Alec Glasser grew up in a working-class family in Queens, New York, working night shifts as an elevator operator to put himself through college.

Now, UC Irvine is announcing the self-made real estate mogul has made one of the largest-ever gifts to the university by an individual.

His donation will endow the Alec Glasser Center for the Power of Music and Social Change, a new institution that will study how music can improve well-being and community. The center will also focus on teaching, community engagement and the celebration of music, officials said.

In addition, Glasser has endowed a scholarship fund for 10 UCI students each year who aim to infuse music in their professional lives, such as a medical student who plans to study music as an alternative therapy or a prospective social worker who sees music as a tool for community building.

“How many of us, if we truly hit it big, want to give back and truly do give back?” asked Jon Gould, dean of the UCI School of Social Ecology, where the new center is housed. “Alec Glasser has done just that. Not only is his the story of the American Dream, but he’s providing opportunities for the American Dream for generations of students to come after this.”

Music as a vehicle for change has been a recurring motif throughout Glasser’s life.

Back in the 1960s, he wasn’t an elevator operator just anywhere. He worked three summers at the Drake Hotel on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan at a time when music had as big a cultural influence on America as ever.

At the Drake, Glasser took in concerts by John Coltrane and Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland and Jimi Hendrix. Those experiences never left him, he said. That’s why, decades later — long after the Drake closed in Manhattan — Glasser opened a restaurant and jazz bar in Laguna Beach by the same name.

It was there, enjoying music at The Drake in Laguna Beach a couple of years back, that he met Gould, and their idea for a unique school of music — not one focused on music performance but one focused on music and society — began to take root.

Glasser’s roots in music stretch back even further to his childhood.

From a young age, he was an aspiring saxophonist. He gigged with bands throughout high school.

“Music got me out of my shell,” he said. “It allowed me to develop personally.”

But, when Glasser graduated, his dad warned him that he wouldn’t make money playing, and he urged him to take the summer job at the Drake in order to save up for school.

Since his mother didn’t want him taking the subway home to Queens after his shift ended at 3 a.m., Glasser made an arrangement with the hotel’s general manager that allowed him to live at the hotel each summer, taking up unoccupied rooms in exchange for staying on call.

“It changed my life,” Glasser said. “I came from a very working-class background. To be in a Park Avenue hotel and to see what life was like at that level gave me aspirations that I just didn’t have before.”

Armed with cash from working summers, Glasser made his way to California and put himself through law school at USC, where he became editor of the law review.

Later, he struck it rich as a real estate investor and developer, building shopping centers.

His interest in music, while not as much in the foreground of his life as before, never stopped humming.

“Whenever I built a shopping center, we always put in a sound system for the tenants,” Glasser said. “Music is something that hits people’s emotions and it assists in facilitating their work. So, as a developer, it can be used as a tool.”

Moving forward, scholars at the Alec Glasser Center for the Power of Music and Social Change will invest in research projects to better understand just what sorts of tools music can be, and why it has such profound effects on the human brain.

“The emerging science of music is a field that’s only about 20 or 30 years old,” said UCI professor Richard Matthew, who will lead the new center. “Scientists around the world have slowly been discovering that music plays an incredible role in things like neurological development. It’s closely associated with health and healing. And, people who are musically engaged tend to do very well in areas like problem-solving, improvisation and teamwork.”

Matthew and his budding team want to find out more about why and how that is. The center will complement the UCI School of Arts, he added.

“The UCI School of Arts and its department of music is very focused on training musicians on music theory and performance,” Matthew said. “We’re focused on the health and cultural and social impacts of music. We’re looking at the way music works in society and works on the brain.”

This winter term, Matthew is teaching the center’s first course, which is aptly titled “Power of Music and Social Change.” A survey class, it introduces students to research and cultural episodes that showcase music’s ability to mobilize communities, improve health outcomes and promote justice.

Matthew expected about 20 students to sign up for the inaugural class. Actually, more than 135 students enrolled before the school had to cap the class size for lack of available auditorium space.

Matthew says the class is popular because it resonates with students. One of his most recent lectures, for instance, looked at the outpouring of music that took shape in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“A lot of artists responded to the pandemic by releasing new music,” he said. “And, I know that this class will trigger some very powerful memories among students thinking about that time and the music they listened to then.”

It wasn’t long before the pandemic that a different type of health scare led Glasser to his most personal experience with the power of music.

At the age of 70, he had a heart transplant.

“I was in the hospital for four months, mostly isolated,” he said. “Music was an integral part of being able to deal with that situation. To cope.”

His records kept him company.

“Coltrane, Miles Davis, BB King, Teddy Pendergrass, Donny Hathaway,” he said, listing the performers who brightened that dreary room.

With his new heart, the rhythm of Glasser’s life keeps on beating.

While his latest chapter in life has led him to invest in the empirical study of music at UCI, Glasser continues to believe that there’s something about song that transcends rationality.

“The emotions of music are so strong, they can overpower our cognitive thinking,” he said. “Great music is the way to touch the emotion in our souls.”

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President-elect JD Vance says people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot “obviously” should not be pardoned, as President-elect Donald Trump is promising to use his clemency power on behalf of many of those who tried on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the results of the election that Trump lost.

Vance insisted in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that the pardon question is “very simple,” saying those who “protested peacefully” should be pardoned and “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” He later said there was a “bit of a gray area” in some cases.

Trump said he would issue pardons to rioters on “Day 1” of his presidency, which begins Jan. 20. “Most likely, I’ll do it very quickly,” he said recently on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He added that “those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to it. I have to look. But, you know, if somebody was radical, crazy.”

More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the siege that left more than 100 police officers injured and sent lawmakers running into hiding as they met to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.

In a post on X, Vance responded to criticism from supporters of the Capitol rioters that his position did not go far enough to free all convicted. “I’ve been defending these guys for years,” he said.

“The president saying he’ll look at each case (and me saying the same) is not some walkback,” Vance said. “I assure you, we care about people unjustly locked up. Yes, that includes people provoked and it includes people who got a garbage trial.”

This is pretty scary, but in a good way because it looks like Southern California is rising above the rest when it comes to must-attend horror conventions.

Macabre Daily, a respected online publication that covers the national horror industry, has just published its list of the Top 10 Must Attend Horror Conventions of 2025, and four of those conventions are right here in the Southland.

“There are other conventions throughout the nation but Southern California seems to be cornering the market when it comes to horror conventions,” said Samuel Santiago, senior reporter at Macabre Daily who compiled the list for the Ohio-based national online publication that covers all aspects of the horror industry, from horror movies to sci-fi and horror oriented video games.

The list was published on Jan.7 and includes Long Beach’s Midsummer Scream, which was launched in 2016 and is the largest of the local horror-specific conventions in the area, attracting more than 50,000 people to the city’s convention center during its three-day run each summer. It’s set to return Aug. 15-17.

Also on the list is Monsterpalooza, which takes place at the May 30-June 1 at the Pasadena Convention Center, and while it’s not a horror-specific convention, San Diego Comic- Con also made the top 10 due to its international appeal and the fact that it’s always had a strong horror component. The Comic Con returns to San Diego June 23-27.

Rounding up the list is Creep I.E., the newest of the conventions which was launched in 2022 and is returning to the Ontario Convention Center Jan.31-Feb. 2.

“We’ve been around three short years so to make that Top 10 list of most anticipated conventions in the United States along with other major conventions here in Southern California is a major honor,” said Brian Boget, founder of Creep I.E. and its equally scary sequel convention Creep I.E. Aftermath, which will take place this September in Ontario.

“We pride ourselves on our celebrity guest list, our cosplayers and our themed experiences,” Boget added.

To compile the Top10 list Santiago looked for conventions that covered several key factors including horror film releases, memorabilia and prop sales, celebrity attendance as well as vendors selling home decorations and other items.

Creep I.E. stood out to Santiago not just because of its focus on celebrity appearances, which this year includes Cassandra Peterson, best known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, plus “Jigsaw” actor Tobin Bell, but also because of its location in the Inland Empire.

“Everybody thinks that L.A. is the be all and end all of the movie industry and horror, and that’s not the case,” he said.  Santiago noted that with the Inland Empire’s large population, there is a built-in audience for horror.

“This means huge numbers of people not having to drive to L.A. And Creep I.E. Con also does a great job of providing VIP experiences for their guests and providing exclusive reunions of cast members,” Santiago said.

Midsummer Scream stood out not just for its size but also because this is where large amusement parks that create their own haunts, like Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm, come to offer fans a sneak peek of what they have planned for the spooky season. It also made the list thanks to its widely popular Hall of Shadows, where professional and amateur haunt creators set up walk-through mazes for attendees.

“Everyone loves to go to haunts during Halloween, but having that during the summertime is amazing,” Santiago said.

One of Santiago’s favorite conventions is Monsterpalooza, which started in 2009 on the East Coast as a mask convention before moving to the area in 2014. It has since grown to include all aspects of horror while still staying true to its roots with makeup and special effects demonstrations plus celebrity signings and a Saturday night concert.

“Celebrity sightings are everywhere, they have amazing after parties and the VIP and the early sales and experiences given to them are outstanding. You will not find a list of more intriguing companies and celebrities than at Monsterpalooza,”he said.

While these four conventions made Macabre Daily’s list they aren’t the only scary gatherings around in the area. In September Horrorcon LA, creeps back into the Los Angeles Convention Center, and there are smaller events too, such as Witches Brew Night Market in Orange County, the Spooky Swap Meet at Heritage Square in Los Angeles.

By MORIAH BALINGIT, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative lawmakers across the U.S. are pushing to introduce more Christianity to public school classrooms, testing the separation of church and state by inserting Bible references into reading lessons and requiring teachers to post the Ten Commandments.

The efforts come as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office pledging to champion the First Amendment right to pray and read the Bible in school, practices that are already allowed as long as they are not government-sponsored.

While the federal government is explicitly barred from directing states on what to teach, Trump can indirectly influence what is taught in public schools and his election may embolden state-level activists.

Trump and his fellow Republicans support school choice, hoping to expand the practice of using taxpayer-funded vouchers to help parents send their children to religious schools.

But there is a parallel push to incorporate more Christianity into the mainstream public schools that serve the overwhelming majority of students, including those of other faiths. And with the help of judicial appointees from Trump’s first presidential term, courts have begun to bless the notion of more religion in the public sphere, including in schools.

“The effect of even Trump being the president-elect, let alone the president again, is Christian nationalists are emboldened like never before,” said Rachel Laser, the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Large numbers of Americans believe the founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation. A smaller group, part of a movement widely called Christian nationalism, champions a fusion of American and Christian identity and believes the U.S. has a mandate to build an explicitly Christian society.

Many historians argue the opposite, claiming the framers created the United States as an alternative to European monarchies with official state churches and oppression of religious minorities.

Efforts to introduce more Christianity into classrooms have taken hold in several states.

In Louisiana, Republicans passed a law requiring every public school classroom to post the Ten Commandments, which begin with “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Families have sued.

In Texas, officials in November approved a curriculum intertwining language arts with biblical lessons. And in Oklahoma, the state superintendent of education has called for lessons to incorporate the Bible from grades 5 through 12, a requirement schools have declined to follow.

Utah state lawmakers designated the Ten Commandments as a historic document, in the same category as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, so teachers could post it in their classrooms. Many other states have seen legislation that would put them in more classrooms. And attorneys general from 17 GOP-led states recently filed a brief supporting Louisiana’s Ten Commandments mandate.

Schools are permitted — and even encouraged — to teach about religion and to expose students to religious texts. But some say the new measures are indoctrinating students, not educating them.

Critics have raised concerns also about proliferating lesson plans. Some states have allowed teachers to use videos from Prager U, a nonprofit founded by a conservative talk show host, despite criticism that the videos positively highlight the spread of Christianity and include Christian nationalist talking points.

During his first administration, Trump commissioned the 1776 Project, a report that attempted to promote a more patriotic version of American history. It was panned by historians and scholars who said it credited Christianity for many of the positive turns in U.S. history without mentioning the religion’s role in perpetuating slavery, for example.

The project was developed into a curriculum by the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan and is now taught in a network of publicly funded charter schools supported by the college. It also has influenced state standards in South Dakota.

Challenges to some state measures are now working their way through the courts, which have grown friendlier to religious interests thanks to Trump’s judicial appointments.

The ruling could pave the way for conservatives to introduce more Christianity in public schools, said Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina.

“Donald Trump’s judicial appointees have emboldened states” to test the separation of church and state, he said.

In the wake of the football coach’s case, courts now analyze church-state separation through the lens of history, said Joseph Davis of Becket, a public interest law firm focused on religious freedom that is defending Louisiana over its Ten Commandments mandate.

The Supreme Court has endorsed the idea that “it’s OK to have religious expression in the public spaces,” Davis said, “and that we should sort of expect that … if it’s a big part of our history.”

Critics say some measures to introduce more historical references to Christianity in classrooms have taken things too far, inserting biblical references gratuitously, while erasing the role Christianity played in justifying atrocities perpetuated by Americans, like genocide of Native people.

These are among the criticisms facing the new reading curriculum in Texas. Created by the state, districts aren’t required to use it, but they receive financial incentives for adopting it.

“The authors appear to go out of their way to work detailed Bible lessons into the curriculum even when they are both unnecessary and unwarranted,” religious studies scholar David R. Brockman wrote in a report on the material. “Though religious freedom is vital to American democracy, the curriculum distorts its role in the nation’s founding while underplaying the importance of other fundamental liberties cherished by Americans.”

Texas Values, a conservative think tank that backed the new reading curriculum, said in a statement that the court’s pivot toward permitting more Christianity in schools, and allowing more taxpayer money to flow to religious institutions, is corrective.

The football coach case has rightfully returned protections for religion and free speech in public school, said Jonathan Saenz, the Texas Values president.

“Voters and lawmakers (are) getting tired of the attacks on God and our heritage of being ‘One Nation Under God,’” he said.

Associated Press writers Sara Cline, Kimberlee Kruesi and Peter Smith contributed.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Fire crews achieved increased containment on both the Eaton and Palisades fires overnight before anticipated dangerous wind started hitting the region Monday morning, Jan. 13.

The Eaton fire, burning in Altadena and Pasadena, was now 33% contained as of 7:30 a.m. Monday, officials said, and the fire did not expand beyond the 14,117 acres reported Sunday.

Near the coast, fire crews have 14% containment of the Palisades fire, a slight increase from Sunday, while the fire grew minimally overnight to 23,713 acres, according to a Cal Fire update.

Firefighters were preparing to enter their 7th day battling the blazes, which both broke out Tuesday, Jan. 7.

The death toll for both fires was updated over the weekend to 24, with 16 of those deaths related to the Eaton fire, according to the Medical Examiner’s office.

More than 7,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the Eaton fire, based on aerial photos. More than 5,000 structures were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades fire, though that figure has not been updated in several days.

Santa Ana winds were expected to return to Southern California Monday, though weaker than last week’s wind event, with the National Weather Service forecasting 20 to 40 mph offshore winds with higher gusts and low relative humidity between 8% and 15%.

The wind event may persist through Wednesday, the Weather Service said, with extreme conditions most likely from Monday night into Tuesday.