Saturday, 27 June 2026, 8:09
The study was led by Ziad Obermeyer with colleagues Alexander Schubert, James Ross, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Markus Lingman. The paper is titled "An ECG biomarker for sudden cardiac death discovered with deep learning." Sudden cardiac death is the greatest cause of natural death in the U.S., most frequently impacting older adults (aged 65+) with rates peaking between 75 and 85 years, and men are significantly more prone at a ratio of 2 to 1.
It also kills young athletes with no history of heart issues; for those under 35, it is heavily linked to undetected genetic heart abnormalities such as arrhythmias or cardiomyopathies. According to a 2023 scientific session from the American Heart Association, SCD was the leading medical cause of death among NCAA athletes, comprising 13% of 1,102 total deaths, with male, Black, and Division 1 basketball players facing the highest risk.
Sudden cardiac death causes 17 million deaths worldwide every year. The model's high-risk group comprises 2.2% of the sample, and 86.1% of the model’s high-risk patients were not flagged by standard tests.
Source: northcoastjournal.com
A groundbreaking artificial intelligence system developed at UC Berkeley has demonstrated a remarkable ability to predict sudden cardiac arrest, a condition that kills over 300,000 people in the United States each year. By analyzing electrocardiograms (EKGs), the AI can identify patients at high risk of sudden cardiac death with greater accuracy than current clinical methods, potentially saving thousands of lives annually.
The study, published on June 24 in the journal Nature, used more than 440,000 EKGs from Sweden, paired with death certificate data, to train the AI model. Researchers fed the system scans from healthy individuals, at-risk patients, and those who later died from sudden cardiac arrest.
Over several years, the model was validated on thousands of additional patient records from hospitals in San Diego and Taipei. The results showed that the AI could isolate a high-risk group with a 7% annual rate of sudden cardiac death, outperforming the standard test—which measures the heart's ejection fraction—that identifies a group with only a 4.6% annual rate.
"Medical decisions are really hard, and I think that's why AI is so exciting for me," said Ziad Obermeyer, an associate professor at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and the study's lead author. "We can not only make better decisions, but also start to understand what's actually going on with these patients before their heart stops."
Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart's electrical system malfunctions without warning, leading to a sudden stop in heartbeat. Unlike a heart attack, which is caused by restricted blood flow, cardiac arrest is an electrical failure.
While implantable defibrillators can save lives by shocking the heart back into rhythm, doctors have struggled to identify who truly needs one. Current guidelines rely on measuring the heart's ejection fraction—a test that requires a more involved medical evaluation and often misses at-risk individuals.
In fact, two-thirds of patients who receive an implantable defibrillator never need it, while thousands of others die suddenly without ever knowing they were at risk.
The AI model uncovered a previously unrecognized signal in EKGs that appears to correlate with the risk of sudden cardiac death. This discovery opens new avenues for understanding the physiological mechanisms behind the condition.
"There is also going to be a new way of doing science that comes out of these tools," Obermeyer said, emphasizing the potential for AI to advance medical knowledge.
Obermeyer and his team used three distinct data sources to build and test the model. Training data came from six years of Swedish health records, while validation used two years of deidentified EKGs from San Diego and a separate dataset from Taipei.
Compiling the data took about a decade and involved two groups Obermeyer co-founded: Dandelion Health and Nightingale Open Science. The next phase will deploy the algorithm in hospital EKG databases in Sweden, Taiwan, and the U.S.
For scans flagged as high-risk, doctors will notify patients and offer continuous heart monitoring to better understand the underlying signals.
A website has also been launched where individuals can submit basic information and an email address to be contacted for EKG analysis once the tool is more widely available. Obermeyer expressed optimism about the role of AI in transforming medicine: "It's one of the tremendous luxuries of being at Berkeley—you can pursue these projects that just are a slow burn and then have—hopefully—a big return when they get over the finish line."
Source: northcoastjournal.com
After three days of excavation at the Miranda’s Rescue property in Fortuna, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that investigators had discovered the intact remains of more than 100 dogs at two separate dig sites. The discovery is part of a multi-agency investigation into allegations of animal cruelty and fraud.
The sheriff's office reported that 117 intact dog carcasses were found, in various stages of decomposition. Seventy of the animals were X-rayed on site, and many showed evidence of bullet fragments.
Most of the recovered dogs were microchipped, and analysts are reviewing the data to identify the animals. In a separate dig location near the main site, investigators also found 21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones, and six loose microchips.
Inside a barn on the property, investigators identified an area believed to be where the dogs were likely killed. In the same area, more than 600 dog collars were recovered.
“This investigation is just getting started. There is a tremendous amount of data to process, witnesses to interview, and evidence to examine,” Sheriff William Honsal said in a statement.
He added that the Major Crimes Division is focused on the case and will continue working with state and federal partners.
The sheriff's office executed a search warrant on the property on Tuesday, June 23, with the assistance of local, state, and federal agencies, including the California Attorney General's Office, USDA, and FBI. The operation concluded on Thursday.
During a press conference, Honsal said that between January and May 2025, Miranda’s Rescue received over 900 animals from shelters across the state, but only about 100 could be accounted for through adoptions, leaving 730 unaccounted for.
Founder Shannon Miranda has denied wrongdoing but admitted to shooting five dogs, claiming it was for public safety. He also denied the existence of a mass grave.
However, the evidence recovered includes not only the 117 intact dogs but also additional remains in advanced stages of decomposition. Investigators chose not to remove those due to the advanced decomposition, documenting the site instead.
Under California law, a rescue can euthanize an animal with a gun if done humanely, but killing animals for financial gain or failing to provide promised services could lead to fraud or cruelty charges. The sheriff's office stated that the investigation is ongoing, and evidence will be thoroughly reviewed before any charges are filed.
Other agencies involved include the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office, Cal Poly Humboldt Anthropology Department, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the Yurok Tribe, which provided ground-penetrating radar. The sheriff's office emphasized that the evidence review will take significant time and urged patience from the public.
Source: northcoastjournal.com
A vegetation fire broke out in Butte County on Friday afternoon, prompting an evacuation warning for residents near the town of Paradise, an area still haunted by the devastating Camp Fire of 2018. Cal Fire reported that the Pentz Fire was burning off Pentz Road near Lindenbaum Lane in lower Paradise.
The Butte County Sheriff's Office issued an evacuation warning for residents living in Zone 461, urging them to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice. Air and ground resources have been deployed to contain the blaze, which is currently burning in a rural area with vegetation.
The warning comes as a stark reminder of the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, which was sparked by faulty Pacific Gas and Electric power lines. That fire claimed 85 lives, destroyed over 18,000 structures, and forced tens of thousands of residents to flee.
As of Friday afternoon, no further details on the size or containment of the Pentz Fire have been released, but officials are monitoring the situation closely. This is a breaking news story and more information will be added as it becomes available.
Source: cbsnews.com
A driver was killed early Friday morning in a single-vehicle crash on the westbound 134 Freeway connector near the 5 Freeway, close to the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park. The California Highway Patrol reported the incident occurred around 6:05 a.m.
on June 26, 2026.
Emergency responders arrived to find the driver had been pronounced dead at the scene. The crash prompted the closure of two lanes on the westbound 134 at the 5 Freeway interchange.
A SigAlert was issued at 7:05 a.m. and extended at 9:00 a.m.
as authorities worked to clear the area and investigate the cause.
Traffic was severely impacted, with westbound backups stretching to Glendale Avenue. Commuters experienced significant delays throughout the morning rush hour.
The CHP is continuing its investigation into the circumstances of the crash, and no further details about the driver's identity have been released at this time.
The area, near the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park, is a busy interchange that connects the 134 and 5 freeways. Authorities urge drivers to use alternate routes and exercise caution in the area.
Source: patch.com
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied District Attorney Nathan Hochman's request to delay more than $4 billion in sexual abuse settlement payments until the end of the year, ruling against the prosecutor's bid to freeze funds while his office investigates fraud allegations.
The $4 billion settlement, approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2025, resolves over 11,000 claims of sexual abuse brought by individuals who were previously in custody at county juvenile halls, foster homes, and children's shelters. The abuse victims' attorneys argued vehemently against any blanket freeze, emphasizing that many claimants have endured severe hardships and lengthy delays.
During a June 15 hearing before Judge Lawrence P. Riff, lawyers for the victims stressed the urgent need for payments.
Hochman had indicated he was open to clearing verified hardship cases first, but the judge wanted additional briefing and held another hearing on Thursday, ultimately denying the stay request despite Hochman's claims that fraudulent submissions could be as high as 81%.
In court filings, the victims' legal team argued that these are not active civil cases awaiting trial. "The county chose to settle.
Individual plaintiffs executed individual settlement agreements. The parties adopted a master settlement agreement and allocation protocol.
The county agreed to fund the settlement," the firm's papers stated. They further contended that Hochman has no claim to the settlement funds, is not responsible for funding the settlement, and does not gain or lose by the direct legal operation of any settlement allocation.
Although Hochman argued that payment could interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation, the judge sided with the plaintiffs' lawyers, who maintained that this does not create a direct interest in settled claims or authorize him to suspend performance of individual contracts.
In his own court papers, Hochman asserted there were "significant allegations of fraud in a very significant majority of these cases" and that a hold until December 31 was necessary to protect the integrity of the settlement process. He stated he filed the motion "with the interests of the real victims in mind," adding, "This intervention is critical to safeguarding the rights of the legitimate child abuse survivors, including preserving the integrity of the settlement process.
It will also help ensure that individuals who have allegedly filed fraudulent claims are held accountable for exploiting the horrific abuse and trauma experienced by genuine survivors."
Three other plaintiffs' law firms, including McNicholas & McNicholas, expressed in their court filings that Hochman's intervention "has added a painful new layer to years of trauma." They highlighted that many claimants are gravely ill, have taken out high-interest loans against their expected recoveries, and are being deprived of funds needed for medical care, counseling, and rising living costs. "And now they watch as a non-party, with no standing in the settlement, publicly brands them potential fraudsters," the firms added.
Source: patch.com
A man who brutally beat and strangled a woman in Scripps Ranch more than 35 years ago was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in state prison. Randall Oyler, 65, was found guilty by a downtown San Diego Superior Court jury of first-degree murder for killing 47-year-old Margaret Orozco Jackson.
Her body was discovered on July 11, 1990, off Scripps Ranch Boulevard, on land that later became the site of Scripps Ranch High School.
Deputy District Attorney Chris Lindberg told jurors that a woman walking to work on the morning of July 11 spotted a length of rope on the sidewalk. The rope led down a hill to Jackson’s body, wrapped twice around her neck.
The prosecutor described the killing as unprovoked and a brutal attack, noting that Jackson was strangled for five to six minutes.
Oyler was not identified as a suspect until decades later when DNA testing linked him to genetic material found beneath the victim’s fingernails and from other areas of her body. He was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2023.
During the trial, video clips from an undercover jail operation showed Oyler discussing the killing. In one clip, Oyler said, "She scratched me." In another, when an operative asked if he "just left her there," Oyler responded that he "threw her down a hill."
In a probation report interview, Oyler claimed that Jackson had stolen drugs from him. However, Lindberg noted that when Oyler was placed in a cell with an undercover jail operative posing as an inmate, he made several incriminating statements but never mentioned a drug theft.
"While no one really knows if this is true, such a slight provocation is no excuse for such a cruel murder," Lindberg wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Jackson’s niece, Rebecca Cepeda, called Oyler "a monster." She said, "You took her life, and for what? Now you’re going to spend, who knows, the rest of your life in prison, and for nothing."
Oyler did not make a statement in court, but his defense attorney, Kara Oien, said on his behalf, "He does want to say he is sorry and express his condolences to the family. He knows that doesn’t excuse anything, but does wish to say he is sorry."
Judge Jeffrey Fraser said he believed there was "no doubt" that Oyler committed the murder and "he did get away with it for over three decades." The judge added, "There used to be a saying that, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’ and to a large extent that’s true, but it’s not true today."
Source: sandiegouniontribune.com