Headlines From The Times

This month, comedy legend Dave Chappelle released his latest stand-up Netflix special, called "The Closer." It immediately drew criticism for jokes widely viewed as transphobic, and it has created turmoil behind the scenes at Netflix. But there’s also been a backlash to the backlash, by fans who say social justice warriors just want to cancel Chappelle. One group is particularly well positioned to have insights on the controversy: LGBTQ comedians. Today, we hear from three.More reading:What LGBTQ+ comedians really think of Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special Netflix’s Dave Chappelle PR crisis has been years in the makingNetflix takes a hit over fallout from Dave Chappelle special

Tall, bushy, spiny and fragrant, the pinyon pine is a beloved feature of the Mountain West — and not just for its beauty. The tiny piñon nuts in the tree’s cones are so good, people in the region have eaten them every fall for countless generations. But as climate change continues to affect the United States, something terrible is happening. The piñon harvest is getting smaller and smaller.Today we go to New Mexico, where the pinyon is the state’s official tree. We talk to Axios race and justice reporter Russell Contreras, who’s based out of Albuquerque and has an up-close view of the piñon’s slow disappearance. And a native New Mexican — Tey Marianna Nunn, director of the Smithsonian Institution's American Women’s History Initiative — tells us about the nut and tree’s cultural importance.More reading:Op-Ed: Pinyon and juniper woodlands define the West. Why is the BLM turning them to mulch?Locally foraged piñon nuts are cherished in New Mexico. They’re also disappearingPine nut recipes: From small seeds, inspiration

The Black Panther Party, a Black power political organization, was founded exactly 55 years ago in California’s Bay Area and grew into a nationwide group that pushed for housing, food equity, education and self-protection. Several famous figures emerged from the group, including Eldridge Cleaver, Angela Davis and Huey P. Newton.But history often overlooks those who do not serve in dynamic roles or who perform tasks away from public view. These people do the thankless but crucial work that keeps organizations running. Barbara Easley-Cox was one of these people.Today, Easley-Cox recounts what she experienced as a Black Panther, from California to Algeria to North Korea and beyond.More reading:Decades before Black Lives Matter, there were the Black Panthers in OaklandOpinion: 1969 SWAT raid on Black Panthers set the tone for police race problemsBobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver tell Cal State Fullerton audience about militancy, civil rights work

California requires each publicly traded company based in the Golden State to have at least one woman on its board of directors and, soon, at least one nonwhite or LGBTQ person. That’s because of a pair of laws mandating diversity at those high levels — laws that are having effects nationwide.Today, we examine the topic with L.A. Times national reporter Evan Halper. We also talk with Dr. Maria Rivas, who has served on several boards and frequently found herself the only woman or person of color there.More reading:California outlawed the all-white-male boardroom. That move is reshaping corporate AmericaColumn: California’s controversial law requiring women on corporate boards is back in the crosshairsNewsom signs law mandating more diversity in California corporate boardrooms

Wildfires across the American West this summer spewed out smoke full of particulates that darkened skies, created unnaturally beautiful sunsets and boosted health risks far and wide. This problem has been getting worse as the years go by. So how will we move forward?Today, we convene our monthly Masters of Disasters panel — L.A. Times air quality reporter Tony Barboza, wildfire reporter Alex Wigglesworth and earthquake and COVID-19 reporter Ron Lin — to talk about what makes wildfire smoke special, how to protect yourself and what the future might be. We also discuss reasons to be optimistic. And no, we’re not apologizing for the corny jokes. You’re welcome.More reading:Wildfire smoke now causes up to half the fine-particle pollution in Western U.S., study findsWildfire smoke may carry ‘mind-bending’ amounts of fungi and bacteria, scientists sayAs ‘diesel death zones’ spread, pollution regulators place new rules on warehouse industryHow to keep the air in your home clean when there’s wildfire smoke outside

It’s been about a week since a big oil spill hit the Southern California shoreline near Orange County. Tar sullied sensitive wetlands. Birds and fish died. Miles of beaches were closed. The L.A. Times newsroom has produced dozens of stories trying to understand what happened, and what we’ve found so far isn’t pretty: aging offshore oil platforms and pipelines — being bought up by companies that have a history of safety violations.Today, we speak to L.A. Times investigative reporter Connor Sheets about the causes of the so-called Huntington Beach oil spill. And an environmental activist — Center for Biological Diversity oceans program director Miyoko Sakashita — describes what she found when visiting Southern California’s offshore drilling platforms in 2018.More reading:Full coverage: the Huntington Beach oil spillCalifornia attorney general launches investigation into Orange County oil spillFederal regulation of oil platforms was dogged by problems long before O.C. spillHow much would it cost to shut down an offshore oil well? Who pays?

Nearly a century ago, government officials pushed a Black family from their beachfront property in the Southern California city of Manhattan Beach. Now, in what could be a landmark in this nation’s efforts to correct past injustices to African Americans, the land is being returned to the family’s descendants.Today, we have an update to our June episode about the fight over Bruce’s Beach. And we hear from the historians, family members and grass-roots organizers who championed this cause for years until it could not be ignored. We also speak with L.A. Times environmental reporter Rosanna Xia about her work, which amplified the story of Bruce’s Beach to the world.More reading:Newsom signs bill to return Bruce’s Beach to Black familyOp-Ed: Bruce’s Beach will be returned to my family. I hope our fight will help othersEditorial: Beyond Bruce’s Beach is the tarnished American dream for Black AmericansManhattan Beach was once home to Black beachgoers, but the city ran them out. Now it faces a reckoning

Milwaukee is in the grips of the worst violence in its modern history. There were 189 killings there last year — the most ever recorded, almost twice as many as the year before.It’s not just Milwaukee. The nonprofit Council on Criminal Justice looked at 34 U.S. cities and found that 29 had more homicides last year than in 2019. What has caused this surge? How is it affecting members of the hardest-hit communities?Today, Los Angeles Times national correspondent Kurtis Lee takes us to Milwaukee’s north side to explore the neighborhood’s history and present and to hear from community members: victims’ families, as well as a pastor, a retiring police detective and a funeral home director. He also reflects on how it feels to be a young Black man covering the deaths of so many young Black men.More reading:On the front lines of the U.S. homicide epidemic: Milwaukee faces historic violenceA year like no other for L.A. crime: Homicides surge, robberies and rapes dropOp-Ed: Homicide rates are up. To bring them down, empower homegrown peacekeepers

Nursing is a tough job in good times, and the COVID-19 pandemic made it a lot tougher. Within a few months of the start of the pandemic, U.S. healthcare workers reported high rates of anxiety, frustration, emotional and physical exhaustion and burnout.Now we’re a year and a half in. We’ve got vaccines, but the Delta variant still poses a big threat. So how are nurses holding up?Today, nurses tell us about their experiences and how they’re coping, personally and professionally.Host: L.A. Times utility journalism reporter Karen GarciaMore reading:Nurses have had a tough year (and then some). You can learn from their resilience Op-Ed: As a doctor in a COVID unit, I’m running out of compassion for the unvaccinated. Get the shotTracking the coronavirus in California

To Project Roomkey’s architects, the program was a no-brainer. Thousands of hotel rooms were empty because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And there were thousands of people who lacked homes and seemed especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. The plan to put the people in the empty rooms and pay the hotel owners seemed to solve two problems at once.Sounds easy, right? But in practice, not so much. The program helped some people but certainly not everyone.Today we examine Project Roomkey — its promises, achievements, shortcomings and future. We talk to L.A. Times reporters Benjamin Oreskes and Doug Smith, who have covered the program from the start. We also talk to Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, the head of a nonprofit that helps people transition out of homelessness.More reading:L.A. had a golden opportunity to house homeless people in hotels — but fell short of its goalL.A. County won’t expand program to shelter homeless people in hotelsFederal aid allows L.A. to extend hotel-room rentals for homeless people