Here is what you need to know in the March 17, 2026, Streamline newsletter:
San Diego County is experiencing record-high temperatures this week, and some neighborhoods known as “urban heat islands” are bearing the brunt of the extreme heat more than others.
In the South Bay, the heat wave is intensifying foul odors, prompting concerns among residents. Dani Miskell follows through with locals who say the county-issued air purifiers aren’t solving the problem.
Meanwhile, the Better Business Bureau warns that scammers are using artificial intelligence to generate fake social media ads for weight-loss drugs — schemes designed to steal consumers’ money.
THE STREAMLINE
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TOP STORY
Staying hydrated and finding ways to keep cool are some things that are easier said than done for the San Diego communities considered urban heat islands — neighborhoods with more concrete and asphalt that absorb heat and fewer trees to provide shade.
In City Heights, new trees are taking root as part of a growing effort to shade a neighborhood that can run several degrees hotter during extreme heat like this week. Recently, over 60 trees were planted at Teralta Park as part of the Ready, Set, Grow San Diego program to help with this issue.
Recent data showed the worst impact is near downtown San Diego, but areas like Coronado, Chula Vista, and National City are also affected. Rural areas in East and North counties see less of an impact.
The group Circulate San Diego conducts walk audits to survey neighborhoods that experience the urban heat island effect and then provide data to the city.
With that data, the city can learn where to plant more trees and add additional green space.
On days of extreme heat, some experts say communities like City Heights can be up to 20 degrees hotter than other parts of San Diego.
One resident said, “It feels horrible, it feels miserable, I walk here every day.”
“Heat stays trapped, it's trapped here in City Heights, and our community members feel heat disproportionately when it comes to the general area of San Diego,” a member of Circulate San Diego said.
So far, the city has planted about 1,000 in City Heights, with the goal of planting 5,000 within the next five years.
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS
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Inland
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Deserts
BREAKING OVERNIGHT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel said Tuesday it killed two senior Iranian security officials in overnight strikes in a major blow to the country’s leadership. Tehran defiantly fired new salvos of missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel in a war that showed no signs of abating.
Both Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, were “eliminated last night," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an airstrike on the first day of the war, Larijani was considered one of the most powerful figures in the country.
Both men were key to Iran’s violent crackdown on protests in January that challenged the theocracy’s 47-year rule. Iranian state media did not immediately confirm either death. The killings would strip Iran of important leaders as the Islamic Republic faces its greatest test in recent decades in its war with the United States and Israel.
With concerns growing about a global energy crisis, Iran fired new attacks at several of its Gulf Arab neighbors and oil infrastructure throughout the region. Dubai, a major transit hub for international travel, briefly shut its airspace, the second disruption to flights in the city in as many days. An Iranian official defiantly said Tehran had no intention of relinquishing its tight grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil.
The Israeli military also said it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran’s capital and was stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Israel says it has killed two top Iranian officials
Larijani hails from one of Iran’s most famous political families. A former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser, he was appointed to advise the late Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration.
Larijani was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January as Tehran violently suppressed nationwide protests. It identified him as being “responsible for coordinating the response to the protests on behalf of the supreme leader of Iran.”
Soleimani has also been sanctioned by the U.S., as well as the European Union and other nations over his role in helping suppress dissent for years through the Basij.
Katz said the Israeli military would continue “pursuing the leadership of the terror and oppression regime in Iran, and to repeatedly cut off the head of the octopus and prevent it from regrowing.”
Iranian strikes pressure neighbors and oil markets
Iran kept up the pressure on the energy infrastructure around the region, hitting an oil facility in Fujairah, an emirate in the United Arab Emirates that has been repeatedly targeted. State-run WAM news reported that no one had been injured in the blast from the drone strike.
Early Tuesday, Iran also hit a tanker anchored off the coast of Fujairah, one of about 20 vessels struck since the war began.
A man was killed by the debris of a missile intercepted over Abu Dhabi, the eighth person to die in the UAE since the start of the war, authorities said.
Iran’s attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, have given rise to increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
A handful of ships have crossed through the strait, and Iran has said the vital waterway technically remains open — just not for the United States, Israel and their allies.
“They are flying, launching missiles, should we just sit back and do nothing in response?” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, asked in an interview on state television.
With Washington under increasing pressure over rising oil prices, Brent crude, the international standard, remained over $100 a barrel, up more than 40% since the war started.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to ensure ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz. But his appeals brought no immediate commitments, with many saying they are hesitant to get involved in a war with no defined exit plan and skeptical that they could do more than the U.S. Navy.
UAE briefly closes airspace as Iran launches new attacks on Gulf neighbors
The UAE shut down its airspace again early Tuesday as its military reported it was “responding to missile and drone threats from Iran.” The closure was soon lifted, and not long after the sounds of explosions could be heard as the military worked to intercept incoming fire.
The brief closure showed the balancing act Emirati authorities face in trying to keep their long-haul carriers, Emirates and Etihad, flying as Iranian attacks continue to target the country.
Countries around the region also came under fire: Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones, while explosions were heard over the capital of Qatar. Attacks from Iran-linked proxy forces continued in Iraq, where the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was hit with shrapnel from intercepted drones.
Israel launches new attacks on Tehran and steps up strikes on Beirut
The Israeli military early Tuesday said it had launched new attacks across Tehran and targeted Hezbollah militants in the Lebanese capital.
In Iran, it said it hit command centers, missile launch sites and air defense systems. There was no immediate confirmation from Iran, where little information has been coming out due to internet outages, round-the-clock airstrikes and tight restrictions on journalists.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the start of the conflict, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.
Israel did not immediately release details of its attacks on Lebanon, but the Lebanese army said two of its soldiers were seriously wounded in an airstrike on the village of Kfar Sir.
Israel’s strikes have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese — or roughly 20% of the population — according to the Lebanese government, which says some 850 people have been killed.
Some Israeli troops have pushed into southern Lebanon, and there are fears Israel is preparing a large-scale invasion.
Israel reported two Iranian salvos early Tuesday fired toward Tel Aviv and an area south of the Sea of Galilee, and then more later in the day. More launches from Lebanon were also reported.
In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.
Story by Jon Gambrell, David Rising and Sam Magdy, Associated Press
CONSUMER
You’ve probably seen that social media ad for a miracle weight-loss gummy or a celebrity-endorsed pill that promises to take the pounds off -- but the Better Business Bureau says it’s likely a scam, possibly created by AI.
WATCH — Joe Ducey with the BBB goes over the red flags you should watch for so you don’t lose hundreds of dollars:
WE FOLLOW THROUGH
The heat is making the South Bay’s sewage stench even worse, and residents say their air purifiers are failing -- with their dirty filters telling the story.
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