An Indian airline captain is hailed as a hero after a cockpit attack on a FlyDubai flight

• October 1, 2026

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and RAFIQ MAQBOOL

MUMBAI, India (AP) — An Indian airline captain who was at the controls of a FlyDubai flight when his copilot stabbed him in an apparent attempt to crash the plane has been hailed as a hero, with his actions to thwart the disaster drawing praise from world leaders and those who knew him.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, who is from India’s financial hub of Mumbai, was seriously injured in Wednesday’s attack. Passengers described how the pilot still managed to open the cockpit door to let them in. They restrained the attacker while the Boeing 737 descended sharply, according to witnesses and Israeli authorities.

The attack forced the flight carrying 174 people from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Tel Aviv, Israel, to make an emergency landing in Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

Machchhar was taken to a hospital in stable condition, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, said late Wednesday. Embassy officials said Thursday that his family had been briefed on his recovery.

India’s Modi lauds the pilot’s courage

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called Machchhar a hero.

“In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. His valor helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” Modi wrote on X.

Modi also praised the captain for demonstrating ”patience, presence of mind and courage,” saying his “actions prevented another 9/11-like attack from happening.” He said he had spoken with Machhar’s parents and wife and that the pilot was undergoing treatment.

“Smit’s bravery fills every Indian with pride,” Modi said.

The captain trained as a pilot in New Zealand

According to Machchhar’s LinkedIn profile, he has worked for FlyDubai for about four years. Before joining the airline, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet, an Indian low-cost carrier, where he served as a senior commander and line training captain. He logged more than 9,750 flying hours with SpiceJet, according to the profile.

SpiceJet, in a post on X, praised Machchhar’s “heroic courage” and “selfless actions.” “You are a hero to us all, Captain,” the airline wrote.

Machchhar, who is married and has two children, trained as a pilot at Mainland Air in the New Zealand city of Dunedin for 18 months, beginning in 2008, the school’s head Philip Kean told 1News, a New Zealand television news channel.

Kean said Machchhar “did very well” as a student and later returned to India, where he worked as a recruiter for the school.

“We’re all very proud of him here and wish him a speedy recovery,” Kean said.

The school, which opened in 1991, offers a range of certifications, from private pilots’ licenses to a diploma in aviation, and is popular with international students.

A report published last year by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority found that 39 international students, all from India, were enrolled at the school at the time of its review, accounting for half of its total enrollment.

The pilot had previously spoken about handling emergencies

In a podcast interview last year, Machchhar recalled how nervous he was and how he made mistakes during his first commercial flight in India, and the lessons he learned from the experience.

“At that stage, relaxing would have been the best option,” he told interviewer Zalak Mehta of the “Bona-Fide Banter” podcast.

“Stressing is not going to help, at least … in this industry,” he had added.

Machchhar also described an onboard emergency when a pregnant woman went into premature labor, forcing the crew to divert the plane. He said he followed procedures carefully and ensured a safe landing on the first attempt.

“It was methodical. It was quick. It was as quick as it should have been,” he said.

Israel’s Netanyahu praises the pilot as do his neighbors in Mumbai

Wednesday’s attack triggered a major security response in Israel, with authorities scrambling fighter jets in case of a possible hijacking.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. His motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Netanyahu also praised Machchhar’s “extraordinary bravery” in a post on X, saying the wounded captain fought back after being stabbed, opened the cockpit door and helped passengers and crew overpower the attacker, preventing what Netanyahu described as a “catastrophic midair disaster.”

“He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu wrote.

Shota Musayev, a dentist and eyewitness, told The Associated Press how the wounded Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door to let them in before they grappled with the copilot.

Musayev then treated Machchhar.

“Poor pilot, he was just praying the whole time and was in contact with me, and I was afraid we would really lose him,” Musayev said.

In Ghatkopar East, the Mumbai suburb where Machchhar’s family lives, neighbors spoke of how easy-going he is and also lauded his courage.

“He has a lot of bravery in him,” said Ami Sapani, a neighbor who knows the family. “God is with him.”

Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalists Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand and Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Most Americans blame Trump for high prices as midterms approach, a new poll finds

• October 1, 2026

By JILL COLVIN and LINLEY SANDERS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are deeply frustrated with President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy and rising prices, with most panning his performance and blaming his policies as higher costs threaten his party’s chances in November.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that only 17% of U.S. adults approve of the Republican president’s handling of the cost of living. Just 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall, marking a new low.

A majority, 65%, of U.S. adults now blame Trump’s policies for persistently high costs more than factors outside of his control, signaling growing weariness over his aggressive use of tariffs and continued unhappiness with the war with Iran.

The dismal numbers come just weeks before midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of Congress and while Trump is hitting the campaign trail with an aggressive schedule of rallies. But Trump — who has asked voters to pretend that he is on the ballot as he tries to bolster turnout — remains deeply unpopular, with even many Republicans faulting him for failing to deliver on promised relief.

“I was hoping it would be better or different, but it’s not really good,” said Robert Gault, 66, a retired factory worker from Bradford, Pennsylvania, who describes himself as a Republican.

“Our president, I thought, was going to help the country, and so far he has not really seemed to have done that with the economy or in general. He’s not really done what I was hoping he would,” said Gault. “He said, ‘Make America Great Again.’ And I have not seen him do that.”

Costs drag on Trump as the economic pain keeps coming

Over the last few months, Americans have grown more worried about being able to afford basics like groceries and gas. About half of U.S. adults now say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to fill their tanks, up from 39% in July. About half are also highly concerned about being able to afford food.

Prices are “extremely exorbitant. Just the cost of everything is going up as a result of fuel,” said Pedro Sanchez, 52, of Perris, California, who voted for Trump and works in law enforcement. “I used to have a lot more disposable income. I don’t have that any more. It’s gotten eaten up because of all these increases in the cost of everything.”

Trump’s current approval on the economy is a 14 percentage point drop from March 2025, just after he took office for the second time. His struggles on the issue mark a significant departure from his first term, when the economy was often a point of strength.

Trump spent much of the 2024 campaign hammering President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats, on inflation and promising to lower prices. Now, there’s widespread disappointment with his performance. About 7 in 10 Americans say Trump’s handling of the cost of living has been “worse than expected.” That includes roughly half of Republicans, who are also broadly concerned about being able to afford groceries and gas.

“Groceries are just like kind of out of control. It seems like everything is going up,” said Bethany Lnenicka, 41, who operates a small farm in Fairfax, Iowa. “It’s just one thing and the next week it’s another thing. It’s just insane. And of course your income doesn’t go up.”

A political independent who typically votes Republican and has voted for Trump three times, Lnenicka said she had hoped his second term would be more like his first.

“I just do not feel like it has gotten a lot better,” she said.

About 6 in 10 Republicans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, according to the new poll, up from about half in April.

“It definitely doesn’t feel like we have trended in the right direction,” agreed Kristen Slaven, 41, a mental health therapist who lives in Gluckstadt, Mississippi, and typically votes Republican. She said Trump is focused on the wrong things.

“Obviously wars don’t help. When they’re necessary, I understand. But our focus on renaming bodies of water and pieces of land, that’s just stupid to me when people can’t feed their family,” she said.

“I had hoped that it would be better,” Slaven added.

Some Republicans are still willing to cut Trump some slack

Despite their frustration, most Republicans, 67%, say factors outside of Trump’s control are more to blame for high prices.

“I think inflation is a very difficult thing to tackle,” said Fred Naumann, 51, a Republican and longtime Trump supporter who lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Though he would like to see interest rates come down, Naumann, who works in the automotive industry, supports tariffs and the war with Iran, believing it was necessary.

Overall, however, most Americans, 69%, continue to say the war has not been worth fighting, up slightly from 64% in July. Only 28% approve of how Trump is handling Iran.

Americans are also unhappy with Trump’s trade wars. Only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults approve of how he is handling trade negotiations with other countries, down from about 4 in 10 in March. And 64% say he has “gone too far” on imposing new tariffs on other countries, up from 58% in January.

Overall, the picture is not better. Only about 3 in 10 Americans approve of how Trump is handling his job as president. And about 6 in 10 say the country as a whole is “much” or “somewhat” worse off than when he began his second term.

The issue on which Trump maintains relative strength is border security, with about half of Americans saying they approve of his performance.

Trump faces more blame than Biden did

Trump’s low grade on the economy rivals Biden’s 28% approval rating in June 2022, when there was record-high inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Americans were less likely to blame Biden in the lead-up to that year’s midterm elections, a sharp contrast with the solid majority who hold Trump responsible now. In October 2022, 44% of Americans said Biden’s policies were responsible for high prices, while 55% blamed factors outside of his control.

Sanchez, a Republican who voted for Trump, blames him, at least in part.

“I think he has a lot to do with it. This war in Iran, the tariffs that he’s placing on other countries, obviously are affecting us. Those two things are things he’s been directly involved in that directly affect the economy,” he said. “I think with Biden, a lot of the stuff was outside of his control. It was all the COVID and how that affected everything else. I don’t think that there was much that he could have done.”

He had high hopes for Trump’s return. Now, things seem worse than under Biden.

Colvin reported from New York.

The AP-NORC poll of 2,140 adults was conducted Sept. 24-28 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

​ Orange County Register 

Are Realtors at risk of being replaced by AI agents?

• October 1, 2026

DENVER — There is a lot Anna McCaffery dislikes about artificial intelligence.

For one, she worries children can’t write a proper sentence without generative AI programs like ChatGPT.

“Particularly for kids, it’s dumbing things down that shouldn’t be dumbed down,” she said.

But the 73-year-old trusted AI to sell her Denver home instead of using a traditional real estate agent, and her experience warmed her opinion of the industry-disrupting technology.

“In this situation with selling my house and using the Ridley website, AI is a great addition,” McCaffery said. “It’s a great use of AI without abusing it. I’m coming around to AI.”

AI real estate platform Ridley, based in Boulder, Colorado, says it provides the services offered by traditional real estate agents — comparative price analysis, home preparation advice, listing on the MLS, marketing assistance, deadline and document tracking, and access to human experts if need be — for a flat fee instead of the traditional 6% commission. Fees range from $1,500 to $6,000, depending on the level of service.

AI is not new to the industry. Even human Realtors are incorporating artificial intelligence into their day-to-day operations — a move experts say is necessary if agents want to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving business. But Ridley is one of the first companies to tap into the niche of AI home-selling. The platform touts that sellers who use their service save more than $40,000 on average.

“Colorado is a breeding ground for innovation… We have a lot of great real estate startups and new companies that are pushing the envelope and advancing the industry,” said Cooper Thayer, a Realtor based in metro Denver and market spokesperson for the Colorado Association of Realtors.

Thayer doesn’t believe the technology spells doomsday for human real estate agents. To succeed in the real estate business of the future, Thayer said agents should pass off the grunt work to AI and allow their humanity to shine with advice and advocacy that a computer program can’t replicate.

“Most agents don’t need to be concerned by being replaced by AI,” Thayer said. “They need to be concerned by being replaced by agents who are utilizing AI. I think we’re a long ways away from this profession being fully replaced by AI. I don’t see that happening in the near term. Now, it’s adopt or you’ll be left behind.”

Frustrated by fees

McCaffery met Prince Charming later in life, but he lived in Oklahoma. With the equity she amassed in her Cherry Creek four-bedroom, two-bathroom Craftsman bungalow in Denver she’d lived in since 2003, she said it made the most sense to sell and move states to be with him.

After investigating, McCaffery felt frustrated by her Realtor options. She bought and sold enough homes in her life to understand the process, she said, and felt gobsmacked by the commission she’d be paying a traditional Realtor.

“It’s not rocket science, but you pay a huge amount of commission when you sell your home,” said McCaffery, who estimated she’d pay tens of thousands in Realtor commission fees. “A real estate agent should make some money, but it seems overblown.”

The Denverite heard about Ridley in the newspaper, placed a call to learn more and was impressed to get a call back from founder Mike Chambers.

In the spring of 2025, Chambers couldn’t find a real estate agent willing to list his Boulder home for what he thought the property was worth. Plus, he said he was looking at paying a Realtor more than $100,000 in commission.

“It was hard to wrap my head around how I was going to be receiving that much value,” Chambers said. “I live in a neighborhood where homes sell themselves.”

Chambers decided to sell the house himself and document the experiment on Instagram under the handle @realtorshateme to show people “the process wasn’t nearly as complicated as we’ve all been led to believe.”

He ended up featured in the New York Times — a product of “tapping into this ubiquitous frustration with the industry,” he said.

Chambers didn’t have a background in real estate, but his work in the software industry showed him a hole in the market — an AI agent that could help someone sell their home.

“Our intention with Ridley has never been to eliminate real estate agents,” Chambers said, noting that Ridley can connect customers with human agents, too. “The role of every professional is going to evolve as a result of this AI shift.”

In its first year, people using Ridley sold more than 300 homes. The average price of a Ridley customer’s house is around $1 million, Chambers said.

When Katie Birkholz and her family wanted to sell their $1.9 million Boulder home last fall, she balked at the idea of paying more than $50,000 in commission.

“We didn’t feel like we needed the full-service hand-holding even though that’s what we felt like we were getting with Ridley,” Birkholz said.

Birkholz found Chambers’ social media posts lamenting the traditional Realtor route and was sold. She chose Ridley and upgraded to a plan that included the regular AI offerings plus a licensed agent for pricing, negotiations and closing, all for a flat fee of $4,000.

“We were thinking, ‘Well, it’s really not that expensive. What are we getting? Should we do this?’” Birkholz said. “We even had our mortgage broker try to sway us away from it, and I think he just wanted the business from the Realtor, and we were turned off by that. It reinforced the fact we were doing what was right for us.”

Birkholz’s south Boulder home sold for $1.86 million after 44 days on the market. Birkholz said they listed the property a bit higher knowing they would bump down and attract more buyers.

“I don’t think the AI missed a beat,” Birkholz said. “It was laid out so well. I understand people might be scared to jump into it because they feel they need more guidance, but you get plenty of guidance.”

Oh, the humanity

For at least a decade, Vivek Sah has warned real estate agents at conferences and trainings that their role is changing. The director of the University of Denver’s Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management said only agents who adapt will survive.

“If you’re just offering pushing paperwork and opening doors and all those basic services which can any day be replaced, you cannot survive, so you have to evolve with the times and become more of an adviser providing valuable advice rather than just paperwork or doing the mundane chores that come with it,” Sah said.

AI can be great for organizing emails, managing scheduling, spitting out price comparisons and writing marketing materials, Sah said.

A dedicated real estate agent must remind customers exactly what a human brings to the table.

“The successful agent — the human agent — would be the one who would bring his or her expertise, understanding of the market, understanding of buyers and sellers, along with these AI tools,” Sah said.

That was Brandi Wolff’s intention when the Colorado Realtor co-founded Real AIQ, an AI platform created by licensed real estate agents that answers buyers’ and sellers’ questions for free and connects them with human agents, lenders, home inspectors and more.

Wolff, born and raised in Golden, Colorado, was perturbed by the number of people using ChatGPT to guide them through real estate transactions.

“That can be really risky,” Wolff said, pointing out that an AI platform is not a lawyer. “Ours is more of an educational platform to get people through a transaction and connect those buyers and sellers with real professionals. We are not cutting out the real estate agent. We are pointing people to them when those people need those services. We don’t think AI can completely replace real estate professionals in any meaningful sense.”

Real estate agents can often double as housing therapists, Wolff said. Managing a client’s emotional wants and needs throughout the home-buying or -selling process is critical and best left to someone with a prefrontal cortex.

“AI can tend toward sycophancy,” Wolff said. “A human can help someone whose judgment might be clouded by excitement stop and pause and say, ‘Hey, I don’t know that you’re looking at all of these other factors. Let me help you understand.’”

McCaffery acknowledged that a first-time homebuyer may prefer using a traditional Realtor, but said she felt properly supported by her AI agent.

She secured five showings the day Ridley listed her Denver home.

The former marketing employee opted to write her own copy for the listing but appreciated running her words past the AI as another pair of proverbial eyes. The AI helped find a local photographer for her listing — one who called her back within minutes for a consultation, she was pleased to report.

After a month, McCaffery bumped the listing price down to $915,000 from $925,000. After two months, she had enough offers that she could pick which best suited her. She even got to know and form a relationship with the buyer, which she said was something that real estate agents had prevented in the past.

“This new way of selling a home probably works better for everybody,” McCaffery said.

Thayer, with the Colorado Association of Realtors, said he believes real estate agents are more excited and curious about AI than fearful about it stealing their jobs. He said he doesn’t feel like he’s training his replacement by incorporating the technology into his practice.

“There is always going to be a little bit of fear and uncertainty when it comes to tech changing, but even those who have been around a long time seem to be pretty excited about AI and can see the value in automating the lower-level tasks to allow them to do the human things,” Thayer said. “These transactions are so complex that we will always need people. The change in the industry is how many people we will need.”

​ Orange County Register 

‘In fear of being pursued by ICE’: As his family self-deports, a teen’s education dreams disappear

• October 1, 2026

By Jessie Gómez for Chalkbeat

This time last year, Bruno was picking out a new backpack, asking friends about their junior year class schedules, and starting college courses through his Newark high school.

The 16-year-old should be preparing for his first day of senior year, but instead, he’s packing his bags to head back to Brazil.

Bruno and his family, who came to the United States in 2022 to pursue a better life, have grown increasingly alarmed by the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. After months of consulting with their immigration attorney, his parents decided that leaving on their own terms, rather than waiting to be deported, would give Bruno and his 14-year-old sister the best chance of returning to the United States one day.

“Our dream is for our children to finish their schooling and go to college,” said Lourdes, Bruno’s mom, to Chalkbeat in Portuguese. (Chalkbeat is identifying Bruno and Lourdes using first names only due to risks associated with their immigration status.) “We are just hardworking parents. We shouldn’t have to live in fear of being pursued by ICE.”

Bruno will leave behind his friends, the church he serves and his passion for making movies. But his family’s gamble has the biggest impact on his education.

Immigrants across the country are grappling with whether to stay and risk being swept up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, or return to their home countries and face an uncertain future. The Department of Homeland Security has said that more than a million immigrants have chosen voluntary departure since President Donald Trump took office, the legal option that lets people leave the country on their own by a set deadline. For Bruno’s family, the decision will be yet another setback to his educational journey.

The pandemic, moving to a new country and learning English have already disrupted Bruno’s K-12 education. Now, moving back to Brazil could blow up the timeline for his schooling and nullify his coursework in both high school and college.

It also means Bruno won’t get to choose between attending seminary school or going to college to study filmmaking or biology. He also won’t get to shop for a tux for prom, or earn a high school diploma and associate’s degree in June.

Many people he’s met in the U.S. are “very important for me … and also I have more opportunities here than in Brazil.”

Parents hope self-deportation will help children’s future

Earlier this year, Bruno’s parents received an immigration summons letter in the mail for a meeting. The family was waiting on a judge’s ruling on their case, but in the meantime, they were still undocumented.

There were family friends who received similar letters and got deported. The number of ICE arrests and deportations grew in New Jersey over the summer. And they worried that being deported would make it harder for their children to secure U.S. student visas later.

A deportation order also carries a reentry bar, a set period during which someone can’t reenter the country, although the details of that prohibition can vary.

So they applied for voluntary departure rather than wait for ICE to decide their case for them.

Still, Priscilla Monico Marin, executive director of the New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children, cautioned that self-deportation doesn’t guarantee future benefits and comes with risks.

“It’s one thing to be deported and fall into the shadows, but it’s another to be given the benefit of voluntary departure and not do it,” Monico Marin said.

The family was originally supposed to leave in May, but Lourdes asked for more time so Bruno could finish his junior year. The federal government gave them until Aug. 3 to leave, and they were supposed to receive plane tickets on July 20. But the tickets never came, and now the family has a self-imposed deadline to leave by October, with or without them.

“If we stayed here without authorization, my husband and I could be arrested, which would complicate matters and make our children even sadder than they already are,” Lourdes said.

In the meantime, Bruno goes to the gym, helps out at church, and works with his dad while his friends head back to school. He also enjoys walks around the Ironbound, his neighborhood in Newark, but he has to carry his passport around just in case ICE is nearby.

“My mother, she doesn’t trust me to walk alone some days,” Bruno said.

What a student loses when leaving the U.S.

Bruno used to spend his mornings at East Side High School taking classes and making documentaries with friends through a school club where he led the video production team.

In the afternoons, he would take classes at Essex County College. He was on track to earn a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in June 2027.

“I miss everyone there,” Bruno said.

In Brazil, the school year typically runs from February to December, Bruno said. So arriving in October would put Bruno towards the end of Brazil’s school year. Bruno says he will likely have to repeat his junior year from scratch.

After pandemic-related education disruptions in Brazil, Bruno came to Newark midway through seventh grade but said he “didn’t speak English so I couldn’t understand anything.” Bruno said he didn’t really start learning English or class material until his freshman year at East Side.

Despite all that, Bruno’s optimistic things will improve and that he’ll stay in touch with his friends: “I will try to talk through Instagram, WhatsApp with them sometimes. So I’m trying to figure out what good things can happen.”

Bruno’s plans once he’s back in Brazil are modest. In addition to enrolling in school and finding work, he wants to continue serving as an altar boy. He’s been in that role at Newark’s Saint James Roman Catholic Church, which has served as a steadying force in his life and reaffirmed his faith.

He hopes to come back to the U.S. from Brazil “one day.”

This story was produced by Chalkbeat and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

​ Orange County Register 

Extreme heat warning for Orange County Coast from Friday to Thursday

• October 1, 2026

On Thursday at 12:29 a.m. an extreme heat warning was released by the National Weather Service valid from Friday 10 a.m. until Thursday Oct. 8, at 8 p.m. for Orange County Coast.

The NWS San Diego CA informs, “Dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures ranging from the mid 80s to around 90 near the coast to the lower to mid 90s near higher coastal terrain expected. Nights will be very warm with low temperatures mostly in the lower to mid 70s.”

“Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events,” according to the NWS.

Emergency alerts in Southern California

For “considerable or catastrophic” hazards, emergency alerts will be sent to all enabled mobile phones in the area. To monitor lesser risk, residents are advised to sign up for county alert systems and to monitor agencies’ social media. How to sign up for alerts in your area:

LA County

Orange County

Riverside County

San Bernardino County

Staying safe in high temperatures

Safety tips from the Environmental Health and Safety office at UC Irvine:

• Drink water: Drinking plenty of water frequently is vital for those exposed to heat. An individual may produce as much as 2 to 3 gallons of sweat per day. To replenish that fluid you should drink 3 to 4 cups of water every hour.
• Take breaks: Taking breaks in a cool shaded area and allowing time for recovery from the heat during the day are effective ways to avoid heat-related illness.
• Avoid some beverages: Avoid or limit the use of alcohol and caffeine during periods of extreme heat. Both dehydrate the body.
• Stop and rest: If you start to feel symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, weakness or unusual fatigue, rest in a cool shaded area. If symptoms persist or worsen seek immediate medical attention.
• Clothing: Whenever possible, wear clothing that provides protection from the sun but allows airflow to the body. Protect your head and shade your eyes when outdoors.
• Be prepared: When in the heat be sure to pay extra attention to those you’re with and be sure you know how to call for medical attention.

For information about cooling centers operated by Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, see https://ready.lacounty.gov/heat/, https://ocgov.com/cooling-centers, https://capriverside.org/cool-centers and DPH.

For more local weather alerts, visit our Weather Advisory page

​ Orange County Register 

Extreme heat warning in place for Santa Ana Mountains from Friday to Thursday

• October 1, 2026

The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning at 12:29 a.m. on Thursday valid from Friday 10 a.m. until Thursday Oct. 8, at 8 p.m. for Santa Ana Mountains/Foothills.

The NWS San Diego CA informs, “Dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures in the mid 90s to 104 expected. Night will be very warm with low temperatures mostly in the mid 60s to mid 70s.”

“Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events,” the NWS said.

Emergency alerts in Southern California

For “considerable or catastrophic” hazards, emergency alerts will be sent to all enabled mobile phones in the area. To monitor lesser risk, residents are advised to sign up for county alert systems and to monitor agencies’ social media. How to sign up for alerts in your area:

LA County

Orange County

Riverside County

San Bernardino County

Staying safe in high temperatures

Safety tips from the Environmental Health and Safety office at UC Irvine:

• Drink water: Drinking plenty of water frequently is vital for those exposed to heat. An individual may produce as much as 2 to 3 gallons of sweat per day. To replenish that fluid you should drink 3 to 4 cups of water every hour.
• Take breaks: Taking breaks in a cool shaded area and allowing time for recovery from the heat during the day are effective ways to avoid heat-related illness.
• Avoid some beverages: Avoid or limit the use of alcohol and caffeine during periods of extreme heat. Both dehydrate the body.
• Stop and rest: If you start to feel symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, weakness or unusual fatigue, rest in a cool shaded area. If symptoms persist or worsen seek immediate medical attention.
• Clothing: Whenever possible, wear clothing that provides protection from the sun but allows airflow to the body. Protect your head and shade your eyes when outdoors.
• Be prepared: When in the heat be sure to pay extra attention to those you’re with and be sure you know how to call for medical attention.

For information about cooling centers operated by Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, see https://ready.lacounty.gov/heat/, https://ocgov.com/cooling-centers, https://capriverside.org/cool-centers and DPH.

For more local weather alerts, visit our Weather Advisory page

​ Orange County Register 

Extreme heat warning issued for Orange County from Friday to Thursday

• October 1, 2026

The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning at 12:29 a.m. on Thursday valid from Friday 10 a.m. until Thursday Oct. 8, at 8 p.m. for Orange County.

The NWS San Diego CA informs, “Dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures in the mid to upper 90s expected. Nights will be very warm with low temperatures mostly in the lower to mid 70s.”

“Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events,” the NWS said.

Emergency alerts in Southern California

For “considerable or catastrophic” hazards, emergency alerts will be sent to all enabled mobile phones in the area. To monitor lesser risk, residents are advised to sign up for county alert systems and to monitor agencies’ social media. How to sign up for alerts in your area:

LA County

Orange County

Riverside County

San Bernardino County

Staying safe in high temperatures

Safety tips from the Environmental Health and Safety office at UC Irvine:

• Drink water: Drinking plenty of water frequently is vital for those exposed to heat. An individual may produce as much as 2 to 3 gallons of sweat per day. To replenish that fluid you should drink 3 to 4 cups of water every hour.
• Take breaks: Taking breaks in a cool shaded area and allowing time for recovery from the heat during the day are effective ways to avoid heat-related illness.
• Avoid some beverages: Avoid or limit the use of alcohol and caffeine during periods of extreme heat. Both dehydrate the body.
• Stop and rest: If you start to feel symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, weakness or unusual fatigue, rest in a cool shaded area. If symptoms persist or worsen seek immediate medical attention.
• Clothing: Whenever possible, wear clothing that provides protection from the sun but allows airflow to the body. Protect your head and shade your eyes when outdoors.
• Be prepared: When in the heat be sure to pay extra attention to those you’re with and be sure you know how to call for medical attention.

For information about cooling centers operated by Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, see https://ready.lacounty.gov/heat/, https://ocgov.com/cooling-centers, https://capriverside.org/cool-centers and DPH.

For more local weather alerts, visit our Weather Advisory page

​ Orange County Register 

Los Alamitos girls volleyball beats Newport Harbor, extends league title streak

• October 1, 2026

NEWPORT BEACH – The Los Alamitos girls volleyball team’s streak lives on.

Barely.

The Griffins rallied to beat Newport Harbor in five sets Wednesday, 16-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 16-14, at Newport Harbor High to increase their Sunset League winning streak to 29 matches.

The win gave Los Alamitos at least a share of its third straight league championship.

Los Alamitos, ranked No. 3 in the Orange County Top 10, is 23-5 overall and 10-0 in league. It has two league matches left to play, against Corona del Mar and Marina.

No. 4 Newport Harbor (25-6, 7-2) is in second place in the six-team Sunset League. The Sailors have three league games remaining, against Fountain Valley, Corona del Mar and Huntington Beach.

In the decisive fifth set, the teams traded the lead a couple of times before the Griffins won, 16-14.

Los Alamitos sophomore Tyleani Allen, a 5-10 outside hitter, had team-highs of 17 kills and five service aces. Griffins senior Charlotte Hall had 11 kills and 6-2 senior Genesis Botts contributed seven kills.

Griffins setter Royal Banducci had a team-leading 22 assists. Senior setter Caitlyn Rother added 18 assists.

Newport Harbor senior Ella Olson, All-Orange County first team last season and committed to Texas, was her usual outstanding self, scoring points with kills and making spectacular digs.

Los Alamitos senior libero Kaitlyn Herweg said the Griffins simply did not play well in their first-set loss.

“Our defense wasn’t great in the first set,” said Herweg, who committed to Indiana. “It was a lot easier to get around (the Sailors front row) in the second set and our serving got better.”

Los Alamitos coach Dave Huber, in his 20th season leading the team, said there was no single player who got the team going in the right direction.

“We were so bad to start,” he said, “that there was no way one person was going to dig us out of that hole.”

Newport Harbor can be a tough venue for opponents, with its low cross beams attached to the ceiling of its old gym. The ball often bounces around those beams and descends in an unexpected path.

“I don’t know about that getting in our heads,” Herweg said. “But it does make us think a little more. The ball goes straight up and you hope it doesn’t hit something.”

In the latest Massey Ratings, which the CIF Southern Section will use to place teams into playoff divisions and seed them, Los Alamitos is No. 4 overall and Newport Harbor is No. 7. Last season the Division 1 had 12 teams in its playoff bracket.

The CIF Southern Section girls volleyball playoffs begin Oct. 21.

​ Orange County Register