US Justice Dept to ramp up staffing for immigration cases
Australia household spending rises for fourth month in January
Trump policy change prompts bid to dismiss foreign agent case
China’s foreign minister criticizes US tariffs and accuses the country of ‘meeting good with evil’
US dollar struggles near 4-month low amid growth concern; jobs data in spotlight
SpaceX Starship failure prompts diversions, Florida airports ground stops
The photographer capturing the ‘indescribable magic’ of Australia’s landscapes
King Charles reveals music soundtrack to his life to mark Commonwealth Day
Environment
Winter alerts continue: See the storm forecast
CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam reports on a storm system that could bring snow to California and a wintery mix to the Northeast over the weekend.
Latest From The Los Angeles Post
Education
Children from around the world unite to celebrate the planet
For Call to Earth Day 2024, students took action to better protect the planet.
Africa
How Trump's USAID cuts impact women in South Africa
Thandiwe Mhlambi talks to Christiane Amanpour about how USAID has bettered her life, and what life may be like without it.
Arts
Author Aamna Mohdin on her new book, "Scattered"
Author and correspondent Aamna Mohdin joins Isa's Book Club to discuss her new book, "Scattered: The making and unmaking of a refugee"
Arts
Author David Nicholls discusses his new novel "You Are Here"
Isa Soares speaks with best-selling author David Nicholls about "You Are Here" on this edition of "Isa's Book Club".
Health
How breakthroughs in AI are helping to design life-saving drugs faster than ever before
A team of scientists at the University of Toronto have successfully implemented AI tools to speed up the process of discovering new possible cancer treatments, from years to just a month.
Health
Disinfectants and cleaning products harboring toxic chemicals are widely used despite lack of screening for potential health hazards
Quaternary ammonium compounds can linger on surfaces and in indoor air and dust long after the disinfectant has dried. Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Concerns about unnecessary use of a common class of antimicrobial chemicals used in disinfectants reinforces recommendations to opt for soap and water or safer products, my colleagues and I determined in our recent critical review of the scientific literature. Quaternary ammonium compounds, or QACs, are increasingly marketed and used in homes, schools and workplaces with limited evidence for their appropriateness or safety.
Health
FDA's approval of the world's first vaccine against RSV will offer a new tool in an old fight – 4 questions answered
The long-awaited vaccine is a necessary tool in the fight against the most common respiratory viruses. angelp/iStock via Getty Images Plus The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the world’s first vaccine to prevent the respiratory infection RSV, short for respiratory syncytial virus, on May 3, 2023. The new shot represents six decades of starts and stops in the hunt for a vaccine to curb one of the most common winter respiratory viruses. RSV leads to around 14,000 deaths in older adults every year and can cause severe illness in infants and children as well. The vaccine, called Arexvy, made
Health
What does ending the emergency status of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US mean in practice? 4 questions answered
COVID-19 hasn’t vanished, but at this point it’s doing less damage. Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic’s public health emergency status in the U.S. expires on May 11, 2023. And on May 5, the World Health Organization declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, designation that had been in place since Jan. 30, 2020. Still, both the WHO and the White House have made clear that while the emergency phase of the pandemic has ended, the virus is here to stay and could continue to wreak havoc. WHO Director General Tedros
World
Why so many South Korean women are refusing to date, marry or have kids
South Korean women protest against sexism and digital sex crimes, such as the making of pornography using hidden cameras. Jean Chung/Getty Images
Health
Gay men can now donate blood after FDA changes decades-old rule – a health policy researcher explains the benefits
Allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood would help alleviate chronic blood supply shortages in the U.S. Petri Oeschger/Moment via Getty Images The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on May 11, 2023, that it has officially dropped restrictions that prohibit gay and bisexual men from donating blood under many circumstances on May 11, 2023. The ban was initially put in place in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, but for years medical professionals and gay rights advocates have argued that the ban was no longer medically justifiable and that it unnecessarily discriminated against men who have sex
Environment
Lack of affordable child care is hurting young farm families' ability to grow their businesses – the US farm bill may finally offer some help
Kerissa and Charlie Payne are beginning farmers living their dream of raising two daughters on a farm in Central Ohio. By conventional measures, their livestock farm, Covey Rise, is a success. Yet, below the surface, the challenge of finding quality affordable child care has kept their business from growing and reaching its full potential. “It feels like we’re always split between keeping the kids safe on the farm, being a good parent, and the needs of the farm,” Kerissa Payne said. The United States has a child care crisis, yet the issue remains largely invisible in the farm sector. For
Health
Pivotal points in the COVID-19 pandemic – 5 essential reads
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has evolved over time into multiple variants and sublineages. loops7 / E+ via Getty Images Experts have made it clear that the end of the COVID-19 national emergency, which was lifted on May 11, 2023, does not mean an end to the pandemic. But this shift signals a remarkable turning point in a pandemic that is well into its fourth year – something that few could have imagined when the U.S. national emergency went into effect in March 2020. Likewise, the World Health Organization’s announcement on May 5 that it was ending the COVID-19
World
8-year-old girl dies in Border Patrol custody in Texas, as agency struggles with overcrowding
A little girl from Panama born with heart problems died in Border Patrol custody Wednesday, the second death of a child from Latin America in U.S. government custody in two weeks. The 8-year-old girl and her family were being held in Harlingen, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the busiest corridors for migrant crossings. The Border Patrol’s parent agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, has struggled with overcrowding at its facilities, spurred by a large increase in migrants ahead of the expiration last week of a key regulation on immigration linked to the COVID-19
Health
Parasitic infections hit the health of low-income Black communities where states have neglected sewage systems
A microscopic image of a hookworm egg that can cause intestinal problems in humans. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Intestinal infections take a heavy toll on impoverished Black communities that have out-of-date sewage systems. These infections often spread through contaminated soil and water and are among the most common diseases worldwide. Approximately one-quarter of the global population is infected with soil-transmitted helminths, intestinal parasitic worms that can cause serious health problems. Additionally, up to 50% of people around the world are infected with Helicobacter pylori, bacteria that live in the stomach and can cause ulcers and cancer. I am a biological anthropologist,
Economy
Unionized bodies in topless bar! Strippers join servers and baristas in new labor movement
Dancers at Star Garden in LA have voted for union representation. Mario Tama/Getty Images Dancers at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in Los Angeles have voted to become the only unionized strippers in the U.S. – joining a growing trend of young employees seeking workplace protection though labor mobilization. On May 18, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board announced that balloted employees at the topless bar had voted 17-0 in favor of joining the Actors’ Equity Association. It makes Star Garden the first unionized strip club since the now-defunct Lusty Lady in San Francisco and Seattle. That 1996 union
Arts
Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith: Supreme Court rules for income streams over artistic freedom
Andy Warhol in Milan, Italy, January 1987. Leonardo Cendamo/Hulton Archive via Getty Images The Supreme Court has made it more difficult to quote from existing imagery, music and text, and harder to critique society by borrowing and amplifying others’ works. The 7-2 majority opinion in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith builds on the copyright and fair use decisions of the past 200 years. At first glance, it reads like the triumph of an independent creator over more powerful forces that seek to profit from original work without paying. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority,
Arts
Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith: Supreme Court rules for income streams over artistic freedom
Andy Warhol in Milan, Italy, January 1987. Leonardo Cendamo/Hulton Archive via Getty Images The Supreme Court has made it more difficult to quote from existing imagery, music and text, and harder to critique society by borrowing and amplifying others’ works. The 7-2 majority opinion in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith builds on the copyright and fair use decisions of the past 200 years. At first glance, it reads like the triumph of an independent creator over more powerful forces that seek to profit from original work without paying. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority,
Economy
AI is changing how Americans find jobs, get promoted and succeed at work
Insights from artificial intelligence will influence promotions and detect bias in the workplace. Yuichiro Chino/Moment via Getty Images Whether we realize it or not, advancements in artificial intelligence are increasingly influencing the paths of our careers. Advancements in human capital management systems, more strategic and data-driven human resource and talent management practices, and increased attention to bias are all factors that are changing how people are hired, developed, promoted and fired. I teach and work in talent management and leadership development. I’ve used these programs and practices in the real world and continue to learn and research how these practices
Economy
GOP's proposed expansion of SNAP work requirements targets many low-income people in their early 50s – but many of them already work
Many Americans in their early 50s take care of older loved ones. FredFroese/E+ via Getty Imagres The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Roughly half of the people who would be affected by a proposed expansion of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements already do what’s needed to meet those requirements. There’s also evidence suggesting that many of the rest have caregiving or health conditions that prevent them from working. Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP helps low-income people buy groceries. Republicans want the federal government to make SNAP benefits for adults age
World
Biden's shift on F-16s for Ukraine came after months of internal debate
President Joe Biden’s decision to allow allies to train Ukrainian forces on how to operate F-16 fighter jets — and eventually to provide the aircraft themselves — seemed like an abrupt change in position but was in fact one that came after months of internal debate and quiet talks with allies. Biden announced during last week’s Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, that the U.S. would join the F-16 coalition. His green light came after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spent months pressing the West to provide his forces with American-made jets as he tries to repel Russia’s
Environment
Coca-Cola's biggest challenge in greening its operations is its own global marketing strategy
Egyptian workers push Coca-Cola branded refrigerators, provided free to grocers, through a Cairo street. Mohammed Al-Sehiti/AFP via Getty Images Coca-Cola is one of the world’s most widely recognized brands. Its global reach, spanning more than 200 countries, was the theme of a 2020 commercial that showed families drinking Coke with their meals in cities from Orlando, Florida, to Shanghai, London, Mexico City and Mumbai, India. Operating on that scale creates a big carbon footprint. The company uses over 200,000 vehicles to distribute its products every day and runs hundreds of bottling plants and syrup factories across the globe. But Coke’s
Environment
Is generative AI bad for the environment? A computer scientist explains the carbon footprint of ChatGPT and its cousins
AI chatbots and image generators run on thousands of computers housed in data centers like this Google facility in Oregon. Tony Webster/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA Generative AI is the hot new technology behind chatbots and image generators. But how hot is it making the planet? As an AI researcher, I often worry about the energy costs of building artificial intelligence models. The more powerful the AI, the more energy it takes. What does the emergence of increasingly more powerful generative AI models mean for society’s future carbon footprint? “Generative” refers to the ability of an AI algorithm to produce complex data.
Environment
More than two dozen cities and states are suing Big Oil over climate change – they just got a boost from the US Supreme Court
Honolulu has lost more than 5 miles of its famous beaches to sea level rise and storm surges. Sunny-day flooding during high tides makes many city roads impassable, and water mains for the public drinking water system are corroding from saltwater because of sea level rise. The damage has left the city and county spending millions of dollars on repairs and infrastructure to try to adapt to the rising risks. Future costs will almost certainly be higher. More than US$19 billion in property value, at today’s dollars, is at risk by 2100 from projected sea level rise, driven by greenhouse
