Rains may impede Thomas Fire clean-up and trigger mudslides, thousands of Salvadoran immigrants now vulnerable to deportation, the 2018 Golden Globes.
As flu season intensifies, how important is that flu shot?
Fever, muscle aches, cough, fatigue, chills. Yes. Flu season is in full swing. And this year looks to be more severe than normal.
Emergency rooms are overloaded, medicine is becoming scarce and the death toll is rising; 27 people younger than 65 have died of the flu in California since October.
"That is much worse than it was in previous years," said Michelle Faust, KPCC health reporter. "Nationwide and in California, flu activity is very high. And it's definitely spiking in the last couple of weeks."
The reason for the spike is that this current strain is particularly strong and holds up against the vaccine better than other strains.
But that doesn't mean people should skip getting the flu shot.
"If you get the flu shot, your flu symptoms are typically less than they would be without the vaccine," Faust said. "It's the difference between being sick and being admitted to the hospital."
Clarification: During this conversation, A Martinez told Michelle Faust that he had become ill after receiving the flu vaccine. To be clear: he did not mean to suggest the flu shot gave him the flu. There is no correlation there. He experienced what the Centers for Disease Control notes are possible side effects from a flu shot, including fever, headaches and muscle aches. Health professionals recommend everyone six months of age and older get a yearly flu vaccination.
Trump administration cancels protections for Salvadoran immigrants
About 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants in the U.S. are now vulnerable to deportation. The Trump administration announced today that it is canceling the Temporary Protected Status of Salvadorans who came to the U.S. after an earthquake struck the Central American country almost two decades ago.
"Temporary Protected Status is usually granted to nationals of certain countries where there's been some sort of natural disaster, ongoing armed conflict or other temporary extraordinary circumstances," said Jean Riesz, clinical teaching fellow at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
About 30,000 Salvadorans with Temporary Protected Status live in Southern California, according to Riesz.
"It's not a pathway to citizenship," Reisz said. "It doesn't get you the right to petition a relative. It allows you a work permit authorization, travel authorization during circumstances, and it allows you to remain in the United States."
But the TPS program does not prevent anyone from gaining citizenship or residence by other means. Some may have married a U.S. citizen in their time here and were eligible for permanent residence through a spouse, for example.
Reisz said that with the TPS protections set to expire, it's possible that many will be looking for other solutions to stay in the country.
"You may see certain TPS holders seeking asylum now," Reisz said. "But they have to be eligible for some other kind of immigration relief, which is usually family-based non-immigrant visas, work visas, that kind of thing."
CSU students struggle to pay for college in unexpected ways
It should come as a surprise to precisely no one that paying for college is a challenge for a lot of people. Even in the California State University system, where tuition rates are among the lowest in the country, students struggle financially. And not in the ways you might think.
Food and housing insecurity have increased college debt for some low-income CSU students — even when grants cover their tuition.
That's according to a report co-written by The Institute for College Access and Success and the Cal State Student Association.
For more, Take Two spoke to Marcos Montes, vice president of Legislative Affairs at the Cal State Student Association, and Debbie Cochrane, vice president of The Institute for College Access and Success.
Highlights:
Marcos, what are the biggest misconceptions about Cal State affordability?
The CSU gets compared to other public institutions in the nation, and they say that the CSU is relatively affordable. When it comes to tuition and fees, it is affordable, but the CSU is in the state of California, where the living costs are high for students, and that's pushing students to take out loans and work extra hours.
We have to look at it more critically and analyze why students are taking out these loans, and they're not able to focus solely on their studies.
Everything you need to know about the Golden Globes
The 75th annual Golden Globes were an awards show unlike any other. Most men and women attending were dressed in all black to bring attention to the "Time's Up" movement, founded this year to fight against sexual harassment.
The movement's presence wasn't only exhibited in the fashion of the evening. It also hung over the entire event. It inspired all of the biggest moments of the show, including Oprah's iconic speech for her Cecil B. DeMille award.
'Their time is up'
Oprah's ten-minute acceptance speech captivated the entire room, according to Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan, who joined A Martinez for a Golden Globes recap.
"I was watching people who weren't performers. I was watching two female bartenders who had been working all night making our glasses of frosé. It was the first time I saw them stop working, turn, look at the monitors and watch the show. They were rapt...Oprah was speaking to people far outside of that room."
It inspired the hashtag #Oprah2020 and has many secretly crossing their fingers for Winfrey's 2020 presidential run. You can watch the speech below.
Seth Meyers' tough gig
Seth Meyers had the task of hosting the first awards show following the Weinstein effect that started in October 2017. It was not an enviable gig, but according to critics and viewers alike, he did a respectable job.
"Seth Meyers may have had one of the trickiest jobs of the evening. You have to make people laugh. You have to engage in the controversy that everyone is talking about, and you have to keep the audience in the room with you. Those are three really tricky things to do, and I think he pulled it off."
Watch Meyer's opening monologue below.
And while Meyers got in a lot of jabs and jokes that made the rounds on social media, the rest of the presenters were a little stiff. Many pairs often just got to the stage and read the nominees. But there was one presenter who didn't mince words and took the opportunity to dish some not-so-subtle shade.
Natalie Portman: 'And here are the all male nominees' 🔥🔥🔥#GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/f2MyPkF8x6
— UPROXX (@UPROXX) January 8, 2018
Natalie Portman's sly 'all-male nominees' line made all of the directors who were nominated uncomfortable, as evidenced by their reactions immediately following her remarks.
"That was an amazing moment," Keegan said, "because the camera immediately cuts to the nominees." And the looks on the faces of Guillermo Del Toro, Ridley Scott, Martin McDonagh, Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg were visibly uncomfortable.
The next major awards show on the calendar is the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, or SAG Awards, January 21.
Stars make an impact wearing black for the Golden Globes
The red carpet at this year's Golden Globes was all about black. Stars left and right donned dark clothes as a nod to the movement against sexual harassment, particularly in Hollywood.
"It was a complete and utter blackout," says Michelle Dalton Tyree of Fashion Trends Daily. "It was sort of solidarity through style."
The entire event took on a more serious tone, too, with more substantive chats before the ceremony.
"Red carpet reporters got that message loud with entertainment outlets pivoting their coverage to ask 'Why are you wearing black?' instead of 'Who are you wearing?'" says Tyree.
The blackout may also set a trend throughout the rest of awards season and beyond.
"There’s been a fashion reckoning brewing on the red carpet for a while now, with a mandate to make coverage more meaningful," she says. "I think we will continue to see important social issues conveyed through fashion in one way or another at upcoming shows like the Oscars."