Latest Out Of Ukraine And Checking In On The Affect The War Has Had On SoCal’s Eastern European Diaspora
Russian troops kept up pressure on Ukraine’s capital and air raid sirens were heard across the besieged country overnight, even as diplomatic talks between the two sides resumed today. Prospects for a speedy end to the fighting, however, appear dim.
The latest negotiations, held via video conference, were the fourth round involving higher-level officials from the two countries and the first in a week. The talks ended without a breakthrough after several hours, with Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak saying the negotiators took “a technical pause” and planned to meet again Tuesday.
Today on the program, guest host Kyle Stokes gets the latest news out of Ukraine from Kyiv Independent reporter Asami Terajima and hears about the history of immigration from the Eastern Bloc with Sasha Razor, Belarusian scholar and researcher on the history of Russian immigration to Los Angeles.
With files from the Associated Press
Student Loan Payments Will Restart May 1 – Unless They Don't
When May rolls around, more than 40 million Americans will need to resume payments on their federal student loans. That is, unless the pause on student loan interest and payments gets extended – again. So far, President Biden has extended the deferment period three times, following two extensions from former President Trump. Now, with midterms around the corner, the White House is signaling another extension may be in the mix.
Politico recently reported the Education Department has instructed student loan servicers to not reach out to borrowers about payments restarting, a crucial legal step to rebooting them. Around the same time, White House chief of staff Ron Klain went on the podcast Pod Save America and suggested that an extension or some amount of debt relief was on the table. Today on AirTalk, guest host Kyle Stokes speaks with economic policy reporter for Insider Ayelet Sheffey and professor of higher education at The University of Tennessee Robert Kelchen about the potential outcomes.
The Challenges Of Screening Young Children For Dyslexia Without Misidentifying English Learners
The state of California has made no secret recently about its desire to better fund research on dyslexia and to screen young kids to determine their risk of developing it. Governor Gavin Newsom committed $10 million to its study at UCSF in his most recent budget, and there is currently a bill in the state senate that would require kindergarteners, first-graders and second-graders to be screened annually to determine if they might require additional help learning to read. Researchers at UCSF’s Dyslexia Center are already in the process of developing and piloting these screening tools in multiple languages. But as Zaidee Stavely reports in a recent article she wrote for the publication EdSource, there are researchers, teachers and advocates of students learning to learn in English who say that a universal tool could misidentify and English learning child as being at high risk of dyslexia when, in fact, it may be attributable to the fact that the student is learning to learn in a new language.
Today on AirTalk, guest host Kyle Stokes talks with San Jose State University Associate Professor of Teacher Education Allison Briceño, who trains teachers how to teach early literacy to bilingual students, about what a screening tool would and would not diagnose, how it would be used in schools and the challenges of designing a tool like this so that it is both effective and does not over-identify English learners as at risk of dyslexia.
COVID-19 AMA: California’s School Mask Mandate Ends, “Deltacron,” Hospitalizations Hit Lowest Level Since Summer, And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center.
Topics today include:
Many schools in L.A. County drop COVID-era masking mandates on Monday
- California’s great COVID pivot: Pandemic policies expire
- L.A. County’s COVID hospitalizations hit lowest level since last July
- What is “Deltacron”?
- How will L.A. County find warning signs of the next coronavirus surge?
- Which coronavirus vaccine will work in the youngest children?
- As COVID-19 fades, what does it mean to end the pandemic health emergency?
- Pfizer’s CEO says a 4th dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be needed, but the company is working on a shot to handle all variants
- China orders 51 million people into lockdown as COVID surges
As Tom Brady Comes Out Of Retirement Mere Weeks After Announcement, We Want To Know Why It’s So Hard To Stop Working
Tom Brady’s retirement lasted 40 days. Brady said Sunday he’s returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd NFL season. The seven-time Super Bowl champion announced his decision on Twitter and Instagram, saying he has “unfinished business.” The news stole the spotlight from the NCAA’s Selection Sunday. Brady is far from the only professional athlete to walk back on their retirement. He joins greats like Michael Jordan, Brett Favre and even Los Angeles’ own Eric Weddle, who came out of retirement and helped the Rams to a Super Bowl victory this year (before announcing he would again retire after being injured during that game). Brady’s quick turn around got us wondering – why is it so difficult to stop working? Our career is an enormous part of our identity and it can be hard to walk away.
With files from the Associated Press
Adult Friendships Matter, But They’re Not Always Easy To Find…Or Hold Onto
Trying to make and maintain friendships as an adult can be hard; trying to do it during a global pandemic is a whole other feat. The past two years have disrupted our lives in many ways, including our close friendships. Between lockdowns, canceled events, and social distancing, many of us found ourselves physically apart from our closest friends when we needed them most. Some of us gradually drifted away from friends we had once been close to, while other friends became lifelines of support during times of grief and loss. Friendship experts see the pandemic as a time that has tested our closest bonds, reminding us that it’s normal for friendships to end. They also emphasize the importance of being seen by a close few, not just for our self-esteem but also for our mental wellbeing. Like a good diet or regular exercise routine, studies show that a healthy friendship can reduce levels of stress and even boost our cognitive health. As the restrictions of the pandemic lift and we begin to attend public events and re-enter social spaces, how do we go about building new friendships? And for the pre-pandemic friendships we already have, how do we strengthen their bond?
Today on AirTalk, guest host Kyle Stokes speaks with a leading expert on friendships and author of the book “Frientimacy – How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness,” Shasta Nelson about how the pandemic tested our friendships and some ways we can restore them.