What you need to know in SoCal February 8, 2022 – Spectrum News 1

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Good morning, SoCal. Here’s what you need to know today.
Tuesday will start off with a variety of temperatures. Wind protected valleys and the high desert will start off in the 30s and 40s. A few isolated high desert locations will start off in the 20s.
Other basin and coastal locations will wake up to 40s, while places where the offshore winds continue will start off in the 50s.
Other than a few passing high clouds, skies will be mostly sunny.
Temperatures will run above seasonal averages with widespread 70s. Our warmest valley and IE locations will climb into the low 80s.
Santa Ana winds will continue in the wind prone mountains, passes and canyons with gusts close to 40 mph. The coast will get a pleasant sea breeze in the afternoon, which will help to keep temperatures from getting too warm. 
 
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Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County
 
1. LA County still requires masks as state moves to ease rule
State officials announced Monday the indoor mask wearing requirement for vaccinated people will expire at the end of the day Feb. 15. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the move is the result of a 65% drop in the infection rate since the peak of the winter surge caused by the omicron variant of COVID-19, as well as a stabilization in hospitalization numbers.
The change in state policy will affect counties that do not have local mandates of their own governing face coverings — such as Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. In Los Angeles County, mask requirements will remain in effect for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people in indoor settings, as well as at large outdoor mega-events, such as Sunday’s Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium.
Last week, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer unveiled metrics for a possible relaxing of the county’s masking orders, saying the mandate will be dropped at outdoor "mega-events" and outdoors at schools and child-care centers if COVID-positive hospitalizations in the county fall below 2,500 for seven consecutive days.
As of Monday, there were 2,773 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals.
Lifting the indoor masking requirement in the county will require a more stringent standard. According to Ferrer, that requirement will not be lifted until the county’s level of transmission falls to the "moderate" level as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and stays there for two straight weeks.
Reaching the "moderate" designation requires the county to have a cumulative, seven-day new case rate of less than 50 per 100,000 residents. According to the CDC’s website, the county’s rate was 1,098 per 100,000 residents as of Monday.
The county reported another 29 deaths and 4,360 new COVID cases on Monday — numbers that are likely artificially low due to reporting delays from the weekend.
The 2,773 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals was down from 2,841 on Sunday. The number of those patients in intensive care was 592 as of Monday, down seven from one day earlier.
2. Orange County’s COVID January death toll surpasses delta wave months
Orange County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and case rates continued a downward trend Monday, but January’s death toll has eclipsed the worst months of last summer’s surge, according to Orange County Health Care Agency data.
The county reported 28 more COVID-19-related fatalities since Friday, with 24 of them occurring last month. That hiked January’s death toll to 200. The last time the county had a month reach that high a number was March of last year, with 202 fatalities that month.
The level of COVID-positive patients in county hospitals fell from 746 on Friday to 620 on Monday, with the number of patients in intensive care declining from 134 to 123 over the past three days. The county does not provide updates on data on Saturdays and Sundays.
The county had 20.1% of its ICU beds available and 59.5% of its ventilators as of Monday. Local health officials get concerned when the level of ICU beds falls below 20%.
Of those hospitalized, 84% are unvaccinated and 87% in ICU are not inoculated, the OCHCA said.
The county also reported 2,845 more infections Monday, raising the cumulative to 527,071 since the pandemic began.
3. ‘The Power of the Dog’ leads Oscar nominations with 12, ‘Dune’ close behind with 10
Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are one step closer to having their dreams of winning an Oscar come true following Tuesday’s nomination ceremony by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
This year, compared to previous years, 10 films were nominated for best picture with "The Power of the Dog" leading the way with 12 nominations, followed by "Dune" with 10 nominations.
Jane Campion became the first woman to be nominated for best director twice. She was nominated in 1993 for “The Piano.”
“Flee” also made Oscar history after being nominated for best animated feature, best documentary feature and best international feature.
Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz add to a short list of husbands and wives who have been nominated in leading acting categories in the same year. Speaking of power couples, Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst, who are also married, were nominated for their supporting roles for "The Power of the Dog." 
See the full list of nominees. 
1. Chen delivers record short program to begin Olympic pursuit
2. White House: Top scientist resigns over treatment of staff
3. Peloton CEO steps down; company announces 2,800 layoffs
LeBron returns, just in time
After missing five games with a knee injury, LeBron James returned to the Lakers’ lineup and delivered a 29-point triple-double as they rallied to beat the Knicks in OT. Allie Clifton and Mike Bresnahan discuss how the King’s presence stabilized the team. They also debate the difference between finesse and soft and how Anthony Davis is dispelling the narrative that he’s not physical enough to play inside. Plus, do they expect any big names to be moved before the NBA’s trade deadline?
A Super Bowl sign decorates the exterior of the Los Angeles Convention Center, Monday in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Rams play the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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