The U.S. blood supply has reached crisis levels, prompting the American Red Cross and the Surgeon General's Office to urge people to donate.

Why it matters: A prolonged blood shortage could delay surgeries, trauma care and other treatments that depend on timely blood transfusions.

• The Red Cross says it's low on type O positive blood, which is the most commonly transfused blood type.

Local response: The local Red Cross chapter has organized a series of blood drives to help.

• Upcoming dates include:

Today: 9am-3pm, Oceanside First Presbyterian Church, Oceanside

• 10am-4pm, The Lodge at Lake San Marcos, San Marcos

Tomorrow: 12pm-6pm, Shoppes at Carlsbad, Carlsbad

• 10am-4pm, Eternal Hills Memorial Park Chapel, Oceanside
• 9am-3pm, Mission Hills Church, San Marcos

Thursday: 10am-4pm, The Church at Rancho Bernardo, San Diego

• 9am-3pm, The Research Park at Torrey Pines, San Diego

Friday: 11am-4pm, Bonita - Sunnyside Library, Bonita

• 9am-2pm, North County LGBTQ Resource Center, Oceanside

Pro tips: A pro donor's guide to giving blood

Driving the news: Blood donations fell to a four-year summer low in 2026, the Red Cross said.

• Current supply is not keeping up with the demand for blood, which increases during the summer, the Red Cross says.
• The Red Cross attributes the low turnout of donations to extreme heat, bad air quality and "widespread foodborne illnesses" hitting the country.

Flashback: This is only the second national blood supply crisis, according to the Red Cross.

• The last time was in January 2022 when COVID, winter storms and staffing challenges disrupted the nation's blood supply.
• In 2024, the Red Cross said it faced an "emergency blood shortage," though stopped short of declaring it a "crisis."

The Red Cross is also offering a $20 Amazon gift card to anyone who donates in August.

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Add to the list of buildings that could become housing: city libraries.

The big picture: San Diego is weighing building housing on 11 publicly owned sites, including seven libraries.

Zoom in: Here's the list of sites being considered:

📚 Mira Mesa Library Adjacent Lot

📚 North Park Library

📚 University Community Library in UTC

🎾 Barnes Tennis Center Overflow in Point Loma

📚 University Heights Library

🏗️ San Ysidro Vacant Lot

🌳 Balboa Park Operations Yard

🛠️ Rose Canyon Operations Yard

📚 Clairemont Library

📚 Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Library

🛹 Linda Vista Library/Skateworld

Caveat: There aren't plans to build housing at these sites yet, as they're only being studied to see if affordable homes could be incorporated into the buildings, according to the city.

• So library services wouldn't be replaced, but they might be redesigned to include housing.

You can weigh in or ask questions about the plans at two open houses this week:

• Tomorrow: Standley Recreation Center, 5-6:30pm.
• Friday: Golden Hill Recreation Center, 6-7:30pm.

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⚽ Chucky Lozano is leaving SDFC for the LA Galaxy after an ugly months-long standoff. He'll be on loan to LA, but the Galaxy get an option to make the move permanent. (10News)

🦠 San Diego logged its first Clade I mpox case in a resident, who likely picked up the virus during international travel.

• Close contacts of that person are being monitored, and none have reported symptoms so far. (Times of San Diego)

🚀 UCSD alum Deniz Burnham will make her first trip to space in March 2027, flying to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

• She'll spend about seven months there as an Expedition 76 flight engineer. (Union-Tribune)

🚗 One Corvette, 69 years. Carlsbad's Bill Hatch, 94, is chasing a Guinness record tomorrow for longest continuous ownership of a vehicle bought new.

• He drove his 1957 Corvette off the lot when he was 25. (UT)

For some strange reason, "The Odyssey" got really popular in July.

The big picture: There were 278 holds on Homer's epic poem last month, far exceeding San Diego libraries' supply.

• The book was only checked out 34 times in July, so those in line may be waiting awhile to get their hands on the lengthy read.

By the numbers: There were only 74 holds on "The Odyssey" in all of 2025, but it started to get more popular in January.

• Maybe because the epic trailer dropped around the holidays?

💭 Claire's thought bubble: I had to read "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad" in college and it wasn't easy!

• But, the struggle was worth it, if only because now I get to righteously voice all my opinions about Christopher Nolan's choices (Circe only gets one scene?! Really?!)

Sing it with the sirens

When local influencer Jordan Howlett posed for Blenders campaign photos, he was decked out in a suit and tie.

• But that's not his standard San Diego uniform, he told Axios.

We asked Howlett what's the quintessential local OOTD for our ongoing feature on the local dress code.

• "I haven't evolved into the open-toed sandals, shorts vibe yet," he said. "But pretty much everywhere outside of a formal place, I always have sweats and a loose-fitting shirt on."

What's your quintessential San Diego outfit? Hit reply and let us know.