Category: 1-HeadlineNews

Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Central America and Mexico as part of the Biden administration’s strategy to address this country’s immigration issues. Supporters expected a kinder approach than that of the Trump administration. But with three simple words — “Do not come” — Harris ignited controversy. Today, we talk to L.A. Times immigration reporter Cindy Carcamo about the backlash over Harris’ remarks, and whether President Biden’s immigration policies are markedly different from those of his predecessor. We also hear from Giovanni Batz, a Guatemalan American scholar, about how U.S. foreign policy has long pushed Guatemalans out of their homeland and toward El Norte.

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‘Do not come’: Kamala Harris’ three words to Guatemalans stir debate and backlash 

Guatemalan lives are thrown into upheaval by failed immigration bids

Documents Reveal CIA Guatemala Assassination Plots

The greaser. The hot tamale. The gangster. The maid. The narco. These and other stereotypes are how Hollywood has traditionally portrayed Latinos for over a century. Even as they have become America’s largest minority, and as their box-office clout has increased, tired tropes continue. Today, the L.A. Times published a huge package about Hollywood's Latino culture gap, and this episode is a continuation of that coverage. We’re going to talk about this forever trend with legend Edward James Olmos and beloved star Cristela Alonzo. Host Gustavo Arellano will also weigh in on controversy surrounding the recently released film "In the Heights" and its lack of full Afro-Latino representation.

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Hollywood has failed Latinos for 100 years. Here’s how to change that

Keeping Close to the Street : When It Comes to Being a Role Model, ‘Miami Vice’ ‘s Edward James Olmos, From East Los Angeles, May Be the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business 

Cristela Alonzo’s ‘Mixtape Memoir’ Is an Ode to Her South Texas Roots 

‘We fell short’: Lin-Manuel Miranda is sorry for ‘In the Heights’ Afro-Latinx erasure

Scientists have determined a mega-earthquake happens every 100 years on average in California. The last time a Big One — like a magnitude 7.8 quake, like the stuff of nightmares — the last time one of those hit Southern California, it was about 164 years ago. Back then, L.A. had a population of just over 4,000 people. The metro area is now over 12 million. So to coach us through earthquake anxiety, we’re getting together today with L.A. Times reporters Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia and Alex Wigglesworth, who cover wildfires, the coast and, of course, earthquakes. It’s our monthly panel of peril, our colleagues of catastrophes. In this episode, it's the second installment of our series — cue ominous voice — "Masters of Disasters."

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Read "Unshaken," the L.A. Times' guide to earthquake preparedness

Where would a major tsunami strike? Malibu, Venice and Long Beach, get ready 

From the archives: 112 years ago: Images from San Francisco’s devastating 1906 earthquake

On Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu lost the prime minister's post after opponents in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, approved a coalition government led, for now, by his one-time protege, Naftali Bennett. Netanyahu will now serve as leader of the opposition.  The new government is an unlikely group of politicians and parties from the left, right and center, united only by their opposition to Netanyahu. The vote to oust him may prove easier than the next part: What happens now? Today, we speak to L.A. Times global affairs correspondent Laura King about Netanyahu’s legacy and his downfall, and whether the new government can bring any peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We’ll also hear from Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian Canadian who lost family members to an Israeli attack, yet has emerged as a leading advocate for ... peace.

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Benjamin Netanyahu ruled Israel as a man of many faces 

He ‘won the lottery’ of Israeli politics. But Naftali Bennett remains an enigma

First priority for anti-Netanyahu coalition: Stay united long enough to get sworn in

California has one of the lowest transmission rates in the country. More than 70% of adults have rolled up their sleeves for at least one dose of a vaccine. But many people still refuse to get the jab. Public health officials worry they will be at particular risk of infection from other unvaccinated people once the state reopens. Today, guest host Erika D. Smith takes us to the front lines, where canvassers are making a final push to get holdouts vaccinated in South L.A. before the state reopens. We’ll also hear from L.A. Times columnist Sandy Banks about her struggles to persuade her own sister to get the shot.

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Shorter lines and TikTok ads: California’s push to beat vaccine hesitancy 

Column: My dad was a COVID-19 skeptic. But he got vaccinated, and so can your ‘pandejos’ 

COVID-19 vaccines: What you need to know about hesitancy and access

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is political royalty in the City of Angels. His father was a former district attorney. The mayor won his last election with over 80 percent of the vote. There were even rumors he would run for president in 2020. Now, amid speculation that the Biden administration will tap Garcetti as the U.S. Ambassador to India, people from Kolkata to Calexico are saying ... huh? Him? Today, we speak to L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez — who says Garcetti's ambition might actually make him good for the position — and to former Los Angeles City Council candidate Dinesh Lakhanpal, who's welcoming of the idea, if a bit skeptical.

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Garcetti likely to be named ambassador to India, source says 

Column: If Garcetti leaves early for India ambassador post, how will he be remembered? 

Letters to the Editor: Eric Garcetti as ambassador to India? Talk about failing up

When it comes to serving California's Black, LGBTQ (and Black LGBTQ) communities, Charles Stewart's resume is impeccable. The native of South L.A. worked for Rep. Diane Watson and former state Sen. Holly Mitchell, who's now an L.A. County supervisor. He has previously served as secretary of the city of L.A.'s LGBT Police Task Force, and he was editor at large for BLK, a national magazine for the black LGBTQ community, the first of its kind. Stewart is now retired, but we recently caught up with him to talk about his life, the state of Pride Month today, and much more.

More reading:

Queering the Black Press: Remembering BLK Magazine 

An issue of BLK Magazine at the National Museum of African American History & Culture

BLK Publications papers at the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries

It's been quite the year for the Los Angeles Public Library — and the COVID-19 pandemic is only part of the story. Inauguration Day saw a reading by Amanda Gorman, who got her start with poetry readings via the L.A. Public Library's youth program. And teen punk group the Linda Lindas got worldwide fame after a concert at the library system's Cypress Park branch. Today, we talk to L.A. librarian Kevin Awakuni about how the city's public library has turned into an incubator for making libraries hip worldwide. We also get L.A. Times columnist Patt Morrison to explain how a city long dismissed as an intellectual wasteland learned to treasure its libraries in the wake of a devastating fire.

More reading:

‘Whoa, this is crazy’: L.A. teen punks the Linda Lindas on going viral (just before finals)

How a 22-year-old L.A. native became Biden’s inauguration poet 

Who started the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Library? Susan Orlean investigates in her new book

California Rep. Katie Porter (D -Irvine) has been a political rock star ever since the progressive won the 45th Congressional District seat in South Orange County — long a bastion of conservative politics — in 2018. We talk to her about her Iowa roots, the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol invasion, her attempts at bipartisanship and the color of her favorite marker that she uses for her already-legendary whiteboard lectures during congressional hearings.

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Democrats loved Katie Porter when she bashed Trump. Now she is making them squirm

Video: Katie Porter’s “Whiteboard of Justice”

Video: Rep. Katie Porter on impeachment and the consequences of Jan. 6

The Laotian community in California is not large enough to support newspapers or television news programs in Lao, leaving monolingual immigrants especially isolated. So these immigrants have created elaborate phone trees with designated leaders that can spread important information to thousands of people within an hour. In sprawling California suburbs, the phone trees are an attempt to re-create village networks from back home. And it's a crucial service — one that's especially important because there are not enough Lao speakers for government agencies to translate fliers, as is often done in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. For instance, some Laotians did not know a COVID-19 vaccine existed until they received a call from the phone tree. On today's episode, our host is L.A. Times entertainment reporter Tracy Brown, and our guest is Times Metro reporter Anh Do.

More reading:

Elaborate phone tree links Laotian immigrants to COVID info, one another 

Column: Laotian Americans’ stories are obscured by history. That’s why we need ethnic studies 

San Diego’s Laotian community pushes for a place in California history books