COVID-19 AMA: County Infections Decline, Tips For At-Home Test Usage & More

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Kimberly Shriner, M.D., Director of Infectious Disease and Prevention at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

Topics today include:

• Infections continue declining as L.A. County approaches 26,000 deaths
• France overcomes vaccine hesitancy through mandates and inducements 
• What is the best way to utilize COVID-19 rapid at-home tests? 
• Pfizer begins study on oral drug for COVID-19 prevention
  
  • Animation shows how the coronavirus enters a human cell and inserts the viral-RNA into a host, which the drug is meant to interrupt
    
• Associated Press: US has enough COVID-19 vaccines for boosters, kids’ shots

Representative Karen Bass Announces Mayoral Campaign

Representative Karen Bass announced in a tweet this morning that she is running for mayor of Los Angeles. She is the latest to throw her hat into the crowded ring to replace mayor Eric Garcetti, whose term is up in December 2022. Today on AirTalk, we’re talking about the state of the race with Dakota Smith, a City Hall reporter for the LA Times, Raphe Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles, and Fernando Guerra, political science professor at Loyola Marymount University. Have any questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722!

Congressional Check In: Government Spending, Infrastructure, Debt Ceiling And More

A lot is happening in congress. Lawmakers are up against a Sept. 30 deadline to pass government funding legislation, all while Democrats attempt to pass an infrastructure bill and other major spending. There’s also contention around the debt ceiling. House Democrats recently voted to suspend the debt limit through the end of 2022. Today on AirTalk we talk about all things congress with Caitlin Emma, who covers the federal budget and congressional spending bills on Capitol Hill and Jennifer Haberkorn, congressional reporter for the LA Times who is reporting from Washington D.C. Do you have questions? Call 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@kpcc.org.

The Triple Play: Rams Take Down Super Bowl Champs, Chargers Conquer Chiefs And The Dodgers Win Their 100th

It was a banner weekend for Los Angeles sports -- the Rams welcomed the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by Tom Brady, and won in convincing fashion 34-24 in front of a sold-out crowd of over 73,000 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. They now sit at 3-0, one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL, and are drawing early attention as Super Bowl contenders. The Chargers, meanwhile, hit the road for a matchup against division rival Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium, one of the toughest venues to play at in the NFL, and were able to hold off Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ high powered offense, winning 30-24 to move to 2-1 on the season. It’s a statement win for the Chargers And while the NFL season is just getting started, Major League Baseball teams are in the final stretch of their year. Many eyes are on the race for the NL West, where the Dodgers notched their 100th win of the season on Sunday but still sit two games back of the surging San Francisco Giants with six games left to play.

Today on AirTalk, we convene KPCC’s “Triple Play” of Larry Mantle, A Martinez and Nick Roman to look at what we’ve learned about the Rams and Chargers three games into the seasons, break down the home stretch of the MLB regular season for the Dodgers and maybe sneak in a quick look at NBA Training Camp, which begins this week.

New Research Shows Humans Arrived To North America Earlier Than Previously Thought

The journal Science recently published a report, conducted in New Mexico, which showcased a fossilized human footprint roaming along White Sands National Park approximately 23,000 to 21,000 years ago.

Today on AirTalk, Larry discusses with two of the study’s authors, Kathleen Springer and Jeff Pigati, about their findings.