* WHAT…For the Extreme Heat Warning, dangerously hot conditions
with temperatures up to 101. For the Wind Advisory, northwest
winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph expected.

* WHERE…Santa Barbara County Interior Mountains, Santa Barbara
County Southeastern Coast, Santa Barbara County Southwestern
Coast, Santa Ynez Mountains Eastern Range, and Santa Ynez
Mountains Western Range.

* WHEN…For the Extreme Heat Warning, until 8 PM PDT Thursday. For
the Wind Advisory, from 3 PM this afternoon to 4 AM PDT Thursday.

* IMPACTS…Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree
limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
There is a high risk for dangerous heat illness for anyone,
especially for the very young, the very old, those without air
conditioning, and those active outdoors.
Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high
profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of
the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car
interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.

Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose
fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning
or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and
heat stroke.

To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in
shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat
should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an
emergency! Call 9 1 1.

Stay cool, stay hydrated, stay informed.

Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings for updates.

The post Wind Advisory issued July 15 at 11:09AM PDT until July 16 at 4:00AM PDT by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Brian Stelter, Liam Reilly, CNN

(CNN) — The Federal Communications Commission is changing its rules so that local TV station owners can get much, much bigger.

The looming vote, which is likely to be challenged in court, is a long-sought victory for media moguls who are aligned with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

The change is a priority for FCC chair Brendan Carr, who says it is necessary for broadcasters to better compete with tech giants and other competitors.

Carr announced on Wednesday that the FCC will vote next month to repeal its national broadcast ownership rule, which prohibits a single company from reaching more than 39% of US TV households.

As a result, a broadcast network like NBC has affiliated stations across the US that are owned by a variety of companies, rather than all being owned by NBC.

The rule is intended to encourage local ownership, but Carr says it is “outdated” because it is preventing station owners “from gaining the same scale that their competitors are free to enjoy.”

The FCC has waived the so-called ownership “cap” in the past, and now Carr’s office says he wants to implement a “case-by-case” review process that “will empower the FCC to approve deals that promote the public interest while allowing the agency to reject any deals that do not meet that standard.”

Critics say Carr has weaponized the “public interest” standard to favor Trump’s allies and punish his critics.

But the FCC is currently firmly under Republican control; only one of the three commissioners, Anna Gomez, is a Democrat, so the August 6 vote to eliminate the rule will almost certainly pass.

On Wednesday, Gomez called the impending change an “unlawful effort to hand control of the public airwaves to billionaire buddies of this administration.”

“A free and diverse media landscape depends on real limits on how much of the public airwaves any one company can control, and this FCC is now poised to allow local broadcasters to sell those airwaves off to the highest bidder,” Gomez said.

Carr’s office portrayed it very differently, of course, saying “this action will foster a competitive media market, enhance localism, and promote investment in trusted sources of news and information.”

Such an approach would ease the way for current and future mergers. Nexstar, one of the biggest TV station owners in the US, had to win a waiver from the FCC to acquire one of its rivals, Tegna, earlier this year.

The merger was put on hold by a federal judge after a coalition of state attorneys general sued to block it, arguing the combination violates antitrust laws.

On Wednesday, a Nexstar spokesperson hailed Carr’s plan to revoke the rule as “a welcome and long-overdue step toward bringing broadcast regulation into the modern media marketplace.”

Sinclair, another station owner that stands to benefit from the change, said, “Given the undeniable change and disruption to the media ecosystem, updating these rules to reflect the current landscape is common sense.”

Conservative lawmakers and advocacy groups have similarly pushed for the elimination of the cap for years, suggesting that it would level the proverbial playing field.

Carr promoted that position in an op-ed for the right-wing website Breitbart on Wednesday, touting it as a way to “restore balance to the broadcast airwaves.”

Public interest groups that support the cap — and oppose further consolidation in the local TV industry — said Carr is really trying to help his political allies.

Matt Wood, vice president of policy and general counsel at Free Press, pointed out that Congress set the 39% cap in a 2004 law.

“Brendan Carr cannot undo the limit that Congress set just because he feels like it,” Wood said in a statement foreshadowing future legal action.

The-CNN-Wire<

The post Jeremy Denk Cancels Show Due to Illness appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

By Ellis Kim, Ted Barrett, CNN

(CNN) — The US House on Tuesday voted in strong bipartisan fashion to enact year-round Daylight Saving Time across the country. But the measure’s fate in the Senate remains far from certain.

Senate Republican leaders have not said whether they will bring the bill – known as the “Sunshine Protection Act” – to a floor vote. Majority Leader John Thune has previously opposed efforts to default the nation to permanent Daylight Saving Time, but on Wednesday did not rule out scheduling a future floor vote.

Here’s what we know about what’s next:

What exactly have Senate GOP leaders said about the bill?

Thune, who represents South Dakota, would not rule out bringing the bill to a vote when pressed by reporters on Wednesday – even though in the past, he opposed a similar push to adopt Daylight Saving Time year round.

He told reporters at the Capitol he believes the House bill provides optionality for states who use permanent standard time. The bill allows states to buck the switch to saving time, so long as they adopt permanent standard time before it takes effect. Residents in Hawaii, much of Arizona, and other US territories all observe permanent standard time.

“I think the main concern is that there’s optionality for states, and my understanding is that’s in the House bill. I just don’t think we want a mandate and that was tried once before and repealed,” he said. “But you know, we’re looking at it. You know, the House had a big vote. There’s a lot of interest in it from members on our side over here. Some for, some against.”

Asked if it can get the necessary 60 votes to break a filibuster, Thune said that “remains to be seen.” He added “that’s not an issue that we’ve really probed much yet.”

When asked if he would support the measure, Thune would only note he comes from a “northern” climate and that he opposed a similar measure when it was voted on in the Senate Commerce committee last April.

Is it facing any opposition in the Senate?

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas has staunchly opposed moves towards year-round Daylight Saving Time. He remains opposed, dashing any proponents’ hopes that the Senate will quickly approve the bill on the floor through a process known as unanimous consent, which requires all 100 senators to agree to an expedited vote.

Cotton’s strong opposition means GOP leaders would be wary of using up valuable floor time on an issue he would filibuster.

The Arkansas senator hasn’t been shy about his opposition, and has warned that a later sunrise would endanger children who will be forced to commute to school in the dark.

Cotton and other opponents of the change also contend the shift would devastate workers – like construction crews, farmers, factory hands – who would have to report to their jobs in the dark. Some areas of the US do not see the sun rise until after 9 a.m. during Daylight Saving Time.

Has the Senate taken up this issue before?

Congress has moved before to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. It adopted a measure in the 1970s, as the US was experiencing an energy crisis, but swiftly reversed course amid deep unpopularity.

In 2022, senators passed a version of a Daylight Saving Time bill through swift action on the floor – facing no objections from their colleagues. It did not get a floor vote in the House.

Cotton later revealed he would have blocked that effort, and vowed to object to any future efforts to pass that kind of legislation quickly on the floor.

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (KEYT) – Two men were convicted of felony elder abuse earlier this week after violently attacking an elderly unhoused man who was sleeping at Elm Street Park on the morning of March 20 of this year.

Both men, 21-year-old Boaz Winslow Brigham and 18-year-old Malachy Damien Hayes, also admitted to multiple aggravating factors associated with the attack which made their conviction count as a serious and violent felony and a strike under California's Three Strikes Law.

On March 20, 2026, around 1:30 a.m., surveillance video captured the two men approach Douglas Mark while he slept under an outdoor picnic area at Elm Street Park detailed the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office in a press release Wednesday.

According to local prosecutors, surveillance footage showed Hayes stand over the sleeping elderly man and begin to urinate on him until he awoke from the feeling of liquid splashing on his face he later told investigators.

As Mark struggled to his feet, Hayes began punching him in the head and face before Brigham walked into view of the surveillance camera and joined the attack noted the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

Both men continued to punch and kick Mark as he lay on the ground and Brigham recorded the violent encounter on his cell phone added the local prosecutor's office.

Records retrieved from both of the attackers phones captured the duo laughing and celebrating the assault, even high-fiving at one point, during and after the attack and they later shared video of the incident with others on Snapchat explained the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors asked for seven years in state prison for the pair, the maximum sentence available, but the San Luis Obispo County Probation Department recommended probation with one year in county jail shared the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

"For this to be considered probation is outrageous...my eyes were filled of blood, [I] get headaches...have a brain injury...What if I died? My brain is broken, it doesn't work right, I don't think right...They ruined my brain," shared Douglas Mark in his statement to the court before adding,"They are devoid of any conscience."

Judge Crystal T. Seiler considered the provided arguments and reports, reviewed letters submitted on behalf of the defendants, and a victim impact statement submitted to the court before placing both men on formal probation for four years, condition on serving 364 days in county jail detailed the local prosecutor's office.

Both men were immediately remanded into the custody of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office to begin their jail sentence upon completion of the court proceedings added the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's office.

According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, a special condition of the defendant's probation prohibits them from using any social media for the entirety of their formal probation term and a restitution status hearing has been scheduled for both men on September 14, 2026.

"This elderly man was homeless, asleep, and completely defenseless when he was humiliated and brutally beaten, leaving him with a permanent brain injury," San Luis Obispo County District At