The Environmental Protection Agency just tightened standards for tiny, pervasive soot particles from construction sites, smokestacks, tailpipes, wildfires and other sources.
Why it matters: This form of air pollution is dangerous. It's linked to asthma, irregular heartbeats, bronchitis, even premature death in people with heart or lung disease, per the EPA.
Heavy rainfall and mountain snow from a "dangerous" atmospheric river slamming Southern California that brought a rare "high risk" of potentially deadly flooding in Los Angeles County this week is set to linger until at least Thursday.
The big picture: The storm that rapidly intensified Sunday off California's coast has resulted in at least four deaths and disrupted travel across the state. City of Los Angeles crews have responded to 383 mudslides, and there have been multiple road closures and water rescues across the state due to flooding.
Why it matters: This storm offers a vivid demonstration of how climate change is likely interacting with weather and variability and increasingly standing out.
The Maui Police Department released a preliminary report Monday on authorities' response to the devastating wildfires that swept Hawai'i last August and razed the historic town of Lahaina.
The big picture: The Lahaina fire killed at least 100 people, and Maui Police Chief John Pelletier noted at a briefing announcing the "after-action" report that "the search is not over" for three people still listed as missing from the island's blaze that destroyed thousands of acres and structures.
