Kids swapping outdoor play for TV as smoke chokes California
(World News Science)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A dull haze and the faint smell of smoke from distant blazes have blanketed many California cities for two weeks, forcing summer campers to stay inside, obscuring normally bright skylines and leaving cars covered with ash. Smoky air from blowing winds is nothing new in California, but air quality experts say it`s rare for the dirty air to linger for so long, a reality of ever-larger fires that take longer to extinguish. The haze stretches from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range to Sacramento and hovers over the San Francisco Bay Area, with most major population centers in between suffering air quality that`s considered dangerous for children, the...