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Published April 7, 2026 5:00 AML.A. County had its worst year on record for flea-borne typhus cases, reporting at least 220 cases in 2025. Experts say the disease is difficult to eradicate because humans, animals and vectors all play a part in transmission.
Typhus is a bacterial disease spread by infected fleas, which are most commonly found on rats, free-roaming cats and opossums. The disease is not spread from person to person and is treatable with antibiotics.L.A. County has been experiencing a year-over-year increase in typhus cases. Officials say the flea-borne disease is difficult to control and that weather can indirectly influence transmission.220 cases in 2025. Experts say the disease is difficult to eradicate because humans, animals and vectors all play a part in transmission. The department investigated outbreaks in central L.A., Santa Monica and Willowbrook. This year, there are 17 reported cases of typhus. Typhus is a bacterial disease spread by infected fleas, which are most commonly found on rats, free-roaming cats and opossums.L.A. County has seen an increase in flea-borne typhus cases year-over-year, Aiman Halai, medical epidemiologist at the L.A. County Department of Public Health, told LAist. “These fleas live on reservoir animals, which in L.A. County are primarily rats, free-roaming cats and opossums,” Halai said. “Any factor that increases the interaction between these animals and humans will increase the risk of flea-borne typhus.” There is an indirect link between weather and typhus, Halai said, because weather affects animal movement and human behavior, like how much time people spend outside.“It's hard to control diseases that involve humans, animals and vectors, because there are so many different factors that play a part in transmission,” Halai added. As for hospitalizations associated with typhus, Halai said the disease is relatively mild but can progress to serious illness. “What we're finding is that nine out of 10 cases that we have identified have been hospitalized, and there may be many more cases that are undiagnosed and have not resulted in severe disease,” Halai added.Other parts of the U.S. are seeing increases in typhus cases, including Texas, Halai said. Closer to home, the city of Long Beach issued a health alert warning residents about an uptick in typhus cases last year. The city, which has its own health department, reported 39 cases of typhus in 2025, of which 72% were hospitalized. Jennifer Ann Gonzalez, public affairs officer for the Long Beach Health Department, said following last year’s increase, the department upped its mitigation efforts, including public education and vector control. “The localized typhus outbreak reported in summer 2025 was controlled, and no additional cases associated with the outbreak have been reported,” Gonzalez said in an email. “To date, no outbreaks have been identified in 2026.”The disease is not spread from person to person and is treatable with antibiotics. Symptoms can include high fever, nausea, muscle aches, rash and cough. People who think they have it should talk to their healthcare provider. Infection occurs when feces from infected fleas are rubbed into cuts or scrapes, including flea bites, or rubbed into the eyes. “Our cases have been as young as one year of age or to over 80 years of age. It's really a disease that can affect anyone at any time in L.A. County,” Halai said. Pets don’t show symptoms, Halai added, but they act as a vehicle to carry infected fleas from reservoir animals to humans.Close crawl spaces and attics to discourage animals from nesting around your home. Avoid petting or feeding free-roaming animals, including cat colonies.Typhus symptoms can start within two weeks after contact with an infected flea and can include fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea and rash.Published April 7, 2026 5:00 AMAn expert says fires may destroy coyote dens and disrupt territories, which is why SoCal residents may be seeing more coyotes during mating season now.While coyotes are mostly afraid of humans, packs can include aggressive coyotes that can be dangerous to humans and pets.Spring is mating season, during which coyotes are more active and mark their territories while looking for mates.An expert says it's good to carry a noisemaker like a whistle or a cowbell, and even bear spray. Throwing a rock at a coyote could also discourage it from approaching you. It’s spring, and that means coyote mating season, not just in Southern California wildlands, but also in the urban landscape. While it’s hard to say whether there are more coyotes roaming the region, the fact that it's mating season means you are more likely to see one. “Animals are sort of out and about. They're vocalizing. They’re scent marking. They're grooming, they're moving around, they're looking for mates,” said Ted Stankowich, a professor of biological sciences at California State University, Long Beach. He hasn’t studied the effects of the Palisades and Eaton fires on coyotes, but said fires often destroy coyote dens and disrupt their territories. “Where one pack might have dominated one sort of larger territory, that territory might be split up. And now you have two packs in there, and you might have two breeding females and more pups,” he said, which can lead to more interactions with humans. Most coyotes are afraid of people, Stankowich said, but packs may include an aggressive member. Here are his suggestions when encountering coyotes:Mostly sunny skies and cooler temperatures. L.A. and Orange County beaches will see temperatures in the mid 60s to around 70 degrees, though some Orange County coastal areas could reach 76 degrees.After a warm weekend, Southern California will see cooler temperatures this week and even some rain over the weekend. L.A. and Orange County beaches will see temperatures in the mid 60s to around 70 degrees, though some Orange County coastal areas could reach 76 degrees. Meanwhile, daytime highs for the valleys and Inland Empire will reach into the low 80s, with the warmest areas expected to reach 84 degrees. Coachella Valley will see temperatures in the 90s. Looking ahead, weekend rain is in the forecast starting Friday through Saturday. We could get anywhere between a quarter to a full inch of rain, with the higher amounts of rainfall more likely for higher elevations. There's also a chance of thunderstorms that could produce heavy downpours. For anyone going to Coachella, it looks like rain is likely for Saturday.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.Published April 6, 2026 4:17 PMUbefest is a celebration of all things Ube, the purple yam that's become beloved not just in the Filipino diaspora but across the country. The festival has also become a broader appreciation of Filipino cuisine, and one of the vendors, Emerson Baja, the owner of Long Beach Lumpia, came in to offer AirTalk host Austin Cross some of his tasty food.Check out Ubefest at the Cerritos Center for performing arts on Saturday April 11, at 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday April 12, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Note: the festival is free.Full Story, a festival meant to highlight the purple yam that’s become beloved not just in the Filipino diaspora but across the country. In that time, the food festival has grown in the number of vendors and become a broader appreciation of Filipino cuisine.This year's event is happening Saturday April 11 and Sunday April 12 in Cerritos. One of the festival’s vendors, Emerson Baja, owner of, has been involved with the event for years, and he came into the studio to talk to host Austin Cross.Baja’s pop-up menu was inspired by a variety of things, with the traditional aspects of his menu coming from his family and other aspects by food he experimented with while attending Long Beach State. He became a probation officer after he graduated college, but his heart was always with food, specifically lumpia, which he served at a potluck.For the segment, Baja brought in a variety of lumpias: traditional Shanghai; pork chile verde; veggie pancit pizza; and ube cheesecake turon.When Emerson mentioned the Shanghai lumpia being a homemade recipe, Cross added, “Home is delicious! You have a home like this?” “It’s finger-licking good over here,” Cross said after his first bite of the ube cheesecake turon lumpia. He added: “It’s really special because it has an aftertaste of a very heartwarming pastry…feels very homey.”Conservative commentator and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Hilton announces his campaign for California governor at the Pier Plaza in Huntington Beach Tuesday, April 22, 2025.President Donald Trump has endorsed Steve Hilton for California governor, a move that could possibly consolidate Republican voters ahead of the still wide-open primary election in June.Hilton, a former Fox News host based in the Bay Area who previously served as a political adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, has campaigned on the goal of improving California’s hostile relationship with the federal administration.Many Republican strategist believed that the party’s best chance to win both spots in the primary relied on Trump’s staying out of it. Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are the only two Republicans among the 10 notable candidates in the primary field. With Democratic voters split, Hilton and Bianco have risen to the top of public polling in the race, threatening to leave the majority party in the state without a candidate in the top-two general election.President Donald Trump has endorsed Steve Hilton for California governor, a move that could possibly consolidate Republican voters ahead of the still wide-open Hilton, a former Fox News host based in the Bay Area who previously served as a political adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, has campaigned on the goal of improving California’s hostile relationship with the federal administration. He and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are the only two Republicans among the 10 notable candidates in the primary field. “I have known and respected Steve Hilton, who is running for Governor of California, for many years. He is a truly fine man, one who has watched as this once great State has gone to Hell,” Trump wrote early Monday on his social media site, Truth Social. “Steve Hilton has my COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT. He will be a GREAT Governor and, importantly, WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!!!” With Democratic voters split, Hilton and Bianco have risen to the top of public polling in the race, threatening to leave the majority party in the state without a candidate in the top-two general election. Now, Trump’s endorsement could boost Hilton and allow a Democrat to overtake Bianco. “It certainly increases the chances that a Democrat is going to make it into the top two,” said Tim Rosales, a Republican strategist. “The Bianco campaign has to reassess and reposition themselves in the wake of this, but the Democrats still don’t have a clear front-runner.” In the most recent public polling, Hilton and Bianco have occupied a crowded top five alongside three Democrats: Rep. Eric Swalwell, investor Tom Steyer and former Rep. Katie Porter. Hilton and Bianco often split the Republican Party’s support about evenly in polling, and a March primary election simulator created by Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., put the odds of a Republican-only general election at If that were the case, the state would have a Republican governor for the first time in more than two decades.Political Breakdown, Hilton touted his relationship with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and vowed to work collaboratively with the Trump administration to boost California’s timber industry and manage forests. “There’s a whole set of positive things we can do if we work more closely with the federal government on that issue,” he said.that as of last week, he hadn’t spoken to Trump about the gubernatorial race, he’s repeatedly invoked the president’s own campaign slogan, saying that as governor, he would “Make California Great Again.” Trump remains deeply unpopular in California, with just 30% of likely voters approving of the job he is doing as president, per afrom the Public Policy Institute of California. But that same survey found Trump’s support remains strong among California Republicans, with 76% approval. “Republican voters still hold the president in pretty high regard,” Rosales said. “It certainly does make Hilton the front-runner amongst Republicans, and in a top-two primary like this, where you’ve got a crowded field, anything that a candidate can do that really solidifies a base of voters is critically important.” The loyalty of the GOP base has allowed Trump to play kingmaker in past California primary elections. In 2018, he endorsed businessman John Cox, boosting Cox into the general election and dashing the prospects of an all-Democrat general election between Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.of ballots cast in last November’s special election, when California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50 to redraw congressional maps to favor Democrats. Last month, Bianco seized more than 650,000 ballots, callingMany Republican strategists, however, believed that the party’s best chance to win both spots in the primary relied on Trump’s staying out of it. The state’s GOP also hasn’t weighed in, though it’s expected to decide whether to make an endorsement at its upcoming convention next weekend.
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