Operating as a landfill from 1938 to 1984, the Ascon Landfill in Huntington Beach, Orange County, is now a vacant 38-acre site. Most of the waste occupying the area came from oil drilling operations and construction projects, which were deposited into open lagoons and pits. Since then, remediation projects have been occurring in multiple phases, with the final site remediation work beginning in January 2019. However, soon after, two notices of violations were issued for the r

After a heavy storm, water rushes to the streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and neighborhoods. This may simply seem like rain disappearing into a drain. However, that water carries much more than simply rain. While on its way from rushing into the drains, it can pick up oil from roads, bacteria from pet waste, pesticides from lawns, and trash from sidewalks. All that goes into drains, moving through channels, creeks, rivers, and eventually the ocean. In order to regulate thes

On a sunny afternoon along the Orange County coastline, most visitors run, walk, surf, or enjoy the view. However, some people are there for another reason: to watch. Through a program called MPA Watch, trained volunteers observe human activity in and around Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs. Holding a clipboard, a sheet of paper, or even a phone, they record everything they see along the coast: fishing, boats, tidepooling, wildlife viewing, or even simply reading a book. The

The ocean is a place of relaxation, beauty, and life. However, in a lot of places, the exact water that gives us the 5-star Michelin pleasure is facing a significant threat: harmful algal blooms. Harmful algal blooms occur when the water conditions align to support rapid algal growth, producing an uncontrollable amount of algae that produce toxins that hurt people and other marine animals. According to the Centers for Disease Control, harmful algal blooms occur based on four

A trip to the supermarket has become extremely expensive over the past few years. Fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs, and every other daily food have been harder to afford than they used to. Inflation, labor costs, and supply chains have a huge impact on food prices, but another factor has been making an immense contribution: climate change. Climate change and food prices may seem completely unrelated at first. However, one of the reasons that the two are closely related is that

Climate change is one of the biggest problems that the world is facing today. However, for many people, climate change can feel distant, or even overwhelming. The endless policies, scientific reports, and statistics are all crucial to climate change, but it is often hard for the public to understand. But with modern technology, we have developed a bridge to connect the public to these seemingly distant issues. Through platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, influencers

For decades, computer science students learned through the same process: start with loops and variables, create algorithms, and after enough sleepless nights filled with syntax errors, emerge as coders. However, the era of laborious hand-coding might be coming to an end. Powerful AI systems like ChatGPT and Claude can now produce the same code in seconds. If machines can code quicker – and better, perhaps – what's left for humans? This question is shaping classrooms, career

Over 2000 schools remain test-optional, but some are beginning to reverse the policy. For the first time in decades, college admissions were more based on essays, grades, and activities–and less on numbers. However, in 2025, the numbers are starting to come back as a huge part of college admissions. This year, several top universities, including Harvard and Yale, have announced that they will be bringing back SAT or ACT scores. Ever since the pandemic, thousands of schools a

Waking up in the morning to pack your bag for school. Waking up the next day to pack your suitcase to go back to your home country. Or being admitted into your dream college and having no way to get there. This is the shocking reality of many international students. After Donald Trump’s return to office in January of 2025, the following months have been filled with visa revocations, application freezes, and visa anxiety. A similar situation occurred in 2020 when the Trump ad

In an era where academic achievements and getting into top universities are students' highest priorities, a question lingers: Are Visual And Performing Arts (VAPA) still valued in our education system? As schools and students strive to boost performance in STEM fields, creative fields like music, art, and drama are quietly being pushed aside. Although a large portion of students indeed take a VAPA class, most are taking those classes to “fill up their extracurricular activit

In classrooms across the country, a revolution is taking place. Classrooms are no longer filled with the sound of textbook pages flipping or the swishing sound of pencils. In fact, even the sounds of keyboards have diminished. Now, students rely on their computers to ask AIs to read their textbooks, summarize articles, and write essays. From a higher perspective, it’s possible to say that AI has begun to even think for them. From OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Google’s Gemini, new tech

It always starts small. You like one video about workouts, and your screen is flooded with countless workouts and diets. You watch a video game clip, and before you know it, hours have flown by, and you're still watching the same video game. The scariest part? You did not choose any of the videos. This is the world of algorithmic recommendations: the invisible force that chooses what you watch, listen to, and believe. Algorithms are everywhere. The “For You” page on TikTok,

No matter the weekend or weekday, morning or night, boba shops are crowded with a colorful palette of crowds ranging from students to adults. However, behind this colorful image lies a chaotic market booming with rapid trend shifts, competition, and tight margins. Boba has risen as a worldwide trend enjoyed by many and now serves as a staple dessert or appetizer for a huge population. However, for shop owners, boba means more than just a tasty dessert. It means a fierce batt

As winter gives way to spring, the ice melts into clear water, awakening life. The arrival of spring is vividly apparent in Insa-dong, a charming locale nested in Jongro-gu, where Korean tradition meets modernity. Here, visitors can explore an array of artisan handicrafts, including antique ceramics and accessories, alongside traditional Korean foods and refreshments. This charming district offers a tranquil retreat from the fast-paced modern world, embodying spring's serene

Flash, the infamous DMV worker from the movie Zootopia, might have found his dream job behind the counters at our very own DMVs. For anyone trying to either renew a license, take permit tests, or get a REAL ID, this hypothesis was brought to reality. Lines crawl, paperwork barely gets processed, and wait times stretch over hours. Although the California DMV has rolled out its ambitious digital options that “empower customers to avoid DMV office visits, with 27 million online

Even before everyone’s Bruno Mars or Taylor Swift starts singing, the crowd's energy reaches its peak, leading to a lot of shoves and pushes. A few minutes later, some are being pulled over the barricade by security, unconscious. This story may seem like fiction, or even 100% preventable if one is precocious of their surroundings. However, statistics say otherwise. According to a study, in 300 outdoor concerts over 10 years, 70,000 people suffered significant injuries, and 2

Sleek flying cars, sentient robots, and time travel–for decades, artificial intelligence has tempted us with its possibilities. But will AI, if left unchecked, simply exacerbate humanity's existing social issues? Ever since the release of ChatGPT, AI has become a new buzzword in the media. Companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft are breathlessly racing each other to roll out the best chatbot. Meanwhile, actors and musicians are speaking out, with the SAG actors' guild go

As time ticked on, my mom’s Costco cart, full of frozen items, slowly started to melt. Having already waited three hours, my mom went to get groceries, thinking that we’d surely be done soon. But two hours later, we’re still stuck at the T-Mobile station at Costco, along with my mom’s melting shopping cart. And now, we are told that it is time for Costco to close and that we should come back tomorrow. Ads always promise seamless transfers, better coverage, and cheaper bills.

Cirra AI: Connecting Care through Understanding When I first started my internship at CHOC, I thought data was simple. Numbers in, numbers out. But I quickly learned that hospitals speak different languages, not in words but in the way they record care. When a patient was transferred to another hospital like CHLA, information like medications, allergies, or lab results would go missing. I watched doctors scroll through dozens of files, frustrated, trying to piece together a p

Written by Keith Jung This month marks the one year of the 1.6 billion dollar lawsuit against Fox News for gatekeeping information. Media...