Robert Garrova covers criminal justice for the LAist and KPCC newsroom.
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Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.An interstellar visitor is barreling closer to our sun, giving scientists a rare opportunity to observe an object from outside our celestial backyard. The comet 3I/ATLAS is just the third known object from outside our solar system to be found passing through. It's expected to reach its closest point to the sun by late October.Jameeka Marshall at the UC Santa Cruz said that the comet has always stirred people's imagination. "Could this be something that aliens — another civilization — sent to us? That has been starting a conversation,” Marshall told LAist.One of those scientists who you can shadow is Raja GuhaThakurta, faculty director of UC Santa Cruz's department of Creating Equity in STEAM.“This kind of sensationalism ends up ultimately... causing people to lose faith in more serious, evidence-based research and science. Not just in astronomy, this happens in every field,” he said. Part of program's goal, he said, is to demystify that evidence-based, scientific research, by allowing people to watch it unfold in real-time. For one, as the comet gets closer to our sun, more of its material will turn into gas, allowing scientists to study its composition. “When we have interstellar comets and asteroids, then they’re telling us about the chemical composition of things beyond the solar system,” GuhaThakurta said. The interstellar comet won’t be visible to the naked eye, but if you’d like to learn more straight from the experts, Shadow the Scientists will cover 3I/ATLAS topics at upcoming sessions on September 25 and again in late November. As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone. Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us. We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community. Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.Rain from Tropical Storm Mario moves out of Southern California. Here's what to knowLA28 announces tickets for 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will go on sale soon. Here's how to get themInvestigation underway into claims LAist unearthed about top LA homeless services officials L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority.Duplexes are now banned in post-fire Palisades. Here’s why they’re still allowed in Altadena L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding.Proposition 50: Allowing California to use new congressional maps to counter redistricting in Texas This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.Which schools get to have crossing guards? Here’s how LA is changing the system LA’s legal cannabis owners say multi-million dollar program to give them a hand up, instead left ‘complete debt and devastation’
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