The Los Angeles Times featured commentary by UCLA’s Mary Nichols calling for more investigations into AI-generated comments — using real people’s identities without their knowledge or consent — opposing clean air measures that are flooding public agencies. Nichols, who spent 17 years at the helm of the California Air Resources Board, examines several deceptive AI-driven campaigns that were successful and offers insights into how regulatory agencies can foster more democratic processes. (Nichols is distinguished counsel to the Emmett Institute on Climate and Sustainability at UCLA Law School.) Read more about UCLA in today’s Associated Press and Forbes.

More highlights from UCLA in the News: April 1, 2026

Researchers, practitioners learning together to transform education | EdSource

(Commentary co-written by UCLA’s Lynn Kim-John and Christina Christie) At the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, the termination of federal grants and other funding forced us to lay off treasured program staff, eroding our capacity to prepare and support teachers.  The administration’s actions have also limited access to crucial student loan funding for teaching candidates from low-income communities.

California woman returns home after deportation to Mexico | Associated Press

The case is a rare example of a judge ordering a person’s return to the United States after being deported, said Talia Inlender, deputy director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. “But, perhaps unsurprisingly, it feels like this is happening with more frequency under the current administration which is prioritizing speed and quotas, rather than fairness and process, in facilitating removals,” Inlender said in a statement.  

Trump signs executive order limiting mail-in ballots | Los Angeles Times

Rick Hasen, an election law expert and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at [the UCLA School of Law], argued otherwise in a post Tuesday, noting that an earlier executive order purporting to place new federal controls on elections was blocked in court, and “this one is likely to fare no better.” (Hasen was also featured by NPR and KCBS-TV – approx. 2:05 mark).

Trump attends birthright citizenship arguments | Los Angeles Times

The unprecedented appearance highlights how high Trump believes the stakes are, according to Adam Winkler, a constitutional law professor at UCLA. “It’s not clear why Trump is attending,” Winkler said. “Maybe he is just interested in the unusual drama of a Supreme Court argument. Or perhaps he is trying to intimidate the justices, like the scene in ‘The Godfather Part II’ where the mob boss shows up at a hearing to scare the witness into recanting his testimony.”

Helping people get their sleep | KABC-TV

“I think sleep disorders are tremendously underdiagnosed,” said UCLA’s Dr. Sam Kashani (approx. 0:48 mark).

1 habit emotionally intelligent adults had as kids, by a psychologist | Forbes

Neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman at UCLA has studied what happens when people put words to their emotional experiences. His research, published in Psychological Science, found that affect labeling measurably reduces activation in the amygdala, the brain’s threat-detection center.