Los Angeles Magazine reported on the growing number of K–12 students receiving individualized education programs, or IEPs, in LA and nationwide, and the mounting strain on schools to provide special education services. UCLA human development and psychiatry professor Connie Kasari said the increase reflects better identification of those students who need support, greater parent advocacy and the lasting effects of COVID, while noting that many Latino families remain underserved because they are less likely to know about the resources or advocate for them. Read more about UCLA in today’s CNN International, Futurism and others.
More highlights from UCLA in the News: Aug. 3, 2026
Cuts to research lead scientists to OnlyFans | Los Angeles Times
Looking for some marmot content? Try OnlyFans or, rather, OnlyMarms. Researchers at a UCLA-affiliated marmot research lab launched an OnlyFans account to post videos of marmots captured in the wild as a way to help generate funding for their work and offset federal cuts to universities. (UCLA’s Dan Blumstein and Emily Renkey were quoted. Also: NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” Futurism, CNN International, KNX-FM and KTLA-TV.)
UCLA adds 3 new media majors | City News Service
Applications will open Saturday for three new Bachelor of Arts degree programs that UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture will launch in fall 2027 in computational art, design and games. The new majors will be housed in the university’s Department of Design Media Arts, which has offered a single undergraduate degree in design media arts since it was established more than 25 years ago, according to UCLA. (UCLA’s Casey Reas was quoted. Also: KTLA-TV.)
Common ‘heat wave mistake’ could harm you | Los Angeles Times
“It’s definitely true that if you’re blowing air warmer than your skin over your body, then you’re warming your body,” says David Eisenman, professor of medicine and co-director of the UCLA Center for Healthy Climate Solutions. “That heat wave mistake can be harmful.” (Eisenman and UCLA’s V. Kelly Turner shared tips for keeping cool.)
LA neighborhood combating heatwaves | Los Angeles Magazine
V. Kelly Turner, an associate director of UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation and professor of urban planning and geography, emphasizes the importance of other solutions as well. "I think cities should see reflective pavement as one tool among many, if deployed comprehensively, that could mitigate the regional urban heat island,” Turner said. “They should see this goal as parsimonious from the public health goal of protecting people’s bodies from the sun.”
Former health officials campaign for state office | KFF Health News
Mark Peterson, a public policy professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, said with the pandemic in the rearview mirror, any judgment voters may have about the federal government’s response is more likely to reflect on Biden rather than Becerra, who has no medical background and maintained a low profile as HHS secretary.
Is Israel ready to withdraw from Gaza? | Al Jazeera
“Netanyahu already faces an uphill battle in forming any government, more so if he agrees to this,” said Dov Waxman, professor of Israel studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Fed proposal would cut Colorado River water for states | Reuters
The U.S. West is caught in its worst drought in at least 1,200 years, according to a 2022 study by the University of California, Los Angeles. Rising regional temperatures, which scientists largely attribute to human-caused climate change, have led to about a 20% decline in Colorado River flow since 2000.
