SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Friday will be in the low to mid 70s slightly above average with partly cloudy skies.

Temperatures get a boost this weekend in Santa Barbara with most if the region staying in the 70s except for some inland areas like Santa Ynez.

Sunday will be mostly clear before storm clouds arrive.

Monday will be gloomy with rain chances for Tuesday and Wednesday, April 1st.

There are some slight chances for rain to linger through next Thursday.

About a quarter to half inch of rain is expected.

The post Pleasant Friday, warm weekend appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Priscilla Alvarez, Gabe Cohen, Michael Williams, CNN

(CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security inspector general has launched a sprawling investigation into how contracts have been solicited and handled, including the involvement of former Secretary Kristi Noem and her de facto chief of staff Corey Lewandowski, according to two sources familiar with the probe.

Noem’s handling of contracts within DHS was one of the main catalysts for her ouster by President Donald Trump earlier this month. Lewandowski’s micromanagement of the department, including his involvement in contracts, was a persistent source of tension with White House officials, CNN has reported.

The Office of the Inspector General previously announced an audit into DHS grants and contracts awarded “by any means other than full and open competition during fiscal year 2025,” according to its website. The inspector general, Joseph Cuffari, complained to Congress in early March that DHS leadership had been obstructing some of his work.

One of the sources familiar with the issue said the IG investigation that includes Noem and Lewandowski is separate from the previously announced audit. The source said investigators had ordered dozens of DHS officials to preserve records as part of the new probe.

In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for the DHS OIG said its office does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, and noted that its audit of some DHS grants and contracts is congressionally mandated and required on a yearly basis. It is not clear which specific contracts the IG is investigating. The OIG audit, the spokesperson added, is paused because the team handling the audit was furloughed as part of the DHS shutdown.

“Once funding is restored, this audit will be resumed,” the statement said.

CNN has reached out to a phone number and email address listed for Lewandowski for comment about the inspector general’s probe. The State Department, where Noem currently works as a special envoy focusing on countering drug trafficking, referred a request for comment back to DHS.

During a pair of congressional hearings earlier this month, members of Congress, including some Republicans, were particularly critical of the $220 million worth of advertising contracts that were doled out to promote the agency’s mission and which prominently featured Noem.

Noem defended the spending by saying those advertisements successfully convinced undocumented immigrants to leave the United States. But she also claimed that Trump had approved that advertisement spending, which the president later denied.

Noem also instituted a policy that required her approval of any grants and contracts over $100,000, therefore requiring her to be read in on multiple federal contracts for approval.

That policy prompted broad complaints within the agency where most contracts exceeded that amount and caused bottlenecks in funding for much-needed relief after a string of natural disasters last year, CNN previously reported.

During Trump’s first year in office, DHS received an unprecedented amount of funding to carry out the president’s deportation agenda – a cornerstone goal of his administration and one which he successfully used to run for president.

The agency last year received a $165 billion infusion from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including $65 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement alone. The funding is being used from everything to hiring thousands of additional ICE officers to building sprawling detention centers t

By Jeanne Bonner, CNN

(CNN) — Standing in a long line at the airport isn’t always the worst thing. For many travelers, it’s standing in a long line at the airport and watching while other passengers sail past.

That’s because travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck or a service called Clear can reduce the amount of time they have to wait in lines at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints by bypassing standard screening lines for separate, often quicker vetting procedures.

And air travelers without expedited access are increasingly becoming frustrated by this moving-to-the-front scenario as short-staffed security checkpoints continue to paralyze some airports amid the partial government shutdown affecting the TSA.

In normal times, the expedited passage might mean shaving a few minutes off wait times, which doesn’t create a big disparity.

But as TSA officers who are working without pay decide to call out sick, wait times at some airports including George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston have stretched to four hours.

Airports across the country are bracing for another crush of weekend travelers as Congress keeps haggling over how to end the partial government shutdown that has driven mounting TSA staff shortages and the longest security wait times ever.

So paid access to either fast-lane service is saving some people a major headache this week. But it raises concerns that the current system appears to privilege travelers with more money.

In addition to TSA PreCheck and Clear, travelers going overseas may also enroll – for a price – in Global Entry or other programs aimed at expediting frequent flyers between specific countries.

But the current chaos means even paying for expedited services doesn’t always mean a significant reduction in hassles.

“They don’t eliminate delays but they do move faster,” Debbie Iannaci, communications chief for Global Business Travel Association, told CNN Travel.

In the case of Clear, it hasn’t always been guaranteed to be available during the shutdown. At George Bush airport in Houston, only “standard screening is available” right now, a spokesperson for Clear told CNN Travel on Wednesday, and Clear customers were out of luck.

Here’s what to know about these services.

What is TSA PreCheck?

Travelers who enroll in TSA’s PreCheck program access designated lines at US airports that allow them to avoid taking off their shoes or remove their laptops from their bags before going through security.

It costs about $80 and is good for 5 years according to the TSA’s website, which is not being updated during the shutdown. The agency didn’t respond to comment when contacted by CNN Travel on Wednesday.

To join, travelers need to go in person to an enrollment center to be fingerprinted and submit their documents. Some CVS pharmacy locations offer the enrollment service via a biometric screening station furnished by a company called IDEMIA.

It’s available at about 200 airports and is run by the federal government. Travel pros continue to recommend it, even as lines have ballooned this week.

“PreCheck allows known, vetted travelers to move more efficiently through checkpoints while enabling TSA officers to focus their time and attention where it is most needed,” Iannacci said in an email.

But, she added, these are difficult times for air passengers and nothing is guaranteed.

“Under the current conditions created by the U.S. government shutdown … we see that system under increasingly visible strain,” she said.

Fair warning: The application process isn’t the kind of tas

Por Laura Paddison, CNN

Ahora mismo, el Ártico está alcanzando su máximo de hielo marino: el frío del invierno se acumuló durante meses de oscuridad, y el hielo se ha extendido tan al sur como lo hará en todo el año. Es el máximo de hielo marino del Polo Norte, excepto que este año es alarmantemente bajo.

Falta aproximadamente medio millón de millas cuadradas de hielo en este “máximo” de este año, en comparación con el promedio: una cantidad dos veces el tamaño de Texas.

Es la señal más reciente, profundamente preocupante, desde la parte superior del planeta, una región que se ha convertido en una clara víctima de la crisis climática a medida que los humanos queman combustibles fósiles, y cada vez más en un punto crítico geopolítico mientras el derretimiento del hielo abre oportunidades comerciales y militares.

El invierno es cuando el hielo del Ártico se acumula, alcanzando típicamente su máxima extensión en marzo. Este año, cuando científicos de la NASA y del Centro Nacional de Datos de Nieve y Hielo lo midieron, el 15 de marzo, encontraron que el hielo había alcanzado 5,52 millones de millas cuadradas, aproximadamente un 9 % por debajo del promedio entre 1981 y 2010.

Quedó apenas por debajo del máximo récord del año pasado de 5,53 millones de millas cuadradas, pero lo suficientemente cerca como para que técnicamente sea un empate, y es el pico más bajo observado desde que comenzaron los registros satelitales en 1979.

“Uno o dos años bajos no necesariamente significan mucho por sí solos”, dijo Walt Meier, un científico del hielo del NSIDC, pero al observarse en el contexto de una trayectoria descendente de varias décadas, “refuerza el cambio drástico del hielo marino del Ártico en todas las estaciones”.

A los científicos les preocupa lo que significará para la temporada de deshielo de primavera y verano. Los últimos 19 años han visto los niveles de hielo marino más bajos registrados.

El Ártico quedará libre de hielo en verano en algún momento para 2050, incluso si los humanos dejan de emitir contaminación climática, según un estudio de 2023.

La desaparición del hielo marino tiene impactos globales. El hielo actúa como un espejo gigante, reflejando la luz solar lejos de la Tierra y de regreso al espacio. A medida que se reduce, más de la energía del sol es absorbida por el océano oscuro, lo que acelera el calentamiento global.

Este nuevo récord no es una sorpresa, ya que el hielo marino del Ártico había estado cerca de mínimos récord durante todo el invierno, dijo Jennifer Francis, científica principal del Woodwell Climate Research Center. Pero es una campanada más de alarma.

“Como cuando la presión arterial de una persona está descontrolada y señala un problema de salud, la pérdida continua de hielo marino es otro síntoma que indica que el clima de la Tierra está en grandes problemas”, dijo.

La causa no es ningún misterio, añadió: “la acumulación continua de gases que atrapan el calor en la atmósfera por la quema de combustibles fósiles está calentando los océanos, calentando el aire, derritiendo el hielo y empeorando los extremos meteorológicos en todo el mundo.”

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The post “El clima de la Tierra está en grandes problemas”: el hielo marino del Ártico cae a un nuevo mínimo alarmante appeared first on News Channel

By Jordan D. Brown, CNN

Welcome to 5 Things PM! Worldwide, youth happiness is climbing. In the US? It’s falling — and evidence points to social media as part of the problem.

Here’s what else you might have missed during your busy day.

5 things

1⃣ Program cut off

Meteorologists and emergency planners are about to lose access to a hurricane planning tool following the lapse of a federal contract. It’s used to make critical decisions, including ordering evacuations.

2⃣ ‘Too much to bear’

Savannah Guthrie said she believes her mother may have been abducted for ransom because of her fame. In her first interview since the 84-year-old’s disappearance, the “Today” host shared how she’s grappling with the feelings of grief and guilt.

3⃣ Drugged, raped and online

A months-long CNN As Equals investigation uncovers a vast international online network of men coaching others on how to drug and rape their partners and sharing videos of the abuse. Watch the full report on CNN All Access.

4⃣ Evolving art

This mysterious artist has made millions of dollars — and it isn’t even human. Meet Botto, an algorithm‑backed AI artist whose surreal, emotion‑driven works are shaped by thousands of human voters. See its work displayed at Asia’s biggest art fair.

5⃣ Fan-edit frenzy

As eyes turn from big screens to vertical videos, movie studios are shifting their marketing priorities and buying into Gen Z’s popular fan-made videos. To reel in a new generation, studios are hiring young, digital-native editors to make fandom edits.

Watch this

Rent-a-Bot: Humanoid robots are doing all kinds of gigs in China — working, playing sports, and now marriage proposals. You can rent one to help pop the big question.

Top headlines

• Trump says US won’t strike Iranian energy sites for 10 days
• Transgender women athletes banned from Olympics by new IOC policy on female eligibility
• How risky would a US assault on Iran’s Kharg Island be — and why might Trump consider it

Check this out

New trailer dropped: HBO Max just released the first look at its Harry Potter reboot, and it’s already got muggles talking. See what we’ve learned from it. (HBO, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)