Headlines From The Times

For the past two decades, Disney’s reputation in the LGBTQ community has been stellar. It was one of the first Fortune 500 companies to offer same-sex couple benefits. And tens of thousands of people attend their unofficial Gay Days. More and more out characters are appearing in television shows, movies and cartoons. But critics now say Disney has thrown away all that goodwill. Just another thing...

Today, hearings will begin to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson’s a different type of judge, a Black woman for starters — she’d be the first ever on the Supreme Court — but she also brings unprecedented professional and life experiences. But even if she’s confirmed, how much influence can a history maker really have...

Thousands of students apply to UC Berkeley every year. It’s one of the most applied-to universities in the entire U.S. But the city of Berkeley is also emblematic of our nationwide housing crisis. Which is why residents and the university have been locked in a legal battle over enrollment numbers. Today, we delve into the latest town-versus-gown throw-down. More reading: Lawmakers unveil rescue ef...

Last May, the Palisades fire ripped through the Santa Monica Mountains. About 1,000 people were put under mandatory evacuation orders, and about 500 homes were threatened by the flames. As that emergency was unfolding, the guy in charge of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s operations center overseeing the fire was allegedly intoxicated. That’s according to an investigation commissioned by city off...

There’s been a new Cold War brewing for years now between the United States and China. And a big battleground on that front is Central America. Today, we look into how China’s billions of dollars and influence in Central America could strengthen a new generation of regimes hostile to the U.S. More reading: In Latin America’s new Cold War, will China lift up autocrats? Taiwan loses one of its last...

Something disturbing has happened since the last time most of us took vacations — it’s getting harder to clean rooms because of COVID-19 protocols. Hotel workers say ever since the pandemic started, their work has been harder and dirtier than ever. Today, we hear from one of those workers. More reading: How the pandemic made hotel housekeeping more difficult — and disgusting Tourists are back: L.A...

Dr. Warren Hern has seen the past, present and future of the abortion debate in the United States. The Colorado doctor remembers treating women for illegal abortions, was there for the opening arguments of the landmark Supreme Court case Roe vs. Wade — and now fears what might happen if it’s struck down. Today, Dr. Hern talks about his career. More reading: As a med student, he saw women nearly di...

Here in the United States, we’re already feeling the cost of Russia’s war in a place none of us can escape: the rising price of oil. Today, we look into how global conflicts upend global energy supplies and efforts to fight climate change, how gas prices keep getting higher and might continue to rise, and what can be done about it. More reading: How high could gas prices go? More pain at the pump...

Greg Bledsoe is a former morning news anchor for NBC 7 in San Diego. About a year ago, he, his wife and their two children got into an SUV and began to drive. Forty-four states, more than 20 national parks and more than 27,000 miles later, they’re still at it. Today, Greg shares with us some of their stories — and lessons. More reading: Follow the Bledsoes’ adventures on Instagram Opinion: I live...

For more than a month now, L.A. Times Middle East Bureau Chief Nabih Bulos has been on the ground in Ukraine, covering the escalating Russian invasion. Bulos has seen fierce fighting by Ukrainians, nonstop bombardment by Russians, hope and fear and chaos. He’s crisscrossed Ukraine to hear residents tell their stories. Today, he talks to us about what he has seen. More reading: Raining rockets, sca...

The European Union is doing everything possible to welcome Ukrainian refugees. And people around the world have donated money and supplies to help. But this open-arms response has people in similar situations wondering: Why so much goodwill toward Ukrainians, and not us? Today, we talk about the media’s role in deciding who is the “right” type of refugee — and how that helps or hinders displaced p...

Ariana DeBose has made history as the first Afro-Latino and openly queer woman to be nominated for an acting Academy Award. In this crossover episode with “The Envelope,” DeBose talks about the expectations she must carry, her experience with “West Side Story” and more. More reading: Ariana DeBose wants you to feel Anita’s presence before you even hear her ‘West Side Story’s’ Ariana DeBose makes t...

Aaron Bray is a San Diego native who’s lived the last couple of years in Kharkiv, Ukraine, after a stint with the Peace Corps. And now, alongside over a million Ukrainians and foreigners, he’s had to flee the country in the wake of Russia’s invasion. Today, we hear Aaron’s first-person story about what it was like to leave his adopted home behind … and why he says he’s going back. More reading: Re...

A small, tight-knit community grew inside an abandoned building in L.A.’s Koreatown. The people who found shelter there felt lucky. In a city where unhoused people have to set up encampments wherever they can — in parks, on sidewalks, beneath freeway overpasses — this old building offered a real sense of home. But the people who lived there knew their community couldn’t last. More reading: In an a...

On Feb. 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping just hours ahead of the opening ceremony for the Beijing Winter Olympics. The meeting made headlines, and has people asking: Could China be the overlooked player in the Russia-Ukraine crisis? Today, we dive into the complicated history between the two countries — and whether Russia’s moves on Ukraine might serve as a te...

Gun violence has killed more than 100,000 people in Mexico over the last decade. Yet most of the guns involved are illegal, smuggled into the country from the U.S. Now, the Mexican government has had enough. Today, we talk about a federal lawsuit filed by Mexico against American gun manufacturers that seeks to reduce the bloodshed. More reading: Column: Don’t shield U.S. gun makers from liability...

As more and more workplaces have instituted COVID-19 vaccine mandates, a cottage industry has sprung up to help skeptics evade them. Today, we look into what constitutes a deeply held religious belief, how those beliefs can play out in the workplace, and what employers can do about shady religious exemption requests. More reading: Online pastors, form letters: The cottage industry helping workers...

In this crossover episode with “The Envelope” podcast, Maggie Gyllenhaal speaks about “The Lost Daughter,” her directorial debut. More reading: Review: ‘The Lost Daughter’ is quintessential Maggie Gyllenhaal, even though she’s never on screen Olivia Colman and Maggie Gyllenhaal dig into that ‘Lost Daughter’ ending Maggie Gyllenhaal is a natural-born director. Netflix gives her the spotlight

Americans eat billions of dollars of Mexican avocados every year. Demand is such that drug cartels and other criminal elements have muscled in on the business, centered around the Mexican state of Michoacán. This reality got worldwide attention Super Bowl weekend, when the American government announced it was temporarily suspending any avocado imports from Mexico. Today, we talk about this develop...

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his country would recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and send Russian troops there for “peacekeeping” purposes. The move immediately drew worldwide condemnation — but signaled the culmination of a decades-long desire by Putin to bring Ukraine closer to Russia’s control. Today, we talk to our reporter on the g...

Uber’s under fire over its treatment of transgender drivers after the Los Angeles Times published a story about the alleged mistreatment. Today, we’ll hear from the L.A. Times reporter who broke the story. And we’ll also hear more from an Uber driver who hopes other trans people won’t ever have to go through what she went through. Host: Gustavo Arellano Guests: L.A. Times business reporter Suhauna...

Marfa, Texas, is known internationally for its arts scene. But on the south side of the city, there’s this old school. It’s a school where teachers once paddled Latino students for speaking Spanish. Now, some of those same students — grandparents and retirees in their 80s — are working to save the long-shuttered segregated Blackwell School and make it a national historic site to teach the history...

A new podcast series from KPCC and LAist Studios called "Imperfect Paradise: Home Is Life" zeroes in on the battles over homelessness in suburban communities. Today, we air Episode 2 of this three-part series, which focuses on an effort in 2018 to build housing for unhoused people in the Orange County city of Fullerton. More reading: Listen to “Imperfect Paradise” Fullerton will start enforcing pa...

For decades, California voters and politicians have vacillated over the future of the death penalty. Currently, Gov. Gavin Newsom has put a moratorium on them and has ordered that death row at San Quentin State Prison — the largest in the United States — be emptied. Is this the end of the line for capital punishment in the Golden State — for real? More reading: California moves forward on plans to...

The U.S. labor movement has experienced a resurgence in recent years in sectors that historically have hired younger people. And one of the biggest battlegrounds is where you get your lattes. Today, we’re taking you to a Starbucks in Santa Cruz, where workers are demanding more from their corporate employer. This episode has been updated to clarify when the Starbucks store in Buffalo, N.Y. filed i...