Category: 1-HeadlineNews

In 2018, Gavin Newsom was elected California’s governor with nearly 62 percent of the vote. It was the largest margin of victory in a California gubernatorial election in nearly 70 years and cemented Newsom’s reputation as the state’s marquee Democrat. 

But now Newsom faces a recall election, and all of liberal America is asking: What happened? Today, in the second part of our series on California’s recall election, we examine the rise and potential fall of Newsom. 

The former lieutenant governor and San Francisco mayor seems like the perfect official to lead deep-blue California,  but now there’s a chance he might be on the wrong side of a historical political upset.

More reading:

 Read all of the L.A. Times California gubernatorial recall election coverage here

Q&A: What you need to know about the attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom

Column: In California governor recall, Latinos have a chance to cause political ‘desmadre’

California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, faces a once-unthinkable scenario: a recall. Election day is Sept. 14, just a week away. If he loses, his putative replacement would be one of the most conservative governors California has ever seen.

How did California, one of the bluest states, get to the point where a Republican might win the governor’s seat? How did that candidate, radio talk show host Larry Elder, become the top challenger? And what would Elder do if he wins?

Today, we start a two-part series on the California recall election, starting with a focus on Elder: his life, his beliefs and his sudden political rise. Our guest is L.A. Times columnist Erika D. Smith. 

More reading:

Everything you need to know about Larry Elder

Column: Larry Elder is the Black face of white supremacy. You’ve been warned

Column: Larry Elder says he’s not a face of white supremacy. His fans make it hard to believe

Inside Larry Elder’s base — longtime fans, new converts, evangelicals, Trump fans

Growing up in Queens, N.Y., Lucy Liu felt like she was from another planet — until she found the arts. But when the fiercely independent daughter of Chinese immigrants set her sights on acting, she was told repeatedly she wouldn’t make it in Hollywood, where opportunities for Asian American talent were scant.

Now she’s a household name.

In this crossover episode with The Los Angeles Times’ “Asian Enough” podcast, the actor talks about how her memorable roles — including Ling Woo on “Ally McBeal” and O-Ren Ishii in the “Kill Bill” movies — helped move the needle on Asian representation in Hollywood. Liu also discusses why she had to stand up to Bill Murray on the set of “Charlie’s Angels” and her feelings about the Destiny’s Child song that name-drops her.

More reading: Lucy Liu gets personal on fame, art and standing up for herself on the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ set

The U.S. has seen a historic number of illegal border crossings this summer — a 21-year high, according to federal figures. Why is this happening? One reason: Thousands of migrants are waiting in northern Mexico — some for months — to claim asylum in the U.S. because President Biden extended a Trump-era pandemic policy that effectively bars them from entering the country.

In Mexico, the migrants — many from Central America — are at risk of being kidnapped, extorted or killed by smugglers. Yet more decide to make the dangerous journey to the border every day, seeking refuge in the U.S.

41-year-old El Salvador native Rosario Yanira Girón de Orellana was one of them. Her body was found on a ranch in Texas in June. This is her story.

More reading:

Losing Rosario: A mother sent her daughter across the border. Before they could reunite, one died

La muerte de Rosario: Una madre envió a su hija al otro lado de la frontera. Ella falleció antes de que pudieran reunirse

Why Border Patrol is doing more to rescue and identify missing migrants

Fewer ethnic groups in the U.S. have been harder hit by COVID-19 than Native Americans. It’s killed them at more than twice the rate of whites. The pandemic has exacerbated longstanding health inequities, and a deep-rooted distrust in the federal government made tribal leaders fearful that members would reject the government-endorsed vaccines.

But the opposite happened. Native Americans now have the highest vaccination rates of any major racial or ethnic group in the United States. L.A. Times Seattle bureau chief Richard Read and Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez explain why.

More reading:

Despite obstacles, Native Americans have the nation’s highest COVID-19 vaccination rate

COVID-19 is crushing Native American reservations. But distrust of the government makes vaccines a hard sell

They know the sick. On Navajo Nation, contact tracers work to control coronavirus on vast lands

The pandemic has devastated national economies and the futures of young people. Few countries have been hurt more than Colombia. Since April, nationwide strikes — led by students, Afro-Colombians, and Indigenous people — have repeatedly shut down parts of the South American country. What’s happening here is a case study of whether the old adage of the Latin American left remains true in the age of COVID-19: Otro mundo es posible. Another world is possible.

Today, L.A. Times Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell, who was in Colombia this summer, describes the social and political fallout and how the U.S. is involved. And we’ll hear from Colombians themselves about why they’re angry.

More reading:

The pandemic plunged millions of Latin Americans into poverty. Young people are inheriting the consequences

Slain Colombian activist becomes icon of resistance as protests and deaths mount

Colombia reaches 100,000 COVID-19 deaths as cases surge

 

If you’ve worked from home during the pandemic, you probably haven’t used your local dry cleaner as much. Maybe you noticed a little bit more savings and thought, “Oh, cool.” But think about it: Your dry cleaner is run by people. If you’re in Southern California, they're most likely Korean immigrants. And if you’re not spending money, that means they’re not making it.

Today, we talk about the history of the Korean dry cleaner in the United States. How did people get into this business? And are their days of dominating it over?

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guest: L.A. Times San Gabriel Valley reporter Andrew J. Campa and Arroyo Cleaners owners Yoon Dong Kim and Stacy Kim

More reading:

Long a path to success for Korean immigrants, dry cleaners struggle in the pandemic

From the archives: Korean immigrants run 70% of Orange County’s dry cleaners and 27% of its neighborhood grocery stores

From the archives: Korean Americans move on to franchises

Tequila is the national drink of Mexico, wrapped up in the country’s mythology via film, song and art. But makers have long relied on American consumers — 72% of all tequila produced last year was exported to the United States. Now celebrities see Mexican spirits as a way to expand their brand and make easy bucks.

L.A. Times Latin America correspondent Kate Linthicum talks about the phenomenon. And host Gustavo Arellano gets a few people together for a taste test to see whether celebrity tequila can be ... good?

After that: a profile of wheelchair basketball player Josie Aslakson, who is competing in the Paralympic Games.

More reading:

Kendall Jenner, Michael Jordan, the Rock. How American celebrities are changing Mexico’s tequila industry

Kendall Jenner has a new tequila brand, and Twitter wants to know why

Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, natural wine and toilet paper: Sara’s Market in East L.A. adapts to the times

Welcome, new listeners! Here's one of our favorite episodes from earlier this year, with a brand-new segment at the end. 

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.

Also: We hear from an athlete currently competing in the Paralympic Games: Team USA wheelchair rugby player Chuck Aoki. 

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

The last time we talked to L.A. Times photographer and foreign correspondent Marcus Yam, he and L.A. Times Middle East bureau chief Nabih Bulos had just gone on a ride-along with the Afghan Air Force. Toward the end of the episode, the two mentioned how the Taliban was barreling through Afghanistan on the march to regain control over a country it last ruled 20 years ago. Now, the organization is busy setting up a government as the United States vows to withdraw completely by Aug. 31.

Yam returns to tell us what he’s seeing in Afghanistan, what people are telling him, and how Taliban members assaulted him, detained him — then apologized and let him go.

More reading:

News Analysis: What went wrong in Afghanistan

Encounter with the Taliban: Punched, detained — then offered an energy drink

As Afghans try to figure out Taliban’s new rules, burqas are barometer of sorts