Inflation Continues To Surge. What Do Consumers Need To Know When Considering Their Finances?
Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, energy, housing, autos and clothing left Americans enduring their highest annual inflation rate in 39 years. The Labor Department also reported Friday that prices rose 0.8% from October to November — a substantial increase, though slightly less than 0.9% increase from September to October.
Inflation has been inflicting a heavy burden on consumers, especially lower-income households and particularly for everyday necessities. It has also negated the higher wages many workers have received, which has complicated the Federal Reserve’s plans to reduce help for the economy and coincided with flagging public support for President Joe Biden, who has been taking steps to try to ease inflation pressures. Today on AirTalk, Larry talks with Rachel Siegel, economics reporter covering the Federal Reserve for the Washington Post and Delia Fernandez, fee-only certified financial planner and investment advisor and president of Fernandez Financial Advisory, LLC in Los Alamitos about the latest inflation rates and what consumers should be thinking about.
With files from the Associated Press
Remembering ‘Chente’: Musicians, Fans On The Lasting Legacy Of Ranchera Music Legend Vicente Fernandez
Vicente Fernández, an iconic and beloved singer of regional Mexican music who was awarded three Grammys and nine Latin Grammys and inspired a new generation of performers, including his son Alejandro Fernández, died on Sunday. He was 81.
Fernández was known for hits such as “El Rey,” and “Lástima que seas ajena,” his command of the ranchera genre and his dark and elegant mariachi suits with their matching wide-brimmed sombreros. His music attracted fans far beyond Mexico’s borders. Songs like “Volver, Volver” and “Como Mexico no hay dos” were extremely popular among Mexican immigrant communities in the U.S. because of how they expressed the longing for the homeland. Fernández, known also by his nickname ″Chente,″ died at 6:15 a.m. in a hospital in Jalisco state, his family said. In August, he had suffered a serious fall and had been hospitalized since then for that and other ailments.
Today on AirTalk, we remember Vicente Fernandez’s life, musical career and the legacy he leaves behind with Grammy-winning third generation mariachi performer and violinist Rosalie Rodriguez, KPCC/LAist higher education reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, and L.A. Times Columnist Gustavo Arellano.
For more on Vicente Fernandez, click here for a profile from KPCC/LAist’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez.
You can find Gustavo’s list of 10 essential Vicente Fernández songs here.
With The Future of Abortion in Question, Joshua Prager Examines the Complex Legacy of “The Family Roe”
Friday, the Supreme Court left in place a Texas law banning most abortions - for now - while still allowing providers to challenge the most restrictive abortion law in the country. Earlier this month, the justices heard arguments in a case involving a Mississippi ban that - if allowed to stand - would dramatically limit abortion rights in the United States; a decision is expected in the coming months. Abortion rights have become a flash point in America since the court’s historic 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion throughout the U.S. Amid this backdrop, journalist and author Joshua Prager is out with a new book exploring the history of the family at the center of the landmark decision. In “The Family Roe: An American Story,” Prager tells the story of the baby girl born when the woman known as Jane Roe was denied an abortion, and dives into the complicated history of Roe herself, real name Norma McCorvey. Today on AirTalk, Prager joins Larry to discuss his new book, and what the history of the woman behind one of the most consequential Supreme Court cases in history can tell us about our current discourse around abortion.
With files from the Associated Press.
COVID-19 AMA: U.S. Records 800,000 COVID Deaths, One Year Since Vaccinations Began, Vaccine Effectiveness, and More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Kimberly Shriner, director of Infectious Disease and Prevention at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.
Topics today include:
- At least 800,000 Americans have now died of COVID-19
- One year after the first COVID-19 vaccinations, where have we come and where do we have to go?
- U.K. reports first death from the Omicron variant
- Omicron was in California weeks before officials raised alarms, water samples suggest
What we know so far about the effectiveness of today’s vaccines against Omicron
- Two vaccine doses doesn’t stop you from getting Omicron
- Israeli study: Pfizer booster protects against Omicron
- LAUSD to delay vaccination mandate
- NYT op-ed: Will COVID evolve to be milder?
- As California’s COVID cases rise, antibody treatments go unused
Breaking Down The Stressors Of First-Generation Children Of Immigrant Parents
A recent piece from the Los Angeles Times highlighted a commonality among Latino children whose parents immigrated here from another country: the stressors that accompany being a first-generation child. Whether it's older siblings that have to serve as a pseudo-third parent, or functioning adults who need to code switch through their life, first-generation children have a set of worries, pressures, and even traumas that can lead to plenty of anxiety.
Today on AirTalk, Larry discusses that stress with therapists Vanessa Pezo and Soo Jin Lee, and what first-generation children can do to manage those feelings.