shuttered for...

Rising infections in younger people fuel California’s new coronavirus spike
The surge in new coronavirus cases that has alarmed health officials and put renewed strain on hospitals appears to be driven at least in part by increases in younger Californians...

FBI looks for link between shootings of officers in Santa Cruz and Oakland
After a Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputy was shot and killed Saturday, federal investigators are trying to determine whether the slaying is connected to other recent crimes in the San...

Una enfermera sin mascarilla N95 muere 14 dias despues de atender a paciente con ‘codigo azul’
La decisión que tomó Celia Marcos, la que finalmente le robaría años a su vida, había sido formada después de décadas trabajando como enfermera.En la sala que supervisón en Hollywood...

A nurse without an N95 mask raced in to treat a ‘code blue’ patient. She died 14 days later
The decision that Celia Marcos made, the one that would ultimately steal years from her life, had been hard-wired after decades working as a nurse.On the ward that she oversaw...

Social distancing may have helped California slow the virus and avoid New York’s fate
MILLBRAE, Calif. — For California and Washington, the coronavirus triggers came early. They pushed the two Western states to social distancing measures earlier than the rest of the country.In the San Francisco...

How bad will the next few weeks be for California as coronavirus cases surge?
Looking east, California can envision its coronavirus future in the overflowing hospital wards of New York City. Looking west, it can draw hope from the disease's swift decline in Asian...

Los hospitales colman sus recursos en tiempos de coronavirus; la gran ola que viene podria colapsarlos
El nuevo coronavirus amenaza con abrumar los hospitales de California en las próximas semanas, a menos que las medidas de distanciamiento social sin precedentes impuestas en todo el estado retrasen...

La escasez de componentes clave dificulta las pruebas de coronavirus
Las pruebas para el nuevo coronavirus continúan enfrentando severas limitaciones, ya que los funcionarios de salud de California carecen de componentes clave para realizar análisis de laboratorio, lo que marca...

El condado de Los Angeles reporta su primera muerte por coronavirus
SACRAMENTO — El Departamento de Salud Pública del Condado de Los Ángeles confirmó el miércoles su primera muerte relacionada con el coronavirus y seis nuevos casos, llevando el total del condado a...

LA County reports its first coronavirus death
The world's coronavirus crisis entered a new phase Wednesday when a cascade of restrictions, cancellations and revelations worked to further upend everyday life, with more economic ramifications expected Thursday.The NBA...

Coronavirus: Llega a 60 el numero de casos en California; autoridades advierten sobre mayor propagacion
El número de casos de coronavirus en California creció a al menos 60 el jueves cuando las autoridades anunciaron lo que podría ser la segunda muerte relacionada con el virus...

Caos en los hospitales debido a la escasez de pruebas de coronavirus en California
A medida que los casos de COVID-19 aumentan, los kits de prueba necesarios para ayudar a detener la propagación de la enfermedad siguen siendo escasos, y los trabajadores sanitarios de...

Chaos at hospitals due to shortage of coronavirus testing
As COVID-19 cases spike, the testing needed to help stem the spread of the disease remains below what is needed to address the growing crisis, with healthcare workers across the...

Stanford University will move classes online due to coronavirus
In a growing sign of how coronavirus is disrupting California, Stanford University said Friday night that it will move classes online for the final two weeks of the winter quarter.Stanford...

California declares state of emergency over coronavirus after report of first death
Hours after California announced its first death related to the novel coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the spreading illness, which has struck 12 counties in...

El COVID-19 se propaga y cobra mas muertes, pero hay posibilidad de ganar la batalla
KIRKLAND, Wash. — Varios condados de California informaron nuevos casos de coronavirus, mientras que el número de fallecidos en el país aumentó y la costa oeste sigue soportando la peor parte de...

Condado de Los Angeles declara estado de emergencia por coronavirus al detectar 6 nuevos casos
El condado de Los Ángeles dijo el miércoles que está declarando una emergencia sanitaria ya que el número de casos de coronavirus aumentó a siete, con seis nuevos casos.La medida...

Grand Princess cruise ship at center of coronavirus fight amid concerns about spread
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus after a California man died after falling ill with the virus while on a cruise ship.Officials are trying...

As millions vote, California polling places take precautions to lessen coronavirus risk
As coronavirus cases continued to rise in California, affecting 11 counties up and down the state, millions hit the polls to cast their Super Tuesday votes in local, state and...

Coronavirus deaths in U.S. increase; official warns of many more cases
KIRKLAND, Wash. — As three more deaths in the United States were linked to the coronavirus Tuesday, World Health Organization officials warned the virus could be far more dangerous than the flu,...

Coronavirus is a deadly threat. But fear and panic are more dangerous, global health chief says
The expanding number of coronavirus cases in California and Washington state spread through community have heightened concerns.But experts warn the rising case counts in the U.S. do not necessarily...

Coronavirus death toll rises to 6 in U.S.; spread in California continues
The death toll from coronavirus in the United States rose to six as Washington state officials announced four new deaths.The new figure comes as health officials worked to contain the...

Churches take new precautions amid coronavirus concerns
With more cases of coronavirus announced Sunday, some churches are making changes designed to better protect parishioners. The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino, which serves San Bernardino and Riverside...

Second person dies of coronavirus in Washington state as cases spread on West Coast
A second person has died of the novel coronavirus in Washington state as the number of those infected with the disease continues to rise across the country, including California, health...

First coronavirus death in U.S. heightens fears and underscores challenges for health officials
The death of a man in Washington state from the new coronavirus marks a milestone in the country's fight against a disease that has already killed thousands around the world...

California coronavirus patient was not tested for several days; some hospital staffers told to stay home
It took several days to test a coronavirus patient in Northern California who might be the first to have contracted the disease through community exposure in the United States.The individual...

California grapples with growing coronavirus threat as businesses pull out of state events
California is coming to with the growing threat posed by coronavirus, as two communities issued emergency orders and a patient in Northern California was described by authorities as potentially...

California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently...

El SARS mato a cientos de personas y luego desaparecio; podria extinguirse tambien el coronavirus?
El misterioso virus surgió por primera vez en el invierno, en el este de China: un patógeno nunca antes visto, que pondría a prueba la sensación de seguridad del mundo...

SARS killed hundreds and then disappeared. Could this coronavirus die out?
The mysterious virus first emerged in the winter in eastern China, a never-before-seen pathogen that would rattle the world's sense of safety and ignite a global panic. In the months...

What your life is like under a coronavirus quarantine in San Diego
Board games for children? Definitely. Tai chi in the parking lot? Maybe. Red wine dropped off by relatives? Nope.For the hundreds of Americans who have been evacuated from China amid...

Their kids died on the psych ward. They were far from alone
Mia St. John's cellphone lit up with a message from the psychiatrist treating her son. The voicemail shimmered with hope, the first she had felt in months.The doctor said Julian,...

Muertes de estudiantes de USC: Posibles sobredosis de drogas, investigan narcoticos contaminados
La presidenta de USC, Carol L. Folt, confirmó el miércoles que los investigadores de la policía están indagando sobredosis de drogas como una causa potencial de muerte entre algunos de...

Rattlesnakes have had a busy year. Same for the people who catch them for a living
Bo Slyapich seeks what no one else wants to find.On a recent morning, he waded into grass so high and so dense his legs disappeared from view. He crouched low...

Outrage among new pharmacists after cheating scandal upends licensing exam results
Cheating, protests and outrage have upended the otherwise buttoned-up world of pharmacy in California.California officials have invalidated more than 1,000 pharmacists’ test scores because of cheating on a state exam,...

Vaping bans are supposed to help. But could they become a ‘public health disaster’?
With multiple cities and states cracking down on vaping in recent weeks, spurred by a wave of mysterious illnesses and deaths, some public health advocates say they are energized by...

Los oficiales de California le dicen a todo el mundo que dejen de vapear ahora mismo
Los funcionarios de salud de California advirtieron el martes que la gente debe dejar de fumar inmediatamente, uniéndose al creciente coro de expertos en salud que aconsejan precaución sobre el...

California officials tell everyone to stop vaping right now
California health officials issued a warning Tuesday that people stop vaping immediately, ing a growing chorus of health experts advising caution around e-cigarette use following recent reports of severe lung...

Funcionarios detectan que adolescente con sarampion visito Disneylandia en el condado de Orange
Un adolescente de Nueva Zelanda visitó los condados de Los Ángeles y Orange este mes e hizo un viaje a Disneylandia mientras estaba enfermo de sarampión, lo que podría infectar...

Sexual misconduct allegations against California doctors rise sharply since #MeToo era began
The Berkeley pediatrician was treating a teenager for anxiety and panic attacks. A few months into his therapy appointments, he began showing the boy pictures of men masturbating as well...

He went to jail as a fake doctor. Now he’s a real one: The saga of Adam Litwin, MD
CHICAGO — Wearing a surgical gown and a mask, 9-year-old Adam Litwin watched in awe as his grandfather, a podiatrist, mended a fractured foot.“I was just mesmerized,” Litwin recalled. “I literally knew...

Two L.A. County residents are sick with West Nile – the county’s first cases of 2019
Two people in Los Angeles County have been diagnosed with West Nile virus, in what officials say are the first two cases in the county this year.Both people became ill...

Deadly Encinitas cliff collapse is a warning sign for California coast
The deadly cliff collapse in Encinitas last week raised questions about the stability of large swaths of the state that are lined by bluffs, many of which houses or...

L.A. County health officials warn of measles exposure at Westside shops
Los Angeles County officials warned Thursday that a county resident with measles may have exposed others at several shops on the Westside.Officials identified businesses in Venice, Brentwood and Santa Monica...

Parents who won’t vaccinate their kids turning to home-schooling in California, data show
If Kardie Lee's daughter had to be fully vaccinated to enroll in school, the choice was simple, she felt: Her daughter would not attend school.Three years ago, Lee decided to...

Imperial County man is likely the state’s first West Nile virus fatality of the year
A Southern California man died last week after contracting West Nile virus in what is likely the first death caused by the disease this year in the state, officials said.West...

UCLA employee may have spread measles at campus food court
A UCLA employee who contracted measles may have exposed students and others to the highly contagious disease, according to campus officials.A university employee was diagnosed with measles on Monday. But...

Data breach exposes information of thousands of patients in L.A. County
The personal information of thousands of patients who have received medical care through Los Angeles County’s hospitals and clinics was exposed in a data breach, officials said Tuesday.The Nemadji Research...

First measles case confirmed this year in San Bernardino County
An 8-month-old baby who traveled internationally was diagnosed with measles, becoming the first case confirmed this year in San Bernardino County, local health officials said Tuesday.The United States is experiencing...

California vaccination rate drops as doctors grant more exemptions. Is there a link?
California’s kindergarten vaccination rate dropped again in the most recent school year as more parents sought permission from doctors to not immunize their children, according to new state data.The troubling...

Three women were sexually abused while in a psych hospital. Now, they want their day in court
Three years ago, Juan Valencia, a mental health worker at a Ventura County psychiatric hospital, pleaded guilty to sex crimes involving women who were patients there. He was sentenced to...

Jessica Biel steps into vaccine debate as other celebrities fear the ‘anti-vax’ label
Reporting from Sacramento — Jessica Biel may have thought she could quietly slip into California’s Capitol this week to lobby against a bill to tighten vaccine requirements without damage to her brand...

Rats and other vermin infest LAPD downtown station, sparking anger among officers
When state officials inspected the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division station last November, they uncovered rodent infestations and other unsanitary conditions at the facilities responsible for protecting skid row...

Residents alert neighbors, battle fire at Highland Park apartment complex and carport
A fire broke out just after 2 a.m. Sunday at an apartment complex in Highland Park, according to fire department officials.Residents who spotted the fire that started in a carport...

Measles cases have cost California counties more than $400,000 this year
California counties have spent more than $400,000 trying to stop measles from spreading across the state this year, according to an analysis released Friday by state officials.So far, 43 people...

Leyes de vacunacion mas estrictas, la clave contra el peligroso brote de sarampion
Más de 750 personas han sido diagnosticadas con sarampión en Estados Unidos este año, la mayor cantidad de casos en todo el país en más de dos décadas. Según los...

L.A. County is second most vulnerable to measles nationwide
Los Angeles County is one of the most vulnerable places in America when it comes to measles, largely because of the thousands of travelers arriving every day from countries with...

S.F. city attorney investigates doctor for excusing kids from mandatory vaccines
San Francisco City Atty. Dennis Herrera said Wednesday that he is investigating whether a doctor who champions alternative medicine techniques has been illegally excusing children from mandatory vaccinations.The announcement comes...

Como protegerse de los brotes de sarampion
En un movimiento que sacudió a muchas personas en el condado de Los Ángeles, funcionarios ordenaron a más de 1000 estudiantes y del personal en dos universidades locales que...

Where did the measles outbreak in L.A. start? Officials are looking abroad
Los Angeles County officials dealing with a measles outbreak say they expect that more people will be diagnosed with the illness in the coming weeks, while the nation stares down...

Amid measles outbreak, more than 1,000 told to stay home from L.A. universities
Los Angeles County health officials told more than 1,000 college students and staff who might have been exposed to measles to stay home this week, in one of the...

Amid measles fears, more than 200 students and staff at L.A. universities are quarantined
Trying to stop a measles outbreak from spreading, health officials announced Thursday that more than 200 students and staff at UCLA and Cal State L.A. who have been exposed...

California measles cases reach 38, with outbreaks expected to keep growing
California health officials announced Thursday that 38 people had been infected with measles so far this year, a tally expected to rise in the coming weeks as outbreaks grow in...

Opponents call it a ‘crime against humanity,’ but vaccine bill moves forward
Reporting from Sacramento — A contentious bill to tighten California’s school immunization law ed its first hurdle in the Legislature on Wednesday, after hundreds of parents lined the corridors of the state...

Measles’ next target in Los Angeles: Unvaccinated college students
Los Angeles health officials warned this week that students and staff at UCLA and Cal State L.A. may be at risk of catching measles, an announcement that has raised questions...

Potential measles exposure sites include UCLA, LAX, health officials say
Los Angeles County public health officials said Monday that they’re investigating a measles cluster after reports of residents acquiring the vaccine-preventable virus.Over the past few weeks, L.A. County has four...

Measles outbreak tests health workers already stretched thin by Paradise fire
Northern California health workers are scrambling to control a growing measles outbreak centered on a region that is still reeling from the most destructive wildfire in state history.In November, the...

Can my baby get the measles vaccine early? How to protect your family and more
Federal health officials announced Monday that 940 people have come down with measles this year, the highest number of cases in more than two decades.The resurgence of measles has inflamed...

Orange County baby dies of whooping cough
A baby in Orange County has died of whooping cough, marking the first death from the disease this year in the state, California health officials said Thursday.Whooping cough, also known...

This cafe in India is fully run by acid attack survivors
ore than 20 years ago, a man hurled acid into Madhu Kashyap’s face. It melted the skin on her cheeks and forehead and partially blinded her in one eye.For years...

Behind the story: Learning the tales and triumphs of acid attack survivors
Reporting from AGRA, India — Through the haze outside our hotel room window, I spotted the white domes and spires of the Taj Mahal, the sight that draws most people, including myself,...

engers may have been exposed to measles at Long Beach Airport
Health officials across the country are struggling to control what has become one of the worst measles outbreaks in years, and California is no exception.As of last week, 17 people...

Officials investigate Legionnaires’ outbreak after Stockton inmate’s death
California officials are investigating cases of Legionnaires’ disease at a prison in the Central Valley after an inmate died of the disease.A prisoner at the California Health Care Facility in...

Bill would strengthen vaccination laws, checking up on doctors who write exemptions
California legislators introduced a bill Tuesday that would tighten the state’s childhood immunization law, already one of the strictest in the nation.Children in California must be fully vaccinated to attend...

L.A. Marathon swells streets with runners – and an army of ers to cheer them on
Just after 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Melissa Quintero, 21, curled up in a folding chair on Silver Lake Boulevard.Her sister Alison, 15, was running the Los Angeles Marathon for the first...

Anti-vaccine activists have doctors ‘terrorized into silence’ with online harassment
Dr. Dana Corriel wrote on Facebook in September that the flu vaccine had arrived and encouraged patients to come to her office for a shot.Within hours, the post was flooded...

Harvard-Westlake students were vaccinated. Dozens caught whooping cough anyway
Nearly 50 students at Harvard-Westlake School have been recently diagnosed with whooping cough, in an outbreak that has forced school officials to send students home at the first sign of...

Officials warn of measles exposure at LAX
Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport may have been exposed to measles late last month, health officials said Tuesday.A enger who had a layover at LAX on Feb. 21 was...

When measles struck, investigators wanted answers. Instead, some parents lied
As a measles outbreak spread in Northern California last spring, public health workers called the family of a young boy who they feared had been exposed to the disease.The boy’s...