Today on AirTalk, we update you on the latest COVID-19 news and answer your questions. Also on the show, we talk to LAPD chief Michel Moore about the latest in his department; break down the new Los Angeles county COVID-19 restrictions and how they impact restaurants; and more.
COVID-19 AMA: Vaccine Race Continues As Pfizer Announces 95 Percent Effectiveness In Final Analysis, New LA County Restrictions And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Timothy Brewer, epidemiologist and professor of medicine at UCLA’s school of public health.
Topics today include:
- New L.A. County restrictions on business operating hours & capacity, outdoor gatherings, possibility of stay-at-home order in coming weeks if numbers keep rising
- Pfizer, BioNTech say final analysis shows vaccine is 95 percent effective, no safety concerns
- FDA allows 1st rapid virus test that gives results at home
- NYT: Immunity to coronavirus may last years, new data hint
Guest:
Timothy Brewer, M.D., epidemiologist and professor of medicine at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health; has served on the advisory boards of the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention
LAPD Chief Moore: Unarmed Crisis Response Team, Traffic Stop Audit And More
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore joins Larry Mantle for his monthly check-in on AirTalk. Topics discussed include:
- LAPD police union survey finds officers unsatisfied
- LAPD to dramatically downsize special units
- Los Angeles will create unarmed crisis response teams for nonviolent 911 calls
- LAPD gets approval to begin recording, storing aerial footage of protests
- LAPD bars use of third-party facial recognition systems
- LAPD clashes with protesters
- Audit finds racial disparities in LAPD stops
- L.A. police union spurns City Hall's request to meet on the budget crisis
Guest:
Michel Moore, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department; he tweets
LA County Announces COVID-19 Restrictions. What Do They Mean For Local Businesses?
Los Angeles County officials announced new restrictions on Tuesday that will limit hours of operations for some businesses starting this Friday.
In response to surging coronavirus cases, bars, restaurants and non-essential retail businesses are required to close from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., the L.A. Times reports. Businesses with indoor operations must also limit their operations to 25% capacity and outdoor operations are limited to 50% capacity. Officials have warned that stricter regulations could be on the way if case numbers continue to rise. Today on AirTalk, we discuss the restrictions and what they mean for local businesses and restaurants. Do you work in the industry? How are you feeling about the limitations? How will they impact your business? We want to hear from you. Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Charles Lew, Los Angeles-based lawyer and Small Business Commissioner for Los Angeles City; he tweets
Timothy Brewer, M.D., epidemiologist and professor of medicine at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health; has served on the advisory boards of the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Nearly 90,000 Sexual Abuse Claims Filed Against Boy Scouts of America
Close to 90,000 sexual abuse claims have been filed against the Boy Scouts of America as the Monday deadline arrived for submitting claims in the organization’s bankruptcy case.
The number far exceeds the initial projections of lawyers across the United States who have been signing up clients since the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy protection in February in the face of hundreds of lawsuits alleging decades-old sex abuse by Scout leaders.
“We are devastated by the number of lives impacted by past abuse in Scouting and moved by the bravery of those who have come forward,” the Boy Scouts said in a statement. “We are heartbroken that we cannot undo their pain.”
Eventually, the proceedings in federal bankruptcy court will lead to the creation of a compensation fund to pay out settlements to abuse survivors whose claims are upheld.
The potential size of the fund is not yet known and will be the subject of complex negotiations. The national organization is expected to contribute a substantial portion of its assets, which include financial investments and real estate. The Boy Scouts’ insurers also will be contributing, as will the Boy Scouts’ roughly 260 local councils and companies that insured them in the past.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Rachel Axon, investigative reporter at USA Today who has been following the story; she tweets
The Trip That Changed Your Life Forever
Travel can often change the way we view the world and the people with whom we share it, exposing us to slices of countries and cultures that we’ve never seen before and affording us glimpses, if only brief, of some of the greatest natural and man-made wonders our planet has to offer. But sometimes, a trip can change not only the way we perceive the world, but also our own world and approach to life.
This was the case for Wall Street Journal Digital Science Editor Daniela Hernandez, who says she returned to New York a completely different person after a two week reporting trip to Antarctica at the end of 2018.
In a piece she wrote earlier this year recalling the trip and how it changed her, she writes about how the lack of distractions from everyday life meant she spent a lot of time with her own thoughts, and that overcoming frequent physical challenges to survive the grueling environment made her feel as though she could tackle anything. As she began to journal about the trip, she says she discovered that she’d been letting fear guide her decision-making process her entire life, which she says “shattered my self-image and forced me to reassess who I wanted to be.” After the piece was published, Hernandez says she got hundreds of emails from readers sharing their own life-changing trips, and she shared some of them in a recent article.
Today on AirTalk, we want to hear about the trip that had a lasting impact on your life. We’re not talking about that time you had those life-changing fish tacos on a road trip to SF…you know, unless the fish tacos actually changed your life. We want to hear about a trip that had a profound effect on you, that made you return as a different person or with a different approach to life -- maybe it was a religious experience, a once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunity, a trip that pushed you out of your comfort zone, or the accomplishment of a lifelong travel goal. Share your life-changing trip with us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Daniela Hernandez, digital science editor for The Wall Street Journal; her June 2020 article “A Trip to Antarctica Transformed My Life” inspired many readers to write her and share their own life-changing trips, a few of which she shares in her recent piece “The Trip That Transformed My Life”; she tweets