LAist 89.3’s “AirTalk” spoke with UCLA historian Caroline Luce about her new book, “Yiddish in the Land of Sunshine: Race, Labor, and Jewish Radicalism in Los Angeles,” which explores the influence of Jewish immigrant activists on the city’s early 20th-century political landscape. Luce discussed how Boyle Heights became a center for Jewish political activism and how these communities helped shape the city’s labor movement and relationships among its diverse populations. Read more about UCLA in today’s Guardian, KCAL-TV and other outlets.

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More highlights from UCLA in the News: October 28, 2026

Can you solve it? A magical melody from the Mozart of math | The Guardian

Today’s puzzle is set by Terence Tao, who may be the world’s most famous mathematician. Tao, aged 51, has been a global phenomenon since the age of ten, when he became the youngest competitor at the International Maths Olympiad, a record he still holds. For the last three decades, he has been a professor at UCLA, where he has been garlanded with prizes, and where one of his colleagues famously said: “Terry is like Mozart: mathematics just flows out of him.” (Tao was quoted.)

No clear winner in Israeli election | KCAL-TV

“So, just like here, we have to hit an electoral college threshold. In Israel, there’s a pathway to 61 votes. Basically, you have to form a coalition of 61 members of Parliament, members of Knesset. Once you do, then you have enough to form a government,” said UCLA’s Benjamin Radd.

Stellar collisions may have been common when the universe was young | Scienmag

A new study led by UCLA astrophysicists and published in AAS Journals finds that in the early universe, stellar systems were extremely dense, with stars frequently hitting one another. According to the models, these collisions could unfold in two very different ways. (UCLA’s Claire Williams and Smadar Naoz were quoted.)

Legal aid linked to fewer ED visits in New York’s highest-risk areas | Scienmag

A UCLA Health-led natural-experiment study found that New York City’s tenant right-to-counsel program was associated with fewer emergency department visits in neighborhoods at especially high risk of eviction, but it detected no overall reduction across all covered zip codes. The analysis included more than 8 million emergency department visits by Medicaid-insured and uninsured city residents from January 2016 through February 2020. (UCLA’s Dr. Katherine Chen was quoted.)