Good morning, SoCal. Here's what you need to know today.
Your Weather Planner
We're going to feel some relief from the heat today with cooler air pushing in across the coast. Highs at the beaches will drop as much as 20 degrees while inland temperatures will drop four to eight degrees. Hope you stayed cool and comfortable over the last two really hot days. We set new records in a number of locations Thursday afternoon. It will still be warm and as much as 10 degrees above average.
Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County
Around SoCal
1. LA County COVID Hospitalizations Decrease Amid Vaccination Expansion
According to state figures, there were 634 people hospitalized in the county due to COVID-19, down from 652 on Wednesday. There were 165 people in intensive care as of Thursday, down from 166 Wednesday.
Another 757 cases were also reported, while Long Beach and Pasadena both added five, giving the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 1,220,256.
Also, on Thursday Californians aged 50 and older became eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations — adding about 1.4 million Los Angeles County residents to the pool of people trying to get appointments that will remain limited until vaccine supply expands, which officials hope will occur by the end of April.
One person who had no trouble getting an appointment was Gov. Gavin Newsom, who visited Los Angeles Thursday morning and was administered the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's Health and Human Services secretary.
2. Orange County Continues Good COVID-19 Trends
One day after officially entering a less restrictive tier of the state's COVID-19 reopening blueprint — allowing thousands of fans to attend the Angels home opener in Anaheim — Orange County's downward trend in coronavirus numbers continued Thursday.
Orange County reported just 81 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, and hospitalization numbers continued to decline.
The county's COVID hospitalization total declined from 141 on Wednesday to 131 on Thursday with the number of intensive care unit patients dropping from 26 to 22.
"Our hospitalization numbers are looking good," Orange County CEO Frank Kim said.
3. Reports: Shooter in Orange to be Arraigned Friday
The 44-year-old man suspected of killing four people, including a 9-year-old boy, in a shooting rampage inside an office complex in Orange is reportedly scheduled to be arraigned from his hospital room Friday.
The suspect, identified by police as Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, was shot by police in the courtyard of the building at 202 W. Lincoln Ave., according to Orange Police Department Lt. Jennifer Amat.
"Mr. Gonzalez is eligible for the death penalty," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a Thursday morning news conference. "This a special circumstances case. There were multiple victims."
Meanwhile, the victims' names were not released by authorities, but family members told local media they were Luis Tovar, his daughter Genevieve Raygoza, Leticia Solis and 9-year-old Matthew Farias.
Around the Nation
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Don't Miss This
Only on Spectrum News 1
A Young Boy's Fear of Vaccines Inspired Disney's Iconic Song "A Spoonful of Sugar"
Almost everyone knows Disney's iconic song "A Spoonful of Sugar", but not many are aware of its distinct Southern California connection to vaccines. Host Alex Cohen sits down with producer Jeffrey Sherman, whose personal polio vaccine story inspired his father and uncle to pen the lyrics to the classic Mary Poppins song.
SoCal Snapshot
Fans, who waited 18 months to attend a ballgame, wait in line to enter the stadium prior to an Opening Day baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago White Sox Thursday at Angel Stadium. Mike Trout delivered the tying single and Shohei Ohtani scored the go-ahead run on Albert Pujols' groundout in the eighth inning, leading the Los Angeles Angels' rally to a 4-3 victory. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Shohei Ohtani