Nation, World + Society

A UCLA study shows what many middle-aged Californians privately suspect: They are the first to lose their jobs and health benefits when hard times hit.

So many of the indelible scenes of the L.A. riots featured men, but there was also an important women's story behind the unrest, a UCLA historian argues: the case of Latasha Harlins.

Not surprisingly, Civil War textbooks usually make no mention of Los Angeles. No combat occurred in California. But a little known fact is that Los Angeles does have a connection to the Battle of Gettysburg, which is being commemorated July 1-3 on its 150th anniversary.

Thousands of low-wage workers have been unable to collect unpaid wages, even after state authorities have ordered their employers to pay, UCLA research demonstrates.

Union Army General Winfield Scott Hancock, who played a key role in stopping Confederate attacks during the pivotal Civil War battle, had an important role in Los Angeles at the beginning of the war, according to UCLA grad student.

The program trains village women to serve as social health activists, providing counseling and support to those infected. Researchers found both social and health benefits.

"California's high cost of living turns the loving act of caring for a grandchild into a desperate financial risk," say researchers at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

As poverty rates for virtually every demographic group increased during the recent recession, lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans are more likely to be poor than heterosexual people, according to a new nationwide study by researchers at the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.

"It's not a recovery. It's not even normal growth," director Edward Leamer says in the Forecast's latest quarterly outlook. "It's bad."

Under the "medical home" care model, patients regularly see the same doctor, who develops an individual treatment plan and coordinates the patient's care.

In the midst of a raging national debate on how Americans use marijuana, a team of student researchers from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs is collecting data that could help separate marijuana fact from fiction.

The U.S. need a complete "rethink" on the role government can play in encouraging certain economic policies for the nation's benefit, professor Stuart Schweitzer argues.

Real-estate booms in "second-tier" cities and improved quality of life are just some of the perks that come with new rail connections, a UCLA economist says.

After four years of relative stagnation, the national economy is beginning to "ramp up," led by the housing and auto sectors, UCLA economists say in their first quarterly report of 2013.

South Los Angeles and parts of the San Fernando Valley are like "urban deserts" when it comes to nonprofits that provide basic services, researchers say.

"Our findings show how far nations still have to go to realize a world where all children have a chance to thrive, not just survive," said UCLA's Jody Heymann, the study's co-author.

Joshua Bloom's "Black Against Empire" recasts the Panther Party, known primarily for its approach to black self-defense, as a pioneer in worldwide revolutionary politics.

For at-risk adults who are 50 or older, the deeper their suspicion of the government, the less likely they are to get tested, a UCLA study has found.

UCLA professor Martin Monti and colleagues in Israel found encouraging, but subtle, signs of consciousness in Sharon, who has been in a vegetative state for seven years.

In his new book, Berend analyzes the economic and social causes of the European recession of 2008-12 and says flaws in the EU should have been a clear warning of impending economic troubles.

In the current economy, an unprecedented number of incoming college students are putting a premium on the career-related benefits of higher education, UCLA's annual Freshman Survey shows.