Karen Bass Sworn in as First Woman Mayor of Los Angeles – In a packed auditorium on a rainy day, Congresswoman and community activist Karen Bass was sworn in as Mayor of Los Angeles, becoming the first woman to lead the city. In a sign of the national importance of the event, Vice President Kamala Harris swore Bass into office. In her inaugural address, Bass promised to declare a state of emergency in the city over the homeless crisis. Ruben Tapia has this report from Los Angeles.
National Legislation to Protect Same-Sex Marriages Hailed as Historic – In a historic move, President Biden has signed into law a bill shielding same-sex and interracial marriage rights. The law provides federal protections for these marriages to guard against challenges by the conservative majority of the Supreme Court. It also prohibits discrimination against same-sex marriages. This comes at a time when the LGBTQ community is recovering from the trauma of a nightclub massacre in the state of Colorado that is considered a hate crime. Mayra Hidalgo Salazar, deputy director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, speaks with Chelis Lopez about the landmark law.
Spanish-Language Book Shortage in California’s Public Libraries – In California’s Central Valley: Although more than half of Fresno County’s residents are Latino and many students have difficulty speaking English, its public libraries have a very low inventory of Spanish-language books. Officials from the Mexican Consulate are offering to lend a hand to address the shortage of literature and educational materials. Lucia Diaz, a news reporter for The Fresno Bee and part of the Central Valley News Collaborative, reports.
