Headlines From The Times

For decades, weekly lunches between the American president and his vice president have piqued the interest of D.C. insiders. Today, we take a look at this unique tradition and examine what the most exclusive meal in D.C. tells us about the evolution of the vice presidency. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times White House reporter Noah BiermanMore reading:It’s not just a meal: Inside the nation’s most secretive and exclusive power lunchOpinion: Obama and Biden do lunchGorbachev, Reagan, Bush to Lunch

President Biden has vowed to help protect the ability of those who seek abortions to travel to other states. California and other states have stepped up to offer expanded access. And now companies are vowing to do what they can to help their employees continue to access abortion. But how much do those vows from private businesses really matter?Today, we talk about how corporations are stepping up when the government won’t. But are they actually changing anything in a meaningful way? Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuest: L.A. Times business reporter Sam DeanMore reading:Companies vow to help employees access abortion after Roe vs. Wade is overturnedHollywood companies vow to pay travel costs for abortions after Roe vs. Wade decisionHow Apple, Levi Strauss and other U.S. companies are creating a brand-new abortion benefit

We’ll be having fun all summer long ... or not. Hazards are everywhere this season — in the bonfires we set, the trash we leave behind, the sunburns we get. Today, our Masters of Disasters talk about all the hazards out there, including us. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times earthquake reporter Rong-Gong Lin II, L.A. Times wildfire reporter Alex Wigglesworth and L.A. Times coast reporter Rosanna XiaMore reading:In California’s high-risk fire country, Airbnb offers guests no warning or escape planWhere are California’s dirtiest beaches? This list might surprise youFirst suspected cases of monkeypox in Riverside and Santa Clara counties reported

More than 20 states have already worked to ban or severely limit abortion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade. But in California, access to abortion will continue to be protected. In fact, the state’s Democratic leaders want to expand the right to abortion — for those who live here, and even for those who don’t.Today, how and why California is setting itself up as a “beacon of hope” for people who want an abortion.Read the full transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times California government reporter Melody GutierrezMore reading:What happens in California with Roe vs. Wade now dead?Newsom signs bill protecting California abortion providers from civil liabilityIn an America divided by abortion, guns and COVID, California and Newsom seize the moment

Roe vs. Wade protected the constitutional right to an abortion for nearly 50 years. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned it, at least 20 states are banning or putting extreme limitations on access to abortion.The outcome was expected, but the country still erupted when the ruling posted — abortion opponents gathered in celebration while abortion-access advocates reacted with anger.Over the last few months, The Times has looked at the issue of abortion from a number of perspectives to help understand how we got to this historic moment. Today, we revisit five episodes from “The Future of Abortion” series.Listen to the full episodes here:Future of Abortion Part 1: MedicineDr. Warren Hern has performed abortions since before Roe vs. Wade. He speaks about his career — and the fears he has for the future.Future of Abortion Part 2: ChurchThe complicated story of how evangelicals mobilized around restricting abortion, and one Christian woman’s place in it all.The Future of Abortion Part 3: MoneyHow Texas has made it nearly impossible for low-income women to get an abortion. And how other states want to copy that.The Future of Abortion, Part 4: Keeping ItPregnancy centers have grown in numbers with the backing of antiabortion religious organizations. What’s their future like in a post-Roe vs. Wade world?The Future of Abortion, Part 5 : LawWhat went wrong with Roe vs. Wade and why the court’s effort to resolve the abortion controversy back in 1973 has instead led to decades of division.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporters Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Jaweed Kaleem and David G. SavageMore reading:“The Future of Abortions” print seriesIn historic reversal, Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade, freeing states to outlaw abortionThe four key turning points that led to the fall of Roe vs. Wade

In celebration of Juneteenth, this week we're running some of our favorite episodes about the Black experience. L.A. Times features writer Jeanette Marantos takes us from modern-day Southern California back to 1860s Massachusetts and Maryland for a look at an unsung civil rights hero. This episode first aired on Sep 24, 2021.Read the full transcript here. Host: L.A. Times features writer Jeanette MarantosMore reading:She was the Rosa Parks of her day. So why was she in an unmarked grave for 129 years?How we got the story of Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark and her courageous, unsung lifeLA Times Today: The ‘Rosa Parks of Concord MA,’ discovered in an unmarked grave in Altadena

In celebration of Juneteenth, this week we're running some of our favorite episodes about the Black experience. Today, we revisit the showdown centering on proposals to ban menthol cigarettes and how the tobacco companies enlists Black community leaders to ensure that any ban never happens. This episode first aired on Apr 26, 2022.Read the show transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times medical investigations reporter Emily Baumgaertner, and Ben Stockton of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

In celebration of Juneteenth, this week we're running some of our favorite episodes about the Black experience. Today, housing and affordability reporter Liam Dillon dives into the historical and continuing impact of the 10 freeway on Black communities in Santa Monica. This episode first aired on Jan. 31, 2022.Read the full transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times housing reporter Liam Dillon, and Santa Monica native Nichelle MonroeMore reading:Santa Monica’s message to people evicted long ago for the 10 Freeway: Come homeFreeways force out residents in communities of color — againTour Santa Monica’s once-vibrant Black neighborhoods, nearly erased by racism and ‘progress’ 

The Supreme Court’s decision on Roe vs. Wade in 1973 was supposed to end the debate on abortion once and for all. But instead, it has led to decades of division. In our “Future of Abortion” series, The Times looks at abortion from a number of perspectives. Today, we dig into where Roe went wrong.Read the full transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporter David G. SavageMore reading:Where Roe went wrong: A sweeping new abortion right built on a shaky legal foundationSupreme Court’s pending abortion ruling: What it may meanWhen will the Supreme Court make a decision on the fate of Roe vs. Wade?

In the wake of the Uvalde massacre, Emmett Till’s name is again at the forefront of a national conversation, this time about gun control. Till was the 14-year-old boy lynched by a group of white men in 1955 in Mississippi. Images of his mutilated body shocked the country and galvanized civil rights activists.As people inside and outside newsrooms struggle with whether showing brutal images of slain children might move people and politicians toward collective action, Emmett’s family talks about power and pain, and the impact and limitations of an image.Today, in honor of Juneteenth, we kick off a week of episodes about the Black experience with the question: Is this country in the middle of another “Emmett Till” moment?Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporter Marissa EvansMore reading:After Uvalde shooting, people consider an ‘Emmett Till moment’ to change gun debateHearts ‘shattered’: Here are the victims of the Texas school shootingHouse passes gun control bill after Buffalo, Uvalde attacks