Air

For at least a decade, the owners of more than 3 million cars from six automakers drove around with air bags that could shoot shrapnel around the cabin in a crash. The problem went undetected by the world's biggest automakers and safety regulators on two continents until at least 2011, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Now those cars are being recalled. "This clearly should have been caught earlier," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.

WASHINGTON - President Obama's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, faced tough questioning from Senate Republicans at her confirmation hearing Thursday, in a clear signal to the White House that they will continue fighting environmental regulations as vigorously as they did in the first term. Obama's reelection, the gradual revival of the economy and the effects of climate change have not altered the viewpoint of some Republicans that climate change is suspect and environmental rules kill jobs.

Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel struck a mostly positive tone in the first debate of their runoff campaign for mayor of Los Angeles on Thursday, with Garcetti citing his work on redevelopment and budget balancing as former president of the City Council and Greuel pointing to a diverse resume that includes work in a family business, at the DreamWorks studio and as city controller. Both Greuel and Garcetti rejected the pundits and political analysts who have said there is little to differentiate them.

BEIJING - As Gov. Jerry Brown tours some of China's economic hubs this week, he is breathing the kind of heavy, soiled air that blanketed Los Angeles decades ago. The soot and smog that are byproducts of this country's industrial progress are choking its people and threatening its economy. Chinese leaders are talking openly about the need to clean up the air, and to learn how from California. So Brown and a large delegation of business and political leaders have come to lend a hand, as well as to leverage China's need into business deals.

The air show at Naval Base Ventura County, which had been expected to draw upward of 200,000 people with the Blue Angels headlining, is being canceled because of the automatic budget cuts called sequestration. "The community here in Ventura County is very supportive and we appreciate their understanding while we navigate the fiscal constraints we've faced this year," Capt. Larry Vasquez, the base commander, said Wednesday in announcing the cancellation. The announcement came a day after the Blue Angels announced that the famed squadron was canceling all of its remaining shows this year, including the Ventura County show, the three-day air show at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, and San Francisco Fleet Week.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two U.S. troops died in eastern Afghanistan after their aircraft crashed Tuesday, military officials said. The U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force said the cause of the crash, which took place in a field, is under investigation, although early indications are that there was no enemy activity nearby. Media reports said the accident involved a helicopter, but ISAF spokesman John Manley declined to verify the type of aircraft involved until the service members' next of kin are notified.

BEIJING -- The local media have given it a name: "Beijing Ke," or the Beijing Cough, defined by the China Daily as "a bout of persistent dry cough or throat tickle because of Beijing's poor air quality. " Earlier this year, the local air-quality reading was so bad that citizens were warned to stay in doors for days on end. The international media called it the "Airpocolypse. " For Beijing's 20 million residents, pollution has become a way of life. Even on the relatively good air-quality days, such as the ones that cold winds have brought here this week, locals take precautions.

In the absence of statewide regulations for hydraulic fracturing, Southern California air-quality officials have enacted their own reporting rules for the controversial extraction process driving the country's oil and gas boom. On Friday, the governing board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District adopted a rule that requires oil companies to notify the air agency 10 days to 24 hours before beginning drilling operations, including "fracking," which involves injecting large volumes of chemical-laced water and sand deep into the ground to break apart rock and release oil. That notice, including the location of the well, will then be posted on the agency's website . Under the new rule, companies are also required to disclose all the chemicals they use, a provision that sparked opposition from oil industry trade groups and Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil field service companies and a pioneer of hydraulic fracturing.

If, like me, you're holding yourself back from snatching up Tom and Ruth Jones' 16-acre Moraga Vineyards estate in Bel Air, you might want to stop into the Redd Collection in Culver City Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for a vertical tasting of wines from the estate. A flight is $50, which is a little steep but certainly a lot more affordable than the property, which is listed at about $29.5 million. (See a slide show here .) The tasting, which is free with a store purchase of $250 or more, consists of three vintages (1999, 2005 and 2010)

The 149 air-traffic control towers scheduled to be shut down Sunday due to federal budget cuts will be kept open for two more months, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday. The extension, through June 15, gives officials two months to deal with lawsuits regarding the closure, according to a statement issued by the agency. The FAA will also review "appropriate risk mitigations" and consult with airports and operators. The FAA had announced in March that they would close as many as 238 towers as part of mandatory federal budget cuts.