UCLA in the News

NPR’s “All Things Considered” examined how transit systems across the country are responding to issues related to homelessness and quality-of-life concerns on buses and subways. Jacob Wasserman, research program manager at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, said transit agencies are increasingly being forced to address homelessness despite not being designed for that role. “That’s no knock on them. That’s just not what their purpose is. But they have to,” Wasserman said, noting that enforcement alone often displaces unhoused people rather than addressing the underlying causes. Read more about UCLA in today’s New York Times and The Hill.

The Associated Press featured an article about the launch of a free digital textbook overseen by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center that aims to be a high-caliber guide to help high school and college educators nationwide teach more effectively about AAPI experiences. “Foundations and Futures: Asian American and Pacific Islander Multimedia Textbook” is the culmination of years of work by 100 contributors, from curriculum developers to illustrators. (UCLA’s Karen Umemoto, Kelly Fong and Melany De La Cruz-Viesca were quoted.) Read more about UCLA in today’s Time, New Yorker and others.

The Los Angeles Times featured several UCLA experts in an article about LA Metro’s Wilshire subway line, a route that will cover some of the city’s densest communities. Rider behavior is yet to be determined, and people like UCLA’s Jacob Wasserman, a research program manager at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, says wait times may cause potential riders just to stick with their cars. Brian Taylor, a fellow at the institute and a professor of urban planning and public policy at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, says the line will need to be “the best way to get around” if it’s going to change commuter behavior. Read more about UCLA in today’s Discover Magazine and Vox.

The New York Times reported on a new study finding that more than half of Medicare patients with metastatic lung cancer never receive life-extending therapies such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy or targeted drugs. UCLA Health’s Dr. Drew Moghanaki, chief of thoracic oncology, said lingering fatalism around advanced lung cancer may discourage some patients from pursuing treatment, despite major advances that can extend survival and improve quality of life. Read more about UCLA in today’s Washington Post, CNN International and others.

The Los Angeles Times explored why LA ranks near the bottom among major U.S. cities for park access and public green space, featuring research from UCLA urban planning researcher Claire Nelischer. Nelischer said Los Angeles lacks the dense network of small neighborhood parks found in cities like New York and London, and noted that parks play an essential role in health, social connection and daily life — especially for renters and immigrant communities. Read more about UCLA in today’s Washington Post, NPR and others.

CBS News Los Angeles spoke with UCLA’s Dr. May Nour about how to recognize the signs of two main types of stroke, why rapid treatment is critical, and the rise in cases among patients under 50. Nour also highlighted the UCLA Health Mobile Stroke Unit, the first in the Western U.S., which delivers on-site care before patients reach the hospital — improving chances of recovery and long-term function. Read more about UCLA in today’s CBS News Los Angeles, ABC News and other outlets.

The Los Angeles Times highlighted UCLA’s Mathias Botanical Garden and its upcoming Clarkia Flower Festival, which celebrates native California wildflowers and community education. Victoria Sork, director of the garden and herbarium and a distinguished professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, said the event is an opportunity to showcase plant diversity beyond familiar blooms, while outreach manager Chantal Ochoa-Clark noted strong public interest in accessible, free programming. Read more about UCLA in today’s Associated Press, New York Times and others.

The Los Angeles Times examined the growing use of “red boxing,” a campaign tactic that signals messaging to outside political groups without direct coordination, in California’s gubernatorial race. UCLA law professor Rick Hasen said the practice has become “absolutely standard procedure,” allowing campaigns to technically comply with finance laws while still influencing super PAC strategy. He noted that current rules create “an illusion of regulation,” even as candidates increasingly rely on outside spending. Read more about UCLA in today’s NPR “Morning Edition,” MS Now and others.

In an article in the Los Angeles Times, UCLA law professor Rick Hasen speaks about the Supreme Court’s Wednesday decision to limit the Voting Rights Act — a ruling that will give states back the power to redraw their election maps and eliminate voting districts that favor Black or Latino candidates for Congress, state legislatures and county boards. Hasen, who is also the founding director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project, was also featured by NPR’s “All Things Considered,” KABC-TV, KCRW 89.9-FM’s “Press Play,” Reuters, USA Today, Politico, Ohio Capital Journal and The Guardian. Read more about UCLA in today’s Vox and Imperial Valley Press.

Reporting by The LA Local focuses on the uptick of LA Metro use by college students who are choosing public transportation over personal vehicles or rideshare companies like Uber. While a big factor comes down to cost, UCLA’s Jacob Wasserman, research program manager at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, says the culture shift is by design. “At UCLA, every undergrad and grad student gets a pass. It makes the transit agency money because [schools] buy it for everybody, and the people who do use it get a ton of value.” Wasserman also discusses LA Metro’s expansion and how the agency is prioritizing safety. Read more about UCLA in today’s ABC News, Scientific American and others.

The Los Angeles Times explored how shrinking attention spans and digital habits may be reshaping contemporary fiction, citing insights from UCLA English professor Mitchum Huehls. Huehls said today’s acclaimed novels are often shorter than the sweeping 500- to 600-page books that once dominated literary culture, with more emphasis on plot and character than lengthy scene-setting. He also noted that some writers are creatively embracing fragmented forms that reflect the pace and structure of modern life. Read more about UCLA in today’s CBS News, New York Times and others.

The Los Angeles Times published a commentary by UCLA emergency medicine physician Dr. Hashem Zikry arguing that artificial intelligence could expand access to care for patients facing doctor shortages, high costs and long wait times. Zikry wrote that many Americans are already turning to AI tools for medical guidance and said the technology has the potential to help manage routine needs such as prescription refills and common conditions. He also called for clear federal standards and accountability measures to ensure clinical AI is safe and effective before wider adoption. Read and hear more about UCLA in today’s New York Times, Bloomberg and others.

According to a study by the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute, the spiking gas prices are disproportionately affecting the financial health of Latino households largely because they tend to have fewer financial resources and depend on cars for their livelihoods. "Even before the gas prices increased Latinos households were already spending more money on gas than non-Latinos and always experiencing higher costs of house burden," Rosario Majano with the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute told KNBC-TV. Read and hear more about UCLA from NBC News, Phys.org and others.

Michael Manville, professor of urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, told the Los Angeles Times that it is generally hard to get people out of their cars, even in times of high gas prices. “People are kind of locked into their cars,” Manville said. “Even when they do start to feel the pinch, they don’t necessarily change their travel behavior, they cut back on other things.” Read and hear more about UCLA in today’s Los Angeles Daily News, LAist and others. 

The New York Times featured an article about a new study that found animals returned to deforested land much more quickly than scientists had long thought. UCLA’s Timo Metz, the study’s first author, says the findings disproved the notion that forest regrowth would have to precede animal reintroduction in deforested areas that had been used as pastures or cacao plantations. Instead, many animals returned within three decades rather than after centuries. Read more about UCLA in today’s Associated Press and KCBS-TV.

The Los Angeles Times featured energy law expert Allan Marks in a story about a California judge’s rebuff to a recent executive order that sought to bypass state laws in restarting oil pipelines off the state’s Central Coast. Marks, who is a lecturer at the UCLA School of Law, pointed to similar challenges of the Trump administration’s meddling in offshore projects, particularly East Coast wind farms, which the courts have largely rejected. Read more about UCLA in today’s CNN, Associated Press and others.

In a Los Angeles Times article, UCLA’s Dr. Neil Silverman and other experts discuss the nuances of a highly mutated COVID-19 strain circulating in California that could point to its emergence as more of a summer disease. “COVID doesn’t seem to play by the same rules that influenza tends to play by, where its cycle is predictable,” says Silverman, who is the director of the Infections in Pregnancy Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “COVID is still here. People can’t necessarily take comfort from the fact that we did not have a surge over this past winter.” Read more about UCLA in today’s Associated Press and the Independent.

The New York Times featured commentary by Dr. David Eisenman, director of the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters, about the abrupt withdrawal of support from the Department of Homeland Security for his team’s research into targeted and mass violence prevention. Eisenman, who is also a professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, had been studying bystander reporting programs in other countries, designed for family members or close friends of perpetrators who might “leak” their plans and intentions. The DHS, which initially was heavily invested in this work, told Eisenman to shut down all research operations in March 2024. Read more about UCLA in today’s ABC News, NPR and others.

The Athletic, a New York Times’ sports subsidiary, featured UCLA gymnast Tiana Sumanasekera in an article about the Bruin’s commitment to bringing Bollywood dance styles to college gymnastics. Sumanasekera, who is competing for UCLA in the NCAA gymnastics semifinals this week, has incorporated South Asian dance into her choreography throughout her elite career, working tirelessly with UCLA associate head coach BJ Das to learn new styles of Bollywood dance and celebrate its influence in South Asian culture on both the floor and on the beam. Read more about UCLA in today’s ESPN, The Wall Street Journal and others.

On an episode of KCRW Reports, UCLA's Ann Carlson discusses her new book, “Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air.” Carlson, the Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law and faculty director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, details the science, activism and politics driven by a diverse group of Angelenos half a century ago who helped the region achieve its nearly perfect Mediterranean climate that residents enjoy today. Read more about UCLA in today’s Associated Press and New York Times.

In a Los Angeles Times commentary, UCLA’s Benjamin Karney discusses his lab’s effort to review what social scientists have learned about the consequences of legalizing same-sex marriage in the two decades since Massachusetts paved the way for LGBTQ couples to tie the knot. Of the 96 independent studies Karney’s team reviewed, the data point to no evidence for the harms critics predicted — namely, that these unions may harm children or even the stability of different-sex marriages. Read more about UCLA in today’s LAist’s “AirTalk” and the New York Times Magazine.

A Los Angeles Times article featured several UCLA entities in its reporting on the young-adult book adaptation “boom” on streaming platforms, which is taking studios and scholars by surprise. UCLA’s Yalda T. Uhls, founder and chief executive of UCLA’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers, says younger generations reject stereotypes and are responding well to more authentic and diverse characters. UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity report was also cited as evidence that diverse casting and storylines are in high demand among audiences. Read more about UCLA in today’s Wall Street Journal, Variety and others.

The New York Times featured UCLA’s K-Sue Park in an article about experts’ concerns over shifts in immigration policy and potential next waves of crackdowns. “Some people more risk-averse will leave, and the ones who stay will be terrified,” says Park, a professor at the UCLA School of Law. Park argues that the threat of deportation is a way to keep certain people, especially low-paid workers, in check. “They won’t be able to do anything. They won’t even attempt to exercise any of the rights they might exercise,” she said. Read more about UCLA in today’s NPR, EdSource and others.

The Los Angeles Times reported on new data from UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute showing that more Altadena homeowners are beginning the rebuilding process after last year’s wildfire, though major gaps remain. Gabriella Carmona, a senior research analyst at the institute and lead author of the report, said recovery is still “very deeply uncertain for most households,” with financial barriers slowing progress from permits to construction. The study found that while more than half of affected homeowners have taken some step toward recovery, only about 30% have started building. Read more about UCLA in today’s New York Times and CNN.

In light of the trending Artemis II mission, Vox republished an article from September 2025 featuring Haig Aintablian, director of the UCLA Space Medicine Program, and other leading clinicians and investigators in the field. The piece explores not only the viability of human life on Mars, but also space medicine technologies that may have beneficial applications here on Earth. “I do believe that with the amount of emphasis being placed on radiation protection, we’re going to figure out ways to actually protect against significant amounts of radiation for the general public for multiple uses,” said Aintablian. Read more about UCLA in today’s Vanity Fair, USA Today and others.