The Latest With US Congressional Races And What They Mean For The House, Senate And Beyond
Two threatened U.S. House Republicans in California triumphed over Democratic challengers Monday, helping move the GOP within a seat of seizing control of the chamber while a string of congressional races in the state remained in play. In a bitter fight southeast of Los Angeles, Republican Rep. Michelle Steel defeated Democrat Jay Chen in a district that was specifically drawn to give Asian Americans, who comprise the largest group in the district, a stronger voice on Capitol Hill. East of Los Angeles, Republican Rep. Ken Calvert notched a win over Democrat Will Rollins, establishing an edge in the contest. Ten races in the state remained undecided as vote-counting continued, though only a handful were seen as tight enough to break either way. It takes 218 seats to control the House. Republicans have locked down 217 seats so far, with Democrats claiming 205.
Joining us today on AirTalk is Sara Sadhwani, politics professor at Pomona College and commissioner on the 2020 Citizens Redistricting Commission, and Mark Barabak, political columnist for the LA Times.
With files from the Associated Press
CalMatters Launches New Database Tracking Police Shootings Of Unarmed Civilians. Here’s What It Shows So Far
A new project from CalMatters looks to offer a more comprehensive look at police shootings of unarmed civilians. The tracker includes shootings that are under investigation by the California Department of Justice, which has opened 25 of those investigations since July of 2021. That’s when a law allowing the department to do so went into effect. But the department has only issued one report so far looking at a Los Angeles shooting that happened July 15, 2021. CalMatter’s new tracker includes state Justice Department data, post-incident briefings, coroner reports, body camera footage, dispatcher audio and local news accounts. Nigel Duara, justice reporter for Calmatters, joins AirTalk to discuss the new tracker and the main takeaways so far.
You can learn more about the CalMatters project and database here.
We reached out to the California Department of Justice to see if Attorney General Rob Bonta could join the discussion, but we did not hear back by the time of broadcast.
SoCal’s First Winter Storm of The Season Has Passed, But Where Does All That Stormwater Go?
The drought continues, despite the wet the weather earlier this week. For decades, L.A. sent most of its stormwater to the ocean, with little of it being captured for use. But the climate crisis is forcing a paradigm shift. L.A. gets most of its water from the snow that falls in the Sierra Nevada mountains. It melts into reservoirs, then is piped hundreds of miles to Southland cities. But the climate emergency is making snow a decreasingly reliable source of water. That’s why we’ll need to capture more rainfall at a local level, said Mark Pestrella, director of L.A. County Public Works. In 2018, L.A. County voters approved Measure W, a tax to fund more stormwater capture programs across the county. So far, more than a billion dollars has been generated.
Joining us to discuss these latest stormwater capture efforts is KPCC/LAist Climate Emergency reporter, Erin Stone.
With Files From LAist
University of California Academic Workers Go On Strike, We Discuss Negotiations & The Impacts
A union consisting of 48,000 student workers, with a range of positions like teaching assistants, researchers and tutors, are collectively striking as the UC system isn’t meeting its demands of better pay and benefits. This began on Monday, where workers all collectively striked at their respective UC campuses, with union leaders having suggested this would be the be the biggest strike at any academic institution in history.
Today on AirTalk, we get the latest news surrounding negotiations between student workers and the UC system with Shawn Hubler, California correspondent for the New York Times.
Iran Is Cracking Down On Young Protesters
As protests in Iran stretch into their second month over the detainment and death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, authorities are targeting thousands of minors on a scale that hasn’t been seen before. The United Nations reports that over 14,000 people have been arrested and state media reported that one protester has been sentenced to death for setting fire to a building. What has also become increasingly alarming to human rights groups is the brutal crackdown on the nation’s youth. Many are being beaten and thrown into detention cells. A Norway-based Human Rights group has recorded the death of at least 326 people by Iranian police since the start of the protests. That includes at least 43 children.
Joining us today on AirTalk to discuss the latest on the protests and police brutality in Iran is Farnaz Fassihi, United Nations Bureau Chief for the New York Times and journalist covering Iran and Sarah Gualtieri, professor of American Studies, History and Middle East Studies at USC.
COVID-19 AMA: Fears Of A Winter “Tripledemic” Rising Alongside Cases, Plus More Insights Into The Long Term Effects of COVID
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center.
Topics today include:
- Patients suffering COVID depression after bouts with long COVID
- Child in California dies of Flu and RSV as ‘Tripledemic’ concerns linger
- High flu activity in California
- RSV surges in OC hospitals
- COVID-19 on the rise in Inland SoCal & Los Angeles
- Repeat COVID infections more Dangerous than originally thought
- “Paxlovid Rebound” may not be related to Paxlovid
- Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 now Dominant in the U.S.
- Little likelihood of finding Ancestor of virus that causes COVID
Maine Man Finds 700 Year Old Document Worth $10,000 At Estate Sale -- What’s Your Best Find?
A Maine bargain hunter recently stumbled upon, quite literally, way more than he bargained for after he went to an estate sale and purchased a framed document for $75 that turned out to be a long-lost page from a 13th century French church missal that experts estimate is worth more than $10,000. Now, this lucky collector’s story isn’t the norm, but it’s certainly not the first story of treasure hunters unknowingly coming into possession of an incredibly valuable item at a yard sale because the seller is unaware of what it truly is.
Today on AirTalk, we’re opening up our phones to hear from you -- what’s your best garage sale, yard sale, flea market or estate sale find? Maybe it’s not a 700 year old document worth $10,000, but maybe it was a product that you loved and was discontinued? Or maybe an item you were searching for to add to a collection? Or, maybe you did hit the jackpot and find an antique of some kind that was actually worth way more than the seller realized?