Category: 1-HeadlineNews

Shea Serrano is beloved in the sports, movie and music worlds for his wickedly funny essays and podcasts on everything from Selena to the Houston Texans, Jay-Z to Jason from “Friday the 13th.” And yet his journalism is probably the least impressive part of the guy who’s probably the nicest cholo nerd in the world.

His latest book, “Hip-Hop (and Other Things),” is dropping tomorrow, Oct. 26. We talk about Shea’s unlikely entry into journalism, why Mexicans are perfect, why representation matters — and why, again and again, without question, he pays for fans’ utility bills and college classes.

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Hip-Hop (and Other Things)

Q&A: Shea Serrano ponders life and more in ‘Movies (and Other Things)’

Here are the songs they play at a middle school dance

A story about Tim Duncan

Disabled people get pregnant and give birth at the same rates as nondisabled ones. But their outcomes are often far worse — for reasons that can’t be explained by anatomical difference or medical complexity — and modern medicine has largely turned its back on them.

L.A. Times Metro reporter Sonja Sharp has experienced the discrimination firsthand, and she’s reported on the issue as well.

Today, she speaks with Dr. Marie Flores, a physician who uses a wheelchair and is trying to become a mother, and Dr. Deborah Krakow, the chair of UCLA’s obstetrics and gynecology department, about how our society treats the intersection of pregnancy and disability. She also shares her own story and describes why she sees disabled motherhood as a radical act.

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Disabled mothers-to-be face indignity: ‘Do you have a man? Can you have sex?’

Video: How disabled mothers are neglected by modern medicine

Three lessons from disabled mothers

Twenty-one years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that national adult cases of syphilis had reached their lowest levels ever, and entirely eliminating the disease among newborns seemed to be within reach.

But syphilis cases have risen dramatically over the last decade for both adults and infants — even though the disease is curable, and even though we could protect babies by getting pregnant people tested and treated in time.

Today, L.A. Times public health reporter Emily Alpert Reyes discusses this disturbing trend, what it says about our society and how to get the fight against congenital syphilis back on track. We also hear from someone who had a stillbirth because of syphilis and wants everyone to learn from her story.

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The number of babies infected with syphilis was already surging. Then came the pandemic

Two crises in one: As drug use rises, so does syphilis

1,306 U.S. infants were born with syphilis in 2018, even though it’s easy to prevent

Nearly half of imports in the United States go through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. They're the largest in the U.S., but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there's a humongous backlog of ships stuck at sea, making imported goods more expensive. The wait to unload cargo is so bad at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach that President Biden is taking action. Today, we're going to discuss the backup's repercussions with three L.A. Times reporters who cover the ports, the global market and the White House.

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Biden will announce expanded operations at Port of Los Angeles as supply chain crunch continues

News Analysis: Ahead of holidays, Biden tries to untangle supply chain mess

Port truckers win $30 million in wage theft settlements

This month, comedy legend Dave Chappelle released his latest stand-up Netflix special, called "The Closer." It immediately drew criticism for jokes widely viewed as transphobic, and it has created turmoil behind the scenes at Netflix. But there’s also been a backlash to the backlash, by fans who say social justice warriors just want to cancel Chappelle. One group is particularly well positioned to have insights on the controversy: LGBTQ comedians. Today, we hear from three.

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What LGBTQ+ comedians really think of Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special

 Netflix’s Dave Chappelle PR crisis has been years in the making

Netflix takes a hit over fallout from Dave Chappelle special

Tall, bushy, spiny and fragrant, the pinyon pine is a beloved feature of the Mountain West — and not just for its beauty. The tiny piñon nuts in the tree’s cones are so good, people in the region have eaten them every fall for countless generations. But as climate change continues to affect the United States, something terrible is happening. The piñon harvest is getting smaller and smaller.

Today we go to New Mexico, where the pinyon is the state’s official tree. We talk to Axios race and justice reporter Russell Contreras, who’s based out of Albuquerque and has an up-close view of the piñon’s slow disappearance. And a native New Mexican — Tey Marianna Nunn, director of the Smithsonian Institution's American Women’s History Initiative — tells us about the nut and tree’s cultural importance.

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Op-Ed: Pinyon and juniper woodlands define the West. Why is the BLM turning them to mulch?

Locally foraged piñon nuts are cherished in New Mexico. They’re also disappearing

Pine nut recipes: From small seeds, inspiration

The Black Panther Party, a Black power political organization, was founded exactly 55 years ago in California’s Bay Area and grew into a nationwide group that pushed for housing, food equity, education and self-protection. Several famous figures emerged from the group, including Eldridge Cleaver, Angela Davis and Huey P. Newton.

But history often overlooks those who do not serve in dynamic roles or who perform tasks away from public view. These people do the thankless but crucial work that keeps organizations running. Barbara Easley-Cox was one of these people.

Today, Easley-Cox recounts what she experienced as a Black Panther, from California to Algeria to North Korea and beyond.

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Decades before Black Lives Matter, there were the Black Panthers in Oakland

Opinion: 1969 SWAT raid on Black Panthers set the tone for police race problems

Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver tell Cal State Fullerton audience about militancy, civil rights work

California requires each publicly traded company based in the Golden State to have at least one woman on its board of directors and, soon, at least one nonwhite or LGBTQ person. That’s because of a pair of laws mandating diversity at those high levels — laws that are having effects nationwide.

Today, we examine the topic with L.A. Times national reporter Evan Halper. We also talk with Dr. Maria Rivas, who has served on several boards and frequently found herself the only woman or person of color there.

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California outlawed the all-white-male boardroom. That move is reshaping corporate America

Column: California’s controversial law requiring women on corporate boards is back in the crosshairs

Newsom signs law mandating more diversity in California corporate boardrooms

Wildfires across the American West this summer spewed out smoke full of particulates that darkened skies, created unnaturally beautiful sunsets and boosted health risks far and wide. This problem has been getting worse as the years go by. So how will we move forward?

Today, we convene our monthly Masters of Disasters panel — L.A. Times air quality reporter Tony Barboza, wildfire reporter Alex Wigglesworth and earthquake and COVID-19 reporter Ron Lin — to talk about what makes wildfire smoke special, how to protect yourself and what the future might be. We also discuss reasons to be optimistic. And no, we’re not apologizing for the corny jokes. You’re welcome.

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Wildfire smoke now causes up to half the fine-particle pollution in Western U.S., study finds

Wildfire smoke may carry ‘mind-bending’ amounts of fungi and bacteria, scientists say

As ‘diesel death zones’ spread, pollution regulators place new rules on warehouse industry

How to keep the air in your home clean when there’s wildfire smoke outside

It’s been about a week since a big oil spill hit the Southern California shoreline near Orange County. Tar sullied sensitive wetlands. Birds and fish died. Miles of beaches were closed. The L.A. Times newsroom has produced dozens of stories trying to understand what happened, and what we’ve found so far isn’t pretty: aging offshore oil platforms and pipelines — being bought up by companies that have a history of safety violations.

Today, we speak to L.A. Times investigative reporter Connor Sheets about the causes of the so-called Huntington Beach oil spill. And an environmental activist — Center for Biological Diversity oceans program director Miyoko Sakashita — describes what she found when visiting Southern California’s offshore drilling platforms in 2018.

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Full coverage: the Huntington Beach oil spill

California attorney general launches investigation into Orange County oil spill

Federal regulation of oil platforms was dogged by problems long before O.C. spill

How much would it cost to shut down an offshore oil well? Who pays?