Latest news with #UC_Davis
CBS News
14 hours ago
- CBS News
Mistrial declared in Davis stabbings trial; jury found Carlos Dominguez not guilty of first-degree murder
What comes next in the Davis serial stabbing case after mistrial What comes next in the Davis serial stabbing case after mistrial What comes next in the Davis serial stabbing case after mistrial A mistrial has been declared in the trial of Carlos Dominguez, the former UC Davis student accused of going on a deadly stabbing spree. On Friday, the Yolo County jury revealed that they unanimously found Dominguez not guilty on first-degree murder. On second-degree murder,10 jurors found Dominguez not guilty while two voted guilty. With the case declared a mistrial by the judge, a new trial will take place on the second-degree count. A new trial setting conference is set for July 24. Carlos Dominguez in Yolo County Court on June 27. Dominguez is suspected in the 2023 stabbing spree that saw two people, David Breaux and Karim Abou Najm, killed and a third, Kimberlee Guillory, wounded. Proceedings were initially put on hold after the former UC Davis student's arrest after he was found not competent to stand trial. However, the trial resumed towards the end of 2024 when a reevaluation determined Dominguez was now competent. Jurors were deciding on the charges of first-degree murder for the killings of Breaux and Najm, and attempted murder in Guillory's stabbing. Closing arguments concluded on June 6, with Dominguez's defense claiming he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the attacks. Prosecutors focused their case on proving the actions were premeditated, regardless of Dominguez's mental state. A number of people – including Dominguez's family, his ex-girlfriend, a former professor, along with health care professionals and law enforcement officers – were brought in to testify in the trial. Dominguez himself took the stand in his own defense, a move legal experts said was unusual. Prosecutors have said they would not seek the death penalty against Dominguez if he is found guilty.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Disposable vapes more toxic and carcinogenic than cigarettes, study shows
Illegal disposable e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, may present a greater danger than traditional cigarettes, according to a study from the University of California (UC) Davis. The research, published in the journal ACS Central Science, found that hazardous levels of several toxic heavy metals in illegal vapes could present a high cancer risk. Researchers used a special instrument to test the puffs from three popular vape brands — ELF Bar, Flum Pebble and Esco — that are not FDA-authorized for use in the U.S., but are widely sold by retailers. Rare Cancer Diagnoses Surge Dramatically Among Millennials And Gen X Three heavy metals — lead, nickel and antimony — were detected in all heavily flavored and lightly flavored devices that were tested. These metals are classified as carcinogens, potentially leading to various types of cancers, such as skin, lung and kidney, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read On The Fox News App All vapors exceeded the cancer risk limits for nickel, which has been linked to cardiovascular disease, asthma, lung fibrosis and respiratory tract cancer, per NIH. Brett Poulin, senior study author and assistant professor at the UC Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology, told Fox News Digital that he was shocked at the levels of toxic metals. "When I analyzed the first samples, the lead concentrations were so high that I genuinely thought the instrument was broken," he said. "The levels far exceeded anything in our past data, or even the published literature." Your Favorite Alcoholic Beverage Could Be Linked To Deadly Form Of Cancer, Study Finds One of the brands tested exposes users to as much lead as smoking 19 packs of cigarettes, the researchers discovered. Additionally, most of the disposable e-cigarettes tested in the study were found to contain greater levels of metals and metalloids than older refillable vapes. At one point, Poulin said, he physically opened a device and discovered that it was using leaded copper alloys, which are metals made primarily of copper with small amounts of lead. "These materials leached dangerous levels of lead into the e-liquid, even without the device being used," Poulin told Fox News Digital. "It remains unclear whether this was an intentional design choice, a cost-cutting measure or a manufacturing oversight." There is no known safe level of lead exposure, according to Poulin. "This neurotoxin poses serious health risks, particularly to children and adolescents, who are especially vulnerable." Daniel Sterman, M.D., director of the Pulmonary Oncology Program at the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center, told Fox News Digital that the study "clearly" demonstrates high concentrations of metal. "There are several health risks of vaping that we enumerate for our patients and their family members, [such as] risks of various lung diseases, including asthma, COPD and lung cancer," said Sterman, who was not involved in the study. The doctor noted that while it is challenging to establish a direct link of causation between disposable vapes and cancer, he does see cancer patients who use the devices. "Disposable vapes should be highly regulated by local, state and federal agencies, and restricted to those individuals 21 years or older," Sterman recommends. The doctor also called for the packaging on disposable vapes to clearly outline the many health risks, "particularly to teenagers and young adults." One of the primary limitations of the study was that only three disposable e-cigarette brands were tested out of the hundreds currently on the market. There are distinct differences in the metal leaching and profiles across all three brands, Poulin shared. "We still know very little about the metal content in the vast majority of untested disposable e-cigarette products," he said. "This gap in knowledge poses a significant public health concern, especially given the popularity of these devices." A spokesperson for the China-based brand, ELFBAR, told Fox News Digital that they refute the results of the study, claiming that they stopped shipments in May 2023. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter Due to ongoing trademark litigation, they are unable to market or sell products in the U.S., the company stated. "This market void has led to a surge in counterfeits, imitations and illicit variations misusing our brand name," the spokesperson said. "As such, we have every reason to believe the devices tested in this study are not genuine and were not manufactured by ELFBAR." The spokesperson acknowledged that smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease worldwide, noting that the recent study "continues to undermine public understanding of smoking cessation." The other two brands tested in the study did not respond to requests for comment. Electronic cigarette use among adults increased from 4.5% in 2019 to 6.5% in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Men are more likely to vape than women, while 15.5% of young adults between the ages of 21 and 24 reported using e-cigarettes, the above source states. For more Health articles, visit The UC Davis study received support from the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program Grant and the California Agricultural Experiment article source: Disposable vapes more toxic and carcinogenic than cigarettes, study shows
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Davis stabbings trial judge says jury has reached verdict on first-degree murder, hung on second-degree murder
A verdict has been reached in the trial of Carlos Dominguez, the former UC Davis student accused of going on a deadly stabbing spree, the judge says. The judge believes there is a verdict reached on first-degree murder, but there is a hung jury on the second-degree murder charge. More details will be released as the proceedings continue on Friday. Dominguez is suspected in the 2023 stabbing spree that saw two people, David Breaux and Karim Abou Najm, killed and a third, Kimberlee Guillory, wounded. Proceedings were initially put on hold after the former UC Davis student's arrest after he was found not competent to stand trial. However, the trial resumed towards the end of 2024 when a reevaluation determined Dominguez was now competent. Jurors are deciding on the charges of first-degree murder for the killings of Breaux and Najm, and attempted murder in Guillory's stabbing. Closing arguments concluded on June 6, with Dominguez's defense claiming he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the attacks. Prosecutors focused their case on proving the actions were premeditated, regardless of Dominguez's mental state. A number of people – including Dominguez's family, his ex-girlfriend, a former professor, along with health care professionals and law enforcement officers – were brought in to testify in the trial. Dominguez himself took the stand in his own defense, a move legal experts said was unusual. Prosecutors have said they would not seek the death penalty against Dominguez if he is found guilty.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Dietitian Shares The 1 Cooking Oil Rule They Follow For A Healthy Heart
Some people worry that seed oils (like sunflower, peanut, and soybean oil) are bad for us because they contain an omega-6 fatty acid (linoleic acid). But this, experts claim, does not actually cause the inflammation it's accused of creating. Kerry Beeson, a qualified nutritional therapist at Prep Kitchen, previously told HuffPost UK: 'Seed oils are objectively quite healthy, in that they're typically low in saturated fats.' Writing for UC Davis Health, cardiovascular dietitian Margie Junker, who focuses on how our diets affect heart health, shared that she loved flax and peanut oil. 'Liquid plant oils are rich in unsaturated fats, which reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and heart disease risk,' she said. But, she added, she avoids one particular type of fat for cooking. 'I stay away from fats that are hard at room temperature, such as bacon grease, shortening and margarine,' she told the university. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, most cooking fats are higher in saturated fats. 'Too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease,' the NHS added. Other solid cooking fats include ghee, lard, and butter. 'I also avoid tropical oils (coconut, palm, and palm kernel), animal fats (butter and lard), and partially hydrogenated fats,' Junker shared. Coconut oil has some of the highest saturated fat levels of all common cooking oils (86% to butter's 52%). So, while Junker said she 'occasionally' adds coconut oil or butter to a dish for flavour, she chooses not to cook with them. The British Heart Foundation recommends rapeseed oil as their best pick alongside olive oil, while Junker likes avocado oil most. But though some oils and fats are higher in saturated fats than others, fats of any kind should not make up more than 35% of our diet. 'Current UK government guidelines advise cutting down on all fats and replacing saturated fat with some unsaturated fat,' the NHS shared. Combining lower-saturated fats with moderation is key to better heart health. Are Seed Oils Really Bad For You? I Asked A Nutritional Therapist The Only 3 Cooking Oils Mary Berry Says We Need Sorry, Your Essential Oils Are Essentially Useless
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Union presses California's key bird flu testing lab for records
The union representing workers at a UC Davis lab that tests and tracks bird flu infections in livestock has sued the university, demanding that records showing staffing levels and other information about the lab's operations be released to the public. Workers in the lab's small biotechnology department had raised concerns late last year about short staffing and potentially bungled testing procedures as cases of avian flu spread through millions of birds in turkey farms and chicken and egg-laying facilities, as well as through the state's cattle herds. The University Professional and Technical Employees-CWA Local 9119 said that it requested records in December 2024 in an attempt to understand whether the lab was able to properly service the state's agribusiness. But UC Davis has refused to release records, in violation of California's public records laws, the union alleged in a lawsuit recently filed in Alameda County Superior Court. Read more: With bird flu cases on the rise, staff at California lab say they are overworked and burned out UC Davis spokesperson Bill Kisliuk declined to comment on the lawsuit's specific allegations. "The university looks forward to filing our response in court. We are grateful for the outstanding work of the CAHFS lab staff, including UPTE-represented workers, during the 2024 surge in avian flu testing," Kisliuk said in an email. UC Davis has previously denied that workplace issues have left the lab ill-equipped to handle bird flu testing. Kisliuk had said the facility 'maintained the supervision, staffing and resources necessary to provide timely and vital health and safety information to those asking us to perform tests." According to copies of email correspondence cited in the lawsuit, UC Davis in January denied the union's request for records regarding short staffing or testing errors, calling the request "unduly burdensome." It also denied its request for information about farms and other businesses that had samples tested at the lab, citing an exemption to protect from an "invasion of personal privacy." Workers at the lab had previously told The Times that they observed lapses in quality assurance procedures, as well as other mistakes in the testing process. Amy Fletcher, a UC Davis employee and president of the union's Davis chapter, said the records would provide a necessary window into how staffing levels could be hurting farms and other businesses that rely on the lab for testing. Fletcher said workers have become afraid to speak about problems at the lab, having been warned by management that the some information related to testing is confidential. The Davis lab is the only entity in the state with the authority to confirm bird flu cases. The union, known as UPTE, represents about 20,000 researchers and other technical workers across the University of California system's 10 campuses. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
