Headlines From The Times

Ukraine was never a utopia for gays and transgender people, but activists there say things have improved over the years. Now, though, people are worried that Russia’s invasion could put all of that progress at risk. Today we talk to two LGBTQ+ Ukrainians, one who’s fighting against Russia for his country — and another who fled Ukraine but is continuing her fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Read the full transcript here.Host: The Times: Daily News from the L.A. Times producer David ToledoGuests: L.A. Times Latin America correspondent Kate Linthicum

Patriots for America patrols the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, stops migrants, and questions children. They call it faith-based ministry work; civil rights groups say they’re just another racist group of extremists. Today, we follow them in action. Read the full transcript here.Host: Molly Hennessy-FiskeMore reading:Texas border militia stops migrants and shoots video of kids. Rights groups say they’re racistTexas militia sanctioned by sheriff seeks government support to halt flow of migrantsMinutemen Project begins recruiting volunteers to man U.S. border

Unprecedented water restrictions in Los Angeles County are going to ensure the slow demise of lawns. And now, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is ready to deal green lawns a final blow. Today, how Southern Californians will have to get used to browner lawns — and why even that might not make a dent in a historic drought.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian JamesMore reading:Newsom urges aggressive water conservation and warns of statewide restrictionsCalifornia just adopted new, tougher water restrictions: What you need to knowCalifornia bans watering ‘nonfunctional’ grass in some areas, strengthening drought rules

It’s pitting neighbors against neighbors in suburbs across the United States. Tempers are flaring. Tension is high. And nope, all the drama has nothing to do with politics or COVID or any of the usual suburban suspects. The culprit now: pickleball.Today, we serve you the rapid rise of a sport whose popularity boomed during the pandemic and the intense backlash rising right alongside it. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuest: L.A. Times investigative and enterprise reporter Connor SheetsMore reading:Pickleball noise is fueling neighborhood drama from coast to coastPickleball is a godsend for older players. L.A. needs to fund new courts Pickleball is a smash hit in SoCal. Now younger players are picking up the paddle

Overdose deaths in the United States have risen rapidly during the pandemic. It’s a trend driven largely by the spread of fentanyl.In California, the push to save lives and stop the fallout has led some activists and politicians to propose safe injection sites — places where people can take drugs with clean needles, without fear of arrest. There’s already one site like this operating in San Francisco.But in Vancouver, Canada, there’s a neighborhood that has hosted a safe injection site for almost 20 years. In today’s episode, we go visit it.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuest: L.A. Times columnist Anita ChabriaMore reading:Column: Vancouver’s safe drug-use sites are wrenching to see. California should open them anywayIn a bid to stop overdose deaths, California could allow drug use at supervised sitesWith overdose deaths rising, here’s how to test drugs for fentanyl 

Today we talk about California’s huge role in influencing gun control laws in the U.S. and about the backlashes. We discuss the state’s historic 1989 ban on assault weapons and why a federal judge issued an order to overturn that ban. And we talk to the mayor of San Jose, who wants his city to be the first in the United States to require gun owners to buy liability insurance.Read the full transcript here.  An earlier version of this episode was published Aug. 23, 2021. 

Last week, we partnered up with KCRW for a live mayoral debate with some of the city’s top candidates for the top job.It was the final group debate before the primary on June 7. And in it, three candidates talked a lot about a housing-first approach and took progressive stances on the issue of homelessness.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo Arellano and KCRW housing reporter Anna ScottGuests: Rep. Karen Bass, L.A. councilmember Kevin de León, and activist Gina ViolaMore reading:With Caruso absent, L.A. mayoral candidates argue for progressive moves on homelessnessL.A. on the Record: Renters are getting short shrift in the mayor’s race, advocates sayL.A.’s mayoral candidates agree homeless encampments need to go. The question is how

In this episode of the “Border City” podcast from our sister paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, longtime U.S.-Mexico border reporter Sandra Dibble brings us to an awful time for Tijuana: the three-year window from 2008 to 2010. Cartels ramped up violence to horrifying levels, targeting cops and doctors. Police tried to purge traitors from their ranks — and went too far. But through it all, the spirit of Tijuana stayed alive. In the darkness, there were still sparkles of music and art and joy.Read the full transcript here.Host: Sandra DibbleMore reading:Must Reads: Meth and murder: A new kind of drug war has made Tijuana one of the deadliest cities on EarthImages from the front lines of Tijuana’s deadly drug warReporter’s Notebook: Behind the story: How The Times reported on Tijuana’s massive rise in homicides

The pandemic has made a lot of us rethink a lot of things. On the forefront of that existential rethink: restaurant workers. This realignment of priorities and personal interests drove lots of restaurant workers to quit. Now, two years after COVID-19 upended the restaurant industry, so many food spots are still short-staffed and help-wanted signs are seemingly everywhere. That's motivating employers to offer better pay, conditions and perks. Today, L.A. Times business reporter Samantha Masunaga discusses why the labor shortage is still a big problem for restaurant owners across the country and how they can persuade workers to come back. Read the full transcript here. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which detains hundreds of thousands of people nationwide, typically says fewer than a dozen detainees die in its custody each year. But if the agency releases a person in dire health, they're not in custody when they die — so ICE doesn't need to count that death. Today, L.A. Times immigration reporter Andrea Castillo tells the stories of two people who were abruptly released by ICE just days before their deaths and pulls back the curtain on the system that allows this to happen. Read the full transcript here.