Category: 1-HeadlineNews

In this crossover episode with our cousin podcast “Asian Enough,” hosts Suhauna Hussain and Johana Bhuiyan speak with sociologist Anthony Ocampo. He’s spent his career studying the intersection of race, gender and immigration, which guided his groundbreaking book “The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race.”

Today, Ocampo also speaks about another facet of his work: what it means to be brown and gay in Los Angeles. And he reflects on Filipino nurses’ role in battling the coronavirus in the United States.

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Filipino American trailblazers speak truth to Hollywood through jokes and rhymes

How the Philippines’ colonial legacy weighs on Filipino American mental health

Filipino-led micro-businesses blossom in the pandemic at L.A.'s Manila District

Skateboarding is a mainstay of California street culture, from San Diego to San Francisco and beyond. It’s so popular that L.A. County filled outdoor skateparks with sand earlier in the pandemic so no one could grind on them.

But during the pandemic, skateboard sales surged — and communities long marginalized from the sport are now making their own spaces.

Today we talk to reporter Cerise Castle, who’s covering and participating in this rise, and skateboarders from various parts of America — including Washington, D.C., and the Navajo Nation — tell us why they skate.

More reading:

Skating can be a bridge in L.A. These 3 crews show how bonds form on four wheels

Skateboarding improves mental health, helps build diverse relationships, USC study says

From the archives: Skateboarders in urban areas get respect, and parks

Less than 4% of Los Angeles’ firefighters are women — a number that, despite the mayor’s goals, has inched up only slightly in recent years. Many of the female firefighters say their ranks are so small because of a hostile, sexist culture pervading the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Today, we talk about what women in the LAFD have been dealing with, including trash in their lockers, feces on bathroom floors and nasty remarks from co-workers they need to trust with their lives. We talk to L.A. Times City Hall reporter Dakota Smith, who has covered this hazing culture, and we also hear from Stacy Taylor, a retired battalion chief who pushed for better treatment during her 26 years in the department.

More reading:

Women say they endure ‘frat house’ culture at L.A. Fire Department. ‘The worst of my life’

Female firefighters, civil rights advocates call for LAFD chief’s removal

Firefighters sue over city of L.A.'s vaccine mandate

Every year, people in the American West die from scorching temperatures. Experts fear that the number of deaths is undercounted — and, that as the climate continues to heats up, the death rate is going to rise.

Officially, California says 599 people died due to heat exposure from 2010 to 2019. But a Los Angeles Times investigation estimates the number is way higher: about 3,900 deaths.

Today we talk to Tony Barboza and Anna M. Phillips, who, along with Sean Greene and Ruben Vives, spearheaded the L.A. Times investigation. We discuss why their count is so different from the state's, who's most vulnerable to the heat and how to protect yourself. 

More reading:

Heat waves are far deadlier than we think. How California neglects this climate threat

Climate change is supercharging California heat waves, and the state isn’t ready

Poor neighborhoods bear the brunt of extreme heat, ‘legacies of racist decision-making’

The Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California is Mexico’s premier wine country, a lush valley that makes Napa seem as gorgeous as a parking lot.

But a lot of development is coming to the Valle — and many locals aren’t happy.

Today, we travel to this beautiful, contested space with two experts. Javier Cabral is the editor of LA Taco and wrote about a recent anti-development protest there. Javier Plascencia, a pioneering chef, has seen Valle grow and wants the world to come in — in a sustainable way.

More reading:

Is Valle de Guadalupe over? The fight to protect Mexican wine country

10 things to know about Chef Javier Plascencia

Baja is making a lot more great wine than you might think

Over the next two weeks, leaders from nearly 200 countries are gathering in Glasglow, Scotland, for a United Nations climate summit known as COP26. They’ll tell us what we’ve heard before: that scientists have warned about rising oceans, sinking cities, famines and millions of refugees if we don’t dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Officials will tell us we all need to act ASAP. But the fate of humanity really rests with a handful of countries.

Today, we’re gathering our panel of correspondents from across the globe – L.A. Times Beijing bureau chief Alice Su, Seoul correspondent Victoria Kim, Singapore correspondent David Pierson and Mexico City correspondent Kate Linthicum – to focus on a few crucial countries in the fight against climate change and why it’s been so difficult for them to reduce their emissions.

More reading:

G-20 summit fails to bridge divides on pandemic and climate change

The Amazon is still burning. Can U.N. summit in Glasgow address such climate failures?

What U.S.-China tension means for fighting climate change

For decades, late October meant one holiday in American popular culture: Halloween. But over the past couple of decades, more and more people are also marking another fall festival: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

Today, we get into how this Mexican holiday took hold in the United States: its history, its customs, how it’s different here from the way it’s observed in Mexico. We talk to L.A. Times culture reporter Daniel Hernandez, who has written extensively about the subject. And we talk to Alexis Meza de los Santos, a mexicana who grew up in Kentucky and has seen Día de los Muertos spread across the South.

More reading:

Contribute to our digital Día de Muertos altar

Here’s the story behind Día de Muertos altars — and how you can build one

Tamales, salt and bread ‘bones’: How foods are central to Day of the Dead

On Oct. 11, 1985, Palestinian American activist Alex Odeh opened the door to the Orange County offices of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. He served as its West Coast regional director. The moment he turned the doorknob, a bomb went off. Thirty-six years later, his assassination remains officially unsolved, but his family thinks the United States government knows more than it wants to admit.

Decades after Odeh’s killing, Hugh Mooney, one of the first police officers on the scene, has begun speaking about what he heard and saw. Today, we hear from him and talk with TimesOC reporter Gabriel San Román, who has followed the investigation into Odeh’s killing for more than a decade. We’ll also hear from Odeh’s daughter Helena and the voice of Odeh himself.

More reading:

Amid new revelations, Alex Odeh’s assassination remains unsolved

Answers sought in 1985 slaying of Palestinian activist Alex Odeh

L.A.-Born JDL man a suspect in ’85 slaying of Alex Odeh

Vigils from Southern California to Albuquerque were held last weekend to mark the death of Halyna Hutchins. The up-and-coming cinematographer was working on the film “Rust,” a Western that featured Alec Baldwin as an actor and producer. Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to figure out how Baldwin was handed a gun with a live round despite being assured it was safe.

Today, we talk about the fatal incident. We check in with L.A. Times reporters Wendy Lee and Meg James — who cover the business of entertainment — about what happened on that set, whether the tragedy could lead to workplace safety changes in the film and television industry, and whether the clash between unionized crew members and Hollywood producers is about to flare up all over again.

More reading:

Search warrant reveals grim details of ‘Rust’ shooting and Halyna Hutchins’ final minutes

‘Rust’ crew describes on-set gun safety issues and misfires days before fatal shooting

Lack of gun safety killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust.’ How did this happen?

Hundreds of thousands of sailors worldwide are stuck on cargo ships far longer than they’d intended, with few chances to contact the outside. Usually ports offer opportunities for a break, but most of these sailors haven’t had access to COVID-19 vaccines, so they’re not allowed to set foot in the United States.

Today, L.A. Times Business reporter Ronald D. White takes us to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s largest. A huge backlog of cargo ships is waiting offshore for a turn to unload merchandise. Meanwhile, the crews aboard are going nowhere fast — and there’s basically no internet access, no visitors, no nice restaurant food delivery. They’re trapped.

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They’ve been stuck for months on cargo ships now floating off Southern California. They’re desperate

When will supply chains be back to normal? And how did things get so bad?

A tangled supply chain means shipping delays. Do your holiday shopping now