Podcast
Headlines From The Times
Hosted by LA Times Studios · EN
Get essential Los Angeles Times news highlights from the L.A. Times Studios in “Headlines From The Times.” Each episode brings you a bite-sized breakdown of the day’s top news stories and biggest headlines from California and beyond. From politics and climate to entertainment and food, you’ll get the basics behind the trending topics and key news stories that matter most.
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Serena Williams' Shocking Return; U.S.-Iran Tensions Rise & L.A. Votes on Key Ballot Measures
Today00:04:41Tap to summarizeGas prices dropped modestly on Monday morning, even as crude oil prices jumped following a new round of military strikes between the U.S. and Iran. The drop may not last long, as gas price changes typically trail oil prices by a few days. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, voters across the city and county will also decide on several ballot measures that could impact taxes, healthcare, hotels, and the cannabis industry, with the biggest county-wide question being a proposed half-cent sales tax to help fund public hospitals and clinics. And Serena Williams, the greatest women's tennis player of all time, is returning to the tour four years after she left the sport. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is taking a wild card invite to play doubles next week at Queen's Club, a prestigious grass-court tournament that precedes Wimbledon. Read more at https://www.latimes.com
Transcribe →Bass, Raman, Pratt in Dead Heat as L.A. Mayoral Election Nears
Yesterday00:06:52Tap to summarizeThe showdown for LA mayor is tighter than ever. New polling from UC Berkeley co-sponsored by the L.A. Times shows Karen Bass at 26%, City Council Member Nithya Raman at 25%, and former reality TV personality Spencer Pratt at 22%, meaning Bass has a statistically insignificant lead. Governor Gavin Newsom endorsed Bass, and she's secured support from major political groups. But Pratt's anti-establishment campaign is gaining traction. Voters will also decide seven City Council seats, the City Attorney, Controller, three School Board spots, and ballot measures on hotel and cannabis taxes. On the county level, races include Sheriff, Board of Supervisors, a healthcare sales tax, and Superior Court judge positions. If you plan to vote by mail in the California primary, it's not too late. You can drop your ballot at an official drop box, take it to a polling center by 8 p.m. on election day Tuesday, June 2, or mail it. But if you send it by mail, your ballot must be postmarked on or before June 2. If you missed the voter registration deadline in May, you can still cast a ballot through the same-day conditional voter registration process by heading to a vote center or county election office. Read more at https://www.latimes.com
Transcribe →Trump's Mission to 'Make America Great Again' & Pope Leo Addresses Artificial Intelligence Risks
5d ago00:04:25Tap to summarizeDown in Texas, a stunning Republican runoff election could give Democrats an edge in the upcoming U.S. Senate race after Trump-backed Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated longtime incumbent John Cornyn. Meanwhile, Leo is speaking about the risks of artificial intelligence, pushing for more significant regulations around AI. In his first encyclical, Pope Leo says artificial intelligence needs to be “disarmed." Read more at https://www.latimes.com
Transcribe →U.S. Launches Strikes on Iran, Plus Chemical Crisis in SoCal & Sonny Rollins Remembered
6d ago00:04:37Tap to summarizeThe fragile ceasefire between the UniteThe fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran is under new pressure after the U.S. launched what they called ‘defensive’ strikes on southern Iran on Monday, with Tehran condemning the strikes as a sign of "bad faith and unreliability" as the two sides go back and forth on the terms of a long-term peace deal. Meanwhile, a chemical crisis in Southern California is cooling off. Orange County officials raised concerns late last week that a damaged chemical tank in Garden Grove could explode, forcing nearly 50,000 local residents to evacuate. But some of those evacuation orders were lifted after officials deemed the area safe, saying there was no risk of a catastrophic explosion from Garden Grove's GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems plant. And we remember jazz great Sonny Rollins, who passed away at 95 at his home in Woodstock, New York. He was born in Harlem in the 1930s, and became one of the most famous improvisers in jazz and helped transform the genre into its more expressive and free form, recording more than 60 albums as bandleader and playing with legends like Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. Read more at https://www.latimes.com
Transcribe →Elon Musk’s SpaceX Prepares for Record-Breaking IPO Next Month
2w ago00:03:23Tap to summarizeSpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket and space company is preparing to go public next month in what could become the biggest IPO to hit Wall Street. New filings reveal a sky-high projection that values the company at just over $1 trillion and estimates the offering could raise between $50 and $75 billion when shares hit the market in June. If it does, the SpaceX IPO would shatter the current record held by Saudi Aramco or the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, which raised about $26 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, James Murdoch is buying half of Vox Media for more than $300 million, with the deal including their podcast network, Vox.com, and New York Magazine. And tonight will be the final night of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” In 2015, Colbert took over from David Letterman, the first and only host of CBS's “The Late Show,” and for most of Colbert’s time with the show, he was the highest-rated late-night host.
Transcribe →Thousands Evacuate as Sandy Fire Spreads Across Simi Valley, Ebola Virus Outbreak, and NBA Conference Finals Primer
2w ago00:04:34Tap to summarizeThousands of families in Southern California's Simi Valley fled their homes on Monday, as crews raced to contain the fast-burning Sandy Fire, which has already scorched more than 1,300 acres, with strong Santa Ana winds threatening to make the fires worse Also, the World Health Organization says it is deeply concerned about a rapidly spreading Ebola virus outbreak, with over 500 suspected cases and more than 130 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. And in the first game of the NBA Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in a double-overtime battle. Meanwhile, another battle is taking shape as the New York Knicks gear up to host the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Read more at https://www.latimes.com/
Transcribe →Trump’s First China Visit in Nearly a Decade, Former Mayor of Arcadia Pleads Guilty to Acting as A Foreign Agent, and Jason Collins Passes
3w ago00:06:16Tap to summarizeIn Beijing, China, thousands of people lined the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of President Trump as he arrived in China for his first visit in nearly a decade, setting the stage for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump invited 17 of the world's biggest financial leaders to join him on the trip, including Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook, and Nvidia's Jensen Huang, with the White House pushing for new deals that could boost American agriculture and aircraft sales and establish a board of trade to help avoid another full-scale tariff war. Meanwhile, the former mayor of Arcadia, California, Eileen Wang, will plead guilty to acting as an illegal foreign agent of the Chinese government, a charge that has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. And, former NBA center Jason Collins has passed away at 47 years old after fighting glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. Collins was seen as a trailblazer, as the first openly gay player in any of America's major sports leagues. Read more at https://www.latimes.com
Transcribe →What Is Hantavirus?
3w ago00:03:40Tap to summarizeSix years after a cruise ship outbreak of COVID-19 sparked a global pandemic, fears of a similar health crisis are emerging. The World Health Organization says there have been 11 total cases, including three deaths, all among passengers or crew members. Hantavirus is a rare disease, but has a fatality rate between 30 and 40%. It's usually contracted through contact with rodent droppings, but the strain that infected those on board the luxury cruise can be spread from person to person. We spoke with L.A. Times reporter Karen Garcia and Dr. Craig Spencer, an ER doctor and public health expert at Brown University, for more on this. Read more at https://www.latimes.com
Transcribe →Pentagon Releases 162 Never-Before-Seen UFO Files — One Expert Says There's Nothing New There
3w ago00:03:05Tap to summarizeOn Friday, the Pentagon released a batch of never-before-seen files. All 162 documents, photos, and videos are related to what the government calls "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena," or what most people call UFOs. The latest files are posted to a new website from the Department of Defense, and officials say there's more to come, with files to be released to the public on a rolling basis. But one expert and former Department of Defense official that spoke with L.A. Times Studios says there's really nothing new in the files, and that the release without analysis or context could create more conspiracy theories and pseudoscience. Read more at https://www.latimes.com
Transcribe →Feds Seize 40 Pounds of Fentanyl in Los Angeles Raid
4w ago00:03:46Tap to summarize40 pounds of fentanyl were seized and 18 people arrested, as federal agents and local authorities in Los Angeles raided MacArthur Park on Wednesday in what First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli is calling "Operation Free MacArthur Park." Following the raid, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on X that the DEA and LAPD had "taken back MacArthur Park." Meanwhile, what started as a transit dream in 1962 is finally becoming a reality in Los Angeles. After nearly 65 years of roadblocks, the first phase of Metro's long-awaited D Line extension opens on Friday. It'll add nearly four miles of track under Wilshire Boulevard from Koreatown to Beverly Hills with three stations along the way, and Metro says the D Line could dramatically cut commute times. Read more at https://www.latimes.com
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