Washington, DC - The National Institutes of Health Thursday announced 19 recommendations in six key areas of asthma diagnosis, management and treatment. The new guidance, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, represents the first updates to federal comprehensive asthma management and treatment guidelines in more than a decade, and focuses on tailored treatment interventions for specific age groups based on disease severity using inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting antimuscarinic antagonists, immunotherapy, indoor allergen mitigation, fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing, and bronchial thermoplasty.

Sacramento, California - The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today announced 9,004 reported new cases of Valley fever in California in 2019, the highest number since the state started tracking cases in 1995. While reasons for this record level are not clear, the above average level of rainfall during the 2018-2019 winter might have contributed.

San Francisco, California - Robert Jesus Blancas, a/k/a “Orgotloth” a/k/a “MuskOx,” made his initial appearance Monday after being charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging the enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, that is, the production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson and FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair.

Los Angeles, California - A North Carolina man who engaged in a series of cyber and swatting attacks, including sending bogus threats of shootings and bombings to schools in the United States and United Kingdom, was sentenced today to 95 months in federal prison.

Los Angeles, California - In a superseding indictment unsealed Monday that adds new details to the criminal case alleging a widespread corruption scheme led by former Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, a federal grand jury has added five defendants, including former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan, to the racketeering case that accuses Huizar and his close associates of illegally obtaining financial benefits from developers who, in exchange, sought favorable treatment on pending real estate development projects.

Honolulu, Hawaii - Former prosecutor Katherine Kealoha and former police chief Louis Kealoha were sentenced during separate hearings in federal court Monday to 13 years and seven years in prison, respectively, following a number of convictions, including conspiring to frame a relative with a crime to conceal their own fraud.