You can see it, you can smell it, and you've been breathing it in........you and tens of millions of people up and down the West Coast.  The smoke from the record number of wildfires burning in California, Oregon and Washington right now could have adverse long-term health effects for all of us.

And then...there' more::  scientists believe that the Earth is entering what they're calling a "hothouse" state of climate.......and the last time we experienced that.....was about 50 million years ago, after a giant asteroid crashed hit.  This time though, we can't blame an asteroid -- the fault is ours.

The CDC is finding an increasing correlation between people who have recently dined out and testing positive for the coronavirus --- we'll look at how risky it is.

It's been 19 years since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001..........and after several major wars, casualties, trillions of dollars spent, is militant Islamic terrorism still considered the prime threat to American national security?

And the NFL is back, with its first game last night played in front of a limited number of fans in Kansas City........can football overcome the challenges and complications of playing during a pandemic and racial justice movement?

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Could it be that some of you out there were infected with the novel coronavirus, all the way back in December, and just never knew it? There is fascinating new research out that tracks a spike in visits to hospitals here in Southern California toward the end of 2019......when people were experiencing all of the COVID symptoms with which we are now all too familiar. 

The strange neurological and cognitive symptoms that COVID patients have been hit with, from memory loss to delirium, are now being explained through a new study that shows how the virus infects the brain.  It's scary but important stuff.

Should Bob Woodward have said something?  That's the ethical question being asked about Woodward's knowledge that he had President Trump, on tape, saying he was donwplaying the severity of the COVID outbreak..........even as tens of thousands of Americans were dying every month that Woodward put together his book.

And happy birthday..........to us!  KNX celebrates one century in operation today so at the end of the show, we'll bring you some insider stories about how this place has run over the decades.

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Operation Warp Speed has hit a speed bump.  During the clinical trials in what was one of the more promising COVID vaccine candidates out of Oxford University, a patient has suffered a potentially serious side effect.  The trial has been put on pause for now.

Put Halloween on the list of traditions canceled by the virus.  LA County has announced it's banning trick-or-treating, out of fears that parents and kids congregating closely on sidewalks is a bad mix for spread.  We'll talk with a pair of parents about how their kids are handling the disappointment.

And......add this to the list of dangerous and dumb stuff that teens are picking up from social media:  the Benadryl challenge. 

While President Trump was publicly playing down the dangers of the coronavirus to the American people, he was admitting to journalist Bob Woodward that COVID was "deadly stuff" and no ordinary flu.  It's just one of several bombshells coming out in Woodward's new book.......and he's got tapes.

And if you've gone shopping for a used car lately, you'll know this: used cars are more valuable today than they've ever been.

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How can Mother Nature follow up what was a weekend of oppressive heat with temperatures soaring above 120-degrees up and down the state? How about some Santa Ana winds to further stoke extreme fire dangers!  That's what we're dealing with, with several major fires already burning and more likely on the way.

And after a smoke bomb used as part of a "gender reveal" stunt was blamed for starting the El Dorado fire in San Bernardino, the influencer who's credited with starting gender reveal parties will talk with us to deliver a simple message:  KNOCK IT OFF!

A historic fire season. During a pandemic. How are you feeling as we head into the Fall? Epidemiologists are increasingly predicting that a second wave of virus is inevitable in the months ahead....

Congress is back from recess, so *surely* they're working on that second round of economic stimulus......help for struggling cities, counties and states..........right? Hard at work? Or hardly working?

And researchers are optimistic that the wearable tech on your wrist....... FitBit or Apple Watch .......could be an accurate early warning device for COVID.

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Think all the way back to February when life seemed, for the most part, normal.  And yes, February was only 8 months ago, even though it feels like 8 years ago.  We could go watch stand up comedians perform in clubs; we could watch our favorite bands rock out in crowded arenas; we could go to packed movie theaters to take in new releases.

While those days seem a distant memory now, we hope they're coming back.........and for this Labor Day we're bringing back some of our favorite In Depth interviews with some of our favorite funny men to provide some laughs and dreams that one day, we'll be able to all of those things we took for granted just 8 months ago.

There's a decidedly Saturday Night Live flavor to today's show, and that's because we've got three "not quite ready for prime time" alums coming up.  You will hear from comedic icon Dan Aykroyd, who visited In Depth to talk about the 35th anniversary of "Ghostbusters."  You will hear from Harry Shearer, of both SNL and Spinal Tap fame.  And we'll finish things out by mixing politics and comedy with SNL mainstay Darryl Hammond.

You'll also hear some promotions for the events that brought Aykroyd, Shearer and Hammond to L.A., bittersweet reminders of when we could all go out on the town and do stuffs.

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"Hot" doesn't really do it  justice for what's coming our way this weekend.  Stifling, oppressive, roasting........pick any of those to more accurately describe what's forecast to be 115-degree temperatures in some parts of Southern California. We'll go In Depth.

And will your air conditioning continue to run?  Once again California's power grid operators are warning about rolling blackouts; but at the same time, we're assured that they should have enough energy.  So which one is it?

Hollywood is not having an easy time of getting back to normal.  First.....Batman has coronavirus. Robert Pattinson.....Production on that film, shut down again. It's a struggle to stay infection free while shooting.......all while movie theaters run their first blockbuster in months this weekend.

Then to television, where the pandemic has wrecked the traditional Fall roll-out.

And at the end of the show today........how'd you sleep? Not great. For a lot of us. There's a legitimate sleep crisis running side-by-side with the coronavirus.

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The economy, as we knew it, may very well be a casualty of the pandemic. Even if a COVID vaccine is developed within the next year, the jitters over germs and the adaptations we've all had to make might mean permanent changes for many sectors of the economy, from travel to restaurants to gyms.

Speaking of that COVID vaccine, the ethical challenges behind its development and distribution are massive.  Who should be vaccinated first?  How much should it cost?  Will countries be sharing their scientific breakthroughs, or hoarding info?

The first week of remote learning for the Miami Dade school district has been a nightmare --- in addition to all of the usual headaches, the district's computer network has been under near constant cyber attack.  If hackers can get into a school district's servers, can they eventually make it into your home network?

And Facebook has pledged that it won't accept political advertising in the week leading up to the election, but what the social media giant still won't do is aggressively police a near constant flood of disinformation.

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Who knew the Centers for Disease Control dabbled in housing policy?  And yet, it's the CDC, that's attempting to cobble together an extension to the national eviction moratorium.  California enacted its own, but even here there's confusion about how it's going to work -- so we'll go In Depth.

Los Angeles is on the verge of declaring a fiscal emergency, its budget drained by both the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. But L.A. is not alone. Cities, counties and states in deep financial trouble.....

And we told you about this back in June, but now the World Health Organization has given its endorsement: cheap, widely available steroids could be effective COVID treatments.

Back to the CDC...and a letter to all governors: prepare for the vast distribution of a COVID vaccine by November 1st.  While that date has obvious importance....how do you get this out to the masses? Whenever it arrives....

And the first coronavirus death linked to the Sturgis bike rally in South Dakota was reported today......and it's an ominous sign with Labor Day almost upon us -- parties, barbeques and gatherings likely.  Are we on the verge of repeating our Memorial Day mistakes?

 

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President Trump is in Kenosha, Wisconsin today: the latest scene of a controversial police shooting of a black man, followed by protests, rioting and violence.  The President isn't there to meet with Jacob Blake; nor will he meet with Blake's family. So why is he there?  We'll head to Wisconsin to ask that question.

American workers might notice a change in their paychecks this coming Friday:  they might be a little larger than usual.  That's because a payroll tax deferral, ordered by President Trump, kicks into gear.  But it's not a tax break, it's more of a loan--and not every company is granting it, so we'll attempt to clear things up.

It's no secret that developing a vaccine against COVID-19 is an all out sprint, with significant political and profit pressures.  But will that rush mean corners will be cut, and potential vaccine hazards will be downplayed?

And John Dean knows a little something about White House scandals and cover ups.  The man who played a key role in Watergate is out with a new book, which is essentially a warning.  John Dean joins us on In Depth to discuss "Authoritarian Nightmare."

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The death of actor Chadwick Boseman--who played iconic roles like the Black Panther and Jackie Robinson, all while battling colon cancer--came as a tragic shock, but should be a wake up call for millions of people who might be susceptible to this disease.  So we'll go In Depth on what we can learn from Boseman's losing battle with colon cancer.

The United States surpassed a grim milestone today:  there are now over 6-million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, making us far and away the world's leader, in a category that we don't really want to be leading.  

And if you want to see one of the biggest economic hits from this pandemic, look no further to Pinterest in San Francisco:  the design social media platform is going to pay  nearly 90-million-dollars to get out of its lease at a brand new building in the Bay Area......which is a really bad sign for the future of commercial real estate.

Once again Portland was ground zero for the intensifying political and cultural wars in this country.  A pro-Trump car caravan on Saturday was met with violent resistance in Portland, and one person was shot and killed.  As President Trump criticized Portland's leadership almost daily, who is going to ease back tensions?

And at the end of the show we're going to check in on some important, and frankly scary research.........tracking COVID survivors, who even months after their infections, are dealing with serious and persistent symptoms that's preventing them from getting back to their normal lives.

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