KNBC-TV reported that as the price of regular gas soars to $6 a gallon across California, Latino families are feeling the financial burden more than other households in the state, researchers at UCLA said. According to a study by the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute, the spiking gas prices are disproportionately affecting the financial health of Latino households largely because they tend to have fewer financial resources and depend on cars for their livelihoods. "Even before the gas prices increased Latinos households were already spending more money on gas than non-Latinos and always experiencing higher costs of house burden," Rosario Majano with the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute said. Read and hear more about UCLA from NBC News, Phys.org and others.

More highlights from UCLA in the News: April 24, 2026

One of Los Angeles’ best-adapted urban creatures: Lizards | Phys.org

March's record heat made it the most abnormally warm month in recorded U.S. history, bringing plants into bloom early and coaxing animals out of their winter hiding places ahead of schedule. Among the creatures making an early debut: The southern alligator lizard. One of the lizards crawled into a UCLA science building during Southern California's March heat wave, and UCLA reptile expert Brad Shaffer used the opportunity to tell Angelenos about the value of urban wildlife while gently shooing them back outdoors where they belong.

Major shift in medical marijuana policy | NBC News

“This will help ease restrictions so we can do the research to be able to understand the safety and the effectiveness of these types of products,” said Dr. Ziva Cooper, a professor of psychiatry who directs the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.  (approx. 1:30 mark).

How Fox’s ‘Fear Factor’ reboot became a surprise hit | Los Angeles Times

Tom Nunan, a lecturer at UCLA’s film school and a former president at TV network UPN, credits MTV’s “The Real World” as a pioneer for this kind of TV. “If you take ‘The Real World,’ and the intimacy and the relatability of it, and then marry that to competition shows, then you have a winning formula,” Nunan said. He added, “It’s good old-fashioned showbiz ... When they cast a show correctly, or when they come up with a juicy enough concept, there’s always an audience for these shows.”

Stressed? Just a couple minutes of meditation might help. | Washington Post

Meditation is generally defined as “putting focus on something,” said Helen Lavretsky, geriatric integrative psychiatrist and professor in residence in the psychiatry department at UCLA Health. Whether that focus is on breathing, sounds or mantras, it can have both short- and long-term benefits for the brain.