MELISSA MCCARTHY and OCTAVIA SPENCER in "Thunder Force."; Credit: HOPPER STONE/NETFLIX © 2021 

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William Jackson Harper and Aya Cash in “We Broke Up.”; Credit: Vertical Entertainment

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Archival still from the documentary "Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street"; Credit: HBO

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Tadanobu Asano (L) and Chin Han (R) in "Mortal Kombat."; Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

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Jason Statham's character H in the film "Wrath of Man"; Credit: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures

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Chris Rock as Detective Zeke Banks in the film "Spiral."; Credit: Lionsgate

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Toni Collette (center) in the film "Dream Horse."

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Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and Emily Blunt return in “A Quiet Place, Part II.”; Credit: Paramount Pictures

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Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It"; Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

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ANTHONY RAMOS as Usnavi and MELISSA BARRERA as Vanessa in “IN THE HEIGHTS.”; Credit: Macall Polay/Warner Bros. Pictures’

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Still of Rita Moreno in the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.”; Credit: Roadside Attractions

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Sung Kang (L) and Vin Diesel (R) in the film “F9: The Fast Saga"; Credit: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

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The finale of the 2013 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards show.; Credit: Folk Alley

The 2014 Americana Music Awards are Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Eastern. You can watch the full show live from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. below, including performances by Loretta Lynn, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and more.

Read a full list of the nominees below:

Album of the Year

• Build Me Up From Bones by Sarah Jarosz
• The Lights From The Chemical Plant by Robert Ellis
• The River And The Thread by Rosanne Cash
• Southeastern by Jason Isbell

Artist of the Year

• Rosanne Cash
• Rodney Crowell
• Robert Ellis
• Jason Isbell

Duo/Group of the Year

• The Avett Brothers
• The Devil Makes Three
• Hard Working Americans
• Lake Street Dive
• The Milk Carton Kids

Song of the Year

• "Cover Me Up" by Jason Isbell
• "A Feather's Not A Bird" by Rosanne Cash
• "Ohio" by Patty Griffin
• "Only Lies" by Robert Ellis

Emerging Act of the Year

• Hurray For The Riff Raff
• Parker Millsap
• St. Paul & The Broken Bones

File: Stephen Yan dresses as Deadpool at Comic-Con on July 19, 2013 in San Diego.; Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

Hey, you! Yeah, you reading this! They're finally making a Deadpool movie!

If you like fourth-wall breaking, second-person addresses like the above, you may be in the target audience for the long-in-development "Deadpool," which Twentieth Century Fox announced Thursday that it was finally moving ahead with, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The studio announced a Feb. 12, 2016 release date for the film with Tim Miller set to direct the character who's served as both friend and foe to the X-Men.

The so-called "Merc with a Mouth" is a mercenary character created in the early '90s by artist Rob Liefeld, with Liefeld being an outspoken champion for the character. The character was part of the same Weapon X program that created Wolverine, with a similar healing factor power, but with a horribly scarred face he covers with a mask. He's also been played as crazy, which manifests itself as the character often knowing he's in a comic book and talking directly to the reader.

Ryan Reynolds has long been tied to the project, including playing a version of the character in the much-hated "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," but no deal has been made yet, according to the Reporter.

This follows footage leaking over the summer of a "Deadpool" test with Reynolds voicing the character in a CGI clip. Reynolds said in an interview in the Niagara Falls Review earlier this month that that it's unfortunate the footage leaked, "but who cares," because the positive response to the clip had helped push the film forward after being stuck in development hell.

"The movie has been in a state of limbo for a while. There was such an overpowering reaction to the footage, you sort of feel like, 'Oh, so we weren't crazy for our reasons for loving this character, for loving this role.' It's interesting to see the power of the Internet. It's awe-inspiring, actually," Reynolds told the Review. "And it's neat that Twitter and Facebook and Instagram can move mountains when used in the right way."

Watch the "Deadpool" test footage below (Warning: Contains some adult language):

Deadpool test footage

There'd also been debate about whether a movie would stay true to the character's outrageous attitude mixed with violence and go for an R rating, or whether it would go for a wider audience by staying at PG-13. Deadpool creator Liefeld has argued that the film would work just fine without restricting its audience with an R.

Liefeld tweet 1

Liefeld tweet 2

Liefeld told the Daily Superhero in a previous interview that the footage for the test was filmed three years ago, using motion capture over footage of Reynolds. He also talked up Miller as a director, noting that he directed the pre-credits scene for "Thor: The Dark World."

"Fox had released a relatively small budget for Tim to present his vision of the script written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick," Liefeld said. "The digital costume over Ryan Reynold's motion capture (Mo-Cap) performance was an approach they wanted to explore and they had a relatively small window to create this short so they opted to 'test' the look of a digital Deadpool costume over Ryan. I'm quite pleased at how it turned out, especially considering Baraka-Deadpool from Wolverine Origins."

Liefeld was referring to the transformation of Deadpool in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" to a mouthless, pointy-limbed character in the film, which many fans argued took away what they loved most about Deadpool: His sense of humor. Liefeld also said he'd seen even more impressive sequences than the one that made its way online.

It's unclear whether this will tie in with the other X-Men films, but with the studio's recent attempt to tie together the "First Class" franchise with the older X-Men films in "Days of Future Past" and the character's long history of involvement with the X-Men and other related teams, it seems like a likely move.

MPK Night Market. ; Credit: MPK Night Market (via YouTube)

Ahhhhh. Can you feel that breeze? Cool temps are here to stay through Sunday and we're going ham (in a totally respectable, public radio kind of way). Because frankly, we all deserve a break after sweating ourselves through this near-awful workweek. 

Here's everything you need to know: 

1. Pro volleyball at Hermosa Beach

Video: NVL highlights

These people are serious about volleyball — and they look damn good doing it. Take a trip to Hermosa Beach this weekend, where the National Volleyball League will be hosting its fifth tour stop of the season. The championship will feature 32 elite men’s and women’s teams, all competing for a prize of $50,000. Come by at noon Saturday for a free juniors’ clinic (all ages welcome). Sign up here. 

When: Friday through Sunday | Schedule here

Where: Hermosa Beach Pier | MAP

Price: Free

2. #DTLA salsa dancing

Video: Music Center's Dance Downtown

We know you're dying to show off your salsa skills. Join dancers of all levels at the Music Center's last Dance Downtown of the summer on Friday night. Temps are dropping (hallelujah!) so pack a picnic and get movin'.

When: 6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday 

Where: The Music Center Plaza | MAP 

Price: Free

3. Shades and Shadows 

Looking for something a little different and a bit creepy? The reading series Shades and Shadows focuses solely on horror, sci-fi, fantasy and any other form of dark literature that you’re afraid to put down. To honor its one-year anniversary, the group will be haunting the California Institute of Abnormalarts. (Yes, this exists. It's in North Hollywood). Stop by for an all-female lineup, including Nancy Holder of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the Internet's most famous mortician, Caitlin Doughty.  

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: California Institute of Abnormalarts | MAP

Price: $10

4. Oktoberfest at Angel City

It doesn't feel like fall. The sun is blazing and the thought of drinking a pumpkin-spice latte is just gross. That's why we're sipping on cold beer instead. Savor seasonal craft brews with sausage, sauerkraut and soft pretzels at Angel City Brewery's Oktoberfest on Sunday. Festivities will include keg races, live polka music, ping pong and brewery tours. The best part? You're drinking for a good cause — a portion of the event’s beer and retail store sales will go to the Downtown Women’s Center.

When: Noon to 8 p.m. Sunday

Where: Angel City Brewery | MAP

Price: Free admission

5. Monterey Park Night Market 

Video: Every food you ever wanted

Have your pick of tacos, sliders, pressed juice or even a sushi burrito at Monterey Park's Night Market on Friday. That's not all — other highlights include food and dessert from Sticky Rice and Ice Cream Lab. After indulging, walk it off while viewing funky art prints, interesting hand-painted rocks and L.A.-inspired oil pantings. 

When: 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Barnes Park | MAP

Price: Free admission; eat at your own will 

6. Friday Night Flicks 

Watch: The best of Johnny Depp

Take a break from Netflix and catch classic Johnny Depp in "Benny and Joon" at Pershing Square on Friday. Pack a picnic, bring a blanket or lawn chair and watch the '90s flick on a 20-foot inflatable screen. Pro tip: Dogs are welcome (if on a leash). For quick easy access to Pershing Square take the Metro (Pershing Square 5th street stop) or park in the Pershing Square Garage.

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Pershing Square | MAP

Price: Free 

7. Kayaking in Malibu

(Photo: Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC)

Spend a leisurely day kayaking the waves of the Pacific. Head to Malibu Surf Shack and grab a one- or two-seater before staking your spot on Malibu Lagoon State Beach. The state park has shallow tide pools and a lagoon with pelicans — plus, it's home to the Malibu Pier. Pro tip: Wear sunscreen and don't drop your phone in the ocean while taking selfies, people.

When: The Surf Shack is open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Where: Malibu Lagoon State Beach | MAP

Price: $35 per day for single kayak; $50 per day for double kayak

8. Feline Film Festival 

Video: We are gonna have a cat party

Imagine watching "America's Funniest Home Videos," but every entry includes a cat. That's what's happening Sunday at the L.A. Feline Film Festival. Sit back and enjoy over an hour of the most popular feline flicks from the Internet. Special guests include Lil Bub, Tara the Hero and Dusty Klepto Kitty. There will also be music, cat adoptions, a cat costume contest, food and drink. Pro tip: Cat flair is obviously encouraged.

When: 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday

Where: Exposition Park | MAP

Price: $15 admission; $15 parking | Purchase tix here

What'd we miss? Let me know on Twitter @KristenLepore.

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 07: Actor Simon Pegg attends the "Hector and the Search for Happiness" premiere during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival at Winter Garden Theatre on September 7, 2014 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images); Credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

British actor Simon Pegg has had the chance to take on some pretty fun roles. He’s battled zombies in Shaun of the Dead. He’s taken on the role of Scotty in the J.J. Abrams reboot of "Star Trek." And he plays an Impossible Missions Force technician alongside Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible film series.

In his latest film release, Pegg plays Hector, a psychiatrist who decides his life is just too “beige,” so he sets out into the world to find out what makes people truly happy.

Pegg joins Take Two to talk about what Hector’s journey brings him in “Hector and the Search for Happiness.”

“Hector and the Search for Happiness” opens in the U.S. September 19th.

Interview Highlights:

On prepping to play the psychiatrist, Hector:

“Rosamund Pike and I…had dinner with a psychiatrist prior to starting shooting just to see, sort of, how he felt about dealing with people who have problems which aren’t necessarily, real problems, you know; which are what people call first world problems on Twitter.”

Why Hector sets out on his journey:

"I think Hector, at the beginning of the film, has a life that is very satisfactory; and to that degree, he’s unhappy…And, you know, what he learns is, you need more than that emotionally in your life to truly be happy. You know, if everything’s kind of just beige, you’re never going to be happy. You need to know misery, you need to know fear, and you need to know abandonment."

A little perspective:

"It was a very interesting thing to be shooting in Johannesburg, and to get out into…the townships…and see societies which contend with just abject poverty, and hardship everyday; but seeing so many smiles, and so many people genuinely joyful. And then get into the interior of Johannesburg, where there’s a lot of white people living in, sort of, gated communities, terrified...And see less smiles. It’s a very odd thing. And very, in keeping with the message of the film, which is, avoiding unhappiness is not the root to happiness.”

On his favorite emotion to convey as an actor – happiness, sadness, or anger:

“It’s a weird thing, I think, acting, sometimes. I sometimes almost resent it because you go through this sort of Pavlovian trauma sometimes because you have to recreate certain things that are sometimes a bit stressful.”

“Happiness is always a nice one because it’s fun to laugh on screen or to recreate moments of joy or euphoria, cause you do get a buzz from it, you know, you get this…vicarious, sort of, happiness in yourself. But that works as well for having to replicate sadness, or fear, or anger, or love even. “

“Your body thinks, ‘Oh, are we doing this now? Are we in love with someone here? Are we scared of something [laughs]?’ And you have to constantly intellectualize and remind your hormones that you’re actually – ‘No. This is fake, okay. You’re actually not about to die.’”

File: Queen's Freddie Mercury has his mustache groomed.
; Credit: Steve Wood/Express/Getty Images

The new Queen compilation "Queen Forever" includes three previously unreleased tracks, but the one that has people talking is a collaboration between two legends: Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson.

The new song, "There Must Be More to Life Than This," was an unfinished track recorded during studio sessions for the 1981 Queen album "Hot Space," according to a press release on the new compilation. Queen also looked at the song for 1984's "The Works," but still don't go with it — the song finally landed, sans Jackson, on 1985's Mercury solo album "Mr. Bad Guy."

Listen to the new version of the song here:

Michael Jackson/Queen Soundcloud

Listen to the originally recorded version of the Queen/Jackson collaboration below:

Michael Jackson/Queen collabo

The new version was produced by William Orbit, who also did a remix of the song.

"Hearing Michael Jackson's vocals was stirring. So vivid, so cool, and poignant, it was like he was in the studio singing live. With Freddie's vocal solo on the mixing desk, my appreciation for his gift was taken to an even higher level," Orbit said in a press release.

The song is a call for peace, talking human rights in a general way. It almost didn't end up on the album — Queen's Brian May said that working with the Jackson family and Jackson's estate was like "wading through glue," according to Philly.com, but the track ended up making the cut.

The album also includes unreleased song "Let Me In Your Heart Again" and a new version of a song Mercury released solo, an acoustic take on "Love Kills." "Let Me In Your Heart Again" was previously recorded and released by May's wife Anita Dobson.

"Freddie sounds as fresh as yesterday," May said at a press conference while the new compilation was in the works.

Listen to Mercury's solo version of "There Must Be More to Life Than This" below:

There Must Be More To Life Than This, solo

Listen to Anita Dobson's version of "Let Me In (Your Heart Again)" below:

Anita Dobson track

Lisa Emery, left, and Lois Smith are in the world premiere of Jordan Harrison’s “Marjorie Prime” at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. ; Credit: Craig Schwartz

Lois Smith has had a long and varied acting career. She made her Broadway debut in 1952 and three years later was cast opposite James Dean in “East of Eden.” She was in “Five Easy Pieces” with Jack Nicholson and — more recently — she had a role on HBO’s “True Blood.”

Now, the 83-year-old Smith is starring at the Mark Taper Forum in the world premiere of “Marjorie Prime” — a play by Jordan Harrison about aging, memory and artificial intelligence.

Smith spoke with The Frame's John Horn about the play and her role.

Interview Highlights

Smith on how "Marjorie Prime" addresses the notion of memory

"One character at some point says, 'I don't know what memory's made of. Is it sedimentary layers?' The play [is] not a meditation, but a riff, perhaps, on that subject. Jordan [Harrison, the playwright] said at some point, 'This play is the intersection of perhaps humanity and technology.' The play takes place a bit in the future. Not a long time — we'll all recognize ourselves very well — but that's one of its surprises."

Smith on the evolution of becoming a character

"It's been extremely interesting. I suppose in every play [the process] deepens and stretches out. This one, no doubt about it...it's elusive in a lot of ways and I think, 'Oh good, I'm getting there, I'm finding out.' And then I think, 'Oh, farther to go.'" 

Smith on how audience members of different ages react to the play's take on aging

"One friend saw it in regards to [her] mother, who's becoming forgetful. [That] mother saw her own very aged father. They laughed about what they each brought up, because they had just been sitting at the same performance of the same play."

Smith on her role, which isn't too physically taxing

"I'm not doing much walking around. I walk on, I walk off, I walk on — and that's about it. I sometimes say, 'It's almost as good as a bed part,' because I spend time in a recliner, which is pretty nice."

Liam Neeson stars as Matthew Scudder in "A Walk Among the Tombstones." ; Credit: Universal Pictures

Screenwriter and director Scott Frank has been trying to make “A Walk Among the Tombstones” for more than a decade, but it wasn't until Liam Neeson signed on that his efforts finally came into view.

Based on the Lawrence Block novel, “Tombstones” stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder, an ex-cop working as an unlicensed private investigator. He agrees to help a well-to-do drug trafficker hunt down the kidnappers who have brutally murdered his wife.

Frank wrote the screenplay and, after the departures of other attached directors, Frank decided to step behind the cameras himself. 

When he came by The Frame studio, Frank spoke with host John Horn about Neeson's great strengths as an action hero and how he convinced Neeson to sign on to the project.

Interview Highlights:

John Horn: Liam Neeson has evolved in a fascinating way as an action hero. When did you start having conversations with him about this movie, and what was it about him as an actor that made it feel like the right fit?

"Well, what's interesting is that Larry Block, the novelist, had always said, going way back to 2003 or something, that the perfect actor for this, after [he saw] 'Michael Collins'...would be Liam Neeson. Chris Andrews, who is Liam's agent, always loved the script and was always trying to find a way to put it together, and he's the one who gave it to Liam back when D.J. [Caruso] was going to direct. So the first time I met Liam to talk about the movie, I was talking to him as the writer, not as the director of the movie. And then when D.J. fell out to go do a different movie at Sony...we had a conversation about directing the movie.

JH: Was this before or after the first "Taken" had come out?

This was well after the first 'Taken,' this was right before the second 'Taken.'

JH: So Liam is...succeeding as a version of that character, and I wonder if that success cuts both ways, that maybe there's a reluctance on his part to not do something that's quite as similar? Or is that part of your conversation that you have with him? 

It absolutely cuts both ways, and that was a huge part of the conversation because there's a kidnapping in this story, and there he is on the telephone for a few minutes at the end of the movie talking to kidnappers, and there are similarities [to 'Taken']. And he knew that was the way to sell the movie, and so he was very reluctant. And I talked to him and I had him watch 'Klute,' and I said, "That's the movie we're gonna make. We're not going to make 'Taken,' we're going to make a movie that's like 'Klute,' or a little bit like 'Dirty Harry,' or one of those old-school '70s films. It's going to feel more like that than an action movie."

JH: Liam Neeson's not physically imposing, but there's something about him that really kind of makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. What is it about him as an actor in this kind of part?

Well, there's a couple things. One: you believe him. No matter what he's talking about, it seems authentic and true...he has this thing about him that, whatever he's doing, you believe him. Two: he's one of those actors like Gene Hackman where he can convey exposition and make it feel like character. He can talk pages of exposition and make it all feel like it's character and drama — it's a great thing. The other thing about him is that he has this real gravitas, and it almost borders on sadness sometimes; it's interesting when you watch him and you feel like there's all this other life going on behind him.

JH: That he has nothing to lose, in other words.

Nothing to lose, and he says that at one point in the film, but I think it's those things that are all at work at the same time.

Kevin Smith with a room full of his own strain of pot, created for his new film, "Tusk." ; Credit: James Kim/KPCC

When Kevin Smith records his podcast, Smodcast, he says, "I'm usually blazed." Which, if you've heard the episode where Smith comes up with the entire story for his new film, "Tusk," it should come as no surprise.

The film is about a man who takes another man hostage and turns him into a walrus. While the movie itself doesn't mention or include any weed, Smith thought medical marijuana would be a nice complement to the viewing experience. 

A24, the film distribution company, came to Smith with a marketing idea: create strains of weed for the film. Smith thought it was genius. Buds and Roses — a cannabis dispensary in Studio City — was approached by Smith and his team to make medical marijuana specifically for the film. The dispensary came up with two strains called "Mr. Tusk" and "White Walrus." 

We met up with the director at Buds and Roses to see why the green substance was a perfect pairing for the film: 

Interview Highlights:

Smith knows that some people enjoy going to the movies stoned: 

"This movie, out of all movies, seems like a real head trip of a flick. So if they have their medical marijuana card, by all means, enjoy the movie. Don't feel the need to go back if you don't remember anything. It's not a gimmick to make them go twice or anything. But in a world where people are gonna smoke medicinal marijuana, having a 'Tusk' sticker on there just makes me smile. Kind of makes sense for this movie." 

How Fleetwood Mac and weed helped his writing:

"I put on Fleetwood Mac's 'Tusk' over and over on repeat and would just sit there and blaze while I wrote. And you know, I blaze in the way that I used to smoke cigarettes. So, I'll light it and put it in an ashtray, let it burn and stuff. So it fills the room like incense if you will. But, yeah, for a movie like 'Tusk,' I guess you gotta be pretty stoned to make the guy-who-makes-a-guy-into-a-walrus movie. And I'm kinda glad I did. It's weird. People are calling it the best movie I've ever made and I was like, 'Well, this is the only one I made stoned.' So I'm like, 'Guess what I'm doing, kids!'"

Smith used to be against drugs: 

"I smoked weed in my life, but I would never consider myself a stoner. In fact, I still had the '80s [attitude] lingering, 'Just say no,' and,  you know, 'Oh my lord! It's a drug!' It wasn't until I became older — age 38 — when I started smoking weed on a regular basis. I was like, 'This is not a drug. This is ridiculous! It grows in the Earth.' So once I got past the bias that was pounded into us in the '80s, suddenly I was like, 'Heavens. I like who I am here.' It doesn't make you a better person, kids. It doesn't make you more creative. What it does is it kind of knocks fear on its ass. You face your fears a little better." 

Disclaimer: Smith wants you to know that he does not endorse marijuana for anyone under 21:

"Kids, teenagers... I'm talking to you. The teenage brain is stunted by marijuana smoking so you guys have to wait 'til you're older. I didn't start smoking 'til I was 38 years old. I'm not saying wait 'til then. That was a stupid mistake on my behalf. But wait until you're legit. Wait until you're 21 before you start smoking." 

; Credit: John Rabe/KPCC

Off-Ramp fan, KPCC member (!), and Tom Petty and Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench III joined John in his old Mercedes with his large, but portable Casio.

Tench has lived in the hills of Tarzana for decades, in a perfectly good house, but in the 100-degree heat, John outfitted his car with condenser mikes to record a farewell ode to Off-Ramp, Tench's "Like the Sun."

The full band version of Benmont Tench III's "Like the Sun"

"Like the Sun" helped Tench get back in the songwriting groove a decade ago after he burnt out on being professional songwriter in Nashville. He based the lyrics on tours of Los Angeles given to him by a friend, and takes the listener (with his Southern accent) from a restaurant called Michoacan to a hill top tent city. Tench also told John how he and his wife Alice explore Los Angeles.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

L-R: Three Southern California retro fanatics, John Rabe, Chris Nichols, and Charles Phoenix; Credit: John Rabe/KPCC

Is it possible that the two titans of retro Southern California - Charles Phoenix and Charles Nichols - have never been on Off-Ramp at the same time? But maybe that brings up a larger question. Is it even possible for them to exist in the same place, at the same time, or would their meeting cause a cosmic singularity, an undarnable rending of the time-space continuum?

The answers are, stupidly, yes; and thankfully, yes.

Over the 11 years of Off-Ramp, "God Bless Americana" author Charles Phoenix and Los Angeles Magazine's Chris Nichols have played a large part in bringing interesting and endangered places to our listeners. From Pomona to Chatsworth to Bellflower to Anaheim, both men have made careers of highlighting and preserving things that in their day were seen as expendable, flavor-of-the-month, mass marketed creations. Like programmatic architecture (buildings that look like what they're selling or making, i.e. the Donut Hole in La Puente, the Idle Hour - a giant wine cask - in NoHo).

Yet, with hindsight, we've been able to see them as archetypal and important touchstones of our region.

For their final appearances on the show, they got in the Mercedes and shared their love of getting lost in Southern California.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Off-Ramp host John Rabe and Mayor Eric Garcetti playing backgammon in John’s car. Julian “The First Lady of Off-Ramp” Bermudez in the passenger seat with camera. ; Credit: Andrea Garcia

John Rabe’s last show coincides with Eric Garcetti’s inauguration for his second term as Mayor of Los Angeles. In John's car, the two talked about:

• The joys of exploring Los Angeles
• The time the future Mayor's mom and dad took his drivers' license away
• Where Justin Trudeau should visit when he comes to LA
• And how the drop in crime has led to more people doing the Off-Ramp thing

The Mayor also did some slam poetry, and then played a competitive game of backgammon. Listen with the audio player to see who was brown and who was white. And listen to Off-Ramp on the radio to find out who won the game! (Saturday at noon/Sunday at 6pm)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Full Text:

The Maya of Central America are thought to have been a kinder, gentler civilization, especially compared to the Aztecs of Mexico. At the peak of Mayan culture some 1,500 years ago, warfare seemed ritualistic, designed to extort ransom for captive royalty or to subjugate rival dynasties, with limited impact on the surrounding population. Only later, archeologists thought, did increasing drought and climate change lead to total warfare -- cities and dynasties were wiped off the map in so-called termination events -- and the collapse of the lowland Maya civilization around 1,000 A.D. (or C.E., current era). New evidence unearthed by National Science Foundation-funded researchers call all this into question, suggesting that the Maya engaged in scorched-earth military campaigns -- a strategy that aims to destroy anything of use, including cropland -- even at the height of their civilization, a time of prosperity and artistic sophistication. The finding also indicates that this increase in warfare, possibly associated with climate change and resource scarcity, was not the cause of the disintegration of the lowland Maya civilization.

Image credit: Francisco Estrada-Belli/Tulane

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The molecular mechanism used by many bacteria to kill neighboring cells has redundancy built into its genetic makeup, which could allow for the mechanism to be expressed in different environments, say researchers at Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their new study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of competition among bacteria. "Many organisms, including humans, acquire bacteria from their environment," said Tim Miyashiro, a biochemist and molecular biologist at Penn State and the leader of the research team. "These bacteria can contribute to functions within the host organism, like how our gut bacteria help us digest food. We're interested in the interactions among bacteria cells, and between bacteria and their hosts, to better understand these mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships." Cells of the bioluminescent bacteria Vibrio fisheri take up residence in the light organ of newly hatched bobtail squid. At night, the bacteria produce a blue glow that researchers believe obscures a squid's silhouette and helps protect it from predators. The light organ has pockets, or crypts, in the squid's skin that provide nutrients and a safe environment for the bacteria. "When the squid hatches, it doesn't yet have any bacteria in its light organ," said Miyashiro. "But bacteria in the environment quickly colonize the squid's light organ." Some of these different bacteria strains can coexist, but others can't. "Microbial symbioses are essentially universal in animals, and are crucial to the health and development of both partners," says Irwin Forseth, a program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Integrative Organismal Systems, which funded the research. "The results from this study highlight the role small genetic changes can play in microbe interactions. Increased understanding will allow us to better predict organisms' performance in changing environments."

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A new study shows that graphene sheets can block the signals mosquitoes use to identify a blood meal, potentially enabling a new chemical-free approach to mosquito bite prevention. Researchers showed that multilayer graphene can provide a twofold defense against mosquito bites. The ultra-thin yet strong material acts as a barrier that mosquitoes are unable to bite through. At the same time, experiments showed that graphene also blocks chemical signals mosquitoes use to sense that a blood meal is near, blunting their urge to bite in the first place. The findings suggest that clothing with a graphene lining could be an effective mosquito barrier.

Image credit: Hurt Lab/Brown University

Thunes has announced that its proprietary Direct Global Network...

Global financial platform Adyen has announced that it enabled...

Mollie, a financial service provider in Europe, has introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone, enabling businesses to accept contactless payments via the Mollie app.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, leads some of the Biden administration's efforts to expand Medicaid access.; Credit: Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag

The Biden administration is quietly engineering a series of expansions to Medicaid that may bolster protections for millions of low-income Americans and bring more people into the program.

Biden's efforts — which have been largely overshadowed by other economic and health initiatives — represent an abrupt reversal of the Trump administration's moves to scale back the safety-net program.

The changes could further boost Medicaid enrollment — which the pandemic has already pushed to a record 80.5 million. Some of the expansion is funded by the COVID-19 relief bill that passed in March, including coverage for new mothers.

Others who could also gain coverage under Biden are inmates and undocumented immigrants. At the same time, the administration is opening the door to new Medicaid-funded services such as food and housing that the government insurance plan hasn't traditionally offered.

"There is a paradigm change underway," said Jennifer Langer Jacobs, Medicaid director in New Jersey, one of a growing number of states trying to expand home-based Medicaid services to keep enrollees out of nursing homes and other institutions.

"We've had discussions at the federal level in the last 90 days that are completely different from where we've ever been before," Langer Jacobs said.

Taken together, the Medicaid moves represent some of the most substantive shifts in federal health policy undertaken by the new administration.

"They are taking very bold action," said Rutgers University political scientist Frank Thompson, an expert on Medicaid history, noting in particular the administration's swift reversal of Trump policies. "There really isn't a precedent."

The Biden administration seems unlikely to achieve what remains the holy grail for Medicaid advocates: getting 12 holdout states, including Texas and Florida, to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income working-age adults through the Affordable Care Act.

And while some of the recent expansions – including for new mothers -- were funded by close to $20 billion in new Medicaid funding in the COVID relief bill Biden signed in March, much of that new money will stop in a few years unless Congress appropriates additional money.

The White House strategy has risks. Medicaid, which swelled after enactment of the 2010 health law, has expanded further during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, pushing enrollment to a record 80.5 million, including those served by the related Children's Health Insurance Program. That's up from 70 million before the COVID crisis began.

The programs now cost taxpayers more than $600 billion a year. And although the federal government will cover most of the cost of the Biden-backed expansions, surging Medicaid spending is a growing burden on state budgets.

The costs of expansion are a frequent target of conservative critics, including Trump officials like Seema Verma, the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, who frequently argued for enrollment restrictions and derided Medicaid as low-quality coverage.

But even less partisan experts warn that Medicaid, which was created to provide medical care to low-income Americans, can't make up for all the inadequacies in government housing, food and education programs.

"Focusing on the social drivers of health ... is critically important in improving the health and well-being of Medicaid beneficiaries. But that doesn't mean that Medicaid can or should be responsible for paying for all of those services," said Matt Salo, head of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, noting that the program's financing "is simply not capable of sustaining those investments."

Restoring federal support

However, after four years of Trump administration efforts to scale back coverage, Biden and his appointees appear intent on not only restoring federal support for Medicaid, but also boosting the program's reach.

"I think what we learned during the repeal-and-replace debate is just how much people in this country care about the Medicaid program and how it's a lifeline to millions," Biden's new Medicare and Medicaid administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, told KHN, calling the program a "backbone to our country."

The Biden administration has already withdrawn permission the Trump administration had granted Arkansas and New Hampshire to place work requirements on some Medicaid enrollees.

In April, Biden blocked a multibillion-dollar Trump administration initiative to prop up Texas hospitals that care for uninsured patients, a policy that many critics said effectively discouraged Texas from expanding Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation.

The moves have drawn criticism from Republicans, some of whom accuse the new administration of trampling states' rights to run their Medicaid programs as they choose.

"Biden is reasserting a larger federal role and not deferring to states," said Josh Archambault, a senior fellow at the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability.

But Biden's early initiatives have been widely hailed by patient advocates, public health experts and state officials in many blue states.

"It's a breath of fresh air," said Kim Bimestefer, head of Colorado's Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

Chuck Ingoglia, head of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, said: "To be in an environment where people are talking about expanding health care access has made an enormous difference."

Mounting evidence shows that expanded Medicaid coverage improves enrollees' health, as surveys and mortality data in recent years have identified greater health improvements in states that expanded Medicaid through the 2010 health law versus states that did not.

Broadening eligibility

In addition to removing Medicaid restrictions imposed by Trump administration officials, the Biden administration has backed a series of expansions to broaden eligibility and add services enrollees can receive.

Biden supported a provision in the COVID relief bill that gives states the option to extend Medicaid to new mothers for up to a year after they give birth. Many experts say such coverage could help reduce the U.S. maternal mortality rate, which is far higher than rates in other wealthy nations.

Several states, including Illinois and New Jersey, had sought permission from the Trump administration for such expanded coverage, but their requests languished.

The COVID relief bill — which passed without Republican support — also provides additional Medicaid money to states to set up mobile crisis services for people facing mental health or substance use emergencies, further broadening Medicaid's reach.

And states will get billions more to expand so-called home and community-based services such as help with cooking, bathing and other basic activities that can prevent Medicaid enrollees from having to be admitted to expensive nursing homes or other institutions.

Perhaps the most far-reaching Medicaid expansions being considered by the Biden administration would push the government health plan into covering services not traditionally considered health care, such as housing.

This reflects an emerging consensus among health policy experts that investments in some non-medical services can ultimately save Medicaid money by keeping patients out of the hospital.

In recent years, Medicaid officials in red and blue states — including Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland and Washington — have begun exploring ways to provide rental assistance to select Medicaid enrollees to prevent medical complications linked to homelessness.

The Trump administration took steps to support similar efforts, clearing Medicare Advantage health plans to offer some enrollees non-medical benefits such as food, housing aid and assistance with utilities.

But state officials across the country said the new administration has signaled more support for both expanding current home-based services and adding new ones.

That has made a big difference, said Kate McEvoy, who directs Connecticut's Medicaid program. "There was a lot of discussion in the Trump administration," she said, "but not the capital to do it."

Other states are looking to the new administration to back efforts to expand Medicaid to inmates with mental health conditions and drug addiction so they can connect more easily to treatment once released.

Kentucky health secretary Eric Friedlander said he is hopeful federal officials will sign off on his state's initiative.

Still other states, such as California, say they are getting a more receptive audience in Washington for proposals to expand coverage to immigrants who are in the country without authorization, a step public health experts say can help improve community health and slow the spread of communicable diseases.

"Covering all Californians is critical to our mission," said Jacey Cooper, director of California's Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. "We really feel like the new administration is helping us ensure that everyone has access."

The Trump administration moved to restrict even authorized immigrants' access to the health care safety net, including the "public charge" rule that allowed immigration authorities to deny green cards to applicants if they used public programs such as Medicaid. In March, Biden abandoned that rule.

KHN correspondent Julie Rovner contributed to this report.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Housing activists erect a sign in front of Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker's house in Swampscott, Mass., on Oct. 14, 2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended a moratorium on evictions until the end of July.; Credit: Michael Dwyer/AP

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended a moratorium on evictions until the end of July. The ban had been set to expire next week, raising concerns that there could be a flood of evictions with some seven million tenants currently behind on their rent.

The Biden administration says the extension is for "one final month" and will allow time for it to take other steps to stabilize housing for those facing eviction and foreclosure. The White House says it is encouraging state and local courts to adopt anti-eviction diversion programs to help delinquent tenants stay housed and avoid legal action.

The federal government will also try to speed up distribution of tens of billions of dollars in emergency rental assistance that's available but has yet to be spent. In addition, a moratorium on foreclosures involving federally backed mortgages has been extended for "a final month," until July 31.

In announcing the extension of the eviction moratorium, the CDC said that the COVID-19 "pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation's public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings — like homeless shelters — by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19."

The CDC first issued the moratorium last September. It was extended once already in March, until June 30.

But landlords have been pushing back, arguing that they've taken a huge financial hit over the past year, losing billions of dollars a month in rent. Several business groups have sued the CDC and won, though court decisions to lift the moratorium have been stayed pending appeal.

The Alabama Association of Realtors, which brought one of the cases, argued that the CDC exceeded its authority in issuing the ban. The group is seeking relief from the U.S. Supreme Court, but the justices have yet to respond.

In its petition, the Realtors association called the CDC's "continued insistence that public-health concerns necessitate that landlords continue to provide free housing for tenants who have received vaccines (or passed up the chance to get them)...sheer doublespeak."

Housing advocates have argued that the moratorium is still very much needed. They note that $46 billion in emergency rental assistance approved by Congress has been slow getting into the hands of those it was intended to help. The money is supposed to cover rent that tenants currently owe.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports that in some states, less than five percent of the funds have been distributed so far. The group pushed the administration to extend the ban to give states and localities more time to get the money out.

Despite the moratorium, thousands of renters have still faced the threat of eviction because of loopholes in the law. Many are the lowest income tenants and disproportionately people of color. A new study by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University has found that communities with the lowest vaccination rates tend to have the highest eviction filings, raising additional health concerns.

"Allowing the moratorium to expire before vaccination rates increase in marginalized communities could lead to increased spread of, and deaths from, COVID-19," a group of more than 40 House lawmakers wrote in a letter this week to President Biden and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, urging them to extend the moratorium.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit: /Rose Wong for NPR/KHN

Claire Lang-Ree was in a lab coat taking a college chemistry class remotely in the kitchen of her Colorado Springs, Colo., home, when a profound pain twisted into her lower abdomen. She called her mom, Jen Lang-Ree, a nurse practitioner who worried it was appendicitis and found a nearby hospital in the family's health insurance network.

After a long wait in the emergency room of Penrose Hospital, Claire received morphine and an anti-nausea medication delivered through an IV. She also underwent a CT scan of her abdomen and a series of tests.

Hospital staffers ruled out appendicitis and surmised Claire was suffering from a ruptured ovarian cyst, which can be a harmless part of the menstrual cycle but can also be problematic and painful. After a few days — and a chemistry exam taken through gritted teeth — the pain went away.

Then the bill came.

Patient: Claire Lang-Ree, a 21-year-old Stanford University student who was living in Colorado for a few months while taking classes remotely. She's insured by Anthem Blue Cross through her mom's work as a pediatric nurse practitioner in Northern California.

Total Bill: $18,735.93, including two $722.50 fees for a nurse to "push" drugs into her IV, a process that takes seconds. Anthem's negotiated charges were $6,999 for the total treatment. Anthem paid $5,578.30, and the Lang-Rees owed $1,270.45 to the hospital, plus additional bills for radiologists and other care. (Claire also anted up a $150 copay at the ER.)

Service Provider: Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, part of the regional health care network Centura Health.

What Gives: As hospitals disaggregate charges for services once included in an ER visit, a hospitalization or a surgical procedure, there has been a proliferation of newfangled fees to increase billing. In the health field, this is called "unbundling." It's analogous to the airlines now charging extra for each checked bag or for an exit row seat. Over time, in the medical industry, this has led to separate fees for ever-smaller components of care. A charge to put medicine into a patient's IV line — a "push fee" — is one of them.

Though the biggest charge on Claire's bill, $9,885.73, was for a CT scan, in many ways Claire and her mom found the push fees most galling. (Note to readers: Scans are frequently many times more expensive when ordered in an ER than in other settings.)

"That was so ridiculous," says Claire, who adds she had previously taken the anti-nausea drug they gave her; it's available in tablet form for the price of a cup of coffee, no IV necessary. "It works really well. Why wasn't that an option?"

In Colorado, the average charge for the code corresponding to Claire's first IV push has nearly tripled since 2014, and the dollars hospitals actually get for the procedure has doubled. In Colorado Springs specifically, the cost for IV pushes rose even more sharply than it did statewide.

A typical nurse in Colorado Springs makes about $35 an hour. At that rate, it would take nearly 21 hours to earn the amount of money Penrose charged for a push of plunger that likely took seconds or at most minutes.

The hospital's charge for just one "IV push" was more than Claire's portion of the monthly rent in the home she shared with roommates. In the end, Anthem did not pay the push fees in its negotiated payment. But claims data shows that in 2020 Penrose typically received upward of $1,000 for the first IV push. And patients who didn't have an insurer to dismiss such charges would be stuck with them. Colorado hospitals on average received $723 for the same code, according to the claims database.

"It's insane the variation that we see in prices, and there's no rhyme or reason," says Cari Frank with the Center for Improving Value in Health Care, a Colorado nonprofit that runs a statewide health care claims database. "It's just that they've been able to negotiate those prices with the insurance company and the insurance company has decided to pay it."

To put the total cost in context, Penrose initially charged more money for Claire's visit than the typical Colorado hospital would have charged for helping someone give birth, according to data published by the Colorado Division of Insurance.

Even with the negotiated rate, "it was only $1,000 less than an average payment for having a baby," Frank says.

In an email statement, Centura said it "conducted a thorough review and determined all charges were accurate" and went on to explain that "an Emergency Room (ER) must be prepared for anything and everything that comes through the doors," requiring highly trained staff, plus equipment and supplies. "All of this adds up to large operating costs and can translate into patient responsibility."

As researchers have found, little stands in the way of hospitals charging through the roof, especially in a place like an emergency room, where a patient has few choices. A report from National Nurses United found that hospital markups have more than doubled since 1999, according to data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. In an email, Anthem called the trend of increasing hospital prices "alarming" and "unsustainable."

But Ge Bai, an associate professor of accounting and health policy at Johns Hopkins University, says when patients see big bills it isn't only the hospital's doing — a lot depends on the insurer, too. For one, the negotiated price depends on the negotiating power of the payer, in this case, Anthem.

"Most insurance companies don't have comparable negotiating or bargaining power with the hospital," said Bai. Prices in a state like Michigan, where Bai said the UAW union covers a big proportion of Michigan patients, will look very different from those in Colorado.

Also, insurers are not the wallet defenders patients might assume them to be.

"In many cases, insurance companies don't negotiate as aggressively as they can, because they earn profit from the percentage of the claims," she says. The more expensive the actual payment is, the more money they get to extract.

Though Anthem negotiated away the push fees, it paid the hospital 30% more than the average Level IV emergency department visit in Colorado that year, and it paid quadruple what Medicare would allow for her CT scan.

Resolution: Claire and her mom decided to fight the bill, writing letters to the hospital and searching for information on what the procedures should have cost. The cost of the IV pushes and CT scan infuriated them — the hospital wanted more than double for a CT than what top-rated hospitals typically charged in 2019.

But the threat of collections wore them out and ultimately they paid their assigned share of the bill — $1,420.45, which was mostly coinsurance.

"Eventually it got to the point where I was like, 'I don't really want to go to collections, because this might ruin my credit score,'" says Claire, who didn't want to graduate from college with dinged credit.

Bai and Frank say the state of Maryland can provide a useful benchmark for medical bills, since it sets the prices that hospitals can charge for each procedure. Data provided by the Maryland Health Care Commission shows that Anthem and Claire paid seven times what she likely would have paid for the CT scan there, and nearly 10 times what they likely would have paid for the emergency department Level IV visit. In Maryland, intravenous pushes typically cost about $200 apiece in 2019. A typical Maryland hospital would have received only about $1,350 from a visit like Claire's, and the Lang-Rees would have been on the hook for about $270.

Claire's pain has come back a few times, but never as bad as that night in Colorado. She has avoided reentering an emergency room since then. After visiting multiple specialists back home in California, she learned she might have had a condition called ovarian torsion.

The Takeaway: Even at an in-network facility and with good insurance, patients can get hurt financially by visiting the ER. A few helpful documents can help guide the way to fighting such charges. The first is an itemized bill.

"I just think it's wrong in the U.S. to charge so much," says Jen Lang-Ree. "It's just a little side passion of mine to look at those and make sure I'm not being scammed."

Bai, of Johns Hopkins, suggests asking for an itemized explanation of benefits from the insurance company, too. That will show what the hospital actually received for each procedure.

Find out if the hospital massively overcharged. The Medicare price lookup tool can be useful for getting a benchmark. And publicly available data on health claims in Colorado and at least 17 other states can help, too.

Vincent Plymell with the Colorado Division of Insurance encourages patients to reach out if something on a bill looks sketchy. "Even if it's not a plan we regulate," he wrote in an email, departments such as his "can always arm the consumer with info."

Finally, make scrutinizing such charges fun. Claire and Jen made bill-fighting their mother-daughter hobby for the winter. They recommend pretzel chips and cocktails to boost the mood.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by KHN and NPR that dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Moderna says recently completed studies have found its vaccine to have a neutralizing effect against all COVID-19 variants tested, including the delta variant.; Credit: Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty Images

Studies have found that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is effective against several variants of concern, including the delta variant, the biotech company announced.

Moderna said Tuesday that recently completed studies have found the vaccine to have a neutralizing effect against all COVID-19 variants tested, including the beta, delta, eta and kappa variants.

While still highly effective against the delta variant, the study showed the vaccine was less effective against it and certain other variants than against the original strain of the virus.

The antibody response against the delta variant was about two times weaker than against the ancestral strain of the virus.

The news echoes other findings that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are highly effective against the delta variant. A study published this month in Nature found that Pfizer's vaccine was able to neutralize variants including delta, though at somewhat reduced strength.

"These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants," Stéphane Bancel, Moderna's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "These findings highlight the importance of continuing to vaccinate populations with an effective primary series vaccine."

The company also said it is developing a booster candidate: a 50-50 mix of its currently authorized COVID-19 vaccine and another messenger RNA vaccine it has developed.

The delta variant is spreading fast

The delta variant is the fast-moving form of the coronavirus that is now found in 96 countries, including the United States.

Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said the delta variant is "currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19," noting that the proportion of infections being caused by the variant is doubling every two weeks.

The delta variant is now infecting at least 1 out of every 5 people who get the virus in the United States. In some sections of the country, the variant is already far more common, particularly in parts of the Midwest and West. At its current pace, the delta variant is expected to be the dominant virus in the U.S. within weeks.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease expert at the World Health Organization, called the delta variant "incredibly transmissible."

"These viruses are becoming more fit. The virus is evolving, and this is natural," she told NPR's Morning Edition. "It's more transmissible than the alpha variant, so we need to just do all we can to prevent as many infections as we can and do what we can do to reduce the spread."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

People rest while riding a Los Angeles Metro Rail train amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 1, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Despite the racial reckoning going on in America right now, and despite the fact that attitudes towards race, inclusion and representation are different now than they were 30 years ago, new research from UC Berkeley shows that a large majority of American metro areas are more segregated now than they were in 1990. The new report from Berkeley’s Institute covers a number of topic areas, but among the key findings were from the national segregation report component of the project, which found Los Angeles to be the sixth-most segregated metro area with more than 200,000 people.

Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with the lead researcher on the new report and a local historian to talk about how we see the findings of the report play out in Southern California.

Guests:

Stephen Menendian, assistant director and director of research at the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, which works to identify and eliminate the barriers to an inclusive, just, and sustainable society in order to create transformative change; he tweets @SMenendian

Eric Avila, professor of history, urban planning, and Chicano/a studies at UCLA

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Facemasks remain worn as firefighter paramedic Jorge Miranda, holding syringe, speaks with Eduardo Vasquez, who has lived homeless on the streets of Los Angeles since 1992, before administering the one-shot Johnson and Johnson' Janssen Covid-19 vaccine as part of outreach to the homeless by members of the Los Angeles Fire Department's Covid Outreach unit on June 14, 2021 in Los Angeles.; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with UCSF’s Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. 

Topics today include:

• Two weeks after reopening, LA County’s new COVID-19 cases have doubled

• CDC: Infected vaccinated people carry less COVID-19 virus

• Delta variant is now detected in all 50 states

• J&J: “At present, there is no evidence to suggest need for a booster dose to be administered”

• Novavax claims vaccine’s overall efficacy is 89.7%

• Another respiratory virus is spreading in the U.S.

• Curevac’s final trial show shot is far less effective than other vaccines

• Can we now live with the coronavirus?

• Israel scrambles to curb rising COVID-19 infection rates

• Is it time to rethink “one-size-fits-all” approach for masking?

Guest:

Peter Chin-Hong, M.D., infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center; he tweets @PCH_SF

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Detail of boxes with the U.S. donated Johnson & Johnson vaccine against Covid-19 at Universidad de Baja California on June 17, 2021 in Tijuana, Baja California. ; Credit: Francisco Vega/Getty Images

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Annabelle De St. Maurice from University of California Los Angeles/Mattel Children’s hospital.

Topics today include:

• J&J says its vaccine is effective against Delta variant

  • J&J vaccine lasts at least 8 months

• WHO says all vaccines it authorized should be recognized by reopening countries

• White House says it will miss July 4 vaccination goal

• Postpartum depression on the rise during the pandemic

• Experts believe Novavax may play a role in combating vaccine hesitancy

• Delta variant is not driving a surge in hospitalization rates in England

Guest: 

Annabelle De St. Maurice, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases and the co-chief infection prevention officer at University of California Los Angeles/Mattel Children’s hospital; she tweets @destmauricemd

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Athletes compete during the cycling portion of the IRONMAN 70.3 Steelhead on June 27, 2021 in Benton Harbor, Michigan. ; Credit: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images for IRONMAN

Whether you’re new to running or you’ve finished your tenth triathlon, we want to hear from you about what motivates you and how that translates into pushing yourself physically. 

Guests: 

Mark Remy, longtime runner and writer in Portland, Oregon; creator of humor website dumbrunner.com; he is the author of many books, including The Runner's Rule Book: Everything a Runner Needs to Know--And Then Some (Runner's World) (Rodale Books, 2009)

Sharon McNary, infrastructure correspondent at KPCC; she finished her 11th Ironman Race last week at Coeur d’Alene; she tweets @KPCCsharon

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

For two decades now, and counting, the LANDFIRE program continues to assemble the most easy-to-use, intuitive and complete clearinghouse of remote sensing data products for wildland fire managers. 

Over the past century, technological advancements have vastly improved volcano monitoring. One key innovation was the introduction of modern borehole tiltmeters, devices that measure very small changes in the inclination of the volcano’s surface.  

Adult Chinook salmon in Alaska and Canada are in trouble, and USGS WFRC scientists are in a race against the clock to find the cause behind their disappearance and a viable solution. A staple in many diets, this salmon species is considered a lifeblood of the region.

NASA released a workshop report on the UNBOUND-FEW workshop series, which was facilitated in part by Tribal Resilience Learning Network staff from the Alaska CASC. The workshop report reveals key recommendations for making data tools more useful for climate adaptation planning.

CDI Monthly Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month, from 11-12:30 pm Eastern Time. 

President Biden signed a memorial bill to recognize the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting and offered his condolences to people who are awaiting news on their loved ones in the wake of the deadly Surfside, Fla., partial condo collapse.

Biden — who was vice president when a 29-year-old man killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in the nightclub mass shooting — signed the bill to enshrine a monument to the dozens killed in the Latin Night massacre.

The shooting occurred at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in June 2016. The month of June is celebrated annually as LGBTQ Pride Month in the United States.

"May a president never have to sign another monument like this," Biden said.

Biden also offered his thoughts to the victims and loved ones of those affected by the catastrophic collapse this week of a Miami-Dade County condo. Authorities say four people have been declared dead and an additional 159 are considered missing in the rubble.

"I just want to say, I've spoken to Gov. [Ron] DeSantis, and we've provided all the help that they have, they need," Biden said. "We sent the best people from FEMA down there. We're going to stay with them."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

"This is a petty, partisan power grab that is absolutely retaliation towards my office," Arizona Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs says of the new law.; Credit: Ross D. Franklin/AP

Arizona Republicans have stripped the secretary of state's office — currently held by a Democrat — of the right to defend the state's election laws in court, or choose not to, a change enacted as part of Arizona's newly signed budget.

The spending blueprint that Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law Wednesday declares that the attorney general — currently a position occupied by Republican Mark Brnovich — has sole authority over election-related litigation.

If the secretary of state and attorney general were to disagree over a legal strategy when Arizona election laws are challenged, the new law states that "the authority of the attorney general to defend the law is paramount."

Republicans also adopted language stating it's their intent for the law to apply through Jan. 2, 2023, coinciding with the end of Democrat Katie Hobbs' term as secretary of state.

Hobbs, the top election official in Arizona who's now running for governor, says her lawyers are looking at whether this change violates the Arizona Constitution.

"This is a petty, partisan power grab that is absolutely retaliation towards my office," Hobbs said. "It's clear by the fact that it ends when my term ends. ... It is at best legally questionable, but at worst, likely unconstitutional."

Republicans have generally cast the law as a cost-saving measure, citing Hobbs and Brnovich's frequent disagreements over how to defend state election laws that have been challenged in court. In 2020, Hobbs filed complaints with the state bar against Brnovich and other lawyers in his office.

Other election provisions in the budget

The budget includes a number of other election provisions, and it comes weeks after Republicans enacted new restrictions on early voting in the state, and as a controversial review of 2020 election results in Maricopa County continues.

Here are some of the other election-related measures in the budget:

• New laws could soon require watermarks, QR codes and other security measures to be printed on ballots.
• There's a new mandate to inspect state and county voter registration databases and create a report on voters who cast federal-only ballots — an option available to Arizonans who don't show proof of citizenship to register to vote in the state, but are still allowed to register under federal law.
• And a new task force would investigate alleged social media bias as an unreported in-kind political contribution.

The ballot security measures, though not mandated by law in the budget, have the potential to be the most cumbersome and costly requirement for county election officials to implement.

The budget amendment provides a list of 10 "ballot fraud countermeasures" for counties to choose from — features like holographic foil, background designs similar to those found on banknotes and ultraviolet or infrared ink. If mandated, counties would have to implement any combination of at least three features from the list on their ballots. The budget provides $12 million to pay for those features, to be split among Arizona's 15 counties.

"By everyone's admission, there is only one company that can do any of this," said Jennifer Marson, executive director of the Arizona Association of Counties. "And so now, we can't have a competitive bid process or a traditional procurement process at the county or state level to use these countermeasures because we're locked into one company."

That company is Authentix, a Texas-based firm that provided Republican Rep. Mark Finchem with a sample ballot that included watermarks, QR codes and other security measures. Finchem had the sample ballot on display at the Capitol in March. According to the Yellow Sheet Report, it could be five times more expensive to print ballots with those security measures as it is to print paper ballots currently in use.

Marson said Finchem has acknowledged the security levels required of companies in the budget amendment could only be met by Authentix, and has vowed to mandate the ballot security measures in the "very near future."

Finchem defended the company in a brief email. He wrote that Authentix "offers these countermeasures to governments around the world for document and tax stamp security."

As the budget was being considered, Democrats like Sen. Tony Navarrete said the amendment is part of a broad effort to solidify conspiracy theories of election fraud.

"It's important for us to make sure we vote down conspiracy-laced amendments that are going to hurt the integrity of our election system in the state of Arizona and encourage other states to have these bad copycat laws spread like wildfire," he said.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

President Biden listens as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida.; Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden landed in Florida on Thursday to visit privately with families whose loved ones were in the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo when it collapsed.

Biden also met with first responders to thank them for their rescue work. Search and rescue efforts paused on Thursday because of structural concerns. So far, 145 people are still unaccounted for while 18 people have been confirmed dead.

During a briefing with local and state officials, Biden said the federal government would pick up 100% of the costs associated with the response to the building collapse. I think I have the power and will know shortly to be able to pick up 100% of the costs of the county and the state. I'm quite sure I can do that," Biden said.

Biden sat beside Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who thanked the president for his support, saying "we've had no bureaucracy" from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"You recognize in each individual unit, there's an amazing story, and lives have been shattered irrevocably, as a result of this," DeSantis said. "We have families with kids missing. And we even have young newlyweds who hadn't even been married a year who were in the tower when it collapsed," he said.

"What we just need now is we need a little bit of luck. We need a little bit of prayers. And you know, we would like to be able to, you know, to see some miracles happen," DeSantis said.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A voter marks his ballot at a polling place on Nov. 3, 2020, in Richland, Iowa. A new poll finds ensuring access to voting is more important than tamping down voter fraud for most Americans.; Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

A majority of Americans believes ensuring access to voting is more important than rooting out fraud, the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey finds.

At the same time, there was broad agreement that people should have to show identification when they go to the polls.

Two-thirds of Americans also believe democracy is "under threat," but likely for very different reasons.

"For Democrats, Jan. 6 undoubtedly looms large," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, referring to the violence and insurrection at the Capitol, "while, for Republicans, it's more likely about Trump and his claims of a rigged election."

Voting access vs. fraud

By a 56%-41% margin, survey respondents said making sure that everyone who wants to vote can do so is a bigger concern than making sure that no one who is ineligible votes.

But there were wide differences by political party and by race.

Among Democrats, almost 9 in 10 said access was more important, but almost three-quarters of Republicans said it was making sure no one votes who isn't eligible.

By race, a slim majority of whites said ensuring everyone who wants to vote can was most important, but almost two-thirds of nonwhites said so.

Photo ID is popular

Nearly 8 in 10 Americans said they believe voters should be required to show government-issued photo identification whenever they vote.

Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, whites and nonwhites all said so. Democrats were far lower, though, with 57% believing photo ID should be required.

Biden holding steady

President Biden gets a 50% job approval rating, largely unchanged from last month. There is a sharp partisan divide with 9 in 10 Democrats approving, and more than 8 in 10 Republicans disapproving.

Biden continues to get his highest ratings when it comes to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and his economic approval is holding steady. But Americans have less confidence in his handling of foreign policy, especially immigration. His approval on immigration ticked up slightly from March when it was last measured in the poll.

By a 50%-43% margin, respondents said Biden had strengthened America's role on the world stage.

Americans are split about whether the country is headed in the right direction or not — 49% said it wasn't, 47% said it was. It's an improvement, however, from right after the Jan. 6 insurrection when three-quarters said the country was on the wrong track.

The tone has gotten worse in Washington since Biden was elected, 41% said, but that's better than the two-thirds who said so consistently during the Trump years.

Methodology: The poll of 1,115 U.S. adults was conducted using live telephone interviewers from June 22-29. Survey questions were available in English or Spanish. The full sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points with larger margins of error for smaller group subsets.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Still from the film "Dream Horse" starring Toni Collette.

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Angie Han, Wade Major and Peter Rainer review this weekend’s new movie releases.

• "Dream Horse," in wide release & VOD (including Google Play & iTunes June 11)

• "The Dry," in select theaters (check your local listings) & VOD (including Apple TV & VUDU)

• "Milkwater," on VOD platforms (including VUDU & FandangoNow)

• "Blast Beat," in select theaters (check local listings) & VOD (including iTunes, Google Play)

• "Into The Darkness," Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema; VOD (including FandangoNow, iTunes, Google Play) 

• "New Order," in select theaters (check your local listings)

• "The New Deal For Artists," at virtual cinemas, Laemmle's Virtual Cinema June 18

• "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit," at Laemmle theaters (Town Center 5, Royal, Playhouse 7); Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema

• "Two Lottery Tickets," at Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema 

• "Final Account," Laemmle Theaters (Claremont 5, Playhouse 7, Town Center 5, Newhall), Century Stadium 25 and XD (Orange); in select theaters

• "The Last Days (Remastered)," on Netflix

• "Spring Blossom," at Laemmle's Virtual Cinema and Royal

• "Tomorrow’s Hope," at Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema

• "The Penny Black," at Laemmle's Virtual Cinema

• "Seance," in select theaters (check your local listings); VOD (including FandangoNow, Vudu, iTunes, Google Play)

DURING COVID: Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.

Guests:

Angie Han, film critic for KPCC and deputy entertainment editor at Mashable; she tweets @ajhan

Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com

Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.