SANTA ANA

Orange County child dies from flu

State health officials say a child from Orange County has died from the flu this year.

It's the state's first influenza-related pediatric death this flu season.

The state Department of Public Health did not release details about the child. Orange County health officials said the child died in January.

Officials say flu activity in California has been upgraded to "widespread" this week, meaning there are outbreaks in at least half of the state.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday the flu season nationally is getting worse partly because the flu vaccine doesn't protect against most of the spreading flu bugs.

SAN DIEGO

Schirra's ashes committed at sea

The ashes of one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts have been committed at sea by the Navy.

A Navy spokesman said Friday that the remains of Walter "Wally" Schirra were committed to the sea during a special ceremony onboard the USS Ronald Reagan.

Schirra was the only astronaut to fly in all three of NASA's original manned spaceflight programs: Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. Although he never walked on the moon, Schirra laid some of the groundwork that made the lunar landings possible and won the space race for the United States.

The former Navy test pilot died of a heart attack in May 2007 in La Jolla.

SAN MATEO

Teen murder suspect escapes

A 17-year-old murder suspect escaped from the San Mateo County juvenile detention center by scaling a wall and wriggling through a hole cut in a chain-link fence, authorities said Friday.

Police issued a statewide alert Thursday night for Josue Raul Orozco, who was arrested three years ago in connection with a drive-by killing in Redwood City.

Authorities say Orozco is a SureIno gang member and should be considered dangerous.

He was charged in adult court but has been held at Hillcrest Juvenile Hall since his arrest.

Officials said Orozco escaped between 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Thursday, apparently by scaling a 10-foot cement wall. They believe an accomplice cut the 3-foot-long slit in the fence through which Orozco escaped.

SAN DIEGO

2 more people test positive for measles

San Diego County officials say two more people have tested positive for measles, bringing the number of confirmed cases in a recent outbreak to eight.

One of the new cases is an 8-year-old child and a classmate of the first person to test positive. The child attended a Cirque du Soleil Corteo performance in Del Mar Jan. 31.

An 11-month old infant also tested positive. The baby is believed to have gotten measles at a La Jolla health clinic where another infected patient was treated.

San Diego County is having its first measles outbreak in 17 years.

The county Health and Human Services Agency says it is waiting on lab results that, if positive, would bring the number of cases to 10.

—From wire reports