CBS Los Angeles reported on the community response to the air conditions following the Boyle Heights warehouse fire, with people sharing concerns that the rotting meat is posing health risks. “When that meat decomposes, it creates toxins that definitely can be a hazard,” said UCLA professor of health policy and management and faculty research director Arturo Vagas Bustamante. Read more about UCLA in the Los Angeles Times, Laist and others.

More highlights from UCLA in the News: July 10, 2026

Administration proposal could ‘all but end’ scientific merit in grant funding | Los Angeles Times

The White House Office of Management and Budget has proposed a new rule that would change how federal grants are awarded and overseen, raising concerns among the scientific community. “I understand the need for oversight, fiscal responsibility, and accountability. That is not the issue,” wrote Jack Feldman, a neuroscientist who holds the David Geffen School of Medicine Chair in Neuroscience at UCLA. “The issue is whether scientific research is to be judged by scientific merit, or whether it can be approved, denied, or terminated according to broad political criteria that may change from one administration to the next.”

Should drive-thrus be banned? Culver City is considering it | LAist

Vehicle speed, the main factor determining the level of harm to pedestrians in collisions, is less of an issue at drive-thrus. Still, increasing the number of places where a car might interact with pedestrians creates more risk, UCLA’s Madeline Brozen said. “In a city where we are trying to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities, we need to be very cautious about anything that is going to increase the likelihood for conflicts,” Brozen said.

The future of air conditioning could already be in use | LAist

A person standing near a radiant cooling system radiates body heat toward the system's cooler panels, which act as a sponge for thermal energy. This creates a sensation of coolness even if the surrounding air remains warm. “The idea is that basically you take advantage of thermal radiation to exchange heat between people and surfaces,” said Aaswath Raman, an engineering professor at UCLA.

Administration warns election officials | The Independent

The Trump administration is threatening to withhold federal funding from states that fail to implement specific changes to their voting practices, while simultaneously warning state election officials of potential arrest if they do not remove non-citizens from voter rolls. "The overall point is that Trump is trying to use whatever levers of power and persuasive power that he might have to try to interfere with how states and localities are going to conduct the 2026 election," stated Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project. "Some of this is aimed at changing how the rules are conducted. Some of it appears to be aimed at undermining voter confidence in the integrity of the election process."

Hotel workers' hours not boosted by World Cup | New York Times

Hotel bookings for the World Cup, despite those packed stadiums, have fallen below estimates. Victor Narro, project director and labor studies professor at the UCLA Labor Center, said workers at nonunionized hotels were in a precarious situation, as their bosses could take more drastic measures to cut jobs and hours. “We may not be seeing the full picture,” Mr. Narro said, “because union workers have some built-in protections.”