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Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. County sees a sharp decline in drug overdose deaths in 2024
Accidental drug overdose and poisoning deaths plunged by 22% in Los Angeles County last year, according to a new report, marking the most substantial single-year decline on record. The 2024 overdose death toll of 2,438 is the lowest since 2019 and a notable drop from the 3,137 deaths recorded in 2023. The sharpest decline was in fentanyl-related deaths, which fell 37% from 2,001 deaths in 2023 to 1,263 in 2024, according to a report released Wednesday from the county Public Health Department. Health officials credited measures including large-scale investments in drug treatment and overdose prevention for the reversal of a long upward trend. 'It demonstrates that what we're doing is working,' said Dr. Gary Tsai, director of the county's Substance Abuse Prevention and Control division, citing increased prevention measures and other efforts. Even so, the county still suffers 'very high numbers of overdose deaths,' Tsai said. 'Now is actually the time to be pressing our foot on the gas even more.' While fentanyl remained the leading cause of accidental overdose deaths, its share dropped to 52% of all cases, down from 64% in 2023. Deaths involving methamphetamine also declined by 20%, the county report said. The report also detailed drug deaths by race, gender, age group and other factors. By age, adults aged 40–64 made up nearly half (47%) of all fentanyl deaths, followed by adults aged 26–39 (38%). There were lower rates for other age groups. When adjusting for population size, adults 26–39 had the highest fentanyl overdose death rate at 22.7 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by adults aged 40-64, young adults aged 18-25, people age 65 and over and youth 17 and under. The report noted that since 2021, rates among young adults aged 18-25 have consistently decreased. By race, Latino residents accounted for the highest raw number of fentanyl deaths in 2024 (508 deaths), followed by white (456), Black (232), and Asian (26) residents. However, the fentanyl overdose death rate per 100,000 was highest among Black residents – 29 per 100,000, nearly triple that of Latino residents at 10.5 per 100,000. Deaths were 17.4 per 100,000 for whites. Black county residents made up just 8% of the county's population but nearly one in five fentanyl-related deaths. By gender, similar disparities to 2023 remained, with males having a rate more than four times that of females. The report highlights the continued disparities associated with socioeconomic status. Residents in census tracts where more than 30% of families lived below the federal poverty line had a fentanyl overdose death rate nearly four times that of those in more affluent areas. These figures underscore the structural inequities that shape who is most at risk of overdose and who has access to resources, according to the report. This year's report builds on a shift first observed in 2023, when drug-related deaths in Los Angeles County plateaued for the first time in a decade, following years of consistent increases. In contrast, the 2024 data reflect a more widespread and significant downturn across nearly all demographics and regions, with sharp declines in both raw death counts and population-adjusted rates. Still, persistent racial and economic disparities identified in last year's report remain relevant: Black residents continue to experience the highest fentanyl overdose death rate per capita, and fatality rates remain disproportionately high in the county's poorest neighborhoods. Despite these continued disparities, Public Health officials are hopeful that their concerted efforts are having a meaningful impact on saving lives. Public Health officials say that recent expansions in prevention, treatment services, and so-called harm reduction measures — such as broader access to naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and safer consumption sites — played a crucial role in the dramatic reductions reported in the study. In 2024 alone, investments in prevention programs increased by over 260%, treatment services by 275%, and harm reduction programs by 500%, county officials said. Initiatives such as the Fentanyl Frontline campaign and the creation of a community resource hub, aimed to expand access to naloxone, reduce stigma, and connect residents to care and support services. Looking ahead, Tsai noted early signs for 2025 are cautiously encouraging. 'Preliminarily, we are seeing ongoing reduction in overdose deaths when we compare January 2025 to January 2024,' he said. That trend, he added, diverges from national preliminary data, which suggests an uptick in early 2025, though he cautioned these results can change as medical examiners continue processing cases for January 2025. Even as the county celebrates progress, Tsai emphasized that longstanding inequities, especially those related to race, poverty, and access to care, continue to shape overdose risks. 'Although we've seen the numbers go down across the board, disparities have been consistent,' he said. 'Clearly, even though we're seeing the overdose numbers go down, we still have a lot of work ahead of us.' In a statement, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that 'sustained investment in prevention, treatment, and recovery services is essential to ensuring every person in our community has the opportunity to live a healthy, supported life.' Los Angeles County residents can access 24/7 support for substance use services by calling 800-854-7771.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
‘Money can't sway me from Elon': Tesla engineer's blunt reply to Meta poaching email
Jun 24, 2025 09:16 PM IST A senior Tesla AI engineer has sparked buzz on social media after publicly sharing a screenshot of a recruitment email from Meta and shared his sharp response turning it down. Yun-Ta Tsai, a senior engineer at Tesla AI, posted a screenshot of an email on X, purportedly showing Meta approaching him to join their AI team.(Reuters, Representational) Yun-Ta Tsai, a senior engineer at Tesla AI, posted a screenshot of an email on X, purportedly showing Meta approaching him to join their AI team. The recruiter's message revealed that this was a 'final attempt' to connect, stating that the tech giant wanted engineering leaders like Tsai. 'I wanted to reach out one last time as I am sure you get many of these messages and wanted to make sure this one didn't get lost in the shuffle. I do really think you would find some of our new endeavours to be quite interesting. We need engineering leaders such as yourself to really make the dreams of the future a reality. Do you have a couple of minutes to tell you a bit more?," the Meta recruiter wrote. 'Making money without sense' Tsai replied to the email in his X post. 'Sorry, we are busy at launching Robotaxi and our devotion to the sustainable abundance,' he wrote. When asked why he was unwilling to take up the offer, Tsai said that he was not even slightly tempted. "No amount of money can sway me away from Elon. That's once-in-a-lifetime (probably history) opportunities. I enjoy tough environments. Making money without a sense of purpose would drive me crazy," he said. A report by the Wall Street Journal stated that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been reaching out to top AI engineers and researchers, offering pay packages as high as $100 million, to convince them to join a team to build his Superintelligence lab. Reports have claimed that the tech titan has reached out to talent at OpenAI and even tried to buy other AI startups.
Newsweek
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
US Security Partner Receives Submarine Boost Against China's Invasion Fleet
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Taiwan—a key security partner of the United States—has begun sea trials of its first indigenous submarine following its unveiling nearly two years ago. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese defense and foreign ministries for comment by email. Why It Matters Communist China has long claimed Taiwan—a self-ruled, democratic island—as part of its territory, despite never having governed it. Beijing has vowed to achieve unification with the island, by force if necessary. U.S. officials believe Chinese leader Xi Jinping has instructed the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to be capable of taking Taiwan by 2027. China has the world's largest navy by hull count, including numerous amphibious vessels capable of projecting air and land power from sea to shore during a potential island-landing campaign across the Taiwan Strait. In response to China's growing naval threat, Taiwan has been arming itself with anti-ship weapons—both U.S.-supplied and domestically developed. Taiwan forms part of the First Island Chain under a U.S. containment strategy aimed at restricting China's naval activities in the Western Pacific during wartime. Meanwhile, the Taiwan Relations Act obligates Washington to provide the island with defensive weapons. What To Know The Taiwanese navy submarine Narwhal, also known as Hai Kun, conducted "navigation tests" on Saturday and "floating navigation tests" on Tuesday in Kaohsiung Harbor, located in the southern part of the island, according to shipbuilder CSBC Corporation, Taiwan. During the floating navigation tests, the submarine's systems—including propulsion, rudder, electricity, communication, and navigation—were evaluated, the shipbuilder added. These systems will be fine-tuned based on the test results prior to the next stage of sea trials. The submarine, unveiled in September 2023, is scheduled to undergo three stages of trials at sea: floating navigation, shallow-water diving, and deep-water diving. The diving tests will require the submarine to be fully submerged at progressively greater depths and pressures. A fruit of our self-reliant defense policy and future underwater capacity that guards our waters, Taiwan's first indigenous defense #submarine has been named 'Narwhal' and was christened by President Tsai @iingwen this morning. — 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) September 28, 2023 The sea trials were originally scheduled for April, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. It remains unclear whether the submarine will be able to complete the trials and be delivered before the November deadline set by the military. According to a Pentagon report, the Taiwanese navy operates four attack submarines, while the PLA fields 47 conventionally powered and six nuclear-powered attack submarines, as well as six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Of the four aging Taiwanese submarines, two were acquired from the Netherlands in the 1980s and two were former U.S. training submarines built during World War II. The Chinese military has maintained a persistent presence around Taiwan with its naval and coast guard vessels, conducting exercises aimed at establishing a blockade around the island. Submarines would play a vital role in Taiwan's defense by countering any such blockade. Taiwan's indigenous submarine Narwhal conducts floating navigation tests in Kaohsiung Harbor on June 17, 2025. Taiwan's indigenous submarine Narwhal conducts floating navigation tests in Kaohsiung Harbor on June 17, 2025. CSBC Corporation, Taiwan What People Are Saying Chiu Chun-jung, Taiwanese Navy Chief of Staff, said in April: "April was the original goal [of commencing sea trials]...We are currently working on improvements and final calibrations to meet the requirements set for sea trials. That is our main goal." Specialist outlet Naval News commented in September 2023: "Although a domestic submarine, most of the major mission-critical systems and subsystems of the [Narwhal] are provided by numerous foreign contractors with long and solid experience in the submarine industry." What Happens Next Taiwan is expected to continue strengthening its defenses against a possible Chinese invasion from the sea, as China rapidly expands the size and capabilities of its naval fleet.
Express Tribune
14-06-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
Rice University students develop vibration-vest to guide blind dogs navigate
A team of Rice University engineering students has developed a high-tech vest to help blind dogs navigate their environments more safely and independently. The wearable, inspired by a Houston dog named Kunde, uses real-time spatial sensing and vibrations to warn animals of nearby obstacles. The project began when Kunde's owners, Grant Belton and AJ Price, contacted Rice's Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen for a solution to help their dog move freely after losing his sight to glaucoma. Four undergraduates—Adam Vuong, Cristiana De Sousa, Issy Tsai, and Santiago Brent—took on the challenge, forming a team known as "Kunde's Friends." Rather than relying on traditional mobility aids that allow animals to bump into objects for feedback, the students designed a vest equipped with linear resonant actuator motors. These motors, similar to those found in smartphones and smartwatches, emit directional vibrations when obstacles are nearby. T he stronger and more localised the vibration, the closer the object. A pair of stereoscopic cameras mounted near the dog's head capture depth information, which is processed in real time by a vision system housed on a custom-printed circuit board. This data determines which part of the vest vibrates, effectively giving the dog a "second set of eyes." 'The cameras create a depth map,' said Tsai, a freshman electrical engineering student who developed the vest's motor control system. 'The closer an obstacle is, the stronger the vibration on that side of the vest.' Building a comfortable, weather-resistant vest posed an additional challenge. De Sousa, a junior in mechanical engineering, noted the importance of creating a design durable enough for outdoor play but light and breathable enough for Houston's climate. 'It was a real exercise in creative problem-solving,' she said. The team divided responsibilities based on expertise. Brent, an electrical engineering junior, handled imaging and data processing. Vuong and De Sousa worked on system integration and vest design, while Tsai ensured the motor system remained lightweight and efficient. The use of open-source machine learning tools and low-cost electronics helped keep the vest accessible and adaptable. The team believes their design could be scaled or modified for other uses, including wearable rehabilitation aids for people. 'This project shows that with the right combination of low-power sensors and haptic feedback, it is possible to provide real-time spatial guidance in a lightweight, unobtrusive way,' Brent said. The current prototype has a range of up to eight metres and a battery life of about two hours. Kunde continues to test the latest version, which aims to reduce collisions and increase confidence during movement. The students showcased their invention at the 2025 Huff OEDK Showcase in April. By addressing a specific need with scalable technology, the project may have broader implications beyond helping blind dogs—potentially influencing future wearable tech for humans.
The Star
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Alibaba staff worked through holiday after DeepSeek breakthrough
Alibaba realised it had fallen behind in AI after the introduction of DeepSeek's R1 model, Tsai (pic) said at the VivaTech conference in Paris on June 11. — Reuters Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's engineers canceled vacations and worked through the Chinese New Year holiday to play catch up after DeepSeek shocked the global tech industry with its low-cost, powerful artificial-intelligence model in January. The Chinese e-commerce company realised it had fallen behind in AI after the introduction of DeepSeek's R1 model, Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai said at the VivaTech conference in Paris on Wednesday. He offered the anecdote as an example of how competitive the Chinese tech industry has become. 'Our engineering leads decided, they said, 'Cancel your Chinese New Year holiday. Everybody stay in the company. Sleep in the office. We are going to accelerate our development',' he said. 'Within a few weeks, we launched our version, which is the Qwen series of models, which is not bad. It's very, quite competitive.' Chinese New Year, one of the most important annual holidays in China as people use the extended break to spend time with their families, started in late January this year and extended into early February. Alibaba has since been releasing new models at a rapid clip as it pivots to focus on AI and especially artificial general intelligence. It has also pledged to invest more than 380bil yuan (RM 223.18 bil) on AI infrastructure such as data centres over the next three years. The Chinese company has secured a partnership with Apple Inc to provide AI tech for iPhones, Tsai said earlier this year, although the deal has attracted scrutiny from US officials. The returns of Alibaba's massive investments also remain uncertain. The company's March quarter sales grew a mere 7%, as its performance was dragged down by a prolonged Chinese economic slowdown. – Bloomberg
