December 16, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• 7 deaths, hundreds of injuries linked to faulty Abbott glucose monitor  (NPR)
• Head of RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel: School mandates ‘not necessary’ (The Hill)
• Bird flu surges among poultry amid a scaled back federal response  (NPR)
• FDA restricts use of kids' fluoride supplements citing emerging health risks (AP)
• Hemp-derived THC drinks, edibles could soon disappear because of shutdown bill  (The Hill)
• Worsening listeria outbreak tied to pasta products kills 6, hospitalizes 25 (NPR)
• Why some health clinics are turning to AI to screen for tuberculosis  )NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort (404 Media)
• Musk could leave Tesla if $1 trillion pay plan is rejected, chair warns  (Reuters)
• US will share sensitive nuclear submarine technology with South Korea, Trump says  (AP)
• US government allowed and even helped US firms sell tech used for surveillance in China, AP finds
• ICEBlock app sues Trump administration for censorship  (NPR)
• What are the satellites saying? It's no secret if they're not encrypted. (KPBS)
• Study finds humans were making fire 400,000 years ago, far earlier than once thought (AP)
• A confidential manifesto lays out Isaacman's sweeping new vision for NASA (Politico)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

File photo: Rabbi Ysroel Godstein of Poway

December 15, 2025 (Poway) – Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the nephew of Chabad Poway’s founding Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, was among 16 people murdered in a mass shooting yesterday during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

Goldstein was injured during the April 2019 shooting at Chabad Poway, when he lost a finger and was credited with leading children to safety. 

By Heidi Hope

December 15, 2025 (San Diego) -- Hunting for an affordable apartment in San Diego County is a recipe for aggravating stress. Rents and living expenses in the city of San Diego are among the highest in the nation. East County communities are also too expensive for a single person working a low-wage part-time job to afford.

Scam rental advertisements and inappropriate landlords worsen the struggle for renters and potential tenants, as I have learned in my own difficult apartment-hunting experiences.

By Miriam Raftery

December 15, 2025 (San Diego) –  “Let the world see that when darkness tries to intimidate us, we answer with light,”  Rabbi Rafi Andrusier from Chabad of East County said today following a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia.

Rabbi Andrusier urged local community members to join in a local Menorah lighting at 3:30 p.m. today in San Carlos.

At least 15 people were killed and 38 injured when a gunman opened fire on a crowd celebrating the first day of Hanukkah today at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The shooter was disarrmed by a Muslim man who risked his life to  tackle the shooter from behind. A second gunman was also apprehended.

Authorities have called the mass shooting a terrorist attack on the Jewish community on this first night of Hanukkah, an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of a temple in Jerusalem where a small amount of oil lasted eight days in the temple’s Menorah, an action deemed a miracle.

Inmate suffered head and spinal injuries after being smashed head first into wall, left bleeding in cell without medical attention

East County News Service

December 13, 2025 (San Diego) -- San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Manuyag Flores was convicted by a federal jury yesterday of violating the civil rights of a man in pretrial custody at the San Diego Central Courthouse by using excessive force that caused serious injuries, writing a false report to cover up his illegal actions. Sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2026.

East County News Service

December 11, 2025 (Lemon Grove) – Deputies from the Lemon Grove Sheriff's Substation's Community Oriented Policing and Problem-Solving (COPPS) team ran a retail theft operation at multiple businesses throughout the city on December 10. During the eight-hour operation, deputies made seven arrests—six misdemeanors and one felony—averaging roughly one arrest per hour.

By Karen Pearlman and Miriam Raftery

From world-renowned conservation hubs to intimate, family-friendly rescues, San Diego's East County and inland region is a vibrant destination for wildlife lovers, animal aficionados and compassionate travelers. Here, you can enjoy close-up encounters with exotic animals, native wildlife, and rescued farm animals.

The area’s expansive network of nonprofit sanctuaries, educational centers and specialized rescue organizations welcomes visitors to see everything from exotic predators and native wolves to rehabilitated raptors and farm animals. Whether you're looking for a daily adventure or a unique educational tour, these sites offer myriad hands-on opportunities to support animal welfare, conservation and education.

By Miriam Raftery

Lodging opportunities in San Diego’s inland region have dramatically expanded in recent years. Several Native American tribes have opened up elegant casino resorts,  many also offering live entertainment, spas, and other amenities.  Many national hotel chains have moved into East County and Northeast County cities. 

Or opt for historic inns with rustic charm,  cabins, forested campgrounds, or eclectic options such as staying in a yurt, floating cabin, covered wagon, or at a llama preserve.

There are also private vacation rentals available through companies such as Airbnb, Vrbo, HipCamp and Booking.com, as well as through realtors.

Below are highlights of lodging options, from luxurious resorts and spa retreats to mountain lodges, cabins, campgrounds and much more to assure an enjoyable and memorable stay.

East County News Service

December 8, 2025 (San Diego) -- The San Diego filmmakers tenth new monthly gathering on Tuesday, December 16 will start with a red carpet and photo stations, include food and drinks for sale, and offer an “Improve your Pitch” panel of industry experts as well as “Spark Super Networking” activities. Creators and filmmakers are invited to prepare 1-2 minute pitches to deliver for critique by the panel, and co-host David Kamatoy will be leading fun, innovative networking exercises to help local film professionals meet the people they need to connect with.

East County News Service

December 9, 2025 (El Cajon) – An El Cajon man, 38, is under arrest for allegedly trying to stab and kill a female victim in a domestic violence altercation, as well as attempted murder of a police officer after he rammed a police vehicle.

Photo of Loveland Reservoir by Ostan Patton

By Karen Pearlman

Dec. 9, 2025 (Alpine) – Sweetwater Authority’s plan to leave Loveland Reservoir with at least 25 percent of its water capacity during the most recent transfer of water into the Sweetwater Reservoir has not gone as originally planned, as shared with East County Magazine on Dec. 5.

Sweetwater Authority (SWA), the special district that oversees Loveland Reservoir and Sweetwater Reservoir as well as the Sweetwater Dam, reports on its website that the reservoir has dipped down to 21.2 percent of total capacity (as of 8 a.m. Dec. 9) before the water transfer was stopped just after 3:30 p.m. Dec. 9.

SWA manages local water from Sweetwater and Loveland reservoirs, pumps from aquifers like the San Diego Formation and uses a desalination plant for brackish river water.

By Alexander J. Schorr

Image: CC via Bing

“Our Product is used to kill people.” — Palantir CEO Alex Karp, emphasizing the company’s role in enabling lethal military operations.

December 8, 2025 (San Diego) — Palantir Technologies is building the U.S. Army’s next-generation ground station, TITAN, using artificial intelligence (AI) to process massive amounts of sensory data to improve targeting accuracy. A March 2025 executive order by President Trump mandated data sharing across federal agencies, positioning Palantir as the primary vendor to build digital infrastructure for this effort— potentially creating a centralized database for American’s personal information. Palantir’s software has been central to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operations in tracking and identifying undocumented immigrants, which aligns with Trump’s immigration crackdown agenda.