WASHINGTON — The United States is selling weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off a recent escalation in Russia’s drone and missile attacks, President Trump and his chief diplomat said.
“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%,” Trump said in an interview with NBC late Thursday. “So what we’re doing is, the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons [to Ukraine], and NATO is paying for those weapons.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that some of the U.S.-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the U.S., he said.
“It’s a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a [U.S.] factory and get it there,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Ukraine badly needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to stop Russian ballistic and cruise missiles. Trump’s Republican administration has given conflicting signals about its readiness to provide more vital military aid to Ukraine after its more than three years of fighting Russia’s invasion.
After a pause in some weapons shipments, Trump said he would keep sending defensive weapons to Ukraine. U.S. officials said this week that 155 mm munitions and precision-guided rockets were on their way.
Ukraine is seeking more coveted Patriot air defense systems
Germany, Spain and other European countries possess Patriot missile systems, and some have placed orders for more, Rubio said.
The U.S. is encouraging its NATO allies “to provide those weapons, systems, the defensive systems that Ukraine seeks … since they have them in their stocks, and then we can enter into financial agreements with them, with us, where they can purchase the replacements,” Rubio said.
Ukraine has asked foreign countries to supply it with an additional 10 Patriot systems and missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday. Germany is ready to provide two systems, and Norway has agreed to supply one, he said.
Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses by launching major aerial attacks. Earlier this week, Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine, topping previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks.
At the same time, Russia’s bigger army is pressing hard on parts of the 620-mile front line, where thousands of soldiers on both sides have died since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.
Impact of the latest Russian attacks
In the latest attacks, a Russian drone barrage targeted the center of Kharkiv just before dawn Friday, injuring nine people and damaging a maternity hospital in Ukraine’s second-largest city, officials said.
Mothers with newborns were being evacuated to a different medical facility, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram. He didn’t say whether anyone at the hospital was among the injured.
Also, a daytime drone attack on the southern city of Odesa injured nine people.
“There is no silence in Ukraine,” Zelensky said after the Kharkiv bombardment. Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has endured repeated and intensifying drone attacks in recent weeks, as have many other regions of the country, mostly at night.
June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the last three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the U.N. human rights mission in Ukraine said Thursday. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said.
Other weapons sought by Ukraine
Zelensky urged Ukraine’s Western partners to quickly enact pledges of help they made at an international meeting in Rome on Thursday.
Ukraine also needs more interceptor drones to bring down Russian-made Shahed drones, he said, adding Moscow plans to manufacture up to 1,000 drones a day.
Zelensky said Thursday that talks with Trump have been “very constructive.”
After repeated Russian drone and missile onslaughts in Kyiv, authorities announced Friday they are establishing a comprehensive drone interception system under a project called Clear Sky.
The project includes a $6.2-million investment in interceptor drones, operator training and new mobile response units, according to the head of the Kyiv Military Administration.
Zelensky appealed to foreign partners to help Ukraine accelerate the production of the newly developed interceptor drones, which have proved successful against Shaheds.
“We found a solution, as a country, scientists and engineers found a solution. That’s the key,” he said. “We need financing. And then, we will intercept.”
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In early July, the Los Angeles Philharmonic quietly canceled all four Hollywood Bowl performances featuring Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The L.A. Phil, in a statement, attributed the cancellations of the L.A. leg of the orchestra’s 50th anniversary tour to “travel complications,” and said it looks forward to “welcoming the Orchestra back in the future.”
Venezuela is on the list of countries on President Trump’s recently announced travel ban list. The ban for the country is partial, but it does affect the types of visas typically used for tourism and business. A number of readers wrote in about the cancellations, speculating about visa issues and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies. Asked if this was the case, or if any further details about the cancellations were available, a rep for the L.A. Phil declined to comment beyond what was provided in the organization’s statement.
In a review of the Bowl’s opening night, Times classical music critic Mark Swed credited the loss of the orchestra‘s visit to Trump’s travel ban and lamented that the cancellation would reduce Dudamel’s appearances on the Bowl’s stage to a single week during his 16th and penultimate season before he leaves L.A. to become music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic in 2026.
The Bolívar Orchestra likely won’t have any trouble traveling to the United Kingdom, however, because it is set to play as a special guest alongside Dudamel for 10 sold-out shows with the rock band Coldplay at Wembley Stadium in late August and early September. (Turns out Coachella was just a warm-up for Dudamel, who really has achieved rock star status in the music world.)
Ticket holders for the canceled Bowl shows received emails about the cancellations and were told that their tickets would remain valid for newly announced programming: Elim Chan, James Ehnes, and the L.A. Phil on Aug. 12 for Tchaikovsky and The Firebird; Gemma New and the L.A. Phil performing Tchaikovsky’s 4th on Aug. 14 with Pacho Flores; and Enrico Lopez-Yañez and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra performing Aug. 15-16 with Los Aguilar.
When the Bowl season was first announced, L.A. Phil President and Chief Executive Kim Noltemy told me that much of the season was organized to highlight Dudamel’s work, including performances featuring composers, musicians and music that he is particularly fond of.
At that time, Dudamel was set to conduct eight shows in August, four of which were with the Bolívar Orchestra — a situation that speaks to his deep, decades-long ties with the organization, which started as a youth ensemble and is composed of musicians trained by Venezuela’s famed music education program, El Sistema, which also counts Dudamel as an alumnus.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, dreaming of a trip to London for an extraordinary show. In the meantime, here’s your arts news for this weekend.
Best bets: On our radar this week
Newsletter
You’re reading Essential Arts
Our critics and reporters guide you through events and happenings of L.A.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Tiffany Tatreau, from center left, Nick Fradiani and Kate A. Mulligan in “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.”
(Jeremy Daniel)
’A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical’ This jukebox musical that ran on Broadway for more than a year finally reaches L.A. on its national tour. Featuring nearly 30 of Diamond’s songs, including “Solitary Man,” “Sweet Caroline,” “I Am … I Said” and “Song Sung Blue,” the show is framed by therapy sessions in which the singer-songwriter reflects on his life’s highs and lows and the genesis of his writing with different actors playing “Neil – Then” (2015 “American Idol” winner Nick Fradiani) and “Neil – Now” (Tony nominee Robert Westenberg). 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, through July 27. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. broadwayinhollywood.com
“Portrait of a Man,” Hendrick Goltzius (1607), pen and brown ink and black chalk, with touches of gray wash, incised for transfer. 11 5/8 × 7 15/16 in. (29.5 × 20.2 cm)
(Getty Museum)
‘Lines of Connection: Drawing and Printmaking’ The exhibition shares the narrative of how European artists worked on paper with various media from the 15th through 19th centuries. The show also includes large-scale works by L.A.-based artist Toba Khedoori. 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays; closed Monday; through Sept. 14. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu
Joan Crawford, left, and Bette Davis in the 1962 film “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”
(Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images)
A Joan Crawford Triple Feature The Academy Museum screens three late-period Crawford vehicles in 35 mm in its Ted Mann Theater. “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962), directed by Robert Aldrich and co-starring Bette Davis (who received an Oscar nomination) relaunched the actors’ careers and became a cult classic. In “Strait-Jacket” (1964), directed by British horrormeister William Castle, Crawford played a woman released from a psychiatric hospital 20 years after being convicted of murdering her husband and his lover with an ax. Finally, Crawford’s last big-screen appearance came in “Trog” (1970), wherein she starred for director Freddie Francis, the noted cinematographer, as an anthropologist who attempts to domesticate a caveman in the 20th century U.K. 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Saturday. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Composer Alexandre Desplat conducts an evening of his award-winning film scores at the Hollywood Bowl.
(Jennifer McCord / For The Times)
The Cinematic Scores of Alexandre Desplat Hot on the heels of the release of the hit movie “Jurassic World Rebirth,” in which Desplat incorporated John Williams’ stirring “Jurassic Park” theme into his new score for the film, the celebrated French composer takes the Hollywood Bowl stage to conduct a career-spanning evening of his work. In addition to his Oscar-winning scores for Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” the program includes musical selections from “The Imitation Game,”“The King’s Speech” and more. 8 p.m. Tuesday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
Culture news
Playwright Richard Greenberg is seen in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood in 2013.
(Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)
Times theater critic Charles McNultywrites an appreciation of playwright Richard Greenberg, who died July 4 of cancer at age 67. Greenberg’s rise to fame began with his 1988 play “Eastern Standard,” which received a rave review by theater critic Frank Rich in the New York Times. McNulty remembers seeing the play on Broadway as a student and was “dazzled by Greenberg’s New York wit, which struck me as an acutely sensitive, off-angle version of George S. Kaufman’s Broadway brio.”
The casting news continues for “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Hollywood Bowl. We already know that Cynthia Erivo is set to play Jesus and Adam Lambert will play Judas — now we have it that Milo Manheim will play Peter and Raúl Esparza will play Pontius Pilate. The musical will run Aug. 1, 2 and 3.
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theatre of California, is offering a robust slate of educational offerings.
(Jeff Lorch)
The Pasadena Playhouse is fast moving toward artistic director Danny Feldman’s goal of once again making its historic campus a buzzing hive of educational activity. The playhouse announced earlier this week that it is expanding its offerings, adding options for adults and seniors to its still-growing roster of classes and camps for kids and teenagers. A musical theater community choir, a storytelling workshop and acting lessons for non-actors are also joining the lineup. Check out the schedule, and sign up, here.
IAMA Theatre Companyannounced its 18th season at the Atwater Village Theatre, featuring the world premiere of Matthew Scott Montgomery’s “Foursome,” a story about queer love and family that is produced in association with Celebration Theatre. There will also be two original workshop productions, including Mathilde Dratwa’s “Esther Perel Ruined My Life,” directed by Ojai Playwrights Conference Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen. The 8th annual New Works Festival gets things started from Oct. 9 to 13, and offers audiences the ability to see fresh stagings by playwrights in need of early reactions to help develop and hone their writing. The season ends with a final workshop production of JuCoby Johnson’s “…but you could’ve held my hand,” about the ongoing relationships of four Black friends.
Pack snacks and a blanket and head for the 405 because the Getty’s annual Garden Concerts for kids are back. The series begins Aug. 2 and 3 with 123 Andrés. The next weekend will bring Kymberly Stewart to the stage, followed by Divinity Roxx Presents: Divi Roxx Kids World Wide Playdate on Aug. 16 and 17. The fun begins at 4 p.m., so make a day of it and check out the art first. A free reservation at Getty.edu is required for entry.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Need a stiff drink after a hard day of doomscrolling? The Food team has created a handy guide featuring 14 martinis that are shaking and stirring the cocktail scene.
Bitcoin has reached a new all-time high, trading at more than $118,000 (€100,000) on Friday. It followed an enthusiastic trading day on the US stock markets on Thursday, where the main index for tech companies, the Nasdaq, hit a record value.
Interest in Bitcoin was fuelled by a bullish, optimistic trading outlook across risk assets and an appetite for investment in tech companies, such as Nvidia, which recently surged to a $4 trillion valuation.
Bitcoin’s all-time high also comes days before what the US House of Representatives, one of Congress’ two chambers, has labelled as “Crypto Week”, starting on 14 July. This is when lawmakers are expected to debate a series of bills that could define the regulatory framework for the industry in the United States.
Bitcoin gained more than 20% this year against the US dollar.
Bloomberg’s data shows that investors poured around $1.2 billion (€1bn) into Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) on Thursday, pushing the price to a new high beyond $116,000 before the rally continued on Friday.
Much of the investments pouring into crypto came through ETFs. Cryptocurrency-based ETFs make it easier for investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies without having to buy them directly. These funds have exploded in popularity since bitcoin ETFs began trading in US markets last year.
The strong interest in crypto boosted the price of the second-biggest crypto asset, too. Ethereum gained more than 6%, and traded at around $3,000 (€2,600) on Friday.
Meanwhile, the US President continues to expand his crypto-related offerings. Trump was once a bitcoin sceptic but has since warmly embraced the cryptocurrency industry.
On Tuesday, his family business Trump Media filed paperwork at the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval to launch the “Crypto Blue Chip ETF” later this year.
This is a new exchange-traded fund tied to the prices of five popular cryptocurrencies. The proposed ETF would have 70% of its holdings in bitcoin, 15% in Ethereum, and 8% in Solana, a cryptocurrency popular in the meme coin community.
The Trump administration has pushed for crypto-friendly regulations and laws, in line with the president’s ambitions to make the US the world capital for crypto.
NEW YORK — On a recent afternoon, Mahmoud Khalil sat in his Manhattan apartment, cradling his 10-week-old son as he thought back to the pre-dawn hours spent pacing a frigid immigration jail in Louisiana, awaiting news of the child’s birth in New York.
For a moment, the outspoken Palestinian activist found himself uncharacteristically speechless.
“I cannot describe the pain of that night,” Khalil said finally, gazing down as the baby, Deen, cooed in his arms. “This is something I will never forgive.”
Now, weeks after regaining his freedom, Khalil is seeking restitution. On Thursday, his lawyers filed a claim for $20 million in damages against the Trump administration, alleging Khalil was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite as the government sought to deport him over his prominent role in campus protests.
The filing — a precursor to a lawsuit under the Federal Tort Claims Act — names the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the State Department.
It comes as the deportation case against Khalil, a 30-year-old recent graduate student at Columbia University, continues to wind its way through the immigration court system.
The goal, Khalil said, is to send a message that he won’t be intimidated into silence.
“They are abusing their power because they think they are untouchable,” Khalil said. “Unless they feel there is some sort of accountability, it will continue to go unchecked.”
Khalil plans to share any settlement money with others targeted in Trump’s “failed” effort to suppress pro-Palestinian speech. In lieu of a settlement, he said he would also accept an official apology and changes to the administration’s deportation policies.
In an emailed statement, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, called Khalil’s claim “absurd,” accusing him of “hateful behavior and rhetoric” that threatened Jewish students.
A State Department spokesperson said its actions toward Khalil were fully supported by the law. Inquiries to the White House and ICE were not immediately returned.
Harsh conditions and an ‘absurd’ allegation
The filing accuses President Trump and other officials of mounting a haphazard and illegal campaign to “terrorize him and his family,” beginning with Khalil’s March 8 arrest.
On that night, he said he was returning home from dinner with his wife, Noor Abdalla, when he was “effectively kidnapped” by plainclothes federal agents, who refused to provide a warrant and appeared surprised to learn he was a legal U.S. permanent resident.
He was then whisked overnight to an immigration jail in Jena, La., a remote location that was “deliberately concealed” from his family and attorneys, according to the filing.
Inside, Khalil said he was denied his ulcer medication, forced to sleep under harsh fluorescent lights and fed “nearly inedible” food, causing him to lose 15 pounds. “I cannot remember a night when I didn’t go to sleep hungry,” Khalil recalled.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration publicly celebrated the arrest, promising to deport him and others whose protests against Israel it dubbed “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.”
Khalil, who has condemned antisemitism before and since his arrest, was not accused of a crime and has not been linked to Hamas or any other terrorist group. “At some point, it becomes like reality TV,” Khalil said of the allegations. “It’s very absurd.”
Deported for beliefs
A few weeks into his incarceration, Khalil was awoken by a fellow detainee, who pointed excitedly to his face on a jailhouse TV screen. A new memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Khalil hadn’t broken the law, but argued he should be deported for beliefs that could undermine U.S. foreign policy interests.
“My beliefs are not wanting my tax money or tuition going toward investments in weapons manufacturers for a genocide,” Khalil said. “It’s as simple as that.”
By then, Khalil had become something of a celebrity in the 1,200-person lock-up. When not dealing with his own case, he hosted “office hours” for fellow immigrant detainees, leaning on his past experience working at a British embassy in Beirut to help others organize paperwork and find translators for their cases.
“I’m pretty good at bureaucracy,” Khalil said.
At night, they played Russian and Mexican card games, as Khalil listened to “one story after another from people who didn’t understand what’s happening to them.”
“This was one of the most heartbreaking moments,” he said. “People on the inside don’t know if they have any rights.”
Lost time
On June 20, after 104 days in custody, Khalil was ordered released by a federal judge, who found the government’s efforts to remove him on foreign policy grounds were likely unconstitutional.
He now faces new allegations of misrepresenting personal details on his green card application. In a motion filed late Wednesday, attorneys for Khalil described those charges as baseless and retaliatory, urging a judge to dismiss them.
The weeks since his release, Khalil said, have brought moments of bliss and intense personal anguish.
Fearing harassment or possible arrest, he leaves the house less frequently, avoiding large crowds or late-night walks. But he lit up as he remembered watching Deen taking his first swim earlier in the week. “It was not very pleasant for him,” Khalil said, smiling.
“I’m trying as much as possible to make up for the time with my son and my wife,” he added. “As well thinking about my future and trying to comprehend this new reality.”
Part of that reality, he said, will be continuing his efforts to advocate against Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. On the day after his arrest, he led a march through Manhattan, draped in a Palestinian flag — and flanked by security.
As he poured Deen’s milk into a bottle, Khalil considered whether he might’ve done anything differently had he known the personal cost of his activism.
“We could’ve communicated better. We could’ve built more bridges with more people,” he said. “But the core thing of opposing a genocide, I don’t think you can do that any differently. This is your moral imperative when you’re watching your people be slaughtered by the minute.”
More than 800 homeowners in Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other areas affected by January’s wildfires have applied for rebuilding permits, according to a Times analysis of local government permitting data.
Of those, at least 145 have received approval to start construction on major repairs or replacement of their homes in the cities of Los Angeles, Malibu and Pasadena and in Altadena and other unincorporated areas of L.A. County, the analysis found.
At events this week commemorating the fires’ six-month mark, state and local leaders have celebrated the pace of cleanup efforts, touting their completion months ahead of schedule. Nearly 13,000 households were displaced by the Palisades and Eaton fires, which ripped through the communities Jan. 7 and 8.
“Now we turn the page to rebuilding, and we’re doing it with a clear plan, strong partnerships and the urgency this moment demands,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
Weekly data analyzed by The Times show an increasing pace of permit applications submitted to local authorities. Homeowners, architects and contractors working on approved projects praised the process as speedy and efficient. But some residents said that despite official promises of removing barriers and rapid turnarounds, they’ve been mired in delays.
At many sites, construction is already underway. Five years ago, while pregnant with her second child, Alexis Le Guier and her husband, Andrew, moved into a newly constructed five-bedroom home in the Palisades’ Alphabet Streets area. A lifelong Angeleno, Le Guier wanted to take advantage of the neighborhood‘s schools and walkability, as well as live closer to her parents in Brentwood. The day after the fire, they started making calls to rebuild their home.
“The thought of moving was unfathomable,” said Le Guier, 41. “Of course I’m coming back. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
The Le Guiers, who were underinsured, benefited from having recent architectural plans, which saved them significant time and money. They made minor changes before submitting them to the city and received their permit 40 days later in early June. Their foundation was poured last week and lumber was delivered to the site soon after.
“The thought of moving was unfathomable,” said Alexis Le Guier, 41. “Of course I’m coming back. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Many of the homeowners who have secured permits similarly had recent plans to work from or other advantages, such as quick insurance payouts, according to several architects and contractors. State and local officials have attempted to streamline the permitting process, especially for those who want to build homes comparable to the ones destroyed, by waiving some development rules and fees and opening “one-stop” centers that centralize planning and building reviews.
Jason Somers, president of Crest Real Estate, a development firm, said the efforts have helped city plan checkers respond to applications with urgency.
“They are getting us permits quicker than we’ve ever seen before,” Somers said.
Somers’ firm is working on nearly 100 fire rebuilding projects, primarily in Pacific Palisades. Most of its clients, Somers said, aren’t ready to submit plans because they’re designing custom homes different from what they had previously. Somers said the city’s response so far encouraged him, but the test would come as the volume of applications increased.
“We shall see what the workflow looks like when we see 1,000 projects,” he said.
As of July 6, 389 homeowners had submitted applications to rebuild in the Palisades, roughly 8% of the 4,700 residential properties destroyed or majorly damaged by the fire, according to The Times’ analysis.
Property owners often need multiple permits. In addition to one for the main structure, the process might involve permits for demolition, electrical infrastructure, swimming pools, if included, and more. The Times’ analysis counts one application for each address no matter how many supplemental permits may be required. Additionally, the L.A. County data are limited to submissions that already have cleared an initial review by county planners.
Generally, applications at both the city and county level have been rising every week. The week of June 22 had the largest number for both the city and county with 36 and 34 submissions, respectively.
The city has approved nearly a quarter of those it’s received. L.A. County has issued permits for 15% of its 352 applications as of July 6, covering Altadena and unincorporated areas affected by the Palisades fire. In Pasadena, 20 property owners have submitted with two approved. For Malibu, 77 homeowners have submitted applications with none approved.
On average, it’s taken 55 days for the city of L.A. to issue a permit, including time it’s waited for applicants to respond to corrections, The Times’ analysis shows. The county process is slower. Once an application has been cleared by county planners, it’s been another 60 days on average for a building permit to be issued, according to the analysis.
Roberto Covarrubias, who has lived with his family in Altadena for a decade, said county officials haven’t delivered on their promises to make the process as fast as possible. His home was built in 2009 and he went to various offices seeking the original architectural plans — his paper copies burned in the fire — only to be told they didn’t exist. Weeks later, after Covarrubias hired a new architect, the county said it had located electronic plans for his old house.
Covarrubias wants to add a cellar to his new home to house the water heater and other machinery. County officials told him doing so would require additional soil testing, which he estimated would take a month and cost another $7,000. After three weeks of back-and-forth with his architect, Covarrubias said the county relented.
Any delay matters, he said. He wants to get ahead of the rush for workers and materials. And his insurance company will not release his payout until his rebuild permits are approved.
“It’s like a waterfall effect,” said Covarrubias, 50, an IT engineer.
His project remains in the permitting pipeline.
City and county officials have had to work through growing pains as they’ve attempted to implement the flurry of executive orders and programs designed to speed rebuilding.
Property owners had waited weeks in the spring, for instance, for guidelines on accessory dwelling unit construction. Last month, after sustained pressure from homeowners, the county agreed to waive permitting fees and refund those who already have paid. (The city waived its fees in April.) Both the city and the county continue testing ballyhooed artificial intelligence software to offer instant corrections to initial permit applications, with activation scheduled for this month.
The city has no immediate plans to hire additional staff or contractors to review permits because its staff is meeting its benchmarks for reviews, according to Gail Gaddi, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.
“However, we will continue to assess the needs of the department and will consider any adjustments as needed,” Gaddi said.
By contrast, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents areas affected by the Eaton fire, believes the county will need to add to its workforce to meet the demand.
“There needs to be additional staffing whether it’s contractors or permanent staffing,” said Helen Chavez Garcia, a spokesperson for the supervisor.
One of the more promising ways to expedite permitting is through preapproved architectural designs. The idea is that property owners could pick a model home that local governments already have signed off on, meaning the only further review needed was for issues specific to individual sites. The process has been credited for helping rapid recovery in Santa Rosa after the 2017 Tubbs fire.
Here, Somers’ firm is developing a suite of 50 plans called Case Study 2.0, named after the mid-20th century showcase of Southern California architecture. A newly formed San Gabriel Valley nonprofit, the Foothill Catalog Foundation, separately is hoping to design 50 model homes by the end of the year, said Alex Athenson, an architect and co-founder of the initiative. The catalog has had one design, a three-bedroom bungalow called “The Lewis,” approved by L.A. County. Athenson expects to submit nine more by the end of the month.
If a homeowner chooses a preapproved home, Athenson said, the entire permitting process could take two weeks or less.
“It would be incredible if homeowners can have that ease of access to starting construction,” Athenson said.
Gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne was all set to buy her first home. And it wasn’t just any home.
Dunne had a contract in place to buy a $1.6-million apartment that was once owned by baseball great Babe Ruth on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
But it ended up not being a Dunne deal.
The recent Louisiana State graduate known to her fans as “Livvy” won’t be moving into the former digs of the player known to fans as “the Bambino,” because the building’s co-op board rejected her application.
In a video posted to TikTok on Tuesday, Dunne told her 8 million followers that she is “so upset” after coming so close to residing in the same seventh-floor apartment where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox legend is said to have lived from 1929 to 1940.
“It was Babe Ruth’s apartment,” said Dunne, who grew up less than an hour away in Hillside, N.J. “So naturally, like, I’m telling everybody. I’m excited. I was gonna buy it and I was gonna pay with cash, like I wanted this apartment bad.”
The 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model said her real estate agent “was so confident” the deal would go through that she brought boyfriend Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ All-Star pitcher and 2024 National League rookie of the year, to see the place.
“I got an interior designer because I didn’t want to bring my college furniture to Babe Ruth’s apartment — that would be like, criminal,” Dunne said. “Then the week that I’m supposed to get my keys to my brand new apartment, I get a call. The co-op board denied me.”
The listing agent confirmed to The Times that Dunne had made an offer on the property that was accepted by the seller and, as the final step in the process, turned in an application for the purchase for the co-op board’s approval. The board rejected that application about three weeks ago, the agent said.
No explanation was given for the rejection, although Dunne has her theories.
“For all I know, they could have been Alabama fans and I went to LSU,” she joked. “I have no clue. Maybe they didn’t want a public figure living there. But I was literally supposed to get the keys, and that week they denied me.”
She added: “Long story short, don’t try to live in a co-op. You might get denied and you won’t get Babe Ruth’s apartment.”
No surprise, 2025 has been an eventful year so far in Hollywood.
In addition to the megahits and epic bombs at the box office, the entertainment industry has been roiled by chaotic forces.
The second Trumpadministration. The ongoing Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni legal saga. The federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, resulting in a mixed verdict in which the hip-hop mogul was acquitted of the most serious charges — racketeering and sex trafficking. And of course, the devastating wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area, particularly Pacific Palisades and Altadena, back in January.
But in terms of the actual business of movies, TV and streaming, there’s plenty of serious stuff to dig into that could shape the future of entertainment — from streaming’s continued ascent, to Disney and Universal’s lawsuit against Midjourney, to the race for state tax credits to save California’s beleaguered production economy.
Here’s our Wide Shot midyear review, by the numbers.
The box office has been on a roller-coaster ride since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the release schedule feeling the effects of the industry’s broader retrenchment. Although the 2023 strikes that thinned out the release schedule are in the rearview mirror, the uncertainty has very much continued.
After a brutal first quarter (ouch, “Snow White”), sales have rebounded thanks to hits including “Minecraft,” “Sinners” and “F1,” with grosses reaching $4.43 billion so far domestically, according to Comscore. That’s up 15% from the same period last year, but still down 26% from 2019. Attendance is up 6.5% from 2024 with about 350 million tickets sold, according to Steve Buck at EntTelligence.
The challenges remain the same.
Studios struggle to draw crowds with much other than the biggest blockbusters and whatever they can convince Gen Z is an “event” movie. And the films themselves are so expensive that even big numbers don’t guarantee that an action spectacle with a robust audience will break even during its theatrical run. Even horror movies aren’t really low-budget anymore (see “Final Destination: Bloodlines” and “28 Years Later”).
After years of shortened theatrical windows, audiences know they can wait to see a new movie at home, often after just a few weeks. That’s why theater owners at the industry convention CinemaCon called on studios to commit to a longer standard gap between a movie’s theatrical release and its availability for home viewing. Meanwhile, audiences face ever longer preshows, with ads now playing between the trailers at AMC. With so much debt, the chain sure needs the money.
The slate for the rest of the year is lumpy.
July is looking strong after “Jurassic World Rebirth’s” $147-million Fourth of July weekend opening, with Warner Bros. and DC’s “Superman” reboot, and Disney and Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” hoping to reinvigorate the superhero genre. Prerelease tracking for “Superman” is all over the place, but an opening of $125 million is a fair target. “Fantastic Four” is poised for a debut in the ballpark of $100 million. But August is lacking in obvious hits. Maybe Paramount’s “The Naked Gun” will bring pure comedy back — but we’ll see.
Paramount caved, reaching a $16-million deal to settle President Trump’s lawsuit over CBS News’ “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. Trump declared victory over the “Fake News media,” while 1st Amendment advocates and journalists howled, fuming that the owner of one of TV’s most respected brands chose to buy peace rather than fight the case — widely considered frivolous — and stand up for press freedom.
There are still unanswered questions. In the aftermath of the deal, a source close to Trump‘s world said the president’s team is also anticipating millions of dollars in airtime for PSAs related to MAGA-friendly causes and antisemitism — an alleged side deal that Trump himself referenced after the fact. Paramount said its deal with the Trump team did not include PSAs.
In any event, Paramount’s leaders — not to mention its incoming owners at Skydance Media and RedBird — are eager to move on. David Ellison and Shari Redstone are now counting on the Federal Communications Commission to finally approve the $8-billion merger so they can get to work reshaping the storied entertainment firm.
Speaking of Paramount, one of the company’s biggest franchises is causing headaches for the new owners — and vice versa — as the company wrangles with the creators of “South Park” over the future of the long-running, foulmouthed cartoon.
Skydance balked at a proposed overall deal worth at least $2.5 billion for the “South Park” guys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, sources have said. (Their current $900-million deal is still in place.) Separately, the two sides are trying to work out the streaming rights to the show. Paramount wants to run the episodes on Paramount+, but it also wants to share the rights (and the costs) with another streamer — perhaps the 300-plus episodes’ current home, HBO Max. The streaming rights are expected to fetch north of $200 million a year.
In Hollywood’s current era of downsizing, Skydance may have legitimate reasons to not want to overpay for a show entering its 27th season. But Parker and Stone still have leverage: Without “South Park,” the cupboard at Comedy Central is pretty bare.
Parker and Stone’s lawyers have gone to the mat, accusing David Ellison’s allies — namely former NBCUniversal boss and current RedBird executive Jeff Shell — of overstepping their authority in the negotiations. The “South Park” team expressed its displeasure in a way only the makers of Cartman and Kenny could. After Comedy Central announced a delay for the new season premiere, the show’s X profile tweeted a statement saying the Skydance deal was “a s—show and is f— up South Park.”
Hollywood got its long-sought lifeline from Sacramento, as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a beefed-up film and television tax credit program, allocating $750 million annually for productions in the state.
That’s more than double the previous program, which was capped at $330 million a year. Shortly afterward, the state legislature passed a law to increase the tax credit to as much as 35% of qualified expenditures for movies and TV series shot in the Greater Los Angeles area — and up to 40% for productions shot outside the region. It also expanded the types of productions that could qualify.
California currently provides a 20% to 25% tax credit to offset qualified production expenses, such as money spent on film crews and building sets. The plan does not cover above-the-line expenses, such as actor and director salaries, which remains a disadvantage as California tries to compete with other states and countries. New York and Texas are both ramping up their own incentive programs.
The Golden State’s production economy has been devastated by competition. Boosting the tax incentives is one lever the state can pull to lure shoots back. There’s also been a push to overhaul red tape at the local level in Los Angeles. Whatever good all this does, it’s sure to be more effective than Trump’s now-largely forgotten call for tariffs on movies produced abroad.
Streaming hit a major symbolic milestone earlier this year, as television usage for YouTube, Netflix and their brethren overtook broadcast and cable for the first time in May, according to Nielsen. Streaming services combined to attract 44.8% of all TV set viewing, representing the largest share to date for direct-to-consumer platforms. Viewership for linear networks was just behind at 44.2%.
Nielsen’s regular viewership report — the Gauge — is a useful snapshot of the state of television today. Combined with the rapid decline of cable and satellite bundle subscriptions, the drop-off in viewing explains much of what’s going on at the legacy media companies.
Firms including Disney and Paramount are still cutting hundreds of jobs to adjust to the new realities. Warner Bros. Discovery — which has been on a yearslong quest to reduce its heavy debt load — said it will split its operations in two, cleaving the studios and streaming business from its global networks. That decision followed NBCUniversal’s move to spin off its cable nets into a new company called Versant.
Those plans are gambles. Cable networks are in decline, but they’re profitable. For most media companies, streaming is growing but has only just gotten into the black after years of losing billions.
Honorable mentions:
$417.5 million: Alcon Entertainment, the production company known for “The Blind Side” and “Blade Runner 2049,” gained a prized asset by acquiring the film library of bankrupt Village Roadshow. The $417.5-million deal gives the firm Village’s stakes in movies including “Joker” and “Mad Max: Fury Road,” both released by Warner Bros. Village Roadshow declared bankruptcy amid a brutal legal battle with Warner Bros. over its release of “The Matrix Resurrections,” which went to streaming and theaters at the same time.
$400 million: “It Ends With Us” director Justin Baldoni’s lawsuits against actress Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, the New York Times and others were tossed last month, with a judge ruling that the claims — including defamation, extortion and breach of contract — failed to pass legal muster. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman granted motions to dismiss both a $400-million countersuit against Lively, Reynolds and others and a $250-million defamation claim against The Times.
$2 billion: The biggest movie of the year isn’t from Hollywood at all. It’s “Ne Zha 2,” an animated Chinese film that grossed more than $2 billion, the vast majority of which came from its home country. Despite trade wars and the dominance of local productions, though, U.S. movies can still do well in China. “Jurassic World Rebirth” opened with $41.6 million there.
$20 million: Walt Disney Co. and Universal are suing AI firm Midjourney for allegedly ripping off and copying their intellectual property with its image-generating technology. With 150 violations cited in the lawsuit, at a statutory $150,000 per infringing item, that’s a total of more than $20 million in potential damages.
$300 billion: The eye-popping valuation for privately held OpenAI, the San Francisco company behind ChatGPT and Sora.
$9.2 billion: The amount Disney ultimately paid for Comcast’s Hulu stake, valuing the service at $27.6 billion. After a mediation process, Disney paid less for the stake than Comcast wanted.
— Times staff writers Meg James, Samantha Masunaga, Wendy Lee, Stephen Battaglio, Stacy Perman and Josh Rottenberg contributed to this article.
Newsletter
You’re reading the Wide Shot
Ryan Faughnder delivers the latest news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Stuff we wrote
Finally …
Listen: For your morning run, Killswitch Engage’s “This Consequence.”
Watch: I finally started “Apple Cider Vinegar” over the weekend, and hoo boy, what a fascinating, infuriating story.
The Chase is the latest ITV show to fall victim to scheduling changes as the UEFA Women’s Euros take priority on air. Viewers have already been left fuming over the soaps being pulled from screens
08:14, 08 Jul 2025Updated 08:14, 08 Jul 2025
Fans will not be able to watch The Chase tonight
Fans of The Chase are facing disappointment this week as the hit quiz show has been pulled from ITV’s schedule in yet another shake-up triggered by live sporting events.
Viewers who usually tune in to see Bradley Walsh put contestants through their paces at 5pm on ITV One will find their routine interrupted as the broadcaster clears space for coverage of the UEFA Women’s Euros.
On Monday, July 7, The Chase will be bumped from its regular slot to make way for live coverage of the Spain vs Belgium match, with the build-up starting at 4.15pm ahead of the 5pm kick-off.
The ITV quiz show has been bumped off for coverage of the UEFA Women’s Euros(Image: ITV)
However, fans won’t have to go completely without their fix of Chasers and cash-build rounds. A second celebrity special of the quiz will air on Sunday, July 12, at 5.30pm instead. The show is then expected to return to its usual 5pm weekday slot from Tuesday, July 8.
This isn’t the first time recently that The Chase has been booted off air. Just last month, the popular quiz was cancelled for the entire week to make way for coverage of Royal Ascot, leaving viewers frustrated.
And it’s not just quiz fans feeling the pinch. Soap lovers are also grappling with significant disruption as both Coronation Street and Emmerdale are hit by further schedule changes this week.
Coronation Street, which is typically on screens Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 8pm and 9pm, will be absent from ITV on both Monday and Wednesday. Instead, fans will have to wait until 9pm on Thursday for their next visit to Weatherfield, while Friday’s episode will air as usual.
Meanwhile, Emmerdale will also be missing from the Monday and Wednesday line-up to make way for the Portugal vs Italy and France vs Wales games.
Over on the BBC, EastEnders fans are no strangers to disruption either, having endured an eight-day absence from screens between July 1 and July 9 thanks to Wimbledon coverage.
This comes after soap fans hit out at the disruption to their usual fix of Emmerdale, Coronation Street, and EastEnders. One angry viewer fumed: “Why have we no Emmerdale or Corrie, cause women’s football on ITV? Why can’t the football move to ITV2 or ITVX? Stupid planning. The soaps must have much higher viewers than women’s football, a lot of people unhappy.”
Another ranted: “This is actually a full-on joke. It’s about time ITV came up with a solution to suit all!! Some of us rely on soaps for routine and they are the only happy part of our day! YOU HAVE ITVX AND SEVERAL OTHER CHANNELS! Sort it out ITV!!”
A third fan added: “This annoys me so much. I hate soap schedule changes due to football. Watching soaps at night makes my nights better as it gives me escapism from my daily life.”
MILWAUKEE — His breaths were heavy. His answers were interrupted by deep inhales. And beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead.
Tired? Perhaps.
But personally invigorated? There seemed little doubt.
For the newly turned 31-year-old Shohei Ohtani, the deep breaths and sweat drips were just a sign of another day’s work in his return to full-time two-way duties, coming as he spoke to reporters following his latest game as both starting pitcher and designated hitter for the Dodgers on Saturday.
“As long as I can play the way I want to play,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton as he celebrated his birthday, “I usually spend my birthday just like any other day.”
The way Ohtani wants to play, of course, is exactly how he’s been doing it for the last month. After being unable to pitch for the first year and a half of his Dodgers tenure — limited only to hitting while recovering from a second career Tommy John surgery — he is finally back to being a fully healthy two-way star, taking the mound once per week in addition to leading off the lineup every day.
Four weeks into his return to pitching, the results have been (mostly) positive for the reigning National League MVP.
In six innings as a pitcher, he has given up just one run, four hits and four walks while striking out six batters (a quality start by any definition of the term, if considered as one pitching outing).
And as a hitter, he is still posting MVP-caliber numbers, entering Monday leading the National League with 30 home runs and a .610 slugging percentage, while ranking second in OPS (.990, behind only teammate Will Smith), 13th in RBIs (56) and 23rd in batting average (.278).
“He’s just handling it the right way,” manager Dave Roberts said a few weeks ago, personally amazed at watching Ohtani’s two-way talents up close for the first time. “He’s just unflappable.”
The most encouraging signs over the last month have been with Ohtani’s progression on the mound.
Even after a second major elbow surgery, he is still routinely eclipsing 100 mph with his fastball, while commanding it in different parts of the strike zone. He has quickly rediscovered the feel for his breaking stuff, generating whiffs with his sweeper and traditional slider. He’s also doing it with a new, slightly lowered arm angle, one that Roberts said he didn’t develop by accident.
“He understands his delivery and what he’s trying to do,” Roberts said. “So obviously coming off the second Tommy John, I think this probably puts his arm in the best position, [where he] feels best. I like where he’s at.”
The only missing piece to Ohtani’s pitching remains the length of his outings.
So far, he has yet to pitch past the second inning. And while Roberts called it “feasible” for him to get stretched out to five or six innings, the team still doesn’t “know what that’s going to be,” he said.
“In a rehab progression, it’s really important to just take one step at a time,” Ohtani echoed. “There are times when I may be able to go another inning, but it’s really important not to take unnecessary risks and make sure that I can progress consistently. It’s always been this way in terms of my rehab progression. So I’m following what the team is also asking me as well.”
The big question, to this point, is how much Ohtani’s return to pitching has impacted his potency with the bat.
At various points since June 10, when Ohtani ramped up to three innings in his final simulated live session before returning to game action as a pitcher, Roberts has noted some normal instances of fatigue that Ohtani has felt.
The slugger’s hitting numbers have ticked down in that span as well, with Ohtani batting only .239 since that day — albeit with seven home runs in 24 games and a robust .919 OPS.
On days he pitches, Ohtani has still gone 5 for 16 with a double, triple and home run. On the days immediately after a pitching outing, however, he is 0 for 12 with less hard contact than his thunderous swing usually produces.
There have also been incremental drops in some of Ohtani’s underlying numbers, including exit velocity (95.5 mph average before May 10; 93.3 mph average since) and swing speed (76.3 mph before; 75.8 mph since) according to data from Baseball Savant.
The decline hasn’t been lost on Ohtani.
On Saturday, he said he doesn’t “feel too bad at the plate” physically, but acknowledged he hasn’t punished mistakes as well as he typically does.
“Usually, it’s a matter of just a little bit of a difference in the way that I’m swinging,” he said. “So just have to find it in the cage work, and hopefully be able to apply that on the field.”
Roberts also downplayed the notion as the product of a small sample size, insisting he hasn’t seen “much of a difference” in Ohtani at the plate since he resumed his two-way duties.
“I think he’s still taking good at-bats,” Roberts said. “I still don’t mind where he’s at right now.”
It will, nonetheless, be a dynamic the Dodgers closely monitor as Ohtani continues to try and maximize his dual talents. The longer his offensive numbers drag down, the more caution the club could exercise in his long-term pitching plan.
His bat, after all, remains the single most valuable tool on the team’s entire roster — with the Dodgers wanting to ensure, above all else, he can be a force at the plate as they try to defend their World Series title.
But, on the whole, his pitching progress has been stark during his first month back as a two-way player, and his overall production is still among the best in baseball; with his 4.4 total wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs, trailing only breakout Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong for the best mark in the NL.
“[I’ve been] really, really impressed,” Roberts said Saturday, after getting his latest look at two-way Ohtani, “how he’s continuing to get better and better each time out.”
Emmerdale and Coronation Street face a huge schedule change this week as ITV continue with their sports coverage. Here’s when you’ll find Emmerdale and Coronation Street on this week
17:21, 07 Jul 2025Updated 17:21, 07 Jul 2025
Emmerdale and Coronation Street face a huge schedule change this week (Image: PA/ITV)
Emmerdale and Coronation Street fans face a huge shake-up this week as the soaps move times for the football. As usually happens, the soaps have been displaced this week on ITV to allow for the airing of various football matches.
Those hoping to kick off their week with some Emmerdale and Coronation Street will be sorely disappointed as both soaps won’t air on Monday due to back to back football coverage. The same will apply for Wednesday, with no soaps on.
On Tuesday, viewers will be treated to a trip to the Dales whilst on Thursday, soap fans who love the drama in the Woolpack and the chaos on the Cobbles will get two full hours of soaps – one hour from each programme.
Friday is the only day where the soaps will air as normal, with Emmerdale airing at 7.30pm and Coronation Street airing for its usual hour slot at 8pm. There will be no soaps on the weekend, despite ‘missing’ episodes.
John has been up to his usual tricks on Emmerdale!
Usually we get three hours of Coronation Street every week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and three hours of Emmerdale every week (half an hour each day and an hour on Thursday). However, this week, we will only get two hours of Emmerdale and two hours of Coronation Street across the five days.
This actually aligns more with the plans for the soaps from 2026. From next January, the soaps have been cut by half an hour each. Instead of airing at their current pattern, there will be a ‘power hour’ of soaps.
Emmerdale episodes will air at 8pm, and Coronation Street episodes will air at 8.30pm. These will air in half an hour slots from 2026, meaning the soaps will be cut down by half an hour each each week.
Gary Windass is in a coma on Coronation Street(Image: ITV)
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, said: “This new pattern is in the DNA of the soap genre – nobody else does 30 minute drama this successfully.
“It creates a soap power hour that’s consistent, and easy to find in the linear schedule, for the UK’s biggest soaps. This new commissioning pattern will mean five hours of soaps a week, rather than the current six. We are conscious this will have an impact for the people who work on the soaps team. We will support our colleagues in ITV Studios as they work through these changes, and will do what we can to mitigate the impact on our people.”
Emmerdale and Coronation Street’s full soap schedule for this week:
Monday: No soaps
Tuesday: Emmerdale 7.30pm
Wednesday: No soaps
Thursday: Emmerdale 7.30pm (hour long episode), Coronation Street 9pm
Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile as he arrives for the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, in Vatican City, in May. EPA-EFE/ANGELO CARCONI
July 6 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV, 69, started a six-week long vacation at the papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo Sunday, getting out of the Roman summer heat and seeking the cooler temperatures outside of the capitol.
“I hope everyone can have some vacation time to restore the body and spirit,” Leo said before leaving the Vatican during his noontime prayer Saturday.
“Once the gate was closed and the crowd began to disperse towards the square and the lake area, a woman’s cry caught everyone’s attention,” a release from the Vatican said. “Pope Leo suddenly appeared on the balcony of the villa.”
Leo’s visit marks a return to the papal vacation spot after his predecessor, Pope Francis, eschewed the retreat during his dozen year papacy.
Castel Gandolfo overlooks Lake Alban in the hills south of Rome, and has been a favorite getaway for Roman rulers since the time of first century Emperor Domitian.
Leo will have a handful of public events while on vacation, including performing Masses, noon prayers and will also participate in some events at the Vatican, the release said.
Clayton Kershaw was named to his 11th All-Star Game on Sunday by Commissioner Rob Manfred, who used his “Legend Pick” to select the Dodgers’ left-hander. Kershaw (4-0) is one of just 20 pitchers in baseball history to strike out 3,000 batters.
He’ll be joined on the N.L. team by right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who leads the Dodgers in wins (8), strikeouts (109), innings (96 2/3) and ERA (2.51). First baseman Freddie Freeman, catcher Will Smith and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani were chosen as NL starters last week. The All-Star Game will be played July 15 in Atlanta.
Injury update
The Dodgers’ injury-battered pitching staff could soon be getting healthier. Right-hander Tyler Glasnow threw a bullpen Sunday in preparation for what Roberts will be a return to the rotation during the Dodgers’ six-game roadtrip. Glasnow has been out sine April 28 with shoulder discomfort. He had a 4.50 ERA in five starts before going on the IL.
Left-hander Blake Snell and reliever Blake Treinen are both scheduled to make minor-league rehab assignments this week in advance for their return to the roster. Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner, as been sidelined since April 2 with a shoulder injury, is expected to pitch for Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Treinen, who last pitched in mid-April, is expected to make a one-inning outing with Triple A Oklahoma City. He is recovering from a right forearm strain.
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Noah Goldberg with an assist from David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government.
A few Los Angeles city councilmembers got in some final zingers before packing their bags for summer recess.
It was the final council session before the three-week pause, and members were working their way through a thick agenda Tuesday. After weeks in which the main focus has been President Trump’s immigration crackdown in the city, it didn’t appear there would be fireworks.
Then, Councilmember Traci Park rolled her eyes at Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez while he was speaking. And Councilmember Monica Rodriguez had some sharp words for both of them.
Let’s backtrack and figure out how we got there.
In May, the council passed an ordinance to raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 per hour — higher than the city’s minimum wage — with Park, Rodriguez and Councilmember John Lee voting against it.
Soto-Martínez, a former organizer with the hotel and restaurant union Unite Here Local 11, which pushed for the minimum wage hike, led the charge at City Hall.
Park said she voted against the ordinance because she thought that it didn’t take into account economic realities and that it would result in hotel and airport workers losing their jobs. Park’s opponent in a bitterly contested general election for her Westside council seat in 2022 was a Unite Here-backed candidate, Erin Darling.
After the minimum wage hike passed, a business coalition called the L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress began a campaign to overturn it by gathering signatures to place it on the June 2026 ballot, which would at least delay its implementation.
Meanwhile, a petition circulator alleged that she was assaulted outside a Food 4 Less in Inglewood by an SEIU-USWW executive board member while gathering signatures. The woman filed a police report, and a judge granted her request for a temporary restraining order against the board member.
Enter Soto-Martínez and Park.
Soto-Martínez quickly drafted a motion asking for the LAPD to investigate the petition circulators for fraud and other misconduct alleged in the Unite Here letter.
When Soto-Martínez introduced his motion at the City Council’s Economic Development and Jobs Committee last month, Park spoke up, saying it was hypocritical for Unite Here to complain about misleading campaigns when it engaged in the same tactics “on a regular basis.”
Park quoted from a text message campaign that she said dozens of her constituents had brought to her attention.
“A new complaint alleges paid signature gatherers are using misdirection and misconduct to collect these signatures. Don’t sign the petition. Email Traci Park to tell her to stop this misleading effort to lower the minimum wage,” read a text message from Citizens in Support of the LA Olympic Wage, a campaign backed by Unite Here in favor of the hotel and airport minimum wage.
Park said the text made it sound as if she were involved in the campaign to repeal the ordinance.
“I have nothing to do with it. No one ever consulted me about it. No one ever asked my opinion about it,” she said at the committee meeting.
When the committee approved Soto-Martínez’s motion on June 17, she voted “no,” saying any investigation should scrutinize both sides of the wage campaign. The motion reached the full council on Tuesday.
Park quoted from the text campaign again and introduced an amendment asking for the LAPD to investigate both sides of the petition fight — those aligned with the L.A. Alliance for Tourism and those aligned with Unite Here.
“We know that engaging in misleading tactics are not unique to one group or one organization,” she said. “I know this because I have personally been targeted by misleading smear campaigns by the very group now complaining about this behavior.”
Soto-Martínez fired back at his colleague.
“There have been plenty of things said about me that have been misleading and I didn’t agree with, but I didn’t bring it into this chamber,” he said.
Soto-Martínez also said he wanted to draw a distinction between the text message campaign about Park and the alleged physical assaults against Unite Here campaigners.
Still, in the end, he said he supported Park’s amendment.
Park could be seen in a video recording of the council meeting rolling her eyes as Soto-Martínez finished his speech.
In a statement, Unite Here co-President Kurt Petersen called Park’s comments at the council meeting “unbelievably narcissistic.”
“Working people plea for her help after they were allegedly assaulted while they campaigned to raise wages. Instead of focusing on helping the victims, Councilmember Park complains about being criticized for her vote against the minimum wage, and equates criticism of her to the alleged political violence,” Petersen said. “This kind of greedy self involvement in the face of injustice is a hallmark of the billionaire allies of Councilmember Traci Park, and it’s why working people don’t trust her.”
Park responded in a statement, “Kurt Petersen is killing jobs and tanking our local economy. Iconic restaurants are closing, airport workers are being replaced by kiosks, hotels are pulling out, and working families are losing, not winning. His divisive and reckless tactics are speeding up automation and driving opportunity out of Los Angeles.”
Councilmember Rodriguez chastised both Park and Soto-Martínez.
“I think this idea that’s trying to assign blame to one side or another is kind of futile, given the demands of what we need LAPD to be focused on, but I think performative politics is the name of the game these days,” Rodriguez said. “Everyone needs to grow the hell up.”
Newsletter
You’re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter
Sign up to make sense of the often unexplained world of L.A. politics.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
State of play
— SANCTUARY SUIT: The Department of Justice filed suit against the city of Los Angeles on Monday over its sanctuary ordinance, calling the ordinance illegal and saying that it discriminates against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. L.A.’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities has resulted in “lawlessness, rioting, looting, and vandalism,” according to the lawsuit. Mayor Karen Bass called the lawsuit part of an “all out assault on Los Angeles” by President Trump. Immigrant rights groups filed their own lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday, seeking to block the administration’s “ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the Constitution and federal law” during immigration raids in the L.A. area.
—HOMELESSNESS DROP: Homelessness declined by 15% overall in three areas of Los Angeles in 2024, according to a new Rand study. The biggest drop came in Hollywood, where the report found that the number of homeless people decreased 49% from 2023. The number fell 22% in Venice and went up 9% in Skid Row, according to the report. The Rand study linked the Hollywood decrease to a series of Inside Safe operations in 2024.
— SEE YA, CEQA: As part of the state budget, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131 Monday, which exempts most urban housing projects from the California Environmental Quality Act. The act, known as CEQA, has often mired construction projects in years of litigation. Gov. Gavin Newsom muscled the new rules through the Legislature despite concerns from progressive lawmakers and environmental interest groups.
— MANSION SPEND: The L.A. City Council approved a plan Tuesday to spend almost $425 million collected from the city’s “mansion” tax on property sales over $5 million. Backers of the controversial tax — which has been criticized by the real estate industry for limiting property sales and reducing property tax revenue — say the fund is producing crucial dollars for affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs.
— FROZEN FUNDS: The Trump administration moved to withhold $811 million from California that would have helped students who are learning English or are from migrant families. “The [Education] Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities,” the administration said in a letter to states on Monday.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homelessness program returned to locations of past operations in Echo Park, Watts and South L.A. this week, according to the mayor’s office.
On the docket for next week: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote to appoint Sarah Mahin as the first executive director for the county’s new Department of Homeless Services and Housing.
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
However you might be feeling about the state of our country this long holiday weekend (me: angry, troubled, resolute in staying aligned with the progressive values that truly move our nation forward), I hope you have time to rest and regroup. Here are three suggestions for eating and drinking this weekend: They’re places that brought me some recent, needed joy.
Bar Benjamin
Not long after the Benjamin opened in Hollywood early last summer, I showed up hoping for a couple unreserved seats at the bar, situated in the center of the restaurant’s posh Art Deco room. No go. The staffer put us on a wait list and suggested we hang out at the Moon Room bar located above the restaurant.
We climbed the stairs and peeked in. I could roll with the New York 1970s nostalgia vibe — parquet floors with checkered tiles around the bar counter, wild art, a baby grand. That night, though, the place was so empty it looked lonely. We took a walk until the Benjamin called us back.
Riding on the success of the glamour downstairs, owners Ben Shenassafar, Kate Burr and Jared Meisler reintroduced Moon Room (which Meisler had opened last spring) as Bar Benjamin, replicating the same tasteful woods, moss-colored velvets and dim chandelier lighting as the restaurant below. Much, much improved.
Last Laugh and Everything Gibson cocktails at Bar Benjamin in Hollywood
(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)
The group brought in two ace bartenders: Chad Austin and Jason Lee. I’m particularly a fan of Lee: A few years back he crafted a summertime cocktail at n/soto of ice, shaved to order, over watermelon juice laced with amaro and lime juice. Then he moved on to Baroo, masterfully devising drinks around Korean spirits or kombucha that synched with Kwang Uh’s singular cooking.
At Bar Benjamin, he and Austin distill many of the cuisines that define Los Angeles (Mexican, Thai, Sichuan, Persian) into liquid odes. To work backwards, there’s a fun play on the ubiquitous Iranian stew fesenjoon that includes Granada Vallet pomegranate liqueur and walnut-rice orgeat that’s sweet enough to qualify as dessert. To start, I’d lean more toward the bumblebee-yellow, mezcal-spiked Last Laugh bright with saffron, pineapple, bell pepper and mango.
A Gibson infused with the essence of an everything bagel? A bit intense in its pickled flavors for me. But then again, I lean purist in the martini realms. I’ll choose the lemony Ben’s Martini that also happens to nicely match the very edited selection of small plates, including mustardy beef tartare and dilled shrimp salad in a brioche bun.
An ikura-topped shrimp roll at Bar Benjamin.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
A fun, fizzing crowd filled the space on a recent weeknight visit. But even if I came upon Bar Benjamin with few customers, the new cocooned atmosphere would be one I’d be happy to have to myself.
Fusion Kitchen
How might a bowl of warm borscht appeal in summertime temperatures?
The broth at the version served at Fusion Kitchen in Mid-Wilshire is light, for starters. Chunks of stewed tomato and grated beets and carrot gently vary the textures. Every third or fourth spoonful catches a few strands of beef. Taste first, and then stir in a couple splotches of sour cream. On the side are toasted triangles of rye bread and several slices of melt-on-the-tongue salo — salt pork, similar to Italian lardo, that is ubiquitous to Ukrainian culture.
I’ve been hungering for more tastes of Eastern European food since writing about Noroc, a restaurant in Sacramento that serves Moldovan dishes, for the 101 Best Restaurants in California guide.
With a name as unfortunately generic as Fusion Kitchen, you need to know what you’re looking for. This was previously known as the second location of Mom, Please, the Ukrainian draw in Playa Vista opened by Oleksii Kochetkov, his wife, Inna Kochetkova, and his mother, Olena Kochetkova. The same owners run Fusion Kitchen; only the name changed.
Borsht (center) and other Ukrainian dishes at Fusion Kitchen LA
(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)
After blitzing through the menu, I have a few strong recommendations beyond borscht. Cabbage rolls show off the same gravity-defying sleight of hand, improbably delicate wrappers bundling minced beef and vegetables scented with basil. Among varenyky and pelmeni, the half-moon dumplings filled with mashed potato and dressed in mushroom sauce turned out to be the most compelling.
And among many options for desserts, zero in on the medovic, or honey cake. It doesn’t have the zillion layers of, say, Michelle Polzine’s fame-making version at her now-closed 20th Century Cafe in San Francisco. Its sour cream frosting zings, though, with the crucial sweet-smokiness of burnt honey.
Manila Inasal
I’m ordering too much as usual, calling out chef Natalia Moran’s modern takes on Filipino standards: lumpia, sisig, lechon, adobo, kare kare, garlic rice … .
When I’m done, the server studies me. “You forgot to order the signature dish,” she says. “There’s a reason our name is Manila Inasal.”
Oops. Thanks goodness she steered me right.
Chicken may be the traditional choice for this class of thoroughly marinated and grilled dishes, but the bungus inasal, made with silvery milkfish, is particularly wonderful here. Achiote stains the fish, which has also absorbed the aromatics of lemongrass, ginger and sharply citrusy calamansi juice. Swipe forkfuls through two sauces, one based on green chile and the other on coconut vinegar. With a bit of cucumber salad spooned on the plate, it’s a refreshing warm weather meal.
A spread of dishes at Manila Inasal in Silver Lake
(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)
To dive deeper: start with always-easy-to-crunch lumpia or, even better, laing, taro leaves creamed in coconut milk with seasonings like garlic, ginger and shrimp paste. Moran’s take is restrained, but pleasantly so, and she presents it as an appetizer dip surrounded by focaccia baked with taro leaves. The vegetable pancit satisfyingly mingles egg and glassy vermicelli noodles in a soy-based sauce with thrumming umami.
Meatier dishes I tried like the kare kare with ultra-tender cuts of beef (including oxtail) and lechon could have been punchier in their flavors; it’s hard not to compare them with the masterful versions Maynard Llera prepares at Kuya Lord. As my colleague Stephanie Breijo reported in June, the restaurant opened two months in Silver Lake Plaza, in the same complex on Virgil Avenue that houses Daybird. So it’s still settling in and calibrating.
The namesake inasal? I’m already all in.
Also …
Karla Marie Sanford reports on the fear gripping the restaurant community in aftermath of ICE’s arrival in Los Angeles. This quote states the crisis succinctly: “The industry is deeply confused,” said Corissa Hernandez, the owner of Nativo, a Mexican bar and restaurant in Highland Park. “We’re alarmed. We’re frustrated about the lack of transparency, especially legal clarity. We’re business owners, we’re not immigration experts.”
Sanford also reports on the reopening of Gladstones, the iconic seafood restaurant in Pacific Palisades, that closed for six months after sustaining damage in the Palisades fire.
With the Women’s Euro underway, the BBC invites several football icons on screens this week. And there are a multitude of other shows that will keep everyone entertained.
Plenty of shows will keep everyone entertained this week(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Strike Global Ltd/Khuram Mirza)
The Lionesses are gearing up for their anticipated confrontation with France this Saturday as the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 enters its third day.
Meanwhile, John Torode and Lisa Faulkner front the tenth series of their Weekend Kitchen while Apple TV+ raises the alarm bells for the future of the world’s most vulnerable animals in The Wild Ones.
Expect thrills and nail-biting suspense this week on streaming platforms, with Netflix, Sky, Prime and even National Geographic lining up plenty of more programmes to fit every binge.
Every weekend, MasterChef judge and restaurateur John Torode and his wife Lisa Fulkner whip up family-friendly meals in their stylish kitchen, making each treat a feast for the eyes.
Now entering its tenth season, the series leans into dynamic themed cooking and gives tips on how to make the best of your weekly food shop. Expect Michelin-level flair from John and homemade heart from Lisa with a sprinkle of cheeky chemistry.
Foundation
Friday, Apple TV+
Way into the future (to be honest, so far forward it’s probably not worth us losing too much sleep over), a band of bold exiles has been fighting to ensure the survival of the human race.
For season three of this sweeping sci-fi epic, based on the works of Isaac Asimov and starring Jared Harris, a warlord known as The Mule has his sights set on ruling the entire universe, via psychic manipulation and a touch of sheer brute force.
Teen Mom UK: New Generation
Wednesday, Paramount+
Back this week with six new episodes, two new mums (Leonie Hellman and Amelia Pritchard) and, before we know it, three new babies, this access-all-areas reality series continues to remind us of the multiple daily challenges young mothers find themselves having to face.
There are money worries, relationship issues, family tensions, strangers passing judgement, you name it – and those nappies don’t change themselves, sadly. At least, not until someone invents an app to do that.
The Wild Ones raises the alarm bells for the world’s most vulnerable species
The Wild Ones
Friday, Apple TV+
From the whales of the North Atlantic to the bears of the Gobi desert, the magnificent creatures featured in this series are all facing a bleak future. So a trio of wildlife experts are on a mission to track down them down, monitor their behaviour and seek ways to ensure their survival.
Also on the list are gorillas in Gabon, leopards in Armenia, rhino on the island of Java and the tigers of Malaysia’s rainforest, forever under threat from poachers.
This sobering new series follows a mission undertaken by investigative reporter James Beal, prompted by the death of a young university student in the autumn of 2021.
Horrified to learn that Tom Parfett, who was 22, had obtained and ingested a deadly poison, purchased online from a website based in Canada, James joined forces with bereaved parents worldwide in a bid to bring the seller to justice. He was also determined to highlight the horrors of online suicide forums.
Supercruising: Life at Sea
Thursday, 8pm, Channel 4
When it comes to on-board entertainment, the passengers on these luxury cruise ships seem to prefer things over-the-top. At least you hope they do, because that’s certainly what’s being lined up this week for the 3,000 people sailing round North Africa and Europe.
Expect a spectacular Dutch-themed orange party, laid on by entertainment chief Hamish, complete with dazzling costumes, themed cocktails and a performance by the food and beverage team that involves a lot more than just dishing up sausage rolls.
One Chicago
Friday, from 8pm, Sky Witness and NOW
A high-rise building has been rocked by an enormous gas explosion. Hundreds of people are going to need bringing to safety, including a group who find themselves trapped deep underground, two of whom are first responders.
It’s a terrifying scenario – and one which, as a storyline, lends itself perfectly to one of these TV crossover events. In this case, we get an episode each of Chicago Fire (firefighters and paramedics), Chicago Med (doctors and nurses) and Chicago PD (the cops).
Project X was a 2012 comedy film about a group of teens whose house party swiftly spiralled out of control. As thousands of strangers descended on the birthday boy’s family home, the merry mood turned to mayhem and a riot ensued.
Trainwreck tells the story of an equally calamitous real-life event which occurred not long afterwards in a tiny town in the Netherlands, in this case thanks to the birthday girl having accidentally made her Facebook announcement public.
CBeebies’ Football Fantastics includes a star-studded cast(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Strike Global Ltd/Khuram Mirza)
Football Fantastics
Saturday, CBeebies
Created by Sam Talbot, this joyful series features six adorable football-mad kids led by an over-enthusiastic and eco-conscious groundskeeper.
Football Fantastics boasts star cameos from England Lionesses Cloe Kelly, Fran Kirby, Beth Mead, foobtall legend Jill Scott, striker Olly Watkins to Leyton Orient player Charlotte Lynch and Emmerdale icon Samantha Giles.
Expect hilarious scenes, toe-tapping songs, messy goals and lessons in teamwork. It’s a charming kickoff to the BBC’s Summer of Sport.
Bertie Gregory seeks out great white sharks in his new documentary(Image: National Geographic/Dan Beecham)
Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory
Tuesday, National Geographic
Kicking off Sharkfest on Nat Geo, Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory plunges explorer and wildlife cinematographer Bertie into shark territory – without a cage.
In Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, he and his team (including field specialists Lacey Williams, skipper Patrick McDonald and local spotter Khwesi Namntu) document great whites hunting seals in shallow waters.
This immersive documentary aims to shine a light on the secret lives of sharks but viewers will quickly understand that nature follows no schedule. It’s awe-inspiring, tense and essential viewing.
The Facebook Honeytrap
Sunday, Prime
Christine Robinson’s life was brutally cut short in a senseless attack at her remote South African safari lodge, leaving her family in the UK devastated. But her niece Lehanne, in London, decided to stop at nothing for answers.
This gripping two-part docuseries exposes a real-life predatory sting and the chilling reality behind the screen. Turning to Facebook, Lehanne combs through profiles and connects the digital dots – before confronting her aunt’s killer face to face. It’s a compelling, heart-breaking cautionary tale and an unmissable watch.
Lawrence Herrera started carrying a folded-up copy of his birth certificate in his wallet last week. He also saved a picture of his passport on his phone’s camera roll.
For the 67-year-old Atwater Village resident who was born and raised here, the precaution felt silly. But he’s not taking any chances.
“I started hearing, ‘He’s taking anyone and everyone,’” Herrara said, referrring to President Trump’s immigration crackdown. “I thought, ‘You know what? That could be me.’”
Herrera was one of hundreds of protesters who spent Fourth of July in downtown Los Angeles to rally against the immigration raids that have roiled the region and the surge in federal funding approved this week to keep them going. Many on the street said they were skipping the barbecues and fireworks this year. Instead, they showed up at City Hall, some in costumes or wrapped in flags. A 15-foot balloon of Trump in a Russian military uniform sat in Grand Park.
Erica Ortiz, 49, was dressed as Lady Liberty in shackles. Herrera wore a Revolutionary War outfit covered in anti-Trump pins that he said was appropriate for the occasion.
“Guess what? We have no independence right now,” he said. “That’s why we’re out here.”
1
2
3
1.Elizabeth Natividad wears a dress representing Lady Justice on the steps of City Hall .2.Nancy Gonzalez poses in an outfit showing her Mexican heritageon the steps of City Hall.3.A protester wearing a dress representing Lady Liberty holds her fist in the air on the steps of City Hall at a rally against the ongoing ICE raids taking place in the city on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
They marched through Olvera Street and outside the Federal Building, which houses the immigration court, waving signs. Several police officers were monitoring the protest but kept their distance during the gathering, which lasted a few hours.
“No more occupation! No more deportation!” the protesters chanted.
At the Federal Building, military personnel members lined up shoulder-to-shoulder guarding the property with shields and guns.
Jacob Moreno, a high school English teacher from Rialto, held a sign that called the day a “funeral for the freedom we pretend” still exists. He said the mood felt more solemn than the “No Kings” demonstration last month, which he attributed to the passage of Trump’s budget bill. The so-called Big Beautiful Bill adds roughly $150 billion to carry out mass deportations and fund border enforcement.
“This situation, this occupation is only going to get worse,” Moreno said. The 50-year-old said some of his students and their family members are undocumented. He and his daughter, a 16-year-old student, are helping set up a program to provide school supplies and hygiene items to students whose parents may be too afraid to go to work.
“I’m here to support my students, my community, and ultimately to stand on the right side of history,” he said.
Cristina Muñoz Brown, of North Hollywood, shared a similar sentiment.
“I’m desperate for my people, I’m desperate to show up,” she said. Since the raids began, she said, the Fashion District where she works in the costume industry is a “ghost town.”
An American flag passes by marines standing guard during a rally against the ongoing ICE raids taking place in the city at the Federal Building on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stand guard during a rally against the ongoing ICE raids taking place in the city at the Federal Building on Friday, July 4, 2025.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) addressed the crowd outside City Hall, calling the budget bill the “Big Beautiful Scam.”
“Immigration spending in this country is now more than the military spending of 165 countries around the world. ICE has more money than the city of Los Angeles 10 times over,” he said as the crowd booed. “That’s not what we want our tax dollars going toward.”
The city is still reeling from weeks of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the Southland and the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to respond to the protests that followed.
There have been sweeps targeting day laborers at local car washes and Home Depot parking lots.
“There’s too many things to protest right now,” said Hunter Dunn of the 50501 Movement, which organized the July 4 rally. Many immigrants, he said, are “afraid to go to work, afraid to go to school.”
Federal agents, often shielding their identities with face masks and sometimes driving unmarked cars, have been carrying out aggressive raids since early June, triggering widespread protests.
Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the L.A. area to protect federal buildings and workers during the unrest, which garnered pushback from state and local officials who complained that the military presence exacerbated the situation. Earlier this week, about 150 Guard members were released from the protest assignment.
The immigration enforcement actions in L.A. have heightened tensions between city and state leaders and the Trump administration. The public sparring has played out on social media and in court.
Angelenos march near Los Angeles City Hall on the Fourth of July in a demonstration against the ongoing ICE raids taking place in the city.
Mayor Karen Bass renewed her calls this week for Trump to end the ICE raids, saying in a post on X that his administration is “causing the fear and terror so many in L.A. are feeling.”
“They came for our neighbors in unmarked vans. Raided workplaces. Ripped apart families. Even U.S. citizens. This is not law enforcement — it’s political theater with human costs,” she wrote in another post.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is battling the Trump administration in court over the deployment of Guard troops without his consent. And this week, the Trump administration sued the city of L.A., Bass and City Council members, saying the city’s sanctuary law is illegal. The law generally prohibits city employees or city property to be used to investigate or detain anyone for the purpose of immigration enforcement.
On Wednesday, immigrants rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and Public Counsel sued the Trump administration in federal court seeking to block what the suit describes as the administration’s “ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the Constitution and federal law” during immigration raids in the L.A. area.
Recording star Connie Francis says she is on the mend after a recent trip to the hospital to address some “extreme pain.”
The “Stupid Cupid” and “Lipstick on Your Collar” singer, who rose to fame in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, informed fans on Facebook that she is receiving care after undergoing tests and exams. “Thank you all for your kind thoughts, words and prayers,” she wrote Wednesday.
Earlier Wednesday, the 87-year-old “Pretty Little Baby” singer wrote on Facebook that she went to the hospital to learn more about the cause of her pain, which she said prompted her to call off an upcoming Fourth of July performance, her latest cancellation in recent weeks. Francis’ posts this week did not disclose much information about her condition, but a previous Facebook update provided some insight.
A week prior to her hospitalization, Francis announced on Facebook that she had been dealing with “pelvic pain on the right side” and underwent tests to determine “that this is due to a fracture.”
“It looks like I may have to rely on my wheelchair a little longer than anticipated,” she wrote, adding that she had to pull out of a then-upcoming performance.
Francis gave followers more information about her health in March, telling them in another Facebook post that she uses a wheelchair to avoid putting “undue pressure on a troublesome painful hip” and that she was awaiting stem cell therapy at the time.
Francis has spoken openly about her personal afflictions over the course of her career. She told the Village Voice in 2011 that she had been committed to several mental institutions in the ‘80s. She said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after she was misdiagnosed with other mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder, ADD and ADHD.
The singer, also known for “Where the Boys Are” and “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” recently had her music go viral on TikTok as users use her “Pretty Little Baby” for videos.
“I’m still astounded by the popularity of ‘Pretty Little Baby,’” she said last week, thanking the A-listers who have used her hit in their social media videos.
It’s July 4, and the country is gearing up to celebrate 249 years of independence from British rule with fireworks, beer and hot dogs. The month of July also marks nearly six months since President Trump took office and embarked on — among many other pursuits — a project to remake arts and culture in America into a set of ideas and ideals more closely resembling his own.
So many steps were taken so quickly toward a MAGA agenda for the arts that it is both helpful and worthwhile to look back on all that has happened since Jan. 20, when after being sworn in Trump issued a raft of executive orders including one titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which prompted the National Endowment for the Arts to review its grants in order to ensure that funds were not being used for projects deemed to promote “gender ideology.”
That same day Trump signed another executive order, “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” that resulted in the Smithsonian Institutionshuttering its diversity offices. After that, the administration was off and running toward the end zone.
Here is timeline of Trump’s biggest, boldest, most controversial moves in American arts and culture:
Jan. 20: Trump dissolves the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, established by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 to advise on issues of cultural and artistic import. This surprised almost no one (Lady Gaga was its chair, and George Clooney and Shonda Rhimes were members), but it was an early sign of bigger changes to come.
Feb. 7: Trump takes to Truth Social to post the Truth that shook the arts world and broke the internet: “At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!”
Feb. 12: Trump’s newly appointed Kennedy board members make good on Trump’s Truth Social promise and appoint Trump chairman after firing its longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter. Trump names a former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, as interim executive director and promises to make the Kennedy Center “a very special and exciting place!” TV producer Shonda Rhimes, musician Ben Folds and opera star Renée Fleming all step away from roles working with the center.
Feb. 20: Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon told a CPAC crowd in Washington, D.C. that the J6 Prison Choir — composed of men jailed after the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — would perform at the Kennedy Center. A rep for the center said, not so fast.
Week of March 3: The Trump administration moves to fire workers with the General Services Administration, who were tasked with preserving and maintaining more than 26,000 pieces of public art owned by the federal government, including work by Millard Sheets, Ed Ruscha, Ray Boynton, Catherine Opie, M. Evelyn McCormick, James Turrell and Edward Weston. The future care and preservation of these artworks is cast into doubt.
March 14: Trump’s executive order, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,”proposes the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which also threatens museum libraries.
March 17: Trump pays his first visit to theKennedy Center as chairman. He trashes the former management, saying the center has fallen into disrepair. He also expresses his distaste for the musical “Hamilton,” (which canceled its upcoming run of shows at the center after Trump’s takeover) and praises “Les Misérables.”
Late March: A Kennedy Center contract worker strips nude in protest of Trump’s takeover and is promptly fire, and prominent musicians, including Hungarian-born pianist András Schiff and German violinist Christian Tetzlaff, cancel shows in the United States. Tetzlaff told the New York Times that while in America he felt “like a child watching a horror film.”
March 27: Trump issues an executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which directs Vice President JD Vance to remove “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian’s 21 museums and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and vows to end federal funding for exhibitions and programs based on racial themes that “divide Americans.”
April 2: Under the orders of Elon Musk’s DOGE, the National Endowment for Humanities begins sending letters to museums across the country canceling grants, some of which had already been spent.
April 29: Trump fires U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum board members picked by former President Joe Biden, including former SecondGentleman Doug Emhoff.
Early May: Arts organizations across the country begin receiving news of grant cancellations issued by the National Endowment for the Arts. The emails read, in part, “The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.”
May 30: Trump announces on Truth Social that he’s firing Kim Sajet, the longtime director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery — and the first woman to hold the role — for being “a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI.” Critics quickly respond that the president does not hold that power since the Smithsonian is managed by a Board of Regents and is not under the control of the executive branch. A little more than a week later, the Smithsonian asserts its independence and throws its support behind its secretary Lonnie G. Bunch. A few days later, Sajet steps down from her role of her own accord.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, still reeling from just how much has happened in six short months. Here’s this weekend’s arts and culture roundup.
Best bets: On our radar this week
Newsletter
You’re reading Essential Arts
Our critics and reporters guide you through events and happenings of L.A.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Mary Pickford, one of the many stars featured in the Hollywood Heritage Museum’s exhibition, “From Famous Players-Lasky to Paramount: The Rise of Hollywood’s Leading Ladies.”
(Associated Press)
From Famous Players-Lasky to Paramount: The Rise of Hollywood’s Leading Ladies The movie industry was built on star power, and women were at the forefront from the earliest days. A new exhibit at the Hollywood Heritage Museum celebrates actors such as Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson and Pola Negri, who blazed a trail for those who followed, leveraging their fame and gaining creative control over their careers within studio mogul Adolph Zukor’s growing cinematic empire. The show includes costumes, props, personal items and ephemera used by the stars. The museum building, the Lasky-DeMille Barn, was the birthplace of Jesse L. Lasky’s Feature Play Company, which merged with Zukor’s Famous Players Film Company in 1916 before evolving into Paramount Pictures. Open Saturdays and Sundays. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Hollywood Heritage Museum, 2100 Highland Ave. hollywoodheritage.org
Michael Frayn’s madcap backstage comedy “Noises Off” plays the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego starting July 6.
(Ben Wiseman)
‘Noises Off’ James Waterston, Michelle Veintimilla and the virtuoso Jefferson Mays star in the Old Globe Theatre’s revival of Michael Frayn’s classic backstage comedy. The play, the forerunner of such slapstick stage works as “The Play That Goes Wrong,” revolves around a British theater’s touring production of a fictional sex romp called “Nothing On,” in which anything that can go badly does. As modern farces go, Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote that Frayn’s play is “not only one of the funniest but may also be the most elegantly conceived.” Popular among regional theaters, the play was staged earlier this year at the Geffen Playhouse. Sunday through Aug. 3. Opening night, July 11. Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego. theoldglobe.org
Paul Simon, shown here performing in Central Park in New York in 2021, plays the Terrace Theater in Long Beach and Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A.
(Evan Agostini / Invision)
Paul Simon Though a recent back injury required surgery and resulted in the cancellation of two shows, America’s troubadour is scheduled to bring his “A Quiet Celebration” tour to the Terrace Theater in Long Beach and downtown L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall next week. Simon has been opening recent shows with a performance of his 2023 album “Seven Psalms,” a 33-minute song suite on aging and mortality, before turning to his diverse six-decades-plus catalog of music. In reviewing the then-76-year-old singer-songwriter’s 2018 Hollywood Bowl show, Times music critic Mikael Wood presciently noted that, despite it being billed as a “farewell show,” this did not seem like someone who was ready to hang up their guitar. “It was Simon’s searching impulse, still so alive in this show, that made it hard to believe he’s really putting a lid on it. Start saving for the comeback tour now.” 8 p.m. Tuesday. Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach; 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 11, 12, 14 and 16. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. tour.paulsimon.com
Patrons enjoy an evening at the Hollywood Bowl.
(LA Phil)
Prokofiev and Pride at the Bowl The Los Angeles Philharmonic has two shows at the Hollywood Bowl next week that demonstrate the ensemble’s eclectic range. On Tuesday, Thomas Søndergård conducts Prokofiev’s Fifth, preceded by Coleridge-Taylor’s “Ballade in A minor, Op. 33” and “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Rachmaninoff. Two days later, the group, conducted by Oliver Zeffman, celebrates Classical Pride with a program curated by Zeffman. It opens with Bernstein’s “Overture to ’Candide’” and closes with Tchaikovsky’s “Francesca da Rimini,” but the heart of the show brings together contemporary LGBTQ+ artists including vocalists Pumeza Matshikiza, Jamie Barton and Anthony Roth Costanzo for the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s song cycle “Good Morning, Beauty,” featuring lyrics by Taylor Mac; a performance of Jennifer Higdon’s “blue cathedral”; and a set of comedy, music and reflection from violinist and drag performance artist Thorgy Thor of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Prokofiev’s Fifth, 8 p.m. Tuesday; Classical Pride, 8 p.m. Thursday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
Culture news
Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber of the Soraya will step down in 2026.
(Luis Luque)
Thor Steingraber, executive and artistic director of the Soraya, announced he is stepping down after 12 years following the end of the 2025-26 season. In a letter to patrons, Steingraber wrote, “I’m not stopping, but rather am pivoting to new opportunities.” He previously directed opera for many years at L.A. Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lincoln Center and venues around the world, and he held leadership roles at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Music Center. Steingraber went on to thank his Soraya and CSUN colleagues, the many artists he’s worked with and supporters of the Soraya, including Milt and Debbie Valera and to the Nazarian family. No successor has been named.
For the first time since the 1912 Salon d’Automne in Paris, a rare Diego Rivera portrait is on exhibit, and fortunately for us, it’s at the Huntington Art Museum in San Marino. The painting is of Señor Hermenegildo Alsina, a Catalan bookbinder, photographer, publisher and close friend of Rivera. “This is a rare, early Rivera, from his European years, before he returned to Mexico and became synonymous with the muralist movement,” said the Art Museum’s director, Christina Nielsen, in the press release. “It’s elegant, formal, and very unlike the Rivera most people know.”
“Initial H: The Nativity,” a 15th century Italian manuscript leaf recently gifted to the J. Paul Getty Museum.
(Getty Museum, Gift of T. Robert and Katherine States Burke)
The J. Paul Getty Museum announced a gift of rare Italian manuscript illuminations last week. The collection of 38 manuscript leaves were donated by T. Robert Burke and Katherine States Burke. The works were made by the most prominent artists of the 14th and 15th centuries, including Lorenzo Monaco, Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, Lippo Vanni, Giovanni di Paolo and Sano di Pietro. They depict religious scenes primarily drawn from the lives of Jesus, Mary and the saints and largely originated from Christian choir books. The donation also includes “Initial H: The Nativity,” made around 1400 by the prolific Don Simone Camaldolese. “The exceptional quality of the Burke Collection will radically change the Getty Museum’s ability to tell the story of Italian illumination,” said Elizabeth Morrison, senior curator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum, in a press release. The new pages will be available through the Getty Museum’s collection online once they are digitized.
The SoCal scene
Kamasi Washington, right, performs in the David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art held its first event Thursday night inside the Peter Zumthor-designed David Geffen Galleries last week. The new building may still be empty, but jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington and more than 100 musicians filled it with a sonic work of art. Times classical music critic Mark Swed was there and found the experience captivating: “Washington’s ensembles were all carefully amplified and sounded surprisingly liquid, which made walking a delight as the sounds of different ensembles came in and out of focus. … The whole building felt alive.” Times photographer Allen J. Schaben was also there to capture the visuals.
The new David Geffen Galleries building was built in a Brutalist style.
(Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times)
As far as the building itself, Times art critic Christopher Knight is less than enthusiastic, writing, “Zumthor and LACMA Director Michael Govan pronounce the new Geffen building to be ‘a concrete sculpture,’ which is why it’s being shown empty now. The cringey claim is grandiose, and it makes one wonder why being architecture is not enough. If it’s true, it’s the only monumental sculpture I know that has a couple of restaurants, an auditorium and a store. Apparently, an artistic hierarchy exists, with sculpture ranked above architecture.”
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Jake Brasch’s “The Reservoir,” currently at the Geffen Playhouse, is about a queer Jewish theater student back home in Denver while on medical leave from NYU. Josh, the protagonist, is also battling alcoholism, trying to fix himself by attending to his four grandparents. In his review, Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote that his patience ran thin with the play, “not because I didn’t sympathize with [Josh’s] struggles. My beef was that he sounded like an anxious playwright determined to string an audience along without forced exuberance and sitcom-level repartee. (Compare, say, one of Josh’s rants with those of a character in a Terrence McNally, Richard Greenberg or Jon Robin Baitz comedy, and the drop off in verbal acuity and original wit will become crystal clear.)”
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who needs something to watch while complaining about the annoying people shooting off fireworks well past the celebratory window.
In anticipation of the long holiday weekend, we’re forgoing the usual Screen Gab format this week to give you an extended list of home viewing recommendations that our pop culture experts at The Times plan to binge — or what they think you should binge. It’s an eclectic guide of new and old favorites, comforting and under-the radar picks — and there’s cats too!
Turn on
Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
Michael B. Jordan in a scene from “Sinners.”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Sinners” (Max, beginning Friday)
Anybody who has yet to see “Sinners”: It’s time. Ryan Coogler’s Mississippi-set period vampire horror film stars Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers who’ve come back to their hometown to open a new juke joint together. They bring their musically gifted cousin, played by Miles Caton, along for the ride. And it’s quite a ride! Audiences were so excited to see this original film that some people traveled across state lines just to catch it in Imax 70mm — in fact, the demand was so high, the genre-bending hit received a second run at these larger-than-life Imax 70mm theaters. Even a standard format showing at my local suburban multiplex was packed on a weeknight the first time I went to see it. So while my TV is a poor substitute for a movie theater, I’ll definitely be watching “Sinners” again this weekend. And in a step toward accessibility, at-home viewers have the option to watch a version with Black American Sign Language. — Tracy Brown
Andor (Diego Luna) in Season 2 of “Andor.”
(Des Willie / Lucasfilm Ltd.)
“Andor” (Disney+)
As a kid of the original “Star Wars” generation — a wide-eyed 5-year-old when “A New Hope” opened in 1977 — I often imagined what this galaxy might look like in a more grown-up light: complex, morally messy, beyond good and evil. “Andor” comes as close as anything — maybe a little too close. As compelling as its second season is, I’ve found myself needing to take it slow: In an age of endless conflict, deepening divides and the shadows of authoritarianism, it cuts deep. The season traces the brutal machinery of empire: propaganda, collaborators, betrayal and the looming massacre of civilians on Ghorman, a peaceful planet crushed for daring to protest. At the recent nationwide “No Kings” protests, some demonstrators carried “Andor”-inspired signs that read “We are the Ghor” and “The galaxy is watching.” Finishing it on the Fourth feels right — like binge-watching as an act of civic reflection. — Josh Rottenberg
A still from Netflix’s “Trainwreck: Poop Cruise.”
(Photo from Netflix)
“Trainwreck: Poop Cruise” (Netflix)
At a time when the headlines have you wondering — “Has everything gone to s—?” — we’re reminded of a 2014 maritime disaster where that sentiment very much applied. This installment of Netflix’s “Trainwreck” docuseries tells the tale of the infamous cruise ship disaster involving an engine fire on the Carnival Triumph that left 4,000 people aboard without electricity and plumbing. You can imagine where things go from there. If you always thought cruises were a terrible idea, this documentary will be validating. It’s a wild and bizarre 55 minutes that’ll forever change the way you look at lasagna. And it’ll make you ask an existential question you never thought to consider: Would you be this dramatic about pooping in red biohazard bags if you were stranded out at sea? — Yvonne Villarreal
Matt Bomer and Nathan Lane in Hulu’s “Mid-Century Modern.”
(Chris Haston / Disney)
“Mid-Century Modern” (Hulu)
Three gay men “of a certain age,” one of whom is named Bunny and played by Nathan Lane, move in together in Palm Springs under the gimlet eye of Bunny’s mother, played by the late, great Linda Lavin? Honestly, I couldn’t explain under oath why I haven’t watched this series yet. An increasingly rare multi-cam comedy filmed in front of a live audience, it promises the comfort of nostalgia — remember when you knew it was a comedy because you could hear people laughing? — and the bittersweet pleasures of lived-in lives. And though Bunny’s claim that he and his friends Jerry (Matt Bomer) and Arthur (Nathan Lee Graham) are all in the same boat life-cycle-wise (Bomer and Graham are, respectively, 22 and 13 years younger than Lane), well, “The Golden Girls” had a similar grouping and look how well that turned out. — Mary McNamara
Nathan Fielder in Season 2 of “The Rehearsal.”
(John P. Johnson / HBO)
“The Rehearsal” (Max)
Confession time: Whenever I’m preparing for an event that requires me to speak in front of a large crowd, I write it out, practice and keep the notes handy as I’m doing said activity. That’s what makes Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal” refreshing — I’m not the only one who rehearses something — though he goes to some extremes with his stunts. The replica of Alligator Lounge in Season 1, which he creates so a man named Kor Skeete can reveal his education status to his trivia buddy, was nothing short of remarkable — I remember walking past the actual bar many times when I lived in Brooklyn. And the rest of the season was just as wild; one simulation has Fielder rehearsing to be a parent with Angela, a woman who is considering motherhood, leading to many awkward moments and conversations. Season 2 is no different, focusing on plane crashes and pilot communication, which sounds serious, but like the first season, Fielder takes many interesting tangents along the way. I’ll take a cue from our awards columnist Glenn Whipp, who wrote about the show, and not spoil the conclusion, but you’ll want to come along for the ride. — Maira Garcia
Crowd Scene at Live Aid on July 8, 1985, in London.
(FG/Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images)
Live Aid (YouTube)
July 13, 1985, was a formative day of TV for millions of Gen-Xers, sincerity and irony swirling on the biggest concert stage imaginable. Phil Collins made a stink about flying transatlantically on the Concorde so he could play both in London and, later that night, in Philadelphia. But even though he had the No. 1 album in the country (“No Jacket Required”), now he seems like the least significant presence there.
Return to the show for its two high points: Queen somehow condensed the whole of its grandeur into 21 unforgettable minutes. It’s been called the greatest live set in rock history, but that actually happened earlier in the day when U2 played the hypnotic “Bad” and Bono leapt into the crowd to hug a fan in danger of getting crushed, photographers circling them like it was a peace summit. It was everything I wanted pop to be. My band (average member age: 14) learned the song the next day. — Joshua Rothkopf
“Superman and the Mole Men,” released in 1951, starred George Reeves as the superhero from Krypton.
(LMPC via Getty Images)
“Superman and the Mole Men” (VOD)
How else can Superman rewind time without flying so fast he reverses the planet’s spin? By whisking fans back to his feature film debut in 1951’s “Superman and the Mole Men,” a kitschy adventure with an unexpectedly moving moral compass. This black-and-white indie launched George Reeves’ short and tragic career as the hero from Krypton. The producers considered it a teaser for his more famous TV series, “Adventures of Superman,” which was released the next year. The plot is simple: Clark Kent and Lois Lane trek to a rural oil town to investigate a well that’s drilled all the way to the center of the Earth. Small, hairy hominids emerge — but the twist is that Superman must protect these Mole Men from the prairie mob who want to shoot the outsiders on sight. It’s rousing to watch this classic defender of truth, justice and the American way bend guns, take bullets and huff: “I’m going to give you one last chance to stop acting like Nazi stormtroopers.” — Amy Nicholson
Damson Idris as Franklin Saint, left, and DeRay Davis as Peaches in FX’s “Snowfall.”
(Ray Mickshaw / FX)
“Snowfall” (FX on Hulu)
The race car epic “F1” is as hot as burning rubber at the box office, and is expected to bring in large crowds over the Fourth of July weekend as it re-establishes Brad Pitt as a top movie star. Pitt is joined in the winner’s circle by Damson Idris, who plays rookie driver Joshua Pearce. Idris’ star turn is a sharp departure from his portrayal of Franklin Saint, a ruthless drug kingpin in “Snowfall,” the FX drama streaming on Hulu about the rise of crack cocaine in South Los Angeles during the ‘80s. The series was one of the most popular shows in FX history, and was a vivid showcase for Idris, as Saint evolved from ambitious, charming entrepreneur to lethal thug. Although he was born in Peckham, London, Idris was cast in “Snowfall” by co-creator John Singleton, who believed that he could convincingly portray the demeanor of a youth growing up in the rough streets of South Los Angeles. When “Snowfall” completed its six-season run in 2023, the actor said in a Times interview that he was “obviously focused on movies. I want people to see me on the big screen.” — Greg Braxton
Emilia Schule stars as the titular French queen in “Marie Antoinette” on PBS.
(Caroline Dubois / Capa Drama / Canal Plus)
‘Marie Antoinette’ (PBS.org)
History’s punching bag and France’s last queen, Marie Antoinette, is reimagined as a wily, independent thinker in this inventive, lush and revisionist drama. Season 1 of “Marie Antoinette” opens in 1770, when at 14, she’s married to Louis Auguste, the Dauphin who later became King Louis XVI. The beauty of France and opulence of Versailles play a starring role though out the series, as does actor Emilia Schüle, who masterfully portrays the queen as she learns how to deal with the pressures of her role.
Released earlier this year, Season 2 finds the royal couple at the height of power but on the precipice of danger when France drops into alarming debt, the royal’s political enemies launch a misinformation war against the crown (thus the fabricated “Let Them Eat Cake!” line) and the starving masses are ready to revolt. Antoinette becomes a de facto leader when her meek husband crumbles under pressure. It’s a must for those who love a fresh takes on oft-trod chapters of history. — Lorraine Ali
A scene from “Nyaight of the Living Cat.”
(Crunchyroll)
“Nyaight of the Living Cat” (Crunchyroll, starting Sunday)
If you’ve ever watched “The Last of Us” or “The Walking Dead” and thought “this would be so much better with cats,” “Nyaight of the Living Cat” is the show for you. The anime series is set in a world where a mysterious virus turns humans into cats after they come into contact with afflicted felines, making places like cat cafés the ultimate danger zones. I can’t say I’ve ever wondered about a cat version of a zombie apocalypse, but now that this show is on my radar, I can’t wait for its premiere. And considering “nya” is Japanese for “meow,” I am hoping the show will lean into cat-related puns as it traces the fallout of this catastrophic viral outbreak. — T.B.
Philip Michael Thomas as Det. Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs and Don Johnson as Det. James “Sonny” Crockett in a promo shot for “Miami Vice.”
(NBC / NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“Miami Vice” (VOD)
Legend has it that NBC programming exec Brandon Tartikoff scrawled “MTV Cops” on a cocktail napkin, setting the template for what became “Miami Vice.” It’s not true, but it’s a good story. Watch the two-hour pilot episode and wait for the moment, near the end, when Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” comes on while Crockett (Don Johnson) and Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) are driving the black Ferrari Daytona Spyder en route to take down a Colombian drug lord. The lighting, the editing, the integration of images and the music … yeah, it’s “MTV Cops.” But it’s “MTV Cops” made by Michael Mann, who, as executive producer, signed off on every aspect of the series in its first two seasons, using the show as a sandbox to hone techniques and themes that would show up in his 1986 crime thriller “Manhunter” and “Heat” and pretty much everything else he has done. My son once asked me what the Eighties were like. I played him Jan Hammer’s synth-laden “Miami Vice” theme. And, yes, with the pastels, the Wayfarers and contemporary music, it’s a Reagan-era time capsule. But those first two seasons are really timeless — thrilling, ambitious, outrageous to this day. Watch the pilot and then the two-parter “Calderone’s Return.” You’ll be hooked. — Glenn Whipp
Jason Schwartzman, left, Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis in “Bored to Death.”
(HBO)
“Bored to Death” (Max)
Before streaming ate the world, I could measure my love for a series by whether I bought the seasons on video, and I am happy to say I am the proud owner of all three seasons of this excellent, quirky, nonjudgmental 2009 comedy, starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson. Set against, of all things, the New York literary world, it features Schwartzman as writer Jonathan Ames — also the name of the series’ creator, adapting his own “long short story” into this fairy tale of Brooklyn — who, suffering after a breakup, fueled by an excess of Raymond Chandler, white wine and pot and unable to finish a second novel, advertises himself as an “unlicensed private detective.” Adventures follow, taking the very formal, very serious Jonathan into odd corners of the city and odder corners of humanity. With Galifianakis as best friend Ray, an angry comic book artist, and Danson as other best friend George, a hedonistic magazine publisher (and later restaurateur, publishing being even then what it is), rounding out television’s greatest three-way bromance. — Robert Lloyd
