Supreme Court Taking On Clash Between Religion And Gay Rights – KPCC

Supreme Court Taking On Clash Between Religion And Gay Rights

The Supreme Court is hearing the case Monday of a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, a dispute that’s the latest clash of religion and gay rights to land at the highest court. The designer and her supporters say that ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians — to do work that is against their faith. Her opponents, meanwhile, say that if she wins, a range of businesses will be able to discriminate, refusing to serve Black customers, Jewish or Muslim people, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants, among others.

Joining us today on AirTalk to discuss the case is Anthony Caso, clinical professor at Chapman University school of law and Gregory Magarian, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

With files from the Associated Press

Workers in the San Fernando Valley Are At Risk of Occupational Silicosis And So Are Many Others in California

Workers who cut and polish engineered stone countertops have been falling victim to silicosis, a deadly lung disease caused by inhaling fine particles of silica. The largest known silicosis “cluster” in the U.S. is in the San Fernando Valley, made up chiefly of men who are Latino immigrants and who work in small, unregulated shops. Here to tell us about their investigation on Silicosis among stone cutters in the San Fernando Valley and beyond are Leslie Berestein Rojas, Immigrant Communities Correspondent at LAist and Jim Morris, Editor and Chief of Public Health Watch, a non profit investigative news organization based in Texas.

You can read the collaborative investigation between LAist and Public Health Watch here.

There’s A Shortage Of EV Charging Stations – How Will It Impact California’s 2035 Mandate?

As electric vehicles rise in popularity, the charger stations needed to keep them running have been much slower to spread. The move to EV charging has been underway for quite some time and more charging stations are available then ever before. But there are still plenty of roadblocks when it comes to a business model for commercial charging stations. Tension has been rising between businesses, gas stations and utility companies over who gets to sell electricity to customers and who foots the bill for the infrastructure that’s needed to support EV charging. All these issues and questions have come to the fore as more states look to expand EV charging.

Joining us today on AirTalk to discuss the EV charging shortage is energy reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Hiller and Director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis, Gil Tal.

COVID-19: Post-Thanksgiving Surge & Answering Your Booster Questions

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg, professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

Topics today include:

What Does The 2022 Box Office Say About Audience Interest In Theatrical Releases?

The pandemic’s impact on Hollywood has yet to diminish, the same weekend in November that Steven Spielberg’s latest project The Fabelmans premiered, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also arrived. It grossed a robust $181 million in its first three days of release, making for the best November movie opening ever. The Marvel sequel obliterated everything in its orbit, accounting for almost nine out of every 10 tickets sold (87% to be exact). Such income inequality has been true all year, marking a radical departure from pre-pandemic ticket sales, when the No. 1 movie might claim about a third of the box office. Post-pandemic, crowds head to the multiplex only for blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World: Dominion or Wakanda Forever. The rest? Maybe something to catch later, on streaming.

Here to tell us all about what happened at the 2022 Box Office is KPCCs John Horn, host of the new LAist Studios Entertainment news podcast, Retake.

With files from LAist

Triple Play: As Baseball’s Winter Meetings Get Underway, What Can We Expect From The Dodgers And Angels This Offseason?

Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings get underway today in San Diego — this is the annual, multi-day gathering the MLB hosts each year at varying cities around the country where representatives from all 30 MLB teams and their 120 minor league affiliates gather to discuss league business, and often to also do some wheeling and dealing for players and prospects. Last time the Winter Meetings were in San Diego, in 2019, we saw a slew of major signings come out of them, including Anthony Rendon’s 7 year, $245 million dollar deal with the Angels.

Today on AirTalk, we’re reconvening the Triple Play with NPR’s “Morning Edition” Host A Martinez to check in on the offseason for the Angels and the Dodgers, and find out what might come out of this year’s MLB Winter Meetings in San Diego.

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