Sung Kang (L) and Vin Diesel (R) in the film “F9: The Fast Saga"; Credit: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
FilmWeek MarqueeLarry Mantle and KPCC film critics Amy Nicholson and Christy Lemire review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on-demand platforms.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
MPK Night Market. ; Credit: MPK Night Market (via YouTube)
Ahhhhh. Can you feel that breeze? Cool temps are here to stay through Sunday and we're going ham (in a totally respectable, public radio kind of way). Because frankly, we all deserve a break after sweating ourselves through this near-awful workweek.
Here's everything you need to know:
These people are serious about volleyball — and they look damn good doing it. Take a trip to Hermosa Beach this weekend, where the National Volleyball League will be hosting its fifth tour stop of the season. The championship will feature 32 elite men’s and women’s teams, all competing for a prize of $50,000. Come by at noon Saturday for a free juniors’ clinic (all ages welcome). Sign up here.
When: Friday through Sunday | Schedule here
Where: Hermosa Beach Pier | MAP
Price: Free
Video: Music Center's Dance Downtown
We know you're dying to show off your salsa skills. Join dancers of all levels at the Music Center's last Dance Downtown of the summer on Friday night. Temps are dropping (hallelujah!) so pack a picnic and get movin'.
When: 6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday
Where: The Music Center Plaza | MAP
Price: Free
Looking for something a little different and a bit creepy? The reading series Shades and Shadows focuses solely on horror, sci-fi, fantasy and any other form of dark literature that you’re afraid to put down. To honor its one-year anniversary, the group will be haunting the California Institute of Abnormalarts. (Yes, this exists. It's in North Hollywood). Stop by for an all-female lineup, including Nancy Holder of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the Internet's most famous mortician, Caitlin Doughty.
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: California Institute of Abnormalarts | MAP
Price: $10
It doesn't feel like fall. The sun is blazing and the thought of drinking a pumpkin-spice latte is just gross. That's why we're sipping on cold beer instead. Savor seasonal craft brews with sausage, sauerkraut and soft pretzels at Angel City Brewery's Oktoberfest on Sunday. Festivities will include keg races, live polka music, ping pong and brewery tours. The best part? You're drinking for a good cause — a portion of the event’s beer and retail store sales will go to the Downtown Women’s Center.
When: Noon to 8 p.m. Sunday
Where: Angel City Brewery | MAP
Price: Free admission
Video: Every food you ever wanted
Have your pick of tacos, sliders, pressed juice or even a sushi burrito at Monterey Park's Night Market on Friday. That's not all — other highlights include food and dessert from Sticky Rice and Ice Cream Lab. After indulging, walk it off while viewing funky art prints, interesting hand-painted rocks and L.A.-inspired oil pantings.
When: 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Barnes Park | MAP
Price: Free admission; eat at your own will
Watch: The best of Johnny Depp
Take a break from Netflix and catch classic Johnny Depp in "Benny and Joon" at Pershing Square on Friday. Pack a picnic, bring a blanket or lawn chair and watch the '90s flick on a 20-foot inflatable screen. Pro tip: Dogs are welcome (if on a leash). For quick easy access to Pershing Square take the Metro (Pershing Square 5th street stop) or park in the Pershing Square Garage.
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Pershing Square | MAP
Price: Free
(Photo: Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC)
Spend a leisurely day kayaking the waves of the Pacific. Head to Malibu Surf Shack and grab a one- or two-seater before staking your spot on Malibu Lagoon State Beach. The state park has shallow tide pools and a lagoon with pelicans — plus, it's home to the Malibu Pier. Pro tip: Wear sunscreen and don't drop your phone in the ocean while taking selfies, people.
When: The Surf Shack is open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Malibu Lagoon State Beach | MAP
Price: $35 per day for single kayak; $50 per day for double kayak
Video: We are gonna have a cat party
Imagine watching "America's Funniest Home Videos," but every entry includes a cat. That's what's happening Sunday at the L.A. Feline Film Festival. Sit back and enjoy over an hour of the most popular feline flicks from the Internet. Special guests include Lil Bub, Tara the Hero and Dusty Klepto Kitty. There will also be music, cat adoptions, a cat costume contest, food and drink. Pro tip: Cat flair is obviously encouraged.
When: 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday
Where: Exposition Park | MAP
Price: $15 admission; $15 parking | Purchase tix here
What'd we miss? Let me know on Twitter @KristenLepore.
File: Queen's Freddie Mercury has his mustache groomed.
; Credit: Steve Wood/Express/Getty Images
The new Queen compilation "Queen Forever" includes three previously unreleased tracks, but the one that has people talking is a collaboration between two legends: Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson.
The new song, "There Must Be More to Life Than This," was an unfinished track recorded during studio sessions for the 1981 Queen album "Hot Space," according to a press release on the new compilation. Queen also looked at the song for 1984's "The Works," but still don't go with it — the song finally landed, sans Jackson, on 1985's Mercury solo album "Mr. Bad Guy."
Listen to the new version of the song here:
Michael Jackson/Queen Soundcloud
Listen to the originally recorded version of the Queen/Jackson collaboration below:
The new version was produced by William Orbit, who also did a remix of the song.
"Hearing Michael Jackson's vocals was stirring. So vivid, so cool, and poignant, it was like he was in the studio singing live. With Freddie's vocal solo on the mixing desk, my appreciation for his gift was taken to an even higher level," Orbit said in a press release.
The song is a call for peace, talking human rights in a general way. It almost didn't end up on the album — Queen's Brian May said that working with the Jackson family and Jackson's estate was like "wading through glue," according to Philly.com, but the track ended up making the cut.
The album also includes unreleased song "Let Me In Your Heart Again" and a new version of a song Mercury released solo, an acoustic take on "Love Kills." "Let Me In Your Heart Again" was previously recorded and released by May's wife Anita Dobson.
"Freddie sounds as fresh as yesterday," May said at a press conference while the new compilation was in the works.
Listen to Mercury's solo version of "There Must Be More to Life Than This" below:
There Must Be More To Life Than This, solo
Listen to Anita Dobson's version of "Let Me In (Your Heart Again)" below:
Liam Neeson stars as Matthew Scudder in "A Walk Among the Tombstones." ; Credit: Universal Pictures
Screenwriter and director Scott Frank has been trying to make “A Walk Among the Tombstones” for more than a decade, but it wasn't until Liam Neeson signed on that his efforts finally came into view.
Based on the Lawrence Block novel, “Tombstones” stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder, an ex-cop working as an unlicensed private investigator. He agrees to help a well-to-do drug trafficker hunt down the kidnappers who have brutally murdered his wife.
Frank wrote the screenplay and, after the departures of other attached directors, Frank decided to step behind the cameras himself.
When he came by The Frame studio, Frank spoke with host John Horn about Neeson's great strengths as an action hero and how he convinced Neeson to sign on to the project.
John Horn: Liam Neeson has evolved in a fascinating way as an action hero. When did you start having conversations with him about this movie, and what was it about him as an actor that made it feel like the right fit?
"Well, what's interesting is that Larry Block, the novelist, had always said, going way back to 2003 or something, that the perfect actor for this, after [he saw] 'Michael Collins'...would be Liam Neeson. Chris Andrews, who is Liam's agent, always loved the script and was always trying to find a way to put it together, and he's the one who gave it to Liam back when D.J. [Caruso] was going to direct. So the first time I met Liam to talk about the movie, I was talking to him as the writer, not as the director of the movie. And then when D.J. fell out to go do a different movie at Sony...we had a conversation about directing the movie.
JH: Was this before or after the first "Taken" had come out?
This was well after the first 'Taken,' this was right before the second 'Taken.'
JH: So Liam is...succeeding as a version of that character, and I wonder if that success cuts both ways, that maybe there's a reluctance on his part to not do something that's quite as similar? Or is that part of your conversation that you have with him?
It absolutely cuts both ways, and that was a huge part of the conversation because there's a kidnapping in this story, and there he is on the telephone for a few minutes at the end of the movie talking to kidnappers, and there are similarities [to 'Taken']. And he knew that was the way to sell the movie, and so he was very reluctant. And I talked to him and I had him watch 'Klute,' and I said, "That's the movie we're gonna make. We're not going to make 'Taken,' we're going to make a movie that's like 'Klute,' or a little bit like 'Dirty Harry,' or one of those old-school '70s films. It's going to feel more like that than an action movie."
JH: Liam Neeson's not physically imposing, but there's something about him that really kind of makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. What is it about him as an actor in this kind of part?
Well, there's a couple things. One: you believe him. No matter what he's talking about, it seems authentic and true...he has this thing about him that, whatever he's doing, you believe him. Two: he's one of those actors like Gene Hackman where he can convey exposition and make it feel like character. He can talk pages of exposition and make it all feel like it's character and drama — it's a great thing. The other thing about him is that he has this real gravitas, and it almost borders on sadness sometimes; it's interesting when you watch him and you feel like there's all this other life going on behind him.
JH: That he has nothing to lose, in other words.
Nothing to lose, and he says that at one point in the film, but I think it's those things that are all at work at the same time.
The relationship between pianist Justin Kauflin and trumpeter Clark Terry is at the heart of the documentary, "Keep On Keepin' On."; Credit: COURTESY OF RADiUS-TWC
Trumpeter Clark Terry played in Count Basie's and Duke Ellington's bands. He was the first African American hired for The Tonight Show band. He mentored the teenage prodigies Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. But Terry isn't as well known as you might think he'd be.
Thanks to the new documentary, "Keep On Keepin' On," you can see Clark Terry — or C.T., as everyone calls him — in action. The film tells the story of Terry's early love of the trumpet, his quick rise through the jazz ranks, and how he's devoted much of his life to inspiring other musicians — all with a sparkle in his eye.
The movie is directed by first time filmmaker Alan Hicks and made on a shoestring budget. Hicks is himself a drummer and had been one of Terry's students. Originally it was going to be a short film about Terry and Hicks' relationship, funded by the Australian Broadcasting Company. (Hicks is from Australia.) When that financing fell through, Hicks improvised. Determined to tell the world about Terry, he and a childhood buddy, Adam Hart, decided to do it themselves — despite having no filmmaking experience. They bought a camera and plane tickets to the U.S. and began following Terry.
For many years their schedule was to shoot until they ran out of funds, usually about three months, work for a few months to save more money, then go back to shooting. To demonstrate how Terry mentors his students, they followed one young man in particular. Justin Kauflin is a blind jazz pianist with stage fright who would spend days and nights practicing at Terry's bedside. Over the course of the film, as we learn about Terry's past, we see the aging trumpeter in the present (he's now 93) — struggling with advanced diabetes, but always composing riffs from his bed late into the night.
In one moving scene, Kauflin is riddled with anxiety as he prepares to compete in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz competition. Terry sends him an audio letter and some lucky socks for inspiration.
Years into the project, when Quincy Jones came to visit Terry, he met Kauflin and the filmmakers. Eventually Jones signed on as an executive producer of "Keep On Keepin' On" — as is only fitting given that, at age 13, he'd been Terry's first student.
Jones, Hicks and Kauflin spoke with The Frame about Terry and his unparalleled talent as a musician and as a mentor.
Source: Streetwise Reports 10/23/2024
Lithium Ionic Corp. (LTH:TSX.V; LTHCF:OTCQX; H3N:FSE) has announced the initiation of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) services for its flagship Bandeira Lithium Project. See why the CEO Blake Hyland says that the company's momentum towards production is stronger than ever.Lithium Ionic Corp. (LTH:TSX.V; LTHCF:OTCQX; H3N:FSE) has announced the initiation of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) services for its flagship Bandeira Lithium Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Globally recognized engineering firm Hatch Ltd. will lead engineering and design services. Reta Engenharia, a leading Brazilian construction management firm, will manage construction. This significant milestone signals the project's progression into the construction and development phase as Lithium Ionic moves closer to production.
Key Highlights from the company press release:
In the company's news release, Blake Hylands, CEO of Lithium Ionic, noted the importance of this transition, "Our momentum towards production is stronger than ever as we kick off the engineering and construction management phase with our esteemed partners, Hatch and Reta."
The Bandeira Project is advancing through the permitting process at both state and federal levels, with key approvals expected soon. Initial production is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026, following the approval of the Licença Ambiental Concomitante (LAC) and subsequent Mining Concession and Operating License.
Visual Capitalist reported on September 29 that despite the price drop, lithium-ion battery demand is projected to increase ninefold by 2040. This move is driven by the continued growth of the EV market and broader electrification trends.
Greg Jones of BMO Capital Markets described new drill results from the Bandeira project as continuing to "highlight the exploration potential at the property" and suggested that these results could present opportunities for optimization.
This long-term growth trajectory supports the ongoing development of lithium projects like Lithium Ionic's Bandeira Project in Brazil, which aims to meet this increasing global demand.
As Forbes reported on October 8, lithium prices had fallen by nearly 90% since their peak in 2022.
This is attributed to an oversupply of the commodity and slower-than-expected electric vehicle (EV) sales. Despite these challenges, industry experts indicated that the sector was showing early signs of recovery.
Also, on October 8, Barry Dawes of Martin Place Securities highlighted that "the lithium market is showing strong signs of upturn" and suggested that lithium shortages are likely after 2027, reinforcing the long-term potential of the sector. His comments reflected a growing optimism for the post-2027 period. It is then that demand for lithium is expected to outstrip supply.
Lithium Ionic's Bandeira Project is positioned as a critical development in Brazil's Lithium Valley. According to the company's investor presentation, this project is expected to deliver significant output. A Feasibility Study projects a 14-year mine life, producing 178,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate annually. The post-tax net present value (NPV) is projected at US$1.3 billion with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 40%.
The company's strategic partnerships with Hatch and Reta, combined with the strong regional infrastructure in Minas Gerais, which includes renewable hydroelectric power and proximity to export markets, are expected to accelerate the development of the project. These factors are key drivers of Lithium Ionic's goal to become one of Brazil's major lithium producers, contributing to the growing global demand for lithium in the electric vehicle market.
Analysts have shown optimism about Lithium Ionic Corp., particularly regarding the potential of its Bandeira Lithium Project. Katie Lachapelle from Canaccord Genuity, in her September 10, 2024, research note, highlighted the company's progress in securing approvals for the Final Exploration Reports for the Bandeira and Outro Lado lithium properties.
Lachapelle emphasized that the next major catalyst would be the approval of the Licença Ambiental Concomitante (LAC), which is needed to begin construction at the Bandeira project. She maintained a Speculative Buy rating with a target price of CA$2.50, representing a potential upside of 303% from the price at the time of the report. Lachapelle also noted the company's CA$35 million cash balance following recent financing transactions but indicated that additional funds would be required to cover the estimated US$266 million in initial capital costs.
On October 8, 2024, Greg Jones of BMO Capital Markets provided further positive insights into Lithium Ionic's development. He described new drill results from the Bandeira project as continuing to "highlight the exploration potential at the property" and suggested that these results could present opportunities for optimization. Jones maintained an Outperform rating on the stock, with a target price of CA$1.25, reflecting a 40% potential return. He also emphasized that the company traded below the peer median, with its lithium carbonate equivalent valued at US$40 per ton, compared to US$60 for peers, marking it as undervalued. He further pointed out that Lithium Ionic was one of BMO's preferred lithium developers. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-11098]
According to the company, management and insiders own 20% of the Lithium Ionic.
One of the insiders, President & Director Helio Diniz, owns 5.52%, Director Michael Lawrence Guy owns 5.10%, Director David Patrick Gower owns 2.56%, and Andre Rezende Gumaraes owns 2.52%, according to Reuters.
30% is held by institutional investors. Reuters reports Waratah Captial Advisors owns 7.01%, JGP Gestao de Recursos Ltda owns 2.69%, RBC Global Asset Management Inc owns 1.94%, Sprott Asset Management LP owns 1.55%, BMO Asset Management owns 1.30%, and IXIOS Asset Management SA owns 1.20%. The rest is retail.
Lithium Ionic has 158.58 million shares outstanding and 131.15 million free-float traded shares.
The company's market cap is CA$135 million, and it trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.41 - 2.24 per share.
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( Companies Mentioned: LTH:TSX.V; LTHCF:OTCQX; H3N:FSE, )
Off-Ramp producer Queena Kim acts on behalf of millions of Angelenos. The meter didn't stand a chance.
; Credit: John Rabe/KPCC
John Rabe | Off-Ramp®Off-Ramp began eleven years ago, just as digital technology was beginning to overtake radio. No more cassette tape or mini-discs; host John and producer Queena Kim thought they could take on all of Los Angeles with two digital audio recorders and a different approach to public radio.
Short-handed as they were, John and Queena had to adopt slash-and-burn tactics to get each show produced on time. The majority of interviews were conducted in the field; at the homes, workplaces, and favorite hang-outs of their subjects (instead of waiting for guests to come to the station) and many of the stories were edited as simple two-way interviews with life in Southern California picked up as ambient, background noise. After all, a show called Off-Ramp had better be ready to brave some LA traffic.
At this juncture, John feels free to say what he has always wanted to, but hasn't for fear of self-aggrandizement: "I think we were trendsetters. I think Marketplace and NPR heard the stuff we were doing, and started doing stuff like it." Once again, Kim chalks it up to being in the right place at the right time technologically, and the two person team's willingness to break out of the old-school, public radio way writing a story: with a very clear sonic difference between studio narration and field audio.
Of course, it wasn't just Marantz recorders and minimal rewriting that gave Off-Ramp its flavor. There was a whole lot of weird spewing up out of Los Angeles during the show's formative years and Kim's tenure (2006-2010). She recalls covering a ten-theremin orchestra at Disney Hall, and the excitement of working on a show that let her (and the listeners, vicariously) do things she always wanted to do. "It was almost like having a free pass to the city."
In order to capture what was new and exciting, John and Queena both agree that it was absolutely vital to abandon the reporter's instinct for safely packaging the story ahead of time. John cites his editor at Minnesota Public Radio's philosophy, Mike Edgerly; "Go find what the story is, go out and explore and figure out what the story is. Don't figure it out at your desk first." The collaboration between John's ideas and Kim's sense of logistics formed a dialectic relationship, valuing the "third, better idea" over either of their original perspectives. In light of that, John says Queena Kim was the perfect person with whom to start Off-Ramp.
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
A teen gets a dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at Holtz Children's Hospital in Miami on May 18. Nearly 7 million U.S. teens and pre-teens (ages 12 through 17) have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, so far, the CDC says.; Credit: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Joanne Silberner | NPRIt's been a little more than a month since adolescents as young as 12 became eligible in the United States to receive the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19, and nearly all reports have been positive: The vaccine is very effective in this age group, and the vast majority of kids experience mild side effects, if any — the same sore arm or mild flu-like symptoms seen among adults who get the shot.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone 12-years-old and older get vaccinated against COVID-19, and the rollout is well underway: According to the CDC, nearly 7 million U.S. teens and pre-teens (ages 12 through 17) have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, so far.
Still, soon after the FDA authorized the use of Pfizer's vaccine in young people, federal agencies began receiving reports of mild chest pain or other signs of possible heart inflammation (known as myocarditis) in a very small percentage of recently vaccinated teens.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing Friday that there have been more than 300 cases of heart inflammation reported among more than 20 million teens and young adults who have received one of the vaccines made by Moderna or Pfizer. She said that in the "vast majority" of cases, the inflammation went away.
An expert advisory committee to the health agency is expected to review the cases in more depth at a meeting Friday.
So, in the meantime, should parents of teens hesitate to have their kids vaccinated against COVID-19? Vaccine experts and the American Academy of Pediatrics say no, don't hesitate. It's good for doctors and patients to be aware that there might be a connection between the mRNA vaccines and heart inflammation, and to report to their pediatrician anything they see in that first week after vaccination. But it is also important, the CDC notes, to recognize that even if this does turn out to be an extremely rare side effect of the vaccine, "most patients who received care responded well to medicine and rest and quickly felt better." And the serious risks of COVID -19 — even for young healthy people — outweigh the risks of any possible side effects from the vaccine. Here are some questions you may have, and what's known:
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, also being investigated, is an inflammation of the sac around the heart.
Long before the pandemic, thousands of cases of myocarditis were diagnosed in the U.S. and around the world each year, often triggered by the body's immune response to infections. SARS-CoV-2 can trigger it, and so can cold viruses, and staph and strep and HIV. Other causes include toxins and allergies.
Symptoms include chest pain and shortness of breath. It's often mild enough to go unnoticed, but a full-blown case in adults can cause arrhythmias and heart failure that require careful treatment with multiple medications, and several months of strict rest. In a case study of seven teenagers who got myocarditis following vaccination published last week in the journal Pediatrics, all seven got better after routine treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs.
Pediatric cardiologist Dr. Stuart Berger of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, says vaccine-related myocarditis in teens is not all that worrisome. "Although they appear with some symptoms of chest pain, and maybe some findings on EKGs, all of the cases we've seen have been on the mild end of the spectrum," he says.
Several hundred reports about the inflammation have been filed with the federal government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS); that's a repository of reports sent in by health professionals and patients about any health events they spot in the hours or days after vaccinations. Many of the events reported turn out to be coincidental — not caused by a vaccine. The database is just meant as a starting point for further investigation and not proof of cause and effect. But as NPR's Geoff Brumfiel noted this week, "when millions of people are vaccinated within a short period, the total number of these reported events can look big."
That said, anecdotes reported by doctors in medical journals and reports to VAERS suggest that both of the mRNA vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. — the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines — might slightly increase the incidence of myocarditis in young people. In 2003, a report in the New England Journal of Medicine estimated the background incidence of myocarditis to be 1.13 cases in 100,000 children per year.
Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of a Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee says there likely is a causal link between the heart inflammation some doctors are seeing in these teens and the second dose of vaccine. "I think it's real," he says, but hastens to add that the effect is exceedingly small – based on the data collected so far, maybe one in 50,000 vaccinees between the ages of 16 and 39. "And the good news is at least so far it looks to be transient and self-resolving."
Uhm, no, according to several vaccine experts contacted by NPR. And this is where a little math comes in handy.
"Take a stadium full of 100,000 people between the ages of 16 and 39, which is the subset that appears to be at greater risk," Offit says. "Vaccinate all of them, and two might get myocarditis." But if you don't vaccinate any of the 100,000, he estimates that about 1,300 would eventually get COVID-19. And those numbers are likely to increase this winter.
About one in 1,000 children who get COVID-19 have gone on to develop a condition called MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children), says Offit, and most of those kids have had some level of myocarditis. In addition, the new coronavirus has directly caused myocarditis in some children and adults. Which of the two stadiums in Offit's metaphor would have more cases of myocarditis — the vaccinated children or unvaccinated kids — is not known precisely. But Offit says he suspects it would be the unvaccinated group. And there's no doubt that 1,000 unvaccinated children would suffer more COVID-19-related illnesses. "A choice not to get a vaccine is not a choice to avoid myocarditis," he says. "It's a choice to take a different risk — and I would argue a more serious one" — of developing a bad case of COVID-19 or long-COVID or COVID-caused myocarditis.
Yes. "I understand people having concerns," says Dr. Judith Guzman-Cottrill. She's a parent and professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the Oregon Health and Science University, as well as the senior author on a small study that came out this month in the journal Pediatrics. In the report, Guzman-Cottrill and her colleagues analyzed the cases of seven boys around the country who developed myocarditis within four days of receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
She and her family recently faced the vaccination decision for her own 13-year-old daughter — and said a whole-hearted yes to the shot.
Guzman-Cottrill suspects there may turn out to be a slightly increased risk of heart inflammation from vaccination in young people, but she and her co-authors note in the Pediatrics report that a direct cause-and-effect connection — even in these seven cases — has yet to be established. And she's impressed that despite the millions of doses that have so far been delivered to teens, no clear and serious post-vaccination problems have shown up. "The emergency departments and urgent care clinics are not filled with teenagers complaining of chest pain," she says.
She's treated unvaccinated teens who developed severe myocarditis from an infection with the COVID-19 virus, and others who developed COVID-19 pneumonia and respiratory failure. Seeing those teens struggle — teens who lacked the powerful immune protection the vaccine provides — was enough for her to suggest vaccination to her daughter, who got her second vaccination earlier this week.
"She saw it as a pathway back to a normal post pandemic life," Guzman-Cottrill says.
And that's where public health comes in. "We really need a highly vaccinated student body when kids return to the classroom this fall," says Guzman-Cottrill, "so we don't see surges in COVID-19 cases."
Joanne Silberner, a former health policy correspondent for NPR, is a freelance journalist living in Seattle.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Reconstructions from the Daynès Studio in Paris depict a male Neanderthal (right) face to face with a human, Homo sapiens.; Credit: /Science Source
Bret Stetka | NPRIt's something that many of us reckon with: the sense that we're not quite as sharp as we once were.
I recently turned 42. Having lost my grandfather to Alzheimer's, and with my mom suffering from a similar neurodegenerative disease, I'm very aware of what pathologies might lurk beneath my cranium.
In the absence of a cure for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, the most important interventions for upholding brain function are preventive — those that help maintain our most marvelous, mysterious organ.
Based on the science, I take fish oil and broil salmon. I exercise. I try to challenge my cortex to the unfamiliar.
As I wrote my recent book, A History of the Human Brain, which recounts the evolutionary tale of how our brain got here, I began to realize that so many of the same influences that shaped our brain evolution in the first place reflect the very measures we use to preserve our cognitive function today.
Being social, and highly communicative. Exploring creative pursuits. Eating a varied, omnivorous diet low in processed foods. Being physically active.
These traits and behaviors help retrace our past, and, I believe, were instrumental in why we remain on the planet today.
And they all were, at least in part, enabled by our brain.
Social smart alecks finish first
The human saga is riddled with extinctions.
By "human," I don't just mean Homo sapiens, the species we belong to, but any member of the genus Homo. We've gotten used to being the only human species on Earth, but in our not so distant past — probably a few hundred thousand years ago – there were at least nine of us running around.
There was Homo habilis, or the "handy man." And Homo erectus, the first "pitcher." The Denisovans roamed Asia, while the more well-known Neanderthals spread throughout Europe.
But with the exception of Homo sapiens, they're all gone. And there's a good chance it was our fault.
Humans were never the fastest lot on the African plains, and far from the strongest. Cheetahs, leopards and lions held those distinctions. In our lineage, natural selection instead favored wits and wiliness.
Plenty of us became cat food, but those with a slight cognitive edge — especially Homo sapiens — lived on. In our ilk, smarts overcame strength and speed in enabling survival.
Ecology, climate, location and just sheer luck would've played important roles in who persisted or perished as well, as they do for most living beings. But the evolutionary pressure for more complex mental abilities would lead to a massive expansion in our brain's size and neurocircuitry that is surely the paramount reason we dominate the planet like no other species ever has.
Much of this "success," if you can call it that, was due to our social lives.
Primates are communal creatures. Our close monkey and ape cousins are incredibly interactive, grooming each other for hours a day to maintain bonds and relationships. Throw in a few hoots and hollers and you have a pretty complex community of communicating simians.
An active social life is now a known preserver of brain function.
Research shows that social isolation worsens cognitive decline (not to mention mental health, as many of us experienced this past year). Larger social networks and regular social activities are associated with mental preservation and slowed dementia progression.
Entwined in this new social life was an evolutionary pressure that favored innovation. Our eventual ability to generate completely novel thoughts and ideas, and to share those ideas, came to define our genus.
As we hunted and foraged together, and honed stones into hand axes, there was a collective creativity at work that gave us better weapons and tools that enabled more effective food sourcing, and, later, butchering and fire. Effectively sharing these innovations with our peers allowed information to spread faster than ever before - a seed for the larger communities and civilizations to come.
Challenging ourselves to new pursuits and mastering new skills can not only impress peers and ingratiate us to our group, but literally help preserve our brain. New hobbies. New conversations. Learning the banjo. Even playing certain video games and simply driving a new route home from work each day, as neuroscientist David Eagleman does, can keep our function high.
Whether it's honing ancient stone or taking up Sudoku, any pursuit novel and mentally challenging may help keep the neural circuits firing.
We really are what we eat
All the while, as we hunted and crafted in new and communal ways, we had to eat. And we did so with an uniquely adventurous palette.
Homo sapiens is among the most omnivorous species on the planet. Within reason we eat just about anything. Whether it's leaves, meat, fungus, or fruit, we don't discriminate. At some point, one of us even thought it might be a good idea to try the glistening, grey blobs that are oysters - and shellfish are, it turns out, among the healthiest foods for our brain.
The varied human diet is an integral part of our story. As was the near constant physicality required to source it.
On multiple occasions over the past 1 to 2 million years climate changes dried out the African landscape, forcing our ancestors out of the lush forest onto the dangerous, wide-open grasslands. As evolution pressured us to create and commune to help us survive, a diverse diet also supported our eventual global takeover.
Our arboreal past left us forever craving the dangling fruits of the forest, a supreme source of high-calorie sugars that ensured survival. Back then we didn't live long enough to suffer from Type 2 diabetes: if you encountered sweets, you ate them. And today we're stuck with a taste for cookies and candy that, given our longer lifespans, can take its toll on the body and brain.
But humans were just as amenable to dining on the bulbs, rhizomes and tubers of the savanna, especially once fire came along. We eventually became adept scavengers of meat and marrow, the spoils left behind by the big cats, who preferred more nutritive organ meat.
As our whittling improved we developed spears, and learned to trap and hunt the beasts of the plains ourselves. There is also evidence that we learned to access shellfish beds along the African coast and incorporate brain-healthy seafood into our diet.
Studying the health effects of the modern diet is tricky. Dietary studies are notoriously dubious, and often involve countless lifestyle variables that are hard to untangle.
Take blueberries. Multiple studies have linked their consumption with improved brain health. But, presumably, the berry-prone among us are also more likely to eat healthy all around, exercise, and make it to level 5 on their meditation app.
Which is why so many researchers, nutritionists, and nutritional psychiatrists now focus on dietary patterns, like those akin to Mediterranean culinary customs, rather than specific ingredients. Adhering to a Mediterranean diet is linked with preserved cognition; and multiple randomized-controlled trials suggest doing so can lower depression risk.
A similar diversity in our ancestral diet helped early humans endure an ever-shifting climate and times of scarcity. We evolved to subsist and thrive on a wide range of foods, in part because our clever brains allowed us access to them. In turn, a similarly-varied diet (minus submitting to our innate sugar craving of course) is among the best strategies to maintain brain health.
All of our hunting, and foraging, and running away from predators would have required intense physical exertion. This was certainly not unique to humans, but we can't ignore the fact that regular exercise is another effective means of preserving brain health.
Being active improves performance on mental tasks, and may help us better form memories. Long before the Peletons sold out, our brains relied on both mental and physical activity.
But overwhelmingly the evidence points to embracing a collection of lifestyle factors to keep our brain healthy, none of which existed in a Darwinian vacuum.
Finding food was as social an endeavor as it was mental and physical. Our creative brains harnessed information; gossiping, innovating, and cooking our spoils around the campfire.
Researchers are beginning to piece together the complex pathology behind the inevitable decline of the human brain, and despite a parade of failed clinical trials in dementia, there should be promising treatments ahead.
Until then, in thinking about preserving the conscious experience of our world and relationships — and living our longest, happiest lives — look to our past.
Bret Stetka is a writer based in New York and an editorial director at Medscape. His work has appeared in Wired, Scientific American, and on The Atlantic.com. His new book, A History of the Human Brain, is out from Timber/Workman Press. He's also on Twitter: @BretStetka.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
The dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading so quickly in the United States that it's likely the mutant strain will become predominant in the U.S. within weeks, according to a new analysis.
The variant, first identified in India, is the most contagious yet and, among those not yet vaccinated, may trigger serious illness in more people than other variants do, say scientists tracking the spread of infection.
The Delta variant apparently already accounts for at least 14% of all new infections, according to the research analysis posted online Monday of more than 242,000 infections nationwide over the last six months.
"It definitely is of concern," says William Lee, the vice president of science at Helix, which is under contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help track the variants.
"Just the fact that it's so transmissible means that it's it's dangerous," Lee says, "and so I think you'll see outbreaks of Delta around the country and more people will get sick from it."
Helix launched the study when researchers spotted a drop in the prevalence of the Alpha variant, a contagious strain first spotted in the U.K. that had quickly become the dominant variant in that country and the U.S.
The researchers discovered the drop in relative frequency of the Alpha variant in their spot checks of strains circulating in the U.S. was due to a rapid increase in two other variants: the Gamma variant, first spotted in Brazil, and the Delta variant. The Gamma variant may be slightly better than the original strain at outmaneuvering the vaccines, researchers say.
"It looks like both of them are going to slowly push out Alpha," says Lee, whose study has not yet been peer-reviewed but has been posted on a pre-print server.
All the vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. appear, in general, to provide powerful protection against all the variants, including Delta. But the rapid spread of the variants is still raising concern because of the large number of people who remain unvaccinated.
"There still are big portions of the country where the rates of vaccination are quite low," notes Dr. Jeremy Luban, a virologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. "And, in fact, the Helix paper shows that this Delta variant is increasing in frequency — the speed at which it's increasing in frequency is greatest in those areas where vaccination rates are lowest."
The Delta variant could trigger yet another moderate surge of infections through many parts of the U.S. because of these pockets of unvaccinated people, according to a recent set of projections from the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, which is helping the CDC plot the future course of the pandemic.
The projections indicate that infections could start to rise again as soon as some time in July, especially if the vaccination campaign continues to stall.
"For the most part, it's a moderate resurgence," says Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University who is helping coordinate the hub.
"We're not having massive epidemics at a national level, but we have this kind of continuation of the virus just sticking around and keeping us on our toes," Lessler says. "And in specific places there could be substantial epidemics still."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
The Solar System is full of its own tricks and treats, so discover some of our favorites below.
The USGS is pleased to announce the release of new US Topo maps for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These updated topographic maps offer valuable, current geographic information for residents, visitors, and professionals, providing essential resources for communities in these areas.
Emily shares her experience research on Henslow’s sparrow accounting for the future effects of climate change and to develop risk assessment tools to assist managers in the region with meeting their conservation objectives using prescribed fire.
Are you attending the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting this year in Washington, D.C.? Don't miss these presentations from staff and partners from across the CASC network!
CDI Monthly Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month, from 11-12:30 pm Eastern Time.
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have reached a preliminary, bipartisan agreement on police reform after months of closely watched debate on the topic.
Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., announced the agreement on Thursday evening.
"After months of working in good faith, we have reached an agreement on a framework addressing the major issues for bipartisan police reform," the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
"There is still more work to be done on the final bill, and nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. Over the next few weeks we look forward to continuing our work toward getting a finalized proposal across the finish line."
The exact details of the plan were not immediately clear.
The issue of reforming qualified immunity, to make it easier to sue police officers over allegations of brutality, had been a sticking point in negotiations. The police use of chokeholds was another debated provision.
The effort to reform U.S. policing comes after several years of increasing pressure to better understand and regulate the way officers interact with the communities they patrol.
The high-profile deaths of several Black people — many unarmed — at the hands of police — who have in some notable instances been white — have been the catalyst for the police reform movement.
The Democratic-led House had approved the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — named after one of those Black people killed by police — in early March, and President Biden had hoped Congress would pass the reform effort by the first anniversary of Floyd's death in late May.
But Bass had said then that getting "a substantive piece of legislation" is "far more important than a specific date."
Floyd's murderer, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, is set to be sentenced to prison on Friday.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday that Biden "is grateful to Rep. Bass, Sen. Booker, and Sen. Scott for all of their hard work on police reform, and he looks forward to collaborating with them on the path ahead."
The topic of police reform has divided the nation across party lines, with progressives accusing the right of seeking to maintain an antiquated and all-too-powerful law enforcement apparatus. Conservatives say the left has blamed the actions of some officers on the institution itself, turning the topic of police support and "blue lives" into more ammunition for the ongoing culture war.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
President Biden plans to visit the Champlain Towers condo collapse later this week.; Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP
Brian Naylor | NPR Updated June 29, 2021 at 12:44 PM ETThe White House says President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Florida Thursday to view first hand the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium.
Asked by reporters if he planned to visit Surfside, Biden said, "Yes I hope so, as soon as we can. Maybe as early as Thursday." The White House issued a formal announcement of the trip shortly afterward.
The official death toll in the collapse has risen to 11, with some 150 people unaccounted for.
The Biden administration has responded to the disaster, dispatching FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell to the scene earlier this week.
"[The agency] has deployed an Incident Management Assistance Team, as well as building science experts, structural engineers and geotechnical experts to support search-and-rescue operations, and a mobile command center," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.
Psaki said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also providing technical assistance for debris removal. Two FEMA-supported search-and-rescue teams are also involved in the response to the collapse.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has praised FEMA and the Biden administration for "stepping up to the plate" in providing assistance in the search and recovery effort. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Biden's upcoming trip would be "an important reminder that our county, our state and our nation are giving everything we have to search for the victims of this tragedy and support the families in this incredibly devastating time."
Here's what we know about what led to the collapse. Follow more coverage on the aftermath here.
Florida Division of Emergency Management is urging people with information about loved ones who are either unaccounted for or known to be safe to call 305-614-1819.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Supporters of Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol. The House of Representatives is set to take up legislation Wednesday to create a select committee to investigate the insurrection.; Credit: Julio Cortez/AP
Claudia Grisales | NPRThe House of Representatives is expected to take up legislation Wednesday to create a select committee to launch a new inquiry into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, marking the latest turn in a partisan fight to investigate the riot.
Senate Republicans blocked a move last month to vote on an outside commission, leaving Democratic leaders with plans to move forward with a House select committee instead. But some Republicans who supported the independent commission now say they'll oppose the select committee.
Already, several congressional committees have launched their own inquiries into the riot, which have run parallel to criminal investigations by the FBI that have led to more than 500 arrests connected to the breach of the Capitol.
"We hope to get to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth with respect to the events of Jan. 6," said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus. The committee would look into "what happened that fateful day, why it happened and how do we prevent that type of violent assault on the Capitol, the Congress, and the Constitution from ever happening again."
The panel will face challenges confronted by other previous select committees, including the one formed by Republicans to look into the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has not yet named the chair of the panel or the Democratic lawmakers she plans to tap to be on it.
The panel will have subpoena power and a total of 13 members, with eight selected by Pelosi and the remaining five by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. But Pelosi has not ruled out a veto of McCarthy's selections since the panel's resolution directs those appointments to be made with her consultation.
Pelosi has also signaled that she could use one of her eight picks to select a Republican. Quickly, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who was recently ousted from her House leadership role by McCarthy and others, became a potential contender. Cheney hasn't ruled out the possibility, saying the final decision is Pelosi's.
For now, House Republicans, like Democrats, aren't saying who could be on the committee, but they are quick to slam the plan.
"If you look at the last vote (on the commission), it was overwhelmingly opposed by Republicans and what we've said is, look there are a lot of standing committees that have jurisdiction," House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said. "Speaker Pelosi should be exercising that same ability — not going down a partisan route."
But this time, Scalise and others could have more company to oppose the panel. Among them, Rep. John Katko of New York, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, who helped broker the deal on the bipartisan commission with the committee's top Democrat, Chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.
On Tuesday, Katko called the panel a "turbo-charged partisan exercise," arguing it would be skewed with Democratic picks, with all 13 members ultimately selected by Pelosi. As a result, Katko said he'll vote no on the select committee and can't envision a scenario where he would serve on it.
"I led the charge to create a Jan. 6 commission that would be external, independent, bipartisan and equitable in membership and subpoena power," Katko said. "The select committee proposed by Speaker Pelosi is literally the exact opposite of that."
Pelosi announced the plans to move forward with the committee last week. It marked nearly a month after the Senate fell a few votes short to move forward with floor debate to take up bipartisan legislation to establish the independent commission to investigate the insurrection.
Six Republicans joined Democrats to move to debate, with a final Senate tally of 54 to 35, that fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. Earlier in May, the House approved the commission plan by a 252-175 vote, with 35 Republicans joining Democrats.
The legislation was modeled after the commission established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, with a panel of commissioners divvied evenly between the parties and with bipartisan subpoena power.
Ahead of the votes, former President Donald Trump blasted the plan and asked GOP leaders to reject it. Both McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., followed suit, along with a majority of their party in both chambers.
Pelosi and other Democrats have blasted Republicans for blocking the move.
"They had an opportunity, and I don't think it should be lost on any of us that Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans turned this opportunity away to have a bipartisan, even-split commission," said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the chief deputy whip for House Democrats.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
President Biden listens as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida.; Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Alana Wise | NPRPresident Biden landed in Florida on Thursday to visit privately with families whose loved ones were in the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo when it collapsed.
Biden also met with first responders to thank them for their rescue work. Search and rescue efforts paused on Thursday because of structural concerns. So far, 145 people are still unaccounted for while 18 people have been confirmed dead.
During a briefing with local and state officials, Biden said the federal government would pick up 100% of the costs associated with the response to the building collapse. I think I have the power and will know shortly to be able to pick up 100% of the costs of the county and the state. I'm quite sure I can do that," Biden said.
Biden sat beside Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who thanked the president for his support, saying "we've had no bureaucracy" from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"You recognize in each individual unit, there's an amazing story, and lives have been shattered irrevocably, as a result of this," DeSantis said. "We have families with kids missing. And we even have young newlyweds who hadn't even been married a year who were in the tower when it collapsed," he said.
"What we just need now is we need a little bit of luck. We need a little bit of prayers. And you know, we would like to be able to, you know, to see some miracles happen," DeSantis said.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Still from the film "Dream Horse" starring Toni Collette.
FilmWeekLarry Mantle and KPCC film critics Angie Han, Wade Major and Peter Rainer review this weekend’s new movie releases.
"Dream Horse," in wide release & VOD (including Google Play & iTunes June 11)
"The Dry," in select theaters (check your local listings) & VOD (including Apple TV & VUDU)
"Milkwater," on VOD platforms (including VUDU & FandangoNow)
"Blast Beat," in select theaters (check local listings) & VOD (including iTunes, Google Play)
"Into The Darkness," Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema; VOD (including FandangoNow, iTunes, Google Play)
"New Order," in select theaters (check your local listings)
"The New Deal For Artists," at virtual cinemas, Laemmle's Virtual Cinema June 18
"When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit," at Laemmle theaters (Town Center 5, Royal, Playhouse 7); Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema
"Final Account," Laemmle Theaters (Claremont 5, Playhouse 7, Town Center 5, Newhall), Century Stadium 25 and XD (Orange); in select theaters
"The Last Days (Remastered)," on Netflix
"Spring Blossom," at Laemmle's Virtual Cinema and Royal
"Seance," in select theaters (check your local listings); VOD (including FandangoNow, Vudu, iTunes, Google Play)
DURING COVID: Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.
Angie Han, film critic for KPCC and deputy entertainment editor at Mashable; she tweets @ajhan
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Still of Emily Blunt and Noah Jupe in the film “A Quiet Place Part II.”; Credit: Paramount Pictures
FilmWeekLarry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein, Christy Lemire and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.
"A Quiet Place Part II," in wide release
"Cruella," in wide release & Disney+
"Dog Gone Trouble," on Netflix
"Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie," on Netflix June 3
"Moby Doc," In Select Theaters (check your local listings); VOD (including FandangoNow, iTunes, Vudu); Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema June 4
"Changing The Game," on Hulu June 1
"Port Authority," Cinelounge Sunset Hollywood; Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema; Digital/VOD (including Vudu, Google Play, FandangoNow) June 1
"Plan B," on Hulu
"Borat Supplemental Reportings," on Amazon Prime Video
Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets @christylemire
Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC and film columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; she tweets @LAELLO
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Shot from the film "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It"; Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
FilmWeekLarry Mantle and KPCC film critics Amy Nicholson, Wade Major and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.
"The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It," in wide release & HBO Max
"Spirit Untamed," in wide release
"Edge Of The World," on VOD (including Google Play & FandangoNow)
"All Light, Everywhere," at The Landmark Theater; Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 (Pasadena) on June 11
"City of Ali," Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema; Laemmle’s NoHo 7 on June 17
"Gully," In Select Theaters including Cinemark 18 and XD (Los Angeles), Cinemark 22 and IMAX (Lancaster); VOD (Youtube & Vudu) June 8
"On The Trail Of Bigfoot: The Journey," VOD (including iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu & FandangoNOW) June 8
"Undine," Laemmle Theaters (Playhouse 7, Newhall, Town Center 5, Royal, Claremont 5); VOD (including iTunes, Vudu, Google Play)
"Grace And Grit," in select theaters & VOD (including FandangoNow, iTunes, Spectrum on Demand)
"Super Frenchie," In select theaters & VOD (including Google Play, iTunes & FandangoNow)
"Bad Tales," In select theaters; Laemmle Virtual Cinema & Monica Film Center; VOD
"Flashback," VOD (including Vudu, FandangoNow & Spectrum on Demand)
Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.
Amy Nicholson, film critic for KPCC, film writer for The New York Times and host of the podcast ‘Unspooled’ and the podcast miniseries “Zoom”; she tweets @TheAmyNicholson
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
ANTHONY RAMOS as Usnavi in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “IN THE HEIGHTS.”; Credit: Macall Polay/Warner Bros. Pictures’
FilmWeekLarry Mantle and KPCC film critics Angie Han, Andy Klein, Tim Cogshell and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.
"In the Heights," on wide release & HBO Max
"Holler," at Laemmle’s Monica Film Center (Santa Monica), Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 (Pasadena); VOD (including FandangoNow, Google Play & VUDU)
"A Perfect Enemy," in select theaters (check your local listings)
"Wish Dragon," on Netflix
"Sublet," at Laemmle theaters (Playhouse 7, Town Center 5, Royal); Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema on June 18; VOD on July 9
"The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard," on wide release June 16 (they also have select earlier showtimes June 11 & 12)
"Censor," Laemmle’s Glendale, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (DTLA) and Landmark Westwood; VOD (including iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube) on June 18
"La Dosis (The Dose)," on VOD/Digital (including iTunes & FandangoNow)
"Revolution Rent," on HBO Max on June 15
"The Misfits," In select theaters (including Universal Cinema AMC and Cinemark 18 & XD); VOD/Digital (including Vudu, Google Play) on June 15
"Queen Bees," at Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema, Laemmle’s Theaters (including Glendale, Playhouse 7, Monica Film Center, Newhall & Town Center 5); VOD (including Vudu, Amazon Prime Video & Apple TV)
Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC, Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com; he tweets @CinemaInMind
Andy Klein, KPCC film critic
Angie Han, film critic for KPCC and deputy entertainment editor at Mashable; she tweets @ajhan
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Circus of Books storefront.; Credit: Netflix/Circus Of Books (2020)
FilmWeekThe documentary “Circus of Books” tells the story of two book stores, one in West Hollywood and the other in Silver Lake, operated by Karen and Barry Mason, who became accidental book sellers. They also became real pillars of the LGBTQ communties. Rachel Mason is the daughter of the masons and she’s also the filmmaker. Larry talked with Rachel about “Circus of Books” when it was first released on Netflix. Today on FilmWeek, we excerpt a portion of that conversation.
This conversation aired during FilmWeek’s Saturday broadcast.
Rachel Mason, director of the Netflix documentary ‘Circus of Books’ and daughter of Circus of Books owners Karen and Barry Mason; she tweets @RachelMasonArt
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Rita Moreno, as seen in the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.”
FilmWeekGuest host John Horn and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Peter Rainer, Lael Loewenstein and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.
"Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It," at Laemmle’s theaters (Newhall, Town Center 5, NoHo 7, Claremont 5, Playhouse 7) and other select theaters
"Les Nôtres," at Laemmle’s Royal and Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema
"Rise Again: Tulsa And The Red Summer," premieres on National Geographic June 18 at 6pm PT & on Hulu June 19
"Luca," at the El Capitan Theater (Hollywood) & Disney+
"The Sparks Brothers," in wide release
"Sisters on Track," on Netflix June 24
"Fatherhood," on Netflix
"Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation," at Landmark’s Nuart Theater & Virtual cinemas
"Sweet Thing," Laemmle’s Royal and Laemmle’s Virtual Cinema
"Summer of 85," at Laemmle’s theaters (Playhouse 7, Royal and Town Center 5)
"12 Mighty Orphans" in wide release
Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.
With guest host John Horn
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA); she tweets @ClaudiaPuig
Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC and film columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; she tweets @LAELLO
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Michelle Rodriguez (L) and Vin Diesel (R) in "F9: The Fast Saga"; Credit: Universal Pictures
FilmWeekLarry Mantle and KPCC film critics Amy Nicholson and Christy Lemire review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on-demand platforms.
"F9: The Fast Saga," in wide release
"Summer of Soul, "at El Capitan Theatre June 25-July 6; Hulu on July 2
"Zola," in wide release
"Sweat," at Laemmle’s NoHo 7
"LFG," on HBO Max
"Rebel Hearts," Laemmle’s Glendale; on Discovery+ on June 27
"I Carry You with Me," AMC Sunset 5 (West Hollywood), The Landmark (West LA); Laemmle Playhouse 7 & Town Center 5 on July 2 (additional Laemmle theaters on July 9)
"Fathom," on Apple TV+, Laemmle’s Monica Film Center
"Wolfgang," on Disney+
Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.
Amy Nicholson, film critic for KPCC, film writer for The New York Times and host of the podcast ‘Unspooled’ and the podcast miniseries “Zoom”; she tweets @TheAmyNicholson
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets @christylemire
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Screenshot of the event "FilmWeek & Chill: ‘Airplane!’" broadcasted on June 3, 2021.
James Chow | FilmWeekThe iconic 1980 film “Airplane!” from the ZAZ directing team, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker parodies the plot and characters from the 1957 disaster flick “Zero Hour!” It broke out as a leading example of comedy done right and one of the funniest films of the 80s. It was the ZAZ team’s feature directorial debut. I talked with the directors during our virtual film series, FilmWeek and Chill, along with the film’s stars Robert Hays and Lorna Patterson Lembeck, casting director Joel Thurm and KPCC’s own Tim Cogshell and Christy Lemire. Today on FilmWeek, we bring you a portion of the conversation.
You can watch the entire FilmWeek and Chill event here.
Jim Abrahams, co-director of “Airplane!” and member of the directing team Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (ZAZ)
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC, Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com; he tweets @CinemaInMind
Robert Hays, actor who played Ted Striker in "Airplane!"
Lorna Lembeck, actress who played Randy the singing stewardess in “Airplane!”
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com, and co-host of the “Breakfast All Day” podcast; she tweets @christylemire
Joel Thurm, casting director for "Airplane!"
David Zucker, co-director of “Airplane!” and member of the directing team Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (ZAZ)
Jerry Zucker, co-director of “Airplane!” and member of the directing team Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (ZAZ)
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Shot from the film “The Boss Baby: Family Business”; Credit: Dreamworks
FilmWeekLarry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein, Wade Major and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.
"The Forever Purge," in wide release
"The Boss Baby: Family Business," in wide release & on Peacock
"Long Story Short," at Laemmle’s Glendale; & on VOD/Digital (including Vudu, FandangoNow & Google Play)
"The Tomorrow War," on Amazon Prime Video
"The One And Only Dick Gregory," premieres on Showtime July 4 at 9 pm PT, available on demand on Showtime following that
"No Sudden Move," on HBO Max
"The Ladykillers (Originally released in 1955)," at Laemmle Theaters (Royal, Town Center 5, Playhouse 7)
"America: The Motion Picture," on Netflix
Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.
Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC; she tweets @LAELLO
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Vancouver-based minerals explorer Prosper Gold Corp. (TSVX: PGF; OTCQB: PGXFF) is focused on its district-scale Cyprus copper-gold project in north-central British Columbia. One analyst says the results of a recent geophysical survey put the stock in an excellent position.
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National Science Foundation-funded engineers have developed a mathematical framework that can turn any sheet of material into any prescribed shape, inspired by the paper craft kirigami (from the Japanese, kiri, meaning to cut and kami, meaning paper). Unlike its better-known cousin origami, which uses folds to shape paper, kirigami relies on a pattern of cuts in a flat paper sheet to change its flexibility and allow it to morph into 3D shapes. Artists have long used this artform to create everything from pop-up cards to castles and dragons. This research follows previous work by the researchers that characterized how origami-based patterns could be used as building blocks to create almost any three-dimensional curved shape. Next the researchers aim to explore how to combine cuts and folds to achieve any shape with a given set of properties, thus linking origami and kirigami.
Image credit: Harvard SEAS
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Lithium Ionic Corp. (LTH:TSX.V; LTHCF:OTCQX; H3N:FSE) has announced the initiation of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) services for its flagship Bandeira Lithium Project. See why the CEO Blake Hyland says that the company's momentum towards production is stronger than ever.
American and Mexican families play with a seesaw installation at the border near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in July 2019. London's Design Museum recognized the project with an award for best design of 2020.; Credit: Luis Torres/AFP via Getty Images
Bill Chappell | NPRAn art project that turned the border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border into the temporary base for pink seesaws – inviting children on each side to come play together – has won the London's Design Museum award for best design of 2020.
"We are totally surprised by this unexpected honor," said Ronald Rael, who designed the project with fellow architect Virginia San Fratello. They share the award, he said, with the Ciudad Juárez, Mexico-based art collective Colectivo Chopeke.
"That's amazing," San Fratello said in a video feed announcing the prize. The seesaw installation won both the overall prize and in the transportation category.
"Most importantly, it comes at a time when we are hopeful for change and that we start building more bridges instead of walls," Rael added.
"The Beazley Designs of the Year are the Oscars of the design world," said Razia Iqbal, a journalist who chaired the Design Museum's panel of judges. The award, she noted, highlights work that pushes boundaries of creativity and innovation.
The metal wall was meant to be a stark barrier dividing the U.S. and Mexico, the centerpiece of President Trump's aggressive immigration policies. But in one spot, it became a junction point instead – a fulcrum for a series of seesaws that let children in the two countries share a playground toy.
The project, officially named Teeter-Totter Wall, was first installed in July 2019 when workers slid steel beams through the slats of the border near El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez.
"For the first time, children from both El Paso, Texas, and the Anapra community in Mexico were invited to connect with their [neighbors], in an attempt to create unity at the politically divisive border," the museum said.
"Everyone was very happy and excited to engage the seesaws," Rael told NPR at the time. The installation went smoothly, turning an idea that had been growing for 10 years into a reality.
"It was peaceful and fun — a day at a park for the children and mothers of Anapra," Rael said.
"The project resonated with people around the world in a way that we didn't anticipate," San Fratello said when the award was announced. "It speaks to the fact that most people are excited about being together, and about optimism and about possibility and the future. And the divisiveness actually comes from the minority."
Rael is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley; San Fratello teaches at San José State University.
The seesaw project was chosen out of more than 70 nominees from dozens of countries, including a customized "stab-proof vest" that the artist Banksy designed for musician Stormzy.
Also considered: the gray and red rendering of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Commissioned by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and designed by Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins, the famous sphere, with its menacing clusters of crowns, won the design award in the graphics category.
The Impossible Burger 2.0 won in the crowded product category, which also included Lego Braille bricks and a self-sanitizing door handle.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Halima Aden attends the premiere of Netflix's Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly at Barker Hangar on Aug. 27, 2019, in Santa Monica, Calif.; Credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images
Ziad Buchh | NPRFor Halima Aden, the decision to walk away from a career as the world's first hijab-wearing supermodel was fairly clear cut. She's felt used for so long, she says — by the modeling industry and by UNICEF, the organization she was photographed by as a child in a refugee camp in Kenya and later served as an ambassador for.
Aden has been featured on the covers of Vogue, Elle and Allure magazines. And she walked the runway for Rihanna's Fenty Beauty and Kanye West's Yeezy.
She tells Morning Edition host Rachel Martin she wanted to be a role model for young girls while being true to herself, but she wasn't accomplishing either. Modeling, she realized, was in "direct conflict" with who she is.
"I'm not a cover girl, I'm Halima from Kakuma," she says. "I want to be the reason why girls have confidence within themselves, not the reason for their insecurity."
Aden was raised in the Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya. She and her family moved to Minnesota in 2004 when she was 7.
It was there her journey as a model began, competing for Miss Minnesota USA in 2016, seeking a scholarship. She finished in the semifinals, and says from there, modeling "fell from the sky" into her lap.
You saw [modeling] not just as a chance to wear gorgeous clothes and to have your photo in magazines but also as a way to help people.
Growing up in America, not seeing representation, not seeing anybody who dressed like me look like me, it did make me feel like, wow, what's wrong with me, you know? And I'm sure if I had if I would have had representation growing up, I would have been so much more confident to wear my hijab, to be myself, to be authentic. But to be that person, to grow up and be on the cover of magazines, I've covered everything from Vogue to Allure, some of the biggest publications in fashion. And yet I still couldn't relate personally to my own image because that's not who I really am. That's not how I really dress. That's not how my hijab really looks. And, you know, fashion, it can be a very creative field, and I completely appreciate that. But my hijab was just getting spread so thin that I knew I had to give it all away, give it up. I'm not a cover girl. I am Halima from Kakuma. I want to be the reason why girls have confidence within themselves, not the reason for their insecurity.
When you say your hijab was being kind of styled out of existence, what passed for a hijab as you were walking down those runways?
Everything. Oh, my goodness. I had jeans at one point on my head as a hijab. I had Gucci pants styled as a turban. It just didn't even make sense, and I felt so far removed from the image itself.
During the pandemic you decided to walk away from fashion and UNICEF. Was it a complicated decision?
I'll be honest with you, the feelings that I've had towards the fashion industry and UNICEF, it was just multiplying as the years went on, so it was just festering. You know, because the fashion industry is very known to use these young girls and boys while their young, age 14 to like 24, I think is the average career of a model. And then they just replace them and move on to a newer model. And same with UNICEF. They've been photographing me and using me since the time I was a baby in a refugee camp. I remember getting those headshots taken and it made me feel, it's very dehumanizing. And so I wanted to show UNICEF, too. How does it feel to be used? It's not a good feeling. And so let's stop using people.
What are you going to do [next]?
For me right now, I don't know what's next. And that's OK. That's OK, because I'm young and I have time to figure it out. And I'm grateful. I'm grateful to the people that I've met. I'm grateful to the agents that I worked with. I'm grateful for the experiences I was able to have these last four years. But at the same time, I just am also grateful that I don't have to do that anymore because it was in direct conflict with who I am as an individual, as a human being.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
President Barack Obama presents novelist, essayist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry with a National Humanities Medal in September 2015.; Credit: Leigh Vogel/WireImage/Getty Images
Anastasia Tsioulcas | NPR Updated March 26, 2021 at 2:13 PM ETLarry McMurtry, a prolific, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Oscar-winning screenwriter, has died at age 84. He was beloved for riveting and yet unsentimental depictions of the American West in books like Lonesome Dove, as well as for tales of family drama including Terms of Endearment.
In a statement, his representative Amanda Lundberg said McMurtry "passed away last night, on March 25 of heart failure at 84 years old surrounded by his loved ones who he lived with including long time writing partner Diana Ossana, his wife Norma Faye and their 3 dogs."
In all, McMurtry wrote more than 30 novels as well as over a dozen non-fiction works that spanned memoir, history and essays. He also wrote over 20 screenplays and television scripts.
McMurtry was also famous for his bookstore, Booked Up in Archer City, Texas. Even after selling off more than half of his holdings in 2012, he still had about 200,000 books between his private collection and the store.
When he won an Oscar in 2006 for the screenplay adaption of E. Annie Proulx' short story Brokeback Mountain, which he co-wrote with longtime writing partner Diana Ossana, he thanked booksellers.
"From the humblest paperback exchange to the masters of the great bookshops of the world," he said, "all are contributors to the survival of the culture of the book, a wonderful culture, which we mustn't lose."
Filmmakers were drawn to McMurtry's work; his books Hud, The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment were all made into films. Lonesome Dove, which earned him the Pulitzer in 1985, became a successful TV miniseries in 1989, starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.
Born in 1936 on a Texas ranch, McMurtry came to his love of the West through his family. His grandfather broke horses, and his father raised cattle.
"The West is mostly a very beautiful place," he told All Things Considered in 2014. "There are all those lovely spaces. There are all those running horses. It's a poetic imagery and it's been there for a long time."
But he wanted to scour that landscape of sentimental nostalgia for cowboys, he added. "To me it was hollow and I think it was hollow for my father, although he might not have ever brought that to his conscious mind. He totally loved cowboys and so did most of the cowboys we worked with and that got him through his life. But he knew perfectly well, so did we, that it wouldn't last another generation, it just was not going to last."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
The pandemic has once again felled Burning Man. Some burners still plan to gather for informal events on the dusty Black Rock Desert Playa this summer.; Credit: Bernard Friel/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Emma Bowman | NPRAnd so it goes: Burning Man 2021 is canceled. It's the second year in a row, the popular arts festival won't be held in Nevada's Black Rock Desert due to the pandemic.
"We have decided to set our sights on Black Rock City 2022," event officials announced in a blog post on Tuesday. In a frequently-asked-questions section, organizers added: "We've heard from many who don't feel ready to come to Black Rock City. While we're confident in our ability to get a permit and to safeguard public health, we know that co-creating Black Rock City in 2021 would put tremendous strain on our community while we are still ironing out uncertainty."
Many would-be attendees praised the decision in comments on the Burning Man website and on social media as a safe one; others are anxiously anticipating a bigger and better 2022 Burn.
But the cancellation has put many people in the event's host community at ease.
Wary of a trend of rising coronavirus cases in some parts of the region, Washoe County's district health officer Kevin Dick said "the right call was made," in order to lower the risk of spreading infection.
"The event draws thousands of people from all over the world," Dick said in an email. "We are seeing large outbreaks of COVID-19 occurring in a number of countries, areas where very contagious COVID-19 variants of concern are prevalent and where low rates of vaccination are occurring."
The head of a local Paiute tribe is also feeling less burdened knowing there won't be the annual pilgrimage. The main highway to get to the Black Rock Desert playa, which normally draws tens of thousands of people to the summer event, cuts through tribal lands.
"For us it is a sigh of relief," said Janet Davis, chairwoman of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.
Although the event — which brings in about $63 million to the state annually — gives the tribal community a welcome financial boost, Davis said.
"We don't know who's vaccinated and who's not," she said. "We've been trying to keep our reservation safe and that happening was too soon for us to open."
As with last year, the organization will offer virtual programming during Burn Week, from Aug. 29 through Sept. 7, an experience they say drew 165,000 participants in 2020.
In response to a request for more details on the reasons for the cancellation, Burning Man organizers declined to comment further. Earlier this month, though, CEO Marian Goodell said the organization was "weighing the gravity" of implementing a vaccination requirement that she said challenged "radical inclusion," one of the group's 10 principles.
Still, for many burners, the news won't extinguish their plans to trek to the desert in droves. Just like last year, revelers are preparing to hold unofficial gatherings on public land in place of the annual event.
Last summer, those events — the so-called "rogue" and "free" burns or, unmistakably, "Not Burning Man" — drew an estimated 3,000 people to Black Rock Desert during the time Burning Man is normally held, according to the Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency that approves the organization's permits each year.
Kevin Jervis, one such attendee who now lives in Gerlach — a tiny desert town near the event site — welcomed this year's cancellation.
He called it "more of a relief than anything. ... A lot of us liked it better the way it happened last year."
During the informal festivities, Jervis spent a few days between the playa and its outskirts. He said he and his fellow burners felt like it represented the festival's freewheeling roots.
"I've had friends that have been going since '94 and they said it was a lot more like it used to be. We didn't have to go by regulations," he said. "We could have guns, dogs ... it was a lot freer."
Even before the pandemic, burners increasingly saw an annual gathering under siege.
Event-goers who adhere to Burning Man's counterculture beginnings say the festival's explosion in popularity in the past decade has welcomed a host of bad actors who trash the desert and surrounding communities and disregard the event's founding principles, including "decommodification" and the eco-friendly philosophy of "leave no trace."
Some of those perceived threats come from festival officials themselves, he said. A ticket to the main event alone cost over $400 in 2019 — a financial hurdle critics say goes against another tenet long espoused, that "everyone is invited."
"People that have never been before came out last year because they either couldn't get a ticket other years or they were just kind of curious. Or they didn't have the money to go to the actual Burn," said Jervis.
As for the Pyramid Lake Paiute community, with the reservation largely closed during that period last year, Davis said, "we really didn't see the impact" from a public health standpoint.
"You're not talking about 65 — 75,000 people." While there was more traffic, she said, "they moseyed on through and moseyed on out."
In the years leading up to the pandemic, BLM had been cracking down on the event's growth. Were the festival to return this year, Burning Man organizers said they would have had to meet a population cap of 69,000, down from its 80,000 limit for previous events.
Jervis says he won't miss what he describes as organizers' leniency toward "elites" who set up VIP areas at their camps and hire out to construct their art creations instead of making their own.
"A lot of people have gotten sick of what Burning Man's kind of become," he said.
Even if this year was a go, he said, burners would still be setting up their own Burning Man-adjacent happenings.
Following the announcement of the event's cancellation, people are taking to Facebook groups to reminisce about last year's unsanctioned burns and discuss preparations for their own this summer.
"So it seems that as of today there isn't going to be an official [Burning Man Ceremony] this year," James Zapata wrote. "So who's joining me in the dust?"
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Live-event spaces, like the Sound Nightclub in Los Angeles, have been waiting months for emergency relief.; Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Andrew Limbong | NPROwners of live-music venues, theaters, museums and other businesses covered under the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, or SVOG, can expect to see money by the end of May. This is according to an update from the Small Business Administration, which has been handling the SVOG program's bumpy rollout.
An SBA spokesperson said in an email that since the portal to apply for these grants opened a week ago, 10,300 applications have been submitted (another 12,000 have been started but not completed). The vast majority of those applications were from "Live venue operators or promoters," followed by performing arts organizations and then movie theaters.
The SBA has been reviewing applications and said in a statement that "applicants will receive notice of awards this month," with disbursement by the end of May if the applicant responds in a "timely manner to the notice of award."
The SVOG program is a $16 billion emergency relief program that then-President Donald Trump signed into law in late December 2020. It was a bipartisan effort to get aid money to struggling music venues and other arts and live-event spaces that have been hit hard by the coronavirus struggles. But for an emergency relief program, it has taken months to get money in the hands of business owners holding off landlords, insurance companies and other creditors. Those owners spent early 2021 waiting on an official announcement of when they could apply for the grant money while compiling any documents and paperwork they thought they might need. Then once the application site was up and running, it crashed and was closed.
Even as large festivals roll out throughout the U.S. and bands announce tours for later in the year, many small live-event spaces are still at risk of closing. The National Independent Venue Association, one of the most vocal groups lobbying for support for live-music venues, has long stated that 90% of its members would be forced to close without any aid — which would hurt nearby bars, restaurants and shops, not to mention the large apparatus that is the live touring-arts industry.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Tanitoluwa Adewumi, pictured in 2019, just became the newest national chess master in the U.S. at age 10.; Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Mary Louise Kelly and Karen Zamora | NPRTanitoluwa Adewumi, a 10-year-old in New York, just became the country's newest national chess master.
At the Fairfield County Chess Club Championship tournament in Connecticut on May 1, Adewumi won all four of his matches, bumping his chess rating up to 2223 and making him the 28th youngest person to become a chess master, according to US Chess.
"I was very happy that I won and that I got the title," he says, "I really love that I finally got it."
"Finally" is after about three years — the amount of time that Adewumi has been playing chess. When he started, Adewumi and his family were living in a homeless shelter in Manhattan after fleeing religious persecution by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in their home country of Nigeria.
Now, Adewumi practices chess "every day" after school for "10, 11 hours" — and still manages to get some sleep.
His hours of practice have paid off. As a chess player, he describes himself as a bit of an every man, "aggressive" or "calm" when he needs to be, and always thinking ahead.
"On a normal position, I can do up to 20 moves [in advance]", he says. Keeping all of the pieces straight in his head might seem like a challenge but Adewumi says it's a skill that "when you master, it just keeps coming back."
Adewumi competes against other chess players at all levels. But his favorite match?
"I guess Hikaru Nakamura is my favorite person I've ever played," he says. "He's a grandmaster, a very strong one. He's on the top of the rankings."
Nakamura won that match. But Adewumi takes each loss in stride — and there's always the possibility of a comeback.
"I say to myself that I never lose, that I only learn," he says. "Because when you lose, you have to make a mistake to lose that game. So you learn from that mistake, and so you learn [overall]. So losing is the way of winning for yourself."
Since the last time NPR spoke with Adewumi, his family moved out of the shelter and he's written a book about his life called My Name Is Tani . . . and I Believe in Miracles. That book has been optioned for a Trevor Noah-produced film adaptation with a script by The Pursuit of Happyness screenwriter Steven Conrad.
But Adewumi's journey is not over yet. He says his goal is to become the world's youngest grandmaster. At 10 years 8 months, he has a little under two years to beat the current record holder, Sergey Karjakin, who gained his title at 12 years 7 months.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Everyone sees the bright shiny fire truck arrive on the scene to put out the fire. Everyone sees the EMS units rushing to help. Everyone sees the Rescue units as they respond throughout the community. Everyone sees the flashing blue lights as law enforcement work to keep our community safe. Everyone sees State Highway Patrol [...]
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and China, the world's two biggest carbon polluters, agreed to cooperate to curb climate change with urgency, just days before President Joe Biden hosts a virtual summit of world leaders to discuss the issue.
The agreement was reached by U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua during two days of talks in Shanghai last week, according to a joint statement.
The two countries "are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands," the statement said.
China is the world's biggest carbon emitter, followed by the United States. The two countries pump out nearly half of the fossil fuel fumes that are warming the planet's atmosphere. Their cooperation is key to a success of global efforts to curb climate change, but frayed ties over human rights, trade and China's territorial claims to Taiwan and the South China Sea have been threatening to undermine such efforts.
Meeting with reporters in Seoul on Sunday, Kerry said the language in the statement is "strong" and that the two countries agreed on "critical elements on where we have to go." But the former secretary of state said, "I learned in diplomacy that you don't put your back on the words, you put on actions. We all need to see what happens."
Noting that China is the world's biggest coal user, Kerry said he and Chinese officials had a lot of discussions on how to accelerate a global energy transition. "I have never shied away from expressing our views shared by many, many people that it is imperative to reduce coal, everywhere," he said.
Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to the April 22-23 summit. The U.S. and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for cutting carbon emissions ahead of or at the meeting, along with pledging financial help for climate efforts by less wealthy nations.
It's unclear how much Kerry's China visit would promote U.S.-China cooperation on climate issues.
While Kerry was still in Shanghai, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng signaled Friday that China is unlikely to make any new pledges at next week's summit.
"For a big country with 1.4 billion people, these goals are not easily delivered," Le said during an interview with The Associated Press in Beijing. "Some countries are asking China to achieve the goals earlier. I am afraid this is not very realistic."
During a video meeting with German and French leaders Friday, Xi said that climate change "should not become a geopolitical chip, a target for attacking other countries or an excuse for trade barriers," the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
On whether Xi would join the summit, Le said "the Chinese side is actively studying the matter."
The joint statement said the two countries "look forward to" next week's summit. Kerry said Sunday that "we very much hope that (Xi) will take part" in the summit but it's up to China to make that decision.
Biden, who has said that fighting global warming is among his highest priorities, had the United States rejoin the historic 2015 Paris climate accord in the first hours of his presidency, undoing the U.S. withdrawal ordered by predecessor Donald Trump.
Major emitters of greenhouse gases are preparing for the next U.N. climate summit taking place in Glasgow, U.K., in November. The summit aims to relaunch global efforts to keep rising global temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) as agreed in the Paris accord.
According to the U.S.-China statement, the two countries would enhance "their respective actions and cooperating in multilateral processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement."
It said both countries also intend to develop their respective long-term strategies before the Glasgow conference and take "appropriate actions to maximize international investment and finance in support of" the energy transition in developing countries.
Xi announced last year that China would be carbon-neutral by 2060 and aims to reach a peak in its emissions by 2030. In March, China's Communist Party pledged to reduce carbon emissions per unit of economic output by 18% over the next five years, in line with its goal for the previous five-year period. But environmentalists say China needs to do more.
Biden has pledged the U.S. will switch to an emissions-free power sector within 14 years, and have an entirely emissions-free economy by 2050. Kerry is also pushing other nations to commit to carbon neutrality by then.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Washington State Department of Agriculture entomologist Chris Looney displays a dead Asian giant hornet, a sample sent from Japan and brought in for research last year in Blaine, Wash.; Credit: Elaine Thompson /AFP via Getty Images
Joe Hernandez | NPRMurder hornets. They're back.
Authorities in Washington state have announced that they've confirmed the first U.S. report this year of an Asian giant hornet, or Vespa mandarinia, in a town north of Seattle.
"Basically the only information we have is that a slightly dried out, dead specimen was collected off of a lawn in Marysville," said Sven Spichiger, managing entomologist with the state agriculture department, during a press conference.
"There really isn't even enough information to speculate on how it got there or how long it had been there," Spichiger added.
Because of its withered condition and the fact that male giant hornets don't typically emerge until July, agriculture officials believe the hornet discovered in early June was likely from a previous season and just recently found.
So-called "murder hornets" are native to Asia but have been spotted in Washington state and Canada over the past two years. The sting of the Vespa mandarinia can be life-threatening to humans, and the killer insects are known to wipe out the colonies of their fellow bugs, particularly honey bees.
According to genetic testing of the specimen discovered in Washington this month, the dead hornet was not the same as the other giant hornets discovered in North America since 2019. The hornet's coloration, which indicates it came from southern Asia, also suggested it arrived in "probably a separate event" than the ones previously known, Spichiger said.
But he emphasized that that was not necessarily cause for alarm.
"I want to very much clarify that a single dead specimen does not indicate a population," Spichiger said.
Washington agriculture officials are now setting murder hornet traps in the area of the discovery and are encouraging "citizen scientists" to do the same.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
As search and rescue efforts at the site of the Surfside, Fla., condo collapse stretch into day nine, officials have said that the number of confirmed fatalities has risen to 20, while the number of people unaccounted for has dropped from 145 to 128.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters Friday that one of the two fatalities recovered overnight was the 7-year-old daughter of a firefighter for the city of Miami.
"It goes without saying that every night since this last Wednesday has been immensely difficult for everybody, particularly the families that have been impacted," Levine Cava said. "But last night was truly different and more difficult for our first responders. These men and women are paying an enormous human toll each every day, and I ask that all of you please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers."
"They truly represent the very best in all of us, and we need to be there for them as they are here for us," she said.
The number of people who have been accounted for has grown to 188, officials also confirmed Friday. In many cases, detectives followed leads regarding individuals who were unaccounted for but then reached them and discovered they were safe.
They even discovered additional family members who were safe and who could have been in the building, and added them to the tally of accounted for individuals.
Officials have not yet released the names of all of the dead and missing people, and asked Friday that the privacy of the families be respected.
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Bill Cosby gestures outside his home in Elkins Park, Pa., on June 30, 2021, after being released from prison when the Pennsylvania's supreme court overturned his sexual assault conviction. Cosby expressed support for former TV co-star Phylicia Rashad's freedom of speech after she defended him in a tweet.; Credit: Matt Rourke/AP
Elizabeth Blair | NPRBill Cosby called on Howard University to support former co-star Phylicia Rashad's freedom of speech after she expressed support for him when his sexual assault conviction was overturned.
In a statement, Cosby also lashed out at the media, comparing journalists to the rioters who stormed the Capitol in January.
"Howard University you must support ones Freedom of Speech (Ms. Rashad), which is taught or suppose to be taught everyday at that renowned law school, which resides on your campus," Cosby said in a statement provided to NPR by his spokesman Andrew Wyatt.
"This mainstream media has become the Insurrectionists, who stormed the Capitol," Cosby continued in his statement. "Those same Media Insurrectionists are trying to demolish the Constitution of these United State of America on this Independence Day."
Cosby concluded by saying, "WE THE PEOPLE STAND IN SUPPORT OF MS. PHYLICIA RASHAD" in all caps.
Cosby's support of Rashad comes after the actress, who played his TV wife in The Cosby Show, defended the comedian in a tweet. Cosby was released from prison last week when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated his sexual assault conviction on the grounds that his due process rights were violated.
"FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" Rashad said last week.
The tweet has since been removed and Rashad later backpedaled, writing that she "fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward." She also sent a letter of apology to Howard students
Many Howard alumni had expressed disappointment at the remarks. Howard University responded with its own tweet, stating that Dean Rashad's "initial tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault."
Rashad was recently named Dean of Howard University's Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts.
Rashad, an acclaimed stage and screen artist, graduated from Howard magna cum laude in 1970 with a bachelor's in fine arts. She returned as a guest lecturer and adjunct faculty member.
In a statement announcing her appointment in May, Provost Anthony K. Wutoh said Rashad's "passion for the arts and student success makes her a perfect fit for this role."
One of the students Rashad mentored at Howard was the late actor Chadwick Boseman, for whom the school's College of Fine Arts is named.
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Rescue workers move a stretcher containing recovered remains at the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Fla., on Monday. Rescuers have recovered three more bodies and officials say the demolition of the building will accelerate search efforts.; Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP
Dan Charles | NPRMiami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava said on Monday morning that three more victims have been recovered from the ruins of the collapsed condo tower in Surfside, Fl., bringing the total death toll so far to 27.
Cava added that the demolition of the rest of Champlain Towers South "was executed exactly as planned" the previous evening, and that it would now allow rescue teams to work on a section of the collapsed building that was previously inaccessible. She noted that 118 individuals remain unaccounted for.
"Truly, we could not continue without bringing this building down," Cava said. "The area closest to the building was not accessible, due to the enormous risk to the team of first responders, because of the instability of the building."
According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the newly accessible section of rubble is also from a part of the building where many bedrooms were located, and may contain the remains of many victims. The building collapsed in the middle of the night.
Authorities had been concerned that an approaching tropical storm might topple the standing part of the building onto the section that had already collapsed. That would have been a massive setback in the search for victims and for clues to the cause of the disaster.
Tropical Storm Elsa now appears to be tracking further to the west, and is more likely to hit the west coast of Florida, rather than the site of the disaster. But officials at the National Weather Service say the storm's course still could change.
Cava acknowledged that demolishing people's homes "is a devastating decision" and said that "our teams are doing everything possible to help those who lost their home begin to rebuild."
She said that authorities are working with insurance companies and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to streamline claims and help those who've lost homes and property.
One animal rescue volunteer had gone to court to stop the demolition of the rest of the tower, asking the court to allow more time to rescue pets that might still be trapped inside. The judge denied the motion.
Cava said in her Monday briefing that Miami-Dade rescue teams had already gone through parts of the building that were still accessible, "searching in closets and under beds" to find missing pets.
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As of January 2, 2010 restaurants, bars and other businesses that serve food and drink in Catawba County became smoke-free. Many health advocates and local residents are pleased that they can now enjoy a healthier dining experience. The ban is a result of a new law that prohibits smoking in all restaurants and bars across North Carolina.
Louise Ackerman serves as the Chairwoman for Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention (A.S.A.P.) of Catawba County. A.S.A.P. is a volunteer coalition made up of Catawba County residents with members from all segments of the community, including education, law enforcement, the criminal justice system, the faith community, mental health, social services, public health, local business, parents and youth that work together to combat underage drinking and substance abuse.
Three applied research centers at the Charlotte Research Institute will install instrumentation and conduct experiments at the Eco-Complex, an expansion of innovative waste reduction and waste processing technology already underway at the Complex.