National news outlets have published the story of an 8-year-old boy becoming the youngest person to climb the famous El Capitan.

But is it really true?

sfchronicle.com/california/art… El Capitan is the 3,000-foot-high granite monolith near the west entrance of Yosemite Valley that has challenged the world’s elite climbers for decades.

Authorities are asking for help identifying a woman who died shortly after she was found on fire on a trail in Antioch on Monday. trib.al/hAllMiC A resident called authorities just after 5:30 a.m. Monday to report a small fire on the Mokelumne Trail.

When firefighters arrived, they found a person on fire and worked to extinguish the blaze. The individual died from their injuries at the scene.

Some more sensationalist reports have called XBB a “nightmare variant ” due to its apparent ability to evade immunity and dampen some therapies.

But what do the experts say? sfchronicle.com/health/article… The subvariant was first detected in August in India and has since been sequenced in more than 17 countries, including Bangladesh, Japan, and Singapore, where it has caused cases to spike at an alarming rate. sfchronicle.com/health/article…

Concerns about a possible new surge arise from a combination of three factors, according to @PCH_SF:

1/ Human behavior
2/ Evolution of the virus
3/ Waning immunity from vaccines and prior infection
sfchronicle.com/health/article… “The question is not whether we will see an increase in cases and hospitalizations — we will — but by how much."

sfchronicle.com/health/article…

The Warriors can’t treat Green’s punch as just "Draymond being Draymond."

Here's why:sfchronicle.com/sports/warrior… In the eight years since Draymond Green emerged as an elite NBA player, the Golden State Warriors have stomached his antics — the impulse-control issues, the controversial sound bites — for a simple reason:

His positives far outweighed his negatives. sfchronicle.com/sports/warrior…

The video of Wednesday’s altercation between Golden State Warriors players Draymond Green and Jordan Poole shows it was more than just a scuffle:
sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl… As the video of the argument between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole went viral, columnist Ann Killion said she told herslef that it was being overblown.

This sort of thing happens all the time in the NBA, right?

Wrong. sfchronicle.com/sports/warrior…

Do you think the French Laundry is still worth the splurge?

The nearly 30-year-old, three-Michelin-starred restaurant serving $350 meals remains so hot there's a black market for reservations.

Vote and tell us your thoughts here: bit.ly/3CgL7BB Is the French Laundry is still worth the splurge?

Here's why one reader responded: Yes, it's worth it

Tell us your thoughts here: bit.ly/3CgL7BB

California workers who use marijuana off-the-clock will no longer be penalized, per one bill among a package of cannabis-related legislation Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Sunday. trib.al/8q80nqh AB2188, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees for their cannabis use in their personal lives, will take effect Jan. 1, 2024. Workers can still be penalized for coming to work high.

Read more: sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl…

With a massive pyrocumulus cloud mushrooming from the fiery core of the #MosquitoFire as if it was an erupting volcano, firefighters took the fight to the blaze in of all places — Volcanoville.

sfchronicle.com/california-wil… The tiny town got its name from miners who mistook a nearby mountain as an extinct volcano.

By Saturday, most residents had fled, leaving behind fire crews sawing dead trees, dousing burning trunks and parking in driveways to protect structures. sfchronicle.com/california-wil…

Rice crops contribute more than $5 billion a year and tens of thousands of jobs to California’s economy, and the Sacramento River Valley is among the top producers.

But one side of the valley is faring decidedly better than the other. sfchronicle.com/climate/articl… West of the Sacramento River, many rice fields look “abandoned."

On the other side, green fields can still be seen from space, as shown in this satellite imagery.
sfchronicle.com/climate/articl…

Live Updates:

When will California's heat wave end?
sfchronicle.com/weather/articl… How long will the heat wave last?

What feels like an endless heatwave is peaking on this Labor Day, with widespread 105-110° F temperatures coating the North Bay, East Bay and Sacramento Valley.

Read more: sfchronicle.com/weather/articl…

In the U.S., heat kills more people in an average year than other weather extremes — more than torrential floods, tornadoes and cold snaps.

So what's causing California's worsening heat waves?
sfchronicle.com/weather/articl… A late-summer heat wave has nestled itself into the California-Nevada border, bringing potentially record-breaking temperatures across the state.

The cause? A heat dome: bit.ly/3KLPUPo

As the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day weekend is often a time to enjoy the outdoors. But amid an extreme heat wave in California, officials are stressing the dangers.

Read more here: trib.al/vO928MZ

📸: @jachristian @jachristian Stories over the past year of hikers and runners who headed into triple-digit heat and perished, like the family from Mariposa, are resonating with new urgency in a changing climate.
trib.al/vO928MZ

A group sent a letter to city officials this month, urging them to “take action” because the Castro community was struggling. “If the city can't provide the basic services for them to become a successful business, then what are we paying for?” trib.al/zCQoIJv For years, business owners in San Francisco’s Castro District have complained to city officials that homeless people struggling with mental illness and drug addiction have wreaked havoc on the neighborhood.

Read more: sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Cas…

A first-in-the-nation bill headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk this week would ban the sale of disposable, 1-pound propane cylinders in California by 2028. trib.al/h3LDwwD To reduce waste, Yosemite pulled single-use canisters from park stores two years ago. Now, the park sells only refillable tanks and runs an exchange program.

That type of system could soon become the norm for campers everywhere in California.

Read more: sfchronicle.com/travel/article…

JUST IN: The two-week search for missing Truckee teenager Kiely Rodni came to a somber end Monday morning after law enforcement officials delivered the news that a body found inside a SUV submerged in a reservoir is likely the 16 year old.

Read more: sfchronicle.com/california/art… Divers from Adventures with Purpose, a private search company, announced Sunday afternoon that Rodni’s body had been found in a silver 2013 Honda CRV under 14 feet of water in Prosser Lake, near the large late-night party where she was last seen.

sfchronicle.com/california/art…

Here is what experts say we know — and don’t know — about long COVID at this stage in the pandemic. trib.al/iCLUYyU Millions of survivors — including some who were vaccinated — have reported ongoing symptoms, from exhaustion and brain fog to racing heartbeats.

But has the proliferation of omicron subvariants changed the long COVID picture?

Read more: sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl…

Where do San Francisco’s Millennials move to the city from?

Here’s what the data says: trib.al/nHo3mZM New data shows a detailed window into the migration patterns of young adults — specifically those born between 1984 and 1992, comprising the bulk of the so-called “Millennials.”
sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl…

She secretly recorded the ballet teacher who abused her and helped send him to prison.

But Katie Wee said she’s felt little justice:

"I’m more horrified now than when I started the process.” sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl… Reluctant to come forward about the ballet instructor, Wee realized it was up to her to stop him from hurting more students.

She agreed to hide a recording device in her purse and go to a Daly City cafe to meet him. Police hoped she could extract a confession, or an apology.

JUST IN: John Hamasaki, a criminal defense attorney, former San Francisco police commissioner and outspoken critic of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, filed paperwork to run for district attorney.

trib.al/akEJ5L7 In an interview with The Chronicle, Hamasaki said he made the decision to run after becoming increasingly disheartened by Jenkins’ drug policies, and what he views as a deference to Mayor London Breed, who appointed her.

sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Joh…

New York is roaring back from the worst of the pandemic.

Why isn’t San Francisco?
sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sf-… There’s always been a disparity.

New York has 10 times the population of San Francisco, which is a blissful 30 degrees cooler this summer.

But the two coastal tourism and economic hubs have diverged in striking ways as they recover from the pandemic: bit.ly/3QlZ7zY