A strike impacting the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is leaving cargo ship traffic all backed up. The ships are stacking up as striking clerks resumed negotiations to end a strike which has paralyzed the country’s largest container port complex. Economic losses are estimated at several billion dollars as the strike enters it eighth day.

The CDC says flu season is already here and that’s a sign that it could be severe. A number of states are already reporting a spike in the number of cases. The CDC is encouraging people to get vaccinated for the flu now.

People in Northern California are bracing for more rain and snow as they try to dry out from last week’s storms. The next round of moisture could arrive as soon as this afternoon, when a chilly storm from Alaska is forecast to blow into the Sierra and the Bay Area. The storm should bring welcome additions to Northern California’s mountain snowpack.

The Inland Empire’s economy “appears to be continuing its slow growth.”  That’s according to the Institute of Applied Research at Cal State San Bernardino, which says imports registered a sharp increase last month.  Exports also grew.  A recent Purchasing Managers’ Index found that 16-percent of those surveyed predicted the local economy will get stronger heading into the new year.

An investigation is underway in Jurupa Valley where four men ransacked a local residence.  Police say the suspects took money and weapons from the Gemini Court home on Friday afternoon.  Their getaway car — a gray Mitsubishi — was quickly located and Richard Casillas was taken into custody.  Three other suspects are at large.  Anyone with information is urged to call police.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has some new faces. James Ramos and Robert Lovingood took their oaths of office yesterday.

A call is being made to allow women to become priests in the Catholic religion. The “National Catholic Reporter” wants the Vatican to reverse its long held stance.

Britain’s royal family is expecting a new prince or princess. Prince Williams wife Kate Middleton is pregnant. She’s in a hospital with acute morning sickness. The pregnancy is said to be in its early stages.