City Of LA, Plaintiffs Settle Long-Running Homelessness Lawsuit. Where Do We Go From Here?
L.A. officials Friday announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed two years ago demanding the local government find shelter for the city's unhoused population. The 92-page complaint was first filed in March of 2020. Since then, the scope has expanded to L.A.'s larger unhoused community.
As part of the agreement with the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, the city will provide beds over the next five years in each council district for 60% of the city’s unsheltered residents. The city is expected to bring 14,000 to 16,000 beds online. L.A. County is also a defendant in the case but was not part of the proposed settlement discussions. Elizabeth Mitchell, an attorney representing the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, the plaintiff in the settlement and Bob Blumenfield, L.A. city councilmember representing the 3rd Council District, join Larry to discuss the implications of the settlement. Do you have thoughts or questions? Call 866-893-5722.
Read the full story from LAist here
As It Declines In Popularity Due To Scandal – What Is The Legacy Of Hillsong?
Since its founding in 1983, Hillsong Church has become a major fixture in what’s called “Charismatic Christianity,” but a couple sexual misconduct scandals and the resignations of its founder Brian Houston and celebrity pastor Carl Lentz have led many of its U.S. locations to split with the church.
Today on AirTalk, we discuss the significance of Hillsong for younger Christians and the impact of its rapid decline with Kutter Callaway, Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s Mission Was Happiness. His Death May Change How We Pursue It
Tech entrepreneur Tony Hsieh was a business and media darling. His online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos wasn’t just a huge financial success; it was seen as a workplace culture success, too. Hsieh believed in spreading joy with both his employees and his customers, and he also had big visions for building better communities. But that happiness came at a cost, and underlying Hsieh’s outward projections of happiness was an inner life marked by struggles with addiction, mental health, and loneliness, before his death in 2020 at the age of 46.
Today on AirTalk, Larry discusses the life of Zappos founder Tony Hsieh with Wall Street Journal reporters Kirsten Grind and Katherine Sayre, authors of the new book “Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh,” (Simon & Schuster, 2022) and what it can teach us about how we measure success.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
New Report Details Bruce Willis’ Challenges On Set With Aphasia; We Look More Into These Cognitive Diseases
Hours after Bruce Willis’ family announced his retirement due to a diagnosis of the cognitive disorder aphasia, the Los Angeles Times published an in-depth report that detailed Willis’ decline in recent years. The story painted a concerning picture of Willis’ cognitive ability on movie sets. One person recalled the Pulp Fiction star as being “puppeted,” unable to deliver his lines independently, or, at times, remember what he was doing. While aphasia is often brought on after a stroke or brain trauma, research shows it can also develop from a neurodegenerative disease, like Alzheimer’s or dementia. After reading how Willis’ colleagues struggled to understand and cope with his disease, we look into the best ways to recognize and respond when loved ones may experience memory or language challenges.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll hear from one of the reporters who broke the story detailing Bruce Willis’ decline, Amy Kaufman, L.A. Times Senior Entertainment Writer, and with Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of California Irvine, Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi, who studies and treats patients with dementia, aphasia and other degenerative diseases.
COVID-19 AMA: Developing Vaccines For Next Pandemic, Long Covid Research & More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg, professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
Topics today include:
- Coronavirus cases are spiking in some cities. Is LA County the next to be hit?
- Continuing research on long COVID
- How do we begin vaccine development to stop the next pandemic?
- Nursing home deaths are now at their lowest point since the pandemic began
Decades After The Human Genome Project Began, Scientists Map The Final 8%
Last week, a small team of scientists published the first truly complete sequence of the human genome, which they mapped with unprecedented accuracy. The discovery picks up where the Human Genome Project left off back in 2001, with the goal of generating the first sequence of the human genome. That first effort, which included an international team of more than 100 scientists, resulted in a sequence that accounted for more than 90% of the human genome. But a piece of the puzzle, 8% to be exact, was still missing because DNA sequencing technology wasn’t advanced enough to complete the full picture. When the project was picked up again in 2018 by a small group of volunteer scientists, they had to first deconstruct all the previous sequencing that had been discovered in order to place the final pieces together. The findings, scientists say, will help us better understand brain growth, neurodegenerative diseases, and provide a DNA blueprint for future discoveries.
Today on AirTalk, we’re joined by assistant professor of biomedical engineering at UC Santa Cruz, Karen Miga who was one of a few scientists to lead this latest human genome sequencing effort. We’ll discuss how her team set out to complete the sequencing and what the implications are of their findings.
