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
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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.”
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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
FREEVIEW viewers in more than 160 areas across the UK are being warned that “pixelation or flickering” could affect TV sets this week.
The digital television platform will be carrying out planned engineering works over the next few days, to ensure the service continues to run smoothly for its millions of UK customers.
1
Freeview is carrying out planned engineering works this weekCredit: Wikipedia
“Sometimes engineering work is required on transmitters so that they can keep reliably broadcasting your favourite free-to-air programmes”, Freeview bosses said.
Customers affected by the engineering works have been urged not to try and retune their televisions.
“Reception will be restored as soon as the engineering work is completed”, Freeview said.
160 Areas To Be Affected
A total of 160 areas will be affected by the engineering works, which will be carried out on the areas’ transmitters.
To check what transmitter you are predicted to get your signal from, you can put your postcode into Freeview’s Detailed Transmitter Information tool to check.
Freeview has warned that areas affected by the engineering works may possible see “pixelation or flickering on some or all channels”.
The following transmitters will be affected by the engineering works:
How To Watch Freeview Online
If you don’t want to miss out on your favourite TV shows, whilst the engineering works are taking place, you can also watch Freeview on a connected TV via Freeview Play, on mobile phones and tablets through the mobile app and on the Freeview website.
The easiest way to way to access on-demand players such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX on your Freeview Play TV is simply to push Channel 100.
You can download the Freeview app on the App Store or Google Play Store.
This will give you access on your phone or tablet to an abundance of channels, such as BBC One and Channel 4.
Freeview offers an impressive 60,000+ hours of TV and over 1,500 boxsets
To watch TV via the website, simply head to the TV Guide and click on a channel.
Recent Freeview Updates
This comes after Freeview viewers were urged to re-scan their TV boxes, following a huge channel change.
Channel 4 has boosted Freeview coverage for one of its channels in June, meaning if you haven’t already, you’ll need to retune to continue watching.
As part of Freeview’s monthly channel update, 4seven transitioned to a new frequency as of Wednesday 18 June, 2025.
This is because of an important technical change to the way the Channel 4 offshoot channel is broadcast on Freeview.
It will give more Freeview users access to the channel at a time when 4seven is increasingly used as an overspill for live events.
A popular Freeview box also received a key upgrade last month which fixed a bug affecting a slew of features.
Manhattan released the software update for its T4-R and T4 Freeview boxes.
The latest version – 2.06 – will finally fix a long-standing standby mode issue that has affected a number of users.
The $145-million global opening of Apple’s “F1 The Movie” came as a relief — both for the iPhone maker itself and theater operators hoping for an original hit during this sequel-dominated summer of blockbusters.
The expensive Brad Pitt action sports drama, directed by Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, was a high-stakes gamble by the Cupertino-based tech giant, which until now has enjoyed little success at cinemas.
In the U.S. and Canada, the film did better than expected, generating $57 million in ticket sales through Sunday, according to studio estimates. Analysts were projecting $40 million to $50 million, based on prerelease tracking. Warner Bros. Pictures, which is on a much-needed hot streak, distributed “F1” in partnership with Apple.
Because the movie cost at least $200 million to make (and perhaps far more, according to some reports) after tax breaks and before significant marketing costs, the picture is still far from profitable. But with strong reviews from audiences and critics — an “A” CinemaScore, 83% “fresh” on the Tomatometer and 97% approval from moviegoers on Rotten Tomatoes — the film should continue to perform well in the coming weeks.
It’ll face some serious competition, with Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic World: Rebirth” arriving in theaters Wednesday for the Fourth of July holiday weekend and Warner Bros.’ “Superman” from James Gunn coming shortly afterward.
Nonetheless, “F1” has the all-important Imax screens locked down until “Superman,” and that should be an advantage, given that the movie plays like both an old-school blockbuster and a thrill ride.
The question now: What does this mean for Apple’s film business and how the company approaches theatrical releases in the future?
Since Apple got into Hollywood six years ago with the launch of Apple TV+, the movie slate has struggled to come up with a big-screen success, despite huge spending on prestigious projects and big-name talent.
Its Sundance acquisition “CODA” won the 2022 best picture Oscar, albeit in a weird year, in a first for a streaming company.
But Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” weren’t commercial hits. “Argylle” and “Fly Me to the Moon” flopped, and “Wolfs” was scaled back from its planned theatrical release. The Miles Teller–Anya Taylor-Joy feature “The Gorge” went straight to streaming.
Analysts and movie industry insiders have speculated that the performance of “F1” would heavily influence whether Apple dove further into blockbuster filmmaking or abandoned theaters altogether. Apple certainly treated it like a high-stakes release, having Chief Executive Tim Cook give an interview with Variety and promoting the film through various parts of the company, including its retail stores and its music, fitness, maps and podcast apps.
Apple lacks an in-house theatrical distribution arm and instead enlists traditional studios for those duties. Burbank-based Warner Bros. worked with Apple on the marketing side while also contributing financially to the campaign, according to people close to the studios.
As of now, it’s unclear what Apple’s ambitions are for the multiplex.
Spike Lee’s Denzel Washington-starring thriller “Highest 2 Lowest,” a reimagining of the 1963 Akira Kurosawa classic “High and Low,” is getting a miniature theatrical window from A24 ahead of its September streaming release on Apple TV+. Apple has already inked a deal for another upcoming Kosinski-Bruckheimer collaboration, about UFOs.
An Apple spokeswoman did not respond to a question about future movie plans.
Theater owners want to see more from Apple at a time when they’re often struggling with a lack of compelling material, especially for grown-ups. With “F1,” they saw a glimpse of hope.
“F1” is a racing movie with throwback vibes, which is no guarantee of success. But the F1 brand is strong, especially internationally, where the movie is doing particularly well ($88.4 million so far). The companies sold the movie as a sort of “Top Gun: Maverick” on wheels, an approach that resonated with audiences. People familiar with the data say the film is drawing in audiences who don’t typically go to theaters, which the theaters desperately need.
The box office performance bodes well for the title’s eventual streaming release on Apple TV+.
With the exception of Netflix, which remains set against doing a true traditional theatrical business, film studios say movies that open in theaters do better on streaming than if they’re simply dumped onto a crowded service. Amazon has again committed to theaters since acquiring MGM Studios after slinking away from the business model years ago.
On the other hand, theatrical releases are risky, especially for a company that cares about its reputation the way Apple does. Flops are embarrassing, even for a company that’s worth $3 trillion and can afford to subsidize a filmmaker’s vision.
In both movies and TV, Apple has been selective with its programming strategy.
It doesn’t have a vast library or a deluge of new releases to keep people interested the way Netflix does. Thus, its subscriber counts have lagged the bigger rivals with more voluminous offerings, according to analysts. (Apple doesn’t disclose subscriber numbers.)
Ask anyone in Hollywood why, exactly, Apple is in the movie business at all and you’ll get varied answers.
Of course, the company wants to grow Apple TV+, which Apple views as part of a larger play to boost its services business. Having a hit movie, in theory, should help with that. People who work with Apple will often argue that the company is more interested in the branding glow that comes with a great movie than whether any particular title makes money.
The company has developed a reputation for quality, especially with buzzy TV projects including Jon Hamm’s “Your Friends & Neighbors,” Seth Rogen’s “The Studio” and, more recently, “Stick” starring Owen Wilson.
“We studied it for years before we decided to do [Apple TV+],” Cook told Variety. “I know there’s a lot of different views out there about why we’re into it. We’re into it to tell great stories, and we want it to be a great business as well. That’s why we’re into it, just plain and simple.”
For Apple, the question of whether to commit to the blockbuster business is a billion-dollar component of a $3-trillion car.
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California legislators voted Friday to more than double the amount allocated each year to the state’s film and television tax credit program, raising that cap to $750 million from $330 million.
The increase is a win for the studios, producers, unions and industry workers who have lobbied state legislators for months on the issue, Samantha Masunaga reported.
Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed the increase to help lure productions back to the state at a time when local film and TV employment is sparse.
But other states have not given up the arms race.
New York recently upped its film tax credit cap to $800 million. Texas is also ramping up its incentive program to compete with regional rivals.
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Noah Goldberg, giving you the latest on city and county government.
Zohran Mamdani’s resounding victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary has turned the heads of progressive elected officials in Los Angeles.
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez called it the “biggest victory for a socialist candidate probably in America.”
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said Angelenos should take note.
“What it shows is that we can win. We can win in major cities,” she said.
Councilmember Ysabel Jurado was bursting with excitement about the results from a city 3,000 miles away.
“Having a DSA-backed mayor is freaking amazing,” she said about the prospect of Mamdani, who was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, winning the general election in November.
While Mamdani’s primary upset over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo injected new excitement into the left flank of the Los Angeles political scene — one DSA member called it a “we’re so back moment” — it also highlighted vastly different political terrains in the two coastal cities, starting with executive leadership.
Mamdani is a 33-year-old democratic socialist who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020. He ran in the Democratic mayoral primary on a far-left agenda, promising to freeze the rent in rent-stabilized apartments and to make city buses free.
New York’s current mayor, Eric Adams, ran as a Democrat in 2021 but will be an independent candidate in the general election, after Trump’s Department of Justice dropped bribery charges against him. In line with his offer to assist in enforcing federal immigration laws if the charges were dropped, Adams has since attempted to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into the city jails (a judge blocked that plan after the City Council sued).
Southern California, on the other hand, has emerged as the epicenter of the president’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, and Mayor Karen Bass has been an outspoken critic of the president’s immigration agenda.
Councilmembers on the left flank cited the different political realities in the two cities when speaking about the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election, with the field of candidates still taking shape.
“We don’t have a candidate on the left … as a progressive. We have Mayor Karen Bass, who is running again,” Hernandez said. “She’s moving how she needs to move and has been doing a good job at least in handling this crisis that we’re in right now.”
Hernandez said she is focused on winning her own reelection bid in a crowded field.
Soto-Martínez said the city is “under siege” by the federal government.
“We are trying to show unity against the federal takeover of our city, and so that’s how I feel about it right now, and that might change a year from now, but that’s how I feel,” he said. “I support the mayor and her reelect, and I think her roots from community organizing is something we need right now.”
No progressive candidate has emerged to run against Bass. Before the immigration raids, Bass’ performance in the wake of January’s devastating wildfires led to speculation that she would be challenged from the right again by businessman Rick Caruso, whom she beat handily in 2022. Caruso is also weighing a bid for governor.
Lefty Angelenos shouldn’t hold their breath for a DSA candidate. While the process is member-driven, DSA-LA does not plan at the moment to run anyone for mayor, said Marc Krause, a co-chair of DSA-LA.
Krause said the group’s focus is legislative change, starting with representation on the City Council.
“I think for DSA-LA, our big goal and recent strategy is to try to win a majority on the L.A. City Council,” he said.
DSA-LA’s Mamdani moment came when Hernandez and Soto-Martínez won in 2022, joining Nithya Raman, who had DSA support in her 2020 election.
“It proved to us that what we were aiming to do had some viability to it,” Krause said.
Jurado, also backed by DSA-LA, joined the bloc in 2024.
Krause cited a stronger rent stabilization ordinance, higher pay for workers in the city and improved transit infrastructure as some of DSA-LA’s top legislative goals.
To secure those wins, Krause hopes to elect eight DSA-backed city councilmembers or to build a coalition with other elected officials who agree with the policies DSA-LA champions.
And Krause said the movement is growing. The night Mamdani won the primary, DSA-LA gained 50 new members — without even trying.
“We’ll likely be doing more intentional recruitment,” Krause said.
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State of play
— INNOCENT IMMIGRANTS: Most of the undocumented immigrants arrested between June 1 and June 10 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Los Angeles region had no criminal convictions, according to a Times analysis. The review of data from the Deportation Data Project, a repository of enforcement data at UC Berkeley Law, found that 69% of those arrested had no criminal convictions and 58% had never been charged with a crime.
— RECEIVERSHIP HAS SAILED: A federal judge decided not to put L.A.’s homelessness programs into receivership Tuesday, though he found that the city failed to adhere to the terms of a legal settlement focused on handling the humanitarian crisis on the streets.
— TRUMP SUIT: The city took steps to sue the Trump administration to stop immigration agents from making unconstitutional stops or arrests. The seven councilmembers who signed the letter asking City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto to prioritize “immediate legal action” against the administration argued that the litigation is necessary to prevent racial profiling and unlawful detention of Angelenos.
—UNION DOOZY: L.A. County’s agreement with its biggest labor union will cost more than $2 billion over three years, according to the county chief executive office. The deal with SEIU 721, which represents 55,000 county workers, includes a $5,000 bonus in the first year. Union members still need to ratify the agreement.
—CALIFORNIA VS. TRUMP: The Trump administration may soon be forced to turn over documents related to the activities of the military in Southern California, a federal judge said Tuesday. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had previously allowed Trump to maintain control over the California National Guard.
—SCHOOLS BUDGET: The Los Angeles Board of Education approved an $18.8-billion budget that allows the district to avoid layoffs this year, in part by reducing proposed contributions to a trust fund for retiree health benefits.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homelessness program went to Marmion Way and North Avenue 57 in Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s district, according to the mayor’s office.
On the docket for next week: The City Council goes on summer recess beginning Wednesday and will be OOO until July 29.
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Only seven pages in, John Birdsall offers a conclusion to the question that titles his book, “What Is Queer Food?”
It’s a subject that has consumed him for decades, as a restaurant cook in the Bay Area and then as a journalist and author. In the last dozen or so years — when food media began more honestly grappling with identity and diversity in its subjects, and also with who is given opportunities to tell those stories — Birdsall won national awards for feats like his groundbreaking piece, “America, Your Food Is So Gay.”
The queering of American food
“Still, saying what queer food was on a granular level kept eluding me,” he writes in his new work, published this month. “Lots of us could say that queer food, like desire, exists, but nobody could definitely point through what is was.”
“It shouldn’t have taken me as long as it did,” he accedes, “but at last I accepted the obvious truth that queer food is not a commodity. There is no essentialized cuisine of queerness, any more than there’s one simple answer for what it means to be queer.”
Acceptance is a doorway. He is freed to spend the rest of the book coupling meticulous research and gorgeous prose to illuminate lives that, in ways indirect and overt, shaped who we are as a culinary nation.
There’s Harry Baker, a man who flees from a sullied life in Ohio to Los Angeles and who, true to his name, develops a style of cake that becomes the de-facto dessert of young Hollywood; later it well be reworked and homogenized as a signature recipe for General Mills. There’s Esther Eng, an early 20th-century film auteur, her movies now mostly lost, whose fluency with the group dynamics of creating cinema translates to a second act as a New York restaurateur. In her masculine clothes and bluntly cropped hair, she is at once successful and invisible.
John Birdsall, author of “What Is Queer Food?”
(Courtesy of Rachel Marie Photography)
Birdsall notes that Craig Claiborne, then food editor of the New York Times and the father of modern American restaurant criticism, reviewed Eng’s self-named restaurant in the 1960s. Claiborne used his platform to push dining and cooking toward their current cultural status in the United States. Privately he was far more tragic — “haunted,” to use Birdsall’s word, by his difficult Southern childhood and misguided in a mess of a memoir published in 1983, 17 years before his death at 79.
Birdsall does not abide counterfeit joy. He narrates lives shaped by society’s denials, prejudices and punishments, and he lays their suffering bare. Some (among them Alice B. Toklas, James Baldwin and Richard Olney, one of my all-time favorite cookbook authors) know to leave the country to love in greater peace.
Where delight comes easy is in Birdsall’s prose. He took the narrative lessons he learned from his 2020 biography of James Beard, “The Man Who Ate Too Much,” to tighten the intricate threads of this opus. Characters that appear early in the book return for lightbulb impact. No strand dangles. Even when the reader feels his own rage — as when he veers into a personal story about making quiche for a Sunday open house in the storm-center of the AIDS crisis — his eloquence carries us through the bitterest aftertastes.
His catalyst for his book: the accelerated disappearance of spaces by and for LGBTQ populations across America.
He opens with a requiem for a 24-hour diner in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood where he was a regular in the 1990s. “The Melrose was a gay restaurant because gay people made it one,” he begins. He watched older men share their meals and drag queens scarf bacon-and-cheese potato skins post performance, and took solace in blueberry silver dollar pancakes when chemistry fizzled with the guy across the table. The Melrose closed in 2017 after 56 years in business.
“When gay restaurants close, gay reliquaries empty of memory and meaning,” he writes. “Gone are favorite waitresses and go-to-meals, safe spaces and party places in the night’s last hours. For me and other gay people who love to eat out, losing a gay restaurant is a kind of dispossession.”
Erik Peipenburg, author of “Dining Out”
(Peter Larson)
Piepenburg traveled across the country throughout 2023, interviewing owners and customers of establishments still present and long gone. Chapters graft careful reporting with his own running commentary, at turns cheeky and poignant and angered by the tenuous state of gay rights and acceptance.
Some salute institutions like Annie’s Paramount Steak House in Washington D.C.; lesbian-feminist restaurant Bloodroot in Bridgeport, Conn.; and trans safe havens like Napalese Lounge and Grille in Green Bay, Wis. Others seek to debunk myths, including the supposed queer riot in 1959 at a downtown Los Angeles location of Cooper Do-nuts whose occurrence Piepenburg could find little hard evidence to support. To consider the future of gay dining, he considers two recently opened restaurants in Southern California: the Ruby Fruit in Silver Lake and Alice B. in Palm Springs.
Mara Herbkersman and Emily Bielagus, photographed in 2023, are owners of the Ruby Fruit, one of the restaurants mentioned in Erik Piepenburg’s book “Dining Out.”
(Brittany Brooks / For The Times)
Piepenburg has been writing for the New York Times for nearly 20 years, concentrating mostly on film (especially horror), television and theater. He is, in the most wonderful sense, not a food writer. He self-identifies as a “diner gay.” This is a work about history and, above all, community, not exalted poetry on the art of gastronomy.
What strikes me most about Piepenburg’s frame of reference is how explicitly and organically he twins the subjects of dining and sex. We rarely acknowledge the existence of sex in Food Writing. First, it’s the hardest subject to not be cringe about, and food and sex analogies usually land as ick. But also, most of us who cover restaurants are keenly aware of ugly power dynamics that went unspoken in male-dominated kitchens for decades, and the industry as a whole is in a slow but sustained corrective era.
The approach in “Dining Out” succeeds in its matter-of-factness. Lonely people congregate over holiday buffets in bathhouses. Men frequented — still frequent — certain gayborhood restaurants to cruise, to pose, to be themselves.
A bit of melancholy also winds through the book, as Piepenburg laments the “golden age” of gay restaurants that halted at the turn of the millennium, if not before, and also his own aging. Here is where I mention: I met the author 35 years ago, in my early college years before either of us was out, so I relate to his feelings on the passage of time. When in the book he references his ‘90s-era club kid days, sporting “shaggy wigs and carrying lunchboxes” at the Limelight in New York … I remember.
Of course, the release of Birdsall’s and Piepenburg’s books was planned for visibility during Pride month. Their merits, individual and collective, make for absorbing, enlightening reading far beyond 30 days of designated LBGTQ recognition.
Also …
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US president’s claim greeted with surprise as deaths spiral in Gaza and Israeli forces accused of more ‘war crimes’ for shooting starving people seeking food aid.
United States President Donald Trump said he believes a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas could be reached within a week.
Trump came out with the surprise comment while speaking to reporters on Friday, saying he was hopeful after speaking to some of the people involved in trying to get a truce.
“I think it’s close. I just spoke to some of the people involved,” Trump said.
“We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire,” the president said, without revealing who he had been in contact with.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman in Jordan, said Trump’s comment will be “welcome news” to the starved and bombed population of Gaza, but she also cautioned that there are “no negotiations at this moment happening anywhere in the region”.
“What we do know is that talk of a ceasefire increased exponentially after the ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Israel does not want to talk about ending the war. In fact, the Israeli prime minister would be risking a lot if he did,” Odeh said.
But, she added, there is an understanding, according to many reports, that Netanyahu would have to agree to some sort of ceasefire in exchange for normalisation deals with Arab states, which the Trump administration has promoted.
Hamas, on the other hand, requires that Israel stop its war on Gaza and for the Israeli military to withdraw from areas it seized in Gaza after breaking the last ceasefire in March.
“Hamas also wants US guarantees that negotiations would continue and that Israel wouldn’t break the ceasefire again if more time was needed for negotiations,” Odeh added.
Trump’s ceasefire prediction comes at a time of mounting killings by Israeli forces in Gaza and growing international condemnation of Israel’s war amid the latest revelation that soldiers said they were ordered to shoot unarmed Palestinian civilians seeking humanitarian aid in the territory.
Authorities in Gaza said the report by the Haaretz media outlet that Israeli commanders ordered the deliberate shooting of starving Palestinians was further proof of Israel’s “war crimes” in the war-torn territory.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz have rejected the report of commanders targeting civilians, Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported that almost 550 Palestinians have been killed near US- and Israel-backed aid distribution points in Gaza since late May.
“People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday. “The search for food must never be a death sentence,” he said.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (also known by its French acronym MSF) branded the situation in Gaza as “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid”.
A spokesperson for the office of Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said they had no information to share about a possible ceasefire breakthrough in Gaza.
Witkoff helped former US President Joe Biden’s aides broker a ceasefire and captive release agreement in Gaza shortly before Trump took office in January. But the truce was broken by Israel in March when it launched a wave of surprise bombing attacks across the territory.
Israeli officials said that only military action would result in the return of captives held in Gaza, and imposed a blockade on food, water, medicine and fuel entering the territory that led to widespread starvation among the 2.1 million population.
Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is scheduled to visit Washington next week for talks with Trump administration officials on Gaza, Iran and a possible White House visit by Netanyahu, according to a source familiar with the matter.
DENVER — As the Dodgers completed a sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, it was two of their cornerstone hitters who helped lead the way.
In what was then a tie game in the top of the sixth inning, Mookie Betts led off with a double in the gap, Freddie Freeman brought him home with a line drive to right, and the Dodgers took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, completing a three-game sweep that kept them tied for the best record in baseball.
For much of the last four years, that would’ve been an unremarkable sequence. Shohei Ohtani might be the most potent hitter in the Dodgers’ lineup, but Betts and Freeman have long been the bedrock of their offense; All-Stars in each season they’ve played in Los Angeles, and MVP candidates more often than not.
On Thursday, however, their sixth-inning heroics had a different feel. Because, for the last three weeks, both superstars have been mired in startlingly stark slumps.
Over Betts’ last 17 games, the former MVP is batting .191 with only one home run and eight RBIs — dropping his season-long production to just a shade above league average (he has a 106 OPS+, an all-encompassing stat in which 100 is considered league average).
Freeman’s last 20 games have been even worse, highlighted by a .160 average that marks the lowest of any single-season, 20-game stretch in his entire career — diminishing the stellar numbers he had this year beforehand.
Such coinciding struggles haven’t triggered any “long-term concerns,” manager Dave Roberts said this week. Thursday’s game provided some long-awaited production, a sigh of relief for two veteran sluggers who don’t often need one.
But still, the numbers are the numbers. A trip to even hitter-friendly Coors Field failed to fully bring them back to life. And until they rebound, external questions about their bats will linger, while their personal search for answers will carry on.
“I’ve been frustrated for about six weeks now,” Freeman said recently.
“If I knew [what was wrong],” Betts echoed this week, “I promise you I wouldn’t keep doing it.”
The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts remains adamant that playing shortstop is not the reason his numbers are down at the plate this season.
(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
It wasn’t long ago that both Betts and Freeman were on polar opposite trajectories, surging through most of May and early June on offensive heaters that evaporated their slow (and physically hampered) starts to the campaign.
On April 28, Betts was hitting only .230 with an OPS nearly below .700, clearly affected by a stomach virus that drained him over the two weeks leading up to opening day.
Then, in a 32-game stretch from April 29-June 7, his typical levels of production suddenly reappeared. He hit .312 with four doubles, four home runs and an .835 OPS. And he did it all while showing defensive mastery of shortstop, quieting a growing narrative that the toll of his new position was curbing his capabilities at the plate.
“It’s not about shortstop,” Betts said last month. “Because remember, last year, I was playing pretty well [offensively while] playing at shortstop. I had no idea what I was doing. Now, I’m way more confident in how I show up and prepare each and every day. The shortstop argument can’t be it.”
Given his recent skid, however, such speculation is back.
“I’m gonna hold to no,” Roberts said when asked about the dynamic again this week. “I think it’s a fair debate. But all I can go with is what Mookie is saying, as far as the separation of the hitting to the defense, the comfort level with the defense … So I don’t think there’s a correlation.”
Instead, Roberts pointed to a lack of power as a bigger factor. Betts’ .392 slugging percentage thus far is 50 points worse than his previous career-low (which came in his rookie 2014 season). He ranks below league-average in underlying metrics such as exit velocity, hard-hit percentage and bat speed most of all (slipping to the 11th percentile among MLB hitters in that category).
“I think it’s the lack of hitting the ball on the barrel,” Roberts said. “He’s a guy that knows how to find the barrel. But there’s times that he’s chasing a little bit more than he usually does. And then there’s a lot more pop-ups than typical. So to get power, you gotta find the barrel. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Freeman has endured even more whiplash amid his rollercoaster season.
At the end of May, he was leading the National League with a .374 batting average. He was seemingly compensating for whatever lingering pain remained in the right ankle he had surgically repaired in the offseason, then re-aggravated with a slip in the shower at the end of March.
Even at age 35, he appeared primed for a potential career season, well on track for an elusive first batting title.
“He’s just been relentless,” Roberts said last month.
Now, however, one of the game’s best hit collectors can’t seem to buy a knock most days. His batting average has fallen all the way to .309 entering Friday. Before his Thursday afternoon single, he was 0-for-11 in the Rockies series and one-for-his-last-22 overall.
“I have seen some signs where he’s hit some balls hard and hasn’t gotten anything to show for it,” Roberts said, searching for positives amid Freeman’s highly uncharacteristic slump. “That’s discouraging for him. But I just know he’s gonna find his way out of it.”
To this point, though, he hasn’t, with his usual routine of slump-busting drills — from a net exercise designed to promote an inside-out bat path, to mental cues intended to help him stay back in his swing — having yet to get his mechanics re-aligned.
“I’ve gone through every cue 16 times over again in the last six weeks,” he said. “So just waiting for it to click.”
Though Freeman, who also battled a minor quadriceps injury in recent weeks, still looks hobbled while running the bases and playing defense at times, he insisted the problems aren’t injury-related.
“The only pain is the swing,” he said.
And despite his best efforts to conceal such frustrations during games, Roberts has noticed the toll his slump has started to take.
“I think he just wants consistency from his swing,” Roberts said. “Wants to feel right consistently.”
Somewhat amazingly, the Dodgers haven’t missed a beat even with their superstar pairing clearly out of tune. The team is 13-4 in its last 17 games. The offense has scored six runs per game in that span, half-a-run better than its already MLB-leading season average. Other middle-of-the-order bats — from current NL batting leader Will Smith, to June player of the month candidate Max Muncy and rising second-year star Andy Pages — have helped pick up the slack.
But in the long run, much of the Dodgers’ success still figures to run through Betts and Freeman. They are still the two most veteran, experienced producers in a lineup full of All-Star caliber talent.
At the very least, Roberts insisted, Thursday offered “something to build on.”
But with the way the last month has gone for each, there remains a lot of work left to do.
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who can’t stand the heat outside, but can tolerate it onscreen.
The eerie and bizarre story of John Orr, a Southern California arson investigator who authorities say moonlighted as a serial arsonist suspected of setting some 2,000 fires in the 1980s and 1990s, has been chronicled in the 2021 podcast “Firebug” and, earlier this year, received the deep-dive treatment from L.A. Times writer Christopher Goffard. Now, there’s a new Apple TV+ series, “Smoke,” loosely inspired by the true crime case. Author and screenwriter Dennis Lehane, who created the new drama, stopped by Guest Spot to discuss it.
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, TV critic Robert Lloyd reminds us that Bravo used to dabble in scripted programming, recommending “Odd Mom Out,” the short-lived comedy about a stay-at-home mother and her experiences navigating the bizarre and outrageous world of Manhattan’s elite; and film reporter Josh Rottenberg suggests finding time to watch a hybrid documentary-biopic film about the ‘90s indie band Pavement.
ICYMI
Must-read stories you might have missed
Jerry Bruckheimer, whose new movie “F1” hits screens this week, poses for a portrait in his Santa Monica office.
‘Countdown’ makes Los Angeles a prominent character — and it’s in danger: The Prime Video action series follows a task force consisting of members from various law enforcement agencies that are brought together after the murder of a Department of Homeland Security agent. But it’s Los Angeles that is in serious danger.
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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
Jill Kargman as Jill and Andy Buckley as Andy in “Odd Mom Out.”
(Barbara Nitke / Bravo )
“Odd Mom Out” (Peacock)
In my review of the new season of “The Bear” this week, I neglected to mention Abby Elliott, who plays Sugar, the level-headed sister of Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy (or to mention Sugar’s new baby, the most adorable infant I have ever seen on screen); ironically, it was because, laboring to express how great she is in it, I had set that bit aside — as it turned out, permanently. Happily, I was already planning to use this space to recommend her earlier series, Jill Kargman’s very funny “Odd Mom Out,” Bravo’s brief experiment (2015-17) in scripted comedy, giving me this chance to self-correct. In “Mom,” whose three seasons stream on Peacock, Kargman, a very talented amateur, stars as a version of herself in a series based on her 2007 book “Momzillas,” about competitive parenting among Upper East Side New Yorkers, a war her boho-punk mother of three character declines to enter. (She is what most of us would call rich, but not obscenely so, and has good values.) Elliott, in a whimsical comic turn, plays Brooke, the pregnant and thin wife (later ex-wife) of her brother-in-law, whose charities include providing “prophylactic gastric bypasses for at-risk kids with morbidly obese parents” and sending bouncy castles to Africa. — Robert Lloyd
Stephen Malkmus in “Pavements.”
(Utopia)
“Pavements” (available on various VOD platforms)
If you were young and vaguely disaffected in the ’90s, Pavement was either your favorite band or the band your favorite band wanted to be — a group whose slanted (and enchanted) songs defined slacker cool, mixing lo-fi chaos, shaggy pop hooks and a shrugging disinterest in “career, career, career,” as they put it in their semi-hit “Cut Your Hair.” So it’s only fitting that Alex Ross Perry’s drolly funny anti-rock-doc ditches the usual mythology-building formula in favor of something far weirder. Blending real tour footage, a faux biopic, a tongue-in-cheek jukebox musical and a museum filled with half-fake relics, the film is part tribute, part Gen X time capsule, part absurdist prank. “Stranger Things” star Joe Keery is the film’s unexpected MVP, playing himself with deadpan commitment as he fixates on nailing lead singer Stephen Malkmus’ Stockton accent — right down to requesting a photo of his tongue for research. By the end, “Pavements” becomes both a joke about the band’s legacy and a surprisingly sincere celebration of it. — Josh Rottenberg
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Taron Egerton in Apple TV+’s “Smoke.”
(Apple TV+)
He spent his days as a fire captain and arson investigator in Southern California, but authorities say John Orr lived a secret life as a prolific arsonist responsible for a string of fires that terrorized the region in the ‘80s and ‘90s. An unpublished novel he wrote, “Points of Origin,” detailed an arson spree that mirrored real-life incidents and helped authorities secure enough evidence to arrest him. The firefighting veteran was eventually convicted on 20 counts of arson and 4 counts of murder and is serving life in prison. Orr continues to maintain his innocence. This true story, chronicled in the 2021 podcast “Firebug,” is the basis for Apple TV+’s new nine-episode crime drama “Smoke.” Created by Dennis Lehane (“Black Bird”), the series follows arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton) and Detective Michelle Calderone (Jurnee Smollett) as they pursue two serial arsonists. The first two episodes are available to stream, with the remaining seven releasing weekly every Friday until Aug. 15. Lehane stopped by Guest Spot to discuss the show’s gnarly fire sequences and getting Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke to provide the show’s theme song. — Yvonne Villarreal
You’ve authored several well-known novels, including “Gone, Baby, Gone,” “Mystic River” and “Shutter Island,” and you’re familiar with exploring moral ambiguity. What stood out to you when you first listened to “Firebug”? And what about it made it a story you wanted to tell for the screen?
What really stood out for me with “Firebug” was John Orr’s myopic duality. He clung to the identity of a hero arson investigator even as he was running around lighting up Glendale and surrounding areas, resulting in several deaths. On top of that, he was writing a book about an arson investigator chasing a serial arsonist. And the book was quite bad. I found that kinda delicious. I was also intrigued by his methods for setting the fires and was taken by the fact that he’d once nearly died in a fire when he mistook his reflection for another firefighter and ran deeper into a burning house.
Everything else in the show is pure fiction. I didn’t want to tell a story about John Orr in 1980s California; I wanted to tell a story about our culture now, about people who feel so unmoored they’d rather cling to the fiction of themselves over the fact.
Tell me about the planning and work that went into crafting the fire sequences in the series — how you decided when to use special effects or real fire, and the precautions that needed to be in place for the latter. And is there a fire sequence in the series that stands out for you?
The moments that stand out most are the first fire — Dave’s dream — and the last — the sawmill fire. The first of these was 100% real. It was shot on a burn stage with pipes blasting flame all around the room as Taron — not a stunt man — walked through it. It looks so impressive because a) we planned really hard; and b) Sam McCurdy, our director of photography, is a painter with light and reflection. Our sawmill fire and the subsequent car ride thru the burning forest was the opposite — it was predominantly CGI, but we’d realized by then that the key was to shoot as much real fire as we could (which, in this case, wasn’t terribly much), so the CGI wizards had real flame to compare their work to.
How did you get Thom Yorke to write a song (“Dialing In”) for the show’s theme?
Our music supervisor, Mary Ramos, had heard that Thom was a fan of “Black Bird” [Lehane’s previous Apple TV+ series that also starred Egerton and featured much of the same creative team]. We reached out to see if he had any interest in writing a song for our credit sequence. And he actually called us back. He and I spoke about the underlying themes of the show and he read a bunch of the scripts. Then he went off and wrote the song. He sent it back to us and someone, I think it was Mary, said, “Now you have to give him notes.” And I was like, Um … no, no, I don’t. He’s Thom Yorke. Giving him notes on music would be like telling Scorsese where to put the camera. I passed along this note:”Thank you.”
What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know? (Please explain)
“Dept. Q” [Netflix]. Scott Frank, as always, crushes it as both a writer and a director. It’s got one of the best pilots I’ve ever seen, and the cast, led by Matthew Goode and Kate Dickie, is impeccable. It’s so rich in character and atmosphere that I wanted to fly to Edinburgh to simply hang out with every character after I finished watching.
What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again? (Please explain)
“Midnight Run” [Netflix] is my cinematic chicken soup for the soul. It’s smart, hilarious, infinitely quotable, sports one of the greatest casts ever assembled, and it’s non-stop, breakneck fun from the first shot to the last. I’ve probably seen it 30 times.
Ceramicist Michael Frimkiss — who was born to a Jewish family in Boyle Heights in 1937 — died on Feb. 28 at 88, leaving a uniquely L.A. legacy of classical clay creations, as well as a family of artists in his wake.
Frimkiss’ wife is the Venezuelan-born ceramicist Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, who, received her first major museum retrospective last year at 95 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His grandchildren — Sachi and Louie Moskowitz — are also artists. Born to Lelia Moskowitz, Frimkiss’ daughter from his first marriage, the Moskowitz siblings are currently staging an exhibition through July 27 titled “Made to Last” at Arcane Space gallery in Venice. Sachi is a ceramicist, like her grandfather, and Louie is a photographer.
The show is, in part, a tribute to Frimkiss and a nod to the artistic impulse passed down in the family through the generations.
As the family patriarch, Frimkiss distinguished himself as a uniquely Southern California artist who infused traditional clay vessels with pop culture aesthetics and cutting-edge social commentary.
Frimkiss’ father was also an artist who made his mark working in graphic design. He and his wife encouraged their son’s interest in art from an early age. After graduating from Hollywood High, Frimkiss won a scholarship to the school that would become known as Otis College of Art and Design. It was an exciting time for ceramics, with Peter Voulkos and his students creating a new Abstract Expressionist language for the art form.
An undated photo of ceramicist Michael Frimkiss.
(Lelia Moskowitz)
In a 2000 interview with The Times, Frimkiss talked about how a peyote trip in 1956 ended with his decision to pursue the art of ceramics: “He describes being awake for 24 hours, then having a vision like ‘a glow in my forehead.’ What he saw was material being shaped into a vessel, a process that he had glimpsed at Otis but never tried. ‘I thought, that must be pottery. I must be throwing pots. That’s the answer,’ he says.”
Frimkiss went on to work in a ceramics factory in Italy, before moving back to L.A. In 1963 he met and married Magdalena, and the couple settled into a home and studio near Venice Beach. Frimkiss’ life was marked by a difficult decades-long battle with multiple sclerosis, but he went on to define himself as an iconoclastic artist noted for a no-water throwing technique that created wafer-thin pots with inimitable qualities.
Frimkiss’ work is in the Smithsonian, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, among others.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt looking to get my hands in some clay. Here’s this week’s arts and culture rundown.
Best bets: On our radar this week
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Jacqueline Misaye as Rosaline and Brent Charles as Berowne star in the Independent Shakespeare Co.’s outdoor production of William Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”
(Mike Ditz)
‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ Romance is in the air as the Independent Shakespeare Co. launches its annual Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Four young gentlemen’s vow to devote themselves to the chaste study of academics is derailed by the arrival of four fetching noblewomen in the comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” Catch the final preview tonight or attend Saturday’s opening night. The festival second show, the Elizabethan tragedy, “Doctor Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe, debuts Aug. 6. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through July 27 (except July 4). Outdoors at the Dell at the top of the Old Zoo, Griffith Park. indieshakes.org
Kamasi Washington brings jazz to the new David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic)
Kamasi Washington Live The jazz saxophonist and composer leads an ensemble 100-strong performing Washington’s six-movement suite, “Harmony of Difference,” in its entirety for the first time. The second two nights of a sold-out three-night stand (sign up for ticket availability alerts) marking the public’s first opportunity to visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries prior to the installation of art. The Times will have boots on the ground reporting on the experience. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. David Geffen Galleries, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org
‘Tombstone’ This premiere of a new 4K restoration of director George P. Cosmatos’ 1993 western about Wyatt Earp and that notorious shootout at the O.K. Corral also serves as tribute to actor Val Kilmer, who died earlier this year. The actor’s portrayal of John Henry “Doc” Holliday, which former Times film critic Peter Rainer called “a classic camp performance,” is one of the key reasons for the film’s longevity as a cult classic. Kurt Russell stars as Earp, with Bill Paxton and Sam Elliott as his brothers Morgan and Virgil. 7 p.m. Saturday. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Takako Yamaguchi In the third of its relaunched “MOCA Focus” exhibitions, which present an artist’s first solo museum show in Los Angeles, the institution turns its attention to the 72-year-old Japanese-born painter, whose appropriation of diverse imagery challenges ideals of ethnic identity and cultural ownership. The show features “archly stylized” oil-and-bronze-leaf seascapes that bring together her highly-crafted sense of “Eastern” and Western,” developed over 40 years. “The L.A.-based Yamaguchi either presents the canvas as if a sculptural element itself, painted with ridges and creases and layers of depth, or treats it as a neutral surface upon which she renders a form atop (parallelogram, eye, grid of circles), as though in shallow relief,” wrote Times contributor Leah Ollman in a 2019 review. “As she plays with illusion and dimension, these highly reduced images open up, their formal distillation yielding conceptual complexity.” Sunday through Jan. 4. Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. moca.org
Tom Hulce in the Oscar-winning 1984 film “Amadeus.”
(Orion Pictures)
Ultra Cinematheque 70 Fest Milos Forman’s “Amadeus,” Mel Brooks’ “Spaceballs,” John McTiernan’s “Die Hard” and Ivan Reitman’s “Ghostbusters” headline this summer’s edition of the American Cinematheque homage to large-format films. The monthlong, 33-film series kicks off with Stanley Kubrick’s“2001: A Space Odyssey,” screening at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Aero. The festival wraps Aug. 4 with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” also at the Aero. Thursday through Aug. 4. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com
Yankee Dawg You Die East West Players present a new production of Philip Kan Gotanda’s 1988 play about the challenges faced by Asian American actors in Hollywood, which, unfortunately, remains very timely. Jennifer Chang directs Kelvin Han Yee and Daniel J. Kim as two performers who meet at very different junctures in their respective careers. In a 2001 review of an earlier EWP revival, former Times staff writer Daryl H. Millercalled the play, “gently comic and quietly powerful.” Thursday through July 27. The David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 N. Judge John Aiso St., Little Tokyo. eastwestplayers.org
Culture news
LACMA has acquired Jeff Koons’ topiary “Split-Rocker,” pictured at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
(Tom Powel)
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced the acquisition of Jeff Koons’ monumental topiary sculpture “Split-Rocker” to anchor the east side of the campus at the new David Geffen Galleries building. The 37-foot-tall living sculpture, created in 2000, is designed to nurture more than 50,000 flowering plants. “I couldn’t be more thrilled than to have a piece of floral work in Los Angeles where — horticulturally — there’s such a wide variety of plants that can be used in its creation,” Koons said in a phone interview with Times staff writer Jessica Gelt from his New York studio. “I hope people going back and forth on Wilshire Boulevard, and people visiting the museum, are able to enjoy and experience the change in the piece.” The project will be seeded in August with the hope that it will be fully established by April, when architect Peter Zumthor’s new poured concrete building is scheduled to open to the public.
Anaheim police have located two giant sculptures valued at a combined $2.1 million that were stolen from an Anaheim Hills warehouse reports Times staff writer Andrew J. Campos. The theft of the pieces, “Icarus Within” and “Quantum Mechanics: Homme,” by artist and filmmaker Daniel Winn, apparently happened June 14 or 15 and were recovered a week later in a trailer parked at an Anaheim residence, according to police. Composed of thousands of pounds of bronze and stainless steel, the sculptures typically require “about a dozen men and two forklifts to move” Winn said. “This is not an easy task.” No arrests have been made.
Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodorodied at home in Milan on June 22, the eve of his 99th birthday. A renowned sculptor whose art was publicly displayed around the world, including at the LADWP’s John F. Ferraro Building downtown, Pomodoro’s most famous works involved large “wounded” spheres made of bronze. He taught at Stanford University, UC Berkeley and Mills College in the 1960s and his “Rotante dal Foro Centrale,” part of the “Sfera con Sfera” series, can be found at the west entrance of the Berkeley campus.
The SoCal scene
James Van Der Zee, “Untitled,” 1927, gelatin silver print
(J. Paul Getty Museum)
“Queer Lens: A History of Photography,” the J. Paul Getty Museum’s newest exhibition, “is provocative and important, and the timing packs a wallop,” according to Times art critic Christopher Knight in his review of the show. The survey contains more than 270 works from the last two centuries and examines the ways “cameras transformed the expression of gender and sexuality.” Well-known artists such as Berenice Abbott, Anthony Friedkin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Man Ray and Edmund Teske are featured alongside many unknowns. “These days,” wrote Knight, citing the present anti-LGBTQ+ fervor in statehouses across the country and Washington, D.C., “the Getty is probably the only major art museum in America that could open an exhibition like ‘Queer Lens.’ Others wouldn’t dare.”
The Tony-winning revival of “Parade” tells the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man in Georgia, who in 1913 was convicted of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan in a gross miscarriage of justice. His sentence was later commuted by the governor, but Frank was kidnapped and lynched by an angry mob. “This dark chapter in American history might not seem suitable for musical treatment,” wrote Times theater critic Charles McNulty in his review of the production currently at the Ahmanson Theatre. “Docudrama would be the safer way to go, given the gravity of the material. But playwright Alfred Uhry and composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown had a vision of what they could uniquely bring to the retelling of Frank’s story.”
It may be summer in L.A., but Times classical music critic Mark Swed found the dance scene in full bloom. “I sampled three very different dance programs last weekend at three distinctive venues in three disparate cities and for three kinds of audiences,” wrote Swed. “The range was enormous but the connections, illuminating.” In an expansive few days, he witnessed the Miami City Ballet’s production of “Swan Lake” at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa; the American Contemporary Ballet performing George Balanchine’s modernist classic “Serenade,” alongside new work by the company’s founder, choreographer Lincoln Jones, on a soundstage at Television City in the Fairfax district; and violinist Vijay Gupta and dancer Yamini Kalluri combining Bach and Indian Kuchipudi dance at the 99-seat Sierra Madre Playhouse. Still to come, Boston Ballet makes its Music Center debut, dancing “Swan Lake” at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion this weekend; and the L.A. Phil’s “Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks,” July 18 at the Hollywood Bowl, will feature the San Francisco Ballet dancing excerpts from “Swan Lake” and Balanchine’s “Diamonds” Pas de Deux.
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The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles is under construction and is expected to open its doors in 2026.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
In case you missed it, Times contributor Sam Lubell wrote about the landscape design of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is scheduled to open in 2026. “George Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson chose Mia Lehrer and her L.A. firm, Studio-MLA, to design the 11 acres of landscape around — and on top of — MAD Architects’ swirling, otherworldly, billion-dollar building,” wrote Lubell. “The driving forces behind the Lucas Museum made it clear that the landscape had to tell a story too.” That narrative is more than enhanced by the stunning photography of TheTimes’ Myung J. Chun.
“I like the idea of giving life to the objects I create,” ceramicist Rami Kim said in a recent interview with Times staff writer Lisa Boone. “They’re my imaginary friends.” Korean-born and raised, Kim attended CalArts, earned a master of fine arts from UCLA and later worked in the animation industry. She discovered clay while making figures for stop-motion animation. Drawn to the tactile sensation of the medium, Kim began working characters into various ceramic forms. “Built by hand, their faces emerge from planters, ceramic dishes and slip-cast mugs like the cast of an animated Hayao Miyazaki movie,” wrote Boone in a compelling profile about how the artist began creating custom animal figurines for clients, many of whom, like Kim, have lost their pets.
— Kevin Crust
And last but not least
Looking for a Saturday complement to the Essential Arts newsletter? Try our weekly books newsletter. Enjoy interviews with authors, such as this one with Susan Gubar, who spoke to Times contributor Marc Weingarten about her new book, “Grand Finales: The Creative Longevity of Women Artists” — which profiles seven creators who found a second wind in their advancing years — plus news about the latest releases, the local literary scene and our favorite bookstores.
When Alijah Arenas opened his eyes, minutes after his Tesla Cybertruck struck a tree one morning this past April, the five-star Chatsworth High hoops phenom wasn’t sure where he was or how he’d gotten there. His initial, disoriented thought was that he’d woken up at home. But as he regained consciousness, Arena felt the seat belt wrapped tightly around his waist. He noticed the Life360 app on his phone, beeping. Outside the car, he could hear crackling sounds, like a campfire.
Then he felt the heat like a sauna cranked to its highest setting. The passenger side of the dashboard, Arenas could see, was already engulfed in flames. Smoke was filling the car’s front cabin. He could no longer see out of the windows.
Arenas reached for his iPhone, intent on using his digital key to escape, only to find the Tesla app had locked him out. Panic started to set in.
“I tried to open the door,” Arenas said, “and the door isn’t opening.”
A crumbled Telsa Cybertruck rests adjacent to a tree following a crash involving top USC basketball recruit Alijah Arenas.
(Handout)
He tore off his seat belt and moved to the back seat, away from the smoke, scanning the car desperately for an exit strategy. His heart was pounding. The heat was becoming unbearable. Then, he passed out.
No more than 10 minutes earlier — and less than two miles up Corbin Avenue — Arenas had just wrapped up a predawn workout at the DSTRKT, a gym in Chatsworth, where he’d been working his way up to 10,000 shots that week.
One of the top hoops prospects in Southern California, Arenas was weeks away from graduating from Chatsworth High after three years with the intention of joining USC a year early in 2025. He was doing everything he could to prepare for that extraordinary leap.
Alijah Arenas describes for the first time publicly how the steering wheel of his Tesla Cybertruck locked up and led to his fiery April wreck in Reseda.
He was on his way home from the gym, driving south on Corbin as he had so many times before, when Arenas noticed that the Cybertruck — which is registered to his father, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas — was acting strangely. The car wasn’t reading that he left the gym. The keypad kept flickering on and off.
After stopping at one red light, he tried to switch lanes, only to notice that “the wheel wasn’t moving as easily as it should.” Drifting into the right lane, he realized that he “can’t get back to the left.”
“So then a car is coming towards me, and I think that I’ll just pull over,” he said. “So I speed up to pull over to the right in a neighborhood because there are cars parked on the street I’m on to the right. But when I’m speeding up to turn, I can’t stop. The wheel wasn’t responding to me — as if I wasn’t in the car.”
The Cybertruck careened instead into a fire hydrant, then a tree, before bursting into flames.
Minutes felt like hours as he tried to escape the smoldering car. Drifting in and out of consciousness, Arenas did whatever he could to stay alert. He bit his lip as hard as he could and clenched his nails into his skin. He doused himself with water from a water bottle to cool his body down. He tried to make as much noise as possible, yelling and banging on the glass. But the flames were getting hotter, the smoke getting thicker.
“I’m panicking,” Arenas said. “I was fighting time.”
He set out to break a window, knowing Cybertruck windows are meant to be “unbreakable.” When his hands ached from punching the glass, he started using his feet. Then he passed out again.
USC freshman Alijah Arenas, who survived a Cybertruck crash earlier this year, talks with reporters on Tuesday.
(Ryan Kartje / Los Angeles Times)
When he woke up, “I realized my whole right side had caught on fire,” he said.
But as he tore off his clothes and doused himself in water again, he heard a thud outside the car window. Sirens wailed in the distance. Just keep going, he told himself.
He kicked at the driver’s-side window with everything he had. Eventually, he spotted a crack. He kept kicking, drifting briefly out of consciousness, before the window fell away and hands began pulling him from the vehicle by his legs.
The next thing he remembers feeling was a cold rush, as if he’d jumped in a freezing river. A video of the crash scene obtained by TMZ shows Arenas lying face down in the street in a few inches of water, while the broken hydrant continues to spray into the air, after a group of good Samaritans had come to his rescue.
In all, Arenas spent at least 10 minutes in the burning car before people who happened to hear the accident eventually helped pull him to safety. It’s not lost on him how lucky he was.
“There are amazing people in this world that are willing to help and risk their own bodies for you,” Arenas said. “For me, it was like, I don’t ever want to think about me ever again.”
Alijah Arenas, of Chatsworth High, drives to the basket.
(Nick Koza)
The next hours and days are still hazy for Arenas, who was whisked away to a nearby hospital, then another. He was put into a medically induced coma, a common approach for dealing with extreme smoke inhalation.
When he finally awoke, Arenas still couldn’t speak. But right away, panic set in. He wondered if his car had hit another, or if anyone else had been hurt.
Months later, he still can’t bring himself to place any blame elsewhere for what happened. Even though there are no indications that Arenas was at fault for his steering wheel locking up.
“Honestly, I take full responsibility,” Arenas said. “Whether it was me, another car, a malfunction. I don’t really want to put anyone else in this situation — whoever made the car, anything. I want to take full responsibility for what I do. If I would’ve hurt somebody, that would have really taken a toll on me.”
Arenas spent six days in the hospital after the accident but suffered no major long-term injuries. In the weeks that followed, he took walks through his family’s neighborhood to regain his strength. Along the way, neighbors showered him with flowers and well wishes. Last month, the family welcomed the men who saved Arenas into their home to share their gratitude.
He’s still working his way toward joining USC for its summer hoops practices, with some preliminary classwork still remaining before his transition is complete. But after officially enrolling at USC last week, Arenas stood on the practice court sideline on Tuesday morning, high-fiving teammates and calling out assignments, looking every bit the part of a five-star freshman who’s ready to step in from Day One.
“His perspective is really unique,” USC coach Eric Musselman said. “Even before the accident, when you talk to Alijah, it’s a unique thought process on how he views life and views the game of basketball and how he views his teammates.”
But there’s no mistaking, in Arenas’ mind, how fortunate he is to have survived — and how many things had to go right for that to be the case. He’s convinced he was spared to help someone else in the same way he was helped.
“It taught me a lot,” Arenas said. “I’m very lucky — and not even just to be here. Just in general, in life.”
June 25 (UPI) — U.S. and Iranian officials will meet next week to discuss current events but won’t necessarily negotiate any agreements, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday.
The president didn’t say when or where the talks would occur, who would participate or their purpose as he was leaving the NATO summit in The Hague.
“We may sign an agreement,” he told media. “I don’t think it’s that necessary.”
Trump said Iran won’t continue trying to create a nuclear arsenal after the U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday morning local time.
“They had a war they fought, [and] now they’re going back to their world,” Trump added. “I don’t care if we have an agreement or not.”
He said the attacks by the United States and others by Israel have “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities and buried its enriched uranium, USA Today reported.
Reports conflict regarding the extent of damage to the nuclear facilities in Iran and the aerial attacks’ impact on the Middle East nation’s nuclear weapons program.
A Pentagon report suggests aerial attacks only have delayed Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations by a few months. It also says about 400 kilograms of enriched uranium might have been moved hours before the attacks.
An Israeli report, though, says Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility that housed thousands of centrifuges some 300 feet underground is buried by granite, steel and concrete after being struck by several 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.
“We hit them so hard and so fast they didn’t get to move,” Trump told reporters.
“It’s very, very heavy and very hard to move,” he said of enriched uranium.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the aerial attacks caused far greater damage than Iranian officials thought was possible.
The impact on their nuclear weapons program was so significant that it caused them to agree to a cease-fire with Israel, Hegseth added.
Trump said Israeli and Iranian forces are “both tired, exhausted,” but he acknowledged hostilities between the two might start again soon.
WASHINGTON — President Trump isn’t the first president to order military strikes without congressional approval. But his decision to bomb Iran comes at a uniquely volatile moment — both at home and abroad.
Overseas, the U.S. risks deeper entanglement in the Middle East if fighting erupts again between Israel and Iran. At home, Trump continues to sidestep oversight, showing little regard for checks and balances.
His move has reignited a decades-old debate over the War Powers Act, a law passed in the early 1970s meant to divide authority over military action between Congress and the president. Critics say Trump violated the act by striking with little input from Congress, while supporters argue he responded to an imminent threat and is looking to avoid prolonged conflict.
Even after Trump announced late Monday that a “complete and total ceasefire” between Israel and Iran would take effect over the next 24 hours, tensions remained high in Congress over Trump’s action. A vote is expected in the Senate later this week on a Democratic Iran war powers resolution that is meant to place a check on Trump when it comes to further entanglement with Iran.
Here’s a closer look at what the act does and doesn’t do, how past presidents have tested it and how Congress plans to respond:
Dividing war powers between Congress and the president
Passed in the wake of American involvement in Vietnam, the War Powers Resolution prescribes how the president should work with lawmakers to deploy troops if Congress hasn’t already issued a declaration of war.
It states that the framers of the Constitution intended for Congress and the President to use its “collective judgement” to send troops into “hostilities.” The War Powers Resolution calls for the president “in every possible instance” to “consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces.”
But when Congress enacted the law, “it didn’t install any hard requirements, and it provided a lot of outs,” said Scott Anderson, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.
“Habitual practice for presidents in the last few decades has been to minimally — almost not at all — consult with Congress on a lot of military action,” Anderson said. And “the language of the statute is so vague and open-ended that it’s hard to say it’s in clear contradiction” to the War Powers Resolution.
Unless a Declaration of War has already been passed or Congress has authorized deploying forces, the president has 48 hours after deploying troops to send a written report to congressional leadership explaining the decision. Trump did so on Monday, sending Congress a letter that said strikes on Iran over the weekend were “limited in scope and purpose” and “designed to minimize casualties, deter future attacks and limit the risk of escalation.”
In March, when Trump ordered airstrikes in Houthi-held areas in Yemen, he wrote a letter to congressional leadership explaining his rationale and reviewing his orders to the Department of Defense. President Biden wrote nearly 20 letters citing the War Powers Resolution during his term.
If Congress doesn’t authorize further action within 60 to 90 days, the resolution requires that the president “terminate any use” of the armed forces. “That’s the hard requirement of the War Powers Resolution,” Anderson said.
How past presidents have used it
Congress hasn’t declared war on another country since World War II, but U.S. presidents have filed scores of reports pursuant to the War Powers Resolution since it was enacted in 1973, over President Nixon’s veto.
Presidents have seized upon some of the vague wording in the War Powers Resolution to justify their actions abroad. In 1980, for example, Jimmy Carter argued that attempting to rescue hostages from Iran didn’t require a consultation with Congress, since it wasn’t an act of war, according to the Congressional Research Service.
President George W. Bush invoked war powers in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and persuaded Congress to approve an authorization for the use of military force against Iraq in 2002.
Throughout his presidency, President Obama faced pressure to cease operations in Libya after 90 days. But his administration argued that the U.S. use of airpower in Libya didn’t rise to the level of “hostilities” set forth in the War Powers Resolution.
What Congress is doing now
Trump’s actions in Iran have drawn the loudest praise from the right and the sharpest rebukes from the left. But the response hasn’t broken cleanly along party lines.
Daily developments have also complicated matters. Trump on Sunday raised the possibility of a change in leadership in Iran, before on Monday announcing that Israel and Iran had agreed to a “complete and total” ceasefire to be phased in over the next 24 hours.
Nevertheless, the Senate could vote as soon as this week on a resolution directing the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the bill’s sponsor, told reporters Monday — prior to the ceasefire announcement — that the vote could come “as early as Wednesday, as late as Friday.” He expects bipartisan backing, though support is still coming together ahead of a classified briefing for senators on Tuesday.
“There will be Republicans who will support it,” Kaine said. “Exactly how many, I don’t know.”
He added that, “this is as fluid a vote as I’ve been involved with during my time here, because the facts are changing every day.”
Passing the resolution could prove difficult, especially with Republicans praising Trump after news of the ceasefire broke. Even prior to that, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., defended Trump’s actions on Monday and said he’s operating within his authority.
“There’s always a tension between Congress’ power to declare war and the president’s power as commander in chief,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “But I think the White House contacted its people, as many people as they could.”
A similar bipartisan resolution in the House — led by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie — could follow soon, although Massie signaled Monday that he may no longer pursue it if peace has been reached.
Khanna was undeterred.
“In case of a conflict in the future, we need to be on record saying no offensive war in Iran without prior authorization,” Khanna said. “We still need a vote.”
Askarinam and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press. AP writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Matt Brown contributed to this report.
Asda has slashed prices on hundreds of school uniform bits with 20% off trousers, shirts and polos.
Prices start from £1.60 for crew neck t-shirts and range up to £16 for five-packs of slim leg boys trousers.
Parents can also buy hoodies for £4, jersey skirts for £5.60 and five-packs of long sleeve tops for £12.
Shoppers on Facebook claim the 20% off offer is running in stores as well.
We have asked Asda if it is available across all stores and what date the offer is running until both online and in-store and will update this story when we’ve heard back.
Aldi
German discounter Aldi is bringing back it’s popular £5 school uniform bundle deal on Sunday (June 29).
The bundle includes two polo shirts, a sweatshirt or cardigan, and a choice of trousers, skirt or cargo shorts – all for a fiver.
To apply, you’ll need to get in touch with your local council. Most councils have pages on their website dedicated to the HSF, while you can also call your local authority to find out if you are eligible for the support scheme.
Unlike in England, all local authorities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales offer school uniform grants.
Be glad you’re not Jeff Bezos or Lauren Sánchez. Sure, being that rich would be awesome, but being rich comes with rich-people problems. With their Italian wedding imminent, they have a host of things to worry about that would never cross the imaginations of other, more average couples who don’t have 12 digits representing their net worth.
Most details of the Venice fête are being kept close to the vest. A couple of local companies have confirmed they are contributing handcrafted glassware and local pastries to the wedding-favor goodie bags. Some guests’ names leaked when the invites went out in March (we name-drop below, never fear).
But a few details that might be quite vexing to the bride and groom are playing out in public. Let’s take a look.
Your destination wedding’s destination might hate you
All of Venice may not truly be ticked off, but photos, activists and media coverage make it seem that way.
Venice teacher and activist Marta Sottoriva called the wedding “the symbol of all that is wrong with Venice.”
“There’s a lot of anger in the air because once again the council has enslaved itself to the logic of profit — our city has been sold to the highest bidder,” she told the Guardian. “Every time an event of this kind happens, the city comes to a standstill, certain areas become inaccessible and even more tourists arrive.” (Venice has been really annoyed lately by its number of tourists, kind of like the Louvre is really annoyed.)
“No Space for Bezos” activists speak at a public meeting of residents on June 13 in Venice, Italy.
(Andrea Merola / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But tourism councilor Simone Venturini was shocked that anyone might be upset that such a high-profile event was happening in the city.
“We should all be proud that the Bezos wedding, an event of international importance, is being held in the waters of our lagoon,” he told the Guardian. “Instead, the usual protest professionals have wasted no time. We want to reiterate that Venice is open to everyone.”
Venturini was more colorful in speaking to the Wall Street Journal, saying, “If Bezos’ wedding goes ahead as planned, without these pain-in-the-ass protests, Venetian citizens won’t even notice.”
The couple’s London-based wedding planners, Lanza & Baucina, told CNN in a statement, “Rumors of ‘taking over’ the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality.” They and the client, the planners said, wanted to minimize any disruption to the city.
That said, it’s impossible to get a reservation this week at the Aman Venice, the nearly 500-year-old hotel on the Grand Canal where the happy couple are rumored to be staying, at least for part of their wedding week, along with a host of wedding guests. The place is fully booked through Sunday, per TMZ, at a reported $2,000 to $10,000 a night per room.
Protests could really screw things up
Forget throwing soup on the “Mona Lisa” — the Bezos wedding protesters might do something truly offensive: They are threatening to screw up traffic on the big day.
“Bezos will never get to the Misericordia [event space],” activist Federica Toninello told an appreciative crowd last week, according to CNN. “We will block the canals, line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with inflatables, dinghies, boats.”
Having just learned what the Misericordia is, we have no idea what role the location might play in the nuptials, but it looks like a nice enough spot for a reception. Fondazione Giorgio Cini, a cultural center built in 1951, has also been floated as a wedding venue. But let’s get back to the blockades and such.
Another speaker at that same rally said she didn’t want Venice remembered as a beautiful wedding venue but “as the city that did not bend to oligarchs.”
“We can’t miss a chance to disrupt a $10-million wedding,” Na Haby Stella Faye said — because, really, how often does that chance come around? Although her goal stated at the rally was “to stop this wedding,” in her Instagram stories Monday, she was promoting a planned Saturday protest of Bezos, President Trump and, well, war.
A massive banner targeting Jeff Bezos, the world’s second-richest man, is laid out in the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy, ahead of his wedding to Lauren Sánchez.
(Greenpeace / Associated Press)
Less aggressive protests include a host of banners and “No Space for Bezos” posters that have been hung around the city. A colossal message from Greenpeace to Bezos was laid out Monday in the Piazza San Marco. The square banner, which read “IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX,” was quickly folded up and carried away by local cops, the Associated Press reported.
“It’s absurd to treat this city like it’s Disneyland,” said Grazia Satta, a retired teacher and social worker, per the Wall Street Journal. “The message this wedding sends is that rich people can do whatever they want. We shouldn’t kneel before wealth like this.”
By Monday, Bezos’ security team was making last-minute changes to try to outsmart the activists, according to TMZ. Even the water-taxi companies are being “kept in the dark,” the site said, and if the water taxis don’t know what’s going on, who really does?
Perhaps Bezos could tap that $212-billion bank account and enlist a Prime Delivery person to drop off himself and his bride discreetly at their reception? Though the human-size Amazon box could be a dead giveaway.
Whose yacht is biggest — and where will they park?
Yes, we know yachts don’t “park,” they drop anchor. But no matter what you call it, the biggest yachts can’t drop anchor in all parts of Venice.
One wedding theory has held that Bezos and Sánchez will exchange their vows on his 417-foot yacht, the Koru, where he proposed to her two years ago after five years of dating. But reported plans to dock the yacht in a lagoon might have changed. Apparently the close-to-shore concept is starting to look like a safety hazard due to those threatened protests of the second-richest man in the world.
The Koru is far from the only big boat floating around town, mind you. Venice has nine “yacht ports,” all of which have been booked for the wedding week. Apparently, TMZ reported, noncelebrity billionaire yacht owners are altering their Venice vacation plans to avoid the crush. That has to sting.
Fortunately, although the yacht situation is fluid and the airspace over Venice is closed, CNN reported that private helicopters are being given a pass, in case a head of state decides to chopper in. As one does.
One type of watercraft not involved in the festivities? Gondolas, or at least those piloted by people the WSJ talked to. “We are too slow,” one gondolier lamented.
International events might affect the guest list
President Trump reportedly scored an invitation to the wedding. Unclear if a plus-one for Melania was included. However, the commander in chief is a wee bit busy handling world events these days — hard to tell if he will be able to get away, even for a gala event like this one. Aren’t destination weddings the worst? So inconvenient.
That said, Ivanka Trump and hubby Jared Kushner reportedly got invited too, along with Jared’s brother Joshua Kushner and model wife Karlie Kloss. So the first family might be represented after all. And who knows, POTUS could swing by. Does Marine One count as a “private” helicopter?
Others on the guest list, per TMZ, include Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Bill Gates, singer Jewel, Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Corey Gamble, Barbra Streisand, Eva Longoria, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Brian Grazer, Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg, models Brooks Nader and Camila Morrone, and Queen Rania of Jordan. Perry won’t attend, though, because she’s on tour.
THE HAGUE — Whether the United States launches a broader war against Iran after bombing its nuclear facilities may come down to President Trump’s meetings with NATO partners this week at a summit of the alliance, a gathering long scheduled in the Netherlands now carrying far higher stakes.
So far, Washington’s transatlantic partners have praised the U.S. operation, which supplemented an ongoing Israeli campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, air defenses and military leadership. But European officials told The Times their hope is to pull Trump back from any flirtation with regime change in Iran, a prospect that Trump and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have openly discussed in recent days.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in The Hague on Tuesday morning for two days of meetings, now expected to focus on the nascent crisis, as U.S. intelligence and military officials continue to assess the outcome of U.S. strikes over the weekend against Iran’s main nuclear sites at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
NATO was directly involved in the last two U.S. wars in the Middle East, taking part in a U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks and helping to train and advise security forces in Iraq. And while not a member of NATO, Israel coordinates with the security bloc through a process called the Mediterranean Dialogue, which includes work against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
At the Mauritshuis on Monday evening, overlooking The Hague’s historic court pond and under the gaze of Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” NATO officials, European military leaders and U.S. senators discussed the obvious: A summit that had been seen as an opportunity to show Trump that Europe is willing to pay more for its defense — with NATO members now committing to spend 5% of their GDP on military essentials and expenditures — will now be consumed instead with the possibility of a new war.
As the event was ending, Iran struck the U.S. military base in Qatar, its largest in the Middle East. But the Iranians gave Doha advance notice of the strike in an effort to avert casualties, the New York Times reported, indicating Tehran might be looking for an off-ramp from continuing escalation with Washington.
While the Pentagon said the U.S. bombing run, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, “severely damaged” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, American and Israeli officials acknowledged to The Times that it is not entirely clear how much equipment and fissile material Tehran was able to salvage before the attacks began.
And as concerns emerge that Iran may have been able to preserve a breakout capability, Israel’s target list across Iran seemed to broaden on Monday to reflect military ambitions beyond Iran’s nuclear program, including the headquarters of the Basij militia and a clock in downtown Tehran counting down to Israel’s destruction.
“Trump spoke too soon,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute, of the president’s declaration that the United States had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capacity with its weekend strikes.
“We may have simply waited too long with our hand-wringing, and given the Iranians time to evacuate their enriched stockpiles. If so, that represents a failure of leadership,” he added, noting reports that trucks could be seen at the Fordo site leading up to the U.S. attack. “If they then scattered and the U.S. intelligence community lost track of where they went, then that is an intelligence failure that could potentially be as costly as the one that preceded the Iraq war.”
European powers, particularly France, Germany and the United Kingdom, have been careful to praise Trump for ordering the strikes. But they have also urged an immediate return to negotiations, and expressed concern that Israel has begun targeting sites tangential and unrelated to Iran’s nuclear program.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, warning of “volatility” in the region, encouraged Iran “to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis.” And Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, questioned whether Tehran’s nuclear knowledge could be bombed away. “No one thinks it’s a good thing to keep fighting,” he told local media.
“I called for deescalation and for Iran to exercise the utmost restraint in this dangerous context, to allow a return to diplomacy,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “Engaging in dialogue and securing a clear commitment from Iran to renounce nuclear weapons are essential to avoid the worst for the entire region. There is no alternative.”
Later Monday, after Israel had struck Iran’s notorious Evin prison, where foreign nationals are held, France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, issued a more scathing rebuke. “All strikes must now stop,” he said.
One European official said that efforts would be made once Trump arrives to underscore his military successes, noting the example he has made — using military force to deter an authoritarian foe — could still be applied to Russia in its war against Ukraine. Now that Trump has demonstrated peace through strength, the official said, it is time to give diplomacy another chance.
But it’s unclear if Iran would be receptive to pleas for a diplomatic breakthrough.
In a post on X on Sunday, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, noted that Israel’s attacks last week and the U.S. strikes this week coincided with negotiations, torpedoing any chance for talks to succeed.
“Last week, we were in negotiations with the U.S. when Israel decided to blow up that diplomacy. This week, we held talks with the E3/E.U. when the U.S. decided to blow up that diplomacy,” he wrote, adding that European calls to bring Iran to negotiations were misplaced. The E3 represents France, Germany and Italy.
“How can Iran return to something it never left, let alone blew up?” he added.
On Monday, before its strikes against the U.S. base in Qatar, Iranian military leaders vowed vengeance against the United States for the strikes.
The retaliation “will impose severe, regret-inducing, and unpredictable consequences on you,” said Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, head of the Iranian military’s central command headquarters, in a video statement on Iranian broadcaster Press TV. He added that the U.S. attack “will expand the range of legitimate and diverse targets for Iran’s armed forces.”
Times staff writer Nabih Bulos in Beirut contributed to this report.
EastEnders fans were left gutted when it was announced Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) would be leaving the show – and next weeks spoilers have teased a possible exit storyline
21:16, 22 Jun 2025Updated 21:16, 22 Jun 2025
EastEnders ‘teases’ Bernie’s exit storyline in this weeks spoilers (Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Last month, it was revealed that Clair Norris would be leaving EastEnders after playing the role of Bernie Taylor for eight years. Now, in spoilers for next week, the soap appears to have teased the star’s upcoming exit storyline.
Bernie arrived in Walford in 2017 alongside mum Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and late brother Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).
However, she’s the last one of her family members left on the Square with her mum Karen leaving EastEnders in 2023, shortly followed by the murder of her brother Keanu on Christmas Day.
Lately, fans have noticed a lack of the character on their screens, but spoilers for next week reveal a huge storyline for the star – which could be teasing towards her exit.
Bernie will be leaving the soap after eight years (Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
We’re revisiting The Six storyline once again at the start of the week. It starts when Bernie’s cousin Felix wants him to give Johnny her seal of approval, unaware that he helped cover up Keanu’s murder.
Denise then fears that if Johnny doesn’t win Bernie over, it could bring the past back to haunt them all.
However, that’s not Bernie’s only problem – as she’s tied up with the Panesars. Vicki notices some unusual invoices, although Bernie dismisses her concerns. However, Bernie isn’t getting away with things too quickly, as she’s later confronted by Ravi and Suki about the irregularities.
We know Bernie will be making her exit from the soap soon – but could next week’s dramatic storylines be leading to her departure?
EastEnders will see Bernie interacting with the Panesars over irregular invoices next week(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Following Bernie’s exit, an EastEnders spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Clair will be leaving EastEnders later this year and we wish her all the best for the future.” Clair remained silent on her departure for a couple of weeks, until she attended the British Soap Awards at the end of last month.
Taking to her Instagram to post a picture of herself all glammed up in a teal dress on the night, Clair penned: “My last @thebritishsoapawards with my EE family. We [broom emoji] up last night, 8 awards & I couldn’t be prouder to be apart of this team! What a way to end this amazing journey, head held high & beaming from ear to ear.”
Clair was supported by both fans as colleagues in her post, with James Farrar, who plays Zack Hudson writing: “Head held HIGH,” along with a number of red heart emojis.
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Facing unrestricted free agency for the first time in his illustrious career, Khalil Mack could have chosen any team to chase his championship ambitions. Why did the star edge rusher choose to stick with a franchise that has never won the Super Bowl?
“Why not here?” the Chargers edge rusher wondered back.
Praising the leadership under coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz, the players on the roster and his familiarity with the franchise, Mack’s decision to return to the Chargers wasn’t that complicated at all.
“It was a no-brainer,” he said this week during Chargers minicamp in his first comments with local reporters since January.
In his last public comments, Mack was swirling in the disappointment of the Chargers’ wild-card loss to the Houston Texans. The 34-year-old flirted with retirement. For a former two-star recruit who went to Buffalo, Mack has little else to prove at the professional level. Nine Pro Bowl selections. Three All-Pro honors. The 2016 Associated Press defensive player of the year.
But still no playoff wins.
“You’re chasing that feeling of wanting to win important games deep in the season,” said Mack, who has gone one-and-done in the postseason five times. “Being that I haven’t reached that point yet, I couldn’t give up on that dream and that goal for myself and for this franchise.”
Mired in their own postseason drought, the Chargers have not won a playoff game since the 2018 season. Their last two attempts flamed out spectacularly. The 27-point blown lead in Jan. 2023 was the largest in franchise history. Last year, quarterback Justin Herbert threw a career-high four interceptions against Houston.
Despite the jarring end, the Chargers’ surprising 11-6 regular-season record in the first year under Harbaugh positions the franchise well for the long-awaited breakthrough. Wanting to continue the momentum was a key hope for the offseason.
“l was begging and pleading with him to come back,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “I just knew for him to come back like that, he really loves us and he really wants a shot at it again.”
Mack, who signed a reported one-year, $18 million deal, had six sacks and 39 tackles last season, a stark drop from his resurgent 2023 that featured a career-high 17 sacks and 75 tackles. Nursing a complicated groin injury, he missed a game for the first time in his Chargers tenure.
But entering his 12th season, Mack insists getting in top physical shape is the easy part. On Thursday, Harbaugh was shocked when reminded that Mack was 34 years old. Mack was working with Chargers executive director of player performance Ben Herbert for weeks before the team started their offseason regimen, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said.
The workouts suddenly got so popular that one random weekday, Minter was stunned to see so many players that they could have held a defensive walk-through. Echoing Harbaugh, Minter called it the “Herb Effect.” It has Mack under its spell.
“Herb is a big deal,” Mack said. “He was a big part of that decision coming back here as well. Just knowing the mindset that he has and how he thinks about the body. It’s just the same approach and the same mindset that I have when I train by myself or with anybody else. I want to be a machine. I want to be as solid as possible, as strong as possible. Move people easy. And this program is all of that.”
For the first time in his Chargers tenure, Mack is without running mate Joey Bosa, who was cut in a salary-saving move. After three injury-riddled seasons punctuated his nine-year Chargers career, Bosa signed with the Buffalo Bills.
It’s weird without his former teammate, Mack said. He recently texted Bosa about how different the edge rusher room felt without Bosa breaking the silence with awkward jokes. They will at least reunite at Bosa’s wedding next year.
Bosa’s departure opens the door for third-year edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu to step into a starring role. The USC alumnus started 20 games in the last two seasons as Bosa struggled with injuries and had a career-best 8 1/2 sacks last season.
“Tuli is a special player, man,” Mack said. “I’ve been saying that ever since he stepped foot into the building, what, three years ago now. … It’s not going to be no surprise to me when he’s a 10, 12 sack guy this year.”
The Chargers drafted SEC defensive player of the year Kyle Kennard in the fourth round to bolster the edge room that also includes 32-year-old Bud Dupree.
Mack’s return was one of the first offseason moves the Chargers announced, and while he could have waited longer to entertain options from other teams as an unrestricted free agent, he chose not to linger on the market. Balancing financial decisions with his career and family, Mack kept a single focus.
“It’s just not wanting to give up on that goal and that ambition that I had ever since I had stepped in the league,” Mack said. “I knew I wanted to play in important games and win a Super Bowl at least.”
Rashawn Slater not focused on contract extension talks
After missing organized team activities while waiting for a contract extension, star left tackle Rashawn Slater returned to mandatory minicamp this week with no concerns about the status of his deal approaching the season.
“Realistically speaking, I’ve known for a long time it’s how these things go,” Slater said Thursday on the final day of minicamp of getting an extension done before the season. “It’s not something that’s bothered me. It’s just the business of football, so I have full confidence.”
In 2025, Slater would play on a fifth-year option due to pay him about $19 million. The left tackle coming off his second Pro Bowl selection was rated the second-best tackle last year, according to Pro Football Focus.
Many teammates were at the Chargers practice facility during organized team activities, but Slater continued his routine in Texas, where he works with Duke Manyweather, the top private offensive line coach among the NFL’s best. Despite not working with the Chargers strength staff, Slater was more than prepared upon his return. The offensive lineman passed the conditioning test, and Harbaugh said Slater reported it was “too easy.”
But Slater wanted to correct the record.
“I didn’t say ‘too easy,’” he said Thursday. “I just said it was ‘easy.’ I’m not trying to rub it in anybody’s face.”
WASHINGTON — President Trump, with his decision to order U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, is gambling that direct U.S. involvement can deliver a decisive blow to a weakened Tehran while managing to avoid bringing the U.S. into an expansive regional conflict.
Trump announced the strikes on three Iranian enrichment facilities — Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — and said that a “full payload of BOMBS was dropped” on Fordo.
“All planes are safely on their way home,” Trump added in his post. “Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”
It remained to be seen whether the attacks mark the totality of direct American involvement in strikes against Iran or the opening salvo of a larger campaign.
Trump, who said he would address the nation about the strikes at 10 p.m. Eastern time, called it a “very successful military operation.” The president also celebrated the strikes in a call with the news site Axios in which he said, “We had great success tonight” and that “Israel is much safer now.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday had said that Trump would decide whether to move forward with U.S. strikes on Iran within two weeks.
But on Saturday afternoon, commercial flight trackers identified multiple U.S. aerial refueling tankers on a path suggesting that they were accompanying aircraft from the Midwest to the Pacific, raising speculation that something could be afoot.
Still, the flight pattern left many in Washington speculating that an attack might happen soon but would not happen immediately because of the time it would take for the aircraft to make it to the region. But that aircraft may have been a decoy — it was not part of the mission that was carried out early Sunday morning in Iran.
Trump returned from his New Jersey golf club just after 6 p.m. and was to head to a previously scheduled meeting with his national security team. Less than two hours later, the president announced the strikes had been completed.
The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
The strikes are a perilous decision for the U.S., as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault. The stakes are also high for Trump personally — he won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.
U.S. and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground, including at Fordo.
It was not immediately clear whether the U.S. bombers did in fact drop the bunker busters on the Iranian facilities.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States in advance that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic would “result in irreparable damage for them.” And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared “any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the damage inflicted by the bombings.
Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and said he had initially hoped that the threat of force would motivate the country’s leaders to give up their nuclear program peacefully.
But Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel’s operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran’s nuclear program, perhaps permanently.
The Israelis have said their offensive has already crippled Iran’s air defenses, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites.
But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel had appealed to Trump for the U.S. bunker-busting bombs, the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses its immense weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently delivered only by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is found only in the American arsenal.
The bomb carries a conventional warhead and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility.
Trump’s decision for direct U.S. military intervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push — including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians — aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program.
For months, Trump said he was dedicated to a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice — in April and again in late May — persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time.
The U.S. in recent days has been shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel and U.S. bases from Iranian attacks.
All the while, Trump has gone from publicly expressing hope that the moment could be a “second chance” for Iran to make a deal to delivering explicit threats on Khamenei and making calls for Tehran’s unconditional surrender.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump said in a social media posting. “He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”
The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Obama administration-brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the “worst deal ever.”
The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, the U.S. and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Trump decried the Obama-era deal for giving Iran too much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran’s non-nuclear malign behavior.
Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further U.S. involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U.S. involvement in expensive and endless wars.
The action by Trump immediately raised some concerns among U.S. lawmakers that the president had exceeded his authority.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) quickly posted on the social media site X: “This is not Constitutional.” California Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) said on social media that Trump hit Iran without congressional authorization and that lawmakers should pass a resolution he’s sponsoring with Massie “to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war.”
Vice President JD Vance in a lengthy posting on X earlier this week defended his boss, while acknowledging that “people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.”
“But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue,” Vance wrote. He added, “I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people’s goals.”
Madhani and Boak write for the Associated Press. Madhani reported from Morristown, N.J.
